Wei (; ) was one of the seven major

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

during 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 ancient China. It was created from the three-way

Partition of Jin The Partition of Jin (), refers to the division of the State of Jin between rival families into the three states of Han, Zhao and Wei, a watershed event marking the division between the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Proceedi ...

, together with Han and Zhao. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included parts of modern-day

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 ...

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 ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

, and

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. After its capital was moved from Anyi to Daliang (present-day

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

) during the reign of King Hui, Wei was also called Liang (). Not to be confused with the Wey state 衞, which is still sometimes only differentiated by its Chinese character in scholarship.

History

Foundation

Surviving sources trace the ruling house of Wei to the Zhou royalty: Gao, Duke of Bi (), was a son of

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou ( zh, c=周文王, p=Zhōu Wén Wáng; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was the posthumous title given to Ji Chang ( zh, c=姬昌), the patriarch of the Zhou state during the final years of Shang dynasty in ancient China. J ...

. His descendants took their

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

, Bi, from his

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

. Bi Wan () served the Jin, where he became a courtier of Duke Xian's. 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 no princely house" () and its political power diffused into extended relations of the ruling family, including the Wei. In the last years of the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

, the founders of Wei, Zhao, and Han joined to attack and kill the dominant house of Zhi () in 453 BCE, resulting in the

partition of Jin The Partition of Jin (), refers to the division of the State of Jin between rival families into the three states of Han, Zhao and Wei, a watershed event marking the division between the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Proceedi ...

. King Weilie of Zhou finally legitimized the situation in 403 BCE, when he elevated the three houses' heads to the rank of

marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...

().

Warring States Period

The state reached its apogee during the reigns of its first two rulers,

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 Wu of Wei. The third ruler,

King Hui of Wei King Hui of Wei (; 400–319 BC), also known as King Hui of Liang (), personal name Wei Ying, was a monarch of the Wei (state), Wei state, reigning from 369 BC to 319 BC. He initially ruled as marquess, but later elevated himself to kingship in 34 ...

(reign 369–319 BC), declared himself an independent sovereign and concentrated on economic developments, including irrigation projects at the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

and adoption of Legalist reforms proposed by

Li Kui Li Kui may refer to: *Li Kui (legalist), government minister in the Wei state *Li Kui (chancellor), chancellor of the Tang Dynasty *Li Kui (Water Margin), fictional character in the ''Water Margin'' {{hndis, Li, Kui ), personal name Jia (假), son of King Jingmin, (228–225 BCE) According to

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

'' written in the first centuryBCE, the list of rulers is slightly different: King Hui died in 335BCE and was succeeded by his son King Xiang in 334BCE. King Xiang died in 319BCE and was succeeded by his son King Ai (), who died in 296BCE 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 334BCE, 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 296BCE. On the other hand, a minority of scholars believe King Ai did indeed exist.

History

Foundation

Spring and Autumn period

Warring States Period

Family tree of Wei rulers

Notable people