Duke Xian of Qin (, 725–704 BC), personal name unknown, was a duke of the state of
Qin during the
Eastern Zhou
The Eastern Zhou (256 BCE) is a period in Chinese history comprising the latter two-thirds of the Zhou dynasty. The period follows the Western Zhou era and is named due to the Zhou royal court relocating the capital eastward from Fenghao ...
dynasty. His
posthumous name was recorded as Duke Ning of Qin (秦寧公) in the ''
Records of the Grand Historian'' by
Western Han historian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...
, but inscriptions on excavated bronzes from the era have proven that "Ning" (寧) was a miscopy of the correct character, "Xian" (憲).
Accession to the throne
Duke Xian succeeded his grandfather
Duke Wen of Qin, who ruled for 50 years and died in 716 BC. Duke Xian was made the crown prince after his father predeceased Duke Wen in 718 BC. His father was given the posthumous title
Duke Jing of Qin (秦竫公) although he never ascended the throne.
Reign
In 714 BC, the second year of Duke Xian's reign, the Qin capital was moved to Pingyang (平陽, in present-day
Baoji
Baoji ( zh, s= , t= , p=Bǎojī; ) is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi.
Geography
The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
). The next year Qin defeated the
Rong state of Bo (亳), whose king escaped to the Rong homeland.
In autumn 708 BC Qin attacked the minor state of
Rui, but was defeated. Qin returned in winter with the army of
King Huan of Zhou, defeated Rui, and captured Wan, Count of Rui.
[ Chapter IV.]
Succession
In 704 BC Qin annexed Bo. Duke Xian died in the same year at the age of 21. He had three young sons: the eldest, later known as
Duke Wu of Qin, was the crown prince. The second son, later known as
Duke De of Qin, was born to the same mother, Lu Ji (鲁姬). However, the ministers Fuji and Sanfu deposed the crown prince and installed his youngest son
Chuzi, born to Duke Xian's other wife Wang Ji (王姬), on the throne. The boy was only five years old.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xian of Qin, Duke
Monarchs of Qin
8th-century BC Chinese monarchs
720s BC births
700s BC deaths