King Wei of Qi (), whose personal name was Tian Yinqi (田因齊), was the king of the northern Chinese state of Qi during the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

, when Qi was one of the most powerful states in China. He reigned from 356 to 320 BC. or according to another source from 378 to 343 BC. He was the first ruler of Qi to style himself "king". His successor was King Xuan of Qi. In the ''Intrigues of the Warring States'', the strategist Su Qin is quoted as telling the king of Qin: "Kings Wei and Xuan of Qi were the worthiest rulers of their age. Their power was great and their lands were broad. Their states were wealthy and their citizens capable. Their generals were aggressive and their troops strong." King Wei was judicious and measured in his actions toward his subordinates. At one point he was told repeatedly by his spies that one of his generals, Zhangzi, had surrendered to the enemy, Qin. King Wei refused to believe that Zhangzi had deserted. Sure enough, "a short while later it was reported that Qi had won a great victory. The king of Qin proclaimed himself a vassal of the western borders and made his apologies to Qi." King Wei said that he always knew Zhangzi was faithful and cited this story in his defence. According to another story, King Wei proclaimed that "To all ministers, officers and citizens who criticize my faults in front of me, they will get the highest reward; those who remonstrate with me in writing will be given the next highest reward, and to those who overhear criticism of me and convey it to my ears will go the least reward." It was said that initially, "the doorway to the king's chamber looked like a marketplace" but after a year, "none who spoke to the king had petitions to present" ecause the problems had already been solved "When

he states of He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

Yan,

Zhao Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation ** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...

, Han and

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

heard of this they all came to court at Qi." King Wei employed Sun Bin as chief military advisor. Sun Bin had been punished with mutilation of his knees in

at the instigation of his enemy Pang Juan. King Wei's commander

Tian Ji Tian Ji (), courtesy name Qi (齐), was a military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States period (4th century BC) of Chinese history. Tian Ji met Sun Bin and recommended him to King Wei of Qi as a military strategist. Tian Ji co ...

recruited him to come to Qi. As Sun Bin could not sit on a horse, he refused when King Wei offered him the actual command of the army. Sun Bin wrote Sun Bin's Art of War, in which King Wei and Tian Ji question Sun Bin on strategy and tactics. Sun Bin was influential in devising the strategy for the Qi triumph at the

Battle of Maling The Battle of Maling () took place in Maling, currently Dazhangjia Town (), Shen County (), Henan Province, in 342 BC during the Warring States period (476–221 BC). The combatants were the State of Qi, who fought on behalf of the State of ...

in 342 BC, which considerably weakened the rival state of

. Pang Juan died there. "Late in his reign, he sent out armies against Qin and Zhao." King Wei was the caster of the

ritual bronze Sets and individual examples of ritual bronzes survive from when they were made mainly during the Chinese Bronze Age. Ritual bronzes create quite an impression both due to their sophistication of design and manufacturing process, but also beca ...

vessel bearing the earliest attestation of the Yellow Emperor, the Chen Hou Yinqi ''

dui Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

'' (陳侯因齊敦). His son Tian Ying (田嬰) was the father of

Lord Mengchang Lord Mengchang (; died 279 BC), born Tian Wen, was an aristocrat and statesman of the Qi Kingdom of ancient China, one of the famed Four Lords of the Warring States period. He was a son of Tian Ying and grandson of King Wei of Qi. He succeeded ...

Family

Queens: * Queen Wei () Concubines: * Wey Ji, of the Ji clan of

Wey Wey may refer to: Places *Wey (state) (衞), or Wei, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou Dynasty *River Wey, river in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex, England *River Wey (Dorset), river of Dorset, south west England *Wey and Arun Canal, canal ...

(), the mother of Prince Jiaoshi * Yu Ji, of the Yu clan (), personal name Juanzhi () Sons: * First son, Crown Prince Pijiang (; 350–301 BC), ruled as King Xuan of Qi from 319–301 BC * Second son, Prince Ying (), the father of

** Known by his title, Lord Jingguo () ** Served as the Prime Minister () of Qi ** Granted the fiefdom of

Xue Xue () is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 薛 (Xuē). It is romanized as Hsüeh in Wade-Giles. In Hong Kong and Macau it is usually romanized through its Cantonese pronunciation Sit. In Korean, it corresponds to Seol (설), in Ja ...

() in 322 BC * Prince Jiaoshi ()

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei of Qi, King Monarchs of Qi (state) 4th-century BC Chinese monarchs Chinese kings 370s BC births Year of birth unknown 320 BC deaths