Marquis Wen of Wei (魏文侯)

Overview

Marquis Wen of Wei was a Warring States ruler of Wei and patron of reformers including Li Kui.

Life and dates

Death

BC 387 是歲
Unspecified
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 45, passage 41
died 卒
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 106

Attested activity

BC 387 是歲魏文侯卒
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 45, passage 41
BC 445 to BC 396 當魏文侯時
Directly stated · Book of Han 103, passage 50
BC 445 當魏文侯時
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 129, passage 76
BC 445 to BC 396 魏文侯…既卒
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passages 92, 106
BC 445 to BC 396 魏文侯
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 26, passage 86
BC 445 to BC 396 魏文侯
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 83, passage 179

Show 2 more source-backed claims

BC 408 魏文侯
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 80, passage 2
BC 424 to BC 396 魏文侯時
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 38, passage 16

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Ancestor of King Xiang of Wei (魏襄王)
great-grandson 曾孫 · paternal line · 3 generations
Directly stated · Book of Han 38, passage 17
Parent of Marquis Wu of Wei (武侯)
son 子
Sources vary in certainty · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 106

Key source chapters

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 65 Biographies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi 5 passages
Book of Han, Chapter 38 Volume 29: Treatise on Rivers and Canals 2 passages
Book of Han, Chapter 26 Volume 24a: Treatise on Trade 1 1 passage
Book of Han, Chapter 96 Volume 85: Gu Yong and Du Ye 1 passage
Book of Han, Chapter 103 Volume 91: Usurers 1 passage

Career and standing

Marquis Wen of Wei 魏文侯
Held
Directly stated · Book of Han 26, passage 86

Places and affiliations

Wei
Relation Ruled
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 80, passage 2
Polity Wei 魏 · Relation Ruled
Directly stated · Book of Han 26, passage 86; Records of the Grand Historian 129, passage 76
Polity Wei 魏 · Relation Ruled
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 38, passage 16

Events and relationships

Appointed Ximen Bao magistrate of Ye
Administrative · Ruler · With Ximen Bao (西門豹)
Directly stated · Book of Han 38, passage 16
Relation Patron of · Person Li Kui (李悝)
Directly stated · Book of Han 26, passage 86

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · Book of Han 26, passage 86

References in the histories

Search passages

History

14 passages

Book of Han, Chapter 26Volume 24a: Treatise on Trade 1 · 1 passage

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是時，李悝為魏文侯作盡地力之教，以為地方百里，提封九萬頃，除山澤邑居參分去一，為田六百萬畝，治田勤謹則畝益三升，不勤則損亦如之。 Serving Marquis Wen of Wei, Li Kui devised a program that quantified agricultural gains from more intensive cultivation within a calibrated assessment of available land.

Book of Han, Chapter 38Volume 29: Treatise on Rivers and Canals · 2 passages

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魏文侯時，西門豹為鄴令，有令名。 Under Marquis Wen of Wei, Ximen Bao governed Ye and earned an excellent reputation.

至文侯曾孫襄王時，與群臣飲酒，王為群臣祝曰：「今吾臣皆西門豹之為人臣也！」 By the reign of King Xiang, Marquis Wen's great-grandson, the king drank with his court and toasted his ministers: "Would that all my ministers served as Ximen Bao did!"

Book of Han, Chapter 96Volume 85: Gu Yong and Du Ye · 1 passage

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昔文侯寤大鴈之獻而父子益親，陳平共壹飯之篹而將相加驩，所接雖在楹階俎豆之間，其於為國折衝厭難，豈不遠哉！ Duke Wen of Wei woke to the gift of a great goose and father and son grew closer; Chen Ping shared one basket of rice and chancellor and general grew joyful—though contact was only at pillars and ritual vessels, how far was it not for breaking enemy strength and quelling hardship!

Book of Han, Chapter 103Volume 91: Usurers · 1 passage

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當魏文侯時，李克務盡地力，而白圭樂觀時變，故人棄我取，人取我予。 Under Marquis Wen of Wei, Li Ke worked every field for its utmost yield, while Bai Gui thrived on contrarian timing—buying what the market dumped and selling into every rush.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 45House of Han · 1 passage

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是歲魏文侯卒。 That same year, Marquis Wen of Wei also died.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 65Biographies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi · 5 passages

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吳起於是聞魏文侯賢，欲事之。 Wu Qi then heard of Marquis Wen of Wei’s worthiness and wished to enter his service.

文侯問李克曰：「吳起何如人哉？」 Marquis Wen asked Li Ke: “What kind of man is Wu Qi?”

於是魏文候以為將，擊秦，拔五城。 Marquis Wen of Wei therefore appointed him general, attacked Qin, and captured five cities.

文侯以吳起善用兵，廉平，盡能得士心，乃以為西河守，以拒秦、韓。 Marquis Wen considered Wu Qi skilled in using troops, incorruptible, fair, and fully able to win the soldiers’ hearts, so he appointed him governor of Xihe to resist Qin and Han.

魏文侯既卒，起事其子武侯。 After Marquis Wen of Wei died, Wu Qi served his son Marquis Wu.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 80Biography of Yue Yi · 1 passage

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樂羊為魏文侯將，伐取中山，魏文侯封樂羊以靈壽。 Yue Yang was a general under Marquis Wen of Wei. After he attacked and captured Zhongshan, Marquis Wen enfeoffed him at Lingshou.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 83Biographies of Lu Zhonglian and Zou Yang · 1 passage

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白圭顯於中山，中山人惡之魏文侯，文侯投之以夜光之璧。 When Bai Gui made a name for himself in Zhongshan, people of Zhongshan slandered him to Marquis Wen of Wei. The marquis responded by presenting Bai Gui with a luminous jade disc.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 129Biographies of Money-Makers · 1 passage

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當魏文侯時，李克務盡地力，而白圭樂觀時變，故人棄我取，人取我與。 In the time of Marquis Wen of Wei, Li Ke devoted himself to maximizing the yield of the land, while Bai Gui took delight in reading the shifts of the seasons. His principle was: what others discard, I collect; what others seek, I release.