Royals › Monarch / Emperor
King Xiaowen of Qin
King of Qin, known as Lord Anguo before his accession, who named Zichu his heir at Lu Buwei's urging and died three days after his formal enthronement
In a side chamber of a palace, a yellow ceremonial robe embroidered with a dragon hangs on a wooden stand, its hem worked with waves and rocks, before a carved folding screen, while a black lacquer chest sits on a low table by a lattice window and no person is in view.
Also known as Ying Zhu · An Guojun
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
King Xiaowen of Qin, personal name Zhu, was the second son of King Zhaoxiang and was known as Lord Anguo. After the crown prince died in Wei in 267 BC, he was made heir two years later. His favourite, Lady Huayang, had no son, and Lu Buwei won her over on behalf of Zichu, a son then held hostage in Zhao, so that Lord Anguo pledged with a carved jade tally to make Zichu his heir. When King Zhaoxiang died in the autumn of 251 BC he succeeded, honouring his mother as Queen Dowager Tang, making Lady Huayang queen and Zichu crown prince, and granting an amnesty and opening the royal parks. After the year of mourning he was formally enthroned in the tenth month of 250 BC and died three days later, and was buried at Shouling. Zichu followed him as King Zhuangxiang, the father of the First Emperor. The genealogy appended to the Shiji's annals of the First Emperor says he took the throne at fifty-three.
Life and times
Dates 302 BCE–250 BCE