Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE), speaking as Master Li (flourished 3rd century BCE)
“To a king the people are ‘heaven,’ and to the people food is ‘heaven.'”
- From a speech delivered by Master Li in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 97) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).
