04/03/2025, 22:03 Duke Xiao of Qin - Wikipedia

Duke Xiao of Qin

Duke Xiao of Qin (Chinese: 秦 孝 公 ; pinyin: Qín
Xiào Gōng; 381–338 BC), personal name Ying Duke Xiao of Qin
Quliang, was the ruler of the Qin state from 361 to 秦孝公
338 BC. Duke Xiao is best known for employing the Reign 361–338 BC
Legalist statesman Shang Yang[1] from the Wey state Predecessor Duke Xian of Qin
and authorizing him to conduct a series of ground Successor King Huiwen of Qin
breaking political, military and economic reforms in
Born 381 BC
Qin. Although the reforms were controversial and
drew violent opposition from many Qin politicians, Died 338 BC
Duke Xiao supported Shang Yang fully and the Issue King Huiwen of Qin
reforms did help to transform Qin into a dominant Ji, Lord Yan
superpower among the Seven Warring States. Names
Ying Quliang (嬴渠梁)
Posthumous name
Biography Duke Xiao (孝公)
or
Duke Xiao ascended to the throne of the Qin state in
King Ping (平王)
361 BC at the age of 21, succeeding his father, Duke
Xian. Duke Xiao was determined to restore the Qin House Ying
state to its former glory as one of the Five Hegemons Dynasty Qin
during the reign of his ancestor, Duke Mu. Hence, Father Duke Xian of Qin
the duke sent out an announcement, calling for men
of talent to aid him in strengthening Qin, promising them rewards of high offices and lands in
return for their service. Wei Yang (later known as Shang Yang), a scholar from the Legalist School,
responded to the duke's call as he had been unsuccessful in attempting to start his career in other
states.

Wei Yang was introduced to Duke Xiao by Jing Jian and had two audiences with the duke, during
which he proposed ideas on governance based on the principles of Confucianism, Taoism and
other schools of thought, but the duke was not impressed. During the third meeting, Wei proposed
his ideas on strict governance, based on ideas from Legalism, and captured the duke's attention.
Duke Xiao and Wei Yang had a discussion that lasted for three days and three nights, after which
they drafted plans for reform. The plans were put into effect in 363 BC, but several Qin politicians
objected strongly to the reforms.[2] However, Duke Xiao supported Wei Yang fully and ensured
that the reforms were implemented as planned.

The reforms caused ground breaking changes in the Qin state and transformed it into a strict,
controlling,[3] militaristic state, which governed by using tough and oppressive laws. Agriculture
was expanded through forced migration to new regions,[4] and citizens were rewarded or punished
based on their military or agricultural achievements.[5]

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In 366 BC, the Qin armies defeated the allied forces from the states of Han and Wei at the Battle of
Shimen.[6] The Qin soldiers and officers were promoted to higher ranks based on the number of
enemy heads they collected during battle.[7] The Qin state pushed on to seize lands from the Wei
state, which managed to survive only with the help of the Zhao state, and Wei was drastically
weakened by its losses and defeats.

Legacy
Duke Xiao ruled Qin for 24 years and died at the age of 44 in 338 BC. He was succeeded by his son
King Huiwen of Qin. Duke Xiao was given the posthumous name of "Xiao", which means "filial".
The reforms that took place during his reign helped to lay a strong foundation for Qin's eventual
unification of China under the Qin dynasty, under the leadership of Duke Xiao's descendant,
Zheng, who became Qin Shi Huang (First Emperor of Qin).[8]

Duke Xiao was also the last ruler of Qin to be addressed as "duke" (Chinese: 公; pinyin: gōng), as
his successors titled themselves "kings" (Chinese: 王; pinyin: wáng). The change was an indication
of the loss of authority of the central government (Zhou dynasty), as rulers of several other feudal
states had begun to call themselves "kings" instead of "dukes".

Family
Concubines:

Lady, of Han, the mother of Prince Ji

Sons:

Crown Prince Si (太子駟; 356–311 BC), ruled as King Huiwen of Qin from 338–311 BC
Prince Ji (公子疾; d. 300 BC)

Known by his fiefdom, Master of Chuli (樗裡子), or by his title, Lord Yan (嚴君)
Served as the Prime Minister (庶長) of Qin from 306–300 BC
Prince Hua (公子華)

Ancestry
Viscount Zhao of Qin
Duke Ling of Qin (d. 415 BC)

Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC)

Duke Xiao of Qin (381–338 BC)

References
1. [1] (http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k7430&pageid=icb.page29892&pageContentI
d=icb.pagecontent80533&view=view.do&viewParam_name=shangyang.htm) Archived (https://
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04/03/2025, 22:03 Duke Xiao of Qin - Wikipedia

archive.today/20120709170349/http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k7430&pageid=ic
b.page29892&pageContentId=icb.pagecontent80533&view=view.do&viewParam_name=shang
yang.htm) 2012-07-09 at archive.today Harvard University reference page for a 2006 class
called Moral Reasoning; includes a useful map
2. Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, translated by Burton Watson, chapter "Basic
Annals of Qin." Pub. Chinese University of Hong Kong (1993), pp. 23-24
3. [2] (https://books.google.com/books?id=eM8aAAAAYAAJ&q=duke+hsiao+ch%27in) Herbert
Giles, Chinese Biographical Dictionary on Shang Yang (Wei Yang)
4. [3] (http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110001212400/en) National Institute of Informatics (Japan) English-
language abstract of Japanese article by Ochi Shigeaki
5. [4] (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/538497/Shang-Yang) Encyclopædia Britannica
article on Shang Yang
6. The Cambridge History of Ancient China (1999/2007), v. 1, p. 618 (ch. "Warring States Political
History" by Mark Edward Lewis)
7. The Cambridge History of Ancient China (1999/2007), v. 1, p. 612 (ch. "Warring States Political
History" by Mark Edward Lewis)
8. [5] (http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/china/legal.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20001002213314/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/china/legal.html) 2000-10-02 at the
Wayback MachineUniversity of Cumbria article

External links
Duke Xiao of Qin (http://ctext.org/dynasty.pl?id=1241&if=en#464) - Chinese Text Project

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