While Shensheng was the original crown prince, in his later years Duke Xian favoured the concubine Li Ji, who desired her son Xiqi to be heir instead.

With a retinue of capable men, including Zhao Cui, Hu Yan, Wei Chou (魏犨), Jia Tuo (賈佗), Xian Zhen (先軫), and Jie Zhitui, Chong'er fled to the north.

Duke Wen undertook several major reforms of the state's military and civil institutions, partly in order to fill the gaps that had been caused by the slaughter of the ducal house previously.

The state was further invigorated by the many capable leaders Duke Wen had gathered from his wanderings, who were given senior military and governmental posts.

Chong'er replied that, should Jin and Chu meet on the battlefield in the future, he would order his own troops to retreat three she (舍) or about 30 km (20 mi).

[8] Sima Qian relates that Jie was among those who followed the prince through all his years of exile but, crediting Heaven with Qin's willingness to install Chong'er in place of Duke Yu, he declined to present himself at court for reward and insulted those who did so.

He was eventually reminded of Jie by a poem about a dragon and some snakes that was posted on his new palace's main gate; unable to find or reward him, he set aside the fields of Mianshang to endow sacrifices in his honor.

[11] Later legends embellished this story: after the retinue of exiles were robbed by bandits while traveling through the Chinese countryside, they ran so low on food that Chong'er was at risk of starvation.

He also ordered a period of prohibition against fire in Jie's honor, forcing the people to eat cold food during three days around the Qingming solar term.

[15] In fact, the Cold Food Festival is not attested before the Han and began as a month-long popular observance to placate Jie's spirit in the depths of winter.

[18] The regulations succeeded in moving the festival to the end of spring (by Chinese reckoning), but it never died out in Shanxi and spread through the rest of China under the Sui and Tang.

She was married to Zhao Cui (趙衰), and was praised highly for returning the wifehood to the first wife Shu Wei (叔隗), thereby making herself a concubine.

When Duke Xiang of Jin died, Zhao Dun decided to let Yong succeed the throne, since he was elder and had a good reputation.

Duke Wen's military and civil reforms created a framework of government which helped ensure the stability and preeminence of the Jin for subsequent decades.

At the same time, though, it laid the framework for the political situation in the later years of Jin, when several houses of nobles came to dominate the ducal court.

The houses of Wei and Zhao, for example, were consolidated by their military appointments in Duke Wen's court, setting the ground for their eventual domination and the partition of Jin two and a half centuries later.

Other dramatizations of his life include the 2011 Chinese series Song of Spring and Autumn, with the duke played by Gallen Lo.

In 2019 a Chinese historical romantic comedy television series called Chong Er's Preach was directed by Lai Shuiqing and Zhao Jian and starring Wang Longhua, Baby Zhang, Zhang Yishan, Madina Memet, Purba Rgyal, Shen Mengchen, and Gan Tingting.