Lai (), also known as Laiyi (), was an ancient
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 ...
state located in what is now eastern
Shandong Province, recorded in the ''
Book of Xia''. Tang Shanchun () believes ''lái'' means "mountain" in the
Old Yue language, while th
Yue Jue Shu() says ''lai'' means "wilderness".
History
Lai was a traditional enemy of the
State of Qi
Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a ancient Chinese state, regional state of the Zhou dynasty in History of China#Ancient China, ancient China, whose rulers held Zhou dynasty nobility, titles of ''Hou'' (), then ''Gong (title), Go ...
to its west. As soon as
Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya ( century BC – 11th century BC), also known by several other names, also known by his posthumous name as the Duke Tai of Qi, was the founding monarch of the Qi state.
He was a military general and strategist who as ...
, the first ruler of Qi, was enfeoffed at Qi, the state of Lai attacked its capital at
Yingqiu
Linzi () was the capital city of the Chinese Qi (state), Qi state. The ruins of the city lie in modern-day Linzi District, Shandong, China. The city was one of the largest and richest in China during the Spring and Autumn period. Upon occupying ...
. In 567 BC, Lai attacked Qi but was decisively defeated by
Duke Ling of Qi, and its last ruler Furou,
Duke Gong of Lai, was killed.
Lai was a large state, and Qi more than doubled in size after annexing Lai.
The people (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 ...
) were moved to Laiwu
Laiwu () was a prefecture-level city in central Shandong Province (China), Province, China. Bordered the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east and Tai'an to the southwest, it was the smallest prefecture-level city in the p ...
, where Mencius
Mencius (孟子, ''Mèngzǐ'', ; ) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage () to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. He was part of Confucius's fourth generation of disciples, inheriting ...
later called them the ''Qídōng yěrén'' (), the "savages of eastern Qi".
Rulers of Lai
*Furou (), Duke Gong of Lai () ?–567 BC
See also
* Mount Penglai (蓬萊山)
* Penglai Pavilion (蓬萊閣)
* Penglai, Shandong (蓬萊市 / 蓬萊區)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lai (State)
Ancient Chinese states
States of the Spring and Autumn period
History of Shandong
Zhou dynasty