Priestcraft, once upon a time not so distant at all

Calling a deer a horse.

One chengyu (Chinese idiomatic expression) that is derived from an incident involving Zhao Gao is "point to a deer and call it a horse" (指鹿為馬; zhǐlù-wéimǎ) or "calling a deer a horse", meaning "deliberate peddling of a falsehood". The Records of the Grand Historian records that Zhao Gao, in an attempt to control the Qin government, devised a loyalty test for court officials using a deer and horse:

Zhao Gao was contemplating treason but was afraid the other officials would not heed his commands, so he decided to test them first. He brought a deer and presented it to the Second Emperor but called it a horse. The Second Emperor laughed and said, "Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?" Then the emperor questioned those around him. Some remained silent, while some, hoping to ingratiate themselves with Zhao Gao, said it was a horse, and others said it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for all those who said it was a deer to be brought before the law and had them executed instantly. Thereafter the officials were all terrified of Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao gained military power as a result of that. (tr. Watson 1993:70)

Alternative revisions

There is a theory that Zhao Gao was a descendant of the royal family of the Zhao state, which was destroyed by the Qin state, and Zhao Gao was seeking revenge on Qin. With Zhao Gao in charge of the Qin government, it was natural that the Qin Empire collapsed in such a short time. In fact, Zhao Gao killed all the sons and daughters of Qin Shi Huang, including the Second Emperor, Huhai. In revenge, Ziying killed Zhao Gao and all of his family members. Thus, Zhao Gao or his brothers have no known descendants. Commentators who hold this view praise him for his part in the destruction of the Qin empire.

The historian Li Kaiyuan (李開元) believes Zhao Gao was not a eunuch at all. He bases this in part on the fact eunuchs were not allowed to serve as chancellors, which Zhao did.