Su Qin

A Chinese politician and lobbier during the Warring States period. Born in Luoyang, Henan Province. He studied under Guiguzi of Qi. He first tried to persuade King Hui of Qin, but was not used. Later, he tried to persuade Wen Hou of Yan, Su Hou of Zhao, King Xuanhui of Han, King Xiang of Wei, King Xuan of Qi, and King Wei of Chu, and succeeded in forming an alliance of the six nations (unification). The six nations were to unite vertically to oppose Qin in the west, and Su Qin himself became the head of the vertical agreement, also serving as the prime minister of the six nations, and sent the document of the vertical agreement to Qin, which is said to have prevented Qin from advancing eastward for over a decade. Soon after, the alliance was broken by Zhang Yi, and he later fled to Qi, where he was killed by assassins. He was placed in the Long and Horizontal House, one of the Hundred Houses of Various Families, along with Zhang Yi. However, many scholars doubt the facts of the articles in the Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 69, Biography of Su Qin, which records the alliance strategy, and in the Warring States Strategy, and the story of the alliance strategy is largely legendary.

[Ota Yukio]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、戦国時代の政治家、遊説の士。河南省洛陽(らくよう)の出身。斉(せい)の鬼谷子(きこくし)に師事。初め秦(しん)の恵王に説いたが用いられず、のち燕(えん)の文侯、趙(ちょう)の粛(しゅく)侯、韓(かん)の宣恵(せんけい)王、魏(ぎ)の襄(じょう)王、斉の宣王、楚(そ)の威王にそれぞれ説いて、この六国の連合を成功させた（合従(がっしょう)）。六国が縦に並んで結束し、西方の秦に対抗しようとするもので、蘇秦自らが縦約の長となり、六国の相(しょう)を兼ね、縦約の書を秦に送ったため、秦は十数年間東方進出ができなかったといわれる。まもなく張儀(ちょうぎ)のために合従は破られ、のち斉に逃れたが、そこで刺客に殺された。張儀とともに、諸氏百家の一つ縦横(じゅうおう)家に入れられている。しかし、その合従策を記した『史記』巻69蘇秦伝や『戦国策』の記事の事実を疑う学者も多く、合従策の故事は多分に伝説的要素がある。

［太田幸男］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例