Ancient China · Legendary Ruler

Qi 啟

Legendary antiquity

Passages: 5
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Qi was a Legendary Ruler.

Life and dates

Attested activity

legendary antiquity
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 34, passage 102

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Child of Yu the Great (大禹)
son 子
Strongly inferred · Records of the Grand Historian 34, passages 102, 105

Events and relationships

Seized throne from Yi
Political · Usurper · With Yi (益) · Mode hearsay
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 34, passage 104

References in the histories

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 34House of Yan Shaogong · 5 passages

燕君送齊桓公出境，桓公因割燕所至地予燕，使燕共貢天子，如成周時職； The ruler of Yan escorted Duke Huan across the border into Qi. Duke Huan then ceded to Yan all the Qi territory through which the ruler of Yan had accompanied him and required Yan to resume paying tribute to the Son of Heaven, as it had in the time of Chengzhou;

或曰：「禹薦益，已而以啟人為吏。 Someone said: "Yu recommended Yi, but then made Qi's followers into the officials.

及老，而以啟人為不足任乎天下，傳之於益。 When he grew old, he considered Qi's followers insufficient to take charge of the world and transmitted it to Yi.

已而啟與交黨攻益，奪之。 Then Qi and his associates attacked Yi and seized the throne from him.

天下謂禹名傳天下於益，已而實令啟自取之。 The world says that Yu in name transmitted the world to Yi, but in reality had Qi take it for himself.