Lord Pingyuan (; 308–251 BC), born Zhao Sheng (), was a prominent nobleman and chancellor of the

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

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 ancient China, and one of the

Four Lords of the Warring States The Four Lords of the Warring States were four powerful aristocrats of the late Warring States period of Chinese history who exerted a strong influence on the politics of their respective states in the third century BCE. During this time, the Z ...

. He was a son of

King Wuling of Zhao King Wuling of Zhao () (died 295 BCE, reigned 325 BCE – 299 BCE) reigned in the State of Zhao during the Warring States period of Chinese history. His reign was famous for one important event: the reforms consisting of "Wearing the Hu (styled) A ...

, and served as chancellor in the courts of his brother

King Huiwen King Huiwen may refer to: *King Huiwen of Qin (reigned 338–311 BC) *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 hi ...

(r. 298–266 BC) and his nephew King Xiaocheng (r. 265–245 BC). Lord Pingyuan was celebrated for his role in lifting

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 ...

's siege of the Zhao capital

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 Shando ...

, thus saving Zhao from annihilation. However, his chancellorship also saw the crushing defeat of Zhao by Qin at the

Battle of Changping The Battle of Changping () was a military campaign during the Warring States period of ancient China, which took place from 262 BC to 260 BC at Changping (northwest of present-day Gaoping, Shanxi province), between the two strongest military pow ...

, which led to the siege. As with the rest of the Four Lords, his generosity to his retainers is considered a major part of his political and diplomatic accomplishments.

Biography

Zhao Sheng was a son of

, a major reformer who laid the foundations for Zhao's prominence among the warring states. Considered one of the most capable noblemen, Zhao Sheng patronized learning and supported thousands of scholar-retainers. Sometime after his older brother Zhao He became king in 298 BC (known posthumously as

), Zhao Sheng was made chancellor, and served in the capacity until his death in 251 BC, with two notable interruptions, when the chancellorship was appointed to

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 ...

in 285 BC and

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 ...

in 264 BC. When King Huiwen died in 266 BC, Lord Pingyuan continued to serve his successor King Xiaocheng.

Promoting Zhao She

Zhao She Zhao She ( 3rd century BC; zh, 趙奢) was a Chinese bureaucrat and general for the State of Zhao during the Warring States period. Biography Zhao She's origins and early life were unknown, other than he was initially employed as a land tax co ...

originally served as a tax collector in Zhao, but was met with resistance from the household of Lord Pingyuan, who as nobility refused to pay their land taxes. Instead of backing down before the chancellor, Zhao She executed nine of Lord Pingyuan's retainers as punishment, enraging him. Lord Pingyuan demanded Zhao She's execution, and Zhao She reminded him of the duty of nobles to set an example by following the laws of the state. Lord Pingyuan was impressed and recommended Zhao She to the king. Zhao was put in charge of the state revenues.

Siege of Handan

Lord Pingyuan is best known for his role in lifting the siege of

. After Zhao's catastrophic defeat by the

state of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ex ...

at the

, Qin continued to invade Zhao and besieged the Zhao capital Handan in 257 BC. Lord Pingyuan led a secret mission to the

state of Chu 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 hea ...

, and secured the promise of

King Kaolie of Chu King Kaolie of Chu (, died 238 BC) was the king of the state of Chu from 262 BC to 238 BC during the late Warring States period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Yuan () or Xiong Wan (), and King Kaolie was his posthumous title. King Kaolie ...

to come to Zhao's aid, largely owing to the efforts of Lord Pingyuan's retainer

Mao Sui Mao Sui (fl. 3rd century BC), was born in the Zhao state (current Hebei province) during the Warring States period. He was a retainer of Lord Pingyuan, namely Zhao Sheng. Mao lived in Zhao for three years but success eluded him. In 257 BC, after t ...

. When he returned to Handan, the situation had become so desperate that people were exchanging their children to eat them. Advised by his retainer Li Tan (Li Tong), Lord Pingyuan distributed all his food and supplies to the troops, and had the women of his harem help in the war effort. He raised a force of 3,000 men who were prepared to die, and charged against the Qin soldiers, who were forced to retreat 30 ''li'' (about ). At this time the troops of Wei and Chu arrived, and the combined forces of the three states routed the Qin army and lifted the siege. This was the most celebrated defeat of Qin in the 3rd century BC, and delayed Qin's ultimate conquest of China by three decades. It cemented the reputations of three of the

: Lord Pingyuan,

Lord Xinling Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

of Wei, and

Lord Chunshen Lord Chunshen (; died 238 BC), born Huang Xie (),was a Chinese military general and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Chu during the late Warring States period of ancient China. He was one of the Four Lords of the Wa ...

of Chu. Li Tan died in the battle, and as a recognition of his service, his father was

enfeoff In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

ed as Marquis of Li.

Assessment

In his book '' Xunzi'', philosopher

Xun Kuang Xun Kuang (; BCE), better known as Xunzi (; ), was a Chinese philosopher of Confucianism who lived during the late Warring States period. After his predecessors Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi is often ranked as the third great Confucian philosop ...

, who was present in Handan during the siege, highly praised Lord Pingyuan for his ability "to rescue the state from the greatest calamities and to deliver it from the danger of the greatest injury", calling his conduct "true assistance". In the ''

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 ...

'', the great

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

historian

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

criticizes Lord Pingyuan for his role in accepting the gift of

Shangdang Shangdang Commandery or Shangdang Prefecture (, also named Shangtang) was an administrative subdivision of ancient China from the time of the Spring and Autumn period (771–403 BCE). Consisting of a number of districts or ''Zhōu'' (, or pref ...

from the

state of Han Han (, Old Chinese: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Warring States period of ancient China. It is conventionally romanized by scholars as Hann to distinguish it from the later Han dynasty (). It was located in central China ...

, which led to the Battle of Changping and the calamitous defeat of Zhao at the hand of Qin. However, historian

Qiao Zhou Qiao Zhou (199 - 270), courtesy name Yunnan, was an official and scholar of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Ch ...

rejects Sima Qian's assessment, and blames King Xiaocheng of Zhao for the defeat.

References

Bibliography

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