Call a deer a horse
Emperor Qin I died in 210 B.C. He unified ancient China for the first time and established the prominent Qin Dynasty. His sudden passing at the working trip sent his son, Qin II, to the throne in haste. Along with Qin II’s ascension, his private teacher, Zhao Gao, came to the power center. Gao was a man of bloodlust, especially when it came to seizing power. He soon killed the then Prime Minister Li Si and took the PM position. But he was not satisfied. His final goal was to take the throne.
His rise was so fast that he was not sure how much support he could get from the top officials. He plotted a test, which became one of the most known stories in Chinese history. One morning at the routine emperor meeting, he came to the courthouse with a deer. He pulled the deer close to Qin II and said loudly, “I got a great horse yesterday. I bring it here and present to you, my King.”
“You are mistaken, Prime Minister. It’s a deer. Don’t you see the antlers on its head?” said Qin II, smiling.
“It’s truly a great horse, my King. You can ask other ministers here,” said Gao, turning to the officers’ area. “Let’s see what they think it is.”
Fearing Gao’s power and ferocity, many ministers exclaimed in exuberant delight, “It’s truly a horse, a great horse!”
In the midst of the adherence, some voices were heard, “It’s a deer!”
The dispute didn’t go further and Qin II accepted the present. Gao got what he wanted out of the meeting. Soon the ministers proclaiming “deer” were expelled, jailed, or even killed. The “horse” ones were promoted and raised. Sliding into autocracy under Gao, the courthouse became a place where no truth was told, where Gao was the real king.
Inevitably, Gao faced increasing opposition over his tyranny. Some came from Qin II. Hearing the resent from the king, Gao decided to move first. One night he sent one of his righthands to the palace. The warrior killed Qin II and made a scene that the king committed suicide. While preparing to take the throne, Gao received reports. Many top officials believed that he’d killed the king and they were plotting revenge. Gao decided to take one step back. He came up to follow the royal rite — making Qin II’s son, the prince Zi Ying, the new emperor. His plan was to use Zi Ying as a puppet and he stayed as the king behind the curtain.
Zi Ying knew all of Gao’s brutality. He didn’t want to repeat his father’s fate. He locked himself in the palace house, talking with his eunuch officers for hours and hours. They made a plan.
After five days of fasting, Zi Ying was supposed to go to the ancestral temple to receive the jade seal. Gao sent officers to Zi Ying to escort him. But he rejected them, claiming he was sick. Many rounds of officers were sent to the palace but Zi Ying didn’t move. Finally, Gao had to come himself to invite Zi Ying. Once he stepped into Zi Ying’s room, a eunuch officer rushed out from behind the door and stabbed him. Gao died instantly.
Zi Ying summoned all the ministers and declared the crimes conducted by Gao. He imposed the heaviest punishment, three killings, to Gao’s family. Families members from himself, his father, and his mother were all killed. Gao’s reign crumbled.
Calling a deer a horse is a Chinese idiom, still widely used in both speaking and writing. It refers to the brazen lies among politicians that confound right and wrong, distort the fact for secret motives. It also indicates a bad result as, naturally, lying only grows more ominous.
