Lu (state)

State of Lu 魯國
c. 1042 BC–249 BC
Lu was a state in the northeast, south of Qi
Capital	Qufu
Religion	Chinese folk religion, Taoism
Government	Monarchy
Duke
History
• Established	c. 1042 BC
• Annexed by Chu	249 BC

Lu
"Lu" in seal script (top), traditional (middle), and simplified (bottom) characters
Traditional Chinese	魯
Simplified Chinese	鲁
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǔ Wade–Giles Lu3 IPA [lù] Wu Suzhounese Lou Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Lóuh IPA [lo̬u] Jyutping Lou5 Southern Min Tâi-lô Lóo Middle Chinese Middle Chinese /luoX/ Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *r.ŋˤaʔ Zhengzhang *raːʔ

Lu (Chinese: 魯, c. 1042 – 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 (姬), 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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

The American linguist, William H. Baxter (cited in Matisoff, 1995) suggests a possible link between the name Lǔ (魯) and its very similar-sounding word lǔ (鹵), meaning "salty" or "rock salt." This is because the area of the State of Lu was a salt marsh in ancient times.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[3]

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.^[7]

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.^[7]

In 249 BC, King Kaolie of Chu invaded and took over Lu. Duke Qing, the last ruler of Lu, became a commoner.^[1][8]

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 (五經博士).^[9][10] 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.^[11][12][13]

Here is a list of Lu rulers based on the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian:^[1][8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lu (state).

• Qin ding da Qing hui dian (Jiaqing chao)0. 1818. p. 1084.
• 不詳 (21 August 2015). 新清史. 朔雪寒. GGKEY:ZFQWEX019E4.