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Zhao Xiangzi
Head of the Zhao clan who held Jinyang against Zhibo and, allied with Han and Wei, destroyed the Zhi 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 Zhao Wuxu · Zhao Wuxu (variant)
- Roles
- Commanders
Zhao Xiangzi, named Wuxu, was a son of Zhao Jianzi by a lesser mother, chosen as heir for his ability, and became head of the Zhao clan among the ministers of Jin. When Zhibo demanded land he refused and withdrew to Jinyang, which Zhibo, Han and Wei besieged and flooded. The Zhanguo Ce relates that he sent Zhang Mengtan to persuade Han Kangzi and Wei Huanzi that their turn would come next; in 453 BCE the three houses destroyed the Zhi, and Xiangzi lacquered Zhibo's skull into a drinking vessel, provoking Yu Rang's failed revenge. He laid the foundations of the state of Zhao in the Partition of Jin.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; head of the Zhao clan from c. 475 BCE; died 443 or 425 BCE
- c. 455 BCEThree Clans Destroy Zhi at Jinyang
- 453 BCEPartition of JinTook part