Classical Prose

陈涉世家(节选)

Chén Shè shì jiā jié xuǎn

司马迁

Sīmǎ Qiān

Chén Shè zhě, Yángchéng rén yě, zì Shè. Wú Guǎng zhě, Yángxià rén yě, zì Shū.

陈胜者,阳城人也,字涉。吴广者,阳夏人也,字叔。

Chén Shè shào shí, cháng yǔ rén yōng gēng, chuò gēng zhī lǒng shàng, chàng hèn jiǔ zhī, yuē: “Gǒu fù guì, wú xiāng wàng.”

陈涉少时,尝与人佣耕,辍耕之垄上,怅恨久之,曰:“苟富贵,无相忘。”

Yōng zhě xiào ér yìng yuē: “Ruò wéi yōng gēng, hé fù guì yě?”

佣者笑而应曰:“若为佣耕,何富贵也?”

Chén Shè tài xī yuē: “Jiē hū! Yān què ān zhī hóng hú zhī zhì zāi!”

陈涉太息曰:“嗟乎!燕雀安知鸿鹄之志哉!”

Èrshì yuán nián qī yuè, fā lǘ zuǒ zhé shù Yúyáng, jiǔ bǎi rén tún Dàzéxiāng.

二世元年七月,发闾左適戍渔阳,九百人屯大泽乡。

Chén Shè, Wú Guǎng jiē cì dāng háng, wéi tún zhǎng.

陈胜、吴广皆次当行,为屯长。

Huì tiān dà yǔ, dào bù tōng, duó yǐ shī qī. Shī qī, fǎ jiē zhǎn.

会天大雨,道不通,度已失期。失期,法皆斩。

Chén Shè, Wú Guǎng nǎi móu yuē: “Jīn wáng yì sǐ, jǔ dà jì yì sǐ; děng sǐ, sǐ guó kě hū?”

陈胜、吴广乃谋曰:“今亡亦死,举大计亦死;等死,死国可乎?”

Chén Shè yuē: “Tiān xià kǔ Qín jiǔ yǐ.”

陈胜曰:“天下苦秦久矣。”

Nǎi dān shū bó yuē “Chén Shè wàng”, zhì rén suǒ zēng yú fù zhōng. Zú mǎi yú pēng shí, dé yú fù zhōng shū, gù yǐ guài zhī yǐ.

乃丹书帛曰“陈胜王”,置人所罾鱼腹中。卒买鱼烹食,得鱼腹中书,固以怪之矣。

Yòu jiàn lìng Wú Guǎng zhī cì suǒ páng cóng cí zhōng, yè gōu huǒ, hú míng hū yuē: “Dà Chǔ xīng, Chén Shè wàng.”

又间令吴广之次所旁丛祠中,夜篝火,狐鸣呼曰:“大楚兴,陈胜王。”

Zú jiē yè jīng kǒng. Dàn rì, zú zhōng wǎng wǎng yǔ, jiē zhǐ mù Chén Shè.

卒皆夜惊恐。旦日,卒中往往语,皆指目陈胜。

Wú Guǎng sù ài rén, shì zú duō wéi yòng zhě. Jiàng wèi zuì, Guǎng gù shuò yán yù wáng, fèn huì wèi, lìng rǔ zhī, yǐ jī nù qí zhòng.

吴广素爱人,士卒多为用者。将尉醉,广故数言欲亡,忿恚尉,令辱之,以激怒其众。

Wèi guǒ chī Guǎng. Wèi jiàn tǐng, Guǎng qǐ, duó ér shā wèi.

尉果笞广。尉剑挺,广起,夺而杀尉。

Chén Shè zuǒ zhī, bìng shā liǎng wèi. Zhào lìng tú shǔ yuē: “Gōng děng yù yǔ, jiē yǐ shī qī, shī qī dāng zhǎn. Jiè dì lìng wú zhǎn, ér shù sǐ zhě gù shí liù qī. Qiě zhuàng shì bù sǐ jí yǐ, sǐ jí jǔ dà míng ěr, wáng hóu jiàng xiàng níng yǒu zhǒng hū!”

陈胜佐之,并杀两尉。召令徒属曰:“公等遇雨,皆已失期,失期当斩。藉第令毋斩,而戍死者固十六七。且壮士不死即已,死即举大名耳,王侯将相宁有种乎!”

Tú shǔ jiē yuē: “Jìng shòu mìng.”

徒属皆曰:“敬受命。”

Nǎi zhà chēng gōng zǐ Fúsū, Xiàng Yān, cóng mín yù yě. Tǎn yòu, chēng Dà Chǔ. Wéi tán ér méng, jì yǐ wèi shǒu.

乃诈称公子扶苏、项燕,从民欲也。袒右,称大楚。为坛而盟,祭以尉首。

Chén Shè zì lì wéi jiāng jūn, Wú Guǎng wéi dū wèi.

陈胜自立为将军,吴广为都尉。


Translation

Chen Sheng was a native of Yangcheng, styled She. Wu Guang was a native of Yangxia, styled Shu. In his youth Chen Sheng once worked as a hired farmhand. Stopping his plowing and standing on the ridge of the field, he sighed for a long time and said, “If one day we become rich and honored, let us not forget one another.” The other laborers laughed: “You are a hired plowman—what wealth and honor could you have?” Chen Sheng sighed deeply: “Alas! How can sparrows know the ambition of a swan?” In the seventh month of the first year of Qin Ershi, poor commoners were conscripted to garrison Yuyang; nine hundred men were stationed at Daze Township. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were among them and served as troop leaders. Heavy rain blocked the roads, and they judged that they had already missed the deadline. Under Qin law, delay meant execution. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang therefore plotted: “If we flee, we die; if we launch a great undertaking, we also die. Since death is the same, why not die for a cause?” Chen Sheng added, “All under Heaven has suffered under Qin for too long.” They created signs to stir belief: a silk strip written in cinnabar with “Chen Sheng shall be king” was placed in a fish’s belly, and Wu Guang was sent by night to a shrine near the camp to light a fire and cry like a fox, “Great Chu shall rise; Chen Sheng shall be king.” The soldiers were frightened at night and began whispering the next day, all looking toward Chen Sheng. Wu Guang, loved by the soldiers, provoked an officer into insulting and beating him, thereby stirring the men’s anger. When the officer drew his sword, Wu Guang seized it and killed him; Chen Sheng helped kill the other officer. Chen Sheng then addressed the men: they had missed the deadline and faced execution; even if spared, most would die on the frontier. A true man, if he must die, should win a great name. “Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born of a special seed?” The men accepted his command. They invoked the names of Fusu and Xiang Yan to follow popular sentiment, proclaimed Great Chu, swore an oath at an altar, and began the uprising. Chen Sheng made himself general, and Wu Guang became commandant.

Analysis

The “Hereditary House of Chen She” is remarkable because Chen Sheng was not a noble by birth. In the Shiji, “hereditary houses” usually concern ruling lineages or major political families. By granting Chen Sheng such a place, Sima Qian recognizes the historical force of a commoner whose revolt opened the collapse of Qin rule. The opening scene is essential. Chen Sheng is merely a hired farmhand, yet he speaks as someone who imagines a different destiny. “How can sparrows know the ambition of a swan?” establishes not success but aspiration: before power, before rebellion, there is already a consciousness unwilling to accept the limits imposed by poverty. The immediate trigger is Qin’s ruthless law: missing the deadline means execution. But the revolt is not described as blind panic. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang understand the political climate—“All under Heaven has suffered under Qin for too long.” They use signs, rumor, and the names of Fusu and Xiang Yan to gather popular belief. The fish-belly writing and fox-like cry show both superstition and strategy: in an age of unrest, symbolic legitimacy matters. “Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born of a special seed?” is the moral climax. It turns survival into a challenge against hereditary hierarchy. The sentence does not merely call men to rebel; it asks whether social rank is destiny. That is why it remained powerful in later memory: it articulates the desire of the humble to enter history.

About the Author

Sima Qian was a major historian and literary figure of the Western Han dynasty. Styled Zichang, he completed the Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, China’s first comprehensive history in biographical form. Covering the period from legendary antiquity to his own age, the Shiji combines historical judgment with vivid narrative art. Sima Qian is especially admired for his ability to reveal character through scenes, speech, and moral tension. “The Hereditary House of Chen She” shows his recognition of how people from humble origins can alter the course of history.