Names

Renhao is a Chinese name: Ying is the surname and Renhao is the given name. During his time in power, he would have simply been called Qin or the Duke of Qin (Qingong). The title Qin Mugong—the "Solemn Duke of Qin"—is a posthumous name bestowed by his successors as part of Chinese ancestral veneration. Despite this being a descriptive title, it is common in English to treat it as though it were a common name. All of these are the modern Mandarin pronunciations of the characters in his names; their reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciations are different.

Life

He was the son of Duke De of Qin and the younger brother of Duke Cheng. He married Mu Ji (穆姬), the daughter of Duke Xian of Jin, and married his daughter Huai Ying (懷嬴) to two of Duke Xian's sons. He helped his son-in-law win the Battle of Chengpu against Chu; these two marriages led to the saying "the Friendship of Qin and Jin" (秦晉之好) to denote political marriages and alliances based on marital bonds. He is also noted as the retainer of Bole, the horse expert.

During the early reign of Duke Mu of Qin, the Jin state was a formidable power under the leadership of Duke Xian of Jin. However, after the death of Duke Xian, Jin plunged into a state of internal conflict as Duke Xian's sons fought over the succession. One of them won the contention and became Duke Hui of Jin, but Jin was struck by a famine not long later and Duke Hui requested aid from Qin. Duke Mu of Qin sent relief food supplies and agricultural equipment to Jin. However, Qin was struck by famine later and by then, Jin had recovered and it turned to attack Qin. Qin and Jin engaged in several battles over the next few years.

During the battles with Jin, Duke Mu heard that Duke Hui's older brother Ji Chong'er had gone from his northern and eastern wanderings to the southern court of Chu. After consulting his subjects, Duke Mu sent an emissary to Chu to invite Chong'er to Qin. Upon Duke Hui's death, his son fled from captivity in the Qin court to establish himself as the new duke. Instead of permitting this, Duke Mu sent his army to establish Chong'er as Duke Hui's successor, defeating the Jin army at the Battle of Gaoliang. Chong'er— his posthumous name is "Duke Wen"—was grateful for Duke Mu's assistance and relations between Qin and Jin improved. Qin used the opportunity when its eastern front was stable, to launch military campaigns against the minority tribes in the west.

At this time, Qin and Jin were the most powerful states in China. Duke Wen of Jin expelled the Di barbarians and drove them into the region west of the Yellow River between the Yun and Luo rivers; there they were known as the Red Di and the White Di. Shortly afterwards, Duke Mu of Qin, having obtained the services of You Yu, succeeded in getting the eight barbarian tribes of the west to submit to their authority.

Thus, at this time, there lived in the region west of Long the Mianzhu, the Hunrong, and the Diyuan tribes. North of Mts. Qi and Liang and the Jing and Qi rivers lived the Yiqu, Dali, Wuzhi, and Quyuan tribes. North of Jin were the Forest Barbarians and the Loufan, while north of Yan lived the Eastern Barbarians and Mountain Barbarians. All of them were scattered about in their own little valleys, each with its own chieftain. From time to time they would have gatherings of a hundred or so men, but no one tribe was capable of unifying the others under a single rule.

In 627 BC, Duke Mu of Qin planned a secret attack on the State of Zheng, but the Qin army retreated after being tricked into believing that Zheng was prepared for Qin's invasion. Duke Wen had died and his successor, Duke Xiang of Jin, ordered his troops to lay an ambush for the retreating Qin army. The Qin forces were defeated in an ambush by Jin at the Battle of Yao (zh) near present-day Luoning County, Henan Province and suffered heavy casualties. Three years later, Qin attacked Jin for revenge and scored a major victory. Duke Mu refused to advance east further after holding a funeral service for those killed in action at the Battle of Yao, and focused on the traditional policy of expanding Qin's borders in the west. Duke Mu's achievements in the western campaigns and his handling of foreign relations with Jin earned him a position among the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period.

Family

He had at least two known sons: Ying and Hong. Ying succeeded him as Duke Kang of Qin. He also had several known daughters: Huai Ying (wife of Dukes Huai and Wen of Jin), Wen Ying (wife of Duke Wen of Jin), Qin Ying (wife of King Gong of Chu), Jianbi, and Nongyu (wife of Xiao Shi). There are doubts as to whether Huai Ying and Wen Ying were different names for the same daughter; likewise, some argue for the conflation of Jianbi and Nongyu.

• Great-great-grandfather: Duke Wen of Qin

• Great-grandfather: Duke Jing of Qin (秦靜公)

• Grandfather: Duke Xian of Qin

• Father: Duke De of Qin

　• Brothers: Duke Xuan of Qin, Duke Cheng of Qin

• Wife: Lady Mu (~672－637 BC), sister of Shensheng

　• Son: Duke Kang of Qin (d. 609 BC)

　• Daughter: Huai Ying (650 BC - 620 BC)

　• Daughter: Wenying

　• Daughter: Jianbi

　• Daughter: Nongyu

Popular Culture

In the manga and anime series Kingdom, he made an alliance with mountain tribes, after seeing his horse devoured by them, even giving the barbarians wine. Later, he fought against Jin, but was rescued by the same barbarians.

生平

秦德公之少子，秦宣公、秦成公之弟，他任用百里奚、蹇叔和由余為謀臣，擊敗晉國，俘晉惠公，滅梁、芮兩國。扶持晉文公，實現秦晉聯盟。晉文公死後，聯盟瓦解，秦晉對抗。後在前627年崤之戰（今河南三門峽東南）、前625年彭衙之戰（今陝西白水東北）兩次被晉軍大敗，秦東進的路被晉牢牢地扼住。

秦穆公三十六年（前624年），秦穆公親自率兵討伐晉國，渡過黃河以後，將渡船全部焚毀，表示誓死克敵的決心。秦軍奪得王官（今山西聞喜西）和郊。晉軍拒不出戰，秦軍從茅津渡過黃河，到南岸崤地，在當年的戰場為戰死的將士堆土樹立標記，然後回國。轉而向西方發展，秦國在函谷關以西一帶稱霸，史稱「稱霸西戎」。「兼國十二，開地千里」（《韓非子·十過篇》）。

秦穆公娶晉太子申生的姊姊穆姬為妻。秦穆公三十九年（前621年），秦穆公死，安葬於雍（今陝西鳳翔東南），殉葬的人數達一百七十七人，秦穆公雖是明主，但殉葬之舉卻導致秦國人才大量凋零，《左傳》文公六年曾這樣記載「秦伯任好卒，以子車氏三子奄息、仲行、針虎為殉，皆秦之良也，國人哀之，為之賦《黃鳥》。」

家庭

;妻

• 穆姬，穆姬，晉獻公與齊姜的女兒，晉獻公太子申生的姊姊。

;子

• 秦康公（？－前609年），名罃，是秦穆公和夫人穆姬所生之子。

• 公子弘，秦康公的弟弟，是秦穆公和夫人穆姬所生之子。

;女

• 簡璧，秦康公的妹妹，夫人穆姬所生。

• 文嬴，嫁給晉文公。

• 懷嬴，原本嫁給晉懷公，後來跟著文嬴一起嫁給晉文公。

• 弄玉，嫁給蕭史。

西部開疆

時秦西部生活著許多戎狄的部落和小國，如隴山以西有昆戎、綿諸、翟，涇北有義渠、烏氏、朐衍之戎，洛川有大荔之戎，渭南有陸渾之戎。他們生產落後，披髮衣皮，各有君長，不相統一。他們常常突襲秦的邊地，搶掠糧食、牲畜，擄奪子女，給秦人造成很大的苦難。

秦穆公向西發展，採取了比較謹慎的策略，先強後弱，次第征服。當時，西戎諸部落中較強的是綿諸（在今甘肅天水市東）、義渠（在今甘肅寧縣北）和大荔（今陝西大荔東）。其中，綿諸有王，住地在秦的故土附近，與秦疆土相接。

正好，綿諸王聽說秦穆公賢能，派了由余出使秦國。秦穆公隆重接待由余，向他展示秦國壯麗的宮室和豐裕的積儲，向他了解西戎的地形、兵勢。又用內史廖的策略，挽留由余在秦居住。同時，給綿諸王送去女樂二八。動聽美妙的秦國音樂舞蹈，使戎王大享眼耳之福。他終日飲酒享樂，不理政事，國內大批牛馬死亡，也不加過問。等到綿諸國內政事一塌糊塗，秦穆公這才讓由余回國。由余的勸諫，受到戎王的拒絕。在秦人的規勸下，由余終於歸向秦國。秦穆公以賓客之禮接待由余，和他討論統一西方戎族的策略。

穆公三十七年（前623年），秦軍出征西戎，以迅雷不及掩耳之勢，包圍了綿諸，在酒樽之下活捉了綿諸王。秦穆公乘勝前進，二十多個戎狄小國先後歸服了秦國。秦國闢地千里，國界南至秦嶺，西達狄道（今甘肅臨洮），北至朐衍戎（今寧夏鹽池），東到黃河，史稱「秦穆公霸西戎」。周襄王派遣召公過帶了金鼓送給秦穆公，以表示祝賀。