Zhao Xing

Zhao Xing (Chinese: 趙興, pinyin: Zhào Xīng, Cantonese: Zīu Hing, Vietnamese: Triệu Hưng, ? – 112 BC), was the fourth ruler of the kingdom of Nanyue (Vietnamese: Nam Việt). His rule began in 115 BC and ended with his death in 112 BC. In Vietnamese history, he is considered a king of Vietnam.

Zhao Xing was the second son of King Zhao Yingqi, and his mother was a Han Chinese woman called Lady Jiu [vi] (樛氏). In 135 BC, Zhao Yingqi was sent to the Han court by King Zhao Mo of Nanyue, to serve as Emperor Wu's guard (宿衛, Sù wèi). Before leaving for Chang'an, Zhao Yingqi had married a Yue woman and had his eldest son Zhao Jiande. While in Chang'an, he was married to Lady Jiu, and had his second son, Zhao Xing.

After Zhao Yingqi assumed the Nanyue throne, he appointed Zhao Xing as Crown Prince instead of his eldest son Zhao Jiande, despite the custom of primogeniture. When Zhao Yingqi died, Zhao Xing succeeded his father as king, and his mother Jiushi became Queen Dowager.

In 113 BC, Emperor Wu of Han sent Anguo Shaoji (安國少季) to Nanyue to summon Zhao Xing and the Queen Dowager Jiu to Chang'an for an audience with the Emperor. The Queen Dowager was regarded as a foreigner by the Nanyue people, and it was widely rumored that she had an illicit relationship with Anguo Shaoji before she married Zhao Yingqi.

The prime minister Lü Jia (呂嘉) held military power in the Nanyue state at that time, and his fame was overshadowing the Queen Dowager. According to Shiji and Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, Lü Jia was chief of a Lạc Việt tribe, and over 70 of his kinsmen served as officials in various parts of the Nanyue government.Fearful of losing her position of authority, the Queen Dowager decided to fully submit to the Han Dynasty, and came into great conflict with Lü Jia and other ministers. After news of the situation reached Emperor Wu in 112 BC, he dispatched Han Qianqiu (韓千秋) with 2000 soldiers to arrest Lü Jia. During this time, Lü Jia conducted a coup d'état, killing Zhao Xing, Queen Dowager Jiu and all the Han emissaries in the capital. After the coup d'état, Lü Jia crowned Prince Zhao Jiande as new king, and declared war on the Han Dynasty.

The Temple name of Zhao Xing was not mentioned in both Shiji and Hanshu. But according to the Vietnamese historical text Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, Zhao Xing's Posthumous name was Ai Vương (哀王, pinyin: Āi Wáng).