King Wuling of Zhao () (died 295 BCE, reigned 325 BCE – 299 BCE) reigned in the

State of Zhao Zhao () was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han and Wei, in the 5th century BC. Zhao gained significant strength from the mil ...

during the

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 ...

of Chinese history. His reign was famous for one important event: the reforms consisting of "Wearing the Hu (styled) Attire and Shooting from Horseback (in battle)" (Simplified Chinese: 胡服骑射, Traditional Chinese: 胡服騎射) He was credited for the implementation of protective outfit during military events and proceedings. The son of Zhao Suhou ( Marquess Su of Zhao, Simplified Chinese: 赵肃侯), King Wuling of Zhao ascended to the throne at 325 BCE, about halfway into the Warring States Period. His reign coincided with the appearance of several other notable figures in the Warring States. He was also the first ruler of Zhao to style himself "king" (王), but later reversed the decision. He would later receive the title as part of his

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

Rule and reforms

During the early years of his reign, the Kingdom of Zhao was constantly harassed by the Donghu, the Linhu (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 林胡), the Loufan (Simplified Chinese: 楼烦) and the

Beidi The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese (''Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and hunting ...

, all nomadic animal husbandry tribes. This might have been the inspiration for his later reforms. On another level, Wuling himself had been humbled after a great defeat by Qin. Previously, during 325-323 BC, he, along with the rulers of

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 ...

, Wei,

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 indepe ...

and

Zhongshan Zhongshan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is now part of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen conurbation with 65,565,622 i ...

, had declared himself king. However, in 318 BC, Zhao suffered a great defeat in the hands of Qin, causing Wuling to muse that since he did not have the power of a king, he should not use the title. In 307 BCE, Wuling started his reforms. Mostly military, they concentrated on making the military more suited to fighting battles. Up to that time, Zhao commanders riding on horseback still wore robes and normal court attire. Wuling ordered all commanders, including the whole court and military, to adopt the Hu style of dress: pants, belt, boots, fur caps and fur clothes. He created a cavalry division in the army and trained them not only in the ways of a cavalry charge, but also in horse archery. While many reformists and officials supported the reforms, seeing it as a way to greatness and power, conservative members of the royal family such as Zhao Wuling's uncle Lord Cheng (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 公子成) disliked it, claiming that there should not be any "Copying of barbaric clothing and changing of old rules" (Simplified Chinese: 不该 "袭远方之服, 变古之教"). Lord Cheng even went so far as to be absent from court. Wuling did much to check the opposition. He said, "There is not only one way to rule the world, nor is there any need to copy the old to benefit the country" (Simplified Chinese: "理世不必一道, 便国不必法古") and "Those who use the old to define the new do not achieve change" (Simplified Chinese: "以古制今者, 不达于事之变"). He wore the "barbaric" clothes on court and persuaded others to do the same. He even visited Lord Cheng and gave him a suit of the Hu people's clothing. Finally, Lord Cheng relented, and the controversy stopped. Wuling's reforms greatly improved the fighting capability of the Zhao military. The same year, the Zhao attacked the state of

and took several cities. In 306 BCE the Zhao military launched expeditions into the northern territories. The northern expedition was highly successful: the kings of the Loufan and Linhu surrendered and their territories became administered by a governor of Dai. In the next year, parts of

were annexed.Yap, Joseph P. 'Wars with the Xiongnu: A Translation of the

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

',2009, page 13 In 304 BCE the upper reaches of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

were invaded and taken from the Hu tribes like the Hezong (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 河宗氏) and the Xiu (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 休). In the conquered areas King Wuling created two prefectures in 302 BCE - Yunzhong (Simplified Chinese: 云中) and

Jiuyuan Jiuyuan District ( Mongolian: ''Jiü yuvan toɣoriɣ''; ) is a district of Baotou, the largest city of Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China ...

. In a little over five years Zhao Wuling had expanded his country to the border with the

, the upper reaches of the Yellow River and into the north, and had forced two tribal leaders, the

Loufan Loufan may refer to: * Loufan (tribe) (樓煩), a Xiongnu-associated nomadic tribe; see Loufan County, Shanxi Province, China * Loufan Commandery (樓煩郡, part of modern Xinzhou), former commandery in what is now Xinzhou Prefecture, Shanxi, Chi ...

and Linhu kings, to surrender. King Wuling took control of their armies and added them to his military, creating extra divisions made up entirely of indigenous and hardy nomadic warriors.

Abdication and death

In 299 BCE, Zhao Wuling, perhaps tired out from all he had done and wishing to become more involved with military instead of political affairs,

abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

and gave the throne of Zhao to his younger son, Zhao He (Simplified Chinese: 赵何) who was to become

King Huiwen of Zhao King Huiwen of Zhao () (born 310 BCE - died 266 BCE, reigned 298 BCE – 266 BCE) reigned in the State of Zhao during the Warring States period of Chinese history. During his reign, the Zhao state reached its apogee, with famous administrators and ...

(Simplified Chinese: 赵惠文王). He called himself the "Lord Father" (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 主父), using his new title to visit neighbouring countries, especially the

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 ...

, which he visited secretly. He lived long enough to see the annexation of the Zhongshan by the Zhao in 296 BCE. In 295 BCE, Wuling's older son Zhao Zhang (Simplified Chinese: 赵章) rebelled against King Huiwen and lost. He escaped to the palace in Shaqiu (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 沙丘), where Zhao Wuling took pity on him and kept him in his palace. Prime Minister Lord Cheng, the uncle of Wuling, and his subordinate Lord Fengyang (Simplified Chinese: 奉阳君), also known as Li Yu (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 李兌) laid siege to the palace, allowing no food or water to be provided to the inhabitants inside. In desperation, King Wuling ordered Zhang to be killed, but still the besiegers did not retreat. Thus, after 100 days, King Wuling starved to death. When the siege was finally lifted, King Wuling's body was already rotting and full of worms, a pitiful ending for such a king.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Zhanguoshi (History of the Warring Kingdoms), Yang Huan, Commercial Press. *''

Records of the Grand Historian ''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 ...

'', volume 43 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wuling Year of birth missing 295 BC deaths Monarchs who abdicated Monarchs of Zhao (state) Zhou dynasty nobility Deaths by starvation Zhao (state) 340s BC births Chinese reformers