Early Han dynasty Qi kingdoms and commanderies

The Qi Kingdom ( zh, 齊國) was a kingdom that existed from the

Chu–Han Contention The Chu–Han Contention ( zh, , lk=on) or Chu–Han War () was an interregnum period in ancient China between the fallen Qin dynasty and the subsequent Han dynasty. After the third and last Qin ruler, Ziying, unconditionally surrendered to ...

period to late 2nd century BC, located in present-day

Shandong 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 ...

and some surrounding areas.

History

The kingdom was established on the former territories of 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 ...

(11th century BC – 221 BC), a great power during the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

until its

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by the Qin. In 206 BC,

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynas ...

divided the

Qin empire The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), th ...

into

Eighteen Kingdoms The historiographical term "Eighteen Kingdoms" ( zh, t=十八國), also translated to as "Eighteen States", refers to the eighteen ''fengjian'' states in China created by military leader Xiang Yu in 206 BCE, after the collapse of the Qin dynasty.� ...

. Three of them – Qi, Jiaodong and Jibei – were founded on Qi territories and were ruled by the former state's aristocrats. In 203 BC, the region was conquered by

Han Xin Han Xin (; 231/230–196 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ear ...

, a prominent military general serving under Liu Bang, the later Emperor Gaozu of

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a wa ...

. Han Xin was briefly granted the title "King of Qi", but was later offered Chu instead. In 201 BC, Emperor Gaozu installed his eldest son Liu Fei as the King of Qi, known posthumously as King Daohui. According to an order by Emperor Gaozu, "All the people who are able to speak the language of Qi shall be granted to Qi ingdom" At the time, Qi consisted of seven commanderies, namely Linzi, Boyang, Jibei, Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Chengyang and Langya. After the death of Emperor Gaozu, the Han court was dominated by

Empress Lü Empress (Dowager) Lü Zhi (241–18 August 180 BC), commonly known as Empress Lü () and formally Empress Gao of Han (), was the empress consort of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They had two known children, Liu Ying (later Em ...

. In 193 BC, Liu Fei offered Chengyang to

Princess Yuan of Lu Princess Yuan of Lu, also called Princess Luyuan (3rd-century BC – 187 BC), was a princess of the Han Dynasty. She was the eldest daughter of the dynasty's founder Emperor Gaozu and Empress Lü Zhi. She had one daughter who was married to he ...

, daughter of Empress Lü, as her fief. In 187 BC, a part of Jinan was split off to form the Kingdom of Lü, ruled by the empress' nephew Lü Tai (呂台). In 181 BC, Langya was also separated from Qi to form a new kingdom held by Liu Ze (劉澤), nephew-in-law of the empress. Liu Fei died in 189 BC and was succeeded by his son Xiang. In 180 BC, Qi participated in the war against the Lü clan. Afterwards, the three commanderies Chengyang, Jinan and Langya was returned to the kingdom. Qi passed to Liu Ze (劉則), a son of Xiang, after the latter's death in 179 BC. Xiang's brothers Zhang and Xingju received Jibei and Chengyang, respectively, as their own kingdoms. Jibei was revoked by the Han government when Xingju attempted to rebel in 177 BC. Ze died in 165 BC, leaving no male issue. Qi was subsequently divided between Fei's surviving sons. The territory under Liu Jianglü (劉將閭) retained the name "Qi", however, it only covered the Linzi Commandery. Jianglü's line continued until 126 BC. In 117 BC, the reigning Emperor Wu granted Qi to his son Liu Hong (劉閎), who also died without issue in 110 BC. Afterwards, the kingdom was converted to the Qi Commandery.

Kings

References

{{reflist Kingdoms of the Han dynasty