Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Duke Wen of Jin
Ruler of Jin who returned from nineteen years in exile with Qin help, defeated Chu at Chengpu and was named leader of the lords by the Zhou king
In a side chamber of a palace, a yellow ceremonial robe embroidered with a dragon hangs on a wooden stand, its hem worked with waves and rocks, before a carved folding screen, while a black lacquer chest sits on a low table by a lattice window and no person is in view.
Also known as Ji Zhonger · Zhong Er · Wen Gong
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
Duke Wen of Jin, personal name Chong'er, was a son of Duke Xian of Jin by a woman of the Hu clan. When Duke Xian's favourite Li Ji drove the heir Shensheng to suicide, Chong'er fled in 655 BC and spent nineteen years abroad, passing through the Di lands, Wey, Qi, Cao, Song, Zheng, Chu and Qin. In 636 BC Duke Mu of Qin escorted him home to take the throne,; the next year he crushed Prince Dai's revolt and restored King Xiang of Zhou, receiving Yangfan, Wen and Yuan. At Chengpu in 632 BC he kept the promise made to King Cheng of Chu during his exile by pulling his army back three days' march before routing the Chu forces; at the covenant of Jiantu that followed, King Xiang had him formally named leader of the lords. He died in 628 BC and was named Wen. The Analects records Confucius judging him crafty and not upright, in contrast to Duke Huan of Qi.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–628 BCE (r. 636–628 BCE)