King Hui of Yan (, died 272 BC),

ancestral name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

Jī (), clan name Yān (), personal name unknown, was the fifth king of the

state of Yan Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu ...

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

. He ruled the kingdom between 278 BC until his death in 272 BC. King Hui was a son of King Zhao, he was appointed the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the throne. He had been at odds with the general

Yue Yi Yue Yi (), enfeoffed as Lord of Changguo (), was a prominent military leader of the State of Yan during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was the son of the prime minister of the state of Zhongshan, but when Zhongshan was destroyed by ...

. After his succession, he replaced Yue Yi with Qi Jie () as highest commander of the army. Yue Yi escaped to Zhao, where he was enfeoffed as Lord of Wangzhu. Yet Qi Jie was not a good leader, Yan was defeated by the troops of Qi under

Tian Dan Tian Dan () was a general and nobleman of the major state of Qi during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was known for a spectacular military tactic called "Fire Cattle Columns". After the kingdom was nearly destroyed under the rule o ...

, lost all the territory of Qi again. King Hui sent a letter to Yue Yi, accusing him of betraying the country. Yue Yi replied: "I have heard that the worthy and sage-like among the lords would never lay waste to the achievements they had established and thus were written about in the annals of their country, and that prescient scholars would never ruin the reputation they had perfected and thus were extolled by later generations." King Hui was regretful; as a compensation, he ordered

Yue Jian Yue or Yueh ( ) may refer to: Places * Guangdong, abbreviated (), a province of China * Yue Nan (), the Chinese name for Vietnam * Zhejiang, commonly abbreviated (), a province of China Languages * Yue Chinese, a branch of Chinese, spoken ...

(), whom was Yue Yi's son, to inherit the title Lord of Changguo. In 272 BC, King Hui was murdered by his chancellor Lord Cheng'an (). He was succeeded by King Wucheng.

References

{{Monarchs of Yan (state) Monarchs of Yan (state) 272 BC deaths Chinese kings Year of birth unknown 3rd-century BC Chinese monarchs