中山国 / Zhongshan State
中山国 / Zhongshan State appears in Zhouji 09 as a state that had been conquered by 魏国 under Wei Wenhou but revives during the later melee. The source says Wei Wuhou’s brother 魏挚 had been guarding the area, which was a detached territory separated from Wei proper by 赵国.
The episode uses Zhongshan to show how frontier control can reverse quickly when the main powers are distracted. After Di forces drive out Wei Zhi, Zhongshan revives but still continues relations with Wei and aligns with Wei against Zhao, making it a compact case of early Warring States pragmatism.
《资治通鉴·周纪》10丨 以家族单位 有蚂蚁吃大象的精神（4） gives Zhongshan an earlier succession-politics role through 《资治通鉴补》. The episode says 魏文侯 sends the future 魏武侯 there, and the host reads the assignment as suspicious because Zhongshan is physically detached from Wei by 赵国. In that reading, Zhongshan is not only a frontier holding but also a place where a potential heir can be removed from court.
《资治通鉴·周纪》58丨赵武灵王如何打造强国 makes Zhongshan a direct target of 赵武灵王’s state-strengthening plan. The episode links the intended conquest of Zhongshan and northern Hu lands to 胡服骑射, so Zhongshan now sits at the strategic reason for Zhao’s military and clothing reform rather than only at Wei’s detached frontier problem.
《资治通鉴·周纪》60丨 中国第一位把持朝政的太后竟是她？ shows the first major payoff of that pressure. Zhao Wuling Wang attacks Zhongshan in 305 BCE, takes a series of places including Danchiu, Huayang, Chizhisae, Haocheng, Shiyi, Fenglong, and Dongyuan, and frightens Zhongshan enough that it cedes four cities for peace. Zhongshan now functions as the target against which Zhao’s reform becomes measurable.
《资治通鉴·周纪》66丨中国历史上哪些帝王是被活活饿死的（1） completes the target-state branch in the episode’s 295 BCE frame. 赵武灵王 joins with 齐国 and 燕国 to destroy Zhongshan and move its ruler to Fushi. The conquest matters less for Zhongshan’s internal story than for Zhao’s domestic aftermath: with the frontier success complete, Zhao Wuling Wang’s attention shifts to how 赵章 and 赵何 should coexist.
《资治通鉴·秦纪》114-1｜今天聊聊 嬴政都有哪些残忍手段 reuses Zhongshan after 赵国’s fall. Once 王翦 takes 邯郸, he stays in the Zhongshan area rather than returning with 嬴政 / 秦始皇, making the former Zhao-held frontier a Qin pressure position against 燕国.
Connections
- 魏国 and 魏武侯 - conquering and controlling power in the source background.
- 魏挚 - Wei ruler’s brother guarding Zhongshan.
- 魏文侯 and 赵苍唐 - Zhouji 10 part 4 restoration story.
- 赵国, 赵武灵王, and 胡服骑射 - intervening geography and later Zhao reform-conquest target.
- 齐国, 燕国, 赵章, 赵何, and 沙丘之变 - Zhouji 66 destruction of Zhongshan and domestic succession aftermath.
- Early Warring States Interstate War / 战国早期诸侯混战 and Territorial Control Churn / 城池反复易手 - concepts that fit Zhongshan’s revival and shifting alignments.
- Qinji 114-1, 王翦, 秦国, and 燕国 - Qin forward deployment after Zhao’s fall.