Su Qin
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| Traditional Chinese | 蘇秦 | ||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 苏秦 | ||||||
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Sū Qín |
Su Qin (380–284 BCE), was an influential political strategist during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was born in Chengxuan Village, Luoyang in present-day Henan Province. According to legend Su Qin was a disciple of Guiguzi, the founder of the School of Diplomacy. He was the chief advocate of the Vertical Alliance system, which sought to create an alliance of the other states against the state of Qin. The opposing theory, "Horizontal Alliance" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Lían Héng) supported alliances with the State of Qin.
After finishing his studies with Guiguzi, Su Qin travelled for several years and on his return lamented that "My wife doesn't recognize me as her husband, my sister-in-law doesn't recognize me as her brother-in-law, and my parents don't recognize me as their son!". All these misfortunes he blamed on himself and he thereafter shut himself in his room to study. To prevent falling asleep from long hours of study, he would stab himself in the thigh with a sharp instrument. This practice gave rise to part of a Chinese idiom or "chengyu" simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: which means "to study assiduously and tirelessly".
At his most brilliant Su Qin persuaded the leaders of the six kingdoms of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei to unite against the Qin state through the use of his splendid rhetoric and thereafter wore robes decorated with the insignia of the six states. The allies of the Vertical Alliance advanced on the State of Qin but were easily defeated due to internal discord between the former enemies.
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