Qi (,

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...

: ') was a minor feudal

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 ...

in ancient China that existed from the beginning of 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 a ...

(16th century BCE) until the beginning of 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 ...

, c. 445 BCE.

History

The state of Qi was founded when the first king of the Shang Dynasty enfeoffed the direct descendants of the royal family of the deposed

Xia Dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradit ...

in the area that is now Qi County in

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

, eastern Henan Province. This practice was referred to as "the two crownings and the three respects" (二王三恪). The state of Qi gradually moved eastward to the area of Xintai in

Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...

until it was finally destroyed by King Hui of Chu. The state of Qi was apparently very small in scale, as it is rarely mentioned in ancient Chinese documents except to say that "its affairs are not worth mentioning."''

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 ...

'', Vol.36. It is perhaps best known as the inspiration for the popular

Chinese idiom ''Chengyu'' () are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expression, most of which consist of four characters. ''Chengyu'' were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language ...

, 杞人忧天 (杞人憂天) (''Qǐ rén yōu tiān'', literally, "Qi people lament heaven" or "the people of Qi worry about the sky"), which is said to refer to the fact that the people of Qi often talked anxiously about the sky falling down on their heads. The idiom is used when mocking a person's needless anxiety over an impossible, inconsequential, or inevitable matter. That being said, its ruler also belonged to the highest feudal rank below king—a duke (公). It is one of the few duchies actually erected by royal edict, compared to the many that were self-declared. In terms of culture, however, the state of Qi - being descended from the royal house of the Xia Dynasty - held considerable importance, for it followed the ancient rituals of the Xia.

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 ...

, being interested in ancient rites, visited Qi to see them for himself. However, his verdict sounded not quite approvingly: "I could discuss the ritual of the Xia, but the Qi ingdomdoes not sufficiently attest to my words" (

Analects The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...

3:9).

References

{{Zhou Dynasty topics Ancient Chinese states Xia dynasty Former monarchies