Persuader said to have talked six states into the 合纵 alliance against Qin and held the seal of chief minister in all six. Jabbing his thigh with an awl to stay awake over his books is half of the idiom 悬梁刺股.
Sū Qín niánqīng shí dúshū hěn kèkǔ, kùn le jiù yòng zhuīzi cì zìjǐ de dàtuǐ.
As a young man Su Qin studied very hard; when he grew sleepy, he would jab his own thigh with an awl.
Tips
history
The rival policy, the 'horizontal' 连横 of siding with 秦, belongs to his fellow student 张仪, and the pair give their name to the 纵横家, the 'vertical and horizontal' school of political persuaders.
culture
His thigh-jabbing is half of the idiom 悬梁刺股 for studying hard. The other half is the Han scholar 孙敬, who tied his hair to a roof beam to keep from nodding off.
