Royals › Monarch / Emperor
King Zhuangxiang of Qin
King of Qin and father of the First Emperor, a hostage in Zhao whom Lu Buwei made heir to the throne, and whose three-year reign ended the Eastern Zhou
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 Yiren · Zi Chu
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
King Zhuangxiang of Qin, first named Yiren, was a son of Lord Anguo, later King Xiaowen, by an unfavoured concubine, and lived in poverty as a hostage in the Zhao capital Handan. According to the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), the merchant Lu Buwei saw him as a rare commodity worth hoarding, funded him and persuaded Lady Huayang, Lord Anguo's childless favourite, to adopt him as heir, after which he took the name Zichu. When Qin besieged Handan in 257 BCE and Zhao wanted him dead, Lu bribed the guards and got him away to the Qin camp. King Xiaowen died three days after his accession in 250, and Zichu succeeded him, making Lu chancellor and Lord Wenxin. During his reign Qin ended the Eastern Zhou and took Chenggao and Xingyang from Han and Yuci from Zhao, forming the Sanchuan and Taiyuan commanderies. He died in 247 and was succeeded by his son Ying Zheng, the future First Emperor.
Life and times
Dates c. 281 BCE–247 BCE