Xiong Zhi () was the eighth viscount of the state of Chu during the 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 ...

(1046–256 BC) of ancient China. Like other early Chu rulers, he held the hereditary noble rank of

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 judicia ...

first granted to his ancestor

Xiong Yi Xiong Yi (, reigned 11th century BC) was the first viscount and an early ruler of the State of Chu during early Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. Son of Xiong Kuang, he was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor and Zhuanxu through his great-grandf ...

by King Cheng of Zhou. Xiong Zhi succeeded his father

Xiong Kang Xiong Kang (), also called Xiong Wukang (), was the seventh viscount of the state of Chu during the early Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) of ancient China. Like other early Chu rulers, he held the hereditary noble rank of viscount first granted to ...

, but later abdicated due to illness. His younger brother Xiong Yan succeeded him as ruler of Chu, and Xiong Zhi self-exiled and founded the minor state of Kui (). Ancient historian

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 b ...

's account of Xiong Zhi in his ''

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 ...

'' (''Shiji'') is quite confused. Sima Qian records Xiong Zhi's name variously as Xiong Hong () or Xiong Zhihong (), and says that he was the second son of

Xiong Qu Xiong Qu () was the sixth viscount of the state of Chu during the early Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) of ancient China. Like other early Chu rulers, he held the hereditary noble rank of viscount first granted to his ancestor Xiong Yi by King Che ...

and younger brother of Xiong Kang. According to ''Shiji'', Xiong Kang died early and Xiong Zhi succeeded Xiong Qu, and that he was killed by his younger brother Xiong Yan. However, this account is contradicted by earlier historical texts '' Zuo Zhuan'' and '' Guoyu'', as well as the recently discovered

Tsinghua Bamboo Slips The Tsinghua Bamboo Strips () are a collection of Chinese texts dating to the Warring States period and written in ink on strips of bamboo, that were acquired in 2008 by Tsinghua University, China. The texts were obtained by illegal excavation, pr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiong, Zhi Monarchs of Chu (state) Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown