King Zhaoxiang of Qin facts for kids

King Zhaoxiang of Qin (Chinese: 秦昭襄王; 325–251 BC), also known as King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王), was born Ying Ji (Chinese: 嬴稷). He ruled the state of Qin from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen and the younger brother of King Wu.

King Zhaoxiang ruled Qin for 57 years. During his long reign, Qin became the strongest state among the seven major states in ancient China. Under his leadership, Qin captured the Chu capital city of Ying in 278 BC. Qin also conquered the Xirong state of Yiqu in 272 BC. A huge Zhao army of 450,000 soldiers was defeated at the Battle of Changping in 260 BC. King Zhaoxiang's forces also ended the Eastern Zhou dynasty in 256 BC. These victories and land gains weakened other states. This prepared the way for Qin to unite all of China about 30 years later. This was achieved by his great-grandson, Ying Zheng.

Becoming King

How Prince Ji Became King

Prince Ying Ji was born in 325 BC. His mother, Lady Mi, was a lower-ranked wife of King Huiwen. Because of this, Prince Ji was not high in the line to become king. When he was young, he was sent to the state of Yan as a political hostage. This was a common way for states to keep peace.

In 307 BC, something unexpected happened. Ying Ji's older half-brother, King Wu, died suddenly. King Wu was trying to show off his strength by lifting a heavy bronze pot. He broke his leg and died young, without any children. This caused a big problem in Qin, as many princes wanted to be king. Prince Ji was still a hostage in Yan, so he seemed unlikely to become king.

However, King Wuling of Zhao saw a chance to help. He ordered his official, Zhao Gu, to secretly take Prince Ji from Yan to Zhao. King Wuling then supported Prince Ji to return to Qin and claim the throne. Also, Prince Ji's uncle, Wei Ran, was a powerful general in Qin. He helped remove many of Prince Ji's rivals. Because of this help, Prince Ji successfully became King Zhaoxiang of Qin when he was 18 years old.

Early Rule and Support

King Zhaoxiang was not yet 20, which was the age to be considered an adult back then. So, his mother, now called Queen Dowager Xuan, became the regent. This meant she ruled for him until he was old enough. She had strong support from her brothers, Wei Ran and Mi Rong, and her two other sons, Prince Yi and Prince Fu. These four powerful relatives were known as the "Four Nobles."

In his first year as king (306 BC), King Zhaoxiang listened to his chancellor, Gan Mao. Gan Mao suggested returning the Wusui region to the state of Han. Other officials who disliked Gan Mao spoke against this plan. Because of this, Gan Mao feared for his life and left Qin to join the state of Qi.

In 305 BC, two of King Zhaoxiang's older half-brothers, Prince Zhuang and Prince Yong, tried to take the throne. They planned a coup with the mother of the late King Wu and King Wu's childless wife. Many other lords and officials who were against King Zhaoxiang also joined them. But Wei Ran quickly stopped the rebellion. All the plotters were killed, except King Wu's wife, who was sent back to her home state. With his enemies gone, King Zhaoxiang's rule became secure. In the same year, he had his coming-of-age ceremony and began to rule Qin himself.

Major Wars and Conquests

Qin's War Against Chu

In 304 BC, King Zhaoxiang met with King Huai of Chu to make an alliance. Qin gave the Shangyong region to Chu as a friendly gesture. But in 303 BC, the states of Qi, Wei, and Han attacked Chu. Chu had to send its crown prince to Qin as a hostage to get Qin's help. King Zhaoxiang sent troops to attack Wei and Han, taking back land. The Chu crown prince then secretly ran away from Qin.

In 301 BC, Qin, Han, Wei, and Qi joined forces to attack Chu. They defeated the Chu army and killed their general. In 300 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent his uncle Mi Rong to capture Xiangcheng, killing 30,000 enemy soldiers.

Because of these defeats, King Huai of Chu had to meet with Qin in 299 BC. But he was captured and taken to Xianyang. He refused to give up land, so he was kept as a hostage. King Zhaoxiang then invaded Chu, capturing 16 cities and killing 50,000 Chu soldiers. King Huai tried to escape in 297 BC but was caught again. He died in captivity a year later, and Qin sent his body back to Chu.

The next Chu king, King Qingxiang, was not a strong ruler. In 280 BC, Qin defeated Chu again, forcing them to give up more land. In 279 BC, Qin generals Bai Qi and Zhang Ruo attacked Chu from two sides. They captured several cities, and Bai Qi even flooded the city of Yan, drowning many people. This led to Bai Qi's capture of the Chu capital, Ying, in 278 BC. Bai Qi burned Chu's important ancestral temples. Chu was so weak that it had to move its capital. Qin then took over large areas of land and set up a new commandery there.

Qin's Wars Against Han and Wei

In 301 BC, Qin attacked Han again, led by King Zhaoxiang's uncle, Wei Ran. Qin captured the city of Rang. But in 298 BC, Qin faced a setback. Qi, Han, and Wei attacked Qin together at Hangu Pass. Qin had to give back some land to Wei and Han.

In 293 BC, Han, Wei, and East Zhou allied to attack Qin. King Zhaoxiang made the young general Bai Qi the leader. Bai Qi defeated the two major states at Yique, killing 240,000 enemy soldiers. This was a huge blow to Han and Wei. Bai Qi continued to win battles, capturing cities and land from Wei and Han. These victories forced Wei to give up 400 li of land and Han to give up 200 li to Qin.

In 289 BC, Bai Qi and Sima Cuo attacked Wei again, capturing 61 villages. However, in 288 BC, Qin had to step back when five eastern states allied against it. But Qin soon struck back, capturing more cities from Wei, including its old capital. In 283 BC, Qin allied with Zhao and attacked Wei, getting close to Wei's capital.

In 276 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent Bai Qi to attack Wei again. The next year, Wei Ran attacked Wei's capital and killed 40,000 Han soldiers who came to help. This forced Wei to give up more forts. Wei Ran attacked Wei again in 274 BC, capturing four cities and killing 40,000 men. In 273 BC, Wei and Zhao attacked the Han city of Huayang. King Zhaoxiang sent troops to help Han. They killed 130,000 Wei soldiers and 20,000 Zhao prisoners. This forced Wei to make peace and give up more land. Qin attacked Wei again in 268 BC.

In 266 BC, a man named Fan Ju from Wei came to Qin. He had been treated badly in Wei and wanted revenge. He advised King Zhaoxiang to use a strategy called "allying distant states while attacking nearby states." This meant making friends with states far away while fighting those close by. King Zhaoxiang was very impressed and made Fan Ju his chancellor. In 264 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent Bai Qi to attack Han, capturing nine cities and killing 50,000 enemies. This cut off the Shangdang region from the rest of Han. In 262 BC, Bai Qi captured Yewang, further isolating Shangdang. The King of Han was scared and decided to give Shangdang to Qin. But the local commanders refused and gave the region to Zhao instead. This led to a huge conflict between Qin and Zhao, the two strongest military powers, known as the Battle of Changping.

In 256 BC, a Qin general named Jiu attacked Han, killing 40,000 men and capturing many counties. Two years later, Jiu attacked Wei, forcing Wei to become a state that obeyed Qin.

Qin's Conquest of Yiqu

Yiqu was a group of people who lived north of the Jing River. They were part-farmers and part-herders. They were often at war with other tribes and with the Chinese settlements. Over time, Yiqu learned farming and city-building from the Chinese. They became more like the Chinese people, but still kept some of their own traditions.

After the Zhou Dynasty was established, Yiqu first supported Zhou. But in 771 BC, the Western Zhou Dynasty collapsed. Yiqu took advantage of the chaos and expanded its territory, becoming a multi-city state. The new Zhou king moved his capital east. He promised the Qin clan that any land they took from the western tribes, they could keep. This motivated Qin to fight the Yiqu and other tribes.

Around 650 BC, Yiqu began to expand east, clashing with Qin. Qin's Duke Mu used a spy to learn how to defeat Yiqu. He sent women and musicians to the Yiqu king to distract him. In 623 BC, Duke Mu led his army and conquered Yiqu and other states. Yiqu was forced to obey Qin. However, after Duke Mu died, Qin's rulers were not as strong. Yiqu slowly rebuilt its power. In 430 BC, Yiqu invaded Qin territory, forcing Qin to give up land. For the next 30 years, Yiqu was very powerful, doubling its territory. It became a major threat to Qin.

In 361 BC, Duke Xiao of Qin became ruler. He started reforms that made Qin much stronger. In 332 BC, Qin attacked Wei and won a big victory. At this time, Yiqu was having internal problems. Qin used this chance to invade Yiqu and force them to obey Qin rule. In 327 BC, Qin attacked Yiqu again, making Yiqu formally a Qin county. However, in 318 BC, five eastern states attacked Qin. Yiqu rebelled and attacked Qin from behind. But Qin defeated the allied states and then retaliated against Yiqu in 314 BC, capturing 25 cities and weakening them greatly.

In 306 BC, the young King Zhaoxiang became king, with his mother Queen Dowager Xuan as regent. Queen Dowager Xuan knew Qin could not fight Yiqu and the eastern states at the same time. She decided to pretend to be friendly with Yiqu. She invited the Yiqu king to live in her palace and even had two sons with him. This made the Yiqu king trust Qin completely. Meanwhile, King Zhaoxiang was busy weakening other states in the east and south. Queen Dowager Xuan was secretly planning to destroy Yiqu.

Finally, in 272 BC, Queen Dowager Xuan acted. She lured the Yiqu King to her palace again and had him killed. Soon after, the Qin army invaded Yiqu, which had no leader. Qin took over all of Yiqu's land, ending the threat that had bothered Qin for over 500 years.

Qin's War Against Qi

Qin and Qi did not share a border, but they still fought due to complex alliances.

In 299 BC, King Zhaoxiang invited Lord Mengchang from Qi to be his chancellor. But after hearing warnings that Lord Mengchang was still loyal to Qi, King Zhaoxiang put him under house arrest. Lord Mengchang bribed the King's favorite wife, who helped him escape. He barely got out of Qin before King Zhaoxiang sent soldiers after him. In 298 BC, Lord Mengchang, now a chancellor in Qi, led an army of Qi, Han, and Wei to attack Qin. They reached deep into Qin territory, forcing Qin to make peace and return some land.

In 288 BC, King Zhaoxiang suggested to King Min of Qi that they both claim the title "Di" (a very high title, like emperor). They planned to attack the state of Zhao together. However, King Min was convinced by Su Qin to give up his "Di" title and instead ally with other states to attack Qin. This forced King Zhaoxiang to also give up his "Di" title. At the same time, Qi conquered the state of Song, which made other states see Qi as a big threat.

In 284 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent troops to join a five-state alliance (Qin, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Han) led by the Yan general Yue Yi. They attacked Qi. Within six months, they captured over 70 cities, including Qi's capital. The King of Qi was killed. The allied forces then besieged the last two Qi cities for five years. Qi eventually defeated the allied forces and got its land back. However, Qi never became as strong as it was before and was no longer a threat to Qin.

Qin's War Against Zhao

In 283 BC, King Zhaoxiang offered to trade 15 cities for a famous jade called the Heshibi, which was owned by Zhao. King Huiwen of Zhao agreed. But the Zhao ambassador, Lin Xiangru, realized Qin did not plan to keep its promise. He managed to get the jade back to Zhao. Over the next three years, Qin attacked Zhao many times, capturing cities and killing 20,000 men. Zhao was forced to agree to send hostages and give up land to get its cities back. During a peace meeting, King Zhaoxiang tried to embarrass King Huiwen, but Lin Xiangru stopped him.

In 273 BC, Wei and Zhao attacked Han's city of Huayang. Qin helped Han, defeating 130,000 Wei soldiers and 20,000 Zhao soldiers. In 269 BC, King Huiwen of Zhao broke his promise to send hostages. Qin attacked Zhao and besieged Yuyu. But the Zhao general Zhao She ambushed and defeated the Qin army. In 265 BC, Qin attacked Zhao again. King Huiwen of Zhao sent his son to Qi to get help, which made the Qin army leave.

The Battle of Changping and Handan Siege

In 262 BC, Bai Qi attacked and cut off the Shangdang region from Han. The King of Han decided to give Shangdang to Qin. But the local commanders refused and gave it to Zhao instead. This made Qin and Zhao fight directly. This led to the Battle of Changping, the biggest and bloodiest conflict between these two powerful states.

In 261 BC, Qin general Wang He attacked Shangdang. The Zhao general, Lian Po, led 200,000 men to defend the region. Lian Po saw that his army was weaker in open battles. So, he built a long defensive line and decided to wait. He wanted to wear out Qin's supply lines, which were much longer than Zhao's. This plan worked for over a year. Both sides increased their armies, with Zhao having 450,000 soldiers and Qin having 550,000.

Qin could not break the stalemate. So, Qin sent spies to Zhao to spread rumors that Lian Po was old and afraid. King Xiaocheng believed the rumors. He removed Lian Po and replaced him with Zhao Kuo, the son of the late Zhao She. This was done despite warnings from others. Zhao Kuo was a young man who knew a lot about military strategies from books but had no real battle experience. He immediately changed Lian Po's plans. He led the Zhao army out of their defenses to fight Qin in open battles.

At the same time, King Zhaoxiang secretly put the feared general Bai Qi in charge of the Qin army. Bai Qi used fake retreats to trick the overconfident Zhao Kuo. He lured Zhao Kuo's army into a trap, surrounding over 400,000 Zhao soldiers in a valley. Zhao Kuo's army was cut off from supplies for 46 days and became very weak. After many failed attempts to break through Qin's lines, Zhao Kuo led a final attack. He was shot dead by Qin archers, along with 200,000 of his soldiers. Bai Qi then ordered the remaining 200,000 Zhao prisoners to be buried alive. Only 240 young men were spared to go back to Zhao and tell the story of the massacre. This terrible defeat shocked Zhao, filling the state with sadness.

Bai Qi wanted to immediately attack Zhao's capital, Handan. This scared Zhao and Han. So, they bribed Fan Ju, who was Qin's chancellor and jealous of Bai Qi. Fan Ju convinced King Zhaoxiang to stop the attacks, saying the soldiers needed rest. Qin agreed to a peace treaty if Zhao and Han gave up land.

Bai Qi was very angry because he believed Qin had lost a chance to destroy Zhao completely. He resigned in protest. However, Zhao soon changed its mind and refused to give up the promised land. It tried to form an alliance against Qin. King Zhaoxiang then ordered an attack on Zhao in late 259 BC, besieging Handan. He wanted Bai Qi to lead the attack, but Bai Qi, still angry, refused, saying he was sick. He advised King Zhaoxiang that the chance for an easy victory was gone. King Zhaoxiang did not listen and appointed Wang Ling to lead the siege.

Wang Ling's attack on Handan did not go well. King Zhaoxiang again asked Bai Qi to command, but Bai Qi again advised against the siege. King Zhaoxiang was so angry that he took away Bai Qi's titles and sent him away. Fan Ju then falsely told King Zhaoxiang that Bai Qi was speaking badly about the King. So, King Zhaoxiang ordered Bai Qi to be killed. This did not help Qin's attack. The Qin army suffered heavy losses from the combined forces of Wei, Chu, and Zhao. The Qin army was defeated and retreated. The allied states chased and attacked Qin, taking back many areas. King Zhaoxiang's decision to ignore Bai Qi's advice had bad results.

In 256 BC, Qin attacked Zhao again, killing 90,000 men and capturing over 20 counties. Zhao continued to fight Qin even after King Zhaoxiang died. But Zhao never fully recovered from the Battle of Changping. Meanwhile, Qin became the only dominant military power. Qin eventually captured Zhao's capital Handan in 229 BC and conquered all of Zhao in 222 BC.

Qin's Conquest of Eastern Zhou

The power of the Zhou royal family had been getting weaker for a long time. When King Ping of Zhou moved his capital east, the new capital was much smaller. The Zhou court became more dependent on the support of other states. Later, a Zhou king tried to show his power by attacking a strong state, but he was defeated. This destroyed any remaining respect the Zhou court had. The Zhou court became so poor that it took seven years to pay for a king's funeral. Over time, the Zhou kings became like puppets, with little real power.

The situation got even worse after the Spring and Autumn period. None of the warring states respected the Zhou court. In 440 BC, a Zhou king gave part of his land to his brother, creating a new state called "West Zhou." In 367 BC, another part of the Zhou land broke away to form "East Zhou." This split the Zhou royal court into two smaller states, making it even weaker.

By 344 BC, other states began to declare themselves "kings," just like the Zhou king. This showed that the Zhou king's authority was completely gone. In 315 BC, East Zhou and West Zhou declared themselves independent and divided the remaining royal lands. The King of Zhou, whose home was in East Zhou, became a puppet of the Duke of East Zhou. When King Nan of Zhou became king in 314 BC, he was forced out by the Duke of East Zhou. King Nan had to ask the Duke of West Zhou for protection and moved to Wangcheng.

In 307 BC, King Nan of Zhou hosted King Wu of Qin. King Wu, who liked wrestling, tried to lift a heavy bronze pot in the Zhou palace. He died from the attempt. After King Wu died without children, his half-brother Ying Ji returned to become King Zhaoxiang.

In 293 BC, East Zhou allied with Han and Wei to attack Qin. But their combined forces were completely defeated by the young Qin general Bai Qi at Yique. After this loss, East Zhou could not play a big role in future wars.

In 256 BC, Duke Wu of West Zhou allied with other states to stop Qin's attack on Han. In return, King Zhaoxiang of Qin sent general Jiu to invade West Zhou. He successfully entered Wangcheng. Duke Wu was taken to Xianyang to beg for mercy and gave up all his lands. Both King Nan and Duke Wu died later that year. The next Duke of West Zhou was sent away. Because the Zhou royal court had lost all power and King Nan died without a successor, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty ended after 879 years. The remaining East Zhou state was also conquered by Qin seven years later, in 249 BC.

King Zhaoxiang's Legacy

King Zhaoxiang died at age 75 in 251 BC. He had outlived his oldest son, who died in 267 BC while being a hostage in Wei. His second son, King Xiaowen, became the next king.

King Zhaoxiang ruled for over 55 years, making him one of the longest-serving rulers during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Even though he made some mistakes later in his reign, his aggressive expansion of Qin's territory was key. It made Qin the strongest military power in the late Warring States period. The strong position Qin gained during his rule paved the way for Qin to successfully unite all of China. This was achieved by his great-grandson, Ying Zheng.

In the manga and anime Kingdom, King Zhaoxiang is called a "War God." He led Qin through many bloody battles with his six most elite generals, including Bai Qi.

Family Life

King Zhaoxiang had several family members:

• Queens:
  • Queen Yeyang
  • Queen Dowager Tang, who was the mother of Crown Prince Zhu.
• Sons:
  • His first son died in 267 BC. He was known as Crown Prince Dao.
  • His second son, Crown Prince Zhu (302–250 BC), later became King Xiaowen of Qin in 250 BC. He was also known as Lord Anguo.
• Daughters:
  • One daughter married King Kaolie of Chu in 271 BC. They had a son named Lord Changping.

In Books and Shows

• He was played by Bao Guo'an in the 2004 TV show Changping of the War.
• He was played by Zhu Yilong in the 2015 TV show The Legend of Mi Yue.
• He was played by Zhang Bo (actor) in the 2017 TV show The Qin Empire III.
• In the Manga and Anime called Kingdom, he is known as "King Sho/Zhao." He is shown as a "God of War" who led battles against other kingdoms. He also created the "Six Great Generals" system in Qin, where generals could lead wars on their own.

See Also

In Spanish: Zhaoxiang para niños

• Battle of Changping