The Assassination of Su Qin and a Funeral Fit for Kings

In the tumultuous era of the Warring States, few events captured the imagination of the age like the assassination of Su Qin, the legendary strategist who masterminded the Vertical Alliance (合纵) against the rising power of Qin. Six days after his murder, the perpetrators were executed, and the state of Qi held a funeral of unprecedented grandeur for the fallen statesman.

The funeral procession stretched over thirty li (approximately 15 kilometers), a spectacle befitting a feudal lord rather than a common-born strategist. All six major eastern states—Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Han—sent their highest-ranking envoys. Even the embattled Zhou dynasty, by then a mere shadow of its former glory, dispatched a royal envoy with a 3,000-strong ceremonial guard, an honor traditionally reserved for dukes. The Zhou king’s proclamation declared Su Qin a “minister of the six states and of the royal court,” elevating him posthumously to the rank of a great feudal lord.

The streets of Linzi, Qi’s capital, were flooded with mourners. The astronomer Gan De, witnessing the scene, remarked: “Su Qin was favored by Heaven and upheld the ways of men. In death, his glory surpasses even that of his life—no one in history has matched this honor.”

The Political Earthquake: Chaos in Yan and the Looming Crisis

No sooner had Qi buried Su Qin than neighboring Yan descended into chaos. Crown Prince Ji Ping and General Shi Bei launched a rebellion against the usurper Zi Zhi, only to suffer a crushing defeat and retreat to Liaodong. The instability in Yan sent shockwaves through Qi, where officials and commoners alike clamored for military intervention. Yet King Xuan of Qi hesitated—an indecision that baffled his court and fueled speculation.

Amid the turmoil, the famed strategist Zhang Yi, now serving as Qin’s chancellor, remained aloof. He understood that Yan’s strife benefited Qin by distracting Qi, and thus avoided taking sides. His old friend Lord Mengchang, though outwardly jovial, shared this pragmatic view. Their conversations skirted politics, focusing instead on philosophy and the latest gossip—until the arrival of a certain scholar threw the court into upheaval.

The Arrival of Mencius and the Gathering Storm

The announcement of Mencius’s arrival in Linzi set the stage for a clash of ideologies. King Xuan, eager to burnish his reputation as a patron of scholars, welcomed the Confucian sage with full honors. The banquet hall was packed with Qi’s elite and the luminaries of the Jixia Academy, all eager to witness the encounter between Mencius and Zhang Yi.

Mencius, now an elderly but still formidable debater, held court with his usual confidence. He dismissed rulers who failed his moral litmus test—including King Hui of Wei, whom he derided as unfit to govern. When the conversation turned to Su Qin, Mencius blamed the strategist for Yan’s turmoil, calling him a corrupting influence. The room tensed; all eyes turned to Zhang Yi, Su Qin’s lifelong rival and friend.

The Explosive Confrontation: Zhang Yi’s Scathing Rebuttal

Zhang Yi’s response was volcanic. Rising with his trademark iron staff, he unleashed a blistering critique of Confucianism:

“The Confucians are the great frauds of our age! They claim moral superiority while sneering at all other schools—Mozi’s universal love is ‘fatherless,’ Yang Zhu’s pragmatism ‘bestial,’ Legalist governance ‘tyrannical.’ Yet what have they ever achieved? They preach benevolence but uphold archaic rituals that keep the people in chains. They speak of ‘the people as the foundation’ yet oppose laws that might protect them. They demand absolute loyalty to rulers they privately scorn. Hypocrisy is their creed!”

The tirade crescendoed with a damning indictment: “In all of history, has there ever been a philosophy so pompous yet so useless? No ruler dares employ Confucians—because any state that does will perish!”

Mencius, struck speechless, coughed blood and collapsed. The banquet dissolved in chaos.

The Aftermath: Ideologies in the Balance

The confrontation marked a watershed. The Jixia scholars, though silent during the debate, later bowed to Zhang Yi in tacit approval. Mencius left Linzi in disgrace, his teachings momentarily eclipsed. King Xuan, shaken, retreated to deliberate Qi’s next move—one that would soon see Qi invade Yan, with disastrous consequences.

Zhang Yi’s victory was more than personal; it underscored the declining relevance of Confucian idealism in an era of realpolitik. His words foreshadowed the Qin dynasty’s eventual rejection of Confucianism—and its ironic revival centuries later as state orthodoxy.

Legacy: Why This Moment Still Matters

The duel between Zhang Yi and Mencius encapsulates the Warring States’ intellectual ferment. It was an age when philosophy shaped empires, and rhetoric could alter history’s course. Today, as China revisits its classical traditions, this episode reminds us that ideologies rise and fall—but the tension between moral governance and pragmatic statecraft endures.

The funeral of Su Qin and the fall of Mencius were not just dramatic footnotes. They were turning points in China’s long journey toward unification—and in the eternal debate over how a nation should be ruled.