Qin and Han · Official

Bu Shi 卜式

Attested BC 141 - BC 87

Passages: 3
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Bu Shi was an official.

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 141 to BC 87 漢興六十餘載
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 68, passages 253-254, 257-258

Career and standing

herdsman 芻牧
Directly stated · Book of Han 68, passage 257
swan's pinions among sparrows; tracks among sheep and pigs 鴻漸之翼困於燕爵，遠跡羊豕之間
Rose from humble circumstances
Directly stated · Book of Han 68, passage 253

Places and affiliations

Western Han 漢
Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Han 68, passages 253, 257-258

Events and relationships

Raised from
Career · Subject · From fodder and herding 芻牧
Directly stated · Book of Han 68, passage 257

Assessments and attributes

Assessment plain straightforwardness (質直) · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Book of Han 68, passage 258
Assessment second rank beside later famous ministers · With Gongsun Hong (公孫弘), Er Kuan (兒寬) · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Book of Han 68, passage 261

References in the histories

Book of Han, Chapter 68Volume 58: Gongsun Hong, Bu Shi and Er Kuan · 3 passages

贊曰：公孫弘、卜式、兒寬皆以鴻漸之翼困於燕爵，遠跡羊豕之間，非遇其時，焉能致此位乎？ The historian sighs: Hong, Bu Shi, and Er Kuan were swans mistaken for hens, men of worth herding pigs and sheep—without a ruler who sought them, how would they ever have risen?

卜式拔於芻牧，弘羊擢於栗豎，衛青奮於奴僕，日磾出於降虜，斯亦曩時版築飯牛之朋已。 Bu Shi rose from the pasture, Sang Hongyang from the granary urchin, Wei Qing from slavery, Jin Midi from the ranks of captives—kin to the wall-builders and ox-herders of legend.

漢之得人，於茲為盛，儒雅則公孫弘、董仲舒、兒寬，篤行則石建、石慶，質直則汲黯、卜式，推賢則韓安國、鄭當時，定令則趙禹、張湯，文章則司馬遷、相如，滑稽則東方朔、枚皋，應對則嚴助、硃買臣，歷數則唐都、洛下閎，協律則李延年，運籌則桑弘羊，奉使則張騫、蘇武，將率則衛青、霍去病，受遺則霍光、金日磾，其餘不可勝紀。 Never did the dynasty gather talent so thickly: Hong, Dong, and Kuan for classical breadth; the Shi brothers for steadfast service; Ji An and Bu Shi for blunt loyalty; Han Anguo and Zheng Dangshi for lifting others; Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang for codifying law; Sima Qian and Xiangru for voice; jesters Dongfang Shuo and Mei Gao; debaters Yan Zhu and Zhu Maichen; calendar-makers Tang Du and Luoxia Hong; the harmonist Li Yan'nian; the reckoner Sang Hongyang; envoys Zhang Qian and Su Wu; blades Wei Qing and Huo Qubing; regents Huo Guang and Jin Midi—and a cloud of names besides.