Lü Buwei -A Wealthy Merchant ?

The Pregnant Concubine
In 260-259 BC, while trading in the state of Zhao northeast of Qin, Lü Buwei befriended Zichu (aka. Yiren), a son of the then ruler of Qin, who had been sent to Zhao as a hostage. It was customary in those days to exchange family hostages as a sign of good faith. Lü Buwei had brought with him his favorite concubine, Zhao Ji, to whom Zichu took quite a liking. To cement
his friendship with Zichu, Lü Buwei gave him the concubine. The catch was however that she -unbeknownst to Zichu- was allegedly already pregnant by Lü Buwei.

Setting the Trap
On coming back to Qin, Lü Buwei went to see Lady Huayang, the childless, principal wife of the crown prince of Qin. With many gifts Lü Buwei induced her to adopt Zichu as her own son. Lü Buwei had now bought his potential ticket to influence provided that three things would happen: (1) The Qin ruler would die soon, and (2) his heir would still at that time be alive and be heir to the Qin throne, and (3) that this heir after having become ruler would take home Zichu from Zhao. This would create a situation by which Lü Buwei could exploit his gift to Zichu and gain royal influence and protection for himself and his business.

Stroke of Luck
It worked out better than Lü Buwei could ever have imagined. First Lady Huayang managed to obtain the return of Zichu from Zhao. Then in quick succession the Qin ruler died, his heir took the throne but died already after 1 year and, already in 250 BC, Zichu wound up as King of Qin. Lü Buwei now had the very King himself as a personal friend. Lü Buwei's luck went further: the heir to Qin was his own son as the concubine in 259 BC had given birth to a son, whom Zichu had accepted as his own.

Zichu repaid Lü Buwei's gift by making him chancellor with the right to taxes from 100,000 households. Lü Buwei now was rich, had daily access to the center of power in the Qin state, had control over the state's finances and could even be close to his son and his former concubine, now also mother of the heir to Qin.

Complete Power of the Qin State

Ruins of the head of the Zhengguo canal now designated a historic relic under government protection.

Zichu's reign was only to last 3 years. He died suddenly in 247 BC and his heir, Lü Buwei's alleged son, became King Zheng of Qin at the age of only 13. Lü Buwei continued in office until 237 BC, essentially governing on behalf of his own son.

He strengthened the Qin economy in many ways. As an example, he encouraged the construction of the Zhengguo canal leading to much improved farming by bringing the waters of the Jing River from Zhongshan (todays Jingyang County, Shaanxi) westward to the Luo River -over 150 km- providing much needed irrigation for the dry plains of Guanzhong. He also supported the arts and commissioned a major compilation of existing knowledge on a wide range of matters.

Lü Buwei's tomb in Dazhongtou Village, Henan Province.

Lü Buwei's Demise
His only real poor judgment was to resume his relationship with his former concubine, the mother of the ruler of Qin. A scandal eventually ensued over this and Lü Buwei was forced to commit suicide in 235. King Zheng now assumed control of state matters himself and through cunning and warring succeeded in annexing all the other major states in 221 BC, only 14 years later. He took the name of Qin Shi Huangdi, the "First Emperor" of a united China.

Lü Buwei, a simple merchant, had made it into the annals of history as the alleged father of the very first emperor of China!

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