Concept
The State of Xu () (also called Xu Rong (徐戎) or Xu Yi (徐夷) by its enemies) was an independent Huaiyi state of the Chinese Bronze Age that was ruled by the Ying family (嬴) and controlled much of the Huai River valley for at least two centuries. It was centered in northern Jiangsu and Anhui. An ancient but originally minor state that already existed during the late Shang dynasty, Xu was subjugated by the Western Zhou dynasty around 1039 BC, and was gradually sinified from then on. It eventually regained its independence and formed a confederation of 36 states that became powerful enough to challenge the Zhou empire for supremacy over the Central Plain. Able to consolidate its rule over a territory that stretched from Hubei in the south, through eastern Henan, northern Anhui and Jiangsu, as far north as southern Shandong, Xu's confederation remained a major power until the early Spring and Autumn period. It reached its apogee in the mid 8th century BC, expanding its influence as far as Zhejiang in the south. By that time, however, Xu's confederation began to break up as result of internal unrest. As its power waned, Xu was increasingly threatened by neighboring states, losing control over the Huai River to Chu. Reduced to its heartland, Xu was eventually conquered by Wu in 512 BC. According to the Rongcheng Shi bamboo slips from the Warring States period, the Yu Gong from the Han dynasty and various other sources, Yu the Great divided the world into the Nine Provinces in prehistoric times, one of them Xu. The Yuanhe Xingzuan, a Tang dynasty compilation of information on the origins of Chinese surnames, as well as the Tongzhi, a Southern Song dynasty historical book, also state that Yu enfeoffed Ruomu, grandson of the mythological emperor Zhuanxu, as lord of Xu around 2100 BC. In turn the Xu peoples were supposed to be Ruomu's descendants. Furthermore, it was claimed this Xu state or province had originally occupied the entire area between the Huai and Yellow River.
