Xiong Yi (, reigned 11th century BC) was the first viscount and an early ruler of 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 ...

during early

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. Son of

Xiong Kuang Xiong Kuang (, reigned 11th century BC) was an early ruler of the state of Chu during the early Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) of ancient China. He succeeded his father Xiong Li, and was succeeded by his son Xiong Yi, who would later be enfeoffed ...

, he was a descendant of the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

and

Zhuanxu Zhuanxu (Chinese: trad. , simp. , pinyin ''Zhuānxū''), also known as Gaoyang ( t , s , p ''Gāoyáng''), was a mythological emperor of ancient China. In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, Zhu ...

through his great-grandfather

Yuxiong Yuxiong (, reigned 11th century BC), also known as Yuzi or Master Yu (), was an early ruler of the ancient Chinese state that was later known as Chu. He was an ally and teacher of King Wen of Zhou (reigned 1099–1050 BC), the first king of the ...

Biographical sketch

Xiong Yi lived at the time of King Cheng of Zhou (reigned 1042–1021 BC) who wished to honor the most loyal officials of his predecessors

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 ...

and

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of state of Zhou, Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different hi ...

. The king summoned a meeting with Xiong Yi and the other vassal lords at Qiyang () (northeast of modern-day

Qishan County Qishan County () is a county in the west of Guanzhong, Shaanxi province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baoji. It was the site of Zhouyuan (), the first capital of the Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chi ...

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...

) where Xiong Yi swore allegiance to the King and became keeper of the Maojue () in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

. Along with the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

clan leader he was also appointed joint guardian of the ritual torch (). At the same meeting, as a result of his ancestors’ loyal service to the former kings of Zhou, Xiong Yi received a grant of land around Danyang () (modern day

Xichuan County Xichuan County () is a county in the southwest of Henan province, China, bordering the provinces of Hubei to the south and Shaanxi to the northwest. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nanyang. Xichuan has an area of a ...

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 ...

) where he built the first capital of Chu. He then began the arduous task of clearing the thorny undergrowth from the foothills of the

Jingshan Mountains The Jingshan or Jing Mountains () are a chain of mountains in the western part of Nanzhang County, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China. Stretching for around 150 kilometers, their peaks range in height from 1200 to about 1800 meters above ...

so that his people could build Chu and make sacrifices to the Zhou king. King Cheng also gave Xiong Yi the hereditary title of ''Zĭ'' (), roughly equivalent to a

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. At some time during Xiong Yi’s reign, vassal state leaders

Duke Ding of Qi Duke Ding of Qi (; reigned c. 10th century BC) was the second recorded ruler of the ancient Chinese state of Qi during the Western Zhou Dynasty. His personal name was Lü Ji (呂伋) and ancestral name was Jiang ( 姜). According to classical Ch ...

, Count Kang of Wey (),

Xie, Marquis of Jin Xiefu or Xie was the original Marquis of Jin (), and the second ruler of the State of Jin during the early Zhou Dynasty. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), and given name Xie (燮) or Xiefu (燮父). Marquis Xie succeeded his father, Shu Yu of T ...

and

Bo Qin Bo Qin (Chinese: , p ''Bóqín''), also known as Qin Fu (禽父), was the founder of the State of Lu during the early Zhou dynasty. Born into the royal Ji family (), he was the eldest son of the Duke of Zhou. Instead of inheriting his ...

, Duke of Lu met with

King Kang of Zhou King Kang of Zhou, personal name Ji Zhao, was the third sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and son of King Cheng of Zhou. The dates of his reign are 1020–996 BC or 1005–978 BC. King Kang followed his father's policy and expanded the Zhou ...

. The king gave each of the three vassal leaders a precious treasure without involving the Chu ruler. Later on, during the

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 ...

in 530 BCE,

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 brothe ...

would once more raise the issue of Chu’s exclusion. p. 1339. Xiong Yi was succeeded as ruler of Chu by his son

Xiong Ai Xiong Ai (, reigned c. 977 BCE) was the second viscount of the state of Chu during the early Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. He succeeded his father Xiong Yi, who was enfeoffed by King Cheng of Zhou and granted the hereditary noble rank of viscou ...

Notes

References

* ''This article is partly based on a translation of'
熊繹
''in Chinese Wikipedia.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiong, Yi Monarchs of Chu (state) 11th-century BC Chinese monarchs Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown