Wei (state)

This article is about the state of Wei during the Warring States period. For the earlier, smaller state, see Wey (state).
For the later state during the Three Kingdoms, see Cao Wei. For the later state during the Sixteen Kingdoms, see Ran Min.

State of Wei
魏 *N-qʰuj-s
403 BC–225 BC
Capital		Anyi (安邑, first) Daliang (大梁)
Languages		Old Chinese
Government		Marquessate (侯) Kingdom (王; after 344 BC)
History
•	Partition of Jin	403 BC
•	Conquered by Qin	225 BC
Currency		spade money other ancient Chinese coinage
Preceded by Succeeded by Jin (Chinese state) Qin (state)

Wei
Chinese	魏
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wèi Wade–Giles Wei4 IPA [u̯êi̯] Gwoyeu Romatzyh Wey Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Ngai6 Yale Romanization Ngaih Southern Min Hokkien POJ Guī Old Chinese Baxter-Sagart *N-qʰuj-s

Wei (Chinese: 魏; pinyin: Wèi; Old Chinese: *N-qʰuj-s) was an ancient Chinese state during the Warring States period. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included parts of modern-day Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong. After its capital was moved from Anyi to Daliang (present-day Kaifeng) during the reign of King Hui, Wei was also called Liang (Chinese: 梁; pinyin: Liáng).

History

Foundation

Surviving sources trace the ruling house of Wei to the Zhou royalty: Gao, duke of Bi (畢公高), was a son of King Wen of Zhou. His descendents took their surname from his fief. After the destruction of Bi by the Xionites, Bi Wan (畢萬) escaped to Jin, where he became a courtier of Duke Xian's, accompanying his personal carriage. After a successful military expedition, Bi Wan was granted Wei, from which his own descendants then founded the house of Wei.

Spring and Autumn period

Jin's political structure was drastically changed after the slaughter of its ruling dynasty during and after the Li Ji Unrest. Afterwards, "Jin ha[d] no princely house" (晉無公卿) and political power diffused through its extended relations including Wei. In the last years of the Spring and Autumn period, the founders of Wei, Zhao, and Han joined to attack and kill the dominant house of Zhi (知) in 453 BC, resulting in the partition of Jin. King Weilie of Zhou finally legitimized the situation in 403 BC, when he elevated the three houses' heads to the rank of marquess (Chinese: 侯; pinyin: hóu).

Warring States Period

The state reached its apogee during the reigns of its first two rulers, Marquess Wen of Wei and Marquess Wu of Wei. The third ruler, King Hui of Wei, declared himself an independent sovereign and concentrated on economic developments, including irrigation projects at the Yellow River. Hui felt that Qin in the west was weak and their land a barren waste. He focused on conquering the well-settled eastern lands which were richer in known resources. However, a series of battles including the battle of Maling in 341 BC checked Wei's ambitions while Qin's expansion went largely unimpeded, boosting its economy and military strength.

Early strengthening of the state of Wei resulted from adoption of legalist reforms proposed by Li Kui (Chinese: 李悝, ca. 459 - ca. 395 BC).

Defeat

Wei eventually lost the western Hexi region, a strategic area of pastoral land on the west bank of the Yellow River between the border of modern-day Shanxi and Shaanxi, to Qin. Thereafter, it remained continuously at war with Qin, requiring the capital to be moved from Anyi to Daliang. Wei surrendered to Qin in 225 BC, after the Qin general Wang Ben diverted the Yellow River into Daliang, destroying the capital in a flood.

Rulers

See also: Rulers of Wei family tree

1. Marquess Wen of Wei, personal name Si (斯) or Du (都), (445–396 BC)
2. Marquess Wu of Wei, personal name Ji (擊), son of Marquess Wen, (396–370 BC)
3. King Hui of Wei, personal name Ying (罃), son of Marquess Wu, (370–319 BC)
4. King Xiang of Wei (魏襄王), personal name Si (嗣) or He (赫), son of King Hui, (319–296 BC)
5. King Zhao of Wei (魏昭王), personal name Chi (遫), son of King Xiang, (296–277 BC)
6. King Anxi of Wei (魏安釐王),personal name Yu (圉), son of King Zhao, (277–243 BC)
7. King Jingmin of Wei (魏景湣王), personal name Zeng (增) or Wu (午), son of King Anxi, (243–228 BC)
8. King Jia, (魏王假), personal name Jia (假), son of King Jingmin, (228–225 BC)

According to Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian written in the 1st century BC, the list of rulers is slightly different: King Hui died in 335 BC and was succeeded by his son King Xiang in 334 BC. King Xiang died in 319 BC and was succeeded by his son King Ai (哀王), who died in 296 BC and was succeeded by his son King Zhao. However, the majority of scholars and commentators believe that King Ai, whose personal name is not recorded, never existed. It seems that Sima Qian assigned the second part of the reign of King Hui (starting in 334 BC, on which date Marquess Hui probably proclaimed himself King) to his son King Xiang and added King Ai to fill in the gap between 319 and 296 BC. On the other hand, a minority of scholars believe King Ai did indeed exist.

Family tree of Wei rulers

Wei state family tree

Famous people

• Li Kui, a Legalist philosopher and chancellor
• Yue Yang, ancestor of Yue Yi and prime minister of Zhongshan
• Pang Juan, a successful general who was defeated by Lord Mengchang of Qi and Sun Bin at the battle of Maling

Legacy

Chinese astronomy

Main article: Chinese constellations

In traditional Chinese astronomy, Wei is represented by one star in the "Twelve States" asterism of the "Girl" lunar mansion of the "Black Turtle" symbol and other star in the "Left Wall" of the "Heavenly Market" enclosure. Sources differ, however, in whether those two stars are (respectively) 33 Capricorni and Delta Herculis or whether they are Chi Capricorni and Phi Capricorni.

See also

• Liang (state), the earlier state of that name
• Liang (realm), the continuation of the title in later dynasties