Qíncháo Yěshǐ 秦朝野史
Unofficial History of the Qin Dynasty by 黃士衡 (撰)
About the work
Qíncháo Yěshǐ 秦朝野史 is a Republican-era historical novel in 96 chapters (huí 回) by 黃士衡 (Huáng Shìhéng), dramatizing the rise of the Qín dynasty (221–206 BCE) under Qín Shǐhuángdì 秦始皇帝 and its rapid collapse. The narrative begins with the unification of the Warring States (“Exterminating the Six Kingdoms, unifying the realm; enacting tyranny, weakening the people”), proceeds through the Emperor’s tours and sea-sacrifices, the attempted assassination at Bólàngshā 博浪沙 by Zhāng Liáng 張良 (ch. 3), the Great Wall campaigns under Méng Tiān 蒙恬, the conspiracy of Zhào Gāo 趙高, the death of the First Emperor, the execution of Mèng Tiān and Prince Fúsū 扶蘇, the Chén Shèng 陳勝 and Wú Guǎng 吳廣 rebellion, the campaigns of Liú Bāng 劉邦 and Xiàng Yǔ 項羽, and the fall of the Qín.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
Qíncháo Yěshǐ belongs to the genre of Republican-era historical fiction drawing on the rich narrative tradition surrounding the Qín dynasty — one of Chinese history’s most dramatic subjects. The Qín story had been a staple of popular storytelling since at least the Táng dynasty, and the Republican era generated numerous new fictional treatments, particularly because the theme of tyrannical centralized power spoke to contemporary political anxieties.
The work covers the standard narrative arc of the Qín: the unification of the realm by the First Emperor, his grandiose building projects and Legalist governance, his obsessive search for immortality, the dynastic crisis engineered by Zhào Gāo and the eunuch faction, the suppression of the legitimate heir Fúsū, the peasant rebellions of Chén Shèng and Wú Guǎng, and the eventual fall of the dynasty to Liú Bāng. The famous assassination attempt at Bólàngshā — in which the future Hàn strategist Zhāng Liáng hurled a heavy hammer at the First Emperor’s carriage (hitting the wrong carriage) — appears in chapter 3. This episode, drawn from the Shǐjì 史記 biography of Zhāng Liáng and from the Hán Fēi tradition, was a beloved set piece in vernacular fiction.
黃士衡 is otherwise unidentified; the name may be a pen name. No biographical data has been located.
Translations and research
- Bodde, Derk. 1938. China’s First Unifier: A Study of the Ch’in Dynasty as Seen in the Life of Li Ssu. Leiden: Brill. Classic study of the Qín.
- Lewis, Mark Edward. 2007. The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Harvard University Press. Authoritative modern synthesis.