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 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 ...

and younger brother of King Wu. King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 57 years, and was responsible for the state of Qin achieving strategic dominance over the other six major states. During his reign, Qin captured the Chu capital Ying in 278 BC, conquered the

Xirong Xirong () or Rong were various people who lived primarily in and around the western extremities of ancient China (in modern Gansu and Qinghai). They were known as early as the Shang dynasty (1765–1122 BCE), as one of the Four Barbarians that fr ...

state of Yiqu in 272 BC, slaughtered a 450,000-strong Zhao army at Changping in 260 BC, and overthrew the

Eastern Zhou dynasty The Eastern Zhou (; zh, c=, p=Dōngzhōu, w=Tung1-chou1, t= ; 771–256 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the second half of the Zhou dynasty. It was divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States. History In 770 ...

in 256 BC. These aggressive territorial expansions and the strategic weakening of other rival states paved the path for Qin's eventual unification of China three decades later by his great-grandson

Ying Zheng Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first Emperor of China, emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "Chinese king, king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang dynasty, Shang an ...

Biography

Ascension

Prince Ying Ji was born in 325 BC to one of King Huiwen's more lower-ranked concubines,

Lady Mi Lady Mi (190s) was a younger sister of Liu Bei's associate Mi Zhu who arranged a marriage between her and Liu Bei after Liu Bei's wife or wives and children had been captured by Lü Bu in 196. Though information on her life is scarce, she is mo ...

(羋八子). As a '' shu'' child, Prince Ji was given low priority in the royal line of succession, and as an underage child was not granted a

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 ...

because the state of Qin employed a system of meritocracy that demanded that even princes earn their own lands through

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

. He was dispatched to the state of

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

at a young age to serve as a political hostage, a common diplomatic practice among vassal states throughout Zhou Dynasty. In 307 BC, Ying Ji's older half-brother, King Wu, unexpectedly died after breaking his shin bones while trying to show off his physical prowess by lifting a heavy bronze cauldron in the Zhou palace at Wangcheng. King Wu died young and childless, hence placing the state of Qin into a succession crisis, with a number of princes now eligible to claim the throne. At the time, Prince Ji was still a hostage in the state of Yan, and was generally considered unlikely to be a candidate. However,

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 ...

decided to take advantage of the situation and intervene in the domestic politics of his western neighbour. King Wuling ordered his chancellor of the

Dai Commandery Dai Commandery was a commandery (''jùn'') of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until the time of the Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty (r. AD581–604). It occupied lands in what is now Hebei, Shanxi, a ...

, Zhao Gu (趙固), to smuggle Prince Ji out of Yan into Zhao territory, before endorsing him to return to Qin and contest for the throne. Furthermore, Prince Ji's maternal uncle, Wei Ran (魏冉), was a general in command of a significant Qin military forces, and helped suppressing most of his nephew's political opponents. This enabled Prince Ji to successfully claim the throne as the King Zhaoxiang of Qin at the age of 18. Because King Zhaoxiang had not yet legally

come of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be ...

(traditionally at the age of 20), his mother, who was now known as

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 h ...

, became the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

. She was supported by her brothers, Wei Ran and Mi Rong (羋戎), as well as two other sons, Prince Yi (公子悝) and Prince Fu (公子巿), the four of them collectively known as the "Four Nobles" (四貴).

Reign

In his first year as ruler (306 BC), King Zhaoxiang accepted the counsel of the Right Chancellor, Gan Mao (甘茂), who advocated the return of the Wusui (武遂) region back to the state of Han. The plan was opposed by two other officials Xiang Shou (向壽) and Gongsun Shi (公孫奭), who both despised Gan Mao greatly and proceeded to badmouth him repeatedly. This led Gan Mao to flee Qin in fear of his life and defect to the state of Qi. In 305 BC, two of King Zhaoxiang's older half-brothers, Prince Zhuang (公子壯) and Prince Yong (公子雍), who a year ago were both rival contenders for the throne, conspired to carry out a coup with Queen Huiwen (惠文后, the mother of the late King Wu) and Queen Wu (悼武王后, King Wu's childless wife, who was a princess from Wei) as well as a dozen other lords and court officials who were against King Zhaoxiang's ascension. The rebellion was quickly crushed by Wei Ran, who slaughtered all the conspirators except Queen Wu, who was exiled back to Wei. With the annihilation of the dissidents, King Zhaoxiang's hold to the throne was secured. In the same year, King Zhaoxiang had his coming-of-age ceremony, and began to personally attend state affairs.

War against Chu

In 304 BC, King Zhaoxiang met with

King Huai of Chu King Huai of Chu (, died 296 BC) was from 328 to 299 BC the king of the state of Chu during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Huai () and King Huai (懷, a different Chinese character) was his posthumous title. Kin ...

in Huangqi (黃棘) to negotiate an alliance, ceding Shangyong (上庸) as a gesture. In 303 BC, the states of Qi, Wei and Han broke off their previous alliance with Chu and invaded Chu, forcing Chu to send its crown prince Xiong Heng to Qin as a hostage in exchange for Qin assistance. King Zhaoxiang sent troops to attack Wei and Han, capturing Puban (蒲阪), Yangchun (陽春) and Fengling (封陵) from Wei, and re-capturing Wusui from Han. In 302 BC, King Zhaoxiang met with

King Xiang of Wei King Xiang of Wei () (died 296 BC), personal name Wei Si (), was king of Wei from 318 BC to 296 BC. He was the son of King Hui of Wei. In 318 BC, at the suggestion of the Wei minister, Gongsun Yan, he entered into an alliance against Qin created ...

and Crown Prince Yin of Han (韓太子嬰) in Linjin (臨晉), and agreed to return the seized lands in exchange for the two states denouncing their previous anti-Qin alliance. At the same time, the Chu crown prince secretly fled from Qin back to Chu. In 301 BC, the four states of Qin, Han, Wei and Qi allied together to attack Chu, defeating the Chu army at Zhongqiu (重丘) and killing the Chu general Tang Mei (唐眜). In 300 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent his uncle Mi Rong to capture Xiangcheng (襄城), killing 30,000 enemy and the Chu general Jing Que (景缺) in the process. Due to this defeat, in 299 BC King Huai of Chu was forced to go to

Wu Pass Wu Pass or Wuguan was one of four strategic mountain passes along the southern border of the ancient state of Qin and the north western border of Chu. Wuguan is a modern-day town in Danfeng County, Shaanxi Province. Popular culture In Manga K ...

(武關) to negotiate terms with Qin, but along the way was abducted and taken to

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

instead. When he refused to cede the territory of the Wu Commandery (巫郡) and

Qianzhong Commandery Qianzhong Commandery () was a historical commandery of the state of Chu during the Warring States period (481 BC - 221 BC). It was mentioned in the section ''Biography of Su Qin'' () of Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''Strategies ...

(黔中郡), he was detained as a hostage. King Zhaoxiang then proceeded to invade Chu the next year, capturing 16 cities and killing 50,000 Chu soldiers. King Huai of Chu did manage to escape in 297 BC, when Qin was distracted by a joint siege on

Hangu Pass Hangu Pass or Hanguguan is a pass separating the upper Yellow River and Wei valleys—the cradle of Chinese civilization and seat of its longtime capital Xi'an—from the fertile North China Plain. It lies on the south bank of the Yellow River ...

by Wei and Han, but he was recaptured when he was seeking asylum in Wei, after unsuccessfully doing so in the state of Zhao. He died a year later in captivity, and Qin finally returned his corpse back to Chu. The next Chu king, King Qingxiang, was an even less competent ruler than his father. In 280 BC, Qin forces defeated the Chu army again, forcing them to cede Shangyong and Hanbei (漢北) to Qin control. In 279 BC, Qin generals

Bai Qi Bai Qi (; – 257 BC), also known as Gongsun Qi (), was a Chinese military general of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Born in Mei (present-day Mei County, Shaanxi), Bai Qi served as the commander of the Qin army for more than 3 ...

(白起) and Zhang Ruo (張若) launched amphibious assaults on Chu from two different fronts, capturing the cities of

Deng Deng may refer to: * Deng (company), is a Danish engineering, electrical, solar power and sales company in Accra, Ghana * Deng (state), an ancient Chinese state * Deng (Chinese surname), originated from the state ** Deng Xiaoping, paramount leader ...

(鄧),

(鄢, Chu's secondary capital at the time) and Xiling (西陵), during which Bai Qi flooded the city of Yan with a redirected river, drowning hundreds of thousands of people. This successful Qin campaign paved the way for Bai Qi's subsequent siege and capture of the Chu capital city of Ying (郢) in 278 BC, where Bai Qi burned the Chu ancestral mausoleums Yiling. The greatly weakened state of Chu was forced to relocate its capital to Chen (陳). Qin then permanently annexed the vast lands around

Dongting Lake Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the la ...

, south of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

and north up towards

Anlu Anlu () is a county-level city in east-central Hubei province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xiaogan. The siege of De'an took place here during the Song-Jin Wars. Administrative divisions Two subdistric ...

(安陸), where the new

Nan Commandery Nan Commandery ( zh, 南郡, "Southern Commandery") was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. Its territories covered present-day central and western Hubei province, as well as parts of Chongqing. The seat ...

(南郡) was established.

War against Han and Wei

In 301 BC, Qin again attacked Han, led by King Zhaoxiang's uncle, Wei Ran, and occupied the city of Rang (穰城). The city was later given to Wei Ran, who was made chancellor six years later, as his fief. However, in 298 BC, Qin suffered a setback at

under the combined attack from a three-state alliance of Qi, Han and Wei, and was forced to concede the recently occupied Fengling and Wusui back to Wei and Han. In 293 BC, the states of Han, Wei and East Zhou allied together to attack Qin. King Zhaoxiang appointed the young

as general, and defeated the two major states at Yique, killing 240,000 of the enemy and capturing (then executing) the enemy's supreme commander Gongsun Xi (公孫喜). This was the most devastating blow Qin delivered to the two eastern states to date. In 292 BC，Bai Qi again led the army and attacked Wei, capturing Weicheng (魏城) and sacking Yuanqu (垣邑). Then in 291 BC, Qin attacked Han again and seized the city of Wan (宛城) and Ye (葉). In 290 BC，King Zhaoxiang sent Sima Cuo (司馬錯), who captured Zhi (軹) from Wei and

(鄧) from Han, before joining with Bai Qi to seize Yuanqu again. These successive victories forced Wei to concede 400 ''li'' of Hedong lands, and Han to concede 200 ''li'' of Wusui lands to Qin. In 289 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent Bai Qi and Sima Cuo to attack Wei, capturing 61 villages around Zhi. However, in 288 BC, Qin was forced to back down when the five eastern states allied together and threatened to attack Qin again. It did not take long for Qin to strike back, capturing Xinyuan (新垣) and Quyang (曲陽) from Wei in 287 BC, and the former Wei capital Anyi (安邑) in 286 BC. In 283 BC, Qin allied with Zhao and attacked Wei again, capturing Ancheng (安城) with its vanguard reaching near the Wei capital Daliang (大梁). In 276 BC, King Zhaoxiang once again sent Bai Qi to attack Wei. The following year in 275 BC, he sent his uncle Wei Ran to attack Daliang and killed 40,000 Han reinforcements sent to relieve the siege, forcing Wei to concede eight forts from Wencheng (溫城). Wei Ran attacked Wei again in 274 BC, capturing four cities and killing 40,000 men. In 273 BC, Wei and Zhao allied together to attack the Han city of Huayang (華陽). King Zhaoxiang sent troops to relieve the siege, killing 130,000 Wei soldiers outside Huayang and drowning 20,000 Zhao prisoners, forcing Wei to seek an armistice as well as ceding Nanyang (南陽). Qin attacked Wei again in 268 BC and captured Huaicheng (懷城). In 266 BC, the Wei national Fan Ju (范雎) fled to Qin after being persecuted and tortured by the Wei chancellor, Wei Qi (魏齊), and vowed revenge upon his home state. He advised King Zhaoxiang about the strategy of "allying distant states while attacking nearby states" (遠交近攻). This advice impressed King Zhaoxiang so much that he appointed him as the chancellor of Qin. In 264 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent Bai Qi to attack Han, capturing nine cities including

Xingcheng Xingcheng (), former name Ningyuan (), is a county-level city of southwest Liaoning province, China, with a population of approximately 140,000 urban inhabitants, and is located on the Liaodong Bay, i.e. the northern coast of the Bohai Sea. Curre ...

(陘城) and killing 50,000 of the enemy, enabling Qin to blockade the routes around southern Taihang Mountains. In 262 BC, Bai Qi attacked Han and captured Yewang (野王), cutting off the

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 ...

region from the Han mainland. King Huanhui of Han was fearful of the Qin military prowess and decided to concede Shangdang, but the local commanders refused to do so and instead surrendered the region to the state of Zhao. The struggle for control of Shangdang triggered direct conflicts between Qin and Zhao, then the two largest military powers among the warring states, leading to the devastating Battle of Changping. In 256 BC, a Qin general named Jiu (摎) attacked Han, killing 40,000 of the enemy and capturing Yangcheng (陽城) and Fushu (負黍). Two years later in 254 BC, Jiu attacked Wei and captured Wucheng (吳城), forcing Wei to submit to Qin as a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

Conquest of Yiqu

Yiqu (義渠), also known as "the Rong of Yiqu" (義渠之戎), was a semi- pastoral, semi- agricultural people residing in the region from north of

Jing River The Jing River () or Jing He (Pinyin: ''Jīng Hé''), also called Jing Shui (), is a tributary of the Wei River (), which in turn is the largest tributary of the Yellow River. The Jing River flows for , with a basin area of . The river's flow v ...

to western

Hetao Hetao () is a C-shaped region in northwestern China consisting of a collection of flood plains stretching from the banks of the northern half of the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River that forms the river's entir ...

. They were historically an offshoot of the

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

Qiang people The Qiang people ( Qiangic: ''Rrmea''; ) are an ethnic group in China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China, with a population of approximately 310,000 in 2000. They live mainly in a ...

living on the grasslands around Long Mountains during the

Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

, and were frequently at war with the surrounding nomadic tribes like

Guifang Guifang () was an ancient ethnonym for a northern people that fought against the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Chinese historical tradition identified the Guifang with the Rong, Di,Old Text Bamboo Annals"Wu Yi"quote: "三十五年，周王季伐� ...

(鬼方) and

Xunyu The Xunyu (; Old Chinese: ( ZS) *''qʰun-lug'', (Schuessler): *''hun-juk'') is the name of an ancient nomadic tribe which invaded China during legendary times. They are traditionally identified with the Guifang, the Xianyun and the Xiongnu. Identi ...

(獯鬻), as well as the agricultural

Huaxia ''Huaxia'' (華夏, ) is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by the various confederations of pre-Qin ethnic ancestors of Han people. Etymology The earliest ...

settlements like Bin (豳, the precursor to Zhou). During the times of King

Geng Ding Kang Ding (康丁) or Geng Ding (庚丁) was a king of the Shang dynasty of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most po ...

in late Shang Dynasty (around 12th century BC), faced with a large

Northern Di The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese (''Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and huntin ...

invasion, the aged Duke of Bin

Gugong Danfu King Tai of Zhou () or Gugong Danfu () was a great leader of the Zhou clan during the Shang dynasty. His great-grandson Fa would later conquer the Shang and establish the Zhou dynasty. Name "King Tai" was a posthumous name bestowed upon him by hi ...

led his clan south and relocated to Qishan, and the Bin exodus resulted in the area being occupied by Di nomads hostile and stronger than Yiqu, who temporarily submitting to

Xianyun The Xianyun (; Old Chinese: ( ZS) *''g.ramʔ-lunʔ''; (Schuessler) *''hɨamᴮ-juinᴮ'' < *''hŋamʔ-junʔ'') was an ancient nomadic tribe that invaded the

(獫狁). During the reign of

Wu Yi of Shang Wu Yi (), personal name Zi Qu (子瞿) was king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China from 1147 to 1112 BC. According to the ''Bamboo Annals'', his capital was at Yin. He was a son of his predecessor Geng Ding and father of King Wen Ding. In th ...

, Duke Jili of the now renamed state of Zhou attacked and evicted the Di presence from lands north of Bin with the support from the Shang court, and made Yiqu subject to Zhou instead. During the reign of Duke Wen of Zhou, Chancellor Jiang Ziya sent ambassador Nangong Kuo to negotiate an alliance with Yiqu, who assisted Zhou in evicting their rival Guifang, while occupied the fertile Longdong region for themselves. This allowed the Yiqu population to prosper, and after learning agricultural techniques and city building from the Zhou people, became significantly influenced by Zhou culture. Yiqu hence transformed into a distinctly different branch from other

tribes, though still retaining the tradition of levirate marriage. After the establishment of the

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

, Yiqu initially swore loyalty and participated in multiple Zhou campaigns against Di and other Rong tribes. In 771 BC,

Marquess of Shen The Marquess of Shen ( Chinese: , p ''Shēnhóu''; d. 771 BCE) was a Qiang ruler of Shen during China’s Zhou dynasty. A vassal state of the Zhou, Shen state covered the area of modern-day Nanyang in Henan. One of the Marq ...

conspired with

Quanrong The Quanrong () or Dog Rong were an ethnic group, classified by the ancient Chinese as " Qiang", active in the northwestern part of China during and after the Zhou dynasty (1046–221 BCE). Their language or languages are considered to have been me ...

(犬戎) to sack the Zhou capital city

Haojing Hao or Haojing (), also called Zongzhou (), was one of the two settlements comprising the capital of the Western Zhou dynasty (1066–770 BCE), the other being Fēng or Fēngjīng (). Together they were known as Fenghao and stood on opposite banks ...

, killing

King You of Zhou King You of Zhou (; 795–771 BC), personal name Ji Gongsheng, was the twelfth king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty and the last of Western Zhou Dynasty. He reigned from 781 to 771 BC. History In 780 BC, a major earthquake hit Guanzhong. A sooths ...

and his crown prince

Bofu Bofu (779 BCE – 771 BCE) (), sometimes referred to as Bopan (伯盘), was the son of Chinese Zhou dynasty monarch King You of Zhou and his concubine Bao Si. After Baosi entered the royal palace, King You deposed Queen Shen (申后) and her son Cr ...

, and the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong n ...

Dynasty collapsed. Yiqu took advantage of the chaos, rebelled and annexed the surrounding four smaller Xirong tribes, and established their own multi-city state centred around modern day

Ning County Ning County or Ningxian () is a county in the east of Gansu province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Qingyang. Its postal code is 745200, and its population in 1999 was people. History The area of Ningxian ...

, Gansu, spanning an area of nearly from

Guyuan (), formerly known as Xihaigu (, Xiao'erjing: قُ‌يُوًا شِ), is a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It occupies the southernmost section of the region, bordering Gansu provinc ...

grasslands to the west, Qiaoshan to the east,

to the north and

to the south. With the old capital city in ruins, the new Zhou king, King Ping, hastily relocated the capital to Luoyi (雒邑), starting the

Eastern Zhou Dynasty The Eastern Zhou (; zh, c=, p=Dōngzhōu, w=Tung1-chou1, t= ; 771–256 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the second half of the Zhou dynasty. It was divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States. History In 770 ...

. When King Ping moved east, a minor vassal lord from the land of Qinyi (秦邑), Duke Xiang, provided military escort. To reward Duke Xiang's contribution, King Ping formally granted him a nobility rank and

enfeoffed 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 ...

him as a feudal lord, elevating the clan of Qin from a lowly "attached state" (附庸) to a major

. Fearing another barbarian attack from the west and desperately in need of a

buffer state A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between ...

, King Ping further promised Duke Xiang that any lands the Qin clan could seize from the Rong tribes west of Qishan (the former heartland of Zhou), they could keep permanently as their own

. As a marcher clan already with a bitter history with the Xirong tribes, the new noble state of Qin were greatly motivated by this royal promise, and successive generation of Qin rulers died in battle against their Xirong enemy, three of the largest being Mianzhu (綿諸, near modern-day

Tianshui Tianshui is the second-largest city in Gansu Province, China. The city is located in the southeast of the province, along the upper reaches of the Wei River and at the boundary of the Loess Plateau and the Qinling Mountains. As of the 2020 ce ...

), Dali (大荔, near modern-day

Dali County Dali County () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Weinan, in the east-central part of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi province to the east. It covers . The population in 2002 was 690 thousand. Its econ ...

), and Yiqu. Around 650 BC, Yiqu had conquered most of its surrounding smaller tribes and began to expand eastwards, bringing it into direct conflict with the state of Qin. In 651 BC, one of the other larger Xirong tribes, Mianzhu, recruited a Jin man in exile named You Yu (由余) as the ambassador to Qin in order to improve the strained diplomatic relationship. However, You Yu secretly defected and gave counsel to

Duke Mu of Qin Duke Mu of Qin (died 621BC), born Renhao, was a duke of Qin (659–621BC) in the western reaches of the Zhou Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Sometimes considered one of China's Five Hegemons, he greatly expanded ...

regarding ways to defeat the Xirong. Using You Yu's advice, Duke Mu sent women and musicians to the king Mianzhu, distracting him from domestic affairs. In 623 BC, Duke Wu led a well-prepared Qin army, invaded and conquered Mianzhu along with over 20 smaller Rong and Di states. Yiqu was among those defeated and forced to claim fealty to Qin's military prowess. For his dominance in the western region, Duke Mu received a golden drum from

King Xiang of Zhou King Xiang of Zhou (died 619BC), personal name Ji Zheng (), was the eighteenth king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty and the sixth of the Eastern Zhou. He was a successor of his father King Hui of Zhou. He married Lady of the Dí, but later dismis ...

as commendation, and was later regarded as one of the

Five Hegemons The Five Hegemons () refers to several especially powerful rulers of Chinese states of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history (770 to 476 BCE), sometimes alternatively referred to as the "Age of Hegemons". There are various lists of five ...

. However, after Duke Mu died, the subsequent Qin rulers were not as competent as their forebear. Being the most

sinicized Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

of all Xirong tribes, Yiqu spent the next two centuries slowly building up its strength. In 430 BC, Yiqu invaded Qin territory, forcing Duke Zao of Qin to abandon lands north of lower

Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. The source of the Wei River is close to ...

. The following three decades were the pinnacle of Yiqu power, with its territory doubling to almost . At this point, Yiqu had become a major threat to Qin, who had to solely focus on dealing with this north-western neighbour and thus became marginalised by other major Central Plain vassals states to the east. In 361 BC,

Duke Xiao of Qin Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

ascended as the ruler of Qin, and appointed

Wei Yang Yang Wei or Wei Yang may refer to: *Shang Yang or Wei Yang (Chinese: 衞鞅; c. 390–338 BCE), ancient Chinese philosopher and politician *Yang Longyan (897–920) or Yang Wei (楊渭), King of Wu of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period *Yan ...

in 359 BC, who enacted a series of legalist reforms that greatly strengthened the state of Qin. In 332 BC,

King Huiwen of Qin King Huiwen of Qin (; 356–311 BC), also known as Lord Huiwen of Qin () or King Hui of Qin (), given name Si (駟), was the ruler of the Qin state from 338 to 311 BC during the Warring States period of Chinese history and likely an ancestor of Em ...

dispatched Gongsun Yan (公孫衍) to attack Wei, killing 80,000 enemies and capturing

Xihe Commandery Xihe Commandery ( zh, 西河郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in modern northern Shanxi and part of Inner Mongolia. The name "Xihe" referred to a southward section in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The commandery was se ...

(西河郡) and Shang Commandery (上郡). At the time, Yiqu was having domestic disputes, so the Qin army, with its morale boosted by the recent victories, invaded Yiqu under the pretext of helping to quell Yiqu's chaos. They were able to subject Yiqu to Qin rule. In 327 BC, Qin attacked and seized the city of Yuzhi (郁郅), forcing Yiqu to again swear fealty, this time formally as a Qin county. However, nine years later, in 318 BC, the five eastern states of Wei, Han, Zhao,

and Chu allied together and attacked

, forcing the Qin main force to leave its heartland. Yiqu took the opportunity and rebelled, and attacked Qin from the rear as part of a collaboration with the five-state alliance, defeating an undermanned Qin garrison at Libo (李帛). However, the allied five states were soon

rout A rout is a panicked, disorderly and undisciplined retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale (''esprit de corps''). History Historically, lightly-e ...

ed by a Qin counter-offensive led by Chulizi (樗里子, King Huiwen's brother), suffering a loss of 82,000 men. The victorious Qin army then returned and retaliated against Yiqu in 314 BC by invading from three different directions, capturing 25 cities and greatly weakening Yiqu. In 306 BC, the young King Zhaoxiang ascended to the throne, with his mother

serving as

. Knowing Qin could not focus on eradicating Yiqu when it had the hostile eastern states to deal with, and her son's rule was still shaky due to numerous rival princes keen to capture the throne, Queen Dowager Xuan decided to use an approach of pretended conciliation. She invited the king of Yiqu to live long-term in the Ganquan Palace, and consummated a

seductive Seduction has multiple meanings. Platonically, it can mean "to persuade to disobedience or disloyalty", or "to lead astray, usually by persuasion or false promises". Strategies of seduction include conversation and sexual scripts, paralingual ...

liaison that produced two sons with him. This completely removed the Yiqu King's hostility towards Qin, as the beguiled king had lost all cautiousness around the Queen Dowager. At the same time, King Zhaoxiang was aggressively acting to weaken rival warring states in the east and south, and Queen Dowager Xuan was secretly planning with her son the eventual annihilation of Yiqu. Finally in 272 BC, Queen Dowager Xuan bared her fangs. She lured the unsuspecting Yiqu King to Ganquan Palace again, and had him assassinated on the spot. Shortly after, the Qin army invaded and overran the leaderless Yiqu, permanently annexing its entire territory into the newly established commanderies of Longxi and

Beidi The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese (''Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and huntin ...

(北地).Nicola Di Cosmo, ''The Northern Frontier in Pre-Imperial China//The Cambridge History of Ancient China'', p. 961 The Xirong threat that had plagued the state of Qin for over five centuries was removed for good.

War against Qi

The state of Qin actually did not share any borders with the state of Qi, but they nevertheless clashed with each other due to the complicated ''zong-heng'' diplomacy during the

Warring States period 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 ...

. In 299 BC, King Zhaoxiang invited Lord Mengchang to Qin with the intention of appointing him as chancellor. However, after hearing (perhaps ill-intended) warnings from his ministers that Lord Mengchang was still loyal to his home state of Qi (which had just soured its diplomatic relationship with Qin), King Zhaoxiang ordered Lord Mengchang to be put under house arrest. Desperate, Lord Mengchang sent a messenger to bribe King's Zhaoxiang's favourite concubine, who demanded a snow fox fur coat, which Lord Mengchang had already given to King Zhaoxiang as a gift when he first arrived and had to steal back from the royal vault. Thanks to the pleas of the concubine, Lord Mengchang was released within two days, and he quickly smuggled himself out of Qin, narrowly evading a small army that King Zhaoxiang had ordered to pursue him. In 298 BC, the disgruntled Lord Mengchang, who was now the newly appointed chancellor of Qi, lobbied for a combined force of Qi, Han and Wei and laid siege to the Qin fortification of

. The allied army managed to penetrate past the Hangu Pass all the way to

Yanshi Yanshi District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Luoyang in western Henan province, China. Yanshi lies on the Luo River and is the easternmost county-level division of Luoyang. History After the Zhou conquest of Shang in mid-11th ...

(盐氏), forcing Qin to negotiate an armistice that involved returning the previously occupied Fengling and Wusui back to Wei and Han. In 288 BC, King Zhaoxiang contacted

King Min of Qi King Min of Qi () (323–284 BC, ruled 300–284 BC) was a notoriously unsuccessful king of the northeastern Chinese state of Qi during the Warring States period. "Famous for his paranoia and megalomania, the king was the archetype of the unworth ...

and proposed an alliance where both would claim the title "''Di''", and planned to attack the newly strengthened state of Zhao together. However, King Min was persuaded by

Su Qin Su Qin (380–284 BCE) was a Chinese political consultant and philosopher who was an influential political strategist during the Warring States period. He was born in Chengxuan Village, Luoyang in present-day Henan Province. According to legend S ...

to renounce his ''Di'' title, and instead allied with other states to attack Qin, forcing King Zhaoxiang to also renounce his ''Di'' title. At the same time, Qi took the opportunity to conquer its rival state of

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

, which made itself a major immediate threat in the eyes of other states. In 284 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent troops in a five-state alliance of Qin,

, Zhao, Wei and Han, led by the Yan general

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 ...

, to attack Qi. Over 70 cities were captured within six months, including its capital Linzi (臨淄), leading to the murder of King Min of Qi by his supposed Chu ally. The two remaining Qi cities Ju and

Jimo Jimo District (), formerly Jimo City (), is a District of Qingdao, Shandong. Location Jimo is located in the southwest of the Shandong Peninsula, bordered by the Yellow Sea on the east and Mount Lao on the south. Climate Jimo has a moderate ...

were then sieged by the allied forces for five years. Qi eventually defeated the allied forces and recaptured lost lands after a routing victory at Jimo by

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 ...

using flaming oxen. However, Qi never regained its former strength and influence, and could no longer create any geopolitical threat to Qin.

War against Zhao

In 283 BC, King Zhaoxiang offered to trade fifteen cities in exchange for the Heshibi jade, which was in the state of Zhao's possession.

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 history. During his reign, the Zhao state reached its apogee, with famous administrators and ...

was attracted by the offer and agreed to the trade. However, the Zhao ambassador

Lin Xiangru Lin Xiangru () (died July 260 BCE) was a politician and general of the Warring States period, who served the state of Zhao. He figures prominently in two stories of the period, namely the episode and the namesake ''chengyu'' of " Returning the Jad ...

(藺相如) figured out that Qin never meant to hold up their end of the deal, and managed to return the jade back to Zhao. During the following three years (282 BC to 280 BC), Qin attacked Zhao multiple times, capturing cities such as Shicheng (石城), Lin (藺), Lishi (離石), Qi (祁) and Guanglang (光狼城), killing 20,000 men, and forcing Zhao to agree to send hostages and concede lands in exchange for returning the captured cities. During the armistice meeting held at

Mianchi Mianchi County is a county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Sanmenxia, in the northwest of Henan province, bordering Shanxi province to the north and northwest. Its population in 2019 was 353,200. History Mianchi is kno ...

(澠池), King Zhaoxiang attempted to humiliate King Huiwen, but was forced to back down when Lin Xiangru threatened to physically harm the Qin king. In 273 BC, Wei and Zhao allied together to attack Han's Huayang (華陽). Qin offered military help to Han, defeating and killing 130,000 Wei soldiers, and drowning 20,000 Zhao soldiers in 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 ...

. In 269 BC, King Huiwen of Zhao backflipped on his previous promise to send hostages and concede land. In response, Qin attacked Zhao and laid siege to Yuyu (閼與). The siege was lifted after the Zhao general

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 ...

(趙奢) ambushed and decisively defeated the invading Qin army. In 265 BC, Qin struck back at Zhao and captured three cities, and King Huiwen of Zhao resorted to sending his son to the state of Qi in exchange for Qi assistance, which forced the Qin army to withdraw.

= Battle of Changping and the Siege of Handan

= In 262 BC, Bai Qi attacked and cut off the

Shangdang Commandery 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 prefec ...

from the Han mainland. King Huanhui of Han was fearful of Qin military power, and decided to concede Shangdang. However, the local commanders Jin Tao (靳黈) refused to do so, thus King Huaihui then replaced him with a new commander Feng Ting (馮亭), but he refused as well and instead suggested surrendering the region to the state of Zhao, with the intention of bringing on a conflict between Qin and Zhao. Despite opposition from his brother Lord Pingyang (平陽君), King Xiaocheng of Zhao and Lord Pingyuan both decided to accept the annexation of Shangdang. This, as expected, did not go down well in Qin. So, the very next year (261 BC), Qin general Wang He (王齕) attacked Shangdang, and the Zhao general,

Lian Po Lian Po (; – 243 BC), was a prominent general of the Zhao state in the Warring States period of Chinese history. He was named by Chinese historians as one of the four greatest generals of the late Warring States period, along with Bai Qi, W ...

(廉頗), led 200,000 men to reinforce and defend the region, starting the biggest and bloodiest conflict between these two most powerful military states. After his vanguard forces suffered numerous setbacks, Lian Po recognized that the Zhao army were underpowered against their Qin enemies in field battles, so he readjusted the strategies and dug in with a 100 '' li''-long defensive line near Changping, and decided to wait out and exhaust the Qin supply lines (which were at least three times longer than Zhao's, hence more difficult to maintain). This strategy worked, as the Qin offensives could not effectively penetrate the well-entrenched Zhao positions for over a year. Logistically strained, the Qin army attempted to engage in

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

s, but Lian Po consistently refused to meet them in open battles. At this point, both sides increased the size of their forces at Changping, with the Zhao numbering 450,000 and the Qin numbering 550,000. Unable to break the stalemate, Qin began using

spies Spies most commonly refers to people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations. Spies or The Spies may also refer to: * Spies (surname), a German surname * Spies (band), a jazz fusion band * Spies (song), "Spies" (song), a song by ...

stationed within Zhao to spread rumours about Lian Po being old, cowardly and incompetent. King Xiaocheng believed the rumours, and decided to dismiss Lian Po and replace him with

Zhao Kuo Zhao Kuo (; died 260 BCE) was a general of the state of Zhao during the Warring States period in ancient China. He lost the epic Battle of Changping between the states of Zhao and Qin."Records of the Grand Historian", vol. ''Han Dynasty I'', tr ...

(趙括), the son of the late Zhao She, despite objections from chancellor Lin Xiangru and

's own mother. Zhao Kuo, an arrogant young man with great philosophical knowledge of military strategies but no real combat experience, immediately reversed all of Lian Po's strategic arrangements upon arriving at the frontline. He led the Zhao army away from the protection of Lian Po's defensive structures, and sought to actively engage Qin in pitched battles. At the same time, King Zhaoxiang of Qin secretly appointed the feared Bai Qi as the new general of the Qin army, and conscripted every Qin man over 15 years of age as

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, ...

. Bai Qi then used feigned defeats to lure the overconfident Zhao Kuo into an ambush, trapping over 400,000 Zhao soldiers in a valley. Zhao Kuo's army, cut off from their base camp, were without supplies for 46 days and became severely demoralised. After multiple failed attempts to breach the Qin lines, Zhao Kuo led a final breakout assault where he was shot dead by Qin archers, along with 200,000 out of the 400,000 Zhao soldiers. Bai Qi then executed the remaining 200,000 Zhao prisoners by burying them alive, sparing only 240 of the youngest men to go back to Zhao to spread the news of the massacre of the Zhao army. The devastating defeat at Changping greatly shocked the state of Zhao, which descended into an atmosphere of despair and sorrow. Bai Qi wanted to take advantage of the victory at Changping and immediately lay siege to the Zhao capital of Handan (邯鄲). This frightened the states of Zhao and Han greatly, so they sent Su Dai (蘇代,

's brother) to bribe Fan Ju (范雎, or Fan Sui 范睢), who was then the Qin chancellor and jealous of Bai Qi's military achievement. Fan Ju persuaded King Zhaoxiang to halt the offensives, citing as the reason that the soldiers needed to rest after years of war. Qin agreed to an armistice in exchange of the states of Zhao and Han conceding lands. Bai Qi was furious at this because he believed Qin had just forfeited a chance to annihilate Zhao once and for all, and resigned his position in protest. However, Zhao soon changed its mind and refused to cede the lands it promised, and attempted to lobby an anti-Qin alliance with the other states. King Zhaoxiang then ordered an attack on Zhao in late 259 BC, laying siege to Handan. He wanted Bai Qi to lead the attack, but the still angry Bai Qi bluntly refused to assume the position citing illness. Instead, he advised King Zhaoxiang to call off the siege as the window of opportunity for an easy victory was already gone, because Lord Pingyuan had managed to secure military reinforcements from Chu and Wei, led by the famous Lord Chunshen and Lord Xinling. King Zhaoxiang did not take in his advice and instead appointed Wang Ling (王陵) as the commander of the siege. Wang Ling's attack on Handan did not go well due to the fierce Zhao resistance, and King Zhaoxiang again decided to invite Bai Qi to command the siege, but Bai Qi again advised him that Qin had a very low chance of winning this campaign. King Zhaoxiang was unhappy to hear Bai Qi's counsel, so he replaced Wang Lin with Wang He and continued the siege. In 257 BC, the Qin army was suffering losses inflicted by reinforcements from the states of Chu and Wei. King Zhaoxiang then personally visited Bai Qi and attempted to coerce him into taking the command position with royal authority. When Bai Qi once again advised abandoning the siege, King Zhaoxiang was so angry that he stripped Bai Qi's titles and exiled him. Fan Ju then falsely accused to King Zhaoxiang that Bai Qi was cursing the King behind his back, so King Zhaoxiang decreed the forced suicide of Bai Qi. This did not improve the situation for the Qin offensive, and the Qin sustained heavy casualties under the combined assault of Wei, Chu and Zhao, and the Qin army was routed and went into a general retreat. The three-state alliance then pursued and attacked Qin, reinforced by the Han army that had recently joined them. The combined forces recaptured Hedong, Anyang, Taiyuan, Pilao,

Wu'an Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan. History People's Republic In August 1949, Wu'an was one of thr ...

and

Runan Runan County () is a counties of China, county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian, in the southeast of Henan, Henan Province, China. History In ancient times, this area was called "the middle of the world" (), ...

. The Qin expeditionary force lost most of its men in the retreat. King Zhaoxiang's ignoring of Bai Qi's advice had sown bitter fruits at the end. In 256 BC, Qin struck back at Zhao again, with general Zhao Chan (趙摻) killing 90,000 men and capturing over 20 counties. Zhao would continue to be at war with Qin into the years following King Zhaoxiang's death, including participating in a fruitless anti-Qin offensive by the five-state alliance in 247 BC, and two major victories against Qin invasions in 240 BC and 231 BC (the latter won by general

Li Mu Li Mu (; died 229 BC), personal name Zuo (繓), courtesy name Mu (牧), was a Chinese military general of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period. He was named by Chinese historians as one of the four greatest generals of the late Wa ...

), but it never recovered to its formal glory prior to the Battle of Changping. Meanwhile, Qin had fully regained its strength to become the only dominant military power, and went on to capture the Zhao capital Handan in 229 BC and eventually conquer the whole of Zhao in 222 BC.

Conquest of Eastern Zhou

The authority of the Zhou court had been declining since the very beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. When

King Ping of Zhou King Ping of Zhou (; died 720 BC), personal name Ji Yijiu, was the thirteenth king of the Zhou dynasty and the first of the Eastern Zhou dynasty.Sima Qian. ''Records of the Grand Historian'', "Zhou Dynasty Annals". History He was the son of Kin ...

abandoned the old capital of

and relocated east to Luoyi, the new capital's crown land (王畿) was significantly smaller and less developed compared to the old capital. The royal Zhou court, which had been humiliated by Haojing's sacking, became increasingly reliant on the support of the

s. King Ping's son, King Huan, later had a falling out with one of the strongest vassals,

Duke Zhuang of Zheng Duke Zhuang of Zheng (; 757–701 BC) was the third ruler of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Wusheng (寤生), which means "difficult birth" with breech pr ...

. The young King Huan decided to assert his authority as the

lord paramount A lord paramount is a term of art in feudal law describing an overlord who holds his own fief from no superior lord. It thus describes a person who holds allodial title, owing no socage or feudal obligations such as military service. This was di ...

and personally led an expedition in 707 BC to punish on the state of Zheng, but was badly defeated in the

Battle of Xuge The Battle of Xuge () was a battle which took place in 707 BC, between the State of Zheng and the Zhou Dynasty. The defeat of the Zhou forces, representing the Son of Heaven, destroyed any residual prestige that the Zhou court had since establish ...

. King Huan himself was wounded in the shoulder by an arrow, and was forced to back down and negotiate peace with Duke Zhuang. This destroyed any remaining prestige and authority the Eastern Zhou royal court had over its vassals, and confirmed the ''de facto'' independence of the feudal states. The Zhou court was so impoverished after that defeat that, when King Huan died in 697 BC, it took the court seven years to get enough funding for a fitting royal funeral. During the reign of

, his half-brother Prince Dai (王子帶) twice attempted to usurp the throne in 649 BC and 635 BC, both times by conspiring with

to lay siege to the capital. King Xiang required military assistance by the vassal states to reinstate himself on both occasions, and was forced to increase their fiefs each time as commendations. This further weakened the image of the Eastern Zhou court in the eyes of the vassal states, and progressively relegated it to the status of a neglected

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

. The situation only became worse for the Eastern Zhou court after the Spring and Autumn period ended. None of 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 ...

held any respect and marginalized the Zhou court to the ''de facto'' status equivalent of a minor vassal state. During the reign of

King Kao of Zhou King Kao of Zhou (), alternatively King Kaozhe of Zhou (周考哲王), personal name Jī Wéi, was the thirty first king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty and the nineteenth of the Eastern Zhou. He reigned from 440 BC to 426 BC. King Kao's father wa ...

, he decreed a portion of crown land around Wangcheng (王城, the older of Luoyi's

twin cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

) to his brother Ji Xie (姬揭) in 440 BC, naming the fief "the state of West Zhou" (西周國). In 367 BC during the reign of

King Xian of Zhou King Xian of Zhou (), personal name Ji Bian, was the thirty-fifth king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty and the twenty-third of the Eastern Zhou. Very little is known about him. He succeeded his brother King Lie of Zhou in 368 BC and ruled until his ...

, the 2nd duke of West Zhou, Duke Wei (西周威公) died, and one of his younger sons, Lord Gen (公子根), rebelled against his brother Duke Hui (西周惠公) and seceded a portion of his home state centred around

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

(鞏地) with the support of

Marquess Cheng of Zhao Marquess Cheng of Zhao (?–350 BCE) was a ruler of the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period of Chinese history (475–220 BCE). Born Zhào Zhòng (), he was the son of Marquess Jing of Zhao. In 372 BCE, Marquess Cheng of Zhao built a w ...

(趙成侯) and Marquess Gong of Han (韓共侯), naming it the "state of East Zhou" (東周國). This effectively splintered two separate vassal states out of the Eastern Zhou royal court, further decreasing the crown land. In 344 BC, Marquess Hui of Wei gathered other vassal lords to pay a visit to

, but instead used the occasion to declare himself king. This initially backfired and caused other states to turn hostile towards Wei, but in 334 BC Duke Wei of Qi openly supported King Hui of Wei's crowning, and declared himself king as well, prompting the state of Chu to attack Qi with the intention of forcing Qi to abandon the kingship. However, in 325 BC Duke Huiwen of Qin also declared kingship and supported Qi's crowning, and King Hui of Wei openly encouraged Marquess Wei of Han to claim kingship, who accepted the proposal and crowned himself in 323 BC along with the ruler of

and

Zhongshan Zhongshan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is now part of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen conurbation with 65,565,622 ...

. Out of all the major states, only Marquess Wuling of Zhao refused to declare kingship at the time, as he considered his state not being strong enough to handle the diplomatic fallout, and titled himself "Lord" (君) instead. By this point, nearly all major states had claimed royal status equivalent to that of the King of Zhou, and it effectively spelled the complete death of Zhou authority. In 315 BC, the two splinter states of East Zhou and West Zhou declared autonomy and divided up the remaining crown lands between themselves, reducing the King of Zhou, whose seat,

Chengzhou Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

, was within East Zhou, to more or less a puppet at the mercy of the duke's charity. When

King Nan of Zhou King Nan of Zhou (Ji Yan; ?–256 BC), less commonly known as King Yin of Zhou, was the 37th and last king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty, the son of King Shenjing of Zhou and grandson of King Xian of Zhou. He was king from 314 BC until his deat ...

ascended in 314 BC, he was expelled by the Duke of East Zhou, who no longer wanted to provide for a less than useful monarch. King Nan was forced to beg for protection from the Duke of West Zhou, and moved out of Chengzhou to Wangcheng. In 307 BC, King Nan of Zhou hosted

King Wu of Qin King Wu of Qin (; 329–307 BC), also known as King Daowulie of Qin (秦悼武烈王) or King Daowu of Qin (秦悼武王) or King Wulie of Qin (秦武烈王), was the ruler of the Qin state from 310 to 307 BC during the Warring States period of Ch ...

, who just returned victorious against Han at the Battle of Yiyang. During the visit, King Wu, a keen

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

, decided to try lifting the "dragon-patterned red

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...

" (龍紋赤鼎) in the Zhou palace. He died from the attempt, bleeding from his eyes and breaking his shin bones. After the childless King Wu died, his hostage half-brother Ying Ji returned to claim the throne as King Zhaoxiang. In 293 BC, East Zhou decided to ally itself with the states of Han and Wei, and sent troops to help attacking Qin. However, the combined forces of this alliance was destroyed at Yique by the young Qin general

, with 240,000 men killed and their commander Gongsun Xi (公孫喜) captured and executed. After this loss, the East Zhou was unable to actively participate in future interstate struggles in any significant fashion. In 256 BC, Duke Wu of West Zhou (西周武公) allied with other states to stop the Qin offensive on the Han city of Yangcheng. In retaliation, King Zhaoxiang of Qin sent general Jiu to invade West Zhou, successfully breaking into Wangcheng. The Duke Wu was taken to

to beg for mercy, conceding all his lands. Both King Nan and Duke Wu would die later that year, and the subsequent Duke of West Zhou, Duke Wen (西周文公), was exiled to Danhuju (憚狐聚). Because the Zhou royal court had fallen from power and King Nan had died without a successor, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty collapsed, ending 879 years of Zhou monarchy. The remaining East Zhou state was also conquered by Qin chancellor

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 ...

seven years later in 249 BC during the reign of King Zhaoxiang's grandson King Zhuangxiang, after Duke Jing of East Zhou attempted to form an anti-Qin alliance with other states.

Legacy

King Zhaoxiang died at age 75 in 251 BC, having outlived his eldest son, who died in 267 BC while serving as a hostage in the state of Wei. He was succeeded by his second son King Xiaowen. Reigning over 55 years, he was one of the longest-serving rulers during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Although making numerous policy mistakes during his later years, his aggressive territorial expansions were pivotal in consolidating the state of Qin as the dominant military powerhouse in the late

. It was the strategic dominance established during his reign that paved the way to Qin's eventual successful unification of China under his great-grandson,

. In manga and anime

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, he was described as a "War God", which he led Qin through bloody battles alongside his 6 most elite generals, including

, Wang He, Wang Yi, Liao, Sima Cuo and Hu Shang.

Family

Queens: * Queen Yeyang () * Queen Dowager Tang, of the Tang lineage (), the mother of Crown Prince Zhu Sons: * First son (d. 267 BC) ** Known by his posthumous title, Crown Prince Dao () * Second son, Crown Prince Zhu (; 302–250 BC), ruled as King Xiaowen of Qin in 250 BC ** Known by his prior title, Lord Anguo () Daughters: * A daughter who married King Kaolie of Chu (278–238 BC) in 271 BC, and had issue (

Lord Changping Lord Changping (昌平君; died 223 BC) was an important military commander and lord of Qin, who later departed from the state of Qin and went to the state of Chu where he became the last king of Chu (223 BC) in the last days of the Chinese War ...

)

Ancestry

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Bao Guo'an in '' Changping of the War'' (2004) * Portrayed by

Zhu Yilong Zhu Yilong (, born 16 April 1988) is a Chinese actor. He won Golden Rooster Awards' Best Actor for his performance in " Lighting Up the Stars" in 2022. Zhu has been the global Ambassador for World Wildlife Fund since 2019. He is best know ...

in ''

The Legend of Mi Yue ''The Legend of Mi Yue'' () is a 2015 Chinese television series directed by Zheng Xiaolong and based on eponymous historical novel. It stars Sun Li in the title role of Mi Yue. The series aired 2 episodes daily on Beijing TV and Dragon TV from 30 ...

'' (2015) * Portrayed by

Zhang Bo (actor) Zhang Bo (; born 29 August 1982) is a Chinese people, Chinese actor. Zhang rose to fame for his roles in television series such as ''Three Kingdoms (TV series), Three Kingdoms'' (2010) and ''The Qin Empire III'' (2017). Early life and educatio ...

in '' The Qin Empire III'' (2017) * In the Manga and Anime titled Kingdom, he was known as "King Sho/Zhao", and he was described as the God of War. He led the battles against rival kingdoms in every turn. Also established the "Six Greats Generals" military system in Qin, independent generals who are free to wage war against rival States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhaoxiang of Qin, King 325 BC births 251 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Chinese monarchs 4th-century BC Chinese monarchs Rulers of Qin