Suí () 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 ...
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 the
Han River Basin in modern
Suizhou,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
, China. Its ruling house had the
surname
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
Ji (姬), and held the noble rank of
''Hou'' (侯), roughly comparable to a
marquess
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
.
History
During the initial stages of the Spring and Autumn Period from 771 BCE, the power of Sui's neighbor 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 ...
grew considerably. At the same time Sui also expanded and became leader of the various vassal states whose leaders bore the surname ''Ji'' known as the Hanyang Ji Vassals (汉阳诸姬).
The ''
Zuo Zhuan'' records that in 706 BCE
King Wu of Chu
King Wu of Chu (, died 690 BC) was the first king of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was the second son of Xiao'ao, and brother of former ruler Fenmao whom he is rumored to have murdered in 740 BC in order ...
invaded the State of Sui on the grounds that the state's minister
Ji Liang (季梁) had halted the king's army. Not long afterwards, the Sui military commander received Chu Prime Minister
Dou Bobi (鬬伯比) who concluded that given the opportunity Sui would conspire against Chu. Two years later in the summer of 704 BCE following Sui's non-appearance at a meeting of the vassal states called at Shenlu (沈鹿),
King Wu of Chu
King Wu of Chu (, died 690 BC) was the first king of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was the second son of Xiao'ao, and brother of former ruler Fenmao whom he is rumored to have murdered in 740 BC in order ...
personally led his army in an attack on Sui. Thereafter Sui was defeated at the
Battle of Suqi
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
(速杞之战). The state's leader fled whilst Chu minister Dou Dan (鬬丹) captured the Marquess of Sui's chariot along with the chariot division military commander. However, at that time Chu did not have sufficient power to annex Sui and peace followed in the same year.
In 690 BCE King Wu died in the course of an expedition into Sui at a time when the latter state wanted peace. Over the following decades, Chu gradually annexed Hanyang Ji Vassals in every direction. In 640 BCE the vassals attacked Chu with Sui as their leader but were defeated and entered into peace talks.
By the time of the
Battle of Chengpu
The Battle of Chengpu took place in 632 BC between the State of Jin and the State of Chu and its allies during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. It was the first great battle in the protracted conflict between the states of th ...
in 632 BCE, the
State of Jin had held talks with all the Hanyang Ji Vassals. Sui was reduced to the status of Chu vassal, no longer independent and not qualified to attend meetings of the vassal states.
The Chu capital at
Ying
Ying may refer to:
People
* Yíng (嬴), a Chinese surname, the ancestral name of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China in the Qin Dynasty, and some contemporary rival royal families such as the Zhaos
* Yīng (应), a Chinese surname from the Z ...
suffered an attack by the
State of Wu
Wu (; Old Chinese: ''*'') was one of the states during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. It was also known as Gouwu ( /''*''/) or Gongwu ( /''*''/) from the pronunciation of the local language.
Wu was located at the ...
in 506 BCE whereupon
King Zhao of Chu
King Zhao of Chu (, died 489 BC) was from 515 to 489 BC the king of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Zhen () and King Zhao was his posthumous title. Documents unearthed in the former state ...
fled to Sui. Although under pressure from Wu, Sui would not hand over King Zhao and protected him well. For this reason Sui was rewarded by Chu. For the year 494 BCE 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 ...
records: "The Prince of Chu, the Marquess of Chen and the Marquess of Sui attacked the
State of Cai
Cài (; Old Chinese: *s.r̥ˤat-s) was an ancient Chinese state established at the beginning of the Zhou dynasty, rising to prominence during the Spring and Autumn period, and destroyed early in the Warring States period.
History
Following hi ...
". Based on the History of Lu section of the same book later author
Du Yu believed that Chu restored Sui's independence as a marquessate in return for their protection of King Zhao.
At some unknown later date, Sui was finally annexed by Chu.
Connection between Sui and Zeng
The
tomb of the Marquess of Zeng (曾侯) excavated in
Sui County, Hubei in 1978 uncovered a large quantity of well-preserved relics in an area that was always believed to be part of Sui's territory. This led to a discussion on the relationship between Sui and
Zeng
Zeng (, ) is a Chinese family name. In Cantonese, it is Tsang; In Wade-Giles, such as those in Taiwan, Tseng or Tzeng; in Malaysia and Singapore, Chen or Cheng; in the Philippines, Chan; in Indonesia, Tjan; in Vietnam, Tăng. The surname Zeng is ...
with historian
Li Xueqin
Li Xueqin (, 28 March 1933 – 24 February 2019) was a Chinese historian, archaeologist, and palaeographer. He served as Director of the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Professor of the Institute of Sinology of T ...
publishing an article in the ''
Guangming Daily'' on October 4, 1978 entitled “The Riddle of the State of Zeng” (曾国之谜). In this article he writes that the states of Sui and Zeng were actually the same place although there are many other theories including Zeng conquering Sui, Sui overthrowing Zeng and Chu overthrowing Zeng and moving its location to Sui.
However, in January 2013, a late
Spring and Autumn period
The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...
, early
Warring States
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 ...
Period bronze halberd (ge) belonging to the chancellor of the Sui state, inscribed with the text "随大司马献有之行戈," was uncovered during excavations in a Zeng state tomb complex in Suizhou.
随州文峰塔墓地发现首件随国铜器 “曾随之谜”或将破解
/ref> This is an extremely important discovery for researchers studying the relationship between the Sui and Zeng states, in addition to a large bronze bell detailing inter-state relations between Chu, Wu and Zeng, when corresponding written records state Chu, Wu and Sui. Among other artifacts discovered were Western Zhou period bronzes detailing the founding of the Zeng State by descendants of Nangong Kuo, enfeoffed in Suizhou to pacify the local Huaiyi tribes.
See also
* Marquis of Sui's pearl
References
{{Reflist
Ancient Chinese states
Zhou dynasty