Zhang Kaidi (张开地, Trương Khai Địa; fl. 300s BC), was an illustrious Grand Chancellor of the State of Han during the Warring States period, grandfather of China’s immortal master strategist Zhang Liang (Trương Lương / Zhang Zifang).
Serving as Chancellor across the reigns of three successive Han monarchs—Marquis Zhao of Han, King Xuanhui of Han, and King Xiang of Han (King Xiang of Han)—Zhang Kaidi laid the ancestral foundation of the celebrated ‘Five Generations, Five Chancellors’ (五世相韩) heritage of the noble Zhang clan, governing Xinzheng with classical Legalist and Confucian statecraft through antiquity’s fiercest geopolitical crises.
Contents
Role in History (Shiji)
Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji, vol. 55, House of Marquis of Liu): “Zhang Liang’s grandfather was Zhang Kaidi, who served as chancellor to three kings of Han; his father was Zhang Ping, who served two kings. The Zhang clan were chancellors of Han across five reigns.”
Zhang Kaidi — Historical & Literary Timeline
Warring States
Chancellor of Han
Appointed Grand Chancellor in Xinzheng under Marquis Zhao of Han.
c. 310s BC
Serving Three Monarchs
Advises King Xuanhui and King Xiang through anti-Qin coalitions.
Post-300 BC
Ancestral Legacy
Establishes the five-generation ministerial prestige of the Zhang lineage.
Key Relationships
Family
- Grandson Zhang Liang (张良, Trương Lương – Marquis of Liu): Supreme master strategist of Liu Bang who avenged Han by destroying Qin.
- Son Zhang Ping (张平): Chancellor of Han under King Xi and King Huanhui.
Friends
- Monarchs of Han King Xiang of Han, King Xuanhui: Kings whom Zhang Kaidi served as trusted prime minister.
Enemies
- Aggressive Qin State of Qin armies: Threatened the borders of Han.
Other
- Historian Scribe Sima Qian: Documented the Zhang lineage in the Shiji.
In Shiji
“Five crowns of chancellorship adorned the house of Zhang; from Zhang Kaidi’s ink arose the genius that toppled the palaces of Qin.”
Historical Significance
Zhang Kaidi’s generational loyalty to Han was the burning moral flame that inspired his grandson Zhang Liang to hire an assassin with a heavy iron cone at Bolangsha to strike at Qin Shi Huang.