Duke Huan of Qi

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Lord Huan of Qi (齊桓公, Qí Huán Gōng, died 643 BC) was the best-known ruler of the state of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. His personal name was Jiāng Xiǎobái (姜小白) and he was the brother of Lord Xiang. He was the Marquis of Qi from 685 BC until his death; under this period the State of Qi reached its zenith, and the Duke himself was elected to be one of the Five Hegemons.

At the start of his reign and on the advice of his trusted retainer Bao Shuya Lord Huan appointed Guan Zhong (管仲), an outstanding politician, to be his Prime Minister. Under Guan Zhong's reforms, Qi became the strongest state of the time, allowing Lord Huan to make a greater impact outside his state. Under the slogan of ‘respecting the king and defending against the barbarian’(尊王攘夷, pinyin: zūnwáng rǎngyí), Lord Huan gained hegemony among the states of ancient China. He helped the states of Yan, Xing and Wei against barbarian troops. He also called on some states to attack the state of Chu in order to ‘defend the honor of the king’.

The slogan 'Respecting the king and defending against the barbarian' was much later revived by the Japanese as Sonnō jōi at the time of the Meiji restoration.

An incident is recorded in the chapter Xiaocheng (小稱) of the book Guanzi (管子):

Yi Ya (易牙) served the Lord (公) Huan of Qi with his culinary talent. The lord said, "the only thing which I have yet to taste is steamed infant." Then, Yi Ya steamed his first-born and offered him to the lord.

(in Classical Chinese: 夫易牙以調和事公。公曰：「惟蒸嬰兒之未嘗。」於是蒸其首子而獻之公。)

(There was not a strong taboo on cannibalism in ancient China and many accounts of cannibalism can be found in other historical times; for another example see Duke Wen of Jin).^{[citation needed]}

Upon Guan Zhong's deathbed, Duke Huan of Qi approached him to discuss who he should appoint as his next prime minister. Guan Zhong strongly discouraged allowing Tang Wu, Yi Ya, Shu Diao, and Gongzi Kaifang to stay, but Duke Huan only sent them away for a few months. After calling them back those four secretly staged a coup, locking Duke Huan in his room and making the outside world believe they were relaying his orders. One day one of his wives got in through a small hole and found out that the ministers had been starving the Duke to death. He died and was not buried for eleven days, so that "worms began crawling out from around his door", which allowed the people to find out that something was amiss. (Guanzi, Xiaocheng chapter. Alan Rickett's translation, p. 428-32.)

Other versions of this story also exist, some in the Guanzi, others in a variety of sources such as the Huainanzi, Annals of Lü Buwei, and Han Feizi. For example, the story from the Annals of Lü Buwei says that the Duke waited three years to recall his ministers after Guan Zhong's death.