Ministers › Diplomat / Envoy
Mao Sui
Retainer of Lord Pingyuan of Zhao who volunteered for the mission to Chu during the siege of Handan and, sword in hand, won King Kaolie over
On a road beside a desert gateway, a camel train carries a lidded chest and rolled bundles while travellers walk along the path; a large sailing ship lies in the harbour at the right, a stone waymark stands by the road, and dunes and mountains fill the distance.
Also known as Master Mao
- Roles
- Diplomat / Envoy
Mao Sui had been a retainer of Lord Pingyuan of Zhao for three years without making a name. When Qin besieged Handan and Pingyuan was sent to seek an alliance with Chu, he wanted twenty companions but found only nineteen; Mao Sui put himself forward, likening himself to an awl that would pierce through a bag. In Chu the talks dragged on until noon, when Mao Sui strode up the steps, hand on sword, and set out the stakes; King Kaolie swore the alliance and sent troops. He is the hero of 'Mao Sui Recommends Himself', the source of two well-known idioms.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active c. 258–257 BCE