Five Hegemons

In ancient Chinese, (Old Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) '' has a similar meaning and pronunciation to (Old Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), which means 'the eldest son born to the principal wife in a family', or 'senator'. Both and can be translated as the 'Five Hegemons'. () literally means 'five', but in the context of ancient Chinese also has a more generally qualitative and less precisely quantitative use, implying completeness. ==Use of the term==

During the Spring and Autumn era itself, the hegemony tended to apply to states; it was therefore possible to speak of the State of Jin and the State of Chu struggling for hegemony over the Zhou states. In historical accounts it instead became associated with individual rulers, namely the ones who first brought their respective states to a dominant position. During the Spring and Autumn period the reigns of each hegemon tended to correspond with the zenith of their state's power. Timeline of the most prominent hegemonsyears in BCE ImageSize = width:200 height:750 PlotArea = left:40 right:0 bottom:80 top:20 Legend = columns:1 left:0 top:60 columnwidth:80 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:450 till:730 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical format:yyyy ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:450 ScaleMinor = increment:5 start:450 Colors= id:universal-hege value:rgb(0.6,0.4,0.4) legend:considered_hegemons_in_all_sources id:classical-hege value:rgb(0.8,0.5,0.5) legend:considered_hegemons_in_most_sources id:consi-hege value:rgb(1,0.7,0.7) legend:considered_hegemon_by_some_authors PlotData= from: 727 till: 701 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text:Duke Zhuang of Zheng from: 667 till: 643 mark:(line,white) color:universal-hege text:Duke Huan of Qi from: 643 till: 638 mark:(line,white) color:classical-hege text:Duke Xiang of Song from: 636 till: 628 mark:(line,white) color:universal-hege text:Duke Wen of Jin from: 628 till: 621 mark:(line,white) color:classical-hege text:Duke Mu of Qin from: 613 till: 591 mark:(line,white) color:classical-hege text:King Zhuang of Chu from: 572 till: 558 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text:Duke Dao of Jin from: 514 till: 496 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text:Helü, King of Wu from: 496 till: 476 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text:Fuchai, King of Wu from: 476 till: 465 mark:(line,white) color:consi-hege text:Goujian, King of Yue ==The Hegemon System==

The concept of hegemony arose out of the weakness of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Whilst its predecessor, the Western Zhou dynasty, was also feudal in nature, the centre was strong enough to command the obedience of most of its vassals, as well as to maintain a central army. The death of King You of Zhou and the sack of the Zhou capital in 771 BC rendered the position of the central court untenable and eventually dependent on the protection of neighbouring states. The concept of the Hegemon was important to the interstate relations during the Spring and Autumn period, since the Hegemon was nominally charged with underwriting the stability of the whole system, often heading a league of smaller states whose security was to some extent guaranteed by the state, in exchange for tribute. ==The Five Hegemons==

These are the two most commonly used lists of hegemons. The Records of the Grand Historian lists: • Duke Huan of Qi () • Duke Xiang of Song () • Duke Wen of Jin () • Duke Mu of Qin () • King Zhuang of Chu () Alternatively, the Xunzi lists: • Duke Huan of Qi • Duke Wen of Jin • King Zhuang of Chu • Helü, King of Wu () • Goujian, King of Yue () The first two hegemons are widely referred to in primary sources (e.g. Zuo Zhuan) and therefore rarely disputed because Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin themselves were officially rewarded the hegemony by the Zhou kings Xi and Xiang in 679 BCE and in 632 BCE, respectively. Zuo Zhuan also recognizes Duke Dao of Jin as a hegemon. Duke Zhuang of Zheng () and Fuchai King of Wu () were also amongst the contenders aside of the seven rulers mentioned above. These lists are: The Ci Tong () lists: • Duke Zhuang of Zheng () • Duke Huan of Qi • Duke Wen of Jin • Duke Mu of Qin • King Zhuang of Chu The lists: • Duke Huan of Qi • Duke Wen of Jin • Duke Mu of Qin • King Zhuang of Chu • Goujian, King of Yue The Bai Hu Tong lists: • Duke Huan of Qi • Duke Wen of Jin • Duke Mu of Qin • King Zhuang of Chu • Helü, King of Wu Yan Shigu, who comments on the Book of Han, lists: • Duke Huan of Qi • Duke Xiang of Song • Duke Wen of Jin • Duke Mu of Qin • Fuchai, King of Wu () ==Notes==