Regnum Sinense

史记（一：本纪）

Shiji I: Basic Annals

Shiji 史记 · 256 BC · 周赧王五十九年

Introduction

The Basic Annals for 256 BC, the year in which Qin extinguished Western Zhou: the entry of the Basic Annals of Zhou under the fifty-ninth year of King Nan, and the entry of the Basic Annals of Qin under the fifty-first year of King Zhaoxiang, which record the same events from the two sides.

Text and Translation

Text: Chinese source

Text: English Translation

Annotations

[§1] 史记（一：本纪）

[§1] Shiji I: Basic Annals

周本纪：五十九年，秦取韩阳城负黍，西周恐，倍秦，与诸侯约从，将天下锐师出伊阙攻秦，令秦无得通阳城。秦昭王怒，使将军摎攻西周。西周君饹秦，顿首受罪，尽献其邑三十六，口三万。秦受其献，归其君於周。

Basic Annals of Zhou: In the fifty-ninth year1, Qin took Yangcheng and Fushu from Han. Western Zhou took fright, turned against Qin, and swore the Vertical Alliance with the Lords, intending to lead the crack troops of all under Heaven out through Yique to attack Qin, so that Qin should have no way through to Yangcheng. King Zhao of Qin was angered and sent General Jiu to attack Western Zhou. The Lord of Western Zhou fled to Qin2, knocked his head to the ground and acknowledged his guilt, and surrendered all his settlements, thirty-six of them, with thirty thousand persons. Qin accepted what he surrendered and sent its lord back to Zhou3.

周君、王赧卒，周民遂东亡。秦取九鼎宝器，而迁西周公於惮狐。

The Lord of Zhou and King Nan died4, and the people of Zhou thereupon fled east. Qin took the Nine Tripods and the precious vessels, and moved the Duke of Western Zhou to Danhu5.

秦本纪：五十一年，将军摎攻韩，取阳城、负黍，斩首四万。攻赵，取二十余县，首虏九万。西周君背秦，与诸侯约从，将天下锐兵出伊阙攻秦，令秦毋得通阳城。于是秦使将军摎攻西周。西周君走来自归，顿首受罪，尽献其邑三十六城，口三万。秦王受献，归其君于周。

Basic Annals of Qin: In the fifty-first year, General Jiu attacked Han, took Yangcheng and Fushu, and took forty thousand heads. He attacked Zhao, took more than twenty Counties, and took ninety thousand heads and captives. The Lord of Western Zhou turned his back on Qin and swore the Vertical Alliance with the Lords, intending to lead the crack soldiers of all under Heaven out through Yique to attack Qin, so that Qin should have no way through to Yangcheng. Qin thereupon sent General Jiu to attack Western Zhou. The Lord of Western Zhou came running to submit of his own accord, knocked his head to the ground and acknowledged his guilt, and surrendered all his settlements, thirty-six Fortresses6, with thirty thousand persons. The King of Qin accepted what he surrendered and sent its lord back to Zhou.

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Terms

swear the Vertical Alliance / 约从; 约纵v. to form the 合纵 (hezong) alliance, the north–south ("vertical") league of the eastern states against Qin; 从 stands for 纵.
the Lords / 诸侯npl. the rulers of the states, collectively; in this period the kings of the warring states and the lesser lords, as distinct from the Zhou king.
crack troops / 锐师; 锐兵n. picked, first-rate soldiers.
General / 将军n. commander of an army; used as a title before the name.
knock the head to the ground / 顿首v. the kowtow of submission or apology, touching the forehead to the ground.
settlement / 邑n. a town or settlement with its lands; the units in which a domain was counted.
persons / 口n. "mouths": the registered population, counted by head.
the Nine Tripods / 九鼎n. the nine bronze tripod cauldrons held to have been cast by Yu and passed from dynasty to dynasty as the emblem of legitimate rule; their removal to Qin in 256 BC marks the end of Zhou.
take heads / 斩首v. to cut off the heads of enemy soldiers; the Qin annals give battle results as a count of heads taken.
County / 县n. the basic unit of direct administration, capitalized as an administrative unit.
heads and captives / 首虏n. enemy killed (counted by head) and taken prisoner, reported together as one figure.
Fortress / 城n. a walled place.

Persons

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.
Jiu 摎Qin general; his surname is not recorded in these passages.
Duke Wu of Western Zhou 西周武公Ruler of the Western Zhou domain, the fief centred on Wangcheng (modern Luoyang) into which the royal house had been divided; Song Zhong (in the Jijie) gives his posthumous title as Duke Wu.
King Nan of Zhou 周赧王The last king of Zhou, reigned 314–256 BC; personal name Yan 延. He resided in the Western Zhou domain.
Duke Wen of Western Zhou 西周文公Son and successor of Duke Wu of Western Zhou, personal name Jiu 咎.

Places

Qin 秦the state of Qin, with its capital at Xianyang, Shaanxi.
Yangcheng 阳城a Han town south-east of Luoyang, at modern Gaocheng, Dengfeng, Henan.
Fushu 负黍a Han town near Yangcheng, south-west of modern Dengfeng, Henan.
Han 韩the state of Han, with its capital at Zheng (modern Xinzheng, Henan).
Western Zhou 西周the Western Zhou domain, the western of the two fiefs into which the Zhou royal house was divided, centred on Wangcheng at modern Luoyang, where King Nan resided.
Yique 伊阙the gorge of the Yi River south of Luoyang, the Longmen of later times.
Zhou 周the Zhou royal domain around Luoyang.
Danhu 惮狐the place to which Qin moved the Duke of Western Zhou in 256 BC; placed by the commentaries in the Liang County of the time, in the area of modern Ruzhou, Henan. The edition writes the first character with 单 over 心; 憚狐 / 惮狐 in other editions.
Zhao 赵the state of Zhao, with its capital at Handan, Hebei; one of the three states formed from Jin.

Notes

1 fifty-ninth yearThe fifty-ninth and last year of King Nan of Zhou, 256 BC. The Basic Annals of Qin, below, record the same events under the fifty-first year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin; the two counts name the same year.
2 fled to QinThe edition reads 饹, equivalent to 奔, "fled to".
3 back to Zhou周: the remnant of the Western Zhou domain to which its lord was sent back.
4 The Lord of Zhou and King Nan died周君、王赧卒: two persons, following the punctuation of the edition. The Lord of Zhou here is the Lord of Western Zhou who had surrendered to Qin, Duke Wu 西周武公 (so Song Zhong in the Jijie; the Suoyin: 此时武公与王赧皆卒，故连言也). The Duke of Western Zhou moved to Danhu in the next sentence is therefore his successor, Duke Wen 文公 (Suoyin: 盖武公之太子文公也，武公卒而立，为秦所迁).
5 Danhu惮狐: the edition writes the first character with 单 over 心 (憚); the commentaries place it in the Liang County of the time, near modern Ruzhou, Henan.
6 thirty-six Fortresses邑三十六城: 城 rendered Fortress.