Qin Shi Huang: Unifying China · chapter 7 of 8
Fire and Medicine
火和仙药
An old scholar argues with the emperor, and books are burned. Years later the emperor, afraid of dying, trusts a magician with a promise of medicine that never ends life.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 京城的大殿里，皇帝请大家吃饭。有一位老学者站了起来，大声说话。
Jīngchéng de dàdiàn lǐ, huángdì qǐng dàjiā chīfàn. Yǒu yí wèi lǎo xuézhě zhàn le qǐlái, dàshēng shuōhuà.
In the great hall of the capital, the emperor was hosting a feast. An old scholar stood up and spoke loudly.
- Old Scholar 皇帝！从前的好国王，都是把土地分给自己的儿子们的。你为什么不这样做？
Huángdì! Cóngqián de hǎo guówáng, dōu shì bǎ tǔdi fēn gěi zìjǐ de érzimen de. Nǐ wèishénme bù zhèyàng zuò?
Emperor! The good kings of old gave land to their own sons. Why don't you?
- Qin Shi Huang 李斯，你说呢？
Lǐ Sī, nǐ shuō ne?
Li Si, what do you say?
Chapter 7 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Qin Shi Huang: Unifying China is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Li Si 皇帝，老书里的话，不一定都适合今天的事。
Huángdì, lǎo shū lǐ de huà, bù yídìng dōu shìhé jīntiān de shì.
Emperor, the words in old books don't always fit today's problems.
- Old Scholar 老书里有很多好办法！你们不读老书，就不懂什么是对的！
Lǎo shū lǐ yǒu hěn duō hǎo bànfǎ! Nǐmen bù dú lǎo shū, jiù bù dǒng shénme shì duì de!
Old books hold many good answers! If you don't read them, you won't know what is right!
- Qin Shi Huang 你们只会说“从前从前”。今天的事，谁来管？
Nǐmen zhǐ huì shuō “cóngqián cóngqián”. Jīntiān de shì, shéi lái guǎn?
All you ever say is "long ago, long ago." Who will take care of today?
- Li Si 皇帝，有的人拿老书，来说新法不好。人们听了，就不相信官员了。
Huángdì, yǒu de rén ná lǎo shū, lái shuō xīn fǎ bù hǎo. Rénmen tīng le, jiù bù xiāngxìn guānyuán le.
Emperor, some people use old books to say the new laws are bad. Then people stop trusting the officials.
- Qin Shi Huang 那你说，怎么办？
Nà nǐ shuō, zěnme bàn?
Then what do you say we do?
- Li Si 我想……把别的国家的老书都收起来，烧掉。秦国自己的书，我们留着。
Wǒ xiǎng… bǎ bié de guójiā de lǎo shū dōu shōu qǐlái, shāo diào. Qínguó zìjǐ de shū, wǒmen liú zhe.
I think... we should gather all the old books of the other countries and burn them. Qin's own books we keep.
- Li Si 讲药的书，讲种田的书，还有算命的书，也不烧。
Jiǎng yào de shū, jiǎng zhòng tián de shū, hái yǒu suànmìng de shū, yě bù shāo.
Books about medicine, farming and fortune-telling we won't burn either.
- Qin Shi Huang 好。就照你说的做。这件事，你来办。
Hǎo. Jiù zhào nǐ shuō de zuò. Zhè jiàn shì, nǐ lái bàn.
Good. Do as you say. You will see to it.
- Narrator 书被烧了。有的学者不听命令，他们也受到了惩罚。
Shū bèi shāo le. Yǒu de xuézhě bù tīng mìnglìng, tāmen yě shòudào le chéngfá.
The books were burned. Some scholars who refused to obey were punished too.
- Narrator 很多年以后，人们说，这是他做过的最坏的事之一。
Hěn duō nián yǐhòu, rénmen shuō, zhè shì tā zuò guo de zuì huài de shì zhī yī.
Many years later, people said this was one of the worst things he ever did.
- Li Si 皇宫的书房里，还会留下一份，给做官的人读。
Huánggōng de shūfáng lǐ, hái huì liú xià yí fèn, gěi zuò guān de rén dú.
In the palace library, one copy will be kept for the officials to read.
- Narrator 再说早几年的事。皇帝渐渐老了，他越来越怕一件事：有一天，他也会死。
Zài shuō zǎo jǐ nián de shì. Huángdì jiànjiàn lǎo le, tā yuè lái yuè pà yí jiàn shì: yǒu yì tiān, tā yě huì sǐ.
Now, back a few years. The emperor was slowly growing old, and he feared one thing more and more: that one day he too would die.
- Xu Fu 皇帝！我在海上看见过一座仙山，山上有仙药，人吃了，可以不死！
Huángdì! Wǒ zài hǎi shàng kànjiàn guo yí zuò xiān shān, shān shàng yǒu xiānyào, rén chī le, kěyǐ bù sǐ!
Emperor! I once saw a magic mountain at sea. On it grows a magic medicine, and whoever takes it never dies!
- Qin Shi Huang 真的吗？吃了就不会死？
Zhēn de ma? Chī le jiù bú huì sǐ?
Really? You eat it and you won't die?
- Xu Fu 真的！可是仙山在很远的东海。我需要一条大船，还有很多年轻人帮我。
Zhēn de! Kěshì xiān shān zài hěn yuǎn de Dōnghǎi. Wǒ xūyào yì tiáo dà chuán, hái yǒu hěn duō niánqīng rén bāng wǒ.
Really! But the magic mountain is far away in the Eastern Sea. I need a big ship and many young people to help me.
- Qin Shi Huang 为什么要年轻人？
Wèishénme yào niánqīng rén?
Why young people?
- Xu Fu 仙人喜欢年轻人。老人去了，他们会不高兴，仙药也不会给。
Xiānrén xǐhuan niánqīng rén. Lǎorén qù le, tāmen huì bù gāoxìng, xiānyào yě bú huì gěi.
The immortals like young people. If old folks go, they get grumpy and won't hand over the medicine.
- Qin Shi Huang 你不会一去不回吧？
Nǐ bú huì yí qù bù huí ba?
You won't go and never come back, will you?
- Xu Fu 我怎么敢！三年，只要三年，我一定回来。
Wǒ zěnme gǎn! Sān nián, zhǐyào sān nián, wǒ yídìng huílái.
How would I dare! Three years, only three, and I will surely return.
- Qin Shi Huang 好。船、人、粮食，朕全都给你。去吧，不要让朕等太久。
Hǎo. Chuán, rén, liángshi, zhèn quán dōu gěi nǐ. Qù ba, bú yào ràng zhèn děng tài jiǔ.
Good. Ship, people, food, zhen gives you all of it. Go, and don't make zhen wait too long.
- Xu Fu 谢谢皇帝！三年以后，你会看到一个不会老的皇帝！
Xièxie huángdì! Sān nián yǐhòu, nǐ huì kàn dào yí gè bú huì lǎo de huángdì!
Thank you, Emperor! In three years you'll see an emperor who never grows old!
- Narrator 大船升起了红色的帆，慢慢离开了海边。
Dàchuán shēng qǐ le hóngsè de fān, mànmàn líkāi le hǎibiān.
The big ship raised its red sail and slowly left the shore.
- Qin Shi Huang 三年。朕每天都会数着日子。
Sān nián. Zhèn měi tiān dōu huì shǔ zhe rìzi.
Three years. Zhen will count the days.
- Qin Shi Huang 大海那么大……徐福，你真的找得到那座仙山吗？朕真的很想相信你。
Dàhǎi nàme dà… Xú Fú, nǐ zhēn de zhǎo de dào nà zuò xiān shān ma? Zhèn zhēn de hěn xiǎng xiāngxìn nǐ.
The sea is so big... Xu Fu, can you really find that magic mountain? Zhen truly wants to believe you.
- Li Si 皇帝，风很大，天也快黑了，请回去吧。
Huángdì, fēng hěn dà, tiān yě kuài hēi le, qǐng huíqù ba.
Emperor, the wind is strong and it will be dark soon. Please go back inside.
- Qin Shi Huang 再等一等。如果徐福不回来，朕就自己去海边找！
Zài děng yi děng. Rúguǒ Xú Fú bù huílái, zhèn jiù zìjǐ qù hǎibiān zhǎo!
Wait a little longer. If Xu Fu doesn't come back, zhen will go to the sea and look himself!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the old scholar say to the emperor?
“从前的好国王，都是把土地分给自己的儿子们的”
- Which books are not burned?
“讲药的书，讲种田的书”
- How does the story say people later saw the book burning?
“这是他做过的最坏的事之一”
- What does Xu Fu promise to find?
“山上有仙药，人吃了，可以不死”
- What does the emperor say at the end?
“如果徐福不回来，朕就自己去海边找”