Duke Li of Jin (), personal name Ji Zhoupu or Ji Shouman, was a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of the Jin state. Duke Li succeeded his father, Duke Jing, who abdicated after falling ill in the summer of 581 BC. Duke Jing died a month later.

Battle of Masui

In 580 BC, the first year of his reign, Duke Li made an alliance with Duke Huan of the

State of Qin Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

. The alliance did not last, however, as Jin attacked Qin two years later and defeated Qin at Masui (麻隧).

Battle of Yanling

Duke Li fought and won one of the most significant battles of the Spring and Autumn period, the Battle of Yanling, against Jin's archrival, the

State of Chu Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

. In 577 BC, the Jin vassal state Zheng attacked the Chu vassal state Xu (許). The next year Chu attacked Zheng in revenge, and forced Zheng to switch its loyalty to Chu. Zheng then attacked

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, another Jin vassal state. In 575 BC, Duke Li raised an army to attack Zheng, while

King Gong of Chu King Gong of Chu (), personal name Xiong Shen, was king of the Chu state from 590 BC to 560 BC. King Gong succeeded his father, King Zhuang, who was one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period. In 575 BC, Chu was defeated by its ar ...

led the Chu army north to defend his new ally. The two forces met at Yanling, and Jin defeated Chu by attacking its weaker flanks manned by the poorly trained Zheng and

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 Jap ...

soldiers. During the battle King Gong was shot in the eye by an arrow. Despite his wound, at the end of the day King Gong summoned the chief military commander Zifan to discuss the battle plan for the next day, but caught Zifan drunk. King Gong decided to retreat and Zifan later committed suicide. Chapter XVI.

Struggle against the clans

Although Jin regained its status as the leader of the Spring and Autumn states by defeating Chu, it would soon be riven by internal strife that would eventually lead to its partition into the new states of Han, Zhao, and Wei. During the reign of Duke Li the Xi (郤) clan, led by Xi Qi (郤錡), Xi Chou (郤犨), and Xi Zhi (郤至) – together called the three Xis – was one of the most powerful clans that dominated Jin politics. In 573 BC Duke Li struck the Xi clan and killed the three Xis. However, two other clans, the Luan (欒氏) led by Luan Shu (欒書), and the Zhonghang (中行氏) led by Zhonghang Yan (中行偃), staged a coup d'etat and imprisoned Duke Li. The Luan and Zhonghang clans installed Zhou, a prince from a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the ruling House of Ji, on the Jin throne. Zhou would later be known as Duke Dao of Jin. Duke Li was killed soon afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li of Jin, Duke Year of birth unknown Monarchs of Jin (Chinese state) 6th-century BC Chinese monarchs 570s BC deaths