Guan (; c. 1046–1040 BC) was an ancient Chinese

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

in present-day

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

. Its capital was Guancheng or Guan City () in present-day

Guancheng Hui District Guancheng Hui District (; Xiao'erjing: ) is one of 6 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, China. The District government is located in this district. The ruins of a Shang Dynasty city, () are ...

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the Nationa ...

and its power was limited to the immediate surrounding area. Guan was established soon after the founding 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 ...

as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much ...

for King Wu's younger brother, who was known as

Guan Shu Xian Guan Shu Xian () was the first and only ruler of the Chinese state of Guan and a younger of brother of King Wu of Zhou. He was the third son of King Wen of Zhou, and one of the Three Guards responsible for overseeing the eastern lands of the n ...

. The three brothers Guan Shu Xian, Huo Shu Chu, and

Cai Shu Du Cai Shu Du or Shu Du of Cai ( Chinese: , given name Du (), was the first ruler of the State of Cai. Du was the fifth son of King Wen of Zhou and his wife Taisi (). He had ten brothers and eight half-brothers. His elder brothers were Kao ( Boyi ...

were known as the

Three Guards The Rebellion of the Three Guards (), or less commonly the Wu Geng Rebellion (), was a civil war, instigated by an alliance of discontent Zhou princes, Shang loyalists, vassal states and other non-Zhou peoples against the Western Zhou government ...

, for their territories' function protecting the Zhou homeland. Following the death of King Wu, however, the Three Guards and

Wu Geng Wu Geng or Wugeng ( Chinese: ''Wǔgēng''), a.k.a. ''Lùfù'', was an ancient Chinese noble who was the son of Zhou, the last king of the Shang. After his father executed Bigan by cutting out his heart, Wugeng fled to Feng, the capital of the Z ...

rebelled against the regency of the

Duke of Zhou Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou (), commonly known as the Duke of Zhou (), was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for acting ...

. His victory led to the dissolution of Guan.

See also