The Battle of Handan began in 259 BC and concluded in 257 BC, during which the garrison of

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

, the capital city of Zhao, joined by the allied force of

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

and

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...

, defeated the invading army of

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

. It was one of the most remarkable failures of the Qin army after the Reform of

Shang Yang Shang Yang (; c. 390 – 338 BC), also known as Wei Yang () and originally surnamed Gongsun, was a Chinese jurist, philosopher, and politician.Antonio S. Cua (ed.), 2003, p. 362, ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy'"The fifth important legali ...

Background

Just months prior to the siege, Zhao suffered a major loss in

Battle of Changping The Battle of Changping () was a military campaign during the Warring States period of ancient China, which took place from 262 BC to 260 BC at Changping (northwest of present-day Gaoping, Shanxi province), between the two strongest military pow ...

, during which more than 400,000 soldiers were killed by the Qin army led by

Bai Qi Bai Qi (; – 257 BC), also known as Gongsun Qi (), was a Chinese military general of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Born in Mei (present-day Mei County, Shaanxi), Bai Qi served as the commander of the Qin army for more than 30 ...

. When the state of Zhao was still in pain, Qin launched another attack to the

Shangdang Shangdang Commandery or Shangdang Prefecture (, also named Shangtang) was an administrative subdivision of ancient China from the time of the Spring and Autumn period (771–403 BCE). Consisting of a number of districts or ''Zhōu'' (, or prefec ...

region of Zhao. Qin quickly captured Pilao and

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

which caused panics in Zhao and

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

states. To stop Qin's invasion, Han and Zhao ceded several towns to Qin.

Fan Ju Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

, the chancellor of Qin, persuaded the

King Zhaoxiang of Qin King Zhaoxiang of Qin (; 325–251 BC), or King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王), born Ying Ji (, was the king of Qin from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen and younger brother of King Wu. King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 57 ...

to take those towns and stop the military campaign, while the general

wanted to keep on invading those two states aiming to wipe them out completely. The king accepted Fan Ju's strategy and stopped the campaign, which caused some conflict between Fan Ju and Bai Qi. When

King Xiaocheng of Zhao King Xiaocheng of Zhao (; reigned 265 BCE – 245 BCEVolume 6 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' indicated that King Xiaocheng died in the 2nd year of the reign of Qin Shi Huang, who was still King of Qin at the time; this corresponds to 245 BCE in the prolept ...

planned to cede six towns according to the treaty, some governors stopped him. A governor called Yu Qing told the king that ceding towns to Qin would only made Qin a bigger threat. He suggested that instead of ceding six towns to Qin, Zhao should cede six towns to Qi in order to gain the support from the powerful state in the east. Meanwhile, Zhao should form an allied force with

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed inde ...

and

to stop the eastward expansion of Qin together. The king took the suggestion of Yu Qing and began to prepare a potential total conflict against Qin. Qin was annoyed by Zhao after Zhao refused to cede six towns as promised. The king of Qin decided to launch another war. He wanted to make

the general, but Bai Qi refused to do so because he knew that this was not a good chance to defeat Zhao since Zhao was well prepared and was allied with other states.

The war

Siege of Handan

In July of 259 BC, Qin started the war against Zhao. Wang Ling was appointed as the leading general of Qin forces. Wang led Qin troops to

and besieged the city. Soldiers of Zhao fought very hard because they knew that if they lost, the state of Zhao would no longer exist. Wang Ling was trapped under the wall of Handan for almost two years, and five of his vice generals were killed in the battle. The king of Qin asked Bai Qi to replace Wang Ling but Bai Qi refused once more. Then, the king sent Wang He to the frontline to reinforce Wang Ling.

Call for help from Chu and Wei

In 258 BC, when the defense of Handan was hard, Zhao decided to call for help from Chu and Wei. The king of Zhao sent

Lord Pingyuan Lord Pingyuan (; 308–251 BC), born Zhao Sheng (), was a prominent nobleman and chancellor of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period of ancient China, and one of the Four Lords of the Warring States. He was a son of King Wuling of Zh ...

to Chu to ask for the reinforcement. Lord Pingyuan planned to select 20 assistants from his entourages but only 19 spots were filled. An entourage named

Mao Sui Mao Sui (fl. 3rd century BC), was born in the Zhao state (current Hebei province) during the Warring States period. He was a retainer of Lord Pingyuan, namely Zhao Sheng. Mao lived in Zhao for three years but success eluded him. In 257 BC, after t ...

recommended himself to be the 20th assistant. Lord Pingyuan said, "Talent is to a person what a pin is to a bag. The pin would break the bag no matter what, so people would see it. Talent could not be hidden. You have been here for three years but you have done nothing amazing. If you were talented, I should have noticed it." Mao Sui said, "You never saw the pin of my talent because you have never put it into a bag." Lord Pingyuan thought it was a good reply, so he let Mao Sui to go with him. Lord Pingyuan and his 20 assistants arrived in the capital city of Chu. Lord Pingyuan met the

King Kaolie of Chu King Kaolie of Chu (, died 238 BC) was the king of the state of Chu from 262 BC to 238 BC during the late Warring States period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Yuan () or Xiong Wan (), and King Kaolie was his posthumous title. King Kaolie ...

and asked for the reinforcement but the king was hesitating. Mao Sui drew his sword out and approached the king of Chu, yelling at the king, "Why are you hesitating?" The king of Chu asked, "Who is this man?" Lord Pingyuan answered, "He is one of my assistants." The king said, "How come a low-ranked assistant could yell at me?" Mao Sui said to the king, "You are respected by others because you are the king of Chu, a state with great military strength. However, at the present, I am only five steps away from you, so your soldiers could not save you if I am going to kill you. Now you should listen to me. " Then he listed importance and benefits of rescuing Zhao. The king of Chu was impressed, so he agreed to send a troop of 100,000 soldiers, led by

Lord Chunshen Lord Chunshen (; died 238 BC), born Huang Xie (),was a Chinese military general and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Chu during the late Warring States period of ancient China. He was one of the Four Lords of the Wa ...

, to Handan to fight along with Zhao. At the same time, the wife of

wrote to the king of Wei to ask for help. Her younger brother was

Lord Xinling Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

of state Wei. Wei agreed to send 80,000 men to Handan to rescue Zhao. This troop was led by general Jin Bi. Knowing Wei was attempting to join the force with Zhao, Qin sent a word to the king of Wei to threat him. The envoy of Qin told the king of Wei that if Wei gave Zhao any reinforcement, Qin would attack Wei after wiping out Zhao. The king of Wei was scared, so he asked Jin Bi to stop moving forward. Jin Bi and the troop set a base at the city of Ye and stopped from marching towards Handan. Lord Xinling tried to persuade the king of Wei to continue supporting Zhao, but the king refused due to the fear. Therefore, Lord Xinling decide to lead his own army (about 100 chariots) to Handan in order to save his sister, even though he knew that this would be more like a suicide attack. A hermit changed Lord Xinling's mind. He gave Lord Xinling some advise. Following the hermit's words, Lord Xinling asked a concubine of the Wei king to steal the Tiger Seal (虎符, a seal for the highest-ranked military commander with which one can give orders to the entire army in the region) from the king's bedroom. Then, Lord Xinling asked a warrior to take the Tiger Seal to see Jin Bi and order him to continue moving forward. Jin Bi checked the Tiger Seal and confirmed it was real, but he still refused to move forward because he somehow knew the Tiger Seal was not given by the king but stolen from the bedroom. Then, the warrior killed Jin Bi and gave the order to the army. The army of Wei then continued marching towards Handan under the lead of Lord Xinling.。

The defeat of Qin

In December of 257 BC, armies of both Wei and Chu arrived at Handan. They launched an attack from the backside of Qin army. Meanwhile, Lord Pingyuan led 3,000 soldiers to attack Qin's army from the side of Handan. The army of Qin was defeated by the allied forces of Zhao, Wei and Chu. Wang He and the remnant of Qin army retreated to Fencheng; the vice general of Qin, Zheng Anping, surrendered to Zhao. ZIzhi Tongjian, Vol. 5, Chapter 5 of Zhou Dynasty：王齕久圍邯鄲不拔，諸侯來救，戰數不利。……魏公子無忌大破秦師於邯鄲下，王齕解邯鄲圍走。鄭安平為趙所困，將二萬人降趙，應侯由是得罪。

Influences

King Zhaoxiang of Qin was enraged by the result of the war. He decided that Bai Qi was the one to blame since he refused to be the commander. Later, he forced Bai Qi to commit suicide. Fan Ju was also blamed by the king and lost the position of chancellor. The state of Zhao survived the total attack. It would last for about 30 years before being eventually conquered by Qin in 222 BC (Handan was captured in 228 BC).

References

{{reflist *

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

, ''

Shi Ji ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

3rd century BC in China Qin (state) Zhao (state) Wei (state) Chu (state)