Duke Huan of Qi

Duke Huan of Qi , personal name Lü Xiaobai, was a duke of the Qi state, ruling from 685 BC to 643 BC.

Duke Huan and his long-time advisor Guan Zhong managed to transform Qi into China's most powerful polity. Duke Huan is commonly listed among the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period. Toward the end of his more than 40-year-long reign, however, Duke Huan's power began to decline as he grew ill and the Qi state came to be embroiled in factional strife. Following his death in 643 BC, Qi completely lost its predominance.

Early life and rise to power Xiǎobái was born as one of Duke Xi of Qi's sons, though not in line of succession for the throne as he had at least two older brothers: Zhu'er and Jiu. In his youth, Xiǎobái was tutored by Bao Shuya. When Duke Xi eventually died, Zhu'er became Qi's next ruler as "Duke Xiang" but his reign was fraught with internal conflicts and scandals. Recognizing this and fearing for his pupil's life, Bao Shuya took Xiǎobái and fled with him to the state of Ju where they went on to live in exile.

Duke Xiang was assassinated in 686 BC, which allowed his cousin, Wuzhi, to ascend the throne. After just one month in office, however, Wuzhi was also murdered. With these two dead, Xiǎobái returned to Qi with the goal of becoming the next duke. He faced opposition in the form of his older brother Jiu however. Prince Jiu, by then also in exile, managed to gain the support of several high-ranking officials in Qi, his tutor Guan Zhong and Duke Zhuang of Lu. Before Jiu could be installed as new duke of Qi, however, Xiǎobái managed to seize control of Qi's government as well as its army, and was crowned as "Duke Huan of Qi" in 685 BC. The army of Lu under Duke Zhuang promptly invaded in order to install Prince Jiu on the throne, but the invading force suffered a crushing defeat at Qianshi and had to retreat. Qi's army under Bao Shuya in turn invaded Lu, and demanded Jiu and his supporters be handed over. To appease Duke Huan, Duke Zhuang then executed the rogue prince and delivered Guan Zhong to Qi as a prisoner. Guan Zhong also died in that year, depriving the ruler of Qi of his most important advisor. Having grown ill, Duke Huan was increasingly ignored by the leaders of other states, and even his authority over Qi itself declined as various political factions began to vie for power.

These factions were formed by high officials as well as six of the duke's sons. These six, namely Zhao, Wukui, Pan, Shangren, Yuan, and Yong, were all the children of different concubines, as Duke Huan's three main wives bore him no sons. As a result, all of them felt themselves entitled to the throne. Though Qi's ruler had designated Prince Zhao as his heir and even charged Duke Xiang of Song with ensuring that he would ascend the throne, this did not stop the other five from plotting their own rise to power. According to the Guanzi, the elderly duke had also to deal with four powerful officials: Tang Wu, the court sorcerer; Yiya, the chief cook; Shu Diao, the chief of the eunuchs; and Gongzi Kaifang, a leading courtier. Shortly before his death, Guan Zhong had advised that they should be sent into exile. Duke Huan did so, but he found himself missing their particular talents at the court and allowed them to return. They then conspired against him, and locked him in his room, secretly starving him to death. Other notable sources for these events, such as the Zuo Zhuan and the Records of the Grand Historian do not mention this purported assassination.

Duke Huan of Qi finally died in late 643 BC, and the capital Linzi quickly descended into violence. His six sons, supported by various officials, took up arms against each other in order to size the throne, starting a war of succession. In this chaos, Duke Huan could not be buried and his corpse was left unattended in his bedchamber for between seven days and three months. By the time he was finally encoffined, the corpse had begun to rot. With Duke Huan's sons fighting for the throne, Qi was severely weakened and lost its status as China's predominant state. Although Zhao, by then ruling as Duke Xiao of Qi, eventually attempted to regain his father's hegemony, he failed and Duke Wen of Jin became the next hegemon.

Family Wives: Wang Ji, of the Ji clan of Zhou , a princess of Zhou by birth Xu Ying, of the Ying clan of Xu Cai Ji, of the Ji clan of Cai

Concubines: Wey Gong Ji, of the Ji clan of Wey , the mother of Prince Wukui Shao Wey Ji, of the Ji clan of Wey , the mother of Prince Yuan Zheng Ji, of the Ji clan of Zheng , the mother of Crown Prince Zhao Ge Ying, of the Ying clan of Ge , the mother of Prince Pan Mi Ji, of the Ji clan of Mi , the mother of Prince Shangren Song Hua Zi, of the Zi clan of Song , the mother of Prince Yong

Sons: Prince Wukui (; d. 642 BC), ruled as the Duke of Qi in 642 BC Prince Yuan (; d. 599 BC), ruled as Duke Hui of Qi from 608 to 599 BC Crown Prince Zhao (; d. 633 BC), ruled as Duke Xiao of Qi from 641 to 633 BC Prince Pan (; d. 613 BC), ruled as Duke Zhao of Qi from 632 to 613 BC Prince Shangren (; d. 609 BC), ruled as Duke Yì of Qi from 612 to 609 BC Prince Yong Granted the fiefdom of Gu in 634 BC Seven sons who served as Grand Masters of Chu

Daughters: Qi Jiang Married Duke Wu of Jin (d. 677 BC) Married Duke Xian of Jin (d. 651 BC), and had issue (Crown Prince Shensheng, Mu Ji (the wife of Duke Mu of Qin and mother of Duke Kang of Qin))

Ancestry