Chapter 8: Complex Ethical Relationships

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One of the manifestations of the collapse of ritual and music during the Spring and Autumn period was the recurrent internal turmoil within the Zhou royal family and the nobility of various states. Just as the rebellions in Zheng and the Zhou royal house had recently subsided, unrest erupted again in the State of Wei. Following the rebellion of Zhou Xu, Wei restored Prince Jin, who had been exiled to the State of Xing, to the throne, known posthumously as Duke Xuan of Wei. However, Duke Xuan of Wei failed to secure an upper hand for his state amidst the struggles among the Central Plains’ lords, while Zheng ascended to hegemonic status. Worse still, at the end of his reign, Duke Xuan brought about a devastating internal conflict that left Wei irreparably weakened.

Succession disputes often stemmed from palace intrigues, and Wei was no exception. Before ascending to power, Duke Xuan had an affair with Yi Jiang, his father Duke Zhuang of Wei’s favored concubine, resulting in a son named Jizi, also called Ji. Thus, he effectively cuckolded his own father—a fact unknown to many until after Duke Xuan took the throne. After the rebellion ended, Duke Xuan returned to assume rulership, elevated Yi Jiang to the status of principal wife, and naturally, Jizi became the legitimate eldest son. Yet, before Yi Jiang, Duke Xuan had already married the daughter of the State of Xing’s ruler as his primary wife, and Yi Jiang was his father’s concubine. This action violated Zhou rites and raised suspicions of incestuous conduct.

But Duke Xuan’s scandalous behavior did not stop there. Upon Jizi’s coming of age, Duke Xuan arranged for him to marry Xuan Jiang, the eldest daughter of Duke Xi of Qi—Xuan Jiang being the elder sister of Wen Jiang mentioned earlier. When the bride arrived in Wei, Duke Xuan was so taken by her beauty that he lusted to replace Jizi with her. Once, he cuckolded his father; now, he plotted to cuckold his own son—a notorious joke among the states at the time.

Duke Xuan concocted a ruse, sending Jizi on a diplomatic mission to Song, while he himself set up a new palace near the Qi River to marry Xuan Jiang as his secondary wife. This episode is known famously as the “New Terrace Incident.”

Jizi returned home without objection to his father’s actions. However, misfortune struck unexpectedly. After marrying Xuan Jiang, Duke Xuan fathered two more sons: Prince Shou and Prince Shuo. Jizi’s position as heir depended on Duke Xuan’s favor for Yi Jiang; now, with Xuan Jiang favored and Yi Jiang neglected, Jizi’s succession became precarious. Xuan Jiang, eager for her own sons to inherit the throne, daily whispered poison into Duke Xuan’s ear, sowing discord between him, Yi Jiang, and Jizi. Over time, Duke Xuan contemplated eliminating Jizi to install Xuan Jiang’s son as heir.

Though harboring such intentions, Duke Xuan dared not act openly due to public opinion. He conspired with Xuan Jiang to devise a plot: ostensibly order Jizi to journey to Qi on a mission, but secretly station assassins along his route to simulate a bandit attack. Jizi, unsuspecting, set out willingly. However, Prince Shou, Xuan Jiang’s son, learned of the scheme.

Although Shou was Xuan Jiang’s child, he was raised by Duke Xuan’s two younger brothers, known as the Left and Right Dukes. When Jizi was born, Duke Xuan, then in exile, had entrusted him to the same brothers’ care. Despite the age gap and half-brother status, the two maintained a close, brotherly bond. Upon learning his mother’s plot, Shou urgently rode through the night to catch Jizi, who was blissfully unaware, informing him of the danger and urging him to flee to another state.

Jizi, being kind and filial by nature, refused to defy his father despite knowing the plan. Having endured his father’s betrayal over his mother, he was unwilling to abandon his mission lightly. He rejected Shou’s advice and intended to proceed as planned. Desperate to save his brother, Shou feigned a farewell banquet, got Jizi drunk, and took his place in the convoy, bravely facing death.

The assassins, seeing the convoy, mistook Shou for Jizi and killed him. Jizi awoke to find the convoy gone and immediately sensed the truth. Rushing to the scene, he found the assassins departing after killing Shou. Jizi called out loudly, “You have killed the wrong man! I am Jizi!” The assassins then killed him as well and returned to report to Duke Xuan.

At this point, one might feel sorrow for the devoted younger brother who sacrificed his life for his elder sibling, while the elder seemed indifferent to his brother’s death. Nonetheless, someone mourned this noble brother.

The botched assassination exposed Duke Xuan’s conspiracy. The brothers’ mutual loyalty and courage were immortalized in the Book of Songs, specifically in the famous “Wei Feng: Cheng Zhou” (“Wei Airs: Riding a Boat”). Moved by their conduct, Duke Xuan deeply regretted his actions and soon passed away in grief. This episode is historically known as the “Xuan Jiang Rebellion.”

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In the wake of the Xuan Jiang Rebellion, the sole beneficiary was Xuan Jiang’s other son, Prince Shuo. With his elder brother Prince Shou’s untimely death, Shuo naturally inherited the position of crown prince. After Duke Xuan’s death, Shuo ascended the throne as Duke Hui of Wei. Yet, grateful for the virtues of the two deceased princes, most Wei people opposed Duke Hui, and the Left and Right Dukes, who had raised Jizi and Shou, despised him. They resolved to unite and overthrow Duke Hui.

Three years later, the Left and Right Dukes allied with Minister Ning Gui to stage a coup, installing Jizi’s full brother, Prince Qianmu, as ruler. Duke Hui, lacking support, fled hastily to his maternal home, the State of Qi, seeking refuge. At this time, the ruler of Qi was Duke Xiang, son of Duke Xi of Qi. Though dissolute and shameless, Duke Xiang was ambitious. Sensing an opportunity to intervene in Wei’s affairs and gain influence and prestige, he welcomed his nephew Duke Hui and, years later, rallied allied lords under the Zhou king’s banner to retake Wei by force.

Weakened by internal strife, Wei could not withstand Qi’s assault. With Qi’s backing, Duke Hui reclaimed the throne, executing the Left and Right Dukes. Prince Qianmu, married into the Zhou royal family, narrowly escaped to Chengzhou.

However, Duke Xiang knew Duke Hui’s position remained unstable and vulnerable to overthrow. To entrench Qi’s influence in Wei, Duke Xiang devised a brazen plan: he declared that Xuan Jiang was originally betrothed to Jizi, but Duke Xuan had reneged. Despite this, the engagement remained binding. With both Jizi and Duke Xuan dead, the obligation should transfer to Jizi’s brother, Prince Wan, who was thus compelled to marry his stepmother, Xuan Jiang.

Faced with this near-incestuous proposal, Prince Wan firmly refused. But Duke Xiang, wielding Qi’s power, forced the marriage upon Wan while he was drunk, leaving him no choice but to comply. Prince Wan’s descendants indeed became rulers, maintaining close ties with Qi.

In sum, the Spring and Autumn period was rife with tangled and chaotic ethics: first a father-in-law stole his son’s wife, then a son married his stepmother. The relationships were bewilderingly complex.

From the Zhou Xu Rebellion to the Xuan Jiang Rebellion, Wei suffered frequent internal conflicts and repeated invasions by hostile neighbors. Plagued by turmoil and external threats, the state declined. Yet Wei’s misfortunes were not over. After Duke Hui’s death, under his son Duke Yi, Wei endured another calamity: near annihilation. Although restored with Qi’s aid, Wei henceforth became a vassal of the great powers.

Wei’s internal strife was deeply intertwined with Qi’s machinations. Initially a minor state on the Shandong Peninsula during early Spring and Autumn, Qi rose during Duke Xi’s reign, actively engaging in the Central Plains’ power struggles.

In early Spring and Autumn, the Shandong Peninsula hosted Qi, Lu, and the minor state of Ji. Though neighbors, Qi and Ji were bitter enemies. During King Yi of Zhou’s reign, Ji’s ruler slandered Duke Ai of Qi to the Zhou king, prompting the latter to execute Duke Ai by boiling and install his brother Prince Jing as Duke Hu of Qi. To escape Ji’s persecution, Duke Hu even relocated the capital temporarily. Hence, Qi and Ji harbored deep-seated enmity.

By the early Spring and Autumn, Qi had grown strong and sought hegemony, naturally targeting Ji first. Though Ji had declined to a second-tier state, it actively pursued diplomacy to counter Qi. To survive, Ji formed familial ties with Lu and formed multiple alliances, attempting to exploit tensions between Qi and Lu. Additionally, Ji’s ruler offered his daughter to the Zhou king as queen to leverage royal authority against Qi. Yet Qi’s might rendered these efforts largely ineffective.

Under Duke Xi, Qi began expansion. He sought an alliance with Duke Zhuang of Zheng to jointly attack Ji but failed. After Duke Zhuang’s death, Zheng fell into chaos and clashed with Song. Zheng allied with Lu, hoping to mediate the Zheng-Song dispute, while Ji warred against Song, Wei, Southern Yan, and Qi, ultimately victorious. Qi, initially allied with Zheng and Wei, likely joined the conflict due to Ji’s provocations. Duke Xi aimed to exploit the war to weaken Ji but was defeated again.

In the 22nd year of King Huan of Zhou’s reign (698 BCE), Duke Xi died unfulfilled, and his son Prince Zhu’er ascended as Duke Xiang of Qi.

Duke Xiang inherited his father’s political legacy and pursued domination. Seeing Ji survive under Lu’s protection, he turned against Lu. Early in his reign, Duke Huan of Lu tried to mediate between Qi and Ji by convening a summit with Duke Xiang and Ji’s ruler, but Duke Xiang refused to reconcile and attacked Lu at Xidi. Soon after, he invited Duke Huan to Qi to officiate his marriage to the Zhou king’s daughter. The duke accepted but was unaware that this journey would cost him his life.

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Though Duke Xiang possessed political acumen, his private life was notoriously licentious. Duke Xi had two daughters, Xuan Jiang and Wen Jiang. Xuan Jiang was taken by Duke Xuan of Wei, sparking the Xuan Jiang Rebellion. Wen Jiang was once promised to Duke Zhao of Zheng but never married. Later, during unrest in Lu, Prince Hui assassinated Duke Yin of Lu and seized power as Duke Huan. To stabilize the state and foster alliances, Prince Hui arranged marriage ties with Qi, marrying Wen Jiang on Duke Huan’s behalf.

Like Xuan Jiang, Wen Jiang was renowned for her beauty. Even before marriage, while still confined to her chamber, she engaged in an incestuous relationship with her elder brother, then Prince Xiang of Qi. This is recorded in the “Qi Airs” of the Book of Songs, in poems such as “South Mountain,” “Old Bag,” and “Carriage Driver.”

After marrying into Lu, Wen Jiang severed contact with Duke Xiang for over a decade. Duke Xiang’s invitation to Duke Huan of Lu to visit Qi likely combined political strategy with a desire to reunite with Wen Jiang. She encouraged Duke Huan to attend and requested to accompany him under the pretext of a return visit home. Unaware of the true motives, Duke Huan agreed, and the siblings rekindled their affair in Qi. Wen Jiang openly stayed in Duke Xiang’s palace, neglecting her husband’s interests.

Furious, Duke Huan confronted Wen Jiang and decided to leave Qi. Wen Jiang wept to Duke Xiang, who, outraged on her behalf, resolved to kill Duke Huan. During Duke Huan’s farewell banquet, Duke Xiang got him heavily drunk and assigned his uncle, Prince Pengsheng, to drive him home. En route, Pengsheng murdered Duke Huan. To deflect Lu’s blame, Duke Xiang executed Pengsheng as a scapegoat.

Duke Zhuang of Lu, Duke Huan’s successor, was helpless against his unreasonable uncle and tacitly accepted Wen Jiang’s permanent absence. A palace was built for her in Zhuo between Qi and Lu, where she resided. Ironically, Duke Zhuang later traveled to Qi to officiate Duke Xiang’s marriage to Wang Ji, his own mother. Thus, his uncle married his mother, supported by her son—a bizarre arrangement born of political expediency.

Qi gained the upper hand over Lu in their overt and covert struggles. As the adage goes, “When the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold,” Ji could not escape the consequences. Seeing Duke Zhuang preoccupied, Duke Xiang seized the chance to strike Ji. A year after Duke Huan’s death, Qi invaded and occupied the three cities of Pu, Zi, and Fu in Ji. Under pressure, Ji fractured internally, with the duke’s younger brother, Ji Ji, defecting to Qi and ceding territory.

Duke Zhuang sought to preserve Ji by allying with Zheng against Qi. But after Duke Zhuang of Zheng’s death and ensuing chaos, Prince Wei, installed by Gao Qumi, was killed by Duke Xiang at a summit, along with Gao Qumi. Zheng, unstable under new ruler Prince Yi, was unwilling to antagonize Qi and declined Lu’s alliance proposal. Ji’s fate was sealed; a year later, Qi forces captured Ji’s capital, the duke fled, and Ji ceased to exist.

Qi’s annexation vastly expanded its territory, establishing it as a formidable power. Under Duke Xiang’s rule, Qi meddled in Wei’s politics, overthrowing Prince Qianmu, forcing Prince Wan to wed his stepmother Xuan Jiang, and installing Qi’s influence. Subsequently, Qi allied with Lu to attack the State of Cheng, asserting itself as the preeminent hegemon of the era.

However, Duke Xiang’s dream of dominance was cut short by internal rebellion. Qi’s hegemony would be fulfilled by successors yet to come.