Yan (state)

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Yan (state)

Yan was a state during the Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn and 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....
s in China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. Its capital was Ji (nowadays Beijing

Beijing

is a metropolis in northern China and the Capital of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the four municipality of China, which are equivalent to province in China's Political divisions of China....
, also known as Yanjing

Yanjing

Yanjing can refer to:* Yanjing Beer* Fanyang was the name of the Capital of the Chinese Yan , one of the powers of the Warring States Period during the Zhou Dynasty, located in current Beijing...
, "capital of Yan").

During the first years of the Zhou Dynasty, Yan was located near 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 ....
, but after the failed revolt led by the leaders of the Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was according to traditional sources the first Dynasties in Chinese history. They ruled in the northeastern region of the area known as "China proper", in the Yellow River valley....
, the fiefdom was relocated further north in what is now Hebei Province to stop the invasion of the northerly tribes.

The borders of Yan were approximately in a horizontal shape, stretching from the mountains of Shanxi Province to the Liaodong Peninsula.

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Encyclopedia

Yan was a state during the Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn and 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....
s in China

China

Beijing

Yanjing

Yellow River

Shang Dynasty

Zhao (state)

Zhao was a China state during the Warring States Period. Zhao was a significant state in the period, along with six others. At the beginning of the Warring States Period, the state of Zhao was one of the weakest states but gained strength during the reign of King Wuling of Zhao....
and Qi

Qi (state)

Qi was a powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States. Its capital was Linzi, which is part of the present city of Zibo in Shandong Province....
were its main enemies. The mountainous border in the west between Zhao and Yan became the area in which their armies often clashed. Despite this, the war between Zhao and Yan usually dragged on into a stalemate, requiring the help of other kingdoms to conclude.

In 300 BC, Qin Kai defeated Donghu

Donghu

Donghu , was an ancient nomadic tribe or tribal union in Northeast China. It was once the dominant power in Mongolia before being defeated by the uprising of the Xiongnu....
and conquered the Liaodong Peninsula

Liaodong Peninsula

The Li?odong Peninsula is a peninsula in the Liaoning province of northeastern China, historically known in the west as southern east-Manchuria....
.

The strongest opposition came from the Qi, one of the strongest states in China. In 314 BC, taking advantage of a succession crisis within Yan, Qi invaded and in a little over several months practically conquered the country. However, due to the misconduct of Qi troops during the conquest of Yan a revolt eventually drove them away and the borders of Yan were restored. Yan's new king, King Zhao of Yan then plotted with the states of Zhao, 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....
, Han

Han (state)

Han was a monarchy during the Warring States Period in China. Not to be confused with South Korea which shares the same name.Its territory directly blocked the passage of the state of Qin into the North China Plain, thus becoming a frequent target of Qin's military operations....
and Wei

Wei (state)

The Wei was a state during the Warring States Period in China. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included modern areas in Henan, Hebei and Shanxi and Shandong....
for a joint expedition against Qi. Led by the brilliant tactician Yue Yi

Yue Yi

Yue Yi was an officer of the State of Yan during the Warring State period, also known as Lord Guojun. He was the son of the prime minister of the small nation of Zhongshan , but when Zhongshan was destroyed by Zhao's King Wuling, he was forced to wander from country to country....
, it was highly successful and within a year most of Qi's seventy walled cities had fallen, with the exception of Zimu and Lu. However with the death of King Zhao and the expulsion of Yue Yi to Zhao by the new king, King Wei of Yan, General Tian Shan managed to recapture all of the cities from the 5 kingdoms.

Despite the wars, Yan survived through the Warring States period. In 227 BC, with Qin troops on the border after the collapse of Zhao, the Yan Prince Dan sent an assassin named Jing Ke

Jing Ke

Jing Ke was a guest residing in the estates of Dan, crown prince of Yan and renowned for his failed assassination of the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang who reigned from 221 BC to 210 BC....
to kill the king of Qin

Qin (state)

Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese Qin from 246 BCE to 221 BCE during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BCE....
, hoping to end the Qin threat. The mission failed, with Jing Ke dying at the hands of the King of Qin in Xianyang

Xianyang

Xianyang is a city in Shaanxi province, near Xi'an. The city site was located a few kilometers to the northwest of present-day Xi'an. It has an area of 10,213 square kilometers and a population of 4,800,000....
.

Surprised and enraged by such a bold act (one that came terribly close to causing his demise), the king of Qin called on Wang Jian

Wang Jian

Gaozu of Former Shu is the posthumous name of the founding emperor of the Former Shu kingdom which was created from the ashes of the Later Tang Dynasty in 907....
to destroy Yan. Crushing the bulk of the Yan army at the frozen Yishui River, Ji fell the following year and the ruler, King Xi, fled to the Liaodong Peninsula.

In 222 BC Liaodong fell as well, and Yan was totally conquered by Qin. Yan was the third last state to fall, and with its destruction the fates of the remaining two kingdoms were sealed.

King Wu Chen of Zhao eventually sent his General Han Guang to conquer Yan for Zhao, but upon his conquest, Han Guang appointed himself King of Yan. Han Guang had sent his general Zang Tu to assist Xiang Yu in the war against Qin, and when Zang Tu returned Han Guang was ordered to become King of Liaodong instead. When Han Guang refused, Zang Tu killed him and declared himself King of both Yan and Liaodong.

Zang Tu submitted Yan to Han during the war between Han and Chu in order to keep his title, but once the war was finished he revolted. Liu Bang sent Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo to put down the rebellion, and they executed Zang Tu.

Lu Wan

Lu Wan

Lu Wan , was born in Pei ....
became the new King of Yan and reigned there for most of Liu Bang's life until he failed to meet a summons to the Imperial Court due to illness. He fled to 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....
to avoid being executed. Yan then came under rule of the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. The Han Dynasty was ruled by the family known as the Liu clan who had peasant origins....
.

Yan (state)

See also

External links