Ancient China · Hydraulic engineer sent by Han as an agent to Qin

Zheng Guo 鄭國

Attested BC 246 - BC 246

Passages: 12
Chapters: 3
Histories: 3

Overview

Zheng Guo was a Hydraulic engineer sent by Han as an agent to Qin.

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 246 使水工鄭國間說秦
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 38, passage 25
BC 246 秦以富彊，卒并諸侯
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passages 18, 23
BC 246 秦時
Dated from the passage context · History of Yuan 66, passage 205

Key source chapters

Career and standing

water engineer 水工
Held
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passage 18
Sent as
Spy
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passages 18, 20
Nearly killed
Threatened execution · Negated false
Directly stated · History of Yuan 66, passage 206
threatened with execution 欲殺
Threatened · Authority Qin 秦
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passage 19

Places and affiliations

Han (state) 韓
Relation Served
Directly stated · History of Yuan 66, passage 205
Qin 秦
Relation Served
Directly stated · History of Yuan 66, passages 205, 207
Polity Han 韓 · Relation Sent by
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 38, passage 24
Polity Han 韓 · Relation Sent by
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passage 18
Polity Qin 秦 · Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 38, passages 25, 29
Polity Qin 秦 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passages 18, 21

Works and attributed material

Zhengguo Canal 鄭國渠
Relation Designed and built
Directly stated · Book of Han 38, passages 25, 31
Speech · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passage 20; History of Yuan 66, passage 206

Events and relationships

Built zheng canal
Engineering · Builder
Directly stated · History of Yuan 66, passages 205, 207
Completed Zheng Guo Canal
Hydraulic · Engineer
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passages 21-23
Nearly executed
Legal · Defendant · Qin wanted to kill him when plot discovered
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passage 19
Persuaded Qin to build a costly canal, then completed it after his mission was exposed
Espionage · Agent and engineer
Directly stated · Book of Han 38, passages 24-31
Secretly advised Qin to dig canal
Espionage · Agent · Other Polity Qin 秦
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passage 18
Sent by han to exhaust qin
Diplomatic · Agent
Directly stated · History of Yuan 66, passages 205-206

Assessments and attributes

Assessment canal benefits Qin despite espionage origin · Mode self-report Speaker Zheng Guo (鄭國)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 29, passage 20

Source notes

Field source-text · Reading 舄鹵 · Rejected Reading 秽鹵 · The received Hanshu reading denotes saline land.
Textual variant · Book of Han 38, passage 30

References in the histories

Search passages

History

12 passages

Book of Han, Chapter 38Volume 29: Treatise on Rivers and Canals · 6 passages

乃使水工鄭國間說秦，令鑿涇水，自中山西邸瓠口為渠，並北山，東注洛，三百餘里，欲以溉田。 Han therefore dispatched the water engineer Zheng Guo as an agent to lobby Qin into digging a canal from the Jing River, starting at Hugu mouth on Zhongshan's western bank, running along the north hills and east into the Luo for more than 300 li, ostensibly for irrigation.

中作而覺，秦欲殺鄭國。 The deception was discovered during construction, and Qin moved to kill Zheng Guo.

鄭國曰：「始臣為間，然渠成亦秦之利也。 Zheng Guo said, "Yes, I came at first as a spy, but once finished this canal will still profit Qin.

於是關中為沃野，無凶年，秦以富彊，卒并諸侯，因名曰鄭國渠。 As a result, Guanzhong became prime agricultural land and escaped bad-harvest years. Qin's wealth and power surged, enabling eventual unification. The canal was thereafter called the Zhengguo Canal.

自鄭國渠起，至元鼎六年，百三十六歲，而兒寬為左內史，奏請穿鑿六輔渠，以益溉鄭國傍高卬之田。 From the opening of the Zhengguo Canal to Yuanding year six, 136 years had passed. Then, as Left Director of the Inner Region, Er Kuan petitioned to excavate the Six Auxiliary Canals to irrigate elevated fields beside the Zhengguo system.

鄭國在前，白渠起後。 First came Zheng Guo, then came the Bai Canal.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 29Treatise on Rivers and Canals · 4 passages

而韓聞秦之好興事，欲罷之，毋令東伐，乃使水工鄭國閒說秦，令鑿涇水自中山西邸瓠口為渠，并北山東注洛三百餘里，欲以溉田。 When Han learned that Qin liked undertaking such works, it tried to stop him and forestall an eastern campaign, so it sent the water engineer Zheng Guo to secretly advise Qin to dig a canal from the Jing River at Zhongshan’s western shore to Hukou and then north along the mountains to the east for more than three hundred li, intending to use it for irrigation.

中作而覺，秦欲殺鄭國。 Halfway through the work, Qin discovered what was happening and wanted to kill Zheng Guo.

鄭國曰：「始臣為閒，然渠成亦秦之利也。」 Zheng Guo said: “At first I was sent as a spy, but once the canal is finished it will still benefit Qin.”

於是關中為沃野，無凶年，秦以富彊，卒并諸侯，因命曰鄭國渠。 Guanzhong thereby became fertile ground, harvests no longer failed, Qin grew rich and strong, and in the end it conquered the feudal lords. For this reason, the canal was named the Zheng Guo Canal.

History of Yuan, Chapter 66Volume 66 Treatises 19: Rivers and Canals 3 · 2 passages

涇渠者，在秦時韓使水工鄭國說秦，鑿涇水，自仲山西抵瓠口為渠，並北山，東註於洛三百餘里以溉田，蓋欲以罷秦之力，使無東伐。 The Jing Canal: in Qin times the state of Han sent the engineer Zheng Guo to persuade Qin to cut a channel from the Jing River at Zhongshan west to Hugu Mouth, running three hundred li east along the northern foothills into the Luo to irrigate farmland—intending to exhaust Qin's strength and forestall eastern campaigns.

秦覺其謀，欲殺之，鄭曰：「臣為韓延數年之命，而為秦建萬世之利。」 When Qin uncovered the plot and moved to execute him, Zheng Guo said: 'I have bought Han a few more years of life, yet built benefit for Qin that will last ten thousand generations.'