秦献公 / Duke Xian of Qin
《资治通鉴·周纪》08丨一代名将吴起惨死（3） gives Qin Xian Gong an earlier accession branch. The episode says he was a son of 秦灵公 who had failed to inherit, lived in exile in 卫国, and was brought back by shuzhang Gai after dissatisfaction with 秦出公’s child rule, his mother’s regency, and eunuch influence. Qin Xian Gong’s accession is therefore framed as a coup that kills Qin Chugong and his mother, not as a quiet succession.
秦献公 / Duke Xian of Qin appears in 《资治通鉴·周纪》10丨 以家族单位 有蚂蚁吃大象的精神（1） as the 秦国 ruler visited by 太史旦. The source uses him as the audience for a speech about Zhou-Qin common origin, reunion after five hundred years, and a later hegemon.
The host’s reading makes Qin Xian Gong less a biography subject than a strategic target. If 周王室 wanted to counter the usurpations of Sanjin and Tian-family Qi, Qin was a plausible power to flatter and recruit through kinship legitimacy diplomacy.
《资治通鉴·周纪》11丨 世界风起云涌（1） gives Qin Xian Gong the military sequel to that diplomatic branch. In 364 BCE he defeats the Three Jin coalition at 石门之战, after which 周显王 grants him 黻服 as ritual recognition of military power.
《资治通鉴·周纪》11丨 世界风起云涌（2） closes his reign in 362 BCE. The episode places Qin’s victory over 魏国 at 少梁 in the same annalistic cluster as Qin Xian Gong’s death and 秦孝公’s accession, turning his late reign into the immediate military and status-pressure setup for the reform branch.
Connections
- 秦国 - polity he rules.
- 秦出公 and 卫国 - coup victim and exile setting in Zhouji 08 part 3.
- 太史旦 and 《史记》 - visitor and source passage.
- 周王室 and Kinship Legitimacy Diplomacy / 同源合法性外交 - political interpretation in the episode.
- Yin-Yang Five-Phases Political Theory / 阴阳五行政治理论 - adjacent legitimacy language around the number five.
- 石门之战, Qin Eastward Pressure / 秦国东进压力, 黻服, and Ritual Recognition of Military Power / 礼制承认军事权力 - Zhouji 11 military and recognition branch.
- 少梁, 公孙措 / 公叔痤, and 秦孝公 - Zhouji 11 part 2 final victory and succession branch.