Classical Prose
过秦论（节选）
贾谊
秦孝公据崤函之固，拥雍州之地，君臣固守以窥周室。
有席卷天下，包举宇内，囊括四海之意，并吞八荒之心。
当是时也，商君佐之，内立法度，务耕织，修守战之具；外连衡而斗诸侯。
于是秦人拱手而取西河之外。
孝公既没，惠文、武、昭襄蒙故业，因遗策，南取汉中，西举巴、蜀，东割膏腴之地，北收要害之郡。
诸侯恐惧，会盟而谋弱秦。
不爱珍器重宝肥饶之地，以致天下之士，合从缔交，相与为一。
当此之时，齐有孟尝，赵有平原，楚有春申，魏有信陵。
此四君者，皆明智而忠信，宽厚而爱人，尊贤而重士，约从离衡，兼韩、魏、燕、楚、齐、赵、宋、卫、中山之众。
于是六国之士，有宁越、徐尚、苏秦、杜赫之属为之谋；齐明、周最、陈轸、召滑、楼缓、翟景、苏厉、乐毅之徒通其意；吴起、孙膑、带佗、倪良、王廖、田忌、廉颇、赵奢之伦制其兵。
尝以十倍之地，百万之众，叩关而攻秦。
秦人开关延敌，九国之师，逡巡而不敢进。
秦无亡矢遗镞之费，而天下诸侯已困矣。
于是从散约败，争割地而赂秦。
秦有余力而制其弊，追亡逐北，伏尸百万，流血漂橹。
因利乘便，宰割天下，分裂山河。
强国请服，弱国入朝。
延及孝文王、庄襄王，享国之日浅，国家无事。
Translation
Duke Xiao of Qin held the strong passes of Xiao and Hangu and possessed the land of Yongzhou. Ruler and ministers guarded their position while watching the Zhou royal house. They had the intention to sweep across the world, to encompass the realm, to gather in the four seas, and to swallow the eight directions. At that time Lord Shang assisted him: within the state he established laws, encouraged farming and weaving, and prepared the instruments of defense and war; outside, he used the policy of vertical division and horizontal alliance to set the feudal lords against one another. Thus the Qin took the lands beyond the West River with little effort. After Duke Xiao’s death, Kings Huiwen, Wu, and Zhaoxiang inherited the old enterprise and followed the remaining policies. They took Hanzhong in the south, Ba and Shu in the west, rich lands in the east, and strategic commanderies in the north. The feudal lords grew fearful and formed alliances to weaken Qin. They spared no precious vessels, treasures, or fertile lands to attract men of talent, joining together in alliance. At that time Qi had Lord Mengchang, Zhao had Lord Pingyuan, Chu had Lord Chunshen, and Wei had Lord Xinling. These four lords were wise, loyal, generous, and respectful of worthy men, and they united the forces of many states. Their advisers, diplomats, and generals together once brought lands ten times greater than Qin’s and armies of a million to attack Qin at its passes. Yet when Qin opened the passes to receive the enemy, the armies of the nine states hesitated and dared not advance. Without losing an arrow or an arrowhead, Qin had already exhausted the feudal lords. Their alliance collapsed, their agreements failed, and they competed to cede land and bribe Qin. Qin then used its remaining strength to exploit their weakness, pursuing the fleeing and defeating the routed, leaving corpses by the million and blood enough to float shields. Seizing advantage, Qin carved up the world and divided mountains and rivers. Strong states asked to submit, and weak states came to court. By the time of Kings Xiaowen and Zhuangxiang, their reigns were brief and the state remained without major disturbance.
Analysis
Jia Yi’s “Essay on the Faults of Qin” is one of the great political essays of the Western Han. This excerpt does not begin with Qin’s fall, but with the long buildup of its power. Qin’s rise is attributed to geography, reform, legal institutions, agricultural and military policy, diplomatic strategy, and the continuity of several rulers. The sweeping phrases—“to sweep across the world,” “to encompass the realm,” “to gather in the four seas”—give Qin’s ambition a grand, almost unstoppable scale. The central rhetorical technique is contrast. The allied states possess famous lords, advisers, diplomats, generals, lands ten times greater than Qin’s, and armies of a million. Yet when Qin opens the passes, they hesitate. Jia Yi’s point is not merely that Qin was strong; it is that the alliance against Qin was outwardly impressive but inwardly divided and indecisive. Their collapse leads to ceding land, bribery, and eventual domination. Although this passage describes Qin’s strength, it prepares the essay’s later argument: the principles by which Qin conquered the world were not the principles by which it could govern the world. The essay is historical, but its purpose is political warning. Jia Yi writes for the Han, using Qin’s rise and fall to distinguish between winning power and sustaining rule.
About the Author
Jia Yi was a major political thinker and writer of the early Western Han dynasty. A native of Luoyang, he was recognized for his talent at a young age and wrote on institutions, frontier defense, feudal princes, and the causes of order and disorder. His prose is forceful, expansive, and sharply argued. His best-known works include “Essay on the Faults of Qin,” “The Security of the Realm,” and “Lament for Qu Yuan.”