Lüshi Chunqiu

Author: Qin Lü Buwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: ▼Complete Content ▼Sandalwood Aroma ▼Compact and Portable ▼Original Illustrations ▼Easy to Carry
In the late Warring States period, Wei had Lord Xingling, Chu had Lord Chunshen, Zhao had Lord Pingyuan, and Qi had Lord Mengchang. These four lords each had a large number of guests in their retinues. Qin Prime Minister Lü Buwei felt that with Qin's powerful national strength, it should surpass the so-called "Four Lords" of the Warring States. Therefore, he also extensively recruited guests, numbering as many as three thousand, and from this began to oversee the compilation of Lüshi Chunqiu.
He first had his guests "write down their observations and insights," drawing from the various schools of thought of the pre-Qin philosophers. On this basis, he organized and edited the work, which was completed in the eighth year of King Zheng of Qin (239 BC).
After the book was finished, Lü Buwei ordered that bamboo slips containing the text be hung at the gates of Xianyang City. He declared that anyone who could change even a single character in the book would be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold. However, no one was able to alter it. The idiom "a character worth a thousand taels of gold" originated from this story, and as a result, almost everyone became aware of the book Lüshi Chunqiu...