24 Li Si

A Prime Advisor of Qin Shi Huang

Li Si (?-208 BC) was the premier of Qin Dynasty and major advisor of Qin Shi Huang.

Li Si was a representative figure of the Law School (one of the important thought schools in the Spring & Autumn and Warring States periods). Qin State’s victory over other six states meant the victory of the Law School. In the later years of the Warring States Period, the politics of six states was corrupted to the core, and the adoption of heavy-handed politics made Qin State all powerful. This was why Qin’s troops were invincible attacking forward.

After Qin founded a new empire, almost all the important policies Qin Shi Huang made were after Li Si’s idea. When Qin Shi Huang held a court meeting to discuss administrative system, all officials insisted to follow Zhou Dynasty’s system: Creating sub-states to distribute them to royal family members and meritorious officials, while only Li Si proposed to establish a “centralized power system”, which was: Creating prefectures and counties, and the emperor appointed (or disposed) directly the officials to implement truly central government orders. Qin Shi Huang finally said: “Li Si’s proposal was applicable. Creating sub-states would be a way creating wars again.” Besides, Li Si also masterminded other tyranny orders including burning out books and burring alive Ru intellectuals.

Li Si was also a historical top calligrapher. After unified the country, Qin Shi Huang ordered Li Si to create a unified style of letters known as “small zhuan”, to replace “big zhuan” that had been popularly used for hundreds of years. “Small zhuan” with its fine curves and artistic modeling, had been still used in most calligraphy and seal-carving works up-to-date.

In his later years, Li Si had climbed at the top of political ladder. Once on his birthday, all the high officials came to extend their congratulations. When he saw the scene of thousands of horse carriages jammed around his house, he said: “My teacher Xunzi had once said to me that everything (man as well) should avoid to hit-the-zenith, because zenith meant a turn to downhill. Should I retreat now?” But he didn’t do it. Soon after Qin Shi Huang’s death, Li Si was lost out of a power struggle with the powerful eunuch Zhao Gao, and thus been executed on the crossroads by a cruel punishment called “chopping waist” invented by Li himself. At the moment pending death, he sighed: “I had always cherished a desire, holding a hunt by leading yellow hounds in my native Shangcai County (Henan Province). Now, it’s impossible.”