King Zhuangxiang of Qin (281– 6 July 247 BCE
[Volume 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 corresponds to 6 Jul 247 BCE on the proleptic Julian calendar. ( ��年..。五月丙午,庄襄王卒...)]),
personal name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is kno ...
s Yiren and Zichu, was a ruler of the
Qin state during the third century BCE in 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 ancient China.
[‘‘Records of the Grand Historian: Qin Dynasty'' (English translation). (1996). Ssu-Ma, Ch'ien. Sima, Qian. Burton Watson as translator. Edition: 3, reissue, revised. Columbia. University Press. , 9780231081696. pg 35. pg 59.]
Life
Yiren was born to
Lord Anguo, the second son and heir apparent of
King Zhaoxiang, and Lord Anguo's concubine Lady Xia. He was chosen to serve as a political hostage in the
Kingdom of Zhao. In
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 Shan ...
(the capital of Zhao) he met a merchant,
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 ...
, who saw Yiren as extraordinary and detected in him the potential to become the king of Qin in the future. Lü Buwei treated Yiren well and presented his concubine
Lady Zhao to Yiren. Lady Zhao later bore Yiren a son,
Ying Zheng.
In the meantime, through bribes and machinations, Lü Buwei helped Yiren return to Qin. He also successfully conditioned Lord Anguo's primary spouse, the childless Lady Huayang, to adopt Yiren as her own son, thereby making Yiren become Lord Anguo's legitimate
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 ...
. As Lady Huayang was a native of the
Chu state
Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...
, she renamed Yiren to "Zichu" ( "son of Chu"). Upon the death of King Zhaoxiang in 251 BCE, Lord Anguo ascended the throne and became historically known as "King Xiaowen", but he died in the following year just three days after the date of his coronation. Zichu succeeded his father as the king of Qin and became historically known as "King Zhuangxiang of Qin". He named Lü Buwei as his
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
, Lady Zhao as his queen consort, and Ying Zheng as his crown prince.
Zhuangxiang died in 247 BCE after reigning for three years and was succeeded by Ying Zheng. Ying Zheng
unified China and founded the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
in 221 BCE, becoming historically known as "
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 Empero ...
" (First Emperor of Qin).
He was posthumously declared as
Taishang Huangdi by Ying Zheng.
Popular culture
He is portrayed by
Mao Zijun in the Chinese television series ''
The Legend of Haolan'' (2019).
Ancestry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhuangxiang of Qin, King
281 BC births
247 BC deaths
3rd-century BC Chinese monarchs
Rulers of Qin
Chinese kings
Qin Shi Huang