Cai (state)
Encyclopedia
The State of Cài was a Chinese
state during the Zhōu Dynasty
(1122–256 BC), prominent in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) before being extinguished early in the Warring States Period
(475-221 BC).
, King Wu of Zhou
granted titles and territories to his younger brothers. One, Jī Dù, was enfeoffed
at present-day Shàngcài
(上蔡) in Henan Province, and became known as Cài Shūdù ("Uncle Cai"). His son, Jī Hú (Cài Zhòng), established a capital at Shàngcài.
With only nominal central authority during the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Cài was forced to relocate several times after being invaded by the State of Chu, first to Xincai
(新蔡, literally "New Cai") in 531 BC and eventually to Zhōulái (州來, in present-day Fèngtái
(鳳台) in Anhui Province) at a place called Xiàcài (下蔡). King Hui of Chu conquered Cài in 447 BC and its territory became part of Chǔ's northern frontier.
The Cài marquesses were allowed to migrate south of the Yangtze River
to the area that is now Chángdé
, Húnán
and settle at a location called Gāocài (高蔡) but this rump state was abolished 80 years later.
to all social classes in the Qín Empire
established in 221 BC, many people of the former State of Cài took the surname of Cài
in memory of their former state.
Since the end of the Cài state, its descendants have undertaken two major migrations. During the Huáng Cháo Rebellion (黃巢起義, AD
875) at the end of the Táng Dynasty
(AD 618-907), the Cài clan migrated to Guǎngdōng
and Fújiàn
provinces. Another later migration occurred when Míng Dynasty
loyalist Koxinga
moved military officials surnamed Cài and their families to Taiwan
in the 17th century. As a result, the surname Cài
is far more common in these areas and in areas settled by their descendants than in other parts of China.
and held the rank of hóu (marquis
).
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
state during the Zhōu Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
(1122–256 BC), prominent in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) before being extinguished early in the Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
(475-221 BC).
History
After the Zhou overthrew the Shang DynastyShang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
, King Wu of Zhou
King Wu of Zhou
King Wu of Zhōu or King Wu of Chou was the first sovereign, or ruler of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1046-1043 BCE or 1049/45-1043. Various sources quoted that he died at the age of 93, 54 or 43. He was considered a just and able leader. Zhou Gong Dan was one of his...
granted titles and territories to his younger brothers. One, Jī Dù, was enfeoffed
Enfeoffment
Under the European feudal system, enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of title in land by a system in which a landowner would give land to one person for the use of another...
at present-day Shàngcài
Shangcai County
Shangcai County is a county of Henan, China. It is under the administration of Zhumadian city.- See also:* Cai , an ancient state in that area...
(上蔡) in Henan Province, and became known as Cài Shūdù ("Uncle Cai"). His son, Jī Hú (Cài Zhòng), established a capital at Shàngcài.
With only nominal central authority during the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Cài was forced to relocate several times after being invaded by the State of Chu, first to Xincai
Xincai County
Xincai County is a county of Henan, China. It is under the administration of Zhumadian city.-Administrative divisions:The county of Xincai administers 9 towns and 13 villages.*Gulu Town *Tangcun Town *Liancun Town **佛阁寺镇*龙口镇*砖店镇...
(新蔡, literally "New Cai") in 531 BC and eventually to Zhōulái (州來, in present-day Fèngtái
Fengtai County
Fengtai County is a county of Anhui Province , China. It is under the administration of Huainan city ....
(鳳台) in Anhui Province) at a place called Xiàcài (下蔡). King Hui of Chu conquered Cài in 447 BC and its territory became part of Chǔ's northern frontier.
The Cài marquesses were allowed to migrate south of the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
to the area that is now Chángdé
Changde
Changde is a city in the north of Hunan Province, China, with a population of 5,717,218 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,232,182 in the built up area made of 2 urban districts .-History:...
, Húnán
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
and settle at a location called Gāocài (高蔡) but this rump state was abolished 80 years later.
Legacy
With the spread of surnamesChinese surname
Chinese family names have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, family names and clan names , existed.The colloquial expressions laobaixing...
to all social classes in the Qín Empire
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
established in 221 BC, many people of the former State of Cài took the surname of Cài
Cai (surname)
Cài is a Chinese surname that derives from the name of the ancient Cai state. It is regionally more common in China's Fujian Province and in countries settled by ethnic Chinese from that province than in China as a whole...
in memory of their former state.
Since the end of the Cài state, its descendants have undertaken two major migrations. During the Huáng Cháo Rebellion (黃巢起義, AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
875) at the end of the Táng Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(AD 618-907), the Cài clan migrated to Guǎngdōng
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and Fújiàn
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
provinces. Another later migration occurred when Míng Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
loyalist Koxinga
Koxinga
Koxinga is the customary Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong , a military leader who was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant/pirate, and his Japanese wife and died in 1662 on the island of Formosa .A Ming loyalist and the arch commander of...
moved military officials surnamed Cài and their families to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
in the 17th century. As a result, the surname Cài
Cai (surname)
Cài is a Chinese surname that derives from the name of the ancient Cai state. It is regionally more common in China's Fujian Province and in countries settled by ethnic Chinese from that province than in China as a whole...
is far more common in these areas and in areas settled by their descendants than in other parts of China.
Rulers of Cài
Rulers of Cài were all of the Zhōu imperial Ji familyJi (surname)
姬=Ji is the family name of the family in control of the Zhou Dynasty , which followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China.Thirty-nine members of the family ruled over China during this period.Ji has...
and held the rank of hóu (marquis
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
).
- Cài Shúdù (蔡叔度) ( Dù 度)
- Cài ZhòngCai ZhongCai Zhong is a fictional character in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Biao. He was a cousin of Cai Mao. Cai Zhong and Cai He later defected to Cao Cao after Liu Biao's death. Cao Cao sent them as spies to Sun...
(蔡仲) ( Hú 胡) - Earl Huang of CaiEarl Huang of CaiEarl Huang of Cai , born as Ji Huang , was the third ruler of the State of Cai, China. He was the only known son of Zhong Hu of Cai and close kin of King Cheng of Zhou and his successor King Kang of Zhou. He held the title of the Earl or Count of Cai . The title Bo is equivalent to these...
(Cài Bóhuāng 蔡伯荒) ( Huāng 荒) - Marquess Gōng of Cai (Cài Gōnghóu 蔡宮侯)
- Marquess Lì of Cai (Cài Lìhóu 蔡厲侯)
- Marquess Wu of Cai (Cài Wǔhóu 蔡武侯) (863 BC-837 BC)
- Marquess Yi of Cai (Cài Yíhóu 蔡夷侯) (837 BC-809 BC)
- Marquess Lí of Cai (Cài Líhóu 蔡釐侯) ( Suǒshì 所事) (809 BC - 761 BC)
- Marquess Gòng of Cai (Cài Gònghóu 蔡共侯) ( Xìng 興) (761 BC-760 BC)
- Marquess Dai of Cai (Cài Dàihóu 蔡戴侯) (759 BC-750 BC)
- Marquess Xuan of Cai (Cài Xuānhóu 蔡宣侯) ( Cuòfù 措父) (749 BC-715 BC)
- Marquess Huan of Cai (Cài Huánhóu 蔡桓侯) ( Fēngrén 封人) (714 BC-695 BC)
- Marquess Ai of Cai (Cài Āihóu 蔡哀侯) ( Xiànwǔ 獻舞) (694 BC-675 BC)
- Marquess Mu of Cai (Cài Mùhóu 蔡穆侯) ( Xì 肸) (674 BC-646 BC)
- Marquess Zhuang of Cai (Cài Zhuānghóu 蔡莊侯) ( Jiǎwǔ 甲午) (645 BC-612 BC)
- Marquess Wen of Cai (Cài Wénhóu 蔡文侯) ( Shēn 申) (611 BC-592 BC)
- Marquess Jing of Cai (Cài Jǐnghóu 蔡景侯) ( Gù 固) (591 BC-543 BC)
- Marquess Ling of Cai (Cài Línghóu 蔡靈侯) ( Bān 般) (542 BC-531 BC)
- Marquess Ping of Cai (Cài Pínghóu 蔡平侯) ( Lú 廬) (530 BC-522 BC)
- Marquess Dao of Cai (Cài Dàohóu 蔡悼侯) ( Dōngguó 東國) (521 BC-519 BC)
- Marquess Zhao of Cai (Cài Zhāohóu 蔡昭侯) ( Shēn 申) (518 BC-491 BC)
- Marquess Cheng of Cai (Cài Chénghóu 蔡成侯) ( Shuò 朔) (490 BC-472 BC)
- Marquess Sheng of Cai (Cài Shēnghóu 蔡聲侯) ( Chuǎn 産) (471 BC-457 BC)
- Marquess Yuan of Cai (Cài Yuánhóu 蔡元侯) (456 BC-451 BC)
- Marquess Qi of Cai (Cài Hóuqí 蔡侯齊) ( Qí 齊) (450 BC-447 BC)