King Zhuangxiang (莊襄王)

Overview

King Zhuangxiang was a king Zhuangxiang of Qin.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal name	Zichu	子楚	Zǐchǔ

Life and dates

Death

BC 247 莊襄王即位三年
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 53

Attested activity

BC 249 to BC 247 施及孝文王、莊襄王
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 48, passage 176
BC 251 秦昭王五十六年
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 47
BC 257 秦昭王五十年
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passages 44-45
BC 265 秦昭王四十二年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passages 4, 8
BC 249 莊襄王元年
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 52
BC 247 莊襄王即位三年
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 53

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Child of Lady Huayang (華陽夫人)
adopted son 子 · Adoptive parentage
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passages 37, 51
Sibling of Eldest son of Lord Anguo
brothers 兄弟 · Paternal half siblings
Strongly inferred · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 20
Child of Lady Xia (夏姬)
mother 母
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 8
Spouse of Mother of Zheng
principal wife 夫人 · Primary marriage
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 43
Child of King Xiaowen (孝文王)
son 子
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 8
Parent of Zheng (政)
son 子 · Claimed parentage
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passages 42-43

Key source chapters

Origins and identity

collateral descendant of Qin on a minor line
秦諸庶孽孫
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 11

Career and standing

Appointed
BC 251 秦昭王五十六年 · Crown prince
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 47
Designated
Legitimate heir
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 37
Held
Hostage prince · At Zhao 趙
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 9
BC 250 太子子楚代立
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 50

Places and affiliations

Polity Qin 秦 · Relation Of
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 9
At Handan 邯鄲 · Relation Resided in
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passages 12, 44
At Zhao 趙 · Relation Hostage in
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 9
At Zhiyang 芷陽 · Relation Buried at
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 74

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker · With Lü Buwei (呂不韋) · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passages 14, 21-22, 25

Events and relationships

Escaped hostage
BC 257 秦昭王五十年 · Escape · Agent · At Handan 邯鄲 · With Lü Buwei (呂不韋)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 85, passage 45

References in the histories

Search passages

History

32 passages

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 48House of Chen She · 1 passage

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施及孝文王、莊襄王，享國之日淺，國家無事。 The reigns of Kings Xiaowen and Zhuangxiang were brief, and the state knew no great upheaval.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 85Biography of Master Lü Buwei · 31 passages

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安國君中男名子楚，子楚母曰夏姬，毋愛。 One of Lord Anguo's middle sons was named Zichu. His mother, Lady Xia, had long fallen out of favor.

子楚為秦質子於趙。 Zichu had been sent to the state of Zhao as a hostage prince on behalf of Qin.

秦數攻趙，趙不甚禮子楚。 Since Qin had repeatedly waged war against Zhao, the Zhao court showed Zichu little courtesy.

子楚，秦諸庶孽孫，質於諸侯，車乘進用不饒，居處困，不得意。 Zichu was merely one of the many grandsons of the Qin royal house born to concubines. Held hostage among the feudal lords, he lacked carriages, horses, and provisions. He lived in straitened circumstances, frustrated and discontented.

呂不韋賈邯鄲，見而憐之，曰「此奇貨可居」。 When Lü Buwei came to Handan on business, he encountered Zichu and took pity on him. "Here," he said to himself, "is a rare commodity worth investing in."

乃往見子楚，說曰：「吾能大子之門。」 He went to call on Zichu and said, "I can raise the standing of your house."

子楚笑曰：「且自大君之門，而乃大吾門！」 Zichu laughed. "You had better raise the standing of your own house first, before you worry about mine!"

子楚心知所謂，乃引與坐，深語。 Zichu grasped his meaning at once and invited him to sit down, and the two men talked at length.

子楚曰：「然。 Zichu said, "You are right.

子楚乃頓首曰：「必如君策，請得分秦國與君共之。」 Zichu bowed his head to the ground and said, "If your plan succeeds, I ask that I may divide the kingdom of Qin and share it with you."

呂不韋乃以五百金與子楚，為進用，結賓客； Lü Buwei then gave Zichu five hundred catties of gold to cover his daily expenses and to cultivate a circle of retainers.

因言子楚賢智，結諸侯賓客遍天下，常曰「楚也以夫人為天，日夜泣思太子及夫人」。 He reported that Zichu was wise and worthy, that he had cultivated guests and retainers throughout the feudal states, and that Zichu always said, "I look upon the Lady as my heaven, and day and night I weep with longing for the crown prince and the Lady."

今子楚賢，而自知中男也，次不得為適，其母又不得幸，自附夫人，夫人誠以此時拔以為適，夫人則竟世有寵於秦矣。」 Now Zichu is a worthy man who knows full well that as a middle son with no claim to the succession and an unfavored mother, he must depend upon your patronage. If you take this opportunity to elevate him as the legitimate heir, he will be devoted to you, and you will enjoy power and favor in Qin for the rest of your days."

華陽夫人以為然，承太子閒，從容言子楚質於趙者絕賢，來往者皆稱譽之。 Lady Huayang agreed with this counsel. When she found the crown prince at leisure, she brought up the subject of Zichu with studied casualness, remarking that the hostage in Zhao was said to be extraordinarily talented, and that all travelers who had met him spoke highly of his character.

乃因涕泣曰：「妾幸得充後宮，不幸無子，願得子楚立以為適嗣，以託妾身。」 Then she began to weep and said, "I have been fortunate enough to serve in your household, yet I have been cursed with no son of my own. I beg you, let Zichu be established as the legitimate heir, so that I may have someone to depend upon in my old age."

安國君許之，乃與夫人刻玉符，約以為適嗣。 Lord Anguo consented, and he and Lady Huayang carved a jade tally together, sealing the pledge that Zichu would be named the legitimate heir.

安國君及夫人因厚餽遺子楚，而請呂不韋傅之，子楚以此名譽益盛於諸侯。 Lord Anguo and Lady Huayang then sent generous gifts to Zichu and appointed Lü Buwei as his tutor. With this patronage, Zichu's reputation grew ever more distinguished among the feudal lords.

子楚從不韋飲，見而說之，因起為壽，請之。 One day while drinking with Lü Buwei, Zichu caught sight of the woman and was captivated. He raised his cup to toast his host and then asked to have her.

呂不韋怒，念業已破家為子楚，欲以釣奇，乃遂獻其姬。 Lü Buwei was furious, but then he reflected that he had already spent his entire fortune on Zichu's behalf and hoped to reap an extraordinary return from the investment. So he presented his concubine to Zichu.

子楚遂立姬為夫人。 Zichu then made her his principal wife.

秦昭王五十年，使王齮圍邯鄲，急，趙欲殺子楚。 In the fiftieth year of King Zhao of Qin's reign, the king sent the general Wang Yi to besiege Handan. As the siege tightened, the state of Zhao moved to execute Zichu.

子楚與呂不韋謀，行金六百斤予守者吏，得脫，亡赴秦軍，遂以得歸。 Zichu and Lü Buwei hatched a plan. They bribed the officials guarding him with six hundred catties of gold. Zichu escaped, fled to the Qin army lines, and was able to make his way back home.

趙欲殺子楚妻子，子楚夫人趙豪家女也，得匿，以故母子竟得活。 The state of Zhao intended to kill Zichu's wife and son. But Zichu's wife was the daughter of a powerful Zhao family and managed to go into hiding. Through her family's protection, both mother and son survived.

秦昭王五十六年，薨，太子安國君立為王，華陽夫人為王后，子楚為太子。 In the fifty-sixth year of his reign, King Zhao of Qin died. Lord Anguo, the crown prince, ascended the throne. Lady Huayang was made queen, and Zichu was named crown prince.

太子子楚代立，是為莊襄王。 The crown prince Zichu succeeded him on the throne and became known as King Zhuangxiang.

莊襄王所母華陽后為華陽太后，真母夏姬尊以為夏太后。 King Zhuangxiang elevated his adoptive mother, Queen Huayang, to the title of Empress Dowager Huayang, and his birth mother, Lady Xia, was honored as Empress Dowager Xia.

莊襄王元年，以呂不韋為丞相，封為文信侯，食河南雒陽十萬戶。 In the first year of his reign, King Zhuangxiang appointed Lü Buwei as chancellor and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Wenxin, granting him the revenue from one hundred thousand households in Luoyang, Henan.

莊襄王即位三年，薨，太子政立為王，尊呂不韋為相國，號稱「仲父」。 King Zhuangxiang reigned for three years before his death. The crown prince, Zheng, ascended the throne and elevated Lü Buwei to the position of prime minister, addressing him with the honorific "Second Father."

始皇七年，莊襄王母夏太后薨。 In the seventh year of the First Emperor's reign, Empress Dowager Xia, the mother of King Zhuangxiang, died.

夏太后子莊襄王葬芷陽，故夏太后獨別葬杜東，曰「東望吾子，西望吾夫。 Her son, King Zhuangxiang, was buried at Zhiyang. Therefore, Empress Dowager Xia was buried separately, east of Du. She had said, "To the east I shall gaze upon my son, and to the west upon my husband.

始皇十九年，太后薨，謚為帝太后，與莊襄王會葬茝陽。 In the nineteenth year of the First Emperor's reign, the Queen Dowager died. She was given the posthumous title of Empress Dowager and was interred beside King Zhuangxiang at Zhiyang.