Duke Min of Lu
魯閔公
Ruler of Lu
Reign661-660 BC
PredecessorZiban
SuccessorDuke Xi of Lu
Died660 BC
Names
Ancestral name: Ji (姬)
Given name: Qi (啟)
HouseHouse of Ji
FatherDuke Zhuang of Lu
MotherShu Jiang, daughter of Duke Xiang of Qi

Duke Min of Lu (Chinese: 魯閔公; pinyin: Lǔ Huán Gōng, died 7 September 660 BC) was from 661 to 660 BC the 17th[a] ruler of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Qi (啟)[b], and Duke Min was his posthumous title.

Duke Min was a son of Duke Zhuang of Lu and Shu Jiang (叔姜), one of Duke Zhuang's concubines and a sister of Ai Jiang (哀姜), Duke Zhuang's wife. He was installed by Prince Qingfu (慶父), who murdered Ziban, Duke Zhuang's son, only two months after Duke Zhuang's death and Ziban's succession. Duke Min was a grandnephew of Duke Huan of Qi, one of the hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, as Duke Xiang of Qi, Shu Jiang's father, is one of Duke Huan's brothers. Zuo Zhuan suggests that Qi helped to install Duke Min due to this relationship.

Two years into his reign, Duke Min was murdered by a man named Bu Yi (卜齮), whose land had been appropriated by Duke Min's tutor, at the gate of the Lu palace on the command of Prince Qingfu, who had long sought the Lu throne. Prince You (友), a brother of Prince Qingfu and Duke Zhuang, who sought refuge in Chen after the murder of Ziban, fled to the nearby state of Zhu, having had forced Prince Ya (牙), another brother, to kill himself after he voiced support for Prince Qingfu's succession of Duke Zhuang. He brought Prince Shen (申), another son of Duke Zhuang, with him.

The people of Lu, angered by Prince Qingfu's repeated regicide, forced him out of Lu. Prince Qingfu then sought refuge in the nearby state of Ju. It was after this that Prince You returned to Lu with Prince Shen and installed him to the throne. Prince Shen would become known as Duke Xi of Lu.

Notes

  1. ^ 18th if counting Ziban, who ruled for only two months.
  2. ^ Some sources use the name Qifang (啟方). Sima Qian, the author of Records of the Grand Historian, used the name Kai (開) due to the naming taboo of Emperor Jing of Han, whose personal name was also Qi (啟).

Bibliography

Duke Min of Lu House of JiCadet branch of the House of Ji Died: 660 BC Regnal titles Preceded byZiban Duke of Lu 661-660 BC Succeeded byDuke Xi of Lu