Lu (state)

**Lu** (, 249 BC) was a state during the Zhou dynasty in ancient China. It was located around what is now Shandong. It was founded in the 11th century BC, and its rulers came from a branch of the _House of Ji_ (), which ruled the Zhou dynasty. The first duke was Boqin, a son of the Duke of Zhou, who was the brother of King Wu of Zhou and acted as regent for King Cheng of Zhou.

Lu was the home of the famous Chinese philosophers, Confucius and Mozi, giving it a strong cultural influence among the states of the Eastern Zhou period and in history. The _Annals of Spring and Autumn_, for example, was written using the years of Lu's rulers. Another important work of Chinese history, the _Zuo Zhuan_ or _Commentary of Zuo_, was also written in Lu by Zuo Qiuming.

## Name

The American linguist, William H. Baxter (cited in Matisoff, 1995) suggests a possible link between the name _Lǔ_ () and its very similar-sounding word _lǔ_ (), meaning "salty" or "rock salt." This is because the area of the State of Lu was a salt marsh in ancient times.

## Area

The capital of the state was in Qufu, and its land mainly covered the central and southwest parts of what is now Shandong Province of China. Lu was bordered to the north by the strong state of Qi and to the south by the powerful state of Chu. Lu's location on the eastern edges of the Western Zhou state, facing non-Zhou people in states like Lai and Xu, was an important reason for its creation.

## History

Lu was one of the many states founded in eastern China at the start of the Zhou dynasty to extend Zhou rule far from its capital, Zongzhou, and its main region, Guanzhong. During the Western Zhou period, Lu helped keep Zhou control steady in what is now Shandong.

In the early Spring and Autumn period, Lu was one of the strongest states and competed with Qi to the north. Under Duke Yin and Duke Huan of Lu, Lu defeated both Qi and Song states several times and led missions against other smaller states.

However, things changed in the middle of this period when Qi became more powerful. Although Lu managed to defeat Qi in the Battle of Changshao in 684 BC, Lu could not gain the upper hand again. Meanwhile, the power of Lu's dukes weakened due to the rise of strong noble families known as the Three Huan—_Jisun_, _Mengsun_, and _Shusun_—descendants of Duke Huan of Lu. These families were so powerful that when Duke Zhao of Lu tried to regain control, they exiled him, and he never returned. It wasn't until the rule of Duke Mu of Lu, in the early Warring States period, that the dukes regained their power.

In 249 BC, King Kaolie of Chu invaded and took over Lu. Duke Qing, the last ruler of Lu, became a commoner.

The main line of the Duke of Zhou's descendants came from his firstborn son's third son, Yu, whose descendants took the surname Dongye. The Duke of Zhou’s descendants were given the title Wujing Boshi (). Mencius, the famous Confucian philosopher, was a descendant of Qingfu, one of Duke Huan of Lu’s sons. This family connection is shown in the Mencius family tree.

## Rulers

Here is a list of Lu rulers based on the _Records of the Grand Historian_ by Sima Qian:

|Title|Given name|Reign|Relationship|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Duke Tai|Boqin|c. 1042–997 BC|son of Duke of Zhou|
|Duke Kao|You|998–995 BC|son of Boqin|
|Duke Yang|Xi or Yi|994–989 BC|brother of Duke Kao|
|Duke You|Zai or Yu|988–975 BC|son of Duke Yang|
|Duke Wei|Fei|974–925 BC|brother of Duke You|
|Duke Li|Zhuo or Di|924–888 BC|son of Duke Wei|
|Duke Xian|Ju|887–856 BC|brother of Duke Li|
|Duke Shen|Bi or Zhi|855–826 BC|son of Duke Xian|
|Duke Wu|Ao|825–816 BC|brother of Duke Shen|
|Duke Yi|Xi|815–807 BC|son of Duke Wu|
|_none_|Boyu|806–796 BC|nephew of Duke Yi|
|Duke Xiao|Cheng|795–769 BC|brother of Duke Yi|
|Duke Hui|Fuhuang or Fusheng|768–723 BC|son of Duke Xiao|
|Duke Yin|Xigu|722–712 BC|son of Duke Hui|
|Duke Huan|Yun or Gui|711–694 BC|brother of Duke Yin|
|Duke Zhuang|Tong|693–662 BC|son of Duke Huan|
|Ziban|Ban|662 BC|son of Duke Zhuang|
|Duke Min|Qi|661–660 BC|son of Duke Zhuang|
|Duke Xi|Shen|659–627 BC|son of Duke Zhuang|
|Duke Wen I|Xing|626–609 BC|son of Duke Xi|
|Duke Xuan|Tui or Wo|608–591 BC|son of Duke Wen I|
|Duke Cheng|Heigong|590–573 BC|son of Duke Xuan|
|Duke Xiang|Wu|572–542 BC|son of Duke Cheng|
|Ziye|Ye|542 BC|son of Duke Xiang|
|Duke Zhao|Chou|541–510 BC|son of Duke Xiang|
|Duke Ding|Song|509–495 BC|brother of Duke Zhao|
|Duke Ai|Jiang|494–467 BC|son of Duke Ding|
|Duke Dao|Ning|466–429 BC|son of Duke Ai|
|Duke Yuan|Jia|428–408 BC|son of Duke Dao|
|Duke Mu|Xian|407–377 BC|son of Duke Yuan|
|Duke Gong|Fen|376–353 BC|son of Duke Mu|
|Duke Kang|Tun|352–344 BC|son of Duke Gong|
|Duke Jing|Yan|343–323 BC|son of Duke Kang|
|Duke Ping|Shu|322–303 BC|son of Duke Jing|
|Duke Wen II|Jia|302–278 BC|son of Duke Ping|
|Duke Qing|Chou|277–249 BC|son of Duke Wen II|

## Infobox (country)

- **conventional long name**: State of Lu
- **common name**: Lu State
- **government type**: Monarchy
- **year end**: 249 BC
- **event end**: Annexed by Chu (state), Chu
- **image map**: States of Zhou Dynasty.png
- **image map caption**: Lu was a state in the northeast, south of Qi
- **capital**: Qufu
- **religion**: Chinese folk religion, Taoism
- **leader1**: Hereditary dukes of the House of Ji ()
- **title leader**: Duke


## Infobox (chinese)

- **pic**: Lu (Chinese characters).svg
- **piccap**: "Lu" in seal script (top), traditional (middle), and simplified (bottom) characters
- **picsize**: 55px
- **p**: Lǔ
- **w**: Lu<sup>3</sup>
- **suz**: Lou
- **j**: Lou5
- **y**: Lóuh
- **tl**: Lóo
- **oc-bs**: *