Case of Jin's Xun Wu Attacking Xianyu and Capturing Rong Manzi Chi to Return to Chu

This case combines two events recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals. In 529 BC, Jin general Xun Wu led a campaign against the Xianyu state, using a request for passage as a pretext, and ultimately subjugated the region. Later, around 506 BC, the Rong Man leader Chi fled to Jin territory after a Chu offensive. Under diplomatic pressure from Chu, Jin's minister Zhao Yang ordered Shi Mie to seize Chi. Shi Mie lured Chi under the pretense of granting land and conducting divination, then arrested him and his five senior officials, handing them over to Chu forces at Sanhu. Historical narratives later associated the capture with Xun Wu, giving rise to the compound case name. Jin's actions resulted in the elimination of the Rong Man tribe and demonstrated the shifting power dynamics among the major states.

Rong Manzi Chi was delivered to Chu and subsequently executed; the Rong Man state was dissolved and its people resettled by Chu. Xianyu was effectively subdued and later absorbed into Jin's sphere of influence, marking the end of both polities as independent entities.

Whether Jin's extradition of a refugee ruler violated inter-state covenants and ritual obligations; whether the annexation of Xianyu constituted illegitimate aggression; and whether surrendering Chi to Chu breached the duty to protect dependent allies, raising moral questions on asylum and the treatment of captives.

The case exemplified Jin's declining hegemony and appeasement toward Chu, altering the balance of power among the Central Plains states. It led to the annihilation of the Rong Man and was cited in later legal and philosophical debates on extradition, refugee protection, and the limits of state sovereignty under the ritual order.