Ji () was an ancient state in northern China during the Shang and

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=西周, p=Xīzhōu; 771 BC) was a period of Chinese history corresponding roughly to 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 in 77 ...

dynasties from at least the 11th century to the 7th century BC. The state was based in the walled City of Ji, or Jicheng, located in the modern day Guang'anmen neighborhood of southwestern

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Around 7th century BC, Ji was conquered by the larger State of Yan, which took the City of Ji as its capital. The city remained the primary urban center in the area until the 13th century, when Kublai Khan built the larger city of Dadu to the northwest, which eventually absorbed the City of Ji.(Chinese
"《北京传统文化便览》--北京燕山出版社"
2004-03-23

History

Ji was a small state during the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

that was inhabited by a tribe that was said to have descended from the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

, and became one of the vassal states of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. According to

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

's ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'', King Wu of Zhou, in the 11th year of his reign, deposed King Zhou of Shang and conferred titles to nobles within his domain, including the rulers of the city states Ji and Yan. According to the '' Book of Rites'', King Wu of Zhou was so eager to establish his legitimacy after his battle victory over the Shang that before dismounting from his wagon, he named the descendants of the Yellow Emperor to the State of Ji. This was the first mention of Ji in history. The 11th year of the reign of King Wu of Zhou approximates to 1045 BC. The Beijing Municipal Government designates 1045 BC as the first year of the city's history.蓟城纪念柱
/ref> The capital of the state was the walled City of Ji or Jicheng (t 薊城, s 蓟城, ''Jìchéng''). The city was located in the southwestern part of present-day Beijing, just south of Guang'anmen in Xicheng and Fengtai Districts. At about the 7th century BC, Ji was absorbed by neighboring Yan, which made the City of Ji, its capital.

References

{{Zhou Dynasty topics History of Beijing Ancient Chinese states States of the Spring and Autumn period 11th-century BC establishments in China 7th-century BC disestablishments in China Yan (state) States and territories disestablished in the 7th century BC

History

See also

References