Surviving sources trace the ruling house of Wei to the Zhou royalty: Gao, Duke of Bi (畢公高), was a son of King Wen of Zhou. His descendants took their surname, Bi, from his fief. After the destruction of Bi, Bi Wan (畢萬) escaped to Jin, where he became a courtier of Duke Xian's, accompanying his personal carriage. 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.[3] Afterwards, "Jin ha[d] no princely house" (晉無公卿) 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 founders of Wei, Zhao, and Han joined to attack and kill the dominant house of Zhi (知) in 453 BCE, resulting in the partition of Jin. King Weilie of Zhou finally legitimized the situation in 403 BCE, when he elevated the three houses' heads to the rank of marquess (Chinese: 侯; pinyin: hóu).
Warring States Period
The state reached its apogee during the reigns of its first two rulers, Marquess Wen of Wei and Marquess Wu of Wei. The third ruler, King Hui of Wei (reign 369–319 BC), declared himself an independent sovereign and concentrated on economic developments, including irrigation projects at the Yellow River and adoption of Legalist reforms proposed by Li Kui (Chinese: 李悝, c. 459 – c. 395 BCE). Hui felt that Qin in the west was weak and their land a barren waste. He focused on conquering the well-settled eastern lands which were richer in known resources, but a series of battles including the battle of Maling in 341 BCE checked Wei's ambitions while Qin's expansion went largely unimpeded, boosting its economy and military strength.
Defeat
Wei eventually lost the western Hexi (河西) region, a strategic area of pastoral land on the west bank of the Yellow River between the border of modern-day Shanxi and Shaanxi, to Qin. Thereafter, it remained continuously at war with Qin, requiring the capital to be moved from Anyi to Daliang. Wei surrendered to Qin in 225 BCE, after the Qin general Wang Ben diverted the Yellow River into Daliang, destroying the capital in a flood.
Marquess Wu of Wei, personal name Ji (擊), son of Marquess Wen, (396–370 BCE)
King Hui of Wei, personal name Ying (罃), son of Marquess Wu, (370–319 BCE) [4]
King Xiang of Wei (魏襄王), personal name Si (嗣) or He (赫), son of King Hui, (319–296 BCE)
King Zhao of Wei (魏昭王), personal name Chi (遫), son of King Xiang, (296–277 BCE)
King Anxi of Wei (魏安釐王),personal name Yu (圉), son of King Zhao, (277–243 BCE)
King Jingmin of Wei (魏景湣王), personal name Zeng (增) or Wu (午), son of King Anxi, (243–228 BCE)
King Jia, (魏王假), personal name Jia (假), son of King Jingmin, (228–225 BCE)
According to Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian 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 (哀王), 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.[citation needed]
Family tree of Wei rulers
Wei state family tree
Bi Wan 毕万
Mang Ji 芒季
Wei Chou 魏犨 Viscount Wu of Wei 魏武子
Wei Ke 魏颗 令狐氏
Wèi Qí 魏锜 吕氏 ?–575
Viscount Dao of Wei 魏悼子
Wèi Jié 魏颉 令狐文子 ?–570
Wei Xiang 魏相 吕宣子 ?–622
Wei Jiang 魏絳 Viscount Zhao of Wei 魏昭子
Wei Shu 魏舒 Viscount Xian of Wei 魏獻子 565–509 BC
Wei Qu 魏取 Viscount Jian of Wei 魏简子
Wèi Wù 魏戊
Wei Chi 魏侈 Viscount Xiang of Wei 魏襄子
Wei Ju 魏驹 Viscount Huan of Wei 魏桓子 ?–446 BC
(1)Wei Si 魏斯 Wen of Wei 魏文侯 Marquess of Wei ?–424–396 BC
Wei Cheng 魏成
(2)Wei Ji 魏擊 Wu of Wei 魏武侯 Marquess of Wei ?–396–370 BC
少子挚
(3)Wei Ying 魏罃 Hui of Wei 魏惠王 King of Wei 400–370–319 BC
魏緩
Crown Prince Shen 太子申
(4)Wei He 魏赫 Xiang of Wei 魏襄王 King of Wei ?–319–296 BC
Prince Gao 公子高
Crown Prince Zheng 太子政
(5)Wei Chi 魏遫 Zhao of Wei 魏昭王 King of Wei ?–296–277 BC
(6)Wei Yu 魏于 Anxi of Wei 魏安釐王 King of Wei ?–277–243 BC
According to the Records of the Warring States, a king of Wei had a lover named Lord Longyang, with whom he enjoyed fishing. One day, Longyang began to weep. When questioned, Longyang said he saw his own future in how he had treated a fish. Happy to have the catch at first, Longyang had wanted to throw it back when he caught a better fish. He wept, "I am also a previously-caught fish! I will also be thrown back!" To show his fidelity to Longyang, the king declared that, "Anyone who dares to speak of other beauties will be executed along with his entire family".[5]
^Crone, Thomas (September 2023). "The Scribal Witness: Narrative authority in ancient Chinese literature". Early China. 46. Cambridge University Press: 265–285. doi:10.1017/eac.2022.25. p. 275: Li Ji plots to make her son Xiqi 奚齐 successor to Lord Xian, drives the official heir to the throne, Shensheng 申生, to suicide and forces his remaining two brothers to flee the country. Her coup causes political unrest and punitive actions by other countries against Jin.
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