Wei (; ;
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...
: *') was one of the seven major
states 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. It was created from the three-way
Partition of Jin, together with
Han and
Zhao Zhao may refer to:
* Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname
** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions
** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation
** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...
. Its territory lay between the states of
Qin and
Qi and included parts of modern-day
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...
,
Hebei
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, and ...
,
Shanxi, and
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in His ...
. After its capital was moved from
Anyi to Daliang (present-day
Kaifeng
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...
) during the reign of
King Hui, Wei was also called Liang ().
History
Foundation
Surviving sources trace the ruling house of Wei to the Zhou royalty: Gao, Duke of Bi (), was a son of
King Wen of Zhou. His descendants took their
surname
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
,
Bi, from his
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
. After the destruction of Bi,
Bi Wan () escaped to
Jin, where he became a courtier of
Duke Xian's, accompanying his personal carriage. After a successful military expedition, Bi Wan was granted Wei, from which his own descendants then founded the house of Wei.
Spring and Autumn period
Jin's political structure was drastically changed after the slaughter of its ruling dynasty during and after the
Li Ji Unrest. Afterwards, "Jin ha
no princely house" () and its political power diffused into extended relations of the ruling family, including the Wei. In the last years of the
Spring and Autumn period, the founders of Wei,
Zhao Zhao may refer to:
* Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname
** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions
** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation
** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...
, and
Han joined to attack and kill the dominant house of Zhi () in 453 BCE, resulting in the
partition of Jin.
King Weilie of Zhou finally legitimized the situation in 403 BCE, when he elevated the three houses' heads to the rank of
marquess ().
Warring States Period
The state reached its apogee during the reigns of its first two rulers,
Marquess Wen of Wei
Marquess Wen of Wei (Wèi Wén Hóu; died 396 BCE) was the first Marquess to rule the State of Wei during the Warring States period of Chinese history (475 – 220 BCE). Born Wei Si (魏斯), he belonged to the House of Wei, one of the noble h ...
and
Marquess Wu of Wei
Marquess Wu of Wei (died 370 BCE), was a ruler of the State of Wei during the Warring States period of ancient China. Born Wèi Jī, he was the son of the former ruler Marquess Wen of Wei. He became ruler in 395 BCE upon the death of his father. M ...
. The third ruler,
King Hui of Wei, declared himself an
independent sovereign and concentrated on economic developments, including irrigation projects at the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
. Hui felt that
Qin in the west was weak and their land a barren waste. He focused on conquering the well-settled eastern lands which were richer in known resources. However, a series of battles including the
battle of Maling
The Battle of Maling () took place in Maling, currently Dazhangjia Town (), Shen County (), Henan Province, in 342 BC during the Warring States period (476–221 BC). The combatants were the State of Qi, who fought on behalf of the State of ...
in 341 BCE checked Wei's ambitions while Qin's expansion went largely unimpeded, boosting its economy and military strength.
Early strengthening of the state of Wei resulted from adoption of
Legalist
Legalist, Inc. is an investment firm that specializes in alternative assets in the private credit industry. Today the firm manages approximately $750 million across three separate strategies: litigation finance, bankruptcy ( debtor-in-possession ...
reforms proposed by
Li Kui (, c. 459 – c. 395 BCE).
Defeat
Wei eventually lost the western Hexi (河西) region, a strategic area of pastoral land on the west bank of the Yellow River between the border of modern-day
Shanxi and
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
, to Qin. Thereafter, it remained continuously at war with Qin, requiring the capital to be moved from
Anyi to
Daliang. Wei surrendered to Qin in 225 BCE, after the Qin general
Wang Ben diverted the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
into Daliang, destroying the capital in a flood.
Rulers
#
Marquess Wen of Wei
Marquess Wen of Wei (Wèi Wén Hóu; died 396 BCE) was the first Marquess to rule the State of Wei during the Warring States period of Chinese history (475 – 220 BCE). Born Wei Si (魏斯), he belonged to the House of Wei, one of the noble h ...
, personal name Si (斯) or Du (都), (445–396 BCE)
#
Marquess Wu of Wei
Marquess Wu of Wei (died 370 BCE), was a ruler of the State of Wei during the Warring States period of ancient China. Born Wèi Jī, he was the son of the former ruler Marquess Wen of Wei. He became ruler in 395 BCE upon the death of his father. M ...
, personal name Ji (擊), son of Marquess Wen, (396–370 BCE)
#
King Hui of Wei, personal name Ying (罃), son of Marquess Wu, (370–319 BCE)
#
King Xiang of Wei (魏襄王), personal name Si (嗣) or He (赫), son of King Hui, (319–296 BCE)
#
King Zhao of Wei
King Zhao of Wei () (died 277 BC), personal name Wei Chi () was king of Wei from 296 BC to 277 BC. He was the son of King Xiang of Wei. During his reign, his state suffered from repeated attacks by the state of Qin. In 293 BC, he made an allianc ...
(魏昭王), personal name Chi (遫), son of King Xiang, (296–277 BCE)
#
King Anxi of Wei (魏安釐王),personal name Yu (圉), son of King Zhao, (277–243 BCE)
#
King Jingmin of Wei (魏景湣王), personal name Zeng (增) or Wu (午), son of King Anxi, (243–228 BCE)
#
King Jia, (魏王假), personal name Jia (假), son of King Jingmin, (228–225 BCE)
According to
Sima Qian's ''
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 his ...
'' written in the first centuryBCE, the list of rulers is slightly different: King Hui died in 335BCE and was succeeded by his son King Xiang in 334BCE. King Xiang died in 319BCE and was succeeded by his son King Ai (), who died in 296BCE and was succeeded by his son King Zhao. However, the majority of scholars and commentators believe that King Ai, whose personal name is not recorded, never existed. It seems that Sima Qian assigned the second part of the reign of King Hui (starting in 334BCE, on which date Marquess Hui probably proclaimed himself King) to his son King Xiang and added King Ai to fill in the gap between 319 and 296BCE. On the other hand, a minority of scholars believe King Ai did indeed exist.
Family tree of Wei rulers
Notable people
*
Li Kui, a
Legalist philosopher and
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 ...
* Yue Yang, ancestor of
Yue Yi and prime minister of
Zhongshan
*
Pang Juan, a successful general who was defeated by
Lord Mengchang
Lord Mengchang (; died 279 BC), born Tian Wen, was an aristocrat and statesman of the Qi Kingdom of ancient China, one of the famed Four Lords of the Warring States period. He was a son of Tian Ying and grandson of King Wei of Qi. He succeeded ...
of Qi and
Sun Bin at the battle of Maling
Legacy
Chinese legend
According to the ''Records of the Warring States'', a king of Wei had a
lover
Lover or lovers may refer to a person having a sexual or romantic relationship with someone outside marriage. In this context see:
* Sexual partner
* Mistress (lover)
* Extramarital sex
* Premarital sex
Lover or Lovers may also refer to:
G ...
named Lord Longyang, with whom he enjoyed fishing. One day, Longyang began to weep. When questioned, Longyang said he saw his own future in how he had treated a fish. Happy to have the catch at first, Longyang had wanted to throw it back when he caught a better fish. He wept, "I am also a previously-caught fish! I will also be thrown back!" To show his fidelity to Longyang, the king declared that, "Anyone who dares to speak of other beauties will be executed along with his entire family".
Chinese astronomy
In traditional
Chinese astronomy
Astronomy in China has a long history stretching from the Shang dynasty, being refined over a period of more than 3,000 years. The ancient Chinese people have identified stars from 1300 BCE, as Chinese star names later categorized in the tw ...
, Wei is represented by one star in the "Twelve States"
asterism of the "
Girl"
lunar mansion Often called lunar mansion, a lunar station or lunar house is a segment of the ecliptic through which the Moon passes in its orbit around the Earth. The concept was used by several ancient cultures as part of their calendrical system.
Stations ...
of the "
Black Turtle"
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
and other star in the "Left Wall" of the
"Heavenly Market" enclosure. Sources differ, however, in whether those two stars are (respectively)
33 Capricorni and
Delta Herculis or whether they are
Chi Capricorni
Chi Capricorni, Latinized from χ Capricorni, is a star in the southern constellation of Capricornus. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 18.14 mas as seen from the Earth, the star is located about 180 light years from the S ...
and
Phi Capricorni.
Star Names – R.H.Allen p.142
/ref>
See also
* Liang (state)
Liang () was one of the states during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China, bordering the State of Qin and was conquered by Duke Mu of Qin in 641 BCE. The rulers of Liang had the surname Ying (嬴). Yang Bojun, " Zuo Zhuan 17th Year of ...
, the earlier state of that name
* Liang (realm)
Liang () was a traditional Chinese fief centered on present-day Kaifeng. It was held by various powers over the course of Chinese history. It generally comprised modern Henan with a small part of Shanxi.
Ancient China
Liang (sometimes as , '' ...
, the continuation of the title in later dynasties
** Liang (Han dynasty kingdom), the Han dynasty kingdom established on the territories of Wei
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei
Ancient Chinese states
Jin (Chinese state)
States and territories established in the 5th century BC