Sima Qian (citing Yan An)

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"To incite troubles and leave them unsolved, to disband the armies only to call them up again, bringing sorrow and hardship to those near at hand and alarm to distant lands--this is no way to insure the continuance of the dynasty."

• Quote from an essay attributed to Yan An in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 112) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (145-90 BCE)

"When a thing has reached its height it must begin to decay, and when an age has gone to one extreme it must turn again in the opposite direction; therefore we find periods of rude simplicity and periods of refinement alternating with each other endlessly."

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 130) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"Those who attempt to vent their anger on innocent persons can never hope to live for long."

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 107) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (145-90 BCE)

"The wise ruler is primarily concerned in perceiving the sources from which all changes arise, in understanding the keys to safety and peril, and in incorporating this knowledge in his governing of the nation, in order to forestall danger before it has taken form."

• Quote from an essay attributed to Xu Yue in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 112) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"Thus the shifts of success and failure are entwined like the strands of a rope."

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 113) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"No matter how strong one's position may be, the important thing is that he should make benevolence and righteousness the basis of his conduct."

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 17) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Zhufu Yan (recorded by Sima Qian)

ZhufuYan (c. 2nd century BCE)

"Any real man knows that there are only two alternatives in life—to succeed and dine from rich cauldrons, or to fail and end by being boiled alive in them."

• A quote attributed to Zhufu Yan in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 112) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Huo Qubing

Huo Qubing (c. 140-117 BCE)

"The only thing that matters is how one's own strategies are going to work. There is no need to study the old-fashioned rules of warfare!"

• A quote attributed to Huo Qubing in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 108) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"When the branches grow bigger than the roots, then something must break."

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 107) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (145-90 BCE)

"Nothing is more important than selecting the right generals and ministers!"

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 110) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"No profit comes to an army that has to fight 1,000 miles from home."

• From a speech attributed to Han Anguo in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 108) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"How tremendous are the benefits brought by these bodies of water, and how terrible the damages!"

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 29) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Jia Yi

Jia Yi (c. 201-169 BCE)

"The span of life is fated;
How can you guess its ending?
Heaven and Earth are the furnace,
The workman, the Creator;
His coal is the yin and the yang,
his copper, all things of creation."

• Excerpt of a Jia Yi poem (c. 174 BCE), included in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 84) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Jia Yi

Jia Yi (c. 201-169 BCE)

"All things alter and change;
Never a moment of ceasing.
Revolving, whirling, and rolling away;
Driven far off and returning again."

• Excerpt of a Jia Yi poem (c. 174 BCE), included in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 84) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"The real looks of a man lie in is reputation, for that will never die!"

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 124) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (145-90 BCE)

"Jostling and joyous,
The whole world comes after profit;
Racing and rioting,
After profit the whole world goes!"

• A poetic saying recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 129) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Jia Yi

Jia Yi (c. 201-169 BCE)

"Now the dullard gains favor and fame;
the slanderers and the toady have their way.
The wise and sage they turn aside;
The upright they have toppled over."

• Excerpt of Jia Yi's poem, "A Lament for Qu Yuan" included in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 84) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"Saving others in distress, helping those who cannot help themselves - is this not what a benevolent man does?"

• From the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 124) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Emperor Wen of Han

Emperor Wen of Han (r. 180-157 BCE)

"Agriculture is the basis of empire. Among the endeavours of man, none is more important."

• From a speech/edict delivered by Emperor Wen in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 10) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"Merit is difficult to achieve and easy to lose. The right time is hard to find and easy to let slip."

• From a speech delivered in the character of Kuai Tong within the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 92) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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