Jiang (), also known as Hong () during the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

or Qiong () in some historical sources, was a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

in China that encompasses the southeastern

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

from 1101 BCE to 623 BCE. The nation was ruled by the Ying family (), and the state name is widely believed to be the origin of the Chinese surname Jiang. The swan goose was the

totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

of the state.

History

Early history (before 1045 BCE)

In 1101 BCE, Yu the Great, the leader of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

under the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty (; ) is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, it was established by the legendary figure Yu the Great, after Emperor Shun, Shun, the last of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Fiv ...

allocated a piece of land on the riverbanks of the Huai River to Genchu () under the Fengjian system. Genchu was the son of Boyi, a legendary tribal leader who was loyal to Yu the Great, and the allocation of the land to Genchu was mainly for rewarding Boyi's family for Boyi's exemplary achievements in controlling the Great Flood. Chinese historian Guangyue He () believes that the state was part of Dongyi, a group of tribes in eastern China during the pre- Qin era, and moved southwards to modern-day Henan after the Zhou conquest of the Dongyi. The state was made a vassal state of the Zhou dynasty during the era of King Cheng, and during the era of King Mu, the state expanded westwards into parts of

Zhongyuan Zhongyuan (), the Central Plain(s), also known as Zhongtu (, lit. 'central land') and Zhongzhou (, lit. 'central region'), commonly refers to the part of the North China Plain surrounding the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River, centere ...

As a vassal state of the Zhou dynasty

According to the

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

and Shiben, the State of Jiang was located in the southeastern part of Zhengyang County near the northern riverbanks of the

Huai River The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

during the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. The capital of Jiang at the time was a rectangular plot of land measuring 175,000 m² in size and existed until the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

. It is estimated that about 10,000 people resided in the state at the time. The state was relatively prosperous during the Western Zhou dynasty, but the continuous warfare during the Spring and Autumn period and occasional flooding near the Huai River weakened the state. The state was also sandwiched between the more powerful states of Chu,

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, and Qi at the time, which limited the political, economic, and military influence of the state as Jiang had to be vassals of these larger states in order to maintain their sovereignty. At some point between 671 BC and 626 BC, King Cheng of Chu arranged for his younger sister, Jiang Mi () to be married to the leader of the State of Jiang at the time. The State of Jiang became more wary of Chu territorial expansion, and they allied with the

hegemon Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' ...

of China, Duke Huan of Qi, in 658 BC.

Annexation by Chu

After the death of King Cheng of Chu, Chu invaded the State of Jiang in 624 BC. The invasion was unsuccessful as the State of Jin intervened and drove Chu forces back to their homeland temporarily. In fall 623 BC, King Mu of Chu launched another invasion and successfully annexed Jiang. According to

Zuo Zhuan The ''Zuo Zhuan'' ( zh, t=左傳, w=Tso Chuan; ), often translated as ''The Zuo Tradition'' or as ''The Commentary of Zuo'', is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the '' ...

, the annexation of Jiang deeply saddened Duke Mu of Qin.

Geography and excavation findings

The territory of Jiang encompasses southern Zhengyang County, Pingqiao District in

Xinyang Xinyang ( zh, s= , t=信陽 , p=Xìnyáng; Postal romanization, postal: Sinyang) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Henan province of China, province, People's Republic of China, the southernmost administrative division in the province. It ...

, and northern Luoshan County. Jiang was located on the riverbanks of the

. The ruins of the former Jiang capital are located in Zhengyang County and on the northern riverbanks of the Huai River. The rectangular city covers 75,000 square meters, and the distance between the easternmost and westernmost points of the city and the distance between the northernmost point and southernmost point of the city are 2 kilometers and 1.2 kilometers respectively. The city is a kilometer from the Huai River, and located on high ground. The city was called the 'Phoenix's Watchtower ()' in ancient times, and locals nicknamed the ruins ' watchtower' nowadays. The city was also referenced to as 'Jiang Ting ()' in some historical sources. Bronze tools were also found in the ruins of the city.

References