King Zhuangxiang of Qin, personal name Zichu, was a ruler of the State of Qin, a part of what is now China, during the 3rd century BCE. This article is based on the biography of Lü Buwei which is part of the Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian.
History
In the 40th year of the reign of King Zhaoxiang (秦昭王, Qin Zhao Wang), the crown prince died, so two years later, King Zhaoxiang made his second son An Guo Jun (Xiao Wen Wang (孝文王 King Xiaowen )) the prince. An Guo Jun had a concubine he loved very much whom he made his official wife. She was given the title of Hua Yang Fu Ren (Madam Hua Yang). Madam Hua Yang had no children. An Guo Jun also had another concubine by the name of Xia Ju. Xia Ju had a son by the name of Zichu. As Xia Ju was not favored by An Guo Jun, her son Zichu was sent to the kingdom of Zhao as a hostage. Due to frequent war done on Zhao by Qin, Zichu was not treated well by the kingdom of Zhao.
In the capital of Zhao - Han Dan, there lived a man by the name of Lü Buwei. Lü was an important businessman in that city. Seeing the sorry state of living Zichu, he felt pity and decided to take a risk in helping him as he felt that Zichu may become someone important in the future.
Lü Buwei became an adviser & helper to Zichu giving him the idea of endearing himself to the childless Madam Hua Yang. He also generously gave Zichu the money & riches.
Lü Buwei also bribed Madam Hua Yang's sister into giving her the idea of cultivating Zichu as her son so that once the king was dead, she could make her adopted son the king & she would have a rosy future. Madam Hua Yang brought the idea & using her influence with the prince (An Guo Jun), made him promised to make Zichu the prince once he becames the king & marking the promise down on a jade 'Fu' as evidence.
Lü Buwei had a very beautiful concubine who was also a great dancer. Once while drinking with Zichu, Zichu happened to see the woman & fell deeply in love with her. He asked Lü Buwei to give the concubine to him. Lü Buwei was angry about the request as he knew that she was pregnant with his child but as he was already on the greatest business risk he had ever taken, he decided to throw in everything & presented the concubine to Zichu.
Later the concubine who came to be know as Zhao Ju (as she was a citizen of Zhao) give birth to a son whom was named Zheng (later known as Qin Shi Huang) & Zhao Ju was made a wife of Zichu.
In the 50th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he sent an army to besiege Han Dan. The kingdom of Zhao was in grave danger & decided to kill Zichu. Zichu with the help of Lü Buwei bribed the officers incharge of guarding the city & managed to escape. The kingdom of Zhao then decide to kill Zichu's wife & son but as the woman is the daughter of a wealthy family, they managed to escape from being kill as well.
Six years later, King Zhaoxiang of Qin died & An Guo Jun became the new king of Qin, Madam Hua Yang became the empress & Zichu became the prince. The kingdom of Zhao inorder to have a better relationship with Qin, sent Zichu's wife & son back to Qin.
The new king of Qin only stayed on the throne for a year before dying and was known as King Xiaowen of Qin . Zichu became the new king of Qin & was known as King Zhuangxiang of Qin. Madam Hua Yang became empress dowager Hua Yang (Hua Yang Tai Hou). Xia Ju became known as empress dowager Xia. Lü Buwei was made the prime minister and was known as Wen Xing Hou (Duke Wen Xing).
