Kingdom, the manga about ancient China
A young man, Li Xin, is pursuing his deepest desire: to become the great general of the armies of the Qin kingdom. In this way, he will help King Ying Zheng to conquer the neighbouring kingdoms and unify the China we know today. This half-fiction, half-historical adventure is recounted in the "Kingdom" manga series by Yasuhisa Hara.
Context: the Warring Kingdoms period
The story told in the "Kingdom" mangas and their animated series takes place in the history of China. More specifically, at the end of the period known as the "Warring Kingdoms", in the third century BC.
While in Europe the Republic of Rome was busy with its Punic Wars, on the other side of Eurasia, several powerful kingdoms were waging incessant war against each other. There were seven of them: Chu, Han, Qi, Zhao, Yan, Wei and Qin. This period was a consequence of the decline of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, and each prince took the title of king and tried to extend his influence.
This period should not be confused with a sort of Middle Ages. Indeed, wars also provided plenty of stimulus for technical, societal and even philosophical progress. The great Confucius lived at the beginning of this period, which was marked by Confucianism.
The Qin kingdom, the future victor, initially found itself in difficulty: positioned in the west, it had to constantly fight against so-called "barbarian" peoples, which diverted its attention from the central conflict. But by the end of the fourth century BC, the Qin kingdom had finally tamed these peoples and was able to concentrate on the great war. Better still, its victories enabled it to expand its territory, making it the largest kingdom with the most agricultural land. As a result, it was able to feed its largest army.
An army that quickly became victorious thanks to the reforms of minister Shang Yang, who introduced collective responsibility: if a member of a clan committed a fault, the clan leaders would have to bear the consequences. Yang also broke down the system of large families, increasing taxes for households with several adults.
The story of Li Xin
And family is exactly what our young hero Li Xin is missing. The constant wars have orphaned him and his friend Piao. They dream of taking part in conflicts and rising to the rank of general. But in the meantime, they're too young and just work as servants in a small village.
Until the day when guards under the orders of a minister take Piao to the royal palace, without explaining why. A little later, Piao returns to the village mortally wounded. Before taking his last breath, he asks Xin to go to another village.
It was there that Xin met the young king of Qin, Ying Zheng. He discovers that Ying Zheng has the same appearance as his friend Piao. He had used Piao as a stand-in to escape an assassination attempt.
Xin is forced to make a terrible decision. He decides to swallow his anger at the king and put it to good use instead: he helps the king to foil the plot led by his half-brother Cheng Jiao and return to the throne.
Xin was rewarded for this painful decision. He officially entered the service of King Ying Zheng and quickly rose through the ranks of his army. He helped the Qin kingdom to conquer its opponents and emerge victorious. The Qin kingdom would go on to found the Chinese empire.
Fiction and history
Kingdom is a manga that blithely mixes fictional characters (Li Xin in particular) with historical characters and events, such as King Ying Zheng, his Qin kingdom and its wars.
First published in Weekly Young Jump magazine from 2006, which specialises in seinen manga, Kingdom was then published in tankobon volumes. The anime adaptation began in 2012, produced by the Japanese animation studio Pierrot.
It was so successful that live-action films were made. The first film, Kingdom, hit the big screens in 2019, with Kento Yamazaki in the lead role. This film tells the story of Li Xin's youth, his meeting with Ying Zheng and how he helped him to regain his throne, under the promise that he would unite the Seven Kingdoms by force.
Two sequels were made, and a fourth instalment has been announced. While you wait for its release, check out our geek shop for all the tankobon volumes in the Kingdom series, as well as Kingdom goodies.