[2] After Boyi helped Yu the Great bring flood control to near yellow river, Yu's son and successor Qi of Xia offered Boyi's son, Xuanzhong, the position of Lord of Jiangdi (Chinese: 江地 - modern Jiangling County in Hubei Province).

[3] Boyi's descendants ruled the area as kings of an autonomous "River Kingdom" (Chinese: 江国; pinyin: Jiāng Guó) during the Shang dynasty and Western Zhou dynasty, with its capital city near today's Zhengyang County, Henan Province.

While defending from neighbors' attacks, the Jiang state also had to deal with the Huai River's frequent flooding, which often inundated the kingdom's central areas.

These difficulties prevented Jiang from developing significant economic or military power.

At the time of the kingdom's destruction, many of its surviving inhabitants fled to what is now Henan Province[where?]