kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

State of Song

1040 BCE – 286 BCE (approx.) · capital Shangqiu

The state where the descendants of the Shang kings kept their ancestral rites under Zhou rule, home of Zhuangzi and the scene of China's first disarmament conference.

Origins

After the failed rebellion of the Shang prince Wu Geng, the Duke of Zhou installed Weizi Qi, an elder brother of the last Shang king, at Shangqiu in eastern Henan, so that the Shang royal sacrifices would continue. Song was ranked as a duchy, the highest grade of Zhou state.

Rule and society

Song preserved Shang customs, and other states mocked its people as slow-witted in stories like the farmer waiting by a tree stump. Duke Xiang of Song sought the hegemony but lost to the State of Chu at the Battle of Hong in 638 BCE after refusing to attack the enemy mid-crossing. In 546 BCE the Song minister Xiang Xu hosted a peace conference of fourteen states. The philosopher Zhuangzi was a native of Song.

Decline and legacy

King Yan of Song, who took the royal title, conquered the State of Teng and fought his neighbours until the State of Qi, with Wei and Chu, destroyed Song in 286 BCE and divided its lands. Song was later used as a dynastic name, most notably by the Song Dynasty.

Connections (4)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). State of Song. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-song
MLA
“State of Song.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-song. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “State of Song.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-song.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘State of Song’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-song (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻