Duke Huai of Jin, personal name Ji Yu, was briefly the

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 in 637 BC.

Life

Yu's father was the future Duke Hui of Jin, who married a princess of Liang during his exile there. Ji became known as when his father assumed the duchy of Jin. In 643 BC, Prince Yu was sent to 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 ...

as a hostage, where he married Princess Huai Ying (懷嬴), a daughter of

Duke Mu of Qin Duke Mu of Qin (died 621BC), born Ying Renhao, was a duke of the state of Qin. Sometimes considered one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Mu greatly expanded the territory of Qin during the reign of King Xiang of Zhou. ...

, the powerful ruler of Qin at the time. In 641 BC, Qin conquered and annexed Liang. In 638 BC, Duke Hui of Jin became ill. As Prince Yu was a hostage in Qin and his mother's state had been destroyed, he was worried that Duke Hui might replace him as crown prince with one of his other sons. He decided to escape back to Jin. Huai Ying refused to escape with him but agreed not to reveal his plan. Duke Hui died in the ninth month of 637 BC, and Prince Yu ascended the throne, to be known as Duke Huai of Jin. Duke Mu of Qin, however, was angry at Prince Yu for his escape from Qin and supported Duke Hui's brother

Chong'er Duke Wen of Jin (697–628BC), personal name Ji Chong'er, was duke of the Jin state from 636 BC to 628 BC. He was exiled from Jin for approximately 20 years before finally assuming the throne and rapidly leading Jin to hegemony over the other ...

. He even married five of his daughters, including Huai Ying, to Chong'er. With the support of the Qin army, as well as Jin generals Luan Zhi and Xi Hu (郤縠), Chong'er killed Duke Huai at Gaoliang and ascended the throne as Duke Wen of Jin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huai of Jin, Duke Year of birth unknown Monarchs of Jin (Chinese state) 7th-century BC Chinese monarchs 630s BC deaths 7th-century BC murdered monarchs Assassinated Chinese politicians Assassinated Chinese heads of state Ancient assassinated Chinese people