Eighteen Kingdoms
18 states created by Xiang Yu in China in 206 BCE
The historiographical term "Eighteen Kingdoms" (Chinese: 十八國), also translated as "Eighteen States", refers to the eighteen fengjian states in China created by military leader Xiang Yu in 206 BCE, after the collapse of the Qin dynasty. The establishment and abolishment of the Eighteen Kingdoms marked the beginning and end of a turbulent interregnum known as the Chu–Han Contention.
The details of the feudal division are as follows:
The Eighteen Kingdoms were short-lived. Almost immediately, Tian Rong, dissatisfied with the fact that he was given no domain, rebelled and seized power in Qi, after which he conquered Jiaodong and Jibei, reuniting the old Qi state. Meanwhile, Xiang Yu had Emperor Yi of Chu and King Han Cheng of Hán killed. Thereafter, Liu Bang of Hàn conquered the lands of the Three Qins, thereby formally starting the Chu–Han Contention.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Eighteen Kingdoms” is 18 states created by Xiang Yu in China in 206 BCE. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Eighteen, Kingdoms and states, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “18 states created by Xiang Yu in China in 206 BCE” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5349053. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Eighteen Kingdoms”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Eighteen Kingdoms primary sources, Eighteen Kingdoms archive and Eighteen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Eighteen Kingdoms”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Eighteen Kingdoms” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.