一段关于秦始皇和吕不韦的历史八卦

太史公云：“不韦迁蜀，世传《吕览》”。今日方才得知，不韦为何迁蜀.........



本文节选自英国作家 John Keay 的 China, A History  一书

中文注释部分，标注“ ”引号的词句出自《史记》原文，其余为两袖君添加。



单词预警 Words You May Need to Know

racy / ˈresɪ ; ˈreɪsi / adjective  sprightly; piquant; pungent  辛辣的

minority / məˈnɔrətɪ ; maɪˈnɔrəti / noun  the period of time when someone is below the age at which they become legally responsible for their actions 未成年期

decidedly / dɪˈsaɪdɪdlɪ ; dɪˈsaɪdədli / adverb[+ adj / adv] definitely or in a way that is easily noticed肯定地，无疑地; 明显地

standard / ˈstændəd ; ˈstændəd /   noun [C] [old-fashioned] a flag used in ceremonies仪式用旗帜

prevail on / upon sb [formal] to persuade someone说服〔某人〕

cause / kɔz ; kɔːz / noun [C] [law] a case that is brought to a court of law 诉讼案件

Adowager queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of thewidow of an emperor, the title ofempress dowager is used.

[C] [law] a case that is brought to a

court of lawcause / kɔz ; kɔːz / noun [C] [law] a case that is brought to a court of law诉讼案件cause / kɔz ; kɔːz / noun [C] [law] a case that is brought to a court of law诉讼案件cause / kɔz ; kɔːz / noun [C] [law] a case that is brought to a court of law诉讼案件

原文及注释 Text & Notes

It so happened that during Zheng’s minority（赢政年少之时）the state had been run by a group of veteran statesmen and generals under the direction of the able Lu Buwei（吕不韦）, chancellor（相邦）to Zheng’s father. Unusually, indeed scandalously by the standards of Confucian ‘gentlemen’ accustomed to regard influence as their own prerogative, Lu Buwei owed his position not to scholarship but to trade（不同寻常的是，吕不韦是依赖经商而非学识谋得此位。在向来认为唯有他们才配位高权重的儒家大夫看来，这简直荒唐可笑）. Though a highly successful businessman, he still ranked as a merchant, one of the most despised professions throughout the Xia states and a heavily penalised one under Qin’s ‘legalist’ regulations. Contempt for such an upstart may account for the Shiji’s decidedly racy biographical note on Lu Buwei（人们对于这样一位暴发户的鄙视或许可以解释为什么《史记》对吕不韦的生平评价如此尖刻）.

Like most of Qin’s ministers, he was not a native of that state, and before arriving there in c.251 BC had enjoyed the favours of a celebrated concubine（姬，此处具体指历史上的赵姬）. Her name is not mentioned, only her ‘matchless beauty and great skill in dancing’, which attracted other admirers, including the then crown prince of Qin（当时的秦太子，此处指子楚，秦始皇之“父”）. The crown prince prevailed on（说服） Lu Buwei to part with her, ‘she concealed the fact that she was already pregnant’, and her baby, a son born in the fullness of time, had therefore been assumed to be the offspring of the Qin crown prince（"姬自匿有身，至大期时，生子政"）. Meanwhile the crown prince had succeeded as king of Qin（子楚成为秦庄王）; the matchless concubine had been recognised as his official consort（“子楚遂立姬为夫人”）; and her infant had been declared heir apparent（太子）. This was the young Zheng. If the story was true, the future First Emperor was an impostor（冒名顶替者）. Illegitimacy could, and had been, rectified by making his mother a royal consort（皇后）; but there could be no redemption for the issue of a barely mentionable relationship between a common concubine and a market trader.

Nor was that the end of the affair. When the thirteen-year-old Zheng succeeded on the death of his father, his mother, now Dowager Queen（王太后）and soon to be Dowager Empress(帝太后)（秦始皇即位为秦王后，赵姬成为王太后，秦始皇统一天下，追尊她为帝太后）, resumed her relationship with Lu Buwei. He, though, seems to have tired of her attentions and grown anxious lest the affair become public(担心事情败漏）.

He therefore searched about in secret until he found a man named Lao Ai who had an unusually large penis, and made him a servant in his household（“乃私求大阴人嫪毐以为舍人”）. Then, when an occasion arose, he had suggestive music performed and, instructing Lao Ai to stick his penis through the centre of a wheel made of paulownia wood, had him walk about with it, making certain that the report of this reached the ears of the Queen Dowager so as to excite her interest（“时纵倡乐，使毐以其阴关桐轮而行，令太后闻之，以啗太后”）.

It did. Her Majesty’s interest was royally excited(“太后闻，果欲私得之”) and Lao Ai, the stud (风流的男子), found himself the unwitting beneficiary of this none-too-subtle ploy（从这个不太高明的计谋里获得意外的好处）. Accused of some misdemeanour, he was sentenced to a mock castration (only his whiskers and eyebrows were removed) and then consigned to the Queen Dowager’s apartments as a certified eunuch（“诈令人以腐罪告之，拔其须眉为宦者，遂得侍太后”）. ‘She grew to love him greatly（太后“绝爱之”）,’ says the Shiji, as well she might considering he was not a eunuch at all. Ever by her side, Lao Ai was showered with gifts, acquired an entourage of several thousand（“赏赐甚厚…家僮数千人”）and became a power in the land(成为秦国一大权贵）. When the Queen Dowager found herself pregnant again, the couple discreetly retired to the country（”太后…有身，恐人知之，诈卜当避时，徙宫居雍”）.

Their chances of living happily ever after received a setback, however, when in 238 BC their sons (there were two) were identified as a threat to the succession. The just-enthroned King Zheng ordered an investigation and ‘all the facts were brought to light, including those that implicated the [now] prime minister Lu Buwei’(“秦王下吏治，具得情实，事连相国吕不韦”). Lu Buwei found others to plead his cause(找人为其说情）. But the unfortunate Lao Ai raised the standard of revolt（举旗反抗）. His forces were easily defeated, his family annihilated（满门抄斩）, ‘several hundred heads were cut off in Xianyang’, and the rest of his supporters – some 4,000 families – were transported to Sichuan. Lao Ai himself was torn apart by carriages（车裂）, their wheels no doubt of paulownia wood（联系到作者上文paulownia wood的提及，这里实在是幽默之笔）. The Queen Dowager and Lu Buwei were merely banished from court. But in 235 BC a pardon saw Her Majesty’s return to Xianyang, while Lu Buwei was consigned to exile（遭到流放）, also in Sichuan. Fearing this was the prelude to a death sentence, the merchant prince ‘drank poison and died’（“ 恐诛，乃饮酖而死”）.



单词及短语复习 Glossary& Phrasesdecidedly

Cole's style is decidedly more formal than the previous manager's.

prevail on

She prevailed upon her father to say nothing.

听说

举旗反抗

附录：

《史记卷八十五•吕不韦列传》节选

吕不韦取邯郸诸姬绝好善舞者与居，知有身。子楚从不韦饮，见而说之，因起为寿，请之。吕不韦怒，念业已破家为子楚，欲以钓奇，乃遂献其姬。姬自匿有身，至大期时，生子政。子楚遂立姬为夫人。

.......

始皇帝益壮，太后淫不止。吕不韦恐觉祸及己，乃私求大阴人嫪毐以为舍人，时纵倡乐，使毐以其阴关桐轮而行，令太后闻之，以啗太后。太后闻，果欲私得之。吕不韦乃进嫪毐，诈令人以腐罪告之。不韦又阴谓太后曰：“可事诈腐，则得给事中。”太后乃阴厚赐主腐者吏，诈论之，拔其须眉为宦者，遂得侍太后。太后私与通，绝爱之。有身，太后恐人知之，诈卜当避时，徙宫居雍。嫪毐常从，赏赐甚厚，事皆决于嫪毐。嫪毐家僮数千人，诸客求宦为嫪毐舍人千余人。

始皇九年，有告嫪毐实非宦者，常与太后私乱，生子二人，皆匿之。与太后谋曰“王即薨，以子为後”。于是秦王下吏治，具得情实，事连相国吕不韦。九月，夷嫪毐三族，杀太后所生两子，而遂迁太后于雍。诸嫪毐舍人皆没其家而迁之蜀。王欲诛相国，为其奉先王功大，及宾客辩士为游说者众，王不忍致法。

秦王十年十月，免相国吕不韦。及齐人茅焦说秦王，秦王乃迎太后于雍，归复咸阳，而出文信侯就国河南。

岁余，诸侯宾客使者相望于道，请文信侯。秦王恐其为变，乃赐文信侯书曰：“君何功于秦？秦封君河南，食十万户；君何亲于秦？号称仲父。其与家属徙处蜀！”吕不韦自度稍侵，恐诛，乃饮酖而死。秦王所加怒吕不韦、嫪毐皆已死，乃皆复归嫪毐舍人迁蜀者。

两袖君近来读John Keay 的 China, A History一书，绝爱之。此书专论中国正史，体列宏大，记事详略得当，语言精湛老道，又不乏幽默神来之笔。此篇选文只能窥见一斑，其他佳文且看下回分解。

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