呂不韋列傳

Lü Buwei was a great merchant of Yangzhai. He traveled buying cheap and selling dear, and accumulated a fortune of a thousand gold pieces.

In the fortieth year of King Zhao of Qin, the crown prince died. In his forty-second year, his second son, Lord Anguo, was made crown prince. Lord Anguo had more than twenty sons. He had a beloved consort whom he made his principal wife, known as Lady Huayang. Lady Huayang had no sons. One of Lord Anguo's middle sons was named Zichu. Zichu's mother was a concubine called Lady Xia, who was not favored. Zichu was serving as a hostage prince in Zhao. Qin had attacked Zhao repeatedly, so Zhao showed Zichu little courtesy.

Zichu, a grandson of minor standing among the Qin royal house, was held hostage among the lords. His carriages and provisions were inadequate, his circumstances were straitened, and he was discontented. Lü Buwei, doing business in Handan, saw him, pitied him, and said: "This is a rare commodity worth investing in." He went to see Zichu and said: "I can elevate your house." Zichu laughed and said: "Better elevate your own house first, and then talk of elevating mine!" Lü Buwei replied: "You do not understand. My house can only become great through yours." Zichu understood what he meant, drew him to a seat, and they spoke in confidence. Lü Buwei said: "The King of Qin is old. Lord Anguo has been made crown prince. I have heard that Lord Anguo's beloved is Lady Huayang, and that Lady Huayang has no son. The only person who can determine the designated heir is Lady Huayang alone. Now you have more than twenty brothers, you rank somewhere in the middle, you are not particularly favored, and you have been a hostage for a long time. If the king should die and Lord Anguo becomes king, you would have no chance of competing for the position of crown prince against the eldest son or those who are at his side day and night." Zichu said: "True. What is to be done?" Lü Buwei said: "You are poor, a guest here, with nothing to offer your parents or to attract followers. Though I am of modest means, allow me to spend a thousand gold pieces traveling west on your behalf, to serve Lord Anguo and Lady Huayang and have you established as the designated heir." Zichu bowed his head to the ground and said: "If your plan succeeds, I ask to divide the state of Qin with you."

Lü Buwei gave five hundred gold pieces to Zichu for living expenses and to cultivate followers, and spent another five hundred on rare treasures and curiosities. He took these and traveled west to Qin, seeking an audience with Lady Huayang's elder sister. Through her, he presented all these gifts to Lady Huayang. He then spoke of how wise and capable Zichu was, how he had built connections with guests and retainers among all the lords, and how he always said: "Zichu regards Lady Huayang as Heaven itself, and weeps for the Crown Prince and Lady day and night." Lady Huayang was greatly pleased. Lü Buwei then had her sister persuade Lady Huayang, saying: "I have heard that one who serves through beauty will find that when beauty fades, affection cools. Now you serve the Crown Prince with great affection but have no son. If you do not take this opportunity to bind yourself to the most worthy and filial among his sons, raising him up as the designated heir and adopting him as your own, then while your husband lives you will be doubly honored, and after his death, the son you have made your own will be king — you will never lose your position. This is what they call 'one word that secures ten thousand generations of advantage.' If you do not plant the root while in your bloom, then once beauty fades and affection cools, even if you wish to utter a single word, will you still be able?" She continued: "Now Zichu is talented, and he knows that as a middle son he cannot become the designated heir. His mother is not favored either. He naturally looks to you, Lady. If you seize this moment and raise him to be the designated heir, you will enjoy favor in Qin for the rest of your life." Lady Huayang agreed. She found a moment with the Crown Prince and casually mentioned that Zichu, the hostage in Zhao, was extremely talented — everyone who had traveled back and forth praised him. Then, weeping, she said: "I was fortunate to be admitted to the inner palace, but unfortunately I have no son. I wish to have Zichu designated as the heir, to secure my future." Lord Anguo consented. He and Lady Huayang carved a jade token as a pledge to designate Zichu as heir. Lord Anguo and Lady Huayang then sent generous gifts to Zichu and asked Lü Buwei to serve as his tutor. From this point on, Zichu's reputation grew ever greater among the lords.

Lü Buwei had taken as his consort a woman from among the dancing girls of Handan, one of surpassing beauty and skill, and she had become pregnant. Zichu was drinking at Lü Buwei's house, saw her, and was delighted. He rose to toast his host and asked for her. Lü Buwei was furious, but then reflected that he had already ruined his fortune for Zichu's sake and was angling for the extraordinary prize — so he gave her up. The woman concealed her pregnancy, and when the full term came, she bore a son: Zheng. Zichu thereupon made her his principal wife.

In the fiftieth year of King Zhao of Qin, the king sent Wang Yi to besiege Handan. The situation grew desperate, and Zhao wanted to kill Zichu. Zichu and Lü Buwei plotted together, bribed the guards with six hundred catties of gold, and escaped. They fled to the Qin army and made their way home. Zhao wanted to kill Zichu's wife and child, but his wife was from a powerful Zhao family and managed to go into hiding. Mother and son both survived. In the fifty-sixth year of King Zhao of Qin, the king died. The Crown Prince, Lord Anguo, succeeded as king, Lady Huayang became queen, and Zichu became crown prince. Zhao also returned Zichu's wife and son Zheng to Qin.

The new king reigned only one year before dying, and was posthumously titled King Xiaowen. Crown Prince Zichu succeeded him — this was King Zhuangxiang. Lady Huayang, whom King Zhuangxiang treated as his mother, became the Huayang Empress Dowager. His birth mother, Lady Xia, was honored as the Xia Empress Dowager. In the first year of King Zhuangxiang, Lü Buwei was appointed Chancellor and enfeoffed as Marquis Wenxin, with a fief of one hundred thousand households at Luoyang in Henan.

King Zhuangxiang reigned three years and died. Crown Prince Zheng succeeded as King of Qin and honored Lü Buwei as Chancellor of State, calling him "Second Father." The King of Qin was young, and the Queen Dowager secretly carried on an affair with Lü Buwei. Lü Buwei's household had ten thousand servants.

At that time, Wei had Lord Xinling, Chu had Lord Chunshen, Zhao had Lord Pingyuan, and Qi had Lord Mengchang — all of them humbled themselves before men of talent and delighted in hosting retainers, competing for prestige. Lü Buwei, relying on the strength of Qin, was ashamed to be outdone. He too attracted scholars and treated them generously, until his retainers numbered three thousand. The lords at that time had many skilled debaters — followers of Xunzi and the like — who wrote books that circulated throughout the realm. Lü Buwei therefore had each of his retainers write down what he knew, and collected these into the Eight Surveys, Six Discussions, and Twelve Almanacs — over two hundred thousand characters in all. He claimed it encompassed all matters of heaven, earth, and the myriad things, past and present, and titled it the Springs and Autumns of Lü. He had it displayed at the market gate of Xianyang with a thousand gold pieces hung above it, inviting any traveling scholar from the lords' states who could add or remove a single character to claim the reward.

As the First Emperor grew into manhood, the Queen Dowager's licentiousness did not cease. Lü Buwei feared that discovery would bring calamity upon himself, so he secretly found Lao Ai, a man of exceptional endowment, and made him a retainer. He had Lao Ai parade his abilities in public entertainments, ensuring the Queen Dowager heard of it, to entice her. The Queen Dowager heard and indeed wished to have him in secret. Lü Buwei then presented Lao Ai, arranging a false accusation of a crime requiring castration. He also secretly told the Queen Dowager: "If we fake the castration, he can be admitted to the inner palace." The Queen Dowager secretly bribed the official in charge of the punishment, had the sentence falsified, plucked Lao Ai's beard and eyebrows to pass him off as a eunuch, and thereby got him admitted to her presence. The Queen Dowager carried on an affair with him and was utterly besotted. She became pregnant, and fearing discovery, faked a divination recommending temporary relocation, and moved her residence to Yong. Lao Ai constantly attended her, receiving lavish gifts, and all matters were decided by him. His household had several thousand servants, and over a thousand men seeking office attached themselves to him as retainers.

In the seventh year of the First Emperor's reign, the Xia Empress Dowager — mother of King Zhuangxiang — died. The consort of King Xiaowen, the Huayang Empress Dowager, was buried alongside King Xiaowen at Shouling. King Zhuangxiang was buried at Zhiyang, so the Xia Empress Dowager was buried separately east of Du. She had said: "Looking east I see my son; looking west I see my husband. In a hundred years there will be a city of ten thousand households beside me."

In the ninth year of the First Emperor, someone reported that Lao Ai was not truly a eunuch, that he had been carrying on an affair with the Queen Dowager, and that they had secretly produced two sons. He and the Queen Dowager had conspired, saying: "If the king should die, we will make our son his successor." The King of Qin referred the matter to the judicial officials, and every detail was confirmed. The case implicated Chancellor of State Lü Buwei. In the ninth month, Lao Ai's three clans were exterminated, the Queen Dowager's two sons were killed, and the Queen Dowager herself was confined at Yong. All of Lao Ai's retainers had their property confiscated and were deported to Shu. The king wished to execute the Chancellor as well, but because of his great service to the late king and because so many retainers and skilled debaters came forward to plead his case, the king could not bring himself to carry out the sentence.

In the tenth month of the tenth year of the First Emperor, the Chancellor of State Lü Buwei was dismissed. When the Qi man Mao Jiao persuaded the King of Qin, the king had the Queen Dowager brought back from Yong and restored her to Xianyang, while Marquis Wenxin was sent away to his fief in Henan.

After more than a year, envoys and retainers from the lords' states streamed along the roads to call on Marquis Wenxin. The King of Qin, fearing an upheaval, sent Marquis Wenxin a letter: "What service have you rendered to Qin? Qin has enfeoffed you in Henan with a hundred thousand households. What kinship do you have with Qin? Yet you are called 'Second Father.' Take your household and relocate to Shu!" Lü Buwei, perceiving that the pressure was tightening and fearing execution, drank poison and died. The King of Qin's wrath against both Lü Buwei and Lao Ai was now spent — both were dead — so he pardoned those of Lao Ai's retainers who had been deported to Shu and allowed them to return.

In the nineteenth year of the First Emperor, the Queen Dowager died. She was posthumously titled Empress Dowager and was buried alongside King Zhuangxiang at Zhiyang.

The Grand Historian comments: While both Lü Buwei and Lao Ai enjoyed wealth and honor, and Lü Buwei was enfeoffed as Marquis Wenxin — when someone informed on Lao Ai, Lao Ai heard of it. The King of Qin investigated those around him but had not yet acted. When the king went to perform the suburban sacrifice at Yong, Lao Ai feared disaster was imminent and conspired with his confederates, forging the Queen Dowager's seal to mobilize troops in rebellion at the Qinian Palace. Officials were dispatched to attack Lao Ai. He was defeated, fled, was pursued and beheaded at Haozhui, and his clan was exterminated. Lü Buwei was brought down by this affair. The type Confucius described as having mere "reputation" rather than true virtue — is that not Lü Buwei?

Lü Buwei angled for the extraordinary, pledging himself to Zichu. Lady Huayang designated the heir; at Handan, the concubine was given away. He was enfeoffed in Henan and called Second Father. Exiled to Shu to punish slander, he hung gold above his writings. His stratagems achieved their aim — wealth and honor were his to take.