Regnum Sinense

史记（五：列传）

Shiji V: Biographies

Shiji 史记 · 249 BC · 秦庄襄王元年

Introduction

The lines of the Biography of Lü Buwei on his chancellorship and fief, and of the Biography of Meng Tian on his grandfather Meng Ao's campaign against Han.

Text and Translation

Text: Chinese source

Text: English Translation

Annotations

[§5] 史记（五：列传）

[§5] Shiji V: Biographies

吕不韦列传：庄襄王元年，以吕不韦为丞相，封为文信侯，食河南雒阳十万户。

Biography of Lü Buwei: In the first year of King Zhuangxiang1, he made Lü Buwei Chancellor2, enfeoffed him as Marquis Wenxin, and gave him Luoyang in Henan3, a hundred thousand households, as his fief.

蒙恬列传：蒙恬者，其先齐人也。恬大父蒙骜，自齐事秦昭王，官至上卿。秦庄襄王元年，蒙骜为秦将，伐韩，取成皋、荥阳，作置三川郡。

Biography of Meng Tian: Meng Tian's forebears were men of Qi. Tian's grandfather Meng Ao4 came from Qi to serve King Zhao of Qin, and rose in office to Senior Minister. In the first year of King Zhuangxiang of Qin, Meng Ao was a general of Qin; he attacked Han, took Chenggao and Xingyang, and set up Sanchuan Commandery.

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Terms

Chancellor / 丞相n. the head of the administration; the fuller form of the title the texts also write as 相.
Marquis / 侯n. the holder of a marquisate, the fief named before the title.
household / 户n. the household, the unit by which a fief's population and revenue were reckoned.
Senior Minister / 上卿n. the highest rank of minister (卿).
Commandery / 郡n. the largest territorial unit of a state, above the County.

Persons

King Zhuangxiang of Qin 秦庄襄王King of Qin, reigned 249–247 BC; personal name Zichu 子楚 (Suoyin).
Lü Buwei 吕不韦Chancellor of State of Qin, Marquis Wenxin 文信侯; by origin a merchant of Yangdi.
Meng Tian 蒙恬General of Qin, grandson of Meng Ao.
Meng Ao 蒙骜General of Qin, a man of Qi by origin, who served King Zhaoxiang and rose to Senior Minister; grandfather of Meng Tian.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin 秦昭襄王King of Qin, reigned 306–251 BC; personal name Ji 稷. Called King Zhao in the Basic Annals of Zhou and King Zhaoxiang in the Basic Annals of Qin.

Places

Luoyang 雒阳the old Zhou capital on the Luo; modern Luoyang, Henan.
Henan 河南the Han name of Sanchuan Commandery, the lands around Luoyang; the Shiji uses it of Qin's commandery (Suoyin).
Qi 齐the state of Qi, with its capital at Linzi; modern Zibo, Shandong.
Qin 秦the state of Qin, with its capital at Xianyang, Shaanxi.
Han 韩the state of Han, with its capital at Zheng (modern Xinzheng, Henan).
Chenggao 成皋a Han town; the Zhengyi: the old Eastern Guo, Zheng's town of Zhi, also called Hulao, the Han dynasty's Chenggao; north-west of modern Xingyang, Henan.
Xingyang 荥阳a Han town east of Chenggao; modern Xingyang, Henan.
Sanchuan Commandery 三川郡a Qin Commandery, named for its three rivers, the Yellow River, Luo River and Yi River (Wei Zhao); established in 249 BC on the lands of Zhou and Han around Luoyang; renamed Henan Commandery under the Han (Pei Yin).

Notes

1 first yearThe first year of King Zhuangxiang of Qin, 249 BC.
2 Chancellor丞相: the Suoyin notes that the text goes on to say "honoured as Chancellor of State" (相国), and cites the Table of Officials of the Hanshu: both were Qin offices, with gold seal and purple ribbon, charged with assisting the Son of Heaven in the conduct of all affairs; Qin set up a Left and a Right, Gaodi one, later renamed Chancellor of State.
3 Henan Luoyang食河南雒阳: 食, to draw the revenue of. The Suoyin: the Zhanguoce has "fed on twelve Counties of Lantian"; the Basic Annals of Qin have Sanchuan Commandery founded in this year, and by the Treatise on Geography Gaozu renamed it Henan, so the Shiji, written later, calls Qin's commandery by its Han name.
4 Meng Ao骜: the Suoyin gives the pronunciation as that of 敖, ao, and Zou's as 五到反.