Sima Qian EC Preceptorial

  Class 9:   Zhang Er and Chen Yu seemed so close that when they gave advice, Sima attributed the advice not to either but to both (132b). They made a pact to “be true to each other” (139t) and “die for each other” (131mb): but do they know what the other one means? When a captured Zhang (138b) calls on Chen for rescue (139t), Chen refuses and Zhang’s messenger retorts, “is this the way you die for your friend…for honor…” (139mt). When Zhang thinks of a friend dying for him, he wants “honor”, even if his friend is only to “die with us” (139mt) in a suicide pact, a death for death’s sake deal in which two friends die for each other without any sort of gain—except honor. The messenger reports a glimmer of hope, a “one chance in ten”, (139mt) but Chen thinks the chances are zero—and he wants to know how this attack would “profit anyone?” (139m) It might “profit” Zhang his honor, but fundamentally, Chen does not see honor as a profit—better to avenge (139mt). Zhang presses harde...

9) “We could scheme for the empire!” (H1.182.t) Why, oh why, did Han Xin pull Chen Xi aside in the courtyard and offer to rise up against Han (181b-182t) and then follow through with doomed plots and a treasonous edict (182m)? When the empire still hung in the balance between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, Han Xin served his king brilliantly, winning territory through military might (Wei 168t, Zhao 160m-161, Qi 173b), innovative strategy (Art of War reinterpreted 170b-171t), and artful diplomacy (Yan 172b). Invited by Xiang Yu’s emissary Wu She to betray Han and win 1/3 of the empire (175m-b), he cited loyalty and gratitude and rejected temptation (176t). When the opportunist Kuai Tong coaxed him to claim 1/3 of the empire (176m, 177), the general again cited gratitude and loyalty and rejected temptation. Let us call his state of mind “grateful and loyal.” Once more Han Xin rejected Kuai Tong’s temptation (179m), saying “he could not bear” to turn against Han and believing “he had won such mer...

  [H169b] Why does Han Xin (HX) order his troops to “draw up their ranks with their backs to the river” (169b, 2 nd full para., last sentence)? We first catch a glimpse of this strategy from a “general order throughout the camp” (169t, 1 st full para., 5th sentence): when the Zhao forces leave their fortification to pursue HX, some of HX’s forces should enter the Han fortification and replace Zhao banners with their own (ibid, sentences 7 & 8). HX’s generals pretend to agree with this plan (169m). So, I can only imagine what their question should/might have been: are the Zhao forces “ sure [my emphasis] to abandon their fortifications” (ibid)? In HX’s next direct address regarding his plan (this time speaking to his officers), HX acknowledges that the Zhao will be reluctant to leave their fortifications, so the Zhao must see the commanding general’s banners and hear his drums in the gorge else--the Zhao will imagine--HX “will see the difficulty of the position and retreat ba...

  Day 9             On the middle of page 179, Kuai Tong notes the role of proper listening in relation to political and strategic undertakings. Kuai Tong notes: "Listening to advice is the basis of an undertaking, and planning is the key to success" (179M). To some extent,  Shi Jin 92: The Biography of The Marquis of Huaiyin  is a reflection on the art of listening. Wherein good listeners find success, while those unable to listen "with a sense of logic" ultimately fail. (179M) Throughout  Shi Jin 92 , Sima Qian subtly acknowledges the role of listening to advice. Early on in  Shi Ji 92 , Sima Qian recounts an exchange between Han Xin and the king of Han. After being asked a directed question by Han Xin regarding his leadership, Sima Qian notes, "The king of Han was silent for a while and then he said, 'I am inferior to Xiang Yu." (165B). Gaozu's silence reflects his ability to listen to the question w...

  152m. Sima Qian’s appraisal of Peng Yue notes that “in [his] breast [he] nursed hopes of rebellion.” Yet when one examines the events of the end of Peng’s life as described by Sima, it is difficult to pinpoint precisely what justifies the assertion that Peng Yue desired to rebel. Peng’s narrative up to his enfeoffment as king of Liang seems to contain no suggestion of seditious desires or disaffection with the emperor. As soon as Chen Xi revolts, however, he makes the curious decision to support the emperor in crushing the rebellion by sending his troops while refusing to take to the field in person (151m). One could explain his refusal as arising from “fear…that [he] might lose life itself,” since fear of death is one of his shortcomings (152m), but strictly speaking, Sima gives no reason. Peng’s ultimate downfall occurs when he is accused of treason by his master of carriage with whom he is “angry” (151b). Although the carriage master has ample motivation for making a false acc...

On p202 (last paragraph) SQ writes that “ the plotting of Kuai Tung filled Han Hsin with overbearing ambition and destroyed both him and Tien Heng. Leaving Tien Heng aside, is this claim aligned with SQ’s earlier chapter about Han Hsin ? First, SQ has a whole section called the “ Disaffected” about prominent figures who rebelled against Gao Zu. Moreover . on p104b-105t par. begins with “The king of Han ”, SQ writes “It was due to the efforts of three men: Ch’ing Pu, P’eng Yueh, and Han Hsin that Gao Zu destroyed Hsiang Yu ”. SQ tells us in “The Disaffected” that they and many others ended up executed by Gao Zu ’s regime . We see that , one, several people   revolted or were disaffected with Gao Zu , and two, that Kuai Tung had nothing to do with their execution s . Now, on p 202 SQ blames Kuai Tung for Han Hsin’s end in a different chapter than that on Han Hsin . If we look at the chapter dedicated to him , at the time that Hsiang Yu and Gao Zu were still fighting for ...

  After Emperor Hui ascended the throne, his mother the Empress Lu turned Lady Qi into the “human pig,” and displayed her [H1.269m].   The Empress took revenge on a woman who not only replaced her in Gaozu’s affection but also tried to have her son Ruiyi displace Hui as the heir.   Showing the Emperor her handiwork was a power move, and perhaps a belief in her invincibility.   After all, a long time ago, the old diviner had told her she would “become the most honoured woman in the world,” but perhaps she forgot the second part of the prophecy, in which he also said that it was because of her son that she would obtain that honour [H1.53t].   When she showed the Emperor what she had done, she effectively destroyed her chance of obtaining legitimacy for her family.   When Emperor Hui saw his mother’s work, he disavowed not only her, but himself [H1.269m]: No human being could be capable of such heinousness, and as he was her son, he was not “fit to rule the ...

  Sima Qian judged Han Xin as a man whose ambition brought about his downfall [H1.183b].   I would like to defend the general, and offer up a different interpretation.   Han Xin was certainly ambitious, as were all the men on all sides of the war, including of course Emperor Gaozu.   Han Xin had such unswerving belief in the permanence of his achievements and merits, he did not believe the emperor would ever turn against him [H1.179b].   At the same time, I think his certainty about his conception of loyalty was also part of his belief in himself.   Ultimately, Han Xin’s main problem was that his emperor was not worthy of his personal loyalty [H1.178t].   Kuai Tong the rhetorician knew that Han Xin thought too much of his relationship with the emperor.   The emperor did not in fact owe him any loyalty in return, said Kuai Tong, quoting the proverb about the hunting dog outliving his usefulness and being cooked [H1.178b].   He also warned Ha...

So far , SQ praised the ways ancient sage kings ruled by pursuing inner self- cultivat ion (N33b) and   righteousness (Q 85b) , and externally acted   differently in t i mes of conquest from those when pursuing peace and stability (Q8 1 m b , H 48) .   For the other brave and capable people who seized the opportunity during times of upheaval and rose to high positions in the emp ire, a new set of suggested moral qualities eme rges fr om SQ’s writings. On p.144-145 (last paragraph Ch. 89) , SQ remarks that when poor, Zhang Er and C hen Yu were fully l o yal to one another, yet when gaining power, they contended with and betrayed each other out of “self-interest.” On p.152, in the last paragraph, SQ also unde rlines that once Wei Bao and Peng Yue had a taste of political power, blinded by the call for worldly gain , this became their very reason to live, so even when being defeated they did not choose to d ie with honor, but, hoping that their fate...

  At the close of the Qing Bu chapter, Sima Qian states that the former’s misfortune was “born of the love for a concubine and bred in the fretfulness of a jealous mind” (162b) . One example of Qing’s loves leading him astray is the unfolding of his eventual demise which occurs due to a trick played on him by King Chen of Changsha (the brother of his former wife, the daughter of Wu Rui) (162m) . Perhaps it was his former marriage to Wu Rui’s daughter that made Qin believe he could trust King Chen’s invitation to flee to Yue, while the latter, instead, was executing his plan of murder. But when Sima Qian speaks of Qing Bu’s love and jealousy as bearing the brunt of his downfall, the episode which comes most vividly to mind is one where Qing Bu grows suspicious of Bi He’s relationship with his favorite concubine (who remains unnamed) (159m) . When she falls ill, and begins spending more time with Bi He, Qing Bu, perhaps rightly so*, begins to suspect an affair. Qing’s anger and suspi...

  Emperor Han considered Xiao He to have achieved the highest merit and decided to award him accordingly (93t) . But others objected, claiming that their victories in arms outweighed Xiao’s “brush and ink” deliberations (93t) . To counter their point, Emperor Han reasons that the one who instructs is more valuable than the one who carries out said instructions. He offers a parable in which Xiao is the huntsman; the warring officials are the hunting dogs led by said huntsman (93tm) . Although the emperor tames the official with this reasoning, they fail to understand the root of his argument; when the question of precedence arises, they believe that the man of arms, Cao Can, deserves priority over Xiao He (93mb) . To them Cao’s “seventy wounds” are proof enough of his esteemed worth for they prioritize loud and evident breeds of achievement, ones that have visible scars to show (93mb) . In this manner, the officials are shortsighted in their ignorance of how tamer efforts tend to...