kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

State of Xue

1046 BCE – 322 BCE (approx.) · capital Xue

An old Ren-clan state in southern Shandong that ended as the fief of Lord Mengchang, the most famous patron of retainers in the Warring States.

Origins

Xue was ruled by the Ren clan, who traced their line to Xi Zhong, legendary inventor of the cart and a minister of the Xia. The Zhou recognised it as a minor state with its capital near modern Tengzhou in Shandong, between the State of Lu and the State of Song.

Rule and society

Xue played a small part in the alliances of the Spring and Autumn period, sending its rulers to interstate covenants led by Qi and Jin. Its walled city, whose remains survive south of Tengzhou, was large for so minor a state, suggesting a prosperous agricultural and trading centre on the eastern plain.

Decline and legacy

The State of Qi absorbed Xue in the 4th century BCE and granted it as a fief to Tian Ying. His son Tian Wen, Lord Mengchang, ruled from Xue and kept thousands of retainers there, making the name famous long after the old state had gone.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻