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Fuchai
Fuchai (reigned 495–473BC), sometimes also written Fucha, was the last king of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. His armies constructed important canals linking the Yellow, Ji, and Huai River systems of the North China Plain with central China's Yangtze River, but he is most remembered in Chinese culture for the role he played in the legends concerning Goujian, the revenge-seeking king of Yue. Life Fuchai was the son of King Helü. He became king in 495 BC, following the death of his father from injuries sustained during an invasion of Yue. In 494BC, Goujian, the king of Yue, heard rumours that Fuchai was planning to attack him in order to avenge the death of his father. Goujian's minister Fan Li advised caution, but Goujian decided on a pre-emptive strike. Fuchai in turn heard rumours of Goujian's plans and sent his army against Yue. The forces met at Fujiao where Wu won a complete victory, with only 5,000 Yue men surviving. These ...
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Goujian
Goujian () (reigned 496–465 BC) was the king of the Kingdom of Yue (越國, present-day northern Zhejiang) near the end of the Spring and Autumn period (春秋). He was the son of Marquis Yunchang. Goujian's reign coincided with arguably the last major conflict of the Spring and Autumn period, the struggle between Wu and Yue, wherein he eventually led his state to victory, annexing the rival. As such, King Goujian is sometimes considered the last of the Five Hegemons. War between Wu and Yue The war between Wu and Yue comprised several separate phases. It began when a Yue princess, who was married to one of the princes of the neighboring state of Wu, left her husband and fled back to the State of Yue. This became the spark for the war to come. Also, as Yunchang developed Yue's strength, he came into conflict with King Helü of Wu, causing a feud between the two states. Upon the death of Yunchang and the accession of Goujian, Helü seized the opportunity and launched an a ...
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Wu (state)
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 mouth of the Yangtze River east of the State of Chu. Its first capital was at Meili (probably in modern Wuxi) and was later moved to Gusu (姑蘇, modern Suzhou) and then Helu City (the old town of present-day Suzhou). History A founding myth of Wu, first recorded by Sima Qian in the Han dynasty, traced its royal lineage to Taibo, a relative of King Wen of Zhou. According to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', Taibo was the oldest son of Gugong Danfu and the elder uncle of King Wen who started the Zhou Dynasty. Gugong Danfu had three sons named Taibo, Zhongyong, and Jili. Taibo was the oldest of three brothers, Jili being the youngest. Realizing that his youngest brother, Jili, was favored by his father to inherit the throne o ...
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Bo Pi
Bo Pi (; died 473 BC) was an official in the state of Wu in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His grandfather, Bo Zhouli, who was an official in the state of Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ..., was executed, and Bo Pi fled to Wu, where he served as an adviser to the king of Wu. During a war with the state of Yue, in which Wu had the upper hand, Bo Pi was bribed with lavish gifts from King Goujian of Yue. Bo Pi then influenced King Fuchai of Wu to make peace with the state of Yue despite objections from another advisor of King Fuchai, Wu Zixu, who warned of a possible future attack by Yue. During Goujian's captivity in the state of Wu as a slave, he continued to bribe Bo Pi. This contributed to Goujian's return to Yue after three years. Meanwhi ...
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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 from the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'', a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 479 BCE, which tradition associates with Confucius (551–479 BCE). During this period, the Zhou royal authority over the various feudal states eroded as more and more dukes and marquesses obtained ''de facto'' regional autonomy, defying the king's court in Luoyi and waging wars amongst themselves. The gradual Partition of Jin, one of the most powerful states, marked the end of the Spring and Autumn period and the beginning of the Warring States period. Background In 771 BCE, a Quanrong invasion in coalition with the states of Zeng and Shen — the latter polity being the fief of the grandfather of the disinherited crown prince Yijiu — destroye ...
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Wen Zhong (Spring And Autumn)
Wen Zhong () (died 472 BC) was an advisor in the state of Yue in the Spring and Autumn period. He was a native of Ying in the State of Chu. After Yue was defeated by the state of Wu in 494 BC, Wen Zhong bribed Bo Pi, the advisor to the leader of Wu, King Fuchai, in order to make peace. During King Goujian of Yue's captivity in Wu as a hostage, Wen Zhong governed Yue. After his release, Goujian slowly rebuilt Yue with advice from Wen and Fan Li. In the meantime, Wu began to weaken after Wu Zixu's death, as Fuchai refused to listen to good counsel. A decade after returning to Yue, Goujian started a new war with Wu, and defeated Fuchai, who committed suicide. Wu was annexed by Yue. After the defeat of Wu, Fan Li left Goujian's services and sent Wen Zhong a letter from Qi, advising Wen Zhong to leave Goujian as well. Upon receiving the letter, Wen Zhong declined to go to court, citing an illness. The next day, Wen Zhong left the state of Yue, escaping to Qi. References *''Recor ...
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Ji River
The Ji River was a former river in north-eastern China which gave its name to the towns of Jiyuan and Jinan. It disappeared during one of the massive Yellow River floods of 1852, as the Yellow River shifted its course from below the Shandong Peninsula to north of it. In the process, it overtook the Ji and assumed its bed. Name ''Jì'' is the pinyin romanization of the present-day Mandarin pronunciation of the Chinese name written in traditional characters and in the simplified form used in mainland China. The river's Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as /* s�əjʔ/ or /*ʔsliːlʔ/. Ancient Chinese accounts also wrote the name with the character ,. and Lin Chuanjia considered this to be identical with the that gave Yuanqu County its name. Geography The Ji River changed its precise course several times over the historical period before its disappearance. Generally, it traced its course from an origin near Jiyuan in what is now Henan Province through Shando ...
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King Of Wu
The King of Wu or Prince of Wu was a title referring to Chinese rulers of the area originally controlled by the Gou Wu tribes around Wuxi on the lower Yangtze, generally known as the Wu region. The title ''wang'' is written identically in Chinese, but it is common in English to distinguish between the scions of the imperial dynasties (translated "prince") and the dynasties of independent lords (translated "king"). History According to traditional Chinese historians, the title was first used by two refugee princes from Zhou who settled among the barbarian Wu. Their state of Wu had its capital first at Meili (traditionally held to be Meicun in modern Wuxi), then at Gusu (within modern Suzhou) and Helu City (present-day Suzhou). It was established independently but became a vassal to the Zhou dynasty after its conquest of the Shang dynasty. It became independent again during the Spring and Autumn period, but was annexed by the Yue state in 473 BC. The title was somewhat infe ...
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History Of Canals In China
The history of canals in China connecting its rivers of China, major rivers and centers of agriculture and population extends from the legendary exploits of Yu the Great in his attempts control the flooding of the Yellow River to the present infrastructure projects of the China, People's Republic of China. From the Spring and Autumn period (8th–5th centuriesBCE) onward, the canals of China were used for army transportation and supply, as well as colonization of new territories. From the Qin dynasty, Qin (3rd century BCE) to the Qing dynasty, Qing (17th–20th centuriesCE), China's canal network was also essential to imperial taxation-in-kind. Control of shipbuilding and internal tariffs were also administered along the canals. History Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods In 647BCE, the Jin (Chinese state), State of Jin suffered major crop failure. Duke Mu of Qin despatched a large fleet of ships manned by Corvée labour from his capital at Yong (雍) in modern-day Feng ...
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Grand Canal (China)
The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (, or more commonly, as the「大运河」("Grand Canal")), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting in Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou, linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC, but the various sections were first connected during the Sui dynasty (581–618 AD). Dynasties in 1271–1633 significantly restored and rebuilt the canal and altered its route to supply their capital. The Grand Canal played a major role in reunifying north and south China. The canal was built by conscripted laborers and connected the Yellow River in the north with the Yangtze River in the south, which made it much easier to transport grain from the south to the centers of political and military power in north China. The total len ...
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Si River
The Si River is a river in Shandong Province, China. It also ran through the area of modern Jiangsu Province until floods in 1194. Course The Si rises in the southern foothills of the Mengshan Mountains (蒙山), then flows through Sishui County and the cities of Qufu and Yanzhou before emptying into Lake Nanyang (南阳湖). History In antiquity, the river was a major tributary of the Huai River in central China. Tributaries such as the Fan (反), Sui (睢), Tong (潼) and Yi (沂) swelled its banks as it passed through present-day Yutai, Pei, Xuzhou, Suqian, and Siyang counties in Shandong and Jiangsu. Its confluence with the Huai occurred at Sikou (泗口) or Qingkou (清口) at present-day Huai'an in Jiangsu. From a very early date, the Huai was connected with the Yellow River through the Honggou Canal ( t s ''Hónggōu'', "Canal of the Wild Geese").. In 486BC, King Fuchai of Wu built the Hangou Canal ( t s ''Hángōu''), connecting the Huai and Honggou to the Ya ...
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Traditional Characters
Traditional Chinese characters are one type of standard Chinese character sets of the contemporary written Chinese. The traditional characters had taken shapes since the clerical change and mostly remained in the same structure they took at the introduction of the regular script in the 2nd century. Over the following centuries, traditional characters were regarded as the standard form of printed Chinese characters or literary Chinese throughout the Sinosphere until the middle of the 20th century, before different script reforms initiated by countries using Chinese characters as a writing system. Traditional Chinese characters remain in common use in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside Southeast Asia; in addition, Hanja in Korean language remains virtually identical to traditional characters, which is still used to a certain extent in South Korea, despite differing standards used among these countries over some variant Ch ...
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Shaoxing
Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,270,977 inhabitants among which, 2,958,643 (Keqiao, Yuecheng and Shangyu urban districts) lived in the built-up (or metro) area of Hangzhou-Shaoxing, with a total of 13,035,326 inhabitants. Notable residents of Shaoxing include Wang Xizhi, the parents of Zhou Enlai, Lu Xun, and Cai Yuanpei. It is also noted for Shaoxing wine, meigan cai, and stinky tofu, and was featured on '' A Bite of China''. Its local variety of Chinese opera sung in the local dialect and known as Yue opera is second in popularity only to Peking opera. In 20 ...
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