Ancient China · Statesman and Diplomat

Su Qin 蘇秦

Attested BC 334 - BC 309

Passages: 3
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Su Qin was a statesman and Diplomat.

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 334 to BC 309 張儀、蘇秦之時
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 126, passage 174

Family

Kinship Role descendants · Quantity unspecified · influence and descendants long prosperous
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 126, passage 174

Career and standing

minister and chancellor 卿相
Held
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 126, passages 167, 174

Places and affiliations

Polity Zhou-period feudal states 十二國 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 126, passage 174

Events and relationships

Won audience with great rulers
BC 334 to BC 309 張儀、蘇秦之時 · Political · Persuader
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 126, passage 167
Relation Contemporary of · Person Zhang Yi (張儀)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 126, passages 167, 174

Assessments and attributes

Assessment counsel heeded; rose to highest office · Mode quoted-speech Speaker Dongfang Shuo (東方朔)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 126, passage 174

Source notes

Value historical
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 126, passage 167

References in the histories

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 126Biographies of Jesters · 3 passages

時會聚宮下博士諸先生與論議，共難之曰：「蘇秦、張儀一當萬乘之主，而都卿相之位，澤及後世。 Once, the court academicians and scholars assembled and challenged him in debate: "Su Qin and Zhang Yi each won audience with the mightiest rulers of their age, rose to the rank of minister and chancellor, and their influence was felt for generations to come.

夫張儀、蘇秦之時，周室大壞，諸侯不朝，力政爭權，相禽以兵，并為十二國，未有雌雄，得士者彊，失士者亡，故說聽行通，身處尊位，澤及後世，子孫長榮。 In the days of Zhang Yi and Su Qin, the house of Zhou lay in ruins. The feudal lords no longer came to court; they governed by force and vied for supremacy, waging war upon one another. The world was divided among a dozen states, with no clear victor. Those who won talented men grew strong; those who lost them perished. And so these men's counsel was heeded, their plans put into action. They rose to the highest offices, their influence endured for generations, and their descendants prospered long after them.

使張儀、蘇秦與仆并生於今之世，曾不能得掌故，安敢望常侍侍郎乎！ If Zhang Yi and Su Qin were alive today, born into this same age as I, they could not so much as land a post as a petty archivist — how then would they dare dream of becoming Regular Attendant or Attendant Gentleman!