Ministers › Chief Ministers
Guan Zhong
Chief minister of Qi in the Spring and Autumn period who, recommended by his friend Bao Shuya, made Duke Huan the first hegemon among the Zhou lords
Mural of the event “Hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi”, which this person took part in.
The decline of the Zhou court drove the lords of the Central Plains into mutual annexation, while peripheral Rong and Di tribes invaded the heartland and threatened the fracture of Huaxia culture. Qi rose first thanks to its coastal salt-and-iron wealth.
Also known as Guan Yiwu · Guan Jingzhong · Zi Zhong
Guan Zhong, personal name Yiwu, posthumously titled Jing, came from Yingshang. The Shiji relates that as a young man he traded with Bao Shuya and often took the larger share, which Bao forgave, knowing him poor. In the succession struggle in Qi he served Prince Jiu against Prince Xiaobai; when Xiaobai became Duke Huan and Jiu was killed, Guan Zhong was jailed until Bao recommended him to run the state. He promoted trade and stored wealth to make Qi rich and strong, enabling Duke Huan to gather the lords nine times and set the realm in order, fighting the Shanrong in the north and rebuking Chu for withholding tribute. After his death the duke trusted Yi Ya and Shu Diao, and at Huan's own death his sons fought over the succession. The Guanzi bears his name but was largely written later. In the Analects Confucius says that without Guan Zhong they would all be wearing their hair loose and robes fastened on the left like barbarians.
Life and times
- c. 719 BCEBorn
Zhou - 651 BCEHegemony of Duke Huan of Qi
Took partDuke Huan adopted Guan Zhong's coalition strategy, convened the lords, and established Qi's hegemony under the banner of supporting Zhou.- Duke Huan Appoints Guan Zhong685 BCEDuke Huan appointed Guan Zhong as prime minister, enacting land tax and state monopoly reforms to enrich Qi.
- Guan Zhong's Campaign to Rescue Yan663 BCEDuke Huan marched north to rescue Yan from Rong nomads, establishing his moral leadership among feudal lords.
- Duke Huan Appoints Guan Zhong
- 645 BCEDied
Works
Literature · Sayings3- Flying Away Without WingsZhouIdiom from the Guanzi: vanishing without a trace, or news spreading fast
- Changing One's Mind at Every New SightZhouIdiom from the Guanzi: fickle, changing one's mind at every new sight
- Ritual, Righteousness, Integrity and Shame: The Four Cords of the StateZhouIdiom from the Guanzi: the four moral cords that hold a state together
- Literature · Prose2
- GuanziZhouPre-Qin masters text ascribed to Guan Zhong of Qi, a school compilation on wealth and order
- Guanzi: Guanzi: Shepherding the PeopleZhou
