Lai 萊 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ?–567 BC | |||||||
 Lai is on the tip of the Shandong Peninsula bordering Qi | |||||||
| Capital | Changle (昌樂) Linqu (臨朐) Ni (郳) | ||||||
| Common languages | Old Chinese | ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| Duke of Lai | |||||||
• ?–567 BCE | Duke Gong of Lai | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | ? | ||||||
• Conquered byQi | 567 BC | ||||||
| |||||||
Lai (simplified Chinese:莱;traditional Chinese:萊;pinyin:Lái), also known asLaiyi (萊夷;Láiyí), was an ancientDongyi state located in what is now easternShandong Province, recorded in theBook of Xia. Tang Shanchun (唐善纯) believeslái means "mountain" in theOld Yue language,[1] while theYue Jue Shu (越絕書) sayslai means "wilderness".[2][3]
Lai was a traditional enemy of theState of Qi to its west. As soon asJiang Ziya, the first ruler of Qi, was enfeoffed at Qi, the state of Lai attacked its capital atYingqiu. In 567 BC, Lai attacked Qi but was decisively defeated byDuke Ling of Qi, and its last ruler Furou,Duke Gong of Lai, was killed.[4][5] Lai was a large state, and Qi more than doubled in size after annexing Lai.[4][6][7] The people (Dongyi) were moved toLaiwu, whereMencius later called them theQídōngyěrén (齊東野人), the "savages of eastern Qi".
