Ministers › Diplomat / Envoy

Zhang Yi

Warring States persuader from Wei who became chancellor of Qin, tricked King Huai of Chu with a false offer of land, and urged the states to side with Qin

Also known as Zhang Zi

Zhang Yi was a native of Wei who, according to the Records of the Grand Historian, studied with Su Qin under the Master of Guigu. Seeking a post in Chu, he was accused of stealing a jade disc and flogged, and asked his wife whether his tongue was still there. He became chancellor of Qin in 328 BCE and later served as chancellor of Wei, urging its king to submit to Qin first. In 313 BCE he promised King Huai of Chu six hundred li of land at Shangyu if Chu broke with Qi; once it did, he admitted to only six li, and the king attacked Qin and was routed at Danyang the next year. Disliked by King Wu of Qin, he left for Wei, where by the Shiji's account he died after a year as chancellor. The History of the Han lists a Zhangzi in ten sections, and the Mawangdui silk manuscripts place Su Qin after Zhang Yi, undermining the Shiji's story of their rivalry.

Life and times

  1. UnknownBornZhou
  2. 334 BCEAlliances of Warring StatesTook partVertical and horizontal alliances of Su Qin and Zhang Yi, shaping the grand diplomacy of the Warring States.
    1. Zhang Yi's Horizontal Alliance Strategy328 BCEZhang Yi countered with bilateral alliances, dividing the eastern states and luring Chu to break with Qi, so that Qin took Hanzhong.
    2. Zhang Yi Breaks the Qi-Chu Alliance313 BCEStrategist Zhang Yi championed the Horizontal Alliance, tricking King Huai of Chu with illusory territorial promises to shatter the anti-Qin coalition.
    3. Battles of Danyang and Lantian312 BCEDeceived by Zhang Yi, King Huai of Chu attacked Qin, lost Hanzhong at Danyang and was beaten again at Lantian.
  3. 309 BCEDied

Connections

  1. Shared events4
    1. Shang Yangc. 390 BCE–338 BCE
    2. Su QinDates unknown; mi…
    3. Fan JuBirth unknown–c. …
    4. Gongsun Yan360 BCE–300 BCE
  2. Interactions1
    1. King Huai of ChuPolitical: The Shangyu land deception · Birth unknown–296…Zhang Yi Breaks the Qi-Chu Alliance
  3. Rulers and officials1
    1. King Huiwen of QinSovereign · 356 BCE–311 BCE