Chu Ce — the four books of the Strategies of Chu

The Strategies of the Warring States (Zhanguo Ce) is Liu Xiang's Han-dynasty compilation, arranged by state, of the persuasions, stratagems, and anecdotes that Warring States wandering counselors used to move the courts of their age. These four books, the Strategies of Chu (Chu Ce), carry the record of the great southern state, opening with Jiang Yi's fable of the fox who borrows the tiger's own dread of it to walk safely through the forest, told to explain away the neighboring states' fear of the minister Zhao Xixu, and with King Wei's question to Mo'ao Zihua about ministers who served the altars of soil and grain without seeking rank or stipend, answered with five paired stories of selfless service running from the poor and upright chief minister Ziwen to the exile Meng Gu, who carried the state's dynastic code to safety on his own back and then vanished into the hills rather than claim reward for it.

The books carry the ruses that freed the persuader Zhang Yi from King Huai of Chu's custody, worked upon the king's favorite lady Zheng Xiu by the threat of a rival beauty from Qin who never existed; the three-counselor debate before King Xiang of Chu over whether to honor, defend, or beg rescue for the five hundred li of eastern territory he had promised Qi as the price of his own freedom, resolved by his tutor Master Shen's plan to do all three at once; and, in the last book, the long service of Lord Chunshen, Huang Xie, brought down at last by his own retainer Li Yuan's scheme to pass off his pregnant sister as the king's own consort and by the assassins Li Yuan set waiting for him at the Thorn Gate, foretold almost to the day by Zhu Ying's warning of the fortune, the disaster, and the man that come unlooked for.

Each persuasion or anecdote stands under its own heading drawn from the episode it records. Names of persons and states are given in Hanyu pinyin without tone marks, with the Chinese characters supplied at first appearance; the standing rivalry of the Vertical Alliance (合從) against the Horizontal Alliance (連橫) runs through several of these persuasions, since Chu was, with Qin, one of the two states large enough to anchor either side of it. The commentary of Bao Biao and Yao Hong travels with the source text below in its own untranslated layer, along with the collation notes set in 〔 〕.

Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese, which is printed in full below. J. I. Crump's Chan-kuo Ts'e (1970; revised 1996) is the standing complete English translation of the Strategies of the Warring States; it is named here as a control-in-existence but was not consulted, and this translation makes no claim of firstness.

Contents

• Strategies of Chu, 1 (楚策一)
  • Qi and Chu Fall into Conflict (齊楚構難)
  • Five States Make a Pact to Attack Qi (五國約以伐齊)
  • King Xuan of Jing Questions His Assembled Ministers (荊宣王問群臣)
  • Zhao Xixu and the Lord of Pengcheng Debate before the King (昭奚恤與彭城君議於王前)
  • The Disaster at Handan (邯鄲之難)
  • Jiang Yin Wishes to Slander Zhao Xixu to the King of Chu (江尹欲惡昭奚恤於楚王)
  • Wei Slanders Zhao Xixu to the King of Chu (魏氏惡昭奚恤於楚王)
  • Jiang Yi Slanders Zhao Xixu (江乙惡昭奚恤)
  • Jiang Yi Wishes to Slander Zhao Xixu in Chu (江乙欲惡昭奚恤於楚)
  • Jiang Yi Advises the Lord of Anling (江乙說於安陵君)
  • Jiang Yi Goes as Wei's Envoy to Chu (江乙為魏使於楚)
  • A Man of Ying Whose Suit Went Three Years Undecided (郢人有獄三年不決)
  • Cheng Hun Leaves Zhou (城渾出周)
  • Gong Shu of Han Has Qi and Wei (韓公叔有齊魏)
  • Du He of Chu Advises the King of Chu on Winning Zhao (楚杜赫說楚王以取趙)
  • The King of Chu Questions Fan Huan (楚王問於范環)
  • Su Qin, for Zhao, Argues the Vertical Alliance to King Wei of Chu (蘇秦為趙合從說楚威王)
  • Zhang Yi, for Qin, Breaks the Vertical Alliance and Joins the Horizontal (張儀為秦破從連橫)
  • Zhang Yi Is Chancellor of Qin (張儀相秦)
  • King Wei Questions Mo'ao Zihua (威王問於莫敖子華)
• Strategies of Chu, 2 (楚策二)
  • Zhai Qiang, Chancellor of Wei, Dies (魏相翟強死)
  • Qi and Qin Make a Pact to Attack Chu (齊秦約攻楚)
  • Shu Shi Attacks Chu (術視伐楚)
  • Four States Attack Chu (四國伐楚)
  • King Huai of Chu Detains Zhang Yi (楚懷王拘張儀)
  • The King of Chu Is About to Release Master Zhang (楚王將出張子)
  • Qin Defeats Chu at Hanzhong (秦敗楚漢中)
  • When King Xiang of Chu Was Heir Apparent (楚襄王為太子之時)
  • Nü A Speaks to Master Su (女阿謂蘇子)
• Strategies of Chu, 3 (楚策三)
  • Master Su Speaks to the King of Chu (蘇子謂楚王)
  • Su Qin Went to Chu (蘇秦之楚三日)
  • The King of Chu Had Zhang Yi Driven Out of Wei (楚王逐張儀於魏)
  • Zhang Yi Went to Chu and Was Poor (張儀之楚貧)
  • The King of Chu Sent Zhao Ju to Qin to Give Weight to Zhang Yi (楚王令昭雎之秦重張儀)
  • Zhang Yi Drove Hui Shi Out of Wei (張儀逐惠施於魏)
  • Five States Attacked Qin (五國伐秦)
  • Chen Zhen Left Chu for Wei (陳軫告楚之魏)
  • Qin Attacked Yiyang (秦伐宜陽)
  • Tang Ju Had Audience with Lord Chunshen (唐且見春申君)
• Strategies of Chu, 4 (楚策四)
  • Someone Speaks to the King of Chu (或謂楚王)
  • The King of Wei Sent the King of Chu a Beautiful Woman (魏王遺楚王美人)
  • The Queen of Chu Died (楚王后死)
  • Zhuang Xin Speaks to King Xiang of Chu (莊辛謂楚襄王)
  • Qi Ming Urges Zhuo Hua to Attack Qin (齊明說卓滑以伐秦)
  • Someone Speaks to Huang Qi (或謂黃齊)
  • The Trouble at Changsha (長沙之難)
  • One Who Presented a Drug of Deathlessness to the King of Jing (有獻不死之藥於荊王者)
  • A Guest Urges Lord Chunshen (客說春申君)
  • The World Formed the Vertical Alliance (天下合從)
  • Han Ming Had Audience with Lord Chunshen (汗明見春申君)
  • King Kaolie of Chu Had No Son (楚考烈王無子)
  • Yu Qing Speaks to Lord Chunshen (虞卿謂春申君)
  • Yu Qing Addresses the Lord of Chunshen (虞卿謂春申君)

Translation

Strategies of Chu, 1 (楚策一)

Qi and Chu Fall into Conflict (齊楚構難)

Qi and Chu fell into conflict, and Song asked to stand neutral. Qi pressed Song hard, and Song consented. Zi Xiang, acting for Chu, said to the king of Song: "Chu lost Song by being slow, and will now take Qi's hard pressing for its model. Qi got Song by pressing hard, and hereafter will always press hard. To follow Qi and attack Chu is not certainly to your profit. If Qi defeats Chu in battle, the situation must endanger Song; and if Qi does not win, then you have used a weak Song to provoke a strong Chu. And if you let two states of ten thousand chariots learn that they may always get what they want by pressing you hard, your state must come into danger."

Five States Make a Pact to Attack Qi (五國約以伐齊)

Five states made a pact to attack Qi. Zhao Yang (昭陽) said to the king of Chu: "When the five states have broken Qi and Qin, they will certainly turn south and plot against Chu." The king said: "What then is to be done?" He answered: "Han is a state that may be made our support; it loves gain and hates hardship. Loving gain, it can be drawn to us; hating hardship, it can be frightened. If we bribe it richly with gain, its heart will be drawn. If we bring up our whole army against it, its heart will fear us. Fearing our troops and coveting our gain, it will assuredly break the business of the five states. And once the pact is severed, we need not give the land after all."

The king of Chu said: "Good." He then ordered Da Gongshi to go to Han. He saw Gong Zhong (公仲) and said: "The affair at Niulan and the disaster at Maling are what the king himself saw. If the king will refrain from using his troops together with the five states, we beg to present five walled cities in a row, and we beg to bring out the whole multitude of Chu to plot against Qi."

After Qi had turned against Zhao and Wei, Chu indeed did not give the land, and the business of the five states came to grief.

King Xuan of Jing Questions His Assembled Ministers (荊宣王問群臣)

King Xuan of Jing asked his assembled ministers: "I have heard that the northern lands fear Zhao Xixu (昭奚恤). Is it truly so, and how so?" None of the assembled ministers answered. Jiang Yi (江乙) answered: "A tiger was hunting the hundred beasts to eat them, and caught a fox. The fox said, 'You must not dare to eat me. The Emperor of Heaven has made me chief over the hundred beasts. If you eat me now, you defy the Emperor of Heaven's command. If you take me for untrustworthy, I will walk before you, and you follow behind me, and watch whether the hundred beasts, on seeing me, dare not run away.' The tiger thought this right, and so went along with him. The beasts all ran when they saw them. The tiger did not know that the beasts ran because they feared him, and supposed that they feared the fox. Now the king's land is five thousand li square and his armored men are a million, and all of it is entrusted to Zhao Xixu alone. So when the northern lands fear Xixu, what they really fear is the king's armor and weapons, just as the hundred beasts feared the tiger."

Zhao Xixu and the Lord of Pengcheng Debate before the King (昭奚恤與彭城君議於王前)

Zhao Xixu and the lord of Pengcheng debated a matter before the king, and the king summoned Jiang Yi and questioned him about it. Jiang Yi said: "The words of both men are good, and your servant does not venture to speak after them. This is what is called putting worthy men in doubt."

The Disaster at Handan (邯鄲之難)

At the time of the disaster at Handan, Zhao Xixu said to the king of Chu: "Your Majesty had better not rescue Zhao, and so let Wei grow strong. If Wei is strong, the slice it cuts from Zhao will be deep. Zhao will not be able to accept that, and will hold out stubbornly; so both will be worn down."

Jing She (景舍) said: "Not so. Zhao Xixu does not understand. When Wei attacks Zhao, it fears that Chu will strike its rear. If we now do not rescue Zhao, Zhao will show the shape of ruin and Wei will have no anxiety about Chu; that is Chu and Wei sharing Zhao between them, and the harm will certainly be deep. How would both be worn down? Moreover, if Wei sends its troops to cut deep into Zhao, and Zhao sees the shape of its own ruin and finds that Chu will not rescue it, Zhao must join with Wei and plot against Chu. Therefore Your Majesty had better send out a small force to serve as Zhao's support. Relying on Chu, Zhao will be firm and will surely fight Wei. Wei, angered at Zhao's firmness and seeing that Chu's rescue is not to be feared, will surely not let Zhao go. When Zhao and Wei have worn each other out, and Qi and Qin move in answer to Chu, Wei can be broken."

Chu accordingly sent Jing She to raise troops and rescue Zhao. Handan fell, and Chu took the land between the Sui and the Hui.

Jiang Yin Wishes to Slander Zhao Xixu to the King of Chu (江尹欲惡昭奚恤於楚王)

Jiang Yin wished to slander Zhao Xixu to the king of Chu, but had not the strength for it. So on behalf of the lord of Shanyang of Liang he asked for a fief in Chu. The king of Chu said: "Agreed." Zhao Xixu said: "The lord of Shanyang has done no service for the state of Chu, and ought not to be enfeoffed." Jiang Yin thereby gained the lord of Shanyang, and together with him slandered Zhao Xixu.

Wei Slanders Zhao Xixu to the King of Chu (魏氏惡昭奚恤於楚王)

Wei slandered Zhao Xixu to the king of Chu, and the king of Chu told Master Zhao of it. Master Zhao said: "Your servant morning and evening attends to affairs and waits upon your commands, and yet Wei has got in between my ruler and his servant. Your servant is greatly afraid. It is not Wei that I fear. When a man leaks the dealings of a ruler and his servant, and the world believes him, that man's nature is close to malice. If he does not find it hard to do this from outside, will he forget to do it from within? The day when your servant is found guilty is not far off." The king said: "I know it. What has my grandee to fear?"

Jiang Yi Slanders Zhao Xixu (江乙惡昭奚恤)

Jiang Yi slandered Zhao Xixu, saying to the king of Chu: "There was a man who thought his dog good at guarding and was fond of it. His dog once fouled the well. A neighbor, seeing the dog foul the well, wanted to go in and tell him of it. The dog hated him for it, stood in the gateway, and bit him. The neighbor was afraid of it and so never got in to speak. At the time of the disaster at Handan, Chu advanced its troops to Daliang and took it. Zhao Xixu took Wei's treasured vessels. Your servant, who was then living in Wei, knew of it; and that is why Zhao Xixu always hates your servant's being received by the king."

Jiang Yi Wishes to Slander Zhao Xixu in Chu (江乙欲惡昭奚恤於楚)

Jiang Yi wished to slander Zhao Xixu in Chu, and said to the king of Chu: "When those below form cliques and factions, the one above is in danger; when those below are divided and contend, the one above is secure. Does the king know this also? I would have the king not forget it. Now suppose a man loves to publish other men's good points — how does he stand with the king?" The king said: "That is a gentleman; I keep him near." Jiang Yi said: "Suppose a man loves to publish other men's faults — how does he stand with the king?" The king said: "That is a small man; I keep him at a distance." Jiang Yi said: "Then if there were a son who killed his father, or a servant who assassinated his lord, and the king to the end never knew of it, why would that be? It would be because the king loves to hear of men's excellence and hates to hear of men's faults." The king said: "Good. I would hear of both."

Jiang Yi Advises the Lord of Anling (江乙說於安陵君)

Jiang Yi advised the lord of Anling, saying: "My lord has not a foot or an inch of land, nor the kinship of flesh and bone, yet you hold an honored place and receive a rich stipend, and among the multitude of the whole state there is not one who, seeing my lord, does not gather in his robes and bow, and stoop low and submit. How is this?" He said: "It is only that the king has raised me beyond my desert. Were it otherwise, I could not have come to this."

Jiang Yi said: "He who makes his friendship by wealth — when the wealth is spent the friendship is broken. He who makes his friendship by beauty — when the bloom falls the love is altered. Therefore the favored woman does not wear out her mat, and the favored minister does not wear out his carriage. Now my lord holds the power of the state of Chu in his hands, and yet has nothing by which to bind himself deeply to the king. I privately think my lord's position dangerous." The lord of Anling said: "What then is to be done?" Jiang Yi said: "I would have my lord beg without fail to follow the king in death and to give his own body as the grave-companion. Do that, and you will long be held weighty in the state of Chu." He said: "I respectfully receive your instruction."

Three years passed, and he did not speak of it. Jiang Yi came to see him again and said: "What your servant proposed for my lord has to this day borne no fruit. Since my lord will not use your servant's plan, your servant begs not to venture into your presence again." The lord of Anling said: "I have not dared forget the master's words; I have not yet found the opening."

Thereupon the king of Chu went roaming at Yunmeng. A thousand chariots were harnessed four abreast; the banners and pennons hid the sun; the fires rising in the wild were like cloud and rainbow; the roaring of wild oxen and tigers was like thunder and lightning. A maddened wild ox came charging the chariot, right upon the wheels, and the king drew his own bow and shot, and with a single arrow laid it dead. The king drew out the curve-shafted pennon with its yak-tail and pressed down the wild ox's head, and looking up to heaven he laughed and said: "Delightful — this day's roaming! When I have gone, after ten thousand years and a thousand autumns, with whom shall I take this pleasure?" The lord of Anling wept, and the tears ran down in several streams, and he came forward and said: "Within, your servant shares your mat; without, he rides beside you in your chariot. After Your Majesty's ten thousand years and thousand autumns, I would have my body go down first into the Yellow Springs and be your bedding against the crickets and ants. What else could compare with gaining this joy and taking joy in it?" The king was greatly delighted, and enfeoffed Tan as lord of Anling.

A gentleman who heard of it said: "Jiang Yi may be called a good planner, and the lord of Anling may be called one who knew his moment."

Jiang Yi Goes as Wei's Envoy to Chu (江乙為魏使於楚)

Jiang Yi went as Wei's envoy to Chu, and said to the king of Chu: "When your servant entered the border, he heard that it is the custom of Chu not to hide men's good points and not to speak of men's faults. Is this truly so?" The king said: "It is truly so." Jiang Yi said: "Then was the revolt of the Duke of Bai not bound to succeed? If it is truly so, then men like your servant are absolved of guilt." The king of Chu said: "How so?" Jiang Yi said: "The marquis of Zhou is chancellor of Chu; he is exceedingly noble and decides all things himself, and those about you all say, 'There is nothing amiss,' as though it came from a single mouth."

A Man of Ying Whose Suit Went Three Years Undecided (郢人有獄三年不決)

There was a man of Ying whose lawsuit had gone three years without decision. So he had someone ask for his house, in order to divine whether he would be found guilty. A retainer accordingly asked on his behalf, saying to Zhao Xixu: "The house of such-and-such a man of Ying — your servant would have it." Zhao Xixu said: "Such-and-such a man of Ying ought not to be found guilty; therefore his house cannot be had."

The retainer took his leave and went out. Afterward Zhao Xixu regretted it, and said to the retainer: "Xixu has been able to serve you, sir. Why did you work a contrivance upon Xixu?" The retainer said: "I used no contrivance." He said: "You asked and did not obtain, and yet you had a pleased look on your face. If that is not a contrivance, what is it?"

Cheng Hun Leaves Zhou (城渾出周)

Cheng Hun left Zhou. Three men traveled in company, roaming south into Chu, and came to Xincheng.

Cheng Hun advised its magistrate, saying: "Zheng and Wei are Chu's weak neighbors, while Qin is Chu's strong enemy. Weak as Zheng and Wei are, Chu answers them with Shangliang; great as Yiyang is, Chu faces it with a weak Xincheng. Puban and Pingyang are a hundred li apart, and when the men of Qin raided in a single night, Anyi knew nothing of it. Xincheng and Shangliang are five hundred li apart, and if the men of Qin raid in a single night, Shangliang too will know nothing of it. What the border towns rely on now is not the lands south of the Yangzi nor those on the Si. Why then does the king of Chu not make Xincheng a chief commandery? The border towns would find it of great profit."

The lord of Xincheng was greatly pleased, and had four-horse teams and a carriage and five hundred in gold made ready for him to go to Chu. Cheng Hun took them, went south and made his connections in Chu, and the king of Chu did indeed make Xincheng a chief commandery.

Gong Shu of Han Has Qi and Wei (韓公叔有齊魏)

Gong Shu of Han had Qi and Wei behind him, while the heir apparent had Chu and Qin, and they contended for the state. Zheng Shen went as Chu's envoy to Han, and on his own authority gave Xincheng and Yangren to the heir apparent. The king of Chu was angry and was about to punish him. He replied: "Your servant gave them on his own authority for the sake of the state. Your servant obtained Xincheng and Yangren for the heir apparent, so that with them he might contend with Gong Shu for the state and win it. Qi and Wei must then attack Han. Han, hard pressed, must hang its life upon Chu; how then would it dare seek Xincheng and Yangren? And if the heir apparent does not win, yet does not die, he will come to us with his cap upside down; how then would he dare speak of land?" The king of Chu said: "Good." And he did not punish him.

Du He of Chu Advises the King of Chu on Winning Zhao (楚杜赫說楚王以取趙)

Du He of Chu advised the king of Chu on how to win Zhao. The king was about to give him the rank of Grandee of the Fifth Order (五大夫) and send him off in a private capacity.

Chen Zhen (陳軫) said to the king of Chu: "If He cannot get Zhao, the Fifth Order cannot be taken back again, and it will be a reward given for no merit. And if he does get Zhao and Your Majesty adds nothing, there will be no recognition of his service. Your Majesty had better send him on his way with ten chariots, and give him the Fifth Order when the business succeeds." The king said: "Good," and sent him on his way with ten chariots.

Du He was angry and did not go. Chen Zhen said to the king: "This shows he could not have got Zhao."

The King of Chu Questions Fan Huan (楚王問於范環)

The king of Chu asked Fan Huan: "I wish to place a chancellor in Qin. Who will do?" He answered: "Your servant is not competent to know it." The king said: "Would it do for me to make Gan Mao (甘茂) chancellor there?" Fan Huan answered: "It would not do." The king said: "Why?" He said: "Now Shi Ju was a gatekeeper of Shangcai. In great things he was not fit to serve a ruler; in small things he was not fit to order a household; he was known in his age for petty exactness. Yet Gan Mao served him and complied with him. So with the brilliance of King Hui, the discernment of King Wu, and Zhang Yi's fondness for slander, Gan Mao served them, took ten offices, and incurred no blame. Mao is truly a worthy man; and for that very reason he must not be made chancellor of Qin. For Qin to have a worthy chancellor is not to the profit of the state of Chu. Moreover, Your Majesty once used Hua in Yue and thereby brought in Juzhang; and at the time of Mei's disaster Yue fell into disorder, and so Chu in the south brought Laihu under its rule and made open country of the lands east of the Yangzi. If we reckon how Your Majesty's achievement could be such, it was that Yue was in disorder and Chu was in order. Now Your Majesty has used this in the case of Yue, and yet forgets it in the case of Qin; your servant thinks Your Majesty has forgotten it very quickly indeed. If Your Majesty wishes to place a chancellor in Qin, then such a man as Gongsun He will do. Gongsun He stands close to the king of Qin. As a boy he wore the same clothes with him; as a man he rode in the same chariot with him; he wears the king's own robes when he hears affairs of state. He is truly Your Majesty's chancellor. If Your Majesty makes him chancellor, it will be a great profit to the state of Chu."

Su Qin, for Zhao, Argues the Vertical Alliance to King Wei of Chu (蘇秦為趙合從說楚威王)

Su Qin (蘇秦), working for Zhao to bind the Vertical Alliance, argued before King Wei of Chu: "Chu is the strongest state in the world, and Your Majesty is the worthiest king in the world. Chu's land has Qianzhong and the Wu commandery to the west; Xiazhou and Haiyang to the east; Dongting and Cangwu to the south; the pass of Fenxing and Xunyang to the north. The land is five thousand li square, the armored men a million, the chariots a thousand, the horsemen ten thousand, the grain enough for ten years. These are the resources of a hegemon and king. With Chu's strength and Your Majesty's worth, nothing in the world could stand against you. Yet now you wish to face west and serve Qin; and then there is not a lord who will not face south and pay court beneath the Zhang Terrace. Of all that in the world does Qin harm, nothing equals Chu. If Chu is strong, Qin is weak; if Chu is weak, Qin is strong; by the nature of the case the two cannot stand together. Therefore in planning for Your Majesty there is nothing like the Vertical Alliance of kinship, to leave Qin alone. If Your Majesty does not join the alliance of kinship, Qin will surely raise two armies, one to come out at Wu Pass, one to come down upon Qianzhong. If that happens, Yan and Ying will be shaken. Your servant has heard: order a thing before it falls into disorder, act upon it before it has come to be; if you wait until the trouble arrives and then grieve over it, it is too late. Therefore I would have Your Majesty plan for it early.

"If Your Majesty can indeed listen to your servant, your servant will have the states east of the mountains bring their offerings at the four seasons and receive Your Majesty's enlightened ordinances, commit their altars of soil and grain and their ancestral temples to your keeping, train their officers and sharpen their weapons, all for Your Majesty to use as you will. If Your Majesty can indeed listen to your servant's foolish plan, then the exquisite music and beautiful women of Han, Wei, Qi, Yan, Zhao, and Wey will fill your rear palace, and the good horses and camels of Zhao and Dai will fill your outer stables. Thus if the Vertical Alliance is joined, the king of Chu rules; if the Horizontal Alliance succeeds, Qin becomes emperor. To let go now of the work of a hegemon and king and take on the name of one who serves another — your servant privately thinks Your Majesty should not choose it.

"Now Qin is a state of tigers and wolves, with a heart to swallow the world. Qin is the world's enemy, and the men of the Horizontal Alliance all wish to cut away the lords' lands to serve Qin; this is what is called nourishing your enemy and waiting upon your foe. To be another man's servant and cut away his lord's land in order to make foreign friendship with a strong and wolfish Qin, and so to encroach upon the world, and, when the calamity of Qin comes at last, not to look to the disaster; to grip from without the awe of a strong Qin in order to coerce one's own ruler within, and so to seek the ceding of land — of great treason and disloyalty there is nothing beyond this. So under the Vertical Alliance of kinship the lords cede land to serve Chu, and under the Horizontal union Chu cedes land to serve Qin. Between these two policies the distance is great, to be counted in hundreds of millions. Which of the two will Your Majesty take? Therefore the king of Zhao of our poor state has sent your servant to lay before you his foolish plan and to present the clear covenant; it rests with Your Majesty to command."

The king of Chu said: "My state borders Qin on the west, and Qin has a heart to take Ba and Shu and annex Hanzhong. Qin is a state of tigers and wolves and cannot be made a friend. Han and Wei are pressed by the danger from Qin and cannot be taken into deep counsel; I fear they would turn men over and go in to Qin, so that before the plan was set in motion the state would already be in danger. Reckoning for myself, I do not see that Chu set against Qin would win. Taking counsel within with my assembled ministers, I find them not to be relied on. I lie down and my mat gives me no ease; I eat and the food has no savor; my heart shakes like a hanging banner and finds nowhere at last to come to rest. Now you, sir, wish to make the world one, to bring the lords peace, and to preserve endangered states. I respectfully offer up my altars of soil and grain and follow you."

Zhang Yi, for Qin, Breaks the Vertical Alliance and Joins the Horizontal (張儀為秦破從連橫)

Zhang Yi (張儀), on Qin's behalf, broke the Vertical Alliance and joined the Horizontal, and argued before the king of Chu: "Qin's land is half the world. Its arms are a match for the states of the four quarters. It is covered by mountains and girdled by the Yellow River, with passes on four sides for its strength. Its tiger-brave officers are more than a million, its chariots a thousand, its horsemen ten thousand, its grain like hills and mountains. Its laws and ordinances are clear; its officers and soldiers are at ease in hardship and glad to die. Its ruler is stern and clear-sighted; its generals are wise and warlike. Even without sending out armored troops it could roll up the fastness of Changshan like a mat and snap the spine of the world, and whoever in the world submits last will perish first. Moreover, those who make the Vertical Alliance do nothing different from driving a flock of sheep to attack a fierce tiger. That tiger and sheep are no match is plain. Now Your Majesty sides not with the fierce tiger but with the flock of sheep; I privately hold Your Majesty's plan mistaken.

"Of all the strong states of the world, if not Qin then Chu, if not Chu then Qin. The two states are evenly matched and contend with each other, and by the nature of the case cannot both stand. If Your Majesty will not side with Qin, Qin will send down its armored troops and hold Yiyang, and Han's upper lands will be cut off; it will come down on Hedong and take Chenggao, and Han must go in and serve Qin as a subject. Once Han has gone in as a subject, Wei will bend like grass before the wind. Qin will attack the west of Chu, and Han and Wei will attack its north; how then can your altars of soil and grain escape danger?

"Moreover, those who bind the Vertical Alliance gather a crowd of weak states to attack the very strongest. To attack the strong with the weak, without measuring the enemy and taking war lightly, with a poor state raising armies again and again — this is the art of ruin. Your servant has heard: with him whose troops are not your equal, do not provoke a battle; with him whose grain is not your equal, do not draw out a long campaign. The men of the Vertical Alliance dress up their arguments with empty words and exalt their rulers' high conduct; they speak of the profit and do not speak of the harm; and when calamity falls upon Chu at last, there will be no time to act. Therefore I would have Your Majesty consider it carefully.

"To the west Qin has Ba and Shu. It ranges its boats side by side and stores up grain; it sets out from Mount Min and goes down along the river, and it is more than three thousand li to Ying. Its double boats carry soldiers, one boat carrying fifty men with three months' provisions; they float down with the water and cover more than three hundred li in a day. Though the li are many, it costs no labor of sweating horses, and in fewer than ten days they arrive at the Han Barrier. When the Han Barrier is alarmed, then from Jingling eastward every place will be shut up behind its walls, and Qianzhong and the Wu commandery will no longer be Your Majesty's. Qin will raise its armored men and bring them out at Wu Pass and attack facing south, and then the northern lands will be cut off. When Qin's troops attack Chu, the peril will fall within three months, whereas Chu's reliance on rescue by the other lords lies beyond half a year; by the nature of the case the one cannot reach the other. To rely on the rescue of weak states and forget the calamity of a strong Qin — this is why your servant is anxious on Your Majesty's behalf. Moreover Your Majesty once fought five battles with the men of Wu, won three, and destroyed them, but your ranks of soldiers were used up; and you hold Xincheng with an isolated garrison, and the people dwelling there are in misery. Your servant has heard: he who attacks great things is easily endangered, and a people worn out resents those above. To guard an achievement that is easily endangered, and to go against the heart of a strong Qin — I privately hold Your Majesty in danger.

"Moreover, the reason Qin has not sent armored men out of Hangu Pass for fifteen years to attack the feudal lords is that it secretly harbors a heart to swallow the world. Chu once came into conflict with Qin and fought in Hanzhong. The men of Chu did not win; those who died holding the ranks of Full Marquis and Bearer of the Jade Baton were more than seventy, and Hanzhong was lost. The king of Chu was greatly enraged, raised an army and fell upon Qin, fought at Lantian, and was driven back again. This is what is called two tigers grappling. When Qin and Chu have worn each other out and Han and Wei, with their strength whole, control their rear, no plan could be more mistaken than this. Therefore I would have Your Majesty consider it carefully.

"When Qin sends its troops down to attack Wey and Yangjin, it will surely bar the breast of the world. Let Your Majesty raise all your troops and attack Song, and in not so many months Song can be taken. Take Song and point eastward, and the twelve lords along the Si will all be Your Majesty's.

"The man whom all the world trusted to hold the Vertical Alliance of kinship firm was Su Qin. He was enfeoffed as lord of Wu'an and made chancellor of Yan, and then secretly plotted with the king of Yan to break Qi and divide its land between them. He pretended to have committed an offense, fled, and went into Qi, and the king of Qi received him and made him chancellor. Two years later it came to light; the king of Qi was greatly enraged and had Su Qin torn apart by chariots in the marketplace. That a single deceitful, double-dealing Su Qin should wish to manage the world and unite the feudal lords into one — that it could not be brought about is plain enough.

"Now Qin and Chu adjoin at the border and their soils meet; by their very shape they are states meant to be close. If Your Majesty can indeed listen to your servant, your servant asks that Qin's heir apparent enter Chu as hostage and Chu's heir apparent enter Qin as hostage; that a daughter of Qin be given as Your Majesty's handmaid of dustpan and broom; and that a city of ten thousand households be presented as her bath-town; so that the two may long be states of elder and younger brother and to the end of life never attack each other. Your servant thinks no plan more advantageous than this. Therefore the king of Qin of our poor state has sent his servant as envoy to present his letter downwind of Your Majesty's train of chariots, and to await your decision on the matter."

The king of Chu said: "The state of Chu is remote and rude, set upon the eastern sea. I am young in years and unpracticed in the long plans of a state. Now my honored guest has been so kind as to instruct me with clear ordinances. Having heard them, I respectfully bring my state to follow." He then sent out a hundred envoy chariots and presented to the king of Qin a rhinoceros horn that startles the fowl and a jade disc that shines by night.

Zhang Yi Is Chancellor of Qin (張儀相秦)

Zhang Yi was chancellor of Qin, and said to Zhao Ju (昭雎): "If Chu had not Yan, Ying, and Hanzhong, could it get anything in their place?" He said: "It could not." He said: "If it had not Zhao Ju and Chen Zhen, could it get anything in their place?" He said: "It could get nothing in their place." Zhang Yi said: "Say for me to the king of Chu that if he expels Zhao Ju and Chen Zhen, I will ask that Yan, Ying, and Hanzhong be restored to him." Zhao Ju went home and reported it to the king of Chu, and the king of Chu was pleased with it.

Someone said to Zhao Ju: "How far the king of Chu is from discerning those who contend for reputation! Han asked that Chen Ji the artisan be made chancellor there, and Zhou would not listen; Wei asked that Qimu Hui be made chancellor there, and Zhou would not listen. Why? Because Zhou said, 'This is to keep us as one of their outlying counties.' Now Chu is a strong state of ten thousand chariots, and Your Majesty is the worthiest ruler in the world. Now Yi says, 'Expel my lord and Chen Zhen,' and the king listens to him. That is Chu treating itself as lower than Zhou, and Yi weighing more than the kings of Han and Wei. Moreover, in what Zhang Yi does, it is in Qin that he seeks merit and fame, and it is from Wei that he wants wealth and rank. Wishing to make attacks for Wei, he must attack Chu in the south. Now there is a method in attacking: from outside you sever the enemy's alliances, from within you drive out his planners. Chen Zhen is a man of the central states, versed in the affairs of the Three Jin; therefore expel him, and Chu will have no planner. And my lord is able to use the multitude of Chu; therefore expel him too, and the multitude of Chu will not be used. This is what is called attacking a state from within, and the king does not know how to discern it. Now why does my lord not present your servant to the king? I ask to act for the king so that the alliance with Qi is not broken. If the alliance with Qi is not broken and Yi hears of it, his handing over of Yan, Ying, and Hanzhong will certainly be slow. Then Zhao Ju's words will not be believed, and the king will surely think little of him."

King Wei Questions Mo'ao Zihua (威王問於莫敖子華)

King Wei asked Mo'ao Zihua (莫敖子華): "From our former ruler King Wen down to my own person, have there been men not urged on by rank nor spurred by stipend, who yet were anxious for the altars of soil and grain?" Mo'ao Zihua answered: "Such as Hua is not competent to know it." The king said: "If not from my grandee, from whom am I to hear it?" Mo'ao Zihua answered: "What is it that my lord the king would ask about? There have been those who held their rank in modesty and kept their persons poor, and were anxious for the altars; those who raised their rank high and made their stipend rich, and were anxious for the altars; those whose necks were cut and whose bellies were opened, who closed their eyes once and for ten thousand ages saw nothing more, and knew of no profit in it, and were anxious for the altars; those who wore out their bodies and grieved in their purposes, and were anxious for the altars; and there have also been those not urged on by rank nor spurred by stipend, who were anxious for the altars." The king said: "These words of my grandee — of whom does he speak?"

Mo'ao Zihua answered: "In old times the chief minister Ziwen wore a robe of black silk to court and a deerskin coat at home; before daylight he stood in the court, and when the sun grew dark he went home to eat; in the morning he could not plan for the evening, and he had not a single month's store laid by. So the man who held his rank in modesty and kept his person poor, and was anxious for the altars of soil and grain, was the chief minister Ziwen.

"In old times Zigao, the duke of She, was taken from the open fields and the thickets, and the Pillar of the State reckoned him a man of talent. He settled the calamity of the Duke of Bai and brought peace to the affairs of the state of Chu; he enlarged the former rulers' domain by taking in the lands beyond the Fangcheng wall; his four borders were not encroached upon, and his name was not humbled among the feudal lords. In that time none in the world dared turn arms southward. Zigao, the duke of She, ate the revenue of six hundred zhen of fields. So the man who raised his rank high and made his stipend rich, and was anxious for the altars, was Zigao, the duke of She.

"In old times Wu fought Chu at Boju, and between the two lines of chariots the ranks of the soldiers closed. Mo'ao Daxin took his charioteer's hand, looked back, and sighed deeply, saying: 'Alas, my son! The month of Chu's ruin has come. I shall drive deep into the army of Wu. To strike down one man, to seize one man by the hair — if others will do so along with Daxin, the altars of soil and grain might yet have some hope.' So the man whose neck was cut and whose belly was opened, who closed his eyes once and for ten thousand ages saw nothing more and knew of no profit in it, and was anxious for the altars, was Mo'ao Daxin.

"In old times Wu fought Chu at Boju, and in three battles entered Ying. Our late ruler went out in his own person, the grandees all went into exile with him, and the hundred families were scattered. Fenmao Bosu said: 'If I put on hard armor and take up a sharp weapon and go against a strong enemy and die, I am no more than a single soldier; better to run to the feudal lords.' Thereupon he carried provisions on his back and traveled in secret; he climbed the steep mountains and crossed the deep ravines until the soles of his feet were worn through and his knees were raw, and in seven days he came up to the court of the king of Qin. He stood like a sparrow and did not stir; by day he moaned and by night he wept. For seven days he could not deliver his message. Neither water nor gruel passed his lips; he grew sick, and gasping, and stifled; his sight failed and he did not know men. The king of Qin heard of it and hurried out to him, his cap and sash not properly on; with his left hand he lifted up his head and with his right he wet his mouth, and Bosu came back to life. The king of Qin himself asked him: 'Who are you, sir?' Fenmao Bosu answered: 'Your servant is no stranger. I am Fenmao Bosu, envoy of Chu, newly appointed to office. Wu fought the men of Chu at Boju, and in three battles entered Ying; our ruler went out in his own person, the grandees all went with him, and the hundred families were scattered. He has sent his lowly servant to report the ruin and also to beg for rescue.' The king of Qin looked round and gave his orders without rising: 'I have heard that when a lord of ten thousand chariots offends a single officer, his altars of soil and grain are in danger. This is what that means.' He then sent out a thousand leather war chariots and ten thousand soldiers, put them under Zi Man and Zi Hu, came down past the barrier and eastward, fought the men of Wu at the Zhuo River and greatly defeated them; and fighting was heard of at Suipu also. So the man who wore out his body and grieved in his thoughts, and was anxious for the altars, was Fenmao Bosu.

"Wu fought Chu at Boju, and in three battles entered Ying. My lord the king went out in his own person, the grandees all went with him, and the hundred families were scattered. Meng Gu was locked in the fighting above Gongtang. He left the fighting and ran to Ying, saying: 'If an orphan heir remains, the altars of the state of Chu may yet have some hope.' He then entered the great palace, took the Jici code upon his back and floated off down the river, and hid in the midst of Yunmeng. When King Zhao returned to Ying, the five offices had lost their statutes and the hundred families were in confusion. Meng Gu presented the code, the five offices recovered their statutes, and the hundred families were brought into great order. This achievement of Meng Gu's was much the same as preserving the state, and he was enfeoffed with the rank of Bearer of the Jade Baton and six hundred zhen of fields. Meng Gu was angry and said: 'Gu is no servant of a man; he is a servant of the altars of soil and grain. If the altars still have their blood offerings, why should I fear to be without a ruler?' He then cast himself away among the hills of Mo, and to this day he has committed no offense. So the man not urged on by rank nor spurred by stipend, who was anxious for the altars, was Meng Gu."

The king then sighed deeply and said: "These were men of old. Among the men of today, how could there be such?"

Mo'ao Zihua answered: "In old times our former ruler King Ling loved slender waists, and the officers of Chu rationed their food, so that they could stand only by leaning on something and rise only by pressing on the chariot rail. Food was desirable to them, and they endured and did not take it; death was hateful to them, and yet they did not avoid it. Hua has heard that when the ruler loves archery, his servants wear the thumb-ring and the arm-guard. It is simply that my lord the king does not love them. If my lord the king truly loved worthy men, these five servants could all be got and brought before him."

Strategies of Chu, 2 (楚策二)

Zhai Qiang, Chancellor of Wei, Dies (魏相翟強死)

Zhai Qiang, chancellor of Wei, died. Someone said to the king of Chu on Gan Mao's behalf: "The man nearest to becoming chancellor of Wei is Prince Jing. If Jing is chancellor of Wei, the relations of Wei and Qin will surely be good. If the relations of Qin and Wei are whole, then Chu is made light of. Therefore Your Majesty had better make a pact with Qi and have Gan Mao made chancellor in Wei. The king of Qi loves to stand above other men in reputation; if you now ask for the chancellorship of Wei on behalf of his envoy, Qi will surely be pleased. If Wei does not listen, its relations with Qi will turn bad; and when the relations of Qi and Wei turn bad, they will vie with each other in serving Chu. If Wei does listen, then, since Gan Mao and Chuli Ji are enemies who would each take the other's head, the relations of Wei and Qin must turn bad, and again both will hold Chu in weight."

Qi and Qin Make a Pact to Attack Chu (齊秦約攻楚)

Qi and Qin made a pact to attack Chu, and Chu sent Jing Cui to bribe Qi with six cities, with the heir apparent as hostage. Zhao Ju said to Jing Cui: "Qin, alarmed, may work through Jing Li and Su Li to have land handed over by Chu. You are giving out land to win Qi, while Li and Li will be gathering up land to win Qin, and your business must fail. You had better have the king bribe Jing Li and Su Li richly and send them into Qin. Then Qin, alarmed, will surely not demand land and will join with Chu. And if Qi makes no demand either, then it is you who have made the settlement."

Shu Shi Attacks Chu (術視伐楚)

Shu Shi attacked Chu, and Chu sent Zhao Shu with a hundred thousand men to hold Hanzhong. Zhao Ju defeated Qin at Chongqiu. Su Li said to Zhao Shu, the lord of Wan: "The king wishes Zhao Ju to bear down upon Qin, and he will certainly divide your troops to reinforce him. When Qin learns that your troops are divided, it will surely come out into Hanzhong. Let me for your sake have Xin Rong say to the king, 'Qin's troops are about to come out into Hanzhong.' Then your troops will be kept whole."

Four States Attack Chu (四國伐楚)

Four states attacked Chu, and Chu made Zhao Ju general to hold off Qin. The king of Chu wished to strike Qin, but Zhao Ju did not wish it. Huan Zang said to the king of Chu on Zhao Ju's behalf: "If Ju wins the battle, the three states will hate Chu's strength and will fear that Qin may change about and listen to Chu, and they will attack Chu deeply so as to strengthen Qin. The king of Qin, enraged at not winning the battle, will surely raise all his forces and strike Chu; then Your Majesty and Qin will wear each other out, and the three states will profit by it. And if you do not defeat Qin, Qin will bring up its troops and attack. It is better to reinforce Zhao Ju's troops and have him show Qin that he will certainly fight. The king of Qin will hate to wear himself out against Chu for all the world to see, and Qin can then be brought, by ceding a little, to put an end to the harm. Once Qin and Chu are joined, Yan, Zhao, and Wei will not dare refuse to listen, and the three states can be settled."

King Huai of Chu Detains Zhang Yi (楚懷王拘張儀)

King Huai of Chu detained Zhang Yi and was about to kill him. Jin Shang (靳尚), on Zhang Yi's behalf, said to the king of Chu: "If you detain Zhang Yi, the king of Qin will surely be enraged. When the world sees that Chu has no Qin behind it, Chu will surely be made light of." He also said to Zheng Xiu (鄭袖), the king's favorite lady: "Do you know, madam, that you are about to be held cheap by the king?" Zheng Xiu said: "How so?" Shang said: "Zhang Yi is a loyal and trusted servant of the king of Qin, and has merit. Now Chu has detained him, and the king of Qin wishes to get him out. The king of Qin has a beloved daughter who is beautiful, and he has picked out from his palace those who are charming and lovely and skilled in music, to attend her for her pleasure; he is providing her with gold and jade and treasured vessels, and presenting the six counties of Shangyong as her bath-town; and he means to have Zhang Yi bring her in to the king of Chu. The king of Chu is bound to love her; and the woman of Qin, leaning on a strong Qin for her weight and holding treasures and lands for her resources, will by that force be the king's wife and will lord it over Chu. The king, bewitched by his amusements and pleasures, will surely honor and cherish and love her deeply, and forget you, madam; and you will be held cheaper and grow more distant by the day." Zheng Xiu said: "I would leave the matter to you, sir. What is to be done?" He said: "Why do you not quickly speak to the king and get Master Zhang released? Once Master Zhang is released, there will be no end to his gratitude to you; the woman of Qin will surely not come, and Qin will surely hold you weighty. Within, you will hold the highest place in Chu; without, you will have bound the friendship of Qin; and keeping Master Zhang for your use, your sons and grandsons will surely be heirs apparent of Chu. This is no such profit as a commoner has." Zheng Xiu at once persuaded the king of Chu to release Master Zhang.

The King of Chu Is About to Release Master Zhang (楚王將出張子)

The king of Chu was about to release Master Zhang, but feared that he would ruin him. Jin Shang said to the king of Chu: "Your servant begs to follow him. If Yi does not serve Your Majesty well, your servant begs to kill him."

A lesser servant of Chu, an enemy of Jin Shang's, said to Zhang Mao: "With Zhang Yi's cunning, and with both Qin and Chu to employ him, my lord will surely be brought to a dead end. My lord had better send men to waylay Jin Shang secretly and stab him; then the king of Chu will be greatly enraged at Yi. When Yi is at a dead end, you will be weighty. And when Chu and Qin are at odds with each other, Wei will have nothing to fear."

Zhang Mao did indeed send men to waylay Jin Shang and stab him. The king of Chu was greatly enraged, and Qin took up arms and fought. Qin and Chu vied in serving Wei, and Zhang Mao did indeed become very weighty.

Qin Defeats Chu at Hanzhong (秦敗楚漢中)

Qin defeated Chu at Hanzhong. The king of Chu went into Qin, and the king of Qin kept him there. You Teng said to the king of Qin on Chu's behalf: "If Your Majesty holds the king of Chu and joins the world in attacking Chu, your conduct is damaged; and if you do not join the world in attacking it together, you lose the advantage. Your Majesty had better make a covenant with him and send him home. The king of Chu will be afraid and will surely not dare go back on the covenant. Then Your Majesty may join the three states in attacking him, and it will be righteous."

When King Xiang of Chu Was Heir Apparent (楚襄王為太子之時)

When King Xiang of Chu was heir apparent, he was a hostage in Qi. King Huai passed away, and the heir apparent took his leave of the king of Qi to go home. The king of Qi hemmed him in: "Give me five hundred li of the eastern land, and then I will send you home. If you do not give it to me, you will not get home." The heir apparent said: "I have a tutor; allow me to withdraw and ask my tutor." His tutor Master Shen (慎子) said: "Offer him the land: it is for the sake of your own person. To cling to land and not to see your dead father buried is not righteous. Therefore I say that to offer it is the expedient course." The heir apparent went in and delivered his word to the king of Qi, saying: "I respectfully offer five hundred li of land." The king of Qi sent the Chu heir apparent home.

The heir apparent went home and took the throne as king. Qi sent an envoy with fifty chariots to come and take the eastern land from Chu. The king of Chu told Master Shen: "The Qi envoy has come to demand the eastern land. What is to be done about it?" Master Shen said: "Tomorrow let Your Majesty give audience to the assembled ministers and order them all to offer their counsel."

The Supreme Pillar of the State Ziliang (子良) came in for audience. The king said: "That I was able to obtain my return — to stand at the royal tombs, to have my assembled ministers again, and to come back to the altars of soil and grain — was because I promised Qi five hundred li of the eastern land. Qi has now sent an envoy to demand the land. What is to be done about it?" Ziliang said: "Your Majesty must not fail to give it. Your Majesty's own person let a word of jade go forth; if you promised it to a mighty Qi of ten thousand chariots and then do not give it, you will not be trusted, and hereafter you cannot bind the feudal lords by covenant. Let us give it and then attack them again. Giving it is good faith; attacking it is martial vigor. Therefore I say: give it."

Ziliang went out, and Zhao Chang (昭常) came in for audience. The king said: "The Qi envoy has come to demand five hundred li of the eastern land. What is to be done about it?" Zhao Chang said: "It must not be given. A state of ten thousand chariots is a state of ten thousand chariots because its land is great. To part now with five hundred li of the eastern land is to part with half of a warring state: you would have the name of ten thousand chariots and not the use of a thousand. It will not do. Therefore I say: do not give it. I, Chang, beg leave to guard it."

Zhao Chang went out, and Jing Li (景鯉) came in for audience. The king said: "The Qi envoy has come to demand five hundred li of the eastern land. What is to be done about it?" Jing Li said: "It must not be given. Even so, Chu cannot hold it alone. Your Majesty's own person let a word of jade go forth; if you promised it to a strong Qi of ten thousand chariots and then do not give it, you will bear the charge of unrighteousness before the world. And Chu cannot hold it alone. I beg leave to go west and seek rescue from Qin."

Jing Li went out and Master Shen came in, and the king told Master Shen the counsel of the three grandees, saying: "Ziliang saw me and said, 'It must not be withheld; give it and then attack them again.' Chang saw me and said, 'It must not be given; I, Chang, beg leave to guard it.' Li saw me and said, 'It must not be given; even so, Chu cannot hold it alone, and I beg leave to seek rescue from Qin.' Which of the three men's counsels shall I use?" Master Shen replied: "Your Majesty will use them all." The king flushed with anger and said: "What do you mean?" Master Shen said: "Let me set my proposal to work, and Your Majesty will see that it is truly so. Let Your Majesty dispatch the Supreme Pillar of the State Ziliang with fifty chariots to go north and present five hundred li of land to Qi. On the day after Ziliang is dispatched, appoint Zhao Chang Grand Marshal and order him to go and guard the eastern land. On the day after Zhao Chang is sent, dispatch Jing Li with fifty chariots to go west and seek rescue from Qin." The king said: "Good." So he sent Ziliang north to present the land to Qi. On the day after Ziliang was sent, he made Zhao Chang Grand Marshal and set him to guard the eastern land. And he sent Jing Li west to seek rescue from Qin.

Ziliang reached Qi, and Qi sent men in armor to receive the eastern land. Zhao Chang answered the envoys of Qi: "I have the charge and the keeping of the eastern land, and I shall share its life and death. Mustering all from five-foot boys to men of sixty, more than three hundred thousand, with worn armor and blunted weapons, I ask leave to receive your dust." The king of Qi said to Ziliang: "The grandee came to present the land, and now Chang is guarding it. What of this?" Ziliang said: "I in my own person received my commission from the king of my poor city. Chang is acting falsely. Let Your Majesty attack him." The king of Qi raised a great host, attacked the eastern land, and marched against Zhao Chang. Before they had crossed the border, Qin came down upon Qi's right territory with five hundred thousand men, saying: "To hem in the heir apparent of Chu and not let him go was not humane; and now to seek to seize five hundred li of his eastern land is not righteous. If you draw in your armor, well and good; if not, we are ready to await the battle." The king of Qi was afraid. He then asked Ziliang to take the southward road to Chu and to go west as envoy to Qin, and so undo the trouble of Qi. The soldiers were not used, and the eastern land was whole again.

Nü A Speaks to Master Su (女阿謂蘇子)

Nü A (女阿) said to Master Su (蘇子): "Qin has kept the king of Chu perched there, and the one who has put the heir apparent in danger is you, sir. Now the king of Chu is coming home and the heir apparent is going south, and you, sir, are certain to be in peril. You had better send someone to say to the heir apparent: 'Master Su knows that the heir apparent bears him a grudge, and he will certainly work to the heir apparent's disadvantage. The heir apparent would do better to be on good terms with Master Su, and then Master Su will certainly act for the heir apparent to get him in.'" So Master Su sent someone to speak to the heir apparent, and the heir apparent in turn asked to be on good terms with Master Su.

Strategies of Chu, 3 (楚策三)

Master Su Speaks to the King of Chu (蘇子謂楚王)

Master Su said to the king of Chu: "The humane man toward the people loves them with his heart and serves them with good words. The filial son toward his parents loves them with his heart and serves them with his goods. The loyal minister toward his ruler must always advance worthy men to assist him. Now Your Majesty's great ministers, your uncles and elder kinsmen, are fond of injuring the worthy to make capital of it, and they lay heavy levies on the ministers and the hundred families, so that Your Majesty is hated by the people: these are not loyal ministers. The great ministers spread Your Majesty's faults abroad among the hundred families and bribe the feudal lords lavishly with Your Majesty's land, and for that reason they drive out those whom Your Majesty loves: these too are not loyal ministers, and by this the state is endangered. I would wish that Your Majesty not listen to the assembled ministers slandering one another, and that you be wary of the great ministers and the royal kinsmen; that you employ what the people think good, moderate the appetites of your own person, and so share with the hundred families.

"For a subject nothing is harder than to be without envy and to advance the worthy. To die for one's lord is easy: in the affair at Chuisha (垂沙) the dead were counted by the thousand. To bear disgrace for one's lord is easy: from the chief minister down, those who serve Your Majesty are counted by the thousand. But when it comes to being without envy and advancing the worthy, I have not yet seen one man. Therefore when an enlightened ruler examines his ministers he must know which of them are without envy and advance the worthy; and when a worthy man serves his ruler, he too must be without envy and advance the worthy. The hardness of advancing the worthy is this: the worthy man, once employed, may cause one's own dismissal, and once ennobled, may cause one's own debasement. That is why men find it hard."

Su Qin Went to Chu (蘇秦之楚三日)

Su Qin (蘇秦) went to Chu, and only after three days did he obtain an audience with the king. When the talk was over, he took his leave and made to go. The king of Chu said: "I have heard of you, master, as one hears of a man of antiquity. Now you have not counted a thousand li too far to come and draw near to me, and yet you will not consent to stay. I should like to hear your reason." He replied: "In the state of Chu food is dearer than jade and firewood is dearer than cassia; the ushers are as hard to see as ghosts, and the king is as hard to see as the Emperor of Heaven. Now you would have me eat jade and cook with cassia, and reach the Emperor by way of the ghosts." The king said: "Go to your lodging, master. I have heard your command."

The King of Chu Had Zhang Yi Driven Out of Wei (楚王逐張儀於魏)

The king of Chu had Zhang Yi (張儀) driven out of Wei. Chen Zhen (陳軫) said: "Why does Your Majesty drive out Master Zhang?" He said: "As a minister he is neither loyal nor faithful." Chen Zhen said: "If he is not loyal, Your Majesty need not make him your minister; if he is not faithful, Your Majesty need not make agreements with him. And if a minister of Wei is neither loyal nor faithful, what harm is that to Your Majesty? If he were loyal and faithful, what gain would that be to Your Majesty? If you drive him out and are obeyed, well and good; but if you are not obeyed, then Your Majesty's command is brought to a stand. Moreover, to make a state of ten thousand chariots dismiss its chancellor is such an affair as a covenant sworn beneath the walls."

Zhang Yi Went to Chu and Was Poor (張儀之楚貧)

Zhang Yi went to Chu and was poor. His retainer grew angry and made to go home. Zhang Yi said: "You must be wanting to go home because your clothes and cap are worn out. Wait for me, and I will get you an audience with the king of Chu." At that time the Southern Queen (南后) and Zheng Xiu (鄭褏) were held in honor in Chu.

Master Zhang had audience with the king of Chu, and the king of Chu was not pleased with him. Master Zhang said: "If Your Majesty has no use for me, let me go north and see the ruler of Jin." The king of Chu said: "Very well." Master Zhang said: "Has Your Majesty nothing to seek from the state of Jin?" The king said: "Yellow gold, round pearls and irregular, rhinoceros horn and ivory all come out of Chu. I have nothing to seek from Jin." Master Zhang said: "Is it only that Your Majesty is not fond of beauty?" The king said: "How so?" Master Zhang said: "Those women of Zheng and Zhou, powdered white and blacked with ink, standing at the crossroads and in the lanes — anyone who did not know and saw them would take them for spirits." The king of Chu said: "Chu is an out-of-the-way and mean country. I have never seen women of the Middle States as beautiful as that. Why should I alone not be fond of beauty?" And he furnished him with pearls and jade.

The Southern Queen and Zheng Xiu heard of it and were greatly alarmed. They sent someone to say to Master Zhang: "Your handmaid has heard that the general is going to the state of Jin. It happens that I have a thousand catties of gold; I present it to your attendants for the provision of fodder." Zheng Xiu likewise gave five hundred catties of gold.

Master Zhang took his leave of the king of Chu, saying: "The passes of the world are shut and the roads are cut, and I do not know when I shall see you again. I should be glad if Your Majesty would grant me a cup." The king said: "Very well," and gave him wine. When the drinking was half done, Master Zhang bowed twice and made a request: "There is no other person here. I should be glad if Your Majesty would summon those who are near and dear to you, and give them wine too." The king said: "Very well," and summoned the Southern Queen and Zheng Xiu and gave them wine. Master Zhang bowed twice and made a request: "I, Yi, have committed a capital offense against Your Majesty." The king said: "How so?" He said: "I, Yi, have traveled the whole world over, and I have never seen anyone so beautiful as these. Yet I said that I could get you beautiful women: that was to deceive Your Majesty." The king said: "Let the matter go. I have always held that in all the world there is nothing to equal these two."

The King of Chu Sent Zhao Ju to Qin to Give Weight to Zhang Yi (楚王令昭雎之秦重張儀)

The king of Chu ordered Zhao Ju (昭雎) to go to Qin and give weight to Zhang Yi. Before he arrived, King Hui died, and King Wu drove Zhang Yi out. The king of Chu thereupon arrested Zhao Ju in order to win over Qi. Huan Zang (桓臧) said to the king of Chu on Zhao Ju's behalf: "That the horizontal alliance of kinship has not held together is because Zhang Yi was honored by King Hui and was on good terms with Ju. Now King Hui is dead, King Wu is set up, Yi has fled, and Gongsun He (公孫郝) and Gan Mao (甘茂) are in honor. Gan Mao is on good terms with Wei, and Gongsun He is on good terms with Han. These two men have never been on good terms with Ju, and they will certainly use Qin to join with Han and Wei. Han and Wei gave weight to Yi before because Yi had Qin behind him and Ju gave him the weight of Chu. Now Yi is hemmed in by Qin and Ju is held in custody by Chu; and Han and Wei, wanting to get Qin, will certainly be on good terms with those two men. They will gather up Han and Wei, make light of Yi, and attack Chu, and Fangcheng (方城) will surely be in danger. Your Majesty had better restore Ju to his place and give Yi weight in Han and Wei. With the power of Chu to stand on and the weight of Wei at his side, Yi will contend against Qin. Then Wei will not join with Qin, and Han too will not follow, and Fangcheng will be without trouble."

Zhang Yi Drove Hui Shi Out of Wei (張儀逐惠施於魏)

Zhang Yi drove Hui Shi (惠施) out of Wei. Master Hui went to Chu, and the king of Chu received him.

Feng Hao (馮郝) said to the king of Chu: "It was Zhang Yi who drove Master Hui out; yet Your Majesty is making an agreement with him in person, and that is to deceive Yi. For Your Majesty's sake I do not approve of it. Master Hui came here because of Yi, and as for making Your Majesty's dealings with Zhang Yi go bad, Master Hui will surely not go through with it. Moreover, that the king of Song thinks Master Hui worthy is known to everyone in the world, and that Master Hui is now on bad terms with Zhang Yi is known to everyone in the world too. If now, for the sake of an affair of state, you throw away the man you have honored for the sake of his enemy, I think Your Majesty will be made light of. And if it is truly for the sake of an affair of state, then Your Majesty had better take Master Hui up and send him into Song, and say to Zhang Yi: 'For your sake I have refused to take him in.' Yi will surely count it a favor from Your Majesty. And Master Hui is a man at the end of his resources, and if Your Majesty maintains him, he too will surely count it a favor from Your Majesty. In this way you do not lose the substance of acting for Yi, and you can put Master Hui in your debt." The king of Chu said: "Good," and so maintained Master Hui and sent him into Song.

Five States Attacked Qin (五國伐秦)

Five states attacked Qin. Wei wished to make peace and sent Hui Shi to Chu. Chu was going to send him into Qin and have him carry the peace through.

Du He (杜赫) said to Zhao Yang (昭陽): "It is Chu that has been the maker of this attack on Qin. Now Hui Shi comes on behalf of Wei, and if you, sir, send him into Qin, this makes plain that Chu did the attacking and gives Wei the credit for the peace. You had better not listen to Hui Shi, but secretly send someone to ask that we submit to Qin." Master Zhao said: "Good." Accordingly he said to Hui Shi: "It is Wei that has been the maker of this attack on Qin. Now if you make the peace on Chu's part, Chu will get the profit of it and Wei will take the resentment. Go home, sir, and I will send someone to make peace through Wei."

Master Hui went back, and the king of Wei was not pleased. Du He said to Zhao Yang: "Wei did the first fighting for you and lost half its army; it told you its distress and was not heeded, it asked for peace and did not obtain it. If Wei bends and goes over to Qi and Qin, how will you save the case? To the east there is the encumbrance of Yue; to the north you have no Jin; and your relations with Qi and Qin are unsettled. This leaves Chu alone. You had better make peace quickly." Master Zhao said: "Good," and accordingly sent someone to sue for peace with Wei.

Chen Zhen Left Chu for Wei (陳軫告楚之魏)

Chen Zhen left Chu and went to Wei. Zhang Yi spoke ill of him to the king of Wei, saying: "Zhen is still on Chu's side, and works very hard to get land for it." Zuo Shuang (左爽) said to Chen Zhen: "Yi stands well with the king of Wei, and the king of Wei trusts him deeply. Though you argued with him a hundred times, he still would not listen. You had better make Yi's words your capital, and so get Chu to take you back." Chen Zhen said: "Good." Accordingly he had someone let Yi's words be heard in Chu. The king of Chu was delighted and wished to take him back.

Qin Attacked Yiyang (秦伐宜陽)

Qin attacked Yiyang (宜陽). The king of Chu said to Chen Zhen: "I have heard that Han Chi (韓侈) is a clever officer, practiced in the affairs of the feudal lords, and that he will very likely be able to get himself out of this. Since he is sure to get out, I should like to take his side first and so put him in my debt." Chen Zhen replied: "Let him be; Your Majesty should not take his side. For all Han Chi's cleverness, he is at a dead end here. Among the beasts of hill and marsh none is craftier than the elk. The elk knows that the hunters spread their nets and drive it from in front; so it turns and runs back and charges straight at the men, and it does this again and again. The hunters, knowing its trick, make a feint of raising the net and let it come on — and so the elk is taken. Now the feudal lords know perfectly well that there is much trickery of this sort, and those who make a feint of raising the net and let a man come on will surely be many. Let him be; Your Majesty should not take his side. For all Han Chi's cleverness, he is at a dead end here." The king of Chu listened to him, and Yiyang was indeed taken. Chen Zhen had known it beforehand.

Tang Ju Had Audience with Lord Chunshen (唐且見春申君)

Tang Ju (唐且) had audience with Lord Chunshen (春申君) and said: "The men of Qi adorn their persons and cultivate their conduct in order to gain advancement, but I am ashamed of that and have not learned it. I did not shrink from crossing the great rivers, and I have come more than a thousand li, because in private I admire your lordship's righteousness and think well of your lordship's undertaking. I have heard it said that when Ben and Zhu (賁、諸) carried nothing but an awl-blade in the breast the world called them brave, and that when Xi Shi (西施) wore coarse cloth the world still called her beautiful. Now your lordship is chancellor of a Chu of ten thousand chariots and wards off the troubles of the Middle States, yet what you wish for is not accomplished and what you seek is not obtained — and that is because we your servants are too few. The reason the owl-piece can do what it does is that the scattered pieces support it. That a single owl-piece which cannot win is no match for five scattered pieces is plain enough. Why then does your lordship not become the owl of the world, and let us your servants be the scattered pieces?"

Strategies of Chu, 4 (楚策四)

Someone Speaks to the King of Chu (或謂楚王)

Someone said to the king of Chu: "I have heard that the men of the vertical alliance wish to unite the world to pay court to Your Majesty, and I would wish Your Majesty to listen to them. To take a bending and make of it a stretching, and out of old troubles to bring forth a success — the brave man counts this righteousness. To gather up disaster and make it fortune, and to cut down what is little and make it much — the wise man makes this his charge. The recoil of requital upon requital, the change that works in silence and without form — only a great ruler is equal to these. Disaster and fortune run through one another; life and destruction are neighbors. He who is given wholly neither to death nor to life is not fit to bear a great name; he who has known no ravaging and cutting down is not fit to stride unmatched across the age. Qin cast away virtue and cut off its mandate long ago, and the world does not know it. Now the men of the horizontal alliance, with greedy mouths and a keen eye for the moment of profit, above work upon the ruler's heart and below fleece the hundred families; in public they raise up measures and in private they take the profit. Thus the authority of the state is lighter than a swan's feather, while the disaster heaped up is heavier than hill and mountain."

The King of Wei Sent the King of Chu a Beautiful Woman (魏王遺楚王美人)

The king of Wei sent the king of Chu a beautiful woman, and the king of Chu was pleased with her. His lady Zheng Xiu, knowing that the king was pleased with the new woman, made much of the new woman. In clothing and ornaments she chose what the woman liked and had it made for her; in her chambers and her bedding she chose what the woman preferred and had it made for her. She loved her more than the king did. The king said: "A woman serves her husband by her beauty, and jealousy is her natural feeling. Now Zheng Xiu knows that I am pleased with the new woman, and she loves her more than I do. This is how a filial son serves his parents and how a loyal minister serves his ruler."

Zheng Xiu, knowing that the king took her to be free of jealousy, then said to the new woman: "The king loves your beauty. Even so, he dislikes your nose. When you go to see the king, be sure to cover your nose." The new woman saw the king and covered her nose. The king said to Zheng Xiu: "When the new woman sees me she covers her nose. Why is that?" Zheng Xiu said: "Your handmaid knows." The king said: "However bad it is, you must tell me." Zheng Xiu said: "It seems that she dislikes the smell of Your Majesty." The king said: "The insolent creature!" and ordered her nose cut off, and no one was to disobey the command.

The Queen of Chu Died (楚王后死)

The queen of the king of Chu died, and no queen had yet been set up. Someone said to Zhao Yu (昭魚): "Why do you not ask that a queen be established?" Zhao Yu said: "If the king does not listen, my judgment will be shown to be at a dead end, and I shall be cut off from whoever becomes queen." "Then why not buy five pairs of earrings, have one pair made finer than the rest, and present them to the king? The next day look to see where the fine pair is, and thereupon ask that she be established."

Zhuang Xin Speaks to King Xiang of Chu (莊辛謂楚襄王)

Zhuang Xin (莊辛) said to King Xiang of Chu: "Your Majesty has the Marquis of Zhou (州侯) on your left and the Marquis of Xia (夏侯) on your right, and the Lord of Yanling (鄢陵君) and the Lord of Shouling (壽陵君) follow your carriage. You give yourself wholly to license, idleness, and extravagance, and pay no heed to the government of the state. The capital at Ying (郢) will surely be in danger." King Xiang said: "Is the master doddering with age? Or does he mean to make this an evil omen for the state of Chu?" Zhuang Xin said: "I truly see that it must be so; I would not presume to make an evil omen of it for the state. If Your Majesty favors those four men to the end without slackening, the state of Chu will surely perish. Let me withdraw to Zhao and linger there and watch what comes." Zhuang Xin left and went to Zhao. He had stayed five months when Qin did indeed seize the lands of Yan, Ying, Wu, Shangcai, and Chen, and King Xiang fled and hid himself at Chengyang (城陽). Then he sent men to send out riders and summon Zhuang Xin from Zhao. Zhuang Xin said: "Very well." When Zhuang Xin arrived, King Xiang said: "I was unable to use the master's words, and now things have come to this. What is to be done about it?"

Zhuang Xin replied: "I have heard a country saying: 'To see the hare and then look to your hound is not too late; to mend the pen after the sheep is lost is not too slow.' I have heard that of old Tang and Wu flourished on a hundred li, while Jie and Zhou perished though they had all the world. Now though the state of Chu is small, if you cut off the long to piece out the short it is still some thousands of li — how should it be a mere hundred?

"Has Your Majesty alone never seen the dragonfly? With six feet and four wings it flies and wheels between heaven and earth; stooping, it pecks the gnats and gadflies and eats them; lifting its head, it takes the sweet dew and drinks it. It thinks itself without trouble and at strife with no one — and it does not know that the boy of five feet is at that moment tempering his syrup and gumming his line, and will take it at four ren above the ground, and it will drop down to be food for crickets and ants.

"The dragonfly is the small case; the yellow sparrow is the same. It stoops to peck the white grain and lifts to roost in the leafy tree; it beats its pinions and shakes out its wings, and thinks itself without trouble and at strife with no one — and it does not know that the young lord and the king's grandson, with the pellet-bow tucked under the left arm and the pellet drawn in the right hand, will take it at ten ren above the ground and will make of its own kind the mark. By day it plays in the leafy trees, by evening it is dressed with vinegar and salt: in the space of a breath it has dropped into the young lord's hand.

"The sparrow is the small case; the yellow swan is the same. It swims on the rivers and the sea and lingers in the great marshes; stooping, it pecks at eels and carp; lifting its head, it bites at water-chestnut and floating heart. It shakes out its six quills and rides the clear wind, drifting and soaring on high, and thinks itself without trouble and at strife with no one — and it does not know that the archer is at that moment trimming his stone-tipped shafts and his black bow and setting in order his corded arrows, and will take it at a hundred ren above the ground. The stone-weighted shaft, drawing the fine cord after it, will break the clear wind, and down it comes. So by day it plays on the rivers, and by evening it is dressed in the cauldron.

"The yellow swan is the small case; the affair of Marquis Sheng of Cai (蔡聖侯) is the same. He roamed south by the high pools and climbed north to Mount Wu; he drank the stream of Ru Creek and ate the fish of the Xiang waters. With a young concubine in his left arm and a favored girl in his right, he galloped with them in the midst of Gaocai and made the state and the ruling house no business of his — and he did not know that Zifa (子發) was at that moment receiving his commission from King Xuan, and would bind him with vermilion cord and bring him before the king.

"The affair of Marquis Sheng of Cai is the small case; Your Majesty's own affair is the same. With the Marquis of Zhou on your left and the Marquis of Xia on your right, and the Lord of Yanling and the Lord of Shouling following your carriage, you eat the grain of your enfeoffed revenues and carry the gold of the treasuries of the four quarters, and you gallop with them in the midst of Yunmeng and make the world and the ruling house no business of yours — and you do not know that the Marquis of Rang (穰侯) is at this moment receiving his commission from the king of Qin, and will pack the country within the Meng pass with troops and cast you out beyond the Meng pass."

King Xiang heard this, and the color of his face changed and his body shook. Thereupon he conferred on him the rank of Zhigui (執珪) and made him Lord of Yangling (陽陵君), with the land north of the Huai.

Qi Ming Urges Zhuo Hua to Attack Qin (齊明說卓滑以伐秦)

Qi Ming (齊明) urged Zhuo Hua (卓滑) to attack Qin, and Hua would not listen. Qi Ming said to Zhuo Hua: "In coming here I was sounding out, on Chuli Ji's (樗里疾) behalf, where his friendships should lie. I have urged the grandees of Chu to attack Qin, and they have all accepted my proposal; you alone, sir, have not accepted it. So now I have something to report to Master Chuli." Thereupon Zhuo Hua gave him weight.

Someone Speaks to Huang Qi (或謂黃齊)

Someone said to Huang Qi (黃齊): "Everyone says that you are on bad terms with Fu Zhi (富摯). Have you not heard how Lao Laizi (老萊子) taught Confucius to serve a ruler? He showed him how hard the teeth are — and how by sixty they have ground one another quite away. Now Fu Zhi is a man of ability, and you are heavily set against being on good terms with him: this is for the two of you to wear each other away to nothing. The proverb says: 'When you see your lord's team, get down; when you see his staff, rise.' Now the king loves Fu Zhi and you are on bad terms with him: this is not the conduct of a subject."

The Trouble at Changsha (長沙之難)

In the trouble at Changsha (長沙), Heng (橫), heir apparent of Chu, was a hostage in Qi. The king of Chu died, and the Lord of Xue (薛公) sent the heir apparent Heng home; then, joining with the troops of Han and Wei, he followed after him and attacked the eastern country. The heir apparent was afraid. Zhao Gai (昭蓋) said: "You had better have Qu Shu (屈署) make peace with Qi over the eastern country, and so stir Qin. Qin will fear that Qi may overrun the eastern country and make its will run through the world, and it will certainly come to our rescue." The heir apparent said: "Good," and at once ordered Qu Shu to make peace with Qi over the eastern country. The king of Qin heard of it and was afraid, and ordered Mi Rong (羋戎) to tell Chu: "Do not give Qi the eastern country; I will send out troops together with you."

One Who Presented a Drug of Deathlessness to the King of Jing (有獻不死之藥於荊王者)

There was one who presented a drug of deathlessness to the king of Jing, and the usher carried it in. An officer of the middle guard asked: "May it be eaten?" The usher said: "It may." So the officer snatched it and ate it. The king was angry and sent men to kill the officer of the middle guard. The officer of the middle guard had someone plead with the king: "I asked the usher, and the usher said that it might be eaten; therefore I ate it. So I am guiltless, and the guilt lies with the usher. Besides, a guest presented a drug of deathlessness, and if I eat it and Your Majesty kills me, then it is a drug of death. Your Majesty would be killing a guiltless subject and making it plain that a man has deceived Your Majesty." So the king did not kill him.

A Guest Urges Lord Chunshen (客說春申君)

A guest urged upon Lord Chunshen: "Tang had Bo, King Wu had Hao, and with no more than a hundred li each of them gained the world. Now Master Sun (孫子) is a worthy man of the world, and your lordship has lent him the power of a hundred li. In private I think that this is not to your lordship's advantage. What do you say?" Lord Chunshen said: "Good." Thereupon he sent a man to dismiss Master Sun. Master Sun left and went to Zhao, and Zhao made him a senior minister.

The guest again urged upon Lord Chunshen: "Of old Yi Yin (伊尹) left Xia and entered Yin; Yin became king and Xia perished. Guan Zhong (管仲) left Lu and entered Qi; Lu grew weak and Qi grew strong. Where a worthy man is, his ruler is never without honor and the state is never without glory. Now Master Sun is a worthy man of the world. Why did your lordship send him away?" Lord Chunshen again said: "Good." Thereupon he sent a man to Zhao to invite Master Sun back.

Master Sun wrote a letter declining, and said: "'The leper pities the king' — this is an irreverent saying. Even so, it must not go unexamined, for it is spoken of rulers who are coerced, murdered, and destroyed. When a ruler is young in years and proud of his talents, and has no method by which to know treachery, then his great ministers take the deciding of the state into their own hands for their private ends, so as to keep punishment from falling upon themselves; and therefore they assassinate the worthy and the elder and set up the young and weak, and cast out the rightful heir and set up one who has no title to it. The Spring and Autumn warns of this: 'Prince Wei of Chu (王子圍) was on a diplomatic visit to Zheng, and before he had left the border he heard that the king was ill. He turned back to ask after the sickness, and thereupon strangled the king with his cap-strings and killed him, and set himself up in his place. The wife of Cui Zhu (崔杼) of Qi was beautiful, and Duke Zhuang had illicit relations with her. Cui Zhu led the partisans of his lord and attacked him. Duke Zhuang asked to divide the state with him, and Cui Zhu would not allow it; he wished to fall on his own blade in the ancestral temple, and Cui Zhu would not allow it. Duke Zhuang ran out and was climbing the outer wall when an arrow struck him in the thigh; so they killed him and set up his younger brother, Duke Jing.' And what has been seen in recent generations: Li Dui (李兌) had the use of Zhao and starved the Ruling Father at Shaqiu, and after a hundred days killed him; Nao Chi (淖齒) had the use of Qi and drew out the sinews of King Min and hung him from the beam of his own ancestral temple, and by the next evening he was dead. Now leprosy, for all its swellings and its sores, does not, measured against the former ages, come to strangling with cap-strings or an arrow in the thigh, and does not, measured against recent generations, come to having one's sinews drawn out or starving to death. As for rulers who are coerced, murdered, and destroyed, the grief and toil of their hearts and the distress and pain of their bodies must be worse than the leper's. Looking at it in this way, the leper may indeed pity the king."

Then he made a rhapsody, which said:

The treasure and the jewel, the pearl of Sui —
they do not know to wear it.
The figured robe, the plain cloth and the silk —
they do not know the difference.
Lü Shu and Zi She —
none knows to be their matchmaker.
Momu they seek out,
and are greatly delighted with her besides.
They take the blind for clear-sighted,
they take the deaf for keen of hearing,
they take the right for wrong
and take the lucky for the ill-omened.
Alas, O Heaven above!
When shall these ever be brought to agree!

The Odes say: "Heaven above is most divine; bring no sickness upon yourself."

The World Formed the Vertical Alliance (天下合從)

The world formed the vertical alliance. Zhao sent Wei Jia (魏加) to see Lord Chunshen of Chu, and he said: "Has your lordship a general?" He said: "I have. I mean to make the Lord of Linwu (臨武君) my general." Wei Jia said: "When I was young I was fond of archery. Let me use archery for a comparison — may I?" Lord Chunshen said: "You may." Jia said: "Once upon a time Geng Lei (更羸) was with the king of Wei below the high terrace, and looking up they saw a bird in flight. Geng Lei said to the king of Wei: 'For Your Majesty I will draw the bow, loose it empty, and bring down the bird.' The king of Wei said: 'Can archery reach such a point as that?' Geng Lei said: 'It can.' After a while a wild goose came from the east, and Geng Lei with an empty loosing brought it down. The king of Wei said: 'So archery can reach such a point as that!' Geng Lei said: 'This was a stricken bird.' The king said: 'How did the master know it?' He replied: 'Its flight was slow and its cry was sorrowful. Its flight was slow because of the pain of an old wound; its cry was sorrowful because it had long been parted from its flock. The old wound had not healed and the fright had not left its heart. When it heard the sound of the string it strained upward and flew high, and the old wound brought it down.' Now the Lord of Linwu was once stricken by Qin, and he cannot be made the general who resists Qin."

Han Ming Had Audience with Lord Chunshen (汗明見春申君)

Han Ming (汗明) sought audience with Lord Chunshen; he waited and inquired for three months before he obtained it. When the talk was over, Lord Chunshen was greatly pleased with him. Han Ming wished to talk again, but Lord Chunshen said: "I already know you, master. Take a good rest now." Han Ming, uneasy, said: "I should like to put a question to your lordship, and I fear I am too crude. Not to be sure of it — your lordship's sageness, how does it stand against Yao's?" Lord Chunshen said: "You go too far, master. How am I fit to be matched against Yao?" Han Ming said: "Then how does your lordship reckon me against Shun?" Lord Chunshen said: "You, master, are Shun himself." Han Ming said: "Not so. Let me speak it out to the end for your lordship. Your lordship's worth is truly not equal to Yao's, and my ability does not come up to Shun's. Now when the worthy Shun served the sage Yao, it was three years before they knew one another. Yet your lordship has known me in a single moment: that would make your lordship more sage than Yao and me more worthy than Shun." Lord Chunshen said: "Good," and summoned the gate officer to enter Master Han's name in the register of guests, with an audience once in five days.

Han Ming said: "Has your lordship heard of the thoroughbred? The thoroughbred was full of years, and it was harnessed to a salt wagon and made to climb the Taihang. Its hooves splayed and its knees buckled, its tail hung sodden and its skin was raw; the dripping sweat sprinkled the ground and the white lather ran together. Halfway up the slope it faltered and dragged, and with the shaft on its back it could not go up. Bo Le (伯樂) came upon it, got down from his carriage, threw his arms about it and wept over it, and took off his hempen coat and spread it over the horse. Then the thoroughbred bent its head and snorted, lifted its head and neighed, and the sound reached to Heaven and rang out as though from metal and stone. Why was that? Because it saw that Bo Le knew it. Now I am an unworthy man, penned in among the districts, in a burrow in a dead-end lane, and I have been sunk long in the mire of a vulgar life. Has your lordship truly no thought of washing me clean and lifting me out, so that I may cry out on high for your lordship and give voice to my straits at Liang?"

King Kaolie of Chu Had No Son (楚考烈王無子)

King Kaolie of Chu had no son. Lord Chunshen was troubled by it and sought out women fit to bear sons and presented them to him — very many of them — and in the end there was no son.

Li Yuan (李園) of Zhao took his younger sister with him, meaning to present her to the king of Chu; but hearing that the king was not one to get sons, he feared that she too would be without favor. So Li Yuan sought service with Lord Chunshen as a retainer. After a while he asked leave to go home, and deliberately overstayed his term. When he came back to present himself, Lord Chunshen asked how it had been. He replied: "The king of Qi sent an envoy to ask for my younger sister. I drank with his envoy, and so overstayed my term." Lord Chunshen said: "Have the betrothal gifts come in?" He replied: "Not yet." Lord Chunshen said: "May I see her?" He said: "You may." Thereupon Yuan presented his younger sister, and she at once found favor with Lord Chunshen. When he knew that she was with child, Yuan laid a plan with his younger sister.

Yuan's sister took her chance and said to Lord Chunshen: "The king of Chu honors and favors your lordship as he does not even his own brothers. Now you have been chancellor to the king of Chu more than twenty years, and the king has no son; when his hundred years are over, a brother will be set up in his place. And when the king of Chu is replaced, that man too will honor each of those he has long been close to; how then will your lordship keep favor for long? Nor is that all: your lordship has been long in office and has often failed in courtesy toward the king's brothers, and if a brother is indeed set up, calamity will reach your person. How then will you keep the chancellor's seal and your fief east of the Jiang? Now I know myself to be with child, and no one else knows it. My favor with your lordship has not been long. If in truth you use your weight to present me to the king of Chu, the king will surely favor me. If by Heaven's help I have a boy, then your lordship's son will be king, and the whole land of Chu within its borders may be had. How does that compare with facing a charge whose depth cannot be sounded?" Lord Chunshen thought this very right. So he sent Yuan's sister out to a carefully guarded lodging and spoke of her to the king of Chu. The king of Chu called her in and favored her. In time she bore a boy, who was set up as heir apparent, and Li Yuan's sister was made queen. The king of Chu honored Li Yuan, and Li Yuan took charge of affairs.

Li Yuan, having got his sister in as queen and her son as heir apparent, feared that Lord Chunshen's talk might get out and that he would grow the more arrogant; so he secretly maintained men ready to die, meaning to kill Lord Chunshen and stop his mouth — and a good many people in the state knew of it.

In the twenty-fifth year of Lord Chunshen's chancellorship of Chu, King Kaolie fell ill. Zhu Ying (朱英) said to Lord Chunshen: "In the world there is fortune that comes unlooked for, and there is disaster that comes unlooked for. Now your lordship dwells in an unlooked-for age and serves an unlooked-for lord — how should there not also be an unlooked-for man?" Lord Chunshen said: "What do you call unlooked-for fortune?" He said: "Your lordship has been chancellor of Chu more than twenty years. Though your title is Chancellor of State, in fact you are the king of Chu. Your five sons are all chancellors to the feudal lords. Now the king's illness is grave and he will pass away in a morning or an evening; the heir apparent is frail, sick and not risen from his bed. Your lordship will be chancellor to a young lord, and thereupon may take his place and hold the state, as Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou did; and when the king comes of age you may hand the government back — or if not, then you may face south and call yourself the Solitary One, and so have the state of Chu for your own. This is what I call fortune that comes unlooked for."

Lord Chunshen said: "What do you call disaster that comes unlooked for?" He said: "Li Yuan does not govern the state, but he is uncle to the king. He is no commander of troops, yet he has long been secretly maintaining men ready to die. When the king of Chu passes away, Li Yuan will certainly get in first; he will hold fast to his design, forge the ruler's command, seize power, and kill your lordship to stop your mouth. This is what I call disaster that comes unlooked for."

Lord Chunshen said: "What do you call the unlooked-for man?" He said: "Let your lordship first appoint me a gentleman of the interior. When Your Majesty's lord passes away and Li Yuan gets in first, I beg leave, for your lordship, to run him through the breast and kill him. This is what I call the unlooked-for man." Lord Chunshen said: "Let the matter drop, master, and say no more of it. Li Yuan is a soft and weak man, and I have been good to him besides. How should it ever come to that?" Zhu Ying was afraid, and fled away.

Seventeen days later King Kaolie of Chu passed away. Li Yuan did indeed get in first, and stationed his men ready to die inside the Thorn Gate (棘門). Lord Chunshen came in after him and stopped at the Thorn Gate. Yuan's men ready to die closed in from both sides and stabbed Lord Chunshen, cut off his head, and threw it outside the Thorn Gate. Thereupon officers were sent to wipe out the whole household of Lord Chunshen. And as for Li Yuan's sister — she who had first found favor with Lord Chunshen and conceived, and had then been brought in to the king and there borne her son — that son was set up as King You of Chu.

In that year the First Emperor of Qin had been on the throne nine years. Lao Ai (嫪毐) too made a rebellion in Qin. It was found out, his three sets of kin were exterminated, and Lü Buwei (呂不韋) was dismissed.

Yu Qing Speaks to Lord Chunshen (虞卿謂春申君)

Yu Qing Addresses the Lord of Chunshen (虞卿謂春申君)

Yu Qing (虞卿) said to the Lord of Chunshen (春申君): "I have heard it from the Spring and Autumn: in safety think of danger, and in danger take thought for safety. The years of the king of Chu are now advanced, and my lord's fief must not be left unsettled any longer. For one who takes thought for my lord's fief, there is nothing so good as a place far from Chu. Duke Xiao of Qin enfeoffed the Lord of Shang; Duke Xiao died, and the king who came after him did not fail to put him to death. King Hui of Qin enfeoffed Master Ran; King Hui died, and the king who came after him took the fief away. Gongsun Yang was a minister of merit; Master Ran was a kinsman by marriage. Yet neither escaped having his fief seized and being killed, and the reason was that their fiefs lay near at hand. Taigong Wang was enfeoffed in Qi and Duke Shao Shi was enfeoffed in Yan, and that was because those places lay far from the royal house. Now Yan's offense is great and Zhao's anger runs deep. Therefore my lord would do better to march troops north and so put Zhao in your debt, to tread down Yan in its disorder, and by this settle a fief for your own person. Such a moment comes but once in a hundred generations."

The lord said: "The road by which one attacks Yan runs either through Qi or through Wei. Wei and Qi have newly come to resent Chu. Though the ruler of Chu should wish to attack Yan, by what road would he go?"

He replied: "Let me get the king of Wei to consent to it."

The lord said: "How?"

He replied: "I beg leave to go to Wei, and there to furnish him with the grounds for believing it."

Then he said to the king of Wei: "Chu is indeed strong and great; it has no match in the world, and now it is about to attack Yan."

The king of Wei said: "A moment ago you said it had no match in the world; now you say it is about to attack Yan. Why is this?"

He replied: "To say of a horse that it has great strength — that much holds; but to say that it can bear a thousand jun does not hold. Why? Because a thousand jun is no load for a horse. Just so, to say that Chu is strong and great — that much holds; but to pass beyond Zhao and Wei and join battle in Yan, how should that be a load Chu can bear? For Chu to take up what is no load of its own is to wear Chu out; and a Chu worn out means a Wei made strong. Which of these is the more to Your Majesty's advantage?"

Colophon

This file was prepared for the Chinese shelf of the Good Works Library, translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. Each persuasion and anecdote keeps its own heading as the 士禮居叢書 text divides it, and speeches are rendered as continuous direct discourse rather than broken into summary. Only the main text is translated; the interlinear commentary of Bao Biao and Yao Hong, together with the collation notes set in 〔 〕, are printed in the source layer but not rendered into English.

J. I. Crump's Chan-kuo Ts'e (1970; revised 1996) is a complete published English translation of the Zhanguo Ce and is named here as a control-in-existence; it was not fetched or consulted in preparing this file, and no claim of firstness is made for this translation.

A note on one name: the king's favorite lady in the third book appears in the source under two variant characters, 鄭袖 and 鄭褏; both are rendered Zheng Xiu here as the same person, following the sense of the passages rather than treating the variant character as a second figure.

Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.

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Source Text: 戰國策 楚策

Classical Chinese text in the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the 士禮居叢書 edition, with the commentary of Bao Biao and Yao Hong and the collation notes set in 〔 〕 as the transcription carries them. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above; the commentary is not translated.

楚策 一

〔鮑本楚　今之南郡、江夏、零陵、桂陽、武陵、長沙、漢中、汝南，皆其分也。江陵故郢都，西通巫、巴，東有雲夢之饒。〕

齊楚構難

齊、楚構難，宋請中立。齊急宋，〔鮑本告急於宋。補曰：「請」字宜在「急」下，殽脫於此。中立豈待請耶？〕宋許之。子象〔鮑本楚人。〕為楚謂宋〔鮑本無「宋」字。○〕王〔姚本劉作楚王。一作宋王。　鮑本公剔成。正曰：剔成未嘗稱王。此偃也，與懷、襄相接。〕曰：「楚以緩失宋，將法齊之急也。齊以急得宋，後將常急矣。是從齊而攻楚，未〔鮑本「未」上有「之」字。○〕必利也。齊戰勝楚，勢必危宋；不勝，是以弱宋干強楚也。〔鮑本言以助齊犯楚之怒。補曰：將法齊之急，言楚今結於宋；齊後將常急，言楚之攻齊未已；齊戰勝楚，勢必危宋，言齊強必併宋。〕而令兩萬乘之國，常以急求所欲，國必危矣。」

五國約以伐齊

五國約以伐齊。〔姚本劉作「約秦」。　鮑本「齊」下有「秦」字，原注「衍齊字」。○　秦惠後七年，趙、韓、魏、燕、齊共攻秦，此十一年。補曰：「齊」字疑誤衍。五國伐秦可考，策併言齊，不可考。懷王為從長，率五國伐秦之明年，齊敗魏、趙于觀津，即策所謂齊反趙、魏者歟？〕昭陽謂楚王曰：「五國以破齊〔鮑本無「齊」字，「以」作「已」。○〕秦，必南圖〔鮑本圖楚。〕楚。」王〔鮑本補曰：楚句。〕曰：「然則奈何？」對曰：「韓氏輔國〔姚本錢、集「轉國」。　鮑本言可為楚之助。〕也，好利而惡難。好利，可營也；〔鮑本營，猶求。可使求我。〕惡難，可懼也。我厚賂之以利，其心必營。我悉兵以臨之，其心必懼我。〔鮑本無「我」字。○〕彼懼吾兵而營我利，五國之事必可敗也。約絕之後，雖勿與地可。」

楚王曰：「善。」乃命大公事〔鮑本楚人。補曰：無考。一本「大」作「太」。〕之韓，見公仲曰：「夫牛闌之事，〔鮑本未詳。〕馬陵之難，〔鮑本魏三十年，齊破魏馬陵。正曰：注缺「惠王」字。〕親王之所見也。〔鮑本「王」作「主」。○　主謂公仲。此言齊強不可使益強。補曰：「親」字疑當在「見」字上。一本「主」作「王」。〕王苟無以五國用兵，請效列城五，請悉楚國之眾也，〔鮑本衍「也」字。〕以廧〔鮑本「廧」作「圖」。○　補曰：字訛，當作「圖」，上有「圖楚」。　札記今本「廧」作「圖」，乃誤涉鮑也。〕於齊。」

齊〔鮑本此下著書者云。〕之〔鮑本「之」作「人」。○〕反趙、魏之後，而楚果弗與地，則五國之事困也。

荊宣王問群臣

荊〔姚本劉，一無「荊」字。〕宣王問群臣曰：「吾聞北方之畏昭奚恤也，果誠何如？」群臣莫對。江一〔鮑本「一」作「乙」。○　札記今本「一」作「乙」。〕對曰：「虎求百獸而食之，得狐。狐曰：『子無敢食我也。天帝使我長百獸，今子食我，是逆天帝命也。子以我為不信，吾為子先行，子隨我後，觀百獸之見我而敢不走乎？』虎以為然，故遂與之行。獸見之皆走。虎不知獸畏己而走也，以為畏狐也。今王之地方五千里，帶甲百萬，而專屬之昭奚恤；故北方之畏奚恤也，其實畏王之甲兵也，猶百獸之畏虎也。」〔鮑本補曰：大事記，江乙之言如此，則昭奚恤為敵國所畏可知。　一本標十二國史、春秋後語「食我」作「噉我」。又云，人臣見畏者，君威也，君不用，而威亡矣。注，尹文子有。札記丕烈案：新序有此文，作「食我」，末有「故人臣而見畏者，是見君之威也，君不用，則威亡矣」。〕

昭奚恤與彭城君議於王前

昭奚恤與彭城君〔鮑本彭城屬楚，知為楚人。〕議於王前，王召江乙而問焉。江乙曰：「二人之言皆善也，臣不敢言其後。〔姚本一本下更有「言其後」三字。〕此謂慮賢也。」〔鮑本慮，猶疑也。賢者言善，己復言之，將使王疑彼思慮之也。正曰：謂使我疑慮賢者。為疑詞以兩傾之也。〕

邯鄲之難

邯鄲之難，〔姚本劉，連。　鮑本趙成侯二十一年，魏拔邯鄲，此十六年。補曰：大事記，昭奚恤為相，附宣王十五年，謂此章爭論，乃明年事。按史年表，圍邯鄲在此年；拔邯鄲，齊敗魏，在次年。〕昭奚恤謂楚王曰：「王〔鮑本「王」作「里」，又改作「王」。○〕不如無救趙，而以強魏。〔鮑本使魏為強。〕魏強，其割趙必深矣。趙不能聽，則必堅守，是兩弊也。」〔鮑本兩國相持必俱敝。〕

景舍曰：「不然。昭奚恤不知也。夫魏之攻趙也，恐楚之攻其後。〔鮑本「後」下有「也」字。○〕今不救趙，趙有亡形，而魏無楚憂，是楚、魏共趙也，〔鮑本如與魏共攻之。〕害必深矣！〔鮑本趙之害。〕何以兩弊也？且魏令兵以深割趙，〔鮑本無「深」字。○　補曰：一本「以深割趙」。〕趙見亡形，而有〔鮑本「有」，劉作「知」。〕楚之不救己也，〔鮑本言雖有楚而不見救。正曰：「見」、「有」二字恐殽亂，上下文可證。〕必與魏合而以謀楚。故王不如少出兵，以為趙援。趙恃楚勁，必與魏戰。魏怒於趙之勁，而見楚救之不足畏也，必不釋趙。趙、魏相弊，而齊、秦應楚，〔鮑本應，言乘此起兵耳，非與楚合也。〕則魏可破也。」

楚因使景舍起兵救趙。邯鄲拔，〔鮑本楚兵少故。〕楚取睢、濊之間。〔鮑本後志梁國睢陽注，征北記，南淮有睢陵，梁國有濊陽，南臨濊水。補曰：大事記，取濊陽，作睢陽。濊，呼外、烏外反。〕

江尹欲惡昭奚恤於楚王

江尹〔鮑本乙也。〕欲惡昭奚恤於楚王，而力不能，〔姚本曾下有「之」字。〕故為梁山陽君〔鮑本山陽屬魏，知為魏人。正曰：策文明曰梁山陽君，注贅。〕請封於楚。楚王曰：「諾。」昭奚恤曰：「山陽君無功於楚國，不當封。」江尹因得山陽君與之共惡昭奚恤。〔鮑本知其無功，奚恤必諫，而山陽怨，可以為黨。〕

魏氏惡昭奚恤於楚王

魏氏惡昭奚恤於楚王，〔鮑本以山陽君故。補曰：疑即山陽君。〕楚王告昭子。昭子曰：「臣朝夕以事聽命，〔鮑本言其親近。〕而魏入吾君臣之間，〔鮑本以惡奚恤之言入。〕臣大懼。臣非畏魏也！夫泄吾君臣之交，而天下信之，是其為人也近苦矣。〔鮑本苦，猶惡也。此指江乙。〕夫苟不難為之外，〔鮑本為其泄外，謂魏也。〕豈忘為之內乎？臣之得罪無日矣。」〔鮑本無幾日也。〕王曰：「寡人知之，大夫何患？」

江乙惡昭奚恤

江乙惡昭奚恤，謂楚王曰：「人有以其狗為有執〔鮑本執，言善守。〕而愛之。其狗嘗溺〔鮑本溺，去音。正曰：奴弔反。〕井。其鄰人見狗之溺井也，欲入言之。狗惡之，當門而噬之。鄰人憚之，遂不得入言。邯鄲之難，楚進兵大梁，取〔姚本曾作「拔」。〕矣。昭奚恤取魏之寶器，以〔姚本曾作「以臣」。　鮑本「以」作「臣」。○〕居魏知之，故昭奚恤常惡臣之見王。」〔鮑本此言邯鄲事，在乙居魏時。〕

江乙欲惡昭奚恤於楚

江乙欲惡昭奚恤於楚，謂楚王曰：「下比周，則上危；下分爭，則上安。〔鮑本分則不比，爭則不周，為揚惡張本。〕王亦知之乎？願王勿忘也。且人有好揚人之善者，於王何如？」王曰：「此君子也，近之。」江乙曰：「有人好揚人之惡者，於王何如？」王曰：「此小人也，遠之。」江乙曰：「然則且有子殺其父，臣弒其主者，而王終已〔姚本「已」，曾、劉作「己」。〕不知者，何也？以王好聞人之美而惡聞人之惡也。」王曰：「善。寡人願兩聞之。」〔鮑本彪謂：兩聞之，是也，然必以明。夫苟不明，則適為江乙讒口之資耳。補曰：大事記曰，乙之言，術數家之論也。下比周，上固危矣。苟下皆紛爭，如齊之田闞，唐之牛、李，上亦豈能安乎？愚按，此與前章言諸侯云云意同。〕

江乙說於安陵君

江乙說於安陵君〔姚本新序作「纏」。　鮑本名壇，失其姓，楚之幸臣。按魏記注，召陵有安陵，應屬楚。而魏策亦有同號者，別一人也。正曰：按說苑作「安陵纏」，藝文類聚同。「壇」，「纏」字有訛。彼以為得幸於楚共王，今次之宣王，非也。正義云，鄢陵故城，在許州鄢陵縣西北。李奇謂，六國時為安陵。按鄢陵、召陵皆屬魏。又按元和姓纂，安陵，小國，後氏之。安陵纏，楚王妃，則以為女子。　札記丕烈案：說苑在權謀。姚校所云新序作「纏」，即其誤。新序無此文。「壇」、「纏」同字。古今人表中下有「安陵繵」。師古曰，「繵」即「纏」字，可為證。〕曰：「君無咫尺之地，〔鮑本「地」作「功」。○〕骨肉之親，處尊位，受厚祿，一國之眾，見君莫不斂衽而拜，撫委而服，〔鮑本撫物、委物，必下其手，皆卑下意。正曰：撫，猶傴也；委，曲也。補曰：衽，衣衿也。〕何以也？」曰：「王過舉而已。〔姚本曾，「已」作「己」。一作「色」。　鮑本「而已」作「以色」。○　言謬以色見舉。正曰：一本「而已」。姚云「已」一作「色」。按，「已」、「以」通，「色」、「已」字類，恐當作「而以色」為文。〕不然，無以至此。」

江乙曰：「以財交者，財盡而交絕；以色交者，華落而愛渝。〔鮑本華，菁華。渝，變也。〕是以嬖女不敝席，〔鮑本「女」作「色」。○　嬖，賤而幸者。席不及敝而愛弛。〕寵臣不避軒。〔姚本續：不敝席，言不久之意。不「避」，是「敝」字無疑。真誥曰，「女寵不弊席，男愛不盡輪」，或出於此。「軒」、「輪」相近。　鮑本避，猶退。軒，曲輈藩車也。車敝則退去，今不及然。〕今君擅楚國之勢，而無以深〔鮑本無「深」字。○〕自結於王，竊為君危之。」安陵君曰：「然則奈何？」〔姚本曾，下有「江乙曰」三字。〕「願君必請從死，以身為殉，如是必長得重於楚國。」〔鮑本此乙辭。〕曰：「謹受令。」

三年而弗言。江乙復見曰：「臣所為君道，至今未效。〔姚本三同，「未有效」。〕君不用臣之計，臣請不敢復見矣。」安陵君曰：「不敢忘先生之言，未得間也。」

於是，楚王游於雲夢，〔鮑本澤名，在南郡華容。補曰：楚辭集注，「雲夢，澤名，方八九百里，跨江兩岸。雲在江北，今玉沙、監利、景陵等縣是也。夢在江南，今公安、石首、建寧等縣是也」。夢，音蒙，亦作去聲。〕結駟千乘，〔鮑本補曰：結，連也。四馬曰駟。〕旌旗蔽日，〔鮑本「日」作「天」。〕野火之起也若雲蜺，〔鮑本蜺，虹也。〕兕〔鮑本兕，若牛而青。補曰：一角重千斤。　札記今本「兕」誤「兒」。〕虎嗥之聲若雷霆，有狂兕䍧〔鮑本「䍧」作「𨀘」。○　集韻，𨀘，音詳，趨行也。若䍧則羊耳。補曰：字書有「牂」字，茲郎反。又「戕」與「牂」通，杙也。　札記今本「䍧」作「𨀘」，乃誤涉鮑也。《太平御覽》卷三九一引作「狂兕觸車徑輪」，疑「䍧」當為「撞」字，音近而誤。〕車依〔札記今本「依」誤「衣」。〕輪而至，王親引弓而射，壹〔鮑本「壹」作「一」。○〕發而殪。〔鮑本補曰：宋玉招魂，「青驪結駟兮齊千乘，懸火延起兮玄顏烝」云云，「與王趨夢兮課先后，君王親發兮憚青兕」，文頗與此合。〕王抽旃旄〔鮑本旃，曲柄旗。旄，幢也。補曰：爾雅，旄，牛尾箸竿頭。〕而抑兕首，仰天而笑曰：「樂矣，今日之游也。寡人萬歲千秋之後，誰與樂此矣？」〔鮑本問安陵與誰。〕安陵君泣數行〔鮑本「行」下有「下」字。○〕而進曰：「臣入則編〔鮑本編，次簡也。言與王相次如之。〕席，出則陪乘。〔鮑本陪，重乘也。此言二人同車。〕大王萬歲千秋之後，願得以身試〔姚本錢、劉，「試」一作「式」。曾云，又作「式」。〕黃泉，蓐螻蟻，〔姚本續：李善引「願得式黃泉，蓐螻蟻」。延叔堅戰國策論曰，「為王先用填黃泉，為王作蓐以御螻蟻」。藝文類聚引「安陵君纏拭黃泉，驅螻蟻」。　鮑本願為蓐以辟二物。蓐，陳草也。〕又何如得此樂而樂之。」王大說，乃封壇為安陵君。

君子聞之曰：「江乙可謂善謀，安陵君可謂知時矣。」〔鮑本彪謂：此非君子之言也。安陵君，妾婦也。江乙為之謀，又其卑者。安有君子而美此流哉？〕

江乙為魏使於楚

江乙為魏使於楚，〔鮑本乙，魏人，時居魏，后乃仕楚。故其譖昭奚恤曰「臣居魏知之」。正曰：據居魏語以為魏人，未知果不？〕謂楚王曰：「臣入竟，聞楚之俗，不蔽人之善，不言人之惡，誠有之乎？」王曰：「誠有之。」江乙曰：「然則白公之亂，得無遂〔鮑本遂，猶成。白公，太子建子勝。哀十六年，建以讒奔鄭，鄭殺之。勝請伐鄭，子西不從。勝殺子西，劫惠王。〕乎？誠如是，臣等之罪免矣。」楚王曰：「何也？」江乙曰：「州侯相楚，貴甚矣而主斷，〔鮑本謂其專決。〕左右俱曰『無有』，〔鮑本言世無如之。〕如出一口矣。」

郢人有獄三年不決

郢人有獄三年不決者，故令〔鮑本「令」下有「人」字。○〕請其宅，以卜其罪。〔鮑本有罪則宅入官，故可請卜測知之也。〕客因為之謂〔姚本錢，「客因謂」。劉，「客因請之」。　鮑本「為之謂」三字作「請之」。○　補曰：依姚本，則此上訛一字，此下缺一字。〕昭奚恤曰：「郢人某氏之宅，臣願之。」昭奚恤曰：「郢人某氏，不當服罪，故其宅不得。」〔姚本一作「不可得」。〕

客辭而去。昭奚恤已而悔之，因謂客曰：「奚恤得事公，公何為以故〔鮑本故，謂設事以探己意。〕與奚恤？」客曰：「非用故也。」曰：「謂〔姚本「謂」，曾、劉作「請」。　鮑本「謂」作「請」。○〕而不得，有說色，非故如何也？」〔鮑本無「故」字。○　補曰：如，猶而。〕

城渾出周

城渾〔鮑本周人。〕出周，〔鮑本自周出。正曰：「出周」下連「三人」之文，疑為人名，有誤字，故大事記止云「城渾南遊於楚」。〕三〔鮑本「三」作「二」。○　補曰：「二」字恐有誤。〕人偶行，〔鮑本偶，耦同。二人曰耦，兩也。此蓋一人先，二人後。〕南游於楚，至於新城。〔鮑本莊六年注，新城，鄭新密，今滎陽密也。漢北海、河南皆有。此屬楚，蓋河南密也。正曰：「僖」作「莊」，誤。新城，說見秦策。下章言新城、陽人，陽人在汝州，當是與此近者。〕

城渾說其令〔鮑本補曰：周顯王十九年，秦置令丞。趙策「受馮亭上黨」亦云「千戶封縣令」。今楚亦有此稱，變古者非特秦矣。〕曰：「鄭、魏者，楚之耎〔鮑本集韻，耎，弱也。補曰：而兗反。〕國；而秦，楚之強敵也。鄭、魏之弱，而楚以上梁〔鮑本此山陽、濟陽，故梁，近楚故也。正曰：故梁在汝州西南，說見齊策。此云上梁，非是。〕應之；宜陽〔鮑本時秦已得之。〕之大也，楚以弱新城圍〔鮑本「圍」作「圖」。○〕之。蒲反、〔鮑本「反」作「阪」。○　札記丕烈案：蒲反，蒲阪也。見漢書地理志。〕平陽相去百里，秦人一夜而襲之，安邑不知；〔鮑本此言百里之地不相知，況于五百里邪？〕新城、上梁相去五百里，秦人一夜而襲之，上梁亦不知也。今邊邑之所恃者，非江南泗上也。〔鮑本漢志，楚分野。言江南地廣，云此皆遠哉，故非所恃。漢志言楚分野，云江南平地，故知其稽。正曰：策語難曉，注強解尤甚。〕故〔姚本「故」，劉作「則」。〕楚〔鮑本衍「楚」字。〕王何不以新城為主郡也，〔鮑本主，猶守也。為郡，則士馬盛，可以備秦。正曰：大事記，郡者，縣之主，故謂之主郡。又郡縣說見秦策。〕邊邑甚利之。」〔鮑本此渾言，其欲說楚王大意。〕

新城公〔鮑本楚縣尹稱公。〕大說，乃為〔鮑本「為」下有「王」字，原注「衍王字」。○〕具駟馬乘車五百金之楚。〔鮑本「楚」下有「盡」字，原注「衍盡字」。○　補曰：贐也，字通借。〕城渾得之，遂南交於楚，楚王〔姚本曾、錢，一無「王」。〕果以新城〔鮑本「城」，舊作「成」。補曰：當作「城」，從改文。〕為主郡。

韓公叔有齊魏

韓公叔有齊、魏，〔鮑本得二國之援。〕而太子有楚、秦〔鮑本太子，幾瑟也。韓襄十二年蘇代曰，公叔、伯嬰恐秦、楚之納幾瑟是也。此二十九年。〕以爭國。〔鮑本補曰：公叔主咎，公仲主幾瑟也。伯嬰，說見韓策。〕鄭申為楚使於韓，矯以新城、陽人〔鮑本秦紀注，南陽縣有陽人聚。補曰：正義引括地志云，陽人在汝州葉縣西。〕予太子。楚王怒，將罪之。對曰：「臣矯予之，以為國也。臣為太子得新城、陽人，以與公叔爭國而得之。〔鮑本得其國事。〕齊、魏必伐韓。韓氏急，必懸命於楚，又何新城、陽人之敢求？太子不勝，〔鮑本不勝公叔。〕然〔鮑本「然」作「幸」。○〕而不死，今將倒冠而至，〔鮑本言其歸楚之疾。〕又安敢言地？」楚王曰：「善。」乃不罪也。〔鮑本韓襄策語同。〕

楚杜赫說楚王以取趙

楚杜赫說楚王以取趙。王且予〔鮑本「且予」作「曰與」。○　補曰：一本作「且與」。〕之五大夫，〔鮑本楚官。〕而令私行。

陳軫謂楚王曰：「赫不能得趙，五大夫不可收也，得〔姚本「得」，一作「是」。　鮑本「得」作「是」。○〕賞無功也。得趙而王無加焉，是無善也。〔鮑本不賞其善，如不有之。〕王不如以十乘行之，事成，予之五大夫。」王曰：「善」乃以十乘行之。〔鮑本無「事成予之五大夫王曰善乃以十乘行之」十六字。○〕

杜赫怒而不行。陳軫謂王曰：「是不能得趙也。」

楚王問於范環

楚王問於范環〔姚本續：史記作「范蜎」。徐廣，一作「蠉」。　札記丕烈案：索隱曰，戰國策云，作「蝝」也。考此「蝝」字當是「蠉」字誤。小司馬以徐廣云一作「蠉」而云然也。蠉、蜎同字，壞作「環」耳。韓子作「干象」，不與此同。〕曰：「寡人欲置相於秦，孰可？」對曰：「臣不足以知之。」〔鮑本補曰：史，楚懷王新與秦婚而懽。秦聞甘茂在楚，使人謂楚王曰，願選甘茂於秦云云。〕王曰：「吾相〔姚本一作「吾欲相」。〕甘茂可乎？」范環對曰：「不可。」王曰：「何也？」曰：「夫史舉，上蔡之監門也。〔鮑本補曰：上蔡，史俱作「下蔡」。　札記丕烈案：索隱曰，戰國策及韓子皆云，史舉，上蔡監門。〕大不如〔姚本「如」，一作「知」。　鮑本「如」作「知」。○　札記丕烈案：韓子無此字。史記作「為」，下句同。〕事君，小不如〔姚本「如」，一作「知」。〕處室，以苛〔鮑本苛，小草。〕廉聞於世，甘茂事之順焉。〔鮑本言大不失其意。〕故惠王之明，武王之察，張儀之好譖，甘茂事之，取十官而無罪，茂誠賢者也，然而不可相秦。秦之有賢相也，非楚國之利也。且王嘗用滑〔鮑本「滑」上補「召」字。○　召滑，見甘茂傳。補曰：史作「召滑」。　札記今本「滑」上有「召」字，乃誤涉鮑也。丕烈案：韓子有「邵」字。滑，即召滑，不當補。李善注文選過秦論「召滑」，引韓子、史記，而不引策，策本無「召」字，其明證也。賈誼新書作「召滑」。秦本紀作「昭滑」。後策作「卓滑」。趙策作「淖滑」。「召」、「昭」、「卓」、「淖」，聲之轉。〕於越而納句章，〔鮑本屬會稽。〕昧之〔鮑本昧，唐昧，楚將。此二十八年，秦、齊、韓、魏共攻楚，殺昧。〕難，越亂，故楚南察瀨胡〔鮑本「胡」作「湖」。○　察，猶治也。言楚有而治之。南陽有「厲」，音「賴」。正曰：察賴湖。史作塞厲門。地皆未詳，恐有誤字。「察」作「塞」勝。　札記丕烈案：徐廣曰，一作「瀨胡」。「厲」、「瀨」同字，「胡」、「門」形相近也。〕而野江東。〔鮑本以江之東為野。此言楚雖有唐昧之難，而能得越地，以召滑亂之也。〕計王之功所以能如此者，越亂而楚治也。今王以用之於越矣，而忘之於秦，臣以為王鉅〔鮑本鉅，大也。正曰：鉅，詎通。〕速忘矣。王若欲置相於秦乎？若公孫郝〔鮑本補曰：史作「向壽」。　札記丕烈案：韓子云，「不如相共立」。一云公子赫。〕者可。夫公孫郝之於秦王，〔鮑本昭。〕親也。少與之同衣，長與之同車，被王衣以聽事，〔鮑本言其素重。〕真大王之相已。〔鮑本秦相，而曰「王之相」，蓋楚相之，必右楚也。〕王相之，楚國之大利也。」〔鮑本甘茂傳有，人地小異。補曰：末去，楚使使請秦相向壽，茂竟不得入，卒於魏。〕

蘇秦為趙合從說楚威王

蘇秦為趙合從，〔鮑本此在連橫儀入秦後，當為七或八年。正曰：大事記，在威七年。〕說楚威王曰：「楚，天下之強國也。大王，天下之賢王也。楚地西有黔中、巫郡，〔鮑本屬南郡。補曰：徐廣云，黔中，今武陵；巫郡，南郡之西界。〕東有夏州、〔鮑本車胤云，夏口城上有洲，曰夏州。補曰：左傳，楚莊伐陳，鄉取一人焉以歸，謂之夏州。即此。正義云，夏水口，在荊州江陵縣。一本標盧藏用註後語云，屈原離騷「過夏口而西浮」，蓋是山也。〕海陽，〔鮑本海之南耳，非遼西郡也。正曰：盧藏用云，在廣陵東，今揚州海陵縣。劉氏云，楚之東境。〕南有洞庭、〔鮑本補曰：洞庭，在今巴陵。〕蒼梧，〔鮑本交州郡。正曰：正義云，蒼梧山，在道州南。按，此乃楚粤窮邊處。交州蒼梧，則粤地也。〕北有汾陘之塞、〔姚本錢、劉作「陘」，集作「陸」。　鮑本陘，召陵陘亭。補曰：陘，見秦策。汾陘乃韓地。此句有誤，四字連郇陽讀，亦不順。史作「陘塞」，是。大事記亦謂，即陘山也。　札記丕烈案：徐廣云，一本「北有汾陘之塞」也。〕郇陽。〔鮑本徐注，今順陽，屬汝南。正曰：正義云，順陽故城，在鄧州穰縣西。索隱云，郇，音荀；郇陽，當汝南潁川之界，當是新陽，聲近字變爾。汝南有新陽縣，在新水之陽。徐說蓋疏。〕地方五千里，帶甲百萬，車千乘，騎萬匹，粟支十年，此霸王之資也。夫以楚之強與大王之賢，〔鮑本無「與」字。○　補曰：一本「與大王」。　札記丕烈案：史記有。〕天下莫能當也。今乃欲西面而事秦，則諸侯莫不南〔鮑本「南」作「西」。○　札記丕烈案：史記作「西」。〕面而朝於章臺〔鮑本秦臺。在咸陽，見楚記。〕之下矣。秦之所害於天下莫如楚，楚強則秦弱，楚弱則秦強，此其勢不兩立。故為王至〔鮑本「王至」作「大王」。○　札記丕烈案：史記作「大王」。〕計，莫如從親以孤秦。大王不從親，秦必起兩軍：一軍出武關；一軍下黔中。若此，則鄢、郢〔鮑本補曰：鄢、郢，見前。〕動矣。臣聞治之其未亂，為之其未有也；患至而後憂之，則無及已。〔鮑本「已」作「矣」。○　札記丕烈案：史記作「已」。〕故願大王之早計之。

「大王誠能聽臣，臣請令山東之國，奉四時之獻，以承〔姚本一作「奉」。〕大王之明制，委社稷宗廟，〔鮑本言諸侯輕去其國以從楚。正曰：委置其宗廟社稷以託於楚。〕練士厲兵，在大王之所用之。大王誠能聽臣之愚計，則韓、魏、齊、燕、趙、衛〔鮑本無「衛」字。○　札記丕烈案：史記有。〕之妙音美人，必充後宮矣。趙、〔姚本一作「燕」。〕代良馬橐他，〔鮑本「他」作「駝」。○　匈奴奇畜。　札記丕烈案：史記作「駞」。〕必實於外廄。故從合則楚王，橫成則秦帝。今釋霸王之業，而有事人之名，臣〔鮑本無「臣」字。○　札記丕烈案：史記有。〕竊為大王不取也。

「夫秦，虎狼之國也，有吞天下之心。秦，天下之仇讎也，橫人皆欲割諸侯之地以事秦，此所謂養仇而奉讎者也。夫為人臣而割其主之地，以外交強虎狼之秦，以侵天下，卒有秦患，不顧其禍。夫外挾強秦之威，以內劫其主，以求割地，大逆不忠，無過此者。故從親，則諸侯割地以事楚；橫合，則楚割地以事秦。此兩策者，相去遠矣，有億兆之數。兩者大王何居焉？故弊邑趙王，〔鮑本肅侯。〕使臣効愚計，奉明約，在大王命之。」

楚王曰：「寡人之國，西與秦接境，秦有舉巴蜀、并漢中之心。秦，虎狼之國，不可親也。而韓、魏迫於秦患，不可與深謀，〔姚本史記、集、劉下更有「與深謀」三字。曾無。　鮑本重「與深謀」三字。○　札記丕烈案：史記復有。〕恐反人以入於秦，故謀未發而國已危矣。寡人自料，以楚當秦，未見勝焉。內與群臣謀，不足恃也。寡人臥不安席，食不甘味，心搖搖如懸旌，〔鮑本旌，析羽注竿首，以精進士卒。〕而無所終薄。〔鮑本「薄」，「泊」同。〕今君〔姚本曾作「今主君」。　札記今本「今」誤「令」。〕欲一天下，安諸侯，存危國，〔札記今本「危」誤「亡」。〕寡人謹奉社稷以從。」〔鮑本傳有，在說五國後。彪謂：五國之聽蘇子也，革面而已，非能深究橫、從之利害也。唯威王雅有難秦之心，念之熟矣。異夫患諸國之不可合，徒稱從命者也！補曰：大事記取。〕

張儀為秦破從連橫

張儀為秦破從連橫，說楚王〔鮑本在鄭袖出儀後。〕曰：「秦地半天下，兵敵四國，〔鮑本四方之國。〕被〔鮑本被，寢衣也，喻其亙延。〕山帶河，四塞〔鮑本無「四塞」二字。○　補曰：姚及別本有「四塞」字，史同。此脫。〕以為固。虎賁〔鮑本漢官儀，虎賁戴鶡冠，屬中郎將。正曰：牧誓注，若虎賁獸，言其猛也。周禮有「虎賁氏」，非始漢。〕之士百餘萬，車千乘，騎萬疋，粟如丘山。法令既明，士卒安難樂死。〔鮑本死難，兵革之事。〕主嚴以明，將知以武。雖無出兵甲，席卷常山之〔鮑本收取之，如席捲之易，無遺也。恆山屬趙之元氏，此作「常」，劉向避文帝諱也。補曰：正義云，常山在鎮州西。正曰：史記已作「常」，漢時傳寫所改。〕險，折天下之脊，天下後服者先亡。且夫為從者，無以異於驅群羊而攻猛虎也。夫虎之與羊，不格〔鮑本格，猶敵。〕明矣。今大王不與猛虎而與群羊，竊以為大王之計過矣。

「凡天下強國，非秦而楚，非楚而秦。兩國敵侔〔鮑本侔，齊等也。〕交爭，其勢不兩立。而大王不與秦，秦下甲兵，據宜陽，韓之上地〔鮑本上流之地。補曰：後語作「上黨地」。　札記丕烈案：史記作「上地」。〕不通；下河東，取成皋，韓必入臣於秦。韓入臣，〔姚本錢作「臣秦」。〕魏則從風而動。秦攻楚之西，韓、魏攻其北，社稷豈得無危哉？

「且夫約從者，聚群弱而攻至強也。夫以弱攻強，不料敵而輕戰，國貧而驟舉兵，此危亡之術也。臣聞之，兵不如者，勿與挑戰；粟不如者，勿與持〔鮑本持，相持。〕久。夫從人者，飾〔鮑本飾，緣飾，非實也。〕辯虛辭，高主之節行，言其利而不言其害，卒有楚〔姚本曾，一作「秦」。　鮑本秦伐楚之禍。史作「秦禍」，意同。〕禍，無及為已，是故願大王之熟計之也。

「秦西有巴蜀，方船積粟，起於汶山，〔鮑本居貧切。屬蜀都湔氏道，即岷山。故唐志茂州汶山注有岷山。〕循江而下，至郢三千餘里。舫船〔姚本劉，一作「方舡」。　鮑本舫，平音，併舟也。正曰：舫，甫望切。〕載卒，一舫載五十人，與三月之糧，下水而浮，一日行三百餘里；里數雖多，不費馬汗〔鮑本「馬汗」作「汗馬」。○　札記今本「馬汗」作「汗馬」。丕烈案：史記作「汗馬」。〕之勞，不至十日而距扞關；〔鮑本距，本雞足，故訓至。楚記，晉伐楚，楚為扞關以距之，儀傳注，巴郡魚復有扞水關。正曰：徐廣云，魚復有扞水關。史楚肅王四年，蜀伐楚，取茲方，於是楚作扞關拒之。〕扞關驚，則從竟陵已東，〔鮑本「已」作「以」。○　札記丕烈案：史記作「則從境以東」。〕盡城守矣，黔中、巫郡非王之有已。秦舉甲出之武關，南面而攻，則北地〔鮑本北境之地，非幽州郡。〕絕。秦兵之攻楚也，危難在三月之內。而楚恃諸侯之救，在半歲之外，此其勢不相及也。夫恃弱國之救，而忘強秦之禍，此臣之〔鮑本無「之」字。○　札記丕烈案：史記無。〕所以為大王之患也。且大王嘗與吳人五戰〔鮑本史不書。〕三勝而亡之，陳〔姚本「陳」，曾作「陣」。　鮑本陳，猶故。正曰：「陳」，古「陣」字。〕卒盡矣；有〔姚本一本無「有」字。〕偏守新城〔鮑本一偏之戍，繕築之城。〕而居民苦矣。臣聞之，攻大者易危，而民弊者怨於上。夫守易危之功，而逆強秦之心，臣竊為大王危之。

「且夫秦之所以不出甲於函谷關十五年以攻諸侯者，陰謀有吞天下之心也。〔鮑本補曰：攻大，即下「功」字。攻諸侯，自當作「攻」。不出甲函谷關十五年，此辯士夸詞，非實。史作「攻齊、趙」。按此前二年、五年、六年，皆有攻趙之事，而攻齊則無之。若云不攻齊，則猶可通也。「陰謀」，一本無「謀」字。　札記吳補，一本無「謀」字。丕烈案：史記有。〕楚嘗與秦構〔姚本一本作「角」。〕難，戰於漢中。楚人不勝，通侯、〔鮑本徹侯，漢諱武帝作「通」。此亦劉向所易也。正曰：說見前。〕執珪死者七十餘人，遂亡漢中。楚王大怒，興師襲秦，〔鮑本無「興師襲秦」四字。○　補曰：諸本有此四字，今依諸本增。　札記丕烈案：史記作「興兵襲秦」。〕戰於藍田，又郤。〔鮑本秦惠王十三年，取漢中，又敗之藍田，此十七年。此處與上章所稱楚王，皆後人追書耳。〕此所謂兩虎相搏者也。夫秦、楚相弊，而韓、魏以全制其後，計無過〔姚本一本作「危」。〕於此者矣，是故願大王熟計之也。

「秦下兵攻衛、陽晉，必開〔姚本一作「晉必大開」。曾，「大開」一作「關」。　鮑本「開」作「關」。○　補曰：史同。按諸本多作「開」，或作「大開」，不若「關」義長。　札記丕烈案：史記作「必大關天下之匈」。徐廣曰，「關」一作「開」，此當是。策文作「必扃天下之匈」。「開」、「關」字，皆所記史記異文而誤入者。「關」、「扃」同義。〕扃天下之匈，〔鮑本上二邑，天下之中也，故喻之匈。秦下兵，二邑必拒之，則閉不通，故楚可以此時舉宋。正曰：索隱云，以常山為天下脊，則衛及陽晉當天下匈。其地是秦、晉、齊、楚之交道也，據之是關天下匈，他國不得動也。〕大王悉起兵〔姚本集無「兵」字。三同。〕以攻宋，不至數月而宋可舉。舉宋而東指，則泗上十二諸侯，盡王之有已。

「凡天下所信約從親堅者蘇秦，封為武安君而相燕，即陰與燕王謀破齊共分其地。乃佯有罪，出走〔鮑本「走」作「奔」。○　札記丕烈案：史記作「走」。〕入齊，齊王〔鮑本閔。〕因受而相之。居二年而覺，齊王大怒，車裂蘇秦於市。〔鮑本按史，秦事覺，在其死後，儀以此明其以詐死耳。補曰：蘇秦為客所刺，設計以取賊，故車裂而得賊。今儀言如此，蓋借事為說破從親也。〕夫以一詐偽反覆之蘇秦，而欲經營天下，混一諸侯，其不可成也亦明矣。

「今秦之與楚也，接境壤界，固形親之國也。〔鮑本其勢當親。〕大王誠能聽臣，臣請秦太子入質於楚，楚太子入質於秦，請以秦女為大王箕箒〔鮑本帚，糞也。以洒掃之役自居。補曰：大事記，其說諸侯皆曰事秦，獨楚曰云云，以楚最強故爾。〕之妾，效萬家之都，以為湯沐之邑，長為昆弟之國，終身無相攻擊。臣以為〔鮑本「為」作「謂」。○　札記丕烈案：史記作「為」。〕計無便於此〔姚本續：史記此后有屈原諫止之辭。〕者。故敝邑秦王，〔鮑本惠。〕使使臣獻書〔鮑本書，國書，非此書。〕大王〔鮑本無「大王」二字。○〕之從車下風，〔鮑本將迎之際，必有風焉。不敢當立，故言下風。〕須以決事。」

楚王曰：「楚國僻陋，託東海之上。寡人年幼，〔鮑本言其為從時。〕不習國家之長計。今上客幸教以明制，〔鮑本秦王之制詔。〕寡人聞之，敬以國從。」乃遣使車百乘，獻雞駭之犀、〔鮑本抱朴子，通天犀中有一白理如綫，置米其上以飼，雞見之驚，故名「駭雞犀」。〕夜光之璧〔鮑本鄒陽言，魏文侯歸白圭夜光之璧。〕於秦王。〔鮑本傳，在諸國之先。補曰：大事記，六國連衡，魏先聽儀說事秦。故楚赦儀之後，所說止五國。儀說楚王與秦和親，楚王既得張儀而重出黔中地，欲許之，屈平諫不聽，卒許儀。遂說韓、齊、趙、燕，皆聽儀。歸報未至，惠王薨，而約亦解。　「為秦」、兩「為大」之「為」，去聲。「挑」，上聲。〕

張儀相秦

張儀相〔鮑本復相時。〕秦，謂昭雎曰：「楚無鄢、郢、漢中，有所更得乎？」〔鮑本此皆楚之要地，無此則危亡，安能有他。〕曰：「無有。」曰：「無昭雎、〔鮑本「雎」作「過」。○〕陳軫，有所更得乎？」〔鮑本二臣，楚之良也。無此二臣，不能復得良臣。此儀為秦謀去楚謀臣也。〕曰：「無所更得。」張儀曰：「為儀謂楚王逐昭雎、〔鮑本「雎」作「過」。○〕陳軫，請復鄢、郢、漢中。」〔鮑本秦惠王十三年取漢中，故至是許復之。鄢、郢，此時不書。此策，儀知楚王重地輕人，故使雎言之。二人逐，則楚無良臣，雎必得其處也。〕昭雎歸報楚王，〔鮑本雎蓋畔楚善儀者。〕楚王說之。

有人謂昭雎〔鮑本「雎」作「過」。○　札記丕烈案：三「雎」字皆作「過」者為是。下文三「君」字皆稱「過」也，故下文云「是昭雎之言不信也」。若謂「雎」，何得云爾？可為明證。作「雎」者，相涉致誤耳。〕曰：「甚矣，楚王不察於爭〔鮑本無「爭」字。○〕名者也。韓求相工陳籍〔鮑本周策，「陳」作「師」，求周使相之。〕而周不聽；魏求相綦母恢而周不聽，何以也？周是〔姚本一作「周曰是」。　鮑本「周」下補「曰」字。○〕列縣畜我〔鮑本待我如縣吏。〕也。今楚，萬乘之強國也；大王，天下之賢主〔鮑本「主」作「王」。○〕也。今儀曰逐君與陳軫而王聽之，是楚自行〔鮑本「行」作「待」。○　補曰：當是「待」字。　札記今本「行」作「待」，乃誤涉鮑也。〕不如周，而儀重於韓、魏之王也。且儀之所行，有功名者秦也，〔鮑本欲立功名於秦。〕所欲貴富者魏也。〔鮑本取富貴於魏。〕欲為攻於魏，〔鮑本為魏伐人。〕必南伐楚。故攻有道，外絕其交，〔鮑本交，謂與國。〕內逐其謀臣。陳軫，夏〔鮑本夏，中國也。〕人也，習於三晉之事，故逐之，則楚無謀臣矣。今君能用楚之眾，故亦逐之，則楚眾不用矣。此所謂內攻之者也，而王不知察。今君何不見臣於王，請為王使齊交不絕。齊交不絕，〔鮑本「齊交不絕」四字不重。○〕儀聞之，其效鄢、郢、漢中必緩矣。〔鮑本齊、楚，大國也，儀惡其合。今合而與之地，則楚益勁，儀必不為也。〕是昭雎之言不信也，王必薄之。」

威王問於莫敖子華

威王問於莫敖〔鮑本楚官。〕子華曰：「自從先君文王以至不穀之身，亦有不為爵勸，不為祿勉，以憂社稷者乎？」莫敖子華對曰：「如華〔姚本孫本「華」作「章」。〕不足〔鮑本「足」下有「以」字。○〕知之矣。」王曰：「不於大夫，無所聞之？」莫敖子華對曰：「君王將何問者也？彼有廉其爵，貧其身，以憂社稷者；有崇其爵，豐其祿，以憂社稷者；有斷脰〔鮑本脰，項也。　札記今本「脰」誤「頭」，下同。〕決腹，壹〔鮑本「壹」作「一」，下同。○〕瞑〔鮑本瞑，不視也，謂死。〕而萬世不視，不知所益，〔鮑本志於死耳，不求利也。〕以憂社稷者；有勞其身，愁其志，以憂社稷者；〔鮑本無「有勞其身愁其志以憂社稷者」十二字。○〕亦有〔鮑本無「有」字。○〕不為爵勸，不為祿勉，以憂社稷者。」王曰：「大夫此言，將何謂也？」〔鮑本言謂誰。〕

莫敖子華對曰：「昔令尹子文，〔鮑本鬬穀於菟。〕緇帛〔札記今本「帛」誤「布」。〕之衣以朝，鹿裘以處；未明而立於朝，日晦而歸食；朝不謀夕，無一月〔鮑本「月」作「日」。○　札記今本「月」作「日」，乃誤涉鮑也。〕之積。故彼廉其爵，貧其身，以憂社稷者，令尹子文是也。

「昔者葉公子高，〔鮑本名諸梁。〕身獲於表薄，〔鮑本表，野外。薄，林也。言其初賤。〕而財於柱國；〔鮑本財，材同。柱國以子高為材。〕定白公之禍，〔鮑本見哀公十六年。〕寧楚國之事；恢先君以揜方城之外，〔鮑本恢，大也。集韻，揜，覆取也。言取地以大先君之封。〕四封不侵，〔鮑本「侵」作「廉」。○　封，封城。廉，猶禮六廉。言無事故不察治。補曰：一本「四封不侵」。正曰：「廉隅」之「廉」。謂四境完固，不見廉隅也。〕名不挫於諸侯。當此之時也，天下莫敢以兵南鄉。葉公子高，食田六百畛，〔鮑本畛，井田間陌。補曰：周禮，十夫有溝，溝上有畛。朱子曰，溝間千畝，畛為阡。〕故彼崇其爵，豐其祿，以憂社稷者，葉公子高是也。

「昔者吳與楚戰於柏舉，〔鮑本定四年注，楚地。〕兩御〔鮑本「御」作「軍」。○　札記今本「御」作「軍」，乃誤涉鮑也。〕之間夫〔鮑本「千夫」、「百夫」之「夫」。〕卒交。莫敖大心撫其御之手，顧而大息曰：『嗟乎子〔鮑本一本「子」作「予」。〕乎，楚國亡之月〔姚本「月」，一作「日」。〕至矣！吾將深入吳軍，若扑〔鮑本若，猶。扑，擊也。正曰：若，發語辭。扑，普卜反。〕一人，若捽〔鮑本捽，持髮也。〕一人，以與大心者也，社稷其為庶幾〔鮑本無「為」字。○　以是為可以厲眾也。〕乎？』故斷脰決腹，壹瞑而萬世不視，不知所益，以憂社稷者，莫敖大心是也。〔鮑本傳不書。正曰：左傳，柏舉之戰，楚大夫史皇以其乘廣死，司馬沈尹戌傷而死，句卑剄而裹之。司馬戌，即大心也，葉公諸梁之父也。王氏應麟謂鮑失考。〕

「昔吳與楚戰於柏舉，三戰入郢。寡君〔鮑本昭王。〕身出，大夫悉屬，〔鮑本屬連俱亡。〕百姓離散。棼冒勃蘇〔鮑本定四年以為申包胥。補曰：棼冒，即蚡冒。勃蘇、包胥聲近。豈蚡冒之裔歟？蚡：符分反。冒，亡北反。索隱云，「蚡」，古本作「羒」，音憤，亦符分反。　札記丕烈案：吳說本困學紀聞，是也。申包胥為蚡冒氏，猶鬬子文之言若敖氏。〕曰：『吾被堅執銳，〔鮑本堅，甲；銳，兵也。〕赴強敵而死，此猶一卒也，不若奔諸侯。』於是贏糧潛行，上崢山，〔鮑本崢嶸之山。〕踰深谿，蹠穿膝暴，〔鮑本蹠，足下。暴，傷也。〕七日而薄秦王〔鮑本襄公。〕之朝。雀立〔鮑本雀立，踊也。〕不轉，晝吟宵哭。七日不得告。水漿無入口，瘨而殫悶，〔鮑本瘨，狂。殫，氣絕也。正曰：詩「瘨我」注，病也。非「癲狂」之「癲」。〕旄〔鮑本旄，眊同。無目也。正曰：「旄」、「眊」、「耄」，字通，並昏也。〕不知人。秦王聞而走之，〔鮑本走，去音，疾趨也。〕冠帶不相及，左奉其首，右濡其口，勃蘇乃蘇。〔鮑本蘇，死更生也。〕秦王身問之：『子孰誰也？」棼冒勃蘇對曰：『臣非異，〔鮑本言非它人。〕楚使〔鮑本去音。〕新造𥂕〔鮑本楚官。正曰：鮑見秦官有上造、大良造，遂為此謬說。按字書，𥂕，張留反，引擊也。山曲曰盩，此無義。盩，音戾，字通。又音列，罪也。當是此字。新造盩，似言始搆難，今降戾之云。文當有訛舛，或在「吳」字下。〕棼冒勃蘇。吳與楚人戰於柏舉，三戰入郢，寡君身出，大夫悉屬，百姓離散。使下臣來告亡，且求救。』秦王顧令不〔鮑本「不」作「之」。○　補曰：字誤或衍。〕起：『寡人聞之，萬乘之君，得罪一士，社稷其危，今此之謂也。』遂出革車千乘，卒萬人，屬之子滿〔鮑本補曰：子滿，左傳「子蒲」。〕與子虎，下塞以東，與吳人戰於濁水〔鮑本出齊郡廣之媯山東。蓋齊、楚壤界。〕而大敗之，亦聞於遂浦。〔鮑本楚地。缺，或是夫遂也。蓋聞一說在彼，一在此。補曰：云在稷與沂。注楚地，當考。夫遂，見前秦策。〕故勞其身，愁其思，以憂社稷者，棼冒勃蘇是也。

「吳與楚戰於柏舉，三戰入郢。君王身出，大夫悉屬，百姓離散。蒙穀〔鮑本楚將。〕給〔鮑本「給」作「結」。○　結，猶交。　札記今本「給」作「結」。〕鬬於宮唐〔鮑本宮唐，豈高唐耶？〕之上，舍鬬奔郢曰：『若有孤，〔鮑本時未知昭王存亡，故意其子。〕楚國社稷其庶幾乎？』遂入大〔姚本曾，一無「大」字。〕宮，負雞次〔姚本一本作「離」。　鮑本楚國法也。「雞」，一作「離」，是所以治離局者。正曰：是時典守者皆離其局，故負其典以逃。〕之典以浮於江，逃於雲夢之中。昭王反郢，五官〔鮑本補曰：五官見齊策。〕失法，百姓昏亂；蒙穀獻典，五官得法，而百姓大治。此蒙穀之功，多與存國〔札記今本「國」誤「田」。〕相若，封之執圭，田六百畛。蒙穀怒曰：『穀非人臣，社稷之臣，苟社稷血〔鮑本血，謂牲牢。〕食，餘豈悉〔姚本一作「余豈患」。　鮑本「悉」作「患」。○　補曰：「餘」當作「余」。〕無君乎？』遂自棄於磨山〔姚本漢註引歷山。　鮑本後志，磨城，子胥所造。蓋以此山名城也。正曰：「磨」字，說見秦策。〕之中，至今無冒。〔鮑本冒，謂犯法。正曰：一本「無位」。〕故不為爵勸，不為祿勉，以憂社稷者，蒙穀是也。」〔姚本續：漢李通傳論曰，「昔蒙穀負書，不徇楚難」。注引戰國策吳、楚戰於柏舉，蒙穀奔入宮，負離次之典，浮江逃於雲夢之中云云，「苟利社稷血食，余豈患無君乎」？遂棄於歷山也。〕

王乃大息曰：「此古之人也。今之人，焉能有之耶？」

莫敖子華對曰：「昔者先君靈王好小要，楚士約〔鮑本「要」作「腰」。○　約，猶節。〕食，馮〔鮑本馮，依也。〕而能立，式〔鮑本式，小低貌。補曰：軾，車前橫木，有所敬則俯馮之，據而後能立，馮而後能起。言以約食，故無力也。或疑士不當言細腰。荀子云，「楚莊王好細腰，故朝有餓人」。一本標墨子云，「楚靈王好士細腰，故其臣皆三飯為節，脅息而腹帶，淵牆而後起」。尹文子、韓非子皆言，「一國有飢色餓人」。今按，墨子三卷中無此文，三卷者，別本也。古墨子篇數不止此。〕而能起。食之可欲，忍而不入；死之可惡，然〔姚本一作「就」。〕而不避。章〔鮑本「章」作「華」。○　補曰：當作「華」。　札記丕烈案：鮑改、吳補皆非也。章，當是子華之名。上文「如華」，姚校云，孫本作「章」，是其證。〕聞之，其君好發〔鮑本發，發矢。〕者，其臣抉拾。〔鮑本「抉」作「決」。○　車攻注，決，鉤弦。拾，遂也；遂，發也。正曰：詩注無此三字。決，以象骨為之，著於右手大指，所以鉤弦闓體。拾，以皮為之，著於左臂以遂弦，亦名「遂」。〕君王直不好，若君王誠好賢，此五臣者，皆可得而致之。」

楚策 二

魏相翟強死

魏相翟強死。為甘茂謂楚王曰：「魏之幾相者，〔鮑本言危欲相之。〕公子勁也。〔鮑本秦人。〕勁〔姚本劉，一無下「也」字。〕也相魏，魏、秦之交必善。〔鮑本勁，秦人而魏相之故。正曰：俱無考。〕秦、魏之交完，則楚輕矣。故王不如與齊約，相甘茂於魏。齊王〔鮑本閔。〕好高人以名，今為其行人〔鮑本楚為齊請如其使者。禮，行人使適四方。〕請魏之相，齊必喜。魏氏不聽，交惡於齊；齊、魏之交惡，必爭事楚。魏氏聽，甘茂與樗里疾，貿首〔鮑本貿，言欲易取其首。〕之讎也；而魏、秦之交必惡，〔鮑本疾相秦，茂相魏故。〕又交重楚也。」

齊秦約攻楚

齊、秦約攻楚，楚令景翠以六城賂齊，〔姚本一本下有「以」字。〕太子為質。〔鮑本此二十九年，太子橫。〕昭雎謂景翠曰：「秦恐且因景鯉、蘇厲而效地於楚。公出地以取〔姚本「取」一作「收」，別本作「牧」。　鮑本取，猶收，猶悅。〕齊，鯉與厲且以收地取秦，〔鮑本收前所效者。蓋二人之辭。曰楚出地取齊，楚既弱矣，何足與地。秦收所效，必悅二人也。正曰：景鯉乃楚臣，秦可因之以責地。見楚弱，而勸秦收所效之地，恐非。〕公事必敗。〔鮑本楚不得秦地，景翠賂齊，楚必怨翠。〕公不如令王重賂景鯉、蘇厲，使入秦，〔鮑本二人得楚賂，不復為秦收地矣。〕秦〔姚本一本下有「齊」字。　札記吳氏正曰，「秦」字疑當作「齊」，是也。〕恐，〔鮑本以齊、楚合故。〕必不求地〔鮑本不收所效。〕而合於楚。若齊不求，是公與約也。」〔鮑本兩國各不取地而止攻，是約者復和也。與，如與國之與，和好也。言翠能和兩國之約。正曰：戰國之時，秦之割地希矣，惟赧王十七年割三城和齊、韓、魏一事爾。懷王末年，楚益以弱，雖合齊，秦未必遞懼而割也。效地於楚者，令楚效地。恐者，恐或如此之辭也。景翠必與景鯉、蘇厲不合者，故雎言翠既以地賂齊，則秦恐或且因蘇厲、景鯉而令楚效地，是翠出地取齊，而二人收所出之地以取秦，翠事豈不敗乎？今不如重賂二人，使入秦為解，則秦恐或必不求地而與楚合。齊見秦、楚之合，若不求地，則是公能和好結約也。「秦恐必不求地」，「秦」字疑當作「齊」字。謂重賂二人入秦，則齊和。秦、楚之和，恐不敢求所賂地。若果不求，是公能和好結約也。說亦通。〕

術視伐楚

術視〔鮑本秦人。〕伐楚，楚令昭鼠以十萬軍漢中。昭雎勝秦於重丘，〔姚本別本「丘」作「兵」。　鮑本屬平原。正曰：恐非。〕蘇厲謂宛公昭鼠〔鮑本鼠為宛尹。〕曰：「王〔鮑本王，楚王。〕欲昭雎之乘〔鮑本乘，猶凌。〕秦也，〔鮑本無「也」字。○〕必分公之兵以益之。秦知公兵之分也，必出漢中。〔鮑本出兵伐此。〕請為公令辛戎〔鮑本「辛」作「羋」。○　戎，楚人，貴於秦。補曰：當作「羋」。〕謂王〔鮑本如以私告楚王者。〕曰：『秦兵且出漢中。』則公之兵全矣。」〔鮑本欲其備秦，故不分其兵。〕

四國伐楚

四國伐楚，〔鮑本楚記，二十八年，秦、齊、韓、魏共攻楚。〕楚令昭雎將以距〔鮑本拒同。〕秦。楚王欲擊秦，昭侯〔鮑本「侯」作「雎」。○〕不欲。桓臧為昭雎謂楚王曰：「雎戰勝，〔姚本一本下有「秦」字。〕三國惡楚之強也，恐秦之變而聽楚也，必深攻楚以勁秦。〔鮑本堅其伐楚之心。〕秦王〔鮑本昭。〕怒於戰不勝，必悉起而擊楚，是王與秦相罷，〔鮑本音疲。〕而以〔姚本一本無「以」字。〕利三國也。戰不勝秦，秦進兵而攻。不如益昭雎之兵，令之示秦必戰。秦王惡與楚相弊而令天下，〔鮑本「下」下補「利」字。○　正曰：謂以相弊，令以天下使知。　札記今本「下」下有「利」字，乃誤涉鮑也。丕烈案：「令」乃「全」字之訛，吳說亦未是。〕秦可以少割而收害也。〔鮑本秦見楚將必戰，必割地與楚和，戰伐之害可息也。收，猶息。正曰：秦惡與楚相敝而不戰，則楚可以少割地而收秦。一本無「害」字，是。　札記吳氏正曰，一本無「害」字，是。丕烈案：此因上文「割」字而誤衍。「害」、「割」同字。〕秦、楚之合，而燕、趙、魏不敢不聽，三國可定也。」

楚懷王拘張儀

楚懷王拘張儀，〔鮑本以其欺楚以商於故。〕將欲殺之。靳尚〔鮑本楚人。〕為儀謂楚王曰：「拘張儀，秦王必怒。天下見楚之無秦也，楚必輕矣。」又謂王之幸夫人鄭袖曰：「子亦自知且賤於王乎？」鄭袖曰：「何也？」尚曰：「張儀者，秦王〔鮑本惠。〕之忠信有功臣也。今楚拘之，秦王欲出之。秦王有愛女而美，又簡擇宮中佳翫麗好翫習音者，〔鮑本原注衍上「翫」字。○　好翫，人之可好可翫者。書曰，「翫人喪德」。習音，所謂懽也，以從愛女。補曰：一本無上「翫」字。正曰：習於音聲者。〕以懽從之；資之金玉寶器，奉以上庸六縣為湯沐邑，〔鮑本以邑為女湯沐之具。〕欲因張儀內之楚王。楚王必愛，秦女依強秦以為重，挾寶地以為資，勢〔鮑本「勢」下補「必」字。○　補曰：此下疑有缺字。　札記丕烈案：鮑、吳皆非。此無缺，讀以「勢為王妻以臨于楚」八字為一句。〕為王妻以臨于楚。王惑於虞樂，必厚尊敬親愛之而忘子，子益賤而日疏矣。」鄭袖曰：「願委之於公，為之奈何？」曰：「子何不急言王，出張子。張子得出，德子無已時，秦女必不來，而秦必重子。子內擅楚之貴，外結秦之交，畜張子以為用，子之子孫必為楚太子矣，此非布衣之利也。」〔鮑本利在為王。〕鄭袖遽說楚王出張子。〔鮑本此十八年。補曰：史，楚願得張儀而獻黔中，秦王欲遣之，口弗忍言。儀請行，曰，「臣善靳尚，尚得事鄭袖，袖所言皆從」。遂使楚。儀固已料是謀之必中矣。〕

楚王將出張子

楚王將出張子，恐其敗己也，〔姚本「敗」一作「欺」。〕靳尚謂楚王曰：「臣請隨之。儀事王不善，臣請殺之。」

楚小臣，靳尚之仇也，謂張旄〔鮑本魏之用事者。〕曰：「以張儀之知，而有秦、楚之用，君必窮矣。君不如使人微要靳尚而刺之，〔鮑本「刺」作「殺」。○　微，不顯也，使若儀殺之。〕楚王必大怒儀也。彼儀窮，則子重矣。楚、秦相難，則魏無患矣。」

張旄果令人要靳尚刺之。楚王大怒，秦構〔鮑本「構」上補「楚」字。○〕兵而戰。秦、楚爭事魏，張旄果大重。〔鮑本彪謂：張旄欲窮儀，則如殺儀斯已矣。今不殺儀，顧從說者殺尚，以儀之智，為足以免於死也。補曰：大事記，靳尚之出張儀，欲以求福也，反以殺身。事變之來，亦可迎隨哉？此可為小人之戒。屈原曰，「前大王見欺於張儀，儀至，臣以為大王烹之」。吁！豈惟屈原，雖庸人孰不謂然？懷王聽靳尚，隨袖之言而出之。既出之，又恐其欺己，而使尚隨之，不悟其誑。尚之見殺，則雖怒而終不能誅儀也。杜忠言，惑邪說，玩弄於儀掌股之上，召寇衄師，喪國亡身，死有餘責。特以為秦人詐誘天下，反從而憐之，計其愚闇強愎，六國之主，無與輩也。〕

秦敗楚漢中

秦敗楚漢中。〔鮑本此三十年，秦伐我，取入城，宜得漢中。〕楚王入秦，秦王〔鮑本昭。〕留之。游騰為楚謂秦王曰：「王挾楚王，而與天下攻楚，則傷行矣。不與天下共攻之，則失利矣。王不如與之盟而歸之。楚王畏，〔鮑本畏，畏秦。〕必不敢倍〔鮑本「倍」作「背」。○〕盟。王〔鮑本「王」下補「背盟」二字。○　補曰：宜復有「背盟」二字。〕因與三國攻之，義也。」〔鮑本彪謂：此言亦可聽也。而秦志在亂楚，不為之動，所以卒併天下。後人守此。〕

楚襄王為太子之時

楚襄王為太子之時，質於齊。懷王薨，太子辭於齊王〔鮑本閔。〕而歸。齊王隘〔鮑本隘，猶阻。未即許，求地也。補曰：隘，從阨音，下同。〕之：「予我東地五百里，乃歸子。子不予我，不得歸。」太子曰：「臣有傅，請追〔鮑本「追」作「退」。○　補曰：「退」字訛。　札記今本「追」作「退」，乃誤涉鮑也。〕而問傅。」傅慎子曰：「獻之地，所以為身也。愛地不送死父，不義。臣故曰，獻之便。」〔姚本「便」一作「使」。曾作「便」。〕太子入，致命齊王曰：〔鮑本致命，歸誠之言。正曰：送致命令，如項羽使人致命懷王。〕「敬獻地五百里。」齊王歸楚太子。

太子歸，即位為王。齊使車五十乘，來取東地於楚。楚王告慎子曰：「齊使來求東地，為之奈何？」慎子曰：「王明日朝群臣，皆令獻其計。」

上柱國子良入見。王曰：「寡人之得求反，〔鮑本求反國而得。〕王〔鮑本「王」作「主」。○　札記今本「王」作「主」。〕墳墓、復〔鮑本復，見之。〕群臣、歸社稷也，以東地五百里許齊。齊令〔姚本「令」一作「今」。〕使來求地，為之奈何？」子良曰：「王不可不與也。王身出玉聲，許強萬乘之齊而不與，則不信，後不可以約結諸侯。請與而復攻之。與之信，攻之武。臣故曰與之。」

子良出，昭常入見。王曰：「齊使來求東地五百里，為之奈何？」昭常曰：「不可與也。萬乘者，以地大為萬乘。今去東地五百里，是去戰國之半也，有萬乘之號而無千乘之用也，不可。臣故曰勿與。常請守之。」

昭常出，景鯉入見。王曰：「齊使來求東地五百里，為之奈何？」景鯉曰：「不可與也。雖然，楚不能獨守。王身出玉聲，許萬乘之強齊也而不與，負不義於天下。楚亦不能獨守。〔姚本曾圈去「王身」至「獨守」二十七字。〕臣請西索救於秦。」

景鯉出，慎子入，王以三大夫計告慎子曰：「子良見寡人曰：『不可不與也，與而復攻之。』常見寡人曰：『不可與也，常請守之。』鯉見寡人曰：『不可與也，雖然楚不能獨守也，臣請索救於秦。』寡人誰用於三子之計？」慎子對曰：「王皆用之。」王怫然作色〔鮑本怫，鬱也。正曰：怫，音拂，當與孟子「艴然」之「艴」同義，怒變色也。〕曰：「何謂也？」慎子曰：「臣請效其說，而王且見其誠然也。王發上柱國子良車五十乘，而北獻地五百里於齊。發子良之明日，遣昭常為大司馬，令往守東地。遣昭常之明日，遣景鯉車五十乘，西索救於秦。」王曰：「善。」乃遣子良北獻地於齊。遣子良之明日，立昭常為大司馬，使守東地。又遣景鯉西索救於秦。

子良至齊，齊使人以甲受東地。昭常應齊使曰：「我典主東地，〔鮑本典，猶職。主，猶守。〕且與死生。〔鮑本地有則生，無地死之。〕悉五尺至六十，三十餘萬弊甲鈍兵，願承下塵。」〔鮑本凡人相趨則有塵，戰亦有塵。不敢與齊抗，故言下。〕齊王謂子良曰：「大夫來獻地，今常守之，何如？」子良曰：「臣身受命弊邑之王，是常矯也。王攻之。」齊王大興兵，攻東地，伐昭常。未涉疆，秦以五十萬臨齊右壤，曰：「夫隘楚太子弗出，不仁；又欲奪之東地五百里，不義。其縮甲則可，〔鮑本縮，蹙也。蓋東之。〕不然，則願待戰。」齊王恐焉。乃請子良南道楚，西使秦，解齊患。士卒不用，東地復全。〔鮑本彪謂：此四臣皆國士也。襄王無若人，豈能反國？慎子能兼用之，其最優乎？方之晉五臣，其舅犯歟？此書三書懷王薨而太子歸。史記獨謂「太子歸而王乃薨」，又謂「王逃歸不達，薨」。夫秦能劫留之，豈不能衛之？孟嘗之逃，先以計免，猶危不脫。楚王何以能逃？可疑也。楚王亡死，太子在外，郢中必立王以絕秦望。太子以齊之重，歸義嗣也，其誰敢干之？於是王乃定。齊策乃云，「忠王而走太子」，則是太子卒不得位，亦非也。蓋郢中立王時，蘇子以此策干田文，而語人以九可，文不之用，世猶載其語也。正曰：頃襄之辭於齊，齊隘之以割地，雖不讎，非不信也。齊使之來，當直拒之，昭常之不與，是矣。然不知出地而較計於大小之間，抑末矣。子良之與而復攻，繆矣。景鯉為之索救於秦，夫不共戴天之讎，在所當絕，尚忍乞哀而求援哉！鯉罪特甚也。慎子不知擇其是非，決以大義，請皆用之，則兼其失矣。且秦之責齊曰，「隘楚太子不仁，奪東地不義」。斯言也，出於讎國之口，而四人皆無一語及之，尚何足稱乎？餘說並見齊策。春秋、戰國之時，在他國而逃歸者多矣，豈無衛之者邪？以此疑懷王之逃不可也。補曰：「使車」、「使人」之「使」，如字。「為身」之「為」，去聲。〕

女阿謂蘇子

女阿謂蘇子曰：〔鮑本未詳。補曰：疑此乃齊策「蘇子說薛公」章脫簡。首「女阿」二字，又他章錯脫。又「說薛公」策末，欠蘇子自解於薛公一節，此為蘇子自解於太子也。疑亦有差舛。　札記丕烈案：吳說誤。女阿者，太子之阿，內則所謂可者，與齊策不相涉。〕「秦栖楚王，〔姚本「栖」，別本作「西」。　鮑本懷王見劫，客秦如栖。〕危太子者，公也。今楚王歸，〔鮑本以此書及史考之，王皆不歸。今此蓋其喪歸。正曰：此謀度之言。〕太子南，〔鮑本自齊歸楚為南。〕公必危。公不如令人謂太子曰：『蘇子知太子之怨己也，必且務不利太子。太子不如善蘇子，蘇子必且為太子入矣。』」〔鮑本入，言其歸之之深。正曰：使太子得入也。〕蘇子乃令人謂太子。太子復請善於蘇子。〔鮑本詳此，亦無走太子之事。〕

楚策 三

蘇子謂楚王

蘇子謂楚王曰：「仁人之於民也，愛之以心，事之以善言。孝子之於親也，愛之以心，事之以財。忠臣之於君也，必進賢人以輔之。今王之大臣父兄，好傷賢以為資，〔鮑本為己資藉。〕厚賦斂諸臣百姓，使王見疾於民，非忠臣也。大臣播王之過於百姓，多賂諸侯以王之地，是故退王之所愛，〔鮑本王所愛者，必不播割，與大臣異趣，故大臣退之。〕亦非忠臣也，是以國危。臣願無聽群臣之相惡也，慎大臣父兄；〔鮑本言不輕用之。〕用民之所善，節身之嗜欲，以〔鮑本「以」下補「與」字。○　補曰：此下有缺文。　札記今本「以」下有「與」字，乃誤涉鮑也。〕百姓。人臣莫難於無妒而進賢。為主死易，垂沙之事，〔鮑本未詳。兵略訓，「楚兵殆於垂沙」，亦不注。〕死者以千數。〔鮑本補曰：「為主死易」止「千數」，下句同。如此則意明。〕為主辱易，自令尹以下，事王者以千數。至於無妒而進賢，未見一人也。故明主之察其臣也，必知其無妒而進賢也。賢〔鮑本「賢」下有「臣」字。○〕之事其主也，亦必無妒而進賢。夫進賢之難者，賢者用且使己廢，貴且使己賤，故人難之。」〔鮑本此策本次蘇秦之楚之上，知蘇子，秦也。然不可先於之楚，故次之此。彪謂：此策，人主所當先務，人臣之上節也。蘇氏弟兄言之若此者，二三策而已。正曰：蘇子未知果秦否？序次無據。進賢之說，而出於蘇氏，不過欲時君用己而發，言是而意則非也。〕

蘇秦之楚三日

蘇秦之楚，三日〔鮑本補曰：一本標後語、十二國史皆作「三年」。〕乃得見乎王。談卒，辭而行。楚王曰：「寡人聞先生，若聞古人。今先生乃不遠千里而臨寡人，曾不肯留，願聞其說。」對曰：「楚國之食貴於玉，薪貴於桂，謁者難得見如鬼，王難得見如天帝。今令臣食玉炊桂，因鬼見帝。」王曰：「先生就舍，寡人聞命矣。」〔鮑本正曰：一本標類要引北堂書鈔作「宣王」。〕

楚王逐張儀於魏

楚王逐張儀於魏。〔鮑本使魏逐之。儀初相魏時，此七年。〕陳軫曰：「王何逐張子？」曰：「為臣不忠不信。」曰：「不忠，王無以為臣；不信，王勿與為約。且魏臣不忠不信，於王何傷？忠且信，於王何益？逐而聽則可，若不聽，是王令困也。且使萬乘之國免其相，是城下之事也。」〔鮑本此言魏恥之。桓十三年，主城下之盟，諸侯所恥。正曰：十二年。〕

張儀之楚貧

張儀之楚，貧。〔鮑本初至，王未之重。〕舍人怒而〔鮑本「而」下有「欲」字。○〕歸。張儀曰：「子必以衣冠之敝，故欲歸。子〔鮑本無「子」字。○〕待我為子見楚王。」當是之時，南后、〔鮑本懷王后。〕鄭褏〔鮑本美人。補曰：「袖」，「褏」同。周紫芝楚辭說云「鄭國之女多美而善舞。楚懷王幸姬鄭袖，當是善舞，故名。袖者，所以舞也」。〕貴於楚。

張子見楚王，楚王不說。〔鮑本前嘗欲逐之於魏。正曰：彼此前后不可考。疑此為初見楚王時事，當在前。〕張子曰：「王無所用臣，臣請北見晉君。」楚王曰：「諾。」張子曰：「王無求於晉國乎？」王曰：「黃金珠璣〔鮑本璣，珠不圓者。〕犀象出於楚，寡人無求於晉國。」張子曰：「王徒不好色耳？」王曰：「何也？」張子曰：「彼鄭、周之女，粉白墨黑，〔姚本別本作「黛黑」。　鮑本黑，言其髮。正曰：墨，別本作「黛」，畫眉墨也。〕立於衢閭，非知而見之者，以為神。」楚王曰：「楚，僻陋之國也，未嘗見中國之女如此其美也。寡人之獨何為不好色也？」〔鮑本「之」上補「見」字。○　補曰：此當有「見」字。　札記今本「之」上有「見」字，乃誤涉鮑也。丕烈案：鮑、吳皆非，讀以十字為一句。〕乃資之以珠玉。

南后、鄭褏聞之大恐。令人謂張子曰：「妾聞將軍之晉國，偶有金千斤，進之左右，以供芻秣。」〔鮑本秣，飼馬。〕鄭褏亦以金五百斤。

張子辭楚王曰：「天下關閉〔鮑本「關閉」作「閉關」。○〕不通，未知見日也，願王賜之觴。」王曰：「諾。」乃觴之。張子中飲，〔鮑本正曰：上林賦「酒中樂酣」注，飲酒半醉半醒也。中，直眾反。〕再拜而請曰：「非有他人於此也，願王召所便習而觴之。」〔鮑本便，所安者。習，所昵者。補曰：便習，猶便嬖。便，毗連反。〕王曰：「諾。」乃召南后、鄭褏而觴之。張子再拜而請曰：「儀有死罪於大王。」王曰：「何也？」曰：「儀行天下遍矣，未嘗見人如此其美也。〔鮑本無「也」字。○〕而儀言得美人，是欺王也。」王曰：「子釋〔鮑本釋，猶置。〕之。吾固以為天下莫若是兩人也。」〔鮑本儀自辱於楚相，未嘗至楚。其至楚在復相秦之四歲，此十六年。正曰：不可考。補曰：大事記引蘇氏云，儀之所以求用者，其術至此！此所以言必信而功多也，可不悲乎？愚謂，此正孟子所謂妾婦之道；莊生所謂所治愈下，則所得愈多者也。策南后、鄭褏為二人，蘇氏止為鄭袖一人。「為子」之「為」，去聲。〕

楚王令昭雎之秦重張儀

楚王令昭雎之秦重張儀。〔鮑本說秦，使重之。〕未至，惠王死。武王逐張儀。楚王因收昭雎以取齊。〔鮑本無「楚」字。○　收，捕繫之也。雎善儀而齊惡儀，秦既逐儀，楚故捕繫雎以外儀而合於齊。補曰：以收為捕繫，則與「收韓、魏」字義頓異，恐有差誤。〕桓臧〔鮑本楚人。〕為雎謂楚王曰：「橫親之不合也，〔鮑本「橫」作「從」。○　札記丕烈案：鮑改誤甚。此橫親，指秦、韓、魏也。〕儀貴惠王〔鮑本為王所貴。〕而善雎也。今惠王死，武王立，儀走，公孫郝、甘茂貴。甘茂善魏，公孫郝善韓。二人固不善雎也，必以秦合韓、魏。韓、魏之重儀，〔鮑本言昔重之。〕儀有秦而雎以楚重之。今儀困秦而雎收楚，〔鮑本困，謂見逐於秦。〕韓、魏欲得秦，必善二人者。〔姚本一本有兩「二人」字。　鮑本「者」下補「二人者」三字。○〕將收韓、魏輕儀而伐楚，〔鮑本以楚嘗重儀故。〕方城必危。王不如復雎，〔鮑本復其位。〕而重儀於韓、魏。儀據楚勢，挾魏重，以與秦爭。魏不合秦，〔鮑本絕句。〕韓〔姚本「韓」，三同。舊作「王」。　鮑本「韓」作「王」。○〕亦不從，〔鮑本不從秦。補曰：姚云，「王」，三本同作「韓」。愚謂此義長。〕則方城無患。」

張儀逐惠施於魏

張儀逐惠施於魏。〔鮑本儀時隙秦相魏。此十九年。〕惠子之楚，楚王受之。

馮郝〔鮑本楚人。〕謂楚王曰：「逐惠子者，張儀也。而王親與約，〔鮑本與施相結。〕是欺儀也，臣為王弗取也。惠子為儀者來，〔鮑本「者來」作「來者」。○　札記今本「者來」作「來者」，乃誤涉鮑也。〕而惡王之交於張儀，惠子必弗行也。〔鮑本此設辭也。施以儀逐之而來，必有惡儀之言。使施善儀，為儀而來，豈行此惡儀之言哉？正曰：謂逐惠施者張儀，而王與施結約，則是欺儀，臣所以為王不取。惠施為儀逐，來歸，而使王與儀交惡，施亦不必行此。〕且宋王〔鮑本君偃。〕之賢惠子也，天下莫不聞也。今之不善張儀〔鮑本今，謂施。〕也，天下莫不知也。今為事之故，〔鮑本今為楚國事。〕棄所貴於讎人，〔鮑本貴謂儀，讎謂施不善儀也。楚王嘗貴儀，而今受施，是為儀之讎而棄儀也。〕臣以為大王輕矣。且為事耶？〔鮑本誠有意為國事者。〕王不如舉惠子而納之於宋，而謂張儀曰：『請為子勿納也。』儀必德王。〔鮑本「儀」作「今」。○　今，謂儀。補曰：一本「儀必君王」。〕而惠子窮人，而王奉之，又必德王。此不失為儀之實，而可以德惠子。」楚王曰：「善。」乃〔札記今本脫「乃」字。〕奉惠子而納之宋。〔鮑本補曰：「以為」之「為」，如字。〕

五國伐秦

五國伐秦。魏欲和，〔鮑本補曰：大事記，此六國既敗，求和於秦之事也。〕使惠施〔鮑本魏相。〕之楚。楚將入之秦〔鮑本納施於秦。〕而使行和。

杜赫謂昭陽曰：「凡為伐秦者楚也。〔鮑本據此，則楚時與伐，非燕也。正曰：「凡為伐秦者楚也」，指為從長而言。餘說見秦策義渠君章。〕今施以魏來，而公入之秦，是明楚之伐而信魏之和也。公不如無聽惠施，而陰使人以請聽秦。」〔姚本「聽」，劉作「德」。　鮑本以請和於秦而聽其命。〕昭子曰：「善。」因謂惠施曰：「凡為攻秦者魏也，今子從楚為和，楚得其利，〔鮑本「得」作「將」。○　補曰：當作「得」，大事記改。〕魏受其怨。子歸，吾將使人因魏而和。」

惠子反，魏王〔鮑本哀。正曰：襄。〕不說。杜赫謂昭陽曰：「魏為子先戰，折兵之半，〔鮑本補曰：折閱之折，減損也。〕謁病不聽，請和不得，魏折而入齊、秦，〔鮑本此折，猶屈。〕子何以救之？〔鮑本救其折。〕東有越纍，〔鮑本「纍」作「累」。○　此言越有傷楚之心，越近楚故。正曰：此書纍、累通。〕北無晉，而交未定於齊、秦，是楚孤也。不如速和。」〔鮑本赫此言，蓋兩忠楚、魏。正曰：赫陳楚陰請秦之謀以誑魏，今恐魏之折入秦，而復為是說，非有忠魏之心也。〕昭子曰：「善。」因令人謁和於魏。〔鮑本正曰：「為子」之「為」，去聲。〕

陳軫告楚之魏

陳軫告〔鮑本「告」作「去」。○　補曰：恐當作「去」。　札記今本「告」作「去」，乃誤涉鮑也。〕楚之魏。張儀惡之於魏王曰：〔鮑本哀。正曰：當是惠王。〕「軫猶善楚，為求地甚力。」左爽〔鮑本未詳。〕謂陳軫曰：「儀善於魏王，魏王甚信之，公雖百說之，猶不聽也。公不如以儀之言為資，〔鮑本儀言己為楚，因以其言聞之楚。〕而得復楚。」〔鮑本楚聞其為楚，故復之。〕陳軫曰：「善。」因使人以儀之言聞於楚。楚王喜，欲〔姚本劉作「果欲」。〕復之。〔鮑本補曰：魏策有，同。〕

秦伐宜陽

秦伐宜陽。〔鮑本此二十一年。〕楚王謂陳軫曰：「寡人聞韓侈〔鮑本「侈」作「朋」。○〕巧士也，習諸侯事，殆能自免也。〔鮑本免於危亡也。公仲時守宜陽。〕為其必免，吾欲先據之以加德焉。」陳軫對曰：「舍之，王勿據也。以韓侈之知，於此困矣。今山澤之獸，無黠於麋。〔鮑本鹿屬。補曰：黠，慧也。慧者，儇敏也。〕麋知獵者張罔，前而驅己也，因還走而冒人，〔鮑本蒙犯即人，不趨網。〕至數。〔鮑本數，音朔。〕獵者知其詐，偽舉罔而進之，〔鮑本偽舉網，使其進而即人，乃以網網之。〕麋因得矣。今諸侯明知此多詐，偽舉罔而進者必眾矣。舍之，王勿據也。韓侈之知，於此困矣。」楚王聽之，宜陽果拔。陳軫先知之也。〔鮑本此策亦可作韓侈。以公仲實守宜陽，故作朋。正曰：說見秦、韓等策。〕

唐且見春申君

唐且〔鮑本「且」作「雎」。○　今從秦策。〕見〔鮑本「見」上有「旦」字。○〕春申君〔鮑本黃歇，楚相。〕曰：「齊人飾身修行得為益，〔鮑本益，謂有祿位。〕然臣羞而不學也。不避絕江河，〔鮑本言雖險不避。〕行千餘里來，竊慕大君之義，〔鮑本大，言其高義。〕而善君之業。臣聞之，賁、諸懷錐刃〔鮑本孟賁、專諸。諸，吳人，刺王子慶忌者。言二人不待盛兵而後稱勇。〕而天下為〔鮑本補曰：「為」當作「謂」。〕勇，西施衣褐〔鮑本褐，粗衣。補曰：說文，編枲韤，一曰粗衣。詩豳風、孟子注、貢禹傳注並云「毛布」。〕而天下稱美。今君相萬乘之楚，禦中國之難，所欲者不成，所求者不得，臣等少也。夫梟棋〔姚本一無「棋」字。　鮑本補曰：正義云，博頭有刻梟鳥形者。〕之所以能為〔鮑本「能為」作「為能」。○〕者，以散棋佐之也。〔鮑本散，謂眾棋。〕夫一梟之不如〔姚本劉無「不如」二字。〕不勝五散，〔鮑本獨善不如眾智。補曰：當云「一梟之不勝，不如五散」。〕亦明矣。今君何不為天下梟，而令臣等為散乎？」

楚策 四

或謂楚王

或謂楚王曰：「臣聞從者欲合天下以朝大王，臣願大王聽之也。〔鮑本燕昭末年，用蘇代說，復約從。此二十二年。春申遂為從長。正曰：此策時不可考，以為春申合從，無明據，與下章不同。〕夫因詘為信，〔鮑本詘，謂懷王劫死。正曰：不專指此。〕舊患有成，〔鮑本「舊」作「奮」。○　奮於患難，以能有成。　札記今本「舊」作「奮」。〕勇者義之。攝禍為福，〔鮑本補曰：攝，收也。〕裁少為多，知者官之。〔鮑本官，尊榮之稱。正曰：栽之，謂制其宜也；官之，謂主其事也。〕夫報報之反，〔鮑本報，猶反也。言屈申禍福，相反不一。〕墨墨之化，〔鮑本墨，默同。化，猶治也。言治之其未著。正曰：報報之反，言反復相尋。墨墨之化，言變化無形。惟大君能之者，言其轉旋變化之妙，又非勇智者所可及也。新序，「晉平公謂師曠，甚矣，子之墨墨也。曠曰，天下有五墨墨」。史商君傳，「殷紂墨墨以亡」。漢書竇嬰傳，「墨墨不得意」。皆同。此字義或有異。〕唯大君能之。禍與福相貫，〔鮑本貫，猶通。〕生與亡為鄰，不偏於死，〔鮑本偏，猶專也。死，謂患難。〕不偏於生，〔鮑本專于衛生，加兩臂重於天下者。〕不足以載大名。〔姚本「載」一作「戴」。　鮑本正曰：載，承也。不專一於致死，不專一於求生者，不足以承載大名。〕無所寇艾，〔鮑本寇，外兵。艾，己所懲創。正曰：寇，猶賊害。艾即刈。不遭賊害而懲創，則不足以橫行於世。〕不足以橫世。〔鮑本橫，言莫之敵。〕夫秦捐德絕命之日久矣，而天下不知。今夫橫人嚂口利機，〔鮑本集韻，嚂，聲也。言聲說所利之事。正曰：嚂，力暫切，食貌。利機者，利其發動之機。〕上干主心，下牟〔鮑本牟，取也。〕百姓，公舉〔鮑本舉，謂舉措。〕而私取利，是以國權輕於鴻毛，而積禍重於丘山。」〔鮑本補曰：此主從而黜橫者之說。然意多未詳。〕

魏王遺楚王美人

魏王〔鮑本哀。正曰：無考。〕遺楚王美人，楚王說之。夫人鄭袖知王之說新人也，甚愛新人。衣服玩好，擇其所喜而為之；宮室臥具，擇其所善〔姚本「善」一作「喜」。〕而為之。愛之甚於王。王曰：「婦人所以事夫者，色也；而妒者，其情也。今鄭袖知寡人之說新人也，其愛之甚於寡人，此孝子之所以事親，忠臣之所以事君也。」

鄭袖知王以己為不妒也，因謂新人曰：「王愛子美矣。雖然，惡子之鼻。子為見王，則必掩子鼻。」〔鮑本為此惡鼻故。正曰：為，如字。〕新人見王，因掩其鼻。王謂鄭袖曰：「夫新人見寡人，則掩其鼻，何也？」鄭袖曰：「妾知也。」王曰：「雖惡，必言之。」鄭袖曰：「其似惡聞君王之臭也。」〔鮑本無「君」字。○　王蓋有臭疾。　札記丕烈案：韓子無。〕王曰：「悍哉！」令劓之，無使逆命。〔鮑本不通新人之言。補曰：「雖惡」之「惡」，如字。〕

楚王后死

楚王后死，〔鮑本自張儀拘時，獨言鄭袖，則后死久矣。正曰：無據。使真為懷王，鄭袖必不待視珥所在矣。〕未立后也。謂昭魚曰：「公何以不請立后也？」昭魚曰：「王不聽，是知〔鮑本「知」作「智」。○〕困而交絕於后〔鮑本「於」作「立」。○　補曰：一本「立」作「於」。新所立后。〕也。」「然則〔鮑本說者辭。〕不買〔鮑本補曰：「不買」上宜有「何」字。〕五雙珥，令其一善而獻之王，明日視善珥所在，因請立之。」〔鮑本補曰：說見齊策。此等何足記載！〕

莊辛謂楚襄王

莊辛謂楚襄王〔姚本荀子，「莊辛謂楚莊王」。　鮑本楚人。補曰：元和姓纂，莊辛，楚莊王之後，以謚為號。〕曰：「君王左州侯，右夏侯，輦從鄢陵君與壽陵君，〔鮑本皆楚之寵幸臣也。輦從，謂輦出則二人從之。〕專淫逸侈靡，不顧國政，郢都必危矣。」襄王曰：「先生老悖乎？〔鮑本悖，背道也。正曰：悖，亂也，言老而耄亂也。〕將以為楚國祅祥乎？」莊辛曰：「臣誠見其必然者也，非敢以為國祅祥也。君王卒幸四子者不衰，楚國必亡矣。臣請辟於趙，淹留以觀之。」〔鮑本淹，亦留。〕莊辛去之趙，留五月，秦果舉鄢、郢、巫、上蔡、陳之地，〔鮑本此二十一年，白起拔郢，置南郡。〕襄王流揜於城陽。〔鮑本「城」作「成」。○　流，謂走；揜，覆也，謂自匿。成陽，屬汝南；若城陽，乃齊也。補曰：史，「東北保於陳城」，當是指此城爾。〕於是使人發騶，〔鮑本騶，車御也。〕徵〔鮑本徵，謂召也。〕莊辛於趙。莊辛曰：「諾。」莊辛至，襄王曰：「寡人不能用先生之言，今事至於此，為之奈何？」

莊辛對曰：「臣聞鄙語曰：『見兔而顧犬，未為晚也；亡羊而補牢，〔鮑本牢，閉養之圈。〕未為遲也。』臣聞昔湯、武以百里昌，桀、紂以天下亡。今楚國雖小，絕長續短，猶以數千里，豈特百里哉？

「王獨不見夫蜻蛉〔鮑本蟲，一名「桑根」。〕乎？六足四翼，飛翔乎天地之間，俛啄蚊虻而食之，仰承甘露而飲之，自以為無患，與人無爭也。不知夫五尺童子，方將調鈆〔鮑本「鈆」作「飴」。○　補曰：「鈆」當作「飴」。飴，米糱所煎，調以餌之。又施膠於絲以繫之。正曰：顏師古急就章注，「以糱消末，取汁而煎之，渜弱者為飴，形怡怡然。此謂調以膠絲也」。淮南子，「柳下惠見飴曰，『可以養老』；盜跖見飴曰，『可以黏牡』」。呂氏春秋，「仁人得飴，以養疾侍老；跖、蹻得飴，以開閉取楗，皆以黏也」。　札記今本「鈆」作「飴」，乃誤涉鮑也。〕膠絲，〔鮑本補曰：一本標「膠」或作「繆」，言糾繆纏繞也。　札記丕烈案：新序作「膠絲竿」。〕加己乎四仞之上，而下為螻蟻食也。蜻蛉其小者也，〔鮑本無「蜻蛉其小者也」六字。○　札記丕烈案：新序有。〕黃雀因是以。俯噣〔鮑本噣，啄也。蓋以喙啄。補曰：一本「噣」作「囑」。　札記丕烈案：新序作「啄」。〕白粒，仰棲茂樹，鼓翅〔鮑本翅，強羽。〕奮翼，自以為無患，與人無爭也。不知夫公子王孫，左挾彈，右攝丸，〔鮑本攝，引持也。〕將加己乎十仞之上，以其類為招。〔鮑本補曰：一本標後語云「以其頸為的」。「的」，或為「招」。　札記丕烈案：「類」字形近之訛也。李善注詠懷詩引作「以其頸為的」。「的」、「招」同義。齊策所謂「今夫鵠的」，魏策所謂「兵為招質」者也。〕晝游乎茂樹，夕調乎酸鹹，〔鮑本以為饌也。〕倏忽之間，墜於公子之手。〔姚本三同。集無以上十字。　曾本云，一本有此十字。〕

「夫雀〔姚本一本，「夫黃雀」。〕其小者也，黃鵠〔鮑本鵠，鴻也。正曰：水鳥也。〕因是以。游於江海，淹乎大沼，府噣䱧〔鮑本「䱧」作「鱔」。○　字書無「䱧」字。　札記丕烈案：新序作「鰋鯉」。〕鯉，仰嚙陵衡，〔鮑本衡，香草。正曰：周禮，「蔆，芰蔆」。「陵」、「蔆」字通。凡將篇，「陵，從遴，今俗書作菱」。武陵記云，「四角、三角曰芰，兩角曰菱」。衡與菱並言即荇，接余，水草也。〕奮其六翮，〔鮑本翮，羽本。〕而凌清風，飄搖乎高翔，自以為無患，與人無爭也。不知夫射者，方將脩其𦲱盧，〔鮑本「𦲱」作「碆」。字書無「𦲱」字。「碆」與「𦲱」聲近。集韻，「碆」可為鏃。「盧」，「旅」同，黑弓也。正曰：下文「磻」，即「碆」，此不當復有「黑弓」之注，恐是此字形聲訛。　札記「𦲱」作「碆」，乃誤涉鮑也。丕烈案「𦲱」當讀為「蒲」。左氏所謂「董澤之蒲」也。新序作「修其防翳」，不與此同。〕治其繒繳，〔鮑本「繒」作「矰」。○　正曰：「矰」通，見三輔黃圖。矰，弋射矢。繳，生絹縷。補曰：繳，音灼。札記今本「繒」作「矰」，乃誤涉鮑也。丕烈案：新序是「繒」字。〕將加己乎百仞之上。彼礛磻，〔姚本續：「磻」，補左、補何二切。以石維繳也。　鮑本「礛」作「㔋」。　「㔋」，利也。集韻，磻，以石著維繳也。正曰：廣韻，礛，力甘反，治玉之石。　札記丕烈案：新序作「揚微波」。「波」、「磻」同字。〕引微繳，折清風而抎〔鮑本以繫矢，從高。集韻，抎，下也，如折然。補曰：抎，羽粉反。徐按呂氏春秋，與「隕」同。〕矣。故晝游乎〔姚本集，一無「乎」字。〕江河，夕調乎〔姚本集，一無「乎」字。〕鼎鼐。〔鮑本鼐，鼎之絕大者。〕

「夫黃鵠其小者也，蔡聖侯〔鮑本「聖」作「靈」。○　春秋及史無「聖侯」。補曰：「聖」當作「靈」，或者古通稱歟。下同。　札記丕烈案：吳說非，見下。新序作「蔡侯」。詠懷詩注引作「蔡聖侯因是已」。延叔堅戰國策論曰，因是已，因事已，復有事也」。依此，當讀「以」字句絕，連下者誤。上下句盡同。〕之事因是以。南游乎高陂，〔鮑本陂，阪也。正曰：池也。此引說文上一句。〕北陵乎巫山，飲茹谿流，〔姚本續：後語「飲茹溪之流」注云，茹溪，巫山之溪。　鮑本茹，飲馬也。故與吐反。〕食湘波之魚，〔鮑本湘水，出零陵，屬長沙。〕左抱幼妾，右擁嬖女，與之馳騁乎高蔡之中，〔鮑本即上蔡。〕而不以國家為事。不知夫子發方受命乎宣王，〔鮑本「宣」作「靈」。○　補曰：「宣」當作「靈」。　札記丕烈案：吳氏說非，新序作「宣」。此策文本作「聖侯」、「宣王」，非春秋蔡靈侯、楚靈王事。子發事楚宣，高誘注淮南子有其證。〕繫己以〔姚本三同，無「以」字。〕朱絲而見之也。〔鮑本昭十一年，楚子誘蔡侯般，殺之于申。經傳不書子發，蓋使子發召之。楚子，靈王。若宣王，蔡滅八十年矣。道應訓「子發伐蔡，宣王郊迎」，人間訓又言「獲罪威王」者，皆失考也。〕

「蔡聖侯之事其小者也，君王之事因是以。左州侯，右夏侯，輩從鄢陵君與壽陵君，〔姚本一無此「輩」字。　鮑本「輩」作「輦」。○　補曰：「鄢陵」，新序作「新安」。　札記今本「輩」作「輦」。〕飯封祿之粟，〔鮑本所封之祿。〕而戴方府之金，〔鮑本「戴」作「載」。○　方，四方。金，其所貢。　札記今本「戴」作「載」。〕與之馳騁乎雲夢之中，而不以天下國家為事。不〔鮑本「不」上有「而」字。○　札記丕烈案：新序無。〕知夫穰侯方受命乎秦王，〔鮑本昭。〕填黽塞之內，〔鮑本填，兵滿也。江夏有鄳，即魏策鄳隘之塞。補曰：策本韓，鮑改作魏，故云。然燕策亦有。案，左氏定四年，左司馬戌謂子常「直轅、冥阨」注，漢東隘道。史春申傳，秦踰黽隘之塞而攻楚。蘇秦傳，塞鄳阨。正義云，申州羅山縣，本漢鄳縣，州有清平關，蓋古鄳縣之阨塞。又云，石城山，楚母家涉鄳塞。亦指此。而正義誤以為河東太陽鄍城，初不與楚相涉，何遽忘前說也？大事記作「鍾山縣」。按唐志，申州有鍾山、羅山兩縣。申州，今信陽軍也。黽、鄳字同，謨萌反。隘，當從阨音。〕而投己乎黽塞之外。」

襄王聞之，顏色變作，身體戰慄。於是乃以執珪而授之為陽陵君，〔姚本一本無「以」字。曾，「為」上有「封之」二字。〕與淮北之地也。〔鮑本無「也」字。○〕　　〔鮑本彪謂：此策，天下之善規也。襄王雖失之東隅，而收之桑榆。故其季年保境善鄰，差為無事，此策為有力焉。補曰：「與淮北」云云句上有缺文。新序曰，「身體悼栗，曰『謹受令』。乃封莊辛為城陵君而用計焉，與舉淮北之地十二諸侯」。後語云，「而與謀秦，復取淮北之地」。大事記，頃襄既失郢都，復召莊辛，聞其言，至於色變體慄，此其所以能稍復故地也。復取江南十五邑，在頃襄二十三年。新序又載，楚襄用莊辛計，舉淮北之地十二諸侯。蓋喪亂之後，補敗扶傾之計，皆出於辛，特不能大有所為耳。劉辰翁極詆辛小人，謂何策之有？皆失考。〕

齊明說卓滑以伐秦

齊明說卓滑〔鮑本疑即淖滑。〕以伐秦，滑不聽也。齊明謂卓滑曰：「明之來也，〔鮑本蓋自秦來。〕為樗里疾卜交也。明說楚大夫以伐秦，皆受明之說也，唯公弗受也，臣有辭以報樗里子矣。」卓滑因重之。〔鮑本此明因敗為成之說也。樗里，滑之所欲交也。滑不聽明，明懼見輕，為善於疾，而言以此報疾，故滑重之。〕

或謂黃齊

或謂黃齊曰：「人皆以謂公不善於富摯。〔鮑本皆楚人。〕公不聞老萊子〔鮑本楚有道之士。〕之教孔子事君乎？示之其齒之堅也，〔姚本一本「齒」下有「曰齒」二字。〕六十而盡相靡也。〔鮑本「靡」，「摩」同，研也。〕今富摯能，〔鮑本有材能。〕而公重〔鮑本重，猶甚。〕不相善也，是兩盡也。〔鮑本補曰：謂兩強俱斃，若齒之相摩，以就盡也。〕諺曰：〔鮑本傳言曰「諺」。〕『見君之乘，下之；〔鮑本乘，馬也。在車則下。〕見杖，起之。』〔鮑本在坐則起。補曰：「下」，音戶。「起」，音去，上聲。〕今也，王愛富摯，而公不善也，是不臣也。」〔鮑本彪謂：王之所愛，誠善人也，正人也，尊之敬之，禮也。如不善不正，方當為王力排而亟去之。今曰王愛之亦愛，何義也？此正盍以富摯能為足愛也。夫能之不善不正亦多矣，不可不察也。補曰：說苑，「常從告老子曰，『舌之存也，豈非以其治之柔邪？齒之亡也，豈非以其剛邪』」？孔叢子云，「老萊子謂子思曰，『子不見夫齒乎？雖堅剛，卒盡相摩；舌柔順，終以不敝』」。按史記及漢志並云，孔子與老子、老萊子同時，孔叢子所記，舛也。〕

長沙之難

長沙〔鮑本長沙，荊州國。懷二十九年，秦大破楚，楚王恐，使太子質齊。楚蓋破於此。〕之難，楚太子橫為質於齊。楚王死，薛公歸太子橫，因與韓、魏之兵，隨而攻東國。太子懼。〔鮑本本其初言之，亦明此非新立王也。〕昭蓋曰：「不若令屈署以新〔鮑本「新」字疑衍。〕東國為和於齊以動秦。秦恐齊之敗東國，〔鮑本上言齊興兵攻故地，此恐其敗。〕而令行於天下也，必將救我。」太子曰：「善。」遽令屈署以東國為和於齊。〔鮑本此即子良之策，蓋與署偕。〕秦王〔鮑本昭。〕聞之懼，令辛〔鮑本「辛」作「羋」。○　補曰：當作「羋」。〕戎告楚曰：「毋與齊東國，吾與子出兵矣。」

有獻不死之藥於荊王者

有獻不死之藥於荊王者，謁者操以入。中射之士〔鮑本射人之在中者。正曰：韓非子注，中射士，官，有上、中、下。〕問曰：「可食乎？」曰：「可。」因奪而食之。王怒，使人殺中射之士。中射之士使人說王曰：「臣問謁者，謁者曰可食，臣故食之。是臣無罪，而罪在謁者也。且客獻不死之藥，臣食之而王殺臣，是死藥也。王殺無罪之臣，而明人之欺王。」王乃不殺。〔鮑本彪謂：此謾上，乃不可不殺。荊王赦之，以不能答之也。於答是也何有？謁者曰「可食」，非謂「汝可食」也。藥之能不死者，平人耳，非能使刑者不死。且人以獻王，何與汝？而問之，是安得無罪也。正曰：人獻藥於王，奪而食之，固不得為無罪，而罪不至於死者。世豈有不死之藥哉？明臣之欺王，此士之欲以悟王也，其志則忠矣。鮑謂不可不殺，悖哉！補曰：自齊威宣、燕昭使人入海求三神山而方士盛，楚臣有獻不死之藥者，知當時此術蔓延浸滛，不獨燕、齊然也。屈平遠游之篇曰，「一氣孔神兮於中夜，存虛以待之兮無為之先」。長生久視之方，無以易此。惜乎楚王之不知也。此策時亦無考。〕

客說春申君

客說春申君曰：「湯以亳，〔鮑本皇覽，今梁穀熟。補曰：史正義引括地志云，宋州穀熟縣西南南亳故城，即湯都。宋州北大蒙城為景亳，湯所盟地，所謂北亳。河東偃師為西亳，帝嚳及湯所都。盤庚亦徙都云。湯即位後，都南亳，後徙西亳。〕武王以鄗，〔鮑本「鄗」作「鎬」。○　屬京兆。正曰：「鄗」，「鎬」通。史，復都豐鄗。國語，社伯射王於鄗。鄗，一音黑各反。公羊桓十五年，公會齊侯于鄗。常山有邑名鄗是也，故與鎬異。案，鄠縣上林。即今長安縣昆明池北鎬坡。〕皆不過百里以有天下。今孫子，〔鮑本荀卿。補曰：「荀」作「孫」，避宣帝諱也。孫子時為蘭陵令。〕天下賢人也，君籍之以百里勢，〔鮑本「勢」上補「之」字。○　札記丕烈案：韓詩外傳有。〕臣竊以為不便於君。何如？」春申君曰：「善。」於是使人謝孫子。孫子去之趙，趙以為上卿。〔姚本續：荀子未嘗為上卿。後語作「上客」，當是。　鮑本史言孫子，春申君死而貧困，家蘭陵，不言之趙。〕

客又說春申君曰：「昔伊尹〔鮑本無「尹」字。○　補曰：缺「尹」字。　札記丕烈案：外傳有。〕去夏入殷，殷王而夏亡。管仲去魯入齊，魯弱而齊強。夫賢者之所在，其君未嘗不尊，國未嘗不榮也。今孫子，天下賢人也。君何辭之？」春申君又曰：「善。」於是使人請孫子於趙。

孫子為書謝曰：「癘人憐王，〔姚本續：韓非子，「諺曰，癘憐王」。　鮑本癘雖惡疾，猶愈於劫弒，故反憐王。補曰：癘，癩也。劉辰翁曰，此韓非語，孫不應用。不知非正用孫語也。〕此不恭之語也。雖然，〔鮑本補曰：一本此下有「古無虛諺」四字。〕不可不審察也。此為劫弒死亡之主言也。夫人主年少而矜材，無法術以知奸，則大臣主斷國〔鮑本專斷其國。〕私以禁誅於己也，〔鮑本察其私，則恐人誅己，故主斷以禁之。〕故弒賢長而立幼弱，廢正適而立不義。春秋戒之曰：『楚王子圍聘於鄭，未出竟，聞王病，反問疾，遂以冠纓絞王，殺之，因自立也。〔鮑本昭元年。〕齊崔杼之妻美，莊公通之。崔杼帥其君黨而攻。莊公請與分國，〔鮑本重「莊公」二字。○　札記丕烈案：韓子作「而攻公，公入室，請與之分國」。〕崔杼不許；欲自刃於廟，崔杼不許。莊公走出，踰於外牆，射中其股，遂殺之，而立其弟景公。』〔鮑本襄三十二年。〕近代所見：李兌用趙，餓主父於沙丘，百日而殺之；淖齒用齊，擢〔鮑本擢，引也。〕閔王之筋，縣於其廟梁，宿夕而死。夫厲雖癕腫胞疾，〔鮑本補曰：癕，委勇切。胞，當皮交切。〕上比前世，未至絞纓射股；〔札記今本「絞纓」誤「纓絞」。丕烈案：韓子及外傳皆作「絞頸」。〕下比近代，未至擢筋而餓死也。夫劫弒死亡之主也，心之憂勞，形之困苦，必甚於癘矣。由此觀之，癘雖憐王可也。」因為賦曰：〔姚本續：亦見荀子賦篇、韓詩外傳。　鮑本補曰：「賦曰」以下，即佹詩，文小異。〕「寶珍隋珠，〔鮑本隋侯見大蛇傷，療而愈之，蛇銜明珠報之。世之所寶所珍。〕不知佩兮。〔鮑本「佩」作「俾」。○　札記丕烈案：荀子、外傳皆作「佩」。〕褘布與絲，〔姚本「緯」，孫作「襍」。　鮑本禮，后服。褘衣謂畫袍。　札記今本「絲」誤「縣」。丕烈案：荀子、外傳皆作「錦」。〕不知異兮。閭姝子奢，〔鮑本姝，好也。奢，即子都，美人也。補曰：荀子作「閭娵」。韋昭云，梁王魏罃之美女。楚辭法云，「奢」或作「都」，故以為鄭之美人。　札記丕烈案：外傳作「閭娵、子都」。「姝」、「娵」、「奢」、「都」，皆同字。〕莫知媒兮。嫫母〔鮑本嫫母，都醜也。正曰：醜婦人。楚辭注云，黃帝妻。〕求之，又甚喜之兮。以瞽為明，以聾為聰，以是為非，以吉為凶。嗚呼上天，曷惟其同！」〔鮑本言舉世皆然。正曰：朱子謂，此言衰亂之極，人懷私意，乖異反易，至於如此。故呼天而問之曰，何為而可使之同乎？同則合乎天理之公，是非善惡，皆當於理，而天下治矣。明天意悔禍，則轉禍為福，撥亂反正不難矣。〕詩曰：「上天甚神，無自瘵也。」〔鮑本瘵，病也。言天理甚明，如是者必有患禍。彪謂：春申君之愚昏甚矣！人惟不知賢，故不能用。豈有知之，以一人言去之，又以一人言召之，其持操安在也？荀卿絕之宜哉！卿書有與趙孝成王論兵，而史不言之趙，失之。卿，禮義人也，使卿而在楚，春申必無李園之禍。此書蓋知之矣。補曰：按「詩曰」以下，荀子無之。二句乃菀柳之辭。「神」，詩作「蹈」，傳謂當從策；「也」，詩作「焉」。本言人誰不欲朝事王，而王甚神，朝之無不自取病。今借以言天之威神甚可畏，不可不畏天而自取禍也。　朱子謂，黃歇，亂人，卿乃以為託身行道之所，則已誤矣。愚謂，卿雖非孟子比，然以詩書禮義言治，禁暴除害言兵，要為異於戰國之士者。此篇不載於其書，賦即佹詩末章。其言弒賢良而立幼弱，廢正適而立不義，遠引楚圍、崔杼，近述李兌、淖齒，劘切春申，甚然。首以法術知奸為言，則亦出申、商，可謂惑流俗而不篤於自信者也。策獨載此而不及其他，其人又可知矣。　史，「荀卿年五十始遊學於齊，襄王時，最為老師，齊尚修列大夫之𡙇，而卿三為祭酒」。劉向曰，「方齊宣王、威王之時，聚天下賢士於稷下，尊寵之。若鄒衍、田駢、淳于髡之屬，號曰列大夫。是時荀卿年十五，始遊學至。襄王時，最為老師，齊尚修列大夫之𡙇，而卿三為祭酒焉」。據二書之文，則襄王時三為祭酒也。大事記取史文，書「卿為列大夫祭酒，在襄王五年」，是也。朱子采劉向而文稍異，曰，「卿少遊學於齊，歷威、宣至襄王，三為稷下祭酒」。按史，「春申君死而卿家蘭陵」。春申之死在考烈王二十五年，齊王建之二十七年也。上歷襄王二十九年，湣王、宣王通五十九年，乃及威王之世。自王建二十九年至宣王元年，已為一百有五年，卿之不逮事威王明矣。蓋向之言，但為歷敘威、宣之多士，其言猶先宣而後威，不主為卿言也。祭酒者，古人飲食必祭，席中之尊者一人當祭，後因以為官號。髡、衍為列大夫之時，卿年尚小。其徒既死，齊修其𡙇，而卿與焉。故卿在襄王時，最為老師，而三處眾士之上也。向之言，視史猶明，朱子偶未之察耳。史云「五十始游學」，向云「十五」，史字倒置無疑，朱子改之當矣。　札記丕烈案：「詩曰」以下，外傳有之，「神」作「蹈」，「也」作「焉」。考此，必韓氏詩作「神」、作「也」，與毛氏詩作「謟」、作「焉」不同。今外傳有誤字。〕

天下合從

天下合〔姚本「合」，曾作「舍」。〕從。趙使魏加〔鮑本趙人，全晉舊姓。正曰：鮑見策云趙使，故云爾，無據。〕見楚春申君曰：「君有將乎？」曰：「有矣，僕欲將臨武君。」〔鮑本未詳。補曰：荀子議兵篇「臨武君與卿議兵於趙孝成王前」注，楚將。劉向稱「卿至趙，與孫臏議兵於孝成王前」。臏為齊宣王軍師，世遠，非是。〕魏加曰：「臣少之時好射，臣願以射譬之，可乎？」春申君曰：「可。」加曰：「異日者，更羸〔鮑本更羸，人姓名。〕與魏王處京〔鮑本京，高也。正曰：或臺名。〕臺之下，仰見飛鳥。更羸謂魏王曰：『臣為王〔鮑本「王」作「君」。○〕引弓虛發而下鳥。』魏王曰：『然則射可至此乎？』更羸曰：『可。』有間，雁從東方來，更羸以虛發而下之。魏王曰：『然則射可至此乎？』更羸曰：『此孽也。』〔鮑本有隱痛於身，猶孽子。正曰：徐鍇曰，「妾隸之子曰孽。孽之言蘖也，女沒廢而有所生，若木既伐而生枿。故於文，『子薛』為『孽』。孽者，罪也」。按此，則取廢而復生之義，以譬傷弓之鳥。〕王曰：『先生何以知之？』對曰：『其飛徐而鳴悲。飛徐者，故瘡痛也；鳴悲者，〔札記今本「鳴悲」誤倒。〕久失群也，故瘡未息，而驚心未至也。〔鮑本「至」作「去」。○　補曰：一本「未忘」。　札記今本「至」作「去」。〕聞弦音，引而高飛，〔鮑本「音引」二字作「者音烈」三字。○　烈，猛也。高飛欲避箭。補曰：姚及一本無「者」字，「烈」作「引」，其義為是。「者」，「音」之訛而衍也。「烈」，「引」之訛也。　札記丕烈案：「烈」者，「裂」之誤，當本在「瘡」字下，云「故瘡裂而隕也」。各本皆有錯脫。〕故瘡隕也。』〔鮑本以瘡痛而墜。〕今臨武君，嘗為秦孽，〔鮑本嘗敗於秦。未詳。〕不可為拒秦之將也。」

汗明見春申君

汗明〔鮑本未詳。〕見春申君，候問〔姚本一作「候間」。〕三月，而後得見。談卒，春申君大說之。汗明欲復談，春申君曰：「僕已知先生，先生大息矣。」〔鮑本異於小休。〕汗明憱〔姚本「憱」，劉作「慨」。　鮑本「憱」作「蹙」。○　補曰：即「蹴」。字書無「憱」字。蹙踖，驚貌。正曰：蹴，不安貌。踧踖之踧，非蹙。〕焉曰：「明願有問君而恐固。〔鮑本固，陋也。〕不審君之聖，孰與堯也？」春申君曰：「先生過矣，臣何足以當堯？」汗明曰：「然則君料臣孰與舜？」春申君曰：「先生即舜也。」汗明曰：「不然，臣請為君終言之。君之賢實不如堯，臣之能不及舜。夫以賢舜事聖堯，三年而後乃相知也。今君一時〔鮑本「時」作「旦」。○〕而知臣，是君聖於堯而臣賢於舜也。」春申君曰：「善。」召門吏為汗先生著客籍，〔鮑本著者，書此語也。正曰：著其名字於賓客之籍。〕五日一見。

汗明曰：「君亦聞驥乎？夫驥之齒至〔鮑本至，言可服乘之時。〕矣，服〔鮑本服，在車前。〕鹽〔鮑本「鹽」作「檻」。○　補曰：字訛，當作「鹽」。〕車而上太行。蹄申膝折，〔鮑本申，猶展，皆用力故然。〕尾湛胕潰，〔鮑本「湛」，「沉」同，汗多故然。「胕」，當作「肤」，與「膚」同。亦汗出於膚如潰。〕漉汁灑地，〔鮑本「汁」作「汗」。○　滲漉之汗。正曰：下有「汗」字，「汁」與「汗」對，言其重者。〕白汗〔鮑本白汗，不緣暑而汗也。正曰：白，言其色。〕交流，中〔姚本「中」，一作「外」。　鮑本「中」作「外」。○〕阪遷延，〔鮑本阪，坡也。遷延，不進貌。〕負轅不能上。〔姚本續：索隱引戰國策改「棘」作「轅」。　鮑本「轅」作「棘」，「不」上有「而」字。○　負，所戴也。棘，言步蹇。正曰：負在背，姚本作「負轅」是。　札記今本「轅」作「棘」。〕伯樂〔鮑本補曰：伯樂，姓孫名陽，秦穆公時人。〕遭之，下車攀而哭之，解紵衣以羃〔鮑本冪，覆也。〕之。驥於是俛而噴，仰而鳴，聲達於天，若出金石聲〔鮑本補曰：此「聲」字宜衍。〕者，何也？〔鮑本問其聲何以然。〕彼見伯樂之知己也。今僕之不肖，阨於州部，〔鮑本集韻，部，統也，界也。〕堀穴窮巷，〔姚本三同，「堀」上有「陪」字。　鮑本堀，窟也，以窮巷為窟穴。〕沈洿〔鮑本洿，濁溽也。〕鄙俗之日久矣，君獨無意湔拔僕也，〔姚本湔，音薦。　鮑本「拔」作「祓」。○　湔，手浣也。祓，去惡也。　札記丕烈案：「祓」誤也，李善引作「拂」。「拂」、「拔」同字。〕使得為君高鳴屈於梁乎？」〔鮑本聲己之屈。梁，南梁。彪謂：世之懷材抱德之士，陸沒於時，若此驥者不少。而伯樂之不世有，長鳴之無其時，可不為之大哀邪？故招延不可不博，試用不可不詳也。補曰：高鳴屈於梁，疑明嘗困於梁者。　一本標云，類要「高鳴」作「長鳴」。李善注廣絕交論曰，「翦拂使其長鳴」，引策云。〕

楚考烈王無子

楚考烈王無子，〔鮑本補曰：此時無子也。古史云，「楚幽王悍卒，同母弟猶立。猶庶兄負芻之徒，襲殺猶而立負芻」。司馬貞云，「猶有庶兄負芻及昌平君」。劉向列女傳，「猶乃考烈王遺腹子」。〕春申君患之，求婦人宜子者進之，甚眾，卒無子。

趙人李園，持其女弟，欲進之楚王，聞其不宜子，恐又〔姚本曾，「又」作「久」。〕無寵。李園求事春申君為舍人。已而謁歸，故失期。〔鮑本后於所期日。〕還謁，〔鮑本自趙還，入謁。〕春申君問狀。〔鮑本狀，事狀。〕對曰：「齊王遣使求臣女弟，〔鮑本詭言王遣。〕與其使者飲，故失期。」春申君曰：「聘入乎？」對曰：「未也。」春申君曰：「可得見乎？」曰：「可。」於是園乃〔姚本一無「乃」字。〕進其女弟，即幸於春申君。知其〔姚本一無「其」字。〕有身，園乃與其女弟謀。

園女弟承間說春申君曰：「楚王之貴幸君，雖兄弟不如。今君相楚王〔姚本一無「王」字。〕二十餘年，而王無子，即百歲後將更立兄弟。即楚王更立，〔鮑本王，後王。〕彼亦各貴其故〔鮑本無「故」字。○　札記丕烈案：史記有。〕所親，君又安得長有寵乎？非徒然也？君用事久，多失禮於王兄弟，兄弟誠立，〔鮑本補曰：「兄」上恐亦當有「王」字，疊上文。　札記丕烈案：史記無，吳說未是。〕禍且及身，奈何以保相印、江東之封乎？〔姚本一無「奈」字。　鮑本補曰：後語云，江東十二縣之封。湖州圖經有春申君封邑。〕今妾自知有身矣，而人莫知。妾之幸君未久，誠以君之重而進妾於楚王，王必幸妾。妾賴天而有男，則是君之子為王也，楚國封盡可得，〔姚本一無「盡」字。　鮑本四封之內。〕孰與其臨不測之罪乎？」春申君大然之。乃出園女弟謹舍，而言之楚王。楚王召入，幸之。遂生子男，立為太子，以李園女弟立為王后。楚王貴李園，李園用事。

李園既入其女弟為王后，子為太子，恐春申君語泄而益驕，陰養死士，欲殺春申君以滅口，〔姚本續：越絕書記：昔楚考烈王相春申君也，吏李園。園女弟環謂園曰：「我聞王老無嗣，可見我於春申君。我欲假於春申君。我得見於春申君，徑得幸於王矣。」園曰：「春申君，貴人也，千里佐，吾胡敢託言？」女環曰：「即不見我，汝求謁於春申君：『才人告有遠道客，因請歸待之。』彼必問汝：『汝家何等遠道客者？』因對曰：『園有女弟，聞之使，使來求之園，才人使告園也。』彼必問汝：『女弟何能？』對曰：『能鼓音，讀詩書，通一經。』故彼必見我。』」園曰：「諾。」明日，辭春申君：「才人有遠道客，請歸待之。」春申君果問：「汝家何等遠道客？」對曰：「園有女弟，魯相聞之，使使來求之。」春申君曰：「何能？」對以鼓音，讀詩書，通一經。春申君曰：「可得見乎？」園曰：「可。」「明日使待於離亭。」園曰：「諾。」既歸，告女弟環曰：「吾辭於春申君，與我明日夕於離亭。」女環曰：「園宜先供待之。」春申君到，園馳人呼女環到。黃昏，女環至，大縱酒，鼓琴。曲未終，春申君重言「善」。女環鼓琴而歌，春申君大悅。留宿。明日，女環謂春申君曰：「妾聞王老無嗣，屬邦於君。君外滛不顧政事，使王聞之，君上負於王，使妾兄下負於夫人，為之奈何？無泄此口，君召而戒之。」春申君以告官屬莫有聞滛女也，皆諾。與女環通，未終月，女環謂春申君曰：「妾聞王老無嗣，今懷君子一月矣。可見妾於王。幸產子男，君即王公也，何為而佐乎？君試念之。」春申君曰：「諾。」念之五日而道之：「邦中有好女，中相呼屬嗣者。」烈王曰：「諾。」即召而可之。烈王大悅，取之，十月產子男。烈王死，幽王嗣立。女環使園相春申君。相之三年，然後告園，以吳封春申君，使備東邊。園曰：「諾。」即封春申君於吳。幽王後懷王，使張儀詐殺之。懷王子頃襄王，秦始皇帝使王翦滅之。越絕書又云：春申君，楚考烈王相也。烈王死，幽王立，封春申君於吳。三年，幽王徵春申君為楚令尹，春申君自使其子親為假君。治十一年，幽王徵假君與春申君，并殺之。二君治吳凡十四年。〕而國人頗有知之者。

春申君相楚二十五年，考烈王病。朱英謂春申君曰：〔鮑本楚人。正曰：後語云，觀人朱英。注，觀地在河北平原。史，觀津人朱英。班志，信都國觀津縣。觀，古玩反。正義以為「魏州觀城縣觀音館」者，非是，又見韓策「觀鞅」章。鮑移在魏，作「魏鞅」。〕「世有無妄之福，〔鮑本無妄，言可必。正曰：朱子解易「無妄」，云史作「無望」。謂無所期望而有得焉者，義亦通。〕又有無妄之禍。今君處無妄之世，以事無妄之主，安不有無妄之人乎？」春申君曰：「何謂無妄之福？」曰：「君相楚二十餘年矣，雖名為相國，實〔姚本一本「實」下有「如」字。〕楚王也。五子皆相諸侯。今王疾甚，旦暮且崩，太子衰弱，疾而不起，而君相少主，因而代立當國，〔鮑本立，謂攝也。〕如伊尹、周公。王長而反政，不，〔鮑本不，不反政。〕即遂南面稱孤，因而有楚國。此所謂無妄之福也。」春申君曰：「何謂無妄之禍？」曰：「李園不治國，〔姚本錢、劉下有「而」字。　鮑本言非將相。〕王之舅也。不為兵將，而陰養死士之日久矣。楚王崩，李園必先入，據本議制斷君命，〔鮑本據，言不移。議，欲殺春申君也。制斷，矯也。君，楚王也。〕秉權而殺君以滅口。此所謂無妄之禍也。」春申君曰：「何謂無妄之人？」曰：「君先仕臣為郎中，君王崩，〔鮑本此章唯「楚王更立」、「楚王」可曰楚王，餘皆後人稱之。正曰：策中有「當曰王」、「當曰楚王」，亦有兩稱皆通者。〕李園先入，臣請為君𠟍其胸殺之。〔鮑本補曰：「𠟍」，玉篇作「𠝤」，尺庸反，刺也。「為君」之「為」，去聲。〕此所謂無妄之人也。」春申君曰：「先生置之，勿復言已。〔鮑本「已」作「也」。○〕李園，軟弱人也，僕又善之，又何至此？」朱英恐，乃亡去。

後十七日，楚〔鮑本無「楚」字。○〕考烈王崩，李園果先入，置死士，止於棘門之內。〔鮑本宮門，以棘衛之。〕春申君後入，止棘門。園死士夾刺春申君，斬其頭，投之棘門外。於是使吏盡滅春申君之家。而李園女弟，初幸春申君有身，而入之王所生子者，遂立為楚幽王也。

是歲，秦始皇立九年矣。嫪毐〔鮑本呂不韋所進，以說始皇母帝太后者也。〕亦為亂於秦。〔鮑本不韋傳，毐與太后私亂，生子二人，與后謀曰，「王即薨，以子為後」。補曰：策於章末並敘嫪毐之事，豈無意哉？二國宗姓已滅絕，呂政雖一天下，世僅再傳，奚異楚幽也。趙與秦同姓，王遷母倡，族類不正，亦以滅亡，蓋倫紀嬻亂，其不永也固宜。抑諸國運盡祚窮，乖戾併於一時也歟？〕覺，夷三族，而呂不韋廢。〔鮑本彪謂：春申君所以至於此，錮寵而暗於事也。使萬有一如李氏女所陳者，歸相印而老江東之封，不已優乎？春申於楚，非若商君之於惠文。又如不可，則杖策而去，扁舟五湖，為世陶朱抑可矣！春申不為此，而計出於滅宗，蓋小人患失之禍，勢必有此，不可不戒也。朱英之言深矣，然未聞道也。春申之納女，前日事耳。英不以此時，匡之以大臣之義，而以一卒自任，雖多言亦何救於亂哉？正曰：凡鮑氏責春申以歸老江東，杖策扁舟之事，在未納女之前可也。既納之後，又入其乘間之言，禍根已牢，異時縱欲歸印杖策，禍亦隨之，豈有脫理邪？其論朱英以未聞道，尤謬。納女事祕，人豈知之？英之事歇又淺，觀其說而不聽，可見責以匡正大臣之義，豈其然乎？〕

續：越絕書，隋經籍志稱為子貢作。今雜記秦、漢事，疑後人所羼，不敢盡信。史記、戰國策、列女傳，不載女環之名，止見於此。其畫策終始，信如此，皆出於女環，尤為異也。至言烈王死後，李園相春申君，方封於吳，又立其子為假君，皆與史記、國策不合。聊記于此，以廣異聞。

虞卿謂春申君

虞卿〔鮑本史不書何所人。〕謂春申君曰：「臣聞之春秋，〔鮑本補曰：此二字恐因下文衍。〕於安思危，危則慮安。今楚王之春秋高矣，而君之封地，不可不早定也。為主君慮封者，莫如遠楚。秦孝公封商君，孝公死，而後〔鮑本「後」下補「王」字。○〕不免殺之。秦惠王封冉子，〔鮑本穰侯也，宣太后弟。子，男子。〕惠王死，而後王奪之。公孫鞅，功臣也；冉子，親姻也。然而不免奪死者，封近故也。太公望封於齊，邵公奭〔鮑本「奭」作「𨟉」。○〕封於燕，為其遠王室矣。今燕之罪大而趙怒深，〔鮑本「怒」作「怨」。○　趙自燕王喜以栗腹之謀伐趙，起燕四年至十二年，無歲不戰。十二年，此二十一年。正曰：不可考。補曰：一本「趙怒深」。〕故君不如北兵以德趙，踐〔鮑本踐奄之踐。〕亂燕，以定身封，此百代之一時也。」〔鮑本補曰：此數語，與秦策謂穰侯章，趙策齊將攻宋章、齊攻宋章，皆相類。〕

君曰：「所道攻燕，非齊則魏。魏、齊新怨楚，〔鮑本景陽救燕之役。正曰：燕策，齊、韓、魏共攻燕，楚使景陽救之。景攻魏雍丘，以與宋云云。時猶有宋，去此時遠甚。鮑指以為懷王二十七年。此為考烈王二十一年。就使果然，則相去亦皆遠。策固云「魏、齊新怨楚」，豈得為彼時事哉？〕楚君〔鮑本「君」作「軍」。○〕雖欲攻燕，將道何哉？」對曰：「請令魏王可。」〔鮑本景閔王。可，聽其道魏。〕君曰：「何如？」對曰：「臣請到魏，而使所以信之。」〔鮑本為所可信者。〕

迺謂魏王曰：「夫楚亦強大矣，天下無敵，乃且攻燕。」魏王曰：〔鮑本補曰：「王曰」以下脫簡，誤衍在前章。〕「鄉也，子云天下無敵；今也，子云乃且攻燕者，何也？」對曰：「今為〔鮑本「為」作「謂」。○　丕烈案：楚策作「謂」。〕馬多力則有矣，若曰勝千鈞〔鮑本鈞，三十斤。〕則不然者，何也？夫千鈞非馬之任也。今謂楚強大則有矣，若越趙、魏而鬥兵於燕，則豈楚之任也我？〔姚本「我」一作「哉」。　鮑本「我」作「哉」。○　札記丕烈案：楚策作「哉」。〕非楚之任而楚為之，是敝楚也。敝楚見強魏也，〔姚本一本「敝楚見強魏也」作「強楚敝楚」。　鮑本「見」作「是」。○〕其於王孰便也？」〔姚本曾云，此下恐欠。鮑本補曰：按史考烈王元年，封歇春申君，賜淮北地。後十五年，以地邊齊，言於王以為郡，請封江東，因城吳故墟。大事記謂利吳之安富也。此策言楚王春秋高，君之封地不可不早定，則在未封之前，頃襄之時乎？頃襄之三十四年，趙嘗伐燕。豈或此時勸以踐燕定封，亦欲其取地於他國如魏冉乎？淮北邊齊猶難之，況燕地乎？亦非計之便也。然遠楚徒封，卒用於城吳之時，皆斯言有以啟之也。踐燕定封，亦欲其取地於他國如魏冉乎？淮北邊齊猶難之，況燕地乎？亦非計之便也。然遠楚徒封，卒用於城吳之時，皆斯言有以啟之也。〕

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The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Strategies of the Warring States (articles 戰國策 (士禮居叢書本)/楚/一, 戰國策 (士禮居叢書本)/楚/二, 戰國策 (士禮居叢書本)/楚/三, 戰國策 (士禮居叢書本)/楚/四, revisions of 7 October 2024 to 7 October 2024), inspected from a witness copy captured on 22 August 2026. Chinese Wikisource transcriptions are published under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL; the text itself is ancient and in the public domain. The wiki header, navigation links, license templates, and modern contributors' footnotes have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.

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