A star is born; an epic begins. A Prince tries to save his puny country from conquest by enlisting the help of a wise old man...
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Sima Qian, ca 145 or 135 - 86 BCE |
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Today's post is coming to us from the Shiji (詩集/诗集), known more commonly in English as the "Records of the Grand Historian". (Although I personally prefer to call it the "Historical Records", as the writer was not acting in his official capacity as Grand Historian when he wrote this book.) The Shiji was written during the Han dynasty by Sima Qian (司馬遷/司马迁) , who worked diligently during his free time (even after being castrated -- what a baller, am I right?) to create a history of China from antiquity (including myth) to his contemporary era. It's really quite impressive. This is actually the first historical record of China, and it informs the basis for scholarly knowledge of China before 0 CE.
Let's just think about this for a second. We have a historical anthology coming at us from about 2,100 YEARS AGO that is looking CENTURIES back intro its own past. Please excuse me while I take a nerd moment and revel in the history...
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The Warring States Period: 232 Years in 12 seconds |
Right, back to business. This is the first post in my series of Shiji 77, which chronicles the heroic but ultimately futile acts of Prince Wuji of the state of Wei (魏, the darker green state on the map). The story takes place during the Warring States Period, in which seven-ish powerful (and less powerful) kingdoms competed for territorial control in what is now the northeastern part of China. Kind of like what happened during feudal Europe, but way earlier and with a very different ending.
You may remember our story of the Yan Man -- that also took place during this era, which explains why it makes no mention of China.
You may remember our story of the Yan Man -- that also took place during this era, which explains why it makes no mention of China.
Important background note: the state of Qin (秦, which, as we can see from the graphic, kicked the crap out of all the other states and founded the Qin dynasty -- that's where the name China comes from, actually), is not the good guy in this story. Actually, Qin is never really the good guy in the Shiji; and considering that the Shiji was written during the Han dynasty (which overthrew the Qin), maybe we shouldn't be so surprised.
Shiji 77
1. 魏公子無忌者,魏昭王子少子而魏安釐王異母弟也。昭王薨,安釐王即位,封公子為信陵君。是時范雎亡魏相秦,以怨魏齊故,秦兵圍大梁,破魏華陽下軍,走芒卯。魏王及公子患之。
Prince Wuji of Wei was King Zhao of Wei's youngest son and King An Xi of Wei's younger brother by another mother*. When King Zhao died, King An Xi ascended the throne and made the Prince Lord of Xing Lin.
At this time, Fan Ju escaped Wei to serve as minister of Qin because he bore a grudge against Wei Qi (minister of Wei)**; the Qin army besieged Da Liang, defeated Wei at Hua Yang, and forced Mang Mao (commander of the Wei Army) to flee. King An Xi and the Prince were worried about this.
2. 公子為人仁而下士,士無賢不肖皆謙而禮交之,不敢以其富貴驕士。士以此方數千里争往歸之,致食客三千人。當是時,諸侯以公子賢,多客,不敢加兵謀魏十餘年。
The Prince, in behavior, was benevolent, and he humbled himself before the Shi; no matter whether the Shi were worthy or unfilial, the Prince was, towards all [of the Shi], modest, and he interacted [with them] according to ritual; he did not dare to treat the Shi arrogantly simply because of his wealth and nobility***. The Shi within several thousand li of this area competed to show their allegiance to him [the Prince] and gathered three thousand people as retainers [for him]. At this time, the feudal lords of other states, because of the Prince's worthiness and many retainers, did not dare to use put their armies towards a scheme against Wei for over ten years.
3. 公子與魏王博,而北境傳舉烽,言 “趙寇至,且入界。"魏王釋博,欲召大臣謀。公子止王曰:“趙王田獵耳,非為寇也。” 復博如故。王恐,心不在博。居頃,復從北方來傳言曰:“魏王獵耳,非為寇也。” 魏王大驚,曰:“公子何以知之?” 公子曰:“臣之客有能深得趙王陰事者,趙王所為,客輒以報臣,臣以此知之。” 是後魏王畏公子賢能,不敢任公子以國政。
The Prince and the King of Wei were playing chess, when the north wall sent word by beacon, saying “The enemy raiders have arrived and are about to breach the frontier. The King of Wei abandoned the chess game, desiring to summon his High Minister to plan with him. The Prince stopped the King, saying “The King of Zhao is in the fields hunting and that's all; [he is] not raiding,” and [the Prince] returned to the chess game as before.
The King was afraid; his heart was not in the chess game. After a short time, again word came from the north, saying “The King of Zhao is hunting and that is all; [he is] not raiding.”
The King of Wei was greatly surprised, and said “How did the Prince know this?”
The Prince said “Among my retainers there is one who is able to to obtain the King of Zhao's secret information; that which the King of Zhao does, my retainer invariably reports to me. Because of this, I know it.”
After this, the King feared the Prince's worthiness and ability; he did not dare to include the Prince in any state administration.So, to sum up what we've learned so far: Prince Wuji is pretty awesome. He fits all of the Confucian values (as do most heroes in the Shiji, actually), and he's basically an all-around baller. And on top of that, he actually cares about his brother and his kingdom, which is so very sweet (and a little naive), especially considering King An Xi is only his half-brother anyway. (Not that half-brother's can't be close or anything like that; it's just that harem life doesn't seem like it would lead a crown prince to grow close to his "brother by another mother".)
King An Xi, on the other hand, comes off as a jerk here. Let us observe: the Prince tells him that he has access to important information regarding an enemy state, which leads the King to isolate the Prince from state administration. Right. That makes perfect sense, because the person who knows the most about the enemy is obviously a useless ally. "Maybe the King was worried about the Prince usurping power?" you might suggest. Perhaps, perhaps, but given the Prince's radiant character (and the fact that he's choosing to share all of his information with the King anyway), it mostly sounds like the King was acting, in his official capacity, like a total dick.
What happens next? Will the King allow the Prince re-entry into his inner circle? Will the Zhao raiders come after all? Will Qin return for another attack? Find out next week as our riveting chronicle continues.
*I never thought I'd have an academic excuse to use this phrase.
**Much of this story can be found in Shiji 79, which will be forthcoming! (eventually)
***The Shi are the scholar class in Ancient Chinese society. They are also frequently referred to at the literati of Ancient China, as they had unique access to education. This bit is to imply that the Shi, regardless of their wealth, possess certain qualities that render them worthy of the utmost respect (or, at least, they should possess those qualities). They're almost like the priests of knowledge. Even a ruler has to respect them, and we don't hear that very often.
**Much of this story can be found in Shiji 79, which will be forthcoming! (eventually)
***The Shi are the scholar class in Ancient Chinese society. They are also frequently referred to at the literati of Ancient China, as they had unique access to education. This bit is to imply that the Shi, regardless of their wealth, possess certain qualities that render them worthy of the utmost respect (or, at least, they should possess those qualities). They're almost like the priests of knowledge. Even a ruler has to respect them, and we don't hear that very often.
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