五國伐秦，無功而還。其後，齊欲伐宋，而秦禁之。齊令宋郭之秦，請合而以伐宋。秦王許之。魏王畏齊、秦之合也，欲講於秦。

 

Five states[1] attacked Qin. The attack was not successful and they retreated. Subsequently Qi wished to attack Song, but Qin prevented it. Qi sent Song Guo[2] to Qin to beg for an alliance in order to prepare an attack on Song, and the King of Qin[3] then gave his assent. The King of Wei[4] was afraid of the Qi-Qin alliance, and wanted to sue for peace with Qin.

​

謂魏王曰：「秦王謂宋郭曰：『分宋之城，服宋之強者，六國也。乘宋之敝，而與王爭得者，楚、魏也。請為王毋禁楚之伐魏也，而王獨舉宋。王之伐宋也，請剛柔而皆用之。如宋者，欺之不為逆者，殺之不為讎者也。王無與之講以取地，既已得地矣，又以力攻之，期於啗宋而已矣。』

 

A speech was presented to the King of Wei[5], saying: "The King of Qin spoke to Song Guo, saying, 'To force a state with Song's strength to submit and share its lands, that was the work of six states, but now Song is exhausted Chu and Wei will be able to resist King Min's[6] attempt to take possession of it[7]. I beg permission to work on your behalf to remove any obstacles preventing Chu from attacking Wei, for then no one but you will be able to annex Song. When you attack Song, feel free to use any means necessary. Song's behaviour has been such that deceiving it would be accounted no betrayal, while slaughtering its people will provoke no revenge[8]. There will be no need for King Min to negotiate a peace treaty with them to obtain land[9]; you can just take it. Attack with all your strength until Song has been entirely consumed.'

​

「臣聞此言，而竊為王悲，秦必且用此於王矣。又必且曰王以求地，既已得地，又且以力攻王。又必謂王曰使王輕齊，齊、魏之交已醜，又且收齊以更索於王。秦嘗用此於楚矣，又嘗用此於韓矣，願王之深計之也。秦善魏不可知也已。故為王計，太上伐秦，其次賓秦，其次堅約而詳講，與國無相離也。秦、齊合，國不可為也已。王其聽臣也，必無與講。

 

"Your servant heard this speech, and - with all due deference - was moved to pity on Your Majesty's behalf[10], as Qin will certainly use this chance to move against you, taking advantage of your situation to demand land from you and then, whether it has received any or not, lending its own strength to Chu's attack[11]. Qin will make it a condition of their negotiations with you that you must ignore Qi[12], thus relations between Qi and Wei will darken. They will then win Qi over to their side and demand more concessions from you in the East[13]. Qin has already used this approach against Chu; it has used the very same technique against Han! I hope that Your Majesty is planning deeply, since you cannot know Qin's motivations in attempting to ingratiate itself with you. This is why I have formulated a strategy on your behalf. The best option would be to attack Qin. The next best would be to turn your back upon them. The next best would be to remain firm in your alliances and form an unbreakable negotiating bloc, rather than remaining at odds with the other states[14]. If Qin and Qi come to an accord, there will be nothing at all your state can do. If you listen to your servant, you will not negotiate a separate settlement with Qin.

​

「秦權重魏，魏再明孰，是故又為足下傷秦者，不敢顯也。天下可令伐秦，則陰勸而弗敢圖也。見天下之傷秦也，則先鬻與國而以自解也。天下可令賓秦，則為劫於與國而不得已者。天下不可，則先去，而以秦為上交以自重也。如是人者，鬻王以為資者也，而焉能免國於患？免國於患者，必窮三節，而行其上。上不可，則行其中；中不可，則行其下；下不可，則明不與秦。而生以殘秦，使秦皆無百怨百利，唯已之曾安。令足下鬻之以合於秦，是免國於患者之計也。臣何足以當之？雖然，願足下之論臣之計也。

 

"Qin's is more powerful than you, and Wei Ran[15] has the intelligence of long experience[16]. This being so, even if someone else agrees to injure Qin on your behalf[17], they will not dare to do it openly. Whenever the lords of All-Under-Heaven are in a position to order an attack on Qin, the pervasiveness of the subversive influences among them is such they do not dare realise their plans[18]. When anyone sees the states of All Under Heaven working together to injure Qin, they prefer to sell out their fellows and extricate themselves from their obligations. However, when the lords of All Under Heaven are in a position to turn their backs on Qin and are constrained by their alliances they cannot but execute the plan. Otherwise, each will seek to be the first to abandon the effort and elevate their own diplomatic relations with Qin in order to reinforce their influence. Given such partisans - people willing to sell Your Majesty out to increase their own capital - how can your state avoid disaster? You must exhaust each set of strategies in order, starting with the best[19]. If the superior strategies are unfeasible, then you must adopt the mediocre ones. If the mediocre ones are unfeasible, then you must adopt inferior ones. If the inferior ones are unfeasible, then it is clear that since you will not join Qin you must go down fighting[20]. Arrange your relations with Qin such that neither will win and both will lose, and only then may they cease fighting and return to a state of peace. If you could ensure that the other states in All Under Heaven would not sell each other out for an alliance with Qin[21], such a strategy would avoid disaster for your state. but would your servants be up to carrying it out? In any case, I would like to discourse a while on your servants' plans[22].

​

「燕，齊讎國也；秦，兄弟之交也。合讎國以伐婚姻，臣為之苦矣。黃帝戰於涿鹿之野，而西戎之兵不至；禹攻三苗，而東夷之民不起。以燕伐秦，黃帝之所難也，而臣以致燕甲而起齊兵矣。

 

"Yan and Qi are your enemies, but they are as brothers with Qin. The misery of trying to make an alliance with one's enemies for an attack against their friends is something that your servant has already experienced. When the Yellow Emperor[23] fought at Zhoulu Field[24] the troops of the Xirong[25] failed to arrive; when Yu[26] attacked the Sanmiao[27] the Dongyi[28] did not raise an army to help[29]. To rely upon Yan and Qi[30] to attack Qin is to court the same difficulties as the Yellow Emperor faced, but your servant nevertheless undertakes to ensure that Yan's men at arms will arrive and that Qi will raise its troops.

​

「臣又偏事三晉之吏，奉陽君、孟嘗君、韓呡、周聚、周、韓餘為徒從而下之，恐其伐秦之疑也。又身自醜於秦，扮之請焚天下之秦符者，臣也；次傳焚符之約者，臣也；欲使五國約閉秦關者，臣也。奉陽君、韓餘為既和矣，蘇脩、朱嬰既皆陰在邯鄲，臣又說齊王而往敗之。天下共講，因使蘇脩游天下之語，而以齊為上交，兵請伐魏，臣又爭之以死。而果西因蘇脩重報。臣非不知秦勸之重也，然而所以為之者，為足下也。」

 

"Your servant has travelled among[31] the officials of the Three Jin in pursuit of this affair, trailing after Lord Fengyang[32], Lord Mengchang[33], Han Meng[34][35], Zhou Zui[36][37] and Han Xuwei[38]; I have abased myself before them for fear that they would begin to have doubts about our planned campaign. I have set myself up as the target of Qin's opprobrium, having been the one to demand that the lords of All Under Heaven burn their treaties with Qin. I was then the one to spread news about the burning of the treaties. Now I am the one working to put together an agreement between the Five States[39] to push on through the Pass[40] into Qin[41]. Lord Fengyang and Han Xuwei have joined the accord, and Su Xiu[42] and Zhu Ying[43] are both secretly present in Handan[44]. I am on my way to exercise my persuasions upon the King of Qi, who will administer the coup de grâce to Qin's plans[45]. When All Under Heaven has come to a common accord, I will then send Su Xiu out to spread the word, thus elevating Qi's diplomatic status. If Qi's troops[46] demand that attack be launched on Wei, your servant will fight to the death to prevent it and Su Xiu will come west to report it to you. It is not that I am not aware of Qin's power[47]. I am, but I will do this anyway, because I am doing it on your behalf."

​

[1] Chu, Han, Wei, Qi and Zhao. 

[2] Song Guo is not otherwise well-known. He seems to have been a politician in Qi. 

[3] King Zhaoxiang of Qin (306–251 BC) began life as a relatively minor prince, and served as a child hostage in Zhao before being sneaked out by Queen Xuan (his mother), her brother Wei Ran, and King Wuling of Zhao to assume the throne following the premature death of his brother, King Wu. Upon coming of age, he exiled Xuan and Wei Ran, and worked with a succession of important figures of the age (Gan Mao, Fan Ju, Bai Qi...) to expand Qin's territory during the course of a long and successful reign.

[4] King Zhao of Wei (296 BC to 277 BC) found himself subject to an unending series of successful attacks by Qin, losing more and more territory until he finally accepted an alliance with Qin to attack Song. This did not last long, and he soon changed sides to join an alliance with Qi. 

[5] In fact, the speaker was Su Qin, who worked for almost all of the states during a long and successful career as the principal proponent of the anti-Qin alliance.

[6] King Min of Qi (300–284 BC) was famously bad at managing his subordinates, and almost lost his state following an invasion by Yan. His own generals eventually turned upon him and one of them, Nao Chi, killed him.

[7] This sentence is somewhat confusing and the commentaries and modern translations disagree regarding the interpretation. It is difficult to tell whether these events have already happened or are being anticipated. 

[8] The commentaries disagree regarding the precise reading of this sentence, but the general sense is clear. 

[9] The commentaries suggest that the 矣 here may be superfluous. 

[10] Bao suggests 患 for 悲 here.

[11] The commentaries differ regarding the precise composition of this sentence, though they agree regarding the general sense. 又必且因王必求地 and 又必且劫王必求地 have both been suggested.

[12] The commentaries disagree regarding the precise reading of this sentence, but the general sense is clear. 

[13] Reading 東 for 更, per the commentaries. 

[14] The commentaries disagree regarding the precise reading of this sentence, but the general sense is clear. 

[15] Wei Ran (Marquis Rang) was the half-brother of Queen Xuan of Qin and the uncle of King Zhaoxiang. Having backed Zhaoxiang in the struggle for succession that occurred following the death of King Wu, he subsequently became Chancellor.

[16] Reading 魏冉明熟 for 魏再明孰, per the commentaries. 

[17] Reading 有謂 for 又為 here, per the commentaries. 

[18] I.e. any alliance will fall apart as each member will suspect that one or more of the others is about to betray them to Qin. 

[19] The commentaries suggest that the repeated 免國於患者 here is superfluous. 

[20] Yao suggests 兩 for 而 here. 

[21] Reading 無令天下 for 令足下, per the commentaries. 

[22] Much of this paragraph is close to incomprehensible, and commentaries and translations disagree on the meaning. The idea seems to be that the best is the enemy of the good, and the King should aim to employ the best feasible strategy. 

[23] The Yellow Emperor (traditional dates c. 2697–2597 BC) was a semi-legendary Chinese founder.

[24] The Battle of Zhuolu took place in modern Zhuolu County, Hebei.

[25] The Xirong were a non-Chinese tribe from the West, apparently allies of the Huaxia at the time.

[26] Yu the Great (c. 2123–2025 BC) was another semi-legendary early sovereign.

[27] The Sanmiao were enemies of the early Huaxia tribes, and may have been the ancestors of the modern Miao and Hmong peoples.

[28] Dongyi was a catch-all term for non-Chinese tribes living to the East of the central states.

[29] Reading 赴 for 起, per the commentaries.

[30] Reading 燕齊 for 燕, per the commentaries. 

[31] Reading 遍 for 偏, per the commentaries.

[32] Lord Fengyang was also known as Li Dui, and served as Prime Minister under King Huiwen of Zhao.

[33] Lord Mengchang, also known as Tian Wen, was Qi's greatest general at the time. He served most of his career in Qi, but left to work in Wei for some years in response to King Min's poor human resources policy.

[34] Reading 氓 for 呡, per the commentaries.

[35] Han Meng seems to have been a politician in Han, he is regularly confused with Han Min, who had a similar career at the same time. 

[36] Reading 周最 for 周聚, per the commentaries. 

[37] Zhou Zui was a minor member of the Zhou royal house and a politician in Zhou and elsewhere. He features prominently among the Zhou stratagems.

[38] Han Xuwei helped to depose Li Dui in Zhao and replaced him as Chancellor. 

[39] Chu, Han, Wei, Qi and Zhao, as before. At this point the troops are probably camped at Chenggao, waiting for instructions on what to do next.

[40] I.e. Hangu.  

[41] Reading 次 for 欲, per the commentaries. 

[42] This person is not otherwise well-known.

[43] This person is not otherwise well-known.

[44] Handan was the capital of Zhao. It is still called Handan and is in Hebei. 

[45] Following the interpretation given by the commentaries. 

[46] Following the interpretation given by the commentaries. 

[47] Reading 權 for 勸 here, per the commentaries.