Li Si was the Prime Minister of the Chinese First Emperor of Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC). He is credited with the creation of the Zhuan Script (Official or Seal Script). However, he is also famous because of a note he wrote to the First Emperor to advise him not to drive away the foreign born talents and the fact that the First Emperor accepted his advice. The following is his main argument:
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| The Mount Tai is large because it was not picky ...... |
I have heard that many officials have
discussed the need to dismiss their foreign clients (talents), but I dare to
think that this is a bad thing to do.
In the past, when Lord Mu was searching
for distinguished men, he found You Yu from western Rong
and Bai Lixi from Wan, he welcomed Jian Shu from Song, and he spotted Pi Pao
and Gongsun Zhi in the kingdom of Jin. Although these five gentlemen were not born
in Qin, Lord Mu used them and thus was able to annex twelve countries, and Qin
emerged as a strong country in the western Rong.
Lord Xiao implemented the new legal
system of Shang Yang and as a result, our old customs and habits were either changed
or eliminated, and thus enabled our people to live better life. With this, our country
is stronger and more prosperous. Our people are then happy to join the armed
forces, and our neighbouring countries are willing to listen to us. After we defeated
Chu and Wei, we occupied more that thousand square kilometres of land, and
today our country are still strong and well managed.
King Hui adopted Zhang Yi’s strategy
and thus occupied many territories around the Sanchuan River. We also annexed
Ba and Shu in the west, Shang Jun in the north, and Han Zhong in the south. We
conquered many minority races (tribes), controlled two major cities Yan and Ying,
and occupied Cheng Gao in the east. A lot of
fertile lands were seized, the alliance of six countries was dissolved and these
countries were forced to pledge their allegiance to Qin. The impacts of the
strategy have lasted even until today.
King Zhao employed Fan Sui and
discharged his corrupt uncles Ranghou and Huayang, only to eliminate unauthorized
behaviour and to invigorate the strength of the ruling family's position. He
devoured the territories of the feudal lords and made the house of Qin able to
become emperors.
These four rulers were successful
because of their foreign advisors. From this aspect, how could the foreign
advisors let the rulers of Qin down? If these four rulers would not have
employed and incorporated foreign consultants in their courts, the state of Qin
would not be as rich and prosperous as it is now, and Qin would not be a strong
and powerful country…..
I have heard that a country
with ample land and fields can grow abundant grain, a state with a vast
territory can accommodate many inhabitants, and a strong army will have brave
soldiers. Equally, the Mount Tai is large because it was not picky about the
size of its rocks. All the rivers and seas run deep for they do not reject
small streams. And a
king can manifest his virtue only by not driving out the inhabitants of his
country. Therefore, it is important not to stretch a country all over the
world, and not to make people become estranged to their country; and only then,
the four seasons will be completed and beautiful, the spirits and gods will
grant good luck, and all will be like during the age of the Five mythical
Emperors and the Three holy Kings (of Xia, Shang and Zhou), who are invincible
in this world. If your majesty now would dismiss your foreign advising clients
(talents), they would be a fortune for your enemies' countries. If you would
allow people of ability under Heaven to draw back from your court and not to
come here to the west, they would not put one step on the ground of your state
of Qin. That would be tantamount to lending weapons to robbers and giving grain
to the bandits who robbed Qin.
A lot of products may not be produced in
Qin, but they can be treasured by us; many wise people may not be born in Qin,
but they are willing to serve our country with loyalty. Now if we dismiss these
people, they will become the treasure of other kingdom, this is to disadvantage
us and benefit our enemies. This is amounting to weaken us internally and causing
unhappiness among our dukes and princes. Under such circumstances, how can we
avoid danger to our country?
.
李斯是秦朝（公元前221年至206年）秦始皇的宰相。他被认为是秦篆书的创造者。他给秦始皇写的《谏逐客书》是他名垂千古。他劝秦始皇不要驱逐外来的人才，而秦始皇也接受了他的劝告。以下是他的主要论点：
臣闻吏议逐客，窃以为过矣。
昔穆公求士，西取由余於戎，东得百里奚於宛，迎蹇叔於宋，求丕豹、公孙支於晋。此五子者，不产於秦，而穆公用之，并国二十，遂霸西戎。
孝公用商鞅之法，移风易俗，民以殷盛，国以富强，百姓乐用，诸侯亲服，获楚、魏之师，举地千里，至今治强。
惠王用张仪之计，拔三川之地，西并巴、蜀，北收上郡，南取汉中，包九夷，制鄢、郢，东据城皋之险，割膏腴之壤，遂散六国之纵（合纵），使之西面事秦，功施到今。
昭王得范雎，废穰侯，逐华阳，强公室，杜私门，蚕食诸侯，使秦成帝业。
此四君者，皆以客之功。由此观之，客何负於秦哉！向使四君却客而不纳，疏士而不用，是使国无富利之实，而秦无强大之名也。…..
臣闻地广者粟多，国大者人众，兵强者士勇。是以泰山不让土壤，故能成其大；河海不择细流，故能就其深；王者不却众庶，故能明其德。是以地无四方，民无异国，四时充美，鬼神降福，此五帝、三王之所以无敌也。今乃弃黔首以资敌国，却宾客以业诸侯，使天下之士退而不敢西向，裹足不入秦，此所谓‘藉寇兵而赍盗粮’者也。
夫物不产於秦，可宝者多；士不产於秦，而愿忠者众。今逐客以资敌国，损民以益仇，内自虚而外树怨於诸侯，求国无危，不可得也。
注：由余：晋国人，先是在西戎任职，后来秦穆公设法使他投奔秦国。百里奚：楚国人，原为虞国的大夫，晋灭虞后，把他作为陪嫁的奴隶送给秦国。后来楚地的宛地，被楚国边境的人俘获。秦穆公用五张黑羊皮将他赎回，并封为大夫。迎蹇叔：原为岐人，旅居宋国，由于百里奚的推荐，秦穆公派人花重金请去做了大夫。丕豹：晋大夫丕郑的儿子，丕郑被晋惠公杀，丕豹逃到秦。公孙支：原是晋人，后来归秦，为秦大夫。商鞅：卫国人，姓公孙，名鞅。入秦后，被秦孝公重用，实行变法，有大功。因为封地叫商，故称商鞅，又称商君。张仪：魏国人，秦惠王任为丞相，他用连横的策略帮助秦分化瓦解东方六国，使它们服从秦国。范雎：魏国人，秦昭王用为相。他提出远交近攻的策略，帮助秦国统一天下。穰侯：秦昭王的舅父，曾为相国。华阳：秦昭王的舅父。
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