Official Sacred Record
LEGACY
Humanities Scholar Su Qin's reading records
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I n t r o d u c t i o n
Vertical Alliance Strategist Su Qin
Humanities ScholarCNBC 340 — BC 284
The foremost figure among the Warring States diplomats known as the Zongheng School. Through the Vertical Alliance strategy, he simultaneously served as chancellor of six states in opposition to Qin.
“If I had just two ridges of a field in my hometown, how could I have risked my life to aim for the chancellor position of six nations!”
C o n t e m p o r a r i e s
L i b r a r y
Cultural Journey
How cultural experiences shaped this figure's life
Su Qin studied under Guiguzi. Guiguzi, the progenitor of the Zongheng School, taught the psychology of persuasion, and Su Qin applied these teachings to the diplomatic arena of the Warring States period. When he first returned home after failing to persuade the state of Qin, his wife would not treat him as a husband, his sister-in-law would not treat him as a brother-in-law, and his parents would not treat him as a son. This humiliation drove Su Qin back to the *Yin Fu Jing*, attributed to Taigong Wang. Reading this treatise on strategy and statecraft day and night was not scholarly inquiry but an obsession akin to revenge.
The anecdote of "stabbing his thigh with an awl" — that he pricked his thigh with a bodkin when drowsiness came, letting the blood run down to his heels — symbolizes Su Qin's attitude toward reading. For him, texts were not cultivation but weapons of survival. After intensive reading of the *Yin Fu Jing*, the art of "following the horse" he mastered — the technique of grasping the psychology of the other and persuading him accordingly — became the core competency of a diplomat. The essence of this technique is reading the desires and fears of the other, applying patterns of human psychology learned from texts to real-world negotiation.
That Su Qin, through the Vertical Alliance strategy, served simultaneously as chancellor of six states is an instance of textual learning translating directly into real power. By internalizing the theories of Guiguzi and mastering the strategic manual of Taigong Wang, he read the psychology of each ruler and built a coalition to resist Qin. For Su Qin, the act of reading is the process of acquiring the skills to manipulate the world, and the blood from his thigh is the evidence of how desperate that acquisition was.
The anecdote of "stabbing his thigh with an awl" — that he pricked his thigh with a bodkin when drowsiness came, letting the blood run down to his heels — symbolizes Su Qin's attitude toward reading. For him, texts were not cultivation but weapons of survival. After intensive reading of the *Yin Fu Jing*, the art of "following the horse" he mastered — the technique of grasping the psychology of the other and persuading him accordingly — became the core competency of a diplomat. The essence of this technique is reading the desires and fears of the other, applying patterns of human psychology learned from texts to real-world negotiation.
That Su Qin, through the Vertical Alliance strategy, served simultaneously as chancellor of six states is an instance of textual learning translating directly into real power. By internalizing the theories of Guiguzi and mastering the strategic manual of Taigong Wang, he read the psychology of each ruler and built a coalition to resist Qin. For Su Qin, the act of reading is the process of acquiring the skills to manipulate the world, and the blood from his thigh is the evidence of how desperate that acquisition was.
Cultural Journey
How cultural experiences shaped this figure's life
Su Qin studied under Guiguzi. Guiguzi, the progenitor of the Zongheng School, taught the psychology of persuasion, and Su Qin applied these teachings to the diplomatic arena of the Warring States period. When he first returned home after failing to persuade the state of Qin, his wife would not treat him as a husband, his sister-in-law would not treat him as a brother-in-law, and his parents would not treat him as a son. This humiliation drove Su Qin back to the *Yin Fu Jing*, attributed to Taigong Wang. Reading this treatise on strategy and statecraft day and night was not scholarly inquiry but an obsession akin to revenge.
The anecdote of "stabbing his thigh with an awl" — that he pricked his thigh with a bodkin when drowsiness came, letting the blood run down to his heels — symbolizes Su Qin's attitude toward reading. For him, texts were not cultivation but weapons of survival. After intensive reading of the *Yin Fu Jing*, the art of "following the horse" he mastered — the technique of grasping the psychology of the other and persuading him accordingly — became the core competency of a diplomat. The essence of this technique is reading the desires and fears of the other, applying patterns of human psychology learned from texts to real-world negotiation.
That Su Qin, through the Vertical Alliance strategy, served simultaneously as chancellor of six states is an instance of textual learning translating directly into real power. By internalizing the theories of Guiguzi and mastering the strategic manual of Taigong Wang, he read the psychology of each ruler and built a coalition to resist Qin. For Su Qin, the act of reading is the process of acquiring the skills to manipulate the world, and the blood from his thigh is the evidence of how desperate that acquisition was.
The anecdote of "stabbing his thigh with an awl" — that he pricked his thigh with a bodkin when drowsiness came, letting the blood run down to his heels — symbolizes Su Qin's attitude toward reading. For him, texts were not cultivation but weapons of survival. After intensive reading of the *Yin Fu Jing*, the art of "following the horse" he mastered — the technique of grasping the psychology of the other and persuading him accordingly — became the core competency of a diplomat. The essence of this technique is reading the desires and fears of the other, applying patterns of human psychology learned from texts to real-world negotiation.
That Su Qin, through the Vertical Alliance strategy, served simultaneously as chancellor of six states is an instance of textual learning translating directly into real power. By internalizing the theories of Guiguzi and mastering the strategic manual of Taigong Wang, he read the psychology of each ruler and built a coalition to resist Qin. For Su Qin, the act of reading is the process of acquiring the skills to manipulate the world, and the blood from his thigh is the evidence of how desperate that acquisition was.
S i g n a t u r eL i n e s
Quote
“If I had just two ridges of a field in my hometown, how could I have risked my life to aim for the chancellor position of six nations!”
Greeting
“Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox.”
“The seals of six kingdoms rest in my bosom.”
“A three-inch tongue can move the entire world.”
Roll Call
“The Vertical Alliance is already prepared.”
“Today is the day six kingdoms become one.”
“The road of persuasion is always open.”
Deploy
“Raise the banner of the Vertical Alliance!”
“Unite the armies of the six kingdoms!”
“Seal the passes of Qin!”
Victory
“A single tongue has shifted the balance of the world.”
“It is not the alliance that won, but the great cause.”
“Even Qin halts before the united will of six kingdoms.”
Draw
“The bonds of the alliance must be inspected again.”
“If even one kingdom wavers, the alliance crumbles.”
“My persuasion was insufficient. I shall lobby again.”
Defeat
“I shall stab my thigh with an awl and rise again.”
“That my rhetoric failed is my own failing.”
“I return to Luoyang to open the books once more.”
Strike
“Break through the gate with a single word!”
“Sever the chain of the Horizontal Alliance!”
“Strike at Qin's weakness!”
Quote
“If I had just two ridges of a field in my hometown, how could I have risked my life to aim for the chancellor position of six nations!”
Greeting
“Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox.”
“The seals of six kingdoms rest in my bosom.”
“A three-inch tongue can move the entire world.”
Roll Call
“The Vertical Alliance is already prepared.”
“Today is the day six kingdoms become one.”
“The road of persuasion is always open.”
Deploy
“Raise the banner of the Vertical Alliance!”
“Unite the armies of the six kingdoms!”
“Seal the passes of Qin!”
Victory
“A single tongue has shifted the balance of the world.”
“It is not the alliance that won, but the great cause.”
“Even Qin halts before the united will of six kingdoms.”
Draw
“The bonds of the alliance must be inspected again.”
“If even one kingdom wavers, the alliance crumbles.”
“My persuasion was insufficient. I shall lobby again.”
Defeat
“I shall stab my thigh with an awl and rise again.”
“That my rhetoric failed is my own failing.”
“I return to Luoyang to open the books once more.”
Strike
“Break through the gate with a single word!”
“Sever the chain of the Horizontal Alliance!”
“Strike at Qin's weakness!”
P e r s o n aA n a l y s i s
Overview
Top-tier intellect combined with overwhelming charm allowed this diplomatic strategist to build a six-state alliance through rhetoric alone. High boldness and low loyalty and humility produced strategic flexibility including double-dealing, while extreme diligence provided the fuel to overcome early failure.
Core Abilities
Command75
Martial40
Intellect90
Charm88
Inner Virtues
Temperance45
Diligence89
Reflection62
Courage78
Outer Virtues
Loyalty35
Benevolence30
Fairness42
Humility28
Core Disposition
Pessimism
Optimism
Conservative
Progressive
Individual
Social
Cautious
Bold
Similar Figures
Overview
Top-tier intellect combined with overwhelming charm allowed this diplomatic strategist to build a six-state alliance through rhetoric alone. High boldness and low loyalty and humility produced strategic flexibility including double-dealing, while extreme diligence provided the fuel to overcome early failure.
Core Abilities
Command75
Martial40
Intellect90
Charm88
Inner Virtues
Temperance45
Diligence89
Reflection62
Courage78
Outer Virtues
Loyalty35
Benevolence30
Fairness42
Humility28
Core Disposition
Pessimism
Optimism
Conservative
Progressive
Individual
Social
Cautious
Bold
Similar Figures
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