Ban Gu’s Afterword

On the day yichou, the fifteenth day of the tenth month in the seventeenth year of Emperor Xiaoming, Ban Gu wrote:

The Zhou mandate had passed on; a son’s humanity did not supersede his mother’s claim. Qin came rightly to its place, but Zheng of the Lü family was cruel and violent. Nevertheless, becoming a feudal lord at thirteen, he united the realm, indulged his passions and desires, and cared for his kin. For thirty-seven years his armies reached everywhere, and the institutions and decrees he made served later kings. He seems to have wielded a sage’s power: the River God granted him a chart; he occupied the stars Wolf and Fox and trod upon the constellations Three Stars and Punisher. These helped Zheng clear his path, until he styled himself the First Emperor.

After the First Emperor died, Huhai, in his supreme folly, resumed work on Epang before the tomb at Mount Li was finished, following his father’s former design. He declared: “The value of possessing the realm is to indulge one’s every desire; now great ministers would even stop what my father began.” He executed Li Si and Feng Quji and put Zhao Gao in power. What painful words! A human head uttering the cries of a beast. Had he not displayed his might or punished evil, had he not made reckless promises or vainly brought on ruin, he still could not have held back the inevitable. His cruelty hastened the end. Though occupying a state naturally protected, he could not survive.

Ziying inherited the throne according to his place in the succession. He put on a jade crown and splendid sash, rode beneath a yellow canopy, attended by all the officials, and visited the seven ancestral temples. When a small man occupies a station not his own, he loses his bearings, living for each day’s brief peace. Yet Ziying alone could think beyond the moment. Father and sons contrived a stratagem close to home, within their own doors and windows, and at last killed the treacherous minister, punishing a rebel on behalf of his ruler. After Zhao Gao’s death, before guests and relatives could finish congratulating one another, before food had passed their throats or wine touched their lips, Chu troops had already sacked Guanzhong, and the true sovereign soared at Bashang. Ziying came in a plain cart with a cord around his neck and presented his seals and tallies, submitting to the future emperor. When the Earl of Zheng carried thatch standards and the sacrificial knife, King Zhuang withdrew his troops. A breached river cannot be dammed again; rotten fish cannot be made whole. Jia Yi and Sima Qian said: “Had Ziying possessed even the abilities of an ordinary ruler and found a few middling advisers, Qin could have held its territory despite the turmoil east of the mountains, and its ancestral sacrifices need not have ended.” But Qin’s decline was long in the making; the realm was collapsing like earth and tiles. Even a man of the Duke of Zhou’s gifts would have had no chance to display his skill. To blame this solitary ruler of a single day is mistaken! Tradition rightly says that the First Emperor began Qin’s crimes and Huhai carried them to the extreme. To blame the young man as well, claiming he could have preserved Qin’s lands, is to misunderstand the course of events. The Spring and Autumn Annals did not name Ji of Ji for preserving Xi. Whenever I read the Qin Annals and reach Ziying’s execution of Zhao Gao by dismemberment with chariots, I cannot help admiring his resolve and pitying his purpose. Ziying fulfilled the duty of a man whether in life or death.

On the fifteenth day of the tenth month, the day yichou, in the seventeenth year of Emperor Xiaoming, Ban Gu said:

The Zhou dynasty's allotted time had already passed, but a kind son does not replace his mother. Qin claimed its rightful place, yet Zheng, born to the Lü family, was cruel and violent. He became a ruler at thirteen and united the world. He freely satisfied his desires and provided for his family. In thirty-seven years there was nowhere his armies did not reach. He established institutions, laws, and orders that later rulers used. Perhaps he had the power of a sage: the River Spirit handed down a chart, and the signs of the Wolf and Fox, and of Shen and Fa, guided his rise and cleared his path to rule. He rejected the title offered him and called himself the First Emperor.

After the First Emperor died, Huhai showed utter foolishness. Before the work at Mount Li was done, he resumed construction of Epang Palace to carry out the earlier plan. He said: “The point of ruling the whole world is to do whatever one likes and satisfy one's every desire, yet senior ministers even want to stop the work my father began.” He executed Li Si and Quji and put Zhao Gao in power. How painful to hear such words! He had a human head but made the sounds of a beast. He neither commanded respect nor struck down wrongdoers. He had neither steady character nor true humility; his ruin was unavoidable. He could not delay it. His cruelty hastened the end. Though he ruled a land naturally easy to defend, he could not preserve it.

Ziying was next in line to inherit. He wore a jade crown and fine ceremonial sash, rode in a carriage with a yellow canopy, was attended by a hundred officials, and paid respects at the seven ancestral temples. When lesser men take a position beyond their abilities, they generally lose their heads and fail in their duties, seeking only to get through each day safely. But Ziying could think ahead and consider past events. He and his sons made a plan, taking action within the rooms of their own house, and succeeded in killing the treacherous minister, punishing a rebel on behalf of the ruler. After Gao died, before guests and relatives had finished greeting one another, before anyone had swallowed a mouthful of food or moistened his lips with wine, Chu's army had already put Guanzhong to the sword. The true man appeared in triumph at Bashang. Ziying, riding in a plain carriage with a cord around his neck, handed over his tallies and seals and submitted to the man who would become emperor. When the ruler of Zheng offered a grass-wrapped banner and a sacrificial knife with bells, King Zhuang withdrew his troops. Once a river's banks have broken, it cannot be held back again; once a fish has rotted, it cannot be made whole again. Jia Yi and Sima Qian said: “If Ziying had had even the ability of an ordinary ruler and only moderately capable aides, Qin could have held its territory despite the disorder east of the mountains, and the sacrifices at its ancestral temples need not have ended.” But Qin had been weakening for so long, and the world was falling apart. Even a man as capable as the Duke of Zhou could not have shown his skill then. It is wrong to blame a ruler who stood alone for a single day! Tradition says the First Emperor began Qin's crimes and Huhai took them to their limit. That is a sound judgment. To blame the young Ziying as well and say Qin's land could have been saved shows no understanding of how times change. When Ji of Ji handed over Xi, the Spring and Autumn Annals did not record his name in blame. Whenever I read Qin's chronicle and reach Ziying's execution of Zhao Gao by tearing him apart with carts, I admire his resolve and sympathize with his intentions. Ziying did everything that duty required of him, whether it meant life or death.