Duke De of Qin (, 710–676 BC) was from 677 to 676 BC the eleventh ruler of the

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

state of Qin that eventually united China to become the

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

. His

ancestral name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

was Ying (), and Duke De was his

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments o ...

. Duke De was the second of the three sons of his father Duke Xian of Qin. His younger half-brother Chuzi was the first to succeed Duke Xian in 704 BC, but was killed six years later. His older brother

Duke Wu of Qin Duke Wu of Qin (, died 678 BC) was from 697 to 678 BC the tenth ruler of the Zhou Dynasty state of Qin that eventually united China to become the Qin Dynasty. His ancestral name was Ying (), and Duke Wu was his posthumous title. Accession to t ...

then ascended the throne and reigned for 20 years. Although Duke Wu had a son named Bai (白), when he died in 678 BC it was Duke De who succeeded him, while Prince Bai was enfeoffed at the capital Pingyang. In the first year of his reign, Duke De moved the capital to Yong (in present-day

Fengxiang Fengxiang District (), formerly, Fengxiang County and its ancient name is Yong county (雍县), is a district administered by Baoji City in the west of Shaanxi province, China. The county covers an area of and as of 2004 had a population of 510 ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

), which would remain the capital of Qin until almost three centuries later, when Duke Xian (Shixi) moved the capital to

Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative area of ...

in 383 BC. However, Duke De reigned for only two years before dying in 676 BC, aged 34. He had three sons, who would in turn ascend the throne as Duke Xuan, Duke Cheng, and Duke Mu, respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De of Qin, Duke Rulers of Qin 7th-century BC Chinese monarchs 710 BC births 676 BC deaths