Duke Xiang of Qin (, died 766 BC) was from 777 to 766 BC the sixth 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 ...

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back t ...

of Qin, which eventually unified 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 Xiang 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 ...

. He was the first Qin ruler to be granted a nobility rank by the king of Zhou; under his reign, Qin was formally recognized as a major

of Zhou China.

Accession to the throne

Duke Xiang was not the eldest son of his father Duke Zhuang of Qin. Duke Zhuang had three sons, and Shifu (世父) was the eldest and therefore the legal heir. However, Shifu refused the throne, and would rather devote his life to campaigning against the

Rong Rong or RONG may refer to: Places China * Rong County, Guangxi, Yulin, Guangxi, China * Rong County, Sichuan, Zigong, Sichuan, China Nepal * Rong, Ilam, a rural municipality in Ilam District, Nepal Norway * Rong, Norway, a village in Øygard ...

tribes in order to avenge the death of his grandfather

Qin Zhong Qin Zhong or Zhong of Qin (, died 822 BC) was the fourth ruler of the state of Qin (r. 844 to 822 BC) during China's Zhou dynasty. Qin at the time was a small fief that had been granted to his great-grandfather Feizi for his work breeding horse ...

, who was killed in battle against the Rong in 822 BC. Duke Xiang was then made the Crown Prince, and succeeded his father when Duke Zhuang died in 778 BC.

War with the Rong tribes

Duke Xiang ruled during a time of turmoil. The

had been at war with the western

tribes since the time of Duke Xiang's grandfather

. Qin, being the westernmost of the Zhou states, bore the brunt of the fighting against the Rong. Soon after Duke Xiang ascended the throne, in 777 BC he married his younger sister Mu Ying to a Rong leader called King Feng (豐王) in an apparent attempt to make peace. The following year he moved the Qin capital eastward from Quanqiu (犬丘, also called Xichui, in present-day

Li County, Gansu Li County or Lixian is an administrative division of the prefecture-level city of Longnan in southeastern Gansu, a northwestern province of China. The 2010 Chinese census found a population of 458,237, a decline of around 25,000 from the year 200 ...

) to Qian (汧, in present-day

Long County, Shaanxi Long County or Longxian () is a county of Baoji, in the west of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Gansu province to the north and west. History Longxian was formerly known as Longzhou (陇州), and named for being east of Longshan, which is th ...

). Soon afterwards Quanqiu fell to the Rong. Shifu, Duke Xiang's older brother who led the defence of Quanqiu, was captured by the Rong, but was released a year later.

Enfeoffment

In 771 BC

King You of Zhou King You of Zhou (; 795–771 BC), personal name Ji Gongsheng, was the twelfth king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty and the last of Western Zhou Dynasty. He reigned from 781 to 771 BC. History In 780 BC, a major earthquake hit Guanzhong. A sooths ...

deposed Crown Prince

Yijiu King Ping of Zhou (; died 720 BC), personal name Ji Yijiu, was the thirteenth king of the Zhou dynasty and the first of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Sima Qian. '' Records of the Grand Historian'', "Zhou Dynasty Annals". History He was the son of ...

and made

Bofu Bofu (779 BCE – 771 BCE) (), sometimes referred to as Bopan (伯盘), was the son of Chinese Zhou dynasty monarch King You of Zhou and his concubine Bao Si. After Baosi entered the royal palace, King You deposed Queen Shen (申后) and her son Cr ...

, the son of his favorite concubine

Bao Si Bao Si () was the concubine of the ancient Chinese sovereign King You of Zhou. She was considered one of the most beautiful Chinese women ever. Life Legends record that during the last years of the Xia dynasty, two dragons entered the palace of ...

, the new crown prince. Yijiu was the son of Queen Shen who was the daughter of Marquis of Shen. Marquis of Shen rebelled at the news and made an alliance with the

Quanrong The Quanrong () or Dog Rong were an ethnic group, classified by the ancient Chinese as " Qiang", active in the northwestern part of China during and after the Zhou dynasty (1046–221 BCE). Their language or languages are considered to have been me ...

tribe to attack the Zhou capital Haojing, killing King You at Mount Li. Marquis of Shen and other feudal rulers then installed Prince Yijiu on the Zhou throne as

King Ping of Zhou King Ping of Zhou (; died 720 BC), personal name Ji Yijiu, was the thirteenth king of the Zhou dynasty and the first of the Eastern Zhou dynasty.Sima Qian. ''Records of the Grand Historian'', "Zhou Dynasty Annals". History He was the son of Kin ...

. As Haojing was now ruined and still under the threat of the Quanrong, it was decided that the Zhou capital would be moved east to

Luoyi Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...

, and Duke Xiang sent the Qin army to escort King Ping to Luoyi and established him at the new capital. This event marked the start of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. To reward Duke Xiang's contribution, King Ping formally granted him a nobility rank and enfeoffed him as a feudal lord. Qin was now elevated from a minor "attached state" (附庸, ''fuyong'') to a major

. King Ping further promised to give Qin the land west of Qishan, the former heartland of Zhou, if Qin could expel the Rong tribes that were occupying the land.

Death and succession

In 766 BC, the 12th year of his reign, Duke Xiang died while campaigning against the

in Qishan. He was succeeded by his son Duke Wen of Qin. He was buried in Quanqiu and his tomb has been discovered in Li County,

Gansu Province Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiang of Qin, Duke Year of birth unknown Rulers of Qin 8th-century BC Chinese monarchs 766 BC deaths