Sima Qian

Sima Qian (145-87 BCE)

"Just as a good physician understands what will bring life or death to his patient, so a sage ruler perceives what will bring success or failure to his undertakings."

• From the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji) by Sima Qian. Sima Qian wrote this quote in the character of the Qin minister, Fan Ju. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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