Dou Yuejiao, ancestral name Mi, clan name

Ruo'ao Ruo'ao (, died 764 BC) was from 790 to 764 BC the monarch of the state of Chu (state), Chu during the Western Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. Born Xiong Yi (), he was the first Chu ruler to be given a posthumous title. Like other early Chu ruler ...

, was a Chu politician and aristocrat during 7th century BCE. He was best known for being the initiator of the Ruo'ao rebellion, a rebellion of Ruo'ao clan against

King Zhuang of Chu King Zhuang of Chu (, reigned 613-591 BC) was a monarch of the Zhou dynasty State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His personal name was Xiong Lü (), his ancestral name was Mi (), and his posthumous title was King Zhua ...

Life

Yuejiao was the son of Dou Ziliang () and the nephew of Dou Guwutu (). His family was a cadet branch of Chu's ruling house Mi- Xiong. The Ruo'ao clan; consists of Dou and Cheng, descended from king

of Chu. When Yuejiao was young, he was said to be resented by his uncle Guwutu. Guwutu, according to Zuo Zhuan, described him a "wolf poppy with a savage heart"() and believed that Yuejiao will bring disasters to the Ruo'ao clan.

Viscount Xuan of Zhao Zhao Dun (; died 601 BCE), posthumously known as Zhao Xuanzi(; Xuanzi of Zhao), was a Chinese monarch and politician. He was a nobleman and minister of the State of Jin. He was the son of Zhao Cui and Shu Kui of Qionggaoru. He led the Zhao clan ...

, a retainer of Jin, also had a negative view on the Ruo'ao clan led by Yuejiao. King Zhuang of Chu succeeded Chu's throne in a young age, Cheng Jia () of Ruo'ao was the Lingyin of Chu. The king find himself devoid of any actual political influence over his nation. After Cheng Jia's death, King Zhuang promoted Wei Jia () to the post of Lingyin, weakening Ruo'aos power. Wei Jia was explicitly hostile to Ruo'aos. Under his advice, the King executed prime minister Dou Ban. Although king Zhuang soon appointed Yuejiao as the successor of Ban, Wei Jia was given the post of Sima, the supreme military commander of Chu. This arrangement of power intensified the hostilities between Ruo'ao and Wei clan. Since Wei Jia and King Zhuang's had become imminent threats to the Ruo'ao clan. Yuejiao reacted to this predicament by imprisoning Wei Jia in Liaoyang (Today's

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean) * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...

Henan province Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

) and killing him. He then organized his troops in Zhengye (Today's

Xinye Xinye () is one of the counties of Nanyang that lies in the southwest of Henan province, China. To the south lies the prefecture-level city of Xiangyang in Hubei province, to the east is Tanghe County and to the west is the county-level city of ...

) and openly started an armed rebellion against king Zhuang of Chu in 605 BCE. The rebellion was initially successful and king Zhuang had agreed to truce. However, Yuejiao rejected the king's proposal and fought with him in the battle of Gaohu (Today's

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

). The battle turned out to be a victory of king Zhuang. Yuejiao was killed during the battle. After the rebellion was put down, the majority of Ruo'ao clansmen were executed by King Zhuang of Chu. Only Dou Kehuang, the son of Yuejiao's cousin Dou Ban, was forgiven. The fall of Ruo'aos were still mentioned more than 17 centuries later by

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...

in his work

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

. Even long after the death of Dou Yuejiao, the remaining members of Ruo'ao clan were severely discriminated in Chu. In 530 BCE, more than seventy years after the Ruo'ao rebellion,

king Ling of Chu King Ling of Chu was king of the State of Chu between 540 and 529 BC. His birth name was Xiong Wei () and before ascending the throne he was known as Prince Wei (). Taking the throne Wei was the second son of King Gong of Chu, younger brother ...

executed Cheng Hu () due to the fact that he was a Ruo'ao. Yuejiao's son Dou Benhuang () fled to the state of Jin and would later avenge his father's death in the

battle of Yanling The Battle of Yanling () was fought in 575 BC between the states of Chu and Jin at Yanling during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. On the Jin side, Xi Qi () commanded the right wing whilst Luan Shu Luan may refer to: Places ...

References

{{reflist Lingyin of Chu Zhou dynasty nobility 7th-century BC births 600s BC deaths