King Xiaowen of Qin (302–250 BC) was a

Chinese king The Chinese sovereign was the ruler of a particular monarchical regime in the historical periods of ancient China and imperial China. Sovereigns ruling the same regime, and descended from the same paternal line, constituted a dynasty. Several ...

, who had a very brief reign. He is also known as Lord Anguo (安國君). His grandson was Emperor

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ...

Biography

Xiaowen was the second son of 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 5 ...

and Queen Tang, and grandson of

Queen Dowager Xuan Queen Dowager Xuan of Qin (; 338(?)–265 BC), also known as Mi Bazi (羋八子), was the first queen dowager in Chinese history. A concubine of King Huiwen of Qin and the mother of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Queen Dowager Xuan acted as regent for he ...

. He was a king of the Qin for less than one year, and died three days after his coronation. Various theories about his short reign have been proposed. The most accepted theory is that he was very old when he ascended to the throne (his father ruled for over 50 years). However, a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

that

Lü Buwei Lü Buwei (291–235 BCE) was a Chinese merchant and politician of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Originally an influential merchant from the Wei () state, Lü Buwei met and befriended King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who was then a m ...

poisoned the king, or at least hastened his death, to put the next king,

King Zhuangxiang of Qin King Zhuangxiang of Qin (281– 6 July 247 BCEVolume 05 of ''Records of the Grand Historian'' indicated that King Zhuangxiang died on the ''bingwu'' day of the 5th month of the 4th year of his reign. Using the ''Zhuanxu'' calendar, the date corre ...

onto the throne, has been proposed. This is supported in a way by the fact that Zhuangxiang reigned for only 3 years.Sellman, James D. "The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Lu", in ''Great Thinkers of the Eastern World'', Ian McGreal, ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1995:39.

Family

Queens: * Queen Dowager Huayang, of the Xiong lineage of the Mi clan of Chu (; 296–230 BC), a royal of Chu by birth * Queen Dowager Xia, of the Xia lineage (; 300–240 BC), the mother of Crown Prince Yiren Sons: * Crown Prince Yiren (; 281–247 BC), renamed Zichu (); ruled as

from 250–247 BC

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiaowen of Qin, King 250 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Chinese monarchs Rulers of Qin Chinese kings