page_title: Qi (state)
section_title: Spring and Autumn period
hierarchical_section_title: Qi (state) / History / Spring and Autumn period
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of horse skeletons in the "Sacrificial Horse Pit", a burial site from the times of the State of Qi, believed to belong to the tomb of Duke Jing of Qi who reigned from 547 to 490 BC.
context_page_description: Qi was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Yingqiu, located within present-day Linzi in Shandong.
  Qi was founded shortly after the Zhou overthrow of Shang in the 11th century BC. Its first marquis was Jiang Ziya, minister of King Wen and a legendary figure in Chinese culture. His family ruled Qi for several centuries before it was replaced by the Tian family in 386 BC. In 221 BC, Qi was the final major state annexed by Qin during its unification of China.
context_section_description: In 706 BC, Qi was attacked by the Shan Rong.  Qi rose to prominence under Duke Huan of Qi (685–643 BC). He and his minister Guan Zhong strengthened the state by centralizing it. He annexed 35 neighboring states including Tan and brought others into submission. In 667 BC, Duke Huan met with the rulers of Lu, Song, Chen and Zheng and was elected leader. Subsequently, King Hui of Zhou made him the first Hegemon. He attacked Wei for supporting a rival of the Zhou king and intervened in the affairs of Lu. In 664 BC, he protected Yan from the Rong. In 659 BC, he protected Xing and in 660, Wei, from the Red Di. In 656 he blocked the northward expansion of Chu. After his death, a war of succession broke out among his sons, greatly weakening Qi. The hegemony consequently passed to Jin.
  In 632 BC, Qi helped Jin defeat Chu at the Battle of Chengpu. In 589 BC, Qi was defeated by Jin. In 579 BC, the four great powers of Qin (west), Jin (center), Chu (south) and Qi (east) met to declare a truce and limit their military strength. In 546 BC, a similar four-power conference recognized several smaller states as satellites of Qi, Jin and Qin.
caption: Sacrificial horses discovered in the tomb of Duke Jing of Qi
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