High Level Overview of Chinese History: Zhou Dynasty VII
The Five Hegemons II
By 馮夢龍 - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=150160151
Duke Mu of Qin was born Ying Renhao married the daughter of Duke Xian of Jin, securing ties to to the clan, which were then strengthened when he married his daughter to one of Xian's sons who was being kept prisoner and she was meant to secure his cooperation in remaining imprisoned. When he escaped anyway, she remained, claiming loyalty to her father for staying and loyalty to her husband for not revealing his plans. She then became an ambassador to Duke Wen of Jin as well as his wife. This allied two of the 'most powerful states in China. Duke Wen of Jin expelled the Di barbarians and drove them into the region west of the Yellow River between the Yun and Luo Rivers…Shortly afterwards, Duke Mu of Qin, having obtained the services of You Yu, succeeded in getting the eight barbarian tribes of the west to submit to their authority'.
This alliance placed him well to exert the power of the hegemon even though he didn't have relations with other tribes when the Jin fell into infighting after Wen's death in 628 BCE, though he was never officially given the title. In 627 BCE, he planned to launch a surprise attack the state of Zheng but his army retreated when they were lead to believe the Zheng were prepared for them. Duke Xiang of Jin, Wen's successor, laid ambush for the retreating Qin army at the Battle of Yao, resulting in heavy casualties for the Qin. It was three years later that Qin retaliated on Jin, scoring a major victory in doing so. Satisfied, Mu returned to expanding westward instead of pushing farther east into Jin territory. He held a funeral for those who'd died in the ambush before leaving Jin territory. These actions are what 'earned him a position among the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period'.
By 馮夢龍 - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=150160160
King Zhuang of Chu, the title one he gave himself and was not recognized as such by the Zhou state, was born Xiong Lü. He ascended in 613 BCE to what the Zhou would 'defiantly referred to as Zi (子, "viscount"), even at a time when he dominated most of south China'. Ne spent the 'first three years of his reign…wast[ing] time in pleasure-seeking' before two courtiers challenged him. After this, he appointed Sunshu Ao as his chancellor, who began dam-works. He then had some military successes he turned his sites higher position. A 'well-known story' has him asking a messenger from Zhou what the weight of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons, a 'collection of ding that were viewed as symbols of authority given to the ruler by the Mandate of Heaven', in essence asking for ultimate power. This led to a chengyu, an aphorism written with four Chinese characters, 問鼎中原 wèn dǐng zhōngyuán, which means 'to enquire about ding in the central plains', or 'to have great ambitions'. Another chengyu about him is 一鳴驚人 yī míng jīngrén, which means 'amaze others with one cry' in relation to his change from 'lazy regent to hegemon'. So, while he wasn't officially monarch or hegemon, he is considered one of the five.
