Four Lords of the Warring States

Four Lords of the Warring States
Traditional Chinese戰國四公子
Simplified Chinese战国四公子
Literal meaning"The Four Young Lords[1] of the Warring States"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhànguó sì gōngzǐ

The Four Lords of the Warring States were four powerful aristocrats of the late Warring States period of Chinese history who exerted a strong influence on the politics of their respective states in the third century BCE.[2]

During this time, the Zhou king was a mere figurehead, and seven states led by aristocratic families competed for real power. Although they were not themselves monarchs, four aristocrats stood out because of their tremendous military power and wealth: Lord Mengchang (d. 279 BCE) of Qi, Lord Pingyuan (d. 251 BCE) of Zhao, Lord Xinling (d. 243 BCE) of Wei and Lord Chunshen (d. 238 BCE) of Chu.[3]

All four were renowned for their activity in the politics of their era as well as being the persona of their state respectively at the time; they also wielded influence via the cultivation and housing of many talented house-guests, who often included learned men and tacticians. As such, they came to be the most prominent patrons of the shi (士) or scholar-knights, stimulating the intellectual life of the time. Their prestige became the inspiration for Lü Buwei when he created his academic analogue in Qin.

  1. ^ Gōngzǐ (公子) literally means "the lord's son", "the young lord" or "the lordling", indicating the name bearer being a son of a ruler of a client state.
  2. ^ Period of the Warring States
  3. ^ Lewis 1999, p. 639 ("these men dominated the governments of their states, accumulated large fortunes, assembled armies of personal followers, and rivaled the monarch's authority").