Shang Yang as a Historical Personality and as a Symbol

EDITOR’S ABSTRACT

This article gives an overview of Shang Yang portrayals in four stages: from Han Fei’s sympathetic yet balanced assessment, passing over a variety of conflicting Han views, skipping through “the two millennia of vilification” to Zhang Taiyan’s (1869–1936) rediscovery of Shang Yang, and ending up at the Shang Yang fervor of the 1970s. Zeng shows how the figure of Shang Yang keeps popping up with a certain regularity, inciting conflicts about his legacy. He also argues that at each flare of the debate, what was really at stake was not a mere assessment of the long gone Warring States-period Qin reformer, but of the then current policies that needed to be indirectly addressed.

Notes

Translation from https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/18th-brumaire/ch01.htm (accessed Sept. 17, 2016).

Han Feizi jijie (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1998), IV.14: 101. “Treacherous, larcenous, murderous ministers” (Jian jie shi chen).

Han Feizi IV.14: 102, “Treacherous, larcenous, murderous ministers.”

Han Feizi IV.14: 102, “Treacherous, larcenous, murderous ministers.”

Han Feizi IX.30: 225, “Inner compendium of explanations, upper, seven techniques” (Nei chu shuo, shang, qi shu).

Han Feizi, IV.14: 105, “Treacherous, larcenous, murderous ministers.”

For Shang Yang’s ideology of law, see also the article by Wu Baoping and Lin Cunguang in this volume.—Trans.

Han Feizi XVII.43: 397, “Defining standards” (Ding fa).

Han Feizi XVII.43: 398, “Defining standards.”

Zhang Yi (d. 309 BCE), Wei Ran (d. ca. 270 BCE), and Fan Sui (d. 255 BCE) were the three most powerful ministers at the court of Qin; see their biographies in Records of the Historian by Sima Qian, chapters 70, 72, and 79.—Trans.

Han Feizi XVII.43: 399–400, “Defining standards.”

Book of Lord Shang 3.2 (Cited from Yuri Pines, trans., The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China [New York: Columbia University Press, 2017]. Henceforth all references to the Book of Lord Shang are to this translation, referring only to chapter and section numbers).—Trans.

Hanshu (History of the Former Han Dynasty) (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1997), 48: 2244; part of the translation modified from Mark E. Lewis, The Construction of Space in Early China (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2006), pp. 206–07. Note that Jia Yi was not as unequivocal critical of Shang Yang, as the preceding citation implies; actually, he is identified in the Records of the Historian (Shiji, Beijing: Zhonghua, 1997, 130: 3319) as an expounder of ideas of Shang Yang and Shen Buhai. Moreover, in his most famous treatise, “Faulting the Qin” (Guo Qin lun), Jia Yi expresses positive assessment of Shang Yang’s achievements (Shiji 6: 278–79).—Trans.

Xin yu (New Sayings) (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1996), 3: 55, “Assisting in governance” (Fu zheng). For a possible influence of the Book of Lord Shang on Lu Jia, see Li Cunshan’s article in this issue.—Trans.

Hanshu 24: 1137.

Note that Liu An was a sponsor of the Huainanzi, not its author (see details in The Huainanzi, translated and edited by John S. Major, Sarah A. Queen, Andrew Seth Meyer and Harold D. Roth [New York: Columbia University Press, 2010], pp. 7–13).—Translator.

Referring to Chapter 7 of the Book of Lord Shang.—Trans.

Cited with minor modifications from Major et al., trans., The Huainanzi 20.33–20.34: 832–33.

Referring to Chapters 7 (Kai sai) and 3 (Nong zhan) of the Book of Lord Shang.—Trans.

Cited with minor modifications from Burton Watson, trans., Records of the Grand Historian. Vol. 3: Qin Dynasty (Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993), p. 99. Note that despite this very harsh conclusion, Sima Qian also lauded practical achievements of Shang Yang’s reforms (Shiji 68: 2231).—Trans.

Han Ying is the author of External Tradition of the Han Odes (Hanshi waizhuan).—Trans.

Wu Qi (d. 381 BCE) was a major military commander and political reformer, active first in the state of Wei and then in Chu, where his reforms alienated local aristocrats. In 381, following the death of his patron, King Dao, Wu Qi was murdered. His career is often paired with that of Shang Yang: two distinguished military commanders and reformers who were killed following the death of their patron.—Trans.

Translation modified from James R. Hightower, trans., Han Shih wai chuan (Cambridge, MA, 1952), p. 31.

“Monarch’s Regulations” (Wang zhi) is a name of several texts, each of which purportedly depicts the ideal political system under the reign of the sage monarchs of antiquity.—Trans.

Hanshu 24A: 1126.

The author follows traditional Marxist periodization of Chinese history, in which the “slave society” of the Three Dynasties age was supposedly replaced with the “feudal society” that came into existence in the aftermath of Shang Yang’s reforms and matured under the Imperial Qin.—Trans.

According to the famous narrative in the Records of the Historian, Xiang Yu (d. 202 BCE), the leader of the anti-Qin rebellion, planned to kill his former subordinate-turned-rival, Liu Bang, the Lord of Pei and the future founder of the Han dynasty. During the banquette, Xiang Yu’s brother, Xiang Zhuang, performed the sword dance, planning to use the opportunity to assassinate Liu Bang.—Trans.

Hanshu 24A: 1137.

Ibid.

This is a recurring topic in the Book of Lord Shang (e.g., The Book of Lord Shang, 4.8, 7.6, 18.1).—Trans.

See, for example, similar views in Wu Baoping and Lin Cunguang’s article in this volume versus the opposite interpretation by Zhang Linxiang in his article in this volume.—Trans.

The text attributed to Liu Xin is cited in Pei Yin’s (fifth century) commentary on the Records of the Historian (Shiji 68: 2238). Pei Yin claims that it is part of the New Arrangement (Xinxu), a collection normally attributed to Liu Xin’s father, Liu Xiang (79–8 BCE); however, a later commentary by Sima Zhen (eighth century) identifies the author as Liu Xin. The cited section is not included in the current version of the New Arrangement.—Trans.

Hangu Pass was a strategic pass in ancient China just south of the great eastern bend of the Yellow River, located near Mt. Yao; both are considered the western gate into Qin. Yongzhou is the name of the Wei River basin (i.e., Qin homeland) according to the Nine Provinces scheme.—Trans.

Qin’s appropriation of the Wei areas to the west of the Yellow River started at Shang Yang’s times but was accomplished only after his death. Ditto for the Qin’s acquirement of the Shang Commandery (上郡) (not to be confused with Shang Yang’s fief of Shang [商]).

Qin indeed acted in Shang Yang’s time and thereafter as a protector of the Zhou royal house. The grant of sacrificial meat by the Zhou Son of Heaven in 334 BCE (i.e., after Shang Yang’s death) was equivalent to the conferral of the hegemon status on the lord of Qin.

Note the double use of “internal/inside” (nei; 内) and “external/outside” (wai; 外) juxtaposition: In the first sentence it refers to domestic (economic) affairs versus foreign (war) affairs; in the second it refers to activities within the court and outside it, in society at large.—Trans.

Cited from Pei Yin’s “Collected Glosses” on the Records of the Historian (Shiji 68: 2238).

The story told among other sources in the Records of the Historian narrates Shang Yang’s usage of trickery to deceive his erstwhile friend, Prince Ang of Wei. Shang Yang reportedly invited Prince Ang to sign a peace treaty, but cheated him and took him prisoner, and then defeated the leaderless Wei armies.—Trans.

Lord Huan of Qi (r. 685–643 BCE) and Lord Wen of Jin (r. 636–628 BCE) are two most illustrious hegemons of the Springs-and-Autumns period (770–453 BCE). Both hegemons, who used simultaneously military and civilian tools to strengthen their position among the regional lords, are contrasted with the Qin exclusive reliance on force.—Trans.

Both the knife and the saw were used for mutilating punishments.—Trans.

The story of Shang Yang’s futile attempts to flee and escape persecution by Lord Hui of Qin is narrated in Shang Yang’s biography by Sima Qian.—Trans.

Shiji 68: 2238.

Sang Hongyang (152–80 BCE) was the architect of assertive economic policies of Emperor Wu and the chief defender of these policies during the Salt and Iron Debates of 81 BCE. He was executed a year after the debates due to his participation in succession struggles.—Trans.

Salt and Iron Debates [Yantielun, Beijing: Zhonghua, 1996] II.7: 93, “Rejecting [Shang] Yang” (Fei Yang).

Salt and Iron Debates II.7: 94, “Rejecting [Shang] Yang.”

Ibid. Zhao Gao was the evil genius of the Qin Dynasty, and the person who caused its downfall in 207 BCE. Yi Yin was a minister and chief supporter of Tang, the founder of the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1600 BCE). Chonghu is one of the “bad ministers” of the last tyrant of the Shang Dynasty, Zhouxin (d. ca. 1046 BCE).—Trans.

Ibid.

Ibid.

“Opening the blocked” refers to the name of chapter 7 of the Book of Lord Shang (discussed in Li Cunshan’s article, this issue). The term refers to opening the new avenues of development, blocked due to the rulers’ adherents to inadequate methods from the past.—Trans.

This depiction generalizes Qin’s successful military campaigns of the third century BCE, but it is irrelevant for Shang Yang’s time, when Qin was still too weak to contest, for example, with the eastern powers of Yan and Qi.—Trans.

This success was achieved under Imperial Qin, ca. 215 BCE.

Salt and Iron Debates II.7: 95, “Rejecting [Shang] Yang.”

Huang-Lao is a label of a set of ideas that favored minimizing government activism; these ideas gained particular momentum in the early decades of the Han dynasty.

Salt and Iron Debates II.7: 95, “Rejecting [Shang] Yang.”

Qu Yuan is a semilegendary Chu statesman and poet who was slandered and not heeded by his lord; he committed suicide in despair. Wu Yun (better known as Wu Zixu, d. ca. 484 BCE) was a statesman and military commander who assisted the rising power of Wu; yet when he disagreed with the policy of King Fuchai, he was ordered to commit suicide. Yue Yi was a Yan military commander who, in service of the king of Yan, had almost wiped out the state of Qi in 284 BCE. After five years of occupying Qi, Yue Yi lost the trust of Yan’s king, was recalled to Yan, and the occupational regime that he had built collapsed.—Trans.

This is a clear exaggeration: Shang Yang’s fief of Shang and Yu comprised of just sixteen settlements.—Trans.

Salt and Iron Debates II.7: 95–96, “Rejecting [Shang] Yang.”

Ibid.

Cited from Complete Oeuvres of Lu Xun (Lu Xun quanji), vol. 3 (Beijing: Renmin wenxue, 1981), p. 256.

Zhuge Liang (181–234) supposedly expounded the Book of Lord Shang to his employer, Liu Bei (161–223), who then ordered his heir to read this book (Records of the Three Kingdoms [Sanguo zhi, Beijing: Zhonghua, 1997] 32: 891). The famous reformer Wang Anshi (1021–1086) is known to have written a short poem extolling Shang Yang. Su Dongpo (a.k.a. Su Shi, 1036–1101), in distinction, bitterly criticized Shang Yang, arguing that “from the Han onward, scholars have been ashamed to speak about Shang Yang” (see Collected Oeuvres of Su Dongpo [Dongpo quanji], (e-Siku quanshu) 105: 14). Huang Zhen (1213–1280) was one of the first scholars to notice problems with the authenticity of the Book of Lord Shang (see his Everyday’s Compilation of Mister Huang (Huangshi richao) 55: 30 (e-Siku quanshu edition). The controversial Ming thinker Li Zhi (1527–1602) made a relatively positive assessment Shang Yang in his Book to be Stored Away [Zang shu]. The evidence for Kang Youwei’s (1858–1927) interest in Shang Yang is inconclusive; see Li Yu-ning, Shang Yang’s Reforms and State Control in China (White Plains: Sharpe, 1977), pp. l–li.—Translator.

Translation cited with minor modifications from Li Yu-ning, Shang Yang’s Reforms, p. lxv. The rest of Zhang’s text is cited by the author from chapter 35 in Zhang’s Forceful Book (Qiu shu) (Beijing: Sanlian, 1998).

Note that the definition of “feudal” dictatorship is by the author and not by Zhang Taiyan.—Trans.

Xiao He (d. 193 BCE), one of the major supporters of the Han founder Liu Bang (d. 195 BCE), is credited with creating Statutes in Nine Fascicles, which once were considered the earliest legal code in China. Current research shows that these legal statutes were fundamentally borrowed from those of the Qin Dynasty (see Anthony J. Barbieri-Low and Robin D. S. Yates, Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China [Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2015], pp. 219–22).—Trans.

Li Si (d. 208 BCE) was the chancellor of the First Emperor of Qin (r. 221–210 BCE).—Trans.

Zhang Tang (d. 116 BCE) is one of the infamous “cruel officials” of the Former Han Dynasty. Zhao Yu is one of his associates.—Trans.

A hint to a phrase in the History of the Former Han Dynasty about cruel officials who “regarded laws and ordinances as Odes and Documents” (Hanshu 77: 3247).—Trans.

Gongsun Hong (200–121 BCE) is one of the fathers of the so-called “imperial Confucianism,” who rose to a high ministerial position at the court of Emperor Wu of Han.—Trans.

Lai Junchen (来俊臣) (651–697) was a notoriously cruel head of the secret police during the regime of Empress Wu Zetian (r. 685–705). His biography, like that of Zhang Tang, was categorized in the Tang History under the rubric of “cruel officials.” The usage of the term “feudalism” as a designation of China’s traditional political system is, again, the voice of the author and not of Zhang Taiyan.—Trans.

Cited from Sima Qian’s biography of Shang Yang; Watson, Records, p. 93.

Hinting at the policies advocated in chapter 2 of the Book of Lord Shang.—Trans.

Note that the author does not discuss the obvious fallacy in Zhang Taiyan’s interpretation of punitive laws as a Han rather than Qin creation; nor does he refer to the section in Zhang Taiyan’s discussion that poses Shang Yang as a closet democrat. According to this view, Shang Yang had not turned to democracy only because the people of Qin were too primitive at that time.—Trans.

The crime of “rejecting policies in one’s stomach” (i.e., disagreeing with the proposed course without openly voicing criticism) was applied at the court of Emperor Wu of Han; it is considered one of the clearest manifestations of the emperor’s arbitrariness and despotism. For the original event, see Hanshu 24: 1168—Trans.

The idea that decisions should be made exclusively by the monarch is the cornerstone of Chinese monarchic thought, and it is mentioned, even if briefly, in the Book of Lord Shang as well (e.g., Book of Lord Shang 14.1). Nonetheless, Zhang Taiyan absolves Shang Yang of being an adherent of this doctrine.—Trans.

References to the summary of the essentials of the Legalist school by Sima Qian’s father, Sima Tan (d. 110 BCE) (Shiji 130: 3291) and to the Book of Lord Shang 17.3.—Trans.

Watson, Records, p. 94. Note that the author ignores direct assaults on filial piety in the Book of Lord Shang (e.g., 4.3; 13.4).—Trans.

Translation modified from Watson, Records, p. 96.

For the political background of this campaign, see Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals, Mao’s Last Revolution (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006), pp. 366–73.

Liang Xiao’s article is translated in Li Yu-ning, Shang Yang’s Reforms, pp. 180–95; both citations are from p. 180. In what follows I provide page numbers of her translation after each citation. Liang Xiao (梁效) stands for “Two Schools” (liang xiao; 兩校). It was a pen name used by the “Great Criticism Group of Peking University and Tsinghua University” (MacFarquhar and Schoenhals, Mao’s Last Revolution, p. 368).—Trans.

Lord Xian of Qin (r. 384–361 BCE), the father of Shang Yang’s employer, Lord Xiao, seized power from his predecessor, putting an end to the prolonged period of domestic turmoil and setting the course for reforms.—Trans.

A citation within Liang Xiao text is from Strategies of the Warring States (Zhanguo ce) (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1990), 3.1: 69, “Qin ce 1.”

“Villains” and “parasites” are common designations of the unproductive elements and of the authors’ ideological opponents in the Book of Lord Shang.

Cited from Complete Oeuvres of Lu Xun, vol. 3 (the author does not identify the page—Trans.).

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Zeng Zhenyu

Zeng Zhenyu is a professor in the History Department at Shandong University (in Jinan), China.