Qi (state)

Before Qin unified China, each state's customs, culture, dialects, and orthography had pronounced differences. According to the Yu Gong or Tribute of Yu, composed in the fourth or fifth century BCE and included in the Classic of Documents, there were nine distinct cultural regions of China, which are described in detail. The work focuses on the travels of the titular sage, Yu the Great, throughout each of the regions.

Other texts also discussed these cultural variations. One of these texts was The Book of Master Wu, written in response to a query by Marquis Wu of Wei on how to cope with the other states. Wu Qi, the author of the work, declared that the government and nature of the people were reflective of the terrain of the environment in which they inhabited. Of Qi, he said:

Although Qi's troops are numerous, their organization is unstable... The people of Qi are by nature unyielding and their country prosperous, but the ruler and officials are arrogant and care nothing for the people. The state's policies are not uniform and not strictly enforced. Salaries and wages are unfair and unevenly distributed, causing disharmony and disunity. Qi's army is arrayed with their heaviest hitters at the front while the rest follow behind, so that even when their forces appear mighty, they are in reality fragile. To defeat them, we should divide our army into three columns and have two attack the left and right flanks of Qi's army. Once their battle formations are thrown into disarray, the central column should be in position to attack and victory will follow.

— Wu Qi, Wuzi

While visiting Qi, Confucius was deeply impressed with perfection of performance of Shao music (韶) therein.[8]

During the Warring States period, Qi was famous for Linzi's Jixia Academy, where renowned scholars of the era from all over China would visit. Modern scholarship understands the Jixia Academy not to be a physical institution, but an informal collaboration of sponsored scholars engaged in intellectual work. One impressive surviving achievement of the Jixia school of thought is the Yanzi Chunqiu.[9]^{: 283–285}

Remains of Ancient Linzi city sewer passing underneath the former city wall of the Qi kingdom.

The state of Qi was known for having well organized cities that were nearly rectangular in shape, with roads that were neatly knit into a grid-like pattern. The palace was strategically positioned facing the south. To the left (eastwardly direction) of the palace resided the ancestral temple, to its right (westward) the temple of the gods, both one hundred paces away. This ensured that balance was achieved. In front of the palace was the court also one hundred paces away and to the back of the palace was the city. This type of layout influenced greatly the way cities were designed in subsequent generations.

Smaller estates known as chengyi (城邑) were abundant throughout Qi. They typically stretched 450 meters from south to north and 395 meters from east to west. The perimeter was usually surrounded by a wall with the living headquarters situated within and a nearly perfect square-shaped courtyard occupying the center.

The Great Wall of Qi (齊長城) is the oldest existing Great Wall in China.[10] Construction of the wall started in 441 BCE to defend against attacks from the states of Jin and Yue.[11] Construction ended during the Warring States period, with the wall enhancing Qi's defense against enemies states like Ju, Lu, and Chu.[12] The wall stretches from Guangli village of today's Changqing District, Jinan, running across the mountain ridges of central Shandong Province to the Yellow Sea in the present-day city of Qingdao.[12] Its total length has been estimated at about 600 km (370 mi).[13] Most of the wall is still visible.

Qi is represented by the star Chi Capricorni in the "Twelve States" asterism in the "Girl" lunar mansion in the "Black Turtle" symbol. Qi is also represented by the star 112 Herculis in the "Left Wall" asterism in the "Heavenly Market" enclosure.[14]

All dates are BCE

• Guan Zhong (720–645), prime minister to Duke Huan of Qi and known for making the state of Qi one of the most power Hegemons at the time.
• Yan Ying (578–500), prime minister to Duke Jing, known from Yanzi Chunqiu, to which he is sometimes attributed authorship.
• Sun Tzu (544–496) Chinese steategist and writer, famously attributed authorship of The Art of War. May not have existed.[15]
• Sun Bin (?–316), military strategist known for Sun Bin's Art of War.
• Chunyu Kun (386–310), official and master scholar at the Jixia Academy.
• Mencius (372–289), official and one of the most renowned Confucian philosophers.
• Xun Kuang (313–238), philosopher who joined the Jixia Academy when he was 50 years old, known for the Xunzi.