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King Huiwen of Qin

King Huiwen of Qin (; 356–311 BC), also known as Lord Huiwen of Qin (), personal name Ying Si, was a king of the state of Qin during the Eastern Zhou dynasty, reigning from 338 to 311 BC. He was the first ruler of Qin to style himself "King" (王) instead of "Duke" (公).

Early life

Prince Si was the son of Duke Xiao, and succeeded his father as ruler after the latter's death. When the adolescent Si was still crown prince, he committed a crime and was severely punished for it. The great minister Shang Yang was just then implementing his Legalist reforms to the laws of Qin and he insisted that the crown prince should be punished for the crime regardless of his royal status. Duke Xiao approved of the draconian punishment and that of Si's tutors, Prince Qian (公子虔), Duke Xiao's older brother, and Gongsun Gu (公孫賈), for neglecting their duties in educating the crown prince; Prince Qian had his nose cut off, Gongsun received the punishment of qing (黥), a form of punishment which involved branding a criminal by tattooing his face, and Crown Prince Ying Si was banished from the royal palace.

It was believed that Si harboured a personal grudge against Shang Yang and when he came to the throne as King Huiwen, Si had Shang Yang put to death on charges of treason. However, Huiwen retained the reformed systems in Qin left behind by his father and Shang Yang.

Reign

During Huiwen's reign, Qin became very militarily powerful and constantly invaded neighbouring states as part of its policy of expansionism. In 316 BC it conquered the kingdoms of Shu and Ba to the south, in the Sichuan basin. Qin's goal with these conquests was to annex and colonize these weaker independent kingdoms rather than confront the more advanced states to the east, nominally under the rule of the Zhou dynasty, with their large armies. The strategist Gongsun Yan, a student of Guiguzi, managed to persuade five of the other six major states to form an alliance to deal with Qin. However, Gongsun Yan's fellow student, Zhang Yi, came into the service of Huiwen as his prime minister and he helped Qin break up this alliance by sowing discord among the five states.

Death

King Huiwen ruled Qin for 27 years and died in 311 BC at the age of 46. He was succeeded by his son, King Wu of Qin, born of Queen Huiwen.

Family

Queens:

  • Queen Huiwen, of Wei (; d. 305 BC), possibly a daughter of King Hui of Wei; married in 334 BC; the mother of Crown Prince Dang
  • Queen Dowager Xuan, of the Mi clan of Chu (; d. 265 BC), a royal of Chu by birth; the mother of Princes Ji, Shi and Kui

Sons:

  • Prince Tong (; d. 311 BC), ruled as the Marquis of Shu from 313–311 BC
  • Crown Prince Dang (; 329–307 BC), ruled as King Wu of Qin from 310–307 BC
  • Prince Zhuang (; d. 305 BC)
  • Prince Yong (; d. 305 BC)
  • Prince Ji (; 325–251 BC), ruled as King Zhaoxiang of Qin from 306–251 BC
  • Prince Yun (; d. 301 BC), ruled as the Marquis of Shu from 308–301 BC
  • Prince Shi ()
  • Known by his title, Lord Gaoling ()
  • Prince Kui ()
  • Known by his title, Lord Jingyang ()
  • Prince Yao ()
  • Prince Chi ()

Daughters:

In fiction and popular culture

References