Duke Ling of Qi (; died 554 BC) was from 581 to 554 BC ruler of the State of Qi, a major power during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

of ancient China. His personal name was Lü Huan (呂環),

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, ...

Jiang ( 姜), and Duke Ling 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 Ling succeeded his father

Duke Qing of Qi Duke Qing of Qi (; died 582 BC) was from 598 to 582 BC ruler of the State of Qi, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His personal name was Lü Wuye (呂無野), ancestral name Jiang ( 姜), and Duke Qing was his po ...

, who died in 582 BC after 17 years of reign.

Attack from Jin

In 572 BC, Duke Dao of the State of Jin attacked Qi. Duke Ling made peace with Jin by sending his son Prince Guang (later

Duke Zhuang II of Qi Duke Zhuang II of Qi (; died 548 BC) was from 553 to 548 BC ruler of the State of Qi, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His personal name was Lü Guāng (呂光), ancestral name Jiang ( 姜), and Duke Zhuang wa ...

) to Jin as a hostage. Nine years later Prince Guang was made the crown prince of Qi.

Annexing the State of Lai

In 567 BC, the fifteenth year of Duke Ling's reign, the

State of Lai Lai (), also known as Láiyí (), was an ancient Dongyi state located in what is now eastern Shandong Province, recorded in the '' Book of Xia''. Tang Shanchun () believes ''lái'' means "mountain" in the ancient Yue language (古越语), while t ...

attacked Qi but was decisively defeated. The Qi army counterattacked, killed the Lai ruler Duke Gong, and conquered the entire state. Lai was a large

Dongyi The Dongyi or Eastern Yi () was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula, and Ja ...

state to the east of Qi, and the state of Qi more than doubled the size of its territory after annexing Lai.

Battle of Pingyin

In 555 BC, Duke Ling switched his alliance from Jin to its enemy

State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...

. To punish Qi,

Duke Ping of Jin Duke Ping of Jin (, died 532 BC) was from 557 to 532 BC the ruler of the State of Jin, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Biao, and Duke Ping was his posthumous name. He suc ...

invaded and inflicted a crushing defeat on Qi. The Jin army, led by general Zhonghang Yan, occupied large swathes of Qi territory, besieged the Qi capital Linzi, and burned down the outer portion of the city. This was the worst defeat that Qi had suffered during the

Succession

Duke Ling's main wife was Yan Yi Ji, a princess of the

State of Lu Lu (, c. 1042–249 BC) was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong province. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji (姬) that ruled the Zhou dy ...

, who had no son. His original heir, Crown Prince Guang, was the son of Sheng Ji, niece of Yan Yi Ji. Duke Ling also had at least two other concubines, Zhong Zi and Rong Zi, who were both princesses of the State of Song. Zhong Zi bore a son named Ya, while Rong Zi had no son but took Prince Ya under her wing. Duke Ling favoured Rong Zi, who asked him to make Prince Ya the new crown prince. Although Zhong Zi objected, Duke Ling still deposed Prince Guang and made Prince Ya his heir. In 554 BC, the 28th year of his reign, Duke Ling fell ill and died in the fifth month. The powerful minister

Cui Zhu Cui or CUI may refer to: People * Cui (surname), a Chinese surname * Cui Shian (born 1957), governor of Macau * César Cui (1835–1918), Russian composer Education * Catholic University of Ireland * COMSATS University Islamabad * Concordia Un ...

installed Guang, the original crown prince, on the throne, to be known as

. Cui Zhu and Duke Zhuang killed Rong Zi, Prince Ya, and rival minister Gao Hou, who supported Prince Ya. Duke Ling also had another son named Chujiu, born to another of Duke Ling's concubines, who was the daughter of Shusun Xuanbo, leader of the Shusun clan of Lu. Cui Zhu would later kill Duke Zhuang and install Chujiu on the throne, to be known as Duke Jing of Qi.

Family

Wives: * Yan Yi Ji, of the Ji clan of Lu () Concubines: * Zong Sheng Ji, of the Ji clan of Lu (), Yan Yi Ji's niece; the mother of Crown Prince Guang * Zhong Zi, of the Zi clan of

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

(), the mother of Crown Prince Ya * Rong Zi, of the Zi clan of

(; d. 554 BC), Zhong Ji's dowry younger sister * Mu Meng Ji, of the Shusun lineage of the Ji clan of Lu (), a daughter of Shusun Qiaoru (); the mother of Prince Chujiu Sons: * Crown Prince Guang (; d. 548 BC), ruled as

from 553–548 BC * Crown Prince Ya (; d. 554 BC) * Prince Chujiu (; d. 490 BC), ruled as Duke Jing of Qi from 547–490 BC

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ling of Qi, Duke Year of birth unknown Monarchs of Qi (state) 6th-century BC Chinese monarchs 554 BC deaths