The House of Xian 先

The house of Xian 先 was a noble family in the state of Jin 晉 during the Spring and Autumn period 春秋 (770-5th cent. BCE). They were descendants of an unknown nobleman from the house of Xi 隰 in the state of Qi 齊 who had abandoned his home state disturbed by power struggles.

The house of Xi was founded by Prince Liao 廖, a son of Duke Zhuang of Qi 齊莊公 (r. 795-731), who was made head of the town of Xiyin 隰陰. In exile in Jin, Xi Shu 隰叔 was the first family member to become a grand master (dafu 大夫), and was granted the territory of Xian 先. The place name later became the kinsname (shi 氏) of the family, while the actual family name was Jiang 姜.