Chapter 12: The Rebellion of Qingfu

At the height of Qi State’s rising power, the State of Lu was engulfed in internal turmoil, intricately linked to Ai Jiang, the daughter of Duke Huan of Qi. After Duke Zhuang of Lu’s death, his younger brother Qing Fu assassinated two successive rulers of Lu, an episode known as the “Qing Fu Rebellion.”

Duke Zhuang of Lu was an unconventional ruler. While Lu was a state that strictly adhered to and valued the rites of the Zhou dynasty, Duke Zhuang disregarded these traditions upon his accession, breaking with the established rites and causing great discontent among his people. In the twenty-third year of Duke Zhuang’s reign (671 BCE), Qi held a grand sacrificial ceremony, breaking Zhou protocol. Hearing this, Duke Zhuang ignored his minister Cao Gui’s advice and attended the ceremony, disregarding the rites. The following year, he journeyed to Qi again to marry Ai Jiang, Duke Huan’s daughter. During the wedding, Duke Zhuang further defied ritual propriety, even painting the columns of the ancestral temple red, whereas Zhou ritual mandated that columns at temple fronts be black.

Before marrying Ai Jiang, Duke Zhuang had encountered Meng Ren, the daughter of the Dang clan. Struck by her beauty during a chance meeting, he became infatuated, following her wherever she went. Meng Ren returned home, and Duke Zhuang followed her there. They formed a blood oath, and Duke Zhuang promised to make her his consort. They had a son, Prince Ban. Meanwhile, Ai Jiang bore no sons, but her younger sister, Shu Jiang, gave birth to a son, Prince Kai. Favoring Meng Ren, Duke Zhuang wished for Prince Ban to succeed him, but since Ban was not the legitimate eldest son, he could not be appointed heir. Thus, Duke Zhuang delayed naming a crown prince.

Neglected by Duke Zhuang, Ai Jiang secretly consorted with his brother Qing Fu. Qing Fu supported Prince Kai, Shu Jiang’s son, as successor. The conflict between Duke Zhuang and Qing Fu increasingly surfaced amid these complex relations, and Duke Zhuang’s hesitance to appoint an heir became a significant cause of the later Qing Fu Rebellion.

In the thirty-second year of Duke Zhuang’s reign (662 BCE), he suddenly fell gravely ill and lingered without recovery. Concerned about succession, he summoned his three brothers: the eldest Qing Fu, the second Shu Ya, and the youngest Ji You. Asking Shu Ya who was fit to succeed, Shu Ya replied, “Qing Fu is very capable.” Next, Duke Zhuang consulted the loyal youngest brother Ji You, who expressed his willingness to support Prince Ban’s succession. Duke Zhuang then told Ji You of Shu Ya’s praise for Qing Fu. Ji You, acting on the duke’s orders, summoned Shu Ya to await judgment at the home of the Zhen Wu clan and secretly sent him poisoned wine, forcing him to commit suicide. Shu Ya feared his descendants would be exterminated, so after drinking the poison, he died at Kui Spring.

Upon Duke Zhuang’s death, Ji You installed Prince Ban as ruler. However, within two months, Qing Fu sent Luo to assassinate Prince Ban. The motive for the assassination lay in an earlier incident: in the year Duke Zhuang died, during a rain-invoking ritual at the residence of Minister Liang, Luo, who tended the horses, molested Liang’s daughter as she watched the ceremony. Prince Ban discovered Luo’s misbehavior and, enraged, bound and whipped him. Duke Zhuang had advised executing Luo, noting his great strength, but Ban spared him. Luo harbored a grudge and, when Ban ascended the throne, Qing Fu exploited Luo’s resentment and strength to orchestrate the assassination, which succeeded.

After Prince Ban’s murder, Ji You feared for his own life and fled to the State of Chen. Qing Fu then installed Prince Kai, Ai Jiang’s niece’s son, as ruler—he became Duke Min of Lu. In the sixth month of Duke Min’s first year (661 BCE), Duke Zhuang’s body was finally buried, delayed due to the internal chaos. In the eighth month, Duke Min allied with Duke Huan of Qi at Luo Gu, requesting Qi’s aid to bring back Ji You. Duke Huan consented, sending envoys to Chen, while Duke Min waited at Lang (southeast of present-day Qufu, Shandong). Ji You returned as promised and was rewarded. Thanks to Duke Huan’s efforts, Ji You’s return helped stabilize Lu.

That winter, Qi minister Zhong Sun Qiu visited Lu to assess the disaster. Reporting back to Duke Huan, Zhong Sun Qiu said, “As long as Qing Fu lives, Lu will lack peace.” Duke Huan asked, “How shall we remove Qing Fu?” Zhong Sun Qiu replied, “Lu’s misfortunes are self-inflicted by Qing Fu. The ruler should wait patiently.” When asked if Qi should attack Lu, Zhong Sun Qiu said, “No. Lu follows Zhou rites, which form its foundation. I’ve heard: ‘When a nation is doomed, its foundation first shakes before the branches fall.’ Lu has not abandoned the rites, so its foundation remains firm. The ruler must approach Lu now, while it struggles. To befriend a state that honors rites and relies on stability, while sowing discord among the disunited and overthrowing the corrupt, this is the way of a hegemon.”

Though Duke Huan had made Qi a dominant power and himself a hegemon, he did not arrogantly seize Lu during its crisis. Instead, he heeded Zhong Sun Qiu’s advice to approach Lu respectfully, preserving the Zhou order by protecting the ritual-respecting Lu. This was a monumental contribution in upholding the Zhou dynasty’s principles.

As Zhong Sun Qiu predicted, Qing Fu sparked further upheaval. In the second year of Duke Min’s reign (660 BCE), Qing Fu’s disciple Bu Yi seized farmland belonging to Duke Min’s teacher. Duke Min ignored it. On August 24, Qing Fu dispatched Bu Yi to assassinate Duke Min during a surprise attack at Wu Wei, killing him. Having assassinated two rulers, Qing Fu fled Lu for the State of Ju. Ji You returned from Zhu with Duke Min’s younger brother to assume the throne as Duke Xi of Lu. After ascending, Ji You bribed Ju to extradite Qing Fu. Ju agreed and sent Qing Fu back. At Mi (north of present-day Fei County, Shandong), Qing Fu’s son Yu pleaded for clemency from Ji You, but was refused and returned weeping. Upon hearing Yu’s cries, Qing Fu realized his fate was sealed and hanged himself.

Ai Jiang, who had consorted with Qing Fu and initially intended to place him on the throne, fled to Zhu after Qing Fu’s escape, fearing punishment for her involvement. Later, Duke Huan of Qi, deeming Ai Jiang a disgrace to Qi, ordered her capture and execution at Yi. Her body was returned to Lu, where Duke Xi gave her a proper burial, thus concluding the Qing Fu Rebellion.

Throughout this turmoil, Duke Huan never shielded his daughter Ai Jiang but upheld justice, even executing her to purge Lu’s calamity. With his assistance, Lu regained stability, restored rites, and quelled internal strife.

Before the Zhou dynasty, northern tribes threatening the Central Plains included the Shanrong, Xianyun, Hunzhu, Tufang, and Guifang. Those to the north were called Di, and those to the west were called Rong. By the Western Zhou period, Guifang and Xianyun posed major threats. The “Book of Songs” (Xiao Ya, Cai Wei) laments: “No home, no family, because of the Xianyun. No time to rest, because of the Xianyun.”

To quell these threats, Zhou kings repeatedly dispatched armies, winning many battles, but the Rong and Di forces repeatedly revived. By the reign of King You of Zhou, the Quanrong grew powerful, and with the royal house weakened, Western Zhou was destroyed by them. King Ping of Zhou fled east to Luoyi to rebuild the dynasty. Rong tribes penetrated deeply into the Central Plains, spreading across Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan. Only with the rise of Qin and the conquests of Qin dukes, culminating in Duke Mu’s campaigns, did Qin dominate the Western Rong and end their threat.

During the Spring and Autumn period, with the Zhou king’s waning authority unable to rally the lords against the Rong and Di, the Di intensified their invasions, advancing eastward from Shanxi and Shaanxi into Hebei, Henan, and Shandong. Capitalizing on internecine warfare among Central Plains states, they launched devastating raids, threatening the region deeply. Against this backdrop, Duke Huan of Qi raised the banner of “expelling the barbarians,” a cause the Zhou kings could no longer champion, uniting the lords to stabilize the realm.

In northern Henan around the Qi and Wei Rivers lay the State of Wei, one of the larger northern states during the early Spring and Autumn era. Its capital was the former Shang capital, Chaoge. Duke Yi of Wei was indifferent to wealth, military strength, or territorial expansion; his passion was raising cranes. His palace and gardens hosted numerous carefully bred cranes. To honor them, he granted them ranks and stipends: the highest cranes equaled ministers, lesser ones received scholar salaries, and a “Crane General” commanded them. Whenever Duke Yi traveled, these cranes led his chariot like mighty generals.

In 660 BCE, the Di launched a major southern invasion, heading straight for Wei. Duke Yi hastily gathered troops, but none wished to fight. Soldiers resented that even risking their lives on the battlefield barely earned them noble titles, while the duke lavished wealth on cranes. They mockingly said, “Send your Crane General to fight!” Forced, Duke Yi released all the cranes to regain some loyalty and gathered the army. He entrusted jade tablets to Minister Shi Qizi to handle state affairs and arrows to Minister Ning Zhuangzi to defend the capital, beseeching, “Use these to honor the state and act wisely.”

After entrusting the capital to Shi Qizi and Ning Zhuangzi, Duke Yi donned armor and led his troops, appointing Qu Kong as charioteer, Zi Bo as right chariot guard, Huang Yi as vanguard, and Kong Ying as rear guard. The Di forces had already reached the city gates. The Wei army, disorganized and hastily assembled, was quickly routed. Duke Yi clung to the Wei banner, refusing to flee, and was torn apart by the Di, leaving only a liver.

With Duke Yi’s death, no one could halt the Di advance. They sacked Wei’s capital, slaughtered and pillaged, and pursued fleeing Wei citizens. When Duke Huan of Song arrived to aid, only 730 survivors remained, supplemented by residents from Gongyi and Tengyi to total 5,000. Duke Yi’s cousin’s grandson, Gongzi Shen, gathered the remnants and ministers, establishing himself as Duke Dai of Wei at Caoyi (southwest of modern Huaxian, Henan).

Initially, Duke Huan of Qi ignored the Di invasion of Wei and sent no aid. Only upon learning of Wei’s destruction and Duke Yi’s death did he grasp the gravity. He dispatched his son Gongzi Wukui with 300 chariots and 3,000 soldiers to Caoyi to stabilize the situation. He also gifted Duke Dai five sets of ceremonial horse harnesses and robes, a splendid fish-carriage and rich brocade to Duke Yi’s widow, and 300 each of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, and dogs, along with construction timber. With Qi’s support and protection, Wei was rebuilt.

Yet misfortune struck again. Duke Dai died within a year of accession, plunging the nascent Wei into turmoil. At this crisis, Gongzi Hui, exiled in Qi, returned to Wei and became Duke Wen. Meanwhile, Duke Yi’s sister, the wife of Duke Mu of Xu, grieved deeply upon hearing of Wei’s fall. She left Xu to assist in rebuilding Wei and used her diplomatic skills to solicit aid from other states.

As Wei’s reconstruction flourished, the Di turned their attention to Xing State. The previous year, they had attacked Xing, but Duke Huan of Qi, indulging in pleasure, declined to send troops. Minister Guan Zhong admonished, “The Rong and Di are like wolves and jackals; we cannot neglect them. The various states are close kin; we cannot abandon them. Pleasure is like poison; we must not indulge. Have you not heard the ‘Book of Songs’ say: ‘How can one not long to return, fearing this admonition?’ This admonition urges the states to unite against formidable foes. Please heed this spirit and send aid to Xing.”

Duke Huan was awakened and, abandoning leisure, dispatched troops that repelled the Di and saved Xing.

After sacking Wei, the Di launched a major assault on Xing. If Qi remained indifferent, how could it claim to uphold the king’s authority and expel barbarians? Duke Huan rallied armies from Song and Cao, and at Nie Bei (present-day Liaocheng, Shandong), the allied forces converged to aid Xing. However, by the time the coalition arrived, Xing’s capital had fallen, been plundered, and burned to ashes.

The allied forces drove off the Di and rescued fleeing Xing citizens, but the capital lay in ruins. Duke Huan ordered the coalition to relocate Xing’s population to Yiyi (west of present-day Liaocheng) and build a new walled capital. With support from Qi and other states, the new city rose swiftly. The Xing people rejoiced at their new home as though returning to their ancestral land, thus the history records this as “Xing’s resettlement like returning home.”

Next, Duke Huan called on the states to jointly construct a new capital for Wei at Chu Qiu (east of modern Huaxian, Henan). The restored Wei people, now secure and peaceful, soon settled the new land, forgetting the trauma of their former downfall—a chapter known as “Wei forgets its ruin.”

By leveraging Qi’s dominant position among the lords, Duke Huan gradually united the states along the middle and lower Yellow River to fend off the Rong and Di incursions. Confucius praised, “Without Guan Zhong, I would have let my hair grow wild and worn my clothes backward,” lauding Qi’s protection of Central Plains culture and people from devastation.

The restoration of Lu, Wei, and Xing—“saving Lu, rescuing Xing, preserving Wei”—stood as the three great achievements on Duke Huan’s path to hegemony. Through uniting the states to expel barbarians, he laid the solid foundations for Qi’s eventual leadership of the alliance of lords to restore order to the realm.