Podcast Atlas
entity Updated 2026-08-20 Topics: History

樗里子 / Chulizi

樗里子 / Chulizi appears in 《资治通鉴·周纪》46丨骂你是个“二百五”的历史来源 as the 秦国 commander in the 317 BCE pursuit after the failed anti-Qin coalition at 函谷关. The source identifies him as 秦惠文王’s half-brother and says Qin people called him “智囊,” making him a royal-family military figure rather than an anonymous field officer.

《资治通鉴·周纪》50丨张仪是怎样把楚怀王忽悠瘸的 opens with another compact Chulizi notice in 313 BCE. The episode identifies him through the title rendered as 右耕耆 / 右更疾, has him attack 赵国, take Lingcheng, and capture the defender Zhuang Bao before shifting to 张仪’s 楚国 mission.

The episode briefly reviews his earlier handling of captured Wei land, where he is said to have wanted territory but allowed people to return to their home state. That detail matters because the same commander later leads Qin into the much harsher 修鱼之战 sequence, where the source reports a mass killing and pursuit to 浊泽.

In this wiki branch, Chulizi connects the collapse of 合纵 to 秦国东进压力. The failed eastern coalition does not simply leave Qin contained; it gives Qin a reason and opening to punish 韩国 and 魏国 deep in the central plains.

《资治通鉴·周纪》57丨古代发毒誓还有这作用？ adds his court-office role under the name 樗里疾. In 309 BCE, 秦武王 sets Qin’s first formal left/right chancellors, with Chulizi as right chancellor and 甘茂 as left chancellor. The same episode then makes Chulizi part of Gan Mao’s predicted court-risk model: if 宜阳 takes too long, Chulizi and the Gongsun faction will attack Gan Mao, which is exactly what the episode says begins to happen after five months.

《资治通鉴·周纪》58丨赵武灵王如何打造强国 shows that pressure failing to stop the campaign. Chulizi and the Gongsun faction help unsettle Qin Wuwang, but Gan Mao invokes the Xirang oath, Qin sends reinforcements, and Yiyang falls.

《资治通鉴·周纪》59丨一朝君王一朝臣 makes the same factional pressure succeed only after the succession environment changes. Once Qin Wuwang is dead and 秦昭襄王 is in place, Chulizi’s side squeezes 甘茂 enough that Gan Mao flees when the army reaches Puban. Chulizi cannot continue the campaign alone, so he negotiates peace and withdraws.

《资治通鉴·周纪》61丨谁是历史上胆儿最肥的帝王？ adds a death-and-succession correction. The episode says the Tongjian notice has 楼缓 replacing Chulizi as Qin chancellor after Chulizi dies, but treats that as likely wrong. It follows 《史记》 by placing 魏冉 first, then 孟尝君 / 田文, then Lou Huan, then Wei Ran again. Chulizi therefore becomes another node in the wiki’s 编年错位 guardrail.

Key Claims

  • Chulizi is presented as a Qin royal-family commander and strategist.
  • His 317 BCE command turns the failed Hangu Pass coalition into a Qin counteroffensive.
  • The episode contrasts his earlier selective handling of people and land with the later Xiuyu battle’s severe reported casualties.
  • Chulizi’s role shows Qin pressure operating through pursuit, not only border seizure or diplomatic extraction.
  • Zhouji 57 adds Chulizi as Qin’s first right chancellor and as a court actor whose future criticism Gan Mao anticipates before the Yiyang campaign.
  • Zhouji 58 shows Chulizi’s pressure becoming real but not sufficient to overturn the oath-bound campaign commitment.
  • Zhouji 59 shows Chulizi’s pressure becoming effective after Qin’s succession shift, but also shows his limits when Gan Mao flees and the army cannot continue.
  • Zhouji 61 marks the reported posthumous chancellor succession as source-critical: Lou Huan’s immediate succession is doubtful, and the Shiji-backed sequence begins with Wei Ran.

Connections