Wei Xianzi 魏獻子 Wei Shu 魏舒 (www.chinaknowledge.de)

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Zhou Dynasty

Nov 7, 2012 © Ulrich Theobald

Wei Shu 魏舒 (died 509 BCE), personal name Ji Shu 姬舒, also called Wei Tu 魏荼, posthumous title Wei Xianzi 魏獻子, was a nobleman in the state of Jin 晉 during the Spring and Autumn period 春秋 (770-5th cent. BCE) and a member of the house of Wei 魏.

He was a son of Wei Jiang 魏絳 (probably also a grandson of him, and a son of Wei Ying 魏嬴) and served the dukes Qing 晉頃公 (r. 526-512) and Ding 晉定公 (r. 512-475) of Jin as a minister.

In 514, he succeeded Han Qi 韓起 (Han Xuanzi 韓宣子) in the office of Counsellor-in-Chief. Under his regency, the houses of Qi 祁 and Yangshe 羊舌 were destroyed and their lands transformed into ten districts that were distributed among grand masters (dafu 大夫) of various families. Four of these belonged to the powerful houses of Luan 樂, Wei, Zhao 趙 and Zhi 知.

Their selection was approved by the contemporarian philosopher Confucius 孔子.

Thereafter, these noble houses became ever stronger, while the ducal house fell into oblivion. Wei Shu was succeeded in office by Shi Yang 士鞅 (Fan Xianzi 范獻子).

Sources:

Huang Huixian 黃惠賢, ed. (1997). Ershiwushi renming da cidain 二十五史人名大辭典 (Zhengzhou: Zhongzhou guji chubanshe), Vol. 1, 19.

Tan Jihe 譚繼和 (1992). "Wei Shu 魏舒", in Zhongugo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Junshi 軍事 (Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe), Vol. 2, 1065.

Xiong Tieji 熊鐵基, Yang Youli 楊有禮, ed. (1994). Zhongguo diwang zaixiang cidian 中國帝王宰相辭典 (Wuhan: Hubei jiaoyu chubanshe), 402.

Zhang Huizhi 張撝之, Shen Qiwei 沈起煒, Liu Dezhong 劉德重, ed, (1999). Zhongguo lidai renming da cidian 中國歷代人名大辭典 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe), Vol. 2, 2569.

Zhang Ke 張克, Huang Kangbo 黃康白, Huang Fangdong 黃方東, ed. (1991). Shiji renwu cidian 史記人物辭典 (Nanning: Guangxi renmin chubanshe), 107.