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 of the Zhou house 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 Pingyuan of Zhao and Lord Chunshen of Chu.
All four of these prominent nobles were renowned for their activity in the politics of their era as well as being the persona of their state respectively at the time; they also wielded influence via the cultivation and housing of many talented house-guests, which often included learned men and tacticians. As such, they came to be the most prominent patrons of the shi scholar-knights, stimulating the intellectual life of the time. (Their prestige became the inspiration for Lü Buwei in creating his academic analogue in Qin).
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Lord 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.
Born as Wei Wuji, he was the son of King Zhao of the State 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 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.
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 Pingyuan of Zhao was his title.
Born 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 Chunshen of Chu. For the next 25 years, Lord Chunshen remained to be the head of state of Chu until his murder by the ambitious Li Yuan in 238 BCE.
Huang Xie had many children who were officials stationed in different parts of the State of Chu. When he was murdered, many of them fled to neighbouring states. Huang Xie was the biological father of King You of Chu 楚幽王 (reigned 237-228 BCE) because when the former gave his concubine (sister of Li Yuan) to the barren King Kaolie of Chu, she was pregnant with the former's child. [2]