Case of Fu Xia Assassinating Zi Yi and Being Executed by Duke Li of Zheng

In the year 680 BC, during the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Li of Zheng, who had been driven into exile years earlier and lived in the town of Li, mounted a campaign to reclaim his throne. At the battle of Daling, his forces captured the Zheng minister Fu Xia. Fu Xia begged for his life and vowed that if released, he would help Duke Li return to power. Duke Li agreed, swore an oath, and set him free. Shortly thereafter, on the jiazi day of the sixth lunar month, Fu Xia murdered the reigning Zheng ruler, Zi Yi (posthumously known as Zhengzi), along with his two sons, and then facilitated Duke Li’s entry into the capital. After ascending the throne, Duke Li accused Fu Xia of gross treachery, declaring that a man who would kill his own sovereign for personal gain could never be loyal to anyone. Citing the established penal code of the Zhou dynasty (“Zhou you chang xing”), he ordered Fu Xia’s execution. The case has echoed through Chinese history as a cautionary tale about political betrayal and the fate of opportunists.

Duke Li declared Fu Xia guilty of treachery under the penal code of the Zhou dynasty and had him executed. No formal trial was recorded; the ruler’s judgment was absolute and immediately enforced.

Whether Fu Xia’s regicide was an act of loyalty to a legitimate claimant or an unforgivable betrayal; and whether Duke Li, having sworn an oath to spare Fu Xia, violated his own word by executing him, raising ethical questions about trust, amnesty, and political necessity.

Recorded in the Zuo Tradition, the episode became a moral exemplar in Confucian historiography, warning against disloyal ministers and illustrating the principle that treachery, even if temporarily advantageous, ultimately leads to destruction. It reinforced the value of fealty and the precariousness of political alliances in ancient Chinese governance.