犀首公孙衍 / Gongsun Yan
犀首公孙衍 / Gongsun Yan appears in 《资治通鉴·周纪》34丨秦国总理如何玩转六国 as the figure Qin uses in 332 BCE to damage the still-fragile 合纵 line. The episode explains that “犀首” is a title or nickname rather than a personal name, glossed as a mark of fierceness, and identifies him as a native of 殷晋 in 魏国.
In the source’s causal chain, Gongsun Yan matters because he converts 秦国’s pressure into alliance disruption. By misleading or maneuvering 齐国 and Wei into a joint attack against 赵国, he helps make 赵肃侯 blame 苏秦 and helps break the coalition arrangement that had just been dramatized in the earlier Su Qin episodes.
The episode also previews him as 张仪’s future chief political enemy. That makes him part of 纵横家外交 not only as a one-off agent of disruption, but as a rival within the persuader field that will define Qin-facing and anti-Qin strategies.
《资治通鉴·周纪》37丨苏秦：六国集团CEO的不堪情史 turns that preview into the next diplomatic line. The episode says Gongsun Yan has somehow left 秦国 and returned to 魏国, where he contacts other lords on Wei’s behalf and begins the “real” 合纵 business. Zhang Yi’s 啮桑 meeting with Qi and Chu ministers may be a response to this, and Zhang Yi’s own move to Wei afterward makes their rivalry a multi-court contest.
《资治通鉴·周纪》38丨搞兼职的张仪不一般 shows Gongsun Yan and 张仪 inside 魏国 at the same time. The episode says Gongsun Yan seeks to reduce direct conflict with Zhang Yi, offers reconciliation, and publicly sends Zhang Yi toward Qi. That closeness makes the Qi ruler suspicious of Zhang Yi, but the episode also distinguishes their positions: Gongsun Yan is treated as genuinely seeking a Wei role, while Zhang Yi’s Wei post remains ambiguous because Qin still seems to reserve space for him. This makes Gongsun Yan part of 乱世职业经理人式流动 without making him identical to Zhang Yi.
Connections
- 秦国 - state whose interests he serves in this episode’s alliance-disruption move.
- 魏国 and 殷晋 - origin setting named by the source.
- 齐国, 赵国, 赵肃侯, and 苏秦 - states and actors affected by the disrupted hezong arrangement.
- 合纵, 连横, and 纵横家外交 - diplomatic field in which his role is introduced.
- 张仪 - future rival previewed by the episode.
- 啮桑, 齐国, and 楚国 - Zhouji 37 meeting setting and possible Zhang Yi response to his anti-Qin organizing.
- 乱世职业经理人式流动, 魏惠王 / 梁惠王, and 齐湣王 - Zhouji 38 reconciliation, Wei court mobility, and Qi suspicion branch.