Duke Li of Jin (, reigned 580–573 BC) was a ruler of the State of Jin, a major power 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 ...

of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Zhoupu (州蒲), though '' Shiji'' records his given name as Shouman (壽曼), and Duke Li was his posthumous title. Duke Li succeeded his father, Duke Jing of Jin, who abdicated after falling ill in summer 581 BC. Duke Jing died a month later.

Battle of Masui

In 580 BC, the first year of his reign, Duke Li made an alliance with Duke Huan of 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 ex ...

. The alliance did not last, however, as Jin attacked Qin two years later and defeated Qin at Masui (麻隧).

Battle of Yanling

Duke Li fought and won one of the most significant battles of the Spring and Autumn period, the

Battle of Yanling The Battle of Yanling () was fought in 575 BC between the states of Chu and Jin at Yanling during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. On the Jin side, Xi Qi () commanded the right wing whilst Luan Shu Luan may refer to: Places ...

, against Jin's archrival, 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 ...

. In 577 BC, the Jin vassal state

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, ...

attacked the Chu vassal state Xu (許). The next year Chu attacked Zheng in revenge, and forced Zheng to switch its loyalty to Chu. Zheng then attacked

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, another Jin vassal state. In 575 BC, Duke Li raised an army to attack Zheng, while

King Gong of Chu King Gong of Chu (, 600–560 BC) was from 590 to 560 BC the king of Chu, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Shen (), and at the age of 10 succeeded his father King Zhuang of Chu, who was the He ...

led the Chu army north to defend his new ally. The two forces met at Yanling, and Jin defeated Chu by attacking its weaker flanks manned by the poorly trained Zheng and Dongyi soldiers. During the battle King Gong was shot in the eye by an arrow. Despite his wound, at the end of the day King Gong summoned the chief military commander

Zifan Hu Yan (715–629BC) was a Di tribesman who served as a minister and general of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Hu Yan assisted Prince Chong'er (posthumously the " Wen Duke") during his long exile, his usurpation of ...

to discuss the battle plan for the next day, but caught Zifan drunk. King Gong decided to retreat and Zifan later committed suicide. Chapter XVI.

Struggle against the clans

Although Jin regained its status as the leader of the Spring and Autumn states by defeating Chu, it would soon be riven by internal strife that would eventually lead to its

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

into the new states of

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

, Zhao, and

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

. During the reign of Duke Li the Xi (郤) clan, led by Xi Qi (郤錡), Xi Chou (郤犨), and Xi Zhi (郤至) – together called the three Xis – was one of the most powerful clans that dominated Jin politics. In 573 BC Duke Li struck the Xi clan and killed the three Xis. However, two other clans, the Luan (欒氏) led by Luan Shu (欒書), and the Zhonghang (中行氏) led by Zhonghang Yan (中行偃), staged a coup d'etat and imprisoned Duke Li. The Luan and Zhonghang clans installed Zhou, a prince from a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...

of the ruling House of Ji, on the Jin throne. Zhou would later be known as

Duke Dao of Jin Duke Dao of Jin (, 586–558 BC) was from 573 to 558 BC the ruler of the State of Jin, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji, given name Zhou (周), and Duke Dao was his posthumous title. ...

. Duke Li was killed soon afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li of Jin, Duke Year of birth unknown Monarchs of Jin (Chinese state) 6th-century BC Chinese monarchs 573 BC deaths