In 771 BC, a coalition of feudal lords and the
Western Rong tribes overthrew
King You and drove the
Zhou out of the
Wei valley. During the following
Spring and Autumn and
Warring States periods, the major states pursued independent policies and eventually declared full independence claiming the title borne by Zhou rulers. All claimed descent from the
Yellow Emperor through cadet lines of the royal houses above, although the historicity of such claims is usually doubted.
Qin The kings of
Qin claimed descent from the Lady Xiu, "the granddaughter" of "a remote descendant" of the Emperor
Zhuanxu, the grandson of the
Yellow Emperor. Similarly, in the next generation, Lady Hua was said to be descended from
Shaodian, the legendary figure who is sometimes the father and sometimes the foster father of the
Yellow and
Flame Emperors. Although Nüfang (lit. "Lady Fang") is counted as Elai's
son, some scholars have claimed the figure was Elai's daughter and, along with the numerous important women in the early pedigree, indicates that early Qin was
matriarchal. The
surname Ying (lit."Abundance") was said to have been bestowed by
Shun upon Dafei (the
husbandman Yi). If it was ever held by any of his descendants, it had fallen out of use by the time of
Feizi, who was granted the name anew by
King Xiao of the
Zhou.
The Three Jins Han Wei Zhao Qi House of Jiang House of Tian Chu Yue Yan == Notes ==