. A 279BC summit between the powerful state of Qin and the weakened state of Zhao was an exercise in unscrupulous politics
. Insults were traded and demands went unmet, but all that Zhao was forced to concede was a halt in hostilities
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High-ranking diplomats from China and the United States met in Anchorage, Alaska, last month in an attempt to iron out the differences between the two countries. Neither side had any illusions about the outcome of this “high-level strategic dialogue”, but no one expected the heated and very public row that ensued, which was, to put it diplomatically, an eye-opening deviation from norms of modern international diplomacy.
Between 771BC and the founding of the Qin dynasty, in 221BC, the Chinese nation was a contentious collection of independent feudal domains and states. For this very reason, it was also a time that saw the art of diplomacy at its finest. Even then, there were instances when courtesies were discarded in the defence of one’s people or king.
In 279BC, the powerful state of Qin, having recently won a series of victories over the state of Zhao, suddenly decided to stop the war and restore the amity between the two states. This unexpected armistice was proposed because the Qin wanted to focus its military strength on an invasion of Chu, in the south. To this end, Qin suggested a royal summit with Zhao in a place called Mianchi (in present-day Henan).
King Huiwen of the much weakened state of Zhao was initially reluctant to accept the invitation, but his senior ministers advised him to go, saying that it would be a sign of Zhao’s weakness if its king were absent. The senior grandmaster Lin Xiangru would accompany Huiwen to the summit with 5,000 guards, while a large army would be stationed near Mianchi in case of emergency.
On the day of the summit the two kings toasted each other, whereupon King Zhaoxiang of Qin said: “We hear the king of Zhao loves music. Would the king perform the se [a stringed instrument] for us?” Not wishing to be impolite, Huiwen played a few notes. Zhaoxiang then directed his scribe to write: “On this day, the king of Qin met and drank with the king of Zhao. The king of Qin ordered the king of Zhao to play the se.”
Such disrespect set the tone for the rest of the summit. Incensed by the insult directed at his king and the state of Zhao, Lin Xiangru stepped forward and said: “The king of Zhao also hears that the king of Qin is adept at the music of his state. May I invite the king of Qin to play something with the dish for our enjoyment?” When Zhaoxiang refused, Lin said with a murderous glint in his eye: “I am but five paces away. I could slit my own throat and bespatter your majesty with my blood!”
Fearing for his life, Zhaoxiang struck the dish on his table. Lin then directed his side’s scribe to write: “On this day, the king of Qin struck a dish for the king of Zhao.” Lin could have been one of China’s earliest “wolf warrior” diplomats.
Following this strained exchange, representatives from both sides went back and forth with demands and counter-demands, trading insults. At the end of the summit, the powerful state of Qin could not get anything more from Zhao than a halt in hostilities. The king of Qin also failed to belittle or browbeat the king of Zhao.
Despite its diplomatic victory, the state of Zhao was eventually conquered by the state of Qin in 228BC. By 221BC, Qin had bulldozed other states to unify China, ushering in the imperial era that lasted until 1912.
