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 th ...
(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 to ...
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 during the 2nd millennium BC. Modern archaeological evidence has not found ...
(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 prominen ...
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
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...
(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 civilizatio ...
.
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 for th ...
inscriptions dating to the
Shang Dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
(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
Shang Dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
(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 shortly ...
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 County ...
. 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 hea ...
.
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
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