Qi was the son of Yu the Great

Yu the Great

Yu the Great , was a legendary ruler of Ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character....

 and the second sovereign of the Xia Dynasty

Xia Dynasty

The Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him...

. He ruled for approximately nine or ten years.

According to legend, Yu married Nu Jiao and stayed at home for only three days before going back to stop a flood. While Yu was stopping the flood, Yu's wife had a son. He named the boy Qi. After nine years, Yu had finished stopping the flood. When he finally went home, little Qi was very happy and rushed into his father's arms.

Yu died 45 years into his reign. Qi's succession to the throne is unclear.

According to the historian Sima Qian

Sima Qian

Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...

, Yu did not want his son to become king and intended to give the throne to Boyi, the son of Gao Yao

Gao Yao (Xia Dynasty)

Gao Yao was a political advisor of the Yu the Great in China during the Xia Dynasty. His son was Bo Yi .He is cited admonishingly saying to his king: "[The] Heaven can see and hear, and does so through the eyes and ears of the people; Heaven rewards the virtuous and punishes the wicked, and does...

. But due to Yu's great influence, all the leaders of the Xia states came to admire Qi instead of Boyi, so Yu had no choice but to pass the throne to Qi.

According to the Bamboo Annals

Bamboo Annals

The Bamboo Annals is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins at the earliest legendary times and extends to the Warring States Period , particularly the history of the Wei state...

, however, Boyi took the throne and became the king of China, but later Qi assassinated him and assumed the throne. After Qi's rule, Tai Kang

Tai Kang

Tai Kang was the third sovereign of the Xia Dynasty. He was the son of Qi.He loved to hunt and did not rule well. Tai Kang drowned in a lake.He took the throne in the year of Guiwei .His capital was in Zhenxun ....

 succeeded him as king.

Qi got his throne in the year of Guihai (癸亥), and he celebrated his inauguration with all his vassals at Juntai (鈞台). He died sixteen years after he got the throne. Some source say 10 years or 29 years.

Events during reign

• In the second year of his regime, Prime Minister Boyi (伯益) controlled the power.
• Qi led his army fought Youhu (有扈) at Gan (甘).
• In the sixth year of his regime, Boyi died, and Qi built a temple to memorialize him.
• In the eighth year of his regime, Qi sent Mengtu (孟涂), one of his minister to Ba
  Ba (state)
  Ba was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Yicheng , Hubei. Ba was conquered by Qin in 316 BC. The modern ethnic minority Tujia people trace some of their origins back to the Ba people....
  
   (巴).
• In the tenth year of his regime, he created a dance named Nine Shao (九韶) in Damu (大穆).
• In the 11th year of his regime, Qi banished his son Wuguan (武觀) to Xihe
  Xihe
  -Places in China:*Xihe County , Gansu*Xihe District , Fuxin, LiaoningTownsWritten as "西河镇":*Xihe, Dabu County, Guangdong*Xihe, Mengshan County, Guangxi*Xihe, Shaoguan, in Wujiang District, Shaoguan, Guangdong*Xihe, Keshan County, Heilongjiang...
  
   (西河).
• In the 15th year of his regime, Wuguan rebelled at Westriver. Qi sent one of his ministers, Shou (壽) to lead an army to fight Wuguan, so Wuguan surrendered.