Zhuangxiang of Qin

King Zhuangxiang of Qin (Chinese: 秦庄襄王; Chinese: 秦莊襄王), personal name Yiren (Chinese: 異人), later renamed to Zichu (Chinese: 子楚), was the ruler of the Qin state during the 3rd century BC in the Warring States Period of Chinese history.

Biography

Ying Yiren was born to Lord Anguo and his concubine Lady Xia. Being the least favoured child of the royal family, Ying Yiren was sent by his father to the Zhao state as a hostage. Ying Yiren was not treated well in Zhao and was despised. By coincidence, Ying Yiren met a businessman, Lü Buwei, who thought that Ying was an extraordinary person and had the potential to become the future ruler of Qin. Lü brought Ying Yiren to his residence and treated him well, presenting Ying with luxuries and his concubine, Lady Zhao. Lady Zhao later bore Ying Yiren a son, Ying Zheng.

In the meantime, Lü Buwei helped Ying Yiren win the favour of Lord Anguo's favourite concubine, Lady Huayang, and Lady Huayang managed to persuade Lord Anguo to name Ying Yiren as his successor. Lady Huayang was a native of the Chu state and she renamed Yiren to "Zichu" (子楚), which literally means "son of Chu". After the death of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Lord Anguo ascended to the throne of Qin as King Xiaowen of Qin, but died after reigning for a year. Ying Yiren succeeded King Xiaowen and became King Zhuangxiang of Qin. King Zhuangxiang appointed Lü Buwei as his chancellor and Ying Zheng as the crown prince.

King Zhuangxiang ruled Qin for three years and died in 247 BC at the age of 35. Historians have suspected that King Zhuangxiang's death was caused by Lü Buwei, as the king discovered Lü's adulterous affairs with Lady Zhao. Another popular belief is that Ying Zheng was not the biological son of King Zhuangxiang, as Lady Zhao was already pregnant with Lü Buwei's child when Lü presented her to King Zhuangxiang. Ying Zheng succeeded King Zhuangxiang as the ruler of Qin and unified China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, and proclaimed himself "Qin Shi Huang" (First Emperor of Qin).

References