Customer Service Hotline:022-29821824 Chinese|EN
28
2018
-
02
Panshan: Where is the tomb of King Zhao of Yan, dating back 2,700 years, today?
Author:
In the field of historiography, the precise location of the tomb of King Zhao of Yan, one of the Seven Warring States, has long remained unresolved, making it a millennium‑old enigma. Recently, during the compilation of local historical records, researchers in Jixian County have determined that the large earthen mound beneath Fujun Mountain—previously identified as the tomb of Dou Yujun, a scholar from the late Tang dynasty—should in fact be the burial site of King Zhao of Yan of the Warring States period.
King Zhao of Yan (?–279 BCE) was the ruler of the State of Yan during the Warring States period and a 38th-generation descendant of Duke Shao of Zhou.
Among the Seven Warring States, the state of Yan was relatively weak and remained obscure for a long period, unable to take part in the struggle for supremacy over the Central Plains. By the time of King Hui of Yan (315 BCE), he fell prey to others’ manipulations, lured by the hollow prestige of abdicating in favor of a worthy successor, and foolishly ceded his throne to his chancellor, Zizhi. Zizhi, already inclined to act with autocratic authority, grew even more arrogant once in power, plunging Yan into utter chaos. “Hui and Zizhi ruled the state, yet the people did not submit, and the other feudal lords refused to acknowledge them.” (Strategies of the Warring States, Qi Chapter II) General Shi Bei conspired with Crown Prince Ping to overthrow Zizhi, but the plot failed. Seizing this opportunity, the state of Qi launched an invasion of Yan, capturing the entire realm in fifty days. King Hui of Yan perished, while Zizhi, after being captured, was subjected to the gruesome punishment of being ground into meat paste and executed. Later, because the Qi army proved excessively brutal, the people of Yan rose up in rebellion, forcing the Qi forces to withdraw.
At this point, accounts of King Zhao of Yan diverge. According to one version, after Crown Prince Ji Ping and General Shi Bei launched a failed coup against Zi Zhi, Shi Bei counterattacked the crown prince, who fled to another state. Subsequently, the people and army of Yan acclaimed Crown Prince Ping as their ruler (312 BCE), rose in rebellion, and drove out the Qi forces. “The people of Yan jointly installed Crown Prince Ping, who became King Zhao; King Zhao ascended the throne immediately after the fall of Yan” (Zizhi Tongjian).
Another account holds that Crown Prince Ping and General Shi Bei were both slain by their own sons. During the ensuing turmoil, King Hui of Yan’s son, Ji Zhi, fled to the state of Wei. When King Xuan of Qi conquered Yan, King Wuling of Zhao, following Le Yi’s strategy, sought to ally with Chu and Wei to attack Qi and preserve Yan (as recorded in “Zhao Ce III”). However, due to shifting circumstances, this plan was never carried out. Moreover, the Qi army’s excessive brutality provoked a widespread rebellion among the Yan people, forcing the Qi forces to withdraw. Subsequently, Zhao retrieved Yan’s prince Ji Zhi from Han, dispatched Le Chi to escort him into Yan, and installed him as king—known as King Zhao of Yan—in 311 BCE (as noted in the “Records of the Grand Historian” and the “General History of China”).
King Zhao of Yan ascended the throne after the rebellion was quelled. Determined to strengthen his realm, he sought out and recruited talented individuals. He erected the Golden Terrace, opening its doors to worthy men, and drew such luminaries as Su Qin, Le Yi, and Qin Kai, all of whom were entrusted with important posts by King Zhao. As a result, the state of Yan transformed from a declining, feeble power into a formidable nation.
Around 300 BCE, Su Qin, acting on King Zhao’s orders, arrived in the State of Qi. By then, King Xuan of Qi had died, and King Min had ascended the throne. Su Qin’s activities in Qi do not appear to have gone particularly smoothly. In 296 BCE, Yan launched an offensive against Qi, but it ended in failure. In 288 BCE, Su Qin traveled from Yan to Qi for a second time. At that very moment, King Zhao of Qin had proclaimed himself “Western Emperor” and had honored King Min of Qi as the “Eastern Emperor.” Su Qin vigorously urged King Min to seize the opportunity presented by the “advantages of attacking Song,” seeking to win the allegiance of the entire realm to Qi while arousing widespread animosity toward Qin. Meanwhile, Zhao was also at the height of its strength, and Su Qin feared that a Sino‑Zhao alliance would prove detrimental to Yan; accordingly, he instigated Qi to launch an expedition against Song. In 288 BCE, Qi launched its first campaign against Song, and Yan dispatched troops to assist, thereby moderating Qi’s offensive against Yan.
After decades of steady growth and consolidation, the state of Yan had become prosperous, and its soldiers were eager to fight. In 285 BCE, Yan formed an alliance with Qin, Chu, Zhao, Wei, and Han to launch a campaign against Qi, seeking to avenge past humiliation. The following year, King Zhao appointed Le Yi as supreme commander and led the combined forces of the five states in an assault on Qi, swiftly capturing the Qi capital, Linzi (present-day northeast of Zibo, Shandong). King Zhao personally traveled to Jishi to commend the troops, enfeoffed Le Yi at Changguo (east of present-day Zichuan County, Shandong), and bestowed upon him the title “Lord of Changguo.” Le Yi “reorganized and retrained the Yan army, forbade plundering, sought out displaced Qi civilians, honored and treated them with respect, eased their tax burdens, repealed oppressive decrees, and restored the old administrative system.” He then divided his army into five columns, pressing the offensive; within six months, he captured more than seventy cities in Qi, replacing them with commanderies and counties, and granted fiefs to over twenty nobles who received titles from Yan. Moreover, he conferred more than a hundred Yan noble ranks upon Qi subjects. At this juncture, Yan reached the zenith of its power.
Meanwhile, King Zhao expanded his influence eastward and northward. He dispatched the general Qin Kai, who was well acquainted with the situation among the Donghu, to lead his troops against them, driving them back more than a thousand li to the northeast. As a result, Yan’s territory extended all the way to Liaodong, and the state established five commanderies: Shanggu, Yuyang, Youbeiping, Liaoxi, and Liaodong. To guard against Donghu incursions, King Zhao ordered the construction of a Great Wall. The Yan Great Wall lay some 200 kilometers north of the present-day Great Wall, and remnants of it can still be found north of present‑day Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia.
According to the “General History of China,” King Zhao of Yan died in 279 BCE, and his son, King Hui, succeeded him. The “Jiuzhou Ji” records that in ancient Yuyang there was Mount Wuzhong, on which stood King Zhao’s tomb… The “Shui Jing” states, “King Zhao of Yan was buried in the mountains of Wuzhong.” Moreover, during the Warring States period, the term “Wuzhong Mountain” referred specifically to the mountain range around present-day Jixian County, which included Fujun Mountain. As recorded in Qing Zhizhuo’s “Panshan Zhi,” The tomb of King Zhao of Yan lies ten li east of Qianxiang Temple on Panshan Mountain. Accordingly, upon investigation, this large earthen mound precisely matches the descriptions in historical records and can thus be identified as the famed tomb of King Zhao of Yan.
Previous page
Next page
Previous page
Next page
Tianjin Panshan Scenic Area
· Scenic Area Inquiry Phone:022-29828186· Scenic Area Complaint Hotline:022-29821719· Scenic area rescue hotline:022-29821814