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| King Zhaoxiang of Qin 秦昭襄王 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Relief tracing of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, with Lin Xiangru handling the Heshibi, and on Wu Family Shrines stone-relief, from Jinshisuo (金石索). | |||||
| King of Qin | |||||
| Reign | 307–251 BC | ||||
| Predecessor | King Wu of Qin | ||||
| Successor | King Xiaowen of Qin | ||||
| Regent | Wei Ran | ||||
| Born | 325 BC | ||||
| Died | 251 BC (aged 73–74) | ||||
| Spouse | Queen Yeyang Queen Dowager Tang | ||||
| Issue | Crown Prince Dao King Xiaowen of Qin | ||||
| |||||
| House | House of Ying | ||||
| Father | King Huiwen of Qin | ||||
| Mother | Queen Dowager Xuan | ||||
King Zhaoxiang of Qin (Chinese: 秦昭襄王; 325–251 BC), or King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王), born Ying Ji (Chinese: 嬴稷, was the king of Qin from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen and younger brother of King Wu.
King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 57 years, and was responsible for the state of Qin achieving strategic dominance over the other six major states. During his reign, Qin captured the Chu capital Ying in 278 BC, conquered the Xirong state of Yiqu in 272 BC, slaughtered a 450,000-strong Zhao army at Changping in 260 BC, and overthrew the Eastern Zhou dynasty in 256 BC. These aggressive territorial expansions and the strategic weakening of other rival states paved the path for Qin's eventual unification of China three decades later by his great-grandson Ying Zheng.