"Burn the books of scholars, and the empire will endure. Burn the knowledge of the people, and the empire will fall."
— Qin Shi Huang
Burn The Books Of Scholars And
Burn the books of scholars, and the empire will endure. Burn the knowledge of the people, and the empire will fall.
About this quote
This is a paraphrase attributed to Qin Shi Huang regarding the Burning of the Books (213 BCE), recorded in debates in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. The precise wording is a modern interpretive construction; the Shiji records Li Si's memorial and the emperor's decree, which ordered burning of philosophical and historical texts while sparing works on medicine, agriculture, and divination. The Burning of the Books was intended to suppress political opposition and prevent scholars from invoking precedents from earlier dynasties to criticize Qin policies.
Source
Attributed, paraphrased from debates recorded in Records of the Grand Historian
