King Wuling’s Bold Cultural Reform | Generated by AI

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Question: Provide the full English translation of the essay “Zhao Wuling Wang Hu Fu Qi She” (赵武灵王胡服骑射) from a university Chinese textbook.

Answer:

The text “Zhao Wuling Wang Hu Fu Qi She” (King Wuling of Zhao Adopts Hu-Style Attire and Cavalry Archery) is a classical Chinese historical account, most commonly sourced from Sima Guang’s Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), which draws from the earlier Strategies of the Warring States (Zhanguo Ce). This passage appears in many Chinese university language/literature textbooks (大学语文) as a key example of Warring States-era reform, political persuasion, and cultural adaptation.

Here is the full original classical Chinese text (the standard version used in textbooks):

赵武灵王北略中山之地，至房子，遂至代，北至无穷，西至河，登黄华之上。与肥义谋胡服骑射以教百姓，曰：“愚者所笑，贤者察焉。虽驱世以笑我，胡地、中山，吾必有之！”遂胡服。

国人皆不欲，公子成称疾不朝。王使人请之，曰：“家听于亲，国听于君。今寡人作教易服而公叔不服，吾恐天下议之也。制国有常，利民为本；从政有经，令行为上。明德先论于贱，而从政先信于贵，故愿慕公叔之义以成胡服之功也。”公子成再拜稽首曰：“臣闻中国者，圣贤之所教也，礼乐之所用也，远方之所观赴也，蛮夷之所则效也。今王舍此而袭远方之服，变古之道，逆人之心，臣愿王孰图之也！”使者以报。

王自往请之，曰：“吾国东有齐、中山，北有燕、东胡，西有楼烦、秦、韩之边。今无骑射之备，则何以守之哉？先时中山负齐之强兵，侵暴吾地，系累吾民，引水围鄗；微社稷之神灵，则鄗几于不守也，先君丑之。故寡人变服骑射，欲以备四境之难，报中山之怨。而叔顺中国之俗，恶变服之名，以忘鄗事之丑，非寡人之所望也。”公子成听命，乃赐胡服，明日服而朝。于是始出胡服令，而招骑射焉。

Full English Translation:

King Wuling of Zhao campaigned northward into the territory of Zhongshan, reaching Fangzi, then proceeding to Dai, extending north to Wuliang (the endless desert), and west to the Yellow River. He ascended the summit of Huanghua Mountain. There, he consulted with Fei Yi about adopting Hu-style short jackets and trousers and training the people in mounted archery, saying: “The foolish will laugh at it, but the wise will examine it closely. Even if the whole world laughs at me, I will surely possess the lands of the Hu and Zhongshan!”

Thereupon, he adopted Hu-style attire.

The people of the state were all unwilling to do so. Prince Cheng (his uncle) claimed illness and did not attend court. The king sent an envoy to request his presence, saying: “In a family, one listens to one’s parents; in a state, one listens to one’s ruler. Now I am issuing this order to change attire, yet my esteemed uncle does not comply. I fear the world will criticize this. The governance of a state has its constants, with benefiting the people as the foundation; the conduct of government has its principles, with the enforcement of orders as paramount. To manifest virtue, one begins with the lowly; to govern effectively, one first gains the trust of the noble. Therefore, I hope to emulate my uncle’s sense of duty to accomplish the success of this Hu attire reform.”

Prince Cheng bowed twice, touching his head to the ground, and replied: “Your vassal has heard that the Central States are where sages and worthies teach, where rites and music are practiced, where distant regions come to observe and emulate, and where barbarians take their model. Now Your Majesty abandons this to adopt the attire of distant regions, altering the ways of antiquity and going against the hearts of the people. I beg Your Majesty to consider this carefully!”

The envoy reported back. The king personally went to request him, saying: “My state has Qi and Zhongshan to the east, Yan and the Eastern Hu to the north, Loufan, Qin, and Han bordering to the west. If we lack preparations for mounted archery, how can we defend ourselves? In the past, Zhongshan relied on Qi’s powerful army to invade and ravage our lands, capture and bind our people, and divert water to besiege Hao. Had it not been for the divine protection of the altars of soil and grain, Hao would nearly have fallen—our former ruler regarded this as a deep disgrace. Therefore, I am changing attire and adopting mounted archery to prepare against dangers on all four borders and to avenge the grievance against Zhongshan. Yet my uncle clings to the customs of the Central States, detests the name of changing attire, and forgets the humiliation of Hao—this is not what I had hoped for from you.”

Prince Cheng accepted the command. The king then bestowed Hu-style attire upon him. The next day, he wore it to court. Thus began the issuance of the order for Hu attire, and the recruitment and training in mounted archery commenced.

This reform (around 307–306 BCE) marked a major military transformation: shifting from chariot-based warfare to cavalry archery inspired by northern nomadic “Hu” peoples, greatly strengthening Zhao and enabling victories over Zhongshan and northern tribes.

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