The kingdom was established on the former territories of the
state of Qi (11th century BC – 221 BC), a great power during the
Warring States period until its
annexation by the
Qin. In 206 BC,
Xiang Yu divided the
Qin empire into
Eighteen Kingdoms. Three of them – Qi, Jiaodong and Jibei – were founded on Qi territories and were ruled by the former state's aristocrats. In 203 BC, the region was conquered by
Han Xin, a prominent military general serving under
Liu Bang, the later Emperor Gaozu of
Han dynasty. Han Xin was briefly granted the title "King of Qi", but was later offered
Chu instead. In 201 BC, Emperor Gaozu installed his eldest son
Liu Fei as the King of Qi, known posthumously as King Daohui. According to an order by Emperor Gaozu, "All the people who are able to speak the language of Qi shall be granted to Qi [Kingdom]." At the time, Qi consisted of seven commanderies, namely
Linzi,
Boyang,
Jibei,
Jiaodong,
Jiaoxi,
Chengyang and
Langya. Liu Fei died in 189 BC and was succeeded by his son
Xiang. In 180 BC, Qi participated in
the war against the Lü clan. Afterwards, the three commanderies Chengyang, Jinan and Langya was returned to the kingdom. Qi passed to Liu Ze (劉則), a son of Xiang, after the latter's death in 179 BC. Xiang's brothers
Zhang and
Xingju received Jibei and Chengyang, respectively, as their own kingdoms. Jibei was revoked by the Han government when Xingju attempted to rebel in 177 BC. In 117 BC, the reigning
Emperor Wu granted Qi to his son Liu Hong (劉閎), who also died without issue in 110 BC. Afterwards, the kingdom was converted to the
Qi Commandery. ==Kings==