《史记·七十列传·吕不韦列传》
并在这方面要争个高低上下。吕不韦认为秦国如此强大，把不如他们当成一件令人羞愧的事，所以他也招来了文人学士，给他们优厚的待遇，门下食客多达三千人。
吕不韦以秦之彊，羞不如，亦招致士，厚遇之，至食客三千人。
And in this respect, they must compete for high and low. Lu Buwei believed that the state of Qin was so powerful that it would be a shame if he was not as good as them, so he also invited literati and scholars, gave them preferential treatment, and had as many as 3,000 diners under his door.