Qin and Han · Merchant and Herdsman

Luo of Wushi 烏氏倮

Wushi Luo

Attested BC 221

Passages: 3
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Luo of Wushi was a Merchant and Herdsman.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal name	Luo	倮	Luǒ

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 221 秦始皇帝令倮比封君
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 129, passages 97, 99

Career and standing

herdsman-merchant 牧
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 129, passage 97
Granted
Treated as enfeoffed lord
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 129, passage 99

Events and relationships

Attended court with ministers
Court · Honored guest
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 129, passage 99
Relation Gift exchange with · Person Rong King (戎王)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 129, passages 97-98

Assessments and attributes

Assessment frontier herdsman honored for wealth · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 129, passage 103

References in the histories

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 129Biographies of Money-Makers · 3 passages

烏氏倮牧，及眾，斥賣，求奇繒物，閒獻遺戎王。 Luo of the Wushi clan began as a herdsman. When his flocks grew large, he sold them off, invested in rare silks and exotic goods, and periodically presented gifts to the Rong king.

秦始皇帝令倮比封君，以時與列臣朝請。 The First Emperor of Qin decreed that Luo be accorded the status of an enfeoffed lord, attending court audiences alongside the ranked ministers at the proper times.

夫倮鄙人牧長，清窮鄉寡婦，禮抗萬乘，名顯天下，豈非以富邪？ Luo was but a herdsman of the frontier, and Qing a widow from a remote village, yet both were received with the courtesy due to rulers of ten thousand chariots, and their names resounded throughout the realm. Was this not because of their wealth?