Ministers › Chief Ministers
Zhibo Yao
Chief minister of Jin and head of the Zhi clan whose bid to swallow his rivals ended in his destruction at Jinyang in 453 BCE.
Mural of the event “Partition of Jin”, which this person took part in.
At the end of the Spring and Autumn period, power in Jin lay with its ministerial houses. In 453 BCE Han, Zhao and Wei combined at Jinyang to destroy the Zhi clan, and in 403 BCE King Weilie of Zhou named Wei Si, Zhao Ji and Han Qian as feudal lords, splitting Jin in three.
Also known as Xun Yao · Zhibo · Zhi Xiangzi · Zhi Bo
Zhibo Yao, born Xun Yao and posthumously called Zhi Xiangzi, was the son of Zhi Xuanzi and head of the Zhi clan, serving as chief minister of Jin and leading campaigns against Qi and Zheng. He extorted land from Han Kangzi and Wei Huanzi, but when Zhao Xiangzi refused, he led Han and Wei forces to besiege Zhao at Jinyang and flooded the city. According to the Zhanguo Ce, Zhao's envoy Zhang Mengtan won Han and Wei over, and in 453 BCE the three houses turned the water on Zhi's army, killed him and divided his lands. His fall set the stage for the Partition of Jin.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown; d. 453 BCE; attested from 472 BCE
- c. 455 BCEThree Clans Destroy Zhi at Jinyang
- 453 BCEPartition of JinTook part