Having translated four biographies which relate to the Qin Dynasty and its ruler, I now turn to the annalistic section of the Historical Records. Chapters 5 and 6 are devoted to Qin annals, the former dealing almost entirely with the history of the state before the time of King Zheng, who later became First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty. Chapter 6 starts by briefly recounting the early life of Zheng before he unified China. Here we take up the story immediately after the unification.
NOW Qin for the first time had unified all under Heaven and instructions were given to the Chief Minister and the Imperial Secretary saying: ‘On another occasion the King of Hann* offered us his territory and handed over his seal, requesting to become a frontier vassal, but having done so he turned his back on the agreement and formed a north–south alliance with Zhao and Wei to rebel against Qin, so we raised troops to punish them and took their king prisoner. I consider this to be a good thing since it practically brought an end to the fighting. The King of Zhao sent his chief minister, Li Mu, to come and arrange a treaty with us, and therefore we returned his hostage-son. But, having done so, he turned his back on the treaty, rebelled against us at Taiyuan, and therefore we raised troops to punish them, and took their king. And then, when Jia Prince of Zhao set himself up as King of Dai, we therefore raised troops to smite and destroy him. The King of Wei first of all guaranteed to surrender and come over to Qin, but having done so he plotted with Hann and Zhao to make a surprise attack on Qin, and officers and soldiers of Qin went to inflict punishment and subsequently defeated him. The King of Chu presented us with the land to the west of Qingyang, but having done so he rebelled against the agreement and attacked us in the Nan province, and so we sent out troops to inflict punishment and took their king, and then restored order to his territory. The King of Yan was stupid and iniquitous, and his crown prince Dan even gave secret orders to Jing Ke to perform a dastardly deed, but the officers and soldiers inflicted punishment and wiped out his state. The King of Qi, taking the advice of Hou Sheng, broke off diplomatic relations with Qin, intending to create chaos, but our officers and soldiers inflicted punishment and took their king prisoner, and restored peace to the territory of Qi. With my own insignificant person I have raised troops to punish violence and chaos and, with the support of the sacred power of the ancestral temples, the six kings have all admitted their crimes, and order is magnificently restored in all under Heaven. Now if the title is not changed there will be no means of praising these achievements and transmitting them to later generations. You are to discuss the imperial title.’
Chief Minister Wang Wan, Imperial Secretary Feng Jie, Superintendent of Trials Li Si, and others all said: ‘In days of old the territory of the Five Emperors was 1,000 li square, and beyond this was the territory of the feudal princes and of the barbarians. Some of the feudal princes came to court and some did not, for the Son of Heaven was unable to exercise control. Now Your Majesty has raised a righteous army to punish the oppressors and bring peace and order to all under Heaven, so that everywhere within the seas has become our provinces and districts and the laws and ordinances have as a result become unified. This is something which has never once existed from remote antiquity onwards, and which the five Emperors did not attain. Your servants have carefully discussed this with the scholars of broad learning and, as in antiquity there was the Heavenly August, the Earthly August, and the Supreme August, and the Supreme August was the most highly honoured, so your servants, risking death, submit a venerable title, and propose that the King should become “the Supreme August”. His commands should be “edicts”, his orders should be “decrees”, and the Son of Heaven should refer to himself as “the mysterious one”.’ The King said: ‘Omit the word “supreme” and write “august” and pick out the title of “emperor” used from remote antiquity, so that the title will be “August Emperor”. The rest shall be as you suggest.’ And an edict was issued saying that it should be done. King Zhuangxiang was to be posthumously honoured as ‘the Supreme August on High’.
The following edict was issued: ‘We have heard that in high antiquity there were titles but no posthumous names. In middle antiquity there were titles, but when people died they were provided with posthumous names in accordance with their conduct. If this is so, then it is a case of the son passing judgement on the father and the subject passing judgement on the ruler. This is quite pointless, and We will not adopt this practice in such matters. Henceforward the law on posthumous names is abolished. We are the first August Emperor and later generations will be numbered in accordance with this system, Second Generation, Third Generation, right down to Ten Thousandth Generation,* and this tradition will continue without end.’
To continue the succession of the Five Powers* the First Emperor considered that, as Zhou had got the Power of Fire and Qin was replacing the Zhou power, it should adopt what fire does not overcome, so it was precisely at this moment that the Power of Water started. The beginning of the year was changed, and the court celebrations all started at the beginning of the tenth month. In all garments, flags, and pennants black was made predominant. And as far as number was concerned they took six as the basis of calculation, so that tallies and law caps were 6 inches, carriages were 6 feet wide, 6 feet equalled a ‘pace’, and imperial carriages had six horses. The Yellow River was renamed ‘the Powerful Water’ to inaugurate the Power of Water. Repression was intensive and matters were all decided by the law, for only through harsh treatment and the abandonment of humaneness, kindness, harmony, and righteousness could he accord with the destiny of the five Powers. And so the law was made rigorous, and for a long time no amnesty was declared.
The Chief Minister Wang Wan and others said: ‘The states are newly defeated and the territories of Yan, Qi, and Chu are distant, so if we do not establish kings for them there will be no means of bringing order to them. We beg to set up your sons in authority, but it is up to the Supreme One alone to favour us with his agreement.’ The First Emperor handed down their suggestion to the ministers, and they all thought this would be expedient. But the Superintendent of Trials Li Si advised: ‘Only after an extremely large number of sons and younger brothers and people of the same surname had been enfeoffed by King Wen and King Wu did they win the adherence of the distant, and then they attacked and smote each other and behaved like enemies. And when the feudal states wrought vengeance on each other more and more, the Zhou Son of Heaven was incapable of preventing them. Now all within the seas has been unified thanks to Your Majesty’s divine power, and everywhere has been turned into provinces and districts. And if your sons and the successful officials are richly rewarded from the public revenues, that will be quite sufficient to secure easy control. If there is no dissension throughout the Empire, then this is the technique for securing tranquillity. To establish feudal states would not be expedient.’ The First Emperor said: ‘It is because of the existence of marquises and kings that all under Heaven has shared in suffering from unceasing hostilities. When, thanks to the ancestral temples, all under Heaven has for the first time been brought to order, if states are reintroduced, this will mean the establishment of armies, and it would surely be difficult to seek peace in those places. The advice of the Superintendent of Trials is right.’
So the Empire was divided into thirty-six provinces, and a governor and army commander and an inspector were established for each. The people were renamed ‘the black-headed people’, and there were great celebrations. The weapons from all under Heaven were gathered in and collected together at Xianyang and were melted down to make bells and stands and twelve statues of men made of metal, each 1,000 piculs in weight,* to be set up in the courts and palaces. All weights and measures were placed under a unified system, and the axle length of carriages was standardized. For writings they standardized the characters.*
The land to the east stretched as far as the sea and Chaoxian, to the west as far as Lintao and Qiangzhong, to the south as far as the land where the doors face north, and in the north they constructed defences along the Yellow River to form the frontier, and along the Yin Mountains as far as Liaodong. One hundred and twenty thousand powerful and wealthy households from all under Heaven were transferred to Xianyang. All the temples together with Zhangtai and Shanglin were to the south of the Wei. Every time Qin destroyed a feudal state, a replica of its palaces and mansions was produced and it was created on the slope north of Xianyang, overlooking the Wei to the south, while eastwards from Yongmen as far as the Jing and Wei there was a series of mansions, connecting walkways, and pavilions. The beautiful women, bells, and drums* which they had obtained from the various states were installed there to fill them.
In the twenty-seventh year the First Emperor toured Longxi and Beidi, went out via Jitou Mountain and passed Huizhong. Then he built the Xin palace south of the Wei, and subsequently it was renamed the Temple of the Apex, to represent the Apex of Heaven. From the Temple of the Apex a roadway went through to Mount Li, and the front hall of the Ganquan palace was built, and they built a walled roadway from Xianyang to connect with it. This year one degree of promotion was bestowed and express roads were constructed.
In the twenty-eighth year the First Emperor travelled eastwards through his provinces and districts and ascended Mount Zouyi. He set up a stone tablet, and after discussion with the various Confucian scholars of Lu an inscription was carved on the stone extolling the virtue of Qin. They also discussed the matter of the feng and shan sacrifices* and the sacrifices to mountains and rivers. So next he ascended Mount Tai, set up a stone tablet, and made the feng sacrifice. As he descended and there was a violent onset of wind and rain, he rested under a tree, which was consequently enfeoffed as fifth-rank grandee.* He made the shan sacrifice at Liangfu. The stone tablet* that he had set up was inscribed with the following words:
When the August Emperor came to the throne, he created regulations and made the laws intelligent, and his subjects cherished his instructions.
In the twenty-sixth year of his rule, he for the first time unified all under Heaven, and there were none who did not submit.
In person he made tours of the black-headed people in distant places, climbed this Mount Tai, and gazed all around at the eastern limits.
His servants who were in attendance concentrated on following his footsteps, looked upon his deeds as the foundation and source of their own conduct, and reverently celebrated his achievements and virtue.
As the Way of good government circulates, all creation obtains its proper place, and everything has its laws and patterns.
His great righteousness shines forth with its blessings, to be handed down to later generations, and they are to receive it with compliance and not make changes in it.
The August Emperor is personally sage, and has brought peace to all under Heaven, and has been tireless in government.
Rising early and retiring late, he has instituted long-lasting benefits, and has brought especial glory to instructions and precepts.
His maxims and rules spread all around, and far and near everything has been properly organized, and everyone receives the benefits of his sagely ambitions.
Noble and base have been divided off and made clear, and men and women conform in accordance with propriety, and carefully fulfil their duties.
Private and public are made manifest and distinguished, and nothing is not pure and clean, for the benefit of our heirs and successors.
His influence will last to all eternity, and the decrees he bequeaths will be revered, and his grave admonitions will be inherited for ever.
He then proceeded to the east of Bohai, passed through Huang and Chui, did a complete tour of Mount Cheng, ascended Zhifu, and set up a stone tablet there extolling the virtue of Qin and then left.
He then went south and ascended Langye and, since he greatly enjoyed it, he stayed for three months. Then he moved 30,000 households of the black-headed people to the foot of Langye terrace, giving them tax and labour exemption for twelve years. When he built Langye terrace, he set up a stone inscription extolling the virtue of Qin,* to make clear that he had achieved his ambition. It said:
In his twenty-eighth year, the August Emperor makes a beginning.
Laws and standards are corrected and adjusted, as a means of recording the myriad things.
Thus he clarifies human affairs, and brings concord to father and son.
With sagacity, wisdom, humaneness, and righteousness, he has made manifest all principles.
In the east he has pacified the eastern lands, and thus he has inspected officers and men.
When this task had been magnificently accomplished, he then turned towards the sea.
Through the achievements of the August Emperor, the basic tasks are diligently worked on.
Farming is put first and non-essentials are abolished, and it is the black-headed people who are made wealthy.
All people under Heaven, have heart and mind in unison.
Implements are given a uniform measure, and the characters used in writing are standardized.
Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever boats and carts carry goods.
Everyone completes his destiny, and nobody does not get what he wants.
He makes things move in accord with the seasons, such is the August Emperor.
To rectify diverse customs, he has traversed land and water.
Feeling sorrow for the black-headed people, he relaxes not morning or evening.
Removing doubt he fixes the laws, so that all understand what they are forbidden to do.
The regional earls have their separate duties, and all government is regulated and made easy.
What is put into practice is bound to be right, and everything goes according to plan.
The intelligence of the August Emperor, oversees and inspects all four quarters.
High and low, noble and base, do not step out of their rank.
Evil and depravity are not allowed, and all strive to be upright and good.
Putting all their effort into both the trivial and the important, nobody dares to be indolent and careless.
Both far and near and both in developed and in obscure places, they concentrate their efforts on being majestic and sturdy.
Upright, correct, sincere, and loyal, they show constancy in their work.
The virtue of our August Emperor, preserves and settles the four extremes.
Punishes disorder and banishes harm, promotes advantage and attracts prosperity.
The practice of economy accords with the seasons, and all creation abounds.
The black-headed people are at peace, and do not employ armour and weapons.
Relations care for each other, and there are absolutely no bandits or robbers.
Joyful recipients of the teachings, they completely understand the framework of the law.
The area within the six directions,* is the August Emperor’s land.
To the west it crosses the shifting sands, and in the south takes in the whole of the north-facing households.
In the east there is the eastern sea, and to the north it extends beyond Daxia.
Wherever human footsteps reach, there are none who are not his subjects.
His achievements surpass those of the Five Emperors, and his beneficence even extends to cattle and horses.
No one does not receive the benefit of his virtue, and everyone is at peace in his dwelling-place.
When the King of Qin united and took possession of all under Heaven he took the name of August Emperor. Then he pacified the eastern lands and reached Langye. The noblemen Wang Li Marquis of Wucheng, Wang Ben Marquis of Tongwu; the nobles without fief Zhao Hai Marquis of Jiancheng, Cheng Marquis of Changwu, Feng Wuze Marquis of Wuxin; Chief Minister Wei Lin and Chief Minister Wang Wan; the ministers Li Si and Wang Wu; and the fifth-rank grandees Zhao Ying and Yang Jiu were in attendance. They debated together beside the sea and said: ‘The territory of the ancient emperors did not exceed 1,000 li, and the feudal lords each guarded his own boundaries. Some attended court and others did not. They committed aggression against each other and were violent and disorderly, and their destructive attacks did not cease. Nevertheless they inscribed bronze and stone in order to provide themselves with a record. The Five Emperors and Three Kings of old were dissimilar from each other in their knowledge and teachings, and their laws and regulations were not clarified. They laid claim to the awe-inspiring support of gods and spirits in order to spread deception in distant places, but the reality did not correspond with the name, and so they did not long endure. Even before they had reached the end of their lives the feudal lords rebelled, and their laws and ordinances did not run.
Now our August Emperor has unified everywhere within the seas, and has turned it into his provinces and districts, and all under Heaven is at peace. He has brought glory to the ancestral temple, embodies the Way and practises virtue, and his venerable title is magnificently fulfilled. We his subjects have joined together to sing the praises of our August Emperor’s achievements and virtue and have produced inscriptions on bronze and stone to make them into examples and models.’
Afterwards Xu Shi of Qi and others submitted a memorial saying that in the sea there were three spirit mountains named Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou, and immortals dwelt on them. They begged to be able to fast and purify themselves and to go off in search of them, together with some youths and maidens. Thereupon Xu Shi was commissioned to send several thousand young boys and girls out to sea to seek immortals.
On the First Emperor’s return journey, when he passed Pengcheng he purified himself and prayed and offered sacrifices, wishing to recover the Zhou cauldrons* from the River Si. He made 1,000 men dive into the water in search of them, but they did not find them. So he went south-west and crossed the River Huai and proceeded to Mount Heng and the Nan province. Sailing down the Yangtze, he reached the shrine at Mount Xiang. They encountered a great wind, and were almost unable to cross over. The Supreme One asked his scholars of broad learning: ‘What sort of deity is the Lady of the Xiang?’ The scholars of broad learning replied: ‘We hear that she was the daughter of Yao and the wife of Shun and is buried here.’ At that the First Emperor was furious and he made 3,000 convicts cut down all the trees on Mount Xiang, making the mountain naked. The Supreme One then returned from Nan province via the Pass of Wu.
In the twenty-ninth year the First Emperor made a tour in the east. When he reached Bolangsha in Yangwu, he was startled by bandits.* They looked for them but did not find them, so he ordered a grand search throughout the Empire for ten days. He ascended Zhifu and had an inscription made on stone with the following words:
In the twenty-ninth year, the time being in the middle of spring, when the sunny season had just started,
The August Emperor made a tour in the east, and during his travels he ascended Zhifu, and his gaze shone upon the sea.
The servants who were in attendance observed him in admiration, recalled his blessings and glory, and reflected upon and sang the praises of what he initiated.
In creating the government, the great sage established the laws and regulations, and made manifest the guiding principles.
Abroad he taught the feudal lords, gloriously bestowing the blessings of culture, and spreading enlightenment by means of the principles of righteousness.
The Six States remained aloof, insatiable in greed and violence, and the atrocities and killings did not cease.
The August Emperor felt pity for the multitude, and then sent forth chastising armies, and displayed with determination his military power.
He made his punishments just and his conduct sincere, and his awesome glory spread around, and no one did not submit.
He wiped out the strong and violent, rescued the black-headed people, and restored order to the four quarters.
Everywhere he bestowed enlightened laws, and made warp and woof for all under Heaven, to provide a model for all eternity.
He has become great indeed, and within the whole universe we accept and obey his sage-like intent.
All his servants sing the praises of his achievements, and request to inscribe them on stone, so that they may be displayed and handed down as a constant rule.
On the eastern side of it were the words:
In the twenty-ninth year, the August Emperor went on his travels in the spring, and inspected distant regions.
He went as far as the edge of the sea, and then ascended Zhifu, facing the bright morning sun.
As he gazed at that beauty spread out before him, the attendant servants all reflected, and the principles with which he initiated everything became extremely luminous.
When the sage’s laws were first promoted, he established purity and principles within the borders, and beyond them punished the violent and strong.
His military might reached everywhere, and shook the four corners, and he captured and destroyed the six kings.
He manifestly unified all under Heaven, and disasters were brought to an end, and he laid aside weapons for all eternity.
The August Emperor with his bright virtue, establishes principles for the whole universe, and is tireless in seeing and listening.
He has established great righteousness, and manifestly provided all the implements, and all have their badges and standards.
Your servants in their offices obey their lot, and each one understands what he is doing, so in their activities there is no suspicion or doubt.
The black-headed people are transformed, far and near share the same standards, and he does far more than imitate antiquity.
Constant duties have been arranged, and heirs and successors will follow the tradition, and long be beneficiaries of the sagely government.
All his servants admire his virtue, respectfully sing the praises of his sage-like ardour, and beg to set up this inscription at Zhifu.
On his return journey he then went to Langye and returned to the capital via Shangdang.
In the thirtieth year there was no incident.
In the thirty-first year in the twelfth month the winter sacrifice was renamed ‘the Felicitous and Equable’.* There was bestowed on the black-headed people 6 piculs of grain and two sheep per village. The First Emperor made a journey incognito in Xianyang, accompanied by four armed guards. Going out at night, they encountered robbers at Lanchi and he was in a sorry predicament, but the guards attacked and killed the robbers, and for twenty days a great search was made in the area within the passes. Rice was 1,600 a picul.
In the thirty-second year the First Emperor went to Jieshi and made Master Lu of Yan search for Xianmen and Gaoshi. An inscription was written on the gate of Jieshi. (Its walls had been pulled down and its fortifications opened up.) The inscription said:
Then he mobilized armies, and punished the unprincipled, and those who perpetrated rebellion were wiped out.
Armed force exterminates the violent and rebellious, but civil power relieves the guiltless of their labours, and the masses all submit in their hearts.
Achievements and toil are generously assessed, and the rewards even extend to cattle and horses, and his bounty enriches the land.
The August Emperor gave a vigorous display of his authority, and his virtue brought together all the states, and for the first time brought unity and supreme peace.
City walls were demolished, waterways were opened up, and obstacles were flattened.
When the physical features of the land had been determined, there was no conscript labour for the masses, and all under Heaven was pacified.
Men take pleasure in their farm-land, and women cultivate their tasks, and all matters have their proper arrangement.
His kindness protects all production, and for long they have been coming together in the fields, and everyone is content with his place.
All his servants sing the praises pf his glory, and beg to inscribe this stone, so as to pass on his example.
Next he sent Han Zhong, Hou Gong, and Master Shi to search for the immortals and the elixir of everlasting life. The First Emperor toured the northern frontier, returning via the Shang province. Master Lu, a man from Yan, returned from his mission to sea, and taking it to be the work of ghosts and spirits submitted a prophetic document which said: ‘The one which will destroy Qin will be Hu.’* The First Emperor accordingly ordered General Meng Tian to send out 300,000 troops to go north and attack the Hu, and they captured the territory to the south of the Yellow River.
In the thirty-third year men who had once absconded, or who were useless sons-in-law, or were traders* were sent forth to capture the territory of Luliang. Guilin, Xiang province, and Nanhai were created and convicts were sent to garrison them. In the north-west the Xiongnu were driven back. The area from Yuzhong eastwards along the Yellow River was attached to the Yin Mountains, making forty-four districts, and walls were built along the river as frontier defences. Then Meng Tian was sent across the Yellow River to take Gaoque, Mount Tao, and Beijia. Outposts were built in order to repel the Rong people. And convicts were transported to populate the newly established districts. As a result of a prohibition they could not offer sacrifices. The Morning Star appeared in the west. In the thirty-fourth year judicial officials who had behaved improperly were banished either to build the Great Wall or go to the territory of Southern Yue.
The First Emperor arranged a banquet in the palace at Xianyang, and the seventy scholars of broad learning came into his presence to wish him long life. The Chief Administrator of these scholars, Zhou Qingchen, came forward to offer eulogies, saying: ‘At another time Qin territory did not exceed 1,000 li, but now thanks to Your Majesty’s divine power and brilliant sagacity the area within the seas has been restored to order and the barbarian tribes driven off. Wherever the sun and moon shine no one does not offer his submission. The feudal states have been made into provinces and districts, individuals are contented and pleased with themselves, and there is no worry about war and conflict, and this will be handed down for 10,000 generations. Since high antiquity Your Majesty’s authority and virtue have not been matched.’
The First Emperor was pleased. Then the scholar of broad learning Chunyu Yue, a man of Qi, stepped forward and said: ‘Your servant has heard that the fact that the Yin and Zhou reigned for more than 1,000 years was because they enfeoffed their sons and younger brothers and successful officials to provide branches and supports for themselves. Now although Your Majesty possesses all within the seas, your sons and younger brothers are private individuals; and ultimately if you have such subordinates as Tian Chang* or the six ministers, if there is no one to offer support and assistance, how will you rescue each other? That an enterprise can survive for long if it is not modelled on antiquity is not anything I have heard about. Now Qingchen is also flattering you to your face so as to aggravate Your Majesty’s mistakes. This is not behaving like a loyal subject.’
When the First Emperor passed down his comments Chief Minister Li Si said: ‘The Five Emperors did not repeat each other and the Three Dynasties did not copy each other, yet each enjoyed good government. It is not that they were going against each other, but because times change. Now Your Majesty has created a great enterprise and constructed an achievement which will last for 10,000 generations, which is certainly not something which a foolish Confucian would understand. Moreover what Yue is referring to is just the activities of the Three Dynasties, but they are surely not worth being taken as precedents. In other times the feudal lords were in competition with each other to give a generous welcome to itinerant men of learning. But now all under Heaven has been restored to order and the laws and ordinances derive from a single source. The common people at home put their effort into farming and handicrafts, and the public servants on the other hand study the laws and prohibitions. Now all the scholars do not take the present as a model but study antiquity, and thus they reject the present generation and throw the black-headed people into confusion. As chief minister your servant Li Si speaks out at risk of death: in antiquity all under Heaven was divided and in chaos, and nobody could unify it, and it was for this reason that the feudal lords became active together, and in their utterances all spoke of the past to injure the present, and they made a display of empty verbiage in order to throw the truth into confusion. People approved what they had learnt in private in order to reject what their superiors had laid down. Now the August Emperor has unified and taken possession of all under Heaven. You have distinguished white from black and established a single focus of adulation. But those who have studied privately collaborate with each other to reject the laws and teachings, and when people hear ordinances promulgated everyone criticizes them in accordance with his own studies. Indoors they mentally reject them and outside they make criticisms in the byways. They brag to their sovereign in order to make a reputation. Disagreement they regard as noble, and they encourage all the lower orders to fabricate slander. If such things are not prohibited, then above the sovereign’s power will decline, and below factions will form. To prohibit this would be expedient.
‘Your servant requests that the records of the historians apart from those of Qin should all be burnt.* Apart from those copies which the scholars of broad learning are responsible for in their official capacity, anyone in all under Heaven who dares to possess and hide away the Songs, the Documents, and the sayings of the hundred schools, should hand them all over to a governor or commandant and they should be indiscriminately burnt. If there is anyone who dares to mention the Songs or Documents in private conversation, he should be executed. Those who, using the old, reject the new will be wiped out together with their clans. Officers who see and become aware of such cases but do not report them should be convicted of the same crime with them. If thirty days after the ordinance has been promulgated the books are not burnt, then the culprit should be branded and sent to do forced labour on the walls. There should be exemption for books concerned with medicine, pharmacy, divination by tortoiseshell and milfoil, the sowing of crops, and the planting of trees. If anyone intends to make a study of the laws and ordinances, he should take the law officers as teachers.’ This proposal was sanctioned by decree.
In the thirty-fifth year a road was opened via Jiuyuan as far as Yunyang. Hills were hollowed out and valleys filled in to make it run straight. Thereupon the First Emperor considered that Xianyang had too many people and that the palaces and courts of the former kings were small. ‘I have heard’, he said, ‘that King Wen of Zhou made his capital at Feng and King Wu made his capital at Hao, so the region between Feng and Hao is a fit seat for an emperor or king. So he constructed a palace for the court in the Shanglin park south of the Wei. First of all he built the front hall, Epang, which was 500 paces* from east to west and 500 feet from north to south. In the upper part it could seat a myriad people, and in the lower part one could erect a 50 foot banner. For transport round about there was a screened highway from below the hall straight to the Southern Mountains. The summit of the Southern Mountains was put on show and treated as the entrance gate. They made a covered way going across the Wei from Epang to reach Xianyang in imitation of the screened highway from the Apex of Heaven which crosses the Milky Way and reaches the Encampment.* The Epang palace was not yet finished; but when it was finished he wanted to make a fresh choice and name it with a good name. But because the palace was built at Epang, the whole world called it the Epang palace. More than 700,000 men who had been castrated or were convict-labourers were in fact divided between building the Epang palace and constructing Mount Li. Stone for the tomb got out of the northern mountains, and timber transported from Shu and Chu both came. Within the passes 300 palaces were planned, and outside the passes more than 400. So they set up a stone beside the Eastern Sea within the boundaries of Qu, to make it the eastern gateway of Qin. Accordingly 30,000 families were shifted to the city of Li and 50,000 to Yunyang, with ten years’ exemption from taxation and service in both cases.
Master Lu said to the First Emperor: ‘Your servant and others search for the magic fungus, rare elixirs, and immortals, but we constantly fail to come across them. There seems to be something which is harming us. One of the arts of magic is that the sovereign should sometimes travel about in secret in order to avoid evil spirits, for if evil spirits are avoided a true being will come. If subjects know where the sovereign dwells, then this is harmful to his spiritual power. A true being enters water but is not made wet, enters fire but is not burnt, traverses clouds and vapours, and lasts as long as Heaven and Earth. Now the Supreme One governs all under Heaven but cannot yet find tranquillity. I wish that people were not permitted to know the palace where the Supreme One is staying, for only then may the elixir of everlasting life perhaps be found.’
Thereupon the First Emperor said: ‘I desire to become a true being, so I shall call myself “true being”, and shall not use the term “the mysterious one”.’ Then he ordered that the 270 palaces and pavilions built within a radius of 200 li from Xianyang should be interconnected by causeways and covered walks, and filled with hangings, bells, drums, and beautiful women,* each to stay in its position and not be shifted around. And if anyone mentioned the place which he honoured with his presence as he moved about, he would be condemned to death.
When the First Emperor favoured the Mount Liang palace with a visit, he saw from up on the mountain the large number of the Chief Minister’s carriages and outriders, and he did not approve of this. One of the palace eunuchs told the Chief Minister, and afterwards the Chief Minister reduced the number of carriages and outriders, and the First Emperor said angrily: ‘This is because an eunuch leaks what I say.’ But when they were interrogated, nobody admitted it, so he soon proclaimed that everyone who was in attendance on him at the time should be arrested, and they were all put to death. As a result of this nobody afterwards knew where he was when he travelled about. But whenever he attended to business and his various officials received his decisions, both of these activities took place at the palace at Xianyang.
Master Hou and Master Lu plotted together saying: ‘The First Emperor is the sort of person whose heavenly nature is stubborn and self-satisfied. Starting as a feudal lord, he has unified all under Heaven, and now that his ambitions have been fulfilled and his desires obeyed he thinks that since antiquity nobody has matched himself. He only puts his trust in the law officers, and it is they who win his intimacy and favours. Although there are seventy scholars of broad learning, they are there only to make up the number and he does not take their advice. The Chief Minister and the other important officials all accept business which has been already dealt with and they depend on decisions being made by the Supreme One. The Supreme One enjoys using punishments and executions as a sign of his authority, and since all under Heaven hang on to their salaries in fear of punishment, nobody dares to fulfil his loyal duties. Since the Supreme One does not hear about his faults, he grows daily more arrogant, and his subordinates, cringing in terror, practise duplicity in order to win his forbearance. According to Qin law, one cannot practise more than one kind of magic, and if one does not offer proof one is immediately put to death. What is more, those who watch the stars and vapours have reached 300 in number, and all are good scholars, but in their terror they conceal the truth and utter compliments, and do not dare to speak out about his faults. The business of the Empire, no matter whether trivial or important, is all decided by the Supreme One, who goes so far as to have the documents weighed, so that he cannot rest until he has dealt with the right number of documents for that day and night. When his greed for authority has reached such a pitch, the elixir of immortality can never be sought for him.’ Thereupon they fled.
When the Emperor heard of their disappearance, he flew into a great rage and said: ‘Previously I collected together the writings of all under Heaven and got rid of all which were useless. I called together all the scholars and magicians, an extremely large gathering, intending to promote an era of great peace by this means, and the magicians I intended to pick out to go in search of strange elixirs. Now I hear that Han Zhong has left and not made a report, and the expenses of Xu Shi and his colleagues may be reckoned in millions, but they have totally failed to obtain elixirs, and it is only the charges of corruption they make against each other which I hear of daily. I was extremely generous in the honours and gifts I bestowed on Master Lu and the others, but now they even slander me so as to emphasize the fact that I am not virtuous. I have had people investigate all the scholars who are in Xianyang, and some have been fabricating weird rumours in order to confuse the black-headed people.’
Thereupon he made the Imperial Secretary investigate all the scholars, who were reported to have informed on each other; but in fact, although they tried to exonerate themselves, more than 460 who had infringed the prohibitions were all buried alive at Xianyang, and the whole Empire was made to know about this to serve as a warning for the future. And increasingly people were banished to the frontiers. Fusu, the eldest son of the First Emperor, remonstrated and said: ‘All under Heaven has only just been restored to order and the black-headed people in the distant regions have not yet been brought together, and all the scholars sing the praises of Master Kong* and adopt him as a model, but now the Supreme One restrains them all by emphasizing the law, and your servant is afraid that all under Heaven will not be at peace. It is up to the Supreme One to investigate this.’ The First Emperor was angry, and he made Fusu go north and act as inspector of Meng Tian in the Shang province.
In the thirty-sixth year Mars was stationed in the mansion of the Heart.* There was a meteor which fell in the Dong province, and when it reached the earth it turned into a stone, and someone among the black-headed people inscribed the stone concerned with the words: ‘When the First Emperor dies, the land will be divided up.’ When the First Emperor heard this, he sent the Imperial Secretary to investigate and, when nobody confessed, all those who lived near the stone were taken and condemned to death, and as a consequence the stone concerned was destroyed by burning.
The First Emperor was not happy, and he made the scholars of broad learning compose poems about immortals and true beings and also on wherever in the Empire he went on his travels, and musicians were instructed to sing and play them. That autumn an envoy coming from east of the passes was travelling along the Pingshu road in Huayin at night when he was accosted by a man carrying a jade disc, who said: ‘Give this to the Lord of Haochi for me.’ By way of explanation he added: ‘This year the ancestral dragon will die.’ When the envoy asked the reason for this, as a result he suddenly disappeared, putting his jade disc down as he left. The envoy presented the disc and told him the whole story. The First Emperor seemed preoccupied for a good long time. Then he said: ‘Mountain spirits assuredly know only the events of a single year.’ But after he had withdrawn he said: ‘The ancestral dragon means the first among men.’ He made the imperial treasury have a look at the jade, and it was in fact the one that he had thrown into the Yangtze River as he went across it on his travels during the twenty-eighth year. Then the First Emperor consulted the tortoiseshell* about it, and the response he got was that it was a propitious time both for touring and for transportation. And 30,000 families were removed to Beihe and Yuzhong. And these people were promoted one degree in rank.
In the tenth month of the thirty-seventh year on the day guichou* the First Emperor set out on tour. The Chief Minister of the Left, Li Si, was in attendance, but the Chief Minister of the Right, Feng Quji, remained behind to look after things. A younger son, Huhai, of whom he was extremely fond, requested to join the company, and the Supreme One agreed to this. In the eleventh month they reached Yunmeng on their journey and a sacrifice was made to Emperor Shun on Mount Jiuyi. They sailed down the Yangtze, inspected Jike and crossed Haizhu, passed Danyang and reached Qiantang. When he approached the River Zhe, the waves were terrible, so he went in a westerly direction for 20 li to cross where the river was narrower. They ascended Kuaiji, and a sacrifice was made to the great Yu. They also sacrificed to the southern sea, and set up a stone tablet with an inscription extolling the virtue of Qin. The text of it was:
The August Emperor, glorious in the blessings he brought, pacified and unified everywhere within the universe, and his virtue and kindness will long survive.
In his thirty-seventh year, he in person toured all under Heaven, and everywhere inspected the distant regions.
Then he ascended Kuaiji, and examined the customs and practices, and the black-headed people showed their reverence.
All his servants sing the praises of his achievements, and as they trace his deeds from the beginning, they reflect upon his lofty radiance.
When the sage of Qin took charge of his state, he first determined punishments and names, and clearly set forth the ancient regulations.
He was the first to standardize the system of laws,* examine and demarcate duties and responsibilities, so as to establish unchanging practices.
But the six kings devoted their attention to rebelliousness; they were greedy, oppressive, insolent, and fierce; and led the multitudes and made themselves strong.
In their violence they behaved wantonly and, trusting to their strength, they were arrogant, and they often brought armour and weapons into action.
They secretly dispatched spies far and wide, and through their activities formed north–south alliances, and in their conduct practised evil methods.
At home they glossed over their underhand plots, and abroad they came and invaded our borders, consequently stirring up disaster.
They were punished justly and with authority, their cruel rebelliousness was obliterated, and the criminals who spread disorder were wiped out.
The sage-like virtue is widespread and intense, and everyone in the six directions, gains the benefit of limitless blessings.
The August Emperor has unified the universe, and he pays attention to all of the myriad concerns, and both near and far are made pure.
He introduces principle to all things, investigates the reality of matters, and everything bears its own name.*
He comprehends both noble and base, and the good and not good are ranged before him, so that they do not have secret natures.
He glosses over mistakes and spreads righteousness, but if a woman remarries when she has a son, then she turns her back on the dead and is not upright.
Taking precautions, he helps separate off the internal and the external and bans licentiousness, so men and women are pure and sincere.
If a man commits adultery, to kill him is no crime, so men hang on to the standards of righteousness.
If a wife elopes to remarry, then the son will not have a mother, and so everyone is converted into chastity and purity.
His great rule cleanses morality, and all under Heaven come under his influence, and are the beneficiaries of his bountiful regime.
Everyone honours the rules, and earnestly strives in harmony and tranquillity, and nobody does not obey orders.
The black-headed people cultivate purity, men delight in sharing the same model, and are happy to guard the great peace.
Posterity will accept the law with respect, and perpetual government will have no ending, and carts and boats will not be overturned.
The servants who are in attendance extol his splendid achievement, and beg to inscribe this stone tablet, conspicuously to transmit a monument to his beneficence.
On his return he passed Wu, crossed the river from Jiangcheng, went along the sea coast and, travelling northwards, reached Langye. The magician Xu Shi and others had gone to sea in search of spirit elixirs, but after several years had not obtained any, and the expenses had been heavy, so they were afraid of being reprimanded. Accordingly they made up a false story, saying: ‘The elixirs can be obtained on Penglai, but we are always harassed by huge sharks and so cannot get there. We would like to request that skilful archers go along with us, so that when they see them they will shoot them with repeating crossbows.’
The First Emperor dreamed that he was having a fight with a sea spirit in human form. When he asked the scholars of broad learning about the interpretation of the dream, they said: ‘Water spirits cannot be seen, but they make themselves into a huge fish or water-dragon to lie in wait. Now although the Supreme One has been thorough in his prayers and sacrifices, nevertheless this evil spirit exists and it is necessary to banish it so that good spirits may be summoned.’ So he ordered those who went to sea to provide implements for catching an enormous fish, and he himself lay in wait with a repeating crossbow to shoot at the huge fish when it appeared. From Langye he went north as far as Mount Rongcheng, but did not see it. But when he reached Zhifu he saw some enormous fish, and he shot and killed one of them. Then he went westwards along the sea coast.
When he reached Pingyuan ford he fell ill. The First Emperor hated to talk about death, so none of his ministers dared to mention the matter of death. When the Supreme One’s illness became more serious, he composed a letter under the imperial seal to be bestowed on Prince Fusu saying: ‘Take part in my funeral at Xianyang and see to the burial.’ When the letter had been sealed, it was kept in the place where Director of Palace Coach-houses Zhao Gao dispatched business under imperial seal, but it had not yet been handed over to a messenger. In the seventh month on bingyin the First Emperor passed away at Pingtai in Shaqiu. Because the Supreme One had passed away while outside the capital, Chief Minister Li Si was afraid that there would be rebellion among the various princes and also in the Empire, and so he kept it a secret, and did not announce the mourning. The coffin was borne in a sleeping-carriage, and so the favourite eunuchs attended the carriage, and wherever they came to, food was sent in. The various officials submitted business as before, whereupon the eunuchs immediately approved all the submitted business from within the sleeping-carriage. Only the son Huhai and Zhao Gao, together with five or six favourite eunuchs, knew that the Supreme One was dead. Zhao Gao had formerly taught Huhai writing and matters of law and the administration of justice, and Huhai privately favoured him. Zhao Gao accordingly joined with Prince Huhai and Chief Minister Li Si and secretly plotted to destroy the letter that the First Emperor had sealed for bestowal on Prince Fusu. In its place they fabricated a testamentary edict which Chief Minister Li Si was supposed to have received from the First Emperor at Shaqiu, appointing his son Huhai as crown prince. The letter was rewritten and bestowed on Fusu and Meng Tian, charging them with crimes and bestowing death upon them. (This is described in detail in the biography of Li Si.*) They went on their journey and subsequently went via Jingxing to Jiuyuan. It happened to be hot weather and the Supreme One’s sleeping-carriage stank, and so there was an imperial mandate to the effect that the attendant officials should have carts loaded with a picul of salted fish in order to disguise the smell of it.
Continuing on their journey, they took the direct road back to Xianyang and announced the mourning. Crown Prince Huhai succeeded to the throne and became Second Generation Emperor. In the ninth month the First Emperor was buried at Mount Li.* When the First Emperor had just come to the throne, excavations and building work had taken place at Mount Li, but when he unified all under Heaven, convicts to the number of more than 700,000 were sent there from all over the Empire. They dug through three springs and poured down molten bronze to make the outer coffin; and replicas of palaces, pavilions, all the various officials, and wonderful vessels, and other rare objects were brought up to the tomb, which was then filled with them. Craftsmen were ordered to make crossbows and arrows which would operate automatically, so that anyone who approached what had been excavated was immediately shot. Quicksilver was used to represent the various waterways, the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, and the great sea, being made by some mechanism to flow into each other, and above were ranged the heavenly constellations and below was the layout of the land. Candles were made of whale fat, for it was reckoned that it would be a long time before they were extinguished.
Second Generation said: ‘It would not be right that any of the previous Emperor’s concubines should emerge from this place unless she has a son.’ They were all ordered to accompany him in death, and those who died were extremely numerous. After the burial had taken place someone mentioned the fact that the workers and craftsmen who had constructed the mechanical devices would know about all the buried treasures and the importance of the treasures would immediately be disclosed. Consequently when the great occasion was finished and after the treasures had been hidden away, the main entrance way to the tomb was shut off, and the outer gate lowered, so that all the workers and craftsmen who had buried the treasure were shut in, and there were none who came out again. And vegetation and trees were planted to make it look like a hill.
In Second Generation’s first year he was 21 years old. Zhao Gao became Director of Palace Gentlemen, and he was given responsibility for the conduct of affairs. Second Generation sent down a decree that the ritual concerning the sacrificial victims at the mortuary temple of the First Emperor, together with the various sacrifices to the hills and rivers, should be enhanced. He ordered all the officials to discuss the question of venerating the temple of the First Emperor. The ministers all bowed their heads and said: ‘In antiquity the Son of Heaven had seven temples, the feudal lords had five, and the grandees had three, and this will not be superseded even after 10,000 generations. Now the First Emperor’s temple is considered supreme, and everyone within the four seas offers tribute and the number of sacrificial victims has been increased. The ritual is all perfect and there is nothing to add. But of the temples of the previous kings some are in Yong and some are in Xianyang, and by rights only the Son of Heaven ought to offer libations and sacrifices at the temple to the First Emperor. All those from Duke Xiang onwards are superseded. The establishment consists in all of seven temples, and all the officials should enter these and sacrifice in accordance with the ritual, so that the ancestral temple of the First Emperor is venerated as the ancestral temple of those who have been emperors. And the August Emperor should again call himself “the mysterious one”.
Making plans with Zhao Gao, Second Generation said: ‘I am young and have only just ascended the throne, so the black-headed people have not yet got together and formed an attachment to me. The previous Emperor toured the provinces and districts so as to display his might and overawe all within the seas into submission. If I now behave in a retiring manner and do not go on tour, then I shall appear weak, and will have no means of reducing all under Heaven to subjection.’ In spring Second Generation journeyed east to the provinces and districts and Li Si was in attendance. He went to Jieshi, and then went along the sea coast southwards until they came to Kuaiji, and wrote an inscription on all the inscribed stones set up by the First Emperor, writing on the sides of the tablets the names of the important ministers who were in attendance, so as to manifest on them the previous Emperor’s accomplishments and copious virtue:
The August Emperor said: ‘These inscriptions on bronze and stone were all made by the First Emperor. Now I have succeeded to his title and, since the wording of the bronze and stone inscriptions does not mention the First Emperor, then in the remote future it may seem as if his successors made these, and his accomplishments and copious virtue will not be praised.’ So the Chief Ministers Li Si and Feng Quji and Imperial Secretary De, risking death, said: ‘Your servants request that the imperial decree should all be written up on the inscribed stone, and consequently it will become clear. Risking death, your servants make this request.’ And an imperial decree said that this should be done.
Subsequently they went on to Liaodong and returned.
Thereupon Second Generation, accepting the advice of Zhao Gao, expanded the laws and ordinances. Having secretly plotted together with Zhao Gao, he said: ‘The important officials do not give me their submission and the bureaucracy is still powerful, and the princes are bound to be at odds with me, so what shall I do about it?’ ‘Your servant definitely wanted to speak,’ said Gao, ‘but never dared to. The important officials of the previous Emperor all came from famous and noble families, known throughout all under Heaven for countless generations, and for a long time they have accumulated achievements and won glory in their generations so that these things have been handed down from one to another. Now I am obscure and lowly by origin, but Your Majesty has favoured me with promotion and caused me to be in a senior position, in control of affairs within the palace. The important officials are discontented and accept your servant’s leadership only in appearance, and in their hearts they truly do not submit. Now when the Supreme One leaves the capital, he does not avail himself of this opportunity to investigate those among the civil and military governors of provinces and districts who have committed crimes and punish them. By this means the Supreme One would both overawe all under Heaven and at the same time get rid of those whom he spends his whole life disparaging. At the present moment things do not model themselves on civil virtues but are decided by military strength. I wish Your Majesty would consequently make the best of the circumstances and do away with hesitation, and then all your officials will not get so far as to make plots. If as an intelligent sovereign you gather together and promote the interests of the rest of the people, ennobling the humble and enriching the poor and bringing close those who are far away, then both high and low will come together and the state will be made tranquil.’
‘Good,’ said Second Generation. So he proceeded to execute important officials and princes, and the low-ranking officials close to the throne and the three grades of palace gentlemen were arrested for complicity in their crimes and errors, and nobody could stand up to this. Indeed six princes were put to death at Du. Prince Jianglü and two brothers were imprisoned in the inner palace, and the discussion of their crimes came last of all. Second Generation sent a messenger to give instructions to Jianglü, saying: ‘The prince does not behave as a subject should behave, and for this crime he merits the death penalty, and the officers will carry out the law on him.’ Jianglü said: ‘In court ritual I have never once dared not to follow the Assistant of Guests; in taking my place in the hall of state I have never once dared to neglect ceremony; and in receiving orders and responding to them I have never once dared to make a mistake in my words. What is meant by my not behaving as a true subject? I would like to hear what I am found guilty of before I die.’ The messenger said: ‘Your servant cannot discuss it with you. I have received a letter and am carrying out what has to be done.’ Jianglü then looked up to Heaven and cried out to it three times in a loud voice: ‘Is it Heaven? For I am not guilty!’ The three brothers then all wept, drew their swords, and killed themselves. The royal family was terrified. Anyone among the officials who remonstrated was considered to be uttering slanders, and the important officers hung on to their salaries and tried to put on appearances, and the black-headed people were terrified.
In the fourth month, when Second Generation returned and reached Xianyang, he said: ‘Because the court at Xianyang was small, the previous Emperor therefore built the palace of Epang to provide a residence, but before it was completed it so happened that the Supreme One passed away, so the workers were disbanded, but they were re-engaged to replace the earth at Mount Li. The work at Mount Li is largely complete, so if I now abandoned the Epang palace and did not make progress on it, then this would indicate that the previous Emperor was wrong to undertake the task.’ So they again worked on the Epang palace. And away from the capital they pacified the barbarians on all sides in accordance with the First Emperor’s plan. He summoned 50,000 picked troops altogether to encamp and guard Xianyang, and they were made to teach archery and the hunting of wild animals with dogs and horses. But as there were many who had to be fed and it was calculated that there was not enough food, so orders were sent down that provinces and districts were to transport pulse, grain, and fodder and everyone was told to bring along his own food supplies, and everywhere within 300 li of Xianyang people could not consume their own grain. And the enforcement of the law became harsher.
In the seventh month the frontier soldier Chen Sheng and others rebelled in the former territory of Chu and they became the ‘magnifiers of Chu’. Sheng set himself up as King of Chu and established his seat at Chen, and sent out various generals to acquire territory. The young men of the provinces and districts east of the mountains had suffered harsh treatment from Qin law officers, so they rebelled, killing all their governors, commandants, magistrates, and their aides, so as to respond to Chen Sheng’s actions. They set each other up as marquises and kings and, forming alliances, countless numbers of them headed in a westerly direction, ostensibly for the sake of attacking Qin. When an imperial messenger came from the east to report the rebellion* to Second Generation, he was furious and handed him over to the law officers. Later on, when envoys came and were questioned by the Supreme One, they replied saying: ‘The bands of robbers have just been repelled or captured by the governor or commandant of the province, and now that they have all been got hold of, they are not worth worrying about.’ The Supreme One was pleased. Wu Chen set himself up as King of Zhao, Wei Jiu as King of Wei, and Tian Dan as King of Qi. The Governor of Pei rose up in Pei, and Xiang Liang raised troops in the province of Kuaiji.
In winter in the second year Zhou Zhang and other generals sent by Chen Sheng had marched westward and reached Xi with several hundred thousand soldiers. Second Generation was seriously alarmed and consulted all his officials about what he should do. The lesser treasurer Zhang Han said: ‘The bandits have already arrived and they are numerous and strong, and if we send forth forces now from the nearby districts it will not be good enough. But there are many convicts on Mount Li and I beg that they be granted an amnesty and given weapons so as to smite them.’ Second Generation accordingly proclaimed a major amnesty throughout the Empire, appointed Zhang Han as general and he smote and defeated the army of Zhou Zhang and put it to flight, and subsequently Zhou Zhang was killed at Caoyang. Second Generation then also sent the senior scribes Sima Xin and Dong Yi to help Zhang Han smite the bandits, and they killed Chen Sheng at Chengfu, and smashed Xiang Liang at Dingtao, and wiped out Wei Jiu at Linji. When the most famous leaders of the bandits from the territory of Chu had died, Zhang Han consequently went north and crossed the Yellow River and smote Xie King of Zhao and others at Julu.
Zhao Gao said to Second Generation: ‘The previous Emperor administered the Empire for a long time, and so all the officials did not dare to do wrong or introduce unorthodox suggestions. Now Your Majesty has a rich store of springs and autumns to come but has only just ascended the throne, so how can you decide matters at court in the presence of the ministers of state? Once you have made a mistake in dealing with business, it will demonstrate your shortcomings to all the officials. The Son of Heaven refers to himself as “the mysterious one” and therefore he does not let his voice be heard.’ Thereupon Second Generation stayed constantly within the forbidden precincts and took decisions on all business together with Gao. After this the ministers of state were rarely able to attend court or obtain audience.
The bandits and brigands became ever more numerous, and troops from within the passes were ceaselessly sent eastwards to smite them. Quji, the Chief Minister of the Right, and Li Si, the Chief Minister of the Left, and General Feng Jie came forward and remonstrated. ‘In the area east of the passes bands of brigands have risen up together,’ they said, ‘and when Qin sends out troops to punish and smite them, those whom we kill and put to flight are extremely numerous, but nevertheless they do not stop. The number of bandits is due to the fact that all who are engaged in the activities of manning the frontiers or transporting goods suffer hardship, and taxation is heavy. We request that for the future you halt the construction of the Epang palace, and reduce frontier-guarding duties and transport service on all frontiers.’
Second Generation said: ‘I heard the following from Master Han: “Yao and Shun neither polished their oak rafters nor trimmed their thatched hut, and they ate and drank from earthenware bowls, so that even a gatekeeper’s nourishment is not more frugal than this. When Yu forced a passage through Longmen and made a way through Daxia to release the stagnant waters of the Yellow River and allowed them to flow into the sea, he carried rammer and spade himself, and his shins were hairless. The labours of a slave are not more arduous than this.” But all the things on account of which one is honoured in that one possesses the Empire consist of being able to indulge one’s desires and take one’s wishes to the extreme, for if the sovereign stresses making the laws clear, subordinates will not dare to do wrong, so that in that way he may administer all within the seas. If sovereigns like Shun and Yu are honoured as Sons of Heaven, but themselves dwell in impoverished and harsh circumstances and publicize this to the common people, then one must still ask what good they are as models.
‘We are honoured as the ruler of 10,000 chariots, but do not have the reality of this, so We intend to create a force of 1,000 chariots or even to have an attachment of 10,000 chariots, so that We may fulfil Our title. Moreover the previous Emperor started off as a feudal lord, but unified all under Heaven, and when all under Heaven had been brought to order, he drove off the barbarians on all four sides in order to bring peace to the frontiers, built palaces and mansions in order to demonstrate that he had obtained his ambition, and you, my lords, observed that the previous Emperor’s achievements took place in proper sequence. But within two years of Our ascending the throne, bands of brigands have risen up together, and you, my lords, are incapable of preventing this, and you even want me to abandon what the previous Emperor was doing. Thus on the one hand you dispense with the means of repaying the previous Emperor, and on the other hand you are not fully exerting your loyalty and strength on Our behalf. So how is it that you are in office?’ He handed over Quji, Si, and Jie to the law officers, and their responsibility for other crimes was investigated. Quji and Jie said: ‘Generals and chief ministers do not accept disgrace,’ and killed themselves. But ultimately Si remained a prisoner and underwent the five punishments.
In the third year Zhang Han and others led their troops to lay siege to Julu, and Xiang Yu, the Supreme General of Chu, commanding Chu troops, went to the relief of Julu. In winter Zhao Gao became chief minister, and completed the investigation of Li Si and killed him. In summer Zhang Han and others fought battles but on several occasions were driven back, so Second Generation sent someone to reprimand Han, and he was afraid and sent his senior scribe Xin to ask advice on the matter. But Zhao Gao did not give him an interview, and also did not have confidence in him. Xin fled in terror, but when Gao sent people to pursue and capture him they did not overtake him. When Xin had an interview with Han he said: ‘Zhao Gao is in control of whatever happens in the palace, and you will be put to death, general, whether you are successful or not.’ So when Xiang Yu suddenly smote the Qin army and took Wang Li prisoner, Han and others then surrendered with their soldiers to the feudal states.
In the eighth month on jihai Zhao Gao wanted to bring about a rebellion, but was afraid that the officials would not pay heed, so he first of all arranged a test. He took a deer* and presented it to Second Generation and said: ‘It is a horse.’ Second Generation smiled and said: ‘Have you not got it wrong, Chief Minister? You said a deer was a horse.’ He asked the courtiers, and some of them remained silent, while others said it was a horse in order to curry favour with Zhao Gao, and others said it was a deer. So Zhao Gao secretly had the law on all who said it was a deer. Afterwards the officials were all afraid of Gao.
Previously Gao had said on several occasions that there was nothing that the bandits east of the passes were capable of doing. But now we have reached the time when Xiang Yu took prisoner the Qin general Wang Li and others at Julu and proceeded to advance, and the army of Zhang Han and others was driven back on several occasions and had submitted memorials requesting reinforcements, and Yan, Zhao, Qi, Chu, Hann, and Wei had all been set up as kingdoms, while generally speaking the area east of the passes was in total rebellion against Qin officers and had reached agreement with the feudal states, and the feudal states were all leading their multitudes and heading westwards. The Governor of Pei in command of several tens of thousands of men had already butchered the defenders of Wu Pass, and got someone to go in private to Gao, but Gao was afraid that Second Generation would be angry, and that punishment would befall his own person, so he pleaded illness and did not appear at court.
Second Generation dreamt that a white tiger had bitten his left-hand outside horse and killed it, so in his anxiety and puzzlement he asked for an interpretation of the dream. ‘The River Jing is an evil influence,’ said the diviner. Second Generation then fasted in the Wangyi palace, intending to sacrifice to the Jing and cast four white horses into the water. And he sent a messenger to reprimand Gao over the matter of the bandits. Gao was terrified and so he secretly plotted with his son-in-law Yan Yue, Governor of Xianyang, and his younger brother Zhao Cheng. ‘The Supreme One does not take any notice of remonstrances,’ he said, ‘but now that the matter has become serious, he intends to fix the blame on our family. I intend to remove the Supreme One, and set Prince Ziying on the throne instead. Ziying is humane and unostentatious, and the people will all take notice of what he has to say.’ They got the Director of Palace Gentlemen to collaborate from inside the palace and, when he pretended there was a large force of bandits, Yan Yue was ordered to summon officers and call out troops. Yan Yue’s mother was pursued and seized and installed as a hostage in Gao’s residence. Gao sent Yue in command of more than 1,000 officers and men to the entrance to the hall in the Wangyi palace, where they tied up the commander of the guard, saying: ‘The bandits have got in here. Why did you not stop them?’ The commander of the guard said: ‘Troops are stationed extremely carefully in the guard-posts surrounding the place, so how could the bandits have dared to enter the palace?’ Yue then beheaded the commander of the guard and led his officers straight in, firing arrows. The palace gentlemen and eunuchs were greatly astonished. Some fled and some resisted. Those who resisted immediately died, and the dead amounted to nearly 100 men.
Then the Director of Palace Gentlemen and Yan Yue went inside together and shot at the hangings above and the curtains behind the throne. Second Generation angrily called for his courtiers, but they were all agitated and did not put up a fight. At his side there was a single eunuch who remained in attendance on him and did not dare to leave. As he entered the inner apartments, Second Generation said: ‘Why did you not tell me earlier? And now it has come to this!’ The eunuch said: ‘It is because your servant did not dare speak that he has managed to stay alive. Had he spoken earlier, how could he have survived until now, when everyone has been put to death?’ Yan Yue came forward and immediately denounced Second Generation, saying: ‘You, sir, are proud and wilful. In your executions you have done away with principle. The Empire has joined together to rebel against you, and now you had better make plans for yourself.’ Second Generation said: ‘May the Chief Minister be seen or not?’ ‘No, he may not,’ said Yan Yue. Second Generation said: ‘I would like to get a single province and become king of it’, but they would not permit it. Then he said: ‘I would like to become a marquis with a fief of 10,000 households’, but they would not permit it. He said: ‘I would like to become one of the black-headed people together with my wife and children, just like all the other princes.’ Yan Yue said: ‘Your servant has received orders from the Chief Minister to punish you on behalf of the Empire; and even if you, sir, have much to say, your servant does not dare to reply.’ And he signalled to his soldiers to enter. Second Generation killed himself.
Yan Yue returned and reported to Zhao Gao, who then summoned all the important officials and the princes, and he told them of the circumstances in which Second Generation was punished. ‘Qin was of old a state ruled by a king,’ he said, ‘and it was only because the First Emperor became lord of all under Heaven that he therefore adopted the title of emperor. Now the Six States have re-established themselves and Qin territory has become smaller and smaller, so it would be improper to become an emperor with an empty title. There ought to be a king as before, for that would be appropriate.’
Then Second Generation’s nephew Prince Ziying was set up as King of Qin. Second Generation was buried as a black-headed person in the Yichun gardens at Du’nan. Ziying was ordered to fast as he would have to appear at the ancestral temple to receive the royal seal. After fasting for five days Ziying plotted with his two sons, saying: ‘Chief Minister Gao killed Second Generation at the Wangyi palace. Fearing that all the ministers would condemn him to death, and so pretending that he was behaving righteously, he set me on the throne. I hear that Zhao Gao has in fact made a pact with Chu to wipe out the royal family of Qin so that he may become king of the area within the passes. Now supposing I present myself at the ancestral temple after I have fasted, this person intends to kill me, taking advantage of the fact that I am in the temple. I will plead illness and not go, and the Chief Minister is bound to come here himself, and when he comes, we will kill him.’ Several times Gao sent people to request Ziying’s presence, but Ziying did not go, so Gao did actually go in person, saying: ‘There is important business at the ancestral temple, so why does the King not go?’ Ziying then stabbed Zhao Gao to death in the palace where he was fasting, and Gao’s three clans were exterminated, and this was announced to Xianyang.
Ziying was King of Qin for forty-six days when the Chu commander, the Governor of Pei, smashed the Qin army and entered the Wu Pass, and then reached Bashang. He sent people to negotiate the surrender of Ziying. Ziying, having tied a rope round his neck, in a plain carriage with white horses, handing over the seal of the Son of Heaven, made his surrender beside Zhidao. The Governor of Pei then entered Xianyang, sealed the palaces, treasuries, and storehouses, and then returned to the army at Bashang. After a month or so the soldiers of the feudal states arrived, Xiang Yu being the leader of the alliance. Ziying was killed, together with the princes and other members of the royal family. Then Xiangyang was butchered and its palaces set on fire and the boys and girls who were in them made prisoner, and its treasures were looted and divided up by the feudal states. After the obliteration of Qin its territory was divided into three, called the three Qin, under the King of Yong, the King of Sai, and the King of Di. Xiang Yu, as overlord of Western Chu, was responsible for the orders dividing up the Empire among the kings and feudal lords. Qin was at last wiped out. And five years later all under Heaven was restored to order by the Han.
The Grand Historiographer says: ‘Boyi, the ancestor of Qin, once achieved distinction in the time of Yao and Shun, and he received territory and had a surname conferred upon him, but during the time of the Xia and Yin his descendants became obscure and dispersed. But when Zhou declined Qin began to prosper, and established a city in the western frontier regions. From the time of Duke Mu onwards it gradually nibbled away at the feudal states, and the end-product was the First Emperor. The First Emperor himself thought that his achievements surpassed those of the Five Emperors, and his territory was more extensive than that of the Three Kings, so he felt embarrassed to be considered on a par with them.’
The chapter continues with an essay on the faults of Qin, which was written, not by Sima Qian, but by the Han Confucianist Jia Yi, and is therefore not translated. This essay is followed by some other material which is out of place here and so is not translated either.