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The First Emperor: Selections from the Historical Records
"The following year Qin unified all under Heaven and the title of August Emperor was immediately adopted."
The short-lived Qin dynasty unified China in 221 BC and created an imperial legacy that lasted until 1911. The extraordinary story of the First Emperor, founder of the dynasty, is told in the Historical Records of Sima Qian, the Grand Historiographer and the most famous Chinese historian. He describes the Emperor's birth and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as the political and often brutal events that led to the founding of the dynasty and its aftermath. Sima Qian recounts the building of the Great Wall, the "burning of the books", and the construction of the First
Emperor's magnificent tomb, a tomb now world famous since the discovery of the terracotta warriors in 1974. Sima Qian's love of anecdote ensures that his history is never dull, and Raymond Dawson's fluent translation captures his lively and vivid style.
The short-lived Qin dynasty unified China in 221 BC and created an imperial legacy that lasted until 1911. The extraordinary story of the First Emperor, founder of the dynasty, is told in the Historical Records of Sima Qian, the Grand Historiographer and the most famous Chinese historian. He describes the Emperor's birth and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as the political and often brutal events that led to the founding of the dynasty and its aftermath. Sima Qian recounts the building of the Great Wall, the "burning of the books", and the construction of the First
Emperor's magnificent tomb, a tomb now world famous since the discovery of the terracotta warriors in 1974. Sima Qian's love of anecdote ensures that his history is never dull, and Raymond Dawson's fluent translation captures his lively and vivid style.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 18, 1994
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340 people want to read
About the author
Sima Qian
258 books45 followersSima Qian (Szu-ma Chien; 司馬遷 c. 145 or 135 BC – 86 BC) was a Chinese historian of the Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his work, the Records of the Grand Historian, a Jizhuanti-style (纪传体) general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to his time, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Although he worked as the Court Astrologer (Chinese: 太史令; Tàishǐ Lìng), later generations refer to him as the Grand Historian (Chinese: 太史公; taishigong or tai-shih-kung) for his monumental work. (Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 4, 2015
A tricky book to rate, as in many ways, it is excellent - as well as (probably) being unique. However, I didn't always find it riveting. Some passages are surprisingly entertaining, while others are somewhat dull. My overall enjoyment is probably 3.5* (I'm harsh with stars), but for those who want a serious but succinct insight into the period, it's probably 4 or 5*.
It is translations of selected passages written by Sima Qian, the famous Grand Historiographer (what a wonderful title), in which he tells how China was unified under the Qin dynasty, a century earlier. It includes the building of the Great Wall, as well as various rebellions and a huge burning of books.
HISTORICAL ACCURACY and METHOD
Forget what you expect of official historical records. Yes, this has a foreword, footnotes, index, map and timeline, but they are all modern additions. The historical records themselves are told as literary stories, full of anecdotes, parables, opinion, dialogue, political ideology (and a little too much genealogy). I chuckled more than I expected.
Sometimes a single episode is described in two chapters, from a different, possibly conflicting, viewpoint. Despite all the modern notes, this means it doesn't always have the feel of a coherent, chronological narrative, but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention.
Another aspect is that the dialog often credits the speakers with knowledge they could not have had at the time, whether that be someone's presumed thoughts and motives, or using a name that was only applied years later. Each section ends with a sermonic(?) summary by The Grand Historiographer, one of which ends, somewhat defensively, "They told it to me just like this".
As it says in the introduction:
"Sima Qian... took an exuberant interest in good stories and certainly would not have felt the need to submit his material to the kind of scrutiny that would have worried the conscience of a modern historian. The ancient Chinese historical style was in any case to preserve traditions rather than to get at the truth."
And in one of the notes, there is this dry aside:
"In reading this chapter sharpness of sight is necessary to enable one to extract the nuggets of historical truth from the rich seam of fantasy."
INSIGHTS and AMUSEMENTS
This approach to history means that there are often intriguing asides that one would be unlikely to read in Hansard. One man moves to another area and "became fond of a dog-butcher", as you do. Another concerns a Queen Dowager, infamous for her "immoral behaviour". An official heard of a man with a large penis and paid him to walk around with a wooden wheel attached to it, to ensnare the Queen as part of a more complicated and profitable plot.
One scheme has shades of the story of The Emperor's New Clothes: give a ruler a deer, call it a horse, and hope he assumes he is deluded!
Best of all, "He sent me to insult them" conjured the French taunting from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
A few specific words attracted my attention: "enfeoff" is used several times, without ever being explained in the notes (it means giving someone property - a fiefdom), and I was oddly charmed to read "smote", "parley" and "brigand" several times.
LIFE and DEATH
This is a political document, depicting turbulent times, so there is plenty of plotting, death and so on - even boiling people alive. It's not all gruesome, though: there is a somewhat slapstick assassination attempt and chase.
OTHER HISTORICAL POINTS
There are plenty of passing references to traditional beliefs (magicians, spirit mountains, elixirs, dream interpretation, evil spirits, lucky numbers), as well actual events. Some of the latter had strong parallels with 20th century horrors: mass book burning; purging intellectuals; rampant nepotism, corruption and bribery; faked documents and rewritten history; officials being too scared to bring bad news so inventing lies; delaying the announcement of a leader's death, and political executions, assassinations and "accidents".
Although I have read quite a few books about and set in China, there were some features of the times that were new to me:
* Hostage sons were sent to other states to try to prevent war breaking out.
* Honourable suicide (not always entirely voluntary) seems to have pretty common in the court.
* Because white was for mourning, it was also used to ward off ill-fortune by preparing for the worst.
* Relatives could be jointly tried for crimes they did not themselves commit.
* There was a "Minister of Faults to take charge of all the officials".
TRANSLATION
Raymond Dawson (translator and writer of most of the additional material) and KE Brashier (who wrote the Preface) have done a good job of making these ancient texts accessible to modern readers, and in places, even explain their approach. There are some slightly stilted parts ("I am rather stupid, and I am afraid I cannot wait a moment"), that left me wondering about authenticity of voice, but that's a minor issue, especially compared with the liberties that Sima Qian apparently took.
It is translations of selected passages written by Sima Qian, the famous Grand Historiographer (what a wonderful title), in which he tells how China was unified under the Qin dynasty, a century earlier. It includes the building of the Great Wall, as well as various rebellions and a huge burning of books.
HISTORICAL ACCURACY and METHOD
Forget what you expect of official historical records. Yes, this has a foreword, footnotes, index, map and timeline, but they are all modern additions. The historical records themselves are told as literary stories, full of anecdotes, parables, opinion, dialogue, political ideology (and a little too much genealogy). I chuckled more than I expected.
Sometimes a single episode is described in two chapters, from a different, possibly conflicting, viewpoint. Despite all the modern notes, this means it doesn't always have the feel of a coherent, chronological narrative, but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention.
Another aspect is that the dialog often credits the speakers with knowledge they could not have had at the time, whether that be someone's presumed thoughts and motives, or using a name that was only applied years later. Each section ends with a sermonic(?) summary by The Grand Historiographer, one of which ends, somewhat defensively, "They told it to me just like this".
As it says in the introduction:
"Sima Qian... took an exuberant interest in good stories and certainly would not have felt the need to submit his material to the kind of scrutiny that would have worried the conscience of a modern historian. The ancient Chinese historical style was in any case to preserve traditions rather than to get at the truth."
And in one of the notes, there is this dry aside:
"In reading this chapter sharpness of sight is necessary to enable one to extract the nuggets of historical truth from the rich seam of fantasy."
INSIGHTS and AMUSEMENTS
This approach to history means that there are often intriguing asides that one would be unlikely to read in Hansard. One man moves to another area and "became fond of a dog-butcher", as you do. Another concerns a Queen Dowager, infamous for her "immoral behaviour". An official heard of a man with a large penis and paid him to walk around with a wooden wheel attached to it, to ensnare the Queen as part of a more complicated and profitable plot.
One scheme has shades of the story of The Emperor's New Clothes: give a ruler a deer, call it a horse, and hope he assumes he is deluded!
Best of all, "He sent me to insult them" conjured the French taunting from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
A few specific words attracted my attention: "enfeoff" is used several times, without ever being explained in the notes (it means giving someone property - a fiefdom), and I was oddly charmed to read "smote", "parley" and "brigand" several times.
LIFE and DEATH
This is a political document, depicting turbulent times, so there is plenty of plotting, death and so on - even boiling people alive. It's not all gruesome, though: there is a somewhat slapstick assassination attempt and chase.
OTHER HISTORICAL POINTS
There are plenty of passing references to traditional beliefs (magicians, spirit mountains, elixirs, dream interpretation, evil spirits, lucky numbers), as well actual events. Some of the latter had strong parallels with 20th century horrors: mass book burning; purging intellectuals; rampant nepotism, corruption and bribery; faked documents and rewritten history; officials being too scared to bring bad news so inventing lies; delaying the announcement of a leader's death, and political executions, assassinations and "accidents".
Although I have read quite a few books about and set in China, there were some features of the times that were new to me:
* Hostage sons were sent to other states to try to prevent war breaking out.
* Honourable suicide (not always entirely voluntary) seems to have pretty common in the court.
* Because white was for mourning, it was also used to ward off ill-fortune by preparing for the worst.
* Relatives could be jointly tried for crimes they did not themselves commit.
* There was a "Minister of Faults to take charge of all the officials".
TRANSLATION
Raymond Dawson (translator and writer of most of the additional material) and KE Brashier (who wrote the Preface) have done a good job of making these ancient texts accessible to modern readers, and in places, even explain their approach. There are some slightly stilted parts ("I am rather stupid, and I am afraid I cannot wait a moment"), that left me wondering about authenticity of voice, but that's a minor issue, especially compared with the liberties that Sima Qian apparently took.
March 19, 2016
Preface, by K. E. Brashier
Introduction
Note on the Text
Select Bibliography
Chronology
Map
--The Birth of the First Emperor
--An Assassination Attempt
--The Biography of the Chief Minister of Qin
--The Builder of the Great Wall
--The Annals of Qin
--The Treatises
--The Story of the Rebel Xiang Yu
--The Story of the Rebel Chen Sheng
Explanatory Notes
Index
Introduction
Note on the Text
Select Bibliography
Chronology
Map
--The Birth of the First Emperor
--An Assassination Attempt
--The Biography of the Chief Minister of Qin
--The Builder of the Great Wall
--The Annals of Qin
--The Treatises
--The Story of the Rebel Xiang Yu
--The Story of the Rebel Chen Sheng
Explanatory Notes
Index
June 30, 2011
I picked up this book at the NSW Art Gallery where it was on sale as part of its 2011 exhibition on the terracotta warriors and on the period of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi.
The work consists on a scholarly but quite enjoyable translation by Raymond Dawson of selected sections from the work of the great Han dynasty historian Sima Qian relevant to Qin and the Qin dynasty. Sima Qian's take on this period of history and his biases are discussed, and there are copious end notes which help explain some of the more esoteric references and assist the reader in getting a better inkling of some of the more unusual ideas to be found in 3rd century BCE China.
The excerpts chosen are full of anecdotes about the first emperor and of the short-lived Qin dynasty (which nevertheless created an imperial legacy which lasted until the early 20th century CE). Qin Shi Huangdi united China under his sway, ending the Warring States period (403—221 BCE), opportunistically seizing power and ruthlessly exploiting his position. We are given insights into his rise and achievements; the story of an assassination attempt; the infamous 'burning of the books' episode of 213 BCE, the devious and murderous machinations of the Chief Ministers of Qin, especially under the Second Generation emperor; the building of the Great Wall of China; the fabulous description of the first emperor's tomb (still to be uncovered: the discovery of the stunning terracotta warriors in 1974 is but the first of many further excavation to be made); the beginnings of rebels and rebellion against the extreme severity and cruelty of the measures imposed by the Qin; etc.
Some readers might find the somewhat oblique style of arguments used by various protagonists in these stories a little off-putting, but those interested in a general introduction to this fascinating period of Chinese history will find this work compelling.
The work consists on a scholarly but quite enjoyable translation by Raymond Dawson of selected sections from the work of the great Han dynasty historian Sima Qian relevant to Qin and the Qin dynasty. Sima Qian's take on this period of history and his biases are discussed, and there are copious end notes which help explain some of the more esoteric references and assist the reader in getting a better inkling of some of the more unusual ideas to be found in 3rd century BCE China.
The excerpts chosen are full of anecdotes about the first emperor and of the short-lived Qin dynasty (which nevertheless created an imperial legacy which lasted until the early 20th century CE). Qin Shi Huangdi united China under his sway, ending the Warring States period (403—221 BCE), opportunistically seizing power and ruthlessly exploiting his position. We are given insights into his rise and achievements; the story of an assassination attempt; the infamous 'burning of the books' episode of 213 BCE, the devious and murderous machinations of the Chief Ministers of Qin, especially under the Second Generation emperor; the building of the Great Wall of China; the fabulous description of the first emperor's tomb (still to be uncovered: the discovery of the stunning terracotta warriors in 1974 is but the first of many further excavation to be made); the beginnings of rebels and rebellion against the extreme severity and cruelty of the measures imposed by the Qin; etc.
Some readers might find the somewhat oblique style of arguments used by various protagonists in these stories a little off-putting, but those interested in a general introduction to this fascinating period of Chinese history will find this work compelling.
August 24, 2019
An easy read of certain extracts from the work of Grand Historiographer Sima Qian pertaining to the Qin Empire and in particular the first emperor… but I’m honestly not sure just how useful it is. This is my first foray into this era of Chinese history, and the preface notes that Sima Qian is in some ways comparable to Herodotus – he relates good stories, but seems to have been less concerned about the veracity and accuracy than one would hope for in a history. Reading the text is a tantalising experience of specific names and places combined with absolutely lurid scandal that seems too absurd to be believed. Sima Qian was also writing a century or perhaps a little more after the events he supposedly records, and working for a rival dynasty that succeeded that of Qin and pursued different policies in their approach to government. Let’s just say that Sima Qian was not an eyewitness, was employed by a regime that had a vested interest in a biased portrayal of the Qin emperors, and the implausibility of certain episodes in the text itself gives one serious pause when considering the reliability of this account. But, as the closest account of the era, perhaps it does have some use in containing seeds of truth among the fairytales, and certainly in giving the reader an impression of how the Qin were criticised and reviled by the states that immediately succeeded them.
6 out of 10
September 19, 2024
Not as entertaining as Herodotus. I'm not sure if the Greek historians are actually better or if I just find the Chinese names confusing in their similarity and the events harder to follow because I have less cultural context. There are some truly captivating parts though.
November 18, 2023
i have plans that i cannot share rn bc the haters will sabotage me
February 24, 2023
As a selection from the Historical Records this is a translation of a primary source. This then is a book of some of the records of the reign of the Qin dynasty in China – despite the title ‘The First Emperor’ it includes both the first and second emperors. There is lots on the oddities of the first emperor, such as his quest for immortality, and also on the court scheming immediately after his death, with a final theme being the rebellions that brought down the dynasty.
The editor makes a decision to consider his remit on the first emperor to mostly be once he becomes emperor – so only towards the end of his life. This makes for a rather odd decision as it results in the book being more about the death of the first emperor and the decline of the dynasty under the second emperor than about the first. We do get a few early episodes; Ying Zheng’s birth, and then an assassination attempt shortly before he became emperor but otherwise the actual unification of China is ignored. For me this was rather frustrating and made the book feel unbalanced.
Historical records are a product of when they were written. It is almost contemporary, but not quite. Instead, it is from the beginning of the Han Dynasty – that came next and had a hand in overthrowing the second emperor of the Qin dynasty. This means there it is much more likely to be emphasis on the negative – though this is not overdone here.
As a translation it is therefore to be expected that there are oddities in it so it should not be surprising that this is not always an easy read. The language is stilted and lots of people are brought in, many of whom are only mentioned once or twice, which can get a bit confusing. But I doubt many people go to a translated historical text for the brilliant writing.
This is worthwhile to get a flavour of the Historical Records and other chronicles of early China. But as a book for general interest reading it has its limitations.
The editor makes a decision to consider his remit on the first emperor to mostly be once he becomes emperor – so only towards the end of his life. This makes for a rather odd decision as it results in the book being more about the death of the first emperor and the decline of the dynasty under the second emperor than about the first. We do get a few early episodes; Ying Zheng’s birth, and then an assassination attempt shortly before he became emperor but otherwise the actual unification of China is ignored. For me this was rather frustrating and made the book feel unbalanced.
Historical records are a product of when they were written. It is almost contemporary, but not quite. Instead, it is from the beginning of the Han Dynasty – that came next and had a hand in overthrowing the second emperor of the Qin dynasty. This means there it is much more likely to be emphasis on the negative – though this is not overdone here.
As a translation it is therefore to be expected that there are oddities in it so it should not be surprising that this is not always an easy read. The language is stilted and lots of people are brought in, many of whom are only mentioned once or twice, which can get a bit confusing. But I doubt many people go to a translated historical text for the brilliant writing.
This is worthwhile to get a flavour of the Historical Records and other chronicles of early China. But as a book for general interest reading it has its limitations.
January 8, 2023
The Mengs did not deserve to die. They had served the Qin emperor loyally for three generations. Why did Meng Tian not take his army of 300,000, raid the capital and kill Zhao Gao? I suppose he was loyal to the throne and if the emperor told him to die he did so readily because he didn't want to be branded as a traitor. Being branded as a traitor meant that relatives up to third degree could be killed. He could have played the part of a kingmaker, replacing the usurper prince Huhai with another of his brothers, but he did not. Overall, people in those days seemed pretty eager to die. Li Si's list of "crimes" was moving but then he was the book-burning chancellor. The First Emperor was a bit of a megalomaniac. He blinded a lute player and said he was being merciful. He dreamt of fighting a sea spirit and as a result, took to fishing. I recognized some of the names because of the anime Kingdom and John Keay's China: A History. Zhao's Li Mu and Chu's Chunshen were real; they were indeed prime ministers but probably before Zheng's time. Li Xin and Wang Jian are mentioned briefly. But neither the anime nor the book mention Crown Prince Dan or his fallout with Zheng. Although Zheng's backstory in the anime is true to history.
Some parts of the book were repeated. I did not like that.
Some parts of the book were repeated. I did not like that.
October 9, 2022
The introductory material was excellent and provided some historical background as well as commentary on the context of the writer and issues with translation. The actual translated text was interesting as a (nearly) primary source and added a little insight into how the Chinese language of the era was used. Although the written characters were standardized to some extent, I feel I now understand these translation issues better. For example, "Yan", which I assume is a pronunciation of the actual Chinese word, can mean a person, a river or a city, yet three different characters are used in the original text. Also, several words were noted as difficult to translate, and they all seemed to be abstract ideas, rather than representing physical objects. I was a little disappointed that none of the Chinese characters were presented, only Romanized versions of the word sounds, like "de" and "wang".
September 25, 2025
A classic. When Romans were at the limit of their resources when fielding 80,000 men at Cannae, the Chu and the Han could deploy 400,000 - 500,000 men. Chinese history is so fascinating. Sima Qian is the Chinese Herodotus. It is too bad that you need to understand so much background information to get through his writings, I tried reading his Shiji some time ago but it is just no use. I would totally read more of books like these. I wish the editor sacrificed a bit of the literal accuracy of the translation just to make the book more readable. Sometimes there are idioms or turn of phrases that becomes weird when you translate it literally.
January 9, 2018
Firstly unless you are good at pronouncing Chinese do not attempt to read this aloud... lol.
As far as historical information and stories are concerned, this was an okay read. Little confusing in spots with the abrupt names all over the place. That said very informative and entertaining in some spots.
I enjoyed the quotes and lessons mentioned and could only imagine how the songs mentioned may have sounded.
This is a short read and well worth it.
As far as historical information and stories are concerned, this was an okay read. Little confusing in spots with the abrupt names all over the place. That said very informative and entertaining in some spots.
I enjoyed the quotes and lessons mentioned and could only imagine how the songs mentioned may have sounded.
This is a short read and well worth it.
June 29, 2018
Quite difficult to read at first, as this is a historical document rather than a modern book. Xiang Yu’s rebellion is a mess of names and states but the First Emperor’s antics are amusing/terrifying. Note that there are a LOT of notes in this book, not all of them really that important. I wish the editor had reduced the number of times I had to keep flipping from the page I was reading to the back pages where the actual notes were.
November 16, 2021
Probably the worse historical account I have ever read. Sima Qian focuses on superfluous details and prefers to write down every character's spiel instead of just narrating them. This would be fine if the book were a play, but it is not. The book is just an incoherent mess that jumps from one idea to the next without any continuity
December 3, 2021
This book selects from Sima Qian's Historical Records to tell the story of the first Emperor of China, the Qin Emperor. It was written about 2300 years ago so it can be hard going at times. The translation includes footnotes which are useful explanation although they can take away from the narrative. This book is a very useful insight into the founding of China and still has some relevance today.
November 14, 2021
I read this book for English class!! I really enjoyed it and seeing the narrative from different perspectives. I enjoyed reading about China for the first time, this entire year we focused on Greece and Rome.
May 31, 2017
Translation is hard to evaluate and restricts content. Would have been better with more narration. Struck by casual approach to suicide, murder, and executions, and overall general brutality
January 4, 2019
not a great deal of cohesion in this slim selection
March 25, 2020
5 stars for Sima Qian's book and 2-3 stars for the translation / REVIEW TO COME
March 5, 2022
College read , it was kind of hard to read but it’s really interesting
June 25, 2023
Nienhauser's translation of these events is better (Grand Scribe's Records, volume VII).
Read
July 11, 2011Sima Qian (145-86 BCE) became China's Grand Historiographer. His historical work runs 130 chapters in totality; this book selects a few chapters dealing with the Qin dynasty that unified China in 221 BCE.
Regarding eunuchs, there are two individuals of interest here. The first is the faked castration of Lao Ai, masterminded by the merchant Lu Buwei. To get a sense of the sort of schemer Buwei was: The crown prince Lord Anguo had over twenty sons but his favored concubine was childless. One of his sons, Zichu, was kept hostage in neighboring Zhao as a kind of human shield. Buwei convinced the favorite concubine to argue on behalf of making Zichu the heir, so that she could form an alliance with Zichu and be protected in her old age. Buwei spent the better part of his estate securing this deal, expecting that he, too, would be protected by Zichu. (p. 3) Now for the story of the false castration. The Queen Dowager, married to the First Emperor while he was still a boy, had affairs with other men. Here, too, Lu Buwei saw an opportunity. He tempted her with a well-endowed man named Lao Ai. To facilitate the liaison, he framed Lao Ai with a crime, then faked his castration, and had his beard and eyebrows plucked so he would resemble a eunuch. Lao Ai became the queen's servant, had thousands of his own servants, and temporarily moved to another castle with her where she bore two of his children in secret. When the affair was discovered, Lao Ai, his two children, and all of his family members were killed, and his servants were stripped of their property and deported. The Queen was sent away for a time. Lu Buwei, however, escaped punishment and soon after was sent away from his post as chief minister. (p. 7)
The second personality of interest is Zhao Gao, about whom I did a write-up on Helium. He was the Director of Palace Coach-houses and also controlled the imperial seal for official documents. He served the First Emperor who could be brutal; once, suspecting that a eunuch was repeating his private comments to other officials, the First Emperor executed a large number of eunuchs. (p. 79) When the First Emperor died, only his son Huhai and a half-dozen eunuchs (including Zhao Gao) were immediately aware. They kept it a secret, storing the emperor's body in his sleeping-carriage and masking the odor with salted fish, claiming he preferred not to be seen. (p. 32, 85) Zhao Gao told Huhai: "Just at this moment authority over the Empire and its salvation or destruction depend upon you, sir, and me, together with the Chief Minister, and nobody else..." (p. 33) They altered the document setting up Fusu as crown prince, instead saying that Fusu should kill himself and that Huhai should be set up as crown prince. Thus Huhai became the emperor known as Second Generation. He allowed Zhao Gao to conduct his business (p. 45) and defended him against detractors. "This Gao," Second Generation said, "has long been an eunuch, but he has not given scope to ambition for the sake of his own security, and he has not changed his mind because of danger. By keeping his behaviour clean and practising his skills, he has enabled himself to attain this position. Through loyalty he has obtained access to me, and through good faith he has preserved his position. We truly consider him a man of quality, so why do you, sir, doubt him?" (p. 48)
Zhao Gao proved to be ruthless. He flogged a fellow official Li Si a thousand times until he made a false confession. (p. 49) In a famous story, he brought a deer to the palace and prodded other courtiers to insist it was a horse, punishing those who insisted it was a deer. Second Generation was confused by this, and the Grand Diviner convinced him that he was mistaken--the animal was really a horse--and that he should propitiate the gods until they allowed him to see that it was truly a horse. This book contains two versions of the story. In one, the emperor offends the gods by killing an innocent man while he is supposed to be fasting; in the other, he has a dream interpreted and wishes to plan a sacrifice. In either case, he is encouraged to stay in another palace. Zhao Gao seized the opportunity of the emperor's absence. He faked an edict telling the palace attendants to arm themselves against marauding bandits who had taken the palace where the emperor was staying. He sent the governor of Xianyang, Yan Yue, to charge the palace with a thousand men. Then he convinced the emperor, who had only one surviving eunuch by his side and who thought the army had turned against him, to kill himself. Zhao Gao hung the imperial seal from his own belt but he was not accepted as the ruler, so he gave the seal to the First Emperor's younger brother, Ziying, whose first order of business was telling the eunuch Han Tan to stab Zhao Gao and kill all his relatives. (p. 52, 93)
Regarding eunuchs, there are two individuals of interest here. The first is the faked castration of Lao Ai, masterminded by the merchant Lu Buwei. To get a sense of the sort of schemer Buwei was: The crown prince Lord Anguo had over twenty sons but his favored concubine was childless. One of his sons, Zichu, was kept hostage in neighboring Zhao as a kind of human shield. Buwei convinced the favorite concubine to argue on behalf of making Zichu the heir, so that she could form an alliance with Zichu and be protected in her old age. Buwei spent the better part of his estate securing this deal, expecting that he, too, would be protected by Zichu. (p. 3) Now for the story of the false castration. The Queen Dowager, married to the First Emperor while he was still a boy, had affairs with other men. Here, too, Lu Buwei saw an opportunity. He tempted her with a well-endowed man named Lao Ai. To facilitate the liaison, he framed Lao Ai with a crime, then faked his castration, and had his beard and eyebrows plucked so he would resemble a eunuch. Lao Ai became the queen's servant, had thousands of his own servants, and temporarily moved to another castle with her where she bore two of his children in secret. When the affair was discovered, Lao Ai, his two children, and all of his family members were killed, and his servants were stripped of their property and deported. The Queen was sent away for a time. Lu Buwei, however, escaped punishment and soon after was sent away from his post as chief minister. (p. 7)
The second personality of interest is Zhao Gao, about whom I did a write-up on Helium. He was the Director of Palace Coach-houses and also controlled the imperial seal for official documents. He served the First Emperor who could be brutal; once, suspecting that a eunuch was repeating his private comments to other officials, the First Emperor executed a large number of eunuchs. (p. 79) When the First Emperor died, only his son Huhai and a half-dozen eunuchs (including Zhao Gao) were immediately aware. They kept it a secret, storing the emperor's body in his sleeping-carriage and masking the odor with salted fish, claiming he preferred not to be seen. (p. 32, 85) Zhao Gao told Huhai: "Just at this moment authority over the Empire and its salvation or destruction depend upon you, sir, and me, together with the Chief Minister, and nobody else..." (p. 33) They altered the document setting up Fusu as crown prince, instead saying that Fusu should kill himself and that Huhai should be set up as crown prince. Thus Huhai became the emperor known as Second Generation. He allowed Zhao Gao to conduct his business (p. 45) and defended him against detractors. "This Gao," Second Generation said, "has long been an eunuch, but he has not given scope to ambition for the sake of his own security, and he has not changed his mind because of danger. By keeping his behaviour clean and practising his skills, he has enabled himself to attain this position. Through loyalty he has obtained access to me, and through good faith he has preserved his position. We truly consider him a man of quality, so why do you, sir, doubt him?" (p. 48)
Zhao Gao proved to be ruthless. He flogged a fellow official Li Si a thousand times until he made a false confession. (p. 49) In a famous story, he brought a deer to the palace and prodded other courtiers to insist it was a horse, punishing those who insisted it was a deer. Second Generation was confused by this, and the Grand Diviner convinced him that he was mistaken--the animal was really a horse--and that he should propitiate the gods until they allowed him to see that it was truly a horse. This book contains two versions of the story. In one, the emperor offends the gods by killing an innocent man while he is supposed to be fasting; in the other, he has a dream interpreted and wishes to plan a sacrifice. In either case, he is encouraged to stay in another palace. Zhao Gao seized the opportunity of the emperor's absence. He faked an edict telling the palace attendants to arm themselves against marauding bandits who had taken the palace where the emperor was staying. He sent the governor of Xianyang, Yan Yue, to charge the palace with a thousand men. Then he convinced the emperor, who had only one surviving eunuch by his side and who thought the army had turned against him, to kill himself. Zhao Gao hung the imperial seal from his own belt but he was not accepted as the ruler, so he gave the seal to the First Emperor's younger brother, Ziying, whose first order of business was telling the eunuch Han Tan to stab Zhao Gao and kill all his relatives. (p. 52, 93)
September 9, 2016
Interesting insight into the world of the First Emperor of a unified China in the 3rd century BC. Hard to believe there are texts that old, that there are in fact many, many ancient texts and sources which remain untranslated or only partially translated. Recommended for the sinophiles amongst us. A book which provided more context for the times and how people lived would have made this a better text but, of course, it was keeping within its intended purpose - to provide selections from the historical records. This book will encourage me to find a more generalist book about the era.
Want to read
February 22, 2011PRELUDE:
Last week went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales ie. AGNSW,
to see the exhibition titled The First Emperor:China's Entombed Warriors,
and got TOTALLY caught up in this AMAZING Qin dynasty and its artifacts
and culture.
This inexpensive book was exactly what I was hoping to find in the
special exhibition gift shop.
Lord knows when I'll have the time to consume it...or the life expectancy!!
Wish me luck!!!!
July 9, 2014
Historical records recreate the Qin dynasty of Ancient China. We know Qin Shi Huang by his magnificent tomb with thousands of life-sized, each unique, soldier statues. This book takes disparate sources to create the impression of a ruthless, brave, intelligent and amoral man who wanted to maintain power even after death.
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