Cai (;

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

: *s.r̥ˤat-s) was an ancient Chinese state established at the beginning of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

, rising to prominence during the Spring and Autumn period, and destroyed early in the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

History

Following his overthrow of the Shang king Zhou, King Wu of Zhou granted titles and territories to his younger brothers. The fifth brother, Cai Shu Du, was enfeoffed at present-day Shangcai (lit. "Upper Cai") in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

. During the Three Guards Rebellion, he attempted to usurp the Duke of Zhou's position as regent to the young king and his defeat meant his deposition and exile. Du's son Ji Hu, however, proved a loyal and capable ambassador for Cheng and the Duke of Zhou, and they rewarded him with the reestablishment of his father's territory and title, which he was able to pass on to his son, Ji Huang. As the Chinese peerage developed, Cai was initially considered a county and then elevated to a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

; it was never able, however, to become a duchy or kingdom in its own right. Invasions from Chu during the Spring and Autumn period relocated Cai several times, first to Xincai (lit. "New Cai") in 531 BC and later to Xiacai (lit. "Lower Cai") at present-day Fengtai in

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

. In 447 BC, King Hui of Chu conquered Cai completely, but allowed the marquesses to settle near Changde in

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

and establish a rump state called Gaocai (lit. "Tall Cai"). This was destroyed 80 years later.

Legacy

With the spread of

surnames In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several giv ...

to all Chinese during the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

, many people from the former state took the surname Cai in memory of their former home. These former subjects have undertaken two major migrations. During the Huang Chao Rebellion against the Tang in AD 875, the Cai clan moved to

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

. A later migration occurred when the Ming loyalist Koxinga relocated many Cai officers to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in the 17th century.

Rulers of Cai

The rulers of Cai were all descended from the Zhou imperial Ji family and – after the first three – held the rank of Hou (translated as " Marquis"). # Shu Du of Cai # Zhong Hu of Cai # Earl Huang of Cai # Marquis Gōng of Cai (蔡宮侯, ''Cài Gōnghóu'') # Marquis Li of Cai (蔡厲侯, ''Cài Lìhóu'') # Marquis Wu of Cai (蔡武侯, ''Cài Wǔhóu''; 863–837 BC) # Marquis Yi of Cai (蔡夷侯, ''Cài Yíhóu''; 837–809 BC) # Marquis Xi of Cai (蔡釐侯, ''Cài Xihóu''; 809–761 BC) # Marquis Gòng of Cai (蔡共侯, ''Cài Gònghóu''; 761–760 BC) # Marquis Dai of Cai (蔡戴侯, ''Cài Dàihóu''; 759–750 BC) # Marquis Xuan of Cai (蔡宣侯, ''Cài Xuānhóu''; 749–715 BC) # Marquis Huan of Cai (蔡桓侯, ''Cài Huánhóu''; né 姬封人, ''Jī Fēngrén''; 714–695 BC) # Marquis Ai of Cai (蔡哀侯, ''Cài Āihóu''; né 姬獻舞, ''Jī Xiànwǔ''; 694–675 BC) # Marquis Mu of Cai (蔡穆侯, ''Cài Mùhóu''; né 姬肸, ''Jī Xì''; 674–646 BC) # Marquis Zhuang of Cai (蔡莊侯, ''Cài Zhuānghóu''; né 姬甲午, ''Jī Jiǎwǔ''; 645–612 BC) # Marquis Wen of Cai (蔡文侯, ''Cài Wénhóu''; né 姬申, ''Jī Shēn''; 611–592 BC) # Marquis Jing of Cai (蔡景侯, ''Cài Jǐnghóu''; né 姬固, ''Jī Gù''; 591–543 BC) # Marquis Ling of Cai (蔡靈侯, ''Cài Línghóu''; né 姬般, ''Jī Bān''; 542–531 BC) # Marquis Ping of Cai (蔡平侯, ''Cài Pínghóu''; né 姬廬, ''Jī Lú''; 530–522 BC) # Marquis Dao of Cai (蔡悼侯, ''Cài Dàohóu''; né 姬東國, ''Jī Dōngguó''; 521–519 BC) # Marquis Zhao of Cai (蔡昭侯, ''Cài Zhāohóu''; né 姬申, ''Jī Shēn''; 518–491 BC) # Marquis Cheng of Cai (蔡成侯, ''Cài Chénghóu''; né 姬朔, ''Jī Shuò''; 490–472 BC) # Marquis Sheng of Cai (蔡聲侯, ''Cài Shēnghóu''; né 姬産, ''Jī Chuǎn''; 471–457 BC) # Marquis Yuan of Cai (蔡元侯, ''Cài Yuánhóu''; 456–451 BC) # Marquis Qi of Cai (蔡齊侯, ''Cài Hóuqí''; né 姬齊, ''Jī Qí''; 450–447 BC)

Rulers family tree

References

"History of Chinese surnames: Cai"
at People's Daily Online. Accessed 10 December 2007. {{coord missing, China States and territories established in the 11th century BC 11th-century BC establishments in China 447 BC States and territories disestablished in the 5th century BC 5th-century BC disestablishments in China Former monarchies Zhou dynasty Warring States period

History

Legacy

Rulers of Cai

Rulers family tree

See also

References