Li Ji (; died 651 BCE) was a concubine and later wife of

Duke Xian of Jin Duke Xian of Jin (, died 651 BC), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name Guizhu (詭諸), was the nineteenth ruler of the State of Jin. He was also the ninth ruler of Jin in the Spring and Autumn period and the second duke of Jin. When his father, ...

, ruler of the State of Jin between 676 and 651 BC during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

of ancient China. Li Ji is best known for starting the

Li Ji Unrest The Li Ji Unrest or Rebellion (657–651 BCE) was a series of events that took place in the State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China, caused by Li Ji, the concubine of Duke Xian of Jin, in order to put her son Xiqi onto ...

which led to the suicide of Prince

Shensheng Shensheng (, died 20 February 655 BCESima Qian records the day of Shensheng's suicide as the ''wushen'' day (午申; day 45) of the twelfth month according to the Jin calendar (Sima Qian, 39:1646). This was during the spring according to the Lu c ...

. She also placed her own son

Xiqi Xiqi (, 665–651 BC) was briefly the ruler of the State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was the son of Duke Xian of Jin and his favored concubine Li Ji, and later replaced his older half-brother Shensheng as c ...

on the Jin throne after the death of Duke Xian. She was nicknamed as the "Witch of the Age" () because of her devious acts.

Biography

Li Ji was originally a native of Li Rong (驪戎), one of the northern

Rong Rong or RONG may refer to: Places China *Rong County, Guangxi, Yulin, Guangxi, China *Rong County, Sichuan, Zigong, Sichuan, China Nepal *Rong, Ilam, a rural municipality in Ilam District, Nepal Norway *Rong, Norway, a village in Øygarden m ...

tribes. In 672 BC, the fifth year of his reign, Duke Xian obtained two daughters of leader of the Li Rong tribe: Li Ji and her younger sister, Shao Ji (少姬). Because of her beauty, Li Ji gained the favor of Duke Xian, therefore he had a desire to make Li Ji his main wife. Before doing so he asked the gods through divination whether or not it was wise to do this. The answer he received was that the outcome would not be good. He asked a second time and on receiving a positive response he made Li Ji his main wife, replacing Qi Jiang (齊姜).

Li Ji Unrest

In 665 BC, the twelfth year of the reign of Duke Xian, Li Ji gave birth to Prince

. Since Li Ji wanted her son to be the crown prince, she bribed two of Duke Xian's most trusted officials, Liang Wu (梁五) and Dongguan Biwu (東關嬖五). The two officials persuaded Duke Xian to let

Chong'er Duke Wen of Jin (697–628BC), born Chong'er (literally "Double Ears"), was a scion of the royal house of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. He famously endured a long period of exile from his realm before finally bei ...

, and

Yiwu Yiwu () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua in Central Zhejiang Province, East China. As of the 2020 census, the city had 1,859,390 inhabitants and its built-up (or metro) area, joined with that of the neighboring Dongy ...

leave the capital, Jiang (絳). The officials told the duke that the northern Rong and Di tribes frequently attacked Jin such that the princes were needed to defend their territory. Duke Xian then sent Prince Shensheng to defend

Quwo Quwo County () is a county under the administration of Linfen city, in southern Shanxi Province Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The ca ...

. Duke Xian also sent Chong'er to defend the city of Pu (蒲), northwest of modern Xi County in Shanxi, and Yiwu to Erqu (二屈), modern Ji County in Shanxi. In 656 BC, the 21st year of the reign of Duke Xian, Li Ji plotted a scheme whereby Prince Shensheng went to Quwo and offered sacrifices for his deceased mother, Qi Jiang. Shensheng sent some of the food blessed by the gods to Duke Xian. Li Ji had secretly placed poison in the food in order to frame Shensheng for murder. Before Duke Xian began eating, he gave a part of the food to a dog to check for poison whereupon the dog immediately collapsed. Discovering the poison in the food, Duke Xian sent men to Quwo to arrest Shensheng. Upon hearing the news, Shensheng committed suicide. After Shensheng's suicide Li Ji falsely accused Chong'er and Yiwu of revolting, and the two princes escaped to Pu and Erqu, respectively. In 655 BC, the 22nd year of his reign, Duke Xian sent troops to Pu and Erqu to capture Chong'er and Yiwu. Chong'er and some of his loyal subjects escaped to the Di tribe, where his mother came from. Prince Yiwu also escaped. On the ninth month of 651 BC, Duke Xian died. Li Ji placed her 15-year-old son Xiqi on the throne and made Xun Xi the chancellor to help him in government affairs. In the tenth month of 651 BC, Jin general Li Ke (里克) killed Xiqi roughly a month after his ascension. Duke Xian was not yet properly buried at that time. Xun Xi then placed

Zhuozi Zhuozi ( mn, ; ) is a county of Ulanqab prefecture-level city, which in turn is part of Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border i ...

on the throne even though he was still a toddler. After that, Xun Xi finished the burial of Duke Xian of Jin. On the eleventh month of 651 BC, Li Ke killed Zhuozi. According to '' Discourses of the States'' and ''

Biographies of Exemplary Women The ''Biographies of Exemplary Women'' () is a book compiled by the Han dynasty scholar Liu Xiang c. 18 BCE. It includes 125 biographical accounts of exemplary women in ancient China, taken from early Chinese histories including '' Chunqiu'', ' ...

'', Li Ke also had Li Ji flogged and killed.''Lienü zhuan'' "Depraved Favourites
Jin Duke Xian's Li Ji
quote: "獻公卒，奚齊立，里克殺之。卓子立，又殺之。乃戮驪姬，鞭而殺之。" Xun Xi then committed suicide by hanging himself. Shao Ji, the younger sister of Li Ji and mother of Zhuozi, was imprisoned. Li Ke then invited Prince Chong'er who was then in 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 sh ...

back to ascend the Jin throne, but Chong'er declined. Li Ke then invited Prince Yiwu who was then in the State of Liang and he accepted. Yiwu ascended the throne and became

Duke Hui of Jin Duke Hui of Jin (died 637BC), born Yiwu, was the duke of Jin (.650–637BC) during the Spring and Autumn Period of China's Zhou dynasty. Life Early life Yiwu was one of the nine sons of Duke Xian. His mother was Xiao Rongzi. He was the young ...

Legacy

She is included in the "Biographies of Pernicious and Depraved Women" of the ''Biographies of Eminent women'' (Lienü zhuan). Lily Xiao Hong Lee, A. D. Stefanowska, Sue Wiles. 2007.

References

{{Reflist Zhou dynasty nobility Jin (Chinese state) 651 BC deaths 7th-century BC Chinese women Year of birth unknown 7th-century BC Chinese people