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The Three Huan (Chinese :三桓; pinyin :Sān Huán) refers to three Chinese aristocratic clans, all descendants of Duke Huan of Lu, in the State of Lu, which dominated the government affairs, displacing the power of the dukes, for nearly three centuries during the Spring and Autumn period. They are the Jisun (季孫) or Ji, Mengsun (孟孫) or Meng, and Shusun (叔孫) clans.
The characters Bo (伯), Meng (孟), Zhong (仲), Shu (叔), and Ji (季) are originally ordinals used in courtesy names to indicate a person's rank among his or her siblings of the same gender who survived to adulthood. The eldest brother's courtesy name would be prefixed with the word "Bo" (or "Meng" if he was born to a secondary wife), the second with "Zhong", the youngest with "Ji", and the rest with "Shu". For instance, Confucius's courtesy name was Zhongni (仲尼).
As the power of the Three Huan became hereditary, the descendants of Duke Zhuang's brothers used the ordinal numbers as family names to distinguish their branches of the House of Ji.
The three houses are cadet houses of the Lu ducal house, which is itself a branch of the ruling house of the Zhou dynasty. Duke Huan of Lu (r. 711–694 BC) had four sons. While the oldest son by his main wife Wen Jiang became the heir, and subsequently Duke Zhuang of Lu, his other three sons - respectively Qingfu (慶父), Shuya (叔牙) and Jiyou (季友) all became important officials during the reign of Duke Zhuang, and gained substantial power in the state.
Their influence would come to undermine the power of the ducal house owing to the succession issue of Duke Zhuang. The duke, who was seriously ill, wanted his son Ziban (子般) to succeed; Shuya advocated the succession of Qingfu, but was then poisoned by Jiyou, who supported Ziban. Under Jiyou's protection, Ziban became the Duke, but he was shortly murdered by Qingfu in collaboration with Duke Zhuang's wife. Jiyou was exiled from Lu, and Duke Min of Lu, Ziban's brother, was installed to the throne.
In 660 BC, Qingfu murdered Duke Min as well and sought to rule himself as the Duke of Lu; in the face of public outcry, however, he was forced to flee to the state of Ju. Jiyou then returned from his exile in the state of Qi with the younger brother of Duke Min, who then ruled as Duke Xi of Lu; while Qingfu was forced to commit suicide, Jiyou became the chief minister of Lu, a post that he held for 16 years and which was secured with the backing of the powerful state of Qi.
Competition between the three families became the reason of a major skirmish during the time of Confucius. Ran Yong, Ran Qiu, and Zilu, three of his disciples, were ministers of Jisun, and Confucius himself was a subordinate of Ji Huanzi, the chancellor of Duke Ding of Lu. Lu was almost annihilated by rebels, and Confucius allegedly took part in weakening of the three families and strengthening of the ruler's position, but was ousted from Lu in 497 BCE, went on an exile until 484 BCE.
At the end of the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Ai of Lu, who had no control of Lu's own army, secretly negotiated with Yue for the powerful neighbour to invade Lu, depose the Three Huan, and restore power to the duke. However, the plot was discovered, and Duke Ai was forced to flee abroad. He was succeeded by his son Duke Dao, who continued to be a puppet of the Three Huan.
According to Sima Qian, Confucius said: "The disciples who received my instructions, and could themselves comprehend them, were seventy-seven individuals. They were all scholars of extraordinary ability." It was traditionally believed that Confucius had three thousand students, but that only 72 mastered what he taught. The following is a list of students who have been identified as Confucius's followers. Very little is known of most of Confucius's students, but some of them are mentioned in the Analects of Confucius. Many of their biographies are recorded in the Sima Qian's Shiji. The Six Arts were practiced by the 72 disciples.
Duke Huan of Qi, personal name Xiǎobái (小白), was the ruler of the State of Qi from 685 to 643 BC. Living during the chaotic Spring and Autumn period, as the Zhou dynasty's former vassal states fought each other for supremacy, Duke Huan and his long-time advisor Guan Zhong managed to transform Qi into China's most powerful polity. Duke Huan was eventually recognized by most of the Zhou states as well as the Zhou royal family as Hegemon of China. In this position, he fought off invasions of China by non-Zhou peoples and attempted to restore order throughout the lands. Toward the end of his more than forty-year-long reign, however, Duke Huan's power began to decline as he grew ill and Qi came to be embroiled in factional strife. Following his death in 643 BC, Qi completely lost its predominance.
Lu was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji (姬) that ruled the Zhou dynasty. The first duke was Boqin, a son of the Duke of Zhou, who was brother of King Wu of Zhou and regent to King Cheng of Zhou.
Guan Zhong was a Chinese philosopher and politician. He served as chancellor and was a reformer of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. His given name was Yiwu. Zhong was his courtesy name. He is mainly remembered for his reforms as chancellor under Duke Huan of Qi, as well as his friendship with his colleague Bao Shuya, though his reputation remained controversial among the Confucians, as detailed in the Philosophy and appraisal section.
Wen Jiang was a princess of the State of Qi and duchess of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. She was a daughter of Duke Xi of Qi and sister of Duke Xiang and Duke Huan of Qi. She was the main wife of Duke Huan of Lu and mother of Duke Zhuang of Lu. She is best known for having an incestuous relationship with her brother Duke Xiang, who had her husband murdered. Her clan name was Jiang (姜) ,personal name unknown, and Wen was her posthumous title.
Meng is a Chinese surname. Meng is a shi surname or clan name (氏), as opposed to the xing (姓) category of surname, ancestral name. Meng is of the type of surname which was a member of the list of names denoting seniority within a certain family: in ancient usage, the characters of meng (孟), zhong (仲), shu (叔) and ji (季) were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth eldest sons in a family. These were sometimes adopted as surnames. Of these, Meng is the best known, being the surname of the philosopher Mencius. It is the 94th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.
Duke Xiang of Qi was from 697 to 686 BC the fourteenth recorded ruler of the State of Qi, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His personal name was Lü Zhu'er (呂諸兒), ancestral name Jiang, and Duke Xiang was his posthumous title.
Duke Huan of Lu, personal name Ji Yun or Ji Gui, was a ruler of the Lu state, reigning from 711 to 694 BC.
Duke Ling of Qi was from 581 to 554 BC ruler of the State of Qi, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His personal name was Lü Huan (呂環), ancestral name Jiang, and Duke Ling was his posthumous title. Duke Ling succeeded his father Duke Qing of Qi, who died in 582 BC after 17 years of reign.
Duke Dao of Qi was from 488 to 485 BC ruler of the State of Qi, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His personal name was Lü Yangsheng (呂陽生), ancestral name Jiang, and Duke Dao was his posthumous title. Before ascending the throne he was known as Prince Yangsheng.
Jì is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname written 季 in Chinese character. It is romanized as Chi in Wade–Giles, and Gwai in Cantonese. Ji is the 142nd most common surname in China, with a population of 960,000. It is listed the 134th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.
Ran Qiu, also known by his courtesy name Ziyou and as Ran You, was a leading disciple of Confucius. Among Confucius's disciples, he was the foremost in terms of ability and accomplishment in statesmanship. As a military commander of the State of Lu, he repelled an invasion from the neighbouring State of Qi. His influence in Lu facilitated the return of Confucius to his native state after fourteen years of exile.
Duke Xi of Lu, personal name Ji Shen, was a ruler of Lu state, reigning from 659 BC to 627 BC. His father was Duke Zhuang. After Duke Xi died in 627 BC, his son, Duke Wen, succeeded him to the throne. Among the rulers of Lu whose reigns were recorded in the Zuo Zhuan, Duke Xi's reign was the longest.
Duke Zhuang of Lu, personal name Ji Tong (姬同), was a duke of the Lu state during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history.
Ziban, personal name Ji Ban (姬般), was a ruler of the Lu state. He is generally known in historiography as Ziban due to his reign being less than a year long, as Ziban died in the same year as his father, Duke Zhuang.
Duke Min of Lu, personal name Ji Qi, was a duke of the Lu state. He ruled from 661 BC to 660 BC.
Duke Xuan of Lu, personal name Ji Tui, was a duke of the Lu state, reigning from 608 BC to 591 BC. He succeeded his father, Duke Wen, to the Lu throne. After Duke Xuan died in 591 BC, his son, Prince Heigong, succeeded him.
Duke Xiang of Lu was a ruler of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Wu (午), and Duke Xiang was his posthumous title.
Duke Ding of Lu was a ruler of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Song (宋), and Duke Ding was his posthumous title.
Duke Ai of Lu was a ruler of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Jiang (將), and Duke Ai was his posthumous title.