Pi () was a

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 ...

(1045–256 BC)

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back ...

in ancient China. Also known as Xue (), Pi was ruled by members of the ''Ren'' (任) family. Its progenitor

Xi Zhong Xi Zhong ( Chinese: ) was a legendary Xia dynasty minister claimed to have served Yu the Great credited in traditional Chinese sources with the invention of the chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using hors ...

(奚仲), had been the Minister of Chariots (车正) for

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures promine ...

during the

Xia Dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...

(~2070–1600 BCE) who was given land at the confluence of the Dan (丹水) and Yi Rivers (沂水) in the southern part of modern-day

Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

. During the

Western Zhou Dynasty The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong nomad ...

(1046–771 BCE), the State of Pi shares a border with the

State of Song Song (; Old Chinese: *') was a state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China, with its capital at Shangqiu. The state was founded soon after King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1046 BC. It was conquered ...

to the east and the State of Tan (郯国) to the north.

History

Oracle bone Oracle bones () are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy – a form of divination – in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty. '' Scapulimancy'' is the correct term if ox scapulae were used fo ...

inscriptions dating to the

Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally suc ...

(1600–1046 BCE) show the Chinese characters “丕” and “邑” (''literally: grand city'') side by side; these were later combined into the single form “邳”. In the

(1600–1046 BC), Pi was at war with the imperial court in order to resist their attempts to govern the state. Later on, Pi was defeated by the State of Peng. In 418 BCE the

State of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded short ...

moved into Xue's territory forcing its inhabitants to move south into Lower Pi (邳下), which was located on the lower reaches of the

Si River The Si River is a river in Shandong Province, China. It also ran through the area of modern Jiangsu Province until floods in 1194. Course The Si rises in the southern foothills of the Mengshan Mountains (蒙山), then flows through Sishui Count ...

. Upper Pi (邳上) lay to the north along the same river. The state was eventually overthrown by the

State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...

. With its history of more than 1,500 years, Pi made an important contribution to the development of the eastern

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

region.

References

Ancient Chinese states Zhou dynasty {{China-hist-stub