Day Five

At the top of page 28, regarding the governor of Pei capturing the capital city of Xianyang, Sima Qian notes, "Xiang Yu was enraged" (T28). This is the first of six occasions in Shi Ji 7: The Basic Annals of Xiang Yu, where Sima Qian references the rage of Xiang Yu. In this paper, I want to explore the crucial role rage plays in shaping Sima Qian's biography of Xiang Yu. Early on in Xiang Yu's biography, Sima Qian does not associate rage with Xiang Yu's actions. Sima Qian does not mention rage when Xiang Yu violently kills the governor of Kuaiji (B18) or the supreme general Song Yi. In both incidences, Sima Qian portrays Xiang Yu's actions as calculated and stoic. After Xiang Yu's initial rage on page 28, Sima Qian next mentions the rage of Xiang Yu in relation to his being cursed by Zhou Ke. Sima Qian notes, "Xiang Yu, enraged, boiled Zhou Ke alive and at the same time executed Lord Cong" (M40). Here, Xiang Yu violently gives in to his rage, and thus, the executions of Zhou Ke and Lord Cong are framed solely in terms of Xiang Yu's rage. At other moments in the text, Xiang Yu seems somewhat in control of his rage, whereby the reader can apprehend Xiang Yu as a measured and rational military leader. After capturing Waihuang, Sima Qian notes, "Enraged, Xiang Yu ordered all the men over the age of fifteen to be brought to a place east of the city, where he planned to butcher them" (B42). However, after a young man makes a rationale pleads on behalf of the "common people," Xiang Yu checks his rage and "pardoned all the men of Waihuang" (B42). At certain moments in the text, Xiang Yu seems unhinged in relation to his anger (M40, T42), while at other moments (M41, B42), Xiang Yu channels his rage in a somewhat rational manner. By presenting conflicting examples of Xiang Yu's rage, Sima Qian provides the reader with a complex portrait of Xiang Yu as a violent military leader who does not always surrender to his worst violent impulses but, at times, strategically checks his rage. The most consequential example of rage in Shi Ji 7 is not a moment of Xiang Yu's rage; instead, it is when one of Xiang Yu's generals gives into his rage and undermines Xiang Yu's strategic advantage over the King of Han, ultimately leading to demise of Xiang Yu and Chu. At the bottom of page 48, Sima Qian states: 

Then he (the King of Han) sent men to taunt and insult them for five or six days, until at last the grand marshal Cao Jiu, in a rage, led his soldiers across the Si River. When the troops were halfway across the river, then Han force fell upon them and inflicted a severe defeat on the Chu army, seizing all the wealth of the country of Chu. (B43; emphasis added)

 

Day Six 

At the bottom of page 205, in The Grand Historian Remarks, Sima Qian notes of Li Si, "yet he did not strive for enlightened government as a means of repairing the ruler's defects" (B205-T206). Sima Qian's critique of Li Si made me question: What does Sima Qian mean by "enlightened government"? Given that Sima Qian does not define his notion of "enlightened government," one way the reader may apprehend Sima Qian's notion of "enlightened government" is by critically assessing Li Si's approach to governance. At the bottom of page 185, following Li Si's suggestion to burn the books in order to prevent fragmentation and confusion, Sima Qian comments on the early years of the Qin rule, noting, "The clarification of laws and regulations and fixing of statues all began with the First Emperor…Li Si played an important role in all of these activities" (B185-T186). Qin rule rests upon clearly defined laws meant to maintain a hierarchical and ordered society, a Legalist framework of governance that Li Si played a crucial role in establishing. During the reign of the Second Emperor, as the Qin Dynasty unraveled, Li Si doubled down on law and order, advising the emperor to adhere to a strict Legalist framework of governing. Li Si posits an approach of governance that is seemingly unconstrained by notions of "enlightened government," stating, "Hence he (the emperor) can obliterate the path of benevolence and righteousness…close the eyes and ears of others and rely solely on his own sight and hearing" (M 197). For Li Si, the advisor does not strive to repair "the ruler's defects"; the advisor merely strives to empower the ruler.

Li Si's underlying assumption regarding government is that the primary role of government is to preserve peace and maintain order at any cost. Thus, he asserts, "And when laws are applied and techniques clearly understood, I have never heard of the empire being in disorder" (MB 197). Sima Qian chastises Li Si for not striving for enlightened rule. However, Sima Qian and Li Si have competing notions regarding what constitutes an enlightened ruler. In his letter advocating the Legalist school of philosophy, Li Si notes, "The way of the king is simple and easy to carry out, but only an enlightened ruler can do so" (B197; emphasis added). Thus, Li Si did attempt to repair the "ruler's defects" and strive for an "enlightened government." He merely had a different framing than Sima Qian as to what it means to be an enlightened government.

 

 

 

 

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