Shen () was a vassal state of the Zhou dynasty ruled by the Jiang (å§Â) family as an earldom. At the beginning of the Spring and Autumn period, the Shen state was annexed by the Chu state and became one of its counties.
Located around the states of Chén and Zhèng, the State of ShÃÂn lay to the south of modern-day Huáiyáng and Xënzhèng counties in Henan Province. The state's capital stood in WÃÂn County (å®Âå¿) , Nányáng bordered to the north by the MÃÂngè Pass (å¥åÂÂéÂÂ/å¥åÂÂå ³) and to the south by the Huai River.
The history of the State of Shen began with the bestowal of the Earldom of ShÃÂn (later a Marquessate) which descended from the matriarchal line of the Zhà Âu Kings. During the reign of King XuÃÂn of Zhà Âu (reigned 827 â 782 BCE), the Earl of ShÃÂn was granted the title and lands of King XuÃÂn's maternal uncle in the former State of Xiè (è¬ÂÃ¥ÂÂ/è°¢å½). The enfeoffed territory of the State of Shen acted as a strategic southern gateway to the lands controlled by the Zhou Kings. King Xuan dispatched Hà Â, the Earl of Shao (å¬伯èÂÂ), to Shen to negotiate with the Earl of ShÃÂn and obtain part of their land for use in the public fields system (å ¬ç°). The King also sent his close aide Fù Yù (å 御) to relocate the population (the Earl of ShÃÂn's former subjects) in order to rapidly consolidate his control over the area.
King Yà Âu ascended the throne of Zhà Âu in 781 BCE. His queen and first wife was the daughter of the Marquess of ShÃÂn. The king's concubine BÃÂo Sì wanted to oust Crown Prince YÃÂjiù (å®Âè¼) and replace him with her own son Bófú (伯æÂÂ) thereby arousing the fury of the Marquess of ShÃÂn. As a result, in 771 BCE the Marquess of ShÃÂn allied with the State of ZÃÂng (ç¹Â/缯) along with QuÃÂnróng nomads (ç¾ÂÂ) and attacked the Zhà Âu capital at Hàojëng (é¬京/éÂÂ京). King Yà Âu lit beacons to summon his nobles in defence but none came and he was subsequently killed at the foot of LÃÂshÃÂn near modern-day XëâÂÂÃÂn (西å®Â). Thereafter the Marquesses of ShÃÂn and Là  (é²Â) together with Marquess Wén of Xà  (许æÂÂå ¬) enthroned YÃÂjiù as King Ping of Zhou in the State of ShÃÂn thereby ushering in the Spring and Autumn period.
In 761 BCE, another daughter of the Marquess of ShÃÂn called WÃÂjiÃÂng () married Duke Wàof Zhèng (éÂÂæ¦堬/éÂÂæ¦堬). She subsequently gave birth to two sons, the elder of whom, Wùsheng (寤çÂÂ) would succeed his father as Duke ZhuÃÂng of Zhèng.
During the early years of the Spring and Autumn period the State of Chà  began to expand. In 688 BCE King Wén of Chà  (æ¥ÂæÂÂçÂÂ) dispatched an army to attack the State of Shen. According to the Zuo Zhuan, as the troops passed through the State of Dèng, Marquess Qàof Dèng remarked: King Wén of Chu is the son of my sister. As a result, Marquess Qàallowed him to stop in the State of Shen and provided a feast and entertainment. The officials ZhuëshÃÂng (騠çÂÂ¥/éªÂçÂÂ¥), DÃÂnshÃÂng (èÂÂçÂÂ¥) and YÃÂngshÃÂng (é¤ÂçÂÂ¥/å »çÂÂ¥) asked Marquess Qàto kill King Wén but he would not hear of it whereupon the three officials replied:
After King Wén suppressed the State of ShÃÂn using armed force he became caught up in a war between the State of Deng and the State of Ba. What happened to the State of ShÃÂn after this suppression is not clear.
The "Zuo Zhuan ⢠Fourteenth Year of Duke Ai" traces the establishment of the counties of ShÃÂn and Xë (æ¯), dating the overthrow of the State of Xë to 680 BCE. As a result, the destruction of the State of ShÃÂn must have taken place around the same time â somewhere between 688 and 680 BCE.
After its absorption into the State of ChÃÂ, ShÃÂn became an important northern county. At the Battle of Chéngpú, ChàPrime minister Chéng Déchén (æÂÂå¾Âè£) did not lead the main Chàarmy but a smaller force composed of troops from the counties of ShÃÂn and Xë. As a result, Chéng Déchén lost the battle whereupon King Chéng of Chà  said If you return home, what will the elders of the counties of ShÃÂn and Xë do?
In 594 BCE, King ZhuÃÂng of Chà  agreed to confer territory in the counties of ShÃÂn and Là  on ZÃÂchong (Ã¥ÂÂéÂÂ). The king's senior official Wà « Chén (å·«è£) remonstrated with him:
In the sixth year of Duke Cheng of Lu (585 CE), the State of Jìn attacked the State of Cài. Chàsent troops from ShÃÂn and Xë to assist Cài. The high-ranking military leaders of Jìn knew that if they won this battle it would only mean the defeat of ShÃÂn and Xë counties, not the entire State of Chàâ if they lost it would be a major humiliation so the army decided to retreat. Academic Gu Jiegang points out that since the two counties of ShÃÂn and Xë had enough troops and were sufficiently powerful to deal with the State of Jin's army, it is clear that the counties were both rich and populous.
Later on, in 529 CE, King Ling of Chu died and King Ping of Chu ascended the throne. During the reign of King Ling, after he had overthrown the State of Cài he had annexed the states of Xà Â, Hú (è¡å½), ShÃÂn (æ²Âå½), Dào, Fáng (æ¿å½) and ShÃÂn, bringing them within the borders of his territory. After King Ping took over the throne of Chà Â, he restored the states of Chén and Cài so that they once more became small countries.
In the 1980s, archaeological excavations around the former ShÃÂn capital of Nanyang uncovered a number of the state's bronze artifacts. These included a bronze sacrificial vessel inscribed with text that scholar Li Xueqin has deciphered as Count of Southern Shen (Ã¥ÂÂç³伯). Li further infers that the nobleman referred to is one of those mentioned in the Daya (大é ) section of the Book of Songs in the poem entitled Song Gao (å´§é«Â).