Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a regional state of the Zhou dynasty in ancient China, whose rulers held titles of Hou (侯), then Gong, before declaring themselves independent Kings. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded shortly after the Zhou conquest of Shang, c. 1046 BCE. Its first monarch was Jiang Ziya (Lord Tai; r. 1046–1015 BCE ), minister of King Wen and a legendary figure in Chinese culture. His family ruled Qi for several centuries before it was replaced by the Tian family in 386 BCE. Qi was the final surviving state to be annexed by Qin during its unification of China.

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During the Zhou conquest of Shang, Jiang Ziya, a native of Ju County served as the chief minister to King Wu, the same position he had held in service to King Wu's father. Following the Zhou victory, the lands comprising much of the Shandong peninsula and some nearby surrounds were established as the state of Qi, with Jiang charged with ruling and defending them. After King Wu's death, Ziya remained loyal to the Duke of Zhou's regency during the Three Guards' failed rebellion. The Shang prince Wu Geng had joined the revolt along with the Dongyi polities of Yan [zh], Xu, and Pugu, located within the boundaries of Qi. These were suppressed by 1039 BCE, but the Bamboo Annals suggest that the native people of Pugu continued to revolt for about another decade before being destroyed a second time c. 1026.

Transmitted documents from the Western Zhou period are scant, but it is known that King Yi of Zhou (r. 865–858 BCE) attacked Qi and boiled Duke Ai to death. During the time of King Xuan of Zhou (r.  827–782), there was a local succession struggle. Throughout this period, many of the native Dongyi peoples were absorbed into the Zhou cultural sphere.

The succession crisis following the violent death of King You of Zhou led to a dramatic and unrecoverable loss of political and military authority in the Zhou royal court. Under this new geopolitical situation, Qi rose to prominence under Duke Huan of Qi (r.  685–643 BCE ). He and his minister Guan Zhong strengthened the state by consolidating power in the hands of the central government at the expense of the landed aristocracy, establishing a system of counties (縣; xiàn) ruled directly by ministers of the state court. Qi annexed 35 neighboring polities – including Tan – and brought others into submission. Guan Zhong's administrative reforms also included state monopolies on salt and iron, and in general were characteristic of the later political philosophy of Legalism.

In 667 BCE, the lords of Qi, Lu, Song, Chen, and Zheng assembled in one of the first great interstate conferences, and Duke Huan was elected as their leader. Subsequently, King Hui of Zhou pronounced him Bà (霸; 'big brother'), the "hegemon-protector" sworn to protect the royal house of Zhou and uphold the authority of the Son of Heaven (the Zhou king). The first of five such hegemons, he earned a tribute from the other states, and had the honour of paying the royal court a larger tribute than anyone else. His calls to arms were as binding as the king's own. Using this authority, during the first eleven years of his hegemony, Duke Huan intervened in a power struggle in Lu; protected Yan from encroaching Western Rong nomads; drove off Northern Di nomads after their invasions of Wey and Xing, providing the people with provisions and protective garrison units; and led an alliance of eight states to conquer Cai and thereby block the northward expansion of Chu.

After Duke Huan's death, a war of succession between rival claimants greatly weakened Qi and ending its reign of hegemony. In 632 BCE, Qi helped Jin defeat Chu at the Battle of Chengpu, only to be defeated by Jin itself at the Battle of An in 589. In 579, the four great powers of Qin, Jin, Chu, and Qi met to declare a truce and limit their military strength.

Early in the period, Qi annexed a number of smaller states. Qi was one of the first states to patronize scholars. In 532 BCE, the Tian clan destroyed several rival families and came to dominate the state. In 485, the Tian clan killed the heir to the house of Jiang and fought several rival clans. Four years later, the Tian chief killed a puppet ruler, most of his family, and a number of rival chiefs. He took control of most of the state and left the monarch with only the capital of Linzi and the area around Mount Tai. In 386, the house of Tian fully replaced the house of Jiang as rulers of Qi. The Warring States period ended with the Qin conquest of Qi, which was the last to fall, in 222. So ended Qi, and the era of Imperial China began.

Before Qin unified China, each state's customs, culture, dialects, and orthography had pronounced differences. According to the Yu Gong or Tribute of Yu, composed in the fourth or fifth century BCE and included in the Classic of Documents, there were nine distinct cultural regions of China, which are described in detail. The work focuses on the travels of the titular sage, Yu the Great, throughout each of the regions.

Other texts also discussed these cultural variations. One of these texts was The Book of Master Wu, written in response to a query by Marquis Wu of Wei on how to cope with the other states. Wu Qi, the author of the work, declared that the government and nature of the people were reflective of the terrain of the environment in which they inhabited. Of Qi, he said:

Although Qi's troops are numerous, their organization is unstable... The people of Qi are by nature unyielding and their country prosperous, but the ruler and officials are arrogant and care nothing for the people. The state's policies are not uniform and not strictly enforced. Salaries and wages are unfair and unevenly distributed, causing disharmony and disunity. Qi's army is arrayed with their heaviest hitters at the front while the rest follow behind, so that even when their forces appear mighty, they are in reality fragile. To defeat them, we should divide our army into three columns and have two attack the left and right flanks of Qi's army. Once their battle formations are thrown into disarray, the central column should be in position to attack and victory will follow.

— Wu Qi, Wuzi

While visiting Qi, Confucius was deeply impressed with perfection of performance of Shao music (韶) therein.

During the Warring States period, Qi was famous for Linzi's Jixia Academy, where renowned scholars of the era from all over China would visit. Modern scholarship understands the Jixia Academy not to be a physical institution, but an informal collaboration of sponsored scholars engaged in intellectual work. One impressive surviving achievement of the Jixia school of thought is the Yanzi Chunqiu.

The state of Qi was known for having well organized cities that were nearly rectangular in shape, with roads that were neatly knit into a grid-like pattern. The palace was strategically positioned facing the south. To the left (eastwardly direction) of the palace resided the ancestral temple, to its right (westward) the temple of the gods, both one hundred paces away. This ensured that balance was achieved. In front of the palace was the court also one hundred paces away and to the back of the palace was the city. This type of layout influenced greatly the way cities were designed in subsequent generations.

Smaller estates known as chengyi (城邑) were abundant throughout Qi. They typically stretched 450 meters from south to north and 395 meters from east to west. The perimeter was usually surrounded by a wall with the living headquarters situated within and a nearly perfect square-shaped courtyard occupying the center.

The Great Wall of Qi (齊長城) is the oldest existing Great Wall in China. Construction of the wall started in 441 BCE to defend against attacks from the states of Jin and Yue. Construction ended during the Warring States period, with the wall enhancing Qi's defense against enemies states like Ju, Lu, and Chu. The wall stretches from Guangli village of today's Changqing District, Jinan, running across the mountain ridges of central Shandong Province to the Yellow Sea in the present-day city of Qingdao. Its total length has been estimated at 600 km (370 miles). Most of the wall is still visible.

Qi is represented by the star Chi Capricorni in the "Twelve States" asterism in the "Girl" lunar mansion in the "Black Turtle" symbol. Qi is also represented by the star 112 Herculis in the "Left Wall" asterism in the "Heavenly Market" enclosure.

Title	Name	Reign (BC)	Relationship	Notes
Duke Tai 齊太公	Shang 尚	11th century		Enfeoffed by King Wu of Zhou, with capital at Yingqiu
Duke Ding 齊丁公	Ji 伋	10th century	5th-generation descendant of Duke Tai	Traditionally believed to be son of Duke Tai
Duke Yǐ 齊乙公	De 得	10th century	Son of Duke Ding
Duke Gui 齊癸公	Cimu 慈母	c. 10th century	Son of Duke Yǐ
Duke Ai 齊哀公	Buchen 不辰	9th century	Son of Duke Gui	Boiled to death by King Yi of Zhou
Duke Hu 齊胡公	Jing 靜	9th century	Son of Duke Gui	Moved capital to Bogu, killed by Duke Xian
Duke Xian 齊獻公	Shan 山	859?–851	Son of Duke Gui	Moved capital back to Linzi
Duke Wu 齊武公	Shou 壽	850–825	Son of Duke Xian
Duke Li 齊厲公	Wuji 無忌	824–816	Son of Duke Wu	Killed by supporters of Duke Hu's son.
Duke Wen 齊文公	Chi 赤	815–804	Son of Duke Li
Duke Cheng 齊成公	Yue 說	803–795	Son of Duke Wen
Duke Zhuang I 齊前莊公	Gou 購	794–731	Son of Duke Cheng	Reigned for 64 years
Duke Xi 齊僖公	Lufu 祿甫	730–698	Son of Duke Zhuang I
Duke Xiang 齊襄公	Zhu'er 諸兒	697–686	Son of Duke Xi	Committed incest with sister Wen Jiang, murdered her husband Duke Huan of Lu, conquered the state of Ji, murdered by cousin Wuzhi
none	Wuzhi 無知	686	Cousin of Duke Xiang, grandson of Duke Zhuang I	Killed by Yong Lin.
Duke Huan 齊桓公	Xiaobai 小白	685–643	Younger brother of Duke Xiang	First of the Five Hegemons, when Qi reached zenith of its power. Starved to death by ministers
none	Wukui or Wugui 無虧 or 無詭	643	Son of Duke Huan	Killed by supporters of Duke Xiao
Duke Xiao 齊孝公	Zhao 昭	642–633	Son of Duke Huan	Crown prince of Qi
Duke Zhao 齊昭公	Pan 潘	632–613	Son of Duke Huan	His supporters murdered the son of Duke Xiao
none	She 舍	613	Son of Duke Zhao	Murdered by uncle Shangren
Duke Yì 齊懿公	Shangren 商人	612–609	Uncle of She, son of Duke Huan	Killed by two ministers
Duke Hui 齊惠公	Yuan 元	608–599	Son of Duke Huan	Defeated Long Di invaders
Duke Qing 齊頃公	Wuye 無野	598–582	Son of Duke Hui	Defeated by Jin at the Battle of An
Duke Ling 齊靈公	Huan 環	581–554	Son of Duke Qing	Annexed the State of Lai; defeated by Jin at the Battle of Pingyin, capital Linzi burned
Duke Zhuang II 齊後莊公	Guang 光	553–548	Son of Duke Ling	Ascended throne by killing Prince Ya with the help of Cui Zhu; committed adultery with Cui's wife, killed by Cui
Duke Jing 齊景公	Chujiu 杵臼	547–490	Half brother of Duke Zhuang II	Killed Cui Zhu. Had famous statesman Yan Ying as prime minister
An Ruzi 安孺子	Tu 荼	489	Youngest son of Duke Jing	Deposed by Tian Qi and killed by Duke Dao. Also called Yan Ruzi
Duke Dao 齊悼公	Yangsheng 陽生	488–485	Son of Duke Jing	Killed by a minister, possibly Tian Heng
Duke Jian 齊簡公	Ren 壬	484–481	Son of Duke Dao	Killed by Tian Heng
Duke Ping 齊平公	Ao 驁	480–456	Brother of Duke Jian
Duke Xuan 齊宣公	Ji 積	455–405	Son of Duke Ping
Duke Kang 齊康公	Dai 貸	404–386	Son of Duke Xuan	Deposed by Duke Tai of Tian Qi, died in 379

Title	Name	Reign (BC)	Relationship	Notes
Duke Tai 齊太公	Tian He 田和	404–384	Son of Tian Bai	Officially recognized as Qi ruler in 386 BC
none	Tian Yan 田剡	383–375	Son of Duke Tai	Killed by Duke Huan.
Duke Huan 齊桓公	Tian Wu 田午	374–357	Brother of Tian Yan
King Wei 齊威王	Tian Yinqi 田因齊	356–320	Son of Duke Huan	Most powerful Qi ruler of the Warring States.
King Xuan 齊宣王	Tian Bijiang 田辟彊	319–300	Son of King Wei
King Min 齊愍王	Tian Di 田地	300–283	Son of King Xuan	Temporarily declared himself "Emperor of the East".
King Xiang 齊襄王	Tian Fazhang 田法章	283–265	Son of King Min
none, known as Houzhu of Qi	Tian Jian 田建	264–221	Son of King Xiang	Qi conquered by Qin

All dates are BCE

• Guan Zhong (720–645), prime minister to Duke Huan of Qi and known for making the state of Qi one of the most power Hegemons at the time.
• Yan Ying (578–500), prime minister to Duke Jing, known from Yanzi Chunqiu, to which he is sometimes attributed authorship.
• Sun Tzu (544–496) Chinese steategist and writer, famously attributed authorship of The Art of War. May not have existed.
• Sun Bin (?–316), military strategist known for Sun Bin's Art of War.
• Chunyu Kun (386–310), official and master scholar at the Jixia Academy.
• Mencius (372–289), official and one of the most renowned Confucian philosophers.
• Xun Kuang (313–238), philosopher who joined the Jixia Academy when he was 50 years old, known for the Xunzi.

• Michael Loewe; Edward L. Shaughnessy, eds. (2006) [1999]. The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8.

• Glessner Creel, Herrlee (1979). The birth of China: a study of the formative period of Chinese civilization. New York: Ungar Publ. ISBN 0-8044-6093-0.
• Unraveling Early Daoist Oral Traditions in Guan Zi's "Purifying the Heart-Mind (Bai Xin)," "Art of the Heart-Mind (Xin Shu)," and "Internal Cultivation (Nei Ye)", Dan G. Reid

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