Li Ssu

Li Ssu (c 280-208 BC), also Li Si, was a Chinese statesman and the Prime Minister during the rule of Ch'in dynasty. He is believed responsible for the suicide of the emperor's heir. His policies were so important that they were followed for the next 2000 thousand years.

Li Si believed that books regarding things such as medicine, agriculture, and prophecy could be ignored, but political books were dangerous in public hands, and it was hard to make progress and change the country with the opposition of so many "free thinking" scholars. He therefore persuaded the emperor Qin Shi Huang to suppress intellectual dissent. Li Si also believed that only the state should keep political books, and only state-run schools should be allowed to educate political scholars. He himself penned the edict ordering the destruction of historical records and literature in 213 BC, including key Confucian texts, which he thought detrimental to the welfare of the state. It is commonly thought that 460 Confucian scholars were buried alive in the well-known "burning of books and burying of scholars".

When Qin Shi Huang died while away from the capital, Li Si and the chief eunuch Zhao Gao suppressed the late emperor's choice of successor, which was Fusu. Li Si and Zhao Gao tricked Fusu into committing suicide and installed another prince, Qin Er Shi (229–207 BC), in his place. In 208 BC, Zhao Gao had Li Si subjected to the Five Punishments, executed via waist chop at a public market, and his entire family to the third degree exterminated.

Wisdom & Quotes

• The small man is one who throws away his opportunities, whereas great deeds are accomplished through utilizing the mistakes ( of others) and inflexibly following them up.
• If we are to move into the future, we must eradicate the past.
• There is no set standard for honour since everyone's life is different. The values of people are determined by their social status. And like rats, people's social status often depends purely on the random life events around them.

- attributed

• I wish that you and I could take our brown dog and go out through the eastern gate of Shang Cai to chase the crafty hare. But how could we do that!

- Li Si's last words to his son as quoted by Sima Qian

Asoka