Lü Wukui () was ruler of the Qi state for three months in early 642 BC. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Duke Xiao.

Accession to the throne

Wukui's father and predecessor was

Duke Huan of Qi Duke Huan of Qi (), personal name Lü Xiaobai, was a duke of the Qi state, ruling from 685 BC to 643 BC. Duke Huan and his long-time advisor Guan Zhong managed to transform Qi into China's most powerful polity. Duke Huan is commonly listed amo ...

, who was the first of the

Five Hegemons The Five Hegemons (), also referred to as the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period (), refers to several especially powerful rulers of Chinese states of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history (770–476 BCE), sometimes alternat ...

, the most powerful rulers of the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

. Duke Huan had at least three main wives who bore no sons, six favoured concubines, and more than ten sons. Wukui's mother was the elder Wey Ji, one of the two princesses of the State of Wey who were among Duke Huan's favoured concubines. However, the crown prince of Qi was Prince Zhao (later Duke Xiao), who was born to Zheng Ji, a princess of the State of Zheng. Four other sons of Duke Huan also contended for the throne: Prince Pan (later Duke Zhao), Prince Shangren (later Duke Yi), Prince Yuan (later Duke Hui), and Prince Yong. When Duke Huan died in the tenth month of 643 BC, the six princes fought each other for the throne. After two months of fighting Wukui prevailed and ascended the throne in the twelfth month. Crown Prince Zhao fled to the

State of Song Song was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty 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 by the state of ...

. During the unrest Duke Huan's corpse lay unattended for 67 days, and became so badly decomposed that worms crawled out of his room.

Death

Wukui sat on the throne for only three months before being killed. In the third month of 642 BC, Crown Prince Zhao, the legal heir of Duke Huan, returned with the army of

Duke Xiang of Song Duke Xiang of Song (宋襄公) (died 637 BC) was the leader in the state of Song in the Spring and Autumn period. His personal name was Zifu (子茲甫) and he took his throne in 650 BC. After the death of the Hegemon of China, Duke Huan of Qi, ...

. The people of Qi killed Wukui and intended to install Prince Zhao on the throne, but the supporters of the other four princes attacked and drove Prince Zhao back to the State of Song. Two months later, the Song army returned and defeated the forces of the four princes, and Crown Prince Zhao finally ascended the throne, to be known as Duke Xiao of Qi.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wukui Monarchs of Qi (state) from the House of Jiang 7th-century BC Chinese monarchs 640s BC deaths Year of birth unknown