Translation of the classical Chinese text "Su Qin Shi Jiang Lian Heng"

Original text

The first general of Su Qin, Lian Heng, said to King Qin Hui: "The great king's country has the advantages of Ba, Shu and Hanzhong in the west, and Hurao and Daima in the north. It is bounded by Wushan and Qianzhong in the south, and Wei and Hanzhigu in the east. The fields are fertile, the people are prosperous, there are thousands of chariots, millions of people are fighting, the fertile fields are thousands of miles away, there are many reserves, and the terrain is convenient. This is the so-called "Tianfu". "This is the most powerful country in the world. With the king's talents, the number of soldiers and people, the use of chariots and cavalry, and the teaching of military skills, he can unite the princes, swallow up the world, and rule as emperor. I hope you will pay less attention to it, and I will show its effect."

The King of Qin said: "I have heard that those who are not full of feathers cannot fly high; those who are not good at writing cannot be punished; those who are not morally good can not lead the people; those who do not obey politics and religion cannot be Minister, I have traveled thousands of miles to teach you, and I hope you can do it someday." Su Qin said, "I doubt that your Majesty can use it. In the past, Shen Nong cut down Zhuolu and killed Chiyou, and Yao cut down Huandou. , Shun defeated Sanmiao, Yu defeated Xia Gong, Tang defeated Youxia, King Wen defeated Chong, King Wu defeated Zhou, and Qi Huan conquered the world by fighting. From this point of view, is there anyone who does not fight? When the hubs attack and gallop, the words are united, the world is unified; when the treaty is made, the troops are not hidden; when the scribes are united, the princes are confused and confused, all things are happening, and it is insurmountable; the laws and regulations are in place, but the people are hypocritical; the policies are densely written Note, the people are insufficient; the superiors and subordinates are worried about each other, and the people have nothing to talk about; clearly stating the principles, the soldiers are getting stronger; making great arguments and convincing, the war will never stop; using excessive words, the world will not be governed; being deaf and deaf, there will be no success; fulfilling the righteous promise Believe that the world is not close to each other. Therefore, the civil servants are abolished and the military is promoted, and the dead soldiers are equipped with armor and powerful soldiers. A wise ruler always wants to assist, but his power cannot, so he uses war to continue it. If the two armies are wide, they attack each other, and if they are forced, they can achieve great results. Inside, the military is at the top, and the people are at the bottom. Now I want to unite the world, conquer the enemy's country, and control the sea. The princes of Yuanyuan and the ministers must be soldiers! If you are obsessed with teaching, obsessed with governance, obsessed with words, obsessed with debate, and addicted to rhetoric, the kingdom will not be able to do it. The black mink's fur is bad, a hundred catties of gold are exhausted, and the resources are exhausted. He went to Qin and returned. He is walking on stilts, carrying a book and a coffin. He looks haggard, his face is black, and his appearance has a dull complexion. When I got home, my wife didn't leave, my sister-in-law didn't cook for me, and my parents didn't talk to me. Su Qin sighed and said: "My wife does not regard me as her husband, my sister-in-law does not regard me as her uncle, and my parents do not regard me as their son. This is all Qin's fault!" He sent out the letter at night and laid out dozens of boxes to get the plan of "Tai Gong Yin Fu". , recite it while lying down, and think about it concisely. When he was about to fall asleep while reading, he used the awl to stab his buttocks, causing blood to flow to his feet. He said: "Did you say that the master of a human being cannot use his gold, jade, and brocade to win the honor of his ministers?" After a period of time, he figured it out and said: "This can really be said to be the king of the world!"

So Naimo Yanwu gathered in the palace, and saw King Zhao sitting under the beautiful house, holding hands and talking. King Zhao Dayue was granted the title of Lord Wu'an and received the seal of the prime minister. Hundreds of leather chariots, thousands of pure cotton embroidery, hundreds of pairs of white walls, and overflowing gold, followed behind, and they were about to disperse and cross, in order to suppress and strengthen the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, the prime ministers of Su and Qin were unable to pass through Zhao.

At this time, the vastness of the world, the multitude of people, the power of princes, and the power of advisors all wanted to decide Su Qin's strategy. No need to fight for food, not a single soldier to bother, not a single soldier to be raised, not a single string to be cut, not a single arrow to be broken, the princes are close to each other, and they are wiser than their brothers. If a virtuous man exists, the world will obey him; if one man uses him, the world will obey him. Therefore, it is said: style is based on politics, not style on courage; style is within the corridor temple, not style outside the four surroundings. When the Qin Dynasty was prosperous, there was an overflow of gold for its use, and it turned around and rode with horses, showing off in the Tao. The country of Shandong obeyed the wind and made Zhao Dazhong. Qifu Su Qin was very poor at digging the ears of scholars at the door and door. Fu Shi handed over his title and traveled across the world.

It will be said that the King of Chu passed by Luoyang. His parents heard about it, and they cleared the palace and cleared away the roads. The wife looks sideways and listens; the sister-in-law prostrates herself like a snake, bows four times and kneels down to express her thanks. Su Qin said: "Sister-in-law, how could you be so arrogant before and then be humble later?" The sister-in-law said: "The position of Ji Zi is so noble and rich." Su Qin said: "Sorry! If you are poor, your parents will not have children, and if you are rich, your relatives will be afraid. In this world, power is the key to success. How can one be rich and powerful?"

Translation

Su Qin, the leader of the Hezong faction, initially advocated the strategy of connecting horizontal lines with King Qin Hui. He persuaded King Qin Hui that : "Your Majesty's country has the rich products of Ba, Shu, and Hanzhong to the west, valuable animal skins from the Hu people's areas and fine horses from Dai land to the north, Wushan and Central Guizhou as barriers to the south, and Wei to the east. Strong fortresses like Shan and Hangu Pass have fertile land, a prosperous people and a prosperous country; thousands of chariots and millions of strong men; thousands of miles of fertile fields, rich resources, and sufficient reserves; the terrain is dangerous and can be attacked and easily defended.

This is the "Land of Abundance" recognized by the world, and Qin is truly a powerful country that dominates the world. With your virtuous power, the large number of soldiers and people of the Qin State, the great role of chariots, cavalry and other weapons, and the wonderful use of military techniques and strategies, you are completely sure to annex other princes, unify the world, call yourself emperor, and rule all China. I hope the king will consider this prospect and allow me to state my strategy. "

King Hui of Qin said: "I often hear people say: a bird with insufficient feathers cannot fly high, a country with incomplete laws cannot reward and punish, a monarch with low morals cannot rule the people. A monarch whose policies and education do not conform to the will of God cannot order his ministers. Now that my husband has traveled thousands of miles to come to our country of Qin to teach me, I am very grateful. However, as for military and national plans, it is best to wait until the future! "

Su Qin said: "I doubted whether the king could listen to my opinion. In the past, Shennong attacked Busui, Huangdi attacked Zhuolu and captured Chiyou, Yao of Tang exiled Huandou, Yushun attacked Sanmiao, King Yu of Xia attacked Jianggong, King Tang of Shang defeated Xia Jie, King Wen of Zhou attacked Chonghou, and King Wu of Zhou destroyed Zhou of Shang and Huan of Qi dominated the world through war. They all illustrate that if a country wants to dominate the world, how can it achieve its goal without going through war? In ancient times, envoys rode in military chariots, and various countries concluded verbal alliances with each other to seek unification of the world. Although they focused on vertical and horizontal alliances, wars continued; lobbyists and counselors used clever arguments and deceptions, causing the princes to panic and doubt. As a result, all disputes occurred from then on, which were simply too complicated to handle; in a country with complete constitutions and laws, people often behaved hypocritically; documents and policies were messy and cumbersome, and the people lived in poverty and deficiencies; the emperor and his ministers were all depressed. , the people have nothing to rely on; the more laws and regulations there are, the more wars will occur; the more people who are eloquent and changeable and wear Confucian clothes, the more wars will be unstoppable. If you ignore the fundamentals of anything and focus on the details of words, the world will become even more unstable. Therefore, the tongues of the lobbyists are burnt, and the ears of the listeners are deafened, but no results are achieved; even if they are loyal and trustworthy, they will not be able to make the world peaceful and happy. ”

“So we abolish civil rule and use force, summon and treat those who dare to die, make all kinds of armor, polish all kinds of swords and guns, and then go to the battlefield to fight for victory. Your Majesty, you must understand that if you want to make your country prosperous and strong without taking action, and if you want to expand the territory while staying still, even the ancient emperors, three kings, five hegemons, and wise kings cannot achieve these ambitions without using swords. Therefore, only war can achieve the goal of national prosperity. Those who are far away use armies to attack each other, and those who are close to each other use hand-to-hand combat. Only in this way can great achievements be achieved. Therefore, if the army can defeat foreign countries, the loyalty of the domestic people will be high, the authority of the king will be strengthened, and the people will naturally obey the rule. Now if you want to annex the world, seize the throne, conquer enemy countries, control the sea, govern the people, and command the princes, you must use force. However, the monarchs who are now in power have ignored the importance of using troops and failed to educate the people. They have not cultivated political principles and are often confused by the words of some sophistry. They indulge in the rhetoric of lobbyists and misunderstand the truth. Various inappropriate foreign policies. According to this situation, the king will definitely not be able to achieve the consecutive victory. ”

Although Su Qin lobbied the King of Qin more than 10 times in a row, his suggestions were never adopted by the King of Qin. His sable fur coat was also torn, and the 100 taels of gold coins were used up. In the end, he even had no money for his room and travel, so he had no choice but to leave Qin and return to Luoyang. His legs were bound and he was wearing straw sandals. He was carrying some tattered books and carrying his luggage. He looked haggard and looked haggard. His face was yellow and black, and he looked very frustrated. When he returned home, his wife who was weaving ignored him, his sister-in-law refused to cook for him, and his parents even refused to talk to him. So he sighed deeply: "My wife." She doesn’t treat me as her husband, my sister-in-law doesn’t treat me as her brother-in-law, and my parents don’t treat me as their son. This is all my fault, Su Qin. "

That night, Su Qin found a copy of "Yin Fu" written by Jiang Taigong from dozens of book boxes. From then on, he lay on the table and studied hard, choosing the important ones and reading them carefully. , and figured out the drill while reading. When he was tired and about to doze off, he stabbed his thigh with an awl, and the blood flowed to his feet. He said to himself: "How can I persuade the master without being able to do it? Let them take out the gold, jade and brocade and get the title of prime minister? "After a year, his research and practice finally succeeded, and he said to himself: "Now I can really lobby the kings of various countries.

”

So Su Qin walked into the Yanwuji Palace of Zhao State and lobbied King Zhao under the beautiful house. He talked to King Zhao endlessly about the strategy and tactics of Hezong, and King Zhao He was overjoyed after hearing this and immediately named him the Lord of Wu'an and granted him the seal, 100 military chariots, 1,000 brocades, 100 pairs of white jade stones, and 200,000 taels of gold coins. After the convoy followed him, he went to various countries to agree on alliances and break up the alliances. , in order to suppress and strengthen Qin.

Therefore, when Su Qin was the prime minister of Zhao, Qin did not dare to send troops to Hangu Pass. , all policies were decided by Su Qin alone, without spending a bushel of rations, without recruiting a single soldier, without sending a single general, without using up a single bow, without losing a single arrow, and the princes in the world lived in harmony, even better than before. Brothers should be close to each other. It can be seen that as long as a wise person is in power, the world will be submissive and stable; as long as such a person is properly used, the world will obey the leadership and submit to the court. Therefore, it is said: "It should be used." Political means should be used to solve problems, instead of using force to conquer everything; it is necessary to carefully plan and strategize at the court, instead of going to the border to fight and fight. ”

When Su Qin was powerful and popular, he had 200,000 taels of gold and silk at his disposal. The chariots and cavalry under his command were connected continuously, and they looked majestic wherever they went. All the princes in the east followed his orders, and Zhao's status became more and more respected. In fact, Su Qin was just a man who lived in a back alley, dug walls for doors, cut mulberry trees for windows, and used food. He is just a poor man who uses curved wood as door frames, but now he often rides on a luxurious four-horse chariot and travels around the world on a tall horse, lobbying the kings in the courts of various princes and kings, so that the cronies of the princes and kings dare not speak. , No one in the world dared to fight against him.

Su Qin was going to persuade King Chu Wei. When he passed by Luoyang, his parents quickly tidied up the room, cleaned the road, hired a band, prepared a banquet, and went to the city 30 meters away. He went to greet him from afar; his wife was so awed by him that she did not dare to look directly at him, squinted her eyes to see his majesty, and listened to his words with an inclination of her ears; while her sister-in-law knelt on the ground and did not dare to stand up, crawling on the ground like a snake, saying nothing to her. Su Qin kowtowed repeatedly to apologize. Su Qin asked: "Sister-in-law, why did you treat me so arrogantly and rudely before, and now you are so mean and mean? His sister-in-law replied: "Because now you are in a distinguished position and rich in money." "Su Qin sighed and said: "Alas! If a person is poor and destitute, even his parents will not regard him as a son. However, once he becomes rich and prominent, his relatives and friends will be afraid of him. It can be seen from this that when a person lives in this world, how can he ignore power and wealth? ”

Commentary

“It’s so easy to be rich and powerful in life! "At a time when the world is in chaos, the world is declining, people's hearts are deceitful, and all choices are based on real wealth, fame, and fortune. The so-called "laughing at the poor but not at the prostitutes" is a true portrayal of society. Even parents, wives, and sisters-in-law who have close ties of flesh and blood , so heartless and unrighteous when you have no money and power, but once you have money and power, everyone is flattering and flattering, and they also bluntly and nakedly say that the reason for such a change is Do you have power and money? The world is like this, and there are people who do not pursue fame and wealth.

Su Qin and all lobbyists and counselors are practitioners of the utilitarian philosophy of life, and pay attention to benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, trust, and pursuit. On the contrary, Confucianism takes the moral perfection of life as its purpose. Utilitarianism takes real fame and interests as the purpose of life and the foundation of life value. In order to gain fame and fortune, it emphasizes being proactive and diligent. This philosophy of life is also a highly practical action. The practical philosophy of the school, contrary to those theorists who talk about morality, is that it attaches great importance to positive actions and theoretical practice in reality, either lobbying in palaces and temples, or traveling among big and small countries; existing theories, There are also various actions to implement the theory.

Utilitarianism sometimes involves unscrupulous means for the sake of fame and fortune. When Su Qin failed to lobby, he went to lobby for alliances. In his mind, which country's interests and sides would be safeguarded? It doesn't matter which country you stand in. What's important is that your own fame and fortune must be realized, and your ambitions and ambitions must be supported. He Zong and Li Heng are just Su Qin's means, and his goal is still the same. The word fame and fortune.

Of course, the world was in chaos during the Warring States Period. Who can say for sure which country is just and which country is unjust? Due to the practical nature of the utilitarian philosophy of life and the utilitarian nature of the purpose to prove the means, its methodology has become a practical methodology that adapts to the current situation, knows the opportunity, knows the power and is fickle, strives for progress, and strives for self-improvement. The allusion and spirit of "the head hangs from the beam, and the cone stabs the buttocks" comes from Su Qin. His strong will and the spirit of fighting for his ambitions are indeed worth learning from generation to generation. Although utilitarians are somewhat selfish, individuals under the purpose of justice The spirit of struggle fully demonstrates people's wisdom, personality and tolerance, and shows the power of human life and the value of existence. It is what our society should promote.

Su Qin paid great attention to the art of language when lobbying. The piling up of gorgeous rhetoric and language are very persuasive. When Su Qin lobbied King Qin Hui, he first made some remarks that were beneficial to the overall situation of the Qin State. The description of his own point of view then explains the general path to unify the world. The use of antitheses and parallelism is very powerful and has a strong appeal. We must know that the literary talent when speaking accounts for nearly half of the persuasiveness of words. The so-called "words without words will not go far", which shows that if language does not have the cloak of literary talent, the communication intensity and area of ??communication will be greatly reduced. Talking too much will lead to mistakes, but in the context of emphasizing one thing and surrounding an argument, "talking too much" is very necessary. Only by talking too much can you convince others. Then Su Qin began to discuss the superiority and timeliness of "hegemony" over "kingdom" and martial arts over civil rule. The words are exquisite, the sentences are essence, the literary talent is high, the momentum is majestic, and it is extremely contagious and persuasive. It can be called a classic in the history of Chinese lobbying. Although King Qin Hui did not immediately adopt Su Qin's ideas at the time, in fact, Qin's later international strategic policy and its goal of unifying the world were based on the strategies and routes stated by Su Qin.

The method of "guessing" that Su Qin constantly practiced is exactly what "Gui Guzi", a must-learn classic for political strategists, recommends: "The foundation of planning is the method of explanation." Guessing refers to making realistic judgments about the other party through speculation, estimation, analysis, reasoning, etc. Guessing includes two aspects: guessing feelings and measuring power. To speculate is to speculate on the other person's likes and dislikes, authenticity, changes and other psychological states in order to understand the other person's inner thoughts. Measuring power refers to analyzing the opponent's external conditions such as strength, weakness, severity, reality, and obstruction. Mo means to test and seduce. To speculate, in a nutshell, means to think, speculate, and speculate over and over again. In other words, guessing means using one's own mind to judge someone's heart and detecting their inner feelings; Mo means using one's own words to probe into someone's heart and expose it. Guessing is a subjective judgment; rubbing is a language test. The methods used by strategists are also called "the art of guessing."