The Five Hegemons () refers to several especially powerful rulers of Chinese states of 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 Chinese history (770 to 476 BCE), sometimes alternatively referred to as the "Age of Hegemons". There are various lists of five rulers of those certain states which rose to power over the other states of this time period, states which were also formed during the period of dissolution of a once real and strong central state, namely the empire 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 ...

. The Hegemons mobilized the remnants of the Zhou empire, according to shared mutual political and martial interests. An especially prominent Hegemon was

Duke Huan of Qi Duke Huan of Qi (; died 643 BC), personal name Xiǎobái (小白), was the ruler of the State of Qi from 685 to 643 BC. Living during the chaotic Spring and Autumn period, as the Zhou dynasty's former vassal states fought each other for supremac ...

Pronunciation and meaning

In ancient Chinese, (

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...

: ;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: ) '' has a similar meaning and pronunciation to (Old Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), which means 'the eldest son in a family', or 'senator'. Both and can be translated as the 'Five Hegemons'. () literally means 'five', but in the context of ancient Chinese also has a more generally qualitative and less precisely quantitative use, implying completeness.

Use of the term

During the Spring and Autumn era itself, the hegemony tended to apply to states; it was therefore possible to speak of the State of Jin and the

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 ...

struggling for hegemony over the Zhou states. In historical accounts it instead became associated with individual rulers, namely the ones who first brought their respective states to a dominant position. During the Spring and Autumn period the reigns of each hegemon tended to correspond with the zenith of their state's power.

Timeline of the most prominent hegemons
years in BCE ImageSize = width:200 height:750 PlotArea = left:40 right:0 bottom:80 top:20 Legend = columns:1 left:0 top:60 columnwidth:80 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:450 till:730 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical format:yyyy ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:450 ScaleMinor = increment:5 start:450 Colors= id:classical-hege value:rgb(0.8,0.5,0.5) legend:most_commonly_considered_hegemons id:consi-hege value:rgb(1,0.7,0.7) legend:considered_hegemon_by_some_authors PlotData= from: 727 till: 701 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text:

Duke Zhuang of Zheng Duke Zhuang of Zheng (; 757–701 BC) was the third ruler of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Wusheng (寤生), which means "difficult birth" with breech prese ...

from: 667 till: 643 mark:(line,white) color:classical-hege text:

from: 643 till: 638 mark:(line,white) color:classical-hege text:

Duke Xiang of Song Duke Xiang of Song (宋襄公) (died 637 BC) was the leader in the state of Song in the Spring and Autumn period. His personal name was Zifu (子茲甫) and he took his throne in 650 BC. After the death of the Hegemon of China, Duke Huan of Q ...

from: 636 till: 628 mark:(line,white) color:classical-hege text: Duke Wen of Jin from: 628 till: 621 mark:(line,white) color:classical-hege text:

Duke Mu of Qin Duke Mu of Qin (died 621BC), born Renhao, was a duke of Qin (659–621BC) in the western reaches of the Zhou Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Sometimes considered one of China's Five Hegemons, he greatly expanded ...

from: 613 till: 591 mark:(line,white) color:classical-hege text: King Zhuang of Chu from: 572 till: 558 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text:

Duke Dao of Jin Duke Dao of Jin (, 586–558 BC) was from 573 to 558 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 Zhou (周), and Duke Dao was his posthumous title. ...

from: 514 till: 496 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text: Helü, King of Wu from: 496 till: 476 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text: Fuchai, King of Wu from: 476 till: 465 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text: Goujian, King of Yue

The Hegemon System

The concept of hegemony arose out of the weakness of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Whilst its predecessor, the

Western Zhou dynasty The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong n ...

, was also

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

in nature, the centre was strong enough to command the obedience of most of its vassals, as well as to maintain a central army. The death of

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 ...

and the sack of the Zhou capital in 771 BC rendered the position of the central court untenable and eventually dependent on the protection of neighbouring states. The concept of the Hegemon was important to the interstate relations during the Spring and Autumn period, since the Hegemon was nominally charged with underwriting the stability of the whole system, often heading a league of smaller states whose security was to some extent guaranteed by the state, in exchange for tribute.

The Five Hegemons

These are the two most commonly used lists of hegemons. The

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

lists: *

() *

() * Duke Wen of Jin () *

() * King Zhuang of Chu () Alternatively, the Xunzi lists: * Duke Huan of Qi * Duke Wen of Jin * King Zhuang of Chu * Helü, King of Wu () * Goujian, King of Yue () The first two hegemons are widely referred to in primary sources (e.g. Zuo Zhuan) and therefore rarely disputed because

and Duke Wen of Jin themselves were officially rewarded the hegemony by the kings of Zhou ( King Xi and King Xiang) in 679 BCE and in 632 BCE respectively.Durrant, Li, & Schaberg (translators) (2016). ''Zuo tradition: Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals''. fn. 68 on p. 722. Quote: "Lord Huan of Qi and Lord Wen of Jin figure in all versions."

() and Fuchai, King of Wu, () were also amongst the contenders aside of the seven rulers mentioned above. These lists are: The Ci Tong () lists: *

() * Duke Huan of Qi * Duke Wen of Jin * Duke Mu of Qin * King Zhuang of Chu The lists: * Duke Huan of Qi * Duke Wen of Jin * Duke Mu of Qin * King Zhuang of Chu * Goujian, King of Yue The Bai Hu Tong lists: * Duke Huan of Qi * Duke Wen of Jin * Duke Mu of Qin * King Zhuang of Chu * Helü, King of Wu The

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

lists: * Duke Huan of Qi * Duke Xiang of Song * Duke Wen of Jin * Duke Mu of Qin * Fuchai, King of Wu ()

Pronunciation and meaning

Use of the term

The Hegemon System

The Five Hegemons

Notes

See also