State of Yan: Notes

Early Rulers of Yan (before 865 BC)

According to the Historical Records, ch. 34, the ruling clan of Yan descended from Shào gōng Shì (召公奭) (fl. 1040s/990s BC), who, contrary to later writers, was not a direct relative of the early kings of Zhou, but shared the same surname (Jī|姬). The chronicle further relates that he was enfeoffed in (Northern) Yan by Wǔ wáng (武王) of Zhou in the wake of the conquest of Shang by Zhou in 1046 BC, and that he was appointed a government minister (tàibǎo|太保) of Zhou under the succeeding king, Chéng wáng (成王).

Two inscriptions on bronze wine jars (unearthed in the tomb M1193 in the Liulihe area of the Fangshan District, Beijing in 1986), commemorating the appointment, however, demonstrate that it was Kè (克), very likely Shì's son, who was, by royal order, made the first hóu of Yan after Shì had conquered the area for Zhou (Chen 1995, p. 144, No. 5-6; Du 1998; Tang 2020b). The existence of another ruler, Zhǐ (旨), who flourished in the late 11th c. (or late 11th - early 10th c.) BC, is also documented epigraphically (Chen 1995, p. 147, No. 29).

The Historical Records, ch. 34, does not name any rulers before the mid-9th c. BC, merely saying that between Shào gōng Shì and Huì hóu, there were nine 'generations' (shì|世). Several potential successors can be ruled out however. A ' hóu Wǔ of Yan' (匽侯舞), found in several separate inscriptions, including those unearthed in the tomb M1193 does not actually constitute a personal name (Cao–Kang–Luo 2016, p. 73).

Bó Xiàn (伯憲|伯宪) and bó Hé (伯龢|伯和), mentioned on two of the 'Seven Liángshān Artifacts' (梁山七器), dated to the 10th c., are now considered to rather belong to the Shào branch of the ruling family (Cao–Kang–Luo 2016, pp. 73ff), while Yǎn bó Shèng (匽伯聖), on the other hand, belongs to a different Yan altogether, located in modern Yuanqu County, Shaanxi (Huang 2023).

The Abdication of King Kuài and Subsequent Events (310s BC)

The Historical Records, after mentioning a failed attack on Qin by Yan and allies in a regnal year equated with 318 BC in the annual tables in ch. 15 (the 3rd year of king Kuài of Yan in ch. 34, the 7th royal year of Huìwén wáng (惠文王) of Qin in ch. 5, etc.), states that the king abdicated (ràng|讓; ch. 5 and 15) in favor of his minister, or at least subordinated the country to him (shǔ|屬; ch. 34). [1]

In the Historical Records, ch. 34, no year is indicated, implying that this happened in the same year as the preceding events, 318 BC. According to the annual tables (ch. 15), the event took place in the king's 5th year (equated with 316 BC). A reversal of roles between the ruler and the minister of Yan is also reported in ch. 43 under the 10th year of Wǔlíng wáng (武靈王) of Zhao (equated with 316 in the Historical Records, ch. 15, but adjusted to 315 BC). [2]

In the Historical Records, ch. 5, however, the abdication is reported as such in the 11th royal year of Huìwén wáng of Qin (as above equated with 314 BC). The minister is then given a rule of variously one (ch. 43), two (ch. 15) or three years (ch. 34), ending accordingly in 314 (adjusted from 315), 314, 315, or one to three years after 314 BC (ch. 5).

The annual tables (ch. 15) simply state that the ruler, Kuài, the crown prince and the minister died in the same year. Ch. 34 specifies that the crown prince, Píng (平), led a failed coup against the minister, which was eventually followed by an intervention by neighboring Qi, in the course of which Kuài was killed.

The Contemporary Bamboo Annals, which dates the intervention to the 1st year of Yǐn wáng (隱王) of Zhou (314 BC), indicates that it was prompted by the minister killing the crown prince and that the minister was then executed for treason by the intervening forces. The chapters 15 and 34 of the Historical Records then give a two-year interregnum that ended with the people of Yan enthroning prince Píng as the new king of Yan.

The Historical Records, ch. 43, on the other hand, reports that in the 11th year of Wǔlíng wáng (武靈王) of Zhao (314 BC as explained below), the State of Zhao, rather than the people of Yan, picked the new king and that the choice fell on prince Zhí (職), rather than Píng, who, after all and as indicated above, had already been executed after the failed coup against the minister.

A reference to Zhí is found, e.g., as part of the inscription on a bronzeware acquired by the Shanghai Museum. The precise reading of the inscription is open to interpretation, but it appears to refer to the allied campaign against Qi in 284 BC in the 30th year of King Zhí of Yan (Yǎn wáng Zhí|郾王職). Based on this interpretation, Zhí acceded in 314 BC, thus confirming the Zhao account in ch. 43 (Huang 2002).