The Legend of Baili Xi, the Five-Ram Minister

Baili Xi (c. 726–621 BCE) was a renowned minister of Qin during the Spring and Autumn period, an enduring example of a late-blooming talent. His early life was full of hardship and wandering. He traveled through the states of Qi, Zhou, and Yu, enduring hunger and cold, and even became a herdsman enslaved in Chu. Duke Mu of Qin, having heard of his talent, ransomed him for five black rams, earning him the name “Lord Five Rams.” He was appointed chancellor in his seventies, yet went on to set Qin on the path to greatness. He championed policies that put the people first, abolished human sacrifice, encouraged farming and sericulture, and promoted education. In foreign affairs, he pursued the strategy of making distant alliances while attacking nearby states, helping Duke Mu achieve the feat of “annexing twelve states and expanding Qin's territory by a thousand li,” and making Qin the hegemon of the western Rong. He also recommended worthy men such as Jian Shu, forming a powerful governing team. His strategy of “winning the submission of the Eight Rong through virtue” laid the foundation for Qin's unification of the realm a century later, earning him recognition as the founder of Qin's hegemony.