Zhao Jia (), also known as Jia, King of Dai (代王嘉) or Jia, King of Zhao (趙王嘉), reigned as the only king of the Dai state from 227 to 223 BC. His realm was a rump state of the Zhao state that covered only a northern fraction of the Zhao territories. In this regard, he is sometimes considered the last ruler of Zhao.

Name

The title was held by the paramount leaders of

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou dyn ...

and Zhou-era China and is usually translated into English as "king". Under the Han and later Chinese dynasties, however, it was also used for

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

s of the imperial families who had no independent sovereignty of their own. In such contexts, it is more common to translate the title as "prince".

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

lists Jia as a lesser lord in his treatment of the state of Zhao, but still describes him as an independent king rather than reducing his

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

Life

Zhao Jia was the eldest son of

King Daoxiang of Zhao King Daoxiang of Zhao () (died 236 BC; r. 244–236 BC), personal name Zhao Yan, was a monarch of the Zhao state. Born to King Xiaocheng, King Daoxiang was originally not groomed to succeed to the throne. However, his path to the throne was ease ...

, but was passed over in succession in favor of his younger brother (who became known as King Youmiu) because of the machinations of the boy's mother, the

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

Zhao Mianchang. Qin forces captured the Zhao capital of

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

in 228 BCE and captured King Youmiu. It is likely that Zhao Jia was not in Handan at the time, for shortly afterwards he led several hundred clan members towards

Dai Commandery Dai Commandery was a commandery (''jùn'') of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until the time of the Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty (r. AD581–604). It occupied lands in what is now Hebei, Shanxi, ...

, whose seat was southwest of present-day Yuxian in

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. This controlled the northeastern quarter of the Zhao kingdom. There, having been proclaimed King by his courtiers, King Jia allied himself with King Xi of Yan against Qin forces, which were poised to invade Yan after Jing Ke's failed assassination attempt on King Zheng of Qin. At the Battle of Yi River in 226 BCE, the combined forces of Yan and Jia's Kingdom of Dai were defeated by Qin forces, with King Xi of Yan fleeing to Liaodong. Seeing this, King Jia urged King Xi to kill Jing Ke's patron, Prince Dan of Yan, in an attempt to appease the King of Qin. This, combined with the commencement of Qin wars against Wei and

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...

, delayed the conquest of Dai for some years. Ultimately, in 223 BCE, Qin forces under Wang Ben conquered the rump Yan state in Liaodong. On their way back to Central China, they conquered Dai as well. King Jia was taken prisoner, thus extinguishing the last remnant of the Zhao state. It is unlikely that King Jia was treated too harshly, as his son was sent by the Qin court as an emissary to the

Xirong Xirong () or Rong were various people who lived primarily in and around the western extremities of ancient China (in modern Gansu and Qinghai). They were known as early as the Shang dynasty (1765–1122 BCE), as one of the Four Barbarians that fr ...

. The descendants of Zhao settled in

Tianshui Tianshui is a prefecture-level city in Gansu province, China, and is the province's second-largest city (behind the provincial capital Lanzhou). Located in the southeast of the province, the city strides along the upper reaches of the Wei River a ...

in modern-day

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

Legacy

The site of the ancient city of Dai is now preserved in Yu County,

, under the name "Dai King City" (代王城) in Zhao Jia's honor. He was also seen in Manga Kingdom.

References

Citations

Bibliography