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Gong was a title of ancient and imperial Chinese nobility roughly equivalent to and usually translated as duke . It was also historically used within Chinese fiefs as a respectful term of address to any living liege (similar to the English "lord") and is still used in modern Chinese as a respectful term of address for any man of high status (similar to "sir"),particularly for the honored deceased as with formal reference to Chiang Kai-shek as Jiǎng Gōng ( 蔣 公 ) on Taiwan.
Within Chinese,the same character 公 (gōng) is used as a noun in the terms for respected male relatives (e.g. 老公 ,lǎogōng,"husband",and 外公 ,wàigōng,"maternal grandfather") and as an adjective in the terms for various male animals (e.g. 公牛 ,gōngniú,"bull",and 公羊 ,gōngyáng,"ram" or "billy goat"). Paul R. Goldin has argued for its etymological relationship with 翁 (wēng),with their shared original term having meant "respected elder". [1]
The typical English translation within aristocratic ancient and imperial Chinese contexts is "duke",although Creel has proposed translating it under the Western Zhou as "lord"[ why? ] and as "duke" only beginning with the Eastern Zhou. [2]
By the time of the Zhou dynasty,the title gong was used alongside other familial titles for important members of the royal Ji family outside the immediate line of succession. The regents of the Cheng King —his uncles Dan and Shi and the important vassal LüShang—were known to history as Zhou Gong,Shao Gong,and Jiang Ziya. His uncles Xian,Du,and Chu who acted as the "Three Guards" of the eastern territories before their rebellion against the regency were likewise known by the somewhat lower rank of shū ( 叔 ),now used for younger paternal uncles or male friends of the family.
Subsequently,the Three Excellencies,the highest Zhou government ministers,bore the title gong, [3] as did the highest ranking rulers of the kingdom's fiefs even when—like the Shang rulers of Song —they came from outside the royal family. [4] The Xiang Duke of Song (r. 650–637 BC) even became one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period,before such lords began to use the title of king. During the rites of ancestral veneration,any ancestor of great antiquity could be accorded the title gong regardless of their proper title in life; [4] [3] [5] this was sometimes a formal upgrade,as when Jiang Ziya's fief of Qi became a duchy and he was posthumously promoted to the title of gong himself. The name was also used by courtiers and others to address ruling nobles of any formal rank within their own states. [4]
Under the Han and subsequent dynasties,wang —previously the royal title of the Xia,Shang,and Zhou sovereigns —came to be used for senior princes and vassal rulers who controlled the more important primary divisions of the empire. At this time,gong came into use for nominal or actual lords of its more important secondary divisions.
With the rise of notional titles,some of the dukedoms acquired literary rather than territorial designations. The primary example is how,under the Northern Song,the emperor Renzong made the title Duke Yansheng —"Overflowing with Wisdom"— hereditary within the line of direct descent from Confucius. This was converted to a cabinet-level political office of the Republic of China in 1935 and an uncompensated honorary title on Taiwan in 2008.
The Zhou dynasty was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years,the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of ancient China by the royal house,surnamed Ji,lasted from 1046 until 771 BC for a period known as the Western Zhou,and the political sphere of influence it created continued well into the Eastern Zhou period for another 500 years. The establishment date of 1046 BC is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier,but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC.
Fajia,often translated as Legalism,is one of Sima Qian's six classical schools of thought in Chinese philosophy. Compared in the West with political realism and even the model-building of Max Weber,the "fa school of thought" represents several branches of what Feng Youlan called "men of methods",who contributed greatly to the construction of the bureaucratic Chinese empire. Although lacking a recognized founder,the earliest persona of the Fajia is often considered Guan Zhong,while Chinese historians commonly regard Li Kui as the first Legalist philosopher. The term Fajia was identified by Sinologist Herrlee G. Creel as referring to a combination of Shen Buhai and Shang Yang as its founding branches.
The nobility of China represented the upper strata of aristocracy in premodern China,acting as the ruling class until c. 1000 CE,and remaining a significant feature of the traditional social structure until the end of the imperial period.
Qi,or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization,was a regional state of the Zhou dynasty in ancient China,whose rulers held titles of Hou (侯),then Gong,before declaring themselves independent Kings. Its capital was Linzi,located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded shortly after the Zhou conquest of Shang,c. 1046 BCE. Its first monarch was Jiang Ziya,minister of King Wen and a legendary figure in Chinese culture. His family ruled Qi for several centuries before it was replaced by the Tian family in 386 BCE. Qi was the final surviving state to be annexed by Qin during its unification of China.
Dan,Duke Wen of Zhou,commonly known as the Duke of Zhou,was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for acting as a capable and loyal regent for his young nephew King Cheng,and for successfully suppressing the Rebellion of the Three Guards and establishing firm rule of the Zhou dynasty over eastern China. He is also a Chinese culture hero credited with writing the I Ching and the Book of Poetry,and establishing the Rites of Zhou.
The Investiture of the Gods,also known by its Chinese names Fengshen Yanyi (Chinese:封神演義;pinyin:Fēngshén Yǎnyì;Wade–Giles:Fêng1-shên2 Yan3-yi4;Jyutping:Fung1 San4 Jin2 Ji6) and Fengshen Bang (封神榜), is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (shenmo) genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Consisting of 100 chapters,it was first published in book form between 1567 and 1619. Another source claims it was published in a finalized edition in 1605. The work combines elements of history,folklore,mythology,legends and fantasy.
Jiang Ziya,also known by several other names,was a Chinese military general,monarch,strategist,and writer who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China. Following their victory at Muye,he continued to serve as a Zhou minister. He remained loyal to the regent Duke of Zhou during the Rebellion of the Three Guards;following the Duke's punitive raids against the restive Eastern Barbarians or Dongyi,Jiang was enfeoffed with their territory as the marchland of Qi. He established his seat at Yingqiu.
Jī was the ancestral name of the Zhou dynasty which ruled China between the 11th and 3rd centuries BC. Thirty-nine members of the family ruled China during this period while many others ruled as local lords,lords who eventually gained great autonomy during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Ji is a relatively uncommon surname in modern China,largely because its bearers often adopted the names of their states and fiefs as new surnames.
King Wen of Zhou was the posthumous title given to Ji Chang,the patriarch of the Zhou state during the final years of Shang dynasty in ancient China. Ji Chang himself died before the end of the Zhou-Shang War,and his second son Ji Fa completed the conquest of Shang following the Battle of Muye,and posthumously honored him as the founder of the Zhou dynasty. Many of the hymns of the Classic of Poetry are praises to the legacy of King Wen. Some consider him the first epic hero of Chinese history.
Song was a state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China,with its capital at Shangqiu. The state was founded soon after King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1046 BC. It was conquered by the State of Qi in 286 BC,during the Warring States period. Confucius is traditionally considered to have been a descendant of a Song nobleman who moved to the State of Lu.
Bo Yikao was the eldest son of King Wen of Zhou and the elder brother of King Wu who was the founder of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China.
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The State of Quán was a small Zhou Dynasty vassal state of Central China. A Marquisate,then Dukedom (侯),its rulers were descendants of Shang Dynasty ruler Wu Ding with the surname Zi (子). Quan was founded by Wen Ding’s son Quan Wending (权文丁) in the area of modern day Maliang Town (马良镇),Shayang County,Jingmen City,Hubei Province,next to what would later emerge as the State of Chu.
Ancient Chinese states were dynastic polities of China within and without the Zhou cultural sphere prior to Qin's wars of unification. They ranged in size from large estates,to city-states to much vaster territories with multiple population centers. Many of these submitted to royal authority,but many did not—even those that shared the same culture and ancestral temple surname as the ruling house. Prior to the Zhou conquest of Shang,the first of these ancient states were already extant as units of the preceding Shang dynasty,Predynastic Zhou,or polities of other cultural groups. Once the Zhou had established themselves,they made grants of land and relative local sovereignty to kinfolk in return for military support and tributes,under a system known as fengjian.
King Tai of Zhou or Gugong Danfu was a great leader of the Zhou clan during the Shang dynasty. His great-grandson Fa would later conquer the Shang and establish the Zhou dynasty.
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Duke Ding of Qi was the second recorded ruler of the ancient Chinese state of Qi during the Western Zhou Dynasty. His personal name was LüJi (呂伋) and ancestral name was Jiang.
Duke Zhuang I of Qi was from 794 to 731 BC the twelfth recorded ruler of the State of Qi during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. His personal name was LüGou (呂購),ancestral name Jiang,and Duke Zhuang was his posthumous title. He was the first of the two Qi rulers called Duke Zhuang.
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