Marquess Jing of Han (; died 400 BC), personal name Han Qian, was leader of the Han clan in the Jin state from 408 BC to 403 BC, and the founding marquess of the Han state from 403 BC until his death in 400 BC. Marquess Jing was the son of Viscount Wu of Han (韓武子), whom he succeeded as leader of the Han clan. It was during Marquess Jing's rule that the Han state became a recognized

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. In the first year of his reign, Marquess Jing attacked the Zheng state and took over Yongqiu (modern-day Qi County,

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

). The next year, his army lost to Zheng at Fushu (today's

Dengfeng Dengfeng (; postal: Tengfeng) is a county-level city of Henan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. Dengfeng has an area of and a population of 630,000. It occupies the southwestern corner of ...

, Henan). In 403 BC, Marquess Jing, along with

Marquess Wen of Wei Marquess Wen of Wei (died 396 BCE), personal name Wei Si, was the founding marquess of the Wei state. He belonged to the Wei clan, one of the noble houses that dominated Jin politics in the 5th and 6th centuries BC. He became the leader of ...

and

Marquess Lie of Zhao Marquess Lie of Zhao (died 400 BCE), personal name Zhao Ji, was the founding marquess of the Zhao state during the Warring States period of China. His father was Count Xian (later posthumously promoted to Marquess Xian). During his reign, Marqu ...

partitioned the powerful Jin state into the Han, Wei, and Zhao states, marking the beginning of the

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 Chinese history and Han as an independent polity.

King Weilie of Zhou King Weilie of Zhou (), personal name Ji Wu, was a king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. His reign started in 425 BC, after his father King Kao had died, and lasted until his death in 402 BC. During King Weilie's reign, he created Han, Wei and ...

was forced to elevate Marquess Jing's title from viscount (子) to marquess (侯). Marquess Jing then moved the capital of Han from Pingyang to Yangzhai. In 400 BC, Yangzhai was subject to a siege by the Zheng army. Marquess Jing died later that year and was succeeded by his son, Marquess Lie.

Ancestors

References

Shiji 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 cen ...

Chapter 45 *

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

Volume 1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jing 400 BC deaths Zhou dynasty nobility Monarchs of Han (Warring States) Year of birth unknown Founding monarchs in Asia