Lai (state)

Not to be confused with State of Lai (賴國) of present day Henan.

Lai (simplified Chinese: 莱; traditional Chinese: 萊; pinyin: Lái), also known as Laiyi (萊夷; Láiyí), was an ancient Dongyi state located in what is now eastern Shandong Province, recorded in the Book of Xia. Tang Shanchun (唐善纯) believes lái means "mountain" in the Old Yue language,^[1] while the Yue Jue Shu (越絕書) says lai means "wilderness".^[2][3]

Lai 萊
?–567 BC
Lai is on the tip of the Shandong Peninsula bordering Qi
Capital	Changle (昌樂) Linqu (臨朐) Ni (郳)
Common languages	Old Chinese
Government	Monarchy
Duke of Lai
• ?–567 BCE	Duke Gong of Lai
History
• Established	?
• Conquered by Qi	567 BC
Succeeded by Qi (state)

History

Lai was a traditional enemy of the State of Qi to its west. As soon as Jiang Ziya, the first ruler of Qi, was enfeoffed at Qi, the state of Lai attacked its capital at Yingqiu. In 567 BC, Lai attacked Qi but was decisively defeated by Duke Ling of Qi, and its last ruler Furou, Duke Gong of Lai, was killed.^[4][5] Lai was a large state, and Qi more than doubled in size after annexing Lai.^[4][6][7] The people (Dongyi) were moved to Laiwu, where Mencius later called them the Qídōng yěrén (齊東野人), the "savages of eastern Qi".

Rulers of Lai

• Furou (浮柔), Duke Gong of Lai (萊共公) ?–567 BC

See also

• Mount Penglai (蓬萊山)
• Penglai Pavilion (蓬萊閣)
• Penglai, Shandong (蓬萊市 / 蓬萊區)