Shensheng (, died 20 February 655 BCE

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...

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 calendar, as recorded in the

Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The '' Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...

(僖5:300§5.1). On the first day of the ninth month of the same year – also an ''wushen'' day – a total eclipse was recorded, which

Yang Bojun Yang Bojun (; 1 September 1909 − 1992) was a Chinese philologist best known for his ''Chunqiu Zuozhuan Zhu'' (), an annotated commentary of the ancient Chinese historical text and Confucian classic '' Zuo Zhuan''. The work took him more than t ...

calculates as being the eclipse of 19 August 655 BCE (''idem.'' p 301§5.8 nn). Shensheng's death took place exactly three sixty-day cycles previously, i.e. 20 February 655 BCE. See Yang Bojun in ''Zuozhuan'', p 300§5.1 for the interval between the Lu and Jin calendars according to Gu Donggao ( 顧棟高) and why Shensheng's death is traditionally dated to 656 BCE; Zhang Peiyu p 133 for the calendars of the years in question.), ancestral name Ji (姬), was the eldest son of Duke Xian of Jin and the Crown Prince of the State of Jin before being replaced by his half-brother

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 cr ...

. One of his sisters, Lady Mu, later became the wife of

Duke Mu of Qin Duke Mu of Qin (died 621BC), born Renhao, was a duke of Qin (659–621BC) in the western reaches of the Zhou Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Sometimes considered one of China's Five Hegemons, he greatly expanded ...

Biography

Shensheng was the son of Qi Jiang (齊姜), the first wife of Duke Xian of Jin. Because Duke Xian of Jin favored his concubine Li Ji, in 665 BCE he sent away three of his older sons. Shensheng was sent to live in Quwo, modern

Quwo County 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 ...

Shanxi 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 capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...

. In 661 BCE, in order to ensure Shensheng's continued political isolation from the Jin court, Duke Xian split a branch off his army and made Shensheng its general, with the command to garrison Quwo. Three years later, Duke Xian officially replaced Shensheng as crown prince with Li Ji's son Xiqi. In 656 BCE, the Li Ji Rebellion started with the scheme that caused the suicide of Shensheng. Shensheng was asked to offer sacrifices to 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 killed Shensheng's teacher Du Yuankuan (杜原款) and sent men to Quwo to arrest Shensheng. Shensheng was advised to defend himself in front of Duke Xian by revealing Li Ji's plot. Shensheng replied that he wouldn't like to break his father's heart by revealing Li Ji's plot. When Chong'er advised him to escape, he replied that if he escaped it would appear as if he really had planned to kill his father, and no one in the world would protect him then. Shensheng subsequently hanged himself. Due to the filial piety and loyalty of Shensheng, he was given the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments o ...

"Gong Taizi" (恭太子) or "Gong Shizi" (恭世子), both meaning "the respectful crown prince". According to the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'',

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 ...

disrespectfully transferred Shensheng's burial to another place which made the spirit of Shensheng angry. The spirit of Shensheng then appeared in front of the Jin official Hu Tu (狐突) and told him that Shensheng has pleaded to the heavenly god to let the

State of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted e ...

conquer the State of Jin as a punishment. After persuasions made by Hu Tu, Shensheng replied that the heavenly god has allowed that Duke Hui of Jin be defeated in battle at the land of Han as a punishment. After that, the spirit disappeared.Sima Qian, 39:1651.

References

Bibliography

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