Marquess Cheng of Zhao (?–350 BCE) was a ruler 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 The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

Period of

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 ...

(475–220 BCE). Born Zhào Zhòng (), he was the son of Marquess Jing of Zhao. In 372 BCE, Marquess Cheng of Zhao built a wooden lookout tower or “tantai” () at Xingdi, in modern-day Xingtai City,

Hebei Province Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

facing the other

; because of the structure, the location later took on the name “Xingtai”. General

Pang Juan Pang Juan (died 342 BC) was an ancient Chinese military general of the Wei state during the Warring States period. Life Early life Pang Juan was a fellow student of Sun Bin and both of them studied military strategy together under the tutela ...

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

brought troops and surrounded

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 ...

, the capital of Zhao in 353 BCE in preparation for an attack. The

State of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded shortly ...

sent envoys

Tian Ji Tian Ji (), courtesy name Qi (齐), was a military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States period (4th century BC) of Chinese history. Tian Ji met Sun Bin and recommended him to King Wei of Qi as a military strategist. Tian Ji com ...

and

Sun Bin Sun Bin (died 316 BC) was a Chinese general, military strategist, and writer who lived during the Warring States period of Chinese history. A supposed descendant of Sun Tzu, Sun was tutored in military strategy by the hermit Guiguzi. He wa ...

along with troops to assist Zhao and they later defeated the forces of Wei at the

Battle of Guiling The Battle of Guìlíng (桂陵之戰) was fought between the states of Qí and Wei in the Warring States period of Chinese history. In 354 BC, an army from Wèi was laying siege to Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao. The next year, Zh ...

. Afterwards, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign (351 BCE), Marquess Cheng of Zhao forced King Hui of

into a humiliating peace treaty at the Zhang River near Handan.

References

*Chen Chenyan “Dynastic History of the Warring States”, Zhonghua Publishing, China. {{Monarchs of Zhao (state) Monarchs of Zhao (state) Zhou dynasty nobility 4th-century BC Chinese monarchs Zhao (state)