Lord Chunshen (; died 238 BC), born Huang Xie (), was a Chinese military general and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of the
Chu state during the late
Warring States period
The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
of ancient China.
He was one of the
Four Lords of the Warring States.
Lord Chunshen is a revered figure in his former fief, especially in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, which is often called Shencheng, or City of Shen, in his honour.
In 2002, Shanghai rebuilt the Temple of Lord Chunshen at the Chunshen Village in
Songjiang District.
Family background
Much of what is known about Lord Chunshen comes from his biography in the ''
Records of the Grand Historian
The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...
'' (''Shiji''), written by the
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
historian
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 ...
. The ''Shiji'' does not mention his family background, leading some historians to speculate that he descended from the
State of Huang, judging by his surname. However, most modern historians, including
Ch'ien Mu and
Yang Kuan, believe that he was a son of
King Huai of Chu, and younger brother of
King Qingxiang of Chu.
As ambassador to Qin
As Huang Xie was a well-educated scholar and highly eloquent in his speech, King Qingxiang of Chu dispatched him as an ambassador to the
Kingdom of Qin. At this time the Kingdom of Chu, though large in area, was in grave danger from Qin, the most powerful of the
Seven Warring States. King Huai, King Qingxiang's father, had died in captivity in Qin, and a Qin army had invaded the western part of Chu and captured its capital
Ying. King Qingxiang had been forced to flee and move his capital east to
Chen County.
The historical text ''
Zhan Guo Ce
The ''Zhan Guo Ce'' (Wade-Giles, W-G: ''Chan-kuo T'se''), also known in English language, English as the ''Strategies of the Warring States'' or ''Annals of the Warring States'', is an ancient Chinese text that contains anecdotes of political ma ...
'' records a long, impassioned letter written by an unnamed Chu envoy to the king of Qin, pleading him not to invade Chu. In the ''Shiji'', Sima Qian attributes this letter to Huang Xie, saying that he successfully persuaded
King Zhao of Qin to call off his plan to invade Chu. However, modern historians have concluded the letter could not have been written by Huang, as it mentioned events that occurred after his death.
Rescue of the crown prince
As part of a peace treaty with Qin, King Qingxiang of Chu agreed to send his son, Crown Prince Wan, to Qin as a hostage, and Huang Xie stayed with the prince in Qin. After several years, Huang Xie received the news that King Qingxiang was ill. Afraid that the son of Lord Yangwen, King Qingxiang's brother, would seize the throne if Crown Prince Wan remained a hostage in Qin, Huang Xie secretly arranged the prince's escape back to Chu.
When Huang Xie told King Zhao of Qin about Prince Wan's escape, the furious king ordered him to commit suicide. However, , the Prime Minister of Qin, persuaded King Zhao to release Huang Xie, in order to maintain a friendly relationship with Chu.
As Prime Minister of Chu
Three months after Huang Xie returned to Chu, King Qingxiang died in 263 BC. Crown Prince Wan ascended the throne, to be known as
King Kaolie of Chu. In 262 BC, King Kaolie appointed Huang Xie the Prime Minister of Chu, awarded him the title Lord Chunshen, and enfeoffed him with twelve counties of Huaibei, north of the
Huai River
The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...
. Fifteen years later, at Lord Chunshen's own request, the king changed his fief to the
Jiangnan area (then called Jiangdong), because it was better for the state to directly administer the strategic Huaibei area, at the border with
Qi. Lord Chunshen set up his new base at the former capital of
Wu, in modern
Suzhou
Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce.
Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...
.
Lord Chunshen became powerful and wealthy, and kept more than 3,000 retainers. He became well known as one of the
Four Lords of the Warring States, together with
Lord Mengchang of
Qi,
Lord Xinling of
Wei, and
Lord Pingyuan of
Zhao.
In 259 BC, the Qin army massacred 400,000 Zhao soldiers at the
Battle of Changping, and besieged
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 ...
, the capital of Zhao, the following year. Zhao sought help from Chu; Lord Chunshen led the Chu army to Handan, and successfully relieved the siege. In 256 BC, Lord Chunshen attacked the
State of Lu, and annexed the state for Chu.
In 241 BC, five of the seven major warring states: Chu, Zhao, Wei,
Yan, and
Han, formed an alliance to fight the rising power of Qin. King Kaolie of Chu was named the leader of the alliance, and Lord Chunshen the military commander. According to historian
Yang Kuan, the Zhao general
Pang Nuan (
庞煖) was the actual commander in the battle. The allies attacked Qin at the strategic
Hangu Pass, but were defeated. King Kaolie blamed Lord Chunshen for the loss and began to mistrust him. Afterwards, Chu moved its capital east to
Shouchun, farther away from the threat of Qin.
Assassination
In 238 BC, King Kaolie was ill. Earlier, Lord Chunshen's retainer
Li Yuan (
李園) presented his younger sister to the king. The sister gave birth to a son, who was made the crown prince of Chu, and she became the queen. Li Yuan also gained the favour of the king. When the king was dying, Zhu Ying (), another of Lord Chunshen's 3,000 retainers, advised him to kill Li Yuan, but Lord Chunshen refused, believing that Li Yuan was a weak man and grateful to him.
As soon as King Kaolie died in 238 BC, Li Yuan dispatched killers to assassinate Lord Chunshen as he entered the Ji Gate () in Shouchun. After killing him, Li Yuan ordered the massacre of Lord Chunshen's entire family. Li Yuan's nephew, the crown prince, ascended the throne, to be known as
King You of Chu.
Relationship with King You
According to the ''
Zhan Guo Ce
The ''Zhan Guo Ce'' (Wade-Giles, W-G: ''Chan-kuo T'se''), also known in English language, English as the ''Strategies of the Warring States'' or ''Annals of the Warring States'', is an ancient Chinese text that contains anecdotes of political ma ...
'',
King You of Chu was the illegitimate son of Lord Chunshen. It is said that King Kaolie had no son despite having many concubines. Li Yuan presented his younger sister to Lord Chunshen, and after she became pregnant with Lord Chunshen's child but before the pregnancy was obvious, Lord Chunshen presented the woman to the king. She gave birth to a boy named Xiong Han, who was made the crown prince and later became King You of Chu.
Sima Qian recorded the story in the ''Shiji'' as part of Lord Chunshen's biography, but most historians, including Huang Shisan, Ch'ien Mu, and Yang Kuan, consider it apocryphal. King Kaolie was known to have at least three other sons,
King Ai,
Fuchu, and
Lord Changping
Lord Changping (; died 223 BC) was a Chinese monarch and politician who remained as an important military commander and lord of Qin, who later departed from the state of Qin and went to the state of Chu where he became the last king of Chu (223 ...
, the last three kings of Chu.
Legacy
Lord Chunshen is a revered figure in his former fief of Wu, and especially in Shanghai. He was credited with building hydrological works on the "three rivers" of Wu: East River, Lou River, and
Wusong River, which helped to prevent floods and develop agriculture. The
Huangpu, Shanghai's "mother river", gets its name from Lord Chunshen's surname
Huang. The Huangpu is also called the Chunshen or Shen River.
Shanghai is also called Shencheng, or City of Shen, in the honour of Lord Chunshen.
In 2002, the Shanghai government rebuilt the Temple of Lord Chunshen on the site of an ancient temple. The temple is in the Chunshen Village, where he was said to have lived, in
Songjiang District. The temple is decorated with calligraphy by famous Songjiang artists
Shi Zhecun,
Cheng Shifa, and Zheng Wei ().
Lord Chunshen's tomb is said to be located in
Huainan,
Anhui
Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...
province, 12 kilometers outside of ancient Shouchun. The extant tomb measures 90 meters by 80 meters, and is 11 meters high.
Jiangxia District
Jiangxia District () is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, China, situated on the eastern (right) bank of the Yangtze River. Jiangxia district has an area of and a population of 1,308, ...
of
Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
,
Hubei
Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
province claims that Lord Chunshen was buried in Jiangxia after his death, and has built a tomb and sculpture for him.
Portrayal in media
In the
manga ''Kingdom'', he is portrayed as a caustic man.
In the
novel ''The Legend of Mi Yue'' and its TV series adaptation, due to his obscure background, Huang Xie is written to be a childhood friend and first love of the eponymous protagonist
Mi Yue.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chunshen, Lord
1st-millennium BC births
238 BC deaths
Assassinated Chinese politicians
Chu state people
Lingyin of Chu
Generals of the Warring States period
Zhou dynasty nobility
Year of birth unknown
Ancient assassinated Chinese people