King Xiang of Wei

Also known as Wei Si

King Xiang of Wei, personal name Si, was a son of King Hui and, in the chronology corrected from the Bamboo Annals, reigned from 318 to 296 BC; the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) splits these years between a King Xiang and a King Ai. The Mencius records Mencius meeting him and remarking afterwards that he did not look like a ruler, and telling him that the realm would be settled by unity under a king who had no taste for killing. Late in his reign Wei joined Qi and Han against Qin, and in 296 BC the allies broke through the Hangu Pass and forced Qin to cede land. He died that year and his son King Zhao followed him. In AD 281 robbers opened a Wei royal tomb in Ji commandery and found cartloads of bamboo slips, among them the Bamboo Annals; the History of Jin (Jinshu) names the tomb as King Xiang's, though some said it belonged to King Anxi.