King Zhaoxiang of Qin

King of Qin, China from 307 to 251 BC

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King Zhaoxiang of Qin 秦昭襄王
Ancestral name: Ying (嬴) Given name: Ji (稷)
Posthumous name
King Zhaoxiang (昭襄王)

HouseYingDynastyQinFatherKing Huiwen of QinMotherQueen Dowager Xuan

King Zhaoxiang of Qin (Chinese: 秦昭襄王; 325–251 BC), also abbreviated as King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王), born Ying Ji (嬴稷), was the king of the Qin state from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen 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 state of Yiqu in 272 BC, slaughtered a 450,000-strong Zhao army at Changping in 260 BC, and overthrew the Eastern Zhou dynasty 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 proper three decades later by his great-grandson Ying Zheng (Qin Shi Huang).

Prince Ying Ji was born in 325 BC to one of King Huiwen's more lower-ranked concubines, Lady Mi (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 because the state of Qin employed a system of meritocracy that demanded that even princes earn their own lands through national service. He was dispatched to the state of Yan 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 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, 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

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

In 304 BC, King Zhaoxiang met with King Huai of Chu 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 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,

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 Hangu Pass 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

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

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.

Yiqu (義渠), also known as "the

In 361 BC, Duke Xiao of Qin ascended as the ruler of Qin, and appointed Wei Yang in 359 BC, who enacted a series of legalist reforms that greatly strengthened the state of Qin. In 332 BC, King Huiwen of Qin dispatched Gongsun Yan (公孫衍) to attack Wei, killing 80,000 enemies and capturing Xihe Commandery (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, Yan and Chu allied together and attacked Hangu Pass, 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 routed 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

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 (北地).^[1] The Xirong threat that had plagued the state of Qin for over five centuries was removed for good.

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.

In 299 BC, King Zhaoxiang invited

In 288 BC, King Zhaoxiang contacted King Min of Qi 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 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, 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,

In 283 BC, King Zhaoxiang offered to trade fifteen cities in exchange for the

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. 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 (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.

In 262 BC, Bai Qi attacked and cut off the

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 (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 battles, 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

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, Su Qin'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

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), 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.

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

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 Xianyang 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 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.

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

In manga and anime Kingdom, he was described as a "War God", which he led Qin through bloody battles alongside his 6 most elite generals, including Bai Qi, Wang He, Wang Yi, Liao, Sima Cuo and Hu Shang.

• Queen Yeyang (葉陽后)
• Queen Dowager Tang, of the Tang lineage (唐太后 唐氏), the mother of Crown Prince Zhu

• First son (d. 267 BC)
  • Known by his posthumous title, Crown Prince Dao (悼太子)
• Second son, Crown Prince Zhu (太子柱; 302–250 BC), ruled as King Xiaowen of Qin in 250 BC
  • Known by his prior title, Lord Anguo (安國君)

• A daughter who married King Kaolie of Chu (278–238 BC) in 271 BC, and had issue (Lord Changping)

• Portrayed by Bao Guo'an in Changping of the War (2004)
• Portrayed by Zhu Yilong in The Legend of Mi Yue (2015)
• Portrayed by Zhang Bo (actor) 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.

• Battle of Changping