Duke Zhuang of Zheng

Duke Zhuang of Zheng (Chinese: 鄭莊公; 757–701 BC) was the third ruler of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Wusheng (寤生), which means "difficult birth" with breech presentation.^[1][a] In 743 BC, he became the duke of Zheng, and later defeated his younger brother Gongshu, who had led a rebellion against him. Duke Zhuang led military campaigns in the name of the Zhou king against the Rong people and other Zhou states.

Duke Zhuang of Zheng 鄭莊公
Ruler of Zheng
Reign	743 - 701 BC
Predecessor	Duke Wu of Zheng
Successor	Duke Zhao of Zheng
Died	701 BC
Issue	Duke Zhao of Zheng Duke Li of Zheng Prince Wei Prince Ying Prince Ren
Names Ancestral name: Ji (姬) Given name: Wusheng (寤生) Posthumous name Zhuang (莊)
House	House of Ji
Father	Duke Wu of Zheng
Mother	Wu Jiang (武姜)

Early life and rule

Wusheng was the first of two sons and groomed for the throne. His mother nevertheless preferred her second son, Gongshu, because it was said that she had suffered extraordinary pain giving birth to him. Wusheng ascended to the dukedom in 743 BC as Duke Zhuang over the violent objections of his mother. She began plotting to get Gongshu into power. First, she asked Zhuang to give Gongshu the city of Duan as a fiefdom. Duan, at that time, was the second largest city in Zheng, and was also a very important fortress. Zhuang was extremely reluctant to give away the city of Duan. His courtiers begged him to reject the proposal, but out of courtesy for his mother he agreed.

Seeing that her plan was going well, Zhuang's mother urged Gongshu to build walls, stockpile arms and recruit mercenaries to the rebel cause. Soon news of these actions reached the capital and its implications. Zhuang's ministers urgently reported the news to him, urging him to retake Duan from Gongshu before it was too late. However, Zhuang dismissed these proposals, stating that he found no fault in Gongshu's actions and Zhuang has no clear proof that Gongshu was plotting a coup, instead of just merely reinforcing the city's borders. Zhuang also argued that as Gongshu was his brother, and he could not take up arms against him.

Soon afterwards Zhuang departed the dukedom for Luoyang to deal with diplomatic matters. His mother then wrote a letter to Gongshu, ordering him to revolt against his brother and she would open the gates of the capital for him. So Gongshu started a revolt against Duke Zheng and, not long after, he reached the capital's walls. However, by the this time, Duke Zhuang was aware that a revolt was to take place. So he returned in time to raise an army which defeated Gongshu at Yan (north of present-day Yanling County) during the summer of 722 BC.^[3][4][5]

Seeing his demoralised forces melt away and with nowhere to run, Gongshu committed suicide.^[6] Upon hearing this, Zhuang rushed to see his brother's corpse; weeping greatly, he said to him, "Gongshu, you knew that your older brother would always forgive you; why has it come to this?" After pacifying the rebellion Zhuang put his mother under strict confinement, telling her that "We will meet again under the ground!". But when public opinion began to turn against him as a result of this, he soon dug a tunnel linking his and his mother's palaces, and there they met and 'buried the hatchet' regarding their past actions.

Duke Zuang was appointed Left Advisor by King Ping of Zhou. After King Ping's death, the following king, King Huan, removed Zuang from office. In response to this slight, Duke Zhuang refused to go to the capital to meet with King Huan. King Huan then led a coalition in 707 BC against Duke Zhuang, which culminated in a Zheng victory at the Battle of Xuge. Duke Zhuang's army humiliated the king, defeating the king's army and inflicting an arrow wound on King Huan's shoulder, and further diminishing the prestige of the Zhou royal house. After Zhuang's death in 701 BC, his sons fought a protracted war of succession (701–680 BC) over the leadership of Zheng.^[7]

Succession

Duke Zhuang had 11 sons, among whom the most famous ones were Hu, Tu, Men and Yi. Hu was the heir and was created Duke Zhao of Zheng initially, but soon Duke Zhuang of Song interfered in the succession of Zheng and the minister of Zheng, Ji Zu, was forced to exile Duke Zhao and created Tu as Duke Li of Zheng.^{[citation needed]} Men and Yi also escaped. Duke Li was also forced into exile after a failed plot against Ji Zu out of his hatred of feeling controlled by the latter, and Duke Zhao was restored.^{[citation needed]} However, 3 years later, the vice minister, Gao Qumi, who had befriended Men and disliked Duke Zhao, committed an assassination and murdered Duke Zhao while Ji Zu was away, and created Men ruler instead, but the position of Ji Zu never changed.^{[citation needed]} No more than 1 year later, Duke Xiang of Qi, who wanted fame, pretended to invite Men and Gao Qumi to Shouzhi and had them killed.^{[citation needed]} Ji Zu created Yi as the duke and promised to be affiliated to Chu, while the exiled Duke Li also planned a restoration for himself.^{[citation needed]} 17 years later, Duke Li with Qi troops defeated Yi, killed his two sons and managed to restore himself to power (in 680 BCE^[8]). The later dukes of Zheng were all descendants of Duke Li.^{[citation needed]}

Quotes

• '多行不義必自斃' (duō xíng bùyì bì zìbì; 'If he repeatedly commits undutiful acts, he surely will bring himself down.';^[3] referring to his younger brother; similar to 'the wages of sin is death')
• '國不堪貳' (guó bùkān èr; 'a nation cannot have two leaders' advice given to Duke Zhuang by his minister Gongzi Lü)

Notes

1. For other interpretations of 寤生 see Ni & Zhao (2023)^[2]