Sima Cuo

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Sima Cuo came from a distinguished family of hereditary historians. According to the “Autobiographical Postface of the Grand Historian” in the Records of the Grand Historian, his ancestors were said to descend from Chong and Li in the age of Zhuanxu and for generations were responsible for affairs of Heaven and Earth. By the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, Chengbo Xiufu, also called Chengbo Linfu, lost his hereditary office and became associated with the Sima lineage, after which the family adopted Sima as its surname. At the end of the Western Zhou, members of the Sima clan left the Zhou court for Jin and later dispersed among Wey, Zhao, Qin, and other states. The branch that settled in Qin became Sima Cuo's ancestors. This family background may help explain the combination of strategic vision and practical style attributed to him.

Little is known of Sima Cuo's early life. He entered the historical record prominently in 316 BCE, the ninth year after King Huiwen's era change, during the court debate that determined Qin's strategic direction.

Advocacy of the Conquest of Shu

In 316 BCE, Ba and Shu were at war with each other, and both sent envoys to Qin asking for assistance. King Huiwen wanted to attack Shu, but he hesitated because the roads were difficult and because he feared Han might take advantage of Qin's absence. Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi then engaged in a major debate before the king.

Zhang Yi advocated first attacking Han, seizing the Zhou king, and using possession of the Son of Heaven to command the realm and achieve kingship. Sima Cuo rejected this proposal. He argued that attacking Han would cause the other states to unite against Qin, whereas conquering Shu would enlarge Qin's territory, acquire wealth to enrich the people and strengthen the army, and win submission without exhausting the population. It would also give Qin advantageous terrain from which to move downstream against Chu. He famously argued that “one who wishes to enrich the state must expand its territory; one who wishes to strengthen the army must enrich the people; and one who wishes to become king must broaden his virtue.” King Huiwen ultimately accepted Sima Cuo's proposal.

That autumn, Sima Cuo, Zhang Yi, Commandant Mo, and others led Qin forces along the Stone Cattle Road into Shu and fought the Shu army at Jiameng, present-day Guangyuan in Sichuan. The king of Shu was defeated, fled to Wuyang, in present-day Pengshan, Sichuan, and was killed by Qin forces. In the tenth month Qin destroyed Shu, reduced the Shu king's title to Marquis of Shu, and appointed Chen Zhuang as chancellor of Shu. After annexing Shu, Qin became richer and stronger and increasingly looked down upon neighboring states. Sima Cuo then took advantage of the situation to capture Ju and Ba and took the king of Ba back to Qin. Tradition holds that towers, city walls, gates, and buildings in Chengdu were constructed under his direction and that some survived into the Jin period.

Three Suppressions of Disorder in Shu

After Shu was initially conquered, unrest repeatedly broke out. In 311 BCE, Chen Zhuang, chancellor of Shu, killed the Marquis of Shu and submitted to Qin. In 310 BCE, the first year of King Wu of Qin, Chen Zhuang again rebelled against Qin. Sima Cuo was ordered to assist Gan Mao in suppressing the uprising and executed Chen Zhuang.

In 301 BCE, the sixth year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Prince Hui, a Qin prince enfeoffed as Marquis of Shu, rebelled in Shu. Sima Cuo was ordered to campaign against him and executed Prince Hui, the Gentleman-of-the-Household, and twenty-seven others. The disorder in Shu was again suppressed. Sima Cuo's repeated campaigns were important to the consolidation of Qin control over Ba and Shu.

Campaigns against Wei and Territorial Expansion

After stabilizing Shu, Sima Cuo campaigned in the Central Plains and repeatedly won military successes. In 295 BCE, the twelfth year of King Zhaoxiang, he served as State Commandant and led an attack on Xiangcheng in Wei. In 291 BCE, the sixteenth year of King Zhaoxiang, he served as Left Geng and captured Zhi, south of present-day Jiyuan in Henan, from Wei and Deng, in present-day Dengzhou, Henan, from Han.

In 289 BCE, the eighteenth year of King Zhaoxiang, Sima Cuo, then serving as Guest Minister, joined Bai Qi, Great Liangzao, in attacking the Wei cities of Yuancheng and Heyong. After breaking the bridges and taking the two cities, they advanced to Zhi and captured sixty-one cities of various sizes. In 286 BCE, the twenty-first year of King Zhaoxiang, Sima Cuo led an attack into Wei's Henei region. Wei was heavily defeated and ceded Anyi to obtain peace; Qin then drove the inhabitants of the city back into Wei territory.

Campaign against Chu and Later Years

In 280 BCE, the twenty-seventh year of King Zhaoxiang, Sima Cuo was ordered to mobilize troops from Longxi and attack Chu from Shu. Qin defeated Chu, captured Qianzhong Commandery in what is now western Hunan and northeastern Guizhou, and forced Chu to cede territory north of the Han River and Shangyong, in present-day northwestern Hubei, to Qin. This partially realized his earlier strategic prediction that “once Shu is gained, Chu can be gained.”

Sima Cuo disappears from the historical record after this point, and the dates of his birth and death are unknown. His grandson Sima Jin served as a subordinate of Bai Qi and was later ordered to die together with Bai Qi. Sima Jin's grandson Sima Chang served as Qin's superintendent of iron; later descendants included Sima Qian, the famous historian of the Western Han.

Major Activities

Strategic Conception

Sima Cuo's most distinctive contribution was his strategic vision. When King Huiwen of Qin hesitated between attacking Han and attacking Shu, Sima Cuo rejected Zhang Yi's proposal and advanced the larger conception that “once Shu is gained, Chu can be gained; once Chu falls, the realm will be united.” He argued that attacking Han would burden Qin with a reputation for injustice and might provoke a coalition of the other states, whereas conquering Shu could simultaneously produce both practical and reputational gains: Qin could expand its territory, enrich its population, and gain a strategic advantage against Chu. This conception gave Qin a clear direction for expansion and later became a classic precedent for military movements launched from Shu toward the Central Plains.

Military Campaigns

Sima Cuo's principal military activities included:

1. Qin conquest of Shu (316 BCE): led Qin troops along the Stone Cattle Road, defeated the Shu army at Jiameng, and destroyed Shu in the tenth month.
2. Suppression of revolts in Shu (310 BCE and 301 BCE): first assisted Gan Mao in executing the rebel Chen Zhuang and later campaigned against the rebellious Prince Hui, Marquis of Shu.
3. Campaigns against Wei (295, 291, 289, and 286 BCE): attacked Xiangcheng, Zhi, Yuancheng, Heyong, Henei, and other areas and captured dozens of cities.
4. Campaign against Chu (280 BCE): led troops from Longxi through Shu against Chu, captured Qianzhong Commandery, and forced Chu to cede territory north of the Han River and Shangyong.

Administration of Shu

Sima Cuo was not only effective in conquest but was also associated with administration. Tradition holds that towers, city walls, gates, and buildings in Chengdu were constructed under his direction and that remains were still visible in the Jin period. By suppressing repeated unrest in Shu, he helped stabilize Qin rule over Ba and Shu and laid a foundation for further development of the southwest.

Relations with Contemporaries

Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi debated fiercely at court over whether Qin should attack Shu or Han, but Zhang Yi ultimately also took part in the campaign against Shu, so their relationship was not simply one of hostility. Sima Cuo and Bai Qi jointly campaigned against Wei, and Bai Qi later succeeded him as State Commandant. Sima Cuo's grandson Sima Jin served as a subordinate of Bai Qi, suggesting close ties between the two families.

His later campaigns and offices were as follows: in 301 BCE, when Gongzi Hui, Lord of Shu, rebelled, Sima Cuo was sent against him and killed the lord together with the chief of the palace attendants and twenty-seven others, restoring order in Shu; in 295 BCE he became commandant of the state and led troops against Xiangcheng in Wei; in 293 BCE Bai Qi replaced him as commandant; in 291 BCE he was made zuogeng and took Zhi from Wei and Deng from Hann; in 289 BCE, as a guest minister, he and Bai Qi attacked Wei, taking Yuancheng and Heyong and subsequently sixty-one towns large and small; in 286 BCE he attacked Henei in Wei, and Wei offered Anyi to make peace; in 280 BCE he led the Longxi troops from Shu against Chu, took Qianzhong Commandery and forced Chu to cede the lands north of the Han and Shangyong. The changes from commandant of the state to zuogeng and guest minister reflect the double weight Qin placed on Shu and on its home territory during its expansion.

After the conquest of Shu, Qin established a commandery there and used the region as a base for expansion towards Chu and the southwest, and Sima Cuo thereafter operated for a long period on the Shu and Longxi fronts; when Gongzi Hui, Lord of Shu, rebelled in 301 BCE he was again sent against him, showing that Qin's control of Shu passed through reverses, while his changes of office between commandant of the state, zuogeng and guest minister correspond to Qin's double reliance on Shu and on its home territory in the same period.

His strategic argument matched the direction Qin later took: the plan to take Shu first and use it against Chu was borne out in the campaign of 280 BCE that seized Qianzhong Commandery.

Personal Relations

• Ancestor: Chengbo Xiufu (in the reign of King Xuan of Zhou; after losing his hereditary office, associated with the formation of the Sima clan)
• Grandson: Sima Jin (served under Bai Qi and was later ordered to die together with him)
• Descendants: Sima Chang (Qin superintendent of iron), Sima Wuze (market chief under Han), Sima Xi (Fifth-rank Grandee), Sima Tan (Grand Historian), Sima Qian (author of the Records of the Grand Historian)
• King Huiwen of Qin (Ying Si): adopted Sima Cuo's proposal to attack Shu and entrusted him with the campaign
• King Wu of Qin (Ying Dang): ordered Sima Cuo to assist Gan Mao in suppressing unrest in Shu
• King Zhaoxiang of Qin (Ying Ji): repeatedly ordered Sima Cuo to lead campaigns against Wei and Chu
• Zhang Yi: opponent in the court debate; later participated with him in the conquest of Shu
• Gan Mao: colleague; jointly suppressed the rebellion of Chen Zhuang, chancellor of Shu
• Bai Qi: colleague; jointly campaigned against Wei and later succeeded Sima Cuo as State Commandant
• King of Shu (Kaiming clan): defeated by Sima Cuo and killed after fleeing to Wuyang
• Chen Zhuang: chancellor of Shu; rebelled against Qin and was killed
• Prince Hui: Marquis of Shu; rebelled against Qin and was killed

Historical Assessment

Warring States and Contemporary Assessments

• King Huiwen of Qin responded to Sima Cuo's proposal to attack Shu: “Excellent. I will follow your advice.” (Records of the Grand Historian, “Biography of Zhang Yi”)
• Sima Qian recorded Sima Cuo's conquest of Shu in the “Autobiographical Postface of the Grand Historian” and treated his strategic judgment positively.
• King Zhaoxiang of Qin repeatedly entrusted Sima Cuo with major campaigns against Wei and Chu, indicating confidence in his military abilities.

Han Dynasty

• Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian gives a detailed account of the debate between Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi and presents the decision to attack Shu as an important step in Qin's rise.
• As a distant ancestor of Sima Qian, Sima Cuo received particular notice in the Grand Historian's family record, reflecting the prominence of the lineage.

Tang and Song Periods

• The Tang poet Liu Yuxi wrote in “Ascending the Ancient City of Sima Cuo”: “The general led Qin's army; in the southwest he pacified distant lands,” commemorating Sima Cuo's achievements in the southwest.
• The Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records Sima Cuo's conquest and stabilization of Shu and his campaigns against Wei and Chu in detail, presenting his strategic judgment favorably.

Modern and Contemporary Scholarship

• The modern historian Yang Kuan argued that “Qin Commandant Cuo,” “Left Geng Cuo,” “Guest Minister Cuo,” and Sima Cuo were the same person, thereby treating his military career as extending across the reign of King Zhaoxiang.
• The modern scholar Huang Liuzhu questioned whether “Sima Cuo” and “Left Geng Cuo” were the same individual, reflecting scholarly caution concerning details of his biography.
• Contemporary historical research generally regards Sima Cuo as a strategist with an innovative and expansionist outlook whose conception that “once Shu is gained, Chu can be gained” had major strategic significance for Qin's eventual unification of the realm.