In Chinese history, since the emergence of the imperial system, the throne has been automatically reduced to the title of the next rank, and the local sub-fiefs are mainly based on the name of the country during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. As the name suggests, the two words "King of Qin" have two meanings, one refers to the Qin Dynasty, the king of the first great unified dynasty in Chinese history. The second meaning is that according to the past custom of dividing the feudal lords of the old Qin land in Guanzhong.
The first Qin king in Chinese history
From the perspective of ancient Chinese history, the title of Wang was originally the most precious title under the heavens, and from the Xia Dynasty onwards, only the emperor of the world could have it, so the Tianzi of the Zhou Dynasty was called the King of Zhou. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the ceremony collapsed and was broken. The authority of Zhou Tianzi moved downward, the princes began to sit large, and many countries began to gradually use the title of king after they became hegemonic.
Throughout the history of the Qin Dynasty, the first person to use the title of King was King Huiwen of Qin, the son of Duke Xiao of Qin. Before him, the State of Qin had no title of king, and was generally called a duke. In 325 BC, the State of Qin, which had undergone the Shang Martingale Transformation Law, became increasingly powerful and its national strength gradually increased, so King Huiwen of Qin began to emulate the Six Kingdoms of Shandong as king. Since the history of that time, everyone has called the monarch of the Qin State the King of Qin.
This tradition continued until the qin shi huang yingzheng period, Qin Shi Huang yingzheng succeeded to the throne from a teenager, spent 10 years to unify the six kingdoms under the heavens, he no longer satisfied the glory of the title of king, but hoped that his merits would be further highlighted, so he conducted a comprehensive investigation of the classical books, set up the title of wang, the name is called the emperor. From that time on, Qin Shi Huang was no longer called the King of Qin, but was called the Emperor of Qin. By the time Hu Hai succeeded to the throne, he was called Qin II. Later, Xianyang City was attacked by Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. Emperor Zi of Qin demoted himself to the title of King of Qin.
After the Qin Dynasty, the Kings of Qin in China
After the Qin Dynasty unified the world, it soon fell into the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony, and after Liu Bang unified the world, he set up the previous Seven Kingdoms Qi Chu Yan Zhao Han Wei Qin as the title of the King of the Domain. Therefore, from that period on, the King of Qin became an important title in the system of kings, but because the Han Dynasty was to eliminate the Qin Dynasty, they had always promoted the Qin Dynasty as a tyranny, so the title of King of Qin was not set up in the royal system of the Han Dynasty.
This title of King of Qin in the ancient Chinese feudal system began with Sima Yan's Western Jin Dynasty. After the Western Jin Dynasty unified the world, Sima Yan learned from the fall of the State of Wei, believing that although Cao Cao was a man of great talent and a family talent, he did not divide the seals, resulting in no one to help him when he was usurped. Therefore, Sima Yan believed that when establishing a unified state system, it was also necessary to set up a system of clan kings to defend the imperial family in general.
In 289 CE, Sima Yan enfeoffed his third son, Sima Kam, as King of Qin. But his lifespan was very short, and he died not long after. After several turns, Sima Yi inherited the title of King of Qin. The fate of this Sima Ye was very tragic, from the King of Qin to the emperor and the king of the Western Jin Dynasty, he was called the Emperor of Jin by later generations. He was the first person among those who had been crowned king of Qin since the Qin Dynasty to become emperor, so from that time on, the title of king of Qin was unusual, and he had the symbol of the emperor. Many feudal kings also developed ambitions after being crowned king of Qin by the emperor, believing that this was a foreshadowing for the emperor to secretly support him as a prince.
The Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties were an era of turmoil and division, and there were also several Qin kings in the imperial family of the Northern Wei. Tuoba Han, the third son of Tuoba Tao, emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, was made the King of Qin for his military merits. Tuoba Han was later killed in the midst of state infighting, and his son Tuoba Yao was also crowned King of Qin for inheriting the throne, and from the two of them onwards, Northern Wei did not set up the title of King of Qin.
When I came back to the Yuwen family of Northern Zhou. Yuwen Yong proclaimed himself Emperor Wu. He made his third son Yuwen the Duke of Qin, and was later strengthened step by step and was crowned king of Qin. Later, the Sui Emperor Yang Jian threatened to force the emperor to abdicate, and the title of King of Qin that he established himself as the Yuwen family of the Sui Dynasty was abolished.
After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, under the painstaking management of Yang Jian, Li Jingzhi entered a brief period of Peace and prosperity, and he began to make his son the King of the Domain. Among them, Yang Jian insisted on making his third son Yang Jun the Prince of Qin to guard the land of Bashu. Later, Yang Jun was poisoned by his own concubines, and his son Yang Hao inherited the title of King of Qin. Then to the later Yu culture and the change of dynasty, yang Hao was only a name to support Yang Hao as emperor, and after using it, he killed Yang Hao and called himself emperor.
The most famous King of Qin during the Tang Dynasty was Li Yuan's second son, Li Shimin. Because Of Li Shimin's outstanding military merits, he won the support of a large number of courtiers, so he and Li Jiancheng launched a secret struggle, and finally won the Xuanwumen Rebellion, becoming the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and from then on the title of King of Qin was also abolished. In the nearly 300-year history of the Tang Dynasty, there is no longer a title of King of Qin.
In the history of the Song Dynasty, there are two Qin kings, namely Zhao Kuangmei, the third younger brother of Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty. After the death of Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, he was succeeded by his younger brother Zhao Guangyi. Zhao Guangyi himself launched a coup d'état to seize the emperor's throne, and he was afraid that Zhao Guangmei would follow his example, so he kept his brother Zhao Kuangmei imprisoned in the dark room, and Zhao Guangmei finally died of grief. In the era of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Zhao Kuangmei and Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son Zhao Defang were posthumously named the King of Qin, so there were two Qin kings in the history of the Song Dynasty.
In the entire history of the Yuan Dynasty, there were two Qin kings. One was Kublai Khan's third son, Busy Brother. After his death, his son succeeded to the throne of Qin. The name was called Pressing the Ladder No Flower, and he was later killed for rebellion, and even the throne was abolished. The Throne of Qin in the Ming Dynasty has been passed down for a long time. It was almost accompanied by the founding and demise of the Ming Dynasty. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he made his second son, Qin Shuang, the King of Qin, and remained there until the end of Chongzhen. During the Qing Dynasty, because the king of the clan was not allowed to leave the capital to manage in situ, there was no title of King of Qin.
summary
Throughout history, we will find that the people who were crowned as the King of Qin were generally high-ranking and powerful. They are highly competitive for the position of prince. And it just so happens that most of the people who were named the King of Qin were the third son of the emperor. Because there are too many political factors and cultural implications on this title, they gradually develop ambitions. The failure of the later rebellion caused this throne to be abolished, so in each dynasty, the King of Qin was soon inherited. The most prominent title of King of Qin in Chinese history, in addition to the various monarchs of the Qin Dynasty, is the Tang Emperor Li Shimin.