History

Following his overthrow of the Shang king Zhou, King Wu of Zhou granted titles and territories to his younger brothers. The fifth brother, Cai Shu Du, was enfeoffed at present-day Shangcai (lit. "Upper Cai") in Henan. During the Three Guards Rebellion, he attempted to usurp the Duke of Zhou's position as regent to the young king and his defeat meant his deposition and exile.

Du's son Ji Hu, however, proved a loyal and capable ambassador for Cheng and the Duke of Zhou, and they rewarded him with the reestablishment of his father's territory and title, which he was able to pass on to his son, Ji Huang.

As the Chinese peerage developed, Cai was initially considered a county and then elevated to a march; it was never able, however, to become a duchy or kingdom in its own right. Invasions from Chu during the Spring and Autumn period relocated Cai several times, first to Xincai (lit. "New Cai") in 531 BC and later to Xiacai (lit. "Lower Cai") at present-day Fengtai in Anhui. In 447 BC, King Hui of Chu conquered Cai completely, but allowed the marquesses to settle near Changde in Hunan and establish a rump state called Gaocai (lit. "Great Cai"). This was destroyed 80 years later.

Legacy

With the spread of surnames to all Chinese during the Qin dynasty, many people from the former state took the surname Cai in memory of their former home.

These former subjects have undertaken two major migrations. During the Huang Chao Rebellion against the Tang in AD 875, the Cai clan moved to Guangdong and Fujian. A later migration occurred when the Ming loyalist Koxinga relocated many Cai officers to Taiwan in the 17th century.

Rulers of Cai

The rulers of Cai were all descended from the Zhou imperial Ji family and – after the first three – held the rank of hou ("Marquis").

• Shu Du of Cai

• Zhong Hu of Cai

• Earl Huang of Cai

• Marquis Gōng of Cai (蔡宮侯, Cài Gōnghóu)

• Marquis Li of Cai (蔡厲侯, Cài Lìhóu)

• Marquis Wu of Cai (蔡武侯, Cài Wǔhóu; 863–837 BC)

• Marquis Yi of Cai (蔡夷侯, Cài Yíhóu; 837–809 BC)

• Marquis Xi of Cai (蔡釐侯, Cài Xihóu; 809–761 BC)

• Marquis Gòng of Cai (蔡共侯, Cài Gònghóu; 761–760 BC)

• Marquis Dai of Cai (蔡戴侯, Cài Dàihóu; 759–750 BC)

• Marquis Xuan of Cai (蔡宣侯, Cài Xuānhóu; 749–715 BC)

• Marquis Huan of Cai (蔡桓侯, Cài Huánhóu; né 姬封人, Jī Fēngrén; 714–695 BC)

• Marquis Ai of Cai (蔡哀侯, Cài Āihóu; né 姬獻舞, Jī Xiànwǔ; 694–675 BC)

• Marquis Mu of Cai (蔡穆侯, Cài Mùhóu; né 姬肸, Jī Xì; 674–646 BC)

• Marquis Zhuang of Cai (蔡莊侯, Cài Zhuānghóu; né 姬甲午, Jī Jiǎwǔ; 645–612 BC)

• Marquis Wen of Cai (蔡文侯, Cài Wénhóu; né 姬申, Jī Shēn; 611–592 BC)

• Marquis Jing of Cai (蔡景侯, Cài Jǐnghóu; né 姬固, Jī Gù; 591–543 BC)

• Marquis Ling of Cai (蔡靈侯, Cài Línghóu; né 姬般, Jī Bān; 542–531 BC)

• Marquis Ping of Cai (蔡平侯, Cài Pínghóu; né 姬廬, Jī Lú; 530–522 BC)

• Marquis Dao of Cai (蔡悼侯, Cài Dàohóu; né 姬東國, Jī Dōngguó; 521–519 BC)

• Marquis Zhao of Cai (蔡昭侯, Cài Zhāohóu; né 姬申, Jī Shēn; 518–491 BC)

• Marquis Cheng of Cai (蔡成侯, Cài Chénghóu; né 姬朔, Jī Shuò; 490–472 BC)

• Marquis Sheng of Cai (蔡聲侯, Cài Shēnghóu; né 姬産, Jī Chuǎn; 471–457 BC)

• Marquis Yuan of Cai (蔡元侯, Cài Yuánhóu; 456–451 BC)

• Marquis Qi of Cai (蔡齊侯, Cài Hóuqí; né 姬齊, Jī Qí; 450–447 BC)

Rulers family tree

沿革

周武王滅商後，封其五弟叔度于蔡。楊寬認為「蔡」「祭」古音同，通用。蔡叔所封之蔡原在祭，建都於蔡。

周朝初年，兩代蔡侯接力築城，終于建起一道古城牆。這道有千年歷史的城牆至今還存在，位於今河南鄭州管城區祭城村。

周武王死後，周公攝政，蔡叔度與管叔等不信任，因而發動三監之亂，周公東征打敗蔡叔，遷之，與車十乘，徙七十人從。……蔡叔度既遷而死。其子曰胡，胡乃改行，率德馴獸。……於是周公言於成王，復封胡於蔡，以奉蔡叔之祀，是為蔡仲。」（《史記．管蔡世家》）此為蔡國二度受封，遷都今河南省上蔡縣。

春秋初年，蔡國尚出兵與魯、宋等伐鄭。前684年楚國利用蔡國、息國二國的矛盾，出兵俘虜蔡哀侯，將蔡國納入楚國控制範圍。從此，在楚的壓迫下蔡國深受其害。前531年，楚一度滅蔡，三年後蔡平侯復國，並遷都呂亭（今河南新蔡）。前506年蔡國曾隨吳國伐楚，並攻入郢都。前493年在楚國的逼迫下，蔡昭侯遷都州來（安徽鳳臺），經五世，最終於前447年為楚所併。

從秦漢時期集中於中原地區的蔡姓最飛黃騰達的時刻隨著幾千年的時間逐漸往海岸線定居遷徙，至今主要集中於廣東，浙江，江蘇，東南沿海地區高比例的蔡姓家族

蔡國君主列表及在位年份

蔡國自蔡叔度就國到蔡侯齊被楚國滅，共歷26任君主。