Song (;

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

: *') was a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

during the

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 ...

of ancient China, with its capital at

Shangqiu Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectivel ...

. The state was founded soon after

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC. King Wu's ancestral name was ...

conquered 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 ...

to establish the

in 1046 BC. It was conquered by 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 ...

in 286 BC, during the

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

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

was a descendant of a Song nobleman who moved to the State of Lu.

Origin

King Zhou of Shang, Di Xin was the younger brother of Zi Qi (who was said in legends to have ruled

Gija Joseon Gija Joseon (1120–194 BC) was a dynasty of Gojoseon allegedly founded by the sage Jizi (Gija), a member of the Shang dynasty royal house. Concrete evidence for Jizi's role in the history of Gojoseon is lacking, and the narrative has been c ...

in the 11th century BCE) and Zi Yan () (later rulers of Zhou's vassal state Song), father of

Wu Geng Wu Geng or Wugeng (Chinese: ''Wǔgēng''), a.k.a. ''Lùfù'', was an ancient Chinese noble who was the son of Zhou, the last king of the Shang. After his father executed Bigan by cutting out his heart, Wugeng fled to Feng, the capital of the Zhou ...

. After

overthrew the last ruler of Shang, marking the transition to the

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 ...

, the victor was honor-bound by a stricture of feudal etiquette known as () to allow the defeated house of

Shang 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 f ...

to continue offering sacrifices to their ancestors. As a result, for a time Shang became a vassal state of Zhou, with the Shang heir Wu Geng allowed to continue ancestor worship at

Yin Yin may refer to: *the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine *Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty **Yinxu or Yin, the S ...

(). However, after King Wu's death, Wu Geng fomented a rebellion with an alliance of eastern states, and was killed by the

Duke of Zhou Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou (), commonly known as the Duke of Zhou (), was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for acting ...

. Another Shang royal family descendant, Weizi, was granted land at

(, "the hill of Shang"), where the capital of the new state of Song was built. A sign of its descent from the Shang is that the state of Song in its early period followed the succession principle of

agnatic seniority Agnatic seniority is a patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children (the next generation) succeed only after the males ...

, rather than

agnatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

like the Zhou.

History

In 701 BC, a political marriage between Lady Yong of Song () and

Duke Zhuang of Zheng Duke Zhuang of Zheng (; 757–701 BC) was the third ruler of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Wusheng (寤生), which means "difficult birth" with breech pr ...

(as well as the capture of Zhai Zhong (), a leading warrior) empowered Song to manipulate the administration of

Zheng Zheng may refer to: *Zheng (surname), Chinese surname (鄭, 郑, ''Zhèng'') *Zheng County, former name of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, China *Guzheng (), a Chinese zither with bridges *Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC), emperor of the Qin Dynasty, ...

. In 651 BC, Duke Huan of Song () died, leaving the district to be ruled by Duke Xiang, who reigned from 651 to 637BC. He was considered a

Hegemon Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over other city-states. ...

by some, but was unable to maintain that role. He eventually fell to the troops of Chu. In 355BC, Dai Ticheng (), a distant relative of the ruling royal line and once a minister of Duke Huan II, managed to usurp the throne. In 328BC, Dai Yan, a younger brother of Ticheng, took the throne and declared himself to be King Kang of Song, with Ticheng murdered or exiled. The king was ambitious and had succeeded in beating troops from Chu, Wei and Qi and annexing

Teng Teng may refer to: *Teng (surname) (滕), a Chinese surname *Teng (state), an ancient Chinese state *Teng (mythology), a flying dragon in Chinese mythology *Teng County Teng County or Tengxian (; za, Dwngz Yen) is a county of eastern Guangxi, C ...

. However, the kingdom was finally annexed by Qi in 286BC, with troops from Chu and Wei serving on behalf of Qi.

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

, which had been an ally of Song, refused to intervene for strategic and diplomatic reasons after being convinced by Su Dai from Wei. Su's predictions were proven correct and Qin benefited from the downfall of its former ally. The philosopher

Mozi Mozi (; ; Latinized as Micius ; – ), original name Mo Di (), was a Chinese philosopher who founded the school of Mohism during the Hundred Schools of Thought period (the early portion of the Warring States period, –221 BCE). The ancie ...

references this state in the chapter "Obvious Existence of Ghosts", in which he mentions a number of ''Spring and Autumn Annals'', including those of the Zhou,

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

, and Qi. The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of Song'' has not survived.

Rulers

Unless otherwise indicated, the ruler is the son of his predecessor. # Weizi 微子 (Qi 啟), brother of the last king of Shang,

Di Xin King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse cr ...

# Weizhong 微仲 (Yan 衍), younger brother of the above # Ji, Duke of Song 宋公稽 # Duke Ding 宋丁公 (Shen 申) # Duke Min I 宋湣公 (Gong 共),

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

# Duke Yang 宋煬公 (Xi 熙), younger brother of the above # Duke Li 宋厲公 (Fusi 鮒祀), son of Duke Min I # Duke Xi 宋僖公 (Ju 舉), 859–831 # Duke Hui 宋惠公 (Jian 覵), 830–800 # Duke Ai 宋哀公, 799 # Duke Dai 宋戴公, 799–766 # Duke Wu 宋武公 (Sikong 司空), 765–748 # Duke Xuan 宋宣公 (Li 力), 747–729 # Duke Mu 宋穆公 (He 和), 728–720, younger brother of the above # Duke Shang 宋殤公 (Yuyi 與夷), 719–711 # Duke Zhuang 宋莊公 (Feng 馮), 710–692 # Duke Min II 宋閔公 (Jie 捷), 691–682 # You, Duke of Song 宋公游, assassinated less than 3 months after accession. # Duke Huan I 宋桓公 (Yuyue 御說), 681–651, younger brother of Duke Min II # Duke Xiang 宋襄公 (Zifu 茲父), 650–637 # Duke Cheng 宋成公 (Wangchen 王臣), 636–620 # Yu, Duke of Song 宋公禦, younger brother of the above, assassinated less than one month after accession. # Duke Zhao I 宋昭公 (Chujiu 杵臼), 619–611, son of Duke Cheng # Duke Wen 宋文公 (Bao 鮑), 610–589, younger brother of the above # Duke Gong 宋共公 (Xia 瑕), 588–576 # Duke Ping 宋平公 (Cheng 成), 575–532 # Duke Yuan 宋元公 (Zuo 佐), 531–517 # Duke Jing 宋景公 (Touman 頭曼), 516–451 # Duke Zhao II 宋昭公 (De 得), 450–404, great-grandson of Duke Yuan; possibly 468–404, making him one of the longest-reigning monarchs. # Duke Dao 宋悼公 (Gouyou 購由), 403–396 # Duke Xiu 宋休公 (Tian 田), 395–373 # Duke Huan II 宋桓公 (Bibing 辟兵), 372–370 # Ticheng, Lord of Song 宋剔成君, 369–329, descendant of the 11th duke, Dai #

Yan, King of Song Yan, King of Song (, died 286 BC), also known as King Kang of Song (宋康王) or King Xian of Song (宋獻王), was the last ruler of Song. He ruled the state between 328 BC until his death in 286 BC. Yan was a descendant of Duke Dai, the 1 ...

宋王偃, King Kang 宋康王, 328–286, younger brother of the above

Rulers family tree

Descendants

was a descendant of the Dukes of Song, as are his descendants, the Dukes of Yansheng. The title of Duke of Song and ''"Duke Who Continues and Honours the

"'' ( 殷紹嘉公) were bestowed upon Kong An ( 孔安 (東漢)) by the Eastern Han dynasty because he was part of the Shang dynasty's legacy. This branch of the Kong family is a separate branch from the line that held the title of Marquis of Fengsheng village and later Duke Yansheng.

Song in astronomy

Song is represented by the star

Eta Ophiuchi Eta Ophiuchi (η Ophiuchi, abbreviated Eta Oph, η Oph) is a binary star in the constellation of Ophiuchus. Based on parallax measurements taken during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 88 light-years from the Sun. Eta Op ...

in the asterism ''Left Wall'',

Heavenly Market enclosure The Heavenly Market Enclosure (天市垣, ''Tian Shi Yuan''), is one of the ''San Yuan'' or Three enclosures. Stars and constellations of this group are visible during late summer and early autumn in the Northern Hemisphere (late winter and early ...

(see

Chinese constellation Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" ( Chinese ''xīng guān''). The Chinese asterisms are generally smaller than the constellations of Hellenisti ...

).AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 6 月 23 日
/ref>

References

{{Zhou Dynasty topics Ancient Chinese states 11th-century BC establishments in China 3rd-century BC disestablishments 1st-millennium BC disestablishments in China Former monarchies