We have all heard it in Japanese shows, but what history do the kanji characters also hold?
There are several theories behind the origin of the phrase “baka”, but here we will talk about one theory — the one related to the kanji characters.
The kanji characters for the phrase “baka”, 馬鹿, literally translate into ‘horse’ (馬) and ‘deer’ (鹿).
But what’s so silly about horses and deers?
In 210 B.C., the First Emperor of China died while touring Eastern China. His death was kept a secret by his Prime Minister, Li Si, who feared an uprising should the news be announced. Any unrest would be impossible to stop, as it would take them two months to return to the capital. The secret was hence only known by a few, among whom are: a favourite eunuch, Zhao Gao, and a younger prince who was traveling together, Hu Hai.
By the time they made their way back, Zhao Gao was having plans. The Emperor left no will, and by custom, the throne will go to his eldest son, Fu Su. Zhao Gao had a personal grudge with one of Fu Su’s generals, and feared retribution as well as losing his status and power. He convinced Hu Hai and Li Si to send a fake edict to Fu Su which commanded him to commit suicide. Hu Hai became the Second Emperor of China.
But Hu Hai was not as capable as Fu Su, and this marked the downward turning point for the Qin Dynasty as Zhao Gao continued to usurp power by corrupting the new Emperor and controlling the royal court.
One day, Zhao Gao brought a deer to the Emperor and told him “Your Majesty, I have brought you a good horse that can run a thousand miles.” Hu Hai looked at it, and said, “My minister, you must be mistaken. This is a deer, why do you say it is a horse?”
Zhao Gao ignored Hu Hai, and turned to the ministers. “Tell us, is this a deer or a horse?” All of the ministers went pale. There were many who agreed with Zhao Gao, out of fear for their lives. There were only a handful who refused to betray their conscience and exclaimed, “This is a deer! Not a horse!”.
This story sounds similar to “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, and we might only think that Hu Hai was just another silly ruler (like the king who paraded with his ‘new’ clothes) and can’t tell a horse from a deer. Therefore, “baka” or 馬鹿 is now synonymous with “silly”, or “foolish”.
However, the story here is much more darker as the various characters met with tragic endings.
Being the other most influential person in court (and witness to the fake edict), Li Si had to be removed. He was eventually framed by Zhao Gao and executed, with his execution said to be the most brutal in the whole of China’s history. His clan (three degrees of relations) was also massacred.
Hu Hai suffered the same fate as his elder brother. Under his rule (or lack thereof), the once unified Empire crumbled as more and more territories were lost. When Hu Hai asked Zhao Gao, “Did you not say that everything was under control?”, Zhao Gao realized that the Emperor was displeased with him. He promptly staged a coup and forced Hu Hai to kill himself. It was said that when the soldiers surrounded Hu Hai, only a eunuch remained by his side. Hu Hai blamed him for not reporting on how bad things were, to which he replied, “had I reported earlier, I would not have lived until now!”.
The great Qin Dynasty ends a mere 3 years after Hu Hai ascended the throne, destroying the efforts from the line of Qin kings that started from 905 B.C.
Zhao Gao was killed by another prince, Zi Ying, whom he tried to install as the new ruler after Hu Hai. Like Li Si, Zhao Gao’s clan was massacred.
Our deer and horse story is not a mere folktale, and there is much we can learn from history.
There is a saying in Chinese, “using bronze as a mirror, we can adjust our appearance; using history as a mirror, we can understand the natural rise and fall (of a country)”.
