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Lü Buwei (291–235 BC) was a politician of the Qin state in the Warring States Period of ancient China. Originally an influential merchant from the Wey (衛) state, Lü Buwei met and befriended King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who was then a minor prince serving as a hostage in the Zhao state. Through bribes and machinations, Lü Buwei succeeded in helping King Zhuangxiang become the heir apparent to the Qin throne. In 249 BC, after King Zhuangxiang ascended the throne following the death of his father, King Xiaowen, he appointed Lü Buwei as his chancellor (相國) and enfeoffed him as "Marquis Wenxin" (文信侯). After King Zhuangxiang's death in 247 BC, Lü Buwei became the chancellor and regent to King Zhuangxiang's young son, Ying Zheng, who later became Qin Shi Huang (First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty). In 235 BC, after being implicated in a scandal involving the Queen Dowager Zhao (Ying Zheng's mother) and her illicit lover Lao Ai, Lü Buwei was stripped of his posts and titles and was banished to the remote Shu region in the south of Qin. While in exile, Lü Buwei committed suicide by consuming poison. Apart from his political career, Lü Buwei is also known for sponsoring the ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', an encyclopaedic compendium of the ideas of the Hundred Schools of Thought that was published in 239 BC.〔Sellman, James D. "The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Lu", in ''Great Thinkers of the Eastern World'', Ian McGreal, ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1995:39.〕 ==Life== The primary sources of information about Lü Buwei date from the first century BC: Sima Qian's ''Shiji'' (''Records of the Grand Historian'') and Liu Xiang's ''Zhan Guo Ce'' (''Strategies of the Warring States'') and ''Shuoyuan'' (說苑, ''Garden of Stories''). Since these three Han Dynasty texts openly criticise both Lü and the Qin Dynasty, some alleged stories (for example, Lü's private thoughts and conversations) can be discounted. Note that some of the following English translations come from John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel's scholarly study of the ''Lüshi Chunqiu''.〔Knoblock, John and Jeffrey Riegel. ''The Annals of Lü Buwei: A Complete Translation and Study''. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 2000.〕 Lü Buwei's biography in the ''Shiji'' mentioned that he was from the Wey state and he became a successful travelling merchant earning "thousands of measures of gold". In 267 BC, the first son of King Zhaoxiang of the Qin state died, so King Zhaoxiang named his second son, Lord Anguo, as his new heir apparent. Lord Anguo promoted his concubine, Lady Huayang (華陽夫人), who was childless, to the status of his primary spouse. Lord Anguo had over 20 sons. Among them, Yiren, who ranked somewhere in the middle in terms of age, was sent to the Zhao state to serve as a hostage. When Lü Buwei was trading in Handan, the capital of Zhao, he met Yiren and said, "This is a rare piece of merchandise that should be saved for later."〔85.2506, tr. Knoblock and Riegel 2000:4.〕 The ''Zhan Guo Ce'' recorded a story about Lü Buwei deciding to switch his career from commerce to politics. Using bribes and machinations, Lü Buwei arranged for Yiren to return to Qin and successfully persuaded Lady Huayang to adopt Yiren as her son, thereby making Yiren the heir apparent to Lord Anguo. Lady Huayang renamed Yiren to "Zichu" (子楚; lit. "son of Chu") because she was from the Chu state. The ''Shiji'' mentioned that Lü Buwei had a beautiful "dancing girl", Lady Zhao, in his household, with whom Zichu became so infatuated that he asked for her. Lü Buwei reluctantly presented Lady Zhao to Zichu, and they returned to Handan. In 259 BC, Lady Zhao gave birth to a son, Ying Zheng, who eventually unified China under the Qin Dynasty and became historically known as "Qin Shi Huang" (First Emperor of Qin). After the death of King Zhaoxiang in 251 BC, Lord Anguo was enthroned and became historically known as "King Xiaowen", but he died three days after his coronation in 250 BC. Zichu succeeded his father and became historically known as "King Zhuangxiang". King Zhuangxiang appointed Lü Buwei as his chancellor (相國; or prime minister) and enfeoffed him as "Marquis Wenxin" (文信侯) with a taxable fief covering 100,000 households in Luoyang. While in office, Lü Buwei oversaw Qin's military campaigns against neighbouring states. When King Zhuangxiang died in 247 BC, Ying Zheng (then 13 years old) succeeded him, while Lü Buwei continued serving as a chancellor and regent to the young king. As the chancellor and regent, Lü Buwei dominated the Qin government and military. He invited famous scholars from all over China to Xianyang, the Qin capital, where they compiled the ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' (''Lü's Spring and Autumn ()''), an encyclopedic compendium of the ideas of the Hundred Schools of Thought. The ''Shiji'' says that Lady Zhao (who became the Queen Dowager after Ying Zheng ascended the throne) pursued many illicit sexual activities, and Lü Buwei, The Queen Dowager fell in love with Lao Ai and had him enfeoffed as the "Marquis Changxin". After she became pregnant, he recklessly took control of the Qin government. The ''Shuoyuan'' mentioned: Ying Zheng learnt that Lao Ai was not really a eunuch, and had plotted with the Queen Dowager to make their illegitimate son become successor. In 238 BC, Lao Ai launched a revolt in an attempt to seize power from Ying Zheng, but the rebellion was crushed and Lao Ai was executed along with three generations of his relatives. Ying Zheng stripped his mother off her position as the Queen Dowager and ordered the two sons she secretly had with Lao Ai to be put into sacks and beaten to death. Lü Buwei was implicated in the incident and was stripped off his posts and titles and banished to the remote Shu region in the south of Qin. Lü Buwei feared eventual execution so he committed suicide in 235 BC by consuming poison. As a result of the Lao Ai affair, Ying Zheng removed power from most of Lü Buwei's retainers and followers (one notable exception being Li Si) and restored it to the hereditary Qin aristocracy. After Lü Buwei's death, the ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' fell out of favour with the Qin government, but was resurrected by the Han Dynasty later. Knoblock and Riegel describe the Western and Chinese historical perspectives of Lü Buwei as follows: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lü Buwei」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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