14. Yu the Great’s Son Qi and the Birth of “Family Rule”
When Yu the Great passed away, it was as if the last pillar holding up the tradition of abdication to the worthy collapsed. The careful succession plan Yu had arranged during his lifetime looked fragile in the face of reality. Yi, who was supposed to inherit power, stepped aside as ritual required, but instead of smoothly continuing the cycle of “choosing the most virtuous,” this act revealed something very different: the people’s hearts were no longer with the old ideal. They began to accept bloodline and inheritance over merit and virtue.
The rise of Qi, son of Yu, marked the beginning of a new age in Chinese history—an age of hereditary monarchy, or what later generations called “family rule under Heaven”. Yet this new path did not begin peacefully—it was filled with doubt, challenges, and battles over legitimacy.
Legitimate or Not? The Debate over Qi’s Inheritance
On the surface, Qi’s succession seemed natural. “The people turned toward Qi, son of Yu,” wrote the historian Sima Qian. Two reasons stood out:
- Qi’s own ability and reputation – he wasn’t an incompetent heir, and he carried the basic qualities needed to win acceptance.
- Yu’s towering legacy – the people still deeply admired Yu for taming the floods and dividing the land into nine regions. Qi, as Yu’s son, seemed the natural continuation of that glory.
By contrast, Yi’s position was awkward. Though wise and capable, he had only served Yu for a short time. He lacked the long record of achievements and personal networks needed to win the loyalty of the lords. To them, Yi looked more like a temporary caretaker than Heaven’s chosen ruler. So when Yi withdrew to live quietly on Mount Ji, few followed him. The lords instead flocked to Qi, openly declaring: “Our ruler is Yu’s son.”
This moment tore away the polite veil of the abdication system. Power was now clearly tied to bloodline, not to virtue. Still, not everyone agreed. Some tribes still clung to the old ideal that rulers should be chosen for their abilities, not inherited by birth. Their resistance soon led to open conflict.
The Battle of Gan: Fighting for Family Rule
The challenge came from the Youhu tribe, based in today’s Henan region. They rejected Qi’s claim, arguing that supreme power should be recognized by all tribes, based on merit, not blood.
Qi could not afford to back down. If he failed, the newborn Xia dynasty and the hereditary system would collapse before they even began. He gathered his army and marched against the Youhu. The two sides met at a place called Gan (historians debate whether it was in modern Henan or Shaanxi).
Before the battle, Qi held a solemn oath-taking ceremony, later recorded in the Book of Documents as the *“Oath of Gan” . This was no ordinary pep talk—it was a declaration of legitimacy and new political rules.
Qi told his generals, the “Six Commanders”:
“Listen! The Youhu tribe has insulted the natural order of the Five Elements, and abandoned the proper ways of Heaven, Earth, and Man. Their fate is cut off by Heaven. I now act only to carry out Heaven’s punishment.”
By framing the war as Heaven’s will, Qi transformed what might look like a selfish power grab into a sacred mission: punishing rebels who violated cosmic order.
Then came a strict set of battle orders:
- Archers on the left of the chariots—shoot with all your strength!
- Warriors on the right—fight with all your might!
- Charioteers—drive with full skill!
- Anyone who disobeys or fights half-heartedly will be executed in front of the state altar, and their families enslaved. Those who serve with effort will be honored in the ancestral temple.
The harshness was unprecedented. It showed that Qi’s new regime demanded absolute loyalty, binding not only individuals but also their families’ fates to the survival of the dynasty.
The Outcome and Its Meaning
Qi won a decisive victory. The Youhu tribe was destroyed, and no other major clan dared to challenge him again. The battle had enormous significance:
- Military Foundation – With blood and iron, Qi crushed opposition to hereditary rule.
- Ideological Shift – By linking family inheritance with Heaven’s will, Qi gave “family rule” a sacred justification. From then on, kingship was seen as Heaven-given, and passed from father to son.
- Centralized Power – The harsh discipline reflected a move from a loose tribal alliance toward a more centralized state.
Stability—and Hidden Risks
After the victory, the lords of the land all came to pay tribute. The Xia dynasty was secure, at least for the moment. Qi likely carried out further reforms to strengthen the government.
But hereditary monarchy carried a fatal weakness: it could not guarantee the quality of future rulers. When Qi died, his son Taikang succeeded him. Taikang turned out to be a weak and indulgent king, losing the throne to rivals in what became known as the “Loss of the Kingdom by Taikang.”
Epilogue: The Wheel of History
Qi’s story marks the beginning of a new era. He inherited not just his father Yu’s land, but also the responsibility of shaping how power was handed down. In doing so, he broke with the idea of “the world for all” and replaced it with “the world belongs to one family.”
The system he founded—hereditary monarchy—would dominate Chinese history for thousands of years. But the debates, conflicts, and contradictions seen at its birth still echo through time, reminding us that every system has both strength and weakness.