He Who Conquers Himself Is The

This saying is attributed to Qin Shi Huang in traditional sources but does not appear in that exact form in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji); it is likely a later formulation. The First Emperor's reputation for iron self-discipline is documented in Sima Qian's account of his relentless military campaigns and administrative reforms, but the Shiji itself does not attribute this particular maxim to him. The sentiment aligns more naturally with Confucius and Mencius, who taught self-cultivation as a prerequisite for governing others, rather than with the Legalist philosophy that actually governed the Qin empire.