Duke Ding of Lu

Power Struggle Throughout the Realm

During Duke Ding's period, aristocratic clans in various states were encroaching on their rulers' authority, just as those rulers undermined the Son of Heaven. Within these clans, power was also contested between clan heads and their retainers. On 31 May 505 BC, Jisun Yiru, head of the leading Jisun clan among the Three Huan, died while returning from a tour. Later that year, on 7 September, Yang Hu, a retainer of the Jisun clan, launched a coup against his master Jisun Si, imprisoning him.

Yang Hu forced Jisun Si to banish political opponents and make a covenant, then released him but seized control of the Jisun clan and, by extension, the Lu government. In winter 504 BC, Jisun Si led an army to besiege Yun, a city Qi had taken from Lu in 517 BC and given to Duke Zhao as a base. Qi surrendered Yun in spring 503 BC, and Yang Hu occupied it as his own power base. In 502 BC, Yang Hu launched a coup against the Three Huan with allies including Ji Wu, younger brother of Jisun Si; Shusun Zhe, son of Shusun Zhouchou; Gongchu Ji of the Gongchu clan; Shuzhong Zhi, son of Shuzhong Xiao; and Gongshan Buniu, a fellow Jisun retainer and steward of the Jisun settlement of Bi.

The coup aimed to replace the heads of the Three Huan, making Ji Wu head of Jisun, Shusun Zhe head of Shusun, and Yang Hu head of Mengsun. The first step was to assassinate Jisun Si during ceremonial toasts at the Pu Gardens outside Qufu on 9 September 502 BC. Yang Hu put the capital guard on alert to arrive the next day. However, Gonglian Yang, a Mengsun retainer, correctly guessed the plot and notified Zhongsun Heji, the Mengsun head.