King Wuling of Zhao

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King Wuling of Zhao

King Wuling of Zhao (Traditional Chinese:????, Simplified Chinese: ????) (? - 295 BCE, reigned 325 BCE - 299 BCE) reigned in the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period

Warring States Period

The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, covers the period from 476 BCE to the unification of China by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE....
of Chinese history. His reign was famous for one important event: the reforms consisting of "Wearing Barbarian

Barbarian

"Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage....
Uniform and the Use of Cavalry in Battle" (Simplified Chinese: ????, Traditional Chinese: ????).

Probably the son of Zhao Suhou (Marquess Su of Zhao, Simplified Chinese: ???), King Wuling of Zhao ascended to the throne at 325 BCE, about halfway into the Warring Kingdoms Era (Chinese historians refer to that as the period between 481 BCE and 221 BCE).

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King Wuling of Zhao (Traditional Chinese:????, Simplified Chinese: ????) (? - 295 BCE, reigned 325 BCE - 299 BCE) reigned in the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period

Warring States Period

Barbarian

Rule and Reforms

During the early years of his reign the Kingdom of Zhao was constantly harassed by the Eastern Hu (Simplified Chinese: ??), the Linhu (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ??), the Liufan (Simplified Chinese: ??) and the Xiongnu

Xiongnu

The Xiongnu were a confederation of nomadic tribes from Central Asia with a ruling class of unknown origin and other subjugated tribes. They lived on the steppes north of China, and appear in Chinese sources from the 3rd century BC as controlling an empire stretching beyond the borders of modern day Mongolia....
(Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ??), all wandering tribes. This might have been the inspiration for his later reforms.

In 307 BCE Wuling started his reforms. Mostly military, they concentrated on making the military more suited to fighting battles. Up to that time Zhao commanders riding on horseback still wore robes and normal court attire. Wuling ordered all commanders - in fact, the whole court and military - to wear the Hu uniform - pants, belt, boots, fur caps and fur clothes. He created a cavalry division in the army and trained them not only in the ways of a cavalry charge, but in horse archery as well.

His reforms did not go unopposed. While many reformists and officials supported the reforms, seeing it as a way to greatness and power, conservative members of the royal family such as Zhao Wuling's uncle Lord Cheng (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ???) disliked it, claiming that there should not be any "Copying of barbarian clothing and changing of old rules" (Simplified Chinese: ?? "?????, ????"). Lord Cheng even went so far as to be absent from court.

Wuling did much to cease opposition. He said, "There is not only one way to rule the world, nor is there any need to copy the old to benefit the country" (Simplified Chinese: "??????, ??????")and "Those who use the old to define the new do not achieve change" (Simplified Chinese: "?????, ??????"). He wore the "barbaric" clothes on court and persuaded others to do the same. He even visited Lord Cheng and gave him a suit of the "barbarian" clothing. Finally, Lord Cheng relented, and the controversy stopped.

Wuling's reforms greatly improved the fighting capability of the Zhao military. The same year the Zhao attacked the barbarian country of Zhongshan

Zhongshan (state)

Zhongshan was a state in the Zhou Dynasty that roughly corresponds to the territory of the modern prefecture-level city Baoding, Hebei. It first came under the protection of the State of Wei during the Warring States Period and later regained its independence for years....
(Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ??) and took several cities. In 306 BCE the Zhao military launched expeditions into barbarian territory in the north. The northern expedition was highly successful: the Kings of the Liufan and Linhu surrendered and its territory administered by the governor of Dai (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ?). The next year, Zhongshan, with most of its settlements, large or small, in Zhao hands, capitulated. In 304 BCE the upper reaches of the Yellow River

Yellow River

The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length in the world at 4,845 kilometers ....
were invaded and taken from the barbarian tribes like the Hezhongsi (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ???) and the You (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ?). In the conquered areas King Wuling created two prefectures in 302 BCE - Yunzhong (Simplified Chinese: ??) and Jiuyuan (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ??). In a little over five years Zhao Wuling had expanded his country to the border with the Yan

Yan (state)

Yan was a state during the Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods in China. Its capital was Ji .During the first years of the Zhou Dynasty, Yan was located near the Yellow River, but after the failed revolt led by the leaders of the Shang Dynasty, the fiefdom was relocated further north in what is now Hebei Province t...
, the upper reaches of the Yellow River and into the north, and had forced two tribal leaders - the Liufan and Linhu kings - to surrender. King Wuling took control of their armies and added them to his military, creating extra divisions made up entirely of hardy Mongolian

Mongols

The name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia....
warriors.

Abdication and Death

In 299 BCE Zhao Wuling, perhaps tired out from all he had done and wishing to become more involved with military instead of political affairs, abdicated

Abdication

Abdication is the act of renouncing and resigning from a formal office, especially from the supreme office of state. In Roman law the term was also applied to the disowning of a family member, as the disinheriting of a son....
and gave the throne of Zhao to his younger son, Zhao He (Simplified Chinese: ??) who was to become King Weiwen of the Zhao (Simplified Chinese: ????). He called himself the "Master Father" (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ??), using his new title to visit neighbouring countries, especially the Qin

Qin (state)

Q?n or Ch'in , was a state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Periods of China. It eventually grew to dominate the country and unite it in 221 BC, after which it is referred to as the Qin Dynasty....
, which he visited secretly. He lived long enough to see the annexation of the Zhongshan by the Zhao in 296 BCE.

In 295 BCE Wuling's older son Zhao Zhang (Simplified Chinese: ??) rebelled against King Wenwei and lost. He escaped to the palace in Shayou (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ??), where Zhao Wuling took pity on him and kept him in his palace.

Seeing this, the Prime Minister Lord Anping (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ???), who was Lord Cheng, and his subordinate Lord Fengyang (Simplified Chinese: ???), also known as Li Yu (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ??) surrounded the palace, allowing no food or water to be provided to the inhabitants inside. In desperation, King Wuling ordered Zhang to be killed, but still the besiegers did not retreat. Thus after 100 days, King Wuling starved to death. When the siege was finally lifted, King Wuling's body was already rotting and full of worms - a pitiful ending for such a king.

Wuling was the first Zhao ruler to have the title "king".