Wey (state)

For one of the seven major states of the Warring States period, see Wei (state).

Wei (/weɪ/; Chinese: 衞; pinyin: Wèi), commonly spelled Wey to distinguish from the contemporary larger Wei (魏) state, was an ancient Chinese state that was founded in the early Western Zhou dynasty and rose to prominence during the Spring and Autumn period. Its rulers were of the surname Ji (姬), the same as that of the rulers of Zhou. It was located in modern northeastern Henan Province, east of Jin (and later Wei 魏), and west of Cao.

Wei 衛
c. 1040 BCE–209 BCE
Zhou dynasty in the 5th century BCE
Status	Duchy
Capital	Zhaoge (ca. 1040 BCE – 661 BCE) Chuqiu (659–629 BCE) Diqiu (629–241 BCE) Yewang (241–209 BCE)
Religion	Chinese folk religion ancestor worship
Government	Monarchy
History
• Establishment of Zhou dynasty	c. 1040 BCE
• Annexed by Qin	209 BCE

Wey
"Wey" in seal script (top), Traditional (middle), and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	衞
Simplified Chinese	卫
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wèi Gwoyeu Romatzyh Wey Wade–Giles Wei4 IPA [wêɪ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Waih Jyutping Wai6 IPA [wɐj˨] Southern Min Tâi-lô Uē Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Hjüèi Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *[ɢ]ʷ(r)a[t]-s

Early history

The history of Wey dates back to the beginning of the Zhou dynasty and the Rebellion of the Three Guards. After the Duke of Zhou successfully defeated the rebellion, Kang Shu, a younger brother of King Wu of Zhou was given a fief centred on Zhaoge, the capital of the Shang dynasty, which had been the centre of the rebellion.

Spring and Autumn period

The State of Wey was at its peak during the early Spring and Autumn period, under Duke Wu of Wey, who reigned for 55 years. In the reign of subsequent rulers, however, the state was plagued by succession troubles, until Duke Yi of Wey took the throne; his dissolute rule and obsession with cranes weakened the state, and in the eighth year of his reign the Rong peoples successfully attacked the capital at Zhaoge, killing the Duke and nearly destroying the state as well (660 BCE). It was only with the aid of Duke Huan of Qi that the state was eventually restored, with its capital moved to Chuqiu.

In 632 BCE Wey was once conquered by Duke Wen of Jin, because when Duke Wen (called Chong'er then) exiled to Wey, Duke Wen of Wey hadn't treated him well, and Duke Cheng of Wey (son of Duke Wen of Wey) was nearly poisoned by Duke Wen of Jin, but eventually the state was restored. (Before the Battle of Chengpu, when Chu was attacking Song, Jin attacked Wey and Cao as a diversion.)

In 492 BCE Duke Chu of Wey (出公) succeeded the throne from his grandfather Duke Ling (灵公), while his father Kuaikui (蒯聩), who was the heir of Duke Ling, had been deposed and exiled. To get the throne, Kuaikui fought against his own son and managed to exile Duke Chu in 481 BCE, and was titled as Duke Zhuang II (后庄公), but was killed three years later. Duke Chu was restored in 475 BCE. The conflict between father and son weakened Wey, and Wey soon became attached to House of Zhao of Jin.

Downfall and end

In 346 BCE the duke of Wey degraded himself to a marquis. In 320 BCE the marquis of Wey again degraded himself to only a jun (lord). By then Wey only possessed a single county called Puyang (濮陽). In 254 BCE King Anxi of Wei (魏) killed Lord Huai of Wey (衞怀君), but two years later he declared his son-in-law, who was from the house of Wey, to be lord of Wey, so Wey became a dependency of the Wei Kingdom. In 239 BCE the state of Qin occupied Puyang, and Wey migrated to Yewang (野王) in order to preserve its existence.

The state was so weak that it was presumably ignored by Qin Shi Huang, and was only abolished in 209 BCE when Qin Er Shi deposed Jiao, Lord of Wey (衞君角), two years before the collapse of the Qin dynasty.

Vassals

Vassals of Wey include Shi clan, Ning clan, Kong clan, Beigong clan, Nan clan and Sun clan. They were mostly cadet branches of Wey. Kong clan, which came from the state of Nan Yan, was an exception.

List of rulers

adoption

unknown descent

(1) Kang Shu 卫康叔

(2) Count Kang 卫康伯

(3) Count Kao 卫考伯

(4) Count Si 卫嗣伯

(5) Count Zhi 衞摯伯

(6) Count Jing 卫靖伯

(7) Count Zhen 卫贞伯

□

(8) Marquis Qing 卫顷侯 ?- 867- 855 BC

Shi Que 石碏 Shi clan 石氏

(9) Marquis Xi 卫僖侯 ?- 855- 813 BC

(10) Count Gong 卫共伯 ?- 813 BC BC

(11) Duke Wu 卫武公 852- 813- 758 BC

(12) Duke Zhuang I 卫庄公 ?- 758- 735 BC

Huisun 惠孙 Sun clan 孙氏

Jiwei 季亹 Ning clan 甯氏

Count Xiao 孝伯

(13) Duke Huan 卫桓公 ?- 735- 719 BC

(14) Zhouyu 州吁 ?- 719 BC

(15) Duke Xuan 卫宣公 ?- 719- 700 BC

Yougongzi Zhi[i][ii] 右公子职 ?- 688 BC

Zuogongzi Xie[i][iii] 左公子泄 ?- 688 BC

Viscount Ji 急子 ?- 701 BC

(17) Gongzi Qianmou[i] 公子黔牟 ?- 696- 688 BC

Count Zhao 昭伯

Viscount Shou 寿子 ?- 701 BC

(16) Duke Hui 卫惠公 714- 700- 696- 688- 669 BC

Viscount Qi 齐子

(19) Duke Dai 卫戴公 ?- 660 BC

(20) Duke Wen 卫文公 ?- 660- 635 BC

(18) Duke Yi 卫懿公 ?- 669- 660 BC

□ Qi clan 齐氏

(21) Duke Cheng 卫成公 ?- 635- 632- 630- 600 BC

Shu Wu 叔武 ?- 632 BC

(22) Gongzi He[i] 公子瑕 ?- 632- 630 BC

Ziyi 子仪 ?- 630 BC

(23) Duke Mu 卫穆公 ?- 600- 589 BC

Viscount Qing 顷子 Beigong clan 北宫氏

(24) Duke Ding 卫定公 ?- 589- 577 BC

Zishu Heibei 子叔黑背

(25) Duke Xian 卫献公 ?- 577- 559- 547- 544 BC

Gongzi Zhuan[i] 公子鱄

Viscount Zhan 子展

(26) Duke Shang 卫殇公 ?- 559- 547 BC

□

(27) Duke Xiang 卫襄公 ?- 544- 535 BC

Dang, Viscount of Cheng 成子当 Gongshu clan 公叔氏

Gongzi Jing[i] 公子荆

Taizi Jiao[iv] 太子角 ?- 547 BC

Xi Zhuchu 析朱鉏 Xi clan 析氏

Gongmeng Zhi 公孟絷 ?- 522 BC Gongmeng clan 公孟氏

(28) Duke Ling 卫灵公 540- 535- 493 BC

□

Gongmeng Kou 公孟彄

(30) Duke Zhuang II 卫庄公 ?- 479- 478 BC

(32) Gongzi Qi[i] 公子起 ?- 478- 477 BC-?

(33) Duke Dao 卫悼公 ?- 456- 451 BC

Gongzi Ying[i] 公子郢 Nan clan 南氏

(31) Gongsun Banshi[v] 公孙斑师 ?- 478 BC-?

(29) Duke Chu 卫出公 ?- 493- 480- 477- 456 BC

Taizi Ji[iv] 太子疾 ?- 478 BC

Gongzi Qing[i] 公子青 ?- 478 BC

(34) Duke Jing 卫敬公 ?- 451- 432 BC

Gongsun Mimou[v] 公孙弥牟

Sikou Huizi 司寇惠子 Sikou clan 司寇氏

(35) Duke Zhao 卫昭公 ?- 432- 426 BC

Gongzi Shi[i] 公子适

Jianzi He 简子瑕

Hu 虎

(36) Duke Huai 卫怀公 ?- 426- 415 BC

(37) Duke Shen 卫慎公 ?- 415- 383 BC

(38) Duke Sheng 卫声公 ?- 383- 372 BC

(39) Marquis Cheng 卫成侯 ?- 372- 343 BC

(40) Marquis Ping 卫平侯 ?- 343- 335 BC

(41) Lord Si 卫嗣君 ?- 335- 293 BC

(42) Lord Huai 卫怀君 ?- 293- 252 BC

(43) Lord Yuan 卫元君 ?- 252- 242 BC

(44) Jiao 卫君角 ?- 242- 209 BC

See also

• Wei River, a tributary of the Grand Canal named for the former state

Notes

1. Gōngzǐ (Chinese: 公子; lit. 'The Lord's Son') is a title attached to the sons of a ruler.
2. Yòugōngzǐ (Chinese: 右公子; lit. 'The Lord's Son of the Right') indicates the title holder being a son of a ruler.
3. Zuǒgōngzǐ (Chinese: 左公子; lit. 'The Lord's Son of the Left') indicates the title holder being a son of a ruler.
4. Tàizǐ (Chinese: 太子; lit. 'The (Lord's) Heir Apparent') indicates the title holder being the eldest son of a ruler.
5. Gōngsūn (Chinese: 公孙; lit. 'The Lord's Grandson') is a title attached to the paternal grandsons of a ruler. In two instances above, Gongsun Banshi was a grandson of Duke Xiang, while Gongsun Mimou was a grandson of Duke Ling. If a person was also a son of a ruler, the title Gōngzǐ (公子) was used instead.

References