Fei Wuji (; died 515 BCE) was a corrupt official of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Chu during the reign of King Ping whose persecution of Crown Prince Jian and the family of

Wu Zixu :''Note: names are in simplified characters followed by traditional and Pinyin transliteration.'' Wu Yun (died 484 BC), better known by his courtesy name Zixu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Wu kingdom in the Spring and Aut ...

led to the defeat and decline of Chu.

Life and death

According to ''

Lüshi Chunqiu The ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', also known in English as ''Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals'', is an encyclopedic Chinese classic text compiled around 239 BC under the patronage of the Qin Dynasty Chancellor Lü Buwei. In the evaluation of Micha ...

'', a

Chinese classic text Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...

compiled around 239 BCE, Fei was the junior teacher of the crown prince Jian, and when a princess of the State of Qin was betrothed to Prince Jian, Fei was entrusted with the task of escorting the princess to Chu. However, when Fei saw that the princess was beautiful he induced King Ping to take the princess as his own queen and find another wife for the crown prince. Fearing the revenge of Prince Jian when he became king, Fei then persuaded the king to kill Prince Jian and his senior teacher Wu She along with his son Wu Shang. Prince Jian managed to escape abroad, and Wu She's second son

escaped to the state of Wu and vowed to avenge the deaths of his father and brother. Fei Wuji then framed another official Xi Wan () and tricked

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Nang Wa into killing him.

Shen Yin Shu Shenyin Shu () or Shenyin Xu () (died 506 BC) was a general of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was a great-grandson of King Zhuang of Chu. Killing of Fei Wuji ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', a Chinese classic text ...

, the chief military commander of Chu, pointed out Nang's mistake and persuaded him to execute the hated Fei Wuji.

Aftermath

In the kingdom of Wu, Wu Zixu became a trusted advisor of Prince Guang and helped him assassinate his cousin

King Liao of Wu Liao, King of Wu (; died 515 BC), also named Zhouyu, was king of the state of Wu in the Spring and Autumn period. Biography Liao was the grandson of King Shoumeng. He took the throne in 526 BC. During his time as king he led several battles again ...

. Prince Guang ascended the throne and was known as

King Helü of Wu King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

. In 506 BCE, Wu Zixu persuaded King Helü to invade Chu. The Wu army routed the Chu army commanded by Nang Wa in the historic

Battle of Boju The Battle of Boju () was the decisive battle of the war fought in 506 BC between Wu and Chu, two major kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. The Wu forces were led by King Helü, his brother Fugai, and Chu exile Wu ...

and captured and destroyed the Chu capital

Ying Ying may refer to: People * Yíng (嬴), a Chinese surname, the ancestral name of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China in the Qin Dynasty, and some contemporary rival royal families such as the Zhaos * Yīng (应), a Chinese surname from the Z ...

. Both Nang Wa and King Zhao of Chu fled, and Shen Yin Shu died in battle. Chu, one of the most powerful states in the Spring and Autumn period, would never regain its former strength. Fei Wuji's persecution of Prince Jian and Wu She directly contributed to the decline of Chu and he is remembered as one of the top villains in Chinese history.Major, John S
"Defining Chu: image and reality in ancient China"
University of Hawaii Press, 2004. p. 65.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fei, Wuji Chu state people 515 BC deaths Year of birth unknown 6th-century BC Chinese people 7th-century BC Chinese people