King Huiwen of Qin

King Huiwen of Qin (356–311 BC), also known as Lord Huiwen of Qin, personal name Ying Si, was the ruler of the Qin state from 338 to 311 BC. He was the first ruler of Qin to style himself "King" (王) instead of "Duke" (公).

Early life
Prince Si was the son of Duke Xiao, and succeeded his father as ruler after the latter's death. When the adolescent Si was still crown prince, he committed a crime and was severely punished for it. The great minister Shang Yang was just then implementing his legalist reforms to the laws of Qin and he insisted that the crown prince should be punished for the crime regardless of his royal status. Duke Xiao approved of the draconian punishment and Si's tutors, Prince Qian (公子虔), Duke Xiao's older brother, and Gongsun Gu (公孫賈), for neglecting their duties in educating the crown prince, with Prince Qian having his nose cut off and Gongsun receiving the punishment of qing (黥; a form of punishment which involved branding a criminal by tattooing his face), while Ying Si was banished from the royal palace.

It was believed that Si harboured a personal grudge against Shang Yang and when he came to the throne as King Huiwen, Si had Shang Yang put to death on charges of treason. However, Huiwen retained the reformed systems in Qin left behind by his father and Shang Yang.

Reign
During Huiwen's reign, Qin became very powerful in terms of its military strength, and constantly invaded neighbouring states as part of its expansionism policy. In 316 BC it conquered the states of Shu and Ba to the south in the Sichuan basin. The strategy here was to annex and colonize the semi-civilized lands to the south rather than confront the more advanced states to the east with their large armies. The strategist Gongsun Yan, a student of Guiguzi, managed to persuade five of the other six major states to form an alliance to deal with Qin. However, Gongsun Yan's fellow student, Zhang Yi, came into the service of Huiwen as his prime minister and he helped Qin break up the alliance by sowing discord among the five states.

Death
King Huiwen ruled Qin for 27 years and died in 311 BC at the age of 46. He was succeeded by his son, King Wu of Qin, born of Queen Huiwen.

Family
Queens:
 * Queen Huiwen, of Wei (惠文后; d. 305 BC), possibly a daughter of King Hui of Wei; married in 334 BC; the mother of Crown Prince Dang
 * Queen Dowager Xuan, of the Mi clan of Chu (宣太后 羋姓; d. 265 BC), a royal of Chu by birth; the mother of Princes Ji, Shi and Kui

Sons:
 * Prince Tong (公子通; d. 311 BC), ruled as the Marquis of Shu from 313–311 BC
 * Crown Prince Dang (太子盪; 329–307 BC), ruled as King Wu of Qin from 310–307 BC
 * Prince Zhuang (公子壯; d. 305 BC)
 * Prince Yong (公子雍; d. 305 BC)
 * Prince Ji (公子稷; 325–251 BC), ruled as King Zhaoxiang of Qin from 306–251 BC
 * Prince Yun (公子惲; d. 301 BC), ruled as the Marquis of Shu from 308–301 BC
 * Prince Shi (公子市)
 * Known by his title, Lord Gaoling (高陵君)
 * Prince Kui (公子悝)
 * Known by his title, Lord Jingyang (涇陽君)
 * Prince Yao (公子繇)
 * Prince Chi (公子池)

Daughters:
 * Queen Yi of Yan (燕易后)
 * Married King Yi of Yan (d. 321 BC) in 334 BC

In fiction and popular culture

 * Portrayed by Fu Dalong in The Qin Empire II: Alliance (2012)
 * Portrayed by Alex Fong in The Legend of Mi Yue (2015)
 * Portrayed by Gallen Lo in Song of Phoenix (2017)