Four Lords of the Warring States
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The Four Lords of the Warring States is a common term that refers to the four famous regional aristocrat of the late Chinese Warring States period.[1]
During this time, the king was merely a figurehead in the six states outside of the State of Qin. The actual power was in the hand of the aristocrats with high prestige. Between these aristocrats, there were four that stood out: Lord Mengchang of Qi, Lord Xinling of Wei, Lord Pinyuan of Zhao and Lord Chunshen of Chu. They were renowned for their activity in the politics as well as being the persona of their state respectively at the time.
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[edit] Lord of Mengchang
Lord of Mengchang was an aristocrat of the State of Qi. He was born Tian Wen, son of Tian Ying and the grandson of King Wei of Qi. He succeeded his father's fief in Xue.
[edit] Lord of Xinling
Born as Wei Wuji, he was the son of King Zhao of Wei and younger half-brother to King Anli of Wei. In 277 BCE, King Anli assigned Wei Wuji the fief of Xinling, which is where he became the famous Lord of Xinling.
At the height of his career, he was the supreme commander of the armed forces of the State of Wei. After stepping down, Lord Xinling became dispirited and died in 243 BCE.
[edit] Lord of Pingyuan
Born as Zhao Sheng, he was the son of King Wuling of Zhao, brother of King Huiwen and uncle to King Xiaocheng. During his life, he was re-appointed the Prime Minister of the State of Zhao for three times.
Zhao Sheng's fief was the City of Dongwu. Lord of Pingyuan was his title.
[edit] Lord of Chunshen
Born as Huang Xie, he was the only one among the Four that was not related to the royal family of their state. Huang Xie was originally a staff to King Qingxiang of Chu, and later followed the Crown Prince Wan of Chu to stay in the State of Qin as hostage for ten years.
After the death of King Qingxiang, Prince Wan and Huang Xie returned to the State of Chu. Prince Wan was enthroned as the king, historically known as the King Kaolie of Chu, while Xie was appointed as the Prime Minister and the title of Lord of Chunshen. For the next 25 years, Lord Chunshen remained to be the head of state of Chu until his murder in 238 BCE.
