King Wei of Qi (), whose personal name was Tian Yinqi (田因齊), was the king of the northern Chinese state of Qi 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 ...

, when Qi was one of the most powerful states in China. He reigned from 356 to 320 BC. or according to another source from 378 to 343 BC. He was the first ruler of Qi to style himself "king". His successor was

King Xuan of Qi King Xuan of Qi (; died 301 BC) was from 319 to 301 BC ruler of Qi, one of the seven major states of the Warring States period of ancient China. King Xuan's personal name was Tian Bijiang (田辟疆), ancestral name Gui ( 媯), and King Xuan wa ...

. In the ''Intrigues of the Warring States'', the strategist

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 ...

is quoted as telling the king of

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 ...

: "Kings Wei and Xuan of Qi were the worthiest rulers of their age. Their power was great and their lands were broad. Their states were wealthy and their citizens capable. Their generals were aggressive and their troops strong." King Wei was judicious and measured in his actions toward his subordinates. At one point he was told repeatedly by his spies that one of his generals, Zhangzi, had surrendered to the enemy, Qin. King Wei refused to believe that Zhangzi had deserted. Sure enough, "a short while later it was reported that Qi had won a great victory. The king of Qin proclaimed himself a vassal of the western borders and made his apologies to Qi." King Wei said that he always knew Zhangzi was faithful and cited this story in his defence. According to another story, King Wei proclaimed that "To all ministers, officers and citizens who criticize my faults in front of me, they will get the highest reward; those who remonstrate with me in writing will be given the next highest reward, and to those who overhear criticism of me and convey it to my ears will go the least reward." It was said that initially, "the doorway to the king's chamber looked like a marketplace" but after a year, "none who spoke to the king had petitions to present" ecause the problems had already been solved "When

he states of He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

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 ...

, Zhao,

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

and Wei heard of this they all came to court at Qi." King Wei employed

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 w ...

as chief military advisor. Sun Bin had been punished with mutilation of his knees in Wei at the instigation of his enemy

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 ...

. King Wei's commander

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 co ...

recruited him to come to Qi. As Sun Bin could not sit on a horse, he refused when King Wei offered him the actual command of the army. Sun Bin wrote

Sun Bin's Art of War ''Sun Bin's Art of War'' is an ancient Chinese classic work on military strategy written by Sun Bin, a supposed descendant of Sun Tzu, who served as a military strategist in the Qi state during the Warring States period. According to histor ...

, in which King Wei and Tian Ji question Sun Bin on strategy and tactics. Sun Bin was influential in devising the strategy for the Qi triumph at 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 Ha ...

in 342 BC, which considerably weakened the rival state of Wei. Pang Juan died there. "Late in his reign, he sent out armies against Qin and Zhao." King Wei was the caster of the ritual bronze vessel bearing the earliest attestation of the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

, the Chen Hou Yinqi ''

dui Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

'' (陳侯因齊敦). His son Tian Ying (田嬰) was the father of

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 to ...

Family

Queens: * Queen Wei () Concubines: * Wey Ji, of the Ji clan of Wey (), the mother of Prince Jiaoshi * Yu Ji, of the Yu clan (), personal name Juanzhi () Sons: * First son, Crown Prince Pijiang (; 350–301 BC), ruled as

from 319–301 BC * Second son, Prince Ying (), the father of

** Known by his title, Lord Jingguo () ** Served as the Prime Minister () of Qi ** Granted the fiefdom of Xue () in 322 BC * Prince Jiaoshi ()

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei of Qi, King Monarchs of Qi (state) 4th-century BC Chinese monarchs Chinese kings 370s BC births Year of birth unknown 320 BC deaths