秦始皇容貌考辨

An Inquiry into the Records Concerning Qin Shi Huang's Appearance

司马迁在《史记·秦始皇本纪》中记述了秦始皇的容貌:"蜂准,长目,挚鸟膺,豺声",后人对此均无异议,甚至加以想象发挥。可是,据《太平御览》引《史记》文,证以相关典籍,知今本《史记》此句为讹文,原文当是"隆准、蜂目、鸟喙,豺声"。

Sima Qian made the description about Qin Shi Huang's appearance in his famous book Shi Ji: he had the long eyes, the nose like that of a bee, the breast like that of an eagle, and his voice like that of a jackal. Some scholars not only have believed in abovementioned records, but also have added inflammatory details to it. However, according to the quoted passage in Taiping Yu Lan and the other materials, the original words might be as follows: he had the protruding nose, the eyes like a bee′s, the mouth like a beak′s, and the voice like that of a jackal.