University of Virginia Library

Chapter II

ON THE PRESERVATION OF HAN[1] : ISSUE
BETWEEN HAN FEI AND LI SSŬ

Han Fei TzŬ's Memorial to the King of Ch`in[2] :—

"Han has served Ch`in for upwards of thirty years. To
Ch`in she has formed a shielding barrier in case of war and
made a restful carpet in time of peace. Thus, whenever
Ch`in sends out crack troops to conquer new territory and
Han[3] follows at her heels, Han incurs hatred from All-underHeaven,
but every achievement belongs to Ch`in.

"Further, since Han pays tribute and renders services
to Ch`in, she does not differ from a district or county of
Ch`in. Of late, however, thy servant has in secret heard of
the scheme of Your Majesty's ministers to raise an army to
invade Han. Verily it is the Chaos that have been recruiting
officers and soldiers and supporting the advocates of the
Perpendicular Union with a view to uniting the troops of
All-under-Heaven. And, with the clear understanding that
unless Ch`in be weakened, the feudal lords would eventually
see their ancestral shrines ruined, they plan to turn west and
accomplish their task. This is not such a scheme as could be
devised in the brief space of one day. Now supposing

Ch`in left the impending harm Chao has been causing and
spurned Han so trustworthy a vassal as a eunuch, then Allunder-Heaven
would accordingly find reason for the scheme
of the Chaos.

"Verily Han is a small country. To stand the pressure
by All-under-Heaven from the four directions, the sovereign
has to bear disgrace and the ministers have to undergo
hardships, high and low having thus for years shared griefs
with each other in mending garrisons, in making provision
against strong foes, in keeping hoardings and savings, and
in building walls and moats, in order to solidify their defence
works. Therefore, though Ch`in starts invading Han now,
she may be unable to take her in a year. Should Ch`in withdraw
after taking only a city, she would fall into contempt
by All-under-Heaven, who might in their turn crush her
soldiers. Again, should Han rebel, Wey would join her and
Chao would look to Ch`i for safety.[4] If so, Ch`in will
eventually supply Chao with the strength of Han and Wey
and let Ch`i unite all these powers to solidify the Perpendicular
Union and thereby struggle for supremacy with
Ch`in. The result would be Chao's fortune and Ch`in's
misfortune, come what might.

"Indeed, if Ch`in on going forward to raid Chao cannot
take and on turning backward to attack Han cannot win, her
troops, however invulnerable, will become tired of field
operations abroad and her transport corps will fall short of
supplies[5] from home. Then, if Ch`in masses her distressed
and weakened troops to cope with the twenty thousand

chariots of Ch`i and Chao,[6] the result will not go in accordance
with the original plan to destroy Han.[7] Thus, if everything
be done according to the scheme of Your Majesty's
ministers,[8] Ch`in will infallibly become the anvil[9] of the
forces of All-under-Heaven, wherefore even though Your
Majesty's reign may last as long as metals and rocks, there
never will come the day to bring the world under one rule.

"Now, it is the stupid suggestion of thy humble servant
to send an envoy to Ching and, by bribing the ministers in
charge of her state affairs with precious presents, convince
them of the reasons why Chao has been conspiring against
Ch`in, and at the same time send a hostage to Wey to make
her feel at ease, and then[10] to fall upon Chao. Consequently,
Chao will not make any serious trouble in spite of her confederation
with Ch`i. After the removal of the difficulties
with these two countries, Ch`i and Chao, the problem of
Han can be solved by means of an official despatch. Likewise,
if we can at one effort doom the two countries to ruin,
Ching and Wey will voluntarily surrender themselves to us.

"Hence the saying: `Weapons are dangerous implements,
and should not be employed at random.' For illustration,
Ch`in in vying with Chao has to challenge Ch`i and simultaneously
break off with Han while she is as yet unsuccessful
in winning the good-will of Ching and Wey, so that once
she fails to win in a single combat, she will certainly suffer

a tremendous adversity. Verily schemes are means whereby
affairs are settled and therefore should be carefully scrutinized.

"The turning-point[11] of Ch`in, whether towards strength
or towards weakness, will come to pass within this year.
It is, indeed, a long time since Chao began to plot with other
feudal lords against Ch`in. It will be a castastrophe to be
defeated by the feudal lords in the first engagement with
them. Again, it is a great risk to devise such a scheme as
would excite the feudal lords' suspicion. Exposing these two
carelessnesses to the world is not the right way to display
our strength before the feudal lords. Therefore, with due
reverence may thy humble servant pray Your Majesty to
ponder over such eventualities and foresee that should the
expedition against Han be utilized by the Perpendicular
Unionists, it would be too late to regret the consequences?"[12]

Li SsŬ's Memorial to the King of Ch`in[13] :—

"Under His Majesty's edict the memorial submitted by
the envoy from Han, in which he maintained that Han
should not be taken, was handed down to thy servant,
SsŬ. Thy servant, SsŬ,[14] however, considers the viewpoint
presented therein extremely fallacious.

"What stomach and heart diseases are to man, that is
Han to Ch`in. The man having stomach and heart diseases
ordinarily only feels like standing in the mud which is sticky
and cannot be brushed off; but as soon as he starts running

fast, the trouble becomes serious. Similarly, Han, though she
pays homage to Ch`in, is a constant menace to Ch`in. At
the news of any kind of hostilities she cannot be trusted.
Vying with Chao, Ch`in has sent Ching Su to Ch`i. Nobody
is yet able to foretell the outcome. From thy servant's
viewpoint, it remains uncertain whether the friendship of
Ch`i and Chao will be broken by the mission of Ching Su.
Should it remain unbroken, Ch`in[15] would have to exert all
her forces to cope with the twenty thousand chariots. To
be sure, Han has yielded not to Ch`in's kindness but to her
strength. As soon as we move our forces against Ch`i
and Chao, Han will make trouble as stomach and heart
diseases do. Besides, if Han and Ching have any conspiracy
against Ch`in and other feudal lords respond to it, Ch`in is
then bound to encounter another humiliation as met at the
fort of Mount Yao.[16]

"Fei came here most probably with the intention to
elevate[17] his own position in the Han Government by
demonstrating his ability to save the Han State. By means of
eloquent speeches and beautiful phrases he embellishes lies
and falsifies plots in order thereby to fish for advantages
from Ch`in and watch Your Majesty's mind on behalf of
Han. Indeed, if the friendship of Ch`in and Han becomes
intimate, Fei will be esteemed; which is his self-seeking
scheme. Having found Fei in his memorial twisting so many
beguiling contentions and showing his sophistic ability to
the utmost, thy servant is afraid lest Your Majesty should be

bewildered[18] by his eloquence and listen to his crooked
viewpoint and consequently neglect the consideration of the
actual conditions.

"Now thy servant has devised a stupid scheme as
follows: Suppose Ch`in sends out troops without
announcing the object of the expedition. Then the ministers
in charge of Han's state affairs will consider serving Ch`in
a good policy. Then thy servant will ask for Your Majesty's
permission to interview the King of Han and make him
come to visit Your Majesty. When he comes, Your Majesty
retains him and never sends him away, but, instead, summons
a few important ministers[19] from the Han Government and
make bargains with them. In consequence we will be able to
encroach upon Han farther inside. After that, if Your
Majesty similarly orders Mêng Wu[20] to despatch the
garrisons of the eastern districts to guard against enemy
troops along the border without announcing their objective,
the Ch`is will fear surprise invasion and accept the proposal
of Ching Su.[21] As a result, before our forces march outside
the boundary, we will capture Han while Ch`i will yield to
our pressure. As soon as such news spreads among the
feudal lords, the Chao Clan will be struck with terror while
the Chings will be in doubt how to act and eventually decide
to remain loyal to Ch`in. If the Chings make no move at
all, Wey will not be sufficient to cause worries, so that we
will be able to encroach upon the territories of the feudal

lords in the wáy silkworms eat mulberry-leaves and cope with
the forces of Chao. May Your Majesty ponder deliberately
over the scheme of thy stupid servant with no hesitation?"

Ch`in accordingly sent SsŬ to the court of Han. Li SsŬ
went to interview the King of Han, but could not have an
audience of him. Therefore he sent in a memorial saying:—

"Of old, when Ch`in and Han combined their forces
and united their purposes to refrain from invading each
other,[22] nobody in the whole world dared to aggress. Such a
situation lasted for several generations. Some time ago,
when the five[23] feudal lords sent a joint-expedition against
Han, Ch`in sent out troops to rescue her. Han being a
central state, her territory scarcely stretches a thousand li.
Thanks to the traditional policy she has pursued from
generation to generation to serve Ch`in,[24] she has been able
to occupy an equal position among the feudal lords in
All-under-Heaven.

"Another time, however, when the five feudal lords
launched a joint-attack upon Ch`in, Han in her turn joined
them and stood at the front of the allied line to meet the
forces of Ch`in beneath the Pass of the Armour Gorge.[25]
With their armies worn out and their strength exhausted,
the feudal lords were compelled to cease hostilities.[26] When
Tu Ts`ang was Premier of Ch`in, he mobilized soldiers and
despatched generals to revenge the wrong of the allies and

attacked Ching[27] first. The Chancellor of Ching, feeling
uneasy about it, said: `Han at first regarded Ch`in as unjust
and yet kept fraternal terms with Ch`in in order jointly to
menace the rest of the world. Then she betrayed Ch`in
and took the lead of the allied forces in storming the Pass.
Thus, centrally located, Han is so fickle that nobody knows
what she is going to do next.' Thereupon the allies ceded to
Ch`in ten cities from the best districts of Han as an apology
for their wrong and thereby ceased hostilities.

"Thus, ever since Han turned against Ch`in, the country
has been oppressed, her territory invaded, and her army
weakened, till the present day. The reason therefor is:
Her rulers have been listening to the flippant theories of
wicked ministers but have never considered actual conditions.
Even if the wicked ministers be put to death, it would be
impossible for Han to recover her former strength.

"At present, Chao is massing officers and soldiers[28] with
Ch`in as target. Therefore, she has sent envoys to Han to
borrow the way through the country on the pretext of
attacking Ch`in. Indeed, in her campaign against Ch`in
she will naturally invade Han first and Ch`in next. Besides,
thy servant has heard: `When the lips are gone, the teeth
are cold.' Verily Ch`in and Han have to share the same
hazard. And such an eventuality is now visible enough.

"Formerly, when Wey was about to despatch troops to
attack Han, Ch`in ordered guards to escort her good-will
envoys to Han.[29] Now thy servant, SsŬ, is sent here by
the King of Ch`in, he is not granted an audience. Therefore,

he is afraid the present chamberlains of Your Majesty have
inherited the scheme of the former wicked ministers and
might once more cause Han territorial losses. If thy servant,
SsŬ, is granted no audience while here and has to go home
to report to His Majesty the King of Ch`in on his mission,
the relations between Ch`in and Han will certainly be severed.
On this mission SsŬ came to present the good-will of His
Majesty the King of Ch`in to the court of Han and hopes to
make the best plan for Your Majesty; which in no wise
constitutes sufficient reason for Your Majesty's according
thy humble servant such a cold reception as this. Thy
servant, SsŬ, has petitioned for an audience only to present
his stupid counsels inside the court and then to be chopped
into inches to death outside the court. Thereon may Your
Majesty deliberate!

"Now supposing Your Majesty executed thy servant in
Han, it would not do Your Majesty any good. Moreover,
since Your Majesty turns no ear to thy servant's counsels,
there will be fostered the seed of catastrophes. For once
Ch`in marches her troops out without stopping, Han will
then feel concern for the safety of her Altar of the Spirits
of Land and Grain. After thy servant, SsŬ, has had his
corpse exposed in the market-place in the capital of Han,
though Your Majesty might begin to think about thy servant's
stupid but loyal counsels, it would be impossible to
prevent disaster. After the frontiers have been raided and
only the defence work of the capital is held and when the
sounds of drums and bells are filling[30] up the ears, though
Your Majesty might then apply the counsels of thy servant,
SsŬ, it will be too late.

"Moreover, though the limits of Han's military strength
are generally known throughout the world, she is now
betraying Ch`in. Indeed, if cities are evacuated and troops
defeated, rebels among the rear forces will infallibly raid the
capital. When the capital falls, the civilians will scatter.
When the civilians scatter, no more troops can be recruited.
Even though the capital might be well defended, yet Ch`in
would send out all her men to besiege the only city of Your
Majesty. When its communication with the outside world
is cut off, it will be impossible to accomplish any scheme,
till the situation becomes unsavable. As the consideration
of the whole situation by the chamberlains is not thorough,[31]
may Your Majesty deliberate on it carefully!

"If what thy servant, SsŬ, has said contains anything that
does not coincide with actual facts, may Your Majesty
allow him to complete his memorial before the throne!
After that it will not be too late to put him to death through
official censure. The King of Ch`in neither indulges in
drinking and eating nor amuses himself with travelling and
sight-seeing, but is whole-heartedly scheming against Chao.
Therefore he has sent thy servant, SsŬ, here to speak on his
behalf. Thy servant has petitioned for a personal interview
because he feels he must parley with Your Majesty on matters
of urgent importance.

"Now, if Your Majesty grants no audience to thy servant,
the faith of Han never will be proved. Verily Ch`in will
cease the campaign against Chao and move the army against
Han. May Your Majesty, therefore, kindly ponder over the
matter again and again and grant thy servant a definite
answer?"