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Song (state)
Song was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou
dynasty with its capital at Shangqiu. The state was Song
founded soon after King Wu of Zhou conquered the 宋
Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in
11th century BC–286 BC
1046 BC. It was conquered by the state of Qi in
286 BC, during the Warring States period. Confucius
is traditionally considered to have been a descendant
of a Song nobleman who moved to the state of Lu.[1]

Origin
King Zhou of Shang, Di Xin was the younger brother
of Zi Qi—who was said in legends to have ruled Gija Map of Zhou dynasty states, including Song
Joseon in the 11th century BCE—and Zi Yan (子衍),
Status State
later rulers of Zhou's vassal state Song, father of Wu
Geng. Capital Shangqiu (商丘)

Religion Chinese folk religion,

After King Wu of Zhou overthrew the last ruler of ancestor worship, Taoism
Shang, marking the transition to the Zhou dynasty,
the victor was honor-bound by a stricture of feudal Government Monarchy

etiquette known as Er Wang San Ke to allow the History

defeated house of Shang to continue offering • Established 11th century BC
sacrifices to their ancestors. As a result, for a time • Conquered 286 BC
Shang became a vassal state of Zhou, with the Shang by Qi
heir Wu Geng allowed to continue ancestor worship Currency Chinese coin
at Yin.
Succeeded by
However, after King Wu's death, Wu Geng fomented
Qi (state)
a rebellion with an alliance of eastern states, and was
killed by the Duke of Zhou. Another Shang royal
family descendant, Weizi, was granted land at Song
Shangqiu, the 'hill of Shang', where the capital of the
new state of Song was built.

A sign of its descent from the Shang is that the state

of Song in its early period followed the succession
principle of agnatic seniority, rather than agnatic
primogeniture like the Zhou.
"Song" in ancient seal script (top) and modern
regular (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese 宋

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Transcriptions
History Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Sòng
In 701 BC, a political marriage between Lady Yong of Gwoyeu Romatzyh Sonq
Song (宋雍氏) and Duke Zhuang of Zheng—as well as
Wade–Giles Sung4
the capture of Zhai Zhong (祭仲), a leading warrior—
empowered Song to manipulate the administration IPA [sʊ̂ ŋ]
of Zheng. Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization Sung
In 651, Duke Huan of Song (宋桓公) died, leaving the
Jyutping Sung3
district to be ruled by Duke Xiang, who reigned from
651 to 637. He was considered a hegemon by some, IPA [sʊŋ˧]

but was unable to maintain that role. He eventually Southern Min

fell to the troops of Chu. Tâi-lô Sòng
Old Chinese
In 355, Dai Ticheng (戴剔成), a distant relative of the
Baxter–Sagart (2014) *[s]ˤuŋ-s
ruling royal line and once a minister of Duke Huan
II, managed to usurp the throne. In 328, Dai Yan, a
younger brother of Ticheng, took the throne and
declared himself to be King Kang of Song, with
Ticheng murdered or exiled. The king was
ambitious and had succeeded in beating troops
from Chu, Wei and Qi and annexing Teng.
However, the kingdom was finally annexed by Qi in
286, with troops from Chu and Wei serving on
behalf of Qi. Qin, which had been an ally of Song,
refused to intervene for strategic and diplomatic
reasons after being convinced by Su Dai from Wei.
Chinese states in the 5th century BC
Su's predictions were proven correct and Qin
benefited from the downfall of its former ally.

The philosopher Mozi references this state in the chapter "Obvious Existence of Ghosts", in which
he mentions a number of Spring and Autumn Annals, including those of the Zhou, Yan, and Qi.
The Spring and Autumn Annals of Song has not survived.

Rulers
Unless otherwise indicated, the ruler is the son of his predecessor.

1. Weizi (Qi 啟), brother of the last king of Shang, Di Xin

2. Weizhong 微仲 (Yan 衍), younger brother of the above
3. Ji, Duke of Song 宋公稽
4. Duke Ding 宋丁公 (Shen 申)
5. Duke Min I 宋湣公 (Gong 共), alleged ancestor of Confucius[1]: 14–15
6. Duke Yang 宋煬公 (Xi 熙), younger brother of the above
7. Duke Li 宋厲公 (Fusi 鮒祀), son of Duke Min I
8. Duke Xi 宋僖公 (Ju 舉), 859–831

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9. Duke Hui 宋惠公 (Jian 覵), 830–800

10. Duke Ai 宋哀公, 799
11. Duke Dai 宋戴公, 799–766
12. Duke Wu 宋武公 (Sikong 司空), 765–748
13. Duke Xuan 宋宣公 (Li 力), 747–729
14. Duke Mu 宋穆公 (He 和), 728–720, younger brother of the above
15. Duke Shang 宋殤公 (Yuyi 與夷), 719–711
16. Duke Zhuang 宋莊公 (Feng 馮), 710–692
17. Duke Min II 宋閔公 (Jie 捷), 691–682
18. You, Duke of Song 宋公游, assassinated less than 3 months after accession.
19. Duke Huan I 宋桓公 (Yuyue 御說), 681–651, younger brother of Duke Min II
20. Duke Xiang (Zifu 茲父), 650–637
21. Duke Cheng 宋成公 (Wangchen 王臣), 636–620
22. Yu, Duke of Song 宋公禦, younger brother of the above, assassinated less than one month
after accession.
23. Duke Zhao I 宋昭公 (Chujiu 杵臼), 619–611, son of Duke Cheng
24. Duke Wen 宋文公 (Bao 鮑), 610–589, younger brother of the above
25. Duke Gong 宋共公 (Xia 瑕), 588–576
26. Duke Ping 宋平公 (Cheng 成), 575–532
27. Duke Yuan 宋元公 (Zuo 佐), 531–517
28. Duke Jing 宋景公 (Touman 頭曼), 516–451
29. Duke Zhao II 宋昭公 (De 得), 450–404, great-grandson of Duke Yuan; possibly 468–404,
making him one of the longest-reigning monarchs.
30. Duke Dao 宋悼公 (Gouyou 購由), 403–396
31. Duke Xiu 宋休公 (Tian 田), 395–373
32. Duke Huan II 宋桓公 (Bibing 辟兵), 372–370
33. Lord Ticheng of Song 宋剔成君, 369–329, descendant of the 11th duke, Dai
34. Yan, King of Song 宋王偃, King Kang 宋康王, 328–286, younger brother of the above

Family tree
Song state

(1) (2)
Weizi Weizhong
微子啟 微仲

(3)
Ji
□
宋公稽

(4)
Duke
腯 Ding
宋丁公

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(5) Duke Min (6)

Duke
I Yang
宋湣公 宋炀公

(7) Duke Li
弗父何
宋厉公

(8)
Duke Xi
宋僖公
?-859-831BC

(9)
Duke Hui
宋惠公
?-831-801BC

(10)
Duke Ai
宋哀公
?-801-800BC

(11)
Duke Dai
宋戴公
?-800-766BC

(12)
Duke Wu □
宋武公 好父说 乐父衎 皇父充石
老氏
?-766-748BC

(13)
Duke
Xuan (14)Duke Mu
宋宣公 宋穆公 华父督
?-748- ?-729-720BC
729BC

(15)
Duke (16)
Duke
Shang
Zhuang
宋殇公 左师勃
宋庄公
?-720-
?-710-692BC
710BC

(17)
Duke (19)
(18) Duke
Ziyou Min II 右师戊
Huan I
子游 宋闵公 公子成 □
宋桓公 仲氏
?-682BC ?-692-
?-682-651BC
682BC

子鱼 (20) 公子荡 公子鳞 向父肹 公孙固

Duke
Xiang ?-620BC

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宋襄公
?-651-637BC
(21)
Duke (22)
Yu
Cheng
禦 □ □
宋成公
?-620BC
?-637-620BC

(23)Duke (24)
Duke
Zhao I
Wen 公子卬 母弟须 孔叔 公孙钟离
宋昭公
宋文公 ?-619BC ?-609BC ?-619BC ?-619BC
?-620-
?-611-589BC
611BC

(25)Duke
公子围龟
Gong 公子肥
灵氏
宋共公 ?-576BC
?-586BC
?-589-576BC

(26)Duke
Ping 褚师段
宋平公 石氏
?-576-532BC

(27)
Duke 公子御戎
太子痤 Yuan
公子城 边氏
?-547BC 宋元公
?-522BC
?-532-517BC

(28)
Duke
Jing
宋景公 公子地 母弟辰 公子褍秦
?-517-
469BC

公孙周

(30)
Duke
Zhao II (29)
Qi
宋昭公 启
?-469- ?-469BC-?
404BC

(31)
Duke (34) (35)
Lord Yan
Dao
Ticheng 宋康王
宋悼公
宋剔成君 ?-329-
?-404-
?-356-329-? 286BC-?
385BC

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(32)
Duke
Xiu
宋休公
?-385-
363BC

(33)
Duke
Huan II
宋桓公
?-363-
356BC

Descendants
Confucius is traditionally considered to have been a descendant of the Dukes of Song. His
descendants hold the honorary title Duke Yansheng.

The title of Duke of Song and "Duke Who Continues and Honours the Yin" ( 殷 紹 嘉 公 ) were
bestowed upon Kong An by the Eastern Han dynasty because he was part of the Shang dynasty's
legacy.[2][3] This branch of the Kong family is a separate branch from the line that held the title of
Marquis of Fengsheng village and later Duke Yansheng.

Song in astronomy
Song is represented by the star Eta Ophiuchi in the asterism Left Wall, Heavenly Market enclosure
(see Chinese constellation).[4]

See also
Marquis of Extended Grace

References
1. Eno, Robert (2003). "The background of the Kong family of Lu and the origins of Ruism". Early
China. 28. Cambridge University Press: 1–41. doi:10.1017/S0362502800000651 (https://doi.or
g/10.1017%2FS0362502800000651). JSTOR 23354229 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2335422
9). Eno concludes of Confucius's ancestry that the descent from Song nobility has been
constructed to serve an ideological purpose. However he rejects the stronger statement that
Confucius's immediate parentage is also fabricated, as proposed by Creel and Jensen.
Jensen, Lionel (1995). "Wise man of the wilds: fatherlessness, fertility, and the mythic exemplar
Kongzi". Early China. 20. Cambridge University Press: 407–437.
doi:10.1017/S0362502800004570 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0362502800004570).
JSTOR 23351776 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/23351776). p. 409
Creel, Herlee G. (1949). Confucius: the Man and the Myth. New York City: John Day. pp. 297–
298.Cited in Eno.

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2. de Crespigny, Rafe (28 December 2006). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three
Kingdoms (23-220 AD) (https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA389).
Brill. pp. 389–. ISBN 978-90-474-1184-0.
3. 《汉书·杨胡朱梅云传》：初，武帝时，始封周后姬嘉为周子南君，至元帝时，尊周子南君为周
承休侯，位次诸侯王。使诸大夫博士求殷后，分散为十余姓，郡国往往得其大家，推求子孙，绝
不能纪。时，匡衡议，以为"王者存二王后，所以尊其先王而通三统也。其犯诛绝之罪者绝，而
更封他亲为始封君，上承其王者之始祖。《春秋》之义，诸侯不能守其社稷者绝。今宋国已不守
其统而失国矣，则宜更立殷后为始封君，而上承汤统，非当继宋之绝侯也，宜明得殷后而已。今
之故宋，推求其嫡，久远不可得；虽得其嫡，嫡之先已绝，不当得立。《礼记》孔子曰：'丘，
殷人也。'先师所共传，宜以孔子世为汤后。"上以其语不经，遂见寝。
4. (in Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006
年 6 月 23 日 (http://aeea.nmns.edu.tw/2006/0606/ap060623.html)

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