Lü Buwei

Saw "a rare commodity worth hoarding" and helped put King Zhuangxiang of Qin on the throne; oversaw the compilation of the Lüshi Chunqiu.

Life

A rare commodity worth hoarding

Lü Buwei was a great merchant of Yangdi. In Handan in the State of Zhao he met Zichu, a Qin prince living there as a hostage, and judged that "this is a rare commodity worth hoarding." He spent his family fortune supporting him and also persuaded Lady Huayang to adopt him as her heir.

Rule as "Second Father"

When Zichu took the throne as King Zhuangxiang of Qin, he appointed Lü Buwei chancellor and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Wenxin. After King Zhuangxiang died and the young Ying Zheng took the throne, Ying Zheng honored him as "Second Father," and he held supreme power in the State of Qin for more than ten years.

Lüshi Chunqiu

He gathered his retainers to compile the Lüshi Chunqiu and hung it at the city gate of Xianyang, offering a thousand pieces of gold to anyone who could add or remove a single word. In 237 BCE he was implicated in Lao Ai's rebellion and dismissed as chancellor, later banished to Shu, and in 235 BCE he committed suicide by poison.

Legacy

Lü Buwei was the most successful "political investor" in Chinese history, and the Lüshi Chunqiu, compiled under his direction, preserves a wealth of pre-Qin thought.

Major works & achievements

• Lüshi Chunqiu

Did you know? The idioms "A rare commodity worth hoarding" and "A word worth a thousand gold" both come from him.

Key dates

• 265 BCEMet Zichu in Handan (approx.)
• 249 BCEBecame chancellor of Qin and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wenxin
• 239 BCELüshi Chunqiu completed
• 237 BCEDismissed as chancellor
• 235 BCECommitted suicide by poison