姚贾 / Yao Jia
姚贾 / Yao Jia enters the wiki through 《资治通鉴·秦纪》112-1｜姚贾是如何凭一张嘴破四国合纵？, a 芮淇讲透资治通鉴 episode about Qin diplomacy before unification. The source presents him as a 卫国 man of low origin: his father guarded a city gate, and 韩非 later attacked him by citing a theft record in 大梁.
The episode first places Yao Jia on the anti-Qin side. 赵国 values his speech talent and sends him to 韩国, 魏国, and 楚国 to organize or strengthen 合纵 pressure against 秦国.
李斯 disrupts that position by spreading damaging claims in Zhao. Once Zhao recalls and expels Yao Jia, Yao Jia reads the attack differently: if Qin is willing to destroy his Zhao position, Qin must think he is useful. He goes to 咸阳, is recommended by Li Si, and enters 嬴政 / 秦始皇’s service.
The source’s main claim is that Yao Jia does not break the four-state coalition by speech alone. Ying Zheng gives him carriages, horses, money, clothing, and a sword, making his Qin backing visible. Yao Jia then spends three years moving through Han, Wei, Chu, and Zhao, combining persuasion with bribes to powerful court figures. His mission becomes a named case of 利益瓦解合纵 and 乱世职业经理人式流动.
《资治通鉴·秦纪》112-3｜韩非与姚贾论战，秦王当裁判 completes Yao Jia’s defense after that mission. 韩非 attacks his low origin, alleged theft record, Zhao expulsion, and gifts received abroad, but Yao Jia answers that the gifts served 秦国 and that a selfish envoy would not have returned to 咸阳. He then cites earlier figures such as 姜太公 / 姜子牙, 管仲, and 百里奚 to argue that rulers who reject useful people for tainted biographies would also have rejected famous earlier ministers.
The episode treats this as a victory for Yao Jia because he reframes the case from personal purity to ruler capacity. Once vindicated, Yao Jia joins 李斯 in the interest alignment against Han Fei: Yao Jia wants revenge for the near-ruin, while Li Si wants to remove a more admired rival classmate.
Connections
- 嬴政 / 秦始皇 - ruler who funds and authorizes Yao Jia’s mission.
- 李斯 - Qin minister who first helps damage Yao Jia’s Zhao position and then recommends him in Qin.
- 韩非 - critic who attacks Yao Jia’s low origin and past record in the episode’s account.
- 姜太公 / 姜子牙, 管仲, 百里奚, and 秦穆公 - precedent figures used in Yao Jia’s defense of low-origin talent.
- 赵国, 韩国, 魏国, and 楚国 - states connected by Yao Jia’s anti-hezong circuit.
- 合纵, 利益瓦解合纵, 反间流言楔入, and 乱世职业经理人式流动 - concepts that explain the mission’s mechanism.
- 《战国策》 - source tradition used by the episode for Yao Jia’s story.