OXFORD LIBRARY OF EAST ASIAN LITERATURES General Editor David Hawkes
Chan-Kuo Ts‘e Translated by
J. I. Crump, Jr.
Chan-Kuo Ts‘e Translated by
J. I. CRUMP, Jr.
CLARENDON PRESS • OXFORD 1970
PREFACE It is my hope that this translation will give the interested non-specialist an impression congruent to that formed by an educated Chinese when he reads the Chan-kuo Ts'e. For this reason footnotes have been kept to a minimum and words and phrases which I feel certain the Chinese implies are never fenced in with parentheses. Whenever there has been serious doubt in my mind, I bracket the material or place a bracketed question mark after it. Brackets are used also to enclose those statements appearing at the end of some items which scholars believe to be additions done by hands other than the original. Each item is indentified by its page number in the Ssu-pu Ts'ung-k'an (SPTK) edition of the Chan-kuo Ts'e and by an item number to refer the reader to the appropriate place in Kuo-ts'e K'an-yen (KY). Explanation of these numbers and their use will be found on p.588. In addition to these mechanical guides to keep items distinct from one another Professor Hawkes has written headings for all four hundred and ninety-seven items which furnish excellent clues to their contents and a sensible way of referring to them - there is nothing less likely to evoke the memory of an anecdote or piece of literature than citing it by number. Since the chronology of the Warring States era is quite uncertain, the dates assigned to the various rulers under whose names the items are grouped are meant to be only rough indications of the times these men are traditionally supposed to have lived. With this book, as with any extensive effort, attempts to acknowledge all the help one has received are bound to fail, but there are a number of persons (besides the one to whom this volume is dedicated) who deserve my warmest gratitude and public thanks. First and last it has been the fresh and inquiring interest of many students - some of whom are colleagues now - which kept me at work on the Chan-kuo Ts'e, but for stimulating my interest in translating it for publication I must first thank Professor Paul Demieville. I am grateful for his help with the publication of "The Chan-kuo Ts'e and Its Fiction" in T'oung Pao and for his conviction that I should and could translate the complete work. Next came Professor David Hawkes's invitation to consider the Oxford Library of East Asian Literatures as a means by which
viii
PREFACE
a complete translation might be published - this somehow made the job seem more conceivable. Subsequently, his scholarship and conscientious efforts to improve the book while avoiding the imposition of taste have made him the ideal editor to work with and have greatly enhanced the final product. Valuable advice, encouragement and constructive criticism of Intrigues: Studies of the Chan-kuo Ts'e from a number of scholars helped me stick to my last until it was finished. My procedure in translating this work was to do the more interesting pieces first - a form of self-indulgence carrying its own penalties, since once the cream had been skimmed off, the task of dealing with those not inconsiderable quantities of thin milk which Chan-kuo Ts'e unfortunately contains became all the more laborious. For making the final stages of this work pleasanter I want to thank the University of Michigan's Department of Far Eastern Languages and Literature and the Center for Chinese Studies for the generosity which helped make available to me three charming and talented research assistants, Mrs. Vivian Ling Hsu, Miss Ruth Li, and finally Miss Sharon Perszyk who evoked the gentle ghost of Sister Hilary to tidy up my orthography. To all of these and others not mentioned, go my thanks and the hope that the product is worthy of you. J.I.C. Ann Arbor and Oxford
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
THE B O O K OF C H O U Chou evades an extradition order The Heir Apparent Tso Shang advises caution and wins employment Chou Tsui's value Chou's honouring of Ch'u-li Chi excused Su Tai frees Chou from a levy and wins a town for her Han Ch'ing's persuasions free West Chou from an onerous duty Wei dissuaded from marching through West Chou A dangerous exchange of territories is prevented
I
23 23 24 25 26 26 28 29 29
10 Chou Tsui seeks to avert a Ch'in attack
30
11 The ruler of Chou loses a battle and wins a park 12 Chou's minister in Ch'in is insured against blame
31 32
13 Po Ch'i and the parable of the archer 14 Chou averts Ch'u's wrath by incriminating a victorious general 15 Chou cunningly complies with powerful Ch'u in order to alarm Ch'u's rivals 16 Homage to Ch'in averted with Wei's help
33
17 Chou Tsui advised on personal relations in the Ch'in court 18 Chou Tsui dissuades the king of Ch'in from attacking Chou 19 A secret alliance against Ch'in 20 The nine cauldrons 21 The fall of Yi-yang 22 Han dissuaded from intervening in the quarrel of East and West Chou 23 East Chou supplied with an argument to dissuade others from aiding West Chou
34 34 35 35 36 36 37 38 39 40
x
CONTENTS
24 West Chou opens the sluices and Su-tzu takes fees from both sides 25 Protocol defended 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Shih Yen tells Chou how to escape from a dilemma and gain territory from Han Chou provisions Ch'u's enemies but appeases her resentment Su Li speaks for Chou Tsui Chou Tsui is given a plan which will make him joint minister in Han and Wei The king of Wei is advised to patronize Chou Tsui Chou Tsui upbraided for his loyalty The sacred precincts The parable of the fowler Chou told how a small state may be influential
35 36 37 38 39
40 41 41 42 42 43 44 45 46 46 47
A forged letter procures a traitor's death Chao Chien plans to escape assassination Chou Tsui's plan The Duke of Hsueh advised to support Chou Tsui The king of Ch'i warned of the disadvantages of being Ch'in's ally 40 Kung-shih Chi gets a word in first
47 48 48 49
41 A good minister bears the blame for his master's faults
50
42 43 44 45
51 52 52 53
The citizen of the world Chin T'ou urged to support Chou Tsui Chou Tsui warns Chin T'ou The dialecticians of Chou
THE B O O K O F C H ' I N 46 A harsh lawgiver and his fate 47 The story of Su Ch'in: how he failed in Ch'in, studied hard, and succeeded in Chao; and how he was despised in adversity and respected in the hour of his triumph 48
T h e king o f Ch'in resolves t o disturb the game-cocks
49 50
54
55 59
CONTENTS
xi
49 Wei breaks a promise but is forced to keep it
59
50 Ching Li excused 51 Ching Li talks himself out of ransom
60 61
52 Beyond Hsi-ho 5 3 Chang Yi, the beautiful maid, and the handsome boy 54 Ch'en Chen is defamed, but proves his loyalty
61 62 63
55 The two wives 56 The ruler of the Yi-ch'ii 57 Ssu-ma Ts'o wins his debate with Chang Yi before the king and is justified by events 58 The Shang-yu lands 59 Ch'en Chen, the songs ofWu, and the quarrelling tigers 60 Chang Yi out of favour and his enemies promoted 61 Kan Mao advised how to be rid of Chang Yi 62 H o w Chang Yi ruined Ch'u-li Chi 63 The Han-chung blight 64 What is said in the east 65 Pien-ch'iao and the king's carbuncle 66 Tseng-tzu's mother drops the shuttle t>7 Feng Chang and the broken pledge 68 Kan Mao procures valour with gold and takes the town of Yi-yang 69 Kan Mao before the walls of Yi-yang is advised against sparing his men 70 Kan Mao rallies the king ofCh'in from his despair 71 Kan Mao's enemies at home plot against him 72 Kan Mao's ingenious plan for dealing with disputants 73 Kan Mao eliminates a rival by craft 74 Kan Mao wants Wei to supervise a truce
64 65 66 68 70 72 72 72 73 73 74 75 77 77 78 78 79 79 80 80
75 The king of Ch'in is admonished with odes and analogues
81
76 The king of Ch'in has an argument and loses his temper 77 The virgins of Chiang-shang 78 A dowager's partiality
83 83 85
xii
CONTENTS
79 The king hears pros and cons and decides to negotiate 80 The duke ofHsueh urges the destruction of Ch'i
85 86
81 Leng Hsiang excuses himself by means of
87
flattery
82 A fragment 83 The balance of power
87 88
84 The king of Ch'in's mother cautions him against employing Lord Ch'eng-yang
89
85 The Three States persuade Ch'u to act against her own interests
90
86 The Ch'i woman 87 A fragment
91 91
88 SuTai's letter
92
89 The fief of T'ao 90 Huang Hsieh addresses the king of Ch'in on Ch'u's behalf 91 The barking dogs
94 95 100
92 The thousand-league horse 93 Fan-tzu's letter
100 101
94 The king of Ch'in kneels to Fan Chu and hears his views on international affairs
102
95 Fan Chu persuades the king of Ch'in to assert his authority
107
96 The gambler and the sacred grove
108
97 A lutanist cites history
no
98 The queen of Ch'in and her lover
in
99 Attacking men and attacking territories
112
100 A dialect word 101 The dogs and the bone
113 113
102 Marquis Ying advised to seek favour with Lord Wu-san
114
103 The king of Ch'in tests Marquis Ying's philosophical resignation and finds it insincere
115
104 Po Ch'i refuses to change his opposition to the Chao campaign
116
105 The generals besieging Han-tan are slandered by their
CONTENTS
xiii
men, b u t are saved from execution by Fan Chii's arguments
120
Su-tzu pleads for Chao w i t h the king of C h ' i and wins peace
122
107 Chang Yi offers a persuasion that wiU make Ch'in master of the world and wagers his head o n its success
125
108 H o w Ts'ai Tse disputed with Marquis Ying and gained his place and how, after many years as minister of Ch'in, he yielded up his office i n turn
131
109 H o w the merchant Lu Pu-wei invested in a king's son and became a great minister
137
110 The page-boy Kan-lo
139
in
141
106
T u n J o offends a king and then does him great service
112 T h e Six States /113
143
Yao Chia defends himself against a slander
144
THE B O O K OF CH'I 114 A defeated army's supplies
148
115 Ch'i profits from the ruin of her ally
148
116 Chang-tzu keeps faith with the living and the dead
149
117 Chang Kai's condolences
150
118 Tsou Chi ruins his rival with the help of a diviner
151
119 The handsome man
151
120 Ch'i delays until friend and foe are weakened and then makes both her vassals
153
121 T'ien Chi wins a battle, ignores advice, and is barred from entering his own country
154
122 T'ien Chi in C h ' u
155
123
155
Tsou Chi's proteges
124 T h e king of Ch'u is given a reason for wanting an enemy statesman to keep his post in Ch'i 125 126
156
Chao dissuaded from intervening in the war between Ch'i and Yen
156
Su Ch'in persuades the king of Ch'in to join the Alliance
157
xvi
CONTENTS
181 How Lord An-ling won a fief by vowing to share his prince's grave 182 A prisoner is reassured, but Chao Hsi-hsii feels tricked 183 Su Ch'in in Ch'u finds the cost of living high and the king hard to approach 184 Su Ch'in wins Ch'u to the Alliance 185 Tzu-hua punctures the self-esteem of the king of Ch'u 186 The duty of a loyal minister 187 Ching Li escapes punishment 188 The king of Ch'u earns a rebuke 189 Ch'u incites Han to betray her allies and then tricks her in order to give aid to Ch'i 190 Tu Ho speaks for and against Wei and Chao Yang twice changes his mind 191 Leng Hsiang and Ch'en Chen discuss alliances 192 Chang Yi repairs his fortunes by flattering the ladies 193 Cheng Hsiu learns of the king of Ch'in's beautiful daughter and procures Chang Yi's release from Ch'u 194 Chang Mao wins honour by Chin Shang's assassination 195 Chang Yi persuades Ch'u to join the Coalition 196 Chao Kuo is told how to avoid banishment 197 Huan Tsang urges the king of Ch'u to receive Chao Chii back in favour 198 The king of Ch'u finds a way to oblige Hui-tzu while pleasing Hui-tzu's enemy 199 Ch'en Chen turns a slander to good account 200 Queen Cheng Hsiu eliminates a rival 201 202 203 204
The five pair s of earrings Ch'i Ming gains a hearing Lao Lai-tzu's teeth How Han Ch'ih's cunning was his own downfall, as Ch'en Chen foretold 205 Huan Tsang defends Chao Chu's unwillingness to mount an offensive
227 229 230 230 232 235 236 237 238 239 240 240 242 243 244 247 248 249 250 250 251 252 252 252 253
CONTENTS 206 Ch'eng Hun receives help from a town and afterwards requites it
xvii 254
207 The two towns 208 Ch'en Chen advises the king against paying in advance 209 The king of Ch'u is advised not to have a virtuous man as his representative in Ch'in
255 255
210 A plan to make Kan Mao chief minister in Wei 211 A devious plan
257 257
212 Su Li shows Chao Chii how he may keep his forces intact
258
213 The king of Ch'u detained in Ch'in 214 Shen-tzu shows how the best result may be obtained by the simultaneous use of three incompatible plans
258 259
215 Su-tzu and the heir 216 The eastern lands
261 262
217 The elixir of life 218 The two envoys 219 Chuang Hsin tells the king of the dragon-fly, the ricesparrow, the crane, and of other matters which make him tremble
262 263
264
220 Ching Yang's guile causes two armies to withdraw without a blow
266
221 The owl and the pawns
267
~
256
222 Sun-tzu is first dismissed and then re-invited but declines with a letter and a/«
268
223 The king of Wei is encouraged to let Ch'u attempt the impossible
270
224 The king of Ch'u is offered some aphorisms by one who would persuade him to lead the Alliance
271
225
The wounded bird and the archer
226 Han Ming tells the story of Po Lo and the famous horse 227 Li Yiian's daughter and Lord Meng-ch'ang 228 The teachings of Lieh-tzu
272 273 274 277
xviii
CONTENTS
THE B O O K O F C H A O 229 The fall of Earl Chih 230 Hsi Tz'u foretells the revolt of Han and Wei but is unheeded
278 282
231 Chang Meng-t'an instructs his ruler and gives up farming to aid his country
283
232 Yii-jang's revenge
285
233 Right of way
287
234 235 236 237
288 292 293
Su Ch'in outlines his plan for a great alliance The two trees Chao enlists support for Yen Chang Yi delivers a threatening letter and the king of Chao repudiates the Alliance and pays homage to Ch'in
293
238 Chao is shown how, by detaining Kan Mao, she could drive some hard bargains
295
239 The king of Chao discusses the advantages of barbarian dress
296
240 Chou Shao receives a barbarian outfit and becomes a tutor 241 Chao Yen clings to the old fashion and earns a royal rebuke
303
242 The king of Chao's new cavalry
306
243 Ch'u in her defeat is dissuaded from turning to Ch'i and induced to turn to Chao instead
307
244 Chao asks Ch'in to appoint a minister and takes care that all parties shall be pleased 245 The Three Chin stand firm together 246 The relative advantages of two alliances compared 247 Li Tui hears a devious plan to strengthen Chao's position by weakening Wei's good relations with other states 248 Chao urged to return her conquests 249 An immigrant wins trust by building a large house 250 Su Ch'in is asked to speak the words of the spirits and tells the story of the image of wood and the image of clay
305
308 308 310 312 312 313 313
CONTENTS 251 Lord Meng-ch'ang receives a fief in Chao but treats it as a loan 252 Li Tui's machinations after the defeat of the Five States alarm Wei, who approaches Ch'i with a rival plan 253 254 255 256
A fief in Sung The opportunity of a hundred lifetimes The six unprofitable moves Su Li seeks by means of a letter to dissuade the king of Chao from attacking Ch'i
xix 315 315 318 319 320 323
257 The king of Ch'in is infuriated when Chao repudiates a bargain, but loses the ensuing war
325
258 The instrument of madness 259 The king keeps faith with Lou Huan 260 Ma Fu objects to a foreign commander of Chao's forces
326 327 328
261 262 263 264 265 266
330 332 334 337 338
The sword Wu-kan The queen of Chao and the old commander The third dishonour Yii Ch'ing's gloomy predictions are fulfilled Wen-po's mother Lu-lien saves Chao by his good advice but refuses to take a reward
342
267 Lord P'ing-yiian takes the advice of Kung-sun Lung and refuses a fief
347
268 Liang Yi discovers why the king of Ch'in three times refused to receive Chao's envoy 269 The king of Chao's suspicions allayed 270 Chao in Lord Chien-hsin's hands
348 3 50 3 50
271 Chancellor P'i receives further warnings 272 Three refusals and two wrongs 273 Lord P'ing-yuan hears his plan denounced and takes the point
351 352 352
274 Kung-tzu Mou's parting advice 275 The citizen of Chao
353 354
xx
CONTENTS
276 The piece of cloth
355
277 278 279 280 281 282 283
Lord Chien-hsin's beauty Lord Chien-hsin advised to give Ho-chien to Lii Pu-wei Merchants and ministers compared The tiger's paw War-dress in the palace King Hsiao-ch'eng shows his trust The king of Chao receives a letter urging the importance of Ch'i's friendship
3 56 356 357 358 358 358
Chao Chuang demoted and reinstated The advantages ofkiliing Ti Chang Feng Chi questions the king's neutrality Feng Chi at the audience The king of Chao wishes to buy a horse and learns about mulberry gall
360 361 361 362
284 285 286 287 288
289 Shih Chun obtains Lord Ch'un-p'ing's release from Ch'in 290 Lord Wu-an's wooden arm and the fall of Chao 291 Chao destroys her best generals
359
363 364 365 368
T H E B O O K O F W E I , O R LIANG 292 Viscount Huan yields Earl Chih land to feed his arrogance 293 By angering Han and Chao, Wei wins their respect and homage
371
294 Yiieh Yang eats his son
371
295 Hsi-men Pao learns from his prince how to gain fame and merit
372
370
296 The Marquis of Wei and the game-keeper 297 The Marquis of Wei finds that a ruler is not praised for being musical 298 Wu Ch'i expatiates on the unreliability of natural defences 299 Kung-shu Ts'o's modesty gains an increased reward
3 72 373 373 3 75
300 King Hui disregards a dying man's advice 301 Wei and her allies seek to intimidate Han
376 3 77
CONTENTS 3 02 A tiger in the market place 303 The king of Wei drinks with his royal visitors and hears edifying words from the Duke of Lu 304 Kung-tzu Li and the heir of Wei 305 The heir of Wei learns the secret of not losing but is unable to make use of it 306 The king of Wei learns that he must first humble himself in order to obtain revenge 307 Hui Shin's plan for the repatriation of a hostage prince 308 King Hui's funeral and the great snow 309 The king of Wei is shown the advantages of doubledealing 310 Su Ch'in's persuasion wins Wei to the Alliance 311 The chronicler's advice 312 Kung-sun Yen raises his status at home by enlisting help abroad
xxi 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 385 385 387 388
313 The king of Wei disregards Chang Yi's advice but later finds it expedient to folio w i t
388
314 Ch'en Chen finds advantage in being slandered 315 Ch'en Chen sets out for Wei but ends in Ch'i
3 90 390
316 The coercive adviser
391
317 Yung Chii saves Wei from an attack by showing that its real obj ect would be unharmed
392
318 319 320 321 3 22 3 23 3 24
393 393 395 395 3 96 3 96 397
HanP'eng Ch'en Chen learns the secret of power Kung-sun Yen uses a pleasant meeting to wreck a treaty Kung-sun Yen is told what to say When the ox and the horse are yoked together A small beginning is the better policy The king's arms and legs
325 The king employs T'ien Hsu to watch his other ministers 326 The hsi-shou has Shih Chii discredited 327 The siege of Ch'iang
398 399 399
xxii 328 3 29 330 331 332 333
CONTENTS Chang Yi persuades Wei to join the Coalition Kan Yi saves a hostage from execution The elderly concubine The hsi-shou rids himself of some bother Hui Shih makes sure of a welcome Planting willows
400 402 403 403 404 404
334 Su Tai gives a rehearsal 335 Chang Yi does some counter-espionage 336 Chou Tsui in Ch'i
405 406 406
337 Su Tai dissuades the king of Ch'in from forcing Lord Hsin-an to leave Wei 338 Lou W u is angered by the attempt to reverse his treaty 339 Ch'u returns the heir of Wei and is at once attacked 3 40 The heir of Wei offers some advice
407 408 409 410
341 An anonymous letter diverts Ch'in's attention from Wei
412
342 Lou Huan's solution 343 A queen's anxiety for her lover stands Wei in good stead 3 44 Wei breaks a promise and gains five cities
413 414 415
345 Mang Mao's crime 346 SuTaiandSuLi 347 The king of Wei is offered three policies and bidden not to fear Ch'in 348 Lord She-yang's son 349 Wei cites an historical parallel to the king of Chao 350 Lord Meng-ch'ang raises two armies by his persuasions in Chao and Yen 351 The king of Wei shows why an attack on Ta-liang is not in the interests of the attacker 352 The barking dogs 353 The king of Wei disregards Chao Chi's advice but finds that he needs his help 354 Jui Sung finds a profitable way of severing relations between Ch'in and Chao
416 417 418 421 421 422 424 424 425 426
CONTENTS
xxiii
355 The king of Ch'u addressed on Wei's behalf
427
356 Ill-matched envoys 357 Po Kuei outlines a plan to counter Lord Ch'eng-yang
427 428
358 How Hsu Chia raised the siege of Ta-liang
428
359 The last thing on the list
430
360 Sun Ch'en warns the king of Wei against trying to put out the fire with faggots 361 A nonagenarian shames the king of Ch'i 362 Fan Ts'o writes two letters and escapes execution 363 Chu Chi dissuades Wei from attacking Han 364 The king of Wei is told how to make capital out of the war of Ch'in and Chao 365 An empty concession 366 Lou W u advises the king of Wei whom to take to a conference 367 Why states perish
43 3 434 43 5 436 440 440 441 442
368 Chang Mao catechizes the king of Wei and obtains the right answer
443
369 Ssu-ma Yi-chi's retainer 370 The town of Ning-yi
444 444
371 W u Ch'ing counsels the king of Wei against showing weakness
445
3 72 The man in the chariot 3 73 Chou Hsiao learns how to seem important
445 446
374 Lord Hsin-ling is told what to forget 375 So Kao and his son 3 76 The catamite and the
446 447 449
fish
377 Lord Ch'un-shen promises troops 378 Wei on the verge of destruction
450 450
379 The yu-shih ofAn-yi 38oWeiandLao-ai 381 The wrath of commoners 382 Han's portion
451 451 452 455
xxiv
CONTENTS
383 384 385 3 86 387
Nieh Cheng the assassin Ch'eng W u and Shen Pu-hai Shen Pu-hai finds out what the king of Han wants to hear Shen Pu-hai teaches his prince to refuse him Su Ch'in's persuasion wins Han for the Alliance
45 5 459 459 460 460
388 The king of Han seeks advice about employing ministers 3 89 The minister from Ch'u 390 The king of Ch'in hears that it is unwise to persecute a defeated foe 391 Kung-chung advises giving once to gain twice and the king of Han discovers the consequences of not taking this advice 392 Kung-chung grants an audience
462 462 463
463 465
393 Chang Yi persuades Han to j oin the Coalition 394 How Chang Yi was driven from Ch'in 395 Kung-sun Hsien learns how to curb a rival
466 468 468
396 Yu T'eng tells Kung-chung how to save Yi-yang 397 A beast at bay
468 469
398 The king of Ch'in is compared favourably with his ministers
471
399 Kung-chung hears a speech rehearsed 400 Kung-chung isolated
472 474
401 402 403 404 405 406 407
Kung-shu is told how to get a town without asking A leaking boat The fierce dog Kung-chung engages an expert on Ch'u affairs Kung-chung and Kan Mao Cheng Ch'iang hears a cheaper way to injure Han Kung-shu learns that there are more effective ways of protest than resignation
474 475 475 476 477 477
408 A profitable alliance 409 Kung-shu is shown how, by promising to fight but doing nothing, he can please two countries
479
478
479
CONTENTS 410 Feng Chun seeks a way to avoid detention 411 Cheng Ch'iang exceeds his commission but is not punished 412 The heir of Han shrinks from dividing his country and is forced to flee 413 414 415 416
The persecution of Chi Se Kung-shu is advised against murdering Chi Se More reasons why Kung-shu should not kill Chi Se Lord Hsin-ch'eng hears how to obtain the services of Kung-shu and Po Ying
xxv 480 480 481 481 481 482 483
417 A use for Chi Se
483
418 419 420 421
484 484 485
A kingly business A backer for Chi Se Leng Hsiang advises the heir to stay The king of Ch'in's mother makes an interesting disclosure and encourages the Han envoy to greater efforts
422 Kung-sun Mei gives a frank account of Han's position 423 Kung-chung is told how to be blessed in success and prosperous in failure 424 425 426 427 428
Kung-chung hears the advantage of early submission Chou sends back a Han prince The king of Ch'u tests his position Su Tai assuages the king of Ch'in's anger against Han The king of Han is urged to pin all hopes on an alliance against Ch'in
485 486 488 489 490 491 492 493
429 The king of Han is told of one way in which he could emulate certain famous historical personages
494
430 431 432 433 434 43 5
497 498 498 499 499 500
Han Yang obtains his recall from a burdensome posting The beauties of the harem The district of Yiin Honouring the physician The king of Ch'in looks after a friend Han Min is advised not to persecute his personal foes
xxvi
CONTENTS
436 Lord Shan-yang's fief 437 T'ien Ling travels in spite of illness and obtains help from Ch'in 438 Hsiang Chin regains his post 439 Pi Hsieh's offences
501 502 502
440 The Son of Heaven 441 Lord Chien-hsin is advised to cherish Han Hsi
503 503
THE B O O K OF YEN 442 Lord Feng-yang overcomes a personal dislike for reasons ofstate J 443 Su Ch'in persuades Yen to join the Alliance 444 Yen sues for peace in order to prolong the war 445 Su Ch'in persuades the king of Ch'in to relinquish his conquests 446 447 / 448 449 456
u
The concubine who spilled the wine Su Tai tells the king of Yen how to annihilate Ch'i Ch'un-yii K'un promises to act the part of Po Lo Ch'en Ts'ui and the Queen Mother The king of Yen receives a letter and sends troops to join the Three Chin
451 King K'uai of Yen emulates the sage-kings but loses his life 452 Su Li and Su Tai and the affairs of Yen and Ch'i 453 Ch'i procures Su Tai's release from Wei 454 Chang Yi persuades Yen to join the Coalition 455 The king of Wei is persuaded to receive the Yen ambassador / 456 King Chao's revenge 457 By Su-tzu's craft Ch'i is weakened and Yen is able to lead the other states against her 45 8 Su Tai writes a letter to the king of Yen 459 Su Tai discusses the nature of his service with the king of Yen and tells him]the story'of the faithful concubine
501
505 506 507 508 509 511 514 514 516 517 520 521 521 523 523 525 526 529
CONTENTS 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469
xxvii
The go-between Su Tai gives his reasons for feigning flight ThemanofCh'i Su-tzu resolves a dilemma Su Tai loses battles on Yen's behalf Su Tai writes from Ch'i to his old employer Su Tai advises the king of Yen against going to Ch'in The Ch'u envoy and the famine in Yen The mussel, the heron, and the fisherman Yueh Yi corresponds with the king of Yen
532 532 535 536 536 538 539 542 543 543
470 Chang Ch'ou and the border guard 471 The king of Yen writes a letter of apology 472 Chao takes advantage of an alliance with Ch'in to attack Yen, but is frustrated by a resourceful diplomat 473 Ching K'o the assassin
547 548 551 553
THE B O O K OF SUNG 474 Mo-tzu convinces the king of Ch'u that Sung is not worth attacking 475 Sung and Chao play at war and Liang is pleased
562 563
476 A regent is told how to prolong his rule 477 Sung trades on a promise of help from Ch'u in order to obtain peace with Ch'i
564
478 Why Tsang-tzu was sad 479 The wickedness of king Yen
565 565
480 481 482 483 484 485
T H E B O O K OF WEI, THE LESSER The stove Nan-wen Tzu discounts a threat Nan-wen Tzu suspects a gift Nan-wen Tzu averts an attack Hu Yen saves P'u Master Wu-hsia earns his bribe
486 The price of extradition
564
567 568 569 569 570 571 571
xxviii
CONTENTS
487 Yin Shun-chu at the ruler's death-bed
572
488 The tactless bride
573
489 490 491 492
THE BOOK OF C H U N G - S H A N Yiieh Yang eats his son The ruler of Chung-shan assumes the royal title Chang Teng's rehearsal Kung-sun Hung seeks to cast suspicion on another but finds that it rebounds upon himself
493 494 495 496 497
Ssu-ma Hsi makes his enemy a queen How Ssu-ma Hsi made Yin Chien a queen Li Tz'u declares Chung-shan ripe for attack The bowl of mutton A plan for survival
579 580 581 582 583
BIBLIOGRAPHY ALPHABETICAL FINDING LIST
584 588
574 574 476 578
INTRODUCTION I It is generally agreed that the largest collection of historical anecdote, fable, and tales of famous people dating from the pre-Han era (c. 300221 B.C.) is the Chan-kuo Ts'e. Its origins as an entity are very clearly described by Liu Hsiang, acting palace librarian at the Han court at the beginning of the first century A.D., in a memorial to the throne which still constitutes the preface to modern editions of the Chan-kuo Ts'e: Regarding the book I have edited and called the Chan-kuo Ts'e: there were in the Secretariat Library a number of fragmented chapters which were badly mixed together. There was in addition another work in eight sections, each named after a country, which contained serious deficiencies. Following the sequence of countries as given in the one work I arranged the fragmented chapters in rough chronological order. When I had used those items with no observable order to fill in some of the gaps and after I had discarded duplications, I had a book in thirty-three sections (p'ieti). There were a great many mistaken, missing, and incomplete characters in it. (For example $ § was often writteen '$ and ^ became ;&.) The fragments in the Secretariat Library came from books originally called called Kuo-ts'e, Kuo-shih, Tuan-ch'ang, Shih-yii, Ch'ang-shu, and Hsiu-shu. It appeared to me that peripatetic persuaders of the Warrring States era used to repay those countries which employed them by contriving schemes for their use. It therefore seemed proper to me to call this new book the Chan-kuo Ts'e (Intrigues of the Warring States) . . . I have made an editorial manuscript ofthis work to be copied into a good h a n d . . . This concludes the business end of Liu Hsiang's memorial-preface. Here he moors his editorial craft and strikes out across the quaking ground of moral and historical exegesis. Later there will be reason to quote his observations in this area, but for n o w it should simply be noted that Liu Hsiang fixed the name of the w o r k for all time though he may n o t actually have understood the meaning of the title he used. It is possible that ts'e in the title of the fragment meant simply 'bundles of wooden slips' on which books were written in early China. 1 In that See Crump I, p. 323, n. 2. (A list of bibliographical abbreviations and their full citations is given on p. 584.)
1
2
CHAN-KUO TS'E
case kuo-ts'e would better have been translated simply 'Books of the Various States'. Another possibility also presents itself. In later China the term ts'e was also used to mean 'examination essays on current affairs' in which the student often had to propose policies which he believed could be used to cope with hypothetical governmental situations posed by the examiner. If this meaning of ts'e was the one in question, 'it is even arguable that Chan-kuo Ts'e meant not "Intrigues of the Warring States" but "Imaginary speeches on Warring States themes".' 1 The Chan-kuo Ts'e circulated during the Later Han Dynasty and we still have annotations on a few chapters of the text by one Kao Yu who flourished during the chien-an period of Han (A.D. 196-219). Later (T'ang and Sui) bibliographies in official histories mention a Chan-kuo Ts'e in 33 chiian and Kao Yu's notes in 31 chtian; but notes reliably attributable to Kao Yu may be found nowadays in something like eight chtian. Sometime during the years of the decline and following the fall of the Han dynasty, the Chan-kuo Ts'e begins to acquire its aura of a wicked book. In this it is at first linked with the Shih-chi (which is understandable enough since quantities of the Chan-kuo Ts'e's prose can be found in Shih-chi),2 but whereas Shih-chi is purged of its bad name with the passage of time, Chan-kuo Ts'e forever remains one of that limited group of book titles (Machiavelli's Prince is a Western example) the mere mention of which greatly stimulates the flow of choleric humours in proper guardians of public morality - most particularly, one imagines, among those who have never read them. The San-kuo Chih biography of Ch'in Fu who flourished around A.D. 230 and who was, it seems, admired for his obiter dicta on many subjects, relates a challenge he was once given on the subject of the Chan-kuo Ts'e. As with so much in Chinese biographical writing we cannot be sure that Ch'in was not joining battle with a straw man as a 1D.
Hawkes in his review of Crump, Intriques. JAOS, 86-1 (1966), p. 63. We have brief notice, for example, that the eighth son of Emperor Kuang-wu of the Latter Han (reg. A.D. 25-58) requested a copy of Shih-chi and Wang Feng, who was at the time the most powerful figure in the court of a rather compliant emperor, turned down his request on the grounds that the book 'contains the deceitful and opportunistic stratagems of the Warring States'. See Ch'i Ssu-ho, p. 260 and K.M. 0560.4. 2
INTRODUCTION
3
kind of formal exercise in orthodoxy, but the general attitude of his age emerges clearly from the text: Li Ch'iian wished to borrow a copy of the Chan-kuo Tse from Ch'in Fu and the latter asked him' 'Of what use are the Horizontal and Vertical strategies of theWarrring States?' 'Confucius and Yen [Chun] P'ing gathered together all the books they could find in order to write the Ch'un-ch'iu and the [Lao-tzu] Chih-kuei. Therefore, just as the sea is so immense because it receives all rivers, the knowledge of the Superior Man is made enormous by the widest possible learning!' 'If a book were not one of the historical records or the plans of Chou,' replied Ch'in Fu, 'Confucius would not use it; if a Way were not Jthe Way of Emptiness and Nature, Yen [Chun] P'ing would not expound it. The sea may receive all kinds of turbid matter but each year it purges itself anew. However, the Superior Man when he widens his knowledge will not look upon anything which is not proper (pu-li). Now, the Chan-kuo Ts'e rehearses again and again the arts used by [Chang] Yi and [Su] Ch'in to sustain themselves while killing others and the destruction of others for the preservation of oneself is precisely what is abominated in the Canon. It is for this reason that Confucius, when he struggled to express himself as he wrote the Ch'un-ch'iu, placed his greatest emphasis on rectitude, and the writing of the Hsiao-ching was undertaken to broaden and make clear virtuous action, to put a halt to the drift in morality and nip in the bud.. .* There is much, much more of this cant and the reader himself is probably able to recall similar lugubrious moralizing from Western literature. It is sad to note the Chinese moralist straddling the self-same petard which has always plagued his Western counterpart: If this book is to be so rigorously avoided by the orthodox, how did the orthodox critic learn what to criticize? However, Chan-kuo Ts'e had in the past a much more lively function than that of putting small dents in stifF orthodoxies; from time to time it was a satellite of a group of works referred to loosely as the Seven Books. These, it was popularly supposed, were keys to secret and immense power. If one studied them diligently (providing always that he had the genuine text, and this proved to be the l»tch) he would acquire skills verging on (if not of) the occult. The secret-book-of-theancients complex developed early in China and lasted until very recent times. It is a composite of widespread illiteracy and equally widespread belief in literacy and scholarship as the best if not the only vehicle to any goal - riches, secular power, or transcendental harmony. The 1K.M.
1018.3.
4
CHAN-KUO TS'E
reader will find mention of what is perhaps the earliest representative of this class, The Secret Talisman of T'ai Kung in item 47 of the present translation ( p . 5 $ l It is in this alluring if slightly sinister role of a secret book that we find what is chronologically the next citation of Chan-kuo Ts'e in Chinese histories. The following story is from Shih-shuo Hsin-yii (xxxii, 2) and it concerns Yuan Yiieh (-chih) who flourished around A.D. 370: Yuan Yiieh was a skilful speaker, very accomplished at ch'ang-tuan persuasions, and highly intelligent as well. At the beginning of his career he was military aide (ts'an-chiin) to Hsieh Hsiian and very well treated by him. Later on he observed mourning for his parents but when he had put away his mourning robes he returned to the capital and the only gift he offered anyone was a copy of the Chan-kuo Ts'e. He would say to them, 'When I was young I used to read the Analects, Lao-tzu, and even Chuang-tzu and the Book of Changes, but
these works are all just so many headaches. What possible benefits can they yield? The one important thing in the world is Chan-kuo Ts'e!' Having gone down-river to persuade Ssu-ma Hsiao-wen who had been made king he became very close to him. Yuan Yiieh had almost all the mechanism of the empire in his hands before he was suddenly executed.1 The implication here is that by diligent study of the Chan-kuo Ts'e, Yuan Yueh came very close to swinging a coup d'etat and if others devoted themselves to the text with just a little more energy they might suceed. Such was the supposed power of the book. The story is useful also because it links ch'ang-tuan persuasions with the Chan-kuo Ts'e. We will return to that matter a little later. One way or another we have documentation for the text's existence until close to A.D. 400, though copies must have been relatively scarce. Two bibliographies compiled under imperial auspices indicate that the work - somewhat reduced in size - survived the period of China's disunion (220-5 89) and was known in T'ang times, though it is seldom mentioned except in an offhand manner in footnotes to more acceptable works. By 1034, however, a compilation of the holdings in all the palace libraries shows that less than half the of book could be found. Between 1041 and 1083 Tseng Kung, a scholar whose orthodoxy was impeccable and whose understanding of prose style was 1 1 wish to thank Professor Richard Mather for bringing the Shih-shuo story to my attention. I had only known the truncated version which forms Yuan Yueh-chih's biography in the Chin History, K.M. 1278.3.
' :
j "%. f r £ I j i | w p k *c
INTRODUCTION
5
generally admired, undertook to reconstruct the text. Whatever may or may not have been part of the book in the past, it is Tseng Kung's reconstruction which we have today and which Chinese since the eleventh century have referred to as the Chan-kuo Ts'e. Tseng Kung, who by all accounts was a skilful and intelligent scholar, not only establishes the text, but his introduction to it (considered a model of its kind) sets one aspect of the emotional and critical tone to be used toward the book by the orthodox Confucian for the next nine centuries: Liu Hsiang, in his preface to the book, says that in the Chou dynasty men advocated above all else enlightenment through civilizing influences and perfection of their regulations. For this reason they achieved Grand Concord (ta-chih). After the Chou, when schemes and deceit were in vogue and the path to benevolence and right action was obstructed, Great Disharmony was the result. His theory is beautifully put. He says in conclusion that the planners of the Warring States era, as seen in this book, simply estimated what rulers of die time were capable of doing. That these men could not do otherwise is i evidence of their submission to prevailing custom instead of cleaving to their " own convictions. Confucius and Mencius lived several hundred years after the beginning of the Chou, at the time when the old laws had perished and former custom had long been merely ashes. Those two alone understood the Way of former kings and believed that it must not be changed. Did they not try to fortify the rulers of their time with precisely that which later eras could not attain to? And did diey not urge them never to forget the intentions of the Former Kings simply because they did not accord with the times they lived in or the changes they met with or the practices of their age? The concord established by the Two Emperors and the Three Kings had certainly changed much, its methods were certainly different, but its meaning to a state or to the empire had first and last, from the beginning to the end, always remained constant. It was the desire of these two philosophers to do exacdy the same thing. Now, laws are made to meet changes peculiar to an age and will not always be identical, but The Way establishes what is fundamental and that will never be different. This is a principle which can never change and these two men preserved it. They had no need of exotic argument. Their one hope was never to be lax in preserving principle. Of them it can be said they remained unaffected by the drift of the times and maintained faith in themselves. But the persuaders of the Warring States were not of the same stamp. They recognized no Way in which to have faith and took delight in changing an argument tofitany circumstance; they bent their hearts and minds to only one thing - devising the comprehensive scheme! For this reason they argued only
6 CHAN-KUO TS'E / : the convenience of treachery and concealed its perils, they spoke only of the f goodness of warfare and hid its grief so that all who did as they bade profited \ from it - but the profit never exceeded the harm. There was much to be gained, but it never equalled the loss. In the end Su Ch'in, Shang Yang, Sun Pin,Wu Ch'i, Li Ssu and their ilk lost their lives, while Ch'in and the other Feudal Lords who employed them lost their states. Clearly they were a catastrophe to their times - and yet their age never awakened to this fact. Only the Way of Former Kings, through all the changes of time and differences of law, can be examined and show no flaw, used and reveal no weakness. This is why the Sages of the past would never change it for another. Now, some may object that heretical theories harm what is proper and must be acted against and ended. Therefore, must we not destroy this book? The reply should be that if a ruler wishes to suppress pernicious doctrine he will first cause it to be made clear to all the empire so that men of his time may understand why it cannot be used - then suppression will be achieved properly. He will also make sure men of future generations understand that such a doctrine could not be used - after which later avoidance of it will be accomplished with understanding. Why then should it be necessary to destroy this book? Acting against it and putting an end to it has no advantages over the alternative I suggest. This is how the matter was handled in Mencius's works; he speaks of Shen-nung, he quotes Mo-tzu only to be able to show how wrong they were. Furthermore the text of Chan-kuo Ts'e preserves 245 years of history, actions and events from the end of the Ch'un-ch'iu to the beginning of the Ch'u-Han era; it cannot simply be discarded. The work has twenty-one chapters annotated by Kao Yu (some say thirty-two chapters). The Ch'ung-wen catalogue says eight of them were preserved and in this edition we managed to preserve ten. So the proper gentleman's rationale for the reconstruction of this book was that it constituted a 'dreadful example' of what happened when orthodoxy languished. Tseng Kung's half-hearted afterthought on the value of Chan-kuo Ts'e to history deceives no one: I am certain the most potent consideration leading Tseng to resurrect the work was his deep piety toward artifacts of his nation's past, but I am equally certain that he did not remain unaffected by the book's ingeniousness and sophistication of prose style. Other Chinese who were probably equally orthodox were deeply impressed by just these aspects. / Liu Hsiang: ' But they were officials of great talent. They estimated the capacities of rulers j of their age, put forward the most amazing plans and manifested uncommon intelligence. They turned peril into security and loss into salvation in a manner ; which delights: it is well worth reading.
INTRODUCTION
7
Wang Chiieh1 (fl. 1065): Though it is not a repository of proper morality, the elegance of its debates even over rash doctrines - makes it a paragon of literary style. Li Ko-fei (fl. c. 1090): those who read the book should admire the effectiveness of its persuasions and overlook the baseness of its subject matter so that they are moved only by the rhetoric itself. PaoPiao(fl. 1140): Its prose and arguments are learned but brilliantly perspicuous, it is engaging yet subtle, economical yet penetrating. Since these quotations all come from men who had some part in creating one or another of the book's various editions it stands to reason that each had a stake in its acceptance. A better measure of the admiration the Chinese have long held for the prose of the Chan-kuo Ts'e is to note how often and how extensively excerpts from it show up in important and prestigious anthologies of literary Chinese (ku-wen). In Intrigues: Studies of the Chan-kuo Ts'e2 I noted four major early collections of ku-wen which included an average of twenty items each from Chan-kuo Ts'e. To this list should now be added the recent Hsien-ch'in Wen-hsueh Shih Ts'an-k'ao Tzu-liao (Peking, 1962), twenty items, and the Hsien-ch'in Wen-hui (Hong Kong, 1963) with sixty-one items, both published after Intrigues had gone to press. I do not believe, however, that the appeal of technical and artistic excellence in the Chan-kuo Ts'e's prose could have saved it from the torch of the Philistine on the one hand and the inflamed sensibihties of the orthodox on the other had it not been that the book, its characters, their words, and their acts have had that deep and timeless appeal for the Chinese that characterizes the 'great books' of a society - books which constitute an important part of its classical heritage. The contents of the Chan-kuo Ts'e are diffuse in tone, uneven in quality and in places garbled. But simply to read off the names of its dramatis personae is to recite a list of Chinese eponyms. When a certain Chan-kuo Ts'e character is wicked, apparently he is so in the fashion that best suits Chinese taste; when another is heroic he is a perfect Chinese hero; when a third is quick-witted it is exactly the kind of nimbleness of wit the Chinese reader would like to have. This does not mean that 1 2
Further identification of these figures may be found in Crump I, pp. 328-9. See Crump, Intrigues, pp. 43-4.
8
CHAN-KUO TS'E
these qualities have a parochialism which might preclude appreciation by the Western reader; he simply appreciates them in one dimension less than the Chinese. An important piece of a civilization's heritage becomes so partly because it has been turned to for inspiration and reinterpretation frequently. In this respect also the Chan-kuo Ts'e is unquestionably a major vehicle for Chinese values, self-images, and icons. One need not accept the historicity of the Chan-kuo Ts'e to understand from its contents that the central political fact of the age it describes was that the slightly non-Chinese state of Ch'in was gradually throttling the Six States which looked upon themselves as being the true Chinese. If the six Chinese states could have unfastened themselves from each other's throats long enough to combine and destroy the menacing country of . Ch'in, Chinese history would have had a very different shape indeed. They did nothing of the sort, of course. They all tried to appease Ch'in by bribery so they would be free to dismantle each other unmolested. Chan-kuo Ts'e gives the reader such a sweeping and complex view of this age and its devotion to pohjticalsuicide that he can sense the separate force of each act adding itself to the total and inevitable outcome until he feels an almost tragic grandeur in the final disaster as Ch'in devours each state in turn.
\
\ i
i -
A number of historic figures in addition to Yuan Yiieh are reputed y to have thought highly of or been influenced by the Chan-kuo Ts'e. j§ Among them, surelyJ>uHsun_(i 009—66), one of the Sung dynasty's | 'Eight Great Prose Masters', is the most famous. By popular account he f is supposed to have been much influenced by the prose style of the i Chan-kuo Ts'e, but that is something very difficult to document. There I is absolutely no doubt, however, that he read the history of the a Warring States' era as it is interpreted in the Chan-kuo Ts'e and took its § bitter lessons to heart. He, therefore, did use the Chan-kuo Ts'e as the § most genuine and important kind of heritage a culture can have § one which is examined and reinterpreted by each age as it is needed. | Sometime between 1056 and 105&. he composed the famous piece I Liu-k&Q.LutLSjh.e Six States). The essay is actually an exposition of j Warring States' history meant to serve as a warning for his own day. | It is a criticism of the feckless and temporizing policies of emperor | Jen-tsung who, Su Hsiin felt, was increasing the power of the Liao %
INTRODUCTION
9
and the Hsi-hsia (border states which were rapidly becoming too strong for the Sung court to challenge head-on) by the gifts he gave them to buy off their threats. So the following is not simply a literary exercise; as far as Su Hsiin is concerned, it is a matter life or death of his country: The Six States were not destroyed because their weapons were dull warfare inept. Their real weakness lay in appeasing Ch'in: to bribe CWfn a n d / so diminish their own strength was the path to certain destruction. / / One may well demur and ask if each and every one of the six perished Eecaurfe it bribed Ch'in. The reply must be that those states which did not brna/Oi'in were destroyed by the ones that did because the former were robbed of effective aid by the latter and very soon could not stand by themselves - this is why I say the real weakness of the Six States lay in appeasing Ch'in. The territory Ch'in acquired without having to do battle for it - when she gained a little it might be a hamlet and when she gained much it was often a city - actually amounted to a hundred times more than she ever got by warfare. The amount of territory lost by the Lords to her this way was a hundred times more than they lost to her in batde. Such being the case, what most delighted Ch'in and what most harmed the Lords had nothing to do with warfare. One cannot help thinking of the ancestors of these men. They made their beds in the field, exposed to frosts and dews. They once cleared away the tares and brambles by their own hands in order to gain them a foot - nay, a single inch of land. Contrast this widi their descendants who seem to have cherished very litde die inheritance left them. They gave it away as though they were tossing out mouldy hay - today five towns, tomorrow ten -just to buy themselves a peaceful night's sleeep. They arose the next day, however, to find the soldiers of Ch'in already camped on their borders. And of course the territory of the Lords was limited while the avarice of Ch'in was not. The more diligendy they served Ch'in the more importunate became her encroachments until primacy and submission, victory and defeat were decided without a batde. It was quite obvious that this could only end the way it did. As the ancients themselves put it: 'Appeasing Ch'in by giving her territory is like puttting out a fire with kindling - as long as the faggots last the fire will burn.' 1 The rulers of Chjjiever appeased Ch'in yet she finally took her turn with the other five - her king was banished and his state destroyed. Why? Because she had allied herself with Ch'in and did not assist the other five states. The rulers of Yen and Chao began with very forward-looking policies. They were able to defencTtKeTr territories and were determined never to use them to buy off Ch'in. This is why Yen - not a large state - was one of the last to fall. She made effective use of her military. It was not until Prince Tan's scheme to employ the assassin Ching K'o that Yen began to invite disaster. Chao faced Ch'in in five 1
This analogy can be found in a number of places in CKT; see 360 and 265.
io
C H A N - K U O TS'E
great battles; two she lost but three she won. Later Ch'in struck Chao twice again and each time she was turned back by Li Mu.When Ch'in finally reached Li Mu through slander and brought about his execution, Chao's capital district of Han-tan finally became a province of Ch'in. Unhappily, Chao had used her military well but did not press to conclusions with it. Be that as it may, Yen and Chao found themselves trapped in an era when Ch'in's conquest was nearly complete. It is truthful to say that they had been isolated and were at the end of their wits and strength. They in fact went down fighting and perished only when they had done all they could. But suppose at an earlier time these three had been more stingy with their territories? Suppose Ch'i had never dallied with Ch'in? Suppose no assassin had been dispatched? Suppose the great generals had not been executed? It would have been very difficult to balance those three states against Ch'in and decide which had the edge in battle and which would more likely have survived. Alas, if only the states had taken the lands used to appease Ch'in and offered them asfiefsto the finest officers in the empire, had they been as assiduous in attracting outstanding men to help them against Ch'in as they were in serving Ch'in herself, had they presented a united front to the west, Ch'in could have got them in her jaws no doubt, but she could never have swallowed them. How melancholy to think that so much power allowed itself to be threatened into extinction by Ch'in. Day by day and month by month they pared away their substance and hastened down the road to their own destruction! I say this to all those who rule: never allow yourselves to be coerced by the power of another state. The Six States were feudal princedoms as was Ch'in. Their power was less than that of Ch'in, but there was still a chance that they could have overcome her had they not chosen to appease her. If someone with the entire empire at his command should take the same path as the Six States, his action would be even less defensible than was theirs.1 One can hardly imagine a better exposition of the historical thread that runs through the Chan-kuo Ts'e. Furthermore, even though a great deal of the text deals with the state of Ch'in (and not in a pejorative fashion), the reader of Chan-kuo Ts'e, Western or Chinese, will share - whether he wants to or not - S u Hsun's sad sense of what might have been. He will find himself siding with the Chinese states and against Ch'in and alternately being stirred by irritation at and sorrow for them. This, in the largest aspect, is what the Chan-kuo Ts'e is about and why it has had the kind of visceral appeal to Chinese of all centuries 1 An annotated version of Liu-kuo Lun may be found in Ku-chin Wen-hsuan, vol. 3, p. 1117 (published by the Kuo-yti Jih-pao press).
INTRODUCTION
n
which assured its survival in the face of all the strictures orthodoxy had to offer. II But the Chan-kuo Ts'e is not history. Most Chinese have treated it as such and in this they were only following the lead of its first editor, Liu Hsiang. The bulk of his memorial-preface outlines a kind of orthodox, hornbook history which was accepted uncritically and repeated thousands of times between Han times and the present. Since so many Chinese have believed for so long that the Chan-kuo Ts'e is history and does record just what Liu Hsiang said it did, it would be a senseless neglect of the greater part of the book's role in Chinese cultural history to refuse to treat its traditional position in the Chinese scheme of things simply because recent scholarship has demonstrated quite clearly that it belongs generally to the world of fiction rather than history. In order fully to appreciate the rest of the Liu Hsiang preface the reader must be aware that orthodox historical thought in China has always viewed the period from the Legendary Sage Emperors on, as a continuous period of slow decay. The Chou dynasty (traditional dates, 1122-255 B.C.) arrested this long decline somewhat - goes the orthodox view - by putting into effect the 'kingly Way' (wang-tao) and governing by its 'virtue' (te). This virtue 'grew thinner' as the Chou dynasty wore on. The Chan-kuo Ts'e is supposed, in the orthodox scheme of things, to be a record of the times when this impalpable and transcendental 'virtue' had finally vanished entirely and other things taken its place: .. . And when the Chou dynasty had reached the reigns of kings K'ang and Chao, the great Virtue (te) was debased, but the general outlines of the past could be discerned even though by the Ch'un-ch'iu period (722-484 B.C.) the Chou dynasty had already lasted for 400 years: the imposing remains of its heritage had not been completely destroyed even then, and the Five Hegemons still acknowledged the Chou house. After the Hegemons, though the Chou rulers were lacking in virtue, there were competent ministers flourishing in the Middle Kingdoms - Tzu-ch'an of Cheng, Shu-hsiang of Chin, and Yen Ying of Ch'i - who assisted their princes and aided them with their government. These men sustained one another by justice, they moved each other through arguments which cited the Songs, they conducted audiences with deference and punctiliousness, they joined with each other at the Convocations and made pacts pledging mutual aid in their covenants. The commands of the
iz
C H A N - K U O TS'E
Son of Heaven were in a sense effective and the states that had made solemn sacrifice together at Convocations were restrained by a sense of shame. In this way the smaller states knew some security and the people some respite. It was of these things that Confucius asked, 'What difficulty can there be if one rule with the compliance proper to propriety!' Had not the power and the duration of Chou's civilizing influence been vast indeed? This is standard treatment for the era in Chinese historical epitomes. In truth the Chou house lost, by 700 B.C., whatever influence it had over the brawling states which had once been quasi-feudal units owing some fealty to the Chous, and the attention paid to it by the Hegemons was as perfunctory as the regard shown for the Mikoto by the most powerful Japanese shoguns. In this connexion it should be noted that there is almost nothing in the books of East and West Chou in the Chan-kuo Ts'e which could not be or should not be subsumed under one of the other states. Chou was nothing more than a name, but Chinese historical orthodoxy prefers Liu Hsiang's belief that the Chou dynasty lasted until 221 B.C. He continues: By the} time of Duke Hsiao of Ch'in (250 B.C.) compliance and propriety had vanishfed and warfare alone was a matter of concern. Humanity and justice had beeH discarded in favour of deceit and opportunism. Rebels and userpers had become nobles and princes which meant the most treacherous states became the greatest powers. Each imitated the other. Newcomer copied predecessor until they consumed each other, joining with larger states or annexing small ones. Each year marauding troops would appear again and blood would cover the ground, father and son became estranged, brother was uneasy with brother, husbands and wives were separated from one another and a man could scarce preserve even his own life - the Way and its Virtue perished in darkness. As time wore on it became worse. There were seven great states and five small ones remaining. Those which were a match for one another struggled for supremacy. All were in truth warring states - greed was rife and the struggle for advantage went on endlessly. Each state followed a different teaching and each was a law unto itself; there was neither a Son of Heaven in the highest position nor local hegemons at the lower. Force constituted merit and battle alone determined which would be the greatest power. Victory alone was esteemed. Arms and armour were never laid aside and deceit was succeeded only by treachery. Had there been anything left of the Way and its Virtue it could never have revealed itself in this era. Those states with great plans ignored all moral restraints and put their faith only in those things they considered dependable; they made alliances by means of hostages and tried to protect their states through manifold treaties and multiple pacts. This was why Mencius and Hsiin-tzu - as well as other Confucians - were ignored by the era
INTRODUCTION
13
while the practitioner of the Horizontal and Vertical Alliances, the peripatetic persuader, was the darling of the age. To read between the lines of Liu Hsiang's last paragraphs, whatever system of interdependencies had once existed among the Chou states had broken down completely. 'The very nature of feudal control implies a set of powerful barons who could be expected to assert claims in perpetuum over fiefs which theoretically they hold only at the hand of their liege.'1 When this and other developments had transpired - for example, metal-working became widespread instead of remaining a kingly prerogative - these emerging states had little patience with earlier forms of feudal deference and none at all with Chou claims to suzerainty. They fought each other for territories and competed to attract technicians to their courts to replace, in many cases, hereditary courtiers. Liu Hsiang continues: _, Then Su Ch'in, Chang Yi, Kung-sun Yen, Ch'en Chen, Su Tai, SuXi and th'e^r ilk created the Horizontal and Vertical strategies and diang-tuafi persuasion!, rising up and overturning one another's arguments right and'left. Su CWui created the Vertical and Chang Yi the Horizontal alliances, If t^ie Horizontal succeeded, the king of Ch'in was to be emperor; had the Vertical -triumphed, Ch'u would have been the supreme king.Whatever state they resided in waxed powerful; when they left it the country became weak. But at this period Ch'in had become the strongest of the states and the other Lords had already begun to weaken. Su Ch'in united them, however, and for a time the six were as one to resist and turn back Ch'in. Ch'in was afraid and dared not move its troops beyond The Pass - for twenty-nine years no weapon was drawn. In 1925 Henri Maspero demonstrated that the portions of the Chan-kuo Ts'e which deal with Su Ch'in, Chang Yi, and the so-called Horizontal and Vertical strategies (tsung-heng) are fictitious. He confronted the dates of the Vertical Alliance with the probable dates during which this Alliance was supposed to have been in force and discovered that according to the Chan-kuo Ts'e itself The Alliance would have been dissolved one year before it began. There can really be no doubt that those sections dealing with Su Ch'in, Chang Yi, and the Horizontal and Vertical Alliances are fragments, just as Maspero says, 'of a work... done in the form of a romance', Almost a century earlier Ma Kuo-han had concluded as Maspero did that these sections of the Chan-kuo Ts'e were pieces of a lost book called the Su-tzu (The Romance of Su Ch'in). Nowhere in the turbulent period of the late Warring States 1 Crump, Intrigues, p. viii.
H
CHAN-KUO TS'E
era is there any time to fit hi the fifteen years during which Su Ch'in was supposed to have marshalled the Six States and held Ch'in at bay (even the Chan-kuo Ts'e does not claim the twenty-nine years Liu Hsiang gave The Alliance). Truth may be stranger than fiction but fiction is much more accommodating and in many ways more satisfactory. The dismal facts of history quite clearly show - as Su Hsiin pointed out in his essay on the Six States - that the Middle Kingdoms never did unite and reverse the steady advance of Ch'in. Ch'in devoured them one at a time while the rest looked on. How splendid it would have been, however, if someone with great persuasive powers and much talent had united them all and successfully led them against the hated Ch'in. Someone, sometime, devised a rhetorical romance (it must have been almost entirely composed of Su Ch'in's persuasions addressed to the kings of the Six States) by which history's flinty contours were softened and made infinitely more acceptable to the Chinese. Su Ch'in's actions and advice are often not those of a proper gentleman but Chinese of all centuries listened with relish to the stories of his deeds and heard every word through the uproar of fulminating orthodoxy. Of course, to have a man of Su Ch'in's stature defeated by something as bloodless as the relentless force of history would hardly be satisfactory. Only one fully as clever as he - but possessing in addition the touch of the fiend - should overcome him. There is some reason to believe that Chang Yi, Chan-kuo Ts'e's deuteragonist and Su Ch'in's antagonist, was a historical personage, but none at all for believing he did what the Chan-kuo Ts'e credits him. with. Liu Hsiang concludes his preface by implying that China's eventual unification under Ch'in was Chang Yi's actompKjhment: But Ch'ifi was a state o#" great influence and many natural resources. All the schemerswent first to Cli'i - Su Ch'in to begin with had hoped to establish the Horizontar-Coalition lor Ch'in but when she would not use him he went east to form the Vertical Alliance. When Su Ch'in died Chang Yi formed the Coalition. All the/Lords obeyed him and faced the west to do homage to Ch'in. It was for this reason that Ch'in Shih-huang - from his country of four bastions, anchoring himself on the passes of Yao and Han-ku, straddling the riches of Lung and Shu, heeding the schemes of many advisers and using the most ardent warriors of six generations - ate away the Six States as the silkworm gnaws away the leaf. He brought all the Lords under his control and unified the empire
„ y s I " I 5 jj § 1 | | |
INTRODUCTION
15
The sections of the Chan-kuo Ts'e which are devoted to the elaborate speeches of Su Ch'in and Chang Yi and a number of other items related to the Horizontal (which I call Ch'in's Coalition in the present translation) and the Vertical (which I call The Alliance) are, as I have said, pieces of one or more rhetorical romances featuring Su Ch'in and Chang Yi. Maspero suggests the legendary Su Ch'in was such a success that he was given two brothers, Su Tai and Su Li. The last paragraph of item 466 makes it very clear that some sort of a sequel to the Romance of Su Ch'in had his younger brothers reconstituting The Alliance - this time for the country of Yen - on the model of their famous older brother. Ill However, a Romance of Su Ch'in, even with a sequel, accounts for a good deal less than half of the Chan-kuo Ts'e. What are we to make of the rest? My theory on the question has already been worked out at length elsewhere,1 so if the reader will indulge me I will give only my conclusions here and ask him to consult Intrigues for details. With some obvious exceptions (the assassin and avenger tales, a small number of items which appear to have come from fictionalized annals - 46, 324, etc. - and an even smaller number which seem to be highly coloured biographies or parts thereof) the bulk of the Chan-kuo Ts'e consists of examples of a form which I have called the Eefswasion. This sub-genre I consider to be the product of men who were trained or training themselves in the techniques of persuasion rhetoric. We can only theorize, of course, but there is every indication that by 300 B.C. Chinese preoccupation with language, argument, and opinion had reached a stage of development which we of the West know better in a Mediterranean setting, where it was called the Age of the Sophists. If, as I believe, the Chan-kuo Ts'e and its persuasions are relics of the Age of Chinese Sophists we should not think of the book as history of indifferent quality but as rhetoric of high quality. If we do this, much about the work becomes clearer: During the so-called 'Second Sophistic' in Greek and Roman rhetoric, it was common practice with rhetoricians to give their pupils historic or legendary events upon which they were required to give advice or to persuade to a course 1
Idem, chap. VIII, 'The Persuader's Tradition'.
16
CHAN-KUO TS'E
of action as though they were actually there. Such school exercises later became very popular as a form of public speaking in which the rhetorician showed his skill in devising new and ingenious persuasions and advice to fit historical situations long past. These exercises were called suasoriae. One of the best known was posed thus: 'The Athenians deliberate whether they should remove the trophies of their victory over the Persians, since Xerxes threatens that he will return if they-are not removed.' Various approaches are recorded. Cestius Pius: 'I shall invade, says Xerxes; he is only promising me more trophies.' Argentarius: 'Are you not ashamed? Xerxes sets a higher value on your trophies than on you.' Gallio chose the opposite side: We shall be exhausted with victories before they are exhausted with defeats.'1 Suppose a Chinese rhetorical tradition included some such device as the suasoriy for training men in the art of persuasion; would that not explain much of whaijs most baffling about the Intrigues [Chan-kuo Ts'e]? If exercises by the masters oKthe disciples of such a 'school' were part of the 'school's' heritage it would not only explain many of the contradictions in the Intrigues, but it would account for many other facets of this delightful work. "Why, for example, do so many persuaders so often speak their entire piece with no interruption from the ruler, who simply says 'so be it' when the persuader is finished? Why are the pieces in the Intrigues so beautifully polished? And how did the men in the Intrigues invariably think of just the right thing to say for the occasion? These become understandable if the training a man underwent to pursue the career he hoped for (political adviser, emissary, and the like) included model advice which would or should have been offered at certain historic occasions, and somehow found its way into what we now call the Chan-kuo Ts'e.2 If the Chan-kuo Ts'e is viewed as possibly containing rhetorical exercises, a number of things about its style and the forms it uses fall into place. The only item I can point to with some assurance that it may be a school exercise is 145. 145 is unique because the composer appears to have jotted down nine elaborations which he could create on a given theme and then to have gone on to write nine persuasions to go with them. We seem to have, in this example alone, what may be the notes of a student of rhetoric preserved along with the set of persuasions he created. If any of these nine persuasions stood elsewhere in the book by itself it would be totally indistinguishable from any other item in form and tone; so even though no other item in the Chan-kuo Ts'e can be 1 These are merely the sententiaefromfamous examples as recorded by Seneca Rhetor. The suasoriae themselves were long speeches. 2 Crump, Intrigues, p. 103.
INTRODUCTION
17
certainly identified as an actual rhetorical exercise we can state with a degree of confidence what the characteristics of such exercises must have been simply by analysing the sub-genre which I have chosen to call the persuasion. The term ch'ang-tuanjotjuan-ch'ang) has now appeared in this introduction in ffiTeTco^texts: one of the proto-Chan-kuo Ts'e fragments was called Tuan-ch'ang; Yuan Yfieli was called a 'skilful speaker and very accomplished at cfiang-tuan persuasions'; Liu Hsiang in his description of the period of which he supposes the Chan-kuo Ts'e is a history, says, 'Su Ch'in, Chang Y i . . . and their ilk created the Horizontal and Vertical Strategies and ch'ang-tuan persuasions.' Some time ago I collected all the evidence I could find on this term and put it in close juxtaposition with the various explanations that had been attempted. 1 I found nothing very convincing about them. The latest and most serious attempt is probably the best: When the art of the persuader was called ch'ang-tuan it referred to praising someone's strong points (ch'ang) while counting the weaknesses (tuan) of the others as a way to flatter him; or, exposing someone's supposed strong points and dwelling on his weaknesses in order to frighten him; or, pointing out the shortcomings and strong points of several people either to drive them apart or bring them together - depending on what was called for.2
It appeared to me that since we are dealing with a rhetorician's book
(though the term ch'ang-tuan does not appear once in Chan-kuo Ts'e) in all likelihood it referred to something that would be a characteristic of the rhetoric involved in a certain style of persuasion. Unhappily for all concerned the phrase 'strongpoints and shortcomings', which ch'ang-tuan surely must imply, is so general it could fit a great many phenomena. It was my conviction at that time (and it has since been reinforced) that no one can read through the Chan-kuo Ts'e - whether he believes it to be a history or fiction - and not be struck by the frequency of a type of item which I shall call a 'doubled persuasion' for want of better term. There are several differing forms that these persuasions take. The simplest, most frequently seen and most striking I will call type one. It either states or implies the following form for the argument: 1 2
Idem, pp. 110-15. Wei-shu T'ung-k'ao, p. 539.
: i8
CHAN-KUO TS'E
You should take this action (i). If it succeeds (2) you will have gained A. If it fails (3) you will have gained B. There are nearly forty items (somewhat under 10 per cent of the total number of items in the entire work) which have this as their basic construction. Here are two: 233 Marquis Wen of Wei asked Chao for right-of-way through Chao to attack Chung-shan. Chao was about to refuse when Chao Li said: 'That would be a mistake! If Wei attacks but cannot take Chung-shan (3) she will be exhausted by the attempt while Chao will become the stronger. If Wei takes Chung-shan (2) she will never be able to control the peace across the entire country of Chao which will mean that the country obliged to use troops was Wei but the one gaining territory will be Chao. You would do best (1) by allowing them passage and doing so happily. They will then realize that Chao expects to profit by it and so will recall their troops. 'It would be best for your majesty to give them right of way and convince them you can do nothing else.' 207
Han Kung-shu had Ch'i and Wei on his side and the heir had Ch'u and Ch'in on his in their struggle for the state. Cheng Shen, Ch'u's envoy to Han, gave the towns of Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen to the heir. The king of Ch'u was furious and was about to have him punished, but Cheng Shen said, 'I took it upon myself (1) to give them for the good of our state. I decided that if the heir
were given Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen for his struggle with Kung-shu and he won the state (2), then Ch'i and Wei would attack Han. Han would then, in great haste, put her fate in Ch'u's hands - in which case would they dare request Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen? If the heir did not win, (3) if hefledand did not perish, he would then arrive here with his hat in his hand. Would he dare speak of the towns then?' 'Good', said the king of Ch'u, and did not have him punished. In addition to this rather arresting formula that is clever and leaves the hearer the impression he has been given a comprehensive scheme which cannot fail, there is one almost as common which I will label type two. Type two is simply a deliberate reinforcing of the argument by giving the reason for doing something and against not doing it: If you do A it will be good (1). If you do not do A it will be bad (2). Or the reverse (If you do not do A it will be bad, if you do do A it will be good.) The care which the persuader lavished on shaping his argument both to give reasons for doing something and against not doing it often strikes the Western reader as being strange. I believe this is because we dp not
INTRODUCTION
19
have the strong tendency towards parallelisms that the Chinese language always has had and delighted in. What looks to be a rather weak device of argument in the type two double persuasion is, I believe, more than likely simply the supplying of an expected artistic device rounding off with an antithesis. Below is an excerpt from one of perhaps a hundred type two items: You must quickly accept a treaty with Ch'u and Chao, receive Han's heir and make the salvation ofHan your chief business (1). Thereafter you may request your
former territories from Han and Han will surely comply. . . . If, on the contrary you do not sustain Han (2) the two Chous will be in peril. . . and Wei and Ch'i will be in terror. I would single out one more type of doubling, not because it is frequently used but because it represents what I consider to be the ideal of the persuader wielding his rhetoric of double persuasion. Here he poses a dilemma (which is simply a pair of double alternatives each of which isequally repugnant) which he solves with a perfect type one double persuasion. Below are the last two paragraphs of what is technically the finest example of double persuasion: 'The king of Chao... is going to ask for your woman called Yin.' The king coloured and saddened. 'Chao is a powerful state', continued Ssu-ma Hsi. 'What she requests must be given. If you, sire, do not yield, your state will be in danger. If you do yield you will be the laughing stock among the Lords.' (Dilemma) 'What can be done?' asked the king. 'You must elevate her as your queen (1) and forestall Chao's request', replied Ssu-ma Hsi. 'No one has ever askedfor another's queen (2) and even if Chao should
wishto(3), the neighbouring states would never allow it.' While these simple types are the armatures upon which are moulded I hundreds of persuasions in the Chan-kuo Ts'e, the most artistically ' successful of them are combinations of one or more types and are often very skilfully fleshed-out with convincing appeals to human greed, love, and self-esteem. Of the shorter items, surely 24 and 98 are the finest examples. ~ "f~~" To return to the meaning of ctiang-tuan persuasions. It is my belief that somehow the term refers to this strong and clear tendency on the part of the persuader (as he is seen in the Chan-kuo Ts'e) to frame his persuasions in 'doubles': thesis and antithesis, arguments for a certain action and against its opposite and other classes of doubles such as paradoxes and dilemmas. However we may analyse them for their
20
C H A N - K U O TS'E
logic, one fact is apparent. The writers were very intent on achieving rhetorical symmetry which exploited both the genius of their language and human delight in balance and complementation. It is highly likely then that the Chinese student of rhetoric was drilled in the composition of 'doubled persuasions' and very likely had to present them as school exercises. It is certainly not clear how the literal meaning of the term ('strongpoints and shortcomings') applies to all of these doubled cases, but it is not at all impossible that it did. This rather technical rhetorical trick of doubling will identify the persuasion readily but not all persuasions contain doubles. However, the persuasion can also be sorted out from bits of biographies, narratives, and annals which are to be found scattered through the book by examining its treatment of time. Persuasions exhibit no imaginary flow of events. Events are caught in the amber of argument and remain static in a persuasion. The persuader often makes hypotheses about what should happen in the future if a certain act is undertaken - indeed one of the greatest weaknesses of the form is spinning the thread of future probability so thin that it snaps in the reader's mind and he rejects not only the persuader's guesses about the probable sequence of events but the entire persuasion. The persuader can also narrate the history of the event he is addressing himself to, but events never transpire and succeed each other as they would in a story: time is not manipulated in this fashion by the composer of a persuasion. And when the ruler is made to say 'so be it' at the end of the rhetorician's persuasive and sometimes intricate efforts, only as much imaginary time has passed as it took the persuader to speak his words. This is the great difference between a persuasion and other forms of fiction - the prime intent is never to tell a story (which implies a succession of events), but always to convince a hearer. There are, to be sure, items in the Chankuo Ts'e where imaginary time moves forward until it reaches the persuasion section which may account for a small part of the whole 151 and 359 are good examples - and in 464^though it is not particularly ingenious, there is obviously narrative movement through time: at least three days elapse during the piece. These are exceptions, however. In the vast majority of cases, the brief narrative content of the item is simply to build a frame within which persuasive rhetoric can be displayed to its best advantage.
INTRODUCTION
21
The persuasion is wedded to argument and its purpose is swaying opinion. It is never limited to statements of fact but there are examples of excellent forensic rhetoric where the reader experiences the same feelings he has while listening to two skilful lawyers presenting summations : while A is speaking it is obvious to the listener that A's view of the matter is both reasonable and right. B then addresses himself to the question and suddenly the listener finds himself believing that B's contentions are equally reasonable and right. The best of this type is without doubt 265 where Lou Huan and Yu Ch'ing persuade and dissuade the king~no"tess than three times each. The Chinese rhetorician was often concerned with orderliness of presentation and 424 achieves an almost copy-book regularity; the persuader first states"that there is an act his patron can undertake which will bring about three desirable consequences and then, in three neat paragraphs, details how each of the three will come about.1 But this kind of mechanical ingenuity is far less often seen than the extended and skilful use of analogy in the form of an anecdote (see 372 for example). The fable or apologue is sometimes elevated to truly artistic heights as in the case of the multiple and developing animal-analogies found in 219, and many of Chan-kuo Ts'e's fables are the most famous in the nfetory of Chinese letters (e.g. 468). "~SsThey are a part of Chinese rhetorical tradition we should expect to find extreme care given to the language of the persuasions and this is, indeed, everywhere evident. Experiments with style range from the outstanding clarity and simplicity of rhythm found in the opening paragraphs of 288 to the lavish and gaudy icons of Su Ch'in's first attempt to persuade the king of Ch'in (47). There are some very pretentious affairs which not only preach Eutdo it rather badly as is the case with 130. But these are rare, and often the persuasions are , capable of extremely subtle observations on human nature (i7i)and. handsomely turned out apothegms: 'The ruder the village the more it j finds strange in the world; and the backwoods scholar finds food for 1 debate in anything' (239). It is sometimes true, as Watson notes, \ '. . . they are, like mostcuplomatic speeches, long-winded and mad- \ deningly complex',2 but they can contain the most compressed and | 1 There may be a connexion here with 290 which I have suggested was a rhetori- i cal exercise. —— | 2 Watson III, p . 87.
22
C H A N - K U O TS'E
trenchant comments imaginable. Describing the dissimilarity of two personalities, one persuader observes: Those two are as unlike as the fabled pair of friends from Chin and Ch'u. The man from Chin saw his companion from Ch'u strapping on his sword in dangerous haste. He mildly suggested moderation, whereupon the one from Ch'u became so insensed at the though of delay that he set upon his companion from Chin. The persuasions of Chan-kuo Ts'e are generally lacking in philosophical cant and often exhibit a healthy irreverence for everything including the persuader himself: The persuader . . . all day and every night waving hisfists,bulging his eyes and grinding his teeth trying to convince rulers that The Alliance is advantageous. This freedom to be irreverent may not have come about simply because a persuader was not supposed to toady to a ruler as his courtiers did; there are also indications in the Chan-kuo Ts'e that it was understood a person presenting a persuasion was exempt from ordinary rules governing lese majeste - resembling somewhat the immunity of the European court fool or jester. In 480 and elsewhere (e.g. 130 and 298) you find statements by rulers sucrTas If this is a persuasionTsnall allow it; if it is not you will die!' IV This translation, while it has of course used all available editions of the Chan-kuo Ts'e, is based on the Senkokusaku Seikai (Chan-kuo Ts'e Cheng-chieh) edited by Yokota Ik5. The woodblock edition of this was first published in 1829 and it subsequently became the basis for the Kambun Taikei series' version of Chan-kuo Ts'e. I follow these editions and unless it is stated otherwise in the notes I take the advice of Yokota on textual problems. In one important respect, however, I depart from Yokota and the Kambun Taikei edition. Yokota seems to have seen an edition of the Chan-kuo Ts'e Tan-sou ® JUI j|r | $ %% by Chang Wen-kuan g§ j £ ^ which is the only version of the Chan-kuo Ts'e ever to have included one extra item at the end of the Book of Ch'in II and another at the end of the Book of Ch'u. Yokota includes these two extra items in his work while admitting that no other edition had ever carried them. Since they have never been part of any standard Chinese edition, I have omitted them from this translation.
THE BOOK OF CHOU
KING AN (401-369 B.C.) I Chou evades an extradition order When Yen Sui became a criminal1 Yang Chien2 was his accomplice in crime. The road of the latter led through Chou and the ruler of Chou kept Yang Chien with him for fourteen days, after which time he sent him on his way with a carriage and a team of four. Han sent an envoy to Chou to upbraid that country for its action and the ruler of Chou was worried. One of his guests said, 'Just say to Han in a forthright manner, "I knew that Yen Sui was a criminal and Yang Chien was his accomplice, so I kept the latter here fourteen days awaiting your country's commands. But in my small state there is no place to hold a criminal and since your representative did not arrive I had to send him off"' SPTK 1. 2a KY 8. 28 3 KING N A N (314-256 B.C.) 2
The Heir Apparent Kung, the heir apparent of Chou, had died leaving five pretenders, all of whom were loved by the ruler and none of whom had yet been made his successor. By arranging for the assassination of $tfitalso known as ft & See 383. With Yokota. It appears as I? in 429 also. 3 For an explanation of these initials, see Bibliography, p. 584 and the introduction to Alphabetical Finding List, p. 588. 1 2
24
T H E B O O K OF C H O U - KING N A N
Chao Chien, the ssu-ma1, said to the king of Ch'u: 'Your majesty should settle a fief upon Kung-tzu Chiu so that he may be chosen as successor' 'If the ruler of Chou should not concur,' said Tso Ch'eng to Ssu-ma Chien, 'then you would be in difficulty and relations would be broken off with Chou. You had rather say to the ruler of Chou, "Will your excellency tell me, Chien, in confidence which one he favours so that I may instruct the king of Ch'u to settle land on him." ' ['. . . If you wish to become heir apparent and send a man to K'ung, servant to Chan-tzu, the minister's attendant, to say that the king seems to make you (?) do this, this would constitute having a powerful officer in their midst who would hamper the minister. The minister would then make him heir apparent.']2 SPTK i. 3a KY 8. 24
3 Tso Shang advises caution and wins employment The king of Ch'i was asked: 'Why does your majesty not support Chou Tsui with a fief so that he may become the heir apparent?' The king of Ch'i ordered Ssu-ma Han to use such an inducement to advance Chou Tsui in Chou. 'If Chou should not agree,' said Tso Shang to Ssu-ma Han, 'Then you would be in difficulty and relations would be broken off with The title means 'Master of Horse'. Like other names of hereditary posts, it could be used by its holder as a surname. 1
2 The section of text in brackets is quite corrupt. Fortunately, as Chung Feng-nien points out (pien-wu, p. 7), it carries enough information to prove that it was never properly a part of 2. Chung says: "No matter who the 'you' referred to is, the ruler of Chou or the ssu-ma Chien, the meaning shows that the person being persuaded wants to be the heir. There is no sense to this form of address when the other facts in the (story) are taken into account . . . Also, since (the story) . . . demonstrates that choosing the heir was entirely up to the ruler of Chou, the statement 'the minister would then make him heir apparent' is in conflict with the earlier statements." Chung thinks the last 44 characters constitute a fragment of another story attached to 8. 24 by error. I agree.
THE BOOK OF C H O U - KING N A N
25
Chou. You had rather say to the ruler of Chou "send someone to tell me in confidence whom you wish seated and I will instruct my king to advance him by settling land on him".' Through this plan Tso Shang became employed. SPTK 1. 3b KY11.15
4 Chou Tsui's value Ssu-k'ou Pu said to the ruler of Chou on behalf of Chou Tsui: 'To send a man to Ch'i telling the king that Chou Tsui is unwilling to be made the heir will certainly make your highness unpopular.' 1 'Once Han the smith bought a fine sword for T'ai-kung of Ch'i but since the latter did not know enough to appreciate such a blade he returned it to the smith and fined him as well. A man of Yiieh offered the smith a thousand in gold for the blade but the smith refused to sell it because such a price would be too great a loss. When the smith was dying he left his son this injunction: "Always make certain you are not the only one to know the worth of a thing." 'Your highness, in trying make Chou Tsui become the heir, resembles a man who is the only one to know the worth of a certain half-tally.2 N o one else believes it worth a thing. I fear that the king of Ch'i will conclude you really wish to raise Kuo 3 and are forcing Chou Tsui to decline in order to deceive Ch'i. Your highness will appear very crafty and Tsui very false. 'Why don't you "buy" an article which all can believe is valuable? Simply do not stint your favour or the gifts you make to Tsui henceforth. By doing so you will let all the empire see he is valuable to you.' SPTK 1. 4a KY 10. 9 Or, 'is a course I would avoid if I were you'. Without the missing half it would take special information to know the halftally was worth anything. 3 Another possible heir to Chou's holdings,
1
2
26
THE BOOK OF C H O U - KING N A N
5 Chou's honouring of Ch'u-li Chi excused Ch'in had ordered Ch'u-li Chi to visit Chou with a retinue of a hundred carts. The ruler of Chou welcomed him with great respect and an honour guard of troops. The king of Ch'u was furious and upbraided Chou for so honouring a guest from Ch'in. 'Of old when Earl Chih, the Hegemon, attacked the Ch'iu-yu,' said Yu T'eng to the king of Ch'u, 'he presented them with a great bell mounted on a wide wagon and then entered with his troops.1 The Ch'iu-yu perished for they had taken no precautions. When Ts'ai fell, Duke Huan, the Hegemon, had spread word abroad that he attacked Ch'u, while in truth it was Ts'ai he was invading. 'Today, Ch'in is a ravenous state and her appetite is for Chou. So when Ch'u-li Chi was sent to Chou with a hundred carts the king of Chou was frightened. With the lessons of Ts'ai and the Ch'iu-yu in mind he sent forth his tallest troops in the front ranks but behind them were his strongest crossbows. It was called guard of honour for Chi but was in fact a cage. 'Besides, should the ruler of Chou not love his country? He fears that if Chou were lost it would bring grief to you, your majesty.' The king of Ch'u was mollified. SPTK i. 5 a KY9.3
Su Tai frees Chou from a levy and wins a town for her During the battle for Yung-shih, Han levied arms and provisions on Chou. The ruler of Chou was distressed and told Su Tai of it. Kao Yu's note gives this story: 'The Ch'iu-yu were covetous of a great bell which was offered as an inducement. They opened up a road from their country to Chin in order to bring it in. Earl Chih followed them with his troops, attacked and took them.' The source of this anecdote is unknown to me. Details on the fall of Ts'ai are to be found in the Tso-chuan, Hsi, 2nd year.
1
THE BOOK OF CHOU - KING NAN
27
'What is there here to distress you?' asked Su Tai. 'Not only can I cause Han to cease levying arms and provisions upon your majesty but can even secure for you the town of Kao-tu.' 'If you can do this,' cried the ruler of Chou in delight, 'then I will request that our state follow your direction in all matters.' Su Tai thereupon set off for Han to have audience with its minister, Kung-chung Ch'ih. 'Has my lord not heard the plan of Ch'u?' he asked. 'Chao Ying told the king of Ch'u, "Han is devoid of troops and her granaries are empty- If I attacked Yung-shih and laid siege by hunger, Han has not the wherewithal to defend the city and in less than a month it would be taken." 'Now, however, Yung-shih has been under siege for five months and they have not been able to take it. This distresses Ch'u and the ruler of Ch'u has begun to suspect Chao Ying's plan is unworkable. 'My lord is now levying arms and grain from Chou and this tells Ch'u that you are in trouble. If Chao Ying hears of it he is certain to importune the king of Ch'u to increase the troops surrounding Yungshih and it will be taken.' 'It is true', said Kung-chung, 'but my emissary has already left.' 'My lord', replied Tai, 'why not take this opportunity to present Chou with the town of Kao-tu?' 'To forgive Chou the levy of arms and grain is enough and more,' cried Kung-chung in anger. 'What have we to do with presenting Kao-tu?' 'If you should give them Kao-tu,' replied Tai, 'Chou would submit gratefully and throw in her lot with Han. When Ch'in hears this she is certain to be enraged, burn Chou's passport tallies and refuse her ambassadors. Thus my lord will gain the entire state of Chou in exchange for the rustic town of Kao-tu - can he afford to refuse?' 'So be it', said Kung-chung. He forgave Chou the levies of arms and grain and granted her the town of Kao-tu. Ch'u could not, in the end, reduce Yung-shih and withdrew. SPTK 1. 5b KY9.4
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Han Ch'ing's persuasions free West Chou from an onerous duty The Duke of Hsiieh had used Ch'i's armies to attack Ch'u on behalf of Han and Wei and (in return?) Han and Wei were attacking Ch'in in alliance with the Duke of Hsueh. They were expecting food and troops from West Chou. Han Ch'ing 1 spoke to the Duke of Hsueh for West Chou: 'My lord, you used your country to attack Ch'u to help Han and Wei and after nine years of fighting secured the area north of Yuan and She to add to the power of Han and Wei. Today you attack Ch'in and will again benefit them. When Han and Wei no longer fear Ch'u to the south and are not troubled by Ch'in in the west, their lands will be broad and, being mightier, they will make light of Ch'i. It is my stupid opinion that my lord should consider this situation dangerous, for the twigs flourish when the root retreats and what is solid today will someday become hollow. It would be safer if you asked my humble ruler to secretly side with Ch'in. On your part you would neither attack, request troops, nor demand food from his state.' 'Then when you approach Han-ku Pass and have not raised your hand against Chou, get my ruler to speak of your intentions to the king of Ch'in. He will say, "The Duke of Hsiieh does not intend to harm Ch'in for the benefit of Han and Wei. He really wishes you to force Ch'u to cede its eastern regions2 to Ch'i. To do this you must release the king of Ch'u as a guarantee of amity." 3 If you should order my ruler to make such a proposal to Ch'in, Ch'in will avoid a defeat and will be glad to press Ch'u for her eastern regions to escape harm to herself. When the king of Ch'u is released he will be obligated to Ch'i and Ch'i will get the eastern regions and become more powerful. Your fief of Hsiieh will be safe for generations, Ch'in will not be greatly harmed and will remain a power to the west of the Three Chin, and as a result they will surely give great weight to good relations with Ch'i.' 1 2
SC has Su Tai. Also known as T % HI
» See also 212.
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'So be it', said the Duke of Hsiieh. He sent Han Ch'ing to Ch'in, called off the attack by the three states, and asked neither troops nor food from West Chou. SPTK 1. 6b KY9. 1
8 Wei dissuaded from marching through West Chou When the three states returned from their attack on Ch'in, West Chou was concerned lest Wei ask right of passage. On behalf of West Chou someone said to the king of Wei, 'Ch'u and Sung1 are not benefited by Ch'in's kindness2 to you so they are (?) about to attack your majesty's towns3 to profit Ch'in.' 4 The king of Wei in fear ordered his troops to abandon5 the planned marches and move eastwards at full speed.6
SPTK 1. 7 b KY 11. 16
9 A dangerous exchange of territories is prevented Han and Wei exchanged territories and West Chou did not gain by it. Fan Yu said to the king of Ch'u, 'Chou will perish! In the exchange, Index treats them as two separate names though Kambun does not mark them that way. 2 Following Yokota; but SPTK has Hi, 'agreement', which would be normal. 3 After Yokota: literally, 'assemblages'. Yokota construes it as aggregations of people, hence, 'towns', but Pao treats it as collections of valuables, hence, 'treasures'. 4 And turn her against the Three Chin by attracting her to Ch'u and Sung? 6 Seki says |£ should be Wt. However that may be, the meaning is clear enough the army would spend less time foraging in Chou. * Thereby foraging for a shorter time on Chou territory. 1
30
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Han gains two districts and Wei loses two. 1 The reason this is being done is to encircle the two Chou. There are the Nine Cauldrons in those two states and they alone are worth more than the two districts [?]2 'When Wei holds Nan-yang, the lands of Cheng, and Three Rivers, thus encircling Chou, then Ch'u's holdings beyond Fang-ch'eng Mountain will be peril. When Han has both parts of Shang-tang, thus bringing her into contact with Chao, the area above Sheepgut Canyons in Chao will be in danger. The day the exchange takes place Ch'u and Chao will become unimportant.' The king of Ch'u was afraid and joined Chao in halting the exchange. SPTK i. 8a KY 10.12
10 Chou Tsui seeks to avert a Ch'in attack Ch'in attacked the army of Wei's general Hsi Wu at Yi-ch'iieh and pressed on to attack Chou. Chou Tsui asked a man to speak to Li Tui, the ssu-k'ou3 of Chao, and say: 'Your excellency had best prevent Ch'in's attack on Chou. The finest plan for Chao would be to bring about another engagement between Ch'in and Wei. If Ch'in should attack Chou and take it she must at least suffer heavy casualties. Ch'in anticipated having only to take Chou and had not intended attacking Wei. If she attacks Chou and does not reduce her, she will have suffered losses from her victory over Wei and her defeat at the hands of Chou - she will certainly not attack Wei again. 'If you, sir, prevent Ch'in from attacking Chou now, before she can make peace with Wei, then she will be faced with the whole country of As Pao points out, this is a curious 'exchange' where one only loses and the other only gains. 2 I am not at all certain of this translation but the meaning would seem to be that the prize at stake is far higher than the two (or four) districts mentioned. 8 Title of the Chao commander-in-chief.
1
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Chao intact and will have no recourse but to obey her. Your excellency will then have both turned back Ch'in and stabilized Chou. When Ch'in leaves Chou she will have to fight Wei. Wei cannot cope with her and must settle with her through your excellency - then again you will be in a strong position. 'If, in desperation, Wei should cope with Ch'in, then your excellency will have preserved Chou, caused Wei and Ch'in to have engaged one another and Chao will be in an overwhelmingly important position.' SPTK 1. 8b KY9. 2 II
The ruler of Chou loses a battle and wins a park When Hsi W u was defeated at Yi-ch'iieh the ruler of Chou went to Wei to seek succour, but the king of Wei excused himself because of his troubles in Shang-tang. On his way back the ruler of Chou saw the game park at Liang and was delighted by it. Ch'i-wu K'uei said to his ruler: 'The game park at Wen is no less delightful and it is closer by. I can acquire it for your highness.' He returned for an audience with the king of Wei. 'Does the ruler of Chou hate me?' asked the king. 'If he did not, whom should he hate?' replied Ch'i-wu K'uei. 'I am concerned for your majesty. The ruler of Chou is after all chief of strategy. He has interposed his country between Ch'in and your majesty to resist Ch'in, but your majesty will not help him. To your servant it appears that he will certainly put his country under service to Ch'in. If Ch'in uses its forces from beyond the great walls and the populace of Chou as well in order to attack Nan Yang, then both the two Shang-tangs will be lost.' 'It is true; what can be done?' asked the king of Wei. 'The ruler of Chou is not by nature fond of small profit', replied Ch'i-wu K'uei, 'and to serve Ch'in is small profit. If your majesty would give him 30 thousand border guards and the park of Wen, the
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ruler of Chou would be able to explain things to the elders and his people, would have the park at Wen to amuse himself and would not ally himself with Ch'in. 'Your servant once heard that taxes from Wen Park bring you eighty in gold a year. If the ruler of Chou got the park he would be your majesty's tenant and would pay one hundred and twenty a year. Thus, not only would the Shang-tang be secure but there would be an additional income of forty in gold.' The king of Weil thereupon sent Meng Mao to present the park at Wen to the ruler of Chou and allowed him 30 thousand border guards. SPTK 1. 9b KY 10.11
12
Chou's minister in Ch'in is insured against blame After Hsi Wu was defeated, Chou sent her chief minister Chou Tsu to Ch'in. Someone said to him: 'Why do you not say to the ruler of Chou, "If I go to Ch'in the relations between Chou and Ch'in will be worsened. Your highness' ministers1 will be made much of by Ch'in in order to have one of them become chief minister in my stead. Whoever it is will then slander me to Ch'in and make it impossible for me to carry out my mission. I would prefer to quit my post as chief minister before I go. Your highness can then make the one [most likely to be covetous of my post] chief minister and having gained what he wishes he will not slander Chou to the king of Ch'in." 'However, your ruler intends to honour Ch'in by sending you, his chief minister. If you were to quit your post and then go on the mission it would be a slight to Ch'in so you will not be allowed to resign. But if you say what I told you to before you leave, good relations with Ch'in will be credited to you and if bad relations are 1
X is probably '&•.
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the outcome of your mission then your detractors will be blamed and punished.'1 SPTK 1.10b KY11. 17
13 Po Ch'i and the parable of the archer Su Li said to the ruler of Chou: 'He who defeated Han and Wei, who killed Hsi Wu, attacked Chao and took Lin, Li-shih and Ch'i was Po Ch'i. In truth he is gifted in warfare and possessed of heaven's command. At present he goes to attack Liang and it is certain to fall. When it does Chou will be in peril. Your highness had best stop him. and tell him the following: 'There was once in Ch'u a most excellent archer named Yang Yuchi who paced off one hundred paces from a willow leaf and in one hundred shots hit it one hundred times. All attending cried, "Splendid!" One man, however, walked over to him saying, "Excellent archery, but I can teach you how to shoot!" ' "Everyone else says it was splendid, but you, sir, only that you can teach me to shoot. Why did you not do the shooting in my place?" asked Yang Yu-chi. ' "Oh, I couldn't teach you to straighten your right arm so, or crook your left arm thus", replied the other. "But you are a man who let fly one hundred times at the willow leaf, hitting it each time; yet you do not rest your skill. In a short time, when your attention or strength wanes a bit, the bow will buck or an arrow will be crooked and you will miss once - wiping out all of your previous merit." '"Now you are the one responsible for the destruction of Han and Wei, the death of Hsi Wu and the attack north against Chao which secured Lin, Li-shih and Ch'i. Your accomplishment, Po Ch'i, is great," you must say. "But now you again move Ch'in's troops from their garrisons to bypass the twin countries of Chou, and tread over 1 Chou Tsu having sown the seed of suspicion, the ruler of Chou will suspect anyone who speaks against Chou Tsu of having secretly ruined relations between Chou and Ch'in.
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Han in order to attack Liang. If in this one assault you should be unsuccessful you will destroy all your past merit. You should rather, sir, plead illness and not go forth."' SPTK i. n a KY 10. 6
14 Chou averts Ch'u's wrath by incriminating a victorious general The troops of Ch'u were at Shan-nan (in Chou)1 and Wu Te was about to inflict the king of Ch'u's wrath upon Chou. 'You should make the heir go to our borders with the Advocate General',2 said someone to the ruler of Chou, 'and welcome Wu Te there. Your highness himself should welcome Wu Te at the outskirts of the city and allow all the empire to know you have treated him with great respect. Next, you must make sure that rumour reaches Ch'u that the ruler of Chou gave gifts to W u Te. The rumours should even quote the inscription to be found on this and that vessel. His king will then demand the vessels from him but Wu Te will not have them to give. For this his king will find him guilty of crime.' SPTK i. n b KY io. 7
15 Chou cunningly complies with powerful Ch'u in order to alarm Ch'u's rivals Ch'u 3 asked for a right of way between the two Chous to reach Han and Wei 4 and the rulers of Chou were worried. Su Ch'in said to them, After Yokota and Kao Yu. With Yokota, but the use of MF is not clear. 3? JE is probably just what it looks to be - the legal and protocol officer. 3 SPTK has the opening sentence: 'Ch'u ch'ing tao yii liang Chou.' 4 This is all geographical nonsense. Chung Fcng-nien suggests it should probably be 'reach Yen and Chao'.
1
2
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'Clear a road for Ch'u right to the Yellow River. Han and Wei will rtainly dislike this while Ch'i and Ch'in will fear that Ch'u is about to eize the Nine Cauldrons and will come to the aid of Han and Wei by attacking Ch'u. Ch'u will then scarcely be able to manage any thing to the north of Fang-ch'eng so it is unlikely she will insist on right of passage between the two Chous. But if those four states are not encouraged to be angered at Ch'u, then however much your highnesses may dislike giving Ch'u the Cauldrons she will get them. SPTK 1. 12a KY10. 8
16 Homage to Ch'in averted with Wei's help Ch'in summoned the ruler of Chou to court and the latter was against going there, so someone spoke to the king of Wei on Chou's behalf, saying: 'Ch'in summons the ruler of Chou because Ch'in is about to attack Nan-yang in Wei. Why should your majesty not send Wei troops into Ho-nan? The ruler of Chou would hear of this and use it as an excuse to refuse to go to Ch'in. If Chou does not go to Ch'in, Ch'in will not dare cross the River to attack Nan-yang.' SPTK 1.12b KY 10.10
17 Chou Tsui advised on personal relations in the Ch'in court When the ruler of Chou went to Ch'in someone said to Chou Tsui, 'It will be best if you praise the filial actions of the king of Ch'in and make a gift of the Yuan1 area to the queen mother for her own income. The king and queen mother will certainly be pleased and you will have Ch'in on your side. If relations with Ch'in are good, the Yasui notes that M of the Huang ed. (p. 3 b) and SC is doubtless correct, Kao Yu's note on it having been misinterpreted as early as T'ang times.
1
36
T H E BOOK OF C H O U - KING N A N
ruler of Chou will surely consider this your accomplishment; if relations turn out badly, the man who urged the ruler of Chou to enter Ch'in will surely be punished!' SPTK i. 12b KY10. 5
18 Chou Tsui dissuades the king of Ch'in from attacking Chou Ch'in wanted to attack Chou but Chou Tsui said to the king: 'The plan for Ch'in is not to attack Chou. The material gain would hardly benefit Ch'in while the bad name for such an act would make Ch'in shunned by the empire. If the empire shuns Ch'in it must ally itself eastward with Ch'i. With your troops tired by a campaign in Chou and having driven the empire to unite with Ch'i, Ch'in will stand alone and will fail in her efforts to be king of all. It is because the empire wishes to weaken Ch'in that your majesty is being urged to attack Chou. When Ch'in and the empire are equally exhausted the empire will keep you from passing beyond1 Chou.' SPTK 1.13a K Y n . 13
19 A secret alliance against Ch'in Kung T'o said to the ruler of Chou: 'Yuan depended upon Ch'in and made light of Chin. Ch'in had a famine and Yuan was lost to Chin. Cheng depended upon Wei and made light of Han. Wei attacked Ts'ai and Cheng was lost to Han. Chu and Chu fell to Ch'i, Ch'en and Ts'ai to Ch'u - they were all dependent upon protector states and all ignored a neighbouring enemy. At present your highness relies much upon Han and Wei yet makes light of Ch'in and I fear harm will come to his state. It would be best to send Chou Tsui to arrange a secret 1
Following Yasui and Kao Yu's note; (tS) If, 'lateral motion eastward'.
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37
alliance with Chao to prepare your state against Ch'in. Then it will not come to ruin.' SPTK 1. 13a KY11. 14 KING HUI1 20
The nine cauldrons Ch'in had raised an army and approached Chou and was demanding the Nine Cauldrons. The ruler of Chou, distressed, spoke of it to Yen Shuai. 'Rest easy I beg you, your majesty,' replied Yen Shuai, 'and allow me to seek succour in the east from Ch'i.' Having arrived there Yen Shuai spoke to the king of Ch'i: 'My lord, the wickedness of Ch'in is now so great that she wishes to send her troops to Chou and demand the Nine Cauldrons. The ruler of Chou and his ministers have among them determined that rather than let the cauldrons go to Ch'in they will send them to your majesty's state. Now, to sustain a country in peril has about it a fair name, whilst possession of the Nine Cauldrons carries with it substantial wealth. I ask your highness to reflect on this.' The king of Ch'i rejoiced and sent forth a brigade of fifty thousand troops under Ch'en Ch'en-ssu to rescue Chou, and the Ch'in forces retired. But when Ch'i requested the Nine Cauldrons as her due, the ruler of Chou was once more distressed. 'Rest easy I beg you, your majesty,' said Yen Shuai again, 'and allow your servant to go eastward and disencumber us.' 'Chou has trusted in the rectitude of your great country', said Yen Shuai when he arrived in Ch'i; 'Father and son, minister and prince have been sustained by you, and it is our wish that the Cauldrons be given you. It remains only to know by what road they should be delivered to Ch'i.' 1 Contemporary of King Nan, who was his cousin. He ruled over the eastern of the two parts into which the shrunken domains of Royal Chou were now divided.
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' W e shall ask for right of w a y through Liang', replied the king of Ch'i.' 'You must not, my lord. Liang's sovereign and ministers have long coveted the cauldrons and plotted for them from the heights of Huit'ai to the sloughs of Shao-hai. Once the bronzes enter Liang they will never leave.' 'We shall ask for a road through Ch'u, then.' 'You must not, my lord. Ch'u's sovereign and ministers have long coveted the Cauldrons and plotted for them in the courts at She. Once the bronzes enter Ch'u they will never leave.' 'Well, by what route then may we fetch the bronzes to Ch'i?' asked the king. 'This is just what has concerned my humble prince,' replied Yen Shuai. 'For the Cauldrons are not so many vinegar jugs or sauce pots to be carried to Ch'i dangling from the hand or clutched at the breast. Nor can they be hustled off to Ch'i like hare-started horses or birdharried crows. Of old when Chou conquered Yin and got the cauldrons, ninety thousand men drew a single bronze and the nine of them required all together eight hundred and ten thousand men, both troops and officers, with the tackle and gear appropriate for such a force. Now, though your majesty has the men for it, what troubles your servant is the route by which they may be brought out.' 'It has seemed these several times, sir, that you do not intend to present them at all', said the king. 'I would not dare deceive your mighty state', replied Yen Shuai. 'Let the king merely say outright by what route they are to come forth and my humble prince will move the cauldrons at your command.' But the king of Ch'i ceased his requests. SPTK 2. ib KY4. i 21
The fall of Yi-yang When Ch'in attacked Yi-yang the ruler of Chou asked Chao Lei, 'What do you think will happen?'
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'Yi-yang will certainly fall.' 'But the walls of Yi-yang enclose an eight-/i square', said the ruler of Chou 'There are a hundred thousand first-rank troops within them and gra"1 sufficient for several years. Kung-chung's army numbers two hundred thousand and General Ching Ts'ui with the hordes of Ch'u is approaching through the mountains to come to the city's relief. Surely Ch'in will be unsuccessful?" 'Kan Mao is a sojourner in Ch'in' replied Chao Lei. 'If he attacks Yi-yang and succeeds he will become what the Duke of Chou was to King Wen. If he fails, even his footprints will disappear from Ch'in. The king of Ch'in disregarded the advice of his close ministers when he ordered the attack on Yi-yang, and if the city should not be taken he will be shamed. I assure you the city will fall.' "What would you advise me to do, then?' asked the king. 'You should remind the Ch'u general Ching Ts'ui 'that his rank is that of the Jade Baton and his post that of Pillar of the State; that victory can add nothing to what he has, while defeat can only mean death; and that nothing would be better for him than to turn his back on Ch'in to save Yi-yang. Say to him: "If you move your troops forward, Ch'in1 will fear that you are going to take advantage of her exhaustion in order to attack and will ply you with gifts, and Kung-chung will think you are advancing on his behalf and will empty his treasury."' [Ch'in took Yi-yang and Ching Ts'ui did advance his troops. Ch'in, in fear, ceded him the town of Chu-tsao and Han did indeed give him great gifts. Ching Ts'ui received a city from Ch'in, treasure from Han,2 and put the country of Chou in his debt.] SPTK 2. 3a KY4. 2
22
Han dissuaded from intervening in the quarrel of East and West Chou East and West Chou were at war. Han was about to rescue West Chou when someone spoke to the king of Han on behalf of East Chou: This does not make sense as it stands. See Crump, Intrigues, p. 151. • i.e. from Kung-chung.
1
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THE B O O K OF C H O U - K I N G HUI
'West Chou is the country of the Son of Heaven and it is rich in famous treasures. Hold back your troops and do not send them forth you will put East Chou in your debt and be able to empty the treasuries of West Chou.' SPTK 2. 4 a KY5.3
23 East Chou supplied with an argument to dissuade others from aiding West Chou When East and West Chou were at war, West Chou hoped to ally herself to Ch'u and Han. Ch'i Ming said to the ruler of East Chou: 'I am afraid that West Chou will use her wealth to bribe Ch'u and Han to help her get land from East Chou. It would be best to say the following to Ch'u and Han: "There are two conditions governing West Chou's desire to give you treasure.1 At the moment East Chou's troops are not threatening West Chou so no West Chou treasure enters Ch'u and Han. If you wish to get your treasure you should encourage us to attack West Chou." Then if West Chou does give them of her wealth we shall have got it for them. They will feel obliged to us and West Chou will be weakened in the process.'2 SPTK 2. 4a KY5.4
24 West Chou opens the sluices and Su-tzu takes fees from both sides East Chou wished to sow its land to rice but West Chou would not open the river sluices. Chou of the east was troubled over this but That is, if we attack you get it, if we don't attack she won't offer it, according to Pao Piao. 2 By draining her wealth (?). 1
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Su-tzu spoke to its ruler and begged permission to treat with West Chou for water. He arrived in Chou of the west and spoke to its ruler: 'My lord's plans are faulty; by withholding water from East Chou now he is making her wealthy. Its citizens have all sown to dry grain and no other! If my lord would really do them harm he should open the sluices immediately and injure their seeds. With the sluices opened East Chou must replant to rice. Then when you deny them the waters they must come to West Chou as suppliants and receive their orders from your majesty!' The king agreed and released the waters and Su-tzu received the gold of both countries. SPTK 2. 4b KY5.5
Protocol defended Chao Hsien being at Yang-ti, the ruler of Chou wished to send his minister of state there. The minister of state, however, was reluctant to go, so Su Li spoke to the ruler of Chou for him: 'When the king of Ch'u and the king of Wei met you sent Ch'en Feng to Ch'u and Hsiang-kung to Wei. Similarly, when the kings of Ch'u and Han met, you sent She-kung1 to Ch'u and Hsiang-kung to Han. This time, though Chao Hsien is not even a head of state, you wish your highest minister to go to him. If a king were at Yang-ti, whom would your majesty send?' 'Well said', replied the ruler of Chou and called off the mission. SPTK 2. 5a KY5. 6
26 Shih Yen tells Chou how to escape from a dilemma and gain territory from Han Ch'in wanted a right of way through Chou in order to attack Han. lCKTIV hasfffi-.
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THE BOOK OF C H O U - K I N G HUI
Chou feared that by granting it she would alienate Han and by not granting it she would offend Ch'in. Shih Yen said to the ruler of Chou: 'Why not send someone to Kung-shu of Han to say, "Ch'in dares to quit her frontier defences to attack Han only because she trusts Chou. If you were to cede land to Chou and send an impressive embassy to Ch'u, Ch'in could hardly fail to have doubts about Chou and you would not be attacked." At the same time say to the king of Ch'in, "Han has forced us to accept some of her territory so that you will become suspicious of us. However, I dare not refuse Han." The king of Ch'in certainly cannot order you to refuse it, so you will gain territory from Han while obeying Ch'in.' SPTK 2. 5b KYs-7
27 Chou provisions Ch'u's enemies hut appeases her resentment Ch'u attacked Han's city of Yung-shih and Chou was provisioning Han and Ch'in in the battle. The king of Ch'u grew angry at Chou for this. The ruler of Chou became fearful and a man was sent to speak to Ch'u'sking. 'If a sovereign of your majesty's power shows anger at Chou,' said he, 'Chou, in fear, will certainly ally herself with those whom now she only provisions. This will provide your majesty with a stiffer foe. You should rather allay Chou's fears quickly. One who has offended in the past and lately been forgiven will surely serve your majesty with gratitude.' SPTK 2. 5b KY5. 8
28 Su Li speaks for Chou Tsui Su Li said to Su Ch'in on behalf of Chou Tsui: 'Why don't you tell the
THE BOOK OF CHOU - KING HUI
43
ting 1 to heed Chou Tsui and use land to make an alliance with Wei?2 Chao will surely ally herself with Ch'i in anger over this. Thereby you will have allied [your state?] with mighty Ch'u [.. . ] 3 'if you are willing to go along with Chou Tsui's actions you will be the maker of alliances and Chou Tsui the ceder of lands.'4 SPTK 2. 6a KY7.18
29 Chou Tsui is given a plan which will make him joint minister in Han and Wei Someone said to Chou Tsui, 'As minister of Sung, Ch'ou Ho wants to see to it that Ch'in joins Chao and Sung to defeat the Three States.5 If the Three States are not defeated he is just as willing to join Chao and Sung and isolate Ch'in. In other words if he finds Han and Wei are weakly allied together and with Ch'i, he will use [Chao6] and Sung to Even to the untutored eye it is obvious that Pao Piao's notes are wrong here CKT invariably calls the ruler of Chou, S not I . Yokota, who is following Pao, perpetuates the error in the hope of forcing this item to make sense. 2 Chung Feng-nien says, 'Su Li and the others in the item happen all to be men of Chou so someone simply provisionally put them in the [Chou] section . . . the "king" in the first sentence refers to the king of Chao and the item should certainly be in the Chao section. Pao's [assumption that] "wang" refers to the ruler of Chou because King Nan still ruled as king [has caused him] to divide the sentence after !& i § . Although W u Shih-tao's "correction" says "he [Pao] is completely misled", [Wu] still is unaware that ending the sentence after 81 f§ is also wrong.' 1 Each commentator has a theory on the origins - through graphic corruption of £ £ -T. 'Untranslation* is the refuge of small talent - this is agreed - but tortured translation for the sake of honour is worse. I think the story corrupt; I do not understand j£l i t •?-. I do not believe any commentator so tar has come up with a credible explanation, so I do not translate it. 4 Having understood so few components one can hardly expect the whole to make sense. It does not. 5 Assumed to be Han, Wei and Ch'i. Ch'ou Ho is supposed to be speaking as one in the employ of Chao. « With Yokota, I supply Chao. 1
44
THE BOOK OF C H O U - KING HUI
defeat the Three States or 1 [just as readily] he will join the Three States. 'Why don't you, sir, let someone ask the following of the kings of Han and Wei: "Would your majesties enjoy seeing Chao and Ch'in sell each other out? You need only join together and make 2 Chou Tsui your joint minister. When it is thus made apparent that the two of you cannot be divided, Ch'in and Chao will certainly sell each other out in an effort to make alliance with both of you."' SPTK 2. 6b KY 7. 19
30 The king of Wei is advised to patronize Chou Tsui On Chou Tsui's behalf the following was said to the king of Wei: 'Ch'in knows that Chao is troubled by the possibility of war with Ch'i and since Ch'in fears an alliance between the two she is doubtless reinforcing Chao. 3 Chao dares not engage Ch'i for fear Ch'in will not join her but will, instead, form an alliance with Ch'i before Chao can. It is unthinkable that Ch'in and Chao should be competing for an alliance with Ch'i while your majesty has not a single man working on it for Wei' 'If your majesty does not order 4 Chou Tsui to bring together Wei's allies on the side of Ch'i, then in a military emergency when Ch'i is attacked, she will see no reason to be your ally.[?] SPTK 2. 6b KY 8. 20 Yasui suggests that SI should precede this fUJ. Certainly the sentence as it stands is unusual. With Yasui's conjecture it would read, 'If they are firmly allied he will join the Three States.' a •& should be •%• after Yokota et at. 3 To encourage Chao to attack Ch'i? 4 Yokota, and others, think this •£ should be •$• and I follow them. But the text from here on is totally ambiguous - it is simply a matter of choosing the most likely commentary. SPTK, Yokota and Yasui all have different interpretations and Wu Shih-tao notes that there are at least two interpretations of $S 0 9. My translation is based on Kambun, but I am not satisfied that the text demands my interpretation more than another. 1
I
THE BOOK OF CHOU - KING HUI
45
31 Chou Tsui upbraided for his loyalty Someone1 said to Chou Tsui: 'The king of Wei has given you power over his state because he hopes to join forces with Ch'in and attack Ch'i. Now the Duke of Hsiieh was once a ruler but he has dismissed thoughts of his city of Hsueh and put aside concern over the graves of his ancestors.2 You are the only one who clings to an empty loyalty, believing it to be a splendid example of proper action between ruler3 and minister to keep faith with your erstwhile ruler and refuse to attack Ch'i. 4 For this you frisk?]5 the wrath of mighty Ch'in. Such action is not defensible! What you might better do is to say to the king of Wei and the Duke of Hsiieh: "Let me go to Ch'i for your majesty. The rest of the empire can do her no harm [so she needs no alliances].6 But if things turn against you I will be able to plead your case to bring Ch'i to the rescue. If no trouble develops you can thereafter attack [Ch'i].7 I was once a slave8 to Ch'i.9 It would not do for me to hamper your relations with the empire [because of that] - You have treated me too well! If I go to Ch'i [at least] you will never have to worry about that country."' SPTK 2. 7 a KY 8. 21 Note that 28, 29, 30, and 31 all have nothing whatever to do with either East or West Chou. The only common factor is the presence of Chou Tsui. * i.e. he is ready to attack Ch'i. 1
Yokota concludes from this that Chou Tsui was originally an officer of Ch'i. am certain M is an error but Yokoca's g is not convincing and Pao's & would be crabbed grammar. 6 After Yasui. 7 idem. • i.e. served her; other commentators read M. * SPTK has ^§ instead of p.. This, combined with the ambiguity already present yields two wildly divergent interpretations. My version of this section - the one which seems most sensible to me - is based on Yasui's notes. 4
JI
46
THE B O O K OF C H O U - KING HUI
32 The sacred precincts Chao had seized the sacred precints of Chou and the ruler of Chou, disturbed by this, told Cheng Ch'ao. 'Do not be concerned, your highness', said Cheng Ch'ao. 'Let me have only thirty pieces of gold and I will get them back.' The ruler gave him the gold and Cheng Ch'ao presented it to the Grand Seer of Chao, while informing him about the sacred precincts. When next the king of Chao became ill he summoned the Grand Seer to make prediction. The Seer reprimanded the king saying: 'The sacred precints of Chou are causing the malignant influence.' Chao returned the precints. SPTK 2. 8a KY 8. 22
33 The parable of the fowler Tu Ho, wishing to advance Ching Ts'ui in Chou, spoke to its ruler. 'The small size of your highness's country will cause you completely to exhaust your treasures in payments to the feudal lords. This is something which demands consideration. Let me give you an example: if the netter of wildfowl casts his net in a place where there are no birds, he may cast the day long and capture nothing! If he casts his net in a place where birds are too numerous then he will flush the whole flock! He must cast in an area between where the birds are numerous and where there is none, then he will take wildfowl! 'Now if your highness should seek the services of a great personage he may be scorned, but if he depends on a man of little stature, that man may have influence on no one and your highness will have to furnish treasure for him. Your highness must seek the services of an officer who is at present penurious but who will certainly become a great personage later - then you will surely gain what you desire'.' SPTK 2. 8b KY 8/23
THE BOOK OF CHOU - KING HUI
47
34 Chou told how a small state may be influential When the Three States were opposing Ch'in, Chou sent her minister to Ch'in but the minister, because of the weak position Ch'in was in,1 delayed his journey. Someone said to him: 'It is as yet impossible to know how weak or strong Ch'in may be, but she wants to know how things are going in the Three States so you ought to have audience with the king of Ch'in and then say, "Let me go on your behalf and listen to what they are doing in the east." 'Ch'in will certainly hold you in great respect. Being so honoured you will bring importance to Chou by securing relations between Chou and Ch'in. 'Ch'in is an important state and already has good relations with Chou; then since [?]2 Ch'i is also well disposed toward Chou, Chou will never lack for alliances with powerful states.'3 SPTK 2. 9a KY 8. 25
35 A forged letter procures a traitor s death Ch'ang T'o4 defected from West Chou and went to East Chou where he revealed all of West Chou's affairs. East Chou rejoiced. West Chou was furious. Feng Chii5 said, 'I can assassinate that man if your highness will give me thirty catties of gold.' Feng Chii sent off an agent carrying the gold and a letter to Ch'ang T'o which would compromise him. It read: This is to remind Ch'ang Intrigues V, p. n has certainly got this wrong when it translates 'the minister, being afraid that Ch'in would treat him disrespectfully . . .' s I am following Wu Shih-tao and Yokota in my translation rather than Pao who says, 'Ch'in and Ch'i were the powers at this time and if Ch'in were treated well Ch'i must also be - this urges him also to gain Ch'i's support.' * If you succeed with Ch'in. 4 Probably the same as Kung T'o "Mflfiof 19 and other items. 8 CKTIV has #£ JL and he is so listed in Index. It is easy to see how & {chii) could be mistaken for S. (tan) or vice versa. 1
48
THE B O O K O F C H O U - KING HUI
T'o that if the thing can be done it must be done at any cost; if it cannot be done you must return immediately. The longer the delay the more will leak out and it will mean your life.' Then he sent another to say to the Eastern Chou border patrol, 'There is a spy coming over tonight.' The patrol caught the one who carried the letter and turned him over to the East Chou court. Immediately afterwards Ch'ang T'o was executed. SPTK 2. pb KY 8. 26
36 Chao Chien plans to escape assassination Chao Chien had fallen out with East Chou and someone said to him, 'Let me suggest a secret plan.' 'What is it?', asked Chao Chien. 'West Chou hates East Chou very much and always hopes to set Ch'u against her. West Chou will certainly send men to murder you. You must then spread it about that it is East Chou which is trying to kill you and that will turn the king [of Ch'u] against her.' 1 'Good', said Chao Chien. 'Also, I must fear assassination by East Chou so I shall speak ill of West Chou and cause her to be disliked by Ch'u and hasten peace [between Ch'u] and East Chou.' SPTK 2. ioa KY 8. 27
37 Chou Tsui's plan Chou Tsui said to Lu Li: 2 'Why not cause Ch'in to attack Ch'i? I would then tell Ch'i to appoint you her minister.3 When you have Ch'i serving Ch'in you need never fear anything. This is not only a hazardous plan, but is probably also a garbled story. SPTK originally showed Ef JSI, which Pao emends to &. Wt2 A Ch'in general, according to Yokota. SC 72/4 'Lii Li fled [Ch'in] and went to Ch'i. 3 Following Pao and Yokota.
1
THE BOOK OF C H O U - KING HUI
49
'Afterwards you should, have me situated in Wei to cause her to rve Ch'in as well. This would make you master of the empire. In the east you would be valuable to Ch'i, in the west honoured in Ch'in. In addition Ch'in and Ch'i would be united, so you would be honoured forever!' SPTK 2.10b KY6.9
38 The Duke ofHsueh advised to support Chou Tsui Someone1 said to the Duke ofHsueh: 'The reason the king of Ch'i, who once treated Chou Tsui so generously, drove him out, listened to Chu Fu2 and made Lii Li his minister was because he wanted Ch'in as his ally. If Ch'in and Ch'i combine, Chu Fu and Lii Li will be important indeed! And those who control both Ch'i and Ch'in will surely make light of you, my lord. 'You had best muster troops to the north, urge Chao to [?]3 Ch'in and Wei, take Chou Tsui to you and treat him well, and reverse Ch'i's treaties in order to prevent the empire from following her. If Ch'i is deprived of Ch'in the empire can concentrate its troops against her. Chu Fu will flee and who then will manage the country for the king of Ch'i?' SPTK 2.14b KY7.16
39 The king of Ch'i warned of the disadvantages of being Ch'in's ally Ch'i heeded Chu Fu and cast out Chou Tsui.4 'Driving Chou Tsui away and making Lii Li your minister on the Traditionally supposed to be Su Tai. Also given in SC as Ch'in Fu. * SC has 'to make peace with', but as it stands in Yokota it does not make sense. 4 Originally a part of 3 8. Note that this item has nothing to do with Chou. 1
8
50
THE BOOK OF CHOU - KING HUI
advice of Chu Fu was all done to bind Ch'in more closely to you', said someone to the king of Ch'i. 'But if you succeed in getting Ch'in as an ally you will also increase the severity with which the rest of the empire attacks Ch'i. 'Obviously if Ch'in and Ch'i unite, Chao will fear attack and will muster her troops against Ch'i to give notice to Ch'in. Now whether Ch'in uses Chao to attack Ch'i or forces Ch'i into an attack on Chao, it will be the same in principle. And things should not be so managed(?). Likewise, it is the same in principle whether you use Chu Fu's advice or directly court attack from the empire.' SPTK 2. 15a KY7.17
40 Kung-shih Chi gets a word in first Lii Ts'ang, minister of Chou, was arranging audiences between the ruler of Chou and some retainers. Kung-shih Chi, the former minister, feared they would speak against him so he sent a man to the ruler of Chou with this message: 'These retainers are great debators, but what makes them unacceptable is their delight in slandering others.' SPTK 2. 12a KY6.10
A good minister bears the blame for his master s faults When Wen, 1 the ruler of Chou, dismissed Kung-shih Chi and made Lu Ts'ang his minister, the citizens were not pleased and the ruler was disturbed by this. 'There is always praise and blame in any state', said someone to Wen of Chou; 'the faithful minister causes the blame to fall on himself and the praise to attach to his ruler. When the ruler of Sung stole 1
This is the only identified 'ruler of Chou' in OCT.
THE BOOK OF CHOU - KING HUI
51
ys people's time to construct a pavilion and the citizens thought ill of it1 Tzu Han quit his post as chief minister and became Master of public Works. The people then thought ill of Tzu Han and well of their king. Duke Huan of Ch'i had seven market places within his palace and seven hundred compounds for his women. The people grumbled and Kuan Chung 2 built the San-kuei Mansion for himself to conceal the excesses of Duke Huan and damage his own reputation among the citizens. 'Recorded in the histories are hundreds of cases of ministers who murdered their rulers and every one of these was a great official who had been much praised. It is not certain, therefore, that one whom the people praise is a blessing to the state. The influence of many little people when accumulated in one place becomes as great as a mountain.' The ruler of Chou retained Lii Ts'ang. SPTK 2. 12b KY6. 11
42 The citizen of the world Once there was a man from Wen who migrated to Chou but Chou did not admit aliens. 'Are you an alien?' they asked him. 'No, a native', he replied. They asked him what lane he lived in and he could not tell them, so the bailiff took him off to jail. The ruler sent a man to question him. 'Why did you call yourself a citizen when you are an alien?' he asked. 'When I was a child and learned the Book of Odes, I chanted the verses that went: Any land with the heavens above it Is the king's land. Anyone within the circling sea Is the king's servant.3 11
do not translate (he had no faithful minister to shield him) for I agree with
Yokota that it appears to be a note incorporated into the text. 2 Duke Huan's principal minister. 8 Ode 205, Waley, Songs 285; accepted text begins differently.
52
THE B O O K OF C H O U - KING HUI
'Since Chou rules all under heaven I am the servant of the Son of Heaven - how should. I be an alien? This is why I said I was a citizen.' The ruler of Chou made his officer release the man. SPTK 2. 13a KY6. 12
43 Chin T'ou urged to support Chou Tsui Someone said to Chin T'ou on Chou Tsui's behalf, 'Ch'in is suspicious that Chou Tsui is going to Ch'i to set the empire against her. She also knows that Chao would be in trouble if she did battle with Ch'i and so she fears an alliance between Chao and Ch'i. 1 This will surely cause her to ally herself with Ch'i before Chao can. And if Ch'i and Chi'n become allies your state will be only ruins! 'The best course would be to go to Ch'i's rescue2 and help Ch'in invade Han and Wei. Then Shang-tang and Chang-tzu will be in your hand; you will receive treasure from Ch'in in the west3 and land from Han in the south; Wei will be in distress and I, working for you in the east, will give you an alliance!' SPTK 2. 13b KY6. 13
44 Chou Tsui warns Chin T'ou Chou Tsui said to Chin T'ou: 'You are trusting4 to an alliance with Ch'in to fight against mighty Ch'i. If you win, Ch'in will come to some understanding5 with Ch'i 1 J~ is doubtless ^ as Yokota and others think. All of the emendations of the names of states I do on the advice of Yokota et at. The item makes no sense otherwise and the next item suggests that is probably what should be done. 2 Seki thinks Ch'i was embroiled in a war with Han and Wei at the time. 3 Tfc should be Bf. This kind of idiot error lends some credibility to the need for wholesale emendation. 4 W u Shih-tao and Yasui gloss R as 'depend on'. I follow them. 5 After Seki.
THE B O O K OF C H O U - KING HUI
53
and
will be enriched1 by her territories, but will yield precious little land to your country of Chao. Afterwards, she will be ready to do battle with the empire. 'If you should not win, your state will be mortally wounded and you must then do whatever Ch'in wishes. Ch'in has already got Shang-tang, T'ai-yuan and Hsi-tu2 from Han and Wei. Her territory covers half the empire. She also dictates terms to Ch'i, Ch'u and the Three Chin. What kind of planning would it be to overturn your state and risk your person for this dubious alliance?' SPTK 2. 14a KY 6. 14
45 The dialecticians of Chou Shih-hsing Ch'in3 said to the t'ai-liang-tsao,i 'If you wish to make sure of the name of Hegemon, you must equip yourself with the dialecticians of Chou.' To the ruler of Chou he said, 'Your highness should order your debators to make much of you in Ch'in.' [?]5 SPTK 2. 14b KY 6. 15
After Seki. follow Pao's text as does Yokota. Note the dilemma in argument. 3 Chung Feng-nien points out that Yu-hsing is probably the proper reading as it is also found in Kuo Yti. 4 Title of a Ch'in dignitary. 5 Chung Feng-nien believes this is missing some text at the end. I hope so for it makes little sense as it stands. 1
21
THE BOOK OF CH'IN
DUKE HSIAO (361-338 B.C.)
46 A harsh lawgiver and his fate Wei Yang fled from Wei and went to Ch'in, where Duke Hsiao used him as his minister, gave him the fief of Shang and called him Lord Shang, and Lord Shang governed Ch'in. Everywhere his laws were carried out to the letter and there was justice without favour. Punishment applied equally to the great and the powerful and reward was not limited to the favoured and the well-born. The law even reached the heir apparent, whose tutor was branded and mutilated. A year after that, property could remain on the streets and no one would steal it. The citizens took nothing that was not their own. Ch'in's arms and armies were mighty and all the Lords feared her. But punishments had become harsh and mercy scarce; the law existed only to bend the people to it. When Duke Hsiao had used Shang Yang eight years he became ill and could not leave his bed. He wanted Lord Shang to succeed him, but Lord Shang refused. Duke Hsiao died and King Hui succeeded him. After King Hui had taken control of government, Lord Shang announced that he was taking leave.1 Then someone persuaded the king saying, 'When a minister is too powerful the country is in danger; when an attendant is too close your life is in danger. In Ch'in today even women and babes speak of "Lord Shang's law", no one speaks of your majesty's law. This is because he has become the ruler and your majesty has been turned into his minister. But I wish your majesty to reflect on the fact that Lord Shang is your mortal enemy.' 1
Following Seki's notes. 54
THE BOOK OF CH'IN - KING HUI-WEN
55
When Lord Shang returned from his leave King Hui had him rent asunder by chariots and no one in Ch'in mourned his passing. SPTK 3. ia KY 11.1
KING HUI-WEN (337-311 B.C.)
47 The story ofSu Ch'in: how he failed in Ch'in, studied hard, and succeeded in Chao; and how he was despised in adversity and respected in the hour of his triumph When Su Ch'in first devised the Horizontal strategy he spoke to King Hui of Ch'in.1 'Your majesty's state has the wealth of Pa, Shu and Han-chung on its west and the steeds of Tai and the furs of Hu in the north. To the south it is bounded by Mt. Wu and the lands of Ch'ien-chung and to the east it is sealed by the peaks of Yao and the canyon of Han-ku. Fat fields, flourishing people, ten thousand chariots and a million mettlesome troops; a thousand miles of rich fallow-land and an abundance laid up within defensible borders - truly an arsenal of nature, the most awesome state in the world! 'Your majesty's genius, his people's multitude, the skill of his riders and chariots and the training of his troops could regulate the Lords2 and swallow up the world and you could declare yourself emperor. I beg your majesty to hold this thought in his mind, for his servant will set forth how this shall be fulfilled.' 'We have heard it said,' replied the king, '"First fledge pinions then fly aloft, first gentle your nature then punish crime, first deepen virtue then bid your people act, first be conversant with good rule then importune great ministers." You, sir, have come to my court with stern 1 I.e. King Hui-wen. It was customary to abbreviate these double titles by using the first half only. 2 The rulers of the other states.
56
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - K I N G H U I - W E N
purpose, reckoning the great distance as nothing, and I would hear your instruction on another day.' 'I doubt your majesty's ability to make use of these resources', said Su Ch'in. 'Yet Shen-nung did attack the Pu-sui, the Yellow Emperor fought at Cho-lu and seized Ch'ih-yu, Yao attacked Huan Tou, Shun attacked the Three Miao, Yii fought Kung-kung, T'ang went against the Hsia, King Wen against Ch'ung, King W u against Chou and Duke Huan of Ch'i took up arms to become Hegemon of the whole empire! Indeed, who has not gone to war? 'The hosts of old drove their chariots shaft against shaft but their word was binding and the empire was as one. Then began alliances of north and south and treaties of east and west though arms and armour were never put aside. Soon learned pedants embellished their words and the Lords fell into confusion. A myriad pretexts came to hand - more than any could understand. Statute bred ordinance and the people learned deceit; edicts multiplied and became murky till the populace knew not what they stood for. Anxiety vexed low and high; the citizens knew not what to stand by. Graceful phrases and elegant words kept troops in armour and hands on swords; arguments grew more specious, robes more impressive and wars more frequent. More clever became the sayings and less controlled the land. Tongues were worn off, ears deafened and all remained undone. They preached righteousness, prated fidelity, but the empire belonged to none. 'Finally rulers rejected the literate and cozened the warrior who lashed together his breastplate by day, honed his blade by night, and knew nothing but the battleground. Then gain came unbidden where they stood and their lands broadened while they sat at ease. The Five Emperors, the Three Kings, the Five Hegemons, brilliant ruler or sage prince - one and all wished to win provinces, and if their authority would not do so they did battle to extend their lands. For much land they plied their armies, for a little they smote with halberds; and when this was done great success attended them. Therefore let your arms be victorious abroad, let fidelity be strong at home, let those above be awesome and those below submissive! 'Today, if you would be pre-eminent among great states, threaten mighty countries, overset enemy nations, control all within the four seas, make all men your children and the Lords your vassals, you must
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - KING H U I - W E N
57
do so by force of arms. Today's rulers, heritors of the past, are heedless of the supreme way; they were schooled in confusion and rule in disorder, are bemused by words, besotted with verbiage, sunk in disputation and smothered with speech . . . and from your majesty's comments I conclude that you too will never reach hegemony!' Ten times Su Ch'in sent his persuasions to the king of Ch'in who acted on none. His sable cloak •worn bare, his coffer emptied and his purse exhausted, Su Ch'in turned homewards with bandaged feet in grass sandals. With his memorials in a tattered sack, with haggard visage worn and black, with his frame gaunt and ugly he reached home. Nor did his wife rise from spinning, nor did his sister fan up the hearth, nor did his parents speak with him. Su Ch'in choked and sighed: 'No husband to my wife, no brother to my sister, no child to my parents - these insults all spring from the country of Ch'in.' That night he brought forth his books to the number of some two score boxes and found within them the Secret Talisman of T'ai-kung. Bowed over it he recited the schemes therein, thumbed and pored to fit and fathom them. 1 If ever he dozed while at study he drew forth a gimlet and stabbed his thigh till the blood ran off at his heel and asked, 'Where stands the man who persuades a ruler and will not put forth whatever wealth he has for honour and ministry?' When a year was passed and his study was complete he said, 'Here are persuasions meet for the rulers of our time!' Thereupon he passed through the Rook and SwaEow Gates and got audience in the Palace of Splendour to persuade the king of Chao. He spoke to the rhythm of his practised gestures and greatly pleased the king of Chao who thereafter titled him Prince Wu-an and gave him the seal of chief minister. One hundred armoured chariots had he to follow in his retinue, a thousand bolts of brocade siEc, of white jade pieces a hundred pair, and ten thousand ounces of yellow gold. He aligned the Vertical states and deranged the Horizontal in order to bring mighty Ch'in to its knees. While Su Ch'in held power in Chao, aE passes were closed to Ch'in. II And in those times the vastness of the empire, the multitude of its 'Trusek suggests 'read them to tatters'.
58
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - K I N G H U I - W E N
people, the authority of the powers and princes and the skill of its advisers were all devoted to the plans of Su Ch'in. N o t a dipper of grain was wasted nor a weapon raised. N o t a soldier fought, not a b o w string parted, n o t a dart was broken; and the Lords cherished one another. Closer were they than brother is to brother. Thus it was that 'a sage was present and the empire submitted, one man was used and all men followed h i m ' . It is said that 'if a m a n be diligent in ruling he need never be tested in war; if he serves in his o w n court h e need never serve outside his o w n marches!'^, In the day of Ch'in's pre-eminence a daily toll of yellow gold was used to keep the highroads all agleam with chariots' brazen hubs and lines of mounted men. But soon all China east of Yao k n e w the fame and magnified the state of Chao. Su Ch'in came from the alleys of poverty where homes are holes in courtyard walls, where mats of mulberry serve for walls and roll up or down on insubstantial hinge-pins; whose dwellers cringed to cartshafts and b o w e d to bits and halters. 1 Yet n o w he travelled throughout China speaking at length before princes of men, confounding their courtiers, outwitting all others. While he was on an embassy to the king of Ch'u, Su Ch'in's road took him through Lo-yang. His family heard the news, swept the hearth and dooryard, prepared a banquet and went forth thirty li to greet him on the highroad. His wife averted her glance in deference and hearkened to his every word. His sister crawled to him and prostrated herself, greeted h i m in greatest reverence and made apology. "Why is m y sister n o w so humble w h o was once so haughty?' he asked. ' M y brother's estate is lofty and his wealth great', she replied. 'Alas', said Su Ch'in, 'in poverty even m y parents would not own me; yet in wealth m y whole family stands in awe and fear of me. Then can any man born on earth neglect power and despise wealth?' SPTK 3. 2a KY 11.2(24) PruSek thinks this refers to Su Ch'in, 'leaning on his dashboard and holding his reins'. Archiv Orientalni, 37 (1966), p. 591.
1
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - KING H U I - W E N
59
48 The king ofCh'in resolves to disturb the game-cocks K g Hui of Ch'in said to Han-ch'iian Tzu, 'I am being treated with contempt by Su Ch'in. Once again he is trying by his own intelligence to unite the Lords of the east in an alliance to make Ch'in look ridiculous. Chao depends on the number of states allied to her and so has sent Su Ch'in with bribes to them to pay for treatidst But uniting the Lords is as unlikely as having several game cocks1 sharing a single perch j^that much is certainly clear! 'I have forborne and restrained myself for quite some time, but now I am going to send Wu-an Tzu2 to make my meaning clear to them!' 'You should not', replied Han-ch'iian Tzu. 'If it were to attack a city or destroy a town I should ask you to send Wu-an Tzu, but for the man to make our state appear in a good light and to deal with the Lords I beg you to use our guest minister Chang Yi.' 'I respectfully follow your suggestion', replied King Hui SPTK"3.6b KY 12. 3
49 Wei breaks a promise but is forced to keep it When Wei and Ch'u were fighting at Hsing-shan, Wei promised Ch'in the district of Upper Lo if Ch'in would have no intercourse with Ch'u. Wei was victorious, defeating Ch'u at Nan-yang, but when Ch'in pressed Wei for her reward Wei refused to give it. Kuan Ch'ien said to the king of Ch'in: 'Your majesty, you should tell the king of Ch'u that Wei promised you land but turned his back on you when he was victorious. Then ask the king of Ch'u to deal with you. 3 Say then, "Wei will fear that Ch'in I 1 follow
Seki. Much ado is made by Wu Shih-tao over "Wu-an Tzu-ch'i'. But this is done because of assumed anachronism. I believe it was indeed meant to be 'Wu-an Chita, Po Ch'i'. * I refrain from direct discourse up to here because it becomes very confusing otherwise. 1
60
THE BOOK OF CH'IN - KING HUI-WEN
and Ch'u will join forces and will surely give Ch'in her land. This will mean that Wei will have gained victory over Ch'u but lost land to Ch'in. It will also mean that you will be able to put me under obligation to you by using Wei's territory and therefore much wealth will travel from Ch'in to Ch'u. '"Wei is weakened after her recent battles. If she does not come forward with the promised territory, you attack her in the south while I cut her off in the west, and she will be in peril."' 'Good!', said the king of Ch'in [and used this speech to the king of Ch'u. The king of Ch'u let it be known that he was dealing with Ch'in. Wei heard and, being fearful, she yielded Upper Lo to Ch'in.] 1 SPTK 3. 7a KY 20. 5
50 Ching Li excused Ching Li, Ch'u's envoy, was in Ch'in and he accompanied the king of Ch'in to the meeting with the king of Wei at the border. Ch'u was angered.2 Ch'in ordered Chou Tsui to say to the king of Ch'u: 'Wei was requesting that Ch'in have no intercourse with Ch'u but rather ally herself with Ch'i 3 and this is why Ching Li met Wei. My ruler met Wei with him and treated them both very well. Consequently Ch'i will not ally herself with Ch'in.' After that the king of Ch'u forgave Ching Li and thought highly of4 (?) Chou Tsui. SPTK 3. 7b KY20. 6 11
isolate this part of the item as a later addition on the very shaky grounds that it 'sounds wrong' to me. If pressed, I could only say that it begins too abruptly (probably because of the lack of erh) and is not clearly something the king did rather than said. 2 See 186. 3 With the commentators I emend ^§ to ?¥ here. 4 I follow Yokota though ^§ is not often used this way in CKT.
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Ching Li talks himself out of ransom The king of Ch'u had sent Ching Li to Ch'in and one of the king of Ch'in's guests said to him: 'Your majesty, the king of Ch'u loves Ching Li well so I think you should detain him to buy yourself some territory. If the king of Ch'u agrees to it you will have won new lands without using weapons. If he does not agree, kill Ching Li. For whoever they change to 1 will not be the equal of Ching Li and that will be more convenient for your plans.' The king detained Ching Li. Ching Li sent a man to persuade the king of Ch'in as follows: 'I see that the king's power can make light of the whole empire but cannot get him enough lands. When I came on my mission I heard that both Ch'i and Wei were ceding land to Ch'in and that the reason for their doing so was simply that Ch'in and Ch'u were as close as brothers. If your majesty detains me now it will show the whole empire that you do not have Ch'u as an ally - and what have Ch'i and Wei to fear from an isolated country? When Ch'u knows that you are all by yourself she will certainly not give the land you are requesting but will strengthen her ties with other countries to plan her future, and your state will then be in peril. You had better release me instead.' The king then let him go. SPTK3.8a KY 20. 7
52 Beyond Hsi-ho When Ch'u attacked Wei, Chang Yi said to the king of Ch'in, 'You should side with Wei to stiffen her spine. If she wins she will once again obey Ch'in and she will certainly offer up the area beyond Hsi-ho. If she does not win she will not be able to control this territory and you will certainly take it.' 11
am not sure of this translation but Chung Feng-nien (pien wu, p. 23) discusses it at length and emends the text to make better sense. He has some textual evidence to back it up.
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THE BOOK OF CH'IN - KING HUI-WEN
The king took Yi's advice and furnished the hsi-shou1 of Wei with ten thousand troops and one hundred chariots from P'i-shih2. They were victorious3 but Wei's troops were spent and in fear of Ch'in she offered, as predicted, the area beyond Hsi-ho. SPTK 3. 8b KY 12.10
53 Chang Yi, the beautiful maid, and the handsome boy T'ien Hsin4 persuaded King Hui of Ch'in on Ch'en's behalf: 'I fear your majesty may act the way of the ruler of Kuo 5 did. Duke Hsien of Chin wanted to attack6 Kuo but feared the presence of Chou Chih-ch'iao, so Hsun Hsi said to him, " 'Beautiful women can tangle a tongue' as it says in the Book of Chou.'7 Send the king a woman for his pleasure. The admonitions of Chou Chih-ch'iao will then go unheeded and his government will be in turmoil." With that he left. His advice was followed and Kuo was overcome. 'Next Duke Hsien wished to attack Yii but feared the presence of Kung Chih-ch'i. Hsun Hsi said, "The Book of Chou8 says, 'A beautiful lad can ruin an older head.' Send the king a comely boy whom you have instructed to ruin Kung Chih-ch'i. The latter's admonitions will go unheeded and he will flee." Having done this, Duke Hsien attacked Yii and took it. Wu Shih-tao points out that a SC nien-piao says, 'Hsi-shou of Yin-chin became the "tai liang-tsao" ', which makes Hsi Shou sound as though it is merely a name. But cf. SC 70/47. 2 This is supposed to have been Wei's territory. Cheng-yi says it was. a With Yokota I think SS 3i is a note interpolated into the text and so do not translate it. * Also given as T'ien Hua ffl Sg in SPTK, Hsi Hua S 3£ is noted by Wu Shih-tao and in the eyebrow notes of CKTII it is given as T'ien Hsin-chih. ffl ^ £ . 6 This should probably read 'The way Kuo $P and Yii B| did' as all commentaries indicate. 6 Misprinted •ft tai in Kambun. 7 That is, Chi Chung Chou-shu, SPTK ed. 2/1. The term Chou-shu is used four times in CKT (52, 292, 310, and 358) once referring to nothing we know of, twice to the Chi Chung Chou-shu and once to 'K'ang-kao' in the Book ofHistory. »idem. 1
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'Now Ch'in looks upon itself as a king's estate and the one country capable of doing harm to a king's estate is Ch'u. Ch'u knows both Lord Heng-men's ability with troops and Ch'en Chen's brilliance, so she has been flattering Chang Yi to come here on behalf of the Five States to slander those two men. I beg your majesty to pay him no heed." Chang Yi did indeed come to speak and began to slander Chen, but the king of Ch'in simply became angry and would not listen.1 SPTK 3. 9a KY 14. 11
54 Ch'en Chen is defamed, but proves his loyalty Again Chang Yi defamed Ch'en Chen before the king of Ch'in: 'Ch'en Chen's posting between Ch'in and Ch'u has brought him good treatment at the hands of Ch'u but has not caused Ch'in to be better treated by Ch'u. Does this not show that Chen acts for himself but not for his country? Besides, Chen will leave Ch'in and go to Ch'u. Why doesn't your majesty investigate this?' 'I have heard that you would leave Ch'in and go to Ch'u', said the king to Ch'en Chen. 'Am I to believe this?' 'It is so', replied Ch'en Chen. 'Then these words of Yi may in truth be believed?' asked the king. 'These are not only the words of Yi. The veriest man on the street knows this. Hsiao-yi loved his family and all under heaven wanted him as son. Tzu-hsii of old was faithful to his lord and all under heaven wanted him as minister. Thus it is that the servant or concubine who can be sold to a neighbour of the same lane is a good one indeed and the woman who can be married to one in her own hamlet is a good woman indeed. Were I not faithful to you, my lord, what would Ch'u want of me? Being faithful but cast out, where should I go if not to Ch'u?' 'Good', said the king and no longer wished to send him away. SPTK 3.10a KY14. n a 1 The comparison between Chang Yi, the beautiful maid and the handsome boy is not appropriate.
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55 The two wives Ch'en Chen left Ch'u and returned to Ch'in. 'When Ch'en Chen was your majesty's minister,' said Chang Yi to the king of Ch'in, 'he constantly sent news of your country's affairs to Ch'u. I will not work with him. I request your majesty to send him away and if he goes to Ch'u, to have him killed.' 'He would not dare return to Ch'u', said the king; but he summoned Ch'en Chen. 'We cannot use your counsel, sir. Where would you like to go? We should be pleased to furnish your carriage.' 'Your servant would like to go to Ch'u.' 'Yi said you would go to Ch'u and now I know you will go. Indeed, you could hardly go elsewhere!', said the king bitterly. 'Sire, your servant deliberately chose to go to Ch'u so that he might be in accord with your majesty's and Yi's plans, and that he might make clear that his heart had never gone to Ch'u', replied Ch'en Chen. 'There was once a man of Ch'u who had two wives, your majesty. Another man tried to seduce the elder wife but she rebuked him. He then tempted the younger and she was compliant. Not long after, the husband of the two died and a friend of the tempter asked him which one he would marry. "The elder", he replied. "But the elder repulsed you while the younger gave you her favours. Why would you wed the elder?" "When they lived in the other man's house I wished them compliant; but if one were to be my wife I should wish her to rebuke \ another such as I." 'The present king of Ch'u is an enlightened ruler, your majesty, and. his minister, Chao Yang, is virtuous. If I had been an official in another ', state and had sent news of its affairs to Ch'u, then the king of Ch'u ; would not now take me as an officer and Chao Yang would refuse to . work with me. This should make clear whether your servant's heart has, ever gone to Ch'u.' Chen left and Chang Yi entered. 'Where is Ch'en Chen going then?' he asked the king. 'Ch'en Chen is the world's greatest debator', replied the king. 'He looked us full in the eye and said, "I must go to Ch'u" and thereafter we \
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ould do nothing. I asked him "If you must go to Ch'u then Yi's words may in truth be believed?" "These are not only the words of Yi," said he, "the veriest man on the street knows this. Tzu-hsii was faithful his ruler and all under heaven •wanted him as minister. Hsiao-Yi loved his family and all under heaven wanted him as son. Sell a concubine to someone in her own lane and she is a good one. Marry a woman to someone in her own village and she is a good woman. If I were not faithful to your majesty," said he, "why should Ch'u think I would be faithful? And being faithful but cast out," said he, "where would I go if not to Ch'u?"' The king of Ch'in accepted this and treated him well. 1 SPTK 3.10b KY 14. 12
56 The ruler of the Yi-ch'ii When the ruler of the Yi-ch'u 2 came to Wei, Kung-sun Yen said to him, 'The road is long and it is not likely I shall see you pass this way again. Allow me, then, to tell you how matters stand.' T wish to hear', replied the ruler of the Yi-ch'u. 'When the Middle Kingdoms are not warring against Ch'in then Ch'in is plundering and burning your country. When the Middle Kingdoms are at war with Ch'in, then Ch'in will send speedy envoys heavy with wealth to prove that she serves your state.' 'I listen to your commands with respect', said the ruler of the Yich'u. Very little time passed before the Five States attacked Ch'in. Ch'en Chen said to the king of Ch'in, 'The ruler of the Yi-ch'u is a worthy ruler among the barbarians; your majesty should bribe him to mollify him.' 'Good advice', said the king and sent a thousand bolts of embroidered silk and a hundred fine women to the ruler of the Yi-ch'ii. Yi-ch'u in turn called together his ministers and gave them his plan. 1
54 and 55 are two parts of the same story. For a reconstruction see Crump,
Intrigues, pp. 86-7. 1
Traditionally taken to be Western Ch'iang people.
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'This is what Kung-sun Yen spoke of, he said, and raising his troops he attacked Ch'in and heavily defeated her below Li-mien. SPTK 3. 12a KY 15. 4
57 Ssu-ma Ts'o wins his debate with Chang Yi before the king and is justified by events Ssu-ma Ts'o and Chang Yi argued before King Hui of Ch'in. Ssu-ma Ts'o wished Ch'in to attack the country of Shu; Chang Yi held that nothing was so good as attacking the country of Han. 'I would hear your persuasions', said the king, whereupon Chang Yi replied: 'You must ally yourself with the country of Wei, treat the country of Ch'u well, send your troops into the land of Three Rivers which is known as Yi-yang - stop up the pass of Huan-yuan Kou, and bestride the roads of Tun-liu. In this way the country of Wei will be , severed from the district of Nan-yang, and Ch'u will be brought to the lands of Nan-cheng. 'Then must Ch'in attack Hsin-ch'eng and Yi-yang to draw near to j the marches of the imperial lands of Chou so that she may punish the j crime of Chou and forthwith attack both Ch'u and Wei. When the j country of Chou knows by this that she will not be succoured, her I Nine Brazen Cauldrons will be given to you. 'When you have laid hold of the Nine Brazen Cauldrons, put your I hand on the seals and registers of the empire, and have under your arm! the emperor, whereby to rule the land, then throughout all the world! all must heed you. This would be a kingly business. 'But now let us consider Shu: a mean land of the west which ob-j serves only the rude usages of the Jung and Ti tribes. Were they to! present troops and set their people to work for Ch'in, it would still no suffice to give you the name of Ruler; were you to gain their lands, itj would still not profit you. 'Your minister has heard, "Who strives for name is at the court, who! strives for profit is at the market", and now the lands of Three Rivers!
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1 ^ house of Chou are both the market and court of the empire and o u r prince would strive not for them but for the barbarous Jung and Ti; this would be a far from kingly business.' Then Ssu-ma Ts'o spoke: 'Not so! I have heard it said that one who wishes to enrich his state attends to the widening of his lands, one who wishes to make powerful his troops must enrich his people, and one who wishes to win a king's estate must extend his virtue. If these three conditions are fulfilled, the king's estate will follow naturally. 'Now your majesty's lands are small and his people poor, so your minister would have you do what is easily done. Let us consider Shu: indeed a mean land of the west which does indeed observe only the rude usages of the Jung and Ti tribes, and which has within it disorder like that in the times of Chieh and Chou. Were Ch'in to attack it, it would be like a wolf in the flocks. Were you to gain their lands they would suffice to widen your state and their wealth would suffice to enrich your people and renew your troops. 'They would submit to you before you had need to harm the people. Therefore the country might be taken and yet the empire would not think you cruel. Your profit might exhaust the western sea and yet the Lords of the empire would not think you covetous. Thus, by one stroke fame and wealth would both be yours, and you would have beside the name of one who forbade cruelty and set confusion straight. 'Now what if Ch'in were to attack Han and steal the emperor? To steal the emperor brings with it an evil name but does not bring certain ; profit. You would have a name for unrighteousness and would ' attack that which the empire is unwilling to see endangered. Your minister wishes to make clear the reasons. 'Chou is the land of the imperial house and Ch'i and Han are count tries of the same blood as Chou. When Chou knows that it must lose ; Nine Brazen Cauldrons and Han knows that it must surrender the of Three Rivers, then those two countries will combine their i and plan as one. Thereupon will they rely on Ch'i and Chao 1 seek ease from Ch'u and Wei. To Ch'u they will give the CaulKarons and to Wei, lands. Your majesty will be unable to prevent this. These, then, are what your minister calls dangers, and the plan does L not have in it the perfection of attacking Shu.' King Hui replied, 'Good, I shall follow your advice.'
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Finally he did raise his troops and attack Shu. Ten months passed and he took it, whereupon Shu was put in order. The ruler of Shu changed his title and styled himself vassal and the king of Ch'in sent Ch'en Chuang to be minister to Shu. 'When Shu was annexed, Ch'in was the more strong, wealthy, and honoured and could make light of the Lords. SPTK 3. 13a KY 12. 7
58 The Shang-yii lands After Ch'i had assisted Ch'u against Ch'in and seized the district of Ch'ii-wo, Ch'in longed to assault Ch'i in revenge. But to King Hui's vexation, relations between Ch'i and Ch'u remained good. He spoke to Chang Yi: 'I wish to attack Ch'i, but she and Ch'u are at present on good terms. Could you, sir, give thought to what might be done for me?' 'If your majesty will arrange for a chariot', replied Chang Yi, 'and gather together certain valuables for me, I shall be pleased to see what I can do.' Having gone south and been received in audience with the king off Ch'u he spoke as follows: 'Of all the persons in whom the prince of my rustic province delight there is none in •whom he delights more than, in your exal majesty. And for my part, there is nothing which would please more, either, than to be minister to your exalted majesty. 'There is no one, however, whom my humble sovereign deb more than the king of Ch'i, and I, too, detest him most. At present crimes of this king of Ch'i have fallen most heavily against my pria He would attack Ch'i, but knowing that your mighty country amicable relations with Ch'i, stays his order and prevents my coming your minister. 'If your highness would seal up his border passes and sever relatio; with Ch'i - and your minister will see to it that Ch'in presents yi with six hundred It square in the region of Shang-yii - then Ch'
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'11 become weak, and a weak Ch'i would be merely a servant to you. I the north you would weaken Ch'i, in the west, your virtue would be t in ch'in, and for yourself you would have the advantage of the lands of Shang-yu. Here then is a single plan with three benefits devolving!' The king of Ch'u was delighted and bruited it about his court, saving, 'We have secured six hundred li square of the Shang-yii lands.' All his courtiers who heard or held audience congratulated him, save only Ch'en Chen, who, upon holding conference later, offered no felicitations. 'We have obtained six hundred li of Shang-yii land,' said the Icing, 'neither raising a weapon nor harming a man. Even I consider this to be wisdom and my attendants all tender congratulations, but you, sir, do not. Why is this?' 'In my view', replied Ch'en Chen, 'the lands in Shang-yu will not materialize, but calamity will, so I hesitate to present my compliments rashly.' 'Why do you say this?' asked the king. 'The reason Ch'in favours your highness is because you have Ch'i as your ally. Now if this gift of lands does not materialize and you break with Ch'i, your country will be left unallied, and why should Ch'in treat a state thus isolated with respect? It is not part of Ch'in's plan to present you the lands first and then make you break with Ch'i. But if you sever relations first so that you may be awarded land later then you are certain to be duped by Chang-Yi - and if you are cheated by Chang Yi your majesty will truly have cause to lament. You will have fathered trouble in the west from Ch'in and broken relations in the north with Ch'i, and troops from both countries will surely strike you!' 'I serve myself well in this matter', cried the king, heedless. 'You, sir, are to stop up your lips and wait upon my management!' The king sent an envoy to break with Ch'i and before he had returned sent yet another to confirm it. Chang Yi returned to Ch'in and lent his man to arrange a secret alliance between Ch'i and Ch'in. Ch'u sent a general to receive the lands from Ch'in but when Chang Yi arrived he pretended illness and held no audience. 'Does Master Chang disbelieve that I have broken with Ch'i?' asked the king of Ch'u and sent a bravo to Ch'i to revile its king. Knowing
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that Ch'u had broken with Ch'i, Chang Yi came forth to receive the general. 'From this place to that is six It in length and breadth', said Chang. 'I know nothing of six It!' creid the general, 'I know only of six hundred H!' 'I am but a humble man - where would I get six hundred li from?' The king of Ch'u was furious when his envoy returned and he raised an army to strike Ch'in. 'May I speak, sire?' asked Ch'en Chen. 'You may now.' 'To attack Ch'in is unsound policy. You should instead tempt them by the offer of a great city and join them against Ch'i. In this fashion we lose to Ch'in but gain from Ch'i: is not our state then still without loss? 'Today my lord has separated from Ch'i and been cheated by Ch'in; but should Ch'in and Ch'i be brought together because of us, then we may be certain of disaster.' Ch'u heeded him not but levied troops and attacked Ch'in. Ch'i did join Ch'in and the house of Han followed her lead, and Ch'u suffered a great defeat at Tu-ling. Ch'u's land and peoples remained intact but she barely escaped from disaster. [This happened by ignoring Ch'en Chen's plan while believing too j much of Chang Yi.] SPTK3. 15a j KY14. 1
59 CKen Chen, the songs of Wu, and the quarrelling tigers Ch'u broke off relations with Ch'i and the latter raised troops tol attack Ch'u. 'My advice to you, sire,' said Ch'en Chen to the king of Ch'u, 'is to 1 cede territory in the east to Ch'i while you negotiate with Ch'in in the I West.' The king of Ch'u dispatched Ch'en Chen to Ch'in where he j was welcomed by the king.
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'You were once Ch'in's man,' the king said, 'and you and I know h other of old. I lacked cleverness and attended not in person to the ffairs of my state. It was for this that you forsook me and served the , . o f ch'u. Howbeit, today Ch'i and Ch'u war on one another and I m advised from one quarter that advantage would be gained by taking sides, from another that siding with neither would advantage me But you, sir, might you not keep faith with the schemes you make for your present master and scheme besides on my behalf?' 'Could it be that your majesty has not heard of the man from W u who travelled to Ch'u?' asked Ch'en Chen. 'There he was much cherished by the king and when he became ill the king straightway dispatched someone to inquire about him. "Is he truly ill or only homesick?" the king's man asked. "I do not yet know whether he is homesick" replied an attendant, "but when he is truly sick for home he sings songs of Wu.' 'Well, I am about to "sing songs of W u " for your majesty. Have you not heard the advice of Kuan Yii? Once two tigers quarrelled over the corpse of a man. Pien Chuang-tzu would have slain them but Kuan Yii stayed him. "Tigers are cruel beasts to whom man is a sweetmeat. Now two are fighting over a man the smaller must die and the larger be wounded. You must wait for the wounded beast and slay it. Thereby in a single stroke you 'will have killed both. You will then win fame for two tigers having troubled yourself over something less than one." 'Today Ch'i and Ch'u are locked in a battle which will see one go own in defeat. Your majesty on discovering which one has been dedicated should muster his troops and go to its rescue - thereby gaining : advantage of saving Ch'i without the danger of attacking Ch'u.' ['To follow a scheme and know what lies hidden or destructive in it I given only to a king. For, "schemes are roots of the event and follow; them is the mechanism of preservation and destruction." Few are ^ who hold their kingdoms when their planning is awry or their .fececutionfaulty. Wherefore it is said: 'Who planneth twice over is not tmseated; who acteth circumspectly is not beguiled." 'J 1 SPTK 3. 17a ._. . . KY15.2 >. This section is clearly unrelated to the rest of the tale and is probably a set of . *J>horismsfromelsewhere.
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60 Chang Yi out of favour and his enemies promoted
' = .
When King Hui of Ch'in died Kung-sun Yen wanted to diminish Chang Yi. Li Ch'ou said to him, 'Order Kan Mao to Wei, Kung-sun Hsien to Han, and raise Ch'u-li Chi in Ch'in. These three are Chang Yi's enemies and if you make use of them the Lords will certainly be aware that Ch'in does not belong to Chang Yi.' SPTK 3.18b KY15.3
; 5 • T I [
K I N G W U (310-307 B.C.)
]
t
61 Kan Mao advised how to be rid of Chang Yi Chang Yi wanted to use Ch'in troops to rescue Wei. 'Give them to him', said Tso Ch'eng to Kan Mao. 'If Wei does not return the troops to Ch'in, Chang Yi will not dare to return. If Wei does return them it will mean that Chang Yi has realized his ambition in Wei and dares not return himself.'1 'Unless Chang-tzu leaves Ch'in [Ch'in need never2] elevate you.' SPTK 3.18b KY 12. 6
62 How Chang Yi ruined Ch'u-li Chi This is the way Chang Yi ruined Ch'u-li Chi. He treated him with great honour and sent him as ambassador to Ch'u. Then he ordered the king of Ch'u to request that Ch'u-li Chi be made minister of Ch'in. At this point Chang-tzu said to the king of Ch'in, 'Ch'u-li Chi was Since he would thereafter be suspected as being "Wei's man. Following Yokota's emendation but with little enthusiasm for it; SPTK suggestions are even less convincing. 1
2
'. ' j
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treated with great honour and made ambassador to Ch'u to better our country's relations. But as soon as he is actually there the king of Ch'u requests you to make him minister. I can hear Ch'u-li Chi now. "Would your majesty like to damage Yi in Ch'in? I will help you." The king of Ch'u thinks it good and so asks that Chi be made your minister. Your majesty, if you consent, he will use your state to serve the king of Ch'u.' The king of Ch'in was very angry and Ch'u-li Chi fled. SPTK3. 18b KY 12. 8
63 The Han-chung blight Chang Yi wished to give Han-chung to Ch'u so he said to the king of Ch'in: 'As long as we have the "Han-chung blight" no man will know where he may plant his tree. If a family owns a property that does them no good they are harmed by it. At present the southern part of Hanchung is beneficial to Ch'u and is only an embarrassment to us.' Kan Mao said to the king, 'Is it true that large nations gain only trouble from their territory? If the empire should revolt against you and your majesty offered Han-chung to make peace with Ch'u, Ch'u would certainly desert the other states and be your ally. If you gave Han-chung to Ch'u today and the empire turned against you tomorrow, what would you use to buy Ch'u's allegiance with?' SPTK 3. 19a KY 12. 9
What is said in the east Someone spoke to Wei Jan on behalf of Wei. 'Have you heard, sir, what is being said in the east?' 'I have heard nothing.'
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'Hsin Chang and Yang Wu-tse persuade the king of Wei, the Duke of Hsiieh, and the kung-shu, saying, "We beg 1 to convey to you our ruler's pledges and treaties of alliance and we are sure that no harm will come. Should anyone attempt to subvert this alliance we wish only to be allowed to cut his throat.2 There is, however, one thing which we would be bothered by: 3 should the king of Ch'u put his state at Jan's disposal and seek trouble with our rulers, we would all think very ill of it." Now my lord is in the east and has indeed spoken to Ch'u, and is thereby making prophets out of [?] Chang [and Tse]4 and you are working to defeat your own ends. 'It would be far better if you were to return your fief [of T'ao?] to put Ch'u in debt to you [?]; watch how the Duke of Hsiieh rules [?],5 see what the Three States wish of Ch'in but cannot obtain, and ask for it for them so that they will trust you. You should see what Chang and Tse cannot gain from the Duke of Hsueh and seek it from him on their behalf to show that you think them important.' SPTK3.ipb KY 17. 3
65 Pien-ch'iao and the king's carbuncle The great physician Pien-ch'iao visited king W u of Ch'in and the king showed him the carbuncle on his face. Pien-ch'iao offered to remove it. 'Your majesty's carbuncle is forward of the ear and below the eye', cried the king's attendants. 'If the physician should not cease soon This is a thoroughly corrupt text and R is the least comprehensible part of it. 1 follow Chung Feng-nien when I emend it to 8f. For the rest I also rely most heavily on his version in K'an-yen. 2 Or, 'we wager our necks on the outcome'. 3 With Yokota and others, the next sixteen characters are a copying error and should not be translated. 4 Yokota and others think that Chang Yi is an error for Chang Tse SB W- I concur; next one also. 6 This and the following seem to be non-sequiturs, and I mark the dubious parts thus: [?]. 1
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enough while removing it he might cause your majesty to lose his hearing or the sight of an eye.' As a result the king excused Pien-ch'iao. Pien-ch'iao was furious and threw down his flint lancet. 'Your majesty planned this by consulting with one who had knowledge but now he revokes it on the advice of those who know nothing! If the government of Ch'in were run in the same fashion, the country would perish with your first action.' SPTK 3. 20b KY 15. 5
66 Tseng-tzu's mother drops the shuttle 'If I could but drive my state carriage through Han's land of Three Rivers and look upon the palaces of Chou,' said King Wu of Ch'in to Kan Mao, 'then I might perish but my deeds would survive me!' 'Then I beg your majesty's leave to make an alliance with Wei in order to attack Han', replied Kan Mao. He was given permission, and King Wu's relative Hsiang Shou was sent as his aide. When they reached Wei, Kan Mao said to Hsiang Shou, 'If you, sir, will return now to the king and tell him Wei is willing to do as we wish but caution him not to attack yet, then whatever success we have shall be to your credit.' Hsiang Shou did as he was asked and the king awaited Kan Mao's return at Hsi-jang to ask him his reasons for delaying attack. 'Sire, Yi-yang is a great district. The wealth of Shang-tang and Nanyang have long been concentrated there. It is called a district but it might better be named a commandery! Your majesty will have the craggy mountains at his back and must attack it a thousand It from his base. Here will be difficulty indeed.' 'Your servant recalls that Chang Yi annexed Pa and Shu for Ch'in in the west, took Hsi-ho where the Yellow River loops in the north, and in the south seized Shang-yung. But the empire did not think more of Chang Yi; it praised the virtue of his ruler, you ancestor. 'Once Marquis Wen of Wei ordered Yueh Yang to command an
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attack on Chung-shan. After three years he took it and returned to claim his honour. Marquis Wen showed him a chest full of defaming letters and Yiieh Yang bowed down his head to the ground saying "Your servant gains no honour in this victory, it was accomplished through the power of his master." 'Now I am but an outlander serving your majesty. Ch'u-li Chi and Kung-sun Yen have the country of Han nestling in their arm pits; when they come and speak before your majesty you will listen to them and be tempted to cheat your ally, Wei, and I will be left to face the wrath of Kung-chung Ch'ih. 'Once, when the saintly Tseng-tzu lived in the country of Pi, there was another of the same clan who was also called by his name. This one had killed a man, and a neighbour called out to Tseng-tzu's mother, "Tseng Shen has killed a man." His mother did not leave off her weaving but said: 'My son is no murderer." In a while another cried, "Tseng Shen killed a man" but she continued to weave as before. The third time someone cried out "Tseng Shen killed a man" she dropped her shuttle in fear, leaped her threshold and fled. Despite the virtue of Tseng Shen and his mother's faith in him, when three others had shaken her confidence she too misbelieved her son. 'Your servant's nobility being somewhat less than that of Tsen Shen, your majesty's faith in me being less firm than Tseng's mother's, and my detractors being more numerous than three, I fear your majesty will drop the shuttle while I am gone.' 'I will not listen to them', replied the king. 'I make covenant with you now that this will be so.' They thereupon made a covenant at Hsi-jang. Yi-yang was laid under siege for five months but would not fall, Ch'uli Chi and Kung-sun Yen did argue before the king who believed them and recalled Kan Mao to accuse him. 'Was there not a covenant at Hsi-jang' asked Kan Mao. 'There was', replied the king after a little. Then he mustered all his forces, ordered Kan Mao to lead them against Yi-yang once more, and shortly thereafter the city fell. SPTK 3.20b KY 15. 6
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77
67 Feng Chang and the broken pledge During the battle for Yi-yang, Feng Chang said to the king of Ch'in: 'If we should not take Yi-yang, Han and Ch'u will both seize upon our failure and the country will truly be endangered. W e had best cede Han-chung to Ch'u to gain her amity and prevent her interfering in the battle. Han will then be isolated and can do nothing against Ch'in.' The king agreed, dispatched Feng Chang to pledge the district of Han-chung to Ch'u, and Yi-Yang was taken. Ch'u reminded Feng Chang of his words and demanded Han-chung from him. Feng Chang then spoke to the king of Ch'in: 'Your majesty must now banish me and say to the king of Ch'u; " W e never did cede land to the king of Ch'u!'" 1 SPTK3.22b KY 15. 7
68 Kan Mao procures valour with gold and takes the town of Yi-yang When Kan Mao attacked Yi-yang, he thrice drummed his troops forward and they would not assault the walls. A lieutenant under Ch'in's General of the Right spoke to him: 'Sir, no matter how strong our arms are, there will still be numerous casualties.' 'I am an outlander', replied Kan Mao. 'I am minister of Ch'in because I held up Yi-yang as a bait for the king. If I now attack Yiyang and fail to take it, Kung-sun Yen and Ch'u-li Chi will destroy me within Ch'in, Han Ch'ih will use his state to crush me outside Ch'in, tod I will have seen my last day in battle anywhere! Come, tomorrow we will sound the attack again and if Yi-yang does not fall, its suburbs will be my tomb.' TTas piece shows such poverty of invention that it stands out from the common run of CKT items. It may, ofcourse, be truncated.
1
78
THE BOOK OF CH'IN - KING HUI-WEN
Kan Mao then distributed his own gold to be added to the prize money. On the morrow the drums again sounded the advance and Yi-yang was taken. SPTK 3.22b KY 15. 8
69 Kan Mao before the walls of Yi-yang is advised against sparing his men Before Yi-yang had been taken Ch'in's casualties were heavy. Kan Mao was about to rest the troops when his General of the Left1 spoke to him. 'Sir, you are assailed in Ch'in by Ch'u-li Chi and Kung-sun Yen. Outside Ch'in you have incurred the wrath of Han Ch'ih. If at this moment you fail to show skill in battle you will truly be reduced to straits. Your only recourse is to press the attack on Yi-yang. When it has fallen your skill will be manifest, there will be no way in which Ch'u-li Chi or Kung-sun Yen can attack you. The people of Ch'in will then vent their hatred on them.' SPTK 3. 23a KY 15. 9
70 Kan Mao rallies the king of Ch'in from his despair During the seige of Yi-yang, Ch'u broke with Ch'in and allied herself1 with Han. The king of Ch'in despaired. 'Although she has aligned herself with Han,' said Kan Mao, Ch'u will I never engage us for the benefit of Han; and Han for her part fears to go! into battle with a changeable Ch'u in the rear. Han and Ch'u will hin-j 1 This I understood to be the sense of 'Tso-ch'eng' but it could possibly be aj proper name.
THE BOOK OF CH'IN - KING HUI-WEN
79
1 o n e another. Your minister knows this because although she has made alliance with Han, Ch'u picks no quarrel with us.' KY 15.10
71 Kan Mao's enemies at home plot against him During the battle for Yi-yang Yang Ta 1 spoke to Kung-sun Hsien, a minister of Ch'in. 'Sir, give me fifty thousand troops and let me attack West Chou. The Nine Brazen Cauldrons will be yours to curb Kan Mao with if I take it; if not, then Ch'in will have attacked Imperial Chou and the world will hate her for that. All will come swiftly to the aid of Han and Kan Mao's undertaking will fail.' SPTK 3. 23b, 8. 14a KY 60. 14
72 Kan Mao's ingenious plan for dealing with disputants "The men Ch'u sends to persuade me are very forceful disputants,' said the king of Ch'in to Kan Mao, 'and we have found ourselves hard pressed when matching words with them. Is there anything we can do about this?' 'Your majesty must not trouble himself over it', replied Kan Mao. 'When the forceful arguers are sent, you must pay them no heed whatever. But when the weak-willed persuader is sent to you, you must act on his arguments. In this fashion Ch'u's irresolute men will be advanced and her forceful ones neglected, allowing your majesty to control her.' SPTK 3. 24a KY15. 11 1 Also given as Yang T'ing (?) •ffi.
80
THE BOOK OF C H ' I N - K I N G HUI-WEN
f
73
:
Kan Mao eliminates a rival by craft While Kan Mao was chief minister of Ch'in, the king became very partial to Kung-sun Yen. 'I shall make you chief minister', said the king when he and Kung-sun Yen were standing together at leisure. One of Kan Mao's subalterns passed by, heard this and informed Kan Mao. 'May I take the liberty of complimenting your majesty on your acquisition of a virtuous minister', said Kan Mao when he had gone in to have audience with the king. 'I have entrusted my state to you, sir. What other virtuous minister have I acquired?' 'Your majesty is to make the hsi-shou1 his minister.' 'Where did you hear this?' asked the king. 'The hsi-shou told me', was the reply. The king, angry that Kung-sun Yen should have divulged the matter, banished him. SPTK3.24b KY 16.13
7 4
Kan Mao wants Wei to supervise a truce
\ r
:
' .!' :;
-i
A Kan Mao made a pact between Ch'in and Wei to attack Ch'u. Ch'ii Kai, whom Ch'u had succeeded in making Ch'in's minister, arranged a truce between Ch'u and Ch'in during which Ch'in reopened her borders to admit emissaries from Ch'u. Kan Mao said to the king of Ch'in: 'If we are beguiled by Ch'u into keeping Wei from surpervising this peace, Ch'u 2 will say to herself, "Ch'in is selling Wei out, Wei will be unhappy and will make a treaty with us." If Ch'u and Wei acted as a single state, Ch'in would be badly harmed. 1 2
Kung-sun Yen's official title. Some commentators would change this to Wei.
;j 11 '» | i '
!
T H E B O O K OF C H ' I N - KING H U I - W E N
81
'Your majesty could not do better than ask Wei to oversee the truce.1 This would make Wei happy. If your majesty were less disliked in Wei he would have claim upon even more territory there.' KY 16. 14
752 The king ofCh'in is admonished with odes and analogues Someone said to the king of Ch'in: 'In my ignorance, your majesty, I am perplexed by your disrespect for Ch'i, your indifference toward Ch'u, and your grudging care of Han. I had heard that a true 3 king is not arrogant after a military victory and even a hegemon may be harsh but not unfeeling. To avoid arrogance in victory will cause the empire to submit and being stern but not unfeeling induces neighbouring states to offer alliances. Recently your majesty treated Wei and Chao with forbearance and great success. But your indifference to Ch'i amounted to arrogance. In the victory at Yi-yang you were unsympathetic about any relations with Ch'u. This was unfeeling arrogance and not part of the business of overlordship. I have the temerity to be concerned about this on your majesty's behalf and to feel dissatisfaction with it. ' "All things have beginnings", as it says in the Odes,11 "but few come to a good end." That is why former kings paid greatest attention to the beginnings and the final results of any action. How do we know the Odes are right? Of old, Earl Yao of Chih killed Fan and Chunghang and put Chin-yang under siege. In the end, however, he became the laughing-stock of the three houses.5 'Fu-Ch'ai, king of Wu, held Yueh at bay8 from Mount K'uai-chi, Having observers there to see that Wei's interests were not prejudiced? This looks as though it were another attempt to make a persuasive argument against Ch'in's doing what it obviously did do ultimately. But the 'facts' used are quite different from 90, q.v. 3 Subsequent statements below make this sound very much like the Confucian 'true king'. 4 Ode 255; see also item 90. 5 i.e. Han, Chao and Wei. • Chung-hua 9. See Tso-chuan Ai-kung, 1st year. Legge p. 794. 1 2
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and was victorious over Ch'i at Ai-ling. But for his behaviour at Huang-ch'ih and his improper action, in Sung1 he was captured and put to death at Yii-sui by Kou-chien.2 'King Hui of Liang attacked Ch'u, was victorious over Ch'i, controlled the troops of Han and Chao and drove the twelve Feudal Lords to the Son of Heaven's court at Meng-chin. But later his son died and while he was still in plain mourning cap, he was seized in Ch'in. All of these men were capable - it was simply that they were capable of initiating but not of concluding their actions. 'Today your majesty has shattered Yi-yang and destroyed Three Rivers, yet not an officer in the land has dared say a word against you. A country in search of imperial rule transgressed the boundaries of both Chous and not a single lord dared peer beyond the outpost at Yang-hou. You took Huang-chi but neither the troops of Han or Ch'u dared advance. If you are able to bring this to a successful conclusion, your majesty, the Three Kings could not have done as much had they been four in number; the Five Hegemons could not have accomplished any more had they been six in number. But if you cannot bring off the final results and come to grief, I fear that all the rulers of the feudal states and every officer between the Yellow and the Chi Rivers will see you simply as another King of Wu or an Earl Chih. The ode 3 says, "Who claims he will go a hundred li is only halfway there after ninety." The end of the journey is hardest. 'Your majesty and the king of Ch'u 4 at present appear equally arrogant. As I see it, in whatever trouble breaks out - as far as the Lords are concerned - if Ch'u does not receive their troops then Ch'in will. 'How do I know they think this way? The people of Ch'in will go to Wei's rescue in order to hold Ch'u off and Ch'u will rescue Han in order to stave off Ch'in. The four states are equally matched and cannot renew their battle with each other. No, the Sung area of Ch'i, beyond the "ink lines" of their conflict, will be the balance. Therefore, whoever seizes the Sung area first the Lords will attack.5 1
Ai-kung, 13th year. Legge p. 832.
SPTK does not include place of death. Nor does Tso-chuan give the name Yii-sui. A'lost ode'. 4 I add this at Yokota's suggestion; the § does imply it. 5 Seki, and others, suggest the last 3? should be £e. I accept the emendation in my translation. 2
3
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83
'if Ch'in seizes the Sung area first the Han house will be worn down. Han being worn down, Ch'u will stand alone and she will receive their troops.1 If you keep on with your plan, your majesty, both your country and Ch'u will become the laughing-stock of the empire!' SPTK 3. 25a KY 20.1
76 The king of Ch'in has an argument and loses his temper The king of Ch'in argued with Chung Ch'i 2 and could not prevail. The king became furious but Chung Ch'i left his presence with dignity. Someone spoke to the king on Chung Ch'i's behalf and said: 'Chung Ch'i is a bold man indeed,3 but only because he happens to live in an age of enlightened rulers. In the past, had he dealt with kings like Chieh and Chou he would certainly have been murdered.' It was for this reason the king of Ch'in did not punish Chung Ch'i. SPTK 3. 27 KY21.2
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KING C H A O - H S I A N G (306-251 B.C.)
77 The virgins of Chiang-shang Kan Mao fled Ch'in to go to Ch'i. As he left the border he met Sutzu. 'Have you ever heard about the virgins of Chiang-shang, sir?' he asked. The reverse is also implied about Wei and Ch'in. • Chung Feng-nien says: 'This and the person in 97 are probably the same. To judge by bis speech in the other item he was simply a direct and upright minister admonishing his king. Kao's note saying he was "a Ch'in dialectition" was probably only drawn from the [opening words] of this story: it does not seem correct.' See also Crump, Intrigues, p. 45. 8 Yokota objects to yen. Wu says the way it stands must be an error. Obviously both men find the construction odd for CKT. 1
. '
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THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - KING C H A O - H S I A N G
'No', said Su-tzu. 'One among them was so poor that she did not even own a candle. The others spoke of driving her away. "We should be rid of someone so poor that she has no candle!" But she replied, "Because I have no candle I come early to sweep your rooms and put your mats in order. Who grudges anyone the light which shines on his walls?11 was fortunate that you gave it to me; but it cost you nothing and I always thought it brought you some advantage. Why should you drive me away?" 'The others spoke about it among themselves, agreed she was right and let her stay. 'Now I have been unworthy and am driven beyond the borders of Ch'in. I should like to "sweep your rooms", sir, and "put your mats in order", and if I am fortunate I will not be driven away.' 'Good,' said Su-tzu. 'Allow me to make you important by using Ch'i.' He then went westwards to persuade the king of Ch'in: 'Kan Mao is a worthy man, an uncommon officer who has served several generations of Ch'in rulers. He knows which areas of your state are easy and which are difficult of access all the way from the border posts of Yao and Chi-ku. If he were to use Ch'i to gain alliances with Han and Wei and scheme against Ch'in it certainly would not be to your advantage!' 'But what can I do about that now?' asked the king of Ch'in. 'Receive him with rich gifts and increase his allowances when you go to meet him. When he has come to you, give him Huai Valley in fief so that he will never leave you again. How could the empire ally itself against Ch'in then?' 'Good', said the king, and made Kan Mao chief minister. He sent the seals of this office to Ch'i to welcome him back, but Kan Mao declined and would not leave. Su Tai spoke to the king of Ch'i for him and said, 'You can see what a worthy man Kan Mao is. This day Ch'in has sent the seals of chief minister to welcome him back, but he felt so obhged by your majesty's generosity that he would not leave wishing to serve you instead. 'Now how will you treat him? If you do not keep him, he will certainly feel no more obligation towards you. And if they get a man of SC, 'I cannot buy a candle but, fortunately, you cannot use up all the light from yours.'
1
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JCan Mao's worth and he is given authority over the multitudes of Ch'in, will they not be hard to reckon with?' 'True', said the king and offered him the title of chief minister to iceephiminCh'i. SPTK 3. 27b KY 16.12
78 A dowager s partiality Hsien Tse said to Rung-sun Hsiao: 'You are one of the most respected officials in Ch'in and have gained personal merit in many victories. You are not yet a minister only because the mother of the king dislikes you. 'Hsin Jung, 1 to whom the king's mother is partial, has fled Ch'u and is at present in East Chou. Why should you not use all the great resources of Ch'in and Ch'u to establish him as chief minister in Chou? Ch'u would certainly find this convenient and when Hsin Jung has all the prestige of Ch'in and Ch'u behind him the king's mother will be pleased with you and you will become minister. SPTK 3. 28b KY 21.3
79 The king hears pros and cons and decides to negotiate The Three States attacked Ch'in and penetrated to Han-ku gorge. The king of Ch'in said to Lou Huan, 'The enemy's troops are deep in our country; I wish to cede the Ho-tung area and parley with them.' 'To cut off the Ho-tung area would be a great loss', replied Lou Huan. 'To avoid disaster for your state would be a great gain. Such matters should be decided within the royal house. Why not summon Kung-tzu Ch'ih and speak to him about it?' 1 Chung Feng-nien thinks Hsin Jung should be Mi Jung, who is more commonly called Hsin-ch'eng Chtin. Yokota and Wu think it should be the queen mother's younger brother, Hua-yang Chiin.
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THE BOOK OF C H ' I N - K I N G CHAO-HSIANG
The king did so and Kung-tzu Ch'ih replied: 'If you negotiate with them you will regret it and if you don't negotiate you will regret it.' 'How is that?' 'When you have given them Ho-tung and parleyed with them, and when they have left you will say, "What a pity! They would have left anyway, but I gave them the three cities of Ho-tung which is just what they wanted." This is how you would regret negotiating. 'If you do not parley and the Three States penetrate Han-ku, your capital, Hsien-yang, will be in danger. Then you will say, "What a pity! I was chary of three cities and so did not parley with them. This is how you would regret not negotiating."' 'Since I must have regrets in either case,' said the king, 'I would rather regret losing three cities than regret endangering Hsien-yang. I I have decided to negotiate!' So in the end he sent Kung-tzu Ch'ih to use three cities to parley with the Three States, and they withdrew their troops. SPTK 3. 29a KY19. 3
80 The duke ofHsiieh urges the destruction ofCh'i The Duke of Hsueh spoke to Wei Jan in Wei's behalf: 'I have heard that the king of Ch'in hopes to use Lii Li to acquire Ch'i and make his control over the empire complete. You will certainly be diminished if he succeeds. Ch'i and Ch'in will draw closer together so that they may bring the Three Chin under their control, and Lii Li will be made minister of both states. You will have acquired Ch'i as an ally at the expense of bringing greater honour to Lii Li,1 and being safe from the rest of the empire's troops, Ch'i will direct her hatred towards you in particular. 'The best thing you can do is to urge the king of Ch'in to command my king 2 to press his attack on Ch'i; and I shall request, when Ch'i is It is supposed that Lii LifledCh'in because he had offended Wei Jan. SC 75/i4 note. 2 i.e., of Wei. 1
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broken, that all the territories gained be put in fief to you. When Ch'i is destroyed Chin [i.e. Wei] will be strong; when Chin is strong the king of Ch'in will fear her and must make much of you so that you can ally Chin to him. Ch'i will give us Wei cities3 but will not support Ch'in against Wei. [Wei] must hold you in high esteem in her service to Ch'in, so you will find that a defeated Ch'i will yield merit for you, and Wei in your grasp will give you importance. With Ch'i defeated and your fief settled, Ch'in and Wei will both hold you in esteem. But if Ch'i remains unharmed Lii Li will be back in favour and you will truly be in difficulty.' SPTK 3. 29b KY 16.1
8l Leng Hsiang excuses himself by means of flattery Leng Hsiang said to the king of Ch'in: 'I wished to make Ch'i serve your majesty so I helped her attack Sung. With Sung broken, Chin [i.e. Wei] would be in peril and the city of An-yi would be yours. Yen and Chao dislike the idea of a united Ch'i and Ch'in so they will be quick to cede land to establish good relations with you; this would make Ch'i give more weight to your majesty. So, in effect, I attacked Sung to dismay Ch'i and bring honour to your majesty. Surely, I thought, there was nothing you would object to in my attacking Sung? I knew you to be a brilliant ruler who would already have discerned all these effects, so I did not even speak to you of my intentions. SPTK 3. 30b KY 12. 4
82 A fragment . . . said to Marquis Jang, 'I have been thinking about a fief for you. 8
I follow Yokota's suggestion and read $& for whichffitmay be a copyist's error.
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[Nothing1] would be as good as [Yin]. Sung has gravely offended and Ch'i is [deeply2] infuriated and will (?) rend Sung asunder. To have mighty Ch'in in your debt to help establish your fief is the sort of opportunity that comes only once in a hundred generations!' SPTK 3.30b KY 17. 5
83 The balance of power Someone spoke to Wei Jan saying: 'If Ch'u defeats Ch'in 3 , Ch'in will no longer balance Ch'i's power. Ch'in's emissaries have carried their tallies in Han and Wei for three generations, but Ch'i has only recently obligated them to her. Yet if Ch'i and Ch'in wrangle over treaties with Han and Wei and the latter succumb to pressure from the east4, Ch'in will be attacked. 'Ch'i has a thousand li square of eastern states and Ch'u encircles5 a thousand li square of the Nine Barbarians' lands,6 south to Fu-li outpost and north to Sweetfish Pass. In balance [all that stands against them] 7 is Sung and Lesser Wei, and Sung and Lesser Wei are about the equivalent of the Ch'i cities of Ah and Chen. With Ch'i profiting from two thousand-// squares8, what hope has Ch'in of offsetting Ch'i? This whole item is a truncated slightly garbled version of the same statements made in 251 and 252. In 251 it reads 'Nothing would be more fitting than Yin.' Yokota contends that 81 had dropped the 3S, and E£ has become Sfc. I follow him in this. 2 Part of the thrice repeated statement (again in 251) goes: S M ^ S l l f f i etc. Following the hints, 2? in 81 should be a mistake for S3!. I accept Yokota in this also. 3 This follows Yokota's division of the sentence. K'an-yen (pien-wu p. 19) says it should be 'When Ch'u is broken, Ch'in will not be able to balance off Ch'i.' There is much to be said for this interpretation because the latter part seems to assume Ch'i will be in control of Ch'u's land. The whole text is thoroughly corrupt however. 4 i.e., ally themselves with Ch'i. 5 Yao text (Shih-li chii pen 5/3 a) has U . 6 This is probably where 'and are wealthy [?] by their monopoly over the Yiieh-li people' belongs. See note 6. 7 Most commentators agree to this but I am translating notes here, not text. 8 I have taken out US J& etc., for it makes no sense here. 1
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - K I N G C H A O - H S I A N G
•>
89
'if Han 1 and Wei parted with 2 the rich fat lands of Fang-ch'eng in order to beseige [?]3 Cheng [?]4 no more troops need be raised and they would be adequate to damage Ch'in without waiting for Ch'i.'[?] SPTK3. 31a KY 17. 4
84 The king ofCh'in's mother cautions him against employing Lord Ch'eng-yang When the Five States were resting at Ch'eng-kao 5 the king of Ch'in tried to get Lord Ch'eng-yang made minister of Han and Wei. Neither would agree to his request. The queen mother in Ch'in spoke to the king of Ch'in on Wei Jan's6 behalf: 'It is because of you that Lord Ch'eng-yang has been living in obscurity in Ch'i. If, seeing him honoured, you were to receive him back again, would you be able to mollify him?' 'I would not.' 'Those who have been unwelcome when they were unknown can avenge themselves when they are finally successful', continued the queen mother. 'I think you cannot use him, for to do so would destroy future relations with Han.' SPTK3.3ib KY 17. 7 1
Some suggest it should be Ch'u and Wei.
2
Morohashi 1 3 0 6 1 . . . 152.
follow Pao here but it makes very little sense. Han is often spoken of as Cheng in CKT and this leaves the last paragraph almost complete gibberish. 5 That is, their troops were resting after a defeat during their alliance against Ch'in. See also 255,347,426, etc. • Here Lord Ch'eng-yang and Wei Jan are treated as two different people.
'
31 4
i |
po
THE BOOK OF C H ' I N - K I N G CHAO-HSIANG
85 The Three States persuade Ch'u to act against her own interests Ch'in took the Han-chung area of Ch'u and the two states fought each other twice at Lan-t'ien where a great defeat befell the Ch'u troops. When Han and Wei heard Ch'u was in difficulty they fought their way south to Teng whereupon Ch'u withdrew from Ch'in and retired south. Later,1 the Three States planning their attack on Ch'u were afraid that Ch'in would come to her rescue. Someone persuaded the Duke of Hsiieh that he could send an emissary to say the following to Ch'u: 'The soldiers of the Three States will now leave Ch'u and Ch'u should respond by attacking Ch'in. Though taking Lan-t'ien was certainly a difficult thing to do, how very much less so will it be to regain your old territory of Han-chung? 'If Ch'u even suspects that Ch'in may not come to her rescue then these words will certainly encourage her to respond as asked,' said the persuader 'and if Ch'in is made to know that Ch'u has been making plans with the Three States to force Ch'in to send forth her troops, she will not come to Ch'u's aid. 'Then if the Three States attack Ch'u swiftly she will run and tell Ch'in in panic and Ch'in will be even less inclined to send forth her troops. In this fashion we can alienate Ch'in, attack Ch'u and be certain of victory.' 'Good', said the Duke of Hsiieh, and he sent a man of prestige to Ch'u. As expected Ch'u responded strongly. Thereupon the Three States joined forces and attacked Ch'u, and Ch'u sought rescue by Ch'in. Ch'in could not risk sending her troops out so the Three States succeeded in wining a great victory. SPTK3. 32a KY 19.1 1 There is an obvious division here between the two sections of the item. Pao notes that it should probably say here 'three states attacked Ch'u, Ch'u asked help from Ch'in'.
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86 The Ch'i woman When the Duke of Hsiieh went into Wei 1 he dismissed the Ch'i woman. 'Why does your majesty not take her to wife?' asked Han Ch'un of the King of Ch'in. 'You could then plunder Wei with the assistance of Ch'i and Shang-tang would be yours. Ch'i and Ch'in would then unite to put Fu-ch'u on the throne. With Fu-ch'u enthroned, his mother would be in Ch'in and Wei would be merely a province of Ch'in. 'This being accomplished, Han Min will be using Ch'i and Ch'u to plunder Wei in order to embarrass the Duke of Hsueh; meanwhile Tso will wish to make the position of his younger brother firm. I will then ask you to comply with the wishes of both these men and Wei, in fright, will restore the Ch'i woman. Fu-ch'u will certainly serve Ch'in to the end of time. The Ch'i woman will be furious with the Duke of Hsiieh when she returns and will eventually bring Ch'i to serve your majesty.' SPTK 3. 33a KY 19. 2
87 A fragment 'If the peace is not secure,' someone said to Wei Jan, 'then troops must be used again and Po Ch'i will again fight at the head of them. If he is victorious you will be in difficulties; if he loses he will [make 1 Chung Feng-nien says: 'According to Lord Meng-ch'ang's biography we find that he fled to Wei when he was in disfavour with King Min of Ch'i; this is probably the same period as the above stay. However, Han Ch'un's remarks are extremely absurd and foolish: Ch'in was already great and mighty, what need was there for these devious acts?'
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alliance with Chao?] 1 and you will be diminished. The best thing for you to do is [?].2 SPTK 3.31a KY 17. 6
Su Tai's letter After the battle at Hsing-shan, Chao was about to join Ch'in in an attack on Ch'i. In fear, Ch'i sent T'ien Chang to make a treaty with Chao by offering her the city of Yang-wu and sending Shun-tzu to Chao as hostage. The king of Chao was delighted, called off his troops and said to the king of Ch'in: 'Ch'i is giving me Yang-wu and sending Shun-tzu as a pledge, for they want to forestall an attack. I have taken the liberty of telling this to my officers.' The king of Ch'in sent Kung-tzu T'o to speak to the king of Chao and he said: Once your state and Ch'i went to Wei's rescue together but Ch'i broke her treaty - for she is untrustworthy — and your state informed my king of this infidelity. You offered my king two altars3 of land to help Ch'in defray the cost of sacrifices for her aid. At present you are resting your troops and I hear you intend to join Ch'i in alliance. But all this is beyond the knowledge of an emissary. I am here merely to offer you forty thousand armoured troops. It is up to your great state to decide whether they are wanted.' On Ch'i's behalf Su Tai wrote to Marquis Jang: I had heard from persons travelling between Ch'i and Chao that Ch'in was about to reinforce Chao with forty thousand armoured men for her attack on Ch'i. I convinced my king that this was not so The last sentences of this item are gibberish but Chung Feng-nien's speculation here - which is what is translated between the brackets - seems reasonable enough. 2 The last five characters are not translatable. Yasui and Chung Feng-nien hazard guesses but they are nothing more than that. 3 That is, two villages, each with its own altar.
1
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by saying, 'The king of Ch'in is enlightened and conversant with strategy and Marquis Jang is intelligent and practised in the conduct of government, so Ch'in is certainly not reinforcing Chao with forty thousand troops.' Why did I say so? In the first place because the only thing that ever united the Three Chin was a deep emnity towards Ch'in. Why, the Three Chin have cheated and tricked Ch'in fully a hundred times, but Ch'in goes on pretending that they are trustworthy and of good character.1 If today Ch'i were broken to fatten Chao,2 it would be of no profit to Ch'in. This is the first reason why it will not be done. Ch'in's planners must say: 'If we break Ch'i and weaken Chin [i.e. Chao]3 we will control future victories over Chin and Ch'u. But Ch'i is an exhausted country. Using a whole empire4 to smite her would be like using bolts from a heavy crossbow to lance a pimple. How then will our king of Ch'in control exhausted Chin and Ch'u?' 5 This is the second reason why it will not be done. If Ch'in were to send out too few troops, neither Chin nor Ch'u would believe that Ch'in was with them. If Ch'in sends too many, Chin and Ch'u would be under her control and Ch'i - being frightened - will not run to Ch'in to make alliance but to Chin and Ch'u instead.6 This is the third reason why it will not be done. If Ch'i ceded territory to make certain of Chin and Ch'u, then those two countries would be at peace while Ch'i would muster her troops on their behalf and blunt her weapons for them. In that case Ch'in herself would be the object of attack! That is the fourth reason. All this would mean that Chin and Ch'u were then using Ch'in to break Ch'i and Ch'i to crush Ch'in. Is it likely that Chin and Ch'u could be so clever while Ch'i and Ch'in acted so stupidly? That is the fifth reason why it will not be done. So they will have no reason to unite. * Most commentaries agree that ffl ^ | 2l SSI Gt is an interpolation. » Probably should be 'Chin [i.e., Chao] and Ch'u'. 4 i.e., Chao and Ch'u and Ch'in. • The battles against Ch'i will be too easy on Chao and Ch'u - they will not have exhausted themselves. •There are at least two distinctly different interpretations of this: SPTK has 'Chin and Ch'u will also be under Ch'in's control and Ch'i would be at the mercy of Chin and Ch'u. Ch'i seeing Ch'in thus would go to Chin and Ch'u.' 1
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THE BOOK OF CH'IN - KING CHAO-HSIANG Ch'in means to get An-yi and will then treat Ch'i well1 so that the city may be secure. There is no threat in this either. When Ch'in has An-yi, Han and Wei will be deprived of Shang-tang. Which is the more profitable, seizing the belly and bowels of the Three Chin with ease or sending off troops and fearing they will never return? This is why, in my ignorance, I told my rustic prince, 'The king of Ch'in is enlightened and used to strategy, andjang-hou is intelligent and skilled in the conduct of government, so there will certainly be no reinforcing of Chao's armour with forty thousand Ch'in men in order to attack Ch'i'. SPTK3.33b KY 16. 15
89 ThejiefofT'ao Ch'in's guest minister Tsao said to Marquis Jang: 'Ch'in gave you the fief of T'ao and because of that she has dominated the empire for many years. If an attack on Ch'i succeeds, T'ao will become enormously strong. It will be chief among all the smaller states and bring them all to the court of her ruler. Even the empire will have to pay her heed. This is the very stuff of hegemony! But if the attack on Ch'i should fail, distress will be T'ao's closest neighbour and she will be left defenceless. In fact, attack upon Ch'i is the very instrument of T'ao's survival. 'If you wish to ensure her survival, why not send a man to say this to the minister of Yen: "A sage cannot create the proper time but he will never mistake it when it arrives. Shun was good but had he never met Yao he could not have become emperor. T'ang and King W u were worthies but they had to have Chieh and Chou or they would not have become kings. So the goodness and worth of Shun, T'ang, and King W u would not have made them rulers had the time not been ripe. If you now attack Ch'i your time for greatness will have come! With the combined power of the empire, attack Ch'i, your enemy, avenge the shame of King Hui and secure the merit of King Chao. 1 Kambun misprints S for H here.
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y o u will do away with this eternal source of threat to the everlasting benefit of Yen and the magnification of your own fame. ' " The Book of History tells us, 'To establish virtue nothing is as good increase; in rooting out harm nothing is as good as thoroughness.' 1 \Vu failed to destroy Yueh so Yiieh destroyed her. Ch'i did not ruin Yen so Yen ruined her. The destruction of Ch'i by Yen and the destruction of Wu by Yueh came about because the source of harm had not been thoroughly eradicated. '"if you do not seize this opportunity to establish your merit and wipe out your source of harm, Ch'in may find in the end that being the ally of another, such as Ch'i, would be better. Then if Ch'i and Chao join together they will have reason to hate you deeply. They will use this hatred2 to get you blamed for something in Yen. Then even if you wish to repent your action you will not be allowed to. ' "Muster all Yen's troops, then! Strike Ch'i swiftly and the empire will join you as though each was avenging his own father or son! If you actually destroy Ch'i you will be enfeoffed in Ho-nan with immense territory. To the south it will border T'ao and you will have open roads to all of the Middle States. For generations you will be untroubled. Concentrate all your ambition on attacking Ch'i and think of nothing else!'" SPTK 3 -35b KY 16. 2
9O Huang Hsieh addresses the king of Ch'in on Ch'u's behalf In the twentieth year of King Ch'ing-hsiang General Po Ch'i of Ch'in razed Hsi-ling in Ch'u while other forces took Yen-ying and Yi-ling. They burned the tombs of Ch'u's ancestors and the king was forced to move to the northeast and secure himself in the city of Ch'en. Being so weakened, Ch'u thereafter became an object of Ch'in's scorn, so Po Ch'i again marshalled troops for an attack. # S Legge, p. 296, where the text varies considerably. After Yokota. SPTK Pao's note says: 'Chao will use your enemy, (Ch'i)', however.
1 a
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There was a man of Ch'u, one Huang Hsieh, who had travelled widely and had vast knowledge. The king thought he could save the situation so he sent him as envoy to Ch'in. There he persuaded King Chao of Ch'in saying: 'There are no countries in the empire more powerful than Ch'in and Ch'u but I understand your majesty wishes to attack Ch'u. This would be like two tigers fighting each other: jackals will profit from their exhaustion. You had much better treat Ch'u well: I beg leave to explain why. 1 'I have heard that things reach their extremes and then reverse themselves; winter and summer are examples of this. T o extend what has already reached its extremity is perilous, as when too many chess pieces are balanced atop one another. Today your great state is half the empire: it forms two frontiers of China. Never in the history of our people has a state controlled so great an area. Three generations of emperors there have been, King Wen, King W u and your majesty himself, but none has extended his land to Ch'i to break up the close ties among the central states. You have Ch'eng Ch'iao guarding your interests in Han and Ch'eng Ch'iao has caused lands to be turned over to Ch'in. 2 Your majesty has neither armoured his troops nor indulged in threats but Han has given him a hundred H of land. One must acknowledge your majesty's ability. You mustered your troops and attacked Wei, blocking the gates of its capital, taking Ho-nei, and razing the cities of Yen, Suan-tsao, Hsu and T'ao-jen, 3 while the forces of Ch'u and Yen circled about like clouds but dared not attack you. It is obvious you have much merit. You rested your troops and gave your people respite for two years before you mobilized them again against Wei. You further took P'u-yen and Shou-yuan on the approach to Jen-p'ing Hill. Then Hsiao-huang and Chi-yang brought their troops back to enclose their city walls and Wei surrendered. You ceded land to the north of the P'u at Mo village to Yen in order to This whole introductory section is considered a separate item in some editions. Yokota thinks it was inserted by Wu Shih-tao into his Pao version. The Yao version seems always to have had it. 'He persuaded the king of Chao' at this juncture appears in SPTK but not in Yokota. * All commentators agree A A #i should be J6 A ^S. The former makes no sense and the latter does, so I translate it thus. 8 Yokota makes it Yen-suan, Tsao-hsii and T'ao-jen. SC has T'ao-ju, #fe A. 1
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"cut the waist of Ch'i and Han" [?]* arid "break the backbone which is Wei and Chao". 2 All the Lords were at sixes and sevens and none would come to the rescue. Your majesty's stature is certainly awe-inspiring. 'If your majesty can sustain his merit and conserve his stature while moderating his propensity to do battle, thus adding to the precepts of humaneness and righteousness, he need never fear trouble again. Indeed, if there had been four instead of Three Kings or six instead of Five Hegemons, they could not have accomplished as much as you may. 'If you trust solely in the multitude of your troops and the might of their arms to destroy3 the awesome Wei clan, hoping to make the rest of the kings in the empire your vassals, I am afraid you will suffer for it. 'Everything has a beginning,' as the Odes say, 'but few things come to a good end.4 The Book of Changes5 says, "The young fox may ford the stream but his brush gets wet." What they mean is that to begin things is easy, to end them is difficult. How do I know it is so ? Earl Chih could see the profit in an attack on Chao but he could not know what was to befall him at Yii-tz'u. Wu could forsee how convenient it would be to attack Ch'i but not the defeat at Kan-sui. It was not that these two states lacked accomplishments: they were so bemused by the advantage of beginning that they underestimated the grief the end could bring. Wu believed what Yiieh said and felt free to attack Ch'i. Having defeated the Ch'i troops at Ai-ling he returned and the king of Yiieh took him prisoner at the confluence of Three Rivers. Earl Chih had faith in Han and Wei, but felt free to attack Chao and he laid siege to Chin-yang city. Victory was all but in his hands when Han and Wei turned on him and murdered Earl Yao of Chih on Tso-t'ai.6 'At the moment your majesty is so covetous of Ch'u's destruction that he has forgotten how much that would strengthen Wei. I, however, have thought of it for you and would not do it if I were you. The ode7 says: "The greatest martial spirit goes not against a cottage, if it 1 1 follow Seki. 2 SC is certainlyrighthere. 8 With Yokota et al, g should be ?R. * Ode 255, Waley, 242. Hexagram 64. 6 This may mean 'on the mound thrown up by the digging of his canal'. Cf. Yokota. 7 A so-called 'lost ode'. 8
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be too far off." From this point of view you make a neighbour your enemy when you destroy Ch'u. The Odes also say: "What is in the minds of others I shall divine: Even the crafty, bounding hare is caught by the hound." 1 'Today your majesty's plans are in mid-career yet they are based on the belief that Han and Wei will deal with you. This is exactly like W u and her trust in Yueh. I have heard "an enemy can never be underestimated nor left for another day". 2 1 fear that the humble words Han and Wei use cover thoughts of harm and that in the event they will trick your majesty's great state. Why? Because you have no history of obligation between yourself and Han and Wei, but you do have a heritage of hatred among you. Fathers and sons from those two states have fought and died in Ch'in, one on the heels of another for one hundred generations. Their own countries were ravaged, their altars destroyed, their temples toppled. Bellies were cut open, faces smashed, heads severed from bodies and bones left to bleach in the wilds, skulls and cadavers faced one another on the borders. Sire and son, the aged and infirm, captured and bound followed one another on the roads. Souls and spirits wandered back and forth, for no one fed them; the surviving people could not keep themselves alive. Clans and families broke up. They drifted away and are slaves in every corner of the empire. That Han and Wei are not yet destroyed makes them still a threat to Ch'in. By attacking Ch'u today will your majesty not increase it? And when you mount your attack how will you send your troops? Will you ask right of passage from your enemies Han and Wei? If so, from the day the troops leave you will fear they may not return. That would be the same as reinforcing your enemies with your own soldiers. 'If your majesty does not ask passage of vengeful Han and Wei then you must fight for the stony fields of Sui-yang - a land which is all wide creeks and heavy rivers, hilly forests and mountain gorges; a land which feeds no one. Your majesty could possess it and he would not have territory. Your majesty would be known as the destroyer of Ch'u but he would not in reality have gained any lands. 'Further, the day your majesty attacks Ch'u four states will rise in response. Ch'in and Ch'u being locked in battle, Wei will send her troops to attack Liu. lOrfe 198, Waley 298. 2 I am assuming that the saying ends here.
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F g y U ' 1 Chili, Hu-ling, Tang, Hsiao, and Hsiang, and all of cient Sung will be taken.2 Ch'i troops will move south and take the north of the Ssu. These are all the fattest and most accessible lands f the central plains and your majesty will simply have caused others to attack and gain them. You will have destroyed Ch'u in order to make Han and Wei the wealthiest of the middle kingdoms and Ch'i more unyielding. The power of Han and Wei will be quite sufficient to pit against Ch'in. Furthermore, Ch'i with her southern border on the Ssu, her back to the sea in the east and her northern limits pressing the Yellow River will be immune to calamity. Of all the countries in the empire none will be as strong as Ch'i. Ch'i and Wei 3 having got their lands will conceal the profit they derive from them and feign a most subservient air for a year or so, but then Ch'i will become an emperor. And even if she does not, she has all the power needed to prevent your majesty becoming emperor. 'Your majesty's plan certainly has misfired if his great lands, numerous followers, and powerful arms in one stroke earn him the hatred of Ch'u,4 subvert his control over Han and Wei and confer imperial dignity upon Ch'i! 'I am only thinking of you, your majesty, when I say that nothing would be better than treating Ch'u well and forming an alliance with her to approach Han. Han will certainly agree. Your majesty's cloak will be the fastnesses of Shan-tung, your sash will be the income from the Yellow River plains and Han will be a "noble within your passes".5 'If you do this you can put one hundred thousand armed men in the Cheng area and the Wei clan's blood will run cold. Hsu and Yen-ling will do nothing but guard themselves and there will be no coming or going between Shang-ts'ai and Chao-ling. When this occurs Wei will also be your "noble within the passes". 'As soon as your majesty is on good terms with Ch'u there will be two rulers of great states whose territory flows into that of Ch'i. Then Kambun Taikei has Fang and Yii marked as two separate towns. This is an error. See SC and Index. Similarly with Hu-ling. But oddly enough, Taikei has Hsiaottsiang, though the other authorities treat them as two cities. 1 Presumably the choicest land. 1 Wei is probably excrescent here. 4 1 follow Yokota's suggestion from SC; i± id! should be $ S5, in meaning at 1
least. 1
i.c, vassal. As in SC and SPTK.
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all you need do is fold your hands and the fields of Ch'i's right flank will be taken. Then your majesty's holdings will stretch from sea to sea and will span the vital regions of the empire. Yen and Chao will be I denied contact with Ch'i and Ch'u, and Ch'i and Ch'u will lack Yen § and Chao. When this is done you can threaten Yen and Chao while • holding ofFCh'i and Ch'u and all four states will surrender before they can feel the pain.' SPTK 3. 36b KY 20.9
91 The barking dogs Tuan Ch'an said to Lord Hsin-Ch'eng, 1 'He who walks by night can | resist becoming a burglar, but he cannot prevent the dogs from barking I at him. Now that I have become an officer I can refrain from criticizing I you before the king, but I cannot prevent others criticizing me for ] refraining. Keep that in mind, sir.' j SPTK 3.41b ] KY 67. 22 1
92
j
The thousand-league horse Tuan-kan Yueh-jen said to Lord Hsin-ch'eng: 'An apprentice of" Wang Liang2 the charioteer was driving one day and said of one of his ; team, "A true thousand-league horse!" Just then he met a disciple of the charioteer Tsao-fu8 who replied, "The horse will not go a thousand leagues." ' "This is a thousand-league horse and if you drive a thousand-league span why should you not make a thousand leagues?" It is probable that both this and 92 were once part of the Han section of CKT as Chung Feng-nien points out (K'an-yen, p. 67) for a Li Shan note in Wen-hsiian refers to Hsin-ch'eng Chun as 'the minister of Han'. 2 The charioteer of Chao Chien-tzu, cf. Mencius 'T'eng Wen-kung' hsia, 1. 3 Variously referred to as charioteer to a king of Ch'i or charioteer to King Mu ofChou. 1
\
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' "Your lines and bridle are too long." 'So, the lines and bridle represent only one ten thousandth part in the work of driving a chariot, but just enough to prevent making the thousand leagues. 'At this moment I, worthless as I am, am also a ten thousandth part of Ch'in; and if your excellency should not make sure that I am unfettered during my audience, that also might be a case of "lines and bridle being too long".' SPTK 3. 42a KY 67. 23
93 Fan-tzus letter Having been brought into Ch'in by Wang Chi, Tan-tzu wrote to King Chao as follows: I have heard that when an enlightened ruler establishes his government he feels bound to reward men of merit and employ men of ability. Those whose labours are great he pays well. Those who accomplish much he gives high rank. Those who can lead he appoints to high office. No one deficient in ability dares work with him and no able man can stay hidden from him. If my words seem good to you then act on them, understand their principle and benefit by it. If you do not use them in the future, then you should relegate me to inactivity. There is a saying, 'The merely human king rewards those whom he loves and punishes those not in his favour. The enlightened ruler does otherwise: his rewards must go to the accomplished and his punishments be imposed only upon those who transgress.' At present I have not offended enough for the headsman's block and his axe; so would I be likely to experiment with dubious schemes for your majesty? However that may be, if you hold me in low esteem and choose to abuse me you cannot avoid slighting the man who recommended me - and if that happens will he ever again argue the merits1 of anyone else before your majesty? 1 Following Yasui who says it means 'to reiterate and argue back and forth in judging someone', i.e., 'to thrash out in open debate'.
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I have heard of Chou's Ti-o Jade, the Chieh-lu Jade of Sung, Wei's Hsiian-li and Ch'u's Ho-p'u; these four great treasures lacked only polishing to make them objects known throughout the empire. Is it not also probable then that even your sage majesty may some day reject something of possible value to his state? I have heard that you look within your own state for someone who can benefit your family but seek among the Lords for someone to benefit the state. And when there is an enlightened ruler in the empire the Feudal Lords are not covetous of their own advantage.1 Why? Because they would not dim their own lustre. A good physician knows whether his patient's illness is critical or not, just as a sage ruler knows what actions make for success or failure. If a thing is beneficial he will act upon it, if harmful he will discard it. If he is not sure which it is he will cautiously test it. If he acts thus, the sages Yao, Shun, Yii, and T'ang could come back to life and they would fault him in nothing! The most pertinent thing I have to say I dare not write in this letter; and things less important than those I have mentioned are not worth saying at all. Now is it your opinion that I will prove stupid and not in accord with your thinking? Or that those who have praised me are base and unworthy of your attention? If such is not the case, then it is my greatest hope that you will grant me a few moments of whatever time you have for pleasure and allow me an audience to present my important statements. The letter was sent up to the king of Ch'in and he was delighted by it. He apologized to Wang Chi and dispatched a coach to summon Fan Chii. KY 17. 8
94 The king of Ch'in kneels to Fan Chii and hears his views on international affairs When Fan Chu arrived, the king of Ch'in welcomed him in his own 1
i.e., the advantage they gain by holding on to a competent man?
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palace saying, 'We have long felt it proper to receive instruction from you in person. But most recently there has been the pressing affair of the Yi-ch'ii1 and I have seen the queen mother almost daily, jsjow the Yi-ch'ii trouble is ended and I place myself under your orders. I consider myself igndrant and inept, but let me respectfully offer you henceforth the courtesy of a host towards his guest.' After this Fan Chii paid his respects and withdrew. But all those who had beheld Fan Chii's audience that day were much changed in countenance and colour! The king of Ch'in then sealed himself off from his attendants, and in the empty palace he knelt formally. 'Would it please you to instruct me in some matter, sir?' 'Yes, y e s . . . ' answered Fan Chii. Some time passed and the king again made his request. Again, Fan Chii answered, 'Yes, yes . . .' When this happened the third time the king, still kneeling, said, 'Perhaps, good sir, you would not be pleased to teach me?' 'I would not have the presumption!' exclaimed Fan Chu, apologizing. 'However, it is said that when King Wen first met Lu Shang the sage he seemed merely to be a fisherman seated on the sunny bank of the Wei and so the distance between their stations was great. Yet such was the profundity of Lii's speech that he delivered only one persuasion to King Wen, was straightway made Grand Tutor and rode back in King Wen's chariot. Thereafter King Wen gained great merit by employing Lii Shang and in the end acquired all under heaven and became emperor. Now if King Wen had kept aloof from Lu Wang and exchanged no profound words with him, the house of Chou would never have had the power to produce a Son of Heaven, nor would Wen and Wu have become kings. 'Your servant is an alien official, his station much removed from your majesty's, yet all of what I wish to tell you deals with affairs between a lord and his ministers or touches on matters of a man and his own flesh and blood. Your servant would gladly have made clear his rude fidelity by speaking straightway, but I did not know your majesty's mind. That is why I three times made no answer to your question. 'Yet it is not that I am in fear and dare not speak. No, though I 1
K'an-yen begins 18.10 here.
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knew that today I would speak to your face and tomorrow I would be executed behindi your back, I should not fear to speak. For if a great king believes and puts to use the words of his minister then the latter may die without regret or be banished without sorrow. Even ulcerating one's skin with lacquer or playing the madman with hair unbound and hanging down one's shoulders has not been accounted a disgrace for ministers. Further, I know the Five Emperors for all their sanctity, the Three Kings for all their humanity and the Five Hegemons for all their nobility, are dead. Wu-huo with his strength is dead, and Pen and Yii despite their courage are dead: death is that which no man can avoid. So if I should suffer the inevitable while yet aiding in some slight degree the country of Ch'in, it would be much to my liking. How should I fret over the matter of death? 'Wu Tzu-hsii hid in a sack to be carted beyond Chao Pass in Ch'u. He fled by night and hid by day until he reached the waters of Ling. He had no food for his mouth and crawled the street of Wu's capital begging for his meals. Yet in the end he made the state of Wu flourish and Ho-lii, its king, became Hegemon. Could I but see schemes of mine bear fruit like Wu Tzu-hsii's, then you might add to my tortures a dark dungeon where I could never again be seen, for if my persuasions were being put in effect then how should I be saddened? Chi-tzu and Chieh-yii ulcerated their flesh with lacquer or unbound their hair to feign madness. Neither succeeded at Yin or in Ch'u. But if I were to do as Chi'tzu or Chieh-yii did and help a ruler I considered worthy, it could only reflect great glory upon me. Where lies the dishonour in this? 'The one thing I fear is that the world might see your servant exhaust his loyalty and still be laid by the heels. All the others would stop up their mouths and hobble their feet before they would come to Ch'in. Your majesty is fearful of the queen mother above you and bemused by the actions of traitorous officers below you. I fear you might languish in the inner palace never free from your warders' hands to the end of your life in darkness and ignorance, unable to shed light on their treachery. For in the greater aspect the ancestral temples may be toppled and destroyed and in the lesser aspect your own person could be isolated and in peril. But this is all I fear. For the rest - the worry over disgrace and poverty, the sting of death and banishment for myself- your servant
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considers them unworthy of fear. For if I should die and my counsel yet prevail then I should be more honoured than if I lived unheeded.' 'Honoured sir,' exclaimed the king of Ch'in kneeling, 'What do you say? To be sure, Ch'in is a rude and remote country and its king is ignorant and unworthy. Happily for me you have reached here and heaven has thus enabled me to maintain the temples of my ancestors by troubling you disgracefully. That I am able to receive your teaching is proof that heaven favours my ancestors and does not forsake me in my isolation. 'How then, honoured sir, can you speak as you have just done? Do not doubt me when I say that there is no affair too high or too low though it touch the queen mother or my high ministers - upon which I will not welcome all your instructions.' Fan Chii bowed twice and the king of Ch'in returned the obeisance. 'Your majesty's country has Kan-ch'iian and Ku-k'ou in the north, the rivers Ching and Wei girdling its south, with Lung and Shu to the right and chasms and slopes to the left', said Fan Chii. 'With a thousand war chariots and a million crack troops - taking into account the bravery of Ch'in's infantry and the multitude of her riders - if you should go against the Feudal Lords it would be like letting slip the Han-lu hound against a crippled hare, your supremacy would be established at once. But instead of this you close your passes and fear even to let your forces peer into China East of the Mountains. This is because Jang-hou schemes faithlessly for your state and your majesty's plans fall short.' 'I wish to hear how they fall short.' 'To attempt an attack on the powerful state of Ch'i by skirting Han and Wei is not a plan to use, your majesty. If you dispatch insufficient forces you will not harm Ch'i, but if you send too many, you will harm Ch'in. I suspect you intend to dispatch a part of your forces and thereby bring out all the combined forces of Han and Wei. This is simply not sensible! Is it possible to be on uncertain terms with one country and by-pass it in order to attack another country? This is not planning. 'Once Ch'i attacked Ch'u, smashing her armies, killing her generals and crossing a thousand // of countryside, but did not get a single hand's breadth of territory in the end. She could not pretend that she wanted no lands, and eventually the other Feudal Lords perceived Ch'i's
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exhaustion and the conflict between her ruler and his minister. So they raised forces and attacked her. The ruler was shamed, his troops decimated, and the world laughed. The reason this happened is that she attacked Ch'u and thereby fattened Han and Wei; this is what is called "borrowing a thief's weapon to feed a robber", It were better /if your majesty negotiated with those distant from him and attacked those close by. For then every inch of territory would be the king's inch, and every foot the king's foot. Is it not folly to disregard those near you and attack a distant state ?7Of old the territory of Chung-shan was only five hundred square li and Chao took it. From this, name, fame and profit accrued to Chao till none in the empire could harm her. <'Now Han and Wei are the middle kingdoms, the pivots of the empire. And if your majesty would become Hegemon he must become close to the middle kingdoms and use the pivot of the empire to threaten Ch'u and Chao. When Chao is strong, Ch'u will cleave to you; when Ch'u is strong Chao will cleave to you. When both have attached themselves to you then Ch'i will be afraid; and being so she will serve Ch'in with the humblest terms and the greatest treasure. When Ch'i is attached to you then Han and Wei may be reduced to ruins.?-'We have wanted to be close to Wei.' replied the king, 'but she is a country which changes frequently and I have not succeeded. May I ask how I can become close to her?' 'Use humble words and rich gifts to serve her', replied Fan Chii. 'If that does not suffice, cede territories to tempt her. If that does not suffice then raise troops and attack her.' Soon afterwards Ch'in took Hsing-ch'iu and when Hsing-ch'iu was razed, Wei asked for an alliance with Ch'in. [The guest minister, Fan Chii, again persuaded King Chao] saying: 'The territory of Ch'in and Han are mixed together like a tapestry, but Ch'in is afflicted with Han as a tree is with boring worms, or a man is with visceral ailments. If there should be an outbreak in the empire no one could do more harm to Ch'in than Han. Your majesty could do nothing better than to take it.' 'I wish to take Han, but she will not submit', replied the king. 'What must I do?' 'You must muster your troops and attack Ying-yang, after which the route to Ch'eng-kao will be closed. To the north you must cut off the
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T'ai-hang road so that troops in Shang-tang cannot descend. With the attack on Ying-yang the country will be severed into three parts at a single stroke. Han, finding that she is doomed, cannot but submit and with Han submissive, hegemony can be had.' 'It is good', said the king. SPTK 3. 44a KY 18. 9, 18. 10
95 Fan Chti persuades the king ofCh'in to assert his authority 'When I lived East of the Mountains', said Fan Chu, 'I heard that in Ch'i there was a T'ien Tan, but I did not know that Ch'i had a king: I knew that in Ch'in there was a queen mother, Marquis Jang, and the Lords Ching-yang, Hua-yang and Kao-ling, but never heard that it had a king. 'We call one who is reponsible for the state a king. One who is able to control the harm and benefit his state incurs we call a king. One who has the awesome power over life and death we call a king. 'At present the queen mother takes action for the state and does not consult you; Marquis Jang sends forth his own emissaries and does not report to you; Ching-yang and Hua-yang decree beatings and executions with impunity and Kao-ling advances and demotes men without asking your permission. It is impossible that a state should exist with four nobles so empowered and not be in peril. 'One need only be attached to one of these four powerful men to ask himself if indeed there is any king. In that case is your power not already overthrown? Do orders still originate with your majesty? 'They say a good ruler keeps his authority firm inside the state and his influence weighty outside it.1 But the envoys of Marquis Jang have arrogated the king's influence. They make and break alliances among the Lords and their military tallies are found all over the empire. Everyone must obey when they order this enemy attacked or that country invaded. And when a victory is won or merit gained the benefit returns to Marquis Jang's fief of T'ao while the unpleasant restrictions laid 1
From here on it becomes increasingly like the wording of 96.
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on the Lords are all your majesty's responsibility. But when a battle is lost, resentment builds among your people and calamity affects your state. 'The ode says,1 "When the fruit is heavy the bough is strained, when the bough is strained the trunk is harmed. When a capital is too great it endangers the state; when a minister is too strong he menaces his king." 'When Nao Ch'ih took power in Ch'i he bound King Min by his joints and suspended him from a beam in the ancestral temple. There the king hung all night and died the next day. When Li Tui took charge of Chao he slowly starved the Ex-King until one hundred days later he was dead. 'Today the queen mother and Marquis Jang are actually in power while Kao-ling, Ching-yang2 and Hua-yang aid them. In the end there will be no king of Ch'in for he will have fallen as those other kings did to Nao Ch'ih and Li Tui. I see your majesty all alone in his palaces and I fear that generations hence the ruler of Ch'in will not be a descendant of your majesty.' The king of Ch'in was alarmed, put aside the queen mother, drove Marquis Jang away and sent Kao-ling, Ching-yang and Hua-yang beyond the borders. 'In the past,' said the king of Ch'in to Fan Chu, 'Duke Huan of Ch'i secured Kuan Chung and referred to him as "Uncle" and now that I have you I shall treat you as I would my father.' SPTK3.48b KY 18. I I
96 The gambler and the sacred grove 'And your majesty has doubtless heard about the spirit of the Grove in the country of Hanker?' Marquis Ying asked King Chao. 'There lived in Hanker an extremely rash youth who got the sacred Grove to It is doubtful that Book of Odes is meant here even though it also appears in SC. 96 has the same quotation but does not imply it is anything more than a folk saying. 2 Kambun misprints 'Ching-ling'. 1
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gamble with him. "If I beat you," said the boy, "you must lend me your genie for three days. If I lose to you, you may do as you please with me." So saying, he cast the dice for the Grove with his left hand and for himself with his right. The Grove lost and lent the boy his genie for three days. But when the Grove went to get back his Spirit he was turned away. Five days later the Grove began to wither and in seven it had died. 'The country of Ch'in is your majesty's Grove and Power is its genie: is lending it to others not fraught with danger? Now I have never heard of a finger greater than an arm nor an arm being greater than a leg, but if such should exist it could only indicate a serious disease! 'A hundred men scrambling to fetch a gourd by cart will accomplish less than one man holding it in his hand and walking purposefully. For if the hundred actually managed to get it aboard their wagon you may be quite sure that the gourd would be split asunder by the time it arrived. Today the country of Ch'in is used by Lord Hua-yang, by Marquis Jang, by the Queen Mother and by your majesty. If it is not to remain a gourd with which one may dip his water, it is no matter. But if you want to make use of your gourd - 1 mean your country - it has been split asunder by them and is no more serviceable. 'I have heard it said, "When the fruit is heavy the bough is strained; when the bough is strained the trunk is harmed; when a capital is too great it endangers the state, when a minister is too strong he menaces his king." Yet in your city today every man worth more than a peck of grain is the minister's man - and this includes your majesty's lieutenants, chancellors, and even his personal attendants. Even in times of peace this should not happen, but should there ever be trouble, then I would certainly witness a king standing all alone in his own court. 'I have the temerity to feel fear for your majesty. And what I fear is that in the country of Ch'in, many generations hence, the rulers will no longer be descendants of yours. 'Your servant has heard that the awesome presence of great rulers in the past held their minister in check at home and spread abroad their control over the land. 1 Their government was neither troubled nor seditious and their deputies trod a straight path, fearing to do other1 After Huang
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wise. But today the deputies of Marquis Jang 1 split the Lords among themselves, and tallies given by his hand are recognized all over the land. He arrogates the power of a great state to muster troops and attack the Lords, but the profit from his victories and gains all return to his own fief of T'ao, 2 the spoils enter the treasuries of the queen mother, while revenues from within your borders find their way to Hua-yang. Surely what used to be called "the road to danger and destruction for state and ruler" begins here. 'If three honoured persons can drain the state to secure themselves, can the king's power be absolute? And do commands originate with him? In truth, your majesty, only one command in every three does.'3 SPTK 3. 50a KY 18. 12
97 A lutanist cites history King Chao of Ch'in said to his attendants: 'Are Han and Wei as strong now as they used to be?' 'They are not', they replied. 'Are Ju Erh and Wei Ch'i as capable as Meng-ch'ang and Mang Mao were?' 'They are not.' 'With the capabilities of Meng-ch'ang and Mang Mao directing the troops of a strong Han and a strong Wei, we were attacked and no harm came to us', said the king. 'That no harm can come from the inept Ju Erh and Wei Ch'i directing a weak Han and a feeble Wei against us is certainly clear!' 'Quite so!' cried his attendants. Chung Ch'i4 pushed aside his lute and replied: 1 This is 'T'ai-hou' in the text but it makes much better sense to read Marquis instead. 2 One of Wei Jan's holdings, in Shantung. He also held the town ofJang in Ch'u, whence his title. 3 The sense of the last half of this item is also to be found in 95. 4 SYhas ifc 8£ and SC has * S£. This may be an official post rather than a personal . name. >
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in
'Your majesty's estimation of the empire is faulty! Of old, in the time of the Six Chin,1 the Chih clan was the strongest. Earl Chih had exterminated Fan and Chung-hang and then led Han and Wei to invest Chao Hsiang-tzu in the town of Chin-yang. He diverted the Chin River and it flooded Chin-yang until only six feet of city wall remained above water. Earl Chih went forth to view2 the river, taking Han K'ang-tzu as driver and Wei Huan-tzu as guard in his chariot. ' "I did not realize that arivercould lose a man his country," said he; "now that I do know it I seen that the Fen River could be used to flood An-yi and the Chiang tofloodP'ing-yang."3 'Wei Huan-tzu nudged Han K'ang-tzu and K'ang-tzu pressed his sandal4 against Wei Huang-tzu's heel. At that moment in the chariot when elbow touched elbow and foot pressed foot the Chih lands were divided. Earl Chih perished, his state was lost and he became the butt of the empire's laughter. 'Now Ch'in is strong, but not more so than was Earl Chih. Han and Wei are weak, but less so than they were below the walls of Chinyang - and now is the time when they will again "use the elbow and the foot". I trust your majesty will not take them too lightly.' SPTK 3. 51a KY 20. 4
98 The queen of Ch'in and her lover The widowed Queen Hsuan of Ch'in had had one Wei Ch'ou as her lover. Ill and on her deathbed, she issued an order that he was to be buried with her when she died. This troubled Wei Ch'ou. A certain Yung Jui went to the queen on Wei Ch'ou's behalf to dissuade her from her plan. 'Does your highness believe that there is sentience after death?' he asked. i.e., the six great families of Chin: Fan, Chung-hang, Chih, Han, Wei, and Chao. tf read hsing; to view, to inspect, see Chung-hua 2365.3. 3 The seats of government in Wei and Han respectively. 4 Both SPTK and Yokota accept Wi i t © J- which is not in the Tseng edition. I accept it also. 1
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'No, I do not', replied the queen. 'Ah! Your highness's godlike intelligence clearly perceives that the dead feel nothing. Why then would you have one whom you loved alive buried with the dead who feel nothing? If the dead are sentient, your highness, then your husband, the deceased king, will have been harbouring his anger against you for a long time now and you will scarce have time to make amends to him and certainly no time left for further dalliance with Wei Ch'ou.' 'True', said the queen and desisted. SPTK 3. 52b KY 16. 16
99 Attacking men and attacking territories Ch'in attacked Han and surrounded the city of Hsing. Fan Chu spoke to the king of Ch'in: 'There are those who attack territories and those who attack men. When Marquis Jang assaulted Wei ten times and failed to harm her, it was not that Ch'in was weak and Wei was strong, but rather that he was attacking territories and they are dear to the hearts of rulers. Now for a ruler, officers and men will gladly die; when one assails what is beloved by the ruler he is pitting himself against men happy to sacrifice their lives, and so the ten attacks brought no victory. Now that your majesty is about to attack Han and surround Hsing I would have you attack men instead of territories. 'Your majesty should announce that you invade Han and invest Hsing because of Chang Yi. If Chang Yi's power is great in Han, he will cede you territory to buy himself off. But how many times can Han cede its land and survive? If Chang Yi's power is little, the king of Han will cast him out and replace him with another who may not be the equal of Chang Yi at driving a bargain; in which case your majesty will still get all he demands of Han.' SPTK 3. 52 KY 18.13
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100
A dialect word Marquis Ying said, 'In Cheng they call jade which has not been worked "pure"; in Chou they call fresh-dressed rats which have not yet been preserved, "pure". 'A man of Chou carrying fresh-dressed rats passed a Cheng merchant and asked him if he wanted to buy some "pures". The merchant replied that he did. But when he was shown dressed rats he declined them. 'Now Lord P'ing-yuan [Kung-tzu Sheng] 1 is busy getting himself a name for virtue throughout the empire. It was he who banished his own ruler, the ex-king of Chao, to Sha-ch'iu in order to become minister, yet rulers everywhere still respect him. This merely proves that rulers are less intelligent than the Cheng merchant. They are so dazzled by the word "pure" that they do not trouble to discover what reality lies behind it.' SPTK 3. 53a KY 18. 14 101
The dogs and the bone All the officers of the empire joined the Alliance and gathered in Chao to urge an attack on Ch'in. 'There is no need to worry over this, your majesty,' said Ch'in's minister, Marquis Ying, to the king of Ch'in. 'Allow me to get rid of them. Ch'in has no quarrel with the officers of the empire. They gather now to make plans for an attack against Ch'in simply because each seeks wealth and fame for himself. Look at your own hounds — some are sleeping, some are up, some walk about and others are simply standing where they are. In any case, they are not fighting. But throw a bone to them and they will all be on their feet in an instant, snapping at each other. Why? You have given them a reason to fight each other. 1 Following Chung Feng-nien, not Wu Shih-tao.
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'We must then dispatch T'ang Chii complete with musicians and provide him with five thousand in gold to set up quarters with Wu-an and give a great banquet. He must say to all in Han-tan, "Whoever wishes to may come and be given gifts of money." 'The schemers against Ch'in should not be able to get money, but those who do will be as close as brothers to Ch'in. 'You, sir,' [said Marquis Ying to T'ang Chii1], 'in order to make Ch'in's plans successful, must pay no attention to where the money goes. Your achievement will be greatest if you distribute it all. We are sending another five thousand in gold after you.' T'ang Chii went to Wu-an but was unable to distribute more than three thousand before all the "officers of the empire" were fighting one another. SPTK3.53D KY 19. 15
102
Marquis Ying advised to seek favour with Lord Wu-an Someone said to Marquis Ying: 'Did Lord [Wu-an2] capture Ma Fu?' 'He did.' 'Did he also invest Han-tan?' 'He did.' 'When Chao is lost the king of Ch'in will be king of us all3 and Lord Wu-an will become one of the Three Nobles. Lord Wu-an in his victories for Ch'in has taken more than seventy towns. In the south he took Yen and Ying and Han-chung. He also captured Ma Fu's forces without the loss of a single armoured soldier. Even Duke Shao of Chou and Lii Wang did not better this record. 'When Chao is lost, the king of Ch'in is king of us all, and Lord Wu-an is one of the Three Nobles, will you be able to serve under him? W u Shih-tao says there is something missing at this point in the text. I agree and believe it must be something resembling what I have inserted. 2 There is general agreement that Po Ch'i is the person spoken of here. 3 i.e., emperor. 1
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Whether or not you wish to serve under him you will certainly have no say in the matter. 'Once, when Ch'in attacked Hsing-ch'iu and put Shang-tang in jeopardy, the people of Shang-tang went over to Chao. Citizens of the empire have disliked the thought of being Ch'in subjects for a long time! Today when you attack Chao, her northern people will go over to Yen, her eastern lands will go to Ch'i and the south to Ch'u and Wei. What Ch'in gets will not amount to much. For this reason it is better to f ? arrange for Chao to 1 cede lands and thereby gain merit in Wu-an's eyes].' KY 19. 16
103 The king of Ch'in tests Marquis Ying philosophical resignation andfindsit insincere When Marquis Ying lost his fief ofJu-nan in Han, King Chao of Ch'in said to him, 'Are you saddened by the loss of your fief?' 'I am not.' 'Why are you not?' 'There was once a certain Tung-men Wu in Liang whose son had died and he did not grieve', replied Marquis Ying. 'His majordomo said to him, "You loved your son more than anyone in the empire yet now he is dead you show no grief. How can this be?" Tung-men Wu replied, "There was a time when I had no son and when I had none I did not grieve. Now that my son has died it has become just as it was when I had no son. Why should I grieve over him?" 'Once I was the landless son of a Wei family2 and being this caused me no grief. Now that I have lost Ju-nan it is just the same as being a landless son of a Wei family again. What should grieve me about that?' 1 This is not clear but the implication seems to be that Marquis Ying should urge that ceding of territory by Chao be accepted as the basis for peace between Ch'in >nd Chao. SC has 'so it will not be a credit to Po Ch'i'. 1 Following Yokota I think it should b e ^ ^ - J - o r ^ - J - i n a l l three cases.
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The King of Ch'in did not think the explanation proper and related it to Meng Ao, adding: 'Nowadays if a single one of my cities is besieged, food is tasteless in my mouth and I can find no ease in my bed. Yet Marquis Ying has lost all his territory and says he feels no grief. Can these be his real feelings?' 'Let me go and determine what his true feelings are', said Meng Ao, and he went to see Marquis Ying. 'I wish to die', said Meng Ao. 'Why should you say that?' asked Marquis Ying. 'All the empire knows that the king of Ch'in uses you as his teacher and the fact is even more clearly known within the country of Ch'in itself', replied Meng Ao. 'My power is only what I get by being the king of Ch'in's general. When I see a state as small as Han risk destruction, and flout you by taking your lands, why should I wish to live any longer? It would be better if I were to die [attempting to regain your land].' Marquis Ying bowed to Meng Ao and said, 'I shall leave that matter in your hands.' Meng Ao reported this to King Chao and ever afterward when Marquis Ying spoke of matters concerning Han the king of Ch'in discounted his words believing he thought only of how to get back Ju-nan. SPTK 3. 55a KY 19. 17
104 Po Ctii refuses to change his opposition to the Chao campaign Having recruited the strength of his soldiery and rested his citizens, King Chao of Ch'in was ready again to attack Chao, but Po Ch'i the Lord Wu-an said Ch'in could not. 'In past years, when the state was empty of troops and my citizens knew famine you took no account of the people's strength but demanded more supplies to destroy Chao', said the king. 'Yet now I have rested my people and bred up new troops. Supplies have been set aside and the army's allowances are many times that of earlier days and yet you say we must not attack. What is your explanation?'
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'In the battle at Ch'ang-p'ing the Ch'in forces won a great victory whilst Chao's armies lost heavily. Ch'in was overjoyed and Chao was terrified', replied Po Ch'i. 'Ch'in's dead were given lavish burials, her wounded were nursed with extravagant care. Ch'in veterans wined and dined one another in celebration and laid waste their possessions. 'In Chao few of their dead were gathered up and none of their wounded was treated. They wept for one another's grief and were the more knit together by their troubles. Feverishly they ploughed their fields to regain their wealth. At this moment, although your majesty could field twice as many troops as before, in my opinion Chao will meet them with ten times more preparation. 'In Chao, ever since the battle of Ch'ang-p'ing, both minister and prince have lived in concern and fear. They have held court early and retired late; they have thought little of words and much of goods. Marriages have been arranged with all their neighbours, to bind Yen and Wei to them with family ties and to secure good relations with Ch'i and Ch'u. Their thoughts have been concentrated and their minds preoccupied with preparations against Ch'in. Internally they have achieved what they sought and externally they have succeeded in establishing alliances. Chao has managed it so well that she is no longer vulnerable to us.' 'Since my troops are already mustered,' said the king of Ch'in, 'I shall send Wang Ling, chief of the five cantonments, to lead his forces against Chao.' Ling was not successful and lost his five forces. The king wanted to send Lord Wu-an but Lord Wu-an pleaded illness and would not go, so the king dispatched Marquis Ying to see Lord Wu-an and reprimand him in the name of his king. 'The land of Ch'u is a five thousand li square,' said Ying-hou to Lord Wu-an, 'and her pikemen number in the millions. Once you led a force numbering in the thousands into Ch'u razed her twin capitals of Yen and Ying, set fire to her temples and drove east as far as Chingling. The people of Ch'u quaked with fear, fled to their eastern areas and dared not so much as face the west. 'One after the other Han and Wei mustered large forces against the troops you led which were no more than half the enemy's number. But you did battle with them and so shattered the armies of both states at
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Yi-ch'iieh that "enough blood flowed to float their shields" and two hundred and forty thousand were slaughtered. As a result, to this day Han and Wei remain our eastern allies. Such is your merit, sir, and everyone in the empire knows it. 'Now Chao has lost seven or eight of every ten men she had at Ch'ang-p'ing,' continued Marquis Ying. 'She is weak and depopulatedThis is why I, your king, am sending a force many times the size of Chao's, and I want you to be its leader. With it you will certainly exterminate Chao. Many times you have led few against many and seized victories as though you were a god. Will not victory be still more certain when you lead a strong force against a weak one; the many against the few?' Po Ch'i replied: 'At that time the king of Ch'u put all his faith in the size of his state and took no pains with its government. His ministers gained merit by invidiousness, slanderers were used, and the good ministers were kept at a distance. He lost the hearts of his people and neither wall nor moat was in good repair. Having lost his good ministers, he had of course made no arrangements for defence. This is the reason I was able to lead my troops so far into his land. We by-passed walled cities, burned our boats and bridges behind us to make our men concentrate on the task, and we foraged in the wilds and outside city walls to feed our troops. At that time the officers and men of Ch'in looked on the army as their home and their superiors as their parents. We needed no covenants or plans in order to be close and to keep faith with each other. We were of one mind and shared the same strength, none turned heel even in death. But the people of Ch'u were fighting each for his own fields. Each had one eye on his own home so that each heart was divided and none had heart for the battle. This is why we succeeded. | 'In the fighting at Yi-ch'ueh, Han was isolated [?] and turned to Wei. She did not want to be the first to use her forces. Wei was relying on Han's best troops which she hoped to make her vanguard. Both armies bickered over petty advantage and their strength was not united. Because of this I could use diversionary forces to make Han keep to her formation while our main force and crack troops took Wei by surprise. With the Wei army defeated the Han force scattered, and taking advantage of our first victory we drove them into retreajf/This was 1 Or, as Yokota observes, in this case it could be read pei, 'northward'.
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why I was able to succeed there. I planned each time to make capital of inherent tendencies or natural order. Is there anything god-like in that?' 'In the event, however, Ch'in broke Chao's troops at Ch'angp'ing but did not thereafter take advantage of her shock and fear to destroy her. We were timid and left her alone, allowing her to plough and harvest and replenish her supplies, to care for her orphaned, rear her babes and recruit more troops. We let her mend arms and train men to increase her power; extend her walls and deepen her moats to add to her firmness. 'Her ruler has become humble before his ministers and they in turn have become deferential toward their best warriors. It has even come to pass that among those under Lord P'ing-yuan, husbands have ordered wives and concubines to fill out the ranks in their squads. 'Ministers and citizens are of the same mind, the higher ranks and the lower are united in their efforts, just as when Kou-chien was surrounded on K'uai-chi. 'Attacking Chao today we shall find her defending herself obstinately. We may try to engage her troops but they will not come forth. We may invest her towns but they will not be overcome. If we attack her long walls they will not be taken, and if we pillage her open lands we shall certainly gain nothing. If our troops are sent forth with no success the Lords will take heart, and help for Chao will arrive from outside. 'I can see the harm in this action, but I fail to perceive the benefit. We would regret it deeply if we failed to bring it off.' Marquis Ying was mortified and retired to tell the king. 'Am I not going to be able to destroy Chao simply because of Po Ch'i?' cried the king, and he increased the muster of his troops and switched their command from Wang Ling to Wang Ho for the attack on Chao. Han-tan was besieged for eight or nine months and the toll of dead and wounded was high. But Ch'in did not reduce the city. The king of Chao sent out his light, fast troops and attacked Ch'in. Afterwards Ch'in made a number of efforts against Chao but succeeded in none. Lord Wu-an said, 'Since they would not listen to my reasoning, what else could they have expected?' The king heard of it and was angered. He summoned Lord Wu-an to an audience and had him forcibly raised from his bed to attend it.
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'You may be ill,' said the king, 'but you are my general even when you sleep. If you accomplish what I desire I will reward you generously but if you do not I will be just as generous with my displeasure.' Lord Wu-an performed the k'o-t'ou and said: 'I had thought that by not acting in this instance I might gain no merit but would at least avoid offence; by not acting I have committed no crime; but I see that I shall not avoid punishment. Yet all I hoped for was to make your majesty review my worthless plan to give up an attack on Chao and look to the welfare of your own people, thereby showing the Lords that you had changed. Calm their fears, attack any who are overbearing, and punish the faithless, so that you may command the Lords and the empire may be settled. Why must Chao be conquered before you do this? 'To heed me,' he continued, 'would be "to yield to a minister and gain victory over an empire". If you do not examine my worthless plan it must be because you wish to have satisfaction from Chao in order to put me in the wrong. But that would be a case of "victory over one minister at the cost of alienating a whole empire". Which is the more impressive - victory over one minister or victory over an entire empire? 'I have heard that an enlightened ruler loves his state and a faithful minister his good name. An injured state cannot be made whole nor can dead troops be brought to life. I am more ready to die from the severest punishment than I am to injure my good name as a general. I hope your majesty will consider this.' The king did not answer, so Po Ch'i left. SPTK 3. 56a KY 74. 10
105 The generals besieging Han-tan are slandered by their men, but are saved from execution by Fan Chti's arguments Ch'in attacked Han-tan and for seventeen months the city did not fall. 'Why don't you offer bounties to your officers and men?' Chuang asked Wang Chi, the commander.
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'I promised the king I would heed the prompting of no man', replied Wang Chi. 'That is certainly not right', replied Chuang. 'Even between father and son there are orders which are to be obeyed and others which are not. If the father says, "Put aside your most honoured wife", or "Sell your beloved concubine", these are orders to be obeyed. But then if he says, "Feel loneliness for them no longer", this would be an order not likely to be obeyed. But if some village crone were to say 'Young Miss So-and-So will be entertaining a young gentleman on such and such a night"1 [her words will very likely be heeded]2. The wife will have been got rid of and the beloved concubine will have been sold, but the heart will not be reconciled to it. Before the heart can be instructed what to do, it must already wish to do it.[?] 'Though you have been much honoured by the king, the two of you are not closer than father and son. Though your troops and officers are lowly they are no more so than the village crone. You have long coveted rank and scorned those below you, but I have heard that three men claiming to see a tiger will create one,3 that ten men can make even a bludgeon soft,4 and that if enough tongues push a wingless thing it will fly. Therefore I say it would be better, my lord, to give your men bounties and treat them with special ceremony.' Wang Chi did not heed him, and his men, when they became poorer, slandered Wang Chi and Tu Chih, by accusing them of planning sedition. The king of Ch'in was furious and wished to have both them and Fan Chu put to death. Fan Chii said to him: 'I was nothing but a commoner from a small eastern state. I offended Wei5 and fled here. There is no Lord who will rescue me nor do I have any intimate of yours for a friend. Your majesty raised me up from among many other wayfarers and set me to managing your country's affairs. The empire has heard of me now and heard of your majesty's selection of me. Meaning the son would still visit his wife or concubine behind his father's back so the crone's words would be more effective than his father's. 2 After Yokota who suggests something like this has been left out. 8 See 302. 4 Or 'a hammer handle look crooked or stretched', which seems to be what Pao and Yokota imply. 8 SPTK has 'Ch'u and Wei' which most commentators think is wrong - Yasui excluded. 1
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'In my ignorance I am sympathetic1 to the guilty men; but if your majesty openly executes them and me, you will reveal to the empire that you chose unwisely and will be the object of much criticism by the other Lords. I beg your permission to take the poison cup and thenif your majesty would be gracious enough to give me a burial befitting a minister of his state - you will not have offended against the propriety observed between prince and minister and will not suffer the reputation of having mistakenly raised someone to high position.' 'You have reason on your side', said the king, and not only called off the execution but gave him still more preferential treatment. SPTK3.59b KY 19. 18
106 Su-tzu pleads for Chao with the king of Ch'i and wins peace When Ch'in attacked Chao, Su-tzu spoke to the king of Ch'in on Chao's behalf: 'I understood that an enlightened king discussed the talents of citizens widely and chose the skilled among them, which was why such a king's officers were always equal to the tasks they faced and their efficiency was never impaired. The advice of others he listened to always, and when it was timely he used it, which was why such a king's demands did not exhaust his resources and hatreds never appeared. I ask your majesty to examine what I am about to suggest and test it against the demands of this moment. 'I have heard that a man carrying wealth in his bosom does not travel at night and that a man who is bent on great acts does not seek an unworthy foe. So a truly worthy man has heavy responsibilities but acts with no arrogance; a truly wise man is very accomplished but speaks deferentially. Therefore no one grudges either the respect he receives, nor is the world jealous of their wealth. 'I have heard that in a state hundreds of times larger than it need be, citizens take no pleasure in enlarging it still more. 2 Also, when his Yasui insists this should be as Pao's text originally had it. It is difficult to make this yield meaning. 2 Commentary other than Pao's agrees that $ should probably be tfi.
1
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achievements already tower above the rest of his generation, a ruler does not commit his people to further military action; and a people whose strength is exhausted will not be further strained by a humane Jung. To return to peacefulness when all demands are satisfied is the rnark of a sage ruler; to rest one's citizens when their achievement is great is the secret of military art. 'At present if your troops are used mercilessly and are not rested even when they are exhausted, and if you are furiously determined that Chao's capital become your city, then Chao can hardly hope to survive. But Chao is bordered on all sides by other states; so you may take Hantan today but it will not be of lasting profit to your state: by this I mean that your territory will be vast but implanted, your people will be victorious but unrested. You will have to increase exactions on your new citizens until they appear to submit; but they will not remain submissive for long. 'As the saying goes, /'If a victory is won but the country is in peril, your work is not done; when achievement is great but control is weak the land is not yours.'* $0, service beyond his capabilities is something that even a father cannot expect from his son; demands without limit are something that even a ruler may not make of his ministers. He who knows that the hidden can become obvious will be strong [?]; he who can discern that citizens who are rested can be used will be a hegemon; he who understands that the little things are the most important will become a true king.' 'But,' said the king, 'if I rest my people and my troops, the empire will make an alliance and oppose Ch'in.' 'But I know that they cannot ally themselves and oppose Ch'in successfully!' replied Su-tzu. 'I know that T'ien Tan andju Erh are completely wrong. No, not just they but all the rulers in the empire are totally wrong. 1 To unite ii defeated Ch'i, an exhausted Ch'u and a beggared Wei with a Chao of uncertain strength in the hope of impoverishing Ch'in and humbling Han is the height of folly. 'Kings Wei and Hsuan of Ch'i were the worthiest rulers of their age. Their power was great2 and their lands were broad. Their states were With Yokota fit is a copyist's error. The character appears further on in the text. This seems to be used with its older meaning 'power' instead of the usual CKT meaning of 'obligation'. 1 J
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wealthy and their citizens capable. Their generals were aggressive and their troops strong. King Hsiian made use of these resources and in time broke Han, cowed Wei, went south against Ch'u and west against Ch'in. But there above Yao-sai1, the troops of Ch'i were pinned for ten years. The people of Ch'in fled the area but did not surrender. Meanwhile Ch'i's cities became empty ruins ! 2 The reason the troops of Ch'i were broken while Han and Wei managed to survive was that Ch'i had attacked Ch'u and Ch'in and then met with calamity [?].8 Today there is no surplus wealth such as Kings Wei and Hsiian had, nor do their crack troops draw on the storehouses of wealthy Han and doughty Wei, nor are their generals as sagacious as T'ien Tan4 and Ssu-ma Jang-chii. 'No, to unite a defeated Ch'i, an exhausted Ch'u, a beggared Wei, and a Chao of undetermined strength in the hope of impoverishing Ch'in and humbling Han is the gravest of errors. In my estimation the alliance [you fear] will never be formed. [.. .] 5 'In the past, Ch'in attacked the heartland of the empire and made it submit. Three states harried [?]6 Ch'in; Chao She and Pao Ning were generals of their forces and Ch'u had four men [?]. They rose and harried, drew near to the heartland but did not rescue Wei in the end. And when Ch'in left they did not follow. Was it thus because the three states feared Ch'in and loved the heartland? Or perhaps they loved Ch'in and feared the heartland? No. They attacked but did not rescue. They did not follow retreating Ch'in because the troops of the three states were in difficulty and Chao She and Pao Ning were [wearied].7 1
SPTK has Yao-han, P .
I read the text as it stands except for deletion of 91 Jf6, with Seki, and read M as SI. 3 This is not really clear even though it appears readable. 4 It is likely this should have been T'ien Wen. 5 With Yokota, the next forty-two characters must come from some other item. They are a complete non-sequitur concerning Jfl] :§ and & Mb Ifc $§. 6 Following Yokota but not with confidence. 7 At this point the whole last half of the item becomes too questionable to translate usefully, I fear. SPTK has IB here instead of f| 'exhausted'. Just after Me fit 'this was because', SPTK has $11 but Yokota rejects it. (Wu Shih-tao says there is more missing after it as well.) SPTK claimed to understand the forty-two character insert about 'white horse is no horse'. Yokota did not. 2
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Therefore they gave of their territory [.. -] 1 T'ien Tan in command of Ch'i's great power used his troops to ramp about within his own state for fourteen years but never dared array his forces to attack Ch'in jnd break Han. Instead he galloped about within his ownfief.2And so I know of no alliance [and if it were made] how could it last? [?]' [After that the king of Ch'in disbanded his forces and remained within his borders.//The Lords rested and the empire was at peace. For twenty-nine years none attacked another,}% ' ' SPTK 3. 61a KY 40. 2
107 Chang Yi offers a persuasion that will make Ch'in master of the world and wagers his head on its success Chang Yi persuaded the king of Ch'in in these words: 'I have heard it said that to speak on a matter about which you know nothing is unwisdom and to say nothing about a matter you do understand is acting in bad faith. The minister who acts in bad faith with his king should be executed; but so should the minister who advises when he knows nothing. 'Nevertheless I wish to tell you all that I have learned and let your majesty pass judgement upon me. r/As I hear it, the empire, with Yen on the north and Wei in the south, has made alliance with Ch'u, strengthened its position with Ch'i and gathered up what is left of Han in order to form the Alliance^hey plan to move to the south-west to engage Ch'in. Ignorant as I am I find this laughable. There are three ways to failure in the world and these countries have achieved all of them. How can I say this? I have heard it said that using the turbulent to attack the well-ordered results Here Yokota, by a terrible wrench of the mind, says: 'They ceded land to bribe Ch'in to defeat Ch'i'. W u Shih-tao implies that the phrase is part of the five states' attack on Ch'i but, 'the three states' failure to rescue the heartland and the final ceding of land to defeat Ch'i is to demonstrate they were allied but never unified'. 2 This also verges on gibberish. 3 A later addition? At any rate, hyperbole of the Su Ch'in romance type. 1
(|;
I
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in failure; using the wicked to attack the upright results in failure; and sending the seditious against the obedient results in failure. The coffers of the empire are not full and its granaries are empty. They can summon all their citizens and rank them in battle lines more than a million strong, their officers can bear the executioner's naked sword before them and the headsman's axe at their rear, but the troops will still flee and it will not even be possible to execute any. Those in command will be incapable of killing and their citizens will be incapable of dying, because they have talked of rewards and not given them and threatened punishments but not carried them out. If neither rewards nor punishments have been made dependable1, people are not willing to die in battle. 'But Ch'in gives orders and carries out both rewards and punishment in such a way that the meritorious and those lacking merit each get what they deserve.2 Men fly from the bosoms of their parents, and though they have never in their lives seen an enemy, hearing the sounds of war they stamp their feet, bare their chests, and rush upon naked blades or across beds of coals determined to die in the forefront. Such is the difference between Ch'in and the Alliance. The difference between the decision to die in battle or not and a citizen's choosing to do one or the other is a matter of pride in battle. One who is proud to fight is equal to ten who are not; ten are equal to a hundred who are not, a hundred are a match for a thousand, a thousand for ten thousand, and ten thousand can conquer the empire. 'If one squared up an average between the widest and narrowest extensions of Ch'in, her territory would form a rectangle several thousands of li on each side and her famed battalions number a million men. Ch'in's commands carry with them a certainty of reward or punishment and she is situated in such a way that she is unmatched anywhere in the rest of the empire. When these factors are employed in battle against the empire, nothing it can produce will equal Ch'in. For this reason3 any war involving Ch'in has been a victory for her, any attack she launched has gained its objective, any force that faced her has been shattered. In this way Ch'in has opened up for herself thousands of With Yokota the Han-fei ft is better than fi. I follow the Han-fei commentary here rather than Yokota. 3 After Yokota from Han-fei & = &.
1
2
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U of territory and that has been her great accomphshment. Should her arms and armour fall to pieces, her citizens sicken, her stores be drained, her fields revert to weeds and her granaries fail; should the Lords on all sides refuse to submit to her and should she not gain hegemony, the cause could be nothing other than lack of loyalty1 on the part of her ministers. 'Let me venture to speak of days gone by. Of old Ch'i crushed Ching2 in the south and Sung in the east. She made Ch'in submit in the west and in the north Yen was broken by her. In the centre Han and Wei 3 served her. Her lands waxed great and her troops mighty. What she attacked she took, and her orders controlled the empire. The clear Chi and the muddy Yellow River sufficed for her boundaries; long walls and great dikes served her for frontiers. She was a state that had won five wars. But one she lost, and after that Ch'i was finished. 'Viewed in this manner then, warfare means life or death even to a great state.4 'None the less about enemies I have heard it said, "Branch and root clear both away, neighbour to calamity neither be nor stay; thus, never become catastrophe's prey." For example, Ch'in attacked Ching, broke her, attacked her capital of Ying, and took Tung-t'ing, Wu-chu, and Chiang-nan. The king of Ching fled east and took refuge in Ch'en. At that moment if Ch'in had used her forces to press Ching hard Ching would have fallen altogether. Had Ching fallen, her population would have been well worth having and her territories would have benefited Ch'in. In the east this could have weakened5 Ch'i and Yen and in the centre it would have troubled the Three Chin. Thus in a single stroke Ch'in could have achieved hegemony and all the Lords would have been brought to her court. 'But Ch'in's planners did nothing. The troops were withdrawn and a settlement was made with Ching which allowed her to reconstitute her shattered state, regroup her scattered population, establish a leader for her society and a high priest for her temples, and finally to lead the rest i.e., refusing to speak on matters they know something of or vice versa. Ch'u. * Kambun misprints this as 'Ch'in and Wei'. 4 Hence no minister should advise war unless he knows something of the matter.? 5 Following Yokota after Han-fei. 1
2 i.e.,
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of the Lords west to hamper Ch'in. This was undoubtedly the first time Ch'in lost her way on the road to hegemony. 'When the empire discovered a similarity in their ambitions and stationed their armies below Mt. Hua, your majesty used a stratagem, to break them. Then his troops reached the capital of Wei. Had they then simply surrounded the capital city of Liang for several weeks, it would have been taken. And Liang being taken, Wei would have fallen. The fall of Wei would have broken the unity of Chao and Ching, and the unity of Chao and Ching once ruptured, Chao would have been in peril and Ching isolated. This done you could have threatened Ch'i and Yen in the east and contained the Three Chin in the centre. Thus in a single stroke you could have achieved hegemony and brought the neighbouring Lords to your court. But your counsellors did not carry this out. They drew off the troops, retreated, and made terms with Wei. They allowed Wei to reconstitute1 her shattered state, regroup her scattered population and establish a leader for her society and a high priest for her temples. This undoubtedly was the second time Ch'in lost her way on the road to hegemony. 'Before this, when Marquis Jang ruled Ch'in, he used the troops of one state to accomplish the ends of two. 2 For this reason Ch'in's soldiers spent their entire lives exposed to the elements outside their own coutry while Ch'in's citizens spent all their existence in toil and weariness at home. This could not produce hegemony and undoubtedly the third time Ch'in lost her way on the road to hegemony. 'Chao is a nation of the centre, populated by a heterogeneous folk. Her people are frivolous and difficult to use. Orders are not obeyed and neither rewards nor punishments are consistently applied. The nature of its territories makes it difficult to defend. Its leaders are unable to get the most from its citizens. In all respects it appears to be a doomed state. Yet with no concern for its people's hardship it mustered all its troops and stationed them at Ch'ang-p'ing to do battle for Han's half of Shang-tang. 'Your majesty had a strategem to break them with had you attacked Chao K'uo at Wu-an. At the time no one highly placed in Chao was sympathetic toward anyone below him and noble and commoner dis1 2
Kambun misprints Sfe for -ft. Ch'in and his own fief of Tao.
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trusted each other, as a result of which Han-tan was poorly defended. Han-tan being taken, the area of Ho-chien would have been under your control and your troops could have been led westward to attack Hsiu•ani and, crossing Sheepgut Canyon, could have subdued Tai and Shang-tang. The thirty-six districts of Tai and the seventeen districts of Shang-tang would have become Ch'in's without the loss of a single armoured soldier or the distress of a single citizen. Tai and Shang-tang would have become Ch'in's without a fight! Tung-yang and Ho-wai would have returned to Ch'i without a battle! And all territory north of Chung and the Hu-t'o would have fallen to Yen without a struggle! This would have meant that Chao was finished. With Chao taken Han js certainly lost. With Han lost Ching and Wei cannot stand by themselves. With Ching and Wei unable to remain independent you would jn this one stroke have ruined Han, consumed Wei, pressed Ching hard so that Ch'i and Yen would be weakened in the east, and stopped up the Pai-ma ford thus flooding out the Wei clan. In one stroke the Three Chin would have fallen and the Alliance have failed. Your majesty could have waited with folded hands while the empire formed in line to submit to you, and the name of Hegemon would have been yours But your advisers would not do it. They led away the troops in retreat and made peace with Chao. 'Despite the intelligence of your majesty, the might of your troops, and your potential for hegemony, neither land nor honour were gained. Instead, the clumsiness of your planners invited imposition by a ruined state. 'The fact that a ruined Chao did not collapse and a Ch'in destined for hegemony did not become hegemon was the first sure measure the empire had of Ch'in's planners. The mustering of all Ch'in troops to attack Han-tan, the subsequent failure to take it, Ch'in's withdrawal, casting away her weapons in fear and trembling, gave the empire a second measure, this time of Ch'in's power. 'When they withdrew they assembled in Li-hsia; and there your majesty with additional troops pressed the engagement. But gaining no victory of consequence, both sides retired in exhaustion. And this was a third measure the empire had of Ch'in's strength. Internally they have taken the measure of our planners, and beyond our borders they have
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found the limits of our armed strength. So I am not surprised that the empire finds it simple to form the Alliance. 'If inside our state arms and armour grow dull and decay, if our people are wearied, our stores depleted, our fields abandoned and our granaries empty, then outside our country the Alliance of the empire will grow ever more firm. I beg you to consider this, your majesty. 'Furthermore, I have heard one must "act in fear and trembling, take more care tomorrow than today. Who fears the Way can hold the empire." How do I know this is so? Of old when Chou was the Son of Heaven he commanded the hosts of his empire. So numerous were they that his left flank drank in the Ch'i valley and his right drank the Yuan. So vast were they that the Ch'i dried up and the Yuan flowed no more. With these forces he hoped to distress King Wu of Chou. King Wu led three thousand troops in the simplest of armour and in one day's fighting broke Chou's state, captured his person, seized his land and won over his people. All the world was shocked. 'Earl Chih led the hosts of three countries against Chao Hsiang-chu1 in Chin-yang. He dammed the river and flooded the city. Three years had passed and the city was on the very verge of destruction when Hsiang-chu prepared the tortoise shell and counted the divining slips to see what woe or weal lay in store and which state would surrender. Then he sent Chang Meng-t'an in secret to turn Earl Chih's alliance against him. He gained the support of two states and together they attacked Earl Chih's army,2 captured his person and accomplished Hsiang-chu's purpose. 'Today if one squared up the average of the narrowest and widest extensions of Ch'in her territory would be a square several thousands of li on each side. Her famous battalions number more than a million men, her commands carry with them the certainty of reward or punishment, and she is situated in such a fashion that her match cannot be found in the empire. If these resources were used against the empire it would become Ch'in's. This is why I have risked death in the hope of seeing your majesty and telling you how you may break the Alliance, raze Chao, destroy Han, cause Ching and Wei to submit, and bring Ch'i and Yen closer to you in order to achieve the name of Hegemon. 1 2
Probably the same person as Chao Hsiang-tzu. Not 'country'. I follow Yokota.
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'Try my persuasion, your majesty, and if in one stroke the Alliance " not broken, Chao is not razed, Han is not destroyed, Ching and Wei 1 not submit and Ch'i and Yen do not join you - if you do not gain the name of Hegemon and you do not bring all the neighbouring Feudal Lords to your court then behead me, your majesty, as a warning to all your country of what comes from disloyal counsel." SPTK 3. 64a KY 12 .5
108 How Ts'ai Tse disputed with Marquis Ying and gained his place and hoiv, after many years as minister of Ch'in, he yielded up his office in turn Ts'ai Tse had been driven out of Chao into Han and Wei where he was robbed on the highroad of his last bronze vessel. He heard that Marquis Ying was doubly culpable for his advocacy of Cheng An-p'ing and Wang Chi and was in disrepute with Ch'in. So westward he went to Ch'in. But before he had audience with King Chao, he sent out a man to carry words which would mislead and anger Marquis Ying. 'Ts'ai Tse, visitor from Yen,' said this man, 'the most eminent practitioner of high policy disputation, will have one audience with the king of Ch'in and forthwith be made chief minister in place of your excellency.' When Marquis Ying had heard this he summoned Ts'ai Tse. Ts'ai Tse entered and made a perfunctory bow to Marquis Ying who was displeased. When he was presented to Marquis Ying, Ts'ai Tse was equally arrogant and Marquis Ying upbraided him: 'You, sir, have spread word that you would succeed me as minister of Ch'in. Can this be true?' 'It is so.' 'I would be pleased to hear the explanation', said Marquis Ying. 'Hstil Can your excellency be so slow to see? "The four seasons to one another yield; he who succeeds must quit the field!" Tell me, excellency, the agile hand, firm foot, keen ear, clear eye and sage intelligence - are these not things which a man desires?' 'They are.'
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'To embody kindness, to mete out justice, to practise the Way and act with virtue toward all so that the world rejoices, respects and loves ; one and wishes one to be its ruler - are these not the final goals of'
discrimination and knowledge?'1 asked Ts'ai Tse. 'They are.' i 'To bring wealth and honour to the highest lustre, to manage all • things so that each is in its appointed place, so that all living things may fill out their years without let or wound, so that all the world may fol- j low its proper calling; to conserve -what is already in existence so that it j may pass on and not perish - and to do so in such a way that one's ^ name is unblemished,2 that the mention of it nourishes a thousand : generations and that it is spoken as long as the world lasts - are these not ; the very tahsman of the Way? The Happy Auguries which sages speak i Of?' ; 'They are', replied Marquis Ying. 'Now, could a man wish to perish as did Lord Shang of Ch'in?' asked Tse. 'Or Wu Ch'i of Ch'u or Tai-fu Chung of Yiieh?' 'And why not?' replied Marquis Ying, who knew Ts'ai wished to trap him by his persuasions.3 'Did not Lord Shang serve Duke Hsiao , and no other to the end of his days? Did he not exhaust himself for public rather than private gain? Did he not rely on reward and punishment only to bring about order? Did he not weary his intelligence only to prove himself guileless? Did he not brave both curse and contumely4 by using friendship to capture Kung-tzu Ang of Wei? He died pursuing enemy commanders and crushing enemy forces for Ch'in, having extended her holdings by a thousand li. 'And Wu Ch'i?' continued Marquis Ying. 'He served King Tao of Ch'u so that private gain never harmed public good and slander never hid fidelity. His words never encouraged illicit compromise nor did his actions brook collusion. He practised justice without regard to damaged fame; for he wished his state to be mighty and his ruler to be hegemon, no matter what calamity might betide. Yokota suggests 'limit' for ch'i which I accept. SPTK, 'perfect in name and actuality'. 8 Literally, 'put him in difficulty in order to persuade him'. 4 See SC 68/12 for details. I assume the gods punished those who broke an oath of friendship; I follow Yokota. SPTK separates the two parts of the sentence: 'He risked obloquy (because he had had the heir's tutor maimed; for this see 46). He broke friendship by capturing Kung-tzu Ang.' 1
2
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'And Tai-fu Chung? The king of Yiieh shamed him 1 but he remained faithful and did not depart. His ruler perished but he used all his abilities and went not away. His merit was great but he was without hauteur; UJ5 wealth was enormous but he was devoid of arrogance. So these three men were the epitome of right action and the very measure of fealty. Their rulers killed them and are known for doing it. But when a name for righteous action remains the body may perish without regret. flow can you say one would not wish to perish thus?' Ts'ai Tse replied: 'When a ruler is a saint and his minister a sage the world benefits; when a king is intelligent and his officer faithful the country benefits; when a father is kindly, a son filial, a husband trustworthy and a wife chaste the family benefits. But Pi Kan's fidelity could not preserve Yin, nor Tzu-hsii's wisdom W u ; Shen Sheng was filial but the country of Chin was disordered. Thus there may be faithful ministers and filial sons while the country perishes. Why? Because there may exist neither intelligent rulers nor wise fathers to heed them. The world sorrows for the son or minister who is murdered or shamed by his father or ruler. But to wait for death to establish one as faithful - this is beyond the humanity of Wei-tzu, the saintliness of K'ung-tzu and the stature of Kuan-tzu!'
jl
'It is true', said Marquis Ying at last. After a moment Ts'ai Tse spoke again. 'One might wish to be a Lord Shang, a W u Ch'i or a Tai-fu Chung because they conducted themselves as officers with complete fidelity and merit. But Hung Yao2 served King Wen, Duke Chou helped King Ch'eng, and were they not faithful? If we speak of the relationship between ruler and minister would one rather be Lord Shang, Wu Ch'i and Tai-fu Chung or Hung Yao and Duke Chou?' 'Lord Shang, Wu Ch'i and Tai-fu Chung were not the equals of the others', replied Marquis Ying. 'But then is your excellency's present ruler more gentle and humane, more eager for loyalty, less likely to deceive his intimates than were Hsiao of Ch'in, Tao of Ch'u and the king of Yueh?' 'I cannot know which was more so', said Marquis Ying. 'Your present ruler is no more determined to hold close loyal 1 Yokota saysfitshould probably be s
H and I have so translated it. 'Hung Yao' - see Shu-ching No. 36, 'Chun Shih M ?S', Karlgren Documents, p.61.
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ministers than were Hsiao of Ch'in, Tao of Ch'u or the king of Yiieh', answered Ts'ai Tse. 'Your excellency's desire to order confusion fot his king, to ward off trouble, to turn back difficulties for him, to broaden his lands, and make them yield, to bring his country prosperity and his house contentment, to strengthen your lord's authority till « encompasses the world, and to make his merit manifest ten thousand U away - your desire to do this is no more than that of Lord Shang, Wu Ch'i or Tai-fu Chung. But, though your excellency's income, your position, your honour and prosperity and the wealth of you own family are greater than those three men, you have not yet retired from office. I presume to be concerned for your excellency on this score. "The sun must sink when it reaches noon, the moon that is full is a waning moon", it is said. All things flourish only to wither; for this is ordained by heaven. To advance and retire, to wax and wane, to change with the times is but the common way of the sage. 'Of old, Duke Huan of Ch'i met nine times with the Feudal Lords to settle the empire once. Yet when he made covenant with them at S flower Hill their humour was restive and arrogant and nine st rebelled. Fu-ch'ai, king of W u had no match in all the world but made light of the other Lords, scorned Ch'i and Chin and therei lost his life and country. Hsia Yii and T'ai-shih Ch'i could frighi armies by their wild bellowing but they died at the hands of comirn men. These events all came about because none of them understi how to retreat when his apogee was reached.1 'Lord Shang, under Duke Hsiao, made equal the beams of the s yards, corrected Ch'in's measures, adjusted their weights, tore down paths of the paddy-fields and taught his citizens only war and So when weapons were wielded territory increased, and when were still, the country prospered. Wherefore Ch'in was without mai and her position overawed the Lords. Lord Shang's accompl was complete and he was torn asunder between chariots. 'In Ch'u where pikemen were numbered in hundreds of thou: Po Ch'i in command of a few thousand men fought Ch'u once and Yen-ying, again and he burned Yi-ling. To the south he anm Shu-Han and leapt across Han and Wei to attack mighty Chao. In 'how to retreat, etc.' -1 am uncertain of this; Yokota has chi & before IS 31 suggests it should be M as in SC. SPTKhas iS. >£?
1
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135
rth he buried Ma Fu and slaughtered his host of four hundred housand. Blood ran in rivers and the sound of sobbing echoed like thunder. He founded the empire for Ch'in. From that time forth Chao and Ch'u submitted, faint of heart, and dared not do battle again with Ch'in. Such was the power of Po Ch'i. By himself he had subdued three score and ten cities. His accomplishment was complete when he was allowed to fall1 upon his sword at Tu-yu. 'For king Tao of Ch'u, Wu Ch'i made an end to the incompetent, cast off the useless and decreased the slothful among his officers. He stopped the portals of private privilege and standardized customs throughout the whole of Ch'u. To the south he took Yiieh of Yangchou, to the north both Ch'en and Ts'ai. He scattered alliances and smashed leagues and silenced the mouths of eloquent persuaders. And when his accomplishment was complete they killed and quartered him. 'For the king of Yiieh, Tai-fu Chung opened the prairies to tilling and settled cities on them; he widened the lands and sowed them to grain, led officers from everywhere and shouldered the burden of power to capture a stubborn Wu and establish hegemony for Kouchien - who turned his back on 2 Tai-fu Chung and killed him. 'These four men reached the peak of their accomplishment and did not retreat, and calamity came to them for this reason. Therefore, it is said they "could stand straight but could not stoop, could advance but not retreat". Fan Li knew how, though. He fled from the state and grew old under the alias of "Lord of T'ao". 'Has your excellency never seen a gambler at one time take all the winnings from a single cast and at another try for smaller gain? These are things your excellency must understand clearly. 'For today your excellency is minister to Ch'in; his plans do not include either leaving his mat or departing from the capital's palaces and temples. He would control the Lords from where he sits, would direct wealth from the land of Three Rivers so that it bears fruit in Yi-yang, would seal off the way through Sheepgut Canyons, garrison the mouth ; of the Great Highroad, cut off Fan and Chung-hang's trail and build a 'fell on his sword' -1 interpolate, but he was sent a blade with which to do away with himself; see SC 73/13. * SPTK has S 'to pursue'. Yokota has +§ 'club' but suggests it should befflf'to turn the back on'. I accept Yokota. 1
136
THE BOOK OF CH'IN-KING CHAO-HSIANG
long and trestled roadway to Shu-Han so that all the world may fear Ch'in. 'But Ch'in already has what it wishes! Your excellency has already reached the height of his accomplishment! This is the time when Ch'in must "try for smaller gain". If retreat is not now timely made1 the fate of Lord Shang, Duke Po, Wu Ch'i and Tai-fu Chung will be yours. Would it not be better if your excellency chose the present moment to turn over his seal of ministry and yield it to another of virtue? This action would resemble the probity of Po Yi himself. To grow old as Marquis Ying, hearing generations speak of you as unique; to reach the longevity of Ch'iao and Sung - would not that be better than to perish by calamity? Since this is the choice, I wonder that your excellency can hesitate.' 'It is good', replied Marquis Ying and invited the other to be his guest ofhonour. Several days later he entered the court and spoke to King Chao of : Ch'in: 'Among my guests is one Ts'ai Tse, lately come from East of the Mountains. As a debator I have never seen his like, though I have seen many. Indeed, even I am not his match.' King Chao summoned him, gave him audience, spoke with him and j was delighted. He appointed him visiting minister. Marquis Ying, feigning illness, asked to turn over his seal of ministry. King Chao? would have advanced him greatly, but Marquis Ying insisted his health 1 was worsening and thus avoided appointment. King Chao had been recently delighted by the schemes of Ts'ai Tse ] and so raised him to minister of Ch'in. [When Ch'in went east and took | the House of Chou he was still minister to the king of Ch'in. Several \ months afterward he was accused by another and fearing punishment .j Ts'ai Tse pleaded illness and turned in his seal of office. He was titled Lord Kang-ch'eng and lived in Ch'in for more than : ten years, serving under Kings Chao, Hsiao-wen and Chuang-hsiang, i and finally dying in the service of the First Emperor as Ch'in's emissary i to Yen. He had been there for three years when Yen sent Tan, the heir ' apparent, as hostage to Ch'in.] KY. 19.19 1
'not now timely made' - I follow SPTK.
THE BOOK OF C H ' I N - K I N G HSIAO-WEN
137
K I N G H S I A O - W E N (250 B.C.)
IO9 the merchant Lii Pu-wei invested in a kings son and became a great minister ^ Lii Pu-wei of P'u-yang was in Han-tan as a merchant, he met Ch'in's hostage to Chao, Tzu Yi-jen.1 On reaching home he said to his father: 'How much return can a man expect from farming?' 'Perhaps ten times the investment.' 'And how much of a return on precious stones?' 'A hundred times the investment.' 'How much return on helping the ruler of a state establish himself?' asked Lu Pu-wei. 'One could hardly count so great a profit!' replied his father. 'If I were to farm most diligently I would hardly get enough food and clothing for myself, said Lii Pu-wei, 'but if I establish a country and seat its ruler I should be wealthy enough to pass an estate on to my heirs. I want to go and serve Tzu Yi-jen of Ch'in who is Ch'in's hostage in Chao, living now in the city of Chiao.' Thereupon he went and said to Yi-jen: 'Your brother Tzu-hsi is in line to succeed to the throne. Beyond that he has a mother in the palace itself to speak for him. You have no mother in the palace and indeed you yourself are outside the state as hostage to an unpredictable country. One day that country may abrogate her treaty and your dead body will be enriching some plot of land in Chao. 'Allow me to arrange matters and ask for your return and Ch'in can be yours. I can make Ch'in come and request you.' Next he went to Lord Yang-ch'iian, younger brother of the queen, and persuaded him: My lord you are guilty of an offence for which you will pay with your life. Were you aware of that? Every one of your lieutenants lives in a highly honoured state while not so much as a single officer is Later known as J- 31.1 am sceptical of (Tzu) Yi-ren as a bona-fide name despite its good credentials.
1
138
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - KING H S I A O - W E N
attached to the heir apparent, Tzu-hsi. My lord's treasuries are foil o f precious stones and pearls, your stables hold the finest steeds and your rear palace is supplied with the loveliest women. Y f 'The king is already old and one day soon a burial mound will be raised for k m and the heir apparent will take the throne. TheTrnv lord, you will find your position more precarious than a balanced 2 and your life span will not equal a mayfly's. 88 'Yet I have a persuasion which can be used to bring y o u W e a l t h ^ honour through the ages. Your security can be as the four
T
y'~
roots of
1 Tu ^ tr ° UbIed ^ ^ ° f *"** - d - '
p 'The king is already old,' said Lu Pu-wei, 'and the queen has no son Tzu-hsi is in line to succeed and Shih-ts'angi is his aide. The W Zl one day d l e and Tzu-hsi will take the throne. Shih-ts'ang W ^ J ^
^
e S h ° l d t0
^ qUCen>S qUatterS ^ V
wee*
'However, the heir Yi-jen is a great talent cast away in Chao with no mother to speak for him at court. He gazes to the west and yel ns more than all else to return home. If the queen were to r e q u e s t ^ sincerity, that the boy be raised to the throne on his father's death "hen Yi-jen, who was without a country, will have one, and the queenT who bore no heir, will have one.' ' 'So it should be', said Yang-ch'uan and went in to p e r s u a d e t h e queen The queen requested Chao to return Yi-jen but Chao did no comply. Pu-wei persuaded the king of Chao: 'Yi-jen is highly favoured at the Ch'in court. He has no mother in the palace but the queen herself wishes to adopt him. If Ch'in should really want to butcher Chao the thought of losing a single heir wouW not change her plans. You are in truth holding fast to a useless hoTta.e If, however, you should send him back and he takes the thro n T e could never think of foreswearing an obligation he owed Chao the state which returned him with generosity, and he would alwaysdea with Chao under a sense of obligation. Y 'The king of Ch'in grows old. One day he will pass away and then even Chaos possession of Yi-jen will prove useless for
l
i As Yokota points out this may be Tu Ts'ang *t * as it is given in Han-fei.
t
THE BOOK OF CH'IN - THE FIRST EMPEROR
139
Chao then sent him back.
I
When Yi-jen returned, Pu-wei, wearing the native dress of Ch'u, had audience with the queen. She was deHghted with his appearance and thought highly of his intelligence. 'I am from Ch'u', she said to P u -wei, and after the boy arrived in Ch'in she even changed his name to Ch'u. The king called upon his new son to recite but the latter said: 'While still young I was neglected and sent abroad. Never have I had teaching from a tutor and I am unused to recitation.' The king desisted in his request but kept the boy by him. When there was opportunity the boy said to the king: 'Your majesty has already stayed his chariot in Chao and more than a fewof Chao's great menknowof your fame, but since returning to your own country you have not sent a single envoy to sustain those who gaze to the west and admire you. It occurs to me that this may make them bitter. Open your borders to Chao early and close them late, sire.' The king believed the boy right and was much taken with his advice. When the queen asked that he be made successor, the king summoned his ministers and gave these orders • 'None of my sons is the equal of Ch'u and I am now raising him to be heir apparent.' When Tzu-Ch'u was seated he took Pu-wei as his minister. Pu-wei was titled Marquis Wen-hsin and was given the taxes of twelve counties in Lan-t len. The former queen became the Dowager Hua-yang and each of the Lords granted Ch'in taxes from one of their cities. SPTK 3. 75a KY 21. 5 T H E FIRST E M P E R O R (246-210 B.C.)
no The page-boy Kan-lo Lu Pu-wei, the Marquis Wen-hsin, planning to enlarge Ms lands in Hochien, had sent Ts ai Tse, the Lord Kang-ch'eng, to serve Yen. Three 1
Because the king, too, had been hostage in Chao?
I4O
THE BOOK OF C H ' I N - T H E FIRST EMPEROR
years later the heir apparent of Yen was sent as hostage into Ch'in. Thereupon Lu Pu-wei asked Chang T'ang to go to Yen as its minister, for he now wished to broaden his holdings in Ho-chien by combining with Yen in an attack on Chao. 'The road to Yen lies through Chao,' said Chang T'ang, begging off, 'and in Chao there is a standing reward of one hundred li of land to the man who brings in my head.' Lu Pu-wei left discontented. The page-boy Kan Lo spoke to him: 'Why is my lord so unhappy?' 'I sent Ts'ai Tse to Yen three years ago and the heir of Yen is already hostage at our court. But when I requested Chang to be minister of Yen he refused.' 'Let your servant approach him', said Kan Lo. 'Be off with you!' cried Lii Pu-wei, 'I approached him personally and he was unwilling. How could you succeed?' 'When Hsiang-t'o was only seven he taught Confucius,' replied Kan Lo, 'and I am already twelve! Please try me, my lord. Surely it isn't proper just to shout me away!' 'Tell me, your honour,' said Kan Lo when he saw Chang T'ang, 'do you consider your own merit to be greater than was that of Po Ch'i?' 'One can scarcely count the victories of Po Ch'i,' replied T'ang, 'or tell the number of cities he attacked or towns he brought low. No, my merit is not so great as Po Ch'i's.' 'Your honour is clearly aware that his merit is not so great as was Po Ch'i's?'asked Kan Lo. 'I am.' 'Do you think that Fan Chii's control of Ch'in was as complete as Lii Pu-wei's?' 'Fan Chii's was not so complete as Lii Pu-wei's.' 'Your honour is clearly aware that it was not so complete as Lii Pu-wei's?' 'I am.' 'Fan Chii wished to assault Chao but Po Ch'i criticized him. Po Ch'i had gone only seven li from Hsien-yang when he was strangled', said Kan Lo. 'Today Lii Pu-wei personally requested you to be minister to Yen and you were not willing to go. It remains now only to discover the place where your honour will die!'
THE BOOK OF C H ' I N - T H E FIRST EMPEROR
141
'I depart for Yen advised by a suckling child!' cried T'ang. 'Let the armoury supply chariots, the stables, horses and the treasuries, wealth! for I leave on the morrow!' Kan Lo spoke to Lii Pu-wei: 'Please lend me five chariots, my lord, that I may report Chang T'ang's passage to Chao in advance of him.' Kan Lo had audience with the king of Chao who met him in the suburbs. And he said to him: 'Did your majesty hear that Tan, the heir of Yen, has come to Ch'in?' 'I did', replied the king. 'Has your majesty heard that Chang T'ang is going to be minister in Yen?' 'I have', replied the king. 'When the heir of Yen came into Ch'in,' said Kan Lo, 'it was to keep Yen from cheating us. Similarly, Chang T'ang's ministry to Yen is to prevent Ch'in's defrauding Yen. Now if neither cheats the other your country will be in danger of attack, for what prevents one cheating the other is nothing more than their plan to attack Chao and broaden their own holdings in Ho-chien! If your majesty will give us a title to five of Chao's cities in Ho-chien, we will return Yen's heir and will attack a weak Yen in an alliance with a mighty Chao.' The king did immediately cede five cities to widen Ch'in's holdings in Ho-chien. Yen's heir was returned, and Chao attacked Yen, thereby gaining thirty-six districts in Shang-ku, of which she gave Ch'in a tithe. SPTK 3. 77b KY 21. 6
III
Tun Jo offends a king and then does him great service The king of Ch'in wished Tun Jo to attend an audience. 'It has been my principle to bow to no ruler,' said Tun Jo 'and if your majesty will not require it of me I shall attend; otherwise I shall not.' When the king gave his permission Tun-tzu said:
142
THE BOOK OF CH'IN-THE FIRST EMPEROR
'There are those in the world who possess the reality and not the name; there are others who have the reputation but not the reality; and still others who have neither. Do you know them, your majesty?' 'I know them not.' 'Those who own the fruits but not the name are merchants: not one has ever wearied himself thrusting a weeder or wielding a hoe yet they possess the results of that labour. These are men who lack the name but own the fruits. 'He who has the name but owns none of the fruits is the peasant who battles the frost to turn over his earth and blisters his back to weed his fields. He owns none of the results of his industry but has the reputation of doing so. 'The one who has neither name nor fruit is your majesty; you sit upon the throne of a great state and have no reputation for filial piety; you settled a thousand />' of territory upon your mother, but never, enjoyed the fruits of this filial act.'1 The king of Ch'in flushed in anger. 'There are six warring kingdoms East of the Mountains,' continuedi Tun Jo 'and I have the temerity to believe that the king is not content tod let the weight of his power fall upon his mother instead of on those,! states.' 'But could I annex the established states East of the Mountains?'; the king. ff Han is the throat of the empire and Wei the belly,'/Replied Tun-tzuj 'if you furnish me with ten thousand gold and allow me access to j and Wei, I will send to Ch'in those countries' greatest officers who l ally their states with yours. When you have formed an alliance wit! Han and Wei you may then make plans against the rest of them.' 'Mine is a poor state and I fear I could not supply you with such a] sum. 'Oh, well, there are always other things to be attended to in empire.' replied Tun-tzu, 'If it isn't the Alliance then it will be thej Coalition. Were the Coalition to succeed then Ch'in would be em-j peror, but if the Alliance wins then Ch'u will be king of all. If Ch'inl becomes emperor, he is supplied by all the other states. If Ch'u becomes] It is usually presumed that this refers to the 'fact' that Ch'in Shih-huang'^ mother was later guilty of adultery and imprisoned.
1
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - T H E FIRST EMPEROR
143
^ of all, then of course your majesty might have a million in gold and not be able to use an ounce on yourself. It would all be consumed by your state and army.' 'True', said the king. He furnished him with the sum asked and sent Jjim east to Han and Wei. Tun-tzu dispatched generals and ministers to Ch'in and then went north to Yen and Chao where he caused Chao to murder its general Li Mu. The king of Ch'i came to Ch'in's court and the four states abandoned the Alliance all because of Tun-tzu's persuasions. SPTK 3. 79a KY20. 8 112
The Six States Someone persuaded the king of Ch'in on behalf of the six states: 'Broad lands do not make a country secure, nor is a populous state necessarily strong. If populousness were strength and vastness meant security, then descendants of Chieh and Chou would still survive. 'Of old the Chao clan was also mighty and its leader said, "Oh how great is Chao; I raise my left hand and curb Ch'i, my right and I restrain Wei - two states of ten thousand chariots. I trouble also the thousand chariots of Sung. I have fortified Kang-p'ing, and Lesser Wei has no hinterland to her east. Her grass-cutters, herdsmen and faggot gatherers dare not even peer past the eastern gate. At this very moment Lesser Wei is more dangerously situated than a balanced
|§
egg! 'Then the officers of the empire one after another thought to themselves, "Should I not present my gifts elsewhere and no longer have audience with the ruler of Han-tan?" 'So there arose a cry to attack Han-tan. The order was given one evening and the step was taken the next morning. Wei attacked Hantan, and when he withdrew to the meeting at Feng-tse he took advantage of the presence of forces from all over China to proclaim himself king. He held court as the "Son of Heaven" and all the empire joined him. When King Hsuan of Ch'i heard it he raised troops and attacked Wei, splitting her territory in two and threatening the state itself. The
144
THE BOOK OF C H ' I N - T H E FIRST EMPEROR
king of Liang1 came in person holding his sceptre and seal. He begged to be the vassal of Marquis Ch'en, ruler of Ch'i. And the empire fell away from Wei. "When King Wei of Ying2 heard about Ch'i he tossed sleepless in his bed and picked at his food until finally he led the people of the empire against General Shen Fu at Ssu-shui, where he defeated Shen Fu decisively. 'Hearing of this Chao moved on Chih-sang. When the men of Yen heard of it they moved on Ko-tao [?] and all peaceful intercourse was ended. 3 'Ch'i neither won her fights nor realized her plans, so Ch'en Mao was dispatched barefoot4 to ungird Ch'i's sword, throw himself upon the mercy of Ch'u, and submit to punishment. To the west Ch'i explained her plight in Chao, to the north in Yen, and within her own borders she told her people. And the empire fell away from Ch'i. 'A little later the empire made much of insignificant things and from a few incidents they made a host when with a single voice they all spoke of King Wei of Ying being surrounded by vileness[?.]51 do not believe his government was really so corrupt or his plans so reckless, but Ying had used force against all the Lords in the empire, and so the empire was quite happy to attack him.' SPTK 3. 80a KY 20.10
113 Yao Chia defends himself against a slander The four states6 had united to attack Ch'in. The king of Ch'in summoned sixty of his officers and retainers to consult them on the matter. 1 I.e. Wei, of which Liang was the capital city. i.e., Ch'u, of which Ying was the capital city. I am not confident that I have understood the meaning of this sentence and each commentator disagrees with the other. 4 ffll=S, Yokota. 8 In my opinion this sentence is thoroughly corrupt but I have here used Seki's conjecture. There are other guesses: Kao Yu would make it, 'and gossiped with one another about Wei-wang of Ying from their side windows'. 6 Yokota is excessively literal and says the four are Ch'u, Wu, Yen, and Tai as below. Pao changes W u to Ch'i. Almost certainly Ching Wu means 'one end of the empire' and Yen Tai means 'to the other'. Both notes are unnecessary. 2
3
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - T H E FIRST EMPEROR
145
'The four have become one and make plans against Ch'in. I am already borne d o w n by troubles within the state, and n o w I shall have t o weary my citizens in campaigns outside it. W h a t can I do?' None of the assembled ministers had a reply save Yao Chia w h o said: 'I should like to be sent as your envoy to the four states. I assure you that I could put an end to their schemes and keep their troops in garrison.' He was outfitted with one hundred chariots, given a thousand ounces of gold, dressed in the cap and robes of Ch'in and girt with Ch'in's sword. He went forth and did in fact change the states' plans and halt their troops. H e established relations with them and returned to report on his efforts. The king of Ch'in was delighted, gave him a fief of a thousand households and took him as his chief minister. Han-fei was disparaging of Chia and said to the king: 'Equipped with the greatest wealth he has gone on missions from the north to the south of the empire. It m a y be that our relations with other states will take as long as three or four years to become firm; but your internal wealth can be exhausted while Chia uses the king's power and the state's treasure to secure his own position outside among the Lords. Examine it, your majesty, for he was once a gatekeeper in Liang and stole from that state. He was an officer in Chao and was driven from that state. To choose the son of a gatekeeper w h o stole much in Liang, and a minister w h o was driven from Chao with whom to share the policies of your state is not an action calculated to encourage the rest of your officers.' The king summoned Yao Chia and questioned him. 'I have heard that you used m y wealth to establish yourself with the Lords. Is this true?' 'It is." 'Then how could you be so shameless as to have audience with me again?' 'Tseng Shen 1 was filial with his own kin,' replied Chia, 'so all the empire wanted him as a son. W u Tzu-hsii was so faithful to his prince that all the empire wanted him as minister. T h e virtuous From here to ' y ° u w e r e gatekeeper' is essentially the same trope as that used in 53 and 55, q.v. Here it lacks some of the appositeness of 53, 55.
1
146
THE B O O K OF C H ' I N - T H E FIRST EMPEROR
woman whose wifely accomplishments are proven will be accepted as a consort by anyone in the empire. If today I am your majesty's loyal minister yet you do not know me to be such, to whom should I go if not to one of the four states? Yet if I had not been loyal to my ruler, would any of the kings of the four states ever be willing to employ me?' 'King Chieh heeded slander and executed his finest generals. King Chou heard calumny and murdered his most faithful ministers. Each king finally lost both life and state. If today you pay attention to slander you will soon be without ministers.' 'But when you were gatekeeper you became a great thief in Liang and afterwards when you were a minister you were banished from Chao', said the king. Yao Chia replied, 'Lu Wang was a man driven from his home in Ch'i and a failure even as a butcher1 in Ch'ao-ko. Tzu-liang2 was a banished minister and had had no success selling3 his services at Chichin. But King Wen used him and ruled. 'Kuan Chung, the peddlar of Pi,4 the obscure man from Nan-yang, the released prisoner of Lu, was used by Duke Huan and Huan became Hegemon. Hsi of Po-li was a beggar in Yii and sold himself for five lambskins5, but Duke Mu made him minister and brought the Western Jung to court. Duke Wen used Chung-shan Tao 6 and was victorious at Ch'eng-p'u. These four men of talent were abused as vile men and were slandered by the empire. But enlightened rulers used them and knew they could accomplish much with them. 'If these men had been like Pien Sui, Wu Kuang and Shen-t'u Ti,7 would either man or ruler have profited? So it is that the enlightened The tradition that Lu Wang was a butcher is preserved in 'T'ien-wen' 159-60 (see Hawkes, p. 55). Lii Wang as an angler is better known; both stories merely serve to indicate the low state in which he was discovered and then used. 2 Tzu-liang ^ JS is unidentified. 3AfterYokota,S=g. 4 With Wu I think A is excresent in Pi-jen. 5 He was got out of jail for five lambskins, according to SC 5/21. 8 Not identifiable but bearing a strong resemblance to Li Fu-hsii (ft % M) ofHH 5/46 and HS WC 10-3 (see Hightower p. 320 and note) both of which hark back to 1
Kuo Yii and Tso-chuan. 7 The first two were supposed to have refused commissions from T'ang and the last drowned himself in protest over the actions of King Chou.
THE BOOK OF C H ' I N - T H E FIRST EMPEROR
147
ruler will not happily suffer defamation to be spoken nor act on slander, but will seek in everyone something useful to him or something he can perhaps use to sustain his society. Therefore, though there be detractors, he will not heed them; but if a man has a towering name but not one shred of accomplishment he will not reward him. In this way none of his ministers will demand aught from their master unless it be accompanied by works.' 'So it shall be', said the king of Ch'in. He employed Yao Chia again and executed Han-fei. SPTK 3. 82a KY21.8
THE BOOK OF CH'I KING WEI (357-320 B.C.)
114 A defeated army's supplies After the battle of the P'u River, Ch'i's generals Ao-tzu and K'uang Chang had fled and died. T'ien P'an spoke to the king of Ch'i: 'We should hand over the supplies remaining from the expedition to Sung which would certainly please the king of that country and would deter Liang's crossing through Sung to attack Ch'i. We are weak now, so these supplies should be used to bind Sung to us. When Ch'i is again strong we can then demand their value from Sung. If they are not returned this can always be made a pretext to attack her.' SPTK 4.1a KY 31. 7
115 CK i prof ts from the ruin of her ally During the siege of Han-tan by Wei, Chao begged the help of Ch'i. Marquis T'ien1 summoned his great ministers together to take counsel. 'In the matter of succour for Chao', said he, 'who is opposed to saving her?' 'It would be better not to rescue her', said Tsou Chi. 'If we do not aid her,' returned Tuan-kan Lun, 'we will gain no advantage.' 'How so?' asked the Marquis. 'Will it profit us if Wei annexes Han-tan?' was the reply. 1
al. Marquis Ch'en; later King Wei of Ch'i. 148
THE B O O K OF C H ' I - K I N G WEI
149
'True', said the Marquis and levied troops to be stationed on the outskirts of Han-tan. Tuan-kan Lun then addressed him. 'When your servant spoke for profit it was not of this, for this yields none. Relieving Han-tan by camping on its borders will neither raze Chao's capital nor impair Wei. We should rather attack south at Hsiang-ling to weaken Wei so that Han-tan will still fall while we make capital of Wei's exhaustion. This will leave Chao broken and Wei powerless.' 'Good!' cried Marquis T'ien and mustered troops for the southward attack on Hsiang-ling. In seven months Han-tan was razed and Ch'i made good use of Wei's exhaustion by crushing her at Kuei-ling. SPTK 4.1b KY 24.6
Chang-tzu keeps faith with the living and the dead Ch'in asked right of way through Han and Wei in order to attack Ch'i. King Wei of Ch'i dispatched Chang-tzu in command of Ch'i's troops in response. The troops made contact with Ch'in and immediately went into encampment. A number of envoys went back and forth between the camps and Chang-tzu changed his pennants and insignia to mingle with the Ch'in forces. A spy reported that Chang-tzu had handed Ch'i's troops over to Ch'in. King Wei did not reply. A while later another spy reported that Chang-tzu had surrendered all Ch'i's troops. Still King Wei made no reply. Three times this happened. His officers said to the king: 'Two different men reported the same thing: that Chang-tzu has surrendered. Why do you not send someone to strike him?' 'I know he has not deserted,' replied the king, 'so what need is there for retaliation?' And a short while later it was reported that Ch'i had won a great victory and the forces of Ch'in were badly defeated. The king of Ch'in proclaimed himself a vassal of the western borders and made his apologies to Ch'i. The king's attendants asked King Wei how he knew this would happen. The king replied:
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THE B O O K OF C H ' I - K I N G WEI
'Chang-tzu's mother, Ch'i, betrayed his father who therefore killed her and buried her body in the filth of his stables. When I appointed Chang-tzu I encouraged him by pointing out that he would be so powerful when he returned with his forces intact that he could re-inter his mother. "I am able to re-inter her now but my mother once betrayed my father" he replied. "My father did not instruct me to do so before he died and my mother will remain there until I have other instructions from my father. Otherwise I should be breaking faith with the dead and this I could not do." Would a son who cannot break faith with his dead father, break faith as a minister with his living ruler?' SPTK4.2a KY 25. 13
117 Chang Kais condolences Ch'u was about to attack Ch'i and Lu was allying herself with the former, which troubled the king of Ch'i. 'Allow me to make Lu remain neutral', said Chang Kai. And he had audience with the ruler of Lu on Ch'i's behalf. 'Is the king of Ch'i frightened then?' asked Lu's ruler. 'I would know nothing of that', replied Chang Kai. 'I came merely to offer you my condolences.' 'Condolences for what?' 'For the error in your plans. Why would you ally yourself with a state which is not yet victorious instead of with the victor?' 'Which will be victorious, Ch'i or Ch'u?' asked the ruler of Lu. 'The spirits themselves do not know that', replied Chang Kai. 'Then why pity me?' 'Ch'i and Ch'u are so evenly matched that neither needs the presence or absence of Lu. Why then should you not preserve your forces and make an alliance after the two have fought? If Ch'u defeats Ch'i her best officers and select troops will have been decimated, and she will hardly be able to manage the empire with what remains. Similarly, if Ch'i is victorious her best officers and select troops will none the less have been decimated. So that by waiting until after the battle has been
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won or lost before offering your troops you will be establishing a great obligation; and the repayment of this obligation will also be very great.' The ruler of Lu was convinced and led his troops away. SPTK4.3a KY 25. 14
Tsou Chi ruins his rival with the help of a diviner Tsou Chi, the Marquis Ch'eng, was minister of Ch'i and T'ien Chi was its general. Neither like the other. Kung-sun Han said to Tsou Chi, 'Sir, why don't you plan an attack on Wei for your king? If it succeeds, the plan will have been yours and you will win merit for it. If the attack fails, General T'ien Chi will never be advanced. But if he does not fall in battle we will twist things around so that he is punished for it.' Tsou Chi thought it good and persuaded the king to send T'ien Chi against Wei. Thrice T'ien Chi fought and three times was victorious. Tsou Chi told this to Kung-sun Han and Kung-sun Han sent a man off with ten pieces of gold to seek a diviner in the market place. There the man with the gold called out: 'I am T'ien Chi's man; thrice we have fought and three times been victorious. Our fame sways the empire. Now we wish to "do the great deed" 1 and must know the omens.' The diviner came forth and had the seeker of omens seized. Then, before the king, he told what the man had said. T'ien Chi fled the country. SPTK4.3b KY 25. 8
119 The handsome man Tsou Chi was tall and fair of face and figure. He put on his court robes and cap and looked in the mirror. 1
Attempt a coup d'etat
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'Am I more handsome than Mr. Tardy of Northwall?' he asked his wife. 'You are much more so', replied his wife. 'How can Mr. Tardy even be compared with you?' Now, Mr. Tardy was a man known in Ch'i for his beauty,1 and Tsou Chi was not content, so he asked his concubine: 'Am I more handsome than Mr. Tardy?' 'How can there be any comparison? she replied. Next morning when guests, not members of his family, came and he sat with them and talked, he asked them: 'Who is the more handsome, Mr. Tardy or I?' 'Mr. Tardy is not as handsome as you are, sir', they replied. The day after that Mr. Tardy himself came. Tsou Chi examined him closely and decided he was not as handsome as Mr. Tardy. Then he looked in the mirror at himself and decided he was much less well favoured than was Mr. Tardy. When he went to bed that night he thought about it: 'My wife thinks me handsome because she is close to me, my concubine because she fears me, and my guests because they want something of me.' He then went to the court, had audience with King Wei and said: 'Your servant knows he is really not as handsome as Mr. Tardy. My wife is close to me, my concubine fears me and my guests want something of me, so they all say I am more handsome than he. Now in the thousand square li of our country and in its one hundred and twenty cities there is no woman of the king nor attendant who is not close to him. In the court there is no minister who does not fear him, and within the borders of the land there is no one who does not seek something of the king. If one looks at it this way, the king has been montrously hoodwinked!' 'It is so', said the king and he sent down an order: 'To all ministers, officers and citizens who will criticize the king's faults to his face will go the highest reward; those who will remonstrate with the king in writing will be given the next highest reward, and to those who overhear criticism of the king and convey it to his ears will go the least reward.' 1 This line may be a note mistakenly included in the text.
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As soon as the order had been given, ministers came in with remonstrations; the doorway to the chamber looked like a marketplace. In a few months there were occasional petitioners, and after a year none who spoke to the king had petitions to present. [When Yen, Chao, Han and W e i heard of this they all came to court at Ch'i. This is what is meant by 'winning a battle from the throne room']. SPTK4-4b KY 25. 12
K I N G H S U A N (319-301 B.C.)
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Ch'i delays until friend and foe are weakened and then makes both her vassals During Han's difficulties at Nan-liang, she called upon Ch'i 1 for help. Marquis T'ien summoned his ministers to make plans with them and asked: 'Would it be better for us to go to Han's relief immediately or should we wait before we do it?' Chang Kai replied, 'If we delay, Han will be divided up and annexed by Wei. We must go to her aid quickly.' 'We cannot,' said T'ien-ch'en Ssu,2 'for the troops of neither Han nor Wei are exhausted, and were we to go to Han's rescue we would simply be a substitute victim for Wei's armies and our forces would soon be taking orders from Han. At present Wei is intent on having Han and when Han is about to perish she will surely send her complaint east to us. We should, therefore, secretly bind Han to us and only later on take advantage of Wei's weakness. Then the state will become important, benefit can be had, and your name will be honoured.' 'Good', said Marquis T'ien. He gave the Han envoy secret assurances and sent him off. 1 2
Kambun misprints Han for Ch'i. This name may be a version of T'ien Chi (ffl ) but it also appears this way
again in 141.
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Believing that Ch'i was wholly behind her, Han fought five battles and lost five times. Only when she complained over Ch'i's delay did Ch'i raise her forces and strike. She crushed Wei at Ma-ling. Then, Wei being broken and Han weakened, their rulers, at the suggestion of T'ien Ying, took vassals' seats in the court of Marquis T'ien of Ch'i. SPTK 4. 5b KY 25. 7
121
T'ien Chi wins a battle, ignores advice, and is barred from entering his own country T'ien Chi was Ch'i's general. He had taken Shen, the heir of Liang, and had captured P'ang Chiian1 when Sun-tzu asked him, 'General, are you capable of mounting a coup?' 'How could I?' asked T'ien Chi. 'Do not disband your troops when you enter Ch'i; station all the exhausted, weak and aged soldiers at Chu. Chu lies on the main cart track, and wagons pass there all day axle to axle. Even if only the aged and infirm are stationed in Chu, one soldier there is worth ten elsewhere, ten are worth a hundred, and a hundred are worth a thousand. Then, with T'ai-shan at your back, the Chi River on your left and T'ient'ang on your right, your heavy wagons should pour into Kao-yuan while your light chariots and mounted horse surprise the capital city at the Yung Gate. 'If you do this Ch'i's ruler will be overthrown and Marquis Ch'eng will flee. If you do not do it, my general, you will not even be allowed into Ch'i.' T'ien Chi did not heed him and was indeed barred from Ch'i. SPTK 4. 6b KY 25. 9 1 2
In contrast to SC story where P'ang commits suicide. i.e. Tsou Chi
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122
T'ien Chi in Ch'u T'ien Chi fled Ch'i and went to Ch'u. Tsou Chi replaced him as minister1 of Ch'i, but lived in fear that T'ien Chi would use the power of Ch'u to restore himself in Ch'i. 'I want your permission to make certain that T'ien Chi stays in Ch'u', said Tu Ho to Tsou Chi. And in Ch'u he said to the king: 'The reason Tsou Chi does not arrange amicable relations with Ch'u is his fear that T'ien Chi may use Ch'u's power to restore himself in Ch'i. Your majesty's best remedy is to enfeoff T'ien Chi in Chiangnan to demonstrate that T'ien Chi need not return to Ch'i. Tsou Chi will serve Ch'u with his own state if you do this. T'ien Chi, being stateless, will feel a deep obligation to your majesty for the gift of a fief, and if he ever does return to Ch'i, he will surely serve Ch'u. This is a way to use both T'ien Chi and Tsou Chi.' Ch'u did give T'ien Chi a fief in Chiang-nan. SPTK 4. 7a KY 25. 10
123 Tsou Chi's proteges When Tsou Chi was minister to King Hsuan, he brought many men into service and King Hsuan was unhappy over it; Yen Shou was honoured in the court but brought few men into service and King Hsuan was delighted by it. Then Tsou Chi said to the king, 'I have heard that the filial behaviour of one son cannot be as great as that of five. How many men has Yen Shou brought into the king's service?' Thereafter the king felt that Yen Shou was concealing worthy men. SPTK 4. 7b K Y 2 5 . 11 1
This statement does not jibe with the opening sentence of 118.
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124 The king ofCh'u is given a reason for wanting an enemy statesman to keep his post in Ch'i When King Wei of Ch'u was victorious at Hsii-chou1 he hoped to drive Ying-tzu 2 from Ch'i and Ying-tzu was afraid. Chang Ch'ou said to the king of Ch'u: 'Your majesty was able to win at Hsii-chou because P'an-tzu is no longer employed in Ch'i. P'an-tzu had shown great merit in the state and the common folk were willing to work for him. Ying-tzu did not favour him, however, and used Shen Fu instead. But neither the great ministers nor the common folk would labour for Shen Fu, and that is why your majesty was victorious. If Ying-tzu were driven out, P'antzu would surely be re-employed and would again put Ch'i's officers and men in a fit state for dealing with you. This would hardly be advantageous to your majesty.' The king of Ch'u ceased trying to drive Ying-tzu from Ch'i. SPTK 4. 7b KY 22. 1
125 Chao dissuaded from intervening in the war between Ch'i and Yen In the troubles at Ch'iian, 3 Ch'i and Yen were at war. Ch'in sent Wei Jan to Chao to muster her troops against Ch'i in aid of Yen. The Duke of Hsiieh dispatched Wei Ch'u to Chao to speak to Li Hsiang: 'If you help Yen against Ch'i, Ch'i will be hard pressed. She will be sure to use her territory to buy an agreement with Yen, and I4 shall myself go to war against you. That being the case you will simply have aided Yen by adding to her troops and increasing her holdings. 1
Tso-chuan gives $f )Hi.
Probably T'ien Ying. 3 As Chung Feng-nien points out, both of these are more wildly anachronistic than the general run of CKT items. 4 Meaning the Duke of Hsiieh for whom Wei Ch'u is speaking. 2
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'If I were to make plans for you, sir, I think holding back your troops would be your best course. For then Ch'i will feel relieved of pressure and will resume her battles with Yen. Should Ch'i be victorious, her troops will be exhausted and Chao can take T'ang and Ch'u-ni from her. Should she be defeated, her very existence will be at the mercy of Chao. 'If you do as I suggest, you will strip Ch'i and exhaust Yen 1 by simply remaining neutral, and control over both states will be yours.' SPTK4.8a KY 26. 6
126 Su Ch'in persuades the king of Ch'in to join the Alliance Arranging the Alliance for Chao, Su Ch'in spoke to King Hsiian of Ch'i as follows: 'In the south of Ch'i is the barrier of T'ai-shan, in the east you have Lang-hsieh, to the west lie the Ch'ing and Yellow rivers, / and to the north the Gulf of Po-hai. This makes Ch'i a country of four barriers. 'Ch'i's territory forms a two thousand It square, her armour numbers hundreds of thousands, her grain reserves are as hills and mountains, and her crack chariots together with her "Five Household" militia strike as swiftly as a needle-dart flies, do battle like lightning bolts, and disperse like wind and rain. 'In all the battles Ch'i has fought, no enemy has ever got T'ai-shan / at its back, none has ever forded the Ch'ing and none has crossed Po- V hai. In the city of Lin-tzu are seventy thousand households. As I calcu- -/ late it, each of the lower rank households will yield three males, giving a total of three times seventy, or two hundred and ten thousand. Without having to conscript men from more distant districts, soldiers from Lin-tzu alone will certainly amount to two hundred and ten thousand. Lin-tzu is so wealthy and well supplied that all of its inhabitants play the pi-flute or strum the se-harp, pluck the zither or , strike the lyre. They match gamecocks, race their hounds, gamble, and 1 Setting historical considerations aside, this could also read, 'Strip Ch'i to give to exhausted Yen.'
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play ball. Its streets are so crammed that the carriages rub rims, its populace so great that the people rub shoulders. If all held their hems up they would block out the sunlight and their sleeves would shield the town. When they shake the sweat from themselves a rain falls. Their families are secure and wealthy and their ambitions are high and well known. No one in the world can resist the virtue of Ch'i's king and the power of his state. That you should now consider serving Ch'in of the west is a matter over which I feel shame for your majesty. 'Han and Wei share borders with Ch'in and this is the reason they fear her. If her troops came forth and they had to resist, victory and disaster would be decided in ten days. Even if Han andWei chanced to be victorious they would each have lost half an army and could no longer protect their borders. If they lost a single battle, complete defeat would be the immediate result. For these reasons they feel very grave doubts about war with Ch'in and think little of being her vassal. 'Were Ch'in to attack Ch'i it would not be thus. Ch'in would have the lands of Han and Wei at her back, she would have crossed the Yang-chin road in Lesser Wei and threaded the passes of K'ang-fu where two carriages cannot go abreast, where two horsemen cannot procede side by side, and where a hundred defenders may deter a thousand who want to pass. So even though Ch'in might wish to make such a deep penetration, she must always cast looks behind her, like the wary wolf, to where Han andWei are watching her. Since she must always be uneasy, she may prance high but will not dare gallop ahead. So it is clear that Ch'i need fear no harm from Ch'in. If no one has thought about it carefully enough to perceive that Ch'in can do you no harm, and yet has urged you to proclaim your country vassal to Ch'in1 of the west then your ministers' planning has been remiss. At the moment you are not Ch'in's vassal in name and you are still a powerful state in fact. I hope your majesty will ponder this.' ' I have been foolish,' said the king, 'but having heard the summons you relay from the king of Chao, I respectfully turn my state over to the Alliance.' SPTK4-8b KY 25. 16 1
Following SC.
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127 Birds of a featherflocktogether After Ch'un-yu K'un had presented seven men to King Hsiian in a single day the king said: 'Come sir. I have heard it said that finding a good man every thousand H is like finding them shoulder to shoulder and that one sage in a century is considered so frequent that they are falling over one another's feet; yet this day you have presented seven good men. Does it not seem that your good men come in crowds?' 'It should not be thought of this way,' said Ch'un-yu K'un, 'but rather keep in mind "birds of a feather flock together; beasts of a paw walk together". If you search the great swamps for the dye plant and the catarrh herb you may spend generations looking and never find one of them, but should you go to the north slopes of Mts. Kao-shu and Liang-fu then it is simply a matter of filling your cart. Everything lives with its kind. Now in my case I live among men of worth; so when your majesty requests them of me, it is as though he requested water from a river or asked for fire from a torch. Indeed, when next I have audience with you why should I stop at seven?' SPTK 4.10b KY 28. 10
128 The hare and the hound Ch'i wished to attack Wei so Ch'un-yu K'un said to the king of Ch'i: 'Han-tzu Lu was the swiftest hound in all the world and Tung-kuo Chun the wiliest hare on earth. Han-tzu Lu once started Tung-kuo Chun. Around the mountain he chased him thrice, over the mountain he chased him five times, the hare straining in the lead, the hound stretched to follow him, until both hound and hare dropped dead in their tracks from exhaustion. Then an old peasant passed by and with no effort at all appropriated them both for his dinner.
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'Today Ch'i and Wei can stand each other off for a long time. They will tire their troops and weaken their citizenry until I fear that mighty Ch'in or massive Ch'u will come behind them and profit as did the old peasant.' The king of Ch'i was frightened. He dismissed his generals and rested his troops. SPTK4. n a KY 28. n
129 Ch'un-yu K'un takes a bribe and defends his venality Ch'i intended to attack Wei, so the latter sent an envoy to speak to Ch'un-yu K'un. 'Ch'i wants to attack Wei,' said the envoy, 'and no one can relieve our plight but you, master. My prince has two pair of priceless jade pi and two teams of dappled horses which he begs leave to send you.' 'Let it be so', replied Ch'un-yu K'un and entered into the presence of the king of Ch'i to persuade him: 'Ch'u is an enemy of Ch'i,' said he, 'while Wei is an ally of ours. Now, to attack an ally and allow an enemy to take advantage of the resulting weakness not only carries with it an evil name,1 but also a dangerous reality. I dislike the plan.' 'So be it', replied the king and did not attack Wei. A retainer said to the king, 'Ch'un-yu K'un urges against the attack on Wei because he is receiving jades and steeds from her.' The king then confronted Ch'un-yu K'un saying: 'I have heard that you accepted jades and horses from Wei, sir; is that so?' 'It is.' 'Then how did this fact affect the plans you made for me, my Master?' 'If an attackonWei is profitless', replied Ch'un-yii K'un, 'would it be of any advantage to your majesty if Wei assassinated me instead of giving me gifts? On the other hand, would it in any way harm your 1
For turning on an ally.
M I :£ f
« *
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majesty if Wei should even grant me a fief? In fact, if your majesty avoids criticism for attacking an ally,Wei avoids destruction, the people avoid the distress of war, and I receive horses and jades, what possible harm can it do your majesty?' SPTK4.nb KY 54. 6
I3O Yen Ch'u insults a king and turns his back on courtly life King Hsiian of Ch'i gave Yen Ch'u 1 audience and said, 'Come forward, Ch'u.' 'Come forward, your majesty', replied Ch'u, and the king was displeased. 'His majesty is a ruler of men and you are but a minister', cried the Jong's attendants. 'Is it permissible for you to say, "Come forward your majesty" when the king summons you?' 'If I were to go to him on order it would be from fear of his power,' replied Ch'u, 'but if he were to come to me he would be seeking a man of honour. To cause a king to seek men of honour is better for him than to make a man of honour fear the king's power.'2 'Is a king not more honoured than a shih?' cried the king, colouring in indignation. 'A shih is honoured, a king is not', replied Yen Ch'u. 'Is this a persuasion?' 'It is. Of old when Ch'in was attacking Ch'i the order was given that anyone caught foraging within fifty paces of Liu-hsia Chi's 3 tomb in Lu be executed summarily. He later gave the order that anyone who secured the head of the king of Ch'i would be given a fief of ten thousand families and a gift of one thousand in gold. From this it is apparent that the head of a king is not worth as much as the tomb of a man of honour.' Also known as I *5 Wang Shu (or Chu). Lin YUn-ming (T. Hsi-chung) comments: 'If a king seeks shih ('man of honour') he is fulfilling his function; if a shih toadies to power he has lost his function.' 8 Chan Ch'in H ft (or Liu-hsia Hui) was supposed to have had the soubriquet or tew of Liu-hsia Chi. 1
2
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The king was silent and unhappy. 'Come, Ch'u, come!' cried the king's attendants. 'Our king commands a country of a thousand chariots, has cast bells weighing a thousand stone and bell-racks weighing ten thousand stone. Men of honour throughout the empire come to live with him and serve him, learned debators present themselves and speak with him, men from everywhere feel constrained to do him honour. He lacks for nothing and all his people are devoted to him. 'But even the highest placed shih is only a commoner and a man of the ranks, while the lowest among them are lucky to be gatemen in some rustic village1 - such is the mean position of the shih.' 'Not so', replied Yen Ch'u. 'I have heard that in the time of Yu the Great there were ten thousand states. Why? Because they had great virtue and held the power of the shih in respect. It was for this reason that Shun, who came from the farm, left the hinterlands and became the Son of Heaven. 'By the time of T'ang the Feudal Lords amounted to three thousand and in the present age there are only twenty-four who sit facing south calling themselves "the lonely one" 2 . Did this decrease not come about because some states' policies were sound and some not? Gradually the latter were exterminated. And when one's clan is exterminated can one hope to become even gateman of a hamlet? 'Does not the Yi-ching3 say: "Who sits in the high place and is content with the title instead of the reality of his position will 4 become arrogant and profligate. On the heels of arrogance, contempt, and dissipation follows calamity." 'This is why it is said, "Who loves the name but not the task will lose his state; who, without virtue, hopes for luck is profligate; for those who, meritless, still draw their pay, calamities await." It is also said, "Boasted merit is least likely to succeed; wishes alone bring one nothing." These sayings all refer to the taking of pleasure in name and ornament while lacking the reality and substance. 'This is why Yao had his "nine aides", Shun his "seven companions", The attendants are deliberately using shih in one of its meanings already archaic in Confucius' time - i.e., 'soldier'. 2 In Ancient China rulers used this expression as a sort of royal 'we' 3 The present-day text of Yi-ching does not in fact contain this quotation. 4 Traditionally understood to mean his need to find men of talent to aid him. 1
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V" his "five assistants" and T'ang his "three ministers". From ancient 'tries until now no one has become famous throughout the empire without having accomplished something, and this is why no ruler has ver hesitated to question widely or been ashamed to learn from those under him. For this reason those who achieved true virtue and left the atest n a m e behind were Yao, Shun, Yu, T'ang and King Wen of Chou. Therefore it is said, "Formlessness is the master of form just as disturbance arises from lack of disturbance." But "seeing the source and knowing the course" what ill fortune could befall these greatest of sages who knew how to emulate others' ? 'Lao-tzu said, "Even the most honoured has his humble roots, just as that which is high has its base on the low." It is for this reason that nobility and kings speak of themselves as "the orphan", "the lonely one", "the unworthy". Are they not then showing their "humble roots"? Men orphaned and the alone are among the lowest; and do not nobles and kings by using such terms wish to number themselves among the lowliest so that they may honour skill? 'Yao bequeathed his throne to Shun, Shun passed his on to Yii, King Ch'eng of Chou used Tan, Duke of Chou, and yet subsequent generations have all spoken of them as enlightened rulers because they knew how to honour men of honour." 'Alas,' said King Hsiian, 'can a superior man ever be treated with contempt? I have done little save cause myself trouble. But this day I have heard how a superior man speaks and how^ a petty man acts and hope to become your disciple, sir. If you consent, Master Yen, to be my companion, you shall dine on meat and travel by coach, and your wife shall wear only the finest garments.' Yen Ch'u took his leave, however, saying, 'Jade is found in the mountains and only when worked does it flaw. The final product is still valuable but its pristine wholeness is lost. A shih comes from a simpler life, and if he is chosen and accepts emolument, though he is not dishonoured, he loses some unity of spirit and person. I prefer to return to my old ways; for to eat only when hungry is better than dining on meat, to walk in peace is better than riding in a state carriage, and to live without guilt is better than being honoured. I want only the purity of seclusion for my happiness. Your majesty would limit what I say, whilst I would rather always speak directly and honestly and
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without constraint. In any case, the most important things have already been said. I request your permission to retire and go in peace to my native village and home.' And with that Yen Ch'u saluted the king and left. [Yen Ch'u understood contentment. He returned to simplicity and avoided dishonour all the rest of his days.] SPTK 4. 12a KY 29. 5
Wang Tou and the four loves of King Hstian Master Wang Tou came to King Hsiian's court to seek audience. The king had given his chamberlain instructions to delay his admittance. 'I have hastened to the country of Ch'i's king because he longs for power', said Wang Tou to the chamberlain. 'Now, if Ch'i's king hastens to me it will mean that he seeks men of honour1. See what your master says to that.' The chamberlain returned and reported: 'My king asks the Master to tarry a little for he wishes to welcome him.' The king then hurried to the gates and welcomed Wang Tou in. 'Since I inherited the temples and altars of my forebears,' said the king, 'I have often heard that the Master is most forthright in his admonitions and does not scruple to speak on any matter.' 'Then the king is misinformed. I am born in a debauched age and serve intemperate kings - how can I be forthright with reproof?' The king flushed in anger. After a moment Wang Tou spoke: 'In the past, however, there were men like your ancestor, Duke Huan, who assembled the Feudal Lords nine times, put the empire in order, received his appointment from the Son of Heaven and became Grand Hegemon. He loved five things, and of them you also love four.' 'I?' cried the king happily, 'I who merely hold the country of Ch'i with rustic stupidity, fearing only that I may lose it entirely - what four loves could I share with him?' 1
A play on words 'longs for power' and 'loves men of honour'. Both are read
hao-shih.
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'He loved horses and your majesty loves horses, he loved hounds and vour majesty loves hounds, he loved wine as does your majesty and women as does your majesty. He also loved men of honour, but your majesty does not.' 'How can I love them since there are none in this age?' asked King Hsuan. 'This age also lacks the fabled unicorn and the swift Lii-erh,' replied Wang Tou, 'y et v o u r majesty is well supplied with chariot teams. We lack both1 Tung-kuo Chun, the wily hare, and the hound of Lu to chase him, but your majesty's kennels show no lack of harriers. This age claims no beauties like Mao Ch'iang and Hsi Shih, yet your maj esty's pavilions are not without women. But your majesty cares nothing for men of honour so why should it bother him that there are none?' 'Still, I am concerned for my country and care for my people,' said the king, 'I would gladly find men of honour to govern for me.' 'Your majesty's concern and care for his country and people', replied Wang Tou, 'is somewhat less than his concern for a length of good silk.' 'What do you mean?' 'When the king wishes to have a hat made he does not order it to be done by his most favoured attendant but by one skilled in the work. And why? Because then he is certain of getting it made. Yet governing Ch'i is either done by favoured attendants or is not done at all. Therefore I say you have more concern for a piece of good silk.' 'I have offended against my own country', admitted King Hsuan, and straightway raised five men of honour to official posts. And Ch'i was well governed. SPTK4.15a KY 29. 6
132 The unmarried mother A man from Ch'i had audience with T'ien P'ien: 'I have heard the Master's lofty arguments but though you pretend Tung-kuo Chun occurs in 128 where Ch'un-yu K'un is also the persuader. In 128 it is the soubriquet of the wiliest rabbit in the realm. 1
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that you will never serve as an official you are really willing to serve', he said. 'And how do you know this, sir?' asked T'ien P'ien. 'From observing the woman of a neighbour of mine.' 'What do you mean?' asked T'ien P'ien. 'Why, my neighbour has a woman with whom he pretends not to be married and has been doing so for thirty years during which time she has borne him seven sons. Now it may indeed be that they are not married, but what they achieve unmarried is more than many marriages do. 'You say you will not serve as another's officer, but you have a salary of a thousand chung and one hundred assistants. If you serve as no one's officer, so be it, but your income from it is greater than that of most men who do serve.' T'ien-tzu apologized. SPTK 4.16b KY 29. 8
133 An ungenerous patron finds no help in his hour of need Kuan Yen1 had offended the king of Ch'i and asked his attendants,2 'Who will risk his life by going to the Feudal Lords for me?' His attendants remained silent and did not reply. Kuan Yen continued with tears streaming down his cheeks, 'Alas, how sad it is that shih are so easily secured but so difficult to find useful.' 'Three times each day your shih have too little to eat,' said T'ien Hsix,3 'while your falcons, sir, have more than enough. In the rear quarters your women have soft silk, silk-net and embroidered silk, while your shih are hard put to find even a hem on their garments. You, sir, think nothing of wealth, but your shih think very highly of their own lives. If you will not even give of what you hold in contempt and Also known as Sung Yen Sic $i in HS WC, Sung Wei or Tsung Wei (SU or ^ 8f) in SY, and M ffl Yen Hsiang in HH. 2 ;fe >& This term is usually contrasted with i shih but here seems to be a synonym for it. 3 Given also as B t&.
1
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yet tax your shih with not giving you what they hold dear, then this is hardly a case of shih being easy to secure but difficult to find useful!' SPTK4.17a KY 29. 9 K I N G M I N (300-284 B.C.)
134 Drawing the snake's legs General Chao-yang of Ch'u had attacked Wei, overthrown its army, killed its general and taken eight cities. He then moved his troops out to attack Ch'i. Ch'en Chen, acting for the king of Ch'i, gained audience with Chao-yang. After he had made obeisance and congratulated the general on his victories he arose and asked: 'According to the usages of Ch'u what would be the rank and position of one who overturned an army and killed its commander?' 'His position would be Pillar of the State,' replied Chao-yang, 'and his rank that of Jade Baton.' 'Is there any higher estate than that?' asked Ch'en Chen. 'None but the prime minister.' 'Ah, the prime minister is high indeed!' returned Ch'en Chen, 'and no king is likely to appoint two of them. With your permission, excellency, I would like to draw a comparison: 'There was once a man of Ch'u who offered a sacrifice. Having done so he gave his companions a flagon of wine. "This is enough and more for one man," said they, "but not enough for several. Let us each draw a serpent on the ground and he who finishes first shall drink the flagon down." 'One of them finished his snake first and took the flagon in his left hand - being about to drink it down - but with his right hand he commenced to draw again saying: "I can even give mine legs!" 'Before he had finished, another had completed his snake, took the flagon and drank it. "A snake has no legs so you couldn't have drawn one", said he; and the one who had put legs on the snake lost his wine. 'At present, my lord minister of Ch'u, you have crushed Wei's
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army, killed her general, and taken eight of her cities with your own forces still intact. You threaten Ch'i, and Ch'i fears you greatly. Here is fame enough! Your estate is so high that it cannot be increased. He who has fought only victorious battles but does not know when to cease will finally perish and have his honour revert to a successor. What you are doing now is like putting the legs on a snake.' Chao-yang, realizing that Ch'en was right, withdrew his troops and left. SPTK 4. 17b KY 26. 4
135 Purchasing peace f
Ch'in attacked Chao so Chao ordered Lou Huan to use five cities to make peace with Ch'in and gain her aid in an attack on Ch'i. The king of Ch'i grew fearful and sent an envoy offering ten Ch'i cities for peace with Ch'in/fLou-tzu was frightened in turn and promised twenty-four districts from Shang-tang to the king of Ch'in. Chao Tsu then journeyed to Ch'i and said to its king: 'If your majesty wishes to be free of pressure from Ch'in and Chao you should ally Ch'i with Chao so that Chao wears Ch'in out. With Ch'in exhausted Ch'i would be untroubled.' SPTK 4. 18a KY 26. 5
136 T'ien Ying'sjief Ch'i was about to enfeoff T'ien Ying with Hsueh but the king of Ch'u was angry when he heard of it and threatened to attack Ch'i. This caused the king of Ch'i grave misgivings, so Kung-sun Han said to T'ien Ying: 'The success or failure of this enfeoffment does not rest in Ch'i's hands but in Ch'u's. Let me persuade the king of Ch'u in such a way that Ch'u will want you enfeoffed even more than Ch'i.'
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'I will leave the whole matter in your hands', replied T'ien Ying, and Kung-sun Han spoke to the king of Ch'u for him thus: 'When Lu and Sung became vassals of Ch'u, Ch'i did not. The reason she did not was because she was great while Lu and Sung were small. Your majesty did not become angry that Ch'i was great but simply profited from the fact that Lu and Sung were small. 'But if Ch'i carves a fief for T'ien Ying from her own territory she will be made smaller and weaker thereby; so I ask your majesty not to hinder the affair.'1 'Good', said the king of Ch'u and did not interfere. SPTK 4. 18b KY 23. 2
137 The leviathan T'ien Ying, the Lord Ching-kuo, was building up the walls of Hsueh and many of his men admonished him. Ching-kuo finally told his usher to allow no one into his presence. There was a man from Ch'i, however, who made this request: 'I will say only three words to you; if I say one word more you may boil me alive!' The prince had him admitted for this. The man hurried in and presented himself. 'The sea leviathan', he said, and turned to go. 'Stay', said the prince. 'Your servant does not intend to trifle with his own life', replied the other. 'Have done with that,' said the prince, 'and explain to me further.' 'Has my lord not heard of the leviathan which no net can trap nor hook can snare? If it should strand itself by carelessness then even the ant may do as it will with the beast! Now Ch'i is like the leviathan's sea to you, my lord; you will always have Ch'i, so what concern have you with Hsueh? But, should Ch'i be lost, then you could build Hsiieh's walls as high as heaven and it would avail you nothing.' 1
Kambun has printed the punctuation in the wrong place here.
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'It is well spoken', said Lord Ching-kuo and ceased raising the walls ofHsueh. SPTK 4. i 9 a KY 24. 3
138 The treasury report Lord Ching-kuo said to the king of Ch'i, 'It is absolutely necessary that you listen to your five officials' treasury report each day and frequently inspect the treasure itself.' 'It shall be done', 1 said the king, but when he had done it once2 he was wearied with the task and gave it over to Lord Ching-kuo. SPTK 4. 19b KY 24. 4
139 Lord Ching-kuo's knowledge of men Lord Ching-kuo thought highly of Ch'i Mao-pien 3 who was a very vindictive man and not at all liked by Lord Ching-kuo's other retainers. Once Shih-wei4 admonished Lord Ching-kuo on the matter but the latter paid no heed and left. Lord Meng-ch'ang then spoke to him in private and Lord Ching-kuo became very angry. 'Though I were cut off from you all and had to leave my family I would do even that if it made Ch'i Mao-pien happy', he cried. 'I will not send him away!' 5 Af$er that he accorded Ch'i Mao-pien first rank among his retainers, made his eldest son serve him, and sent him food every morning and evening. Several years later, King Wei died and King Hsiian took the throne. Lord Ching-kuo was on very poor terms with King Hsiian so he IS: should be i£. 5. should be S. 3 Also known in LSCC as Chi ($S) Mao-pien. 4 Index treats this as a proper name, so I do also, though with no great faith that it is. 5 Kambun has misprinted #f for t$. 1
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retired to Hsiieh with Ch'i Mao-pien. Not long afterwards Ch'i wa0_pien asked leave to go and have audience with King Hsiian. 'I am in such disfavour with him,' said Lord Ching-kuo, 'that you are certain to find death at his hands.' 'I do not, in fact, go there seeking to have my life spared,' replied Ch'i Mao-pien, 'but go I must.' Lord Ching-kuo could not stop him, so Ch'i Mao-pien travelled to Ch'i and when the king heard of it he hid his anger to wait for him. Ch'i Mao-pien having been given audience, the king said to him: 'So you are the man whom Lord Ching-kuo loves and listens to!' 'I am loved by him, it is true,' replied Ch'i Mao-pien, 'but it is not true that Lord Ching-kuo heeds me. When your majesty had just been made heir apparent, for instance, I said to him "The new heir has an ungenerous look, is heavy jawed and shows the least auspicious physiognomy.1 Persons of this type will turn on others. You had best see that he is put aside and the Wei woman's child, Chiao-shih, raised instead." "No," replied Lord Ching-kuo, weeping, "I could not bear to do that." If he had Listened to me then he would certainly not be in trouble now. This was the first time he paid me no heed. 'When we arrived in Hsiieh, Chao Yang of Ch'u offered to exchange several times the amount of land for the fief of Hsueh. I told Lord Ching-kuo he should do it, but he said, "I received Hsiieh from our former king and though I am disliked by the present monarch, how could I explain such an act to his ancestor? Besides, the ancestral temples are in Hsiieh. How can I bring myself to turn them over to Ch'u?" 'This was another time he paid me no heed - the second.' The king sighed heavily, his face working, 'To think that Lord Ching-kuo was so true to me and to think I almost knew nothing of it! Would you be willing to ask Lord Ching-kuo to come to me?' 'I comply with respect', replied Ch'i Mao-pien. Lord Ching-kuo wore the livery and sword of King Wei and when King Hsiian welcomed him in the suburbs he looked upon him and wept.2 When Lord Ching-kuo reached the place he was asked to be chief minister but refused. Finally he could refuse no longer, so he served 1
Lit. shih-shih i£ iSt 'the pig-(i.e. low) grade physiognomy'. his dress reminded the king of his father.
2 Because
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seven days and pleaded illness. Still he was not allowed to retire from the post, so three days later he agreed to serve. [At this period Lord Ching-kuo could be called a man who knew men. Because he did, he would not put them from him simply because others thought them bad. This is why Ch'i Mao-pien was willing to sacrifice his life for him, was happy to suffer for him, and welcomed undergoing hardships for him.] SPTK 4. 19b KY 24. 5
140 Ch'en Chen persuades the king of Wei to help the Three Chin Ch'in had attacked Wei and Ch'en Chen united the Three Chin in defence while he went eastward to speak to the king of Ch'i. "When the ancient kings did battle', said Ch'en, 'it was to rectify the world and to leave a name for great deeds to posterity. Today our six states Ch'i, Ch'u, Yen, Chao, Han and Liang are so inconstant that none could leave a name for great deeds; instead each weakens itself and strengthens Ch'in - hardly the best strategy for China East of the Mountain. 'The greatest threat to us is mighty Ch'in; yet we turn on ourselves, untroubled by thoughts of Ch'in. Each of us attacks and weakens the other until both fall prey to Ch'in. This I believe to be the curse of the empire. The world dismembers itself for Ch'in and Ch'in need not raise a hand. Our states boil one another alive and Ch'in need not even supply the faggots. Think on it sire! Can it be that Ch'in alone has wit and we are stupid? 'When the Five Emperors, the Three Kings and the Five Hegemons did battle, they fought the unrighteous. But Ch'in's battle against the world is not thus. Indeed, it is to overturn what our ancients accomplished! Our rulers will die in disgrace and their people in captivity. Of late the eyes of Han and Liang are never dry; but the people of Ch'i have not yet wept. This is not because Ch'i is kin to Ch'in while Han and Liang are strangers, but because Ch'i is far from Ch'in while Han
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and Liang are close to her. Now, however, Ch'i is to become a neighbour of Ch'in. 'Ch'in is about to attack Liang's cities of Chiang and An-yi. When these are taken, Ch'in will go east along both banks of the Yellow River to attack Ch'i. With Ch'i taken all the way to the coast, she will send a force south to isolate Ch'u, Han, and Liang and another force north to cut ofFYen and Chao. Ch'i will be helpless to plan against this, so think on it seriously your majesty. 'The Three Chin have united. They have sworn themselves brothers and have made a covenant to send crack troops in defence of the cities of Chiang and An-yi. Here is the kind of strategy which is seen only once in a thousand generations! If Ch'i does not now send forth her best troops in alliance with the Three Chin she will live to regret it. For because of the Chin alliance, Ch'in will not attack Liang but will go south against Ch'u. When the Chin have become embroiled in the battles between Ch'in and Ch'u they will grow angry against Ch'i for not having joined them and they will go east to attack her. This is why I warn you that you will live to regret it. It would be far better to dispatch your finest troops in all haste to join with the Three Chin.' The king of Ch'i assented respectfully and did send troops to join the Three Chin. SPTK 4. 21b KY 25. 15
141 Ch'i prefers attacking an internally weakened Yen to aiding her ally Han Ch'i and Han were allied states and when Chang Yi attacked Han with the combined forces of Ch'in and Wei [Han asked succour of Ch'i.1] 'Han is our ally,' said the king of Ch'i, 'and since Ch'in has attacked her we will go to her rescue.' 'Your majesty's planning is faulty', said T'ien-ch'en Ssu. 'You should merely give their request a hearing.2 King Tzu-k'uai has given his With Wu Shih-tao something like this is missing as can be inferred from the 'king promised the Han envoy help' below. 2 i.e., promise help but do not aid her, following Yokota.
1
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minister Tzu-chih the throne of Yen but the people of that state have not accepted him and the Feudal Lords will not allow it. Now, if Ch'in attacks Han, Ch'u and Chao will surely come to her aid and this will be as good as heaven bestowing the state of Yen upon us.' 'Good', said the king, and he promised the Han envoy help and sent him back to Han. Han, believing that she had Ch'i's backing, joined battle with Ch'in and, as expected, Ch'u and Chao one after another mustered troops and came to Han's rescue. Ch'i then raised her forces and attacked Yen. In thirty days Yen was hers. 1 SPTK 4. 24a KY 26. 1
142 Chang Yi persuades the king of Ch'i to make submission to Ch'in Chang Yi was speaking to the king of Ch'i on behalf of Ch'in and its Coalition. 'There is no state in the world stronger than Ch'i,' said he, 'and none so blessed with senior advisers both wealthy and happy. However, those who have been planning for your majesty have advised actions with temporary benefits and have not kept in mind advantages which would last a thousand generations! 'The advocate of the Alliance who spoke to your majesty doubtless said: "With the mighty country of Chao to the west, Han and Wei to the south, and with its back against the sea, Ch'i is a broad and populous state. Its troops are strong and its officers valiant. Though there were a hundred countries of Ch'in they could not harm us!" 'Your majesty embraced the persuasions of this proponent and did not scrutinize the facts. The spokesmen for the Alliance are all as thick as thieves and not one of them doubts it can work. Your servant has heard, however, that Ch'i and Lu once fought three battles in each of which Lu was victorious but that because of these perilous victories Lu was destroyed. Though the battles were described as victorious, in 1 Chung Feng-nien says that dates and persons are badly confused in this and promises a discussion in his pien-wu, but that section contains no notes on this item.
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reality they spelled destruction. T h e reason? Ch'i was large and Lu was small'In recent times Ch'in and Chao have resembled Ch'i and Lu. W h e n they fought on the upper Chang, Chao was twice victorious over Ch'in. When they fought below P'u-wu, Chao twice again gained victories over Ch'in. After these four battles were fought, however, Chao had lost over one hundred thousand troops and could barely preserve her capital of Han-tan. Thus, though she was famous for having defeated Ch'in, the country of Chao was actually crushed. The reason? Ch'in was powerful and Chao was weak. 'At present Ch'in and Ch'u have become kindred countries by exchanging royal sons and daughters in marriage. Han has ceded Yi-yang to Ch'in, and Wei its lands across the River. Chao has paid homage at Mien-ch'ih and yielded to Ch'in her lands bordering on the River there. If your majesty would not see fit to acknowledge us, Ch'in could press Han and W e i to attack Ch'i in the south and she could muster all Chao to ford the River pass and direct their troops to Po-kuan thus depriving your majesty of the cities of Lin-tzu and Chi-mo. 'On the day your country is attacked you might wish to acknowledge Ch'in, but then it could no longer be done. This is w h y I beg your majesty to give your plans the maturest consideration.' 'Ch'i is a provincial and isolated place', replied the king, 'which has relied on its position b y the Eastern Sea. W e had never heard of the long-lasting profit possible for our country's altars until m y worthy visitor honoured us b y travelling here to teach us. N o w I beg to offer my country in Ch'in's service.' Three hundred li of salt-producing and fishing areas were then presented to Ch'in. SPTK 4. 25a K Y 25. 17
143 Chang Yi under a new king Chang Yi had served King Hui of Ch'in and when King Hui died King Wu took the throne. The latter's attendants disliked Chang Yi and
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claimed that he had not served the former king in good faith. On the heels of their criticism came the country of Ch'i's denunciation. When Chang Yi heard of this he said to the king, 'I have a clumsy plan I hope your majesty will use.' 'What is it?' asked the king. 'It would be most advantageous to the state if the East were to undergo a great upheaval, for then your majesty would be able to take much territory. Now Ch'i hates me so much that whatever country I may be in she will promptly attack. For this reason I shall take my worthless person to Liang; then Ch'i will be certain to raise troops and assault the capital. When the soldiers of Ch'i and Wei are locked in battle beneath the city wall and cannot disengage, your majesty should seize that moment to attack Han and enter the Three Rivers area. You should move your troops through Han-ku Pass and close in on Chou without attacking her. She will without doubt offer you her priceless sacrificial vessels. Then you will have the Son of Heaven under your arm and the maps and records of the empire in your hands. This would be a king's business indeed!' 'Good', cried the king and assembled thirty armoured chariots to escort Chang Yi to Liang. As was expected, Ch'i mobilized and attacked, and the king of Wei was terrified. 'Do not be afraid', said Chang Yi. 'I beg your permission to make Ch'i withdraw her troops.' He sent his retainer, Feng Hsi, to Ch'u to request that Ch'u send an envoy to Ch'i. Matters between Ch'i and Ch'u having been settled, the envoy said to the king of Ch'i: 'Your majesty may have the greatest hatred for Chang Yi, but clearly you do much to make him trusted in Ch'in.' 'I hate him so much that I will attack any place harbouring him', said the king. 'Why should I want him trusted?' 'But this is exactly how you cause him to be trusted', replied the other.' When Chang Yi was to leave Ch'in, he made an arrangement with the king of Ch'in saying, "In planning for your majesty it appears to me, that should there be a great disturbance in the East you would be able to gain much territory. The king of Ch'i hates me so much that he will attack any place I may be in. For this reason I shall take my worthless person to Liang in order to make certain that Ch'i will raise
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troops and assault it. When the soldiers of Ch'i and Wei are locked in battle beneath the city wall and cannot disengage, your majesty should seize that moment to attack Han and enter the Three Rivers area. You should move your troops through Han-ku Pass and close in on Chou without attacking her. Without doubt she will offer her priceless sacrificial vessels. Then you will have the Son of Heaven under your arm and the maps and records of the empire in your hands. This would be a king's business indeed." The king thought him right, got thirty armoured chariots to escort him to Liang and as he expected, you attacked. In this fashion, you are weakening yourself internally and increasing your enemies by attacking an ally, whilst outside your state you are making Chang Yi believed and trusted by the king of Ch'in. This is what I meant by saying that you do much to cause him to be trusted.' 'True'1 , said the king, and he ceased his attack. SPTK 4. 26b KY 26. 2
144 Chang Yi's diplomacy is undone by the subtlety of a dejeated rival The hsi-shou, Kung-sun Yen, used Liang's forces against Ch'i in the batde of Ch'eng-k'uang and was defeated. 'He ignored my advice and endangered your state', said Chang Yi to the king of Wei, and the king made Chang Yi his minister. Chang Yi then, as representative of the two states of Ch'in and Wei, went to Ch'i to solicit an alliance. The hsi-shou, hoping to ruin it, said to the ruler of LesserWei, 'I do not hold any grudge against Chang Yi; we simply have different ways of working for the state. Please explain this to him for me, your highness.' The ruler of Lesser Wei told Chang Yi. Chang Yi said he accepted the explanation and sat before the ruler while the hsi-shou came and It seems pointless for Chang Yi to seek a way to cause Ch'i to break off its attack. This is certainly corrupt.
1
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knelt before him and wished him long life. The next day when Chang Yi departed, the hsi-shou accompanied him as far as the borders of Ch'i. The king of Ch'i heard of it and was furious with Chang Yi. 'Kung-sun Yen the hsi-shou is my enemy', he cried. 'If you have been with him you must be selling out my state.' And thereafter he would not heed Chang Yi. SPTK 4. 27b KY 26. 3
145 Nine persuasions on a single theme The king of Ch'u had died and his heir apparent was still hostage in Ch'i. 'Why does my lord not confine the heir of Ch'u and use him to bargain for the eastern section of his country with?' Su Ch'in asked the Duke of Hsiieh. 'It would not do,' replied the Duke, 'for if I held the heir they would enthrone another in Ying and then not only would I be left embracing a useless hostage but I would have got an evil name in the realm for my troubles.' 'Not so, my lord,' replied Su Ch'in, 'if they name a king at Ying you need only say to the new ruler, "Give me the eastern portion of your country and I will assassinate the former heir for you. If you don't, together with my two allies, I shall proclaim the former heir king of Ch'u." Then you would surely be given the eastern portion of Ch'u.' [*Su Ch'in can [1] make the Duke of Hsueh ask him to go. He can [2] cause the king of Ch'u quickly to hand over his eastern territories, and then, [3] make him cede even more lands. He can [4] make the heir faithful to Ch'i and get even more land from Ch'u. He can [5] send the heir off in haste for the king of Ch'u, he can [6] make the heir faithful and cause him to leave in haste. He can [7] blacken himself in the eyes of the Duke of Hsiieh. He can [8] make another get him a title in Ch'u. He can [9] make another persuade the Duke of Hsiieh to treat The brackets in this item merely indicate the words of the persuader who composes the next nine pieces. See Crump, Intrigues, p. 104. 1
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him well. He can [?] then go himself to the Duke and explain his actions.] I. 'I have heard,' said Su Ch'in,' "Whose plans leak out does not succeed; praise comes not to them irresolute to do the deed." Now if my lord detains the heir in Ch'i to bargain for the eastern parts of Ch'u and if Ch'u should not immediately hand over this area, she might change her plans and this would leave you embracing a useless hostage and shouldering an evil name in the realm.' 'That is so,' said the Duke, 'what can be done to prevent that?' 'I beg your leave to go to Ch'u for you and manage things so that she immediately hands over the territory. Once Ch'u has done this, there can be no defeating my lord's plans.' 'True', said the Duke and sent him off. [This is why it was said 'he could be asked to go'.] II. Said he to the king [sic] of Ch'u, 'Ch'i wishes to support the heir apparent so that he will be put on the throne, but in my view the Duke of Hsueh is detaining the heir only to bargain for Ch'u's eastern lands. If you do not immediately give Ch'i your eastern lands, then the heir will offer double the amount of land to Ch'i to keep Ch'i's support.' 'I respectfully hear your command', said the king, and he ceded the eastern lands. [This is why it was said 'he could cause Ch'u to surrender the land immediately'.] III. Said he to the Duke of Hsueh, 'Ch'u is now inclined to cede even more territory'. 'How can we take advantage of this?' asked the Duke. 'Tell the heir that you intend to ask for more and make him tell his ruler that he wants this done to prove that he will be faithful to you. Make sure that Ch'u hears of this and she will cede you more land.' [This is why it was said 'he could get even more land from Ch'u'.]
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IV. To the heir he said, 'Ch'i has supported you and would like you to take the throne of Ch'u. Your country has already offered to cede an amount of territory to Ch'i if Ch'i will hold you here indefinitely. But Ch'i thinks the amount of land is too little. Why do you not offer to give Ch'i twice the amount and then rely on Ch'i's support? She is bound to back you.' 'I shall', replied the heir, and he doubled the offer of territory and remained in Ch'i. The king of Ch'u heard this and doubled the amount of land he had offered, still fearing the affair might not work out. [This is why it was said 'he could cause Ch'u to cede even more land'.]* V. He then said to the king of Ch'u, 'The only reason Ch'i dared ask for more land was because she had the heir under her thumb. Now she has got her land, but her demands continue; for she weighs the heir as heavily as she does the king himself. Therefore, if I can drive the heir away, he will leave and Ch'i will not have a word to say about doubling the amount of land. Then your majesty must ride posthaste to mighty Ch'i and fix your relations with her so that her words will accord with your majesty's wishes. In this fashion you will have got rid of an enemy and established firm relations with Ch'i.' The king of Ch'u was delighted. 'Please let me put my country at your command', he said. [This is why it was said that 'he could make the heir leave in haste'.]2 VI. He said to the heir: 'Now, he who actually rules Ch'u is the king, while he who bargains with only an empty title is the heir. Ch'i does not necessarily put stock in the words of the heir, but the real value of Ch'u is plain to see. When relations with Ch'u are complete you will be in danger. Think on this.' 1 2
It also said 'can make the heir faithful'. Note that this is repeated in story VI as well.
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'I accept your commands', replied the heir and he had his carriage j^rnessed and left in the night. [This is why it was said 'he could make the heir leave in haste'.]
vn. Su Ch'in then sent another to speak to the Duke of Hsiieh: 'Su Ch'in it was who urged you to detain the heir. He did not truly do this for your Grace's sake, but only to make things more convenient for Ch'u. Su Ch'in feared that you might find him out, so he got more land for you from Ch'u in order to cover his tracks. 'It was Su Ch'in who urged the heir to leave and since my lord did not know this I took it upon myself to be suspicious on my lord's behalf.' The Duke of Hsueh was furious with Su Ch'in. [This is why it was said 'he could cause a man to blacken him before the Duke of Hsiieh'.] VIII.
He also sent another to speak to the king of Ch'u. 'Su Ch'in it was who urged the Duke of Hsiieh to detain the heir. Su Ch'in supported the king and was against raising the heir. Su Ch'in arranged for the cession of land and made the treaty firm. Su Ch'in remained loyal to the king and made the heir leave Ch'i. 'And now there is a man accusing Su Ch'in before the Duke of Hsiieh saying he slighted Ch'i in favour of Ch'u and I thought your majesty should know it.' 'I have heard your command', replied the king, and gave Su Ch'in the title of Lord Wu-chen. [This is why it was said 'he could get him a title in Ch'u'.] IX. He further sent Ching Li, a minister of Ch'u, to speak to the Duke of Hsiieh. 'Your lordship is admired in the realm by reason of his ability to attract to himself the capable men of the land and because he holds the power of Ch'i.
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'Presently Su Ch'in is one of the greatest Sophists (pien-shih) — few in the world can compare - and my lord being on bad terms with him is sealing himself off from the rest of the capable men in the empire, thus depriving himself of the advantages of persuasion. 'Those who are disaffected with my lord will support Su Ch'in and this will result in hindering my lord's affairs. Su Ch'in is at present favoured by the king of Ch'u and if my lord does not early make his peace with Su Ch'in then he will personally be an enemy of Ch'u. It were better if my lord were friendly with Su Ch'in; yes, esteemed and honoured him, for then my lord would have Ch'u on his side.' Thereafter the Duke treated Su Ch'in well. [This is why it was said 'he could make the Duke of Hsueh persuaded to treat Su Ch'in well'.] X. 1
SPTK 4. 28a KY 27. 1
I46 The seven women and the seven earrings When the queen of Ch'i died there were seven of the king's women who could be raised. The Duke of Hsueh wanted to know which one the king favoured. He gave the king seven ear ornaments, one of which was much more beautiful than the others. The next day he looked to see where the handsomest ornament was to be found and urged the king to make that woman his queen. SPTK 4. 31b KY 27. 2 Chung Feng-nien says: 'Wu also suspects that 215 [q.v.] is a fragment of 145 corresponding to ['he can then go himself to the Duke and explain his actions'] . . . Note that 145 has someone sent to the Duke of Hsueh to ingratiate Su-tzu and then has Su-tzu go himself. But he does not have anyone go to the heir. It could be that S B¥ Ifc IS & should be J£ Jk. •$•. Even then 215 would not be completely congruent.'
1
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H7 The image of clay and the image of wood Lord Meng-ch'ang was going to the country of Ch'in, and though hundreds tried to stop him he would listen to none. Su Tai hoped to prevent him also, but Lord Meng-ch'ang said: 'I know all there is to know of the affairs of men. The only things I have not heard about are the affairs of spirits.' 'Your servant would not dare come to you to speak on matters human,' replied Su Tai, 'but I have in fact come to ask audience about an affair of spirits.' Lord Meng-ch'ang granted him audience and Su Tai said: 'As I crossed the river Tzu on my way here, there was an image of clay speaking to one made of peachwood. The peachwood one said to the earthen image, "You are but the earth of the west bank from which someone has raised you in the image of a man. When the eighth month of the year arrives and the falling rains pour down, the river Tzu will reach you and wash you away, and you will be destroyed.' ' "Not so", replied the earthen one. "I am earth of the west bank and this earth will return to the west bank. But you are only a knot of peachwood from the eastern kingdoms which someone has cut and shaved in the image of man. When the heavy rains fall the waters of the Tzu will reach you and wash you away and then who can say to what place you will float?" 'Now, Ch'in is a country secure on all sides and like the mouth of a tiger. If you enter it, my lord, your servant knows not if you will come out.' Lord Meng-ch'ang abandoned the idea. SPTK4. 31b KY 28. 3
148 The ancestral temple Lord Meng-ch'ang was in Hsueh when the Ching1 forces attacked 1
i.e., Ch'u.
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him. Ch'un-yu K'un was Ch'i's ambassador to Ch'u and returning home he had to pass through Hsueh, so Lord Meng-ch'ang ordered his men to welcome him with full ceremony, in the suburbs of the city and say to him: 'Ching forces are attacking Hsueh and if you do not take pity on us this is the last time we shall be able to pay you our respects.' 'I have heard your command', replied Ch'un-yu K'un. When he reached Ch'i and finished his report, the king of Ch'i said to him, 'And how did you find Ching?' 'Ching is very obstinate and Hsueh. overestimates her own strength.' 'What do you mean?' 'Hsueh had no clear conception of her strength and so she raised a temple for your illustrious former kings. Ching is obstinate enough to have attacked her and the temple is in danger. This is why I say Hsueh overestimates her strength and Ching is very obstinate.' The king's face showed that he understood: 'Ah,' said he, 'our ancestors' temple is there.' And he quickly dispatched troops to Hsiieh's rescue. [If you prostrate yourself and plead, you may get what you seek but you will weaken yourself by the effort. The persuader who knows his art presents the facts and suggests the remedy in such a way that the hearer reacts as though he himself were caught in the predicament. What need then to spend oneself?] SPTK 4. 32b KY 28. 4
149 Lord Meng-ch'angs faults Lord Meng-ch'ang received Hsia-hou Chang, gave him maintenance enough for one hundred men and four horses, and treated him widi great affection. But Hsia-hou Chang never spoke of Lord Meng-ch'ang except to criticize him. Once someone told this to Lord Meng-ch'ang but the latter simply said, 'I have sufficient wealth to serve Hsia-hou Chang; speak no more of it!'
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Tung-chih Fan-ching asked Mr. Hsia-hou what he meant and Hsiahou replied: 'Lord Meng-ch'ang's income is not as great as that of a Feudal Lord, but he has given me maintenance for four horses and a hundred men. I received this from him having not a tittle's worth of merit; but by speaking of his faults I have gained some. Lord Meng-ch'ang is becoming a man of great stature through my speaking of his faults. Since I would lay down my life for him, should I grudge him my speech?' SPTK 4- 33a KY 28. 5
150 Lord Meng-ch'ang and the three older men Lord Meng-ch'ang, sitting at a banquet, said to three of his older men, 'I would like to hear what you gentlemen can do to better my lot.' The first replied, 'I will inquire1 to see if some ruler in the empire hopes to impose upon you, your excellency, and then I will beg your permission to leave my heart's blood staining his tunic' 'Wherever cart tracks reach in the empire,' said T'ien Mou, 2 'I beg leave to travel, and by concealing such shortcomings as your excellency may have while singing of your accomplishments, I shall cause rulers of small countries and ministers of large to seek you out, and make them fear only that they may not be the first to reach you.' Sheng T'un 3 replied, 'I would use all the wealth of your excellency's treasuries to welcome officers of the empire who would resolve your doubts and protect you against the unexpected as T'ien Tzu-fang and Tuan-han Mu did for Marquis Wen of Wei - this is the thing I would get for your excellency!' SPTK 4. 32b KY 28. 6 Following Yasui W should be read as Iff. H Vt, but there are possible variants. 8 Given also as T'eng Tien Wk W. 1
2
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The adulterous retainer Lord Meng-ch'ang's retainer was having an affair with one of his women and someone spoke to him about it: 'Certainly to have an affair with a woman in your patron's household must be among the greatest of improprieties. You should have him killed, my lord.' 'To be attracted by a pretty face is only human', replied Lord Mengch'ang. 'Set this incident aside and do not speak of it again.' About a year later, Lord Meng-ch'ang summoned to him the man who had the affair and said: 'You have been with me for some time now, sir. There is no great post for you with me and I know you would not accept a minor one. But the ruler of LesserWei was a friend of mine long before I held a fief. I wish to furnish you with horse and carriage, furs and silks, and suggests that you reside with him.' In LesserWei the man was much favoured. But Ch'i and LesserWei were on the worst of terms and the ruler of LesserWei was very anxious to unite the rest of the empire in an attack on Ch'i. However, Lord Meng-ch'ang's man said to him: 'Lord Meng-ch'ang never knew I was worthless and I cheated him. Nevertheless, I have heard that former kings of Ch'i and LesserWei sacrificed a horse and slaughtered a sheep in covenant saying "Henceforth neither Ch'i nor Lesser Wei will attack one another; but if someone should break the peace, may his blood flow like this." By seeking alliance with the empire to attack Ch'i you are breaking the treaty and deceiving Lord Meng-ch'ang. I beg you, your highness, do not set your heart on Ch'i. If you heed me all will be well; but if you heed me not, I am without principle, and blood from your throat will stain your garment in a trice, your highness.' The ruler of Lesser Wei desisted. When the people of Ch'i heard this they said, 'Lord Meng-ch'ang must know how to manage things to have turned this calamity to profit'. SPTK 4. 34a KY 28. 7
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152 Lord Meng-ch'ang and the unpleasing retainer Lord Meng-ch'ang had a retainer he was displeased with and he wished to send him away. Lu Chung-Hen said to him: 'if the ape and the monkey quit their trees and took to the rivers they could not manage as well as fish and turtles. Kch'i-chi steeds were made to travel across gullies and up cliffs they would not be the equal of a fox. Ts'ao Mei wielded a three-foot sword so that an entire army could not stand up to him, but relieve him of his sword, give him a hoe, make him live and work in the fields, and he will be less than the equal of a farmer. So, anyone who is made to abandon what he is suited for in order to do that which suits him ill will show his shortcomings though he be Yao himself. 'Now suppose you employ a man and he proves incapable and you set him aside saying, "He is worthless." Or, if you teach someone a task and he proves to be useless and you set him aside saying, "He is stupid." When they are stupid you dismiss them and when they are incapable you abandon them. 1 Then those whom you dismiss, abandon, and refuse to live with one day return and seek vengeance. Would this not be the best sort of object lesson for future generations?' 'True', said Lord Meng-ch'ang and he did not send the man away. SPTK 4. 35a KY 28. 8
153 The ivory couch When Lord Meng-ch'ang first left Ch'i to seek his fortune among the states, he went to Ch'u .where they wished to present him with a carved ivory couch. Teng-t'u of Ying was commissioned to present it but was loth to do so. He saw a retainer of Lord Meng-ch'eng, one Kung-sun Shu, to whom he said: The two parts of this item are so badly articulated one wonders if they belong together. 1
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'I, Teng-t'u of Ying, have been ordered to present a couch of ivory worth a thousand in gold. Were it to be damaged by so much as a hair's breadth I could sell my wife and children and not make good the loss. If your honour could arrange that I need not make this presentation, I would make a gift to you of a sword which belonged to my ancestor.' 'Then let it be thus', replied Kung-sun Shu and he entered into audience with Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'Surely, my lord, it is not true that you will accept the ivory couch', he said. 'But it is so', replied Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'I beg you, my lord, do not accept it.' 'Why should I not?' asked Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'The reason all the smaller states seek to give you the seal of minister is that they have heard that my lord in Ch'i did make flourish that which was in poor circumstance, and that my lord has the power to sustain that which was perishing and carry on that which seemed about to cease. The high-principled knights of every small state are anxious to lay their countries' burdens upon my lord. They are truly gratified by his justice and admiring of his integrity. 'If now,' continued Kung-sun Shu, 'upon his arrival in Ch'u, my lord accepts this priceless couch, what then is there left for the countries not yet visited to present him with on his arrival? Again I beg my lord not to accept it.' 'So be it then', answered Lord Meng-ch'ang. Kung-sun Shu hurried off; but before he had passed out through the door to the inner rooms his lord called him back. 'You have instructed me not to receive the couch of ivory, and this was proper.' said Lord Meng-ch'ang, 'but why do you now depart with such high steps and high spirits?' 'Your servant feels three great pleasures, my lord, and has a sword besides', replied Kung-sun Shu. 'What does that mean?' 'My lord has over a hundred retainers, but of them all only I have dared to remonstrate. This is my first pleasure. Having spoken, I secured your assent. This is my second pleasure. By speaking I have prevented an error. This is my third pleasure. Further, Teng-t'u of Ying, who was
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to have presented the couch felt so disinclined that he was willing to present me with his family sword if he could avoid doing so.' 'Excellent!' cried Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'Have you accepted the sword?' 'I have not dared.' 'Accept it immediately!' ordered Lord Meng-ch'ang. And subsequently he had the following words written over his gate: 'Let him who can add lustre to my name or prevent my error, while profiting himself besides enter here in all haste!' SPTK 4. 35b KY 28. 9
154 Feng Hsiian sings three songs to his longsword and burns the tallies A man of Ch'i, one Feng Hsiian, being in a most impoverished condition, sent a mediary to Lord Meng-ch'ang to inform him that he wished to become his retainer. 'What is the gentleman partial to? asked Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'He has no partiality,' was the reply. 'What is he especially capable of?' 'Nothing.' Lord Meng-ch'ang laughed. 'So be it', he said, and admitted him. From this Lord Meng-ch'ang's attendants assumed that their lord held the new retainer in low esteem and supplied him with only coarse fare. After a time he appeared, leaning against a pillar, tapping on his unsheathed longsword and singing: 'Longsword, let us return! We find no fish on our plate.' When his attendants reported this to Lord Mengch'ang, he told them to make Feng Hsiian's fare that of his other retainers. Shortly thereafter, Feng Hsiian again sang his sword song: 'Longsword, let us return! No carriage to ride in state!' The attendants laughed at him and reported it to Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'Have a conveyance made, the equal of those who have carriages', he replied.
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Thereafter Feng Hsiian would ride in his carriage with his sword over his shoulder and, passing his friends, would say: 'Lord Mengch'ang honours me as a guest.' Still later Feng Hsuan sang his sword song again: 'Longsword, let us return. No support, can my family wait?' The attendants all disliked him then, for they thought him covetous and malcontent. 'Does he have a family?' asked Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'His mother', they replied. So Lord Meng-ch'ang dispatched a man to supply her needs so that she might not suffer want. Feng Hsiian never sang his song again. Afterwards, Lord Meng-ch'ang inscribed a notice asking his retainers, 'Who among you can keep accounts and will collect the monies owed me in my fief of Hsueh?' Feng Hsiian sent in his reply, 'I can.' Lord Meng-ch'ang was curious and asked who he was. His attendants told him it was he who sang the song of the longsword. 'So he has his capabilities after all!' laughed Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'But I have neglected him and never given him audience.' When Lord Meng-ch'ang received Feng Hsiian, he apologized and said: 'I have been much busied by affairs and vexed with troubles so that my feelings are blunted. Deep in affairs of state, I have wronged you; yet you, sir, take no offence and are willing to collect debts for me in Hsueh ?' I am. When Feng Hsiian had made ready his attire and loaded the wagons with debt-tallies he took leave of Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'When the debts have been collected, is there anything I may buy for you when I return?' he asked. 'If you have seen something that my house lacks, buy it', replied Lord Meng-ch'ang. Feng Hsiian hastened to Hsueh and sent out an officer summoning all those who owed debts to come forth and match their tallies. When all had been matched, Feng Hsiian feigned an order from Lord Mengch'ang that all debts were to be forgiven the people. The tallies were burned and the people cheered. Feng Hsiian returned to Ch'i without a halt and arrived in the early
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morning asking audience. Lord Meng-ch'ang, surprised at his haste, donned his formal robes and admitted him. 'Why do you return so speedily? Have the debts been collected?' 'They have already been collected', was the reply. 'What did you purchase on your return?' 'My lord, you asked me to see if there was anything your house lacked', answered Feng Hsuan. 'It was my humble opinion that your castle was filled with precious objects, that your stables and kennels abounded in steeds and coursers, and the lower palaces with beauties. It seemed that one thing only was lacking, and that was fealty. This I bought, my lord.' 'How can one buy fealty?' exclaimed Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'At the moment you hold the little fief of Hsiieh; you do not cherish the people there as your own children, but look on them as a source of profit', replied Feng Hsiian. 'Your servant took it upon himself to feign an order from you that all debts should be forgiven the people of Hsueh. The tallies were burned and the citizens cheered you. This is how your servant purchased fealty.' Lord Meng-ch'ang was displeased. 'So be it! You may now rest, sir.' A full year later, the new king of Ch'i informed Lord Meng-ch'ang that he dared no longer use a minister of the former king. Lord Mengch'ang had to return and govern his own fief of Hsiieh. When he was still one hundred ft from the city, its people, supporting the old ones and holding their children by the hand, welcomed their lord in mid-journey. Lord Meng-ch'ang turned and looked at Feng Hsiian. 'Your purchase of fealty on my behalf, sir, is apparent to me today.' 'My lord.' replied Feng Hsiian, 'the wiliest rabbit must have three burrows before he can even preserve his life. At the moment you can scarcely rest secure with only one. I beg my lord allow me to dig him two more.' Fifty carts and five hundred catties of gold were given Feng and he made his way westward to speak to King Hui of Liang. 'Ch'i has released its great minister Lord Meng-ch'ang,' said Feng Hsiian, 'and he is now free among the Feudal Lords. The first state to welcome him will enrich itself and make its soldiery powerful.' The king of Liang vacated his highest post by making his former minister a Marshal. He then sent emissaries, one hundred chariots, and
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a thousand catties of gold to engage Lord Meng-ch'ang. Feng Hsuan hurried ahead of them to caution him. 'A thousand in gold is great wealth and a hundred chariots a visible entourage. We must let Ch'i hear of them!' Thrice the emissaries of Liang came to Hsiieh, but Lord Meng-ch'ang firmly refused to accompany them. Ch'i heard of it; ruler and ministers were sore afraid, and the Grand Tutor was dispatched with gifts of a thousand catties of gold, two ornamented chariots, and a ceremonial sword in its case [?]. The king wrote a letter of apology to Lord Mengch'ang: 'We are truly unfortunate! We are given ill omen in the ancestral temples; we are surrounded by sycophants; and we have offended you, sir. Truly we are not worthy to rule! We beg you, sir, for the sake of the ancestral temples, come back now to unite the people!' Feng Hsuan again cautioned Lord Meng-ch'ang: 'I must ask you to request him to send the ancestors' sacrificial objects here so that the ancestral temple may remain in Hsiieh!' When the temple was erected, Feng Hsuan returned to Lord Meng-ch'ang and said, 'The three burrows are complete, my lord. You may now rest secure and happy.' [That Lord Meng ch'ang could be minister for several decades without the slightest misfortune was due to the planning of Feng Hsiian.] SPTK 4.36b KY 28. 1
155 Lord Meng-ctiang forgets his hatreds Lord Meng-ch'ang had been driven from Ch'i but returned again. T'an Shih-tzu met him at the border and asked him: 'My lord, are there among the officials of Ch'i some whom you hate?' 'There are!' 'Would you be pleased to kill them?' 'I would!'
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'Do you know the one event which must transpire and the one principle which always pertains?' 'No, I do not', replied Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'The event which must always come to pass is death,' said T'an Shihtzu 'and the ever present principle is that wealth and honour will attract while poverty and lowliness will repel. This is the event and that is the principle. Let me use the market place as an example, my lord. In the morning it is crowded and in the evening it is empty. This is not because men favour it in the morning and dislike it in the evening. They seek it out for that which sustains them and when that is gone, they leave. I beg you not to harbour hatred, my lord.' Lord Meng-ch'ang then had the five hundred names of those he hated scraped from the bamboo tablets on which they were inscribed and dared not mention them again. SPTK 4. 39b KY 29. 4
156 The imperial title (i) Su Ch'in came from Wei to Ch'i and was given audience at the Huachang Palace's south gate. 'You have come so late sir', complained the king to him. 'Ch'in has already sent Wei Jan with an oifer to recognize me as emperor. What do you think of the proposal?' 'Your majesty has asked me a very great question, but the portals of calamity are very small things', replied Su Ch'in. 'If you do not accept the proposal you will incur the wrath of Ch'in, but if you do accept, you risk the hatred of the empire. The best thing would be to accept the title so that Ch'in's plans succeed, but delay announcing it for the sake of the rest of the empire. If Ch'in announces imperial honours and the empire acquiesces, then your majesty can claim the title himself. The sequence in which such things are done can bring no harm to the dignity"bf the title. But if Ch'in calls himself emperor and the empire
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does not accept such a title, your majesty will have done much to win the empire by not having announced similar intentions.' SPTK 4. 4ob KY 30. 10
157 The imperial title (it) Su-tzu said to the king of Ch'i, 'If Ch'i and Ch'in both claim imperial rank, do you think the empire will honour Ch'in or Ch'i?' Chin. 'If you, however, disclaim imperial rank, will the empire love Ch'in or will it love Ch'i?' 'It will love Ch'i and hate Ch'in.' 'And if the two emperors made covenant to attack Chao, would that be more profitable than attacking Sung?' 'To attack Sung would be more profitable.' 'But then if you become emperor along with Ch'in and the empire honours Ch'in and slights Ch'i, and if you disclaim imperial rank and Ch'i is loved while Ch'in is hated, and, further, if attacking Chao is not as profitable as attacking Sung, then I would certainly advise you openly to reject imperial rank and side with the empire. Renounce your agreement to honour Ch'in and refuse to struggle for supremacy with her. Instead, sieze this moment to take Sung. 'With Sung taken, Lesser Wei will find its town of Yang-ch'eng in danger. When Huai-pei is yours, Ch'u's eastern provinces will be in peril. When the west bank of the Chi is yours, Chao's Ho-tung will be in jeopardy. And with Yin and P'ing-lu yours, the very gates of Ta-liang cannot open. 'So, rejecting the name of emperor and taking second place to Ch'in in order to attack the Sung area of Ch'u will result in Ch'i's name being honoured and your state becoming important. With Yen and Ch'u recognizing your supremacy, the whole empire will follow suit and you will have acted in a manner worthy of a T'ang or a KingWu. But if you respect Ch'in's wish, taking the name of emperor and so incurring the hatred of the empire, it can only mean exchanging
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our for dishonour. I hope your majesty will give this his maturest
thought.' SPTK4. 40b KY 30. 10b
158 King Min of Ctii hears a long persuasion in which he learns, among other things, how a battering ram may be broken by a sleeping mat Su-tzu persuaded King Min of Ch'i. 'I have heard that he who uses troops because he covets pre-eminence in. the empire is courting pain and that he who makes treaties to attack others and enjoys becoming ruler over disaffected men will be isolated. But he who moves only when moved against will have support, and he who avoids resentment will find the times propitious to him. So it is that sages act only when assured of support and move when the time is right. Since gaining support is the crux of all matters and profiting by the season is the nexus of events, few who have ignored this have succeeded. 'So if you possessed even the great blades Kan-chiang and Mo-hsieh but lacked the strength to ply them, nothing could be cut or wounded. The soundest barbs and the sharpest points, if they do not utilize the impetus of bowstrings or the mechanism of triggers, will not slay at any great distance. This is so not because the weapons themselves are dull, but because the means of implementing them are not there. 'How do we know this is the case? Of old, when Chao attacked Lesser Wei her men slept in their chariots and her troops poured into that state without pause. Lesser Wei was cut off from all her towns 1 and eight gates of the city were stopped up while two collapsed. In every aspect she was a defeated state, but the ruler of Lesser Wei went barefoot before the king of Wei and pleaded his case. The latter donned his armour, girt his sword, sought out Chao and fought her. Han-tan was thrown into panic and all the land between river and mountain was in confusion. Lesser Wei got her support, and with these added 1 Following Yokota ^P $f is superfluous.
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forces she atacked northward, crippling Kang-p'ing and bringing down Chung-mou. It was not that Lesser Wei was stronger than Chao, but rather that she was the arrow while the country of Wei became her bowstring and trigger. The former borrowed the power of the latter to take territory in Ho-tung. 'Then Chao became frightened and Ch'u came to her rescue and attacked the country of Wei. They battled at Chou-hsi and Ch'u went past the gates of Liang to camp her troops in Lin and water her horses in the Great River. With this support Chao in turn attacked the Ho-pei area of the country of Wei, putting Chi-p'u to the torch and Huang-ch'eng to the sword. 'The destruction of Kang-p'ing, the fall of Chung-mou, the decimation of Huang-ch'eng, and the burning of Chi-p'u were not things which the states of Chao or Wei wanted, yet each of them undertook these acts with great vigour. Why? Because Lesser Wei knew how to capitalize on events and find support in shifts of power.?, 'So it was in the past, but not now. Rulers whose troops are weak seem to love powerful enemies. If their states are weak they seem to beg for their citizens' ill will; and when a cause is lost they clutch it with both hands. They court the hatred of subordinates when their troops are weak, seek powerful foes when their lands are inadequate, and they resort to lengthy deception rather than ever admit defeat. Those who indulge in any of these six errors while seeking hegemony are moving from it in the opposite direction. 'I have heard that men truly skilled in statecraft make policy accord with the desires of their people, shrewdly estimate the capabilities of their armies and then seek to be in harmony with the empire. In this fashion their treaties do not anger those with whom they treat and their conquests do not rouse stubborn resistance. So their troops are not wasted, their powers not lessened, their lands are broadened, and their desires are realized. 'Of old when Ch'i attacked Ch'u with the help of Han and Wei, it was not a particularly sharp contest and the land she gained was about equal to the shares of Han and Wei, but men put all the blame on Ch'i. Why? Because Ch'i stood out as the target of their anger. All the states used their troops: Ch'i and Yen fought, Chao annexed Chungshan, Ch'in and Ch'u battled, Han and Wei never ceased, and Sung
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1 yiieh 1 could concentrate on warfare. But though all ten states ught and made enemies, resentment arose only against Ch'i. Why? Because she was content to be the focus of hatred among allies and insisted on rousing the stubbornest resistance when she did battle. /^The calamity of greatness is that it constantly seeks pre-eminence. The curse of weakness is the constant seeking to profit through others' efforts. Because of these two things, great states put themselves in danger and weaker states perish. The finest policy for a great state is to avoid initiating warfare and to attack even unworthy opponents with great care. By refusing to initiate action one can be sure of numerous allies and well-conditioned troops. This makes my forces numerous and powerful and finds my enemy worn and his troops depleted. My campaign is assured of victory, my actions will not alienate the empire, and all profit will revert to me. If a great state acts in this manner, fame arrives unbidden and hegemony is gained without effort. ff The proper attitude for a small state2 is one of respectful quiescence and complete trustworthiness in dealings with the Feudal Lords. A respectful and peaceful behaviour will keep its nearest neighbours 3 from turning on it, and trustworthiness will prevent its selling out by other states! (/'Suffering neither betrayal from far off nor attack from near by, its food and treasure will rot before it is used upy Let the small state act in this manner and good fortune will attend it whether it sacrifice to the gods or not, and it need never borrow to meet its requirements. This is why it is said that the disciple of benevolence becomes a true king and the founder of righteousness becomes hegemon, while the leader of exhausted troops becomes a dead man. 'How do we know this is so? Of old the king of Wu, Fu-ch'ai, hoped to become pre-eminent in the empire by reason of his strength. He attacked Ying and detained Yiieh, and the rulers of all states followed him. Butfinallyhe perished and his state was vanquished at the hands of the empire. Why? Fu-ch'ai suffered this calamity because while living This should probably be Wei IS as Seki says. • Note the gratituous outlining of plans for a small state which can have had no bearing on Ch'i. This may just be for balance or it may be that this item is a fiagment from elsewhere. ' Yokota thinks that 23 IS may mean 'within its borders', but I am dubious. 1
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quietly he schemed for kingship and in the day of his power he longed to be the first in the empire. 'Of old Lai and Chii were fond of scheming, while Ch'en and Ts'ai loved deception. Chii depended upon Yiieh and she was destroyed; Ts'ai depended upon Chin and perished. They suffered this calamity from practising deceit within their borders while depending on others beyond their marches. 'Viewing it in this manner we see that calamity comes to large and small in the manner just related. The saying goes, "The stallion Chi when tired can be beaten by a fresh nag; an exhausted Meng Pen may be overcome by a slip of a girl." It is not that the nag and the girl are better than the stallion Chi or Meng Pen; simply that their strength is whole and their sinews taut. Why? Because they began later than their opponents and had the security of being fresh. /'States of like power cannot possess each other's lands by exterminating their rivals. But if they restrain their troops and go into action last, turn resentment toward others, punish wrongdoers, fight only the opportune battle - and make it seem righteous - then hegemony will be theirs though they hobble their feet and simply wait for it to come to them.' /i'Those who understand past relationships among the Lords, who have carefully investigated the condition of the states need no marriage alliances or exchange of hostages to remain strong. They will get things done swiftly without the need to hurry. They will work together and not betray one another. They will divide an enemy's land up among themselves and not show envy. They will be on the best terms with the great powers. Why? Because states in similar conditions share the same woes, and troops all move toward profit/f?] 'How do we know this is so? Once Ch'i and Yen did battle in a valley of the Huan Mountains. Yen was defeated, lost all of her myriad troops, and the northern Hu attacked a number of districts in Yen's province of Lou-fan where they plundered her of cattle and horses. 'Now the Hu had never been relatives of Ch'i yet they used their troops against Yen. They had shared no hostage with Ch'i yet they schemed against Yen. They were more willing to aid Ch'i than allies
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would have been. Why? 1 Because states in the same condition suffer the same woes2 and troops all move toward profit. A 'Looking at it in this light, if states of the same condition unite, profit 'is lasting, and he who moves last will find the other Feudal Lords coming to aid him. So the enlightened ruler and the clear-sighted minister - if hegemony is truly their ambition - will never make warfare their policy, for warfare means destruction of states, and waste of provinces. There have been very few who were able to gain the support of the Lords when they devoted themselves to destruction and waste.3 // 'War is destructive in this manner: when the sound4 of war is heard personal wealth must be diminished to make soldiers wealthy; food and drink are rationed to pamper suicide warriors, carriages are smashed to make firewood; and oxen are slaughtered to feast the armies. This is the way to collapse and ruin. 5 The citizens say prayers, the ruler makes offerings; from the most accessible city to the smallest district, altars appear everywhere and every town big enough to hold market stops its work in order to maintain the king. This is the way to make a state hollow.// 'And on the morning after battle you gather corpses and help the wounded. Even though a victory has been got, the army's cost to his state and the tears of his people have already wounded the ruler to the heart. 'Families of the dead impoverish themselves to bury their kin; households of the wounded exhaust their wealth to get them medicines, while those left sound drink so heavily and spend so wildly that as much is wasted by them as is spent on the dead and wounded. In the end the people will have spent more than can be restored in ten years of harvests. With Yokota et al. ffl IUJ is here excrescent. i.e., Yen could only win a hollow victory for Ch'i was as strong as she. [?] This whole section is somewhat obscure. yyThis is the classic example ofwhich the Chinese moralists complain when they say -The men in Chan-kuo Ts'e would happily advocate both sides of the same question and have nofixedstandard (see also 190). Su Ch'in (and this is who the Su-tzu of 158 certainly is supposed to be) argues for the inevitability and propriety of warfare as a foreign policy in 47 (see p. 56). * With Seki ± should be removed and ill should be $•. 6 Following Seki, g& = f£ IE. Other versions read 3T as W. 1 a
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'The cost of the army in broken spears and halberds, sword rings, bowstrings, strained crossbows, shattered chariots and spent steeds will amount to half the whole. The equipment for armoured troops, contributions1 by officers, hoarding by officials and petty thieving by wood-gatherers and stable boys - all this will amount to more than the fields can earn in a decade. In all the empire there are few who have suffered this more than once and remained able to command the Lords to follow them. 'The cost of besieging a city is like this: all citizens must manufacture arrow shelters and assault towers. The men's families must supply their needs and the men themselves tunnel and mine. Minor officers are stripped of metal coin, subalterns labour at the earthworks, and generals sleep in their armour. A siege that succeeds in a month or two is an exceedingly short one. But even in that time the ruler has exhausted his exhortations and the soldier his weapons. This is why armies which have had to reduce three cities and have then gone on to defeat the enemy are few indeed. '• 'I say, therefore, in battle be not the first to attackl^How do I know this is best? Of old Earl Yao of Chih attacked the Fan and Chung-hang clans, killed their rulers [sic] and reduced their countries. Then he went west to surround Chin-yang, to take two states and trouble one ruler. This was certainly proficient use of troops; but in the end Earl Chih died, his state perished and he became the laughing-stock of the empire. Why? He suffered the consequences of initiating the fight and Willing two rulers. 'Of old Chung-shan mustered her troops and met both Yen and Chao. To the south she defeated Chao at Ch'ang-tzu. In the north she fought at Chung-shan, overcame the Yen forces and killed their general. 'Now, Chung-shan was only a state of a thousand chariots and she successfully defeated two mighty countries in two battles which was certainly a most skilful use of troops. But the state perished and its ruler became a vassal of Ch'i. Why? Because the state did not spare itself the griefs of offensive warfare. Seen in this light the ruinous defects of aggressive war appear in the examples just given. 'In this age the successful use of troops is thought to be the battle-to1 Following Yokota M. should be i&.
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death for victory or the Arfrnrr-fn-Afath whir}) remains firm. These "ttie~empire acclaims as excellent. The preservation of a country and the keeping of it whole is not accounted an advantageMiut I have heard that the greater the victory the more the loss of troops and destruction of weaponry; the more unyielding the defence the more exhausted one's citizenry and the greater the destruction of walls and suburbs. Now it can hardly bring joy to a ruler to lose his soldiers abroad or to decimate his citizenry at home or to have his walls breached on the borders. 'The archery butt offends no one, but with bended bow and flexed arbalest, young and old, high and low, all strive to pierce it. Those who succeed rejoice and those who don't are shamefaced. Why? Because they pretend it is their enemy. But in a battle-to-death or a defenceto-death it is not an imaginary enemy you attack, it is someone who wants to kill you. Small wonder the enemy incurs the hatred of all. 'So an enlightened ruler will not insist on the exhaustion of troops, the exposure of cities and great enmity from all, nor will the clearsighted minister serve his lord by taking his strong troops and weakening them. That ruler and that minister will not need to move a single weapon and the Lords will follow them, they will use soft words yet great riches will appear 1'So the enlightened ruler will do battle by not bringing out a single soldier1 yet the enemy will be overcom^i No assault towers will be used but cities will surrender. The common citizen will never know it but the king's business will be done. The enlightened will do things thus: his substance will be used sparingly, few of his days will be wasted and the benefits will be long-lasting. So I say all the Feudal Lords will wish to serve him who is last to move his troops. 'This is what I have heard is the secret of aggre.s.sivp wirfarr*2 'A million troops can be defeated at a state banquet, generals like Ho-lii and Wu Ch'i can be captured by sitting in a room, and cities with thousand-foot walls can be captured between the wine and the spiced meats. A hundred-foot wheeled battering ram may be broken by a sleeping mat. So the sound of bells and drums, pipes and strings need never stop while one's territory grows and one's desires are met. 1 1
ft W- is excrescent as Yokota suggests. fE 6? is a mistaken addition.
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The sound of singing and the laughter of clowns can still be echoing the day all the Lords come to your court. In such a case to find one's name compared with heaven and earth would not be flattery and one's wealth being compared to the sea would not be hyperbole. Here lies the secret of kingshiprthe empire is in turmoil but my state is at leisure, the empire is in confusion but my state is at peace\i f£ ease and control are mine while strifeand confusion are the lot of the empire, that is the secret of kingship. Iwhen forces assail me I turn them back; when calamity threatens I go forth to attack. "When schemes against you all fall short, grief will never dwell at court."' 'How do we know this to be true? Of old the king of Wei had a thousand ft of land under him and commanded three hundred and sixty thousand troops. He put his faith in his own might, took Han-tan and surrounded Ting-yang to the west. Then at the head of twelve Lords he came to the court of the Son of Heaven. From there he went westward against Ch'in and the king of Ch'in feared him so much he found no peace on his mat nor taste to his food. Ch'in gave orders throughout his state that all walls and battlements would be stocked with the engines of war and all borders be stoutly defended. He mustered his fearless troops and appointed generals to wait for Wei. Wei Yang then gave counsel to the king of Ch'in: ' "Wei has accomplished much and his orders are obeyed throughout the land. He has taken twelve Lords to the court of the Son of Heaven and has, therefore, a host of allies. The solitary state of Ch'in is not, I fear, likely to stand against Wei. Your majesty, send me to see the king of Wei and I promise you that I can turn back his forces." 'The king agreed and Wei Yang, in audience with the king of Wei, said: ' "Your majesty's accomplishments are great. Your order is obeyed throughout the land.Among the twelve Feudal Lords you lead, however, if one does not include the small states of Sung and Lesser Wei one must still count the little countries of Tsou, Lu, Ch'en, and Ts'ai. These were states you could drive before your horse but they will not make you monarch of the empire. Your majesty must take Yen in the north and Ch'i in the east. Then Chao will surely join you. If you take Ch'in With Yokota and others the next eighteen characters are a scribal error and should be disregarded.
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• ^ g west and Ch'u to the south Han will surely submit. If your majesty has it in mind to take Ch'i and Ch'u and so follow the inclinations of the Lords then your overlordship is almost in view. But you must first assume the dignities of kingship and then make your plans against Ch'i and Ch'u." 'The king of Wei was delighted with Wei Yang's suggestion and personally saw to the enlarging of the palace and the manufacture of crimson garments. He erected the nine pennants of power and had himself preceded by the flag of the Red Bird constellation. All of these were proper only to the Son of Heaven, but the king of Wei took them. 'Then Ch'i and Ch'u became angered. The Lords gave their allegiance to Ch'i, and Ch'i attacked Wei, killed her heir and defeated her armies of hundreds of thousands. The king of Wei was afraid, went barefoot, garrisoned his troops, and spent much time in Ch'i before the other Feudal Lords pardoned him. All during this time the king of n Ch'in sat with his garments arranged and his hands folded - yet he got the areas beyond Hsi-ho from Wei and was under no obligation to the king of Wei? So from the time Wei Yang began to make plans for Ch'in, schemes had been made without Ch'in's leaving his mat. Words had been said between the wine and the spiced meats. Policy had been effected without leaving the throne room and the Wei generals were captives in Ch'i. Assault towers had never been used, yet the land beyond Hsi-ho had become Ch'in's. This is what I meant by defeat achieved at a banquet, generals captured while sitting in a room, cities razed between the wine and the spiced meat, and a battering ram broken by a sleeping mat.' SPTK 4. 41b KY 30. ia
159 Nao Ch'ih kills king Min Hu Hsiian1, (who dwelt beyond the city wall of Ch'i), was an honest critic. When King Min had him beheaded in the sandalwood market, Hapax legomenon in CKT, but mentioned in LSCC is one 3H S Hu Yuan a dissident beheaded in the M. IS .
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all the commoners became disaffected and Ch'en Chii, who was related to the royal family, declared outright that he would assassinate the king at the eastern gate. The royal clan was not with him in this and Ssu-ma Jang-chu, who held the reins of government, had Ch'en executed. After this the great ministers were estranged from the king. As a result, Yen mustered her troops and sent Yiieh Yi, the Lord Ch'ang-kuo, to strike Ch'i. Against him Ch'i sent Hsiang-tzu; but the latter's army was smashed and Hsiang-tzu escaped in a single chariot. Ta-tzu reformed the scattered troops to fight against Yen and asked bounties for the men. King Min refused him, the army broke up and the king fled to Chu. Here Nao Ch'ih recited the crimes of the king: 'For hundreds of miles about your districts of Ch'ien-ch'eng and Po-ch'ang garments have been wet with blood which rained from the skies. Did the king know this?' 'I did not.' 'In the Ying-Po areas, hard by Mt. T'ai, the earth cracked asunder down to the very springs of the underworld. Did the king know this?' 'I did not.' 'Near the gate tower a weeping of men was heard: when they were sought none could be found, but when the searchers left, the sound could be heard again. Did the king know this?' 'I did not.' 'Garments soaked by bloody rain were a sign from heaven, ground cracked open to the springs of the underworld was a sign from earth, the sound of weeping beside the gates was a sign from man. Heaven, Earth and Man have all spoken to you yet you take no warning from them. Can such a person remain unpunished?' cried Nao Ch'ih and executed King Min in the drum-square at Chii. The heir apparent cast off his robes of royalty and fled to the house of the king's astrologer where he worked as gardener. Chun-wang, the astrologer's daughter, knew that he was destined to be honoured and treated him well. When T'ien Tan had used his beaten troops and the solitary city of Chi-mo to smash Yen's armies and snare her general, Ch'i-chieh, he resurrected the state of Ch'i and went to Chii to acknowledge the heir apparent, who was thereupon established as King Hsiang. When King
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Hsiang took the throne, Chun-wang became his queen and later gave Uirth to King Chien of Ch'i. SPTK 4. 50b KY 30. ib
160 Wang-sun Chia avenges king Min. Wang-sun Chia had served King Min from the time he was fifteen. When the king fled, Chia became separated from him. 'When you leave of a morning to return in the evening,' said his mother, 'I wait near our gate and watch for you. When you leave of an evening and do not get back, I watch for you by the town gates. You are in service to the king; he has fled and you know not where he is. How then can you return home?' Wang-sun Chia then went into the market place and cried: 'Nao Ch'ih has committed treason against Ch'i and has murdered King Min. Let him who would punish Nao Ch'ih with me bare his right shoulder.' Four hundred men followed him from the market place. And they stabbed Nao Ch'ih and killed him. SPTK 4. 51b KY 30. 2 K I N G H S I A N G (283-265 B.C.)
The letter on the arrow Yen attacked Ch'i and took seventy cities; only Chii and Chi-mo held out. From Chi-mo T'ien Tan of Ch'i struck back at Yen and killed her general Ch'i-chieh. Earlier, the general who had taken Liao was accused by someone at the Yen court and, fearing execution, he settled down to hold Liao, for he dared not return to Yen. T'ien Tan assaulted Liao for over a year and suffered heavy losses, but the town still stood. Then Lu-lien wrote a letter, lashed it to an arrow shaft and had it shot into the city that it might be delivered to the Yen commander.
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I have heard it said (read the letter) that 'a wise man does not go counter to the times and cast away profit, a valiant soldier does not retreat from death and destroy his good name, and a faithful minister does not put his own concerns first and his ruler second'. You, sir, now bear patiently the contumely of an entire court but are heedless of your king who suffers from the lack of a minister. This is hardly the behaviour of a faithful officer. You would seek your own death in the doomed town of Liao but that would not give you a brave name outside of Ch'i. This is hardly the behaviour of a valiant soldier. To cast aside merit and destroy a good name so that later generations may not speak it is hardly the act of a wise man. However, to be wise you must not plan twice; to be valiant you may not retreat twice. All your fame or obscurity, honour or degradation, greatness or meanness, life or death will be fixed after this day. I pray, sir, think on this carefully and do not act as a common man would. Furthermore, when Ch'u attacked Nan-yang and Wei attacked at P'ing-lu, Ch'i was not of a mind to turn southward: the loss of Nan-yang was deemed less serious than the gain to be had from holding the Chi-pei area, including the town of Liao. So Ch'i fixed her plans to hold it in strength. At present Ch'in has sent down its troops so that Wei dare not move eastward on Ch'i and Ch'i has aligned herself with Ch'in so that Ch'u itself is perilously situated. So in the past Ch'i abandoned Nan-yang and Yu-jang [i.e., P'inglu] to save Chi-pei, for her plans demanded it. Now that Ch'u and Wei have pulled back and your country of Yen has attacked and failed, Ch'i is relieved of attentions from the rest of the empire. She has gone through a full year's exhaustion over the town of Liao. As I see it, you will never succeed, sir: Ch'i intends to have Liao and you will have no chance for second thoughts! Yen is now in great confusion; the schemes of prince and minister have gone awry; both the high and the low have been deceived. General Li Fu at the head of thousands has been five times defeated outside his own borders; your whole great country is surrounded by Chao, its lands are diminished, its ruler beset and disgraced by the empire.1 Had you heard these tidings? The king of Yen stands all alone with his blood running cold. The great ministers of Yen are SC has 'a laughing stock'.
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not to be feared by you, however; the country has been plagued with such trouble, so many calamities, that the heart of the people turns toward none. Now you have exhausted the people of Liao, and staved off the entire army of Ch'i for a whole year without relief. This is a feat worthy of Mo Ti! You have eaten your soldiers' companions and boiled their bones, yet still they do not wish to retreat to the north. These are troops fit for Sun Pin or Wu Ch'i! These acts alone are enough to make you known throughout the length and breadth of the land. Therefore, were I to make your plans, sir, I should find nothing quite so good as withdrawing my troops, resting my officers, and reporting to the king of Yen with my transport and armour still intact. The king would be delighted, surely, and the citizens of Yen would look upon you as they would upon their own parents: whereever friends met they would seize each other eagerly by the arms and discuss your exploits until what you had done was known throughout the world! At the highest level you would have sustained a beleaguered sovereign and helped him control his powerful officers; at a lower level you would have nurtured the people, thereby aiding the 'persuaders' to rectify and reform the conventions of your country. Your merit will become established in the empire. But perhaps your intention is to let Yen suffer what it must; to abandon the pursuit of fame and come east to live in Ch'i? They would cede land to you and settle such a fief on you that your wealth would be the equal of Wei Jan or Lord Shang1, and your descendants would be princes for generation after generation as long as Ch'i shall exist. This then is yet another plan I might suggest. By these two you stand to gain either fame or fortune, and I should like you to consider them thoroughly and judge shrewdly in favour of one of them. And yet - 'he who is anxious over jots and tittles will never inspire awe; he who flinches at small shame will never achieve great fame', I have heard. Of old, when Kuan Chung's arrow struck Duke Huan's buckle, that was treason; when he deserted Kung-tzu Chiu The SC So Yin identifies I® T'ao and ffi Wei as P& & T'ao Chu and & =$• M Kung-tzu Ching. Other commentary gives the preferred identification of the two as Lord Shang and Wei Jan. 1
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instead of dying with him, that was cowardice; when he was manacled hand and foot, that was disgrace. These three circumstances were enough to bar him from any village in the land or from any post under a king. If Kuan Chung had then passed the rest of his life in depression, had sequestered himself to go forth no more, or had refused to be seen for shame, then these circumstances would have remained till the end of his years and the last of his days, the shameful acts of one from the common ruck! Instead, Kuan Chung, complete with his three transgressions, took the reins of Ch'i's government, put the empire in order and nine times summoned the Feudal Lords together for the greatest of Hegemons. His name stood highest in the empire and his fame shed lustre even on neighbouring states. When Ts'ao Mei was general to the ruler of Lu, he thrice engaged and thrice retired beaten, thereby losing a thousand li of land. If Ts'ao-tzu's foot had never left the battle line, if his plans had taken no account of the final outcome, he could only have been known as the captured general of a vanquished army. But Ts'ao-tzu knew that valour did not consist of being the captured general of a conquered army and that wisdom did not inhere in casting aside merit and destroying a name which later generations might honour; so he left behind the disgrace of three retreats, withdrew to plan with the ruler of Lu, and got his chance. When Duke Huan of Ch'i held the empire and summoned the Feudal Lords to him, Ts'ao-tzu, by the office of a single sword, plundered Duke Huan upon the very altar where he sat. Nor did his countenance change, nor were his words of departure uncivil, but all that had been lost in three battles was in one audience returned. The empire was shaken by the act and the Feudal Lords were startled. His prestige reached to Wu and Ch'u and his name was handed down to later ages. It was not that these two worthies were unable to attend to niceties of behaviour, nor were they incapable of dying to redress small insults. They believed that sacrificing themselves and ending their days before they had achieved a name showed lack of wisdom. So they suppressed their sense of honour and attained lasting fame; they put aside their sense of shame and gained enduring honour. Thus it is that they are the equals of the Three Kings and their names will last as long as the earth and the heavens. Think upon this, sir.
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'I shall respectfully attend your orders', replied the Yen general. He disbanded his troops and they departed with their quivers slung upside down. [Thus did the persuasions of Lu Chung-lien raise a siege in Ch'i and save its people from death.] SPTK 4. 52a KY 30. 3
l62 The bead-stringer's advice Yen attacked Ch'i and Ch'i fell. King Min fled to Chii where he was tilled by Nao Ch'ih. During the time T'ien Tan was holding Chi-mo, defeating the soldiery of Yen and restoring the bastions of Ch'i, Hsiang - even as heir apparent to Ch'i - had been of an ungenerous nature, and when Ch'i had overcome Yen, Hsiang was suspicious that T'ien Tan would take the throne himself.1 After Hsiang was raised to the throne, T'ien Tan became his minister. One day he came upon an old man who had become so cold while fording the Tzu River that he could not walk after he left the stream and was simply sitting in the sand. T'ien Tan saw how chilled the old man was and wished one of his retinue to share a garment with him. Since none had any to spare. T'ien Tan undid his own fur cloak and wrapped it around the old man. King Hsiang hated Tan for this and cried out: 'Would T'ien Tan do such things if he did not intend to take my kingdom from me? I must have a plan to use against him now or I will be too late!' He looked about for someone to advise him but there was none save a man stringing beads below the balcony upon which the king stood.2 'Did you hear what I just said?' the king asked him. 'I did.' 'What do you think I should do about this?' asked the king again. 'If I were your majesty I should use him to make myself appear good.' 'How?' Yokota believes the twelve characters after 'was suspicious' were originally a gloss which became incorporated into the text. 2 As Yokota points out, kuan chu should not be a proper name. Index still has it listed as a person named Kuan Chu.
1
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'You should praise the goodness of T'ien Tan', replied the other. 'You should issue a statement: "When we are concerned over famine among our people, Tan receives and feeds them. When we grieved that our people were cold, Tan took off his own cloak to clothe them with. When we are troubled over our people Tan is troubled. In gauging his ruler's intentions, none is the equal of Tan, and we honour him." Thus will Tan's virtues become the king's.'
1 , ! ;
'Good', replied the king. He presented Tan with beeves and wine and praised his actions. Several days later the bead-worker again saw the king: 'When next you hold court, summon T'ien Tan and bow to him and praise him in the audience hall. Then command all your officers to seek out among the people any who may be cold or hungry and to take them in and give them grain. After this the king may dispatch men to listen in every hamlet. They will hear each cottager say when he speaks to his neighbour: "T'ien Tan's love for his people is nothing more than carrying out the king's grace!"' SPTK 4. 56a KY31. 4
! i | i j j j j j ! I
163
j
Sable P'o rids T'ien Tan of his enemies A certain Sable P'o 1 several times slandered T'ien Tan at court by saying he was a small man of no principle. When T'ien Tan heard of this he set forth wine and summoned Sable P'o. 'How have I offended you, my master, that you should deliberately slander me at court?' asked T'ien Tan. 'When Ch'ih's dog barked at Yao it did not favour footpads like Ch'ih and hold sages such as Yao worthless. A dog merely barks at those who are not its master', replied the Sable. 'Suppose nowadays', he continued, 'there were a Duke Noble who was worthy, and a Mr. Tardy who was not. The two of them get into a fight. Mr. Tardy's dog springs at Duke Noble and nips his heels as a matter of course. But, further suppose the dog finally leaves the 1
Tiao P'o elsewhere given as Tao Ti.
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unworthy and serves the worthy master, perhaps then that dog would do more than just nip the heels of the unworthy!' 'I hear and respect your commands', replied T'ien Tan and the following day he commended Sable P'o to the king. At this time the king had nine ministers whom he favoured. It was they who wished harm to T'ien Tan. And so they said to the king: 'While Yen attacked Ch'i the king of Ch'u sent to us his general and ten thousand troops to aid our country. Now the state is restored and its altars safe. Should we not send an emissary to the king of Ch'u to thank him?' 'Who among my attendants would be fit for this?' asked the king. And the nine men replied as one: 'Sable P'o is fit.' Sable P'o went to Ch'u and there the king feasted him. And for many days he did not return. The nine ministers all said to the king: 'Here is a common man who has influenced the king of a mighty country. Why should Sable P'o not manage our state's affairs? For indeed, T'ien Tan's attitude toward your majesty has lacked the ceremony proper between sovereign and minister; the lower has not been distinct from the higher. In truth his ambition is to do "that which is improper". Within the country he has received commoners and complied with their desires: he has made those who were poor flourish, supplied those who felt lack, and spread a name for virtue among the citizens. Outside the country he has won over the barbarian and the worthies of the empire. Secretly he has allied himself with the mightiest and bravest among the Feudal Lords. He means to do something and we would have your majesty examine him.' 'Summon Tan the minister!' cried the king when another day had gone by. T'ien Tan entered without cap or sandals and approached the king with his back bared for punishment. He retired and requested the death penalty. On the fifth day thereafter the king announced: 'Sir, you have not offended me to that extent, but you shall continue to observe only that conduct which befits a king's minister and I only that conduct befitting a minister's king!' Sable P'o returned from Ch'u and the king offered him wine from
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his own hand. And when they had both felt the pleasure of drink the king cried: 'Summon Tan the minister!' Sable P'o left his mat and bowed down. 'Your majesty, whence comes this style of speech proper to a doomed kingdom? Among kings, is your majesty the equal of Chou's King Wen?' 'I am not.' 'That is so. Your minister knows you are not. Among lesser rulers, is you majesty the equal of Ch'i's Duke Huan?' 'I am not.' 'That is so. Your minister knows you are not.' 'However,' continued Sable P'o, 'King Wen had by him Lii Wang, whom he addressed as "Grand Duke", while Duke Huan had by him Kuan Yi-wu, whom he called "Second Father". Your majesty has by him the lord of An-p'ing, T'ien Tan, whom he insults, addressing him by his given name! Surely there has never been, since the creation of heaven and earth, since the beginnings of mankind, a minister more faithful than T'ien Tan, lord of An-p'ing. And yet your majesty cries "Tan, Tan": whence comes this form of speech proper only to a state which is damned? 'When your majesty could not guard the altars of his ancestors, when the Yen armies rose and assaulted the bastions of Ch'i, your majesty fled to Chu in the mountains of Ch'eng-yang while the lord of An-p'ing held tiny Chi-mo, which trembled in fear, with seven thousand wearied soldiers. But starting from those three /(' of city wall and those five ft of suburb he captured the Yen commander and recovered a thousand It of our country - such was the merit of Lord An-p'ing. At that time he could have sealed off your majesty in Ch'eng-yang and ruled himself: there would have been no one in the world to stop him. But his plans were conceived in virtue and tested against righteousness, so he knew it could not be done. Therefore he made his way over the steeps and passes to welcome your majesty and his queen among the mountains of Ch'eng-yang and your majesty was enabled to return and rule over his people. And so it is that today your country is ordered and your people at peace! Your majesty now summons this man by calling "Tan", as though he were an infant; but they were not the plans of an infant which made all these things pos-
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sible. if your majesty does not now execute those nine men to vindicate the lord of An-p'ing, then this state will truly be in peril!' The king had the nine executed and drove their families from the state. He added ten thousand families of Yeh-yi to the fief of Lord An-p'ing. SPTK 4. 57a KY 31. 5
164 The children's song When T'ien Tan was about to go against the Ti he visited Lu Chungtzu. 'If the general attacks the Ti they will not fall', said Lu Chung-tzu. 'It was I who started from a five /(' city wall and a seven li suburb which was broken and reduced to nothing', retorted Tan, 'and smashed the great state of Yen and rebuilt Ch'i from rubble. How then will the Ti not fall if I attack!' He mounted his chariot and left Lu Chung-lien without ceremony. Straightway he attacked the Ti for three months but could not reduce them, and soon a children's song 1 was heard in Ch'i: Helmets as large as winnowing-bins, Swords so long they come to their chins. Struck at the Ti who would not fall And there they stayed at W u Hill wall. T'ien Tan was frightened at this and questioned Lu Chung-tzu: 'The master said I would not reduce the Ti and now I would like to hear this persuasion.' 'When the general was at Chi-mo', replied Lu Chung-tzu, 'you all had need to plait mats when you rested and hold shovels when you stood. You led your troops then; you exhorted them: "Our days are done, our temples gone! We must go forward, we have no home!" In those days the general had a heart for dying and his troops had none for living. When they heard you speak thus, not one but brushed away Children's songs (t'ung-yao) are common prophetic devices in Han and post-Han times, but are very rare in CKT. See 172 for the only other related example.
1
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his tears, shook his fists and lusted for battle. And in this manner was Yen smashed. Today the general has income from Yeh-yi in the east, and takes his pleasure on the banks of the Tzu to the west. Between the Sheng and the Tzu he hunts and rides, splendid in his gold-buckled belt. He is full of the love of life and has no heart for death. That is why he does not conquer.' 'I have the heart, let you be its conscience, my Master', said T'ien Tan, and the following day he rampaged about the walls, and, standing where the slings and arrows fell thickest, he took the mallets in his hands and drummed his troops forward, and the Ti fell. SPTK 4. 59a KY31. 6
I65 Kung-sun Hung turns the king of Ch'in's contempt to admiration Lord Meng-ch'ang was going to work for the Alliance. Kung-sun Hung said to him: 'You had better send someone to see the king of Ch'in first. If, in your envoy's opinion, Ch'in is destined to become an emperor over kings, then I fear you will hardly have time to submit to him, much less time to work with the Alliance against him. If, in the opinion of your man, Ch'in is unworthy to be the ruler of kings, then there will still be time enough to join the Alliance.' 'Good,' said Lord Meng-ch'ang, 'and I should like you to undertake the commission.' Kung-sun Hung agreed and, taking ten carriages, went to Ch'in. When King Chao heard he had come, he hoped to be able to shame him with his own words, so he gave Kung-sun Hung an audience and said, 'How large are the lands of Lord Meng-ch'ang?' 'One hundred li.' The king laughed. 'My lands are several thousands of //, and yet I would hesitate to challenge any other state. But here is Lord Mengch'ang with his one hundred li square who hopes to embarrass me. Do you think it possible?'
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'Lord Meng-ch'ang is devoted to obtaining good men and your majesty is not', replied Kung-sun Hung. 'In what fashion is he devoted to good men?' asked the king. 'He has three men who urge him never to submit to any "Son of Heaven", not to befriend any of the Feudal Lords, not to be ashamed to be the ruler of men if it fulfils his ambition, and not to be the servant of anyone if his ambition is not fulfilled. He has five whose statecraft fits them to be teachers even of the likes of Kuan-tzu and Lord Shang. Any ruler who takes pleasure in their arguments and carries out their conclusions [?] is certain to become hegemon. Further he has ten men who, if they should be insulted by even the loftiest ruler of the most powerful state, would retire and cut their own throats so that their blood would be on the tunic of such a ruler. I am one of these.' The king laughed and apologized. 'You must not bridle so, sir,' said he, 'I was merely discussing the matter with you. I hope to honour Lord Meng-ch'ang and I wish you to transmit my desires to him.' 'I comply with respect', said Kung-sun Hung. [One can say that Kung-sun Hung could not be imposed upon. King Chao's was a mighty state and Lord Meng-ch'ang's a small one. He who can present the requirements of a small state and make certain they are not scorned is worthy of his commission.]
166 Lord Meng-ch'ang cherishes mounts and maidens but neglects men of honour 'My lord does not truly long to find men of honour', said Lu Chunglien to Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'Think of Yung-men Tzu, patron of Chiao-yi, and Yang-te Tzu, patron of f?].1 Food and drink they gave them, summer garments and winter furs they shared with them - and each patron had a man who would gladly die for him. 'Today my lord's household owns more wealth than ever belonged to those two famed patrons, yet have you a single worthy man who would make the supreme sacrifice for you?' There is obviously a name missing here. SPTK notes that there are two 'masters at the gate of Yung', Yung-men Tzu Ch'iu and Yung-men Tzu Chou.
1
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THE BOOK OF C H ' I - KING CHIEN
'It is only because I have yet to find two such men as they to offer my patronage', replied Lord Meng-ch'ang. "Were I ever to find such a pair then certainly they would die for me as well.' 'The hundred mounts in your stable all wear ornamental saddle cloths and eat the most succulent millet, yet they are neither fabulous unicorns nor King Mu's charger, Lu-erh', replied Lu Chung-lien. 'The ten ladies of your inner courts wear bright embroidered gowns and eat the choicest grain and meat, yet none is Mao Ch'iang nor Hsi-shih. 'It seems my lord is content to find his mounts and maidens in this age but must apply to more ancient times for men of honour! This is why I say you do not greatly desire such men.' SPTK 4. 61b KY 29. 3 K I N G C H I E N (264-221 B.C.)
| ^ «
J '•
f
I67 The Hps and the teeth
i
/ Ch'in smashed Chao at Ch'ang-p'ing, but Ch'i and Ch'u came to her * rescue. Ch'in decided that if the countries were really close to Chao he
i
THE B O O K OF C H ' I - K I N G CHIEN
217
bring y o u fame. Come to Chao's aid honourably and beat back the forces of mighty Ch'in. 'If instead of choosing this you simply show yourself to be one stjngy with his grain, then your country's planners are badly at fault.' SPTK 4. 62b KY 27. 7
168 A lesson in foreign affairs Someone said to the king of Ch'i: 'To the west of Chou and Han lies mighty Ch'in and to the east of them are Chao and Wei. If Ch'in attacks them in the west, Chao and Wei will also1 take territory from Chou and Han; Han will be defeated and Chou harmed. When they are defeated and harmed Chao and Wei cannot but be troubled by Ch'in. 'Now if Ch'i and Ch'in 2 [?] attack Chao and Wei this would in no way differ from3 Chao and Wei making use of Ch'in's attack in order to assault Han and Chou. Ch'i now enters [?] Ch'in and attacks Chao and Wei. When they have perished, Ch'in will come east and attack Ch'i. Then will you find help anywhere in the empire?'4 SPTK 4. 63a KY 27. 8
I69 Kuo-tzu expounds the position of Ch'i in the empire Kuo-tzu said, 'Ch'in defeated the troops of Lord Ma Fu and surrounded Han-tan. Ch'i and Wei aided Ch'in in her attack on Han-tan and Ch'i took Tzu-shu while Wei seized Yi-shih. 'The the kung-tzu Wu Chi5, doing what was best for the empire, * With Yokota * should be %. s As Yasui says, 'this item is full of lacunae'. s With Yokota * = St. 4 This item embodies perfectly all of the faults and none of the charms of CKT. 'i.e., Lord Hsin-ling of Wei.
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murdered Chin Pi and led the -troops of Wei to Han-tan's rescue, thus denying the empire to Ch'in. This was to Ch'i's credit, for she finally threw in with Wei to save Han-tan. [?] 'An-yi is the capital of Wei, Chin-yang the capital of Chao, and Yen-ying the capital of Ch'u. The three states actually1 shared borders with Ch'in and the latter attackedWei and took An-yi, attacked Chao and seized Chin-yang, attacked Ch'u and razed Yen-ying. Ch'in overturned the armies of three states, annexed the two Chous, took Han and incorporated her territory, and half the empire was hers. 'Today she is cutting farther into Chao and Wei and isolating the Middle Kingdoms. She has gutted the eastern areas belonging to Lesser Wei, and if she annexes the Ho-nan area of Wei and cuts off the Tung-yang section of Chao, Chao and Wei will also be in peril. To have Chao and Wei imperilled is not a source of benefit to Ch'i. 'It is the conviction of Han, Wei, Chao, and Ch'u that Ch'in will annex all the empire and bring all of its rulers to submission, so they are unifying both their policies and armies to resist her. But three of these states share borders with Ch'in, so their trouble's are acute. Ch'i does not share borders with Ch'in, so she will not be in difficulty until later. For this reason the trend in the empire must be toward serving Ch'i. 'So if Ch'in gains Ch'i, she will be more powerful than the Middle Kingdoms; but if Chao, Wei and Ch'u have Ch'i as their ally they will be a match for Ch'in. Therefore whether Ch'in on the one hand or Ch'u, Chao and Wei on the other have Ch'i or lose Ch'i will determine which side is powerful and which weak. That Ch'i should hold such a crucial position and not be pre-eminent in the empire can only be the fault of the men she employs to make policy.' SPTK 7. 63b KY 28. 12
I7O2 The queen of Chao makes some inquiries T h e king of Ch'i sent an envoy bearing his respects to Queen W e i of 1 2
After Yokotaftfcshould be understood as US. Most 'Confucian' of the items in CKT.
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rjp
219
Chao. Before she broke the seal on the letter the queen asked the envoy, 'Is Ch'i's harvest good, then? Do her people prosper and does his majesty flourish?' The envoy was stung. 'I received a commission to bring my king's greetings to Queen Wei, but before you inquire of my king you speak of harvests and people. Are you not putting foremost that which is least to be honoured and putting last that which is to be most honoured?' 'Not at all', replied the queen. 'If there were no harvest could there be people? If there were no people could there be a ruler? Should I neglect the root and ask after the branch?' Then she summoned him to her and questioned him. 'There is a private citizen in Ch'i, one Chung-li-tzu. Is he well? He conducts himself thus: if someone has food he will feed them and if they have no food he will feed them. If someone has clothing he will clothe them, but he will also clothe them if they have none. He is a man who aids his king in caring for his people yet to this very day he is not employed at court. Why? 'And Master She-yang,1 is he well? He is a man who conducts himself thus: he has pity for the widow and widower and compassion for the orphaned and the childless. He relieves the poor, supplies the needy and aids his king by looking after his people, yet he is to this day without a post at court. Why? 'And what of the girl of Pei-kung, Ying-erh, who put aside her bracelets and ear ornaments and lived unmarried that she might better care for her parents. She is one who leads people to excel in the practice of filial devotion. Why has she never been honoured at court? 'Can the king be a true king of Ch'i and can his people be his children while these two men remain unemployed and this woman unhonoured? And what of Yii-ling Tzu-chung who neither submitted himself to his prince nor kept his own home in order, nor sought ties with the Lords. He shows your citizens how to excel in uselessness. Why has he not been executed?' SPTK 4. 64b KY 29. 7 1
Index makes this Yeh-yang, but commentators' fan-ch'ieh give She.
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THE BOOK OF CH'I-KING CHIEN
171 The astrologer's daughter When King Min of Ch'i had been assassinated, his son Fa-chang changed both name and surname and became a servant in the home of the Grand Astrologer of Chii. The astrologer, Chi, had a daughter who was struck by Fa-chang's physiognomy and knew he was no ordinary man. She took pity on him, secretly fed and clothed him and eventually had relations with him. In Chii there gathered many of Ch'i's officers who had fled the state, and they sought King Min's son to place him on Ch'i's throne. Fa-chang declared himself while still in Chii and Ch'i's officers elevated him as King Hsiang of Ch'i. When King Hsiang took the throne, he raised the astrologer's daughter to be his queen and she gave birth to Chien. The astrologer, Chi, said, 'A woman who married without a gobetween is no seed of mine for she has shamed my house' - and to the end of his days he never looked upon her again. But Chun-wang was a very honourable queen and did not, because of his unwillingness to acknowledge her, forget the behaviour proper between parent and child. When King Hsiang died, Chien took the throne. Queen Chunwang was diligent in her service to the state of Ch'in and was trusted by the Lords, for which reason Chien was on the throne more than forty years without a single incident. King Chao of Ch'in once sent an envoy to present the queen with linked rings of carved jade and said to the man: 'Ch'i is very clever; see if she is able to separate these jade rings.' The queen showed them to her ministers and none could separate them. She took a mallet and broke the links. Then she dismissed the Ch'in envoy saying, 'Tell his majesty I have respectfully separated them.' When she was on her deathbed she advised King Chien about which of the ministers were the most dependable. Chien interrupted her, 'Let me write them down', said he. 1 1
Chien is drawn as being a bit dull-witted while his mother is quite the opposite.
This accounts for the weary resignation of her last speech. See Watson III p. 84.
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'Do so. But when he had fetched brush and tablet to take down her words he said, 'Alas, I have forgotten who they were.' When Queen Chun-wang died, Hou Sheng became minister of Ch'i. He took much traitor's wealth from Ch'in and sent many men there who with crafty words, urged the king of Ch'i to serve Ch'in rather than prepare his armies for attack. SPTK 4. 66a KY 31. 8
172 The sad end of king Chien o/Ch'i King Chien of Ch'i was on his way to the Ch'in court when Yungmen Ssu-ma1 came forward and asked: 'The force which raises a king to the throne - is it his state or is it the king himself?' 'The state.' 'If that is so how can your majesty abandon his state and go to Ch'in?' The king of Ch'i brought his carriage about and returned home. When the tai-fu of Chi-mo heard of Yung-men Ssu-ma's admonition and the fact that it was heeded, he believed there was still a chance to plan strategy. Having obtained an audience with the king of Ch'i he said: 'Ch'i is still a country several thousand li square which boasts tens of thousands of armoured troops. All the officers of the Three Chin are against Ch'in and several hundred of them are staying near your cities of Ah and Yen. Bring them together, give them your tens of thousands of troops to command and send them to recover the former territories of the Three Chin. In this manner the passes of Lin-chin may be used to penetrate Ch'in. 'There are also officers from Ch'u's capital who do not want to serve Ch'in and several hundred of them have gone south of our walls. Gather them together, your majesty, give them your tens of thousands of troops and send them to recover the former lands of Ch'u. In this 1 Or the ssu-ma of Yung-men.
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fashion Ch'in may be penetrated by using Wu-kuan. This is the way Ch'i's stature can be restored and Ch'in can be destroyed. 'To yield your prerogative to face the south and rule in order to face west and surrender to Ch'in, should, I feel, be repugnant to your majesty.' The king of Ch'i paid him no heed, but Ch'in sent Ch'en Shih to entice the king of Ch'i into Ch'in by promising him a demesne of five hundred li. The king heeded not the tai-fu of Chi-mo but Ch'en Shih. And when he had gone into Ch'in he was confined between the fort of Kung and the Cypress and Pine Outposts and starved to death. A little before this the people of Ch'i had made a song which went: 'Oh cypress, oh pine, Traitors with King Chien confine.' SPTK 4. 67a KY31.9
THE BOOK OF CH'U KING HSUAN (369-340 B.C.)
173 Tzu-hsiang shows a neutral the danger of yielding to pressure When Ch'i and Ch'u were at war, Sung begged to remain neutral. Ch'i, however, put pressure upon her and Sung acceded. Tzu-hsiang spoke to the king of Sung on Ch'u's behalf: 'If we of Ch'u now lose Sung's neutrality by our temperate action, then we will follow Ch'i's example and use force. Having obtained Sung's aid by pressure once, Ch'i will use coercion often in the future. Thus, submitting will certainly not result in profit. If Ch'i should be victorious against Ch'u, her very impetus will be a threat to Sung: if she should lose, then a weakened Sung will have offended a very powerful Ch'u. In this case you will have encouraged two mighty states to use force to gain their demands against your country and jeopardy will truly be upon you!' SPTK 5. ia KY 32. 1
174 Aid to Chao debated During Wei's siege of Han-tan, Chao Hsi-hsii spoke to the king of Ch'u: 'It would be better if your majesty did not go to the aid of Chao but strengthened Wei instead. Wei being stronger will demand an even greater portion of Chao. Chao will not be able to comply and will therefore resist still more stubbornly until both countries are exhausted.' 'This is not so!' said Ching She. 'Chao Hsi-hsii does not understand! The thing Wei fears most in her attack on Chao is an attack by Ch'u 223
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afterward. If we do not go to Chao's aid then Chao will be lost and Wei will have no fear of Ch'u at her back. This would be the same as Wei and Ch'u attacking Chao together, from which she would suffer greatly indeed. How then would both countries be exhausted by it?' 'On the other hand if Wei can consolidate her forces to cut deeply into Chao, Chao will see how great is her peril and knowing that we of Ch'u will not save her will certainly ally herself with Wei and scheme against us. 'Therefore, your majesty, we should send out insufficient troops to help Chao. Chao, being stiffened by our help will put up a fight. Wei will be angered further by Chao's stiffening and will observe that the Ch'u forces are not to be feared, so she will not let up on Chao. Wei and Chao will then both be exhausted. Ch'i and Ch'in will follow our example and Wei will be destroyed.' Ch'u did dispatch Ching She who raised troops to aid Chao. Han-tan fell and Ch'u took Wei's lands between the Sui and the Huo Rivers. SPTK 5. ib KY 32. 5
175 The customs of Ch'u Chiang Yi was sent to Ch'u by Wei and he spoke to the king of Ch'u: 'When I entered your country and heard about its customs I was told Ch'u obscures no one's excellence and speaks of no one's faults. Are these things truly so?' 'They are', replied the king. 'But then the rebellion of Po Kung 1 should never have happened, and if they are truly so now, then your ministers are not to be blamed.' 'What do you mean?' asked the king. 'There is2 a certain Chou-hou, minister of Ch'u, who is honoured above all others and who is seizing the king's power. And while he does Po's father fled the country because of slander and was later murdered. Po himself seized the throne to avenge his father's death. 2 The tense here is confusing for a later king had a favourite called Chou-hou (see
1
219).
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this, the king's ministers keep saying, as with a single mouth, "This is not happening!"' SPTK 5. 2a KY 33. 10
I76 The tiger and the fox 'I hear that the North fears Chao Hsi-hsii', said King Hsuan to his ministers. 'What say you to this?' None of them replied, except Chiang Yi, who said, 'The tiger hunts all the animals of the forest and devours them, but once when he caught a fox, the fox said, "You dare not eat me. The Lord of Heaven ordained me chief among beasts; if you now kill me you will be disobeying the will of Heaven. If you doubt it, follow behind me through the forest and watch the animals flee when they see me." The tiger did indeed doubt the fox and therefore followed him. Animals saw them and fled, but the tiger did not know that the animals ran because they feared him. He thought they were afraid of the fox. 'Now your majesty's country is five thousand li square and in it are a million first-class troops, all of whom are under Chao Hsi-hsii. Therefore when the North fears Hsi-hsii, in reality it fears your majesty's arms, just as the animals of the forest feared the tiger.' SPTK 5. 2b KY 32. 3
177 Chiang Yi declines to judge Later, Chao Hsi-hsii and Lord P'eng-ch'eng were debating before the king, who summoned Chiang Yi to comment on what they said. 'The words of both were so excellent that your servant dare not speak after them', said Chiang Yi. 'To speak on the subject when they have finished with it would be presuming myself a sage!' SPTK 5. 3a KY 32. 4
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I78 Chao Hsi-hsu and the king Chancellor Chiang1 still wanted to discredit Chao Hsi-hsu with the king of Ch'u but found his own power insufficient. He thereupon requested the king of Ch'u to enfeoffLord Shan-yang of Wei in Ch'u. The king consented, though Chao Hsi-hsu objected that Lord Shanyang had done nothing of merit for Ch'u for which he should be thus favoured. In this way Chancellor Chiang obtained the help of Lord Shan-yang in discrediting Chao Hsi-hsu. When these two men of Wei had spoken to the king against Chao Hsi-hsu, the king informed him. 'I have obeyed your commands from dawn to dusk,' replied Chao, 'but now men of Wei have come between me and my sovereign, and I am greatly afraid. I do not fear Wei; but what transpires between you, sire, and myself has been divulged, and other states believe it. This means that the informer is close to the king! If he finds it simple to pass information beyond our borders, then surely he has not neglected to do the same inside our state. If so, my days are numbered.' 'But we know of this,' replied the king, 'so be at ease, my lord.' SPTK 5. 3a KY 32. 6
179 The dog who made water in the well Chancellor Chiang wanted to discredit Chao Hsi-hsu and said to the king of Ch'u: 'There was once a man who took great care of his dog and loved it well. One day the dog made water into his master's well and a neighbour saw him doing it. The neighbour wanted to go in and tell the dog's owner but it hated him and had once bitten him for coming in the gate. The man still feared it and in the end did not go in to tell the owner.' 'During the battle of Han-tan, Ch'u sent its troops north and took 1
i.e., Chiang Yi.
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Ta-liang. Chao Hsi-hsu seized the state treasures. It is because I lived there then and know this that Chao Hsi-hsu hates to see me hold audience with your majesty.' SPTK 5. 3b KY33-7
180 Chiang Yi advises the king to encourage tale-bearers Chiang Yi wished to discredit Chao Hsi-hsu in Ch'u. 'Does your majesty know', asked Chiang Yi, 'that when those under him are thick as thieves, he who is above is in danger, and that when they wrangle with one another he is secure? I would have you remember this well, your majesty. 'Suppose there were a man who loved to make known to others the good he found in men. How would he seem to your majesty?' 'He would be the "superior man" and I should advance him', replied the king. 'And then if there were another who loved to make known the bad he saw in other men,' continued Chiang Yi, 'how would he seem to the king?' 'He would be the "inferior man" and I should keep him far from me!' 'But then if there were a son who had murdered his father, or a minister his prince, your majesty would never know. And why? Simply because your majesty loves to hear what is admirable in men and hates to hear of their wickedness."1 'True,' answered the king, 'I will henceforth listen to both.' SPTK 5. 4a KY33.8
How Lord An-ling won ajiefby vowing to share his prince's grave Chiang Yi persuaded Lord An-ling: This is the same theme as 175. If a shih spoke ill of no one the king would remain helplessly ignorant. 1
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'Your excellency has not one particle of accomplishment and no close kin occupying honoured positions, yet you receive the greatest wealth and all the citizens of the state pull back their sleeves to bow to you and adjust their clothing to kneel to you. Why? Because the king gives too much to those who give him pleasure. Were this not so you would not have such a high estate. 'But', continued Chiang Yi, 'those who have a relationship based on wealth find that when wealth is exhausted the relationship ceases. Those who have a relationship based on their attractiveness find that when their beauty fades love changes - which is why the favoured woman seldom wears out her sleeping mat and the favoured minister seldom remains long enough to wear out his carriages. 'At present you have complete control of Ch'u's destinies but have never formed a lasting relationship with your prince. I see danger in this for your excellency.' 'What should I do?' 'I believe you must request that when the king dies you may be buried with him', said Chiang Yi. 'In this manner you will be eternally honoured in Ch'u.' 'I respectfully receive your instructions.' Three years passed and no more was said of the matter, so Chiang Yi had audience again and said, 'What I suggested to your excellency has not been acted upon. If your excellency cannot find use for my plan then I dare not have further audience with you.' 'Could I forget the Master's words?' asked Lord An-ling. I simply have not found the proper time for it.' Then one day the king hunted in Yiin-meng. A thousand chariots with teams of four, banners and pennons darkened the sky, swamp-fires shone as rainbows do through the clouds, the bellows of buffalo and the screams of tigers echoed and shook like thunder. 1 One maddened beast charged against the wheel of his chariot, so the king drew the bow himself and slew the creature with a single shaft. Then the king pulled a yak-tailed banner staff from its socket, impaled the trophy's head upon it, and lifting his face to the sky laughed aloud. 'Ah, what pleasure I have in today's chase. A thousand autumns hence, who will share such joys with me?' 1 Note the formulaic treatment of the hunt in/n-like metre.
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'Lord An-ling, with tears streaming down his face, came forward. 'In the palace my mat lies beside the king's and abroad I share his chariot. A thousand autumns hence I intend to send my own body first to the Yellow Springs so that it may be a shield against the ants for my prince. Compared to that pleasure, what I feel now is as nothing.' The king was delighted; and that was when he enfeoffed T'an as Lord An-ling. A certain Gentleman said when hearing of this, 'Chiang Yi knew how to make a plan, but Lord An-ling knew when to use it!' SPTK 5. 4a KY33-9
182 A prisoner is reassured, but Chao Hsi-hsii feels tricked In the capital city of Ying there was a Mr. Such-a-one who had been in prison for three years, but on whom no judgement had yet been pronounced. He purposely got someone else to ask for his house, so that he might divine his own guilt. This man spoke to Chao Hsi-hsii for him: 'Sir,' said he, 'I should like the house of Mr. Such-a-one.' 'Mr. Such-a-one is not going to be adjudged guilty and his house will not be forfeit, so you may not have it.' The other saluted him and left. But when he had gone Chao Hsi-hsii regretted his answer and summoned him back. 'Sir, I served you with honesty, why did you requite me with trickery?' asked Chao Hsi-hsu. 'I used no trickery!' 'When a man greets rejection of his request with a pleased countenance, what can it be but trickery?' SPTK 5. 6a KY33. 11
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KING WEI (339-329 B.c.)
183 Su Ch'in in Ch'u finds the cost of living high and the king hard to approach Su Ch'in went to Ch'u and after three months 1 he finally gained audience with the king. He spoke hastily and took his leave. 'I hearken to you, sir, as I would to ancient worthies', exlaimed the king. 'You have not considered a thousand li too far to travel to see me yet you are unwilling to tarry even though I wish to hear your persuasions.' 'In Ch'u food is as expensive as jade and kindling as costly as fragrant cassia', replied Su Ch'in. 'The court usher is as hard to find as a ghost and the king is as difficult to meet as the Heavenly Emperor. I am at present constrained to eat jade cooked over cassia wood while depending on a ghost to introduce me to a god.' 'Return to your quarters, sir,' said the king, 'and I shall hear your every command.' SPTK 5. 6a KY35.2
I84 Su Ch'in wins Ch'u to the Alliance Working for the Alliance Su Ch'in persuaded King Wei of Ch'u thus: 'Ch'u is one of the most powerful states in the empire and you are one of its most virtuous kings. On its west Ch'u has Ch'ien-chung and Wu-chiin, to the east lie Hsia-chou and Hai-yang. Tung-t'ing and Ts'ang-wu are to the south, while the barrier of Fen-ching and Hsiinyang lie to the north. A land of five thousand li square boasting a million armoured troops, a thousand war chariots, ten thousand mounted men, and a ten-year supply of grain laid by: truly these are the resources of a hegemon. Traditionally (and probably correctly), 'three days' in the text should be 'three months'.
1
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'The power of Ch'u and the virtue of its king are such that none in the empire could stand against you. If today you went westward to declare yourself in the service of Ch'in, all the Lords would go west and stand in audience in Ch'in's palace of Chang-t'ai. 'In all the empire//the state which can do Ch'in the most harm is Ch'u. When Ch'u is strong, Ch'in is weak; when Ch'in is strong Ch'u is not. The two states cannot exist side by side. For this reason the best plan I could make for your majesty would be to join the Alliance in order to isolate Ch'iiuf 'if your majesty does not join, Ch'in will raise two forces1 one of which will come forth through the Wu-kuan and the other of which will descend through Ch'ien-chung. When this happens Yen and Ying will shake. 'I have heard that one "controls before things become uncontrolled, acts before the event transpires". When calamity has struck it is already too late for concern. And this is why I would have your majesty plan ahead. If you are capable of taking my advice, I beg your permission to order all the states East of the Mountains to place their sacrifices for the four seasons at your majesty's intelligent disposal; to hand over their societies, temples, trained troops and sharpened weapons for your majesty's use. If your majesty is truly able to apply my stupid plans, then marvellous musicians and beautiful women from Han, Wei, Ch'i, Yen, Chao, and Lesser Wei will fill your rear palaces and wondrous steeds and camels from Chao and Tai will replenish your stables. 'Thus, if the Alliance is formed, Ch'u will rule, but if Ch'in's Coalition succeeds, then Ch'in is emperor. On your majesty's behalf I would regret your letting slip the title of hegemon in order to seek the title of "servant to Ch'in". 'For Ch'in is a wild beast which has its heart set on swallowing the empire whole. Ch'in is the enemy of the empire and advocates of the Coalition all seek to extract lands from the Lords to serve Ch'in - what we call "rearing your own enemy and offering yourself to him". 'The minister who will offer his ruler's lands to establish relationships with Ch'in, the wild beast, that she may be the better able to take over the empire, will meet his end at Ch'in's hand, yet your ministers do not heed the inevitable disaster. Certainly there can be no sedition and 1 Hsu Fou-yuan suggests the two are an army and a navy.
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lack of faith greater than that of ministers who rely on the external power of Ch'in to help them plunder their own rulers by demanding that they cede lands to Ch'in. 'So if your majesty joins the Alliance, all the Lords will cede land to Ch'u; but if the Coalition succeeds, then Ch'u must cede land to Ch'in. One of these actions is infinitely better than the other. Which one will your majesty choose? 'It is for the reasons given that my rustic prince the king of Chao has sent me to offer this plan for your majesty's enlightened decision. All is now in your majesty's hands.' 'My state shares a border with Ch'in in the west,' replied the king of Ch'u, 'and Ch'in intends to take Pa, Shu, and Han-chung. Ch'in is a savage beast to which one cannot attach oneself, and Han and Wei are so crushed by the weight of Ch'in that they cannot be a part of any deep plans of mine. For if I made plans which included them, some disaffected person from there would go to Ch'in; and before we could act, my state would be lost. 'In my opinion Ch'u could not stand up to Ch'in and expect a victory. I get no satisfaction when I make plans with my own ministers and now I find no ease on my mat nor taste to my food. My heart wavers like a banner in the wind and I can decide nothing. But if your ruler hopes to unify the empire, bring peace among the Feudal Lords, and sustain the imperilled states, then I do respectfully offer my country as part of the Alliance.' SPTK 5.6b KY 34. 16
185 Tzu-hua punctures the self-esteem of the king of Ch'u 'From the era of my ancestor, Wen, until my unfortunate person, have there been other men who concerned themselves for their country without the goad of rank or the spur of wealth?' asked King Wei of Tzu-hua, the mo-ao of Ch'u. 'I am inadequate to instruct you', Tzu-hua replied. 'If not from my minister, then from whom may I hear of it?' asked the king.
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'But of which ones does my lord ask?' enquired the mo-ao. 'There have been those who held their rank with purity and impoverished their bodies for the sake of our country. There have also been those who elevated their rank and enriched themselves while concerned for our country. There have been some who have had their throats or bellies pierced to perish in the dreamless sleep, never knowing if what they did was of service - they too were concerned for our country. Others there were also who taxed their strength and humbled their pride for the country. There have been, then, many men who have concerned themselves for the state without the goad of rank or the spur of wealth. 'To whom are you referring when you say this?' asked the king. 'Of old there was Tzu-wen, a chief minister,' replied the mo-ao, 'a man who wore coarse cloth at court and a deerhide coat in his house. He stood in the throne-room before the earliest light to return home and eat only when dusk had come. Never at his morning meal did he concern himself with the evening's fare, nor had he ever a day's provender at hand. Tzu-wen must be reckoned as one who held his rank with purity and impoverished his person out of concern for our country. 'Tzu-kao, the Duke of She, though once poor in his province, was later thought wealthy even in the capital. He settled the rebellion of Po-kung, ordered the affairs of Ch'u and restored the dignity of our ancestral kings until it was felt north of Fang-ch'eng Mountain. No one molested,our borders nor bandied our name among the Feudal Lords. 'Yet at this time when none dared move a soldier southward, Tzukao held title to six hundred estates. The Duke of She was thus one who elevated his rank and increased his wealth while concerning himself for our country. 'Of old, when Ch'u fought Wu between Cedar Mountain and Lake Chii, the chariots were face to face, with foot troops battling between. Ta-hsin, the mo-ao, turned to his charioteer and pressed his hand: '"Alas, my son," he sighed, "the moon of Ch'u's passing has come. We go now deep into Wu's armies. But if you can smite a man or dash one down for me, perhaps our country's gods will not yet perish." 'So Ta-hsin, the mo-ao, must be counted among those who were
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slain for their country and perished in the dreamless sleep never knowing if what they did was of service. 'Again, after three engagements by Lake Chii, our troops were forced back into the capital city. The king fled, his ministers followed, and the people scattered everywhere. Fen-mei Po-su, however, said: "'If I go out against this strong foe clad in armour and wielding a weapon, then I die with no more effect than a foot-soldier. Better to flee to another state than this." 'Thereupon he made off in stealth with such supplies as he had across jagged peaks and deep ravines until his sandals were cut through to the soles of his feet. Seven days, and he reached the court of Ch'in where he stood like a crane, never once lying down. Seven days he cried aloud in the daylight and wept in the dark but was not heeded. Neither food nor drink entered his mouth. He sickened and his breath went from him; he fainted and knew no man. The king of Ch'in heard and came to him unattended. In his left hand he supported Po-su's head and with his right moistened his mouth until Po-su revived. The king of Ch'in in person then asked who he was. '"None other than Fen-mei Po-su, emissary of Ch'u, who of late has offended your majesty. Wu has entered our capital after three battles by Lake Chii. Our ruler has fled, the ministers have followed, and our people are scattered everywhere. This low functionary has been sent to report our loss and beg succour." 'The king of Ch'in ordered Po-su not 1 to arise in respect, but said: ' " I now know what is meant when men say, 'Let the king of a powerful country wrong one noble knight and his altars are in danger.'" 'Thereafter he sent forth eastward a thousand armoured chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers from their garrisons under the command of Tzu-man and Tzu-hu. They crushed the W u troops at Cho River and fought them again in Sui-p'u. 'Therefore I say that Fen-mei Po-su numbers among those who exhausted their persons and humbled their pride on behalf of our country. 'Also, after the battles at Lake Chii when W u had entered our capital, our ruler had fled, the ministers followed and our people 1 Following Yasui this should be negative.
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were scattered everywhere, Meng-ku engaged the enemy on Kung T'ang Mountain but left the fight to hurry to Ying. '"If the heir lives", said he, "the altars of Ch'u may yet survive." 'He entered the palace, bore off the books of law and made his way by river to escape in the fens of Yiin-meng. When King Chao re-entered Ying his officials were disorderly and the populace was in confusion. Meng-ku presented the books of law and all was put in order. His merit was as great as that of a minister who preserves a kingdom. The king presented him with a badge of office and an estate of six hundred chen. '"I am no minister to man," cried Meng-ku angrily, "but a servant of the gods. So long as the altars drink their blood what care I for rulers!" "With that he fled to the Mo Mountains and to this day he is without descendants. Thus, Meng-ku must be counted among those who needed neither the spur of rank nor the goad of wealth to trouble himself for our land.' 'Ah, but these were the men of old', sighed the king. 'How are such to be found among us today?' 'Your ancestor, King Ling, was said to prefer slender figures,' replied Tzu-hua, 'and the knights of Ch'u moderated their meals so much that they had need of props to stand and braces to rise. Now if these men could bear hunger in the presence of delicacies, they could face death with knowledge of its loathsomeness. '"If the ruler loves archery his ministers will wear thumb-rings and arm-guards" goes the old saying', continued Tzu-hua. 'If my lord truly loved men of honour - and he does not presently do so - he could bring others like those five great men of the past to his court.' SPTK 5. 8b KY 34- 19
186 The duty of a loyal minister Su-tzu said to the king of Ch'u: 'The Man of Benevolence acts toward his people with love from his heart. He encourages them with good
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words and makes them filial toward their parents, causing his people to love their parents with all their hearts and to serve them with all their wealth. 'The minister who is loyal must bring worthy men to his king to serve him. At the moment the king's relatives and highest ministers enjoy harming worthy men for their own advantage and by heavily taxing officers and citizens they cause your majesty to be disliked among his people. These are not the acts of loyal ministers. 'Your great ministers spread word of their king's faults among his people, and bribe the Lords with offers of the king's lands so that those the king loves retreat from him. These also are not acts of loyal officers and they have endangered your state. 'I hope your majesty will not heed the slanderous words of his officers; I hope you will use the great ministers and your own relatives only with caution, will employ those whom the people find good, and will moderate your own desires in order to make sure that the people's needs are met. 'What a minister finds hardest to do is to advance worthy men without jealousy. To die for one's prince is easy. Those who did so at Ch'ui-sha numbered thousands. To bear disgrace for one's prince is easy. From the Chancellor downwards many thousands serve your majesty in this fashion. But I have yet to see one who has advanced worthy men without jealousy. So the ruler who would be enlightened must first of all see that his ministers do recommend the worthy and do so without jealousy. The worthy minister must above all else promote worthy men. What makes this difficult is that when the worthy one is employed the recommender is cast aside; when the worthy man is held in high esteem the recommender becomes lower than he. This is why men find it difficult to do.' SPTK 5. 12a KY35-I K I N G H U A I (328-299 B.C.)
187 Ching Li escapes punishment Ch'i and Ch'u were on good terms. Ch'in was arranging an accord
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with Wei and it was hoped that Ch'i could be induced to split off from Ch'u. The king had sent Ching Li to Ch'in and there he took part in arranging the accord between Ch'in and Wei. The king of Ch'u was angered by that, for he feared that Ch'i would suspect Ch'u of secretly having agreements with Ch'in and Wei. The king was going to punish Ching Li when someone said to him on Ching Li's behalf: 'I pay my respects to Ching Li for taking part in the accord. The reason Ch'in and Wei are in accord is eventually to bring Ch'i and Ch'in together so that Ch'i will divorce herself from Ch'u. By taking part in the accord between Ch'in and Wei, Ching Li has caused Ch'i to wonder if Wei is truly uniting herself with Ch'in and will indeed attack Ch'u. Ch'i must now also fear that Ch'u may have a secret agreement with Ch'in and Wei, and for this reason Ch'i must hold Ch'u in great respect. So I say Ching Li has furnished your majesty vvith much that is useful by taking part in the Ch'in-Wei accord. If he had not done so, Wei would clearly have separated Ch'i from Ch'u and, believing Wei, Ch'i would not hold you in any respect. 'Therefore it would be much better if your majesty were to disclaim any intention of punishing Ching Li, for you will thereby demonstrate that you may be connected with Ch'in and Wei. For this reason Ch'i must hold you in respect and Wei and Ch'in will be viewed with suspicion in Ch'i.' 1 SPTK 5.12b KY60. 21
188 The king of Ch'u earns a rebuke The king of Ch'u drove Chang Yi from Wei. 'Why has your majesty driven out Chang-tzu?' asked Ch'en Chen. 'He is a faithless and untrustworthy minister.' 'If he is faithless, your majesty, then do not use him as a minister. If he is untrustworthy then never undertake an agreement with him. 1 A passage of ninety-seven characters followed here, mistakenly transferred from the end of 223.
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But if a Wei minister does not act in good faith what harm does this do to your majesty? If a Wei minister act in the best of faith what profit is there in that for your majesty? 'If you drive him from Wei because you wish to use his advice then do so; but if you do not expect to heed him, your majesty has recklessly caused a man to be put in jeopardy and has made a mighty state abandon its minister. This is as serious a provocation as ranging your forces below her walls.' SPTK 5.13b KY35.3
189 Ch'u incites Han to betray her allies and then tricks her in order to give aid to Ch'i The five states had made a treaty to attack Ch'i. Chao Yang said to the king of Ch'u: 'When the five states have demolished Ch'i, Ch'in is certain to turn its gaze southward// 'But what can be done about this?' asked the king. 'Han is a vacillating country', replied Chao Yang. 'She is both covetous and timorous. Since she is covetous she can be deceived; since she is timorous she can be coerced. If we tempt her with a wealth of land she will surely be misled, and if we muster our forces and move them near her borders she will be afraid of us. When she has been deceived by our wealth and frightened by our troops, the plans of the five states will collapse. When their treaty has been broken we need not give Han the land we promised.' 'Good', cried the king and sent off Ta Kung-shih to Han, where he had audience with Kung-chung and said: 'You personally1 have seen the disasters at Niu-lan and Ma-ling. Now if you do not lend your forces to the five states, my country would like your permission to cede five cities to you. Further, we are mustering our troops and plan to attack Ch'i.' 2 1 Following Wu Shih-tao. s
This presumably is a veiled threat.
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After Han 1 had betrayed Chao and Wei, Ch'u did not give her any land and the alliance of the five states was in difficulty.] SPTK 5. 14a KY 32. 2
190 Tu Ho speaks for and against Wei and Chao Yang twice changes his mind The Five States attacked Ch'in; but of the five Wei wanted peace, so she sent Hui Shih to Ch'u. Ch'u was going to send him on to Ch'in to seek peace when Tu Ho said to Chao Yang, 'The country most responsible for the attack on Ch'in was Ch'u; but today Shih comes on behalf of Wei and you would send him to Ch'in. This would make it quite clear that Ch'u is responsible for the attack and convince Ch'in that Wei initiated peace. You would be better advised to ignore Hui Shih and secretly send a man to Ch'in to offer peace terms yourself.' 'Good', cried Chao-tzu and said to Hui Shih, 'Wei was the first to attack Ch'in and if you now leave from Ch'u to seek peace, Ch'u will receive all the credit and Wei all the resentment. Return home and I shall send an envoy to Ch'in to seek peace on Wei's behalf.' Hui-tzu returned and the king of Wei was unhappy. Because of this Tu Ho 2 spoke to Chao Yang saying, 'Wei was the first to do battle for you, sir, and lost half its army in the process. She told you of her suffering and you would not heed her; she asked to make peace and could not. If Wei should split from you and join Ch'iand Ch'in, how would you repair that situation? You have your involvement with Yiieh in the east, and in the north you would lack Wei, while your relations with Ch'i and Ch'in are uncertain. This would leave Ch'u all alone. The best thing to do is to make peace quickly.' 'True', said Chao-tzu, and ordered his men to make peace in Wei. SPTK 5.14b KY 36. 7 1 2
Not Ch'i; after Seki. Note the persuader's virtuosity in speaking first against and then for Wei. See
also 157.
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191 Leng Hsiang and Ch'en Chen discuss alliances Ch'in was soliciting Ch'u's help and mounting an attack on Ch'i. Leng Hsiang said to Ch'en Chen: 'My king will certainly not listen to me, 1 but those in Ch'u who favour an approach to Ch'i know that they dislike Ch'in in the east and they will work to bring about an alliance between Ch'i and Ch'u. With these two united, Yen and Chao will have to heed their wishes. Ch'i with three other states is quite a match for Ch'in and will not be in difficulty. [Hsiang said]2 'Does Ch'in truly wish to attack Ch'i? Then she should first become well received by those in Ch'u who favour an approach to Ch'i. If this faction were not working for an alliance between Ch'i and Ch'u then Ch'u would come over to Ch'in. 'If mighty Ch'in has Chin 3 and Ch'u with her, then Yen and Chao must listen to her and Ch'i will be isolated. Please allow me to persuade the king of this for you.' 4 SPTK 5. 15a KY 66. 16
192 Chang Yi repairs his fortunes byflatteringthe ladies When Chang Yi reached Ch'u he was reduced to poverty. His attendant was angry and wanted to go back. 'You are dissatisfied with the rags you wear and so you wish to return', said Chang Yi. 'But wait until I have spoken to the king for you.' Now at this time Queen Nan and Cheng Hsiu were Ch'u's favourites. Chang-tzu had audience with the king and the king was not pleased with him. Because Hsiang does not favour attack on Ch'i? Because he is speaking to Ch'en? Either this is excrescent or there is a speech by Ch'en Chen missing. 3 i.e., Han. 4 i.e., by telling him you said it - that would explain why he says at the outset that he (Hsiang) would not be heeded. 1
2
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'Since your majesty has no need of my service I beg your permission to go north to the Chin kings.' 'Granted.' 'Is there nothing I can seek for your majesty in the Chin states?' 'Gold, pearls, gems, rhinoceros horn and ivory all come from Ch'u. What need have I to seek things in the Chin states?' 'Ah, the king is not excited by beauties, then?' 'Why?' 'Simply because the women of Cheng and Chou - whose skin is so white and brows so black - are to be found standing in every lane, and those who do not know take them to be goddesses', replied Changtzu. 'Ch'u is a rustic state and I have never seen women from the Middle Kingdoms of a beauty such as this, but if I could see them would I remain unexcited?' asked the king of Ch'u, and he supplied Chang Yi with pearls and jade. When Queen Nan and Cheng Hsiu heard of this they were much afraid and Queen Nan sent a man to him saying : 'I have heard that the general is about to depart for the Chin states. It happens that I have a thousand catties of gold which you may be able to distribute among your attendants to defray some of your expenses.' Cheng Hsiu also sent him five hundred catties. When Chang-tzu took leave of the king of Ch'u he said, 'Since the borders of the empire are not open, it is uncertain when we may see each other again, so I should like to toast your majesty.' 'You may', replied the king, and passed the cups. Chang-tzu, when he was affected by the wine, bowed and made a request: 'We have none to accompany us. I wish that the king would summon those with whom he is accustomed to drink so that I may toast them.' 'As you wish', said the king and summoned Queen Nan and Cheng Hsiu and filled their cups. Chang-tzu prostrated himself twice and said, 'I have committed a mortal offence against your majesty.' 'What is it?' 'I have travelled throughout the empire but never have I seen two women as beautiful as these. So when I said I would get your majesty real beauties, I unintentionally deceived you.'
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'You are pardoned', replied the king. 'I always felt the empire contained none the equal of these two.' SPTK 5.15b KY35. 4
193 Cheng Hsiu learns of the king of Ch'in s beautiful daughter and procures Chang Yi's release from CKu King Huai of Ch'u imprisoned Chang Yi and was about to have him killed. Chin Shang spoke to the king of Ch'u on behalf of Chang Yi and said: 'If you detain Chang Yi the country of Ch'in will be angered. If the rest of the empire sees Ch'u deserted by Ch'in, they will look upon your country with disdain.' He also spoke to the king's favourite, Cheng Hsiu, saying, 'You, madam, must know that you will become lowered in the eyes of the king.' 'How so?' asked Cheng Hsiu. 'Chang Yi is a trusted and successful minister to the king of Ch'in', replied Shang. 'Today we detain him, and Ch'in is eager to have him released. Now, the king of Ch'in has a beloved and beautiful daughter whom he is willing to present to the king of Ch'u to have Chang Yi released. He will select fair and talented women from his palace to accompany and serve her. He will give them all gold and jade and divers precious things and will bestow on his daughter the revenues from six districts of Shang-yung. The king of Ch'u will covet her. 'She will first of all be honoured because of the power of Ch'in, her native country, and secondly because she comes here holding valuable lands in title. She will, of course, use her power to become the queen, so that she may have a stake in the future of Ch'u. The king, your lord, will become besotted with pleasure, will honour his new love and will forget you, madam. Daily you will become lowered and estranged in the eyes of the king.' 'What can be done?' asked Cheng Hsiu. 'I leave it all to your management, sir.'
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'Would it not be best', inquired Chin Shang, 'to press the king for the release of Chang Yi? If Chang Yi is released he will forever honour you, madam, and the woman from Ch'in will never appear. Ch'in will certainly make much of you. You will be the most honoured of women in your own country of Ch'u, and abroad you will be the key to relations with Ch'in. When you have made Chang Yi your debtor for your own uses, your sons and grandsons will become heirs to the throne of Ch'u. This, madam, is not the profit of commoners!' Cheng Hsiu accepted his persuasion and the king of Ch'u released Chang Yi. SPTK 5.16b KY35.5
194 Chang Mao wins honour by Chin Shang s assassination When the king of Ch'u sent Chang-tzu away he feared that he would do Ch'u harm. Chin Shang said to the king, 'I beg permission to follow Chang Yi and if he does any disservice to the king I shall kill him.' A lesser official of Ch'u, an enemy of Chin Shang, said to Chang Mao [of Wei], 'The brilliance of Chang Yi supported by both Ch'in and Ch'u will surely put you in a difficult position, sir. If I were you I should send someone secretly to seek out Chin Shang and assassinate him. This will make the king of Ch'u furious with Chang Yi, and when he is in difficulty you will be honoured. When Ch'u and Ch'in are fallen out, Wei will be untroubled.' Chang Mao did send a man to cut down Chin Shang and the king of Ch'u was so angry with Ch'in that he sent his forces against her. Both Ch'in and Ch'u hastened to seek Wei's help and Chang Mao was indeed honoured. SPTK 5.17b KY35.6
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195 Chang Yi persuades Ch'u to join the Coalition Chang Yi, working for the Ch'in Coalition against the Alliance, persuaded the king of Ch'u thus: 'Ch'in's territory occupies half the lands of the empire and her troops are a match for the countries on all sides of her. She is backed by mountains, girt by rivers, and lies secure behind barriers in every direction. She has more than a million mettlesome troops, a thousand war chariots, ten thousand cavalry, and grain stores as high as hills. Since her laws are clear, her soldiers are calm in adversity and happy to die. Her king is serious and enlightened and her generals are intelligent and martial. Without moving her armour she can roll up the lands about Ch'angshan1 and break the spine of the empire. The last of the kingdoms to serve her will be the first to perish. 'Furthermore,2 those who make the Alliance in no way differ from men who drive a flock of sheep against a savage tiger. Now it is perfectly clear that the sheep cannot equal a tiger, yet your majesty is siding with the sheep instead of with the wild beast. I am ignorant enough to believe your policy is in error. 'All the powerful states in the empire will be either with Ch'in or Ch'u - one or the other. And these two states are of equal power. If they do battle there can only be room for one of them, and if you do not ally yourself with Ch'in, your majesty, she will send out her armour and seize Yi-yang so that Han's upper lands will be cut off. Next Ch'in will go down through Ho-tung and seize Ch'eng-kao, after which Han must become Ch'in's vassal. When Han has become Chin's vassal, Wei will follow. Ch'in attacking Ch'u in the west with Han and Wei helping her in the north will put your majesty's country in the gravest danger. i 'in addition advocates of the Alliance are bringing together a group of weak states to attack the strongest. Using the weak to attack the strong is both underestimating an enemy and making light of warfare;
1 2
Or Heng-shan. Kambun misprints
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it is mustering troops when a country is poor; and it is the art of selfdestruction. I have heard that one does not pick a fight with an enemy whose troops are superior nor test one's endurance with another when grain supplies are low. The Alliance decorates its arguments with empty phrases making much of the excellence of each ruler's government and speaks only of the profit and not the harm to come. But if catastrophe reaches Ch'u it will be too late to make amends - which is why I ask your majesty to give his plans the most mature consideration. 'In the west Ch'in has Pa and Shu, flat boats and stored grain. Starting at Min-shan and following the course of the river to your capital of Ying is just over three thousand li. If the flat boats are used for troops, each double barge will support fifty men with grain for three months. Floating with the current one can make three hundred /(in a day, and though the total distance is great, sweat is shed by neither horse nor man. In less than ten days Han-kuan is reached and after Han-kuan is alerted all the towns east of Ching-ling will be closed and defended - which will deny your majesty the offensive strength of Ch'ien-chung and Wu-chun. Then when Ch'in sends her troops through Wu-kuan and attacks southward, your northern territories will be cut off. 'A Ch'in attack on Ch'u can place her in extreme difficulties in less than three months, while Ch'u cannot hope for rescue by the Lords in less than six months' time. Here, then, is where your state is not the equal of Ch'in. So I have the temerity to feel concern for your majesty when you depend on rescue by weaker states and forget the calamity Ch'in can bring upon you. 'Also, your majesty five times fought the men of Wu 1 and in three victories they were destroyed; but all your troops perished in the field. And there was Ch'u's doughty defence of Hsin-ch'eng; but all its citizens suffered bitterly. I have heard it said that great achievement can turn into grave danger and that exhausted citizens forever bear their ruler a grudge. I fear for your majesty because of your desire to accomplish what is easily turned into danger and your intention to turn against Ch'in. 'The only reason Ch'in has not sent her troops beyond Han-ku-pass 1
A great anachronism.
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these fifteen years past is because she has been secretly planning how to devour the empire. 'Once Ch'u engaged Ch'in, fought at Han-chung and did not win. Seventy and more of Ch'u's nobility died in Han-chung still holding their jade badges. The king of Ch'u was enraged and raised his troops again and fought Ch'in at Lan-t'ien, and again Ch'u was defeated. Unhappily this was a case of two tigers grappling with one another. Ch'in and Ch'u were exhausted, while Han and Wei, still fresh, took control in their rear. Certainly no plan could be more unwise than this! This is why I want you to consider everything with utmost prudence. 'If Ch'in sends down her troops to attack Lesser "Wei and Yangchin it will seal off the very bosom of the empire. Then if your majesty took this opportunity to raise his troops and attacked Sung, he could overcome it in only a few months. Having taken it, you have only to point eastwards and the twelve Lords along the Ssu River will all be yours. 'The most stubborn advocate of the Alliance was Su Ch'in who was enfeoffed as Lord Wu-an and became minister to Yen. Then he and the king of Yen schemed secretly to crush Ch'i and divide her land between them. Having pretended that he was wanted for an offence in Yen, he fled to Ch'i where the king of Ch'i welcomed him and made him his minister. After two years the king of Ch'i discovered the plot and in a rage had Su Ch'in torn apart by chariots in the market place. Now it is perfectly clear that any hope of managing the entire empire and unifying the Feudal Lords by the agency of one deceitful, false opportunist like Su Ch'in is a vain one. 'However, Ch'in and Ch'u, which share boundaries and field dikes, are brother countries geographically. If your majesty finds he is able to heed my advice, I will secure the heir of Ch'in as a hostage in Ch'u, and the Ch'u heir will be hostage to Ch'in. I beg your permission also to give your majesty a woman of the Ch'in court to tender you the services of a concubine and to dower her with a city of ten thousand families as her "bathing town", so that we may always be fraternal states and never attack each other. It seems to me that no better plan could be made. This is why my rustic prince, the king of Ch'in, has sent me on this mission to present this letter and to follow behind
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your chariot until you deign to notice me. You must make the final decision.' 'Ch'u is an isolated state hard by the Eastern Sea,' replied the king of Ch'u, 'and I am still young and untutored in long range statecraft; but now that my exalted guest has favoured me with his clear instructions and I have heard him, I yield my state and respectfully comply.' Thereupon he sent off an envoy with a retinue of one hundred carriages bearing a present to the king of Ch'in of a chi-ho1 rhinoceros horn and a night -shining jade pi. SPTK 5. 18a KY 34.17
I96 Chao Kuo is told how to avoid banishment When Chang Yi was minister of Ch'in he said to Chao Chii, 'If Ch'u is deprived of Yen-ying, and Han-chung, is she likely to gain other lands?' 'No.' 'If she did not have Chao Kuo and Ch'en Chen, is it likely that she could get other great ministers?' 'No.' 'Tell your king for me that he may have Yen-ying and Han-chung back if he sends Chao Kuo and Ch'en Chen away.' Chao Chii returned and reported this to the king of Ch'u, who was delighted. Someone spoke to Chao Kuo and said: 'It is terrible to see how little the king thinks of bringing honour to his name. When Han requested Kung-ch'en Chieh2, Chou would not accede; when Wei sought Chi-wu Hui, Chou paid her no heed. Why? Chou said, "These men care for me as a magistrate cares for his district"!?]. 'At present Ch'u is a great and powerful state and its king one of the most virtuous in the empire; but if Yi tells him to drive you and Ch'en A species of hollow rhino horn so speckled as to make birds think there is real grain in it - according to tradition. 2 Given elsewhere as Kung-shih W Chieh.
1
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Chen away and Ch'u obeys, then Ch'u will exhibit less self-esteem than did tiny Chou, and Yi will carry more weight than did the kings of Han and Wei. 'Furthermore, the state to which Yi wishes to give prestige by his actions is Ch'in, and the state he hopes to enrich is Wei. If he hopes to acquire merit with Ch'in and Wei 1 he must attack southward against Ch'u; and his method is to deprive her of intercourse with other states and drive away the ministers who make her policy. 'Now Ch'en Chen is a man of the Hsia2 and so is versed in the affairs of the Three Chin. If he be driven out, Ch'u will lack a policy-maker. You can manage the people of Ch'u, so you must be driven out in order that Ch'u's population cannot be mobilized. This is called the "attack from within"; but the king does not discern his peril. 'You should get me audience with your king so that I may beg to represent him at Ch'i and cause Ch'i to continue her relations with Ch'u. When she does, Yi will not be so anxious to give back the territories of Yen-ying and Han-chung. This will make Chao Chii's words seem undependable and the king will refuse to give them much weight.' SPTK 5. 21a KY34. 18
197 Huan Tsang urges the king of Ch'u to receive Chao Chii back in favour The king of Ch'u ordered Chao Chii to Ch'in to bring honour to Chang Yi; but before Chii left for Ch'in, King Hui of Ch'in had died and King W u of Ch'in had taken the throne and driven Chang Yi away. Thereupon the king of Ch'u took Chao Chii into custody to improve relations with Ch'i thereby. Huan Tsang spoke to the king of Ch'u on Chao Chii's behalf: 'The reason Ch'in's Coalition failed is because Yi was held in high esteem by King Hui and Chao Chii was well treated. Now King Hui is dead, and King Wu is on the throne, Yi has fled while Kung-sun Ho 1 2
Following Yokota Ch'in should be added. i.e., the Middle Kingdoms.
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and Kan Mao are honoured. Kan Mao is well disposed toward Wei, Kung-sun Ho toward Han, and neither of them toward me. They will ally Ch'in with Han and Wei. 'Han and Wei honoured Yi because he held Ch'in, and Chao Chii made him still more important by putting Ch'u at his disposal. Now Yi is in disfavour in Ch'in and Chii has been arrested in Ch'u. If Han and Wei want an alliance with Ch'in they will have to treat the two men in power well. They in turn, if they get the support of Han and Wei, will scorn Yi and attack Ch'u, and Fang-ch'eng will be in danger. Your majesty had better restore Chao Chii to favour and convince Han and Wei of Chang Yi's importance. With Ch'u's backing and Wei's support, Yi will be able to contend in Ch'in, Wei will not join Ch'in's Coalition, Han will not go along with her, and Fang-ch'eng will be free of trouble.' SPTK 5. 22a KY36. 5
198 The king of Ch'u finds a way to oblige Hui-tzu while pleasing Hui-tzu s enemy Chang Yi drove Hui Shih from Wei and Hui-tzu went to Ch'u where the king received him. Feng Ho cautioned the king saying: 'Chang Yi drove Hui-tzu away and involving yourself with him is certainly a slight to Chang Yi. This I would not do if I were your majesty. If Hui-tzu were sent by Chang Yi he would certainly not be attacking you for having commerce with Chang Yi1 'However, it is known throughout the empire that the king of Sung favours Hui-tzu greatly and now it will be just as widely known that he dislikes Chang Yi. If it became necessary, for the business of your state, for you to turn someone he greatly respected over to his enemy, he would hold your majesty in contempt, I fear.' 'Then what may be done?' 1
Which, the story implies, Hui-tzu did.
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'The best thing to do, I think, would be to furnish Hui-tzu with support1 and send him to the king of Sung. Then say to Chang Yi, "I did not take him in out of deference to you." This will oblige Yi to you and Hui-tzu, being an impoverished man, will be obliged to your majesty for his support. In this fashion you will not in any real sense offend Chang Yi and yet will manage to oblige Hui-tzu.' 'Good', said the king. Then he recommended Hui-tzu and had him accepted in Sung. SPTK 5. 23a KY 36. 6
I99 2 Ch'en Chen turns a slander to good account Ch'en Chen left3 Ch'u and came to Wei. Chang Yi slandered him before the king of Wei. 'Ch'en Chen, it seems to me, is favouring Ch'u', said Chang Yi. 'He is seeking with all his strength to get her some land.' Tso Shuang4 spoke to Ch'en Chen about it: 'Yi is much in favour with the king of Wei, who believes everything he says. You could use a hundred persuasions and the king would probably not listen to you. The best thing for you to do is to make use of Yi's words to get yourself restored in Ch'u.' 'Good!' cried Ch'en Chen, and he sent a man to make sure Yi's words were known in Ch'u. The king of Ch'u was delighted and willing to take him back.5 SPTK 5. 23b KY 36. 8 200
Queen Cheng Hsiu eliminates a rival The king of Wei sent a beauty to the king of Ch'u in whom the latter 1 With Yokota $ should be * . a This and 314 are without doubt the same story. 199 is the fuller version. 3 W u Shih-tao thinks this should be Ch'u Ch'u £ *5 as in Yokota. I follow them. 4 314 has $5 for JH. 5 314 ends, 'a man to speak first to the king of Ch'u'.
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took much delight. Queen Cheng Hsiu, knowing how fond the king was of his new woman, cherished her and supplied her with whatever clothes, jewellery, and chambers took her fancy. Indeed she treated her more generously than did the king. 'A woman serves a man with her beauty and jealousy is her very nature', said the king to Cheng Hsiu. 'Yet you, knowing how much I am pleased by the new woman, have treated her more kindly than I myself. These actions are worthy of a filial child toward its parents or a faithful minister toward his lord.' Cheng Hsiu knew the king did not suspect her of jealousy so she then said to the newcomer, 'His majesty is much taken with your beauty but he dislikes your nose. "When you serve his majesty you should cover it with you hand.' And when the new one next saw the king she did so. The king said to Chen Hsiu 'The new woman covers her nose when she is with me, do you know why?' 'I know.' 'Well, even though it is unpleasant you must tell me.' 'It seems she does not like your majesty's smell.' 'The shrew!' cried the king. 'I order her nose to be cut off forthwith and let no one disobey this order!' SPTK 5.23b KY37.2 201
The Jive pairs of earrings The king of Ch'u's queen died and another had not yet been raised when someone said to Chao Yii, 'Why do you not propose the new queen, sir?' 'If the king should not agree to my choice my wisdom would be in question and I would be out of favour with the queen he did choose', replied Chao Yii. 'Then why not buy five pairs of earrings,' said the other, 'cause one of them to be better than all the rest, present them to the king, and on the next day see who has them on? She is the one you should then urge the king to raise.' SPTK 5. 24a KY 37. 3
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202 Ch'i Ming gains a hearing Ch'i Ming was persuading Cho Hua to attack Ch'in, but the latter would not listen to him. Finally Ch'i Ming said to Cho Hua, 'I really came here to divine whom Ch'u-li Chi should deal with. I persuaded all the great Ch'u officials to attack Ch'in and all of them agreed to except you. I shall certainly report this to Ch'u-li Chi.' Cho Hua then treated Ch'i Ming with honour. SPTK 5. 24b KY37-5
203 Lao Lai-tzus teeth Someone said to Huang Ch'i, 'Everyone says you are on bad terms with Fu Chih. Have you never heard how Lao Lai-tzu instructed Confucius to serve his prince? He pointed to his teeth which were still sound and said, "At sixty these will have worn themselves down completely by grating against each other.'' 'Now Fu Chih is capable and you are highly placed. If you don't get along you will wear each other out. 'The saying goes, "If you know it is his majesty's carriage, get down; if you know it is his seat, get up." The king loves Fu Chih and if you do not treat him well you are not your prince's servant.' SPTK 5. 29b KY 37. 6
204 How Han CKih's cunning was his own downfall, as Ch'en Chen foretold When Ch'in was attacking Yi-yang the king of Ch'u spoke to Ch'en Chen:
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'We have heard that Han Ch'ih is a very clever officer, skilled in diplomacy, and that he has all but extricated himself at Yi-yang. Because he is certain to accomplish this, I should like to secure him by showing him favour before he has done so.' 'Discard the thought, sire!' replied Ch'en Chen. 'Do not secure him to you. His very intelligence will undo him. The craftiest animal of the mountains and marshes is the mi deer. He knows that hunters spread nets in his path to drive him into them, so he turns about and rushes the beaters. But those who have hunted often know the beast's craft and deception. They advance on him with the nets held up in front of them and in this way capture the creature when he rushes them. 'The Lords understand clearly the guile and deception of Han Ch'ih, their quarry, and those who advance on him now at Yi-yang with their nets held before them are legion. 'So I say abandon the notion, your majesty! Do not secure him; for Han Ch'ih's very cleverness will embarrass him this time!' The king obeyed. Yi-yang, in fact, did fall as Ch'en Chen had foreseen. SPTK 5.25b KY 36. 9
205 Huan Tsang defends Chao Chti's unwillingness to mount an offensive Four states attacked Ch'u. Chao Chii was ordered only to resist Ch'in, but the king of Ch'u wanted him to take the offensive against the Ch'in forces. Chao Chii did not want to, so Huan Tsang spoke to the king on his behalf. 'If Chii were to be victorious over Ch'in in such an assault', said Huan Tsang, 'the three states would be afraid of Ch'u's power and fear that Ch'in might change sides and obey Ch'u. For this reason they would certainly attack deep into Ch'u to stiffen Ch'in's resolve. The king of Ch'in, angry over a war lacking victories, would muster all the troops he had and smite Ch'u. The result would be that your majesty and Ch'in would both be depleted to the advantage of the other three
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states. On the other hand, if he assaults Ch'in and does not win, Ch'in will advance its forces and attack deep into Ch'u. The better course is to increase Chao Chii's forces and command him to show Ch'in that she must fight. The king of Ch'in will not like the thought of exhausting his and Ch'u's forces to the advantage of the empire. [After a show of force] Ch'in can be offered a little territory to decrease the harm being done. When Ch'in and Ch'u have been thus reconciled, Yen, Chao and Wei will have no recourse but to heed them; so the three remaining states can then be brought to order.' SPTK 5.25b KY34.4
206 Ch'eng Hun receives help from a town and afterwards requites it Ch'eng Hun left Chou [in the company of three others]1 and went south into Ch'u. When he reached Hsin-ch'eng he persuaded its magistrate thus: 'Han and Wei are countries of no consequence as far as Ch'u is concerned while Ch'in is a very powerful enemy. Despite the weakness of Han and Wei, Ch'u confronts them with the powerful city of Shangliang whereas she confronts Ch'in's mighty city of Yi-yang with weak Hsin-ch'eng. P'u-pan and P'ing-yang were only a hundred li from Han's capital of An-yi, but one night Ch'in invaded and attacked them and An-yi never knew it. Hsin-ch'eng is five hundred li from Shangliang and if Ch'in invaded one night, Shang-liang would never know it. 'Nowadays the border towns do not look to Chiang-nan or Ssushang, so why should the king of Ch'u not make Hsin-ch'eng a great commandery? All border towns would benefit by it. 'The head of Hsin-ch'eng was overjoyed and supplied a coach and four and five hundred in gold for Ch'eng Hun to go to Ch'u. Ch'eng Hun took them and went south to deal with Ch'u. Ch'u did actually make Hsin-ch'eng chief commandery of the border.' SPTK 5. 26a KY33. 12 1 Yokota believes this to be a copyist's error and says it should be ignored - 1 agree.
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207 The two towns Han Kung-shu had Ch'i and Wei on his side and the heir had Ch'u and Ch'in on his in their struggle for the state. Cheng Shen1, Ch'u's envoy to Han, gave the towns of Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen to the heir. The king of Ch'u was furious and was about to have him punished, but Cheng Shen said, 'I took it upon myself to give them away for the good of our state. I decided that if the heir were given Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen for his struggle with Kung-shu and he won the state, then Ch'i and Wei would attack Han. Han would then, in great haste, put her fate in Ch'u's hands, in which case they would not dare request Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen. If the heir did not win, if he fled and did not perish, he would then arrive here with his hat in his hand.2 Would he dare speak of the towns then?' 'Good', said the king of Ch'u, and did not have him punished. SPTK 5. 27a KY33.13
208 Ch'en Chen advises the king against paying in advance Tu Ho of Ch'u persuaded the king of Ch'u that he could achieve good relations with Chao. The king was about to make him a wu-tai-fu and order him to act on his own discretion when Ch'en Chen spoke. 'If Ho is not able to secure Chao for us, he should not have the rank of wu-tai-fu, for that would be reward for no merit. If he should secure Chao and the king added no reward for this, that would be lack of recognition. Your majesty should give him ten carriages to carry out the commission and when it is a success give him the rank of wu-tai-fu.' 'Good', said the king, and gave Tu Ho ten carriages to go on the commission. But the latter became angry and would not leave. The wording of this is almost identical with 412 where the person is Cheng Ch'iang. $ shen is doubtless a graphic mistake for Chiang fi. 2 Lit. 'his hat (on) upside down', indicating great haste. 1
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'This is because he cannot secure Chao for us', said Ch'en Chen. SPTK 5. 27b K Y 3 3 . 14
209 The king of Ch'u is advised not to have a virtuous man as his representative in Ch'in The king of Ch'u questioned Fan Huan. 1 'I want to place a minister in Ch'in; whom should I choose?' 'I am incapable of instructing you', was the reply. 'I want to make Kan Mao Ch'in's minister,' continued the king, 'will he do?' 'He will not', replied Fan Huan. 'Why?' 'Shih Chu, the gatekeeper of Ts'ai, served his prince poorly in his outside duties and managed his own home badly. He was a man known for his harshness and severity, but Kan Mao was able to work for him and get along with him. He also managed to serve the brilliant King Hui, the exacting King Wu, and even Chang Yi, who loves to criticize others. He rose through ten posts and did not once offend. Mao is certainly a worthy man; but he should not be minister in Ch'in for you, for it is not to Ch'u's profit to have a virtuous minister serving Ch'in. Furthermore, your majesty once used Shao Hua 2 in Yiieh and got the area of Kou-chang. During the Mei 3 rebellion Yiieh was in turmoil so Ch'u went south, garrisoned Lai-hu and made a wilderness of the Chiang-tung area. Such were the accomplishments of those you schemed to send the king that Yiieh was in chaos and Ch'u was governed. This you did in Yiieh, but you seem to have forgotten it in Ch'in's case. I am surprised it should have been so quickly forgotten. If you want to place a minister in Ch'in, let it be someone like Kung-sun Ho. He is kin to the king of Ch'in. He shared his clothes when they were boys and shares his chariot now. To have one who wears the king's clothes Also given as ^ iH Fan Hsiian and 41. Han-fei has ^ .& Kan Hsiang. Also known simply as Ku ?£ or Hua. 3 This may be JS 8$ T'ang Mei. 1 2
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and obeys him as the minister of Ch'in would be of great benefit to Ch'u.' SPTK 5.27b K Y 3 3 . 15
210
A plan to make Kan Mao chief minister in Wei When Ti Ch'iang, minister of Wei, died, someone spoke to the king of Ch'u on behalf of Kan Mao: 'Kung-sun Ching has hopes of becoming minister of Wei. If he is made minister of Wei, relations between Ch'in and Wei will be cordial. When relations between Ch'in and Wei are good, Ch'u will be slighted. Therefore, what your majesty should do is make an alliance with Ch'i and both countries should then work to make Kan Mao chief minister in Wei. The king of Ch'i desires to be important and well known; so asking that his ambassador should request that a certain minister be installed in Wei will delight him. If Wei will not accede, relations between Ch'i and Wei will worsen. When they do, each of them will compete with the other for Ch'u's favour. If Wei does accede, Kan Mao and Ch'u-li Chi are such enemies that they would gladly buy each other's heads. So relations between Ch'in and Wei are bound to deteriorate. When they do, both states will make much of Ch'u.' SPTK 5. 28b KY 34. 1 211
A devious plan Ch'i and Ch'in had united to attack Ch'u. Ch'u ordered Ching Ts'ui to take six cities to bribe Ch'i with and to make the heir a hostage. Chao Chii said to Ching Ts'ui: 'Ch'in will become alarmed and through the efforts of Ching Li and Su Li she will give Ch'u land. While your are offering Ch'i land, Ching Li and Su Li will be doing the same thing to receive Ch'in, and your efforts will come to naught.
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'It would be better if you caused the king to bribe Ch'in heavily and sent Ching Li and Su Li on a mission to Ch'in. Ch'i will then become afraid and will not seek land as an inducement to join Ch'u. If she does not seek land, you can give her a treaty.' 1 SPTK 5.29a KY 34. 2 212
Su Li shows Chao Chti how he may keep hisjorces intact Shu Shih, the Ch'in general, attacked Ch'u. Ch'u ordered Chao Shu to take a force of a hundred thousand and hold Han-chung. Chao Chii was victorious over Ch'in at Ch'ung-ch'iu and Su Li said to Chao Shu, who was head of Yuan, 'The king will want to seize the impetus of Chao Chu's victory to attack Ch'in. He will certainly divide your forces to increase Chao Chii's troops. When Ch'in knows that your troops have been reduced she will attack Han-chung. Let me get Ch'ien Jung to speak to the king and say, "Ch'in troops will attack through Han-chung", and your forces will remain intact.' SPTK 5. 29b KY 34- 3
213 The king of Ch'u detained in Ch'in Ch'in defeated Ch'u at Han-chung and the king of Ch'u went (c Ch'in, where Ch'in detained him. Yu T'eng said to the king of Ch'in on behalf of Ch'u, 'If you hold the king, and together with the empire you attack his state, you will be damaging standards of right action. If you don't attack with the empire, you will forfeit profit. You should make a covenant with the king of Ch'u and return him. He will be afraid to break the covenant; but if he should break it you could then attack him with the Three States and be acting with propriety.' SPTK 5. 30a KY35.7 1 Somewhat silly item since the reasons for wanting a Ch'i treaty instead of the predicted Ch'in rapprochement are hardly clear.
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KING C H ' I N G - H S I A N G (298-263 B.C.)
214 Shen-tzu shows how the best result may be obtained by the simultaneous use of three incompatible plans While King [Ch'ing-] Hsiang of Ch'u was still heir apparent he was a hostage in Ch'i. When his father, King Huai, died, the heir paid his respects to the king of Ch'i and departed for Ch'u, but the king restrained him: 'If we are given five hundred ft of your eastern lands', said he, 'you will be returned. If you do not yield it to us 1 you will not return.' 'I have a counsellor with me and I beg your leave to withdraw and ask his advice', replied the heir. 'Yield it,' said his adviser, Shen-tzu. 'Land is used to support one's life. To be so chary of your land that you miss your father's obsequies would be wrong. Therefore I say that sacrificing it is proper.' The heir re-entered court and gave his decision to the king of Ch'i: 'I promise to yield the five hundred ft', he said, and the king of Ch'i returned the heir to Ch'u. When the heir had returned and been seated as king, Ch'i sent an envoy with fifty chariots to receive the eastern lands from Ch'u. 'What shall I do now that Ch'i comes requesting the land?' the king of Ch'u asked Shen-tzu. 'Tomorrow summon your ministers to court, each to present his plan', replied Shen-tzu. Tzu-liang, Pillar of the State, was first to have audience. The king said, 'Because I wished to see my father the king in his tomb, return to my country and face my ministers, I promised Ch'i five-hundred ft of our eastern lands. Now 2 Ch'i's envoy is here to demand the land what shall I do?' 'The king has no recourse but to give the land', replied Tzu-liang. 'From a king must come only the sound of truth. To have promised something to mighty Ch'i and failed to give it would be a breach of 11 2
disregard Yokota's pause marker before US. Following Yasui.
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faith. Never thereafter could you make a binding agreement with the other Lords. I submit that you should give the land and then fight for it. To give the land would be acting in good faith. To attack Ch'i to get it back would show valour. Therefore I would give them the land.' Tzu-liang retired and Chao Ch'ang came in for audience. 'Ch'i's envoy is here seeking five hundred li of our eastern lands. What should I do?' asked the king. 'You cannot give it', replied Chao Ch'ang. 'What makes a country powerful is its land. To cede five hundred It of our eastern lands would be to give away half our country. W e would still be called a country of ten thousand chariots but would scarce have the means to supply one thousand. This cannot be. This is why I say you cannot give it. I ask to be allowed to defend it.' Chao Ch'ang retired and Ching Li entered for audience. 'Ch'i's envoy is here seeking five hundred li of our eastern lands', said the king. 'What shall I do?' 'You cannot give it them,' replied Ching Li, 'nevertheless Ch'u cannot protect the lands by itself.. .* I beg permission to go westward and seek aid from Ch'in.' Ching Li left and Shen-tzu entered. The king reported the advice he had from the three ministers: 'Liang said I must give the land and having given it should fight Ch'i for it. Ch'ang said I could not give it; he wished to defend the area. Li said I could not give it. He said, however, that Ch'u could not defend the land alone and he asked to go west to Ch'in and seek aid. Of the three, which plan should I use?' 'Use them all', replied Shen-tzu. 'What are you saying!' exclaimed the king angrily. 'Let the king make each implement his own advice, and we shall see how sincere each was. Let the king send the Pillar of the State, Tzuliang, north with fifty chariots to surrender five hundred li to Ch'i. The next day appoint Chao Ch'ang as chief commander with orders to go and defend the eastern lands. The day after that send Ching Li with fifty chariots westward to seek aid from Ch'in.' 'I will', said the king, and he sent Tzu-liang north to give the land. 1 Most commentators - and I agree - feel there is at least a fifteen-character repetition here which is a copyist's error. I leave it out.
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The next day he commissioned Chao Ch'ang commander to defend the eastern lands and dispatched Ching Li to Ch'in to ask aid. When Tzu-liang reached Ch'i, Ch'i sent armoured troops to receive the eastern lands. Chao Ch'ang met their envoy and said: 'I am commissioned to defend our eastern lands and shall stand or fall with them. I have mustered every person between sixteen and sixty to the number of some three hundred thousand, clad them in broken armour and armed them with cast off weapons. We stand wining to accept our disadvantage.1 'You have come to surrender the lands,' said the king of Ch'i to Tzu-liang, 'but Ch'ang is defending them. How can this be?' 'I was personally instructed by my humble prince', replied Tzuliang. 'Ch'ang is feigning authority. He should be attacked.' So Ch'i assembled all its troops to attack the eastern lands and kill Chao Ch'ang. But before they had set foot beyond their border Ch'in appeared on their right flank with fifty thousand troops saying: 'To have detained the heir of Ch'u was wicked and to rob him ot five hundred li of his eastern lands is unjust. If you wish to withdraw your troops you may. If you do not, you fight us.' The king of Ch'i was frightened by this. He sent Tzu-liang south to speak to Ch'u and an envoy west to Ch'in. They relieved Ch'i's plight, the troops were never used, and the eastern lands remained intact. SPTK 5. 30a KY35.8
215 Su-tzu and the heir Nii-a said to Su-tzu, 'You were responsible for the king of Ch'u's detention in Ch'in and the heir's danger. Now if the king of Ch'u sends the heir south you will certainly be in peril. You should get someone to say to the heir, "Su-tzu knows that you are angry with him and so knowing will work to harm you. You should be on good terms with Su-tzu, then he will work to have you restored!"' 1 The Yokota and SPTK notes are certainly wrong here, but I am not certain my version is right.
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Su-tzu did send a man to say this to the heir and the heir changed his mind and sought good relations with Su-tzu. SPTK 5. 32b KY35.9
2l6 The eastern lands During the difficulties at Ch'ang-sha, Ch'u's heir apparent, Heng, was sent to Ch'i as hostage. When the king of Ch'u died the Duke of Hsueh returned Ch'u's heir and then, with the armies of Han and Wei following him, he began to attack Ch'u's eastern lands. The heir was afraid. 'It would be best', said Chao Kai, 'if Ch'u Shu used the most recendy acquired eastern lands to negotiate peace with Ch'i and disturb Ch'in. Ch'in will fear that Ch'i is about to conquer the eastern lands and will warn the other states that they must come to our aid.' The heir agreed and ordered Ch'u Shu to use the new eastern lands to negotiate with Ch'i. The king of Ch'in heard of it and was afraid. He sent Mi Jung to Ch'u to say, 'Do not give the eastern lands to Ch'i and we will send out troops to aid you.' SPTK 5.33a KY 37- 7
217
The elixir of life There was once a person who wished to present the king of Ch'u with an elixir of eternal life. The usher was conducting him in when an attendant of the king asked if the medicine could safely be taken. 'It can be taken', was the reply. The king's attendant immediately snatched the medicine and consumed it. The king was furious and dispatched a man to execute his guilty attendant, but the attendant in turn sent someone to persuade the king as follows:
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'Your servant asked the usher if the medicine could be taken. The usher replied that it could, so your servant took it. In this the guilt lies not with your attendant but with the usher. 'Further, the medicine was being offered the king as the elixir of eternal life. If now you kill your guiltless attendant who took this medicine, it will then be clear that the medicine was a fraud and the king was gulled.' The king did not have him executed. SPTK5. 33b KY 37. 8
218 The two envoys Ch'i hated Ch'in for the Nao-chun rebellion1 Afterwards Ch'in wished to establish good relations with Ch'i so she sent Su Chuan on a special mission to Ch'u and ordered Jen Ku to Ch'i. Ch'i Ming said to the king of Ch'u, 'Ch'in is not nearly so anxious to have Ch'u's good relations as she is to have Ch'i's. She has only sent Chiian here to show Ch'i that she can count on Ch'u and to help Jen Ku's cause in Ch'i. When Ch'i sees Ch'u being approached she is certain to welcome Jen Ku; so your majesty's reception of Su Chiian will be exactly the right spur for Jen Ku to use to unite Ch'i and Ch'in. Ch'i and Ch'in united will not benefit Ch'u. 'However, the things Su Chiian will say here will certainly not be the same things Jen Ku will say in Ch'i, and your majesty can do nothing better than send a man to report to Ch'i the contempt for Jen Ku which Chiian reveals to us. This will prevent an alliance of Ch'i and Ch'in. When this happens your majesty will be important to those states. If you want to receive Ch'i and attack Ch'in, you can capture Han-chung. Or if you wish you can use Ch'in, reject Ch'i ,and get lands between the Huai and the Ssu.' SPTK 5. 34a K Y 3 1 . 10 This is supposed by commentators to be Nao Ch'ih and since he was from Ch'u Ch'i's grudge should be against that country not Ch'in. Something is corrupt here.
1
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219 Chuang Hsin tells the king of the dragon-fly, the rice-sparrow, the crane, and of other matters which make him tremble 'Your majesty, my ruler,' said Chuang Hsin to King Hsiang of Ch'u, 'since you keep Marquis Chou 1 on your left side and Marquis Hsia on your right and when you go forth in your carriage Prince Yen-ling and Prince Shou-ling ride in attendance, and since they lust after power and revel in excess, heedless of government, your capital will soon be in great peril.' 'Are you becoming senile and perverse,' asked the king, 'or are you putting a curse upon the state of Ch'u?' 'I am only being honest about what I see will happen" replied Chuang Hsin. 'I do not presume to curse the state. But if your majesty, my ruler, continues favouring four men as he has, Ch'u is lost. I beg leave to go to Chao, to stay there and watch.' Chuang Hsin went to Chao and when he had been there five months Ch'in did take the capitals of Ch'u and the areas of Wu, Shang-ts'ai and Ch'en as well. King Hsiang fled, secured the town of Ch'eng-yang, and sent out riders to seek Chuang Hsin in Chao. Chuang Hsin obeyed the call, and when he arrived King Hsiang said to him, 'It was because I could not put to use the Master's advice that things have reached this state. What can be done?' 'I have heard peasants say, "It's not too late to hail the hound when the hare's started; nor to repair the pen when the sheep has bolted",' replied Chuang Hsin. 'I have also heard that of old, "T'ang and Wu with a hundred li flourished well; Chieh and Chou held the empire, yet they fell." Now Ch'u is not a large state, but if one gives a little here and takes a little there it still amounts to several thousand li - and that is a great deal more than a hundred! 'Has the king never noticed the dragon-fly? With its six legs and four wings it darts and soars between heaven and earth, here it swoops and seizes little insects for food, there it gets the dew of heaven for its drink, and it knows no fear, it has no quarrel with man. Neither does it know 1 See 174 for Marquis Chou in connection with another Ch'u king.
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that a boy, scarce three feet tall, is dipping a filament of silk in sticky sweet which will bring it down from a height of thirty feet to become food for ants. Still, the dragon-fly is but a small thing. 'So let us take the rice-sparrow. With white grains below for him to peck, and the security of the leafy trees above him, he ruffles his feathers and flutters his wings and knows no fear. He has no quarrel with man. Neither does he know that young nobles, holding bird-bows in their left hands and pellets in their right, can bring him down from a height of fifty feet. Nor does he know that they fly decoys of his own race for him, nor that flying in the leafy trees this day he will be a dainty dish this night; till suddenly he falls into the hands of the young men. Still, a rice-sparrow is but a small thing. 'So let us take the yellow crane. It roams freely over rivers and the sea and stays long in the great swamps; below him are eels and fishes to catch and elsewhere water chestnuts and tender plants. He drives his six pinions against the cold, pure wind and it floats him as he soars on high. He knows no fear. He has no quarrel with man. Neither does he know that an archer is sharpening his arrow-heads, preparing his bow and lashing a retrieving string to the shaft which can reach him at the height of five hundred feet - till the pain of the arrow and strain of the string snatch him from the pure air and dash him to earth. Roaming the rivers and lakes this day he will be in the stew kettle this night. Still, the yellow crane is but a small thing. 'So let us take the affairs of Marquis Ling of Ts'ai. In the south he wandered over Kao-p'o, in the north he climbed Mt. Wu. He drank from the springs of Ju-ch'i and ate of fish from the Hsiang. Here he embraced young maidens, there he lay with his favourites, or he galloped with them in Kao-ts'ai and knew of no troubles for his kingdom. Neither did he know that Tzu-fa had received an order from King Ling of Ch'u to bring him bound with red cord to the court. Still, the affairs of Marquis Ling are but small things. 'So let us take the affairs of your majesty, my ruler. He kept Marquis Chou on his left and Marquis Hsia on his right and when he went forth in his carriage Prince Yen-ling and Prince Shou-ling rode in attendance. They fed well from the taxes of their fiefs, they rode well using gold from the treasury. The king galloped with them in Yiin-meng and knew of no trouble for the empire nor for his kingdom. Neither did
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he know that Marquis Jang had received an order from the king of Ch'in to seal the pass at Mien and harry the king of Ch'u in his own land.' King Hsiang's colour changed as he listened and his body trembled. He presented the Jade Baton to Chuang Hsin, gave him the land of Huai-pei in fief and titled him Prince Yang-ling. SPTK 5. 34b KY 37. 4
22O
Ching Yang's guile causes two armies to withdraw without a blow Ch'i, Han and Wei attacked Yen together and Yen sent her heir to beg succour of Ch'u. The king of Ch'u sent Ching Yang to rescue Yen. One evening the army halted and Ching Yang ordered the ssu-ma of both the right and left to build a camp and a wall about it. When they had erected the palisade, Ching Yang said to them angrily, 'You have constructed it so that water can come in and destroy the walls completely. How can we stay here?' With that he moved the army. The next day it rained heavily and a great wash from the hills completely destroyed the walls about the camp the men had made. From then on officers and troops were all his.1 Then, being unable to rescue Yen directly he attacked Wei's city of Yung-ch'iu and took it to make an alliance with Sung [?]. The three states were afraid and ceased their assault on Yen. The Wei forces camped to the west and the Ch'i forces to the east of [Yung-ch'iu] so that the Ch'u expedition, though it wished to return, could not do so. Ching Yang then opened the sally port on the west side, by day sent out carriages and riders, and by night men with torches to make it appear that he was exchanging envoys with the Wei force. The Ch'i generals thought it very strange and suspected that Yen and Ch'u were making schemes with Wei against Ch'i, so they This is quite foreign to the persuader's tradition. It seems to be a series of anecdotes about the military sagacity of Ching Yang.
1
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withdrew their troops and fled. When the Ch'i force had left, Wei no longer had anally with whom to attack Ch'u; so when night came again Wei retired and the Ch'u expedition returned home. SPTK 5. 37b KY 71. 1
K I N G K ' A O - L I E H (262-238 B.C.) 221
The owl and the pawns T'ang Chu had audience with Lord Ch'un-shen and said, 'Men of Ch'i will decorate their persons and make their actions elegant to advance themselves. I was ashamed of such behaviour and refused to imitate them. I did not hesitate to ford rivers and travel over a thousand li in order to pay my clumsy respects to you, your excellency, for I feel that your ambition is lofty and I admire the accomplishment you seek to achieve. I have heard it said that Pen and Chu,1 though they hid their swords and maces in their bosoms, would still have been accounted heroes, and Hsi-shih wearing sackcloth would still have been called a beauty by the empire. 'Today your excellency is minister of the great state of Ch'u and wishes to ward off harm from the Middle Kingdoms. The only thing that prevents your accomplishing what you wish and gaining what you seek is your lack of assistants. Even the powerful "owl" draughtsman2 succeeds only when it has "pawn" draughtsmen to help it. One "owl" is not as powerful as five "pawns", that much is clear. Why don't you become the "owl" of the empire and command me and others to be your "pawns"?' SPTK 5. 38a KY 36. 10 1
i.e., Meng Pen i£ ft and Chuan Chu IS Iff. Meaning Lord Ch'un-shen is of
this calibre. 2 See Yang Lien-sheng in HJAS, 9/3-4 (1947), pp. 202-6; and HJAS 15/1-2 (1952), pp. 124-30 for the possible meanings of these terms in the game of liu-po A? fS.
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222
Sun-tzu is first dismissed and then re-invited, but declines with a letter and a fu A retainer persuaded Lord Ch'un-shen: 'T'ang began with the region of Po and King W u with the town of Hao - neither of them more than one hundred li - which each used to gain the empire. At present Sun-tzu1 is one of the worthiest men in the empire and you have given him a hundred li for his maintenance. I have the temerity to feel that this may not be to your excellency's benefit. What think you?' "What you say is true', replied Lord Ch'un-shen, and he sent an envoy to dismiss Sun-tzu. Sun-tzu left and went to Chao where he was made chief minister. Another retainer persuaded Lord Ch'un-shen: 'In ancient times Yi Yin left Hsia and went to Yin. Yin flourished and Hsia perished. Kuan-chung left Lu and went to Ch'i. Lu grew weak and Ch'i grew strong. In fact wherever the worthy dwell the king is honoured and the state flourishes. At present Sun-tzu is a worthy of the empire. Why did you dismiss him?' 'What you say is so', replied Lord Ch'un-shen, and he sent an envoy to request Sun-tzu from Chao. Sun-tzu declined by letter which read: 'Even a leper may pity a king', a saying which shows little respect but which will repay examination, for it is said of rulers who have been assassinated or otherwise perished. Now if a ruler be young and proud of his ability but has no skill at recognizing treachery, his powerful ministers will usurp power and secretly devise ways which prevent punishment being applied to them. They will deliberately murder older, worthier rulers to set up younger and weaker ones in their place. They will discard the legitimate heir and raise one who is not. The Ch'un-ch'iuz warns of this saying, 'The king of Ch'u's son, Wei, visited Cheng and before he left its borders he heard that the king had been taken ill. Back he went to inquire of the illness, i.e., Hsiin-Tzu or Hsiin Ch'ing. The Ch'un-ch'iu does not, but a story in the Tso~chuan (Chao, i) (Legge) p. 581 does. 1
8
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strangled the king with the cord of his cap, and took the throne himself.' Ts'ui Chu of Ch'i 1 had a comely wife with whom Duke Chuang had relations. Ts'ui Chu led his men and attacked. Duke Chuang asked him to share the state with him but Ts'ui Chu would not. Duke Chuang begged to be allowed suicide in his ancestor's temple but Ts'ui Chu would not hear of it. Then Duke Chuang fled and was shot in the thigh while leaping the wall. He was murdered and his younger brother was seated as Duke Ching. Evidence from recent times shows us Li Tui in charge of Chao starving the Ex-King2 in the Sha-ch'iu palace where he died after one hundred days. Also, Nao-ch'ih, in command of Ch'i, pulled King Min's tendons and hung him from the rafters of his temple where, after a night, he died. So the leper with all his ulcers, swellings and illness is seldom strangled or shot in the thigh as in times gone by, nor are his tendons drawn nor he is starved to death as in more recent times. Surely the ruler who is assassinated or dies in ruin is more agonized of mind and suffers more in body than does the leper. Seen in this way it is clear why 'the leper may pity the king'. And then he composed this/«: Precious pearls and pendant jewels he knows not how to wear at his belt, Coarse cloth or fine silk, he cannot feel the difference; The beauty, Lii-shu, and lovely Tzu-she will never know a go-between, But the ugly Mo-mu he seeks and finds with joy. The blind he thinks have sight, the deaf have ears; And wrong is right, good luck is evil Oh heaven, where is his equal? The Odes say:3 Highest heaven is most holy, Do not harm yourself by it. SPTK5. 38b KY 37. 9 2
c{. Tso-chuan, p. 514. i.e., Chao Chu-fu.
3
Ode No. 224 9& m: ± 35 * W * 6 SUft. — CRT
1
I follow Waley, Songs. See his Ode No. 288.
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223 The king of Wei is encouraged to let Ch'u attempt the impossible Yu Ch'ing said to Lord Ch'un-shen, 'I have heard that in times of peace one thinks of danger and in dangerous times plans for peace. The king of Ch'u is already old and you must soon make sure that some fief is confirmed for you. Thinking about how to secure your excellency's fief I feel nothing is so important as having it far from Ch'u. Duke Hsiao of Ch'in enfeoffed Lord Shang but after Duke Hsiao died, Lord Shang was killed by another king of Ch'in. KingHui of Ch'in gave Jan-tzu afief,but when King Hui died it was taken back by the succeeding king. Now Kung-sun Yang was an accomplished minister while Jan-tzu was related to the royal house by marriage, yet they could not avoid loss by death or robbery because their holdings were too near their kings. But T'ai-kung Wang had a fief in Ch'i and Shao-kung Shih had one in Yen, both very 1 distant from the palace of the prince. 'At the moment Yen has committed a great crime and Chao is thoroughly enraged at her, so the best thing your excellency can do is to oblige Chao to you by taking your forces north, overwhelming Yen and throwing her into confusion, thereby assuring yourself a fief from Chao. This is the chance of many lifetimes.' 'The road to attack Yen leads either through Ch'i or Wei', objected Lord Ch'un-shen. 'Both these states bear fresh grudges against Ch'u, so how would I get past through them - supposing I wished to attack Yen?' 'Let me make the king of Wei comply with your request.' 'How will you do it?' T ask your permission to go to Wei and convince her that she should believe in what you do.' Later he said to the king of Wei, 'Ch'u is certainly a mighty state and she has no match in the empire. She will have difficulty2 attacking Yen.' 'First3 you say she has no match and then you say she will find it difficult attacking Yen. Which is it now?' asked the king of Wei. 2 3
With Yokota M means ill here. This section is also attached to 187 by error.
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'If I were to say a horse is powerful this would be so. But if I were to say one could carry a thousand-stone weight then this would not be so. Why? Carrying a thousand-stone weight simply isn't part of what a horse is supposed to do. Today I say Ch'u is powerful and that is so, but when she has to fight her way through both Wei and Chao in order to attack Yen then can she do it? It is not in fact within her capacity, but she insists on it, so she will be exhausted. An exhasted Ch'u means a strong Wei. I leave it to your majesty to decide what will be to his advantage.' SPTK 5. 41a KY38. 13
224 The king of Ch'u is offered some aphorisms by one who would persuade him to lead the Alliance Someone said to the king of Ch'u, 'I hear that advocates of the Alliance want to unite the empire and bring the Lords to your majesty's court. I hope you will heed them. 'Save one bend one cannot straighten one's body; fighting adversity yields accomplishment: the brave take these maxims for their guides. 'Grasp calamity to change it to prosperity; calculate lack in order to insure increase: these are things the wise make their business. 'Recompense is the response to reward and greed the transformation of covetousness1: only a great ruler can manage them. 'Calamity and good fortune are strung on the same thread, life lives next door to death. One cannot gain a name for oneself by insisting only on life or demanding only death. If one sticks at violence one cannot outrage the empire. [?] 'Now Ch'in long ago outraged virtue and flaunted heaven's mandate and the empire is unaware that with glib tongues and the snares of profit Ch'in's men have turned the hearts of rulers and robbed their subjects. Publicly they act for the empire but privately they work for their own benefit, which is why the rulers' grasp on their states is as As Chung Feng-nien says, 'I suspect there is much wrong and left out here'. My guess on H SI is as good as but no better than Yokota's. 1
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easily dislodged as a goose feather and the calamity they store up for themselves as crushing as the hills.' 1 SPTK 5.42b KY 36. 1
225 The wounded bird and the archer When the empire had joined the Alliance, Chao's envoy, Wei Chia had audience with Lord Ch'un-shen of Ch'u and said: 'Have you already got a general, my lord?' 'I have,' replied Lord Ch'un-shen, 'I am going to make Lord Lin-wu my commander.' 'When I was young', said Wei Chia, 'I used to be enamoured of archery, so with your indulgence I should like to use a comparison from archery.' 'You may.' 'One day Skinbone accompanied the king of Wei to the foot of the High Terrace where they watched the birds flying. ' "Your majesty," said Skinbone, "I can draw my bow, fire it with no arrow on the string and bring down a bird for you." ' "Can archery reach such perfection?" exclaimed the king. 'A little while later a wild goose came from the east and Skinbone discharged his bow with no arrow on the string and brought it down. ' "How can archery reach such perfection", exclaimed the king. ' "Oh," replied Skinbone, "this bird was already weakened." ' "How do you know that?" '"His flight was laboured and his call was sad", replied Skinbone. "The slow flight was the result of a wound and his call was sad because he had been long away from his flock: therefore, his wound had not mended and his fright had not left him. When he heard the twang of a bow-string he tried to climb, strained open his wound and fell." 1 Chung Feng-nien suggests that this last paragraph should come immediately after the first. It seems doubtful to me that this set of aphorisms is really connected in any way at all with a coherent story.
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'In the present case,' continued Wei Chia, Lord Lin-wu is similarly weakened by fear of Ch'in and so cannot be used to stand Ch'in off.' SPTK 5. 43a KY 37.10
226 Han Ming tells the story ofPo Lo and the famous horse Han Ming wanted to see Lord Ch'un-shen but had to wait three months before he received an audience. When he had finished speaking Lord Ch'un-shen was delighted with him. Han Ming wished to speak further but Lord Ch'un-shen said, 'I know you already, sir, you must now rest yourself.' Han Ming was taken aback by this dismissal. 'I did have one question to ask of you my lord, but I do not want to seem insistent; I wished to ask whether your saintliness was not greater than that of Yao?' 'You go too far sir!' exclaimed Lord Ch'un-shen. 'How could I be the equal of Yao?' 'Then how would you judge me in comparison with Shun?' 'Why you, sir, are Shun', replied Lord Ch'un-shen. 'It is not so,' said Han Ming, 'please allow me to explain fully: it is true that your virtue is not the equal of Yao's, nor my ability as great as Shun's. But when the virtuous Shun served the saintly Yao it was three years before they really knew one another. However, today you have learned to "know me" in no time at all. This must mean that you are a greater saint than Yao and that I am more virtuous than Shun!' 'Well said', replied Lord Ch'un-shen and ordered the usher to record Han Ming's name on the audience list to be granted entrance every five days. 'You have heard of the great stallion Chi, have you not?' asked Han Ming. 'When Chi was very old he was harnessed to a salt cart to pull it up Mount T'ai-hang. His hooves grew weak and his haunches trembled, his tail was soaked and his flanks drenched till sweat dripped to the ground and mingled with lather from his withers. Midway he came to a
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halt. He heaved on the shafts but could no longer climb. Po Lo 1 came upon him there and leaping from his chariot he cradled (the horse's head) in his arms and wept. He took off his cape and covered the beast with it. Then Chi lowered his head and snorted, raised it and neighed with a sound that carried to the heavens - a sound as pure as chiming stones. And why? Because he saw that Po Lo truly knew him as he was. 'Now I have for many years been forced to live in the hinterlands among the hovels of the meanest alleys and am much soiled by the sordidness of my lot. Yet today you have inadvertendy cleansed me of my stains and exorcised my ill fortune. Won't I also crow aloud because of you, my lord, when I think back on my trials in Liang?' SPTK 5. 44a KY38. 11
227 Li Ytian's daughter and Lord Meng-cKang King K'ao-lieh of Ch'u was without issue, so Lord Ch'un-shen sought out and sent in to the king many women who could successfully bear children. But he remained without a child. A certain Li Yuan of Chao brought his younger sister to present her to the king. Having heard of the king's inability to beget children he feared she would remain unfavoured for a long while. He sought service as a retainer with Lord Ch'un-shen and, when he was accepted, he asked permission to return home on a visit and deliberately overstayed his leave. When he did return, Lord Ch'un-shen asked him the circumstances of his delay. 'The king of Ch'i had sent an envoy requesting my younger sister and I was delayed entertaining him.' 'Has the bride's price for your sister been paid?' 'Not yet.' 'May I see her?' 'You may', replied Li Yuan, and sent his younger sister. She became Lord Ch'un-shen's favourite. When Yuan knew she was with child he told her the plan. 1
Legendary horse expert mentioned by Chuang-tzu. Also known as Sun Yang.
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Yiian's sister waited for the opportunity and said to Lord Ch'unshen: 'The king of Ch'u has honoured and favoured you more than if you were his brother. Today you have been minister to the king more than twenty years and he has no heir. At his passing, one of his brothers will be raised. And when he dies another king of Ch'u will take the throne and each in turn will honour men who have been close to him. Can you remain honoured forever? 'Not only is this so, but having been so long employed by the king you must often have slighted his brothers. When one of them succeeds to the throne and some calamity touches you, how will you safeguard your seal of office and fief of Chiang-tung? Now I know I am with child, but others do not. I have not known your favour for long. If you use your great influence and present me to the king of Ch'u, he will certainly favour me. I shall depend on heaven to make the child a boy, and it will be your son who will become king. Would not all Ch'u infiefbe better than risking some unexpected charge?' Lord Ch'un-shen agreed completely. He sent Yiian's sister to live apart in another building and told the king of Ch'u of her. The king ordered her in and favoured her, and in time she bore a male child who was made the heir. Li Yiian's sister was made queen. 'The king of Ch'u honoured Li Yuan and employed him. Having made his younger sister the queen and her child the heir, Li Yuan feared that Lord Ch'un-shen would let slip word of the child's paternity and become overbearing, so he secretly kept assassins to kill Lord Ch'un-shen and seal his mouth. And a number of his countrymen knew it. When Lord Ch'un-shen had been twenty-five years the minister of Ch'u, King K'ao-Lieh became ill. A certain Chu Ying then said to Lord Ch'un-shen: 'There is an unlooked for blessing in these times; there is also an unexpected calamity. You live in an unpredictable age, my lord, and serve an unpredictable king; may there not be an unexpected ally?' 'What do you call an unlooked for blessing?' asked Lord Ch'un-shen. 'You have been Ch'u's minister for over twenty years now, my lord; but though your title has been minister of the state, in actuality you are Ch'u's king and five of your sons are ministers for the Lords. The
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present king is seriously ill and may die at any moment and the heir is young, weak and ill and cannot rise.1 So my lord is minister to a ruler who has not come of age. You can, therefore, act as regent - as did Yi Yin and the Duke of Chou - and return the government to the king when he is grown. If not this, then my lord could face the south and proclaim himself the Only One and have Ch'u for his state. This is what I call an unlooked for blessing.' 'And what did you mean by an unexpected calamity?' asked Lord Ch'un-shen. 'Li Yuan does not hold a post in court but he will be the next king's uncle', replied Chu Ying. 'Neither does he have a military command, but he has long kept armed assassins in secret. You may be sure he will enter immediately the king dies, seize the base of power2 and override the new king's will. He will wield full authority and have you killed, to seal your lips. That is what I meant by an unexpected calamity.' "Who is the unexpected ally?' asked Lord Ch'un-shen. 'If you will first make me the king's attendant,3 then when the king dies and Li Yuan is first upon the scene, I will stab him in the breast and kill him. There is your unexpected ally.' 'Put such thoughts away, sir, and do not speak them again', replied Lord Ch'un-shen. 'Li Yuan was a powerless man and I befriended him; certainly matters will never reach such an extreme!' Chu Ying fled for his life and seventeen days later King K'ao-lieh of Ch'u 4 died. Li Yuan was indeed the first to arrive and 5 he placed his assassins inside the Halberd Gate6 of the palace. Lord Ch'un-shen entered later and when he reached the Halberd Gate was smitten from both sides by the assassins, who struck off his head and threw it outside the palace gate. Later, agents were sent to destroy Lord Ch'un-shen's family. 7 [And the son of Li Yuan's younger sister - begotten by Lord Ch'un1 This may be a double entendre also to be understood as 'he may hate but will not rise (against you).' 2 I accept neither SPTK nor Yokota here. 3 Following Yokota. 4 SPTK: Ch'u is excrescent. I follow Yokota. 5 SPTK, Yokota; jh is excrescent. 8 I follow Yokota; $$ and $S were interchangable. I 1 S£ gives this equation. 7 1 assume the 'scribe's' scholium begins here though it may begin, 'This year .. .'
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shen before she was sent in to the king - was then seated. And he was King Yu of Ch'u. This year was the ninth of the First Emperor of Ch'in. Lao-ai had also brought disorder in the Ch'in court, and being discovered, he and his kin were extirpated and Lii Pu-wei was degraded to the rank of commoner.] SPTK 5. 45a KY 38.12
228 The teachings ofLieh-tzu Shih Chi was Han's envoy to Ch'u and the king of Ch'u asked him, 'Sir, what arts1 have you studied?' 'I specialized in the teachings of Lieh-tzu the yti-k'ou.' 'And what does he advocate?' 'Correctness of terms.' 'Can correct terms help my state?' asked the king. 'They can.' 'Ch'u is afflicted by an abundance of thieves. Can correctness put down banditry?' 'It can.' 'How can correctness put down bandits?!' At that moment a bird lit on the ridge pole. 'May I inquire what Ch'u people call that bird?' asked Shih Chi. 'We call it a magpie.' 'You wouldn't call it a crow?' 'No.' 'At the moment your majesty's country has Pillars of the State and officers such as the ling-yin, the ssu-ma and the tien-ling who, when they recommend a man for an official post of subordinate rank all say, "He is of good character and competent." Well, the reason you have thieves and bandits in public places and the reason they cannot be controlled is that your officers do not call a crow a crow and a magpie a magpie.' SPTK 5. 48a KY63.21 1 Lit. 'methods', 'perscriptions'.
THE BOOK OF CHAO
VISCOUNT HSIANG (474-425 B.C.)
229 The fall of Earl Chih Earl Chih, leading the forces of Chao, Han and Wei attacked Fan and Chung-hang 1 and demolished them. Having rested his troops several years, he sent an envoy to ask land from Han. Viscount K'ang of Han wanted to refuse but Tuan Kuei admonished him: 'That would not do! Earl Chih is a cruel and obstinate man interested only in gain. He has sent a request for land and if it is not given him he will set his troops upon Han. If you give him land he will become accustomed to having his request met and will then demand territory from other states. Not all other states will obey, so he will set upon them and reduce them to provinces. But during all that time Han will remain unharmed and will wait the turn of events.' 'Good', said Viscount K'ang, and sent an envoy to present Earl Chili with a city often thousand households. Earl Chih was elated and sent off another emissary, this time to request land of Wei. Viscount Huan of Wei wished to refuse the request but Chao Chia cautioned him: 'Earl Chih requested land from Han and Han gave it to him. Now if he requests land from Wei and Wei refuses him, it will seem that Wei is confident enough of her internal strength to risk angering Earl Chih beyond her borders. In that case he will surely set his troops on Wei. It would be better to give him land.' 'I will', said Viscount Huan and gave a town of ten thousand families to Earl Chih and Earl Chih was delighted. Again he sent an envoy and this time requested Ts'ai's Kao-lang from Viscount Hsiang of Chao who would not give it to him. Earl Chih then i.e., Fan Chi-she and Chung-hang Yin, the heads of those two powerful Chin clans. 1
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secretly arranged with Han and Wei to attack Chao. Viscount Hsiang of Chao summoned Chang Meng-t'an and told him this: 'Earl Chili is by nature one who pretends friendship while in fact he is heedless of it. Thrice he sent envoys - to Han, Wei and to me, and I was the only one to refuse him. It is certain that he will move against me so is there anywhere I can be more secure?' 'Well,' said Chang Meng-t'an, 'Tung-yen An-yu, the accomplished minister of Chien-chu, for many years controlled Chin-yang; and since Yin Tse follows his ways the results of his govenment are still preserved in that city. Fix your headquarters in Chin-yang your excellency.' 'So be it', replied Viscount Hsiang and sent Yen Ling-sheng on ahead to Chin-yang with the chariots and cavalry while he followed to inspect the wall and suburbs, examine the storehouses and treasuries, and see to arsenals and granaries. Then he summoned Chang Meng-t'an. 'Our city walls are sound, the treasuries are sufficient for our needs, and the storehouses are full, but what can be done about the lack of arrows?' 'As I understand it,' replied Chang Meng-t'an, 'when Tung-tzu governed Chin-yang he ordered the platforms of all public buildings to be set thick about with bramble-canes for hedges. They are a rod tall by now. Cut them out, your excellency, and use them.' And Viscount Hsiang did so and he tried them out finding their firmness every bit the equal of fine, stiff chun-lu bamboo. Then said the ruler, 'There are sufficient arrows but there is little copper; what should be done?' 'I have heard that when Tung-tzu was governor of Chin-yang he ordered copper to be used for the foundation plates of all the columns in public buildings. If you dig them up and use them you will have all the copper you need.' 'Good', said the ruler. Then by the time all orders had been given and all the implements of defence were ready, the troops of the three states set upon the walls. Thereafter they battled for three months but the walls could not be taken so they drew away to form a siege line and flooded the city with the waters of the Chin. For three years Chin-yang was besieged. The inhabitants had to roost in high places and suspend pots above the floor
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to act as stoves. Their supplies were almost exhausted and all their fighting men were sick and spent. 'Our supplies are used up and our strength is spent', said Viscount Hsiang to Chang Meng-t'an. 'My men are weakened and I can no longer defend the city. Should I not surrender it?' 'I have heard it said, "If a wise shih cannot sustain those in peril and bring peace to the endangered, there is little reason to esteem him"', replied Chang Meng-t'an. 'You must abandon such ideas, your excellency, and never speak of them again. I request your permission to have audience with the rulers of Han and Wei.' 'You have it', replied Viscount Hsiang. Secretly Chang Meng-t'an had audience with the rulers of Han and Wei and said, 'We know the teeth become cold when the lips are gone. But today you and Earl Chih attack Chao and Chao is about to perish. When it does, you two are next.' 'We know this is so,' they replied, 'but Earl Chih is a suspicious man well disposed toward no one. If a word of any plan were to be heard by him, disaster would befall us instantly. What can we do?' 'Your words will leave your mouths and enter my ears alone. No one else at all will hear them', replied Chang Meng-t'an. And they made a secret covenant between the three armies and set a day. In darkness Chang Meng-t'an sneaked back into the city and reported to Viscount Hsiang. Visount Hsiang twice did him obeisance. Chang Meng-t'an 1 then had audience with Earl Chih and left. Chih Kuo met him outside the gate of chariots. When Chih Kuo entered and saw Earl Chih he said, 'Your two allies are going to revolt.' 'How do you know?' 'I met Chang Meng-t'an outside the gate of chariots; he was elated and his steps were high', replied Chih Kuo. 'It cannot be,' said Earl Chih, 'our alliance is firm. I personally swore with them that we would divide Chao into thirds when she was broken, and they certainly will not cheat me. Put such speech aside and do not let it come from your lips again!' Chih Kuo left and saw the two rulers and re-entered to persuade Earl 1 In Han-fei-tzu two rulers had audience with Earl Chih and were seen to be happy. Chang Meng-t'an, an enemy, having audience with Earl Chih is somewhat odd.
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Chih again. 'The attitude of these men is transformed. They intend to betray you. You must have them killed.' 'For three years our troops have lived in the outskirts of Chin-yang', replied Earl Chih. 'The city may fall any day now and we will finally have our booty. Should they be of another mind at this point? Take care not to mention this again.' 'If you won't kill them, at least put yourself on more intimate terms with them.' 'How should I become more intimate with them?' 'Chao Chia is adviser to Viscount Huan of Wei and Tuan Kuei is Viscount K'ang of Han's adviser', replied Chih Kuo. Each of them is able to shape the policies of his master. So if you promise both a district of ten thousand families when Chao falls, the hearts of their rulers will not turn against you and you will gain what you desire.' 'If I have to divide Chao's lands in thirds when she is beaten and enfeoffeach of those two men with a hsien often thousand households as well, then my portion will be too small. It cannot be done', replied Earl Chih. Chih Kuo, seeing that his ruler would neither use him nor listen to his advice, went out of the siege lines, changed his name to Fu 1 and was never seen again. Chang Meng-t'an heard of it and had audience with Viscount Hsiang saying: 'I met Chih Kuo just outside the chariot gate and he looked at me as though he suspected something. Chih Kuo then had audience with Earl Chih and when he came from it he changed his name. 'If we do not strike tonight I fear we will be too late.' 'We will do it', said Viscount Hsiang. Chang Meng-t'an saw the rulers of Han and Wei. 'The night has come!' They murdered the dike-watchers and diverted the waters to flood Earl Chih's armies. So busy were his troops saving themselves from the flood that all was in confusion. Han and Wei struck them from the wings and Viscount Hsiang's troops penetrated their forward positions. 1 To escape the calamity, the extirpation of Earl Chih clan, which he foresaw, according to Yokota.
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The three allies completely defeated the armies of Earl Chih and captured Earl Chih himself. [Earl Chih died, his state was lost and divided up by the empire, and he became a laughing stock. He was lost because he was covetous without limit and would not heed Chih Kuo. The entire Chih clan was extirpated. Fu was the only one of them left.] SPTK 6. ia KY 38. 2
230 Hsi Tz'u foretells the revolt of Han and Wei but is unheeded Earl Chih allied the troops of Han and Wei to attack Chao. They surrounded the city of Chin-yang, diverted the river to flood it out and the water rose till it was only three boards from the top. 1 But Hsi Tz'u said to Earl Chih, 'The lords of Han and Wei will turn against you!' 'How can you know this?' asked Earl Chih. 'Simply by understanding how men act', replied Hsi Tz'u. 'You have combined the troops of Han and Wei to attack Chao. When Chao is overcome, its troubles will descend on either Han or Wei. You have made a pact to parcel out Chao's land three ways when you overcome him. At this moment only three boards' width of wall remain above water, tadpoles breed in the city's unused rice-mortars and stoves, its people are eating their horses and surrender is at hand. But the viscounts of Han and Wei show no delight at the prospect; on the contrary, they are worried. What can this mean if not that they will turn against you?' The following day Earl Chih mentioned the conversation to the viscounts of Han and Wei saying, 'Hsi Tz'u says you both are about to turn against me.' 'But we shall each receive a third of Chao's land and the city is all but taken!' they replied. 'We may be stupid but we would not abandon the profit before us and break a solemn treaty to pursue action both 1
Referring to the board frames used in making pounded-earth walls.
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perilous and impossible to accomplish. Tz'u's intention is clear, however. He schemes on Chao's behalf. He makes you suspect the intentions of your two allies to weaken your concentration on the attack against Chao. You heed the words of a scurrilous official and loosen the bonds between yourself and your two allies. W e feel regret on your behalf,' said they and hurried out. 'Why did you tell Han and Wei what I said?' asked Hsi Tz'u. 'How do you know I did?' 'Because they stared at me in disquiet and hurried past me', replied Hsi Tz'u. But Hsi Tz'u knew that his words would not be heeded, so he requested to be sent as emissary to Ch'i. Earl Chih granted his request. Han and Wei did in fact revolt. SPTK6.4b KY 38.1
231 Chang Meng-t'an instructs his ruler and gives up farming to aid his country Chang Meng-t'an, having made firm the house of Chao and widened its holdings and having laid out public roads in all directions,1 then taught Viscount Hsiang the way of Viscount Chien, his father. 'The rules of earlier men and former kings reflected the fact that the Five Hegemons brought all of the empire under them and made this agreement: "The power of the ruler shall control the minister; the minister shall not control the ruler. For this reason all with the rank of marquis shall be excluded from the position of chief minister and all who are generals or above shall be forbidden to become close advisers." Now my name is known, my person is honoured and my power is great, and as a consequence many defer to me. I wish to lessen my honour and diminish my power so that those who defer to me will be fewer.' 'What?' cried Viscount Hsiang, vexed. 'I have heard that the name of one who aids his prince should be famous, that those whose merit is 1 Following Yokota 3L W should be Pf" PB here and 3L f£ below.
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great should be honoured, that those who are responsible for the state should have great power, and that one who personifies good faith and loyalty should have many followers beside him. Since this is how the former sage kings founded their countries and ordered their societies, you should certainly not do what you suggest, sir.' 'What my ruler is speaking of are the perquisites of success; but I am talking of the way a state is sustained. I have examined past events and ages gone by and I find that they held the same things to be good that the empire does now, and I know of no case where men felt that power equally shared by minister and ruler was a good thing. Because we do not forget what has happened in the past, we have instructions for the present. But if you will not use the past for your planning I fear that my efforts will be of no avail.' And Chang Meng-t'an looked saddened and determined to leave. Having 1 gone and let the matter rest for three days, he sent a man to Viscount Hsiang to ask him, 'What would you do if an official in the administration of Chin-yang refused to carry out orders?" 'Have him executed', Viscount Hsiang replied. 'Now here is your tso ssu-ma who has been of service to the state and helped settle your society', said Chang Meng-t'an. 'Him you should not only [?] pardon, but as a reward for his loyalty you should send him from you as he requests'. 'Do whatever you will, then,' said Viscount Hsiang finally, 'and I will allow it.' Chang Meng-t'an utilized the respect in which he was held to bring profit to his name. [?] He acquired land and quit his position to rid himself of power, and ploughed his field hard by the hills of the suburbs. 2 [This is why it is said, 'The actions of a worthy man constitute the government of an enlightened ruler.'] There he farmed for three years until Han and Wei joined Ch'i and Yen to break their treaty and scheme against Chao. Viscount Hsiang went to see Chang Meng-t'an and told him of it, saying, 'Earl Chih's land With Yokota 'Hsiang-tzu' should be placed just before 'he replied*. With Tozaki j( 3ft should be H 15 and was changed because of the next % $,; the text in brackets, I think, is an aphorism such as usually is inserted at the end of an item. 1
2
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we of Chao shared [with Han and Wei] . . .* but today they scheme with the Feudal Lords against me. What can be done?' 'Hitch your sword around behind you, your excellency, and drive me into the state yourself. Place me in the ancestral temple [as a sign of honour], give me the title of li tai-fu and I shall see what I can do.' 2 'It shall be done', said Viscount Hsiang. Chang Meng-t'an then sent off his wife to Ch'u, his oldest son to Han, his next oldest to Wei, and his youngest to Ch'i. The four states began to suspect each other and soon their alliance plans collapsed. SPTK6. 5b KY 38. 3
232 Yu-jang's revenge The grandson of Pi Yang of Chin, one Pi Yu-jang, had once been in the service of Fan and Chung-hang, but being discontented had left to join the Hegemon of Chin, Earl Chih. The latter favoured him greatly. When Earl Chih was killed and the Three Chin divided his lands, Viscount Hsiang, ruler of Chao, hating the Hegemon more than all the rest, had his skull made into a drinking cup. Yu-jang fled to the mountains and there cried out: 'Alas, the true warrior requites the lord who knew his worth by dying for him, just as a woman makes herself beautiful for the man who delights in her. Let me, then, avenge the name of the Hegemon!' He changed his name and mutilated himself to be taken as a convict. Having got entrance to the palace by pretending to be a plasterer, he hid in the privy to murder Viscount Hsiang. When Viscount Hsiang entered the privy he was suspicious of the plasterer and had him held while he was questioned. It was in truth Yu-jang, who had sharpened his trowel to a knife-edge and sworn to avenge the Hegemon. His attendants would have killed him, but Viscount Hsiang intervened: 'He is a warrior of honour', said Viscount Hsiang. 'I will henceforth simply be careful to avoid him. The Hegemon is dead and his 1JVJ # ~t* t£1£ 3U ilS appears to me to be hopelessly corrupt or missing so much as to be unreadable, hence the ellipsis. All of this to indicate how much faith is put in Chang Meng-t'an so that his subsequent acts will be that much more impressive. 2
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family extirpated, yet here is his officer doing his utmost to avenge him. Truly a worthy of the realm!' He released Yii-jang. After this Yii-jang rubbed lacquer into his skin until it ulcerated like that of a leper. He destroyed his hair and eyebrows, scarred his face and went forth as a beggar. He went to his wife who did not recognize him but said: 'How can this man whose face and form, are not those of my husband yet have a voice that is the same as his?' After that he swallowed ashes till his voice became only a croak. His friends chided him: 'Your way is most difficult and will be bootless. We must admit to your honour, but not to your intelligence. If one of your abilities were to serve Viscount Hsiang and serve him well, it would not be long before you were advanced and in his favour, and being there you could do what you want to do. This would be most easily done and certain of success.' Yu-jang laughed at them and replied: 'And so I would abuse him who uses me now for him who used me first; betray a new lord for the sake of a former lord. Nothing could more confuse the principle of righteousness between lord and servant! In all I have done I have tried to make clear this principle; I have not tried to do what is easily done. To exchange pledges with a lord and serve him while also planning to assassinate him is fealty with two hearts. What I now do may be most difficult, but it will remain to shame those men in generations to come who would practice fealty with two hearts.' A little later, when Viscount Hsiang had need to travel, Yii-jang hid himself beneath a bridge over which the ruler must pass. Viscount Hsiang's horse shied as they reached the bridge and Viscount Hsiang knew that Yii-jang must be there. He sent his retainers to look and it was indeed Yii-jang. Then Viscount Hsiang held a reckoning face to face with Yii-jang. 'Did you not once serve Fan and Chung-hang?' he asked. 'Earl Chih the Hegemon, destroyed Fan and Chung-hang, but you, far from seeking revenge for them, indeed made pledge to serve Earl Chih. The Hegemon is now dead. Why do you strive so mightily to avenge him?' 'When I served Fan and Chung-hang they treated me like a common man. When they were killed I treated their revenge as a common man would. When I served the Hegemon he treated me as a hero, and I treat his revenge as a hero should.'
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Viscount Hsiang wept. 'Alas, Yii-jang, what you have already done for the Hegemon was enough to make your name. I pardoned you once, and that too was enough. You must have known, Yii-jang, that I could not spare you again.' He ordered his men to surround Yii-jang, who then said: 'I have heard that a true ruler does not hide the righteousness of a man, and that a faithful man is not chary of his life if he can gain honour. You, sir, have already graciously granted me my life, and all men speak of your virtue because of it. For this deed I today do willingly submit to punishment. Would your grace but give me his cloak that I may strike it, I should die without regret. I do but ask, not hope, that I may show my kidney!' Viscount Hsiang granted him his honour and sent an attendant to him with the cloak. Yii-jang drew his sword and leaped, shouting as he struck the cloak, 'In this way alone can I avenge Earl Chih.' Then he fell on his sword and died; and on the day he died the warriors in Chao all wept.1 SPTK 6. 7a KY 38. 4
M A R Q U I S LIEH (408-387 B.C.)
233 Right of way Marquis Wen of Wei asked Chao for right of way through Chao to attack Chung-shan. Chao was about to refuse when Chao Li said: 'That would be a mistake! If Wei attacks but cannot take Chung-shan she will be exhausted by the attempt, while Chao will become the stronger. If Wei takes Chung-shan she will never be able to control the peace across the entire country of Chao, which will mean that the country obliged to use troops was Wei but the one gaining territory will be Chao. You would do best2 to allow them passage and to do so Yii-jang is among the best known 'knights errant'. It is odd that even his name is unmentionedinj. J. Y. Liu's The Chinese Knight-Errant, Chicago, 1967. 2 Kambun misprints £a for All.
1
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happily. 1 They will then realize that Chao expects to profit by it and so will recall their troops. 'It would be best for your majesty to give them right of way and convince t h e m that y o u can do nothing else.' SPTK 6. pa K Y 38. 5 M A R Q U I S S U (349-326 B.C.)
234 5M Ch(itiMtttiffiesnis plan for a great alliance From Yen, Su Ch'in went to Chao where he first formed the Alliance. He persuaded the king of Chao thus: 'All the statesmen, ministers, and officials in the empire - yes, even the common folk themselves - have long respected your majesty's most righteous conduct. I have always wished to receive your instructions and present my loyal advice to you. 'However, Lord Feng-yang has been a jealous man and your majesty has not been allowed others to serve you. The guest from another state and the wandering persuader have never dared speak in your presence. But now that Lord Feng-yang has quit the palace buildings,2 you may henceforth be close to your people again; and so I dare present my clumsy but loyal advice. 'In making plans for your majesty nothing is so good as achieving peace and security for your people. I beg, therefore, to show you how to avoid warfare«The root of security for your people lies in your choice of relations with other states. If you choose correctly, your people are at peace; if incorrectly, they will never know peace. • 'Let me first speak of troubles from the outside. If Ch'i and Ch'in are both your enemies your people will not know peace; if you rely on Ch'in and attack Ch'i they will not know peace; and if you depend upon Ch'i and attack Ch'in they will have no peace/ ' 'For this reason, in scheming against another king or attacking another state one often suffers from words let slip which destroy 1 !
After Yokota. i.e., is dead.
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relations between ruler and adviser. For this reason I beg your majesty to be careful never to allow one word of this to leak out. Send your attendants away and I will make clear to you the differences between the Yin and Yang.1 'If you are capable of heeding me, Yen will send you rugs, furs, hunting dogs, and land; Ch'i will give you a coast that produces fish and salt; Ch'u must give you orange and pumelo trees and the area of Yiin-meng; while Han and Wei will furnish lands for fiefs and bathing cities, so that your honoured relatives and royal elders can all become fief holders. Wealth and land such as this the Five Hegemons would spend armies and lose generals to gain. T'ang and King Wu deposed and killed their kings to get fief lands for the royal families. Yet your majesty today need only fold his hands to have all these things. And this is what I wish for your majesty. 'If you were to ally yourself with Ch'in, then Ch'in would weaken Han and Wei; if with Ch'i, she would weaken Ch'u and W e i / / Being weakened, Wei would have to cede Ho-wai. If Han were weakened she would offer Yi-yang. Yi-yang being given away, your area of Shang-chiin would be cut off. Ho-wai being ceded, your roads would not reach anywhere^ A weakened Ch'u would leave you with no rescue^/So these three alternatives require the soberest thought. 'When Ch'in forces come down the Chih Road, Nan-yang is threatened; when she has plundered Han and has the royal domain of Chou under her protection, Chao will melt away. If she seizes Lesser Wei and takes the Ch'i River, then the country of Ch'i will be forced to pay homage to Ch'in. Then, when Ch'in's desires have all been met East of the Mountains she will certainly gather her forces and come at Chao. When Ch'in's armour fords the Yellow River, crosses the Chang, and seizes Po-wu, then your troops will be engaged below the walls of Han-tan itself. And this is what I fear for your majesty. 'At the present time, of all the great states East of the Mountains none is as powerful as ChaoU Chao territory forms a two thousand H square, she has tens of thousands of armoured troops, a thousand chariots, ten thousand mounted horsemen, and grain supplies for ten years. In the west lies Ch'ang-shan, to the south are the Yellow River 1 Traditionally supposed to be an allusion to the Tsung-heng theory.
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and the Chang, in the east the Yellow River and the Ch'ing and in the north is the state of Yen, a weak country from which you have nothing to fear. Furthermore, there is no country in the empire Ch'in fears as much as Chao. Why then does she not raise her troops and attack Chao? Because she fears Han and Wei scheming, at her rear. So, in effect, Han and Wei are Chao's screen to the southyBut were Ch'in to attack Han and Wei it would be otherwise: neither of them has boundaries lying on great rivers or borders backed by famous mountains, so they can be eaten away slowly until their capitals are reachec^V Han and Wei can in no manner stave off Ch'in and so must become her vassals. .' Dnce they are Ch'in's vassals, Ch'in is no longer separated from you by these states and calamity will strike Chad/ And this is also what I fear for your majesty. 'I have heard that Yao possessed no more land than three freemen could own while Shun owned not an inch, yet they lived to hold the empire. Yu had hardly a hundred followers, but he became king over the Feudal Lords. Neither T'ang nor King Wu had an army of three thousand and neither commanded three hundred chariots, but they achieved imperial dignity because they truly understood the Way. / 'For these reasons the enlightened ruler will estimate, externally, the strengths of his enemies and, internally, the numbers and fitness of his troops: He will not wait until the two forces confront each other before he calculates worth and fitness, but will have the crucial mechanisms of victory already locked in his breast. Certainly he will not be hoodwinked by common opinion or make his decisions for vague reasons. 'Let me take a map of the empire and I will show that the territory of the Lords is five times that of Ch'in. I will show also that they have ten times more troops than Ch'in. If six states were to combine and go westward against Ch'in she would be smashed! ' | 'And yet they are being defeated by Ch'in and going west to serve her, going west to become her vassals. But can one even mention in the same day the advantage of smashing over being smashed? Of reducing another over being reduced by him? 'The advocates of Ch'in's Coalition all hope to extract land from their Lords to give Ch'in so that they may personally get on good
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terms with Ch'in. Being so placed they will own high terraces, tall towers and decorated chambers. They will be entertained by wind and string instruments and enjoy fine-blended flavours. Before them on their balconies and behind them in their long halls will be the wiles and smiles of their beauties. But when the final reckoning comes with Ch'in, these men will not stay to share the grief of their rulers. And so the Coalitionists work day and night to frighten the Lords with the might of Ch'in the better to relieve them of their land. Think carefully on this, your majesty. 'I have heard that the enlightened ruler guards against suspicion, banishes the slanderer, shields himself from baseless rumour and keeps the doors closed to partisan factions. For this reason the minister who plans to have his prince honoured, his lands broadened, and his army strengthened, must loyally disclose everything to the king. So I must tell you that in my opinion nothing can be as good as uniting Han, Wei, Ch'i, Ch'u, Yen and Chao and forming the Alliance of six states to overthrow Ch'in. 'Order all the generals and ministers of the Lords to meet you at the Huan, there to exchange hostages, slaughter a white victim and make the following covenant: '/Should Ch'in attack Ch'u, Ch'i and Wei will both send out their cracK troops to her aid, Han will cut Ch'in's lines of supply, Chao will cross the Yellow River and the Chang while Yen holds the area north of Ch'ang-shan. If Ch'in attacks Han and Wei, Ch'u troops will cut her off from her rear base, Ch'i will send out crack troops to aid them, Chao will cross the Yellow River and the Chang while Yen holds Yun-chung. Should Ch'in attack Ch'i, Ch'u will cut ofFher retreat, Han will protect Ch'eng-kao, Wei will close the Wu Road, Chao will cross the Yellow River and the Chang and pass through Po-kuan and Yen will send crack troops to help her. If Ch'in attacks Yen, Chao will hold Ch'ang-shan, Ch'u will arm Wu-kuan, Ch'i will cross the Po-hai and Han and Wei will send crack troops to aid her. Should Ch'in attack Chao then Han will invest Yi-yang, Ch'u will arm Wu-kuan, Wei will garrison Ho-wai, Ch'i will cross the Po-hai, and Yen will send crack troops to assist her. Whosoever shall break this treaty will be attacked by the other five states."/* 'If six states form the Alliance to stop her, Ch'in will not dare send
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a single soldier past Han-ku pass to harm the countries East of the Mountains. When this is accomplished, your hegemony is established.' 'I am still young and have been on the throne but a short time', replied the king of Chao, 'and never before have I heard long range plans made for my state. Since my guest wishes to sustain the empire and bring peace to the Lords I respectfully offer you my state to form the Alliance.' Thereupon he titled Su Ch'in Lord Wu-an and gave him one hundred decorated carriages, a thousand measures of pure gold, one hundred pairs of white jade pi, and a thousand bolts of embroidered cloth to create the Alliance among the Lords. SPTK6.9b KY 40. ia
235 The two trees Su Ch'in went to Ch'in for the king of Chao. He had been back for three days before he was received by the king of Chao. He said to the king: 'Once on a time I crossed Chu-shan and there were two trees on it. From the great canopy of the first I heard sobbing and from the second weeping. When I asked the cause one of them replied, "I am already full-grown and aged and I am saddened by the thought that soon the carpenter will come with his blackened twine and his square and cut and shape me." "That does not trouble me", said the other, "for that is what I'm made for. What I am bitter about is being made into cleats and battens."[?] 'From the time I came to service . . . [ ? ] Now I have been on mission to Ch'in and wait three days for audience - am I not being made into cleats and battens?' [?] SPTK6.13b KY 39. 12 Unhappily, after such a good start, the story becomes corrupt here. It is not clear what AS is or even if it is the right character. SPTK and Kambun punctuate differently. I agree with Yokota that, 'This item certainly is missing something and we should not strain to force a meaning from it.' 1
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236 Chao enlists support for Yen Ch'i was destroying Yen but Chao hoped to sustain that state. Yiieh Yi said to the king of Chao, 'I would not attack Ch'i without allies for then Ch'i could direct all her anger at Chao. It were best if you asked Ch'i to exchange some of the land she recently got from Yen for our Ho-tung area. Then when Chao has Ho-pei and Ch'i has Ho-tung, Yen will be convinced that Chao will not fight and Yen and Ch'i will become allies. Now when Ho-tung has been given to strengthen Ch'i, and Yen and Chao both aid her, the empire will become very concerned and the states will certainly all serve youif you then turn and attack Ch'i. By this means you can use the empire to smash Ch'i.' 'Good', replied the king and he exchanged Ho-tung with Ch'i. Ch'u and Wei did become concerned and ordered Nao Hua and Hui Shih to Chao to request her help against Ch'i and on behalf of Yen. SPTK 6. 14a KY41.3
237 Chang Yi delivers a theatening letter and the king of Chao repudiates the Alliance and pays homage to Ch'in Chang Yi was organizing the Coalition for Ch'in and spoke to the king of Chao: 'My rustic prince, the king of Ch'in, has sent me here to deliver a letter to your yii-shih to this effect: Your majesty leads the Lords of the empire to resist Ch'in and it has been fifteen years since Ch'in troops dared go beyond Han-ku Pass. Your majesty's awesome power has its effect throughout the empire. The king of Ch'in, frightened and faint of heart, repaired his armour, sharpened his weapons, renewed his chariots and trained his horsemen and archers, while labouring long in the fields to store up sufficient grain. He defended the land within Ch'in's four passes K
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and lived cautiously and in terror not daring to make a move for fear your majesty might come to chastize him for his faults. Because of your majesty's great power Ch'in has taken Pa and Shu in the west and annexed Han-chung, has taken the two Chou in the east, transferred the Nine Cauldrons and garrisoned the ford at White Horse. Although Ch'in has been isolated, our suppressed anger and wrath have been building up for a long time now, and at this very moment we have mustered our troops into camp at Mien-ch'ih. Ch'in hopes to ford the Yellow River, leap the Chang, take Powu, and meet your troops below the walls of Han-tan. I hope to meet you on the day chia-tzu as King Wu met Chou of Yin1. I have respectfully sent my envoy to inform your attendants of this. All things your majesty has hoped for in the organization of the Alliance have been based on the schemes of Su Ch'in. Su Ch'in dazzled and deceived the Lords, made what is true seem false, and twisted wrong into right. He hoped to subvert Ch'i but could not and finally was ordered torn asunder there by chariots. From that time on it has become increasingly clear that the empire cannot be united. Ch'in and Ch'u are at present fraternal states, while Han and Wei proclaim themselves protecting vassals on Ch'in's eastern border. Ch'i has given us fishing ports and salt flats, and all this has cut off Chao's right arm. Now does someone wanting a right arm seek a fight with another? Indeed even though he quit his fellows and lived all alone merely hoping to avoid danger would he be likely to succeed? At the moment Ch'in has sent forth three armies. One to arm and blockade the Wu-tao and to tell Ch'i to raise her troops, cross the Yellow River and the Ch'ing and camp to the east of Han-tan; the second to garrison Ch'eng-kao to urge Han and Wei to occupy the Ho-wai area; the third to garrison Mien-ch'ih. W e have a covenant which says/fcour states have combined to attack Chao and four states will share in her land when she is broken.^ For these reasons I have not dared hide my conclusions and intentions but have made them known to your attendants. 1
The day he delivered the 'Harangue at Mu' against the wicked Chou. See
Karlgren, Book of Documents, p. 29.
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'If I were to make your plans, your majesty,' continued Chang Yi, nothing would be better than meeting Ch'in at Mien-ch'ih where, face to face, you could bind yourselves to each other personally. Let me give the order to our troops not to attack but to wait for your majesty to fix his plans.' 'In the days of my ancestor', replied the king of Chao, 'Lord Fengyang arrogated all the power of the state, hoodwinked my forebear, and controlled the government by himself. I lived in the palace in those days under the control of my tutors and had no part in the affairs of state. When my father dismissed all his ministers I was still young and had spent very few days in charge of our sacrifices. 'To be sure I had my private reservations about it. It seemed to me that being head of the Alliance rather than serving Ch'in was not of long range benefit to our state. And now I am entirely willing to change our minds and our thinking, cede land to atone for past transgressions, and serve Ch'in. Indeed I was in the process of bringing together a retinue to set out for Ch'in when I heard her envoy's enlightened orders.' Then he went to Ch'in's court at Mien-ch'ih with three hundred carriages and he ceded Ho-chien as a token of his service to Ch'in. SPTK6.14b KY 40. 3
238 Chao is shown how, by detaining Kan Mao, she could drive some hard bargains Kan Mao arranged the treaty between Ch'in and Wei for a joint attack on Han's city of Yi-yang and then he went north into Chao. Leng Hsiang said to Ch'iang Kuo, 'The best thing to do is to get Chao to detain Kan Mao and refuse to let him leave - then you can sell him to Ch'i, Han, or Ch'in. If the king of Ch'i is anxious to find aid for Yi-yang, he is bound to offer Chao the area of Hu-shih. If Han wants to keep Yi-yang, she will bribe Chao with the Lu Ford and Tuan-shih [to make Chao hold Kan Mao]. If the king of Ch'in wants to take Yi-yang, he cannot afford to be stingy with his treasure.
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'Furthermore, by holding Mao you will be seating Kung-sun H o and Ch'u-li Chi as Ch'in's ministers.' SPTK 6. 16a KY39.13
239 The king of Chao discusses the advantages of barbarian dress King Wu-ling 1 had withdrawn to rest during the day and Fei Yi 2 sat in attendance. 'Does your majesty meditate upon the changing times[?]?' asked Fei. 'Are you weighing the use of your troops? Are you thinking of your heritage from Kings Chien and Hsiang? Or are you planning some advantage from the barbarian Hu and Ti?' 'The Way of Kings is to be mindful of the virtue of their ancestors while they are on the throne; the Rule for Ministers is to devise ways to enhance their rulers' strengths', replied the king. 'Thus it is that a virtuous king, even when totally inactive, can guide his people and conduct his affairs with advantage; when active he can achieve such lustre of fame that it may outshine all antiquity, to say nothing of his own generation. So it is also that a minister will at the very least attend to the deference and preferment proper between lord and servant; but at his best he can support the people and increase the patrimony of the ruler himself. These are the portions of kings and ministers. Now I hope to extend the inheritance I have from my forebears and make provinces out of barbarous lands; but though I shall spend my life at it, my eyes will never see it accomplished. 'A footling enterprise costs one little effort, insures merit, does not exhaust the people and will receive sanction and blessings from the past. But to achieve a truly great deed one must turn one's back on the expectations of custom and antiquity. A man who would conceive thoughts which he alone can envision is an object of fear to commoner men. 'I propose to adopt the horseman's clothing of the Hu nomads and This is the famous i§ ± 3£: so called because he raised his son to the throne while he still lived. 2 Fei Yi is hapax in CKT.
1
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will teach my people their mounted archery - and how the world will talk!' 'We have heard it said, your majesty', replied Fei Yi, '"Who scruples much achieves little." Having decided to turn your back on the thinking of common men you must also be indifferent to their comments. Those who have concerned themselves with the supreme virtues had nothing in them of common views; those bent on the greatest achievement never took their plans from the common herd. Of old, Shun danced to subdue the Miao and Yii went naked into the Land of the Naked 1 not to unleash their passions or pleasure themselves - they were concerned with supreme virtue and great achievement. The ignorant can scarcely comprehend a fact when it is accomplished, the wise understand a situation while it is scarcely comprehensible to others. Your majesty must act after the fashion of the wise.' 'I doubt not at all the efficacy of the Hu costume,' replied the king, 'my only qualm is to hear the laughter of the empire. However, "capers of the dissolute are pitiful to the wise and a sage bears with sympathy the laughter of fools". If the empire goes with me there is no end to the advantages of the Hu costume; and even though all China laughs, I shall have me the land of the Hu and Chung-shan.' And the king adopted the clothing of mounted archers. He sent Wang-sun Hsieh to speak as follows to Kung-tzu Ch'eng: 'The king will wear Hu garments when he gives audience tomorrow morning and he desires his uncle Ch'eng to be similarly dressed. "A family hearkens to its kin and a state to its ruler": this has been the rule of public action since antiquity. That a son must not act against his father nor a minister against his lord has ever been right behaviour in the eyes of our former kings. Today the king sets a precedent by changing his costume, and if his uncle does not likewise change his, I fear the empire will comment on it. For there are constants in governing a state. Most basic among them is the need to benefit its citizens. And there are rules which control political power. Principal among them is obedience to orders. One's powers are made manifest by the obedience of subordinates and one's government functions because the nobility accept it. 'The king's purpose in wearing the Hu costume is neither to in1 See Huai-nan-tzu 'Yuan Tao hsiin'.
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dulge his desires nor to please himself. Opportunities are limited by their occurrence and merit is limited by its existence [?]. It is only when an event has occurred and merit has been gained that one's virtue can become manifest. At the moment your ruler fears that his uncle of the royal blood may transgress the"principal rule of political power", so he takes it upon himself to explain the matter more fully to his royal uncle1 in this message. Your ruler has heard it said that "actions which benefit the state cannot be improper; a name gained supporting one's family can carry no stigma". Your ruler wants others to praise his royal uncle for having made possible the adoption of Hu costume, and this is also why he commissions Wang-sun Hsieh to visit his uncle and request him to wear the garments.' Kung-tzu Ch'eng bowed twice: 'I had, of course, heard of the king's Hu costume but having been ill abed I had not yet gone to him to present my opinions. Since the king now sends me these orders, I must now make my clumsy gesture of loyalty. 'I have heard the Middle Kingdoms described as the home of all wisdom and learning, the place where all things needful to life are found, where saints and sages taught, where humanity and justice prevail, where the Book of Odes, the Classic of History and the Canons of Ceremony and Music are used, a country where extraordinary skills and uncommon intelligence are given hearing, a land looked up to from afar, and a model of behaviour for the barbarian. But now the king would discard all this and wear the habit of foreign regions. Let him think carefully, for he is changing the teachings of our ancients, turning from the ways of former times, going counter to the desires of his people, offending scholars, and ceasing to be part of the Middle Kingdoms.' When Wang-sun Hsieh had reported, the king said merely: 'I knew, of course, that he had been ill.' Then, going in person to the home of Kung-shu Ch'eng he urged his support: 'Clothes exist to be useful and manners respond to conditions. This is why our sages were guided by what was right and proper for each locality and encouraged behaviour related to conditions: always they sought to profit the people and strengthen their states', said the king. 1
Text says, J31 IS &• ^K l£. IS which may mean '[and others] may support his
criticism'.
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'To crop the hair, decorate the body, rub pigment into arms and fasten garments on the left side is the way of the Bakviet. In the country of Tai-wu the habit is to blacken teeth, scar cheeks and wear caps of sheat skin stitched crudely with an awl. Their costumes and customs differ but each derives benefit from his own. This is why usage varies from place to place and manner changes with the passage of time. Therefore our sages would not unify visage if diversity benefited the people and would not unify odd customs if such customs took advantage of local situations. The Confucianists have the same teacher but different practices, the Middle Kingdoms have common customs but differing doctrines, and are there not even greater differences between what benefits the mountaineer and what the valley dweller? [?] So the changes, past and present, could not be made regular by the wisest of men; and the costumes of those near to him and far away could not be made identical by the greatest sage. The ruder 1 the village the more it finds strange in the world outside and the backwoods scholar discovers food for debate in everything. But show me a man who does not suspect something simply because he is ignorant of it, one who condemns nothing merely because it is strange to him and you show me a man who works for the common good [?]. What my uncle has been speaking of is custom. What I speak of is the control of custom. 'At the present our borders in the east he along the Yellow, the Pao, and the Lo Rivers: we share these boundaries with Ch'i and Chungshan, but command not a single boat upon them. From Ch'ang-shan to Tai and Shang-tang we border Yen and the Tung-hu in the east and Lou-fan, Ch'in and Han in the west. Along this line we have not a single mounted archer. Therefore I collect boats, muster the boatmen to man them and guard our boundaries on the three rivers. I change our garments and mount archers to guard our borders with Yen, the Tunghu, Loufan, Ch'in and Han. Moreover, my ancestor Chien never built passforts in Chin-yang for he wished to reach into Shang-tang; and my ancestor Hsiang shared control of Tai with the barbarians, for he intended to strike the Hu, not defend against them. Even my meagre intelligence is clear on this. In times gone by Chung-shan, with the strong army of Ch'i at its back, invaded our lands and carried off our 1 See Duyvendak, Book of Lord Shang, p. 174 where 8?fflis taken as a split compound. Not good, but it makes less of a non sequitur.
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people in bonds. They cut off the town of Hao by changing the river's bed; and had not the gods of our altars supported us we should never have saved it. Later kings were indignant over these acts and regretted much that they could not avenge themselves. With my men dressed as mounted archers I can today prepare for Shang-tang nearby and exact vengeance upon Chung-shan at a distance. My uncle strains so at the gnat of departure from custom in clothing, yet he is swallowing the elephant of his country's disgraces. I had expected better of him.' Kung-tzu Ch'eng made deepest obeisance twice: 'Such has been my stupidity that I had not even conceived of these arguments, your majesty. I had instead the temerity to mouth platitudes. But now that I too wish to carry out the hopes of Kings Chien and Hsiang, the ambitions of our ancestral rulers, what choice have I but to make obeisance and obey your orders?' He was given the Hu garments.1 Chao Wen presented his memorial: 'The farmer labours and the ruler is fed by him: this is the basis of government. One who is ignorant presents his opinions and the wise comment on them; this is the principle of teaching. That country is blessed in which ministers have no hidden loyalties2 and the ruler hides no loyal words. So, even though I am ignorant I must do all that I feel loyalty requires.' 'Concern is never mistaken for rebellion nor is loyalty ever a transgression,' replied the king, 'so continue, sir.' 'The customs which sustain us today are the ways of antiquity. Proper clothing is an injunction of propriety. That observation of the law must not err is known to all your people. These three facts were what our former sages taught us. My lord knows this yet he copies the ways of distant places, oversets the teaching of the past and changes the ways of the ancients. This is why your servant wishes you to reconsider it.' 'What you have said', replied the king, 'applies to the world of common events. The ordinary person is submerged in what he is used to and the scholar is immersed in what he has learned. Both the former and the latter are useful as officials and as persons who allow the 1 Here follow two more remonstrations and rebuttals often not treated as part of this item. 2 J& is so regularly used to mean 'loyal opposition' that it is so construed here.
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government to function well. But neither is the means by which we look far ahead or plan new departures. None the less, [I would remind you that] the Three Ages wore different garments yet managed to govern, and the Five Hegemons differed in their teaching but all held control. The wise create doctrine and the ignorant are controlled by it; the virtuous deliberate upon mores and the good-for-nothing are restrained by them. Still, such men as can be regulated by the clothing they wear are useless for speaking to the heart of any matter; and the multitudes who are restrained by custom are helpless completely to comprehend subtle implications. It is for this reason that the way of sages has been both to give direction to changes in customs and to discover propriety in great changes. To be counselled before they move, to comply with public law without selfish concern, is the business of ordinary citizens. But men of knowledge and learning can change in accordance with what they learn; by understanding that proprieties do change, they themselves can change with the times. Thus, the man who acts on his own does not wait for others; the man who holds control in this age does not pattern himself after antiquity - please understand this, sir.' Chao Tsao remonstrated and said: 'To supress loyal opposition is a form of disloyalty; but to malign state policy for one's private gain is traitorous. Disloyalty is punishable by death, and treason by death and extirpation of the clan. These were the wise punishments devised by former sages for what are still the greatest crimes that ministers can commit. Though I am ignorant, I wish to see loyal opposition carried to its fullest measure though it may mean my death.' 'To make every effort to be understood and to yield1 nowhere is loyalty,' replied the king, 'and when a ruler openly receives other opinions it is simply good sense. The loyal minister does not flee danger any more than the sensible ruler drives men away. What have you to say, sir?' 'I have heard that the sages taught their people by not changing them and that the wise men acted by not altering customs', replied Chao Tsao. 'For this reason those teachings which took the citizens as they were succeeded with no effort, and those actions which accorded 1 Wu notes that one text has W 'nothing taboo'.
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with custom, made their train of thought clear and easy to see. But today, your majesty, you want a new beginning and a departure from custom. Barbarian clothing is not thought well of in the world, and wearing it would not be something which would instruct people and make the proprieties complete. If the garment be outlandish, intentions become disordered; when custom is flouted, the people become rebellious.1 So it is that one who rules a country does not clothe himself in strange garments. The Middle Kingdoms have no affinity for barbarian activities, so this action of yours is not something which teaches the people and makes the proprieties complete. Remember, your majesty, "the laws should be followed without excesses and propriety maintained without depravity". Think on this, your majesty, I beg you.' 'The ways of the past are not the ways of today,' replied the king, 'why then should our laws be those of antiquity? The Emperors and the Kings did not copy one another. In what way did they retain the same proprieties? Fu-hsi and Shen-nung taught but did not punish; Huang-ti, Yao and Shun punished but never in anger. When it came to the Three Kings they made laws as the times demanded and established proprieties as situations required. Regulations and orders were given when they were beneficial, clothes and implements were all proper to their use. This is why there was no single way for all the world 2 and why what is good for one state may not lie in copying the ancients. During the rise of the sages none of them copied the others yet all ruled as kings. The fall of Hsia and Yin witnessed no change in proprieties just before their destruction. So a turning away from the old cannot be called wrong and following established proprieties is not necessarily to be esteemed. As for the disordering of intentions by outlandish garments, there should be no differences in the actions of Lu and Tsou.3 If unorthodox customs make rebellions, then there should be no fine men from Wu and Yiieh. 1 2
Following Yokota's note. Yokota has S. 1ft, SPTK has lS it.
Questionable logic, but Pao says it means 'although the two states have no differences in garments their actions were not alike'. SC, So-yin 43/59 says, 'the two states liked long tassels but their conduct was not debauched'. Takigawa cites Wang Nien-sun who says So-yin is using the wrong meaning for ch'i, 'correct clothing does not mean correct action, curious clothing does not mean depraved action'. 3
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'Therefore, what the sages thought beneficial to the person they called "garments", what they thought beneficial to the execution of their business they called "teaching"; but the niceties of deportment and the standardizing of clothing are for the regulation of common men and have no place in the discussions of superior men. Therefore, "the sage is abreast of his age and the worthy man is an instrument of change". There is also a saying: "Choose a charioteer for his penmanship and he'll never understand your team." Similarly, someone who would shape today by the lessons of yesterday will never understand a revolutionary idea. A talent for following the ways of yesterday is not sufficient to improve the world of today, and the study of bygone ways will never bring about control of the present. Speak no more of it, sir.'1 SPTK 6.16b KY 40. 4
240 Chou Shao receives a barbarian outfit and becomes a tutor The king raised Chou Shao to be tutor to the heir and said: 'When first I began to rule I passed through Po-wu. You were then still a child but everyone whose rank was high enough to have a carriage-block spoke of your filial actions. For this reason I sent you a. pi ofjade and left wine and food and asked to meet you. But you pleaded illness and left. 'When people speak of children they say "the son filial to his father becomes the minister faithful to his king". For this reason I felt that your intelligence and thoughtfulness would be a discriminating enough guide for me: its loftiness would be sufficient to overcome crises, its constancy would relieve men's minds, and its dependability would be such that long-range plans could be made. 'An ode says : 2 Overcome peril with courage, Control confusion with thought: 1 2
Jifan to revert (in speech) to the subject. Not in - or similar to those in - the Shih-ching collection.
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Such are plans for action. Appoint a teacher for his conduct, Teach a child with knowledge: These are the guides for righteousness. 'When acting in accord with a plan, failure must never sadden you. Actions undertaken in the pursuit of righteousness must not be discouraged by reverses. So I ask you to don the barbarian garments and teach the king's son.' 'Your reasoning is faulty, your majesty,' replied Chou Shao, 'for I am not equal to the task.' ' N o one can single out his child better than his father; none can discern the worth of a minister better than his king,' was the reply, 'and I am your king.' 'There are six principles for the choice of a tutor', said Chou Shao. 'What six?' 'His intelligence should be impossible to provoke revolt. The liberality of his conduct should always be within the bounds of propriety. No threat should induce him to abandon his post, and no bribe should be great enough to change his mind. He must have such respect for his orders that he will never be remiss. He must be in harmony with those beneath him and never be a threat to them. 'These are the six talents proper to a Grand Tutor and I cannot boast of one of them. It is my crime that I hid this fact instead of confessing it. N o w if orders 1 for me to take the post be given and the office thereby dishonoured, all of your officials will be troubled and the person in charge will be embarrassed by it. Reconsider, your majesty, I beg you.' 'It is precisely because you know these are the six requirements that 1 have chosen you', replied the king. 'The state does not yet comprehend the king's insistence on barbarian dress,' said Chou Shao, 'but if I am to be my king's minister I surely cannot disobey what my king believes to be an important order', and he bowed twice.2 'The king's son is your career,' said the king, 'and I require you to love the boy and in no wise dislike him. Rule and guide him by showing him right conduct and do not drown him in learning or revolt 11H 2
here should be ilf. 'gave him barbarian garments' is excrescent.
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him with it. One serves a ruler by carrying out his intentions and not moving counter to his ambitions. One serves the ancestors by manifesting their high virtue and not turning against their orphaned children. Therefore it is said, "A minister who obeys bis orders is a blessing to the state." Doing this task for me, sir, fulfils your duty to your king. The Book of History says: "Do away with depravity without hesitation; employ the virtuous and mind nothing else." 1 Do not let me be guilty of disobeying this injunction [?]!' So saying, the king presented Chou Shao with barbarian garments and cap, and a belt with cowrie design and a golden shih-pi clasp, so that he might tutor the king's son. SPTK 6. 23b KY 40. 5
241 Chao Yen clings to the oldjashion and earns a royal rebuke Chao Yen delayed wearing the barbarian garments and the king ordered him to comply saying: 'Serving a ruler, you must devote all thought and all strength to devising subtle admonitions which never become clamorous. You must answer him without rancour, avoid opposing him simply to make much of yourself and ignore selfish considerations entertained only for the sake of your own name. 'The son acts in accord with what is fitting without stubbornness; the minister yields without wrangling. Should the son insist on his private concerns, the home is thrown into confusion. If the minister adheres to his private standard of righteousness, the state is in peril. For a son to oppose the family and go his own way is to be unfilial to the forbearing father. If the minister baulk at his ruler simply to achieve independence, the generous ruler has been ill served. 'I have donned the barbarian clothing. You alone have not and have defied your ruler. This is the gravest of crimes. To find obedience to orders too restricting, to believe that the highest conduct is opposing 1
Legge, p. 55.
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your ruler-this is the worst kind of selfishness. For this reason I fear that you, a member of the royal family, must be charged with a capital offence in order to make it manifest that the law of the government will be obeyed.' Chao Yen made solemn obeisance and said, 'When the officers ordered the wearing of barbarian clothes to be enforced upon subordinates and certain subordinates did not meet the time limit set forth in the orders, the officers did not execute them; for by doing so they would have offended against the tacit instructions to b e found in your majesty's past lenience. I will henceforth respectfully use the barbarian garments and await the time when y o u shall command me to m y task.' SPTK 6. 25b KY 40. 6
242 The king of Chao's new cavalry The king disbanded Yiian-yang's [infantry]1 and made it a garrison town for his cavalry. Niu Tsan admonished him saying: 'A state has its traditional registers and soldiers have their fixed laws. When the registers are changed confusion results; when the laws are ignored weakness is the outcome. Your majesty by disbanding Yiianyang's regiments and making the city a cavalry garrison has both changed the registers and abandoned the law. 'Who has trained his troops well has no fear of the enemy. The convenient tool makes difficulties simple. Now these citizens were used to their training and tools and the king has changed them. This can only harm the prince and weaken the state. This is why it is said, "If a hundred-fold advantage is not certain, do not change a custom; if a tenfold increase is not expected do not change your implement." Your majesty's current demobilization of infantry in order to establish cavalry will, I fear, win a profit smaller than the price you must pay for it.' 'The profit of yesterday differs from today's', replied the king. 'What is useful elsewhere may not be here. Yin and Yang take different 1
Following Yokota. Kambun in the note mistakenly prints 1!L for 55.
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paths, and no one thing is proper for all four seasons. This is why the worthy watch the times but the times never look to the worthy; this is why they control troops and are not controlled by troops. 'You understand the registers of tax collectors but not the benefit of tools. You know how armour is used but not the proper functions of Yin and Yang. Any troops which do not meet the demands made upon them can be changed; any teaching or custom inconvenient to the conduct of government can be altered. 'Of old, my ancestor Hsiang built a wall where our lands touch on those of Tai and he named it the "Gate of No Horizon" to teach a lesson to those who came after him. 'Today heavy armour and long weapons 1 will never cross the wilderness. Neither will benevolence and righteousness nor the Way and its power bring the Hu 2 barbarians to us. 'I have heard that those who act in good faith never cast aside merit and that the wise do not lose the proper season for action. Today you, with your concern for the tax registers, are bringing confusion to your ruler's efforts, which is not wise of you.' Niu Tsan made a double obeisance and said, 'Dare I disobey?' The king thereafter, in barbarian garments, led his horsemen against the Hu leaving by the Gate of No Horizonf?].3 Crossing over the Chiu-hsien fastnesses and penetrating the canyons of Wu-ching, he reached the midst of the Hu and opened a thousand li of territory. SPTK 6. 26a KY 40. 7
243 Ch'u in her defeat is dissuaded from turning to Ch'i and induced to turn to Chao instead Wei defeated Ch'u at Hsing-shan and captured T'ang Ming. The king of Ch'u was frightened and ordered Chao Ying to take the heir to the Duke of Hsueh for him to arrange a peace. 1 2
Yokota fk = &. IS an error for 49.
3 It seems likely that Yi-yi chih men here was meant to be the Wu-ch'iung chih men above.
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The Ex-King of Chao 1 wished to forestall this, so he bound himself to Ch'in and allied himself to Sung. He made Ch'ou Ho minister of Sung and Lou Huan became minister of Ch'in. Ch'u then joined Chao and the accord between Ch'i 2 and Wei was finally broken. SPTK 6. 27b KY 48. 16
244 Chao asks Ch'in to appoint a minister and takes care that all parties shall be pleased Chao sent Chi Ho 3 to Ch'in to request that Wei Jan be made her minister. Sung T'u said to Chi Ho, 'Even if Ch'in will not agree to do it, Lou Huan will still be ill disposed toward you. The best thing you can do is say secretly to Lou-tzu, "I will not make our request seem urgent to the king of Ch'in." The king of Ch'in, seeing that Chao's wish to make Wei Jan her minister is not an urgent matter, will not do as you request. In this way if you do not succeed, Lou-tzu will feel obliged to you; and if you do succeed Wei Jan will feel obliged.' SPTK 6. 27b KY 41. 2
245 The Three Chin standfirmtogether t
Someone said to the king of Chao: ' ^ h e n the Three Chin are united Ch'in is weak; when the Three Chin have fallen out Ch'in is strong. All the empire is aware of this. When Ch'in has Yen as an ally she attacks Chao; allied with Chao she attacks Yen. If she has Liang as an ally she attacks Chao; with Chao she attacks Liang. If she has Ch'u with her she attacks Han and if she has Han she attacks Ch'u. The empire can perceive this clearly, but seems incapable of changing its i.e., King Wu-ling. Following Yokota. 3 Probably a mistake for Ch'ou Ho Hi tt; in SC 43/61, it is ft, j& Ch'ou Yi.
1
2
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ways, so1 it remains weak. Yet knowing itself to be weak it cannot unite. It troubles me greatly that Ch'in can be so intelligent and the empire so stupid. 'When a tiger is about to capture a wild creature and its intended prey and his fellow creatures are unaware that the tiger is after them, they will fight each other until both succumb and fall prey to the tiger. But let the creatures know the tiger is about to capture them and they will certainly not fight one another. 'Today the rulers of East of the Mountains are2 all aware that Ch'in has marked them for her prey, yet they battle each other to exhaustion and their states fall to Ch'in. In this they are less intelligent than wild creatures. Think about this carefully, your majesty. 'There are certain matters which must be dealt with immediately: the ruler of Ch'in wants to attack Han and Liang and come eastward to look into the palaces of Chou so badly that he can hardly forget it even in his sleep. Ch'in hates the grand alliance of the Three Chin; and now that it is already five years since her attack and return from Ch'u 3 from whom she stole a thousand li of land - she will say sweetly to the king of Ch'u, "If only you will turn your jade feet toward us, we will become Ch'u's brother state. We will attack Han and Liang and return Ch'u's former territories." 'Now Ch'u will heed Ch'in's honeyed speech and, being still angry over the fact that Han and Liang did not come to her aid, she will go to Ch'in. 'As part of her plan Ch'in will send an envoy to Chao and tempt her with the bait of Yen in order to split the Three Chin asunder. If your majesty should think well of Ch'in's words and want to attack Yen, you will hardly have time to digest this titbit before calamity catches up with you. 'When the king of Ch'u turns to Ch'in and they become one, they will attack Han in the east. Han, lacking Ch'u's support to the south and Chao's in the north will not wait to be attacked before she makes out a title to her lands and scurries westward with the haste of a rabbit ^ = rfn after Yokota. With Yokota, the negative is excrescent. 3 These two sentences were transposed and ^ 3& $£ is superfluous. I follow Seki in this. 1
2
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or gallops there with the speed of a horse. When Ch'in and Han are on the best of terms, how long will the calamity of Ch'in take to move in to Liang? 'In the face of mighty Ch'in, augmented by a biddable Ch'u and a compliant Han, Liang will not hesitate to make out a title to her lands and race westward also. When Ch'in and Liang are on the best of terms how long will the calamity of Ch'in take to move1 to Chao? Ch'in's might, supplemented by Han, Liang, and Ch'u and coupled with Yen's resentment against you, will surely slice great areas from Chao. 'I have come to you because your state may be lost entirely; and this is why I say that certain matters must be dealt with immediately. The Three Chin should unite with each other and bolster each other up before the king of Ch'u enters Ch'in. And if the finest troops are sent south to guard the western frontiers of Han and Liang, the king of Ch'u will hear of it and not enter Ch'in. This will infuriate Ch'in so that she will turn on Ch'u. Ch'u will then be the sole agent of Ch'in's calamity, and that will be of the greatest advantage to the Three Chin. 'If the king of Ch'u does go into Ch'in, however, and then finds the Three Chin united and firm, Ch'in will not allow the king to leave and will exact much land from Ch'u. This will make Ch'in the sole agent of Ch'u's troubles and will also profit the Three Chin. I hope your majesty will make his most thoughtful plans on this subject.' The king of Chao then hastily2 raised his forces and sent them south to protect the western marches of Han and Liang. As expected, when Ch'in saw how firm the Three Chin stood he would not let the king of Ch'u leave but demanded more territory from Ch'u. SPTK 6. 28a KY 40. 17
246 The relative advantages of two alliances compared Fu Ting hoped to unite Chao with Ch'i and Wei, while Lou Huan wished to unite her with Ch'in and Ch'u. Fu Ting was afraid that 1 2
With Wu Shih-tao this is an error for & not 31. At Yokota's suggestion ;§: should follow H.
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the Ex-King of Chao would heed Lou Huan and bind Chao to Ch'in and Ch'u, so Ssu-ma Ch'ien spoke to the Ex-King: 'It would be best if we went along with Ch'i. If we should not agree with Ch'i to fight Ch'in, then Ch'in 1 and Ch'u will surely unite and attack Han and Wei. When the latter two turn to Ch'i in their plight Ch'i will not want to fight Ch'in alone so she will claim Chao's reluctance as her excuse for not attacking Ch'in. 'Han and Wei will then fear that the troops of Chao and Ch'i will not go westward against Ch'in and2 so they will obey Ch'in rather than Ch'i. When they take orders from Ch'in and not Ch'i their troops will certainly be turned against Chao. 'If we follow Ch'i and she does not go west to fight Ch'in, then Han and Wei will quit her and both will serve Chao. However, if we follow Ch'i she is certain to turn westward. Once Lou Huan lived three months in Wei trying to worsen relations between Ch'i and Wei and failed.3 So when we follow Ch'i and Ch'i and Wei do indeed go west it will tire Ch'i and damage Ch'in. This will leave Chao the strongest state in the empire.' 'But if we ally ourselves with the three states and attack Ch'in', objected the Ex-King, 'we shall all be exhausted.' 'Not so. When we join with the three states we shall tell them that Chung-shan has not yet concluded peace. If the three states want a decision on our part to fight Ch'in, they will have to hear our wishes. If they want Chung-shan to join Chao and she obeys, then we will have been fattened with the land of Chung-shan through the efforts of three other states. If Chung-shan does not obey them, the three states will cut her off, she will be alone, and the three states will not have met our demands. We can send fewer troops to them; and even with our divided forces we can destroy a Chung-shan with no allies. Then, after we have destroyed Chung-shan, we can use the rest of our troops and attack Ch'in with the three states. In this manner we shall in a single stroke get lands from both Chung-shan and Ch'in.' SPTK 6. 30a KY41.5 Because Ch'in will not fear trouble from Ch'i. With Yokota, Han is here superfluous. 3 So close are their connections.
1
2
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247 Li Tui hears a devious plan to strengthen Chaos position by weakening Wei's good relations with other states Because of Fu Ting, Wei was about to join with Ch'in. Chao, frightened, asked permission to cede land to Wei and take her orders from the Duke of Hsueh. Fu Ting instructed Tzu K'o to speak as follows to Li Tui: 'Chao fears that the Coalition may be formed, so she wants to hand over land to Wei and take orders from the Duke of Hsueh. You, sir, should rather tell the Ex-King to use this land to supply Chou Tsui and request that Wei make him her minister. Chou Tsui uses the empire to disgrace Ch'in [I].1 So if he is now used as Wei's minister, relations between Wei and Ch'in will be reduced to ruins. Thus, even though relations between Ch'i andWei remain strong, they cannot harm Chao without Ch'in. If the king of Wei accedes to our request it will constitute a slight to Ch'i. 2 Then, though relations between Ch'in and Wei remain firm, without Ch'i they cannot harm 3 Chao. This will be beneficial for Chao and profitable for Chou Tsui.' SPTK6. 31a KY 42. 6 K I N G H U I - W E N (298-266 B.C.)
248 Chao urged to return her conquests When the Three States attacked Ch'in, Chao attacked Chung-shan and took Fu-liu, and for five years had complete control over Hu-to. Two Ch'i men4, Jung Kuo and Sung T'u, said to Ch'ou Ho: 11
believe something is missing here. I am not sure why employing Chou Tsui should be a slight to Ch'i, but if the Duke of Hsiieh were acting as minister of Wei at Ch'i's request it would make some sense. 2
4
Presumably speaking on behalf of Chung-shan, however.
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'The best thing you can do is return all the land you have recently acquired from Chung-shan. On the strength of this Chung-shan will say to Ch'i, "The four states will ask right of way through Lesser Wei to cross over Chang-tzu's road." When Ch'i hears this she will certainly give you Ku.' 1 SPTK6.31b KY 47. 8
249 An immigrant wins trust by building a large house Fu Chi built himself a building and it was a large one. Ching Kan spoke of it to the ruler who asked Fu-tzu, 'Why have you built such a great structure?' 'I am a guest in this state, one whose rank is great but whose wealth is small, whose home is humble and whose income is little', Fu Chi replied. 'Though your highness trusts me the common people all say, "If the state were in trouble Chi would be no use." I have raised this great structure so that the common folk will also trust me.' 'Good', said the ruler. SPTK 6. 32a KY39.7
250 Su Ch'in is asked to speak the words of the spirits and tells the story of the image of wood and the image of clay When Su Ch'in persuaded Li Tui he spoke thus: 'Su Ch'in from the village of Ch'eng-hsiian in Lo-yang, whose family is poor and whose parents are aged, had neither spent ox nor jaded nag, nor even a barrow with wheel of mulberry wood and body of wicker. So with feet bound in rags and shouldering his book sack he made his 1
This is obscure to me.
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way through dust, dews, and frost across the Chang River. With feet sore and calloused from walking one hundred ft a day he calls at the outer gate and asks audience to speak on affairs of the empire.' 'You may have it if you speak the words of spirits,' said Li Tui, 'for I know all there is to know of the affairs of man.' 'Your servant will use the words of spirits in his audience, and not the words of men', replied Su Ch'in. Li Tui gave him audience. 'This day, while I was travelling here, I found myself at evening still outside the gates to the suburbs and could not get myself a mat to sleep on. So I spent the night in a farm field', began Su Ch'in. 'To one side there was a dense thicket and midway through the night an earthen image began to argue with a wooden one: "You are not my equal," it said "for I am made of earth, and should there befall a sharp wind or a drenching rain, I would be destroyed but would return to the earth; whilst you are not even the roots of a tree, but only a branch, and should a sharp wind or drenching rain come, you would be washed into the Chang River and float thence to the sea, and in all the vast waters there would be no place for you to stay." 'Now it is the ignorant opinion of your servant that the earthen image got the better of the wooden one. You killed your ruler, the Ex-King of Chao, and you extirpated his kin, and find your position in the empire as perilous as though you were perched atop a pile of eggs. If you heed my plans you will live; if you heed them not you will die.' 'If you will go to your quarters now, my Master,' said Li Tui, 'you will be given audience again tomorrow.' When Su Ch'in had left, one of Li Tui's attendants said to him: 'In my humble opinion, my lord, Su Ch'in's arguments and their scope are beyond you. Will you be able to do as he advises?' T will not', replied Li Tui. 'Since you cannot,' said his attendant, 'I suggest you stop up your ears so that you cannot hear him speak.' On the following day Su Ch'in received audience and spoke the entire day before he left. When the attendant escorted him out, Su Ch'in said to him: 'A day ago I spoke only crudely and your ruler was moved. Today I spoke in detail and he was not. Why?' 'Your plans are great and their scope is lofty, sir', replied the attendant. 'My lord cannot use them, so I asked him firmly to stop both
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his ears so that he would not heed what was said. However, come again on the morrow and I will ask that the Master be well rewarded.' He came the next day and pressing his palms together he spoke. Li Tui sent him a moon pearl, the Jade of Ho, a black sable coat and a hundred pieces of pure gold. So Su Ch'in got what he needed in order to go westward into Ch'in. SPTK6. 32b KY 39. 8
251 Lord Meng-ch'ang receives a fief in Chao but treats it as a loan The king of Chao enfeoffed Lord Meng-ch'ang with Wu-ch'eng and Lord Meng-ch'ang selected one of his retainers to send to Wu-ch'eng as its warden. 'Is there not a saying which goes, "If you borrow a carriage use it; if you borrow a garment wear it" ?', asked Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'There is', replied his retainer. 'Well, it is a saying which finds no favour with me; for when you borrow clothing or chariots it is either from relatives or from close friends, and I do not think it right to be attired or mounted by one's friends and relatives. Today the king of Chao, unaware that I am unworthy, has given me the fief of Wu-ch'eng. I want you to go there, sir. Cut down no trees and build no palaces. Thus the king of Chao may know what manner of man I am. Conduct my affairs in such a fashion that the city can be returned intact at any time.' SPTK 6.34a KY 40.16
252 Li Tuts machinations after the defeat of the Five States alarm Wei, who approaches Ch'i with a rival plan Ch'i wished to attack Sung but Ch'in ordered Ch'i Chia to forbid her.
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Ch'i next brought in Chao for her attack on Sung and Ch'in levelled her anger at Chao. Li Tui united the Five States against Ch'in but they were unsuccessful and/he rested the troops of the empire at Ch'eng-kao and secretly sought peace with Ch'in. He wanted to join forces with Ch'in and attack Wei, both to mollify Ch'in's anger and to get a fief from it/The king of Wei was troubled. [P]1 fchih-ch'i said to the king of Ch'i, 'Let me say the following to the king of Wei on your behalf: "All the Three Chin are suffering at the hand of Ch'in. The present involvement in an attack on Ch'in was for Chao. If the2 Five States attacked Chao, Chao would perish; if Ch'in drove Li Tui out, Li Tui would perish. Now, if you were forced into a fight with Ch'in you would only be saving Li Tui's neck. At the moment Chao lias halted the troops of the empire at Ch'eng-kao and is secretly selling them out to Ch'in 3 to buy herself peace. Since Li Tui is making Ch'in and Wei fight to get a fief for himself, what gain can you expect for supporting Chao? 4 Furthermore, your majesty once crossed the Chang, came personally to Han-tan offering the town of Yin-ch'eng, and abandoned Hao, Ko, and Hsiieh in exchange for protection by Chao, but she would not have you. Now you enfeoff his son with Ho-yang and Ku-pi and in return Li Tui sets Ch'in on you so that it will be easier for him to get Yin. One need only compare the acts of men to know the good and the worthless. 'If now you sought alliance with Ch'i with only half of what you have used on Chao, would there be a soul in the empire who would dare entertain schemes against you? Were you to serve Ch'i you could never bear the insult of going to a foreign court nor yet the expense of giving away your lands. The friendship Ch'i feels for your majesty has seen her empty her country of troops for you in the face of Yen and Chao. She has sent her soldiers two thousand /;' away for you. So one can say that Ch'i has never avoided facing the slings and arrows directed at your majesty either in siege or on campaign.5 After you got your second capital, Ch'i ceded Ho-tung entirely for your use [?] and from 1 2
It seems certain there is a surname missing here. Yokota ct al. note that it should be four states here.
s E=a
From 'furthermore' to 'Ku-pi' is all to be found again in 348. Yokota remarks that there are no documents indicating such devotion of Ch'i to Wei.
4
5
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that time on whenever Ch'in attacked, there was never a year which did not see the arms of your ally Ch'i on your borders. And how 1 have you requited Ch'i? 'When Han Min was in Chao, three thousand // from Ch'i, Wei was suspicious that this was a Ch'i conspiracy with Ch'in. Yet you still protect the former Duke of Hsiieh and use him as your minister. You favour Han Hsu and give him preference. You honour Yii Shang as your guest minister. But you are suspicious of Ch'i! 'And when the king of Wei hears me say this he will be overcome. He will want to serve Ch'i, your majesty [and will turn his anger toward Chao].2 I hope you will heed Wei carefully, your majesty, and take no offence, for I will try to turn Wei's anger toward Chao. Then you must secretly favour Chao and not let Ch'in know you do. For if she knows, she will favour Chao also. Let Ch'i and Ch'in favour Chao and I guarantee that Yen, Han and Wei will do so too. Then no one will dare compete with Chao, and she will have the Five3 States serving her. Chao will follow her inclination [?] to ally herself with Ch'in and she will be greater4 than you, your majesty .^Therefore you must set the states against each other and secretly bind them to you with soft words. Send me to set Han, Wei, and Yen against Chao and then dispatch Tan to bind them with soft words. Use Chao to harm Han and Wei and then send Kan to mollify them; set the Three Chin on Ch'in, and send Shun to satisfy them; set all the states against Ch'u and send Min to settle their differences. Then the empire will turn against5 Ch'in and serve you, not daring to undertake secret agreementylwith Ch'in] [?]. At that time, your majesty, you may choose between [the states serving Chao or Ch'i].6[?] SPTK6.34b KY 44. 2
1 nj = fST after Yokota et al. 2 This is probably dittographic. 3 SPTK has 'Three states'. 4 Following Yokota et al. The personal names Tan ft and Kan "tf are Yokota's guess. 5 Following Wu Shih-tao. 6 After Seki. The item is ambiguous and repetitive. Opinions of the commentators vary widely over meanings and some text corruption is certainly present.
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253 A fief in Sung Ch'i was going to attack Sung and Ch'in was secretly opposing her. Because of this, Ch'i hoped to join with Chao but Chao would not oblige her. 1 [Ch'i then ordered Kung-sun Yen to persuade Li Tui that he should use the attack on Sung to get himself a fief. Li Tui said to the king of Ch'i, 'The reason I so strongly advocated an attack by the Three Chin against Ch'in was not so that Ch'i might profit from Ch'in's destruction by attacking Sung; for Sung had just raised her heir to be her king, those in command in Sung were liked by their people, and the state was capable of a strong defence. Therefore I hoped that your majesty would return his troops quickly and rest his people. 'Now, however, Sung's heir has fled and all those who supported him are anxious to die to prove themselves; so if you attacked now, the state would surely be thrown into confusion and be helpless with the heir still abroad. This, then, is the time for taking Sung.] T will ask Kung-sun Yen to persuade Lord Feng-yang for your majesty,' [said someone], 'and he shall say to him, "You are growing older, your excellency, and you had best soon establish a fief for yourself. Were I to think on the matter of a fief for you, I would find no place as suitable as Sung; any other state would not serve. The men in Ch'in for instance are too covetous, Han and Wei are in parlous state, Yen and Ch'u are too isolated, and such territory as Chung-shan has is meagre - no, nothing would be so good as Yin in Sung. And if you lose the opportunity that today presents itself, you are not likely to happen upon it again. Sung has offended greatly and Ch'i's anger with her is deep indeed. To damage Sung while obliging great Ch'i and settling afieffor yourself is the opportunity of a hundred lifetimes." 'Now Lord Feng-yang will deeply covet Yin, and though he gain a large fief, his actions towards Ch'i will not be greatly altered. I hope your majesty will launch a vast strike against Sung - do not wait until the troops have finished their tilling - and test whether Lord Feng-yang With Yokota, I believe this long section in brackets should go at the end of the entire item. See next item and note. 1
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will respond. Offer him Yin to make him willing and to convince those in Yen that they should become closer to Chao. Thus, by 1 the presentation of one fief to insure loyalty the whole enterprise will succeed. 'I would also have your majesty give some of the land to Lord Hsiang-an [of Yen] to aid me. If you do take Sung this will be a time when you double2 your holdings. Will you be likely to miss a piece of it? If your majesty fails in his ambitions for Sung, will an ally then dare hope for the land promised it? 'If your majesty will supply me with these things I will gain Yen's help and demonstrate Chao's power. Then your majesty may burst forth and overwhelm the empire.' [ ] 3 SPTK 6. 37b KY 46.3
254 The opportunity of a hundred lifetimes Ch'i attacked Sung and Lord Feng-yang objected. Someone persuaded him saying: 'Your excellency has reached a high age and does not yet possess a fief of his own. This is something he must plan for with care. 'The men of Ch'in are covetous, Han and Wei are in parlous state, Yen and Ch'u are too secluded, and Chung-shan's land is meagre. Sung's crime is great and Ch'i's anger against her is deep. To be able to attack rebellious Sung, gain a fief, and oblige Ch'i simultaneously is the opportunity of a hundred lifetimes.'4 SPTK 6. 40a KY 39. 10 With Seki, p. should be &.. Following the chodai rather than Seki. 3 Here read the bracketed section mentioned above. 4 This is obviously a fragment identical with the second section of 251 indicating clearly that there is a line of cleavage at this point in 251. 1 2
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255 The six unprofitable moves When the Five States attacked Ch'in and failed, they stopped their troops at Ch'eng-kao. Chao wanted to parley with Ch'in; Ch'u, Han and Wei agreed, but Ch'i did not wish it. 'I have already seen Li Tui on your behalf,' said Su Tai to the king of Ch'i, 'and I said to him, "If the empire disintegrates and acknowledges Ch'in as sovereign, then Ch'in itself will seize Sung, and Wei Jan will be envious of your possession of Yin. Between the king of Ch'in's rapaciousness and Wei Jan's cupidity, you will never get Yin! 'Do not speak of peace, and Ch'i will surely attack Sung. When she does, Ch'u will aid her and so will Wei, Yen, and Chao. It cannot be over a month or two before the Five States have taken Sung and then you will get Yin. After you have it, even though you parley with Ch'in and she later breaks the peace, you will still remain untroubled. 'If you must make peace before you have got Yin1, then I suggest a reaffirmation of the Five States' treaty before you do it and sending Chao Tsu, Hsiung Fei[?]2 and the great officials of Han eastward to Ch'i to make certain the king does not summon 3 [Han?] Min and also to make Ch'in keep her treaty. '[In this way] if one of the allies breaks the pact, the other four will attack the offender. If none of the allies breaks the pact but Ch'in attacks despite it, the Five States re-allied can stave her off.4 At present Han, Wei and Ch'i all are suspicious of each other, and if they do not reaffirm their pact before the peace talks, I fear the allies will fall into great confusion. Ch'i and Ch'in will either ally themselves with each other, or they will favour one of the five allies above the others. Neither the alignment of Ch'i and Ch'in nor their favouritism can be of profit to Chao. All annotators agree the E is an error. Here, as in 347, the text begins to fall apart. Not only do the editions differ widely, but the annotators (who all feel they must make some sense out of their text), are left in each case with little to choose from. In what follows I rely mainly on Yokota's text and notes, but I fear that I transmit kangaku-sha ingenuity more than anything else. 2 Yokota 'suspects' this is a name. SPTK treats it otherwise. Index does not list it. 3 SPTK's 45 is obviously a misprint as Wu Shih-tao shows. 4 IS to be understood as ¥& after SPTK.
1
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'Moreover, if the empire should fragment and acknowledge Ch'in, Ch'in will control it. If Ch'in controls it how can Chao ever use it? Give this your first attention, my lord! 'If the empire serves1 Ch'in, there are six moves she can make and none of them is profitable to Chao. The king of Ch'in will receive the country with its back on the sea,2 bring together those who turn their backs on their kin 3 and hold the Middle Kingdoms in that fashion while he seeks advantage from the Three Chin. This is her first move and if she uses this plan there will be no profit in it for Chao and you will not hold Yin in the end. 'If the empire serves Ch'in, the latter will place Han Min in Ch'i and Lord Ch'eng-yang in Han, and make Wei Huai minister of Wei. She will also re-establish good relations with [Kung-sun] Yen. The other two kings4 she will handle with men like Wang Pen and Han T'o; all of these will rise up and overthrow the states. This is another option for Ch'in. If she uses this plan there will be no profit in it for Chao and it will be the second way you will fail to get Yin. 'If the empire serves Ch'in, the king of Ch'in could receive Ch'i and Chao. The three great powers being allied, she could use them to seize Wei and demand An-yi. This is another move Ch'in could make; and if she follows this plan Ch'i and Chao will go along but Wei will never wait for the attack. She will immediately present An-yi as an earnest to Ch'in. Ch'in, with this windfall of An-yi, will deal with Wei as the most favoured country; and Han will go to the Wei court. Ch'in will blame Chao for that alliance5 and simply take An-yi.6 There will be no profit in this for Chao, and this is the third way which will certainly prevent my lord's obtaining Yin. 'If the empire serves Ch'in, Ch'in could make firm her alliance with Yen and Chao to attack Ch'i and use Ch'u and Han7 to attack Wei. This is a move she could make; and if she uses this plan and Yen and Chao consent, then they will use their troops against Ch'i first, while SPTK text has ^ in place of # from here on. i.e., Ch'i. 3 Pao's interpretation of this is not convincing. 4 Yen and Chao, according to Wu and Yokota. 5 Of the three powers against Wei? 6 I omit the repetition of 'this is a move etc' following Yokota. 7 IS is excrescent, with Yokota. 1 2
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Ch'in attacks Wei along with Ch'u. It cannot be more than a month or two before Wei falls. Ch'in will take An-yi and fortify Nu-chi, and Han will be cut off from the area of T'ai-yiian. Ch'in will subdue Chih-tao and Nan-yang, attack Wei, eliminate Han and envelope the two Chous. This would be just as though Chao had purposely set herself afire. To have Ch'in making tinder of the state and Ch'i dividing the army is not to Chao's profit, and this is the fourth way my lord will fail to get Yin as long as he lives. 'If the empire serves Ch'in and Ch'in makes her relations with the Three Chin strong in order to attack Ch'i, your treasury will be strained, your state ruined and your troops separated from you in the east. Then Ch'in may halt the attack and assault Wei to take An-yi. This is a move Ch'in could make; and if she foliows this plan how could you rescue Wei? To do so would be to attempt a war on Ch'in when you were already exhausted by your attack on Ch'i: you could not rescue her. How then could Han and Wei resist making a pact with Ch'in in the west? You would then become the next hapless object of Ch'in's plans; and this is the fifth way in which, to the end of your days, you would never gain Yin. 'If the empire serves Ch'in and Ch'in chooses1 a policy of righteousness - restoring the fallen, continuing what has ceased, strengthening the imperilled, supporting the weak, and confirming innocent rulers, then she will restore the state of Chung-shan2 and place Sheng3 [?] in it. If Ch'in restores Chung-shan with Sheng, then Chao and Sung will share the same future [?] and this is the sixth way you will scarce be able to speak of Yin. This is why I say do not parley with Ch'in, and Yin can be yours.' 'Good', said Lord Fen-yang, and he broke off talks with Ch'in and united with Ch'i and Wei in order to be assured of getting Yin. 4 SPTK 6. 41a KY47-4 I do not understand the use of j£ here. Supposedly once held by Wei but certainly always dependent on Chao. 3 The chodai says 'probably the name of the last ruler of Chung-shan, or, if not, then his offspring'. Perhaps, but it is a conjecture at best. 4 Yokota says: 'Yin is the same as T'ao ^ and that fief was given to Wei Jan. So Tui never did get it.' 1
2
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256 Su Li seeks by means of a letter to dissuade the king of Chao from attacking Ch'i When Chao had got the empire she was going to use it to attack Ch'i. Su Li wrote a letter for the king of Ch'i persuading the king of Chao in this fashion: We have heard that when the virtuous deeds of the worthy rulers of the past had not reached everywhere, when their teachings and love for the people had not been felt by all, and when their sacrifices and seasonal offerings had not been in proper amounts for the spirits, if, despite these shortcomings, sweet dews fell, wind and rains came at their appointed times, the crops flourished, and the farmers prospered, then the common folk may have rejoiced but the worthy rulers were upset by it. 1 Until today you have seldom been at great pains to share your victories with Ch'in2 nor have you ever been so deeply affronted by Han that you can harbour very great resentment toward her.3 I have heard great ministers and their subordinates in other lands discussing the fact that your majesty had earlier put all his faith in Ch'in's love for Chao being so great that she must hate Han.4 Well, as I look at the matter I wonder why Ch'in should love Chao and hate Han. She wanted to destroy Han and swallow up the lands of the two Chou, so she offered destruction of Han as a bait to Chao. First of all she bruited it about the empire that she loved Chao for she wanted neighbouring states to 'hear the word and so look for the deed'. She still feared that her real goal might not be achieved, so she sent out troops against Han to hoodwink Chao and Wei. She feared that the empire might become alarmed and guess her plans so she launched a small attack on Chao to make the Lords disaffected with Han.5 1
For they received blessings out of proportion to their virtuous actions.
2 As Yokota says, the implication of the first part of this item is that Chao had joined with Ch'in and contemplated joint attack on Ch'i. Chao was no great favourite of Ch'in so the king should be suspicious of Ch'in's compliance. 8 SC has Ch'i instead of Han and other editions have both Ch'i and Han. Judging by the context, Ch'i would be the more sensible object of Chao's attack. 4 Because Chao did. 5 I translate Yokota's notes here. The text itself is ambiguous.
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Fearing that the empire will suspect her, she gives hostages to convince one and all. She pretends that she acts thus in order to oblige her ally, but in fact she hopes to attack a Han abandoned by everyone. In my humble view of the 1 plans I would say in criticism that Ch'in makes her policy for exactly the reasons just given[?]. Furthermore, all the persuaders' schemes insist that, 'When Han loses Three Rivers and Wei loses Chin-kuo, 2 calamity will rench Chao before Han is exhausted.' There have been cases with different conditions but with similar disabilities. There are also cases with the same conditions and different shortcomings. In the past Ch'u was engaged in a long war and you were able to vanquish Chung-shan. Yen has now got almost all of Han's Ho-nan area. Going from Sha-ch'iu to the borders of Chu-lu is three hundred li; to leave from Han-kuan 3 and arrive at Yu-chung is now a journey of five hundred /»'.4 When Ch'in consumes all of Han's and Wei's areas in Shang-tang, Ch'in's lands will join yours and her fields will border your state's territories for a distance of seven hundred li; and when Ch'in takes her troops and weapons to garrison the top of Sheepgut Slope her territory will be a scant twenty li from Han-tan. Moreover, if Ch'in should attack your majesty's area of Shang-tang and threaten the north with her armies, then everything west of Kou-chu Mountain will be denied you. Today if she crossed Kou-chu, closed off Ch'ang-shan, and held three hundred li, Ch'in would have a corridor to T'ang and Ch'u-ni5 in Yen which could prevent the horses of Tai and the coursers of Hu from coming east and cause the jades of the K'un-lun's to remain where they are. This would deny you three great treasures. And I fear that if your majesty does Yokota makes it 'Ch'in's plans'. i.e., the area of An-yi. 3 SC gives it as T'ing-kuan. 4 It seems most logical to assume that in both these sets of geographic names one is in Chao and one is in Yen and the sense is that the two countries are now closer together. Nakai in SC assumes this is the meaning even though he says Sha-ch'iu and Chu-lu are both Chao towns. 5 Yokota's iS has no precedent, but there is aCh'ii-ni ffi JM to be found elsewhere. SPTK gives M and I follow it. 1
2
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now ally himself with mighty Ch'in and do battle against Ch'i with her, calamities such as these will be his. In the past the kings of five states once made a pact in which they planned to attack Chao and divide her lands into five parts.1 They had their resolve graven upon their goblets so the oath would be before their eyes whenever they proposed a toast. Just as the troops of the five states were about to move, Ch'i and Han took their forces westward to stop Ch'in. They forced her to issue a proclamation of national mourning, and made her agree to restore Wen, Chih, and Kao-p'ing to Wei and return San-kung and Shih-ch'ing to Chao. These facts, your majesty, you are well aware of. What Ch'i and Han did for Chao merits you treating them with the highest respect; yet you requite them with accusations and a decision to attack. I fear that hereafter no one will ever feel greatly obliged to serve you. If today you were to receive Ch'i, the empire would surely feel you had achieved something and Han would place her entire state at your majesty's service, which would gain you the respect of the empire. When Ch'i is well disposed toward your majesty the empire will come to you, and when Han admires your majesty the empire will bind itself to you. In this fashion the fate of a whole generation will rest with your majesty. I hope you will go into this deeply with your ministers and make the most exhaustive plans and the weightiest schemes. Before the act there must be well-formed thoughts, so you must give it your most mature consideration. SPTK6.44b KY 39- 9
257 The king of Ch'in is infuriated when Chao repudiates a bargain, but loses the ensuing war Ch'in attacked Chao's cities of Lin-li and Shih-ch'i and took them. Chao made Kung-tzu Wu its hostage in Ch'in and requested that Ch'in take the Chao cities of Chiao-li and Niu-hu in exchange for 1
After Yokota.
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Lin-li and Shih-ch'i. But in the end Chao revoked her promise to Ch'in and did not hand over Chiao-li and Niu-hu. The king of Ch'in was angry and sent Kung-tzu Tseng to demand the territory. The king of Chao then ordered Cheng Chu to say the following: 'Lin-li and Shih-ch'i are far away in Chao but close to your great state. It was only because of the enlightened condition of our former rulers and the power of their ministers that Chao was ever able to hold those cities. But I, the present ruler, am not the equal of my ancestors; I am hardly able to relieve the plight of my state as it is and certainly unable to attend to Lin-li and Shih-ch'i. I am aided by worthless ministers. They were the ones who suggested this exchange. I knew nothing of it.' And again Chao refused Ch'in. This time the king of Ch'in was infuriated and ordered Wei Hu-yi to attack Chao. He assaulted Ngo-yii, and Chao She went to its aid while Wei's Kung-tzu Chiu held his crack troops at An-yi to form a pincers about the Ch'in force. Defeated at Ngo-yii, Ch'in turned, and attacked Wei's city of Ch'i; Lien P'o relieved Ch'i and badly defeated the Ch'in forces. SPTK 6. 47b KY 41. 4
258 The instrument of madness Cheng T'ung came north to have audience with the king of Chao. The king said to him, 'You are a po-shih of great erudition from the south, what will you teach us?' 'Alas, I am but a simple southern rustic', replied Cheng T'ung, 'and unworthy of your questions. But since the king has called me before him, can I remain silent? 'When I was young, then, I used to teach warfare.' T don't care for warfare', interrupted the king. Cheng T'ung clapped his hands together, threw back his head and laughed. 'Warfare is considered the instrument of madness1 everywhere 1 With Yokota,ffl.£=£E 3$.
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and I guessed that you would not care for it. Once I spoke to King Chao of Wei about weapons and he also said, "I do not enjoy weapons." Then I asked him if his conduct was going to emulate Hsu Yu, for Hsu Yu refused to be burdened with the cares of the empire, so of course he had no need to hear words on warfare.1 'But your majesty has accepted the trust of his ancestors and wants his temples at peace, his lands intact, and his altars supplied with sacrifices, does he not?' 'I do.' 'Well, let us suppose there is a man who carries with him the pearl of Sui-hou and the Ch'ih-ch'iu armband [?] as well as goods valued at ten thousand in gold. Now he stops the night in an uninhabited place. Inside he does not have the protection of Meng Pen or the deterrent of Ch'eng Ching and Ch'ing Chi, while outside he has protection from neither bow nor crossbow. It is clear he will not spend more than a night abroad before someone harms him. 'At the moment there are powerful and greedy states on your majesty's borders and they covet your land. They will not hearken to reason nor are they persuaded by righteousness. If your majesty lacks implements for attack and defence, how will your generals fend off these states? If you lack weapons your neighbours, of course, will be quite satisfied.' 'May I hear your teachings?' asked the king. SPTK6.48b KY43.15
259 The king keeps faith with Lou Huan Lou Huan was going on a mission but he concealed his real intent. When he took leave of the king of Chao he said, 'Even though I have always given your majesty my best efforts and my most careful thought, I shall not live to have audience with you again.' When asked by Yao to serve, Hsu Yu (also called i& ft Wu-chung) was so distressed that he washed out his ears in a nearby river. 1
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"What manner of talk is this? asked the king. 'I shall write a letter showing how I value you and you will take it with you.' 'But, your majesty, have you not heard how it was with Kung-tzu Mou-yi in Sung? He dined well on meat there but Wen Chang, seeking to ingratiate himself with Sung, slandered Kung-tzu Mou-yi and Sung1 believed him. Now I am not as well placed with your majesty as Kung-tzu Mou-yi was in Sung, and those who will slander me are more numerous than one Wen Chang,2 which is why I will not have audience with you again before I die.' 'Work hard for me', replied the king, 'and I give you my word this will not happen.' Lou-tzu left then and a while later the town of Chung-mou defected to Liang. The king's usher came in to tell him of Lou Huan's duplicity but the king would not heed him. 'I have given Lou Huan my word!' he replied. SPTK 6.49b KY47.5
260 Ma Fu objects to a foreign commander of Chao's forces Yen enfeoffedjung Fen of Sung as Lord Kao-yang and dispatched him in command of an attack against Chao. The king of Chao thereupon gave up three cities in Chi-tung and fifty-seven towns including Ho-lu, Kao-t'ang, P'ing-yuan and Ling-ti, and ordered that they be transferred to Ch'i to induce the Lord An-p'ing, T'ien Tan, to command the Chao forces. Ma Fu said to Lord P'ing-yuan, 'Is the state so lacking in good men that we must ask for T'ien Tan to make him our general and cede three cities of Chi-tung and fifty-seven towns to Ch'i? Why, these were lands you fought for! We broke our armies and killed our generals to get these lands ceded to us by our enemies, yet you now give them away to Ch'i and beg her for T'ien Tan to be our general. In truth our state must be very much lacking in men. 1 With Pao Piao, % B should be * SS £ . 2 cf. 66 and 303 for much the same trope.
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'Why should you not put me in command? I once fled to Yen and lived there. They made me Protector of Shang-ku and I know all the important approaches and barriers in Yen. In a hundred days - less time than it will take the troops of the empire to gather - I can take Yen. Why then should you invite Lord An-p'ing here to be our general?' 'Abandon the idea, my general', commanded Lord P'ing-yiian. 'I have already spoken to our ruler and I am happy to say that he agrees with me; so there is nothing more for you to say.' 'There you are wrong', retorted Ma Fu. 'The reason you seek T'ien Tan is because you believe Ch'i's hatred of Yen is so fierce that it invades her very liver and blood. But I do not think about it in this fashion. 'If Lord An-p'ing is stupid he will be no match for Jung Fen. If Lord An-p'ing is intelligent he will never be willing to do battle with Yen in the first place. These are two statements one of which must apply to Lord An-p'ing 1 ; for if he is wise will he want to strengthen Chao in any way? Chao strengthened will prevent Ch'i's regaining hegemony. 'Now if Lord An-p'ing commands the troops of mighty Chao he will say "I will use them to resist the Yen generals and draw out the contest over several years. I will order officers, subalterns, and even the camp followers to expend their energies on ditches and earthworks and see to it that chariots, armour, flags, and pennants are all worn and broken. I will squander the contents of treasuries and arsenals and when the two states are exhausted by their contact with each other I will lead the Chao troops back. In this fashion two states will be worn out and no one will be the wiser."' [In this engagement they had to suspend their stoves to cook in them. They took three cities but the walls were great and they could not advance over a hundred rods. It turned out as Ma Fuhad predicted.] [?]2 SPTK 6.50a KY47.7
With the chodai I leave the next seven characters out - they are a garbled repetition of the previous line. 2 This 'scribe comment' is garbled. See Yasui's final note. 1
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26l The sword Wu-kan In the thirtieth year of King Hui-wen of Chao, Chao's minister, the Lord [TuJ-p'ing1 T'ien Tan, said2 to Chao She: 'General, I am happy with your strategy and tactics, the only thing I cannot agree with is the number of troops you employ. When large numbers of troops are used the people do not have time for farming and supplies and transport and workers cannot be furnished. This is the way to defeat oneself without having fought. 3 This is not how I would do it. 'I have heard that the great emperors and kings used only thirty thousand troops and the empire submitted to them! But you insist on having one hundred to two hundred thousand soldiers at your back before you will use them, and that is what I find fault with.' 'Sir,' replied Ma Fu,4 'you seem not only to misunderstand strategy but also to be ignorant of the tendency of our times. 'The sword Wu-kan 5 when used on flesh could cleave an ox or a horse asunder and against metal it could split bronze vessels. But if you struck it flat-sided6 against a pillar it would break into three pieces; if you chopped7 with it against a stone it would shatter into a hundred pieces. To go against a great state of our age with only thirty thousand troops is in a class with slapping your sword against a pillar or chopping at stone with it. 'Furthermore, Wu-kan was a rare and valuable sword. Its spine was not too thick for the tip to penetrate and the thigh of the blade was not too thin to withstand a cutting stroke. But it could have had both these qualities, yet if it had lacked the convenience of a ring-pommel, a grip, a guard knob, and rush bindings8 - if you had to grasp the naked blade to stab with it-your hand would be cut offbefore the point penetrated. 1 8
Wu Shih-tao says it should be An-p'ing, I agree. Agreeing with Yokota, E3 should be IB.
Lit., 'While remaining still.' i.e. Chao She 5 i.e., Wu's Kan-chiang. 6 Lit., 'thin (sided it) against, etc' 7 As Yokota suggests 1C = fR. 8 I follow Wu Shih-tao's notes for the most part. Yasui also agrees that hsii IK may befu hsii :3c 3C and St must mean 'wrapped' or 'bound'. 3
4
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'Could one really go against the empire1 with only thirty thousand troops and without the grip, guard and pommel furnished by an army of one hundred to two hundred thousand men? 'Also, sir, in ancient times the empire was divided into a myriad states; and though there were some large cities, no walls ever exceeded three hundred rods in circumference and no population exceeded three thousand families. A collection of thirty thousand troops to assault these would present no difficulties, of course! But in our day the myriad countries of ancient times have combined to become seven2 warring nations. Your own state of Ch'i, indeed, is one which has equipped troops in the hundreds of thousands and can keep them in the field through several harvests.3 Ch'i used a host of two hundred thousand to attack Ching 4 without pause for five years; Chao attacked Chung-shan with an array of two hundred thousand and returned after five years. Suppose Ch'i and Han were engaged with each other5 - either in siege or open battle - who would have the audacity to say, "Give me thirty thousand troops and I will save the situation?"! 'In our day city walls a thousand rods in circumference and towns populated by ten thousand familes are within sight of each other, but you would ask for your thirty thousand troops. They would scarcely be able to hold one corner of a thousand rod city wall and would be useless for a field engagement. Where would you use them when you got them?' Lord [Tu]-p'ing heaved a great sigh. 'I had not thought that far', he said. SPTK 6. 51a KY40. ib
Kambun misprints 3c T as 55 -h. This says literally, 'antiquity's myriad states have become the Chan-kuo (era's) seven'. This implies a self-consciousness amounting to anachronism for the name of the era should have appeared very much later than the era itself. 3 Pao's addition of a negative and his subsequent interpretation of the passage is ridiculous. 4 i.e., Ch'u. 5 After Yokota. 1
2
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THE BOOK OF CHAO - KING HSIAO-CH'ENG KING HSIAO-CH'ENG (265-245 B.C.) 262 The queen of Chao and the old commander
The queen of Chao had just assumed authority when Ch'in suddenly attacked. Chao sought succour of Ch'i, which country sent word that the queen's son, Prince Ch'ang-an, must be sent as hostage before the soldiers of Ch'i would come forth. The queen was unwilling, but her ministers so strongly importuned that she cried out to the courtiers: 'If anyone else urges that Prince Ch'ang-an be a hostage, I shall spit upon his face!' The elderly commander, Ch'u Che, asked audience of the queen. She contained her anger enough to greet him. When he entered he walked very slowly, and having reached her he apologized. 'It is because your minister's feet pain him that he cannot walk quickly,' he said, 'and because of this it has been long since I have had audience with your majesty. But while I was excusing my absence for this reason, it occurred to me that perhaps your majesty's own comfort might be similarly impaired, which is why I asked audience.' 'I go about only in the palanquin', she replied. 'The quality of your majesty's meals has not diminished?' 'I eat only to live.' 'Your minister lately had a similar disinclination for food, so he forced himself to walk a short distance each day. This slightly increased the appetite, and - it is good for one's health.' T am not able to do it', said the queen whose colour had somewhat subsided. 'Your majesty,' said the commander after a moment, 'I grow old; and though my son Shu-ch'i is worthless and quite young, I love him greatly. I beseech your majesty to grant him the black uniform of the palace guards so that he may win fame by risking his life for you.' 'It is granted, of course', replied the queen. 'How old is the boy?' 'Fifteen. But young as he is, I want to put him in your majesty's service before I fill my grave.' 'Does a brave man love and cherish a young son then?' asked the queen.
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'More than a woman!' The queen laughed. 'Ah, a woman is a different thing entirely!' 'Your Majesty,' said the commander, 'in my ignorance I assumed that you favoured your daughter, the Queen of Yen, over Prince Ch'ang-an.' 'My minister is completely mistaken! Prince Ch'ang-an is dearer to me. 'But when a parent loves his offspring he is ever mindful of planning far in advance for the child', replied the commander. 'When your majesty parted from your daughter you clasped her feet and wept because of the distance that would separate you. It made us sad, too. Nor did your majesty forget her when she had left. You thought of her at the time of sacrifice and prayed for her. Yet, this prayer was always, "Let her not return"! Was this not because your majesty was thinking far in the future for your child? - praying that her sons and grandsons would succeed each other as kings?' 'It was.' 'But your majesty,' continued the commander, 'before the present three generations, and back as far as the beginnings of the kingdom of Chao, have there been many sons and grandsons succeeding a king to his throne?' 'No, there have not', replied the Queen. 'Has it been only Chao? Have any of the other Lords been succeeded by their sons and grandsons?' 'I have not heard so.' 'This is why it is said, "An error of the present strikes the living, an error for the future strikes sons and grandsons"', said the commander. 'Surely it is not that among rulers of men sons and grandsons must be bad! Is it not rather that high position is given where no merit exists, that favoured treatment is obtained without effort, and that much wealth has come too easily to hand? 'Your majesty has raised Prince Ch'ang-an to high position, favoured him with the richest lands and given him much wealth, but you do not order him in this present instance to show mettle for his country. When a new royal tomb is raised, what reasons will Prince Ch'ang-an have had to devote himself to Chao? This, your majesty, is why I assumed that you must favour your daughter, the Queen of Yen, since your hopes for her were of longer range.'
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'Let it be done as my minister wishes', said the queen. Ch'ang-an was given a retinue of one hundred carts and went into Ch'i as hostage. And the troops of Ch'i were sent forth. [Tzu-yi, upon hearing of this remarked: 'Sons of rulers are but the flesh of the ruler's flesh. If it be so that they must not be trusted with honour for no merit, served without labour given in exchange, or granted great wealth, is it not even more true of the less lofty in rank?'] SPTK 6. 53a KY 48.18
263 The third dishonour 'Yesteryear, in the battle at Yao,' said the king of Ch'in to Kauig-tzu T'o, 'Han held the centre with the Lords and attacked Ch'in. We and Han touch at our boundaries and the borders of her fields are the limits of ours. Her land is hardly a thousand li in extent, but she havers and changes and will not hold to a treaty. There was a day when Ch'in fought Ch'u at Lan-t'ien and Han sent forth her best troops to assist us, but when we had no success she turned and took the side of Ch'u. She cleaves to no alliance but follows only her own advantage. Han is an affliction in our very belly and I plan to attack her.What think you?' 'If your majesty sends troops against Han', replied Kung-tzu T'o, 'she will be terrified. And being terrified she may offer much territory and little battle.' 'So be it', said the king and raised his armies. One column he sent against Ying-yang and one through the T'ai-hang Mountains. Han, in fear, sent Lord Yang-ch'eng to present apologies to Ch'in and offer the district of Shang-tang as a peace settlement. Han Yang was ordered to tell Chin T'ou, governor of Shang-tang, the following: 'Ch'in has sent two columns against us and we cannot withstand them. The king now orders a general levy and has given Shang-tang to Ch'in to sue for peace. I was sent to tell you this and you have got to obey.' 'There is a saying', replied Chin T'ou, 'that a man's capacities may be • no more than would fill a small jug but he'll still have wit enough not
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to throw the jug away. Now if the king gave such an order and I quit my post, both you and the king could suspect that I had not wits at all. I beg leave, sir, to ready all my garrison to meet Ch'in, and if we cannot beat Ch'in in battle then I shall die in it.' 1 Han Yang hurried to report this to the king. 'But we have already promised Shang-tang to Marquis Ying of Ch'in!' cried the king. 'If we do not now surrender it, it will seem to be trickery.' He sent Feng T'ing to replace Chin T'ou and Feng T'ing held out for thirty days before he sent an agent in secret to make a request of the king of Chao: 'Han cannot hold Shang-tang', said the agent. 'The district is to be given to Ch'in, but its citizens would rather serve Chao than Ch'in. There are seventy large cities which we are willing to turn over to your majesty; we merely await your majesty's decision.' The king was delighted and summoned Chao Pao2 to whom he told the plan: 'Han cannot hold Shang-tang. The district is to be given to Ch'in, but its citizens would rather serve Chao than Ch'in. 'Feng T'ing has sent his man to present me with Shang-tang. What think you?' asked the king. 'I have heard that the sages considered underserved profit to be a calamity', replied Chao Pao. 'What do you mean, undeserved? The people of Shang-tang love me for my righteousness !'3 'Ch'in has been feeding on Han's land like a silkworm on a leaf, replied Chao Pao. 'The centre is eaten away and the two halves of the country can no longer communicate. Of course Ch'in expects Shangtang for her own use. Han only makes this offer to Chao to marry off her own calamity into another's family. To have Ch'in undertake all the effort and Chao to reap all the profit is something we could not expect even if we were a powerful country and Ch'in were weak. How This seems to be a garbled crib from the Tso-chuan {Legge, p. 617) where exactly the same situation occurs, but where the text is more comprehensible. E£ H -fmay be a graphic corruption of Tso's & -?. In any case the replacement of Chin T'ou by Feng T'ing seems needless as far as the story is concerned. SC does not include the Chin T'ou episode. 2 i.e. Lord P'ing-yang. 3 Compare the opening passages of 256. 1
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then can we expect it when we are weak and she is powerful? If your majesty accepts this territory, can we say it is deserved? 'Furthermore, Ch'in is wealthy enough to use oxen for ploughing, and can transport food for her troops by river and provision her crack troops with the harvest from first grade lands. Her discipline is strict and policies are carried out. We cannot engage her, your majesty. Consider this carefully.' 'We could use a million troops for years and years and not take a single city,' cried the king angrily. 'Now that we can have seventy cities without raising a weapon, why should we not do it?' Chao Pao withdrew. The king summoned Chao Sheng and Chao Yu. 'Han cannot protect Shang-tang and has offered it to me - seventy cities in all', said the king. 'One could busy his troops for years and not take a single city', they replied. 'To gain seventy cities without moving is a great prize.' Chao Sheng was dispatched to receive the territory, and having arrived, he spoke to the governor as follows: 'My humble prince commissioned me his emissary to announce to you that I am empowered to present you with thirty thousand households in fief, to grant the prefects of Shang-tang a thousand households each, to raise the rank of subalterns by three grades, and to present each family with six gold pieces, in order to pacify the people.' Feng T'ing bowed his head and wept. 'That would be my third dishonour', he replied. 'I was ordered to defend my ruler's land and did not die for it but gave it to another: my first dishonour. My ruler gave the territory to Ch'in and I disobeyed his command: my second. To sell my ruler's land and live on the proceeds would be my third dishonour.' He refused thefief,returned to Han and told the king, 'Hearing that we could not hold Shang-tang, Chao sent her troops and took it.' Han told Ch'in that Chao had raised her troops and taken Shangtang and the king of Ch'in, furious, sent Kung-sun Ch'i 1 and Wang Yi against Chao at Ch'ang-p'ing. SPTK6. 55b KY 39. i i ii.e. Po Ch'i.
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264 Yii Ch' ing's gloomy predictions are fulfilled In the battle at Ch'ang-p'ing with Ch'in, Chao came off badly and lost her military governor of the district. The king of Chao summoned Lou Ch'ang and Yu Ch'ing: 'Not only has the army been unsuccessful but the governor is dead.1 Should we lash together2 our armour and pursue Ch'in?' 'It would be of no use', replied Lou Ch'ang. The best thing to do is send a plenipotentiary ambassador and negotiate.' 'You 3 speak of negotiation,' said Yii Ch'ing, 'as though our forces will be shattered only if we don't negotiate. However, Ch'in will control the negotiations. Does your majesty wish to destroy his army by negotiation while he holds talks with Ch'in or not?' 'Ch'in need send very little extra strength,' replied the king, 'and our army will be destroyed anyway.' 'If you are willing to listen to me in this matter,' said Yii Ch'ing, 'you will send emissaries to pay great sums to bind Ch'u and Wei to us. They will be eager to accept this wealth and so will admit our envoys. Once our envoys are welcomed in Ch'u and Wei, Ch'in must suspect that the empire is allying itself against her and will become anxious. When this happens, then you can negotiate without loss.' The king did not heed him but discussed negotiations with Lord P'ing-yang4 and then sent Cheng Chu to Ch'in. Ch'in accepted him. 'I have put negotiations in the hands of Chao Pao', said the king of Chao after he had summoned Yii Ch'ing again, 'and Ch'in has already accepted Cheng Chu. What think you?' 'That your majesty will never get negotiations and that the army is lost', replied Yii Ch'ing. 'Those who wish to congratulate the victor are already in Ch'in. Cheng Chu is an honoured citizen of Chao and being sent to Ch'in he will be made much of by the king of Ch'in and Following Seki. SC has ]£ ¥ ifi) IS and both Yokota and SPTK insist that the meaning here is to attack Ch'in. # V iffi £S It. should mean 'to roll up one's breast plate and flee'. I am following commentator rather than text. 8 SC has g f . 4 i.e. ChaoPao. 1
2
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Marquis Ying to impress the empire. Ch'u and Wei will certainly not come to Chao's rescue when she is negotiating with Ch'in and Ch'in knows they won't. So negotiation will never take place.' Indeed, Chao never did negotiate; the army was destroyed, and only after the king of Chao was captive in Ch'in were peace talks permitted. SPTK 6. 58a KY43. 12
265 Wen-po's mother Ch'in attacked Chao at Ch'ang-p'ing and defeated her badly. But then she pulled back her troops and sent a man with an offer to negotiate peace in exchange for six cities. Chao had not yet decided what to do when the king asked Lou Huan, who was newly arrived from Ch'in, 'What will happen if we give Ch'in the six cities and what if we don't?' Lou Huan excused himself saying, 'I could hardly know that your majesty.' 'But give me your feelings about it', said the king. 'No doubt your Majesty has heard of Kung-fu Wen-po's mother? replied Lou Huan. 'Kung-fu1 Wen-po died of a distemper while holding a post2 in Lu. Twice eight women in his household killed themselves ; but his mother, when she heard of his death, did not even weep. ' "How can one who has borne a son not weep at his death?" asked Wen-po's nurse.3 '"Confucius was a sage", replied the mother, "and when he was driven from Lu this man did not follow him. Now he is dead and sixteen women of his household have killed themselves to honour him. If this is the way it is, then he must have treated worthy men lightly but treated his women well." HH has •&• 3£. See HSWC 1/19, which is simply a repeat of the Li-chi version. SC identifies him as Kung-fu Ch'u. 2 HH has tt f o r t . 3 Following Wu Shih-tao's note.
1
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'This spoken from a mother's lips makes1 her seem righteous; but if it had come from a wife, she would be merely a jealous woman. 2 'In truth the words would be the same but when the speaker is different, the attitude of the listener is changed. Now I have just come from Ch'in, but if I say, "don't give the towns" it would be no plan at all; yet if I say, "give the towns", I am afraid your majesty will feel I am doing it for Ch'in. That is why I said I dare not answer you. If I were your adviser I could only tell you to give the towns, however.' 'I shall', said the king. Yu Ch'ing heard of it and came to have an audience. The king told him of Lou Huan's advice and Yii Ch'ing said 'A specious persuasion!' 3'Why do you say that?' 'Does your majesty believe that Ch'in withdrew her troops because she was exhausted, or that she could still have pressed forward but did not do so out of a tender concern for your majesty?' 'When she attacked us she did not have any strength to spare,' replied the king, 'she must have withdrawn because she was weary.' 'If Ch'in attacks in force, is not able to take an area, and retires because she is exhausted, and your majesty then makes Ch'in a gift of precisely what she could not take by force, he is assisting Ch'in in an attack upon himself, said Yii Ch'ing. 'In the coming years when Ch'in attacks, your majesty will have nothing to save himself with ! 4 ' The king repeated to Lou Huan what Yii Ch'ing had said and Lou 1 Following SPTK, &, not 2 . This is quite ambiguous but has obviously been understood in the manner translated for some time. SC has $6 S 'jealous wife' showing Shih-chi understands it as a wife, not just a woman, and Takigawa includes a T'ang period note by Lu Tsang-yung !M. X&ffl: 'If a mother truly knows her son she is a worthy mother. If someone dies and his women kill themselves and (one) wife does not even weep though what each knows is the same — people will call her a jealous wife.' This is how it has long been understood and appreciated - the item is in the Ku-iven Tz'u Lei-tsuan as an example of skill in speaking before a prince - but what sense does 'jealous' make in the context of this anecdote? I imagine that a tu-fu was simply the most awkward kind of woman for a man to find himself married to. The term also contains overtones of 'arrogance', which Chung-hua suggests, and 'vanity'. With these additional nuances admitted, the CKT anecdote is much more comprehensible. 3 With Seki there is a twenty-four character insert here which is not part of the story and I have not translated it. 4 i.e., towns to bargain with. 2
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Huan replied: 'Could. Yii Ch'ing know exactly how far Ch'in's strength would have taken her? In truth he cannot1 know. If you don't give Ch'in these miserable mud pies, are you not simply inviting her attack next year when you will have to cede her some of your inner regions in order to parley? 'I shall follow your instructions with respect,' replied the king, 'and can you see to it that next year Ch'in does not attack?' 'I cannot be responsible for that', said Lou Huan. 'In the past relations between the Three Chin and Ch'in have been good. Now, Ch'in lays no hand on Han and Wei but attacks only you. It must be that you do not show the respect for Ch'in that Han and Wei do. I am going to tell you how to prevent an2 attack: open your passes, send payments through them, bring your services with Ch'in up to the level and Han's and Wei's. Then, next year if Chao alone remains out of favour with Ch'in, your majesty will know that your respectfulness to Ch'in was still less than Han's and Wei's. But I cannot be responsible for a guarantee against attack.' The king told Yii Ch'ing what Lou Huan had said and Yu Ch'ing replied: 'If you don't parley now, Lou Huan says, and Ch'in attacks next year, you will have to cede her some inner territory; so you should parley now. But Lou Huan cannot be certain that Ch'in will not attack next year, so what good will it do to cede land? Next year will you again cede land which Ch'in could not take by force, in order to make terms with her? This is the way to destroy yourself. It is still better not to make terms. 'Ch'in is strong offensively but she could not take six towns. Chao could not defend them; but neither did we lose them, -and Ch'in was worn out and withdrew. Her troops must be weary. We should take five of our other towns and use them in order to ally the empire3 with us in an attack against a tired Ch'in. This way we will lose our towns to the empire but will be compensated by Ch'in and our state will still benefit. Is there any comparison between doing that and sitting here ceding land to weaken ourselves and strengthen Ch'in? Following Yokota, no negative between Sf and M. M S , like ¥ TL 'ungrateful'? 'an attack because you do not show enough respect'? 3 i.e., Five States. 1 !
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'And Lou Huan's statement that the reason Ch'in is on good terms with Han and Wei but attacks Chao must be because your majesty does not serve Ch'in with the diligence shown by Han and Wei, is simply a way to make your majesty provide Ch'in with five towns each year. That will exhaust your territory before you have raised a hand. If Ch'in asks you to cede land again in coming years will you do it? If you don't you will lose all your previous offerings and still provoke calamity from Ch'in. If you do give each time you will soon have none left to offer her. 'They say the powerful always want to attack while the weak cannot even protect what they have - well, sitting still and obeying Ch'in will supply Ch'in with much territory at no loss to her armies. This will strengthen Ch'in and weaken Chao and there will certainly be no end to the plans an ever more powerful Ch'in will make against an increasingly weakened Chao. And Ch'in is a wild animal with no mind for propriety or righteousness, so her demands will never end. But there is a limit to your majesty's lands. The only outcome possible from unlimited demands upon limited land is that Chao will cease to exist. This is why I said it was a specious argument. You must1 not give the land, your majesty!' 'I agree', said the king. Lou Huan heard him and came in for an audience, and the king again told him what Yu Ch'ing had said. 'It is not that way, though', said Lou Huan. 'Yu Ch'ing has understood the first part but not the second. When Ch'in and Chao engage, what will the empire be pleased to do? They will say, " W e will use the mighty and take advantage of the weak. Chao's troops are being pressed by Ch'in's armies. Those in the empire who want to congratulate the victor should all be waiting in Ch'in!" 'So, the best thing you can do is to seek peace by offering even more land in order to trick the empire into believing that you have mollified Ch'in. Otherwise, the lords will seize upon Ch'in's anger and Chao's weakness and divide your state up like a melon among them. If Chao is lost you will have no need for plans concerning Ch'in. Make this the deciding factor, your majesty, and do not change your mind.' 1
Kambun misprints >&> for >&.
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Yu Ch'ing heard and again had audience with the king. 'How dangerous are the plans Lou-tzu makes for Ch'in! If Chao, having been beset by Ch'in, were to cede Ch'in more land, would this not raise the suspicions of the empire? And what soothing effect would it have on Ch'in? And would it not reveal even more clearly our weakness to the empire? For this reason I say do not give the towns - but do not merely refuse to give them: Ch'in asks six towns of your majesty; use five of them to bribe Ch'i with. Ch'i and Ch'in are mortal enemies. When Ch'i receives five towns from your majesty she will join in an attack westward on Ch'in, and will agree to such an arrangement even before you have had time to finish your request. In this fashion you will sacrifice land to Ch'i but you will get your compensation in Ch'in and in a single stroke you can unite the Three States' friends and reverse the positions that Ch'in and you hold today.1 'Good', said the king of Chao and sent Yu Ch'ing east for audience with the king of Ch'i to make plans with him against Ch'in. Yu Ch'ing had not returned before Ch'in had sent an envoy to Chao [seeking an armistice]. Lou Huan heard of it and fled. SPTK 6. 58b KY 42. 10
266 Lu-lien saves Chao by his good advice but refuses to take a reward When Ch'in surrounded Chao's capital of Han-tan, King An-hsi of Wei dispatched his general, Chin Pi, to the rescue of Chao. But he, fearful of Ch'in's armies, halted at T'ang-yin and would advance no farther. The king of Wei then arranged for his visiting general, Hsin-yuan Yen, to slip into Han-tan. As a result [of the information he carried] Chao Sheng, general of the city, reported the following to the king of Chao: 'The reason Ch'in presses its siege of Han-tan so savagely is that she Following Yokota's interpretations. He considers the 'Three States' to be Han, Wei (old allies of Chao) and Ch'i, a new ally. 1
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had a contest of strength with King Min of Ch'i for the title of Emperor of China, and because of Ch'i she lost1. Now Ch'i is weaker2 than ever before and only one power, Ch'in, lords it over the world. So it is not as if she must have Han-tan, but rather that she seeks the title of Emperor of China. If the country of Chao should make earnest representations which recognized King Chao of Ch'in as Emperor, Ch'in would be happy to dismiss her troops and withdraw.' But Chao Sheng himself seemed still to be of two minds about the matter when Lu Chung-Uen, in his roving, came to Chao. He saw that Ch'in had surrounded the city and heard that a general from Wei hoped to make Chao recognize Ch'in as Emperor. He gained audience with Chao Sheng and asked, 'What will be the issue of this affair?' 'How can I speak of the outcome?' asked Chao Sheng. 'They broke our force of a million men on our border lands and now in our very midst they surround Han-tan and we cannot drive them off. The king of Wei sent his visiting general, Hsin-yiian Yen to bid us recognize Ch'in as emperor - indeed, he is here this moment. How dare I speak of the outcome?' 'Heretofore I had thought of you as a nobleman of virtue, 3 ' said Lu Chung-lien, 'but from this time forward I shall be aware that you are not. Where is Hsin-yiian Yen, the visitor from Liang? I shall take it upon myself to rebuke him for you and send him back.' 'Allow me to present you to him, sir', said Chao Sheng and sought out Hsin-yiian Yen. 'There is with us now a certain Lu-lien from the east', said Chao Sheng to Hsin-yiian Yen. 'I should like to present him to you and I ask you to receive him.' 'I have heard of this Lu', replied Hsin-yiian Yen. 'He is a highly placed official in Ch'i. I, however, am minster to another state and am on a mission which has its own requirements. I am not willing to receive him.' 1 'because of Ch'i she lost' - literally, 'and after that she returned (the title of) Emperor because of Ch'i'. I am not clear about this. I suppose 'returned' to be in the sense of'give up'. 2 Actually, 'King Min of Ch'i is weaker, etc' The chronology of this entire piece is fantastic. 8 Literally, 'a good noble of the empire'. This is analogous to Lu Chung-lien's
title of ? e T 2 ; ± .
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'I have already divulged why you are here', said Chao Sheng. Hsin-yiian consented. When Lu-lien was presented he said nothing. Hsin-yuan said to him, 'I have been watching the people in this beleaguered city and they all seek something of Chao Sheng. But now I look upon your jade countenance, Master, and see that you seek nothing from Chao Sheng. Wherefore then do you remain in the city and why do you not depart?' 'Common folk have always thought that Pao Chiao 1 could not have sought his own death with equanimity', replied Lu-lien. 'They have always been wrong. Today they do not understand what I do and so believe that it must be something for myself. 'But the country of Ch'in has abandoned morality and promotes men for the number of heads they take. It has managed its officers by power and its people by slavery. If that unscrupulous man should now be titled Emperor of China so that his excesses become standards of right action throughout the world 2 then I for one shall cast myself into the Eastern Sea and die! I shall never be his subject. However, the reason I wished to see the general was that I hoped to aid Chao.' 'What can you do to help her?' 'I can cause Liang and Yen to aid her. Ch'i and Ch'u will certainly come to her aid', Lu-lien replied. 'I could ask Yen for an alliance.3 As for Liang, I am from Liang myself. Pray tell me, sir, how can you cause Liang to assist?' asked the general. T shall be able to because Liang has not yet perceived the damage it will do her should Ch'in be titled Emperor. When she becomes aware of it she must come to the aid of Chao.' 'And what will be this damage coming from Ch'in's title of Emperor?' asked Hsin-yiian Yen. 'In the past, King Wei of Ch'i was a righteous man. He led all the 'Pao Chiao' - See HSWC, p. 35, n. 1; p. 36, n. 8. 'so that his excesses shall become', etc. - Wu Shih-tao notes SC's commentaries and says: 'This sentence is difficult to make out.' I agree with him, but I think my version has justification. See, however, Wang Nien-sun's interpretation given by Takigawa, SC 83/6. 3 'I could ask for an alliance' - Perhaps, 'have already asked for an alliance' would better account for the final particle, but it would make less sense with the rest of the passage. 1
2
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Feudal Lords in respectful submission to the court of Chou. But Chou was then weak and penurious and none but Ch'i was willing to go to court. 'There passed more than a year and King Lieh of Chou died. All the other Lords set out for the obsequies but Ch'i's envoy started late. Chou was angered and sent word saying, "The skies have rent and the earth has crumbled, the Son of Heaven has left his mat; if the minister from our eastern marches, T'ien Ying of Ch'i, arrives late with his respects, he shall be executed!" The king of Ch'i went into a towering rage and cursed Chou as the whelp of a slave-girl. The world laughed at the spectacle of him who had gone to court when Chou was alive, cursing him when he was dead. But in truth he could not suffer the demands of Chou. Now if the true Son of Heaven could be this unreasonable, you need not expect any less from the other.' 'But have you never seen serfs', asked Hsin-yiian Yen, 'ten of whom will do the bidding of one master? Is it that their strength cannot overcome him, or their knowledge? No. They fear him.' 'Then Liang's relationship to Ch'in is that of a serf?' 'It is.' 'In that case I can cause the king of Ch'in to boil the king of Liang alive', replied Lu Chung-hen. The general's countenance fell and he was sombre. 'Alas, sir, surely you overstate it. How could you have the king boiled alive?' 'If you will allow me I shall tell you', replied Lu Chung-lien. 'Of old Marquis Kuei, Marquis Ngo and King Wen were vassals under King Chou. Kuei had a child he loved much and sent her to the palace of Chou. Chou thought her ugly and had Marquis Kuei boiled alive. Marquis Ngo reproved the king sharply and argued with him heatedly, so Chou had him chopped to pieces. When King Wen heard of this he lamented aloud and Chou had him confined in the treasury at Yu-li for one hundred days, after which he would have executed him. Why then could not Ch'in hail any of the kings who call him emperor to his own boiling or flaying? 'When King Min of Ch'i went to Lu, his whipbearer, Yi-wei-tzu, went with him and asked of the Lu people, "How do you intend to honour my ruler?" Said they, "We shall give him the ten-fold animal sacrifice of a lord." "What ritual is that to use for my ruler", cried
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Yi-wei-tzu. "He is the Son of Heaven, and when the Son of Heaven goes on tour his Feudal Lords fling open their palace gates and surrender their latch-bars and keys to him; they hold their mats and bench-tables and wait in the lower hall for him to finish dining, and when the Son of Heaven has eaten they retire to await his court." When they heard this, the people of Lu shot home their gate-bolts and refused to receive him. 'Having failed at Lu, King Min was about to journey to Hsiieh and had asked safe passage through Tsou. The ruler of Tsou has just died and King Min conceived a desire to attend his obsequies. Yi-wei-tzu told the bereaved of Tsou that the Son of Heaven would attend, and explained that their ruler would have to remove the coffin - toward which he must keep his back [?] - to the north side of the area in order to face south. In this manner the Son of Heaven would mourn facing south. "If this is how it must be," declared the assembled ministers of Tsou, "then we all had as lief fall upon our swords!" King Min dared not enter the kingdom of Tsou. 'Now the ministers of Tsou and Lu could hardly keep food in the mouths of their living or jade in the mouths of their dead, but when King Min tried to force the usages of an emperor upon them they refused him. Today, however, both Ch'in and Liang are countries of ten thousand chariots. Each can call on other powerful states and each calls the other "king" in its dealings. But at the sight of Ch'in winning one battle, ministers of the Three Chin suddenly wish to see Ch'in Emperor of China. They show less spine than did the lowest lackeys and slave-girls of Tsou and Lu! 'But Ch'in will be Emperor willy-nilly! He will then begin replacing the ministers of the Feudal Lords by taking positions from those he calls "unworthy" and giving them to those he deems "virtuous", taking power from those he hates and giving it to those he favours. He will get his own daughters and even the least of his concubines married to the Lords and into the palace of Liang. Then let me see the King of Liang find a moment's peace! And you, my good general, what will you do to gain favour then?' Hsin-yuan Yen arose, made a double obeisance to Lu Chung-lien and apologized. 'Until today I thought you to be a mere tool of others, but I now know that you are unique among "officers of the
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empire". I now beg to withdraw and I shall not dare, henceforth, to mention "Ch'in "and "Emperor" in the same breath.' When the Ch'in generals heard of this they withdrew their troops fifty li from the city and came upon Wu-chi, prince of Wei, who had taken over command of Chin Pi's force to attack Ch'in and save Chao. Ch'in then drew offher armies entirely. Chao Sheng would have granted Lu Chung-lien title to lands, but Lu Chung-lien refused him thrice and never did accept. While Chao Sheng was drinking with him he felt the pleasure of his wine and coming forward to Lu-lien he thrust a thousand pieces of gold upon him as a gift. Lu-lien laughed. 'The thing most prized by an "officer of the empire" is to have settled troubles, solved problems, or brought an end to confusion without having accepted a thing for doing so. If he takes anything for his acts he is simply a merchant. This I am unwilling to be.' He bade farewell to Chao Sheng and left. Never again was he seen alive. "• SPTK6.62b KY43.13
267 Lord P'ing-yuan takes the advice of Kung-sun Lung and refuses a fief Ch'in attacked Chao. The Lord P'ing-yuan, Chao Sheng, dispatched a man to seek help from Wei and Lord Hsin-ling of Wei 1 sent forth troops. When the Wei forces reached the walls of Han-tan the Ch'in troops withdrew. Yii Ch'ing wanted to use this incident to increase Lord P'ing-yuan holdings, so he said to the king of Chao: 'It was the power of Lord P'ing-yuan which avoided harm to the state without so much as using a soldier or breaking a weapon. Now to use a man's power and neglect to reward his achievement is not proper.' 'True', said the king and increased Lord P'ing-yiian holdings. Kung-sun Lung heard of it and gaining audience with Lord P'ingyuan he said: U.e., Wei Wu-chi.
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'You were given the fief of Tung Wu-ch'eng without ever having overturned an army or killed an enemy general. All the heroic officers of Chao deserve a higher rank than you, excellency, but you have been made chief minister because you are related to the royal house. 'You took the fief of Tung Wu-ch'eng instead of refusing it because of your lack of merit, and you accepted the seal of minister of Chao instead of refusing it because of a lack of ability. Now that, for the first time, you have succeeded in relieving the state's troubles, you immediately want an increase in your fief. In this manner the king's relatives will get the fiefs while the king's citizens do all the good. If I were to make your plans for you, excellency, I would say you should refuse an increase in land.' 'I accept your commands,' said Lord P'ing-yuan, and he refused the fief. SPTK 6. 67a KY43.11
268 Liang Yi discovers why the king of Ch'in three times refused to receive Chaos envoy Ch'in attacked Wei and took Ning-yi. All the Lords congratulated her but the king of Chao sent his congratulations thrice and three times his envoy was returned without being given audience. The king was distressed and spoke to his attendants: 'Because the power of Ch'in overcame Ning-yi and she now controls Ch'i and Chao, the Lords all sent Ch'in their congratulations. My felicitations were sent but my envoy was thrice refused. It would seem that Ch'in is about to attack us. What can be done?' 'To send an envoy thrice and have him refused thrice must be because the one to whom he is envoy finds the man improper', replied his attendants. 'However, there is Liang Yi, the debator; your majesty might try him.' Liang Yi came in person, accepted the commission and left. When he reached Ch'in he sent the king a letter as follows: Your majesty has increased his territory by the addition of Ning-yi and the Lords have sent him their congratulations. My rustic prince
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felt he could not remain unmoved but that he too should add his, and so he dispatched one of his subordinates with gifts. Three times this man came to your court and was refused entry. Now, if the envoy did not offend you, please do not refuse me the pleasure of offering my congratulations. If the envoy offended you, we would be pleased to hear your complaint of him. 'Chao's envoy to me must obey me in all I say. Then I will accept the letter and gifts. If he will not do what I ask, he must return', said the king of Ch'in. 'I came on purpose to attend to whatever was the desire of your great state', replied Liang Yi. 'Would I dare find fault? I ask only to carry out whatever order your majesty may have for me and question nothing.' The king then gave him an audience and said: 'Chao Pao and Lord P'ing-yiian have many times cheated me. If Chao is now willing to have these two men executed, all will be well. If not, I am going to ask the Lords to follow me and seek our fate beneath the walls of Han-tan.' 'Chao Pao and Lord P'ing-yiian are younger brothers of my king's mother in just the same relationship to him as Lord She-yang and Lord Ching-yang are to your majesty', protested Liang Yi. 'Now your majesty is known throughout the empire for his filial behaviour. Whatever garment you find comfortable on your body and whatever delicacy is especially pleasant to the taste, you share without exception with Lord She-yang and Lord Ching-yang. Whatever be the carriage or mounts or clothing of She-yang and Lord Chingyang these your majesty also rides or wears. 'I have heard that the phoenix will never return if its nest has been overturned and its eggs destroyed; no more will the unicorn go where a foetus has been cut from the womb or a child burned. If you were to insist on my obeying your order and reporting your words to my king, he would be afraid and would not dare disobey. But would this act not wound Lord She-yang and Lord Ching-yang to the quick?' 1 'So be it', replied the king of Ch'in. 'Just forbid Chao Pao and Lord P ing-yuan a post in government.' 1 Like the unicorn and phoenix they would believe the king of Ch'in just as capable of harming them as he was of having uncles of the king of Chao killed.
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'If my prince cannot successfully caution his mother's brothers about their dislike of Ch'in then they will be banished, and in any case they will be forbidden a part in government in order to conform with the wishes of your great state.' This made the king of Ch'in happy. He accepted the gifts from Chao's ambassador and treated him very well. SPTK 6. 68a KY 48. 14
269 The king of Chao's suspicions allayed Chao dispatched Yao Chia to arrange a treaty with both Han and Wei. The latter states treated him like a close friend1. Mao Chii spoke to the king of Chao on Yao Chia's behalf: 'Chia is your faithful minister, your majesty, and both Han and Wei want him for themselves, which is why they treat him so generously. They hope they can make you drive him from you so that they can receive him. Now if you do so, it will give those two states exactly what they desire, and you will make your faithful minister a criminal. It would be far better if you did not drive him away, thereby demonstrating your own worthiness and frustrating the two states' attempts to get Yao Chia for themselves.' SPTK 6. 70a KY 48.15
270 Chao in Lord Chien-hsin s hands Someone said to Chancellor P'i, 'Chao is extremely weak yet she hands herself over to Lord Chien-hsin, the enemy of She Meng. Why? Because it is believed that the Alliance will be successful. But if Ch'i does not join, then Lord Chien-hsin will know that there is no profit in the Alliance. Will he then cleave to what is unprofitable and spite 1
Which aroused the king of Chao's suspicions.
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Ch'in? If he will not anger Ch'in for the sake of no merit he will send out troops to help Ch'in attack Wei. When Ch'u and Chao are split off from Ch'i, her plans for power will be complete. [P]1 'If Chao under Chien-hsin and Ch'u under Ch'un-shen stay with The Alliance they will find no merit and anger Ch'in. If they split from Ch'i and destroy Wei they will find it profitable and will be on good terms with Ch'in. Therefore will these two men mistake merit for no merit and believe it to be wisdom?' SPTK6.7ob KY 39. 14
271 Chancellor P'i receives further warnings Someone said to Chancellor P'i, 'Wei has killed Lu Liao of Ch'in. Troops from Lesser Wei have lost their town of Pei-yang, and Wei's capital of Liang is in danger. 'The fief of Ho-chien is unsettled and Chao is in peril. The Marquis Wen-hsin, Lii Pu-wei, has not got what he wants and the Three Chin threaten to break away. At the moment Wei's insult is not avenged and Chao is a rising threat again. Marquis Wen-hsin's troubles increase. 'Now if Ch'i does not join the Alliance the Three Chin will be suspicious of the Alliance. If her worry becomes great enough Wei will sue for peace regardless of other plans. Being concerned, she will most diligently serve Ch'in, and an arrangement between Ch'in and Wei will be accomplished before an inch of land has been ceded. 'On the heels of the attack by Ch'u and Wei on Ch'i, Ch'in will come along and swallow up Chao by herself. Ch'i and Chao will both surely perish from this.'2 SPTK 6. 71a KY 39. 15 As the chodai says: 'This item is most difficult to understand - probably because of the many, many wrong characters.' My version is simply a translation based on Yokota's notes. Yasui has another set of explanations which might be equally valid. 2 In so far as anything coherent can be made of this item the implication would seem to be that Chao should settle Ho-chien on Lii Pu-wei to prevent the troubles forecast here. 1
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272 Three refusals and two wrongs A Wei emissary on behalf of Lord P'ing-yiian asked for an alliance with Chao. Thrice he requested it but the king would not grant it. He left the audience and happened upon Yii Ch'ing. 'Please go in and speak for our alliance', said he. Yii Ch'ing entered and the king said, 'Three times Lord P'ing-yuan requested an alliance for Wei today, but I would not grant it. What think you?' 'Wei was at fault', replied Yii Ch'ing. 'Just so. This is why I would not allow it.' 'Then your majesty was also at fault.' 'How so?' fin any intercourse between strong and weak states the strong one is supposed to profit and the weaker to suffer'j/'replied Yu Ch'ing. 'Today Wei asked for an alliance and the king would not grant one. In this case Wei was asking for harm and the king was refusing to take profit. This is why I said Wei was wrong and the king was also wrong.' SPTK 6. 72a KY 42. 7
273 Lord P'ing-yuan hears his plan denounced and takes the point Lord P'ing-yuan said to Feng Chi, 'I want to attack north through Shang-tang and send forth troops into Yen. How think you?' 'It will not do', replied Feng Chi. 'Let us remember the time the Ch'in generals Lord Wu-an and Kung-sun Ch'i with the impressiveness of seven victories behind them, attacked the son of Ma Fu and fought beneath the walls of Ch'ang-p'ing. Here they defeated Chao badly and then took their remaining troops to surround Han-tan. Chao used its defeated and dispirited citizens and its worn troops to defend her capital city and Ch'in exhausted itself below Han-tan's walls.
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Ch'in never did break Han-tan's defences. This happened because attack is difficult and defence is easy., 'Today Chao has not the prestige of seven victories behind her nor does Yen have the disaster1 of Ch'ang-p'ing behind her. The seven defeats have not afflicted Yen, yet you wish to send a weak Chao against a strong Yen. In effect you would have a weak Chao attack in the same manner as strong Ch'in did and force a strong Yen to put up a defence in the same fashion a weak Chao once did. Meanwhile mighty Ch'in is training her troops to seize upon Chao's weakness. This is exactly why2 once strong Wu perished while a weak Yiieh became Hegemon. 'For these reasons it appears to me that Yen should not be attacked.' 'Well said indeed!' exclaimed Lord P'ing-yuan. SPTK 6. 72b KY 42. 8
274 Kung-tzu Mous parting advice Lord P'ing-yuan said to Lord P'ing-yang: 'Kung-tzu Mou had spent some time in Ch'in and being about to go east he bade Marquis Ying 3 farewell. "You are about to set forth yet you leave me no teaching", complained Marquis Ying. "Oh, even had you not ordered me to I should have done this service for you. Understand then, to the highly placed wealth comes even if they do not hope for it, to the wealthy grain and meat come even if unbidden, to those who have all the grain and all the meat comes profligacy even if unwished for, and to the profligate come death and destruction even though unwanted. This is what has happened to many men for many ages in the past." Marquis Ying replied, "You have been generous with your teaching."' Meaning Ch'in, though she won at Ch'ang-p'ing, did lose many troops and Yen did not. 2 Kambun misprints Ef Sff for Sff &.. 8 Syhas Jang-hou instead of Ying-hou. 1
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'Now that I have heard this', responded Lord P'ing-yuan, 'I shall never forget it. Do you likewise!' 'I shall', said Lord P'ing-yang. SPTK 6. 73 KY 42. 9
275 The citizen ofChao Someone persuaded Chancellor Chang 1 saying: 'How can your excellency depise the people of Chao and still expect them to be sufficient for your needs? How can you make them your enemies and expect them to love you? Glue and varnish are the stickiest of substances but they cannot join two objects which are separated from one another.2 The down of wild geese is the lightest of all things yet it cannot lift itself. But let it be raised on the pure breeze and it will fly right across the four seas. Therefore we say that what makes matters simple and achieves merit is instrumentality.3 'Now Chao is a great and mighty state with the Chang and Fu Rivers before it, Ch'ang-shan to its right, Ho-chien on its left and Tai to the north. Those who wear its armour, one million strong, have restrained mighty Ch'i; and for forty years Chao has denied Ch'in what she wants. When viewed thus Chao is something even an entire empire cannot take lightly; yet you would exchange mighty Chao for little Liang which you long for but cannot have. If I were you I should find this an undesirable state of affairs.' 'Good,' said Chang, 'henceforth when many are gathered together all will speak well of Chao's citizens and customs.' SPTK 6. 73b KY43. 14 1 a 3
Formerly of Liang (?) Lit., 'unite the distant'. Lit., 'cause', H.
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276 The piece of cloth Lord. Chien-hsin was Chao's favourite. When Wei Mou passed through Chao, the king went forth to meet him but returned immediately to his seat. In front of him was a foot of stuff he had told his tailor to make into a cap. The tailor retired when he saw the guest arrive. 'You will be driving a tardy carriage because of this visit, sir,' said the king, 'but I am happy you came to me, for I wish to hear from you how the empire should be ruled.' 'If your majesty held his country in as much esteem as he does this foot of cloth, it would be well governed indeed,' replied Wei Mou. The king was hurt and it showed on his face: 'My ancestors could not have known how unworthy I was when they left the state in my care, but I certainly do not regard it that lightly!' 'Do not be angry at my words, your majesty,' said. Wei Mou, 'allow me to persuade you of their truth. Let me say: "The king has here a foot of stuff. Why does he not order that attendant to make a cap of it?" "The attendant does not know how to make caps", the king will reply. And I will say, "Though he spoiled a cap while making it, would this harm the king's state?" Yet the king waits for one with the skill to do the job before he employs him. But in matters of the state it is perhaps not so - for his altars are crumbling and deserted, his ancestors drink no blood, yet the king entrusts the state not to the skilled but to the pretty. 'The king's ancestor with his hsi-shou1 and Ma Fu in the harness once drove against the Ch'in, but Ch'in bore the shock. Now your majesty timidly trots Chien-hsin toward a clash with Ch'in and I fear Ch'in will shatter his sideboards.' SPTK6.74b KY43.16 This would be Kung-sun Yen whose title was hsi-shou. The image is better with only his title given because it leaves the vision of a rhinoceros (hsi) and a horse (ma) together in harness. Ma Fu was a soubriquet for Chao K'uo or Chao She.
1
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277 Lord Chien-hsin s beauty Someone said to Lord Chien-hsin: 'Your excellency serves the king with his beauty and Ch'i serves him. with his wisdom. Beauty fades with age but wisdom increases. If a daily increasing wisdom challenges an ever decreasing beauty you will be in difficulty.' 'But what can be done about that?' asked Lord Chien-hsin. 'If one tried to keep pace with the stallion Chi one would be exhausted inside of five li. But if one harnessed Chi and drove him, one could cover much distance and still be fresh. Your excellency should order Ch'i to harness himself alone to the chariot of state and move it in a manner he alone chooses. While you remain in Han-tan, let him manage the affairs of the state internally and Chao's foreign relations externally. Soon Ch'i will commit so many faults they will defy telling. Thereupon you may mention them to the king and take Ch'i severely to task. In this fashion you will "break Ch'i's axle".' Lord Chien-hsin bowed twice and took the advice. He went in to the king and told him to entrust much to Ch'i, and later he severely blamed Ch'i for failures; and in less than a year Ch'i fled. SPTK 6. 75a KY 43. 17
278 Lord Chien-hsin advised to give Ho-chien to Lii Pu-wei K'u Ch'eng-ch'ang said to Lord Chien-hsin: 'All the other members of the Alliance think that Chao is a member simply because she hates Ch'in. Why is this? Wei killed Lii Liao and the empire still consorted with her. Now Chao merely takes back Hochien, which is certainly no more grave than the assassination of Lii Liao. Your excellency should cease all pretence and embarrass (?) Marquis Wen-hsin 1 by [giving him Ho-chien] then all will know H.e. Lii Pu-wei.
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the truth 1 about Chao. If the Alliance succeeds, what troubles could possibly deny Ho-chien to us? If it fails what would it profit Chao to have taken Ho-chien?' SPTK 6. 76a KY44. 18
279 Merchants and ministers compared Hsi Hsieh had audience with Lord Chien-hsin. 'The Marquis Wen-hsin, Lu Pu-wei, is disrespectful to me', complained Lord Chien-hsin. 'When Ch'in sends men here to serve, I give them ministerial posts and the rank of wu-tai-fu. Why should Lii Pu-wei be so disrespectful to me?' 'I believe those who serve their states nowadays are not as good as merchants', replied Hsi Hsieh. 'Do you mean you find merchants worthier than officials?' snapped Lord Chien-hsin. 'Not at all. But the good merchant does not wrangle with people over the price for buying and selling. He simply pays shrewd attention to the season. When the times produce low prices he buys. Even though he may buy something for a relatively high price it will be cheaper than he could buy it in times of high prices. When the season forces high prices he sells. Even though he sells for a low price it will still be higher than he could have got in times of low prices. 2
M
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28O The tiger's paw Wei Chieh 1 said to Lord Chien-hsin: 'Once there was a man who set a snare and caught a tiger. The tiger, in a frenzy, gnawed off his paw and fled. This was not because the tiger does not cherish his paws but in balance he would not save his paw, an inch around, and so harm his whole body, seven feet long. At present your state is of more importance than a seven-foot body and your worth to the king is less than the inch-round paw was to the tiger. I trust your excellency will consider this carefully. SPTK 6. 77a KY 44. 20
28l War-dress in the palace Ch'in attacked Chao and the sound of drums and cymbals was heard in the depths of the Pei-t'ang palace. Hsi Pei said: 'The attack of Ch'in on Chao is not as critical as that. This is simply summoning enemy troops, and is undertaken only because there is someone among the great ministers who acts for Ch'in's Coalition. If your majesty wishes to know who it is, summon your ministers together at early court tomorrow and question them, The first one to mention "Coalition" will be the man.' As expected, Lord Chien-hsin was the first to mention the Coalition. SPTK 6. 77a KY 44. 21
282 King Hsiao-cKeng shows his trust Li Po, a Ch'i man, had audience with King Hsiao-ch'eng. King Ch'eng was pleased by him and made him Protector of Tai-chun. Not 1 Or Wei K'uei.
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long afterward an informer told the king that Li Po was defecting; but the king, who was eating at the time, did not even pause. Soon after that the informer came again, but Hsiao-ch'eng said nothing. After that Li Po sent an envoy to the court who said, 'Ch'i raised an army to attack Yen but I feared she might only be saying she attacks Yen while actually attacking Chao. For this reason I sent our troops to prepare our defence. Today, however, Yen and Ch'i are joined in battle, so I ask permission to probe their weakness, the better to gain more territory from them.' From that time on all who served King Hsiao-ch'eng away from the palace knew they were not held in suspicion by him within it. SPTK 6. 77b KY 44. 22
283 The king of Chao receives a letter urging the importance of CK i s friendship Someone sent a letter to the king of Chao on behalf of Ch'i saying: I could in a single audience cause fame and wealth to come to your majesty while you sat on your throne. It is a matter to wonder at that your majesty does not try an audience with me, if only to test me to the limit. It must be because your majesty's ministers all maintain that I am incapable that makes it so difficult for me to see you. Those who claim that I lack ability do so only because they hope to use your majesty's armies to further their own plans. Or if not for that reason, then because they have already prejudiced your country's relations with some other state. Or, if for neither of these reasons, then because they lack wisdom. Barring that, they hope to frighten your majesty with their importance to the empire in order to make you accept the line of action they advocate. If I cause Ch'i to serve you, you will be able to destroy Yen, you will be able to destroy Han and Wei, and you will be able to attack Ch'in and to isolate Ch'in.
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If I cause Ch'i to confer upon your majesty the honoured name,1 who in all the empire would not confer it on you also? If I cause Ch'i to present you lands, who in all the empire would refuse you land? If I use Ch'i and seek to have Yen, Han, and Wei honour your majesty's name who will dare refuse me? From the foregoing you will perceive my abilities. When Ch'i takes the lead in honouring your majesty then all the empire will honour him too. If you do not have Ch'i all the empire will disesteem your majesty. Ch'in, despite her strength, will honour your majesty when you have Ch'i because Ch'in does not have Ch'i. Yen, Han, and Wei will feel they must honour Chao because they do not have Ch'i for their ally. If you did not have Ch'i could you do otherwise than bow to those countries which could claim her as an ally? This is why those who urge your majesty to do without Ch'i are either unwise or disloyal to you. If not that, they hope to use your majesty's forces to accomplish their own ends, or else they hope to weaken your importance and strengthen the importance of the empire so you will act according to their plans. If these are not the reasons then your high posts are filled by men of low abilities. Please think most soberly on the consequences of going without Ch'i as an ally, your majesty. SPTK 6. 78a KY 44.1
284 Chao Chuang demoted and reinstated Chao had sent Chao Chuang to form an alliance2 [against Ch'i] and he was about to attack her when Ch'i asked to cede Chao land. Chao immediately demoted Chao Chuang. Ch'i Ming said to the king of Chao, 'When Ch'i was afraid of an alliance against her she offered to cede you land. Now when she hears i.e., the title of Emperor. As Chung Feng-nien points out (K'an-yen, p. 47), but other commentators fail to recognize, this tsung has nothing to do with the Horizontal and Vertical alliances (tsung-heng). It is an alliance against Ch'i. 1 2
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that Chao Chuang is demoted and Chang Ch'in is honoured she will decide not to.' 'True', said the king, and he summoned Chao Chuang and honoured him. SPTK 6. 79a KY47.9
285 The advantages of killing Ti Chang Ti Chang came from Liang and became much favoured by the king of Chao who asked him thrice to become minister of state. Ti Chang refused. T'ien Ssu said to Han Hsiang, the Pillar of the State, 'Let me assassinate this man for you. If he is killed the king will become angry and punish Lord Chien-hsin for it. 1 If Lord Chien-hsin dies you will be minister. If Lord Chien-hsin does not die he will believe that he can now remain for the rest of his life on good terms with the king. You will then have obligated Lord Chien-hsin to you deeply.' SPTK 6. 79a KY 47.10
286 Feng Chi questions the king's neutrality Feng Chi spoke to the king of Chao on Lord Lu-ling's behalf and said, 'You expelled Lord Lu-ling because he spoke for Yen.' 'My importance depends on my being committed to neither Yen nor Ch'in', replied the king. 'Yii Ch'ing spoke thrice here on Ch'in's behalf and was not expelled', said Feng Chi, yet Lord Lu-ling spoke once for Yen and you drove him out. It appears you are not so afraid of mighty Ch'in as you are of weak Yen.' 1
Believing he was responsible for the assassination.
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'It was not because of Yen that I did it. I would have sent him away in any case.' 'Let it be then that your majesty has not driven Lord Lu-ling away because of Yen and further that he has driven out a beloved younger brother without being committed to either Yen or Ch'in. I should not be happy over this if I were you, your majesty.' SPTK 6. 79a KY47. 11
287 Feng Chi at the audience Feng Chi asked for audience with the king of Chao, but when the usher had shown him in Feng Chi merely stood with hands clasped and head bowed, wanting to speak but not daring to. When the king asked him the reason for his silence, he replied: 'Once a retainer of Fu-tzu presented a man to him and when the audience was finished the retainer asked what offences the man had committed in audience. "Your guest only gave offence three times: he laughed when he looked at me, which showed disrespect; he spoke without quoting his teacher, which showed rebelliousness; and he spoke of weighty matters presuming on brief acquaintance, which showed impropriety." ' "Oh no, your majesty", replied the man. "I laugh when I face someone because I am glad to be with him; I spoke without quoting my teacher because I spoke of ordinary matters; and I treated weighty affairs on slight acquaintance to show the degree of my devotion. ' "Of old Yao gave audience to Shun in a grassy place. The mat was spread amid the fields and they sheltered beneath nothing but mulberry trees; yet when the shadow had moved upon the sundial the empire had been handed on. Yi Yin turned his back upon the cooking vessels to importune T'ang; and they had hardly made their names known to each other before Yi Yin has been made one of the Three Nobles. '"If then it had not been proper to speak of weighty affairs on short acquaintance, the empire would not have been handed on nor would the rank of Three Nobles have been forthcoming."'
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The king of Chao thought it good, so Feng Chi said: 'Heretofore I have had very little intercourse with your majesty, but I do wish to speak of deep matters. Is it permitted?' 'I request your instructions', replied the king, and Feng Chi then spoke. SPTK6.79D KY 47.12
288 The king of Chao wishes to buy a horse and learns about mulberry gall A guest, to whom the king of Chao was giving audience, said, 'I have heard that you majesty is sending a man out to seek a horse, is that so?' 'It is', said the king. 'Why has he not yet been sent?' 'I have found no one with the skill to judge horses.' 'Why not send Lord Chien-hsin?' inquired the guest. 'Lord Chien-hsin is busy with state affairs', said the king. 'Furthermore he does not know how to judge horses.' 'Then why does your majesty not send his concubine?' 'She is a woman and knows nothing of horses', said the king. 'If the horse is well-bought, will it have a good effect on the state?' asked the other. 'It will not.' 'If the horse be ill-bought, will it be a danger to the state?' 'It will not', said the king. 'So whether the horse is well or ill-bought1 has no effect on the country', said the other, 'yet when the king buys a horse he must wait for someone with the skill to do it. But direction of his state is already ill-conceived, his country is falling into ruin, its altars receive no sacrifice. The king did not wait for a skilled person in this instance but gave it over to Lord Chien-hsin. Why?' The king did not reply so his guest spoke: 1 With Yokota shan-erh # jfii has been mistakenly reversed.
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'Does your majesty know what is called "mulberry gall" in the Regimen ofKuo Yen?'1 'I have not heard of it', replied the king. '"Mulberry gall" is the presence of close attendants, women and young favourites. These are all able to take advantage of the king's infatuation to gain what they wish of him. When this is accomplished on the inside, great ministers will warp regulations to favour favourites on the outside. Thus, even the sun and moon, though brilliant externally, carry their own weakness within them. 2 Men are fully armed against those they hate and brought to calamity by those they love.' SPTK 6. 8ob KY47.13
K I N G T A O - H S I A N G (244-236 B.C.)
289 Shih Chiin obtains Lord Ch'un-p'ing s release from Ch'in Ch'in summoned Marquis Ch'un-p'ing and then detained him. Shih Chiin 3 spoke to Marquis Wen-hsin 4 for him saying: 'Marquis Ch'un-p'ing is greatly beloved of his king, but the king's lang-chung were jealous of him and schemed against him, saying, "If Marquis Ch'un-p'ing goes into Ch'in, Ch'in will detain him" Then they schemed to get him into Ch'in. Now you are holding Lord Ch'un-p'ing which will lose you Chao's good will for nothing and will make the lang-chung's plans succeed. 'It is therefore best if you send Marquis Ch'un-p'ing back and hold Marquis P'ing-tu. Ch'un-p'ing's words are acted upon by his king and he will certainly cede much Chao territory to Ch'in in order to ransom Marquis P'ing-tu.' Also known as Ku Yen 5t ffi and Yen Kuo Si fp. See Crump Intrigues, p. 161. Referring to the belief that the 'crow' in the sun and the 'rabbit' in the moon bring about eclipses. 3 Also given as Yi Chiin ft 3k. 4 I.e. Lii Pu-wei. 1
2
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'Good', said Marquis Wen-hsin. Then he did what •was requested and sent him back to Chao. SPTK6. 81b KY 48. 17
KING Y U (235-228 B.C.)
290 Lord Wu-ans wooden arm and the jail of Chao When the Marquis Wen-hsin, Lii Pu-wei, fled,1 Ssu-k'ung Ma came to Chao where he was given the title of Honorary Minister by that state. Ch'in sent her armour against Chao and Ssu-k'ung Ma persuaded the king of Chao saying: 'When Marquis Wen-hsin was the minister of Ch'in, I served him as scribe, so I am conversant with conditions in Ch'in. Recently your majesty has honoured me with an insignificant post, so I now alsoknow something of the affairs of Chao. Please allow me to set forth hypothetical conditions for a war between Ch'in and Chao so that you may see for yourself who would win. 'For example, is Chao or Ch'in the larger?' 'We are not her equal', replied the king. 'Are your people as numerous as Ch'in's?' 'No.' 'Are you as wealthy in gold, coinage and grain as Ch'in?' 'No.' 'Is your state as well controlled as Ch'in?' 'It is n o t ' 'Are your ministers more worthy?' 'They are not.' 'Or your generals more martial?' 'No.' 'Or your laws more enlightened?' 'No.' 1
With Yokota, Wu Shih-tao, JK is superfluous.
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'Then', concluded Ssu-k'ung Ma, 'your majesty's state is not the equal of Ch'in in anything and so it must perish.' 'Do not forsake Chao, sir,' cried the king, 'but be good enough to instruct me in statecraft. I will follow any plan you make.'1 'Your majesty, you must cede half of Chao as a bribe to Ch'in', answered Ssu-k'ung Ma. 'Being able to acquire half of Chao without feeling the edge of anyone's weapon will certainly please Ch'in, for she fears Chao's resistance on the one hand and Chao's rescue by the Lords on the other. She will certainly accept your offer. 'Now when Ch'in accepts your territory and withdraws her troops, Chao will barely support herself on half her territory, while Ch'in will have got 2 the prize and strengthened herself with it. East of the Mountains must then fear that a lost Chao will imperil their own states, and the Lords will become frightened. Being frightened they will come to the rescue and an alliance can be formed. I ask permission to formalize this alliance3 for your majesty and when that is done your majesty may have lost half of Chao in name but he will have gained all East of the Mountains to make him a match for Ch'in in fact, and Ch'in will hardly be worth destroying.' 'But only the other day Ch'in sent its armour against Chao', said the king, 'and I bought her off with twelve districts in Ho-chien. My land is depleted and my troops are so weak that we can hardly avoid disaster at the hands of Ch'in. N o w if I further ceded half of Chao's remaining territory to make Ch'in even stronger, our strength would be insufficient to sustain ourselves and we would surely perish! I wish my minister to make other plans for me.' 'When I was young I employed the pen and tablet-scraper for Ch'in. Now that I am older I am employed in a temporary capacity as a minister, but I have never been the leader of an army. Let me muster all your troops for you and lead them against Ch'in.' The king of Chao would not make him a general, so Ssu-k'ung Ma said, 'I offered my clumsy plans but your majesty would not use them. Since your majesty cannot use me I ask permission to betake myself elsewhere.' 11&
0 should be reversed as Yokota suggests. % after Yokota. 'sn affiance'.
2 fill =
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Ssu-k'ung Ma left Chao and when he crossed the P'ing-yiian Ford the Guardian of the Ford, Kuo Yi accosted him and asked about the Ch'in troops overcoming Chao. 'You have just come from Chao, honoured sir. How go things in that state?' Ssu-k'ung Ma told the Guardian how he had made plans for the king of Chao and how the latter would not use them and concluded that Chao would surely perish. 'As you estimate it, honoured sir, how long before Chao perishes?' 'If Chao makes Lord Wu-an her general1 it will be a year. If she murders him it will be less than six months', replied Ssu-k'ung Ma. 'Among the ministers serving the king of Chao is one Han Ts'ang who has made use of his own depravity to form a close relationship with the king of Chao. Now this man is by nature angered by worth and jealous of accomplishment, and with the country in its present parlous state the king will listen closely to all he says. Lord Wu-an is thus as good as dead.' Han Ts'ang did indeed slander LordWu-an and the king had him replaced by another. When Lord Wu-an reached court the king made Han Ts'ang enumerate his crimes: 'When you had gained your victory, the king had you before him to drink a cup in your honour. While you wished long life to the ruler you were concealing2 a dagger, and for this you are to be executed.' 'I, Ts'o, am afflicted with a crooked arm', said Lord Wu-an. 'Being tall, I cannot reach the ground with it, so my kneeling and rising seem disrespectful, and I have always feared I might give some offence while in the Presence. For this reason I got an artisan to make me a wooden arm which I can fasten to my hand. If you don't believe me, let me show it to you.' He drew it from his sleeve and showed it to Han Ts'ang. Its shape was that of a chen-k'un3 and it was bound around with cloth. 'I wish you would go in to his majesty and make this clear to him', concluded Li Mu. 'I received orders from the king', replied Han Ts'ang, 'saying you Here certainly meaning Li Mu. # should certainly be Jf. 3 In SPTK (® ffl) chen-yin which is even more obscure. No one has any idea what a chen-k'un may be. Obviously it is understood to be some object which appears to be the handle of a dagger when worn in the sleeve.
1
2
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were to be executed. There was to be no pardon. I would not dare speak of it again.' Lord Wu-an knelt facing the north and acknowledged the king's generosity in granting him death by his own hand. He drew forth his sword and was about to kill himself when he suddenly cried, 'A minister should not commit suicide in the palace of his king', and rushed through the Ssu-ma Gate and outside the Departure Gate. He grasped his sword in his right hand and prepared to stab himself but found his crooked arm would not allow him to. He then thrust the sword into his mouth, dashed against a pillar and killed himself. Five months after Lord "Wu-an died Chao perished. When the Guardian of P'ing-yiian Ford told his story to the various nobles they sighed and said, 'Alas it was just as Ssu-k'ung Ma predicted.' and also they felt that Ssu-k'ung Ma had not been driven from Ch'in from any lack of wisdom on his part nor had he been sent from Chao because he was unworthy. Chao drove him out and that country perished. She perished not from a lack of worthy men but because she could not use them. SPTK 6. 8ib KY 21. 7
291 Chao destroys her best generals Ch'in dispatched Wang Chien to attack Chao and Chao employed Li Mu and Ssu-ma Shang to resist her. Several times Li Mu broke and routed the Ch'in troops and even killed the Ch'in general Huan Yi. Wang Chien hated Li Mu and used much gold to bribe the king of Chao's favourite ministers, Kuo K'ai and others. Then he used them to subvert Chao. They told the king that Li Mu and Ssu-ma Shang planned to turn against Chao with Ch'in's help, for they had been promised large fiefs if they did so. The king of Chao grew suspicious of his two generals and sent Chao Ts'ung and Chao Yen-tsui to relieve them of their commands. He then executed Li Mu and cast out Ssu-ma Shang. Three months later Wang Chien took advantage of Chao's
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crisis to smash her. He killed Chao Ts'ung 1 and captured King Ch'ien and his general Yen Tsui. Thereafter Chao was destroyed. SPTK 6. 85a KY48.19 1
After Yokota and SC W = M.
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG VISCOUNT HUAN (455-447 B.C.)
292 Viscount Huan yields Earl Chih land to feed his arrogance Earl Chih demanded territory from Viscount Huan of Wei and he refused. 'What is your reason for not giving it to him?' asked Jen Chang. 'The unreasonableness of the demand is the reason I refuse to give', replied Viscount Huan of Wei. 'Unreasonable demands for land make neighbouring states fearful', replied Jen Chang. 'Doubled desire cannot be satisfied, so the empire is alarmed. Give Earl Chih land, my lord, and he will become arrogant; being arrogant he will scorn his enemies. The states around him will become alarmed and draw closer together. If the troops of countries which are close deal with a country that scorns its enemies, then the destiny of the Chih clan will not be a long one. As it is said in the Book ofChou,1 "If I would destroy, I must first support; if I would gain I must first give." The best thing you could do would be to yield land to Earl Chih and make him arrogant. Can my lord let slip this chance to use the whole empire in a scheme against Earl Chih and instead cause him to single out our country for his target?' 2 'You are right', said Viscount Huan of Wei, and ceded one town of ten thousand families. Earl Chih was delighted. He immediately demanded Ts'ai and Kao-liang from Chao, and Chao refused to yield them. Earl Chih then surrounded Chin-yang. When Han and Wei turned against him on the outside Chao responded from within the city and the Chih clan perished. SPTK 7. ia KY 48. 1 Wang Ying-lin wonders if this could be the same book as the Secret Talisman of 47. In any case it is not in an extant book. 2 Following Yokota; 'pawn' is not clear enough. 1
37O
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG - MARQUIS WEN
371
M A R Q U I S W E N (446-397B.C.)
293 1 By angering Han and Chao, Wei wins their respect and homage Han and Chao were having difficulties. Because of them Han asked Wei for troops saying she wished to borrow an army to attack Chao. 'I could not possibly comply,' said Marquis Wen of Wei, 'for Chao and I are brothers.' Chao also asked for troops to attack Han. 'Han and I are brothers,' replied Marquis Wen of Wei, 'I could not possibly comply with such a request.' Neither country got troops and both returned to their courts angry. But when it was over each knew what Marquis Wen had told the other and both came to his court in Wei. 2 SPTK 7. ib KY49.2
294 Ytieh Yang eats his son When Yiieh Yang, as Wei's general, attacked Chung-shan, his son was there as hostage. The ruler had Yiieh Yang's son boiled alive and he presented the broth therefrom to Yiieh Yang. Sitting before his tent Yiieh Yang drank a full bowl of it. 'Yiieh Yang ate of his own son's flesh on my behalf', cried Marquis Wen of Wei to Tu-shih 3 Tsan. As K'an-yen says, this is clearly unrelated to the preceding even though some editions do not separate them. 2 SPTK note says merely 'the two states did not fight so (?) we know Wei reconciled them'. But this is based on SPTK E IS (another edition has &. yi, see Huang). I follow Yokota's note. It is not clear to me how he arrives at his version but it does make sense. 3 Index has it as a name. Ch'i-kuo K'ao does not have it as an office. Jen Ming does not have it. Han-fei Tsu Chiao-shih (p. 626) says it is a name: If a name it must be a double surname - Tu-shih Tsan - and not the way Liao (p. 23 7) gives it. 1
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'If he will eat his own son,' replied Tsan, 'whom will he not eat?' When Yiieh Yang had reduced Chung-shan, Marquis Wen rewarded his actions, but suspected his ambitions. SPTK 7. 2a KY49.3
295 Hsi-men Pao learns from his prince how to gain fame and merit Hsi-men Pao was made the magistrate of Yeh and he went to bid Marquis Wen of Wei goodbye. 'You are leaving, sir', said Marquis Wen. 'You must go to gain merit and a name for yourself!' 'May I ask if there is any art by which to gain merit and fame?' said Hsi-men Pao. 'There is', replied Marquis Wen. 'In every hamlet there are those of the elders who are shown deference.1 Go among them and ask of them who are men of honour. Then take them for your mentors. 'Seek out those who enjoy concealing the good and spreading the evil of others and examine them. 'Things often seem alike which are not: the dark coloured grasses that grow between wheat sprouts resemble wheat. The brindled [yearling] resembles a tiger,2 bleached bone resembles ivory, and wu-fu resembles jade. All these seem to be things which they are not.' 3 SPTK 7. 2b KY49.4
296 The Marquis of Wei and the game-keeper Marquis Wen had made an appointment with his game-keeper to hunt. That day came and found the weather rainy and Marquis Wen Lit., 'seated first'. I see no need for Yokota's equation tin = Sn here. I follow Yokota not because I think the Pao note definitive but because 'a black horse' makes no sense and li-niu §2 ^r is an old binom meaning 'brindled cow'. 3 It seems clear that this last paragraph is both garbled and inapposite when compared to SY 7/64. 1
8
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373
drinking and enjoying himself with his attendants. Marquis Wen prepared to depart and they called out: 'You are enjoying your wine and besides it is raining. Where are you going, my lord?' 'I made an appointment with the game-keeper. Why should I not keep the appointment and be punctual even though I am enjoying myselfhere?' He left and called off the hunt in person. It was from that time that Wei began to be powerful. SPTK 7. 3 a KY49.5
297 The Marquis of Wei finds that a ruler is not praised for being musical Marquis Wen of Wei and T'ien Tzu-fang were drinking and playing1 music. 'Are the bells not mismatched?' asked Marquis Wen. 'The [set] on the left is higher in tone.' T'ien Tzu-fang laughed and Marquis Wen asked him why. 'I have heard it said that an enlightened ruler takes pleasure in his officers and an unenlightened one in his music. I wondered if your ear, being so acute for music, might be deaf to your officers.' 'Well said,' replied Marquis Wen, 'I respectfully await your instruction.' SPTK 7. 3a KY 49. 6 MARQUIS W U (396-371 B.C.)
298 Wu Ch'i expatiates on the unreliability of natural defences When Marquis W u of Wei was floating on the Hsi River 2 with his Glossed as 3S Ml by Yokota. SPTK quotes SC Cheng-yi saying Hsi-ho is H fi M but Ti-ming identifies it as the North-South section of the Yellow between Shansi and Shensi. 1
1
2
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officers he exclaimed, 'Oh, how constant and firm remain the fastnesses of rivers and mountains!' 'They are what made the state of Chin strong', replied "Wang Chung 1 who was seated in attendance. 'Let them only be properly kept and Hegemony and Overlordship are both yours!' 'The words my lord just spoke will put his country in danger,' said W u Ch'i to Marquis Wu of Wei, 'and what you added, sir, doubles its jeopardy.' 'No doubt you speak a persuasion', said Marquis Wu angrily, and W u Ch'i replied: 'The constancy of rivers and mountain passes are never sufficient to preserve a country. Neither Hegemony nor Overlordship come about in this way. In former days the land where the Three Miao lived was flanked on the left by the waves of P'eng-li2 and the right by the waters of Tung-t'ing. Mt. Min was to their south and Mt. Heng was in the north. And they depended on these strongholds but they governed ill. So Yii drove them forth. The state of Hsia under Chieh had the shadows of the Gates of Heaven3 to its left and the sunny side of Heaven's Gorge4 on its right. Lu-che5 lay in its north and the Yi and Lo rivers flowed in its south. Such were its natural advantages but it was ill-governed, so T'ang attacked it. 'The Yin dynasty under Chou had Mt. Meng-men on its left, the Chang and Fu rivers to its right. It fronted the Yellow river and was backed by mountains. It had all these advantages but itwas ill-governed and Wu-wang attacked it. 'Furthermore, my lord, the walls of the cities we have reduced since first you used me have been quite high enough and the number of citizens defending them were substantial. The reason they could be overcome was their bad government. Looked at this way can geography and natural protection suffice to bring about Hegemony or Overlordship?' :£ IS and in one edition ;E ^ . Lake Poyang. 3 ?c P3 or 3? # pass. 1 2
Where the Chi river and the Yellow meet? See Morohashi 17245/147. As Wu Shih-tao points out CKT HI (7/4a), left and right are reversed in SC (55/15). 5 Following Yokota: See Chung-hua 1789.3. The reading is uncertain, but it is not kao. 4
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'Well said', cried Marquis Wu. 'I have listened this day to the words of a sage. The administration of Hsi-ho is entirely in your hands, sir!' SPTK 7. 3b KY49-7 KING H U I (370-319 B.C.)
299 Kung-shu Ts'o's modesty gains an increased reward Kung-shu Ts'o of Wei being general of her troops fought at Kuei-pei against Han and Chao and captured their general Yiieh Tso. Overjoyed, the king of Wei went into the suburbs to greet him on his return and granted him the income from one million farm fields. But Kung-shu Ts'o bowed twice to take his leave and said: 'That our troops did not falter, that they stood erect without support, that they harried1 the enemy and did not flee his might - all this was the result of Wu Ch'i's training. I could not have done it. Testing the pulse of the terrain beforehand so that our troops were prepared for all the good and the bad and would not become lost in the land, was done by the skill of Pa Ning and Ts'uan Hsiang. The giving of rewards and punishments in the past so that the people would have faith in them in the future was embodied in your majesty's enlightened law. To see that the enemy could be struck and then to press on without respite was your servant's duty. Now, if you care to reward me because my right arm did not tire, I can accept. But if you reward me for merit, I must ask what my accomplishment was?' 'Well spoken', cried the king, and he sought out the descendants of Wu Ch'i and gave them two hundred thousand farm fields. Pa Ning and Ts'uan Hsiang each got one hundred thousand fields. 'Now,' said the king, 'were you not their leader?2 Did you not gain a victory over my powerful enemies? Did you not bring to my notice the descendants of the worthy and did you not refuse to conceal the acts of capable men? Should Kung-shu alone not enjoy increase from this? And he gave him four hundred thousand fields. 11 2
follow Yokota. SPTK hasffl.for fcfc. I am not certain of Ji %.
37<5
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING HUI
[These, added to the one million earlier given him made one million four hundred thousand fields. Which is why Lao-tzu says: The Sage has no need to hoard; When his own last scrap has been used up on behalf of others, Lo, he has more than before! When his own last scrap has been used up in giving to others., Lo, his stock is even greater than before I]1 SPTK 7. 5a KY 49. 8
300 King Hui disregards a dying man's advice When Kung-shu Ts'o lay ill, King Hui of Wei came to him and said: 'You are so ill, kung-shu, that it may end in "that which none can avoid'': what then is to become of our country?' T have a companion2 called Kung-sun Yang,'3 replied Kung-shu Ts'o, 'and I hope your majesty will obey his advice on affairs of state. But if you cannot follow his advice, do not allow him to leave the country alive.' The king did not answer him but departed and said to his attendants, 'How pitiful that a man of the kung-shu's stature should stoop to 4 recommend his companion Yang as adviser to the state. That is perversity indeed!' Kung-shu Ts'o died and Kung-sun Yang, who had heard of the recommendation, fled the country5 and went westward to Ch'in. K'aokung of Ch'in received and employed him and from then on Ch'in From Tao-te Ching, ch. 81. The translation is Waley's. Yokota notes that this last section was a later addition by 'a scribe'. 2 4* 18; J- or ^ JEE -J% 'a retainer of little account' according to Nakai Riken; SC 68/2. 3 Later to become the powerful Shang Yang of Ch'in. 4 The king assumes Kung-shu Ts'o's illness had affected his sense of propriety and ethics. 6 SPTK has E M 'and having buried him'. 1
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became stronger day by day and Wei grew daily weaker.1 [Kung-shu Ts'o had not been perverse, King Hui had. It is the weakness of the perverse to impute their perversity to others.] SPTK 7. 6a KY49.9
3OI 2 Wei and her allies seek to intimidate Han Ch'in attacked Liang, and Yen and Chao came to its aid. They said to Lord Shan-yang of Han, 'If Ch'in should win against the three of us3 she will have to cross Chou and Han to get at the capital of Liang. If we should win against Ch'in, however, our combined strength would not be great enough to attack Ch'in proper but would be quite sufficient to capture Cheng4. The best thing you can do is join with the three of us to attack Ch'in.' SPTK 7. 6b KY38. 6
302 A tiger in the market place When P'ang Ts'ung was to accompany the heir, who was going as hostage to Han-tan, he spoke to the king of Wei before he left. 'If a man were to tell you there was a tiger in the market place, would you believe him, my lord?' 11
follow Yokota and LSCC, i t is excrescent. The Procrustean effect of multiple commentaries and the terseness of CiCT prose is nowhere more evident than here. There are at least three interpretations - Pao's, Yao's, and K'an-yen's - and they are mutually exclusive. The primary difficulties revolve around two points: 1. Pao seems to have been responsible for making the text read 'Ch'in and Han attacked Liang', for there was no 'and Han' originally; 2. which are the 'three countries'? 3 i.e., Yen, Chao, and Wei. 4K'an-yen, 'pien wu', p. 40 says: 'Cheng (SB) was destroyed by Han and Han moved its capital to (the site of) Cheng. This is why the Intrigues often refer to Han as Cheng.' 2
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'No.' 'If two people told you there was a tiger in the market, would you believe them?' 'I should suspect something', replied the king. 'If three people should tell you there was a tiger, would you believe it?" 'I would.' 'Now the market is clearly without a tiger yet let three men speak of one and he appears', said P'ang Ts'ung. 'Han-tan is farther away than the market, my lord, and my detractors number more than three - will you remember this, my lord?' 'But I understand that', replied the king. P'ang Ts'ung took his leave and departed, yet slander reached its destination sooner than he. In consequence, when the heir had served his time as hostage, P'ang Ts'ung was not again given audience. SPTK 7. 6b KY 53- 16
303 The king of Wei drinks with his royal visitors and hears edifying words from the Duke ofLu The king of Liang,1 "Wei Ying, was drinking at Fan-t'ai with the Lords. Feeling the pleasure of his wine, he called upon the ruler of Lu to raise his cup again. The ruler of Lu arose, left his mat, and choosing his words carefully he said: 'Of old the emperor's daughter ordered Yi Ti to make wine, and it was good. It was sent in to Yu. Yii drank of it and found it pleasant. Thereupon he sent Yi Ti from him and issued an order forbidding wine, saying, "In times to come there will be those who lose their countries because of this wine." 'Duke Huan of Ch'i felt restless in the middle of the night and Yi Ya fried and broiled, roasted, and boiled, blended well the five flavours and sent the dishes in to Duke Huan. He ate them and was satisfied, K'an-yen believes this to mean King Hui of Wei despite the fact that a meeting at Fan-t'ai is listed under the 13 th year of Marquis Wu of Wei.
1
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slept until daylight, and did not awaken. 1 "In times to come there will be those who lose their countries because of food", said he. 'When Duke Wen of Chin wed Wei of Nan he stayed away from court three days, so he put her from him and withdrew saying, "In times to come there will be those who lose their countries because of beauty." 'The King of Ch'u climbed to the Ch'iang Pavilion to gaze upon the tumbled peaks. To his left was the Long River, to his right, Lake Tungt'ing; he looked down as he walked to and fro2 and the beauty was such that it made him forget even death. Thereafter he swore never to climb Ch'iang Pavilion again, saying, "In times to come there will be those who lose their countries because of pavilions, ponds, and pools." 'Now, your majesty's drink is Yi-ti's wine, your meat is done by Yi Ya. Po-t'ai on his left and Lii-hsu3 on his right give him beauty equal to the lovely Nan Wei; Wedge Forest and Orchid Terrace supply him the joys of Ch'iang-t'ai. To have but one among these is enough to lose you your state: since you have all four, must you not use great restraint?' 'Good, good', said the king of Liang again and again.4 SPTK 7. ya KY53.17
304 Kung-tzu Li and the heir of Wei King Hui of Wei mustered his people and put the heir apparent, Shen, at their head to attack Ch'i. A retainer said to the tutor of the kung-tzu Li: 5 1 Following SPTK. 2 This is corrupt. SY 9/87 has ~}j ?B for ffl tM. Fang-huai sounds like a proper name and as such it would balance the phrases and make more sense. But Huang says all 3£ are really JlL. 3 See Hsiin-tzu. Concordance XXVI, 1. 34. See also/w at end of 222 (p. 269) where she is Lii-shu IS! Ufa. 4 Following Yasui. 5 Wu Shih-tao points out that Pao Piao assumes this is Shen's younger brother though the story does not force such an assumption.
380
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING HUI
'Why do you not instruct the kung-tzu to go weeping to the king and1 queen pleading with them to stop the heir and this expedition. If the heir succeeds, the kung-tzu will be favoured by him. Or, if the heir fails the kung-tzu will become king. The heir is, after all, young and inexperienced with troops, while T'ien P'an is experienced and Sun-tzu is talented in warfare. If he joins battle with them he must lose. Having lost he will be taken. If the kung-tzu protests to the king about the expedition and the king agrees, the kung-tzu will surely be enfeoffed. If the king does not agree [to stop the expedition] the heir will surely lose. The heir having lost, the kung-tzu will certainly be raised as heir; and having been raised he will surely become king.' SPTK7. 8b KY 52. 9
305 The heir of Wei learns the secret of not losing but is unable to make use of it The heir of Wei leading his expedition was about to pass through Waihuang in Sung when a certain Hsii-tzu of that place spoke to him: 'I know the art whereby one never loses a battle. Would you be able to use it? 'I should like to hear it', replied the heir. 'And I to present it to you', said Hsii-tzu. 'Today you personally command an attack on Ch'i and if you take her, even including the stronghold of Chu, Wei will be wealthy beyond any other state and being king of Wei will be an honour greater than any other. On the other hand, if you lose, you will never rule Wei at all. This is the art of never losing a battle.'2 'So be it,' said the heir, T shall follow your advice and withdraw?' 'You may wish to,' said his adviser, 'but you will never succeed! There are too many using your expedition to fulfil their own ambitions. I am afraid you can no longer return home even though you wish to.' Seki believes the ;fc of 3t Ja should be either ^ or is entirely excrescent. After Seki I read it as 'king and queen.' 2 i.e., don't fight it.
1
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381
The heir mounted his chariot and told his driver to head back. 'To turn back so soon after leaving your country', said the charioteer, 'will earn you the same treatment that desertion 1 would. You may as well continue the march.' The march was continued, the battle with Ch'i was fought, and the heir died, never having ruled Wei. SPTK 7. 9a KY72.7
306 The king of Wei learns that he mustfirsthumble himself in order to obtain revenge Ch'i and Wei fought at Ma-ling and Ch'i gained a great victory in which she killed Wei's heir Shen, and routed a hundred thousand troops. The king of Wei summoned Hui Shih and told him, 'Ch'i is my enemy and I shall not forget this as long as I live. Though my country is small I constantly long to muster all the rest of my troops and attack her. What think you?' 'It would not do,' the other replied. 'I have heard that a true king has a sense of what is appropriate2 and a Hegemon knows his strategy. What you have proposed to me is short of being appropriate and far from being good strategy. In the past3 your majesty insisted on arousing the dislike of Chao and then having to fight a war with Ch'i. 4 Now you have just suffered a defeat and your country is not even prepared for a defensive battle, yet you would muster the rest of its troops for an offensive against Ch'i. This is not what I consider appropriate and strategic. If you wish to avenge yourself upon Ch'i, you should reverse the normal rules of dress5 and change the proper observances by paying homage to Ch'i. This will certainly anger Ch'u. Then if you send persuaders6 to stir up war between the two, Ch'u will certainly Eyebrow note in Kambun and Kao Yu's note both have :fc read as 1? which is what I follow. 2 1 follow Nakai's note in SC. 3 See SC 44/17. 4 Who came to Chao's assistance. 5 i.e. of prince and vassal. This could also mean 'change the normal deference'. 6 Wf yu I read ?$ sfc yu shui with Yokota. 1
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THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING HUI
attack Ch'i. A prosperous Ch'u attacking a weakened Ch'i will surely result in a Ch'i overcome by Ch'u, and your majesty will have used Ch'u to destroy Ch'i.' 'Excellent', said the king of Wei and sent an envoy to Ch'i to announce that Wei wished to come to the Ch'i court as vassal. T'ien Ying consented. 'You cannot allow this', said Chang Ch'ou to T'ien Ying. 'If you had fought but not beaten Wei and she offered to come to court, you could have arranged good terms with her and could then have descended upon Ch'u. This would have been a great victory.1 But you did defeat Wei in battle. You vanquished a hundred thousand of her troops and captured her heir. If now "Wei of ten thousand chariots" comes to you as vassal, putting both Ch'in and Ch'u in an inferior position, they will say your violence and cruelty is proven.2 Furthermore, the king of Ch'u is fond of war and anxious after his fame. In end it will be the Ch'u who brings the most grief to Ch'i.' T'ien Ying paid him no heed but accepted the king of Wei and went to the king3 of Ch'i's court with him thrice. Chao was shamed and the king of Ch'u was enraged. At the head of his own troops he attacked Ch'i, Chao joined him. and Ch'i was completely defeated at Hsu-chou. SPTK 7.9b KY 53.10
307 Hui Skill's plan for the repatriation of a hostage prince When Hui Shih had worked for amity between Han4 and Wei, he had Up to this point all commentaries are substantially in agreement though Pao thinks a moral victory is meant while Yokota thinks Ch'i would have gained military victory over Ch'u. 2 This follows Pao Piao, SPTK 7/ioa. Chodai has 'your penchant for violence is manifest and you will strike fear to the eyes and ears of the empire'. W u Shih-tao SPTK 7/ioa implies: When Wei makes Ch'i superior to the two countries 'Ch'i's anger will subside'. The text here (though not obviously corrupt) is susceptible to a number of interpretations none of which is clearly superior to the others. Yasui's interpretation, however, seems too extreme to attack or defend in anything short of a monograph. 3 After Yokota, T'ien Ying seems here to be sponsoring Wei at court. 4 Pao has changed this, without justification, to Ch'i. I follow Yasui's notes here. K'an-yen also assumes it should be Han, not Ch'i. 1
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ordered the heir apparent, Ming, to Ch'i as hostage.1 But now the king wanted to see him again. 'Why not announce that you are ill, your majesty', said Chu Ts'ang. 'Then let me persuade Ying-tzu2 as follows: "The king of Wei is already old and now he is ill. The best thing to do is to return his heir and put Wei in your debt. Otherwise, Ch'u will receive the kung-tzu Kao,3 who is presently in that country and raise him to the throne. This will leave Ch'i embracing a worthless hostage and committing an unjust act."' 4 SPTK 7.10b KY53. 11 K I N G H S I A N G (318-296
B.C.) 5
308 King Hui's funeral and the great snow King Hui of Wei died and the date of his obsequies had already been fixed when it snowed up to the depth of an ox's eyes. Part of the city wall was broken down and a trestled roadway was planned by which to transfer the king to his tomb. The heir's ministers repeatedly admonished him saying: 'To conduct the funeral with the snow as deep as this is certain to trouble the people and we fear the official expenses cannot be borne. Please yield a little on the time and change the date for burial.' 'As his son,' replied the heir, 'if I delayed our former king's burial simply because it troubled the people or cost money, I would be acting improperly. Speak no more of it!' Fearing that Ch'i would prevent a dhente between these two countries. I follow Yasui in this. 2 Perhaps the same person as T'ien Ying ( 5 -?•=W IS). 3 We are snowed in with heirs now: History knows Shen $ and Ho tt but has no mention of a Ming 1!|. As Seki points out, this story assumes that a kung-tzu can succeed to the throne - this would be curious. For the kung-tzu Kao, see 409. 4 cf. 145 for identical situation, but cf. Crump Intrigues, p. 116 for the form of argument. 5 The tradition which divides 334-296 between two reigns, those of King Hsiang and King Ai, perpetuates the error of an ancient chronicler who turned a single monarch, King Hsiang-ai, into two persons, allotting the second part of King Hui's reign (334-319 B.C.) to the former and King Hsiang-ai's reign to the latter. 1
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And so his ministers dared not speak but reported it to the hsi-shou. T know not how to put it', said he. 'Perhaps Mr. Hui 1 will know how, let me ask him.' 'Of course I will speak to him', replied Mr. Hui, and drove to see the heir. 'The date of the funeral is set?' he asked the heir. 'It is', said the heir. 'Of old, King Chi-li2 was buried at the foot of Mt Ch'u,' said Mr. Hui, 'and seeping waters cut away at his tumulus exposing the head of his coffin. "Aha!" cried King Wen, "our ancestor must wish to hold audience with his ministers and his people, and so has caused the seeping waters to make this evident." Thereupon they brought him forth and set out the throne in audience and his people all saw him. He remained there three days and afterward was buried again. This was how King Wen discharged his duties. 'Now, the day for our king's funeral has come, it has snowed heavily and movement is difficult. Is the heir so anxious to be punctual that he is insensitive about indecent haste? I beg your highness to change the date for the funeral. Our former king would surely wish to tarry if it sustained his state and comforted his people. If you would be less inflexible and would change the funeral day because of the depth of the snow you will resemble a King Wen discharging his duty. But if you continue being adamant and do not do this, will it be because you are ashamed to follow King Wen's example?' 'Well said', replied the heir. 'I •will respectfully relax the time limits and choose a burial day anew.' [Not only did Hui-tzu succeed in his persuasion, he caused the heir to delay the obsequies of his ancestor by persuading him to the righteousness of King Wen. Is it a small accomplishment to make this manifest to the empire?]3 SPTK7.ua KY 52. 5 Hui-kung, i.e. Hui Shih. 2 Chi-li ^ S£ SC 4/10 'When (Chou) Ku-kung died Chi-li took the throne . . . when Duke Chi (i.e. Chi-li) died, Tzu-ch'ang took the throne. This was Hsi-po who was King Wen.' 3 Though this scholium also appears in LSCC it is, none the less, an addition as Yokota says. 1
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309 The king of Wei is shown the advantages of double dealing During the battle at Hsu-chou the hsi-shou said to the king of Liang: 'Should you not openly cleave to Ch'i but secretly ally yourself to Ch'u? In this way the two countries will depend on your help and fight each other.1 If Ch'i should win a victory over Ch'u and you give Ch'i its impetus, you will certainly take the area beyond Fangch'eng. If Ch'u defeats Ch'i and you lend Ch'u impetus, you will have avenged the Heir Apparent [Shen].' SPTK 7. 12a KY51.23
310 Su Ch'in's persuasion wins Wei to the Alliance When Su-tzu was making the Alliance for Chao he persuaded the king of Wei in this fashion: 'Your majesty's country has in the south the Swansditch,2 Ch'en, and Ju-(nan).3 There are Hsu, Yen-(ling), K'un-yang, Shao-ling, Wu-yang, and Hsin-ch'i. In the east are the Huai, 4 the Ying, Yi-huang, Chu-tsao, Hai-yen, and Wu-su. To your west is the Longwall for a boundary. In the north is Ho-wai, Chuan, Yen-yen, and Suan-tsao.5 Your lands He a thousand li square and though your territory6 is called small, yet all land between the cottages in the fields and the galleried houses is farmed; there is not a foot turned to pasture and grazing. So numerous are your people, so plentiful your horses and carriages, that it would Following Yokota's text. A semi-artificial waterway known at a later date as Chia-lu River. 3 I follow SPTK here. This should be Ju-nan, not just Ju. 4 Here the speaker is giving Wei more land than it had. 5 Once again we have the strange inaccuracies in the geography of an encomium. SC omits several names and since the TJX river makes no sense here, I combined it with S[ and made it a place name. 6 After Yokota's text. 1
2
386
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take them a whole day and night to pass in front of you. They are like armies in themselves. 'In my humble view your state is no less powerful than Ch'u. But evil1 men make plans2 for your majesty to seek relations with mighty and savage Ch'in to share in taking over the empire. This can only become a disaster in which those very men suffer no loss for they will rely on the power of mighty Ch'in to help them plunder their own rulers. No crime can be graver than theirs! 'Furthermore, Wei is a great country and your majesty is a virtuous king. I will feel shame on your behalf if you face the west and serve Ch'in, proclaim yourself her hedge on the east, build her palaces,3 wear her cap and sash and supply her with tribute for annual sacrifices. 'I have heard that Kou-chien, king of Yiieh, with three thousand irregulars captured Fu-ch'ai at Kan-sui; King W u with three thousand men and three hundred armoured chariots executed Chou in the wilds at Mu. They succeeded not because their troops were many but because they made the most of their influence. 'I am informed that your majesty has more than two hundred thousand soldiers; two hundred thousand turbaned troops; two hundred thousand in striking forces and one hundred thousand in auxiliaries; six hundred chariots and five thousand mounted men. This makes you superior by far to Kou-chien and King Wu. All this is being nullified by craven persuasions from your ministers and your wish to be Ch'in's vassal. But to be her vassal you will have to cede her land as guarantee. As a consequence your state will be lost before your military has raised a weapon! 'Every officer who has urged capitulation to Ch'in is a traitor, not a minister. Any minister who sacrifices his lord's territory to secure favour in another country, who heedlessly seizes one day's merit with no mind for the future, who cuts down the house of state to build a higher gate for himself, who secures the power of mighty Ch'in abroad to oppress his ruler and urge him to cede land, I would have you examine very carefully, your majesty. 1 2 8
See 326; should this be at $J * ? With Yasui, I see no reason to emend the original HE to £&. For visitations by her king.
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'The Book ofChou1 says: "Endless and fine, who can stop the creeping vine? Ax hafts grow from the smallest sprout, if its roots are not cut out. If thought is not taken beforehand, great calamity will follow." What can be done? If your majesty can truly heed me the six states will be strong in their Alliance; they will have a single mind and united strength and there will be no calamity at the hands of mighty Ch'in. 'This is why my rustic ruler, the king of Chao, has sent me, his envoy, to present my clumsy plan and to offer a treaty. We are your majesty's to command. 'I am unworthy,' said the king of Wei, 'and have never before heard enlightened teaching. Today, sir, you come with Chao's charge and summon my state. I beg to follow you respectfully.' SPTK 7. 12a KY 49. 10
The chronicler's advice Chang Yi wished to be minister of both Ch'in and Wei so he said to the king of Wei: 'I shall request that Ch'in attack the Land of Three Rivers. You take this opportunity to put Nan-yang under siege and Han will be lost.' The chronicler, Yen 1 [of Wei] said to Chao Hsien [of Ch'u], 'Why not use Ch'u to help Yi and seek to have him made minister in Wei? Han will then fear for its existence and will certainly align itself with Ch'u. Yi will be minister of both Wei and Ch'in and you will, in like fashion, be minister for both Ch'u and Han.' SPTK 7.14b KY 50. 20 Almost identical to Chi-chung Chou-shu wording where it is supposed to have been spoken by Wu-wang. See SPTK ed. 4/ib. SY 10 has a slightly different version of the maxim and the more commonly known setting: 'Confucius went to Chou and saw a metal statue of a man before the steps of the temple. On its mouth were three seals and across its back was this inscription . . .' 2 K'an-yen says ife. should be ffl, on what authority I do not know. 1
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312 Kung-sun Yen raises his status at home by enlisting help abroad The king of Wei -was about to make Chang Yi his minister, but the hsi-shou, Kung-sun Yen, sawno profit in it to himself and therefore sent a man to speak to Han's kung-shu: 'Chang Yi has already brought Ch'in and Wei together by saying that Wei would attack Nan-yang, Ch'in would attack Three Rivers, and Han would perish. 'The reason the king of Wei honours Chang-tzuis greed for land; and, this being so, Nan-yang is doomed. Why don't you, by turning over a bit of Nan-yang to Kung-sun Yen, give him merit? Then relations between Ch'in and Wei would be abandoned.1 This accomplished, Wei will scheme against Ch'in and reject Chang Yi. She will receive Han in alliance, and Kung-sun Yen the hsi-shou will be her minister.' The kung-shu felt the advice was given in good faith and turned over the land. The hsi-shou gained much merit from this and did, in fact, become minister of Wei. SPTK 7.14b KY 50. 21
313 The king of Wei disregards Chang Yi's advice but laterfindsit expedient to follow it Ch'u promised Wei six towns if Wei would join her in battle against Ch'i to sustain Yen. Chang Yi wished to thwart Ch'u and said to the king of Wei: 'Ch'i is fearful of an alliance of three states2 against her and will certainly return Yen's lands to humble herself before Ch'u. 3 Ch'u will If Wei found she could get land without risking the danger of alliance with a country as powerful as Ch'in. 2 Ch'u Wei, and Yen. 3 Following Yokota, but Yao, SPTK has 'both Ch'u and Chao'. 1
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just as certainly accept the gesture and will not give you the six towns; you will have miscalculated with Ch'u and invited the wrath of Ch'i andCh'in. 'Ch'i will now attack Chao to take Ch'eng-ch'iu and get back her lost lands. Ch'ii and Tun-ch'iu will be imperilled. Ch'u will break Nan-yang's Chiu-yi and Nei-p'ei, and your towns of Hsu and Yen-ling will be in danger. 'You are supposed to receive Hsin-kuan 1 but all roads to it are controlled by Sung and Lesser Wei. If you fail there you will be driven out by Chao.2 If you succeed you will simply reward Sung and Lesser Wei with new districts.' But the king of Wei heeded him not. Chang Yi3 told Kung-chung Ch'ih to order a request to be made pleading famine - that lands nearest Wei's territory of Ho-wai 4 be lent to the king of Han to move his people to. The king of Wei was alarmed and asked Chang-tzu about it. 'Ch'in desires to save Ch'i and Han wishes to attack Nan-yang. 5 But this is the same as having Han and Ch'in allied to attack Nan-yang; and she is using your reception of the request as a means of divining your intent. If you won't treat with Ch'in, Han will have divined your intent completely !'6 Wei thereupon became most attentive to Ch'in, showed good faith toward Han, relaxed restrictions in Wei, saved Chao and accused and dismissed (?)7 Ch'u's man at Pi-hsia. [The attack on Ch'i then collapsed.] SPTK 7. 15a K Y 5 1 . 22 Probably the name for the district in which the six towns were located. Following Yokota, though it is not clear why Chao should be this far south. 3 This was a separate item in the Tseng edition but should not be, according to K'an-yen. 4 Following Yokota Hi should be K; but Wu Shih-tao says, 'the sentence makes no sense. Perhaps Han-wang should follow *T!" and the &. may be excrescent.' SPTK 7/i6a. The item is corrupt as it stands, and not for 'historical' reasons only. 5 A different one, presumably near Ho-nei. 6 Meaning she might as well join Ch'in and attack Wei if Wei is already illdisposed toward her. 7 SPTK has «£ for 3fE and K for ff which is totally incomprehensible. Yokota's version is not much less so. 1
2
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314 Ch'en Chen finds advantage in being slandered [Ch'en Chen left1 Ch'u and came to Wei.] 2 Chang Yi slandered him before the king of Wei. 'Ch'en Chen, it seems to me, is favouring Ch'u', said Chang Yi. 'He is seeking with all his strength to get land for her.' Tso Shuang3 spoke to Ch'en Chen about it: 'Yi is much in favour with the king of Wei who believes everything he says. You could use a hundred persuasions and he would probably not listen to you. The best thing for you to do is to make use of Yi's words to get yourself restored in Ch'u.' 'Good!' cried Ch'en Chen, and he sent a man to [make sure Yi's words were heard in Ch'u. The king of Ch'u was delighted and willing to take him back.]4 SPTK 7.16b and 5.23b KY50. 15 and 36. 8
315 Ch'en Chen sets out for Wei but ends in Ch'i Chang Yi, wishing to ruin Ch'en Chen, ordered the king of Wei to invite him to be minister of Wei. When he arrived, Chang Yi was going to imprison5 him. As Ch'en was about to leave Ch'u, his son, Ch'en Ying, stopped him. 'A thing so unusual6 as this invitation must be examined well', he said. SPTK originally had •&. Wu Shih-tao thinks it should be * H as in Yokota. 1 follow him. 2 The bracketed sections appear only in 199. They are without doubt the same story and 199 is the fuller version so the phrases from it are supplied here. 3 199 has Tso Hua ;fe Sg. 4 199 ends, 'a man to speak first to the king of Ch'u.' 5 The original in SPTK text was i& which made no sense. Wu Shih-tao claims the Tseng ed. had •§, 'manacles', which makes sense. Huang P'ei-lieh says the character was 1* which was used as a homophone for 'imprison' OH. I follow Huang. 6 After Yokota & = ft. 1
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING HSIANG
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Cheng Chiang, who had come away from Ch'in, said, 'The boy is wise: Wei wants to split Ch'i and Ch'u and so will welcome you very handsomely; those you leave behind in the capital who do not like you and do not want you here will urge the king to increase the number of carriages in your retinue. 'When you reach the road through Sung,1 declare yourself ill andunable to proceed. Send a man to say to the king of Ch'i, "The reason Wei welcomes me so is because she wants to split Ch'i from Ch'u."' The king of Ch'i replied, 'Then do not go there after all2 but have audience with me and I will enfeofFyou.' And he welcomed Ch'enwith the Marquis of Lu's carriage. SPTK 7. 16b KY 50. 16
316 The coercive adviser Chang Yi wished to ally Wei with Ch'in and Han and then attack both Ch'i and Ch'u. Hui Shih wanted to ally Wei with Ch'i and Ch'u so that her troops might be left undisturbed. Almost all of the men at court spoke to the king in favour of Chang Yi. 'Even when a small question is being decided, those in favour of or against some action will usually be divided half and half, how much more should this be the case with great questions!' said Hui-tzu to the king. 'The alliance of Wei with Ch'in and Han to attack Ch'i and Ch'u is an affair of great moment, yet all of your majesty's ministers agree it should be done. One wonders if the thing is really this advisable or quite this clear and if the sagacity of all your majesty's ministers is really so equal in degree! 'In fact, the advisability of this action is not at all clear, nor do all your majesty's ministers really possess sagacity in equal amounts. The opinions of half of them have been suppressed. The minister we call 1 2
Having given both parties the opportunity to make him look important. Reading S as Wz with Yasui.
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"the coercive adviser" will always deprive his ruler of half the opinions the ruler has a right to.' SPTK 7. 17a KY 50. 18
317 Yung Chti saves Wei from an attack by showing that its real object would be unharmed Because of Ch'in, Chang Yi became minister of Wei; Ch'i and Ch'u were angry and prepared to attack Wei. Yung Chii spoke to Chang-tzu: 'We made you minister because with you the country could be at peace and its people could be untroubled. If Wei feels the weight of weapons the moment you become her minister, it will be clear that her plans were in error. If Ch'i and Ch'u attack Wei your position will be in danger.' 'But what can be done?' asked Chang Yi. 'Allow me to forestall an attack by Ch'i and Ch'u', said Yung Chii, and he spoke to the rulers of Ch'i and Ch'u thus: 'Your majesty is perhaps aware what understanding Chang Yi has with Ch'in? Well, he said that if he were made minister of Wei, Ch'i and Ch'u would certainly attack that country because they hated him so. If Wei were victorious, the forces of Ch'i and Ch'u would be broken and he, Chang Yi, would be firmly established in Wei. If Wei were not victorious, she would certainly turn to Ch'in to protect herself and would cede lands as inducement to the king of Ch'in to help her. If your two countries hoped to attack a weakened Wei later, they would not be strong enough to stand up to Ch'in and Wei together. 'This is the secret agreement Chang Yi made with the king of Ch'in, and if you attack Wei while he is minister, you will see to it that his plans bear fruit for Ch'in. This is surely not the way to do Chang Yi harm.' 'True', replied the kings of Ch'i and Ch'u and hastily called off the attack. SPTK 7.17b KY 50.19
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING AI KING AI (318-296
393
B.C.) 1
318 Han P'eng 2[Someone said to] Chang Yi, 'I will speak to the king of Ch'i and tell him that he should fund Han P'eng and use him to drive Chang Yi from Wei. Wei will then make the hsi-shou her minister and drive out Han P'eng by using Wei and Ch'i. Thereafter they will make Kungshu minister to attack Ch'in. 'When Han P'eng hears what I say, he will certainly not go along with3 Ch'i but will strengthen you in Wei. This will keep you trouble free.'4 SPTK7. 18b
KY 59. 8
319 Ch'en Chen learns the secret of power When Ch'en Chen was on a mission to Ch'i on Ch'in's behalf he crossed Wei and sought audience with the hsi-shou. The hsi-shou excused himself, but Ch'en Chen said: 'I have come here about your power. 5 If you will not give me audience I shall continue on my way and you need not hope for another day.' The hsi-shou gave him audience. 'Do you dislike power', asked Ch'en Chen. 'Are you satisfied merely to eat and drink well and hold no power?' 'I am incapable,' replied the hsi-shou, 'and am unable to get power from anywhere. How would I dislike it?' See note 5 on p.383. The Yao edition has this as no. 8 under Han. K'an-yen, 26. 1 says: 'Since this is someone making plans for Chang Yi so that his position may be firmer in Wei . . . and Kung-shu and Kung Chung are merely mentioned, Pao is right to have moved this (to Wei).' 3 A should be -&• with Yokota. 4 This item is hard to make much of, even with the addition of W and S in the first sentence. 1
2
394
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING AI
'Allow me to transfer all the power there is in the empire to you, sir.' 'How can that be done?' 'The king of Wei has just sent Li Ts'ung 1 to Ch'u with a retinue of one hundred carriages. You remain behind and can cast doubt upon him. Say to the king of Wei, "I am an old friend of both Yen and Chao and a number of times they have sent men to me saying, 'When you have the leisure, be certain to come and visit us.' At present I am without commission and I request leave to go to them. Not for long, only ten or fifteen days." The king will certainly have no excuse for detaining you. Having obtained leave, you must announce in court that carriages and means of travel must be made ready quickly, for you are off in haste to the courts of Yen and Chao.' 'I will do it', said the hsi-shou. He asked leave from the king of Wei, and the king granted it. Thereupon he openly declared that he was going on a mission to Yen and Chao. Retainers of the Lords who were at court heard him and sent messengers to tell their kings, 'Li Ts'ung is on a mission to Ch'u with a retinue of one hundred carriages. In addition, the hsi-shou is taking thirty carriages on a mission to Yen and Chao.' When the king of Ch'i heard this, he feared he might be the last in the empire to secure the offices of Wei, so he put his affairs in the hands of the hsi-shou. When the hsi-shou had received this commission the king of Wei recalled him. But when Yen and Chao heard about Ch'i they also put their affairs in the hsi-shou's hands, and when the king of Ch'u heard this he said: 'Li Ts'ung arranged the agreement with us, but now Yen, Ch'i, and Chao have all commissioned the hsi-shou. Surely he must also want my commission. I want him.' Thereupon he put Li Ts'ung aside so that his affairs might be managed by the hsi-shou, The king of Wei said: 'I did not employ you, my hsi-shou, because I felt you were incompetent; but now that four states have entrusted their affairs to you, I should also like to turn over my state to you.' And so the hsi-shou managed all the affairs of the empire and was minister of Wei as well. SPTK7.18b KY 50.14 1 SC has T'ien Hsii.
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING AI
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320 Kung-sun Yen uses a pleasant meeting to wreck a treaty The king of Ch'i was to meet the ministers of Yen, Chao and Ch'u in Lesser Wei to arrange a treaty which excluded Wei. The king of Wei, being alarmed and afraid they were planning to attack his state, spoke of it to Kung-sun Yen. 'Give me one hundred in gold and I shall bring the meeting to defeat', replied Yen. The king arranged for carriages and for the hundred in gold. The hsi-shou then calculated1 the day the king of Ch'i would arrive and arranged to arrive in Lesser Wei with fifty carriages ahead of Ch'i. There he subverted the emmissary2 of Ch'i and he used the hundred in gold to gain first audience with Ch'i's king. During the audience he spoke at length and in an easy manner with him. The ministers of the three countries said to the king of Ch'i angrily, 'You are making a covenant with the three of us which excludes Wei, yet Wei sent Kung-sun Yen and you have just spoken to him at length. We think you are plotting against our three states.' 'The king of Wei heard that I had come here', explained the king of Ch'i, 'and he sent Kung-sun Tzu to vex me, but I wouldn't speak to him.' None of the ministers of the three countries believed the king of Ch'i was treating them with candour, and so the very thing for which they were met together came to nought. SPTK 7. 20a KY51.25
321 Kung-sun Yen is told what to say Wei ordered Kung-sun Yen to sue for peace with Ch'in. Chi-wu Hui 3 instructed him not to cede any more land: Following the chodai. Yasui says [3] is 'to spy'; 'he arrived in advance to spy and to bribe fff) the attendants (;£ ;fr) of the king of Ch'i'. This last interpretation has merit to it for f? (A) 'ambassador' would be antique usage for CKT. 3 Deux Sophistes, p. 16, reads it Ch'i-wu, Index reads Chi-wu. 1 2
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THE B O O K OF WEI, OR L I A N G - K I N G AI
'Say to Ch'in, "If the peace be achieved then it will be because Ch'in thinks it an important peace and will deal with the king. 1 If it be not achieved, then from this time forth no man will ever be able to join Wei with Ch'in. 2 '" SPTK 7. 20b KY 51. 26
322 When the ox and the horse are yoked together Kung-sun Yen was general for Wei and was ill-disposed towards the state's minister, T'ien Hsu. Chi-tzu spoke to the king of Liang for Yen: 'Have you never seen an ox yoked with a thoroughbred?' he asked. 'They cannot travel one hundred paces together. Now you feel Yen is capable; you have made him your general and use him. But you accept the plans of your minister T'ien Hsu, and this is putting a thoroughbred in span with an ox. Both horse and ox will fail and die which will surely harm your state. Examine into it, your majesty.' SPTK 7. 20b KY 52. 27
323 A small beginning is the better policy The hsi-shou and T'ien P'an 3 wanted troops from Ch'i and Wei to attack the state of Chao, but the ruler of Liang and Marquis T'ien4 did not wish to furnish them. 'I ask that these countries only send forth fifty thousand troops', declared the hsi-shou, 'and within five months Chao will be reduced.' Ambiguous both in text and translation. Seki explains that if the peace failed it would be because Ch'in was so greedy for land that men would be repelled by her greed and never again seek to have Wei cede lands for alliance with Ch'in. The entire item is obscure. SPTK lacks the second 0 . 3 Ministers of Wei and Ch'i respectively. 4 The kings of Wei and Ch'i. 1 a
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING AI
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'A state which sends only light forces is easily endangered. Whoever makes his plan sound easy is easily confounded', 1 said T'ien P'an to him. 'You made the destruction of Chao sound too simple and I am afraid you will regret doing that.' 'You are not being perceptive', replied the hsi-shou. 'Both rulers are already very reluctant to supply troops, and if you mention the difficulties of the undertaking you will frighten them. This will leave Chao unmolested and two officers in trouble from their stratagems. After that we could insist that the task is really simple, but the opportunity to convince them would have already been lost. 'On the other hand, if the affair has already begun and weapons already crossed, and then Duke T'ien and the ruler of Liang perceive the danger, are they likely to abandon their troops and refuse to give us what we need?' 'You are right', said T'ien P'an, and he urged the two rulers to heed the hsi-shou. They got their small levy of troops from the two countries, but before they had crossed a border, Marquis T'ien and the ruler of Liang, fearful of their defeat upon arrival, mustered all the rest of their troops to follow the expedition. Chao was totally defeated. SPTK 7. 21a KY 52.1
324 The king's arms and legs The hsi-shou had audience with the ruler of Liang. 'I exhaust my energies and knowledge to broaden my king's lands and foster respect for his name. T'ien Hsu damages me from within the palace and your majesty heeds him. This is why I cannot ever succeed. If Hsu is banished, I will serve you; if Hsu serves you then banish me.' 'Hsii is as my arms and legs to me', replied the king. 'If I should have him killed or banished because he inconveniences you, how would I explain it abroad to the empire and at home to my other ministers? I will put him aside for you and warn him he must not meddle in your 1
One Si has dropped out in the Kambun printing.
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THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING AI
affairs. If he does meddle, then I will have him executed or banished. Will that do?' The hsi-shou said it would and then went eastward to see T'ien Ying and arranged a treaty with him. He had Ying's son, Wen, made minister of Wei and he himself became minister of Han. SPTK7. 21b KY 52. 2
3251
The king employs T'ien Hsu to watch his other ministers Su Tai persuaded the king of Wei on behalf of T'ien Hsu: 'May I ask your majesty', said he, 'if T'ien Wen will do more for WeiorforCh'i?' 'More for Ch'i.' 'And will Kung-sun Yen do more for Wei or for Han?' 'More for Han.' 'Yen will serve Han with his right hand and Wei with his left,' said Su Tai, 'and Wen will serve Ch'i with his right hand and Wei with his left. The two of them use your majesty's state to initiate actions and if, along the way, they do something injurious to Wei, your majesty has no one to make sure he hears of it. . . 2 Your majesty had best keep T'ien Hsu beside him to scrutinize the projects of these two. They will say to themselves, "Hsu is not our man, and if we initiate some action unprofitable to Wei, Hsu will surely oppose us before the king." Neither of them will risk sedition then. Whatever those two do, be it profitable or harmful to Wei, the king should keep Hsu. by his side to counteract them. I believe it will be useful to you personally and to the affairs of your state.' 'Good', said the king, and he kept Hsu by his side. SPTK 7. 22b KY 52. 2a K'an-yen lists this as part of 324. SPTK also has it as part of the previous item, but Yokota has it as a separate item. 2 With Yokota, Seki and Wu Shih-tao, I do not understand the next eleven characters. Yasui says ^J should be f"J; then the sentence, according to Yasui, means 'though your state is drained dry you will follow them; why?'
1
THE B O O K OF WEI, OR LIANG - KING AI
399
326 The hsi-shou has Shih Chti discredited Shih Chii was defaming the hsi-shou before his king. The hsi-shou wanted to compromise Shih Chii and said to Chang Yi: 'I would like to command my king to yield his throne to you. This would be the act of a Yao or a Shun. But you will not accept; so yours will be the deed of a Hsu Yu. 1 In return for your behaviour I will request the king to settle on you a city often thousand households.' Chang Yi was so happy that he ordered Shih Chii to have several audiences with the hsi-shou.2 The king heard of it and no longer put trust in Shih Chii - the latter departed the country without even taking leave of the king. SPTK 7. 23a KY 52. 3
327 The siege of Ch'iang The king of Ch'u attacked Liang-nan and Han used the opportunity to surround Ch'iang. 3 Ch'eng Hui spoke to the king of Han for the hsishou.
'If you put pressure on Ch'iang,' he said, 'troops from Ch'u will certainly advance on Wei.4 She will be unable to withstand them, and will clasp her hands together and submit to Ch'u's demands. This will put Han in danger. Your majesty must recall the siege around Ch'iang. Wei, relieved of affliction by Han, will certainly engage Ch'u in a war. If she is defeated by Ch'u, she will be unable to protect Ta-liang, much less the town of Ch'iang! If she wins, her SY 8/79. 'Yao offered Hsu Yu the empire but the latter washed out his ears and refused.' 2 It is not the least clear either in the logic of rhetoric or of history why he should order Shih Chii to do this. 3 Pao changes this to M, see SPTK. 4 Presumably because Wei would split her forces to secure both her flanks. 1
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troops will be spent, and an attack on Ch'iang will then be made simple.' SPTK 7. 23 a KY 52. 4
328 Chang Yi persuades Wei to join the Coalition Chang Yi, forming Ch'in's Coalition, persuaded the king of Wei thus: 'Your majesty's lands are not more than a thousand square li nor do his troops number more than three hundred thousand. In addition your land is level and open to the Lords in all directions. Straight roads converge on it as spokes do upon a hub. Not a single notable mountain or great river lies athwart them. From Cheng to Liang is but a hundred li; from Ch'en 1 to Liang slightly more than two hundred. A horse could gallop or a man run the distance and not feel weary on arrival. To the south of Liang are the marches of Ch'u; to the west, those of Han; north are Chao's and on the east you share a boundary with Ch'i. On all sides you must man walls and watchtowers face to face with those of other states and keep on hand for your garrisons grain transport2 and storage for not less than a hundred thousand men. It is the nature of Wei's territory that she shall forever be a battle ground. ? r'lf Wei gives ground in the south to Ch'u but not to Ch'i, she will be attacked in the east by the latter. If she yields something in the east to Ch'i but not to Chao, the latter will attack her in the north. If her relations are bad with Han, Han will attack in the west. If she is not friendly with Ch'u then Ch'u will smite her in the south. Any such move would be "the path to disintegration;./ 'Now the Lords who form the Alliance would have society safe, rulers honoured, the military strong and reputations secure. They would unify the empire, slaughter a spotless victim and swear an oath on the altar at Huan-shui to sustain each other as brothers. But do not Yokota says: 'Han had taken over (the old state) of Cheng and Ch'u had taken Ch'en. Cheng and Ch'en, then, refer to Han and Ch'u.' 2 ffi M- Huang says that the Pao edition has mistakenly transformed the two characters. They should be if K. I follow Huang; it makes no sense otherwise.
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even brothers of the same flesh and blood quarrel over property? It is perfectly clear that nothing will be accomplished by depending on schemes devised by the deceitful Su Ch'in, who is as much at home on one side as he is on the other.//' 'If your majesty should refuse to serve Ch'in and Ch'in sent down its troops to the Hp-wai area to take Chiian, Yen-yen and Suan-tsao, and to plunder the district of Wei and seize Chin-yang,1 Chao would not come south to your rescue. No more could Wei go north. If Wei cannot go north, then the road to the Alliance is cut off. With the road to the Alliance cut off, your majesty might hope to avoid danger, but his hope would be in vain. 'Ch'in would carry Han with her in an attack on Wei: Han is so threatened by Ch'in that she could not refuse. When Ch'in and Han become a single state, one could only stand by and watch Wei perish. This is why I feel concern for your majesty. If I were making your majesty's plans, I should arrange for you to serve Ch'in. If you did this, Ch'u and Han would be immobilized and could no longer pose a threat; your majesty's head might then rest easy on your pillow because your state would be untroubled. 'You see, Ch'in would like nothing better than to have Ch'u weakened; and none is in better position to weaken Ch'u than Wei. Though Ch'u has a mighty name, the reality is hollow. Though her troops are many, they are quick to flee and easy to make retreat2. They fight with no daring and little determination. Were you to muster all Wei's troops and attack southward, you would beat Ch'u. 'Now to diminish Ch'u by augmenting Wei, to attack Ch'u and please Ch'in, to marry off3 your troubles while keeping your state in order - all these are great benefits. But, if you were not to heed me, your majesty, once Ch'in's armour attacked westward, you might wish to serve her but it would be too late. 'These men of the Alliance are doughty wordmongers, but seldom dependable. If one of them can persuade a feudal prince, he may ride off in a chariot given him as a gift; if another can secure a state's agreement This should probably be Yang-chin as Takigawa says, SC 10/13. Or easily defeated. Cf. i t * in 456. 3 P) is probably excrescent.
1
2
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to defect from Ch'in, 1 he may find a fief there for a base. This is why every persuader in the empire spends all day and every night waving his fists, bulging his eyes and grinding his teeth trying to convince rulers that the Alliance is advantageous. Is not the ruler who is taken in by their words or drawn by their persuasions deluded indeed! 'But I have heard it said "enough feathers will sink a craft, enough down will break a shaft". Surely then enough mouths can melt metal:2 so please consider your plans carefully, your majesty.' 'I have been stupid,' said the king of Wei, 'and my plans heretofore have all missed the mark. I beg to become Ch'in's hedge in the east, to build her palaces, to receive her cap and sash, to furnish her yearly sacrifices, and cede her the lands of Ho-wai.' KY 49.11
329 Kan Yi saves a hostage from execution Ch'i and Wei had made a pact by which they both undertook to attack Ch'u. Wei placed Tung Ch'ing as hostage for her word in Ch'i. Then Ch'u attacked Ch'i and seriously defeated her and Wei did not come to her rescue. In anger T'ien Ying was on the verge of executing Tung Ch'ing when Kan Yi spoke to him on Tung Ch' ing's behalf: 'Ch'u has attacked and badly defeated Ch'i, yet she hesitates to invade because she fears Wei will let her penetrate Ch'i in order to strike at her rear. If you were to execute Tung Ch'ing now, it would show Ch'u that she need not fear Wei, Wei would become angry and unite with Ch'u, and Ch'i would then be in real peril. It would be better to honour Tung Ch'ing thus preserving Wei's good will and keeping Ch'u uneasy about Wei' SPTK7.2 5 b KY 49.12 11
follow the Yao text here which goes ffl M R ]& ifii with no M. Huang also thinks this correct. 2 It is possible that this phrase is also meant to be part of the proverbial saying but it neither rhymes nor scans with the first two.
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330 The elderly concubine Chang Yi went to Wei and Wei was going to receive him. Chang Ch'ou warned the king not to take Chang Yi in, but he did not gain the king's assent. Chang Ch'ou retired but came back another day to remonstrate with the king. 'Your majesty must know how an elderly concubine serves her mistress. Her children are grown, her beauty has faded, and all that is important to her is the household. 'I serve you, your majesty, the way the aging concubine serves her mistress. 1
The king refused to accept Chang Yi after that. SPTK 7. 26a KY 50.17
331 The hsi-shou rids himself of some bother Wen-tzu,2 T'ien Hsii, and Chou Hsiao were all on good terms with each other and all sought to compromise the hsi-shou. This bothered the hsi-shou, so he spoke to the king of Wei: 'We are most troubled by the country of Ch'i, and T'ien Ying acts and speaks for the king of Ch'i. If you want Ch'i on your side, why not make T'ien Wen your minister. If you did, the other, T'ien Ying, would busy himself to get Ch'i to bow to Wei.' 'Good', said the king and summoned Wen-tzu to be made minister, and the hsi-shou was relieved3 of T'ien Hsii and Chou Hsiao. SPTK 7. 26a KY 52. 7 Only the country is important to him. I.e. T'ien Wen. 3 Presumably because T'ien Wen would discourage their machinations.
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2
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332 Hui Shih makes sure of a welcome The king of Wei ordered Hui Shih to Ch'u and the hsi-shou to Ch'i1 . Hui Shih immediately ordered a man to precede him to Ch'i and say, 'The king of Wei has ordered the hsi-shou to Ch'i and myself to Ch'u to judge by how generously you receive us what your attitude toward Wei is.' When the king of Ch'u heard this he went forth to the suburbs to welcome Hui Shih. SPTK 7. 26b KY 52. 8
333 Planting willows T'ien Hsu was high in the esteem of the king of Wei. 'You must treat the king's attendants well', said Hui-tzu to T'ien Hsu. 'Consider the willow; you can plant a cutting sideways in the ground and it will grow, you can even thrust it in upside down or broken and it will grow, but if you send ten men forth planting willows and one man forth to pull them up, not a single willow will survive! So, ten people planting the easiest thing to grow cannot outstrip a single man pulling them up. Why is this? Growing things is simply harder to do than destroying them. 2 Similarly, if you are well established with the king but there are many others who would destroy you, you are in peril indeed!' SPTK 7. 26b KY 53. 12 11
follow Yokota in treating the fifteen characters following this in the Chinese text as an incorporated scholium. 2 Mencius 'Kao-tzu, shang', 9, mentions 'the thing most easily grown' but is neither so explicit nor so apposite.
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334 Su Tai gives a rehearsal When T'ien Hsu died, Chao Yu 1 said to Su Tai, 'I hear that either Chang Yi, the Duke of Hsiieh, or the hsi-shou will be minister of Wei.' 'True,' replied Tai, 'which of them would suit you best, sir?' 'I want the heir presumptive to be minister', said Chao Yii. 'If you allow me to go north and speak to the king of Liang he is certain to do just that', replied Tai. 'How can this be?' 'Pretend you are the king of Liang and let me persuade you.' 'What will that do?' T shall say to you, "I have just come from Ch'u and Chao Yii was extremely dispirited. I said to him, 'Why are you downcast, sir?' 'T'ien Hsu is dead and I fear that either Chang Yi, the Duke of Hsiieh or the hsi-shou will become minister of Wei', said he." 'Do not be upset, sir, the king of Liang is a competent monarch and will certainly not make Chang Yi his minister. Chang Yi as minister of Wei would serve Ch'in with his right hand and Wei with his left only. If the Duke of Hsiieh were minister of Wei he would certainly serve Ch'i with his right hand and Wei with his left. The hsi-shou as minister to Wei would serve Han with his right hand and Wei with his left. No, the king of Liang is a competent ruler and will surely not make any of them ministers.' 'Then who should be my minister?'2 'Nothing could be better than to make Wei's heir your minister. This being done the three men will realize that the heir will not be minister forever and each will work to have his country of origin serve Wei - for each will desire the seal of vice minister. 'With Wei's strength and three great countries assisting her she will be secure indeed! This is why I say nothing would serve so well as having the heir become your minister.' [After this he went north to see the king of Liang, spoke those words to him and the heir actually was made Wei's minister.] SPTK 7. 27a KY53-I3 1 Yokota says he was minister of Ch'u. 2 This is Chao Yii playing the king's role.
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335 Chang Yi does some counter-espionage Chou Tsui favoured Ch'i. Ti Ch'iang favoured Ch'u, but both of them •wanted to injure Chang Yi in Wei. Chang Yi got wind of it and got his own man the post of servant1 to the man they had sent to spy on him, and Chang Yi's man subverted the spy. The result was that the two men never could harm Chang-tzu. SPTK 7. 28 a KY 57. 20
336 Chou Tsui in Ch'i Chou Tsui entered Ch'i. The king of Ch'in was angry and sent Yao Chia to reprimand the king of Wei. 2 Through him the king of Wei said to the king of Ch'in: 'What enables me to keep in touch with the empire for you is the presence of Chou Tsui. Now he has fled my court and entered Ch'i. Ch'i no longer has connection with the rest of the empire and my humble services to your majesty are in no way involved with Ch'i. If your great state is anxious to use its troops, then let it urge Chao [to fight].3 SPTK 7. 28a K Y 58. 21 1 f i factotum? 2 i.e., Wei does not intend to attack Ch'i. The item is not clear but here is Yokota's understanding of it: 'This means that what made Wei leader of the Alliance {tsung) and kept her aligned with the other lords was the fact that Chou Tsui was the manager of the Alliance. Since Tsui had now left Wei and gone to Ch'i the two states' relations were naturally ruptured. When the Lords knew that Ch'i and Wei had fallen out they would have nothing more to do with the Affiance. Ch'i would also have no more to do with the Alliance. Wei's serving Ch'in was, furthermore, not involved with Ch'i, but if Ch'in was anxious to attack Ch'i let her pressure Chao, Wei was not going to take orders on that score . . . It would be difficult for Wei to make war on Ch'i which is why it says "urge Chao".' While this reads a great deal into the text, if you start with the premise that the Alliance and Ch'in's Coalition actually existed, it is plausible. 3 Presumably, this is related to 31 where Wei is allied with Ch'in to attack Ch'i.
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337 Su Tai dissuades the king ofCh''in from forcing Lord Hsin-an to leave Wei Ch'in ordered Lord Hsin-an, minister of Wei to go elsewhere, but he was not willing to leave Wei. Su Tai persuaded the king of Ch'in in his behalf: 'I have heard that the loyal1 are not always in the majority and the majority are not always loyal. I should like to explain my opinion of the situation, but I fear I must appear disloyal in the eyes of the maj ority of your lesser officials and may be risking my neck. Will your majesty please take note of this? 'Your majesty, you wish now to order another man to manage things in Wei and make your relations with her wholly satisfactory, but I am afraid relations with Wei will become increasingly doubtridden. You hope to isolate2 Chao, but I am afraid you will only make her more stiff-necked. The king of Wei is extremely fond of and used to Hsin of Wei. 3 He finds him intelligent and capable; he employs and depends on him greatly. That the king of Wei dislikes, fears and stands in awe of Ch'in is perfectly clear. Now if your majesty sends another to Wei and he is not used, then your majesty's man has gone to Wei in vain. If your man were used, it would mean that the king of Wei had to give up what he is fond of and used to and employ a representative of something he dislikes and fears. This will trouble the king of Wei. Also, to retire from the management of a great state is something which Hsin of Wei will find impossible to do. 'If you put a ruler in a position which troubles him and force his minister to do something he cannot in order to draw their state closer to you, you canno t be successful for very long. This is why I fear your relations with Wei will become increasingly doubtful. 'Moreover, if Hsin of Wei is made to give up his post, the men who make Chao's plans must say to themselves, "If we were allied with4 Ch'in then Ch'in would order whoever she pleased to manage Chao: 11
follow SPTK It should be JSfJ. Yokota glosses it as 'upright'.
Following Yasui. 3 i.e. Hsin-an Chim. 4 "S" not # . Noted by Yokota et al. 2
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Chao might still survive but we would perish, Chao might be secure but we would be in peril, and so you would have caused all those in command to be of a mind to take the field against you and those they led would be determined to resist to the last. This is why I fear you will only make Chao more stiff-necked. 'Your majesty, do you truly wish to make Ch'in's relationship with Wei wholly satisfactory and also make Chao less aggressive? If so, nothing would be better than to continue using Hsin of Wei and to let it be known that you are. Let it also be known that as long as Hsin of Wei serves you, his country will be secure and his fame will be great, and that if he ceases to serve you his country will be in danger and his power slight. Of course Hsin of Wei will serve you! On the one hand he will be acting loyally toward his king, and on the other he himself will be treated most generously. He will certainly make himself wholly satisfactory to you. 'Those who manage Chao will be certain to say, "The Wei house is no more exalted than ours, the fruits of their lands no greater than ours. When Hsin of Wei submitted his state to Ch'in, Ch'in treated him well, His state is at peace because of it, and he himself is honoured for it. At the moment we are enemies of Ch'in and our troops are her target. To put one's country in a position to be diminished and imperilled is not proper planning; to have enemies abroad and a ruler troubled at home, and to be in a perilous position ourselves is not successful service!" They will then rue their former acts and regret their past behaviour. In hope of profit each will offer to cede land to demonstrate the greatest deference to your majesty. Then you need do no more than let your hand fall and much land will be ceded you. So great will be the profit that even Yao and Shun could have obtained no more. Please examine this plan, your majesty.' SPTK 7. 29a KY 53.14
338 Lou Wu is angered by the attempt to reverse his treaty 1Lou
Wu arranged a treaty between Ch'in and Wei for which the Wei
It is likely that these two names are another version of the Lou P'i andTi Ch'iang of 340.
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heir became hostage. Fen Chiang hoped to wreck the treaty so he spoke to the queen mother 1 of Wei: 'State policies reverse2 themselves. If there should appear a way to defeat Ch'in and profit Wei, then Wei would turn her back on Ch'in's treaty. The moment she does this the heir becomes so much refuse.' The queen mother went before the king and wept, and the king in turn became concerned over the heir's safety and ordered him to remain in Sourdate. This annoyed Lou-tzu, and when Chao Yen came to Liang representing Chou he spoke to him of it. Later, when Chao Yen had audience with the king of Wei and the king asked 'What news?' Chao Yen replied, 'I hear that Ch'in is about to attack Wei.' 'But we have just now concluded a treaty!' 'Ch'in is sceptical of your good faith since you have left the heir in Sourdate instead of sending him on to Ch'in', replied Chao Yen. 'The king of Ch'in says to himself, "If Wei will not give me a treaty she must be going to attack me. Instead of letting her arrange things her way by waiting for her to attack, would it not be better for me to attack first?" I, personally, am afraid of the harm Ch'in and its satellites will do to my state of East Chou.' SPTK 7. 30b KY 21. 4
339 Ch'u returns the heir of Wei and is at once attacked Ch'in and Ch'u attacked Wei and surrounded P'i-shih. Someone, speaking for Wei, said to the king of Ch'u: 'If Ch'in and Ch'u are victorious, the king of Wei will have only one fear - annihilation. He will certainly unite his country with Ch'in. Would it not be best for you to turn your back on Ch'in and align Ch'u with Wei? The king of Wei will be happy to let you take his heir as hostage and then Ch'in, for fear of losing you as an ally, will certainly make you gifts of cities and lands. Then, even though you have allied yourself with Wei, you will be able to attack her again later.' 1 2
This should probably be queen rather than queen mother. Following Kao Yu and Yasui.
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'Good', said the king of Ch'u; and he turned from Ch'in and joined with Wei. Wei did send her heir to Ch'u and Ch'in was fearful and did grant cities and land to Ch'uc Ch'u later wished to attack Wei together with Ch'in, but Ch'u-li Chi of Ch'in was angered and hoped to attack Ch'u with Wei as an ally. He feared that Wei would not take part in anything while her heir remained hostage in Ch'u, so someone was sent to speak to the king of Ch'u for Ch'u-li Chi. 'The minister Chi has sent me here to say, "My rustic prince hoped to grant Ch'u more cities and lands but has not dared to because the heir of Wei is still in your country. If your majesty will send the heir away, your servant would like to present gifts which will strengthen good relations between Ch'in and Ch'u so that we may straightway make war upon W e i ! " ' 'I will do so', replied the king of Ch'u; and he returned the heir of Wei. Ch'in immediately joined Wei and attacked Ch'u. SPTK7. 31a KY53.15
340 The heir of Wei offers some advice 1 When
the heir of Wei was in Ch'u he said to Lou-tzu, who was at Yen-ling,2 'You must wait till Ch'i and Ch'u are in accord before you can rescue P'i-shih. At present Ch'i and Ch'u are certainly of two minds. 'Now the person Ti Ch'iang3 hates most in all his country is you. His men all want to ally Ch'i and Ch'in and exclude Ch'u so that you will become less important. They will certainly say to the king of Ch'i, "Ch'in did not really take the initiative in the present attack on Wei. It was Ch'u who, disliking the fact that Wei was serving Ch'i, urged Ch'in to attack Wei." Ch'i will then want to attack Ch'u and will be This was originally part of the preceding item, but it deals with a different matter entirely so K'en-yan lists it independently as does Yokota. 2 'A Wei city', Yokota; 'Ch'u's city', Yasui. 3 A minister of Wei. I am uncertain of this sentence, but Yokota gives M & = IS
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angry that Ch'u was against her. She will also order Wei to cede land, obey Ch'in, and seek peace. When Chang-tzu1 was strong and Ch'in and Han were powers, the king of Ch'i disliked him and the king of Wei did not dare keep him on. Today, with the powers of Ch'i and Ch'in aligned, any request to exclude Ch'u, thus making you less important, will be honoured and I am disturbed on your behalf.2[?] 'If it be of equal weight whether land is offered for peace with Ch'in at the behest of Ch'i or Ch'u, would it not be best to do it for Ch'u? [?] If Ch'in suddenly attacks, Ch'u 3 will turn her troops and ally herself to Ch'in. The king of Wei will be afraid. You then offer Fen-pei to make peace with Ch'in, draw them all closer together and isolate Ch'i. Ch'in and Ch'u will honour you for this and you will be made minister. I believe4 the king of Ch'in does what Ch'u-li Chi wishes, so I should like to persuade him on your behalf.' And so the heir said to Ch'u-li Chi: 'To attack P'i-shih was an important thing for your king, but to fail to take it would make the empire scorn Ch'in. Furthermore, having P'i-shih would be useful in attacking Han and Wei.' 'But I have already made terms with Wei,' said Ch'u-li Chi. 'I have no need of P'i-shih.' 'Let me use my dim intelligence to estimate what is in my lord's mind - and please do not take offence. Possession of P'i-shih is of great benefit to your country, but you gave5 it to Wei because you felt that in the end you would not have the resources to defend it permanently. But now you have all the strength you need to defend it, why do you not possess it? [?] 'What can be done about that?' asked Ch'u-li Ch'i. 'What the king of Wei most depends on are the countries of Ch'i and Ch'u. The men he uses are Lou P'i 6 and Ti Ch'iang. But Ch'i is now i.e. Chang Yi. I follow Seki and Wu Shih-tao but not without some misgivings. 3 After SPTK only one 3*. 4 This is but one of the shaky aspects of this item. The heir may address himself as EL but he could scarcely travel at will (which he seems to be doing) if he were hostage. 5 Yokota says 'by lifting the siege before P'i-shih was taken'. 6 Chung-h.ua gives p'i for H while acknowledging it is the same character as #• pi. See also 356. 1
2
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telling Wei, "I want you to make peace or attack as Ch'i directs". And these are the words of one who commands Wei's troops - not of one likely to come to her rescue. Also the king of Ch'u is angered by the king of Wei's refusal to use Lou-tzu, and if Wei sends Ti Ch'iang to make peace, Ch'u will reject him with an angry countenance. What the king of Wei fears, then, is that he will be destroyed. Ti Ch'iang wishes to ally Ch'i and Ch'in and exclude Ch'u so that Lou P'i is scorned. Lou P'i wants to unite Ch'in and Ch'u and exclude Ch'i so that Ti Ch'iang is diminished. 'The best thing for you to do is to delay making peace with Wei and send someone to say to Lou-tzu, "If you are willing to get Fen-pei for me I will ask Ch'u to make peace - and it will be my task to exclude Ch'i so that you are made important." Lou-tzu and the king of Ch'u will busy themselves at once. 'Then you will also send a man to speak to Ti Ch'iang: "Will you get Fen-pei for me? If you do, I will make peace with Ch'i and exclude Ch'u so that you will become important." Ti Ch'iang and the king of Ch'i will busy themselves at once. 'With the use of Ch'i and Ch'u outside Wei and the help of Lou P'i and Ti Ch'iang inside Wei, why should you not hold lands in Hotung?' 1 SPTK 7. 32a KY 55.11
341 An anonymous letter diverts Ch'iris attention from Wei A letter was sent the king of Ch'in which said: It has come to my unworthy attention that your majesty intends to provoke war with Wei: I fear such a scheme is not part of good strategy! Please, your majesty, give it your most considered thinking. »7 Wei is the heart 2 of China East of the Mountains. If you were confronted with a serpent and you struck its tail, its head would come to the rescue; if you struck at its head, its tail would come to the i.e. Fen-pei. It is totally unclear how the second part of this item is supposed to relate to the first. 2 l | = IBS 'midsection', following Yokota et al. 1
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rescue; but if you strike at its middle, both head and tail will come to the rescue. Wei is the mid-section of the empire, so attacking her will be the same as thrusting 1 at the heart of the empire or breaking the backbone of China East of the Mountains. This will be the time for both the head and the tail of that area to come to the rescue of their own midsection. East of the Mountains will certainly be alarmed if Wei seems on the verge of extinction and being alarmed it will be unified throughout. The area is still strong and I foresee great trouble for Ch'in which Ch'in will have stirred up for herself.2 Were I to use my ignorance to make plans for your majesty, I should find nothing so good as going south to provoke an incident there. There troops are weak and the empire will be unable3 to come to the rescue. There the lands can broaden yours, the country can enrich you, its troops will lend you strength and its ruler will give you honour. Has your majesty not heard how T'ang conquered Chieh? He first blooded his troops on a weak Hsu of Pi, and after he had taken Pi he could take Chieh. If Ch'in makes China East of the Mountains its enemy without first testing her troops against a weaker opponent, her armies will be seriously beset and her people will mourn their dead. Ch'in did, in fact, attack [through Lan-t'ien]4 Yen-ying, the capital ofCh'u. SPTK 7 -33b KY55.1
342 Lou Huaris solution Wei and Ch'in attacked Ch'u 5 but the king of Wei was uneasy. Lou Huan spoke to him. 17J>
is probably an error for p\, with Yokota. Literally, 'stood up and waited for'. 3 i£f« an error for Jf\, with Yokota et al. 4 Pao Piao and Yokota think Lan-t'ien may be a meaningless accretion, for the area was, of course, already part of Ch'in. 5 Chung Feng-nien (pien wu, p. 59) points out that the Wen-hsiian note on Chia Yi's Kuo-Ch'in Lun draws on this item and has: 'The king of Ch'in attacked Ch'u but the king of Wei did not wish (him to)', which makes more sense. 2
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'If you don't attack Ch'u with Ch'in, then Ch'in and Ch'u will attack you. It were better if you caused Ch'in and Ch'u to join battle and then mediated the dispute.' SPTK7. 34b KY 56. 5
K I N G C H A O (295-277 B.C.)
343 A queen's anxiety for her lover stands Wei in good stead Ch'in defeated East Chou, fought Wei at Yi-ch'ueh, and killed Hsi Wu. Wei ordered Kung-sun Yen to use the occasion of Ch'in's victory to remain within the Wei borders and most humbly beg peace of Ch'in by ceding her territory.1 The king of Wei was petitioned on behalf of Tou Lou: 'Your servant does not know what amount of territory Yen will bargain away to Ch'in, but I can halve it and still cause Ch'in to make peace with your majesty.' 'In what way?' 'Your majesty should make Tou Lou Warder Within the Pass and cause the king of Chao to treat his mission with gravity and treat him handsomely. Thereupon word should be spread about that Chou and Wei have ordered Tou Lou to give over to the Lord Feng-yang, Li Tui, the ceding of Wei lands to make peace with Ch'in. 'Now the ruler of Chou, Tou Lou, and Lord Feng-yang would all trade their heads for Marquis Jang's neck. With Tou Lou making the peace and Lord Feng-yang ceding the territory, the queen mother will fear that they will not do Marquis Jang's bidding but will destroy him; so she will lessen the amount of land and ask the king to negotiate and make peace with East Chou and Wei.' SPTK 7. 35a KY 51.24 1
'Beg peace' and 'remain within her borders' are probably in reverse order.
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344 Wei breaks a promise and gains jive cities Ch'in and Chao had united to attack Wei and the king of Wei was troubled. 'Do not be disturbed, your majesty', said Mang Mao.1 'Let me send Chang Yi2 to speak to the king of Chao for you thus: "The principality of Yeh is not properly a part of the geography of my country.3 At present you welcome Ch'in to launch an attack on Wei; but I would like Yeh to serve your majesty rather than me.'" The king of Chao was delighted, summoned his chief minister and said, 'The king of Wei is giving us the principality of Yeh in exchange for my breaking off with Ch'in.' 'If we had accepted Ch'in and attacked Wei, the best we could have hoped for was to take Yeh', said his minister. 'But now we gain Yeh without using troops. I beg you to do as Wei wishes.' Chang Yi then said to the king of Chao, 'The servants of my prince who are to turn over the city to you are already there. How will your majesty respond?' The king of Chao ordered all the passes to be closed and broke off relations with Ch'in; and there was much ill feeling between Ch'in and Chao. When Mang Mao received the emissary from Chao he said, 'The reason my prince bowed to your ruler was precisely to keep the principality of Yeh intact. This matter of turning Yeh over to you was bungling on the part of our emissary and I know nothing about it.' The king of Chao, being afraid that Wei would take advantage of Ch'in's anger and attack, ceded five cities of her own to bind Wei to her, and support her against Ch'in. SPTK7. 35b KY 54. 1
Also known as Meng Mao. Not the famous one. 3 Yokota's note amends the text more than is needed. I follow SPTK. 1 2
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345 Mang Mao's crime Mang Mao 1 said to the king of Ch'in, 'Among your officers you have none who can work for you at the centre of the empire. I have heard it said that the brilliant ruler never acts with his centre unoccupied2[?]. 'Ch'in wants the areas of Ch'ang-p'ing, Wang-wu and Lo-lin from Wei, and if you can make me ssu-t'u of Wei I shall see to it that she offers you these.' 'Good', said the king and had him made ssu-t'u of Wei. 'What troubles your majesty most', said Mang Mao to the king of Wei, 'are the upper lands3, and what Ch'in desires of you are Ch'angp'ing, Wang-wu and Lo-lin. If your majesty presented them to Ch'in, you would be rid of your troubles, and I could then arrange for Ch'in to send its troops east to strike Ch'i. In the course of this strike there will certainly be distant areas which you can seize.'4[?] 'Good', said the king of Wei, and offered the lands to Ch'in. When the lands had been Ch'in's for several months and no Ch'in troops had been sent, the king of Wei spoke to Mang Mao: 'My land has been Ch'in's for some time but no Ch'in troops have come forth - how is this ?' 'I deserve death for this,' replied Mang Mao, 'but if I were killed you would lose all your insurance that Ch'in will comply. Do not blame Ch'in, but forgive me my crime and I will demand a treaty from Ch'in on your behalf.' He then went to Ch'in and said to the king, 'Wei surrendered the areas of Ch'ang-p'ing, Wang-wu and Lo-lin in the hope that Ch'in would send troops east against Ch'i. The lands are long yours but you have sent no troops in return, so I am a dead man. Henceforth, howK'an-yen gives Mang Wan (t? 911), a misprint (cf. SC 44/32). Index gives 'Mang' as 'Wang' but there is no authority for this; both Chung-hua and Morohashi indicate 'Mang' as preferred reading. 2 Yokota gives W for the Shih-li CM § (an old form of W). SPTK gives % which is no help, and Yasui guesses it should be fi, 'empty'. I follow Yasui with misgivings. 1
s ± m, i.e. ± m. 4
Or, as SPTK has it, 'it will not be long till you can plunder lands'.
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ever, you may expect that not a single officer East of the Mountains will do a thing to profit you!' 'I have been busy with internal difficulties,' said the king of Ch'in in alarm, 'and I had not the troops to spare. But now I shall do what is wished.' Ten days later Ch'in's troops arrived and Mang Mao, leading the combined armies of Ch'in and Wei, smote Ch'i and took twenty-two districts. SPTK 7. 36a KY54.2
346 Su Tai and Su Li Su Tai 1 was detained in Wei but wished to go to Ch'i. The Wei clan sealed all exits and would not let him leave. Ch'i sent Su Li to say to the king of Wei: 'We begged to be allowed to give land in Sung to Lord Ching-yang2 but Ch'in would not accept it. Now, this was not because Ch'in saw no profit in having Ch'i as an ally and getting land in Sung. She refused because she trusted neither the king of Ch'i nor Su Tai. If the king of Ch'in could see that the rift between Ch'i and Wei is this wide he would realize that Ch'i cannot afford to cheat him and would then believe Ch'i's offer to be genuine. A united Ch'i and Ch'in with Lord Ching-yang holding land in Sung could never be advantageous to Wei. 'For this reason, your majesty, you had best send Su Tai east again so that Ch'in will continue to be suspicious of Ch'i and pay no heed to her offer. With Ch'i and Ch'in at odds the empire will be safe; and3 when your preparations to attack Ch'i are complete; your lands will broaden.' SPTK 7. 37a KY 50. 13 Originally this was Su Ch'in. According to SC Cheng-yi, he was the younger brother of the king of Ch'in. 3 A curious, sharp deviation from the argument seemingly just to balance protasis and apodosis. 1 2
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347 The king of Wei is offered three policies and bidden not to fear Ch'in After the five states had failed in their attack on Ch'in and withdrawn, Ch'i hoped to assault Sung, but Ch'in would not permit it. Ch'i sent Sung Kuo to Ch'in to make peace with her so that Sung could be attacked, and the king of Ch'in agreed. The king of Wei was fearful of an accord between Ch'in and Ch'i and wanted to make peace with Ch'in, but someone spoke to the king of Wei thus :* 'The king of Ch'in said to Sung Kuo, "Your great state will be the one to breach Sung's walls and subdue her strength, but the states which will take advantage of any weakness brought on by Sung and which will fight Ch'i for the possession of Sung are Ch'u and Wei. I hope that your king will allow Ch'in to clear the way for Ch'u to attack Wei 2 so that he may take Sung unhindered. On his part, let your king use both force and guile.3 For to deceive a state such as Sung cannot be counted a crime; and to exterminate Sung will bring no reprisals. Do not negotiate with her to gain lands! Cease fighting only after you have got her lands! Attack with all your strength and stop only when Sung is consumed!" 'When I heard these words I grieved for Wei, your majesty, because Ch'in will surely use these methods against you/^fte will certainly plunder your majesty in his search for territory. And having got land from you, he will still attack you in force! He will certainly parley with you 4 and cause you to scorn Ch'i. And when relations between Ch'i and Wei deteriorate he will also make a Ch'in alliance with Ch'i pretext for even greater demands on you. Ch'in has already done this to Ch'u! Ch'in has already done this to Han! I ask you to calculate carefully any peace talks with Ch'in for Ch'in may seem to favour Wei but you can never know her intentions. Much of this item borders on incomprehensibility and it should be read with reservations. 2 Thus keeping both countries occupied. 3 After Yasui and Kokuyaku. Yokota, chodai and SPTK have 'Whether Sung resists you with hardness or softness, attack her.' 4 Huang also construes it this way, saying M should be M, and FJ should be ®. From here on the text becomes increasingly obscure. 1
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'Therefore, let me make plans for your majesty.'The very best would be to attack Ch'in. Next best, stand her off. And the best after that would be to make other firm alliances and then pretend to talk peace with heW Your allies would not hold it against you. [?] But if Ch'i and Ch'in unite, you will never manage your own country again. Hear me, your majesty! Do not make peace with Ch'in! Furthermore, Ch'in's strength is greater than1 Wei's and Wei Jan is very shrewd.2 But there may be others who would like to harm Ch'in for you 3 but who dare not show it. 'If there were someone who could lead the empire4 against Ch'in, one would have to persuade softly and do nothing openly. Should Ch'in [?] become aware that the states were bent on harming her, then this leader would instantly sell out his allies to keep his own hands clean. 'If someone could lead the states to stave off Ch'in, he would have to claim that his state had been forced to be a party to it and could not help itself. '[Finally], if nothing could be done with the other states, he would go directly and pay court to Ch'in to make his own position important. However, a man capable of this would not stick at selling out his own king to benefit himself,5 [and you are selling out for peace with Ch'in!] Can this protect your state from harm? 'To protect the state from harm one would exhaust the three approaches just mentioned and carry out the first. Or, if not the first then the second; if not the second then the last. And if the last were impossible [you] should [either] swear6 not to live in the same world After Yokota who thinks also that one Wei may be excrescent. The text here is corrupt. There is equally good text evidence for both ft- and # . Yasui chooses 'Wei tsai' and gets: 'Ch'in pretends (ffi) to be stronger than Wei, but let Wei clearly and closely examine (Ch'in) again. (It may be) for this reason there are others who would . . . etc' 3 The form of address changes here - the king is called tsu-hsia (j<£ T) from here on. In this respect it resembles the words of Su Tai to the king of Ch'i (255). 4 i.e. states other than Ch'in; the Five States. 5 I follow Yokota's suggestion here and insert "T" JE. ~F etc. between M and M. This section of the text is marked by ambiguity and perhaps corruption - my translation is simply the best compromise I can arrange between what it might mean and the requirements of the rest of the story. 8 See Chung-hua under BJ, meaning no. 42. 1
2
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with Ch'in and cripple her [as you perish] [or] have nothing at all to do with Ch'in and tend only to the tranquillity of your own state. [?] These would be plans to keep a country from harm and I surely could not carry them out. Nevertheless, let me argue their merits. 'The country of Yen is simultaneously an enemy of Ch'i and a relative of Ch'in. I would find it very hard to ally myself with an enemy to fight a relative. Even the Yellow Emperor fought in the fields about Cho-lu and the Western Jung sent no troops. Yu fought the Three Miao but the people of the Eastern Yi made no move. To use Yen and Ch'i in an attack on Ch'in would be something even the Yellow Emperor might find difficult; but I would bring [?] both the armour of Yen and the troops of Ch'i to the cause. 'I would, further, serve in every way the officers of the Three Chin. [Even] the followers of [?] Li Tui, Lord Meng-ch'ang, Han Min, Chou Tsui and Han Yii-wei1 would I follow and be humble to for fear they might falter in their willingness to fight Ch'in and because I would be personally shamed if Ch'in threw them into disorder2. I would be the one to request that all Ch'in tallies among the states be burned. Then I would carry among them the covenant to burn the tallies and then I would cause all the states to close their borders against Ch'in. In this manner Li Tui and Han Yii-wei will have been brought together [with us against Ch'in?]. Su Hsiu and Chu Ying both being secretly in Han-tan,3 then I would persuade the king of Ch'i and go forth to destroy [Sung Kuo's treaty with Ch'in?]. The empire will deal with Ch'in with a single voice and Su Hsiu will [proclaim?] Ch'i to be the prime power. If Ch'i 4 wants to attack "Wei I shall then fight to the death against that [?] and Su Hsiu will proclaim in the west [that Ch'i will not attack Wei]. 5 1
Following Yokota. The SPTK text is even more confused; it has either a
missing character or an extra )U. Yokota notes the extra M in the Kao Yu version. 2 Following Yokota: SPTK guesses that ftJ is tB, as does Yasui. And the chodai has a novel theory that it means 'pretence' here. 3 Kokuyaku says this means they were in Han-tan arguing for an attack on Ch'in. The text, unhappily, does not force this interpretation. 4 With Yokota et al. 5 This is merely a translation of Pao Piao's note, the text alone is incomprehensible.
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'I am not unaware that Ch'in's strength is formidable but I also realize that what makes it thus is your majesty.'1 x SPTK 7. 37b KY 52. 6
348 Lord She-yang's son Lord She-yang had made a treaty with Wei [for Chao]2 and the king of Wei wanted to enfeoff Lord She-yang's son. Someone said to the king of Wei: 'Your majesty went once in person, forded the Chang and went to court at Han-tan taking with you Ko-hsiieh and Yin-ch'eng to be towns of supply for Chao. But Chao remains unallied with your majesty. Do you further wish to enfief a scion of that state with Ku-mi in Ho-yang? I should not like you to do it, your majesty.' The king then desisted. SPTK 7. 40a KY54.9
349 Wei cites an historical parallel to the king of Chao Ch'in was inducing Chao to attack Wei. Wei said to the king of Chao: 'An attack on Wei is the first step in the destruction of Chao. Of old, Chin wanted to destroy Yii so she first attacked Kuo. The attack on Kuo was the first step in the destruction of Yii, so Chin bribed Yii for a while with steeds and jades to secure right-of-way through that country. Kung Chih-chi warned Yii, but none heeded him, and in the end they gave Chin right-of-way. The men of Chin attacked Kuo but on their return they seized Yii. This is why the Ch'un-ch'iu3 writes of it and blames the Duke of Yii for his own destruction. As a potential ally with Ch'in? Wu Shih-tao, Yokota and others think She-yang Chun is a mistake for Fengyang Chun, Li Tui, in which case Chao would certainly be the other state in the treaty. See also 252. 3 Duke Hsi, 5th year, Legge, p. 145. Tso chuan gives the story. 1
2
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'Now, among the states none is so powerful as Chao - and at present she has Ch'i as well. The king of Ch'in is intelligent and his ministers are famous for their acumen; so they are aware that Chao is a deadly disease in Ch'in's heart and belly. Wei is Chao's Kuo to them and Chao is Wei's Yu. If you heed Ch'in and attack Wei, you will be acting the part of Yii. I hope your majesty will consider his plans most soberly.' SPTK 7. 40a KY 55-10
350 Lord Meng-ch'ang raises two armies by his persuasions in Chao and Yen Ch'in was going to attack Wei. The king of Wei heard of it and giving Lord Meng-ch'ang a night audience said to him: 'Ch'in is about to attack Wei; will you give me your counsel on what can be done, sir?' 'If you have help from the Lords, your state will survive', replied Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'Please, sir,' said the king, 'do this office for me', and he arranged for one hundred carriages to be at his disposal. Lord Meng-ch'ang reached Chao and said to her king, 'I ask you to come to Wei's rescue by lending her your troops.' 'That I am unable to do', replied the king of Chao. 'The only reason I dare ask for troops for Wei is my sense of loyalty to you', said Lord Meng-ch'ang. 'May I hear about that?' asked the king. ' /Well, it is not a matter of Chao's armies being more powerful than Wei's nor Wei's troops being weaker than Chao's, but your lands are not threatened by a famine harvest nor are your people dying from one. Wei, however, is suffering a famine harvest and her citizens are dying from it now. Why? Because Wei is Chao's shield in the west. In the present instance, if you do not rescue Wei she will make a blood pact with Ch'in, and Chao will suddenly be sharing a border with that mighty state. Then your lands will know famine harvests and your
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people will die from themyThis is how I show loyalty to you [by requesting Chao troops].' The king of Chao gave his consent, raised a hundred thousand troops and three hundred chariots. Later Lord Meng-ch'ang went north to have audience with the king of Yen and said: 'My forebear,1 the Duke, once arranged for amicable relations between two of our kings. Today Ch'in attacks Wei and I come to you and beg you to rescue her.' 'My hai-vests have not ripened two years in a row', replied the king of Yen//How can I now move troops several thousand li to help Wei?' ' 'But to have to move several thousand li is advantageous to your state', replied Lord Meng-ch'ang, T'ien Wen. 'Suppose this very day you had only to open the gates of your capital to stare an enemy in the face. It would be too late then, though you would be glad to travel thousands of li to aid someone.' ff The king of Yen still refused to promise aid. 'I have put the most profitable plans before your majesty; but since you will not use my faithful actions I must leave, for I fear the upheaval of the empire.' 'May I hear of this upheaval?' 'Well, Ch'in will attack Wei and fail to conquer her. But Wei's towers will have been burnt and her parks commandeered. Yen will not have come to save her, so the king of Wei will cede land until Ch'in has half his kingdom. After that Ch'in will leave. 'When Ch'in has left, the king of Wei will unite all the troops of Wei and Han, borrow troops in the west from Ch'in, and use the populace of Chao to launch an attack against Yen in alliance with these four states: Now then, which would be of more profit to your majesty, to have to travel thousands of li to aid a friend or to have only to step out the gates of his capital to find the enemy 3^'In the latter case you would remain untroubled by problems of supply and transport. Which then, would be more advantageous, your majesty?' 'Go to!' cried the king, 'I will heed your plans', and he raised eighty thousand troops and two hundred chariots to follow T'ien Wen to 1 With Yokota, the B should not be here.
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Wei. The king of Wei was delighted and said, 'Sir, you have brought me many troops from Chao and Yen and have done it most expeditiously as well!' The king of Ch'in became fearful and ceded land to make peace with Wei. Thereupon the troops of Yen and Chao were returned and T'ien Wen was given a fief. SPTK 7.40b KY 54. 7
351 The king of Wei shows why an attack on Ta-liang is not in the interests of the attacker Marquis Jang attacked Ta-liang and when he had taken the north suburb1 the king of Wei went to him and said, 'You attacked Ch'u and got Yuan and Jang to broaden your fief of T'ao. Attacking Ch'i you took Kang-po to add to your fief ofT'ao; and now you have our Hsu and Yen-ling to increase your fief of T'ao and the king of Ch'in has not questioned it. Why? Because Ta-liang, the capital of Wei, has not fallen. But once Ta-liang has fallen [and all Wei belongs to the king of Ch'in] there will certainly be criticism of your holding Hsu and Yen-ling. When that criticism arises you will be poorer by two cities. If I made your plans for you I would find nothing so convenient as halting the attack on Ta-liang.' SPTK 7. 42a KY 56. 6
352 The barking dogs Po Kuei said to Lord Hsin-ch'eng, 'The man who walks by night can resist becoming a burglar but he cannot prevent dogs barking at him. 1
Some commentators think this is the name of a town.
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So I will not criticize you before the king, but I cannot prevent others telling you that I criticized you.' SPTK 7. 42b KY 56. 7
353 The king of Wei disregards Chao Chi's advice but finds that he needs his help Ch'in attacked Han's city of Kuan and the king of Wei sent out his troops to save it. Chao Chi said: 'Ch'in is a powerful state and Han and Wei share borders with her. As long as Ch'in is not expanding, nothing happens to us; but when she attacks, it must be either Han or Wei. This time, happily, it is against Han, and that is a blessing to Wei. If your majesty goes to her rescue, what will be saved from attack is Han's city of Kuan, but what will come under siege is Wei's city of Liang.' The king of Wei ignored the advice and replied, 'If Han is not rescued she will resent Wei and form an alliance to the west with Ch'in. If Ch'in and Han become one, Wei will be in peril.' So saying he went to her rescue, and Ch'in did disengage at Kuan to attack Wei. The king of Wei was badly frightened and said to Chao Chi, 'I did not use your advice and calamity has reached us. What can I do now?' Chao Chi sought audience with the king of Ch'in on Wei's behalf and said, 'I have heard that when the enlightened ruler attends to statecraft and does not allow his personal preferences to influence his government he is "governing by consultation". I would counsel you not to attack Wei.' 'Why?' 'Why do the alliances among the states East of the Mountains wax and wane?' asked Chao Chi. 'I do not know.' •frhe empire makes an alliance when the states are not certain of [whom you will attack?]. It falls apart when they are certain [of whom you will attack?]/nirou have just invested Han's city of Kuan and Han
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was in peril. You had not finished at Han before you shifted your forces against Wei. Nothing is better calculated to unite the empire against you than this; for they now believe that what Ch'in wants no one state alone can refuse.1 'Were I to plan for your majesty, then, I would think it best for you first to control Chao. With Chao under control, Yen would have no course but to serve Ch'in. Ching and Ch'i alone can hardly be considered an alliance of the states East of the Mountains, and if they were to fight against Ch'in they would both be weakened.'2 The king of Ch'in desisted. SPTK 7. 43a KY 56. 8
354 Jui Sung finds a profitable way of severing relations between Ch'in and Chao Jui Sung3 hoped to make Chao break off its relations with Ch'in so he ordered Wei to take back the land it had given the queen mother of Ch'in for her personal use. The king of Ch'in was angry but Jui Sung said to him: 'We offered to make Wei your vassal but you would not take us, so we have made ourselves vassals of Chao. Chao's Li Ho told us that if we were supporting Ch'in's queen mother while Ch'in would not even accept us as vassals then we were just cheating Chao, so my humble ruler took the lands back.' The king of Ch'in was furious and severed relations with Chao. SPTK 7. 44a KY 57- 12 1 This means, according to Wu Shih-tao, that when Ch'in has one clear target the other states tend to feel an alliance is not necessary but when they are uncertain they coalesce. 2 CKTV has certainly mistranslated this line saying, 'Ch'in will be weakened.' 3 Supposed to be a Wei minister. Originally this was part of 366.
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355 The king ofCh'u addressed on Wei's behalf Someone spoke to the king of Ch'u on Wei's behalf: 'If you seek to make Ch'in attack Wei she will certainly refuse you. Your intelligence will be questioned in Ch'in and your relations will be strained with Wei. When Ch'u and Wei fall out, Ch'in becomes powerful. This is why your majesty should do as the empire wishes and attack Ch'i. Give Wei such lands from this conquest as she will find advantageous, and no troops will be harmed 1 nor relations changed. What you desire will surely be obtained.'2 SPTK 7. 44b KY 57. 13
356 Ill-matched envoys There was the question of Ti Ch'iang taking part in diplomatic affairs in Ch'in together with3 Kuan Pi. 'Pi is no more like Ch'iang in nature than the men from Chin and Ch'u in the story', said someone to the king of Wei. 'The man from Chin saw the man from Ch'u strapping on his sword in frantic haste so he mildly suggested moderation. The man of Ch'u was so incensed at the thought of delay that he attacked the man from Chin. 'When Pi enters Ch'in, the courier hostels4 can hardly house the retinue which awaits him; but when Ch'iang goes to Ch'in, he is not given a single Ch'in guard. 'Can we allow Ch'in to treat the respected minister of a powerful king so badly?' SPTK 7. 44b KY57.14 None of Wei's, presumably. i.e. Ch'u will be strengthened, according to Yokota. 3 1 emend 4* to H at Yokota's suggestion. 4 Yokota and Yasui consider the second % to be superfluous. 1
2
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357 Po Kuei outlines a plan to counter Lord Ch'eng-yang Lord Ch'eng-yang wanted both Han and Wei to ally themselves with Ch'in, but the king of Wei saw no benefit in this for his state. Po Kuei said to him, 'Send a man in secret to persuade Lord Ch'eng-yang by saying, "Ch'in will detain you if you go there and will demand much ransom from Han. If Han will not heed her, she will attack Han while still holding you. For this reason you had best delay your trip until you can ask Ch'in to send a hostage." 'Having heard this, Lord Ch'eng-yang will certainly not go to Ch'in. Ch'in and Han will not dare form an alliance and your majesty will become very influential.' SPTK 7. 45a KY 57. 15
K I N G A N - H S I (276-243 B.C.)
358 How Hsu Chia raised the siege of Ta-liang Ch'in defeated Wei at Hua, routed Mang Mao, and surrounded Taliang. Hsu Chia spoke to Marquis Jang of Ch'in on Wei's behalf saying: 'I have heard that all the great Wei ministers and clan elders have said the following to their king: "In the beginning King Hui attacked Chao and was victorious at San-liang. Then with ten thousand troops he razed Han-tan; but the Chaos would not cede an inch of territory, and eventually Han-tan was returned to them. Ch'i attacked Yen, killing Tzu-chih and razing Yen's old capital. Yen ceded nothing and Yen was restored. The reason Yen and Chao have their states and armies intact now and have had no territory taken by the Lords is that they were willing to undergo hardships. They considered the ceding of land a most serious matter. Sung and Chung-shan ceded land as often as they were attacked and eventually perished. In our opinion Yen and Chao should be emulated but Sung and Chung-shan should not.
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' "Now Ch'in is a brutal country and is friendly with no one. She is devouring Wei. She took Chin-kuo and was victorious over Kao-tzu who ceded eight districts to her. Yet before she had incorporated this territory her troops were off again. Is there any hope that Ch'in will ever be satisfied? Now she has also routed Mang Mao and penetrated our northern lands, not simply for an attack on Ta-liang, but because she wants to plunder your majesty and make you cede land. We, however, insist that you do not obey her. If your majesty should now turn his back on 1 Ch'u and Chao to make peace with Ch'in, they would become angered and compete with you for Ch'in's favour - and what is more, Ch'in would certainly accept them. When Ch'in has the forces of Ch'u and Chao under its arm to renew attacks on Wei, all hope for rescue will be gone. We insist that your majesty make no peace with Ch'in. If you must sue, however, you should offer little territory and insist on a hostage from Ch'in, or you will be cheated." 'This is what I heard them say in Wei, and I hope your excellency will use this information for reviewing the matter. The Chou-shu2 says "Now fate is not a constant" which is to say that good fortune is not a frequent thing. When you were victorious over Kao-tzu and were ceded eight districts, it was not through the excellence of your troops or the skill of your plans but rather that Heaven's gift of good fortune to you was excessive! Now you have also routed Mang Mao and penetrated the north of Wei to attack Ta-liang. You assume that this shows Heaven's favour is constant. But wise men do not reason thus. I have heard that Wei has mustered all the crack troops from each of her districts to garrison Ta-liang. I believe there are no less than three hundred thousand. Now a host of three hundred thousand defending a wall ten yards high even T'ang and King Wu, if they were restored to life, would find difficult to attack. 'To lightly ignore 3 the forces of Ch'u and Chao and scorn the threat of walls ten yards high surmounted by a host of three hundred thousand with every expectation of taking them would be a feat the like of which has not been known since the day heaven and earth4 first Following Yokota ?! = •(&. Shu-ching 'K'ang-kao,' 5, see B. Karlgren The Book of Documents, p. 40. 3 With Yokota It = ffi. with SC. 1
2
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separated from one another. If you attack and fail, Ch'in's troops will be weakened, Yin1 will be lost and all the merit you achieved earlier will be gone! 'Now that the king of Wei is of the opinion that he can secure peace by ceding little, I would have your excellency - before the troops of Ch'u and Chao can reach Ta-liang - grant peace to Wei in consideration of an extremely small territory. Suspecting that he could do it and then finding that he can have peace for very little land indeed, the king of Wei will be anxious to cede it and in that case your excellency will have got what he wanted. Ch'u and Chao will be angered by Wei's suing for peace before their troops reached Wei, and they will be anxious to serve Ch'in. In this way the Alliance will be broken and later2 you can choose your next victim from among them, your excellency. 'You once had Chin-kuo ceded to you and what need had you that time for troops? Also, without using your troops Wei served you by yielding Chiang and An-yi. Then by the acquisition of the two tao of Yin and Ch'i you acquired most of the former state of Sung. This is why Lesser Wei now serves you with utmost circumspection. While the Ch'in forces remain intact and your excellency controls them, is there any request that can be refused or any action in which you will not succeed? Therefore I beg you to give it your most serious thought and avoid dangerous action.' 'Good', said Marquis Jang and ordered the siege of Ta-liang to be lifted. SPTK 7. 45a KY 54. 3
359 The last thing on the list Ch'in defeated Wei at Hua and the king of Wei prepared to go to Ch'in's court. 1 2
i.e. Marquis Jang'sfiefof T'ao, or Ting-t'ao S PSJ. Chiin-hou is a mistaken reversal of erh hou chiin etc.
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Chou Hsi1 said to him: 'Once there was a student from Sung who, after three years of study, returned home and began calling his mother by her first name. She asked him why he was addressing her thus after three years of study. "The men I most admire are Yao and Shun and I call them by their names", said the boy. "The greatest things I know of are Heaven and Earth and I call them by their names. You, mother, cannot be more admirable than Yao and Shun nor greater than Heaven and Earth so I called you by your name." '"If you intend to put everything you have studied into practice, son," replied his mother, "I would like you to refrain from calling me by my first name. Or if you intend to delay putting some of the things you learned into practice, would you make addressing your mother by her first name last on your list?" 'Now you are going to serve Ch'in, your majesty; but should you so lightly decide that you must go to her capital? I wish your majesty would reconsider and make going to the Ch'in court the last thing on your list.' 'You mean you fear I may go there and never get out?' asked the king. 'But Hsu Wan swore to me that if anything happened he would have his own head buried with me!' 'Your majesty,' replied Chou Hsi, 'I am so inferior to you that adjustments must be made in my argument but were someone to assure me that I could enter a bottomless pool and come our safely or he would have a rat's head buried with me I would still refuse to do it. Ch'in is as unpredictable as the deeps of a bottomless pool and Hsu Wan's head is much the same thing as the head of a rat. I would not have your majesty taken into unpredictable Ch'in and buried with a rat's head. 'Would you be more concerned over losing Liang or Ho-nei?' continued Chou Hsi. 'I should be more concerned over Liang.' 'Would you be concerned over losing Liang or your life?' 'My life.' 'So, among these three your life comes first and Ho-nei last. Ch'in has not yet demanded the least of these while your majesty is offering Ch'in the greatest. Is this proper?' 1
Also given as M IS. LSCC calls him 14 8c.
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But since the king did not heed Chou Hsi, Chih Ch'i said: 'Look at what the king of Ch'u did, your majesty. When he entered Ch'in he only sent a three-chariot officer to precede him. 1 If the king of Ch'u had not entered Ch'in, Ch'u and Wei would now be united and a match for Ch'in.' After that the king ceased his preparations2. 'I have already told Marquis Ying that I have consented,' said the king to Chih Ch'i, 'and by not going I will have deceived him.' 'Do not vex yourself about that, your majesty', replied Chih Ch'i. 'I shall see to it that Marquis Ch'ang-hsin3 insists that you not be summoned into Ch'in. Wait to hear from me.' Chih Ch'i began persuading Marquis Ch'ang-hsin by saying, 'The king has ordered you to his presence.' 'What does he want me for?' asked Marquis Ch'ang-hsin. 'I have no idea. He simply ordered you to come immediately.' 'I am not taking the king to Ch'in for the sake of Ch'in, you know', said Marquis Ch'ang-hsin. 'I am doing this all for Wei.' 'Do nothing for Wei, sir', retorted Chih Ch'i. 'Think only of yourself. In matters affecting how you will live or die or be honoured or fortuneless, think first of yourself, sir, and only afterwards of Wei!' 'I see Lou-kung is about to go in', said Marquis Ch'ang-hsin. 'I had best follow him.' 'My king commanded your presence at once. If you do not obey you will find blood staining the breast of your gown!' Marquis Ch'ang-hsin went and Chih Ch'i followed behind him, but before the audience with the king, Chih Ch'i slipped in ahead of him and said, 'Feign illness, your majesty, and summon him to your bedside. I have already frightened him.' When Marquis Ch'ang-hsin entered for his audience the king said, 'I am very ill - not that anything can be done about it. I have already given my word to Marquis Ying so I will go, even though I die on the road.' 'Do not attempt it, your majesty', begged Marquis Ch'ang-hsin. 'I He was kept there and murdered, according to tradition. The item seems to split here. The rest is made up of Chih Ch'i's scheme; Chou Hsi disappears. 8 The man sent to escort the king of Wei t» Ch'in.
1
2
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can arrange things with Marquis Ying. I do not wish you to be troubled, your majesty!' SPTK 7. 48a KY54-4
36O Sun Ch'en warns the king of Wei against trying to put out the fire with faggots At the battle of Hua-yang, Wei failed to defeat Ch'in. The next year Wei was going to send her envoy Tuan-han Ch'ung to present the land they had ceded and to arrange peace talks. Sun Ch'en said to the king of Wei, 'For Wei not to have given land at the time of her defeat is making good use of defeat; for Ch'in not to have demanded the land at the moment of victory was making poor use of victory. If after a full year Wei wishes to cede this land, it can only be because it serves the selfish purpose of one of her ministers and your majesty is unaware of that fact. 'The one who yearns for the seal of a fief is Tuan-han Tzu; and so he is being sent to cede land. The one desirous of land is Ch'in; and your majesty is putting her in a position where she can offer the seal of a fief. Now the one desiring a seal has control of the land and the one desiring land has control of the seals. The implications of that can only lead to the^final disappearance of Wei's lands. At can only be a traitorous officer who would suggest serving Ch'in by offering her land, for doing this is like putting out a blaze with bundles of kindling - as long as the faggots last the fire will not slacken. In the present instance your holdings have limits but Ch'in's demands do not. This fits the lesson of kindling and fire.' 'True', replied the king. 'However, I have already promised the land to Ch'in and cannot change that.' 'Has your majesty never watched a po player use his powerful "owl" piece? If he wants to take another piece he does, but if he does not care to make that move he does not make it. Why, you have been pressed by your ministers into promising Ch'in that land and now you say,
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"This cannot be undone."! Can it be that your majesty uses his knowledge less skillfully than the gambler uses his "owl"?' 'Good', said the king and he stopped his envoy. SPTK 7. 50a KY 54. 5
361 A nonagenarian shames the king of Ch'in Ch'in and Wei were allied states when Ch'i and Ch'u joined forces and were about to attack Wei. Wei sent so many envoys seeking succour of the Ch'in court that one could always see the cap or carriage-awning of another as they plied back and forth; but Ch'in refused to come to her rescue. There was a man of Wei, T'ang Chii by name, who was over ninety years old.1 He said to the king of Wei, 'Let me go west into Ch'in and I assure you the Ch'in rescue forces will be sent forth from that state sooner than I, if it please your majesty.' 'You may go', replied the king and supplied him with carriages. When T'ang Chii saw the king of Ch'in the latter exclaimed, 'Grandsire, you have tired yourself with such a long and weary road. A number of men have come from Wei seeking our help but now finally I realize what difficulties beset Wei.' 'You have long known that Wei was in desperate plight and the fact that you have sent forth no troops can only mean that the ministers charged with making your policy are inept', replied T'ang Chii. 'Wei, a great state, became your eastern hedge, accepted your caps and sashes and supplied your annual sacrifices because she assumed that Ch'in's power made her a good ally. 'At the moment, however, the forces of Ch'i and Ch'u are on the borders of our state and your majesty's rescue forces have not appeared. When Wei reaches a crisis she will offer land and ally herself with Ch'i and Ch'u. Then, though you would like to, it will be too late to come to her rescue. In this fashion you will lose one great state as an ally and 1
See also 437.
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at the same time strengthen your enemies, Ch'i and Ch'u. This is why I assume that the ministers who make your policy are incompetent.' The king of Ch'in sighed sadly as understanding dawned on him. Thereupon he dispatched troops night and day to Wei. Ch'i and Ch'u heard of it and withdrew their forces. The house of Wei remained unharmed because of T'ang Chu's persuasions. SPTK 7. 50b KY 58. 22
362 Fan Ts'o writes two letters and escapes execution Yu Ch'ing said to the king of Chao, 'Is it more in the nature of men to want to bring others to their court or to want to go to the court of another?' 'Only to bring others to their court,' replied the king; 'why would they wish to be brought to the court of another?' 'Well, Wei is now the head of the Alliance and Fan Ts'o 1 is the one who has offended against you. If you could this day cede a hundred // of land or [?] a city of one hundred families to Wei requesting Fan Ts'o's death and Fan Ts'o were killed, the leadership of the Alliance would once more return to Chao.' 'Good', said the king of Chao and dispatched an envoy offering a hundred li of land if Fan Ts'o were killed by Wei. The king of Wei accepted the condition and sent his ssu-t'u to seize Fan Ts'o. Before he was executed, however, Fan Ts'o sent a letter to the king of Wei saying: I have heard that the king of Chao has offered one hundred // of land for my head. Now the execution of one innocent Fan Ts'o is a small matter, while a hundred li of land is a great profit to Wei; so I am very happy for your majesty. However, there is just one small matter here: if the hundred li of land should not be forthcoming, the dead man could not then be restored to life and your majesty would be the laughingstock of the empire. It is my humble view of the 1
Wei's minister.
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affair that bargaining with a dead man is not as convenient as using a live one. He also wrote a letter to the man who would succeed him as minister, Lord Hsin-ling, saying: Chao and Wei are deadly enemies, yet the king of Chao has only to send a few inches of writing and the king of Wei, on the strength of it, will happily execute a guiltless Fan Ts'o. Now, I am without worth and so have been replaced as minister. Nevertheless, I did cause myself to become an offender in Chao on Wei's behalf.1 If Wei does not use me internally, even though they do gain land from outside, the state will lose is pre-eminence. At the moment no one is Jo capable of sustaining the state as your excellency. But after the king has obeyed Chao and executed me, then mighty Ch'in, with twice the desire of Chao, will offer twice the land; and how will you prevent the same thing from happening to you? You invite your own punishment by condoning this act. 'True', said Lord Hsin-ling. He passed word on to the king and Fan Ts'o was released. SPTK7. 51b KY 47. 6
363 Chu Chi dissuades Wei from attacking Han Wei was going to attack Han in alliance with Ch'in when Chu Chi2 said to the king of Wei: 'Ch'in shares customs with the Jung and the Ti barbarians; she has the mentality of a tiger or a wolf; she delights in cruelty, is covetous of gain and knows nothing of good faith, protocol, righteousness, or virtuous action. If she spies advantage in anything she will have it with no regard for what happens to her kin, in the manner of a wild beastl/All the empire is aware of this. By making Wei leader of the Alliance instead of Chao? Wu Shih-tao thinks this is an error for SC's Wu-chi % Jgt but in SC notes Wang Nien-sun thinks CRT's Chu Chi is right.
1
2
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'Furthermord/ Ch'in never acts with generosity or a sense of obligatioi# For this reason Ch'in's queen was the ruler's own mother yet she died in distress; and even though Marquis Jang was his uncle - no one had more merit than he - he was finally driven away. His two younger brothers were guiltless but he dispossessed them of their claims to the state. Now if Ch'in's behaviour is of this sort toward his relatives, what will it be toward an enemy state against which he has a grievance? Heedless of this your majesty now attacks Han in concert with Ch'in and draws ever closer to that state. I view the action with great distrust. That the king does not also view it thus can only mean he lacks clear sight. That the king's ministers know this and do not remonstrate with your majesty can only mean that they lack loyalty. 'Furthermore, at this moment Han is using a woman as regent for1 her infant ruler and is torn by internal confusion. How can she cope with the powerful forces of Ch'in and Wei externally? Can your majesty believe that she will not be shattered? 'Yet with Han gone Ch'in will hold all the territory of ancient Cheng and be a neighbour of Ta-liang. Can your majesty find peace in such a thought? Your majesty is intent on regaining former territory and so risks the calamities that mighty Ch'in brings with her. Can your majesty believe that this will result in benefit? Ch'in is not a state which likes inactivity. When Han is gone she will surely act as circumstances require and address herself to what is simplest and yields profit'. Doing what is easiest and most profitable she will certainly not attack Ch'u or Chao. Why? To cross the mountains, leap the river and pass beyond Han's Shang-tang in order to attack mighty Chao would be to repeat the circumstances which led to Ch'in's defeat at Ngo-yii, and Ch'in certainly will not do it. If she crossed Ho-nei and left Yeh and Ch'ao-ko at her back, if she cut off the flow of the Chang and the Fu to settle the issue against Chao troops in the suburbs of Han-tan, she would invite the same catastrophe which befell Chih Po. This she will not attempt. 'To attack Ch'u her road would lead through mountain valleys and she would have to travel three thousand It to attack a strategically dangerous state. Her journey would be long and her adversary difficult. Ch'in will not do that either. Nor will she attempt crossing 1 Following Yokota's suggestion.
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Ho-wai and leaving Ta-liang in her rear and Shang-ts'ai and Chao-ling on her right flank while she tests the issue with Ch'u in the suburbs of Ch'en. 'This is why I say Ch'in will not do battle with Ch'u or Chao. No more, will she attack Lesser Wei or the state of Ch'i. .When Han is gone(fth'in will move her troops only to attack Wei. Having stabilized Huai-ti, Hsing-ch'iu, An-ch'eng and Kuei-chin, Ch'in will use them to place herself near Ho-nei, and then all of Kung and Chi will be in peril. When she has Cheng's lands and has got Yiian-yung, she will dam up the Ying marsh and flood Ta-liang. Ta-liang will then perish. 'Your majesty's envoy has committed a serious blunder already by denouncing An-ling to Ch'in. Ch'in has long wished to take the district of Hsu. However, Ch'in's regions of She-yang and K'un-yang are close neighbours of Wu-yang, and Kao-ling; so Ch'in will act on your envoy's denunciation of An-ling, annihilate her, and then circle north around Wu-yang to take to Hsu from the east. After this the states to the south will be in peril. But even if they were not, could Wei ever find peace after that? 'To cast away An-ling because of your anger against Han is defensible, but to be unconcerned by Ch'in's enmity toward the states to the south is not. In other times Ch'in was in Ho-hsi, the city of Chin-kuo was a thousand li away from Liang, and there were more than enough of hills and rivers to bar her way. And Chou and Han stood athwart her path. Yet from the engagement at Lin-hsiang until today Ch'in has attacked Wei ten times and broken into her capital five. Our border towns have all been razed. Wen-t'ai was brought down, Ch'ui-tu was burnt, our forests were levelled and our deer and stags decimated. Still we remained surrounded by Ch'in, which still made forced marches north of Liang and reached the suburbs of T'ao and Lesser Wei in the east. In the north they readied P'ing-k'an. 1 In Shan-pei, Ho-wai, and Ho-nei the losses to Ch'in amounted to several hundred great hsien and a score or more great cities. And in those days Ch'in was in Ho-hsi, and Chin-kuo was still a thousand li from Ta-liang, yet our calamity was that great. How much greater will it be when Ch'in
1
Also given elsewhere as
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has overcome1 Han and holds the lands of Cheng, and there are no barriers of rivers and mountains nor countries of Chou and Han to detain her? When she is only one hundred li from Ta-liang our calamity must be one hundred times what it was previously. 'In former days the Alliance had not been formed. Both Ch'u and Wei were suspicious and Han could not secure a treaty; but today Han has suffered three years of military action. Ch'in is vexing Han with talks of peace; but Han knows she would perish from that, so she refuses to obey and instead sends hostages to Chao, asking to become the spearhead for the empire and the first to blunt her weapons against Ch'in. And do you know/I believe Ch'u and Chao will attack Ch'in with her! Why? Because they know that unless Ch'in is exhausted she will never rest until she has done away with every ruler in the empire and has every citizen within the four seas as her subject. This is why I serve your majesty by advocating the Alliance. You must quickly accept a treaty with Ch'u and Chao, receive Han's heir and make the salvation ot Han your chief business. Thereafter you may request your iormer territories from Han, and Han will surely comply. In this manner your former lands will be regained while your citizens remain untroubled, and the merit acquired thus will be much greater than that obtained by attacking Han in the company of Ch'in. However that may be, this is a unique chance for your majesty to avoid the catastrophe of having Ch'in on his borders while supporting Han, keeping Wei at peace, and benefiting the empire. Open up Han's district of Shang-tang as far as Kung and Ning 2 , and when the road is opened, place barriers on it to collect tolls from all who pass along it. In this fashion you will have an important pledge from Han in the form of Shang-tang as well as the taxes therefrom to enrich Wei. Han must then be obligated to Wei, cherish Wei, fear and honour Wei. She will not dare turn on Wei, and will in fact become a province of Wei. When she has become your province, Lesser Wei, your capital of Ta-liang, and Ho-wai will be at peace. If, on the contrary, you do not sustain Han, the two Chous must be in peril, An-ling will surely change sides, Ch'u and Chao will be badly defeated and Wei and Ch'i will be in terror. Then the day the
1
With Yokota IS here should be t . given as Kung Mo ^ M.
2 Also
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whole empire faces west, hurries to Ch'in and becomes a vassal of her court, will not be far off.' SPTK 7. 52a KY 54.8
364 The king of Wei is told how to make capital out of the war of Ch'in and Chao Ch'in and Chao had stirred up trouble between them and gone to war. Someone said to the king of Wei, 'You should make1 an ally of Chao and further involve her with Ch'in. If your majesty does not make an agreement2 with Chao, Chao will not seek further trouble with Ch'in. But if you and Chao do have an agreement, then Ch'in and Chao will certainly do battle again, and being at war each will have to make much of Wei. In this fashion you will have control over the affairs of both Ch'in and Chao. Then, if your majesty wishes it 3 and takes Ch'i as his ally, Chao will attack Ching (Ch'u). Or, if your majesty wishes it and takes Ch'u as his ally, Chao will attack Ch'i. 'In a like manner they will wish your majesty to be leader of all East of the Mountains and will help you to accomplish this end.' [?] SPTK 7. 57a KY 57. 9
365 An empty concession During the battle of Ch'ang-p'ing, Lord P'ing-tu said to the king of Wei, 'Why do you not join the Alliance, your majesty?' Pao has changed the original $f i.e. JjSf to fB which is close to the meaning even though it is a conjectural emendation. 2 K'an-yen (pien wu p. 60) says the writer is using #} in two meanings: 'to make an agreement with', and 'to stir up trouble between'. This seems the best explanation for the item and I follow the suggestion. 3 I am not certain this is a good translation of i£ Sfc M.
1
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'Because Ch'in has promised me Yiian-yung', replied the king. 'But I consider the offer of Yuan-yung an empty concession.' 'What do you mean?' 'Well, Ch'in and Chao have been locked in a long and dubious battle beneath the walls of Ch'ang-p'ing. If the empire sides with Ch'in it must go without Chao. If it sides with Chao it must go without Ch'in. The king of Ch'in is afraid you will turn against him so he offers Yuan-yung as bait. If Ch'in is victorious over Chao, will you dare demand Yiian-yung of the victor?' 'No.' 'If Ch'in is defeated by Chao, will you have the authority to oidci Han to give you its town of Yuan-yung ?' 'I will not.' 'This is why I said Yiian-yung is an empty concession", concluded Lord P'ing-tu. 'Good', said the king of Wei.
SVTK7.y;b KY 57. iu
366 Lou Wu advises the king of Wei whom to take to a conference Lou Wu had arranged a treaty between Ch'in and Wei and was about to ask the king of Ch'in to meet at the border, but first he spoke to the king of Wei saying: 'If you come to the meeting without a chief minister Ch'in will certainly favour one of her own choosing. Then if you do not obey her you will be inviting poor relations with Ch'in, but if you do obey, from that time on your ministers will always work to serve those among the Lords who can impose their wishes on yours. 'If you meet Ch'in and then appoint a minister who is in Ch'in's good graces it will mean you do not have the support of Ch'i. This will certainly cause the king of Ch'in to think lightly of your majesty's strength. It would be much better to appoint one who is already
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favoured by Ch'i as your minister. Ch'i will be delighted, so you will be able to count on her support. This will allow you to come to the meeting with someone in good standing with Ch'i, and Ch'in will surely respect him.' SPTK 7. 58a KY57.11
367 Why states perish In the eighth year,1 someone said to the king of Wei: 'Of old Ts'ao was dependent upon Ch'i but slighted Chin. Then Ch'i turned its attention to an attack on Lai2 and Chii and the Chin destroyed Ts'ao. Ts'eng depended on Ch'i and neglected Yiieh. During Ho-tzu's revolt in Ch'i, the Yuch destroyed Ts'eng. Cheng was dependent upon Wei and slighted Han. Wei attacked Yu-kuan and the Han destroyed Cheng. Yuan depended on her relations with Ch'in Ti to make light of Chin but one year Ch'in Ti had a famine harvest and the Chins destroyed Yuan. Chung-shan depended upon Ch'i and Wei's support to scorn Chao and while Ch'i and Wei were attacking Ch'u, Chung-shan was destroyed by Chao. These are the reasons why five states perished#they all put their trust in another state .in. fact the states to which this happened are not limited to these five. All the states in the world that have ever perished did so in this manner. The reasons one state cannot depend upon another are many indeed, for the changes which can occur are numberless. Sometimes one cannot depend on another because the government and its teachings are ill-conceived and the higher and lower estates are divided against each other. Sometimes a state is afflicted by mishaps caused by the Lords or neighbouring countries and so cannot be relied on. Also a harvest may fail and reserves may become exhausted, causing some state to become unreliable. One state may change from a profitable ally into one on the brink of disaster. This is how I know that no one state should ever be counted on at all times. 1 One text gives the 18th year. This is an atypical opening for a CKT item but standard form for annals. 2 This seems to have been another writing for t& Lai.
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'Today, however, your majesty is dependent on the might of Ch'u and trusts the words of Lord Ch'un-shen. By reason of these facts he now rejects Ch'in. But how long these allies will suffice he can have no way of knowing. Later, if Lord Ch'un-shen has a change of heart your majesty will be left by himself to face the disaster of Ch'in. Since your majesty stakes the fate of his ten-thousand-chariot-country on the vagaries of a single human heart, I can only feel that his policy is badly deficient, and I hope you will give it your maturest thoughts.' SPTK7. 58b KY ss. 2
368 Chang Mao catechises the king oflVci and obtains the right answer ,N 'Suppose I were to attack Han as Ch'in's ally', said the kino: of Wei r > Chang Mao. 'Is it more likely that Han would do nothing and wait for her demise or that she would cede land and make alliance with the rest of the empire?' asked Chang Mao in reply. 'She would cede land and make alliance with the empire.' 'Would Han be more angry with Wei for attacking her or with Ch'in?' asked Chang Mao. 'With Wei.' 'Does Han think Ch'in or Wei is stronger?' Chin. 'Is Han more likely to cede land and make treaties with the country she thinks is stronger and against which she bears less malice or is she likely to cede land and make treaty with the country she considers weaker and against which she bears much malice?' 'Han would cede land and seek treaty with the country she thinks stronger and dislikes least', replied the king. 'Why!' exclaimed Chang Mao, 'your majesty already knew all there was to know about the unwisdom of attacking Han!' SPTK 7. 59b KY 56. 3
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369 Ssu-ma Yi-chis retainer A retainer said to Ssu-ma Yi-chi, 'He who believes the empire can long be unified knows nothing of the empire. He who hopes Wei alone can stand off Ch'in knows little of Wei. He who thinks Tzu-kung is unaware of these two facts knows nothing of Tzu-kung. 'Yet Tzu-kung advocates the Alliance - how can that be explained? If the Alliance succeeds Tzu-kung is important; if it fails Tzu-kung is unimportant. But Tzu-kung is not necessarily destined to become important. Could you not quickly take advantage of the present solidarity among the Three States and sell an alliance of all to Ch'in. Ch'in will certainly accept you. If you don't do this, some advocate of Ch'in's Coalition will begin to scheme against you to bring about unification with Ch'in. This will result in the credit - which could be yours for arranging an alliance - being given to one of your enemies.' SPTK 7. 60a KY 56. 4
370 The town of Ning-yi Ch'in took Ning-yi so the king of Wei sent a man to say to the king of Ch'in, 'If your majesty will return the town of Ning-yi I will be the first in the empire to make peace with you.' Wei Jan replied, 'Pay no attention, your majesty! The king of Wei has seen that the empire is not feared by us, so he hastens to be the first to make peace. It might be fitting for him to present us with a second Ning-yi to sue for peace, but certainly not fitting for the present holder of Ning-yi to return it!' SPTK 7. 60a KY 57. 16
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371 Wu Ch'ing counsels the king of Wei against showing weakness Ch'in quit its siege of Han-tan, turned on Wei and took Ning-yi. Wu Ch'ing was afraid the king of Wei would make peace with Ch'in so he said to him: 'Do you know why Ch'in attacked you? The empire will say it was because you are close to Ch'in, but you are not close to die way Cli'm was travelling [?]. And everyone says, 'The king was weak", yet yon are not as weak as either of the Chous. But Ch'in left Han-tan and crowd the two Chous in order to attack you because Ch'in1 felt you would be easy to make submit. Does your majesty not know tbat .1 Oiou oi weakness is an invitation to attack? SPTK 7. 60b KY s". 1-
372 The man in the chariot The king of Wei wished to attack Han-tan. Hearing this, Chi Liang turned back in mid-journey and with the wrinkles of travel still in his clothes, the dust of the road still upon his hair he went straight in to audience with the king of Wei. 'Your majesty, as I was returning here I met a man upon the road urging his chariot northward. "I hope to reach Ch'u", said he, and I said, "If you would journey to Ch'u, sir, why are you facing northward?" "Because I have such fine steeds", he replied. "Your horses may be the best, but this is not the road to Ch'u", said I. "Oh, but I have all the expense-money I need", he replied. "You may have very much indeed, but this is still not the road to Ch'u." "But my charioteer is so skilful", he insisted. Now, the better equipped he was in all these ways, the farther it put him from Ch'u. 1
Something is extra here, either one 'Ch'in' as Yasui says, or suo. I follow Yasui.
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'If your majesty acts to become Hegemon, his first step must be to make the empire trust him. If you presume upon the size of your state and the excellence of your troops to attack Han-tan, broaden your dominion and bring honour to your name, then the more you act the farther you will be from your goal. Just as would happen if one drove northward to get to Ch'u.' SPTK 7. 6ia KY 57. 18
373 Chou Hsiao learns how to seem important Chou Hsiao said to Kung T'o, 'Will you tell the king of Ch'i that I will be his representative abroad and will you urge Ch'i to support me in Wei?' 'This would not do,' replied Kung T'o, 'for it would reveal to Ch'i that you are not held in esteem here and Ch'i would never use someone who does not have the ear of Wei and thereby slight someone who does. The very best thing you can do, sir, is demonstrate that you are in Wei's confidence. You must say to the king of Ch'i, "If there is anything your majesty requires of Wei let me make sure that Wei obeys you." After that Ch'i will surely support you; then you may use this support by Ch'i to make yourself important in Wei.' SPTK 7.61b KY 57-19
374 Lord Hsin-ling is told what to forget Lord Hsin-ling assassinated Chin Pi, rescued Han-tan, broke the Ch'in forces and preserved the state of Chao. Chao's king came in person to the suburbs to greet him. T'ang Chii said to Lord Hsin-ling, 'I have heard it said that there are things that cannot be known, and things which one cannot be ignorant
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of, just as there are things which cannot be forgotten and other things which must be forgotten.' 'What does that mean?' asked Lord Hsin-ling. 'If someone hates me I cannot afford not to know why; but if I hate another it would be folly to let him know it. If someone has put me under obligation to him I cannot afford to forget it; if I have obliged another, I must behave as though I remember nothing of it. 'This day you have killed Chin Pi, saved Han-tan, broken the Ch'in armies, and sustained the state of Chao. This puts Chao under great obligation and presently the king will greet you in the suburbs. I would have you go to him quickly, forgetting everything lie owes you.' 'I, Wu-chi, listen to your instructions with deepest respect', replied Lord Hsin-liug. SPTK 7. 61b KY 38. 23
375 So Kao and his son Wei attacked Kuan but it did not fall. Ch'in had made the son of a certain So Kao of An-ling the protector of Kuan. Lord Hsin-ling sent an envoy to speak to the ruler of An-ling and say, 'Your highness must send So Kao from you, for I want to make him one of my five tai-fu and commission him as lieutenant with the royal insignia.' 'An-ling is a small state,' replied the ruler 'but I am not the least certain your lord can make her people do his bidding. Since you have come as an envoy, however, please go and speak to him directly.' The envoy arrived at So Kao's residence and repeated Lord Hsinling orders. 'His highness, Lord Hsin-ling, is honouring me with such rank because he hopes to send me to attack Kuan. However, to send a father to attack his own son will surely make the world laugh. Or, if my son saw me and surrendered his city he would be forsaking his ruler, and the spectacle of a father urging his son to sedition is not one that
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would bring joy to your ruler, so I take the liberty of declining his commission.' The envoy returned and repeated this to Lord Hsin-ling who became furious. He then sent his highest ranking ambassador to say this to the ruler of An-ling: 'The lands of An-ling are actually a part of Wei. Today when I attack Kuan and it does not fall, it becomes possible for the troops of Ch'in to reach me from there and so my state is endangered. I order you to send me So Kao in bonds. If you do not, I shall go against the city of An-ling with one hundred thousand troops.' 'My former ruler, Marquis Ch'eng, received his patent from King Hsiang to protect this land,' replied the ruler of An-ling, 'and into his hand was given a copy of the laws of your royal archives. The first item of this law says that the son who kills his father and the minister who murders his ruler are forever ineligible for amnesty. Also, though the state proclaim a special amnesty, those who have surrendered cities or fled them1 will not be included in it. 'At the moment So Kao has simply refused a high post so that proper action between father and son may be preserved. Yet your highness would have him sent to you in bonds, which would force me to transgress the orders of King Hsiang and break the laws in your archives. Though I die for it, I dare not comply with your request.' When So Kao heard of this speech he said, 'Lord Hsin-ling is violent and determined. If my ruler's words get back to him we will suffer a national calamity. I have arranged things properly for myself but have not done my duty to my lord. Certainly I cannot allow my ruler to be ruined by Wei.' So saying he took himself to the residence of Wei's envoy and there cut his own throat and perished. When Lord Hsin-ling heard of it he dressed in mourning and quit his palace. He sent an envoy to apologize to Lord An-ling and say, 'I, Wu-chi, am an unworthy man, so troubled by my own thoughts that I spoke offensively to your highness. I now dare hope to absolve myself of this guilt by double obeisance.' SPTK 7. 62a KY 58. 24 1 Following Yokota chiang ch'eng wang all modify -F\ It could also be construed as VO VO: 'surrendered cities or destroyed their sons'.
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING AN-HSI
449
376 The catamite and the fish The king of Wei and Lord Lung-yang were fishing together from the same boat. When Lord Lung-yang had caught some ten fish he began to weep. 'What troubles you?' enquired the king, 'and why don't you tell me of it since it distresses you this much?* 'I would not dare be distressed in your presence', protested Lord Lung-yang. 'Then why do you weep?' 'I weep because of the fish your majesty may catch.1 'What does that mean?' 'Well, when I got my first fish I was delighted', said Lord Lung-yang 'But then I got one even bigger, so I wanted to throw the first one back. Then I thought: today, despite my bad auspices and offensive behaviour I have the privilege of straightening and brushing your majesty's mat. My rank is that of a ruler. When I am in court men step aside for me. On the road men clear the way for me. But within the four seas, oh how many beauties there must be !When they hear that the likes of me has gained the favour of the king, they will pick up their skirts and race to you. Then I will be the object of feelings such as I had toward the first fish I caught - 1 will be thrown back. How might I not weep at such thoughts?' 'Alas,' cried the king of Wei, 'why did you hesitate to tell me about it if this is what you felt?' Thereupon he had an order posted everywhere throughout his kingdom saying 'Whoever shall dare to speak of beauties in my presence will have his whole clan extirpated.' [From this it may be seen that those close to the king are certain to depend on flattery and will be expert in concealing their shortcomings. Now let us say people from a radius of a thousand li wish to present beauties to the king. Does it follow that those presented will become favoured? Suppose they are favoured, does it follow that they can be manipulated by me? The result is in fact that those close to the king bear me a grudge. Calamity then manifests itself, not good fortune;
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I am resented, but none feels obliged to me. This is not a method of statecraft to be used by the intelligent] 1 SPTK 7. 63b KY 58. 25
377 Lord Ch'un-shen promises troops Someone said to the king of Wei, 'You should proclaim throughout your land that all those who follow the king in arms must be prepared in ten days to do so. Those who are not equipped by then shall die. When it is done, lash your banner to your boat. I go on your behalf to Ch'u. Wait for my return.' When Lord Ch'un-shen had heard Wei's envoy he said, 'You may return on my authority; there is no need for you to see my king. In ten days many thousands of my troops will cross the Wei borders.' Ch'in's envoy to Ch'u heard of this and reported it to the king of Ch'in. He said to the king of Wei, 'Since your great state is determined to come against us, such troops as you already have are sufficient.'2 SPTK 7.64b KY61.22
378 Wei on the verge of destruction Kuan Yang3 said to Lord Ch'un-shen, 'Everyone claims Ch'u was a mighty state but has become weak since you have been in charge. I do not see it that way. In the twenty years before you were in power Ch'u was never attacked. Ch'in wanted to cross her troops through the This is not typical of the majority of items in CRT. It sounds like an apologuecum-lecture on the art of the courtier or the politician. 2 The significance of this obscure speech is supposed by Yokota to be that Ch'in is subtly letting Wei know he knows her plans. According to Pao Piao's notes, however, Ch'in is afraid of an alliance between Ch'u and Wei and is trying to get Wei to advance before Ch'u troops arrive. 3 Given as 14 ®lE Wei Yang in SPTK and Chu Yang * Wt in SC. 1
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING CHING-MIN 451 pass at Mien-ai but [Wei] would not let her. She wanted right-of-way through the two Chou to weaken Han and attack Ch'u but she could not get it. 'Today it is otherwise. Wei being on the verge of destruction can no longer cling to her districts of Hsu, Yen-ling, and Wu. If she must cede them to Ch'in, Ch'in will be a scant one hundred and sixty /;' away and what I foresee then is the day when Ch'in and Ch'u are locked in battle.' SPTK 7. 65 a KY 61. 23
379 The yii-sliili of An-yi When the yii-shih of An-yi died, the next in succession feared he might not get the post. A man of Shu village said to the magistrate of An-yi, 'When Kung-sun Ch'i was requesting that someone be made our yii-shih the king said, "Are you sure there is no one else who was supposed to succeed to this position? I am loath to offend their custom."' When the magistrate heard this he passed on the position to the next in succession. SPTK 7. 65b KY 67. 19 KING C H I N G - M I N (242-228 B.C.)
380 Wei and Lao-ai Ch'in attacked Wei and Wei panicked. Someone said to the king of Wei: ' 'To yield land to buy off the enemy is not as easy as defending it. To die for one's territory is not as easy as abandoning it. To be able only to abandon land instead of defending it, or to be able only to die for one's land when it should be used to bribe is the greatest error men can make. /.- *
452 THE BOOK OP WEI, OR LIANG-KING CHING-MIN 'The reason your majesty has lost hundreds of li of land and dozens of cities and yet has failed to relieve his state of its peril is because you abandoned territory when you should have used it for defence. 'At present Ch'in is stronger than any power in the empire and Wei is extremely weak, yet your majesty has chosen this time to confront Ch'in. You have shown yourself capable of dying for land but not capable of abandoning it. This is a serious fault. 'If you heed my plans you will not lose enough land to harm your state nor suffer enough indignity to make your position unbearable, but you will be able to extricate and avenge yourself.1 'Everywhere in Ch'in, 2 from those who hold power down to those who hold the handles of wheel-barrow, the question is always the same: "Are you the Empress and Lao-ai's man or are you Lii Pu-wei's." It matters little whether you go to the gateway of a hamlet or walk the corridors and temples of the capital, the question is the same. 'If you were to cede land to bribe Ch'in you should make it seem to be the accomplishment of Lao-ai. If you humble yourself to give honour to Ch'in it should be because of Lao-ai. If you give your state to Lao-ai then she will be victorious over Lu Pu-wei. If you give your state to her, the obligation the Empress will feel toward you will be as deep as the marrow of her bones and her treatment of you will make you the most honoured in the empire. 'In every contact Ch'in and Wei have had, one has cheated the other. Now with Lao-ai in favour in Ch'in and honouring you more than anyone else, who in all the empire would not cast aside Lii Pu-wei and follow Lao-ai? All will cast aside Lii Pu-wei and follow Lao-ai, and this will be your revenge against him.' SPTK 7. 66a KY 58. 26
381 The wrath of commoners The king of Ch'in sent an envoy to the ruler of An-ling3 to say, 'I wish Against Lii Pu-wei who advocated Ch'in's attack on Wei. S should follow P9, after Yokota. 3 In SY 12/118 he is called U & M.
1
2
THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING CHING-MIN 453 to give you five hundred li of land in exchange for An-ling and I hope you will favour our request.' 'Your majesty increases his kindness to me', replied the ruler of An-ling. 'You would exchange something large for what is small - and this is generous of you. Still, I received this land from my ancestors and I expect to protect it to the end and would not dare exchange it for something else.' The king of Ch'in was much put out, so the ruler of An-ling sent T'ang Chii as his envoy to Ch'in. 'Why should the ruler of An-ling not do as I ask when I offer him five hundred li of land for An-ling?' the king of Ch'in asked T'ang Chii. 'What is worse,' he continued, 'Ch'in has exterminated Han and destroyed Wei but has let your ruler with his fifty li of land survive because he is an excellent man and I would do him no slight. Now I offer to broaden his holdings tenfold, but he opposes me. Does he make light of me?' 'No,' replied T'ang Chii. 'that is not the case at all. The ruler of Anling has received his land from his ancestors and he will protect it. Since you could offer him a thousand li and he would not exchange his land for it why would he do so for five hundred lit The king of Ch'in was annoyed and became angry. 'Do you know what the Son of Heaven's wrath is?' he asked. 'I have not heard of it', replied T'ang Chu. 'The wrath of the Son of Heaven produces corpses by the hundreds of thousands and makes blood to flow for a thousand li.' 'Has your majesty heard of the wrath of commoners?' retorted T'ang Chu. 'Oh, the wrath of commoners is such that they doff their caps, bare their feet and knock their heads against the ground', said the king of Ch'in. 'That is the anger of slaves, not of brave men', replied T'ang Chii. 'When Chuan Chu 1 assassinated King Liao a comet entered the moon; 1 HH
7/6ja; SC 31/26-7 and 86/4-7. The name is also given as $!l IS, and in Tsochuan it is £S Wt W. He managed the assassination by hiding his dagger under a fish he was presenting to King Liao of Wu.
454 THE BOOK OF WEI, OR LIANG-KING CHING-MIN when Nieh Cheng killed Han K'uei 1 a white halo pierced the sun.2 When Yao Li3 killed Ch'ing Chi a blue hawk struck the palace roof. These three were commoners and before the wrath in their breasts was released, heaven was moved to omens. If I were included with them there would be four such men! 'Today it shall certainly be, If a man of honour is enraged, Two corpses will lie upon the ground Blood will flow five paces round. The Empire will be in mourning gowned.' So saying he grasped his sword and arose. The king of Ch'in's face showed that he yielded: he knelt and apologized: 'Sit, Master, it must not come to this. I am reproved!' [Han and Wei perished while An-ling with only its fifty li of land survived; this was because of Master T'ang.] 4 SPTK 7. 67a KY 58. 27 For the story of Nieh Cheng, see HH 8, ib and SC 86/12-17 and 383, below. See Morohashi, p. 8149 for several Han Dynasty theories on the significance of this celestial phenomenon. 3 HH 3/31; SC 83/29; LSCC n/8b-9b; ch'iu. One wonders if this could be the same Yao Li as in HSWC, 10-7. 4 Attributed to a 'scribe' but it is also a part of the story as seen in SY.
1
2
THE BOOK OF HAN
VISCOUNT K'ANG (455-425 B.C.)
382 Han's portion The Three Chin had shattered the Chih clan and were dividing the land among themselves. 'When the land is divided,' said Tuan Kuei to the king of Han 'take Ch'eng-kao for your portion.' 'But Ch'eng-kao is a territory covered by rivers of rocks', said the king. 'It is of no use to me.' 'Nevertheless I have heard that a secure base only one li in size which yet can tip the scales over a thousand // of land is valuable territory. A force of ten thousand, strong enough to overcome all the armies of a state, would be unexpected. Take my advice and Han will soon take all the territory of the state of Cheng!' 'Well said', replied the king and took Ch'eng-kao for his portion. And when Han took over Cheng it was from her base at Ch'eng-kao that she did it. 1 SPTK 8. ia KY58.1 M A R Q U I S AI (376-371 B.C.)
383 Nieh Cheng the assassin Han K'uei was minister of Han, and Yen Sui was favoured by the king. The two men hated one another. One day Yen Sui bluntly criticized 1
~k. Ta should be H yi with Yokota et ah 455
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THE BOOK OF HAN - MARQUIS AI
Han K'uei and pointed out his faults. Han K'uei shouted him down during the audience. Yen Sui drew his sword and rushed upon him and only the intervention of another man saved Han K'uei. Fearful of punishment, Yen Sui fled and went in search of someone who would get him revenge on Han K'uei. When he reached Ch'i, a citizen of that state said to him, 'Nieh Cheng from Deepwell in Chih is a brave and daring man at present living in obscurity in the butchers' quarter to avoid an enemy.' Yen Sui began to associate with Nieh Cheng secretly and treated him with great generosity. And Nieh Cheng asked him, 'What would you have me do for you, sir?' 'I have served you for such a brief time' replied Yen Sui, 'that even were 1 my business urgent I would not dare make requests.' Soon afterward, Yen Sui had wine set forth and raised his cup before Nieh Cheng's mother. Then he ordered one hundred measures of pure gold to be presented to her as a wish for long life. Nieh Cheng was startled and was the more curious over this generous treatment. He resisted the gift from Yen Chung-tzu and Chung-tzu continued to offer it. Nieh Cheng finally said to him: 'I have an aged mother and we are poor, but you have travelled and you know that a dog-butcher can always pick up dainties and titbits for his parents. Since my mother is always well-fed I feel it honourable to refuse your gift.' Yen Sui made everyone retire and then said to Nieh Cheng: 'Because I once made an enemy, I have had to travel to the courts of many Feudal Lords. Having arrived in Ch'i, I heard of your high sense of honour and simply made a small gift of gold to buy a bit of rude fare for the lady so that you might find some pleasure in it. Could I have entertained the thought of making any request of you because of that trifle?' 'I have set aside my honour, allowed insult to remain, and dwelt in the city only because it allows me to maintain my aged mother', replied Nieh Cheng. 'While she lives I can give my promise to no man.' Yen Chung-tzu still insisted on presenting the gift, but Nieh Cheng never did accept it. Finally Yen Sui observed such ceremonies as were fitting between guest and host and left. 1 Following Yokota's note.
THE BOOK OF HAN-MARQUIS AI
457
After some time Nieh Cheng's mother died and when he had buried her and put aside his mourning clothes he said to himself, 'Alas, Nieh has become a villager with nothing more honourable to do with his blade than butcher animals. Yen Sui was a minister to Feudal Lords and thought nothing of travelling a thousand fruitless li just to associate with me.1 But I behaved in a most mean-spirited way toward him. Though I had done nothing worthy of remark, Yen Sui offered my mother much gold. Though I did not accept it he knew me for what I was. A man of honour who had felt the glance of hatred, was affectionate and trusting toward one as poor and humble as me. Yet I remained silent and did nothing.When he sought my help in the past, I had my mother as my only reason for refusal. Now she has reached the age heaven allotted her so I can be of use to one who knew m e ' With that he went west to P'u-yang and going to see Yen Sui he said, 'In the past it was only because my mother lived that I did not accept you. Now, alas, she is dead. Tell me the one on whom von want revenge, for I wish to put my hand to it.! So Yen Chung-tzu told him everything. 'My enemy is Han K'uci, minister of Han and uncle to the present ruler. His clan is numerous and his guards are well placed. If I were to send a man to assassinate him he would not succeed. If you are, as we hope, not to be wasted2 on this mission, let me give you more chariots, mounted men and foot soldiers to assist you.' 'Han is not far from P'u-yang, 3 ' replied Nieh Cheng, 'and to assassinate the minister of a country who is also a relative of the king is, by its nature, not a task admitting the use of many people. If many are engaged in it something will go awry. When something goes awry someone will talk. Han will hear of it and raise the entire country against you and that would be danger indeed.' Nieh Cheng refused the offer of chariots and men and taking his leave he set off on foot for Han with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Seki points out that Nieh Cheng is talking to himself so that the use of the humble EL is not logical. He thinks them both errors for ift. 2 Possibly, 'If, to my joy, you don't abandon (this mission).' This would be possible if ^f» had the reading pwst or piwH. 3 The text actually has 'from the area of Wei US'. Yokota points out that P'uyang $! IS& is what he is speaking of.
1
458
THE BOOK OF H A N - M A R Q U I S AI
Just at this time a meeting was taking place at Tung-meng which both the king and his minister were attending. Armed men and guards were numerous, but Nieh Cheng rushed straight up to the platform and stabbed Han K'uei. Han K'uei fled and clasped his arms about Marquis Ai. Nieh Cheng stabbed him again and pierced Marquis Ai as well. Everyone was in great confusion, while Nieh Cheng shouted and slew more than two score men. Then he slashed his own face, gouged out an eye and cut open his belly till his entrails fell out and he died. Han displayed Nieh Cheng's corpse in the market and posted notice of a reward of a thousand in gold for its identity. But even after a long time had passed no one knew who he was. Cheng's elder sister, Ying, heard what was happening and said: 'My brother was a man of great honour. I cannot be so chary of my own person that I allow my brother's name to remain obscure, for this is not what he would have wished.' She went to Han and looked at his corpse. 'What courage!' she said. 'How great was his spirit and its resolve. In that he surpassed Pen and Yu 1 and was greater than Ch'eng Ching. Today he lies dead and unnamed. His parents are in their graves and he has no brothers. If he remains un-named it will be because of me. But I cannot bear to deny him fame out of concern for myself.' She embraced the body and wept, saying aloud, 'This is my brother, Nieh Cheng from Deepwell in Chih', and killed herself on his corpse. The countries of Chin, Ch'u, Ch'i and Wei heard this and said, 'Not only was Cheng capable, but his sister also could die in the cause of honour. The reason later ages will know Nieh Cheng's name is because his sister willingly faced being chopped into small pieces to insure her brother's fame.' SPTK 8. ib KY63.22
1 Traditionally, j£ ft and I t W , but here they are balanced against S£ ffl which is the name of a single individual.
THE BOOK OF HAN-MARQUIS CHAO
459
MARQUIS CHAO (358-333 B.C.)
384 Ch'eng Wu and Shen Pu-hai Ch'eng Wu, 1 making an alliance for Chao, 2 said to Shen Pu-hai in Han: 'if you now use your state of Han to make me important in Chao, allow me to reciprocate by using Chao to raise your value to Han. In this fashion you will have two Hans and I will have two Chaos.' SPTK 8. 5b KY58.2
385 Shen Pu-hai finds out what the king of Han wants to hear Shen Pu-hai first became close to the king of Han when Wei laid siege to Han-tan. He did not as yet know the king's intentions and desires and was afraid that what he said might very well be wide of the mark. When the king asked, "With whom should I be allied?' Shcn-tzu replied: 'This is a step important to the safety of the state and a matter of policy, so let me think it over carefully before I answer.' In secret he spoke to Chao Cho and Han Ch'ao: 'You are the greatest debators in the country. When a man is someone's minister can everything he says be agreed with? It is necessary only that he be completely faithful.'3 The two went in to the king and gave their criticisms of affairs, and Shen-tzu secretly watched to see what the king liked so that he might speak on it to him. The king was very pleased with him. SPTK 8. 6a KY58. 3 In Han-fei this is 'fi fit, ^ . All authorities find 3U excrescent here. I have followed them. 3 This obscure speech to the two debators is totally unconnected with the final paragraph and it does not appear in Han-fei.
1
2
4<5o
THE BOOK OF HAN-MARQUIS CHAO
386 Shen Pu-hai teaches his prince to refuse him Shen-tzu requested that his cousin be given a post but Marquis Chao would not allow it. Shen-tzu looked angry, so Marquis Chao said: 'This is not what I learned from you, sir. Am I to accede to your request and abandon your teachings? Or should I cleave to the statecraft you taught me and refuse your request? You once taught me to make rank and position reflect merit only. So when you make this request of me how can I accede to it?' Shen-tzu left his lodging to apologize to the ruler. 'Your highness has truly become the man I wished him to be.' SPTK 8. 6a KY 59. 4
387 Su Ch'ins persuasion wins Han for the Alliance When Su Ch'in was forming the Alliance for Chao he persuaded the king of Han thus: 'In the north of Han there are the bastions of Kung-lo and Ch'engkao; to the west lie the forts of Yi-yang and Ch'ang-pan. In the east, you have Yuan-jang and the Wei River, and southward lies Hsing-shan. Yours is a land of thousand li square with hundreds of thousands of armoured troops. The most powerful bows and the staunchest crossbows in the world come from Han: Chi-tzu bows, the Shao-fu, Shih-li, and Chu-lai bows, all of which can shoot farther than six hundred paces. And when Han troops brace their feet against the bows to cock and fire them, they can shoot a hundred bolts without pause. Those farthest from the enemy can penetrate his breast somewhere while those nearest can pierce the enemy's very heart. The swords and halberds of Han troops come from Deep-hill, Crabapple Valley, Mo-yang, and Ho-po. Or they are made by craftsmen of Teng or Feng or Yuan, or they are tempered in Dragonsprings and are the equal of T'ai-a.
THE BOOK OF HAN -MARQUIS CHAO
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Anyone of them can split a whole horse or ox asunder on land, or, used in the water, can cut in two the giant heron.1 Used against an enemy they can cleave the strongest armour, shields, leathern boots and helmets. Han troops are all equipped with iron face-masks, thumbrings, and even plaited shield thongs - nothing do they lack. Given the bravery of Han troops, their stout armour, their staunch crossbows, and their keen blades, no one will argue that one Han soldier cannot withstand a hundred men from elsewhere! 'Now, taking into account the strength of Chao and your majesty's worth, if you should face west and serve Ch'in, if you should proclaim yourself her eastern bulwark and build a palace fit for imperial dignity, accept Ch'in's cap and sash, supply her needs for spring and autumn sacrifices and submit to her with folded arms, no action could bring greater shame to your state or more laughter from the empire! This is why I would have your majesty make careful plans here. 'If your majesty serves Ch'in she will certainly ask for your territories of Yi-yang and Ch'eng-kao. If today you do as you are bidden then next year there will be a greater exaction. If you cede land to Ch'in once, you will soon be without land to satisfy her. But if you refuse her a single time, you forfeit all your previous merit and will suffer even greater calamity at her hands. "Now since your majesty's lands are limited and Ch'in's demands are not, the use of limited resources to head off limitless demands can be called going to market for ill will and buying calamity-: all your territory will be lost before you have fought a single battle. 'I have heard a vulgar saying which goes.' ^'Better to be the beak of a chicken than the rump-end of an ox.''* 'Presently your majesty has become close to Ch' in. You face the west, submit to and serve Ch'in - how does this differ from playing the rump of the ox? I find it shameful that a ruler of your majesty's worth who controls a state with the power Han has should yet have a name for acting the ox's rump.' The king of Han coloured in anger, pushed back his sleeves, put his hand on his sword, raised his face to the heavens and with a sigh said: 'Though I die for it I shall never submit to Ch'in. Now that you This is so anticlimactic that the text may be garbled or reference may be to a truly giant bird like the roc. 1
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THE BOOK OF HAN - K I N G HSUAN-HUI
have come to me and instructed me on what the king of Chao requires, I respectfully offer you my state in compliance.' SPTK 8. 6b KY59-5 K I N G H S U A N - H U I (332-312 B.C.)
388 The king of Han seeks advice about employing ministers King Hsiian said to Chiu Liu, 'I want to use both Kung-chung and Kung-shu in my government. Can this be done?' 'It cannot', was the reply. 'The state of Chin used the Six Ministers and that country was partitioned. Duke Chien employed T'ien Ch'eng and Chien Chih and Duke Chien was murdered. Wei used the hsishou and Chang Yi together and lost her Ho-wai lands. If you were to use both the men you suggest, the stronger of the two would establish his own faction within the state while the weaker would borrow influence from abroad. When any of the king's ministers forms a clique within the state and covets power, or when one uses foreign relations to diminish the king's holdings, then the king's state is certainly in great peril!' SPTK 8. 8b KY59-7
389 The minister from Ch'u Chao Hsien of Ch'u was minister of Han. Ch'in was going to attack Han so Han abandoned Chao Hsien. Chao Hsien had a man say to Kung-shu, 'You should honour Chao Hsien in order to strengthen your ties with Ch'u. Ch'in will then say to herself, "Ch'u and Han are allies."' SPTK 8. 9a KY59.9
THE BOOK OF H A N - K I N G H S U A N - H U I
463
390 The king of Ch'in hears that it is unwise to persecute a defeated joe Ch'in attacked Hsing and the Han forces retreated to the Nanyang area. After Ch'in had driven them back she attacked Hsing again. This time Han ceded the Nan-Yang area. Ch'in took the land but again attacked Hsing. Ch'en Chen said to the king of Ch'in, 'If one's territory is not easily defended one retreats; if one's relations with another state are poor one cedes land. However, in the present instance land has been ceded but relations do not improve. Retreat has been tried but enemy troops will not halt. I fear that the Shan-tung states will never retreat from your majesty or cede land to you again. 'Furthermore, you may seek one hundred in gold from Three Rivers and never get it; while if you demand a thousand from Han it will arrive next morning. But attacking Chao will end this useful relationship and Han will close her treasury. I would dislike this policy if I were your majesty.' SPTK 8. 9b KY 59. 10
391 Kung-chung advises giving once to gain twice and the king of Han discovers the consequences of not taking this advice Ch'in and Han were engaged in battle at Cho-tse and Han was in danger. Kung-chung P'eng1 said to the king of Han, 'Our ally, Ch'u, cannot be depended upon, but at this time Ch'in would dearly love to attack Ch'u. Your majesty should obey Chang Yi and ally himself with Ch'in. You should bribe Ch'in with the gift of a great city and together with her attack Ch'u. This is what is called "giving once to gain twice".' 'Good', said the king of Han, and prepared for Kung-chung's trip. Kung-chung was about to go westward and discuss terms with Ch'in 1
Also given as Kung-chung Ming or Han Ming (P'eng).
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when the king of Ch'u heard of it and became greatly alarmed. He called Ch'en Chen to him and told him of the matter. 'Ch'in has long wished to attack us', replied Ch'en Chen, 'and today she has got a great city from Han and a military alliance. To join with Han and strike south is something Ch'in has prayed for to her ancestors, and now she has her wish. There is no question that she will attack. If you heed me you will muster all the troops you have and tell them they must go to rescue Han. Then you will order the highways to be filled with war-chariots and you will dispatch ambassadors with large retinues and great wealth, so that Han will believe you are coming to her rescue. After that, even though Han may not be able to do our bidding, she will be under obligation to your majesty and will not hastily pour her troops into our state. Because she hesitates, Han and Ch'in will become disaffected. When that happens, though their troops do invade Ch'u, your state will not be badly hurt. If Han can do our bidding and break her treaty with Ch'in, Ch'in will be full of wrath, and it will all be directed against Han. If Han is then to be rescued by Ch'u, she will certainly slight Ch'in and, scorning her, will treat her commands with disrespect. In this manner we will have wearied the troops of Ch'in and Han while avoiding a calamity to Ch'u.' The king of Ch'u was overjoyed, mustered all the troops within his borders, chose his commanders, and told everybody they were going to rescue Han. He sent forth ambassadors with many carriages and much wealth and told them to say to the king of Han: 'Though our rustic state is small, it has been completely mobilized, and we hope your great country will now take heart in the face of Ch'in, for our prince will fight to the death at Han's side.' The king of Han was delighted in turn, and recalled Kung-chung. Kung-chung said to him, 'This will not do, for Ch'in is actually harassing us, while Ch'u is only promising rescue with words. To put faith in Ch'u's empty words and lightly sever relations with a mighty enemy like Ch'in would leave us the butt of the empire's laughter. 'Furthermore, Ch'u and Han are not kindred countries and have not made a treaty with each other to attack Ch'in. But Ch'in wants to attack Ch'u, and so Ch'u is simply mustering her forces on the pretext of going to rescue Han. This is surely some of Ch'en Chen's scheming. 'However, your majesty has already sent men to report to Ch'in; and
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if you do not now send her an emissary, you will be deceiving her. To make light of mighty Ch'in because you believe one of Ch'u's wily planners will certainly leave your majesty regretting his decision.' The king of Han did not listen to him but did break his treaty with Ch'in. Ch'in in turn was furious, dispatched her troops, and fought Han at An-men. No rescue was forthcoming from Ch'u, and Han was badly defeated. [Han's troops were not worn out nor were her citizens excessively stupid; her troops were overcome by Ch'in, however, and her intelligence was laughed at by Ch'u. This was the result of believing too much in Ch'en Chen and ignoring the plans of Han P'eng.] SPTK 8.10a KY60.17
392 Kung-chung grants an audience Yen Shuai was to have audience with Kung-chung but the latter would not see him. Yen Shuai said to Kung-chung's usher: 'Kung-chung must think I am frivolous and for that reason will not give me audience. Well, if Kung-chung is too attentive to the women's quarters I will instruct him to cherish men of worth. If he is too stingy with his wealth I will tell him to be openhanded. If Kung-chung behaves badly I will teach him to admire righteousness. From this day on I will speak openly and avoid nothing!' The usher told this to Kung-chung who arose immediately and gave Yen Shuai audience. SPTK 8. n b KY60.18
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393 Chang Yi persuades Han to join the Coalition Chang Yi, speaking for Ch'in's Coalition persuaded the king of Han saying: 'The lands of Han are narrow, poor, mountainous. Of the five grains Han grows only wheat or legumes. Her people feed on dishes of beans or porridges of pulse. If a single harvest fails, your citizens are happy to be able to fill their stomachs with dregs and lees. Since your territory amounts to less than nine hundred li it will not produce a harvest which will stretch over two years. I estimate also that your majesty's troops at full muster and including porters and conscript labourers can amount to not much more than three hundred thousand. If we exclude troops on garrison duty and those in fortified positions there are less than two hundred thousand. 'Ch'in, however, has a million armoured troops, and one thousand chariots. She has ten thousand cavalrymen and savage soldiers beyond counting who will rush against the enemy helmetless and barefoot1 brandishing their halberds. And her horses are as excellent as her troops are many. When they leap with their forehooves and drive with their rear ones they cover twenty feet in a single bound. Of these Ch'in has untold numbers". 'Troops East of the Mountains don helmets and put on armour to meet their enemies. Ch'in troops snatch off all protective clothes and race barehanded after the foe. They can grasp an enemy's head in the left hand while holding a live prisoner with their right. In comparison to Ch'in troops, soldiers East of the Mountain are as timorous citizens in the face of Meng Pen. Pitting your states' strength against Ch'in would be like matching the Black Catcher against a babe-in-arms. 'So, to attack a weak but stubborn state with soldiery like Meng Pen and the Black Catcher could only result in the same kind of disaster got by lowering a thousand-stone weight on a pile of eggs. ft 68 Kuan-yi is totally incomprehensible here. The glosses suggesting it means 'cupping the face with both hands' simply make the whole clause more meaningless. 1
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'The Lords disregard the weakness of their troops and their lack of supplies and heed the honeyed words, the fair speeches of the Alliance advocates who strive to make each other's speeches more decorative. These men always say, "To heed my plans is to become hegemon over the empire." Now surely no one ever committed greater offence than those who dupe a ruler into disregarding long range benefit to his state while urging him to hearken to persuasions created for the moment.' 'If your majesty refuses to serve Ch'in she will send down her armour take the area of Yi-yang, sever the upper districts of Han, take Ch'engkao in the east as well as the city of Yi-yang. Then the palace at Hungt'ai and the park at Sang-lin will instantly be denied your majesty. Moreover when Ch'in fortifies Ch'eng-kao and cuts off Han's upper districts your state will be struck in twain. 'To serve Ch'in now means peace; to do otherwise means danger. To create a catastrophe in your search for good fortune shows merely that your plans were overly simple and your anger overly strong. To reject Ch'in while agreeing with Ch'u will bring about your destruction, though this may be just what you seek to avoid. For this reason were I to make plans for your majesty I should find nothing so good as serving Ch'in. 'Ch'in wishes most to weaken Ch'u and nothing can weaken Ch'u as easily as Han. This does not mean that Han is stronger than Ch'u, it is simply a matter of geography. If you should now turn westward, serve Ch'in and use your state to attack Ch'u as a favour to my rustic prince, the king of Ch'in would be overjoyed. And that is not all. To attack Ch'u and appropriate her lands, to turn calamity into fortune while pleasing Ch'in certainly is the most profitable thing you can do. It is for this reason that the king of Ch'in has sent me, his envoy, to present this letter to your majesty's yii-shih. It is now time for your decision.' 'It is my good fortune that you have come to instruct me', replied the king of Han. 'Let me join my territories with yours, build Ch'in an emperor's palace, supply her with her needs for seasonal sacrifice, proclaim my state to be her eastern protector, and present her with the city of Yi-yang.' SPTK8. n b KY 59.6
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394 How Chang Yi was driven from Ch'in Cheng Ch'iang drove Chang Yi from Ch'in thus: Someone said1 that an envoy of Yi's was going to visit Ch'u, so Cheng Chi'ang said to Ch'u's t'ai-tsai, 'If you detairf his envoy here, your excellency, I will go west to Ch'in and plot against Yi.' And he went thereupon, and said2 to the king of Ch'in: 'Chang Yi has sent his man to us with his gift of Shang-yung, so Ch'u has sent me as her envoy to convey her gratitude and respects.' The king was furious3 and Chang Yi fled. SPTK8i3b KY59.13
395 Kung-sun Hsien learns how to curb a rival During the battle for Yi-yang, Yang Ta spoke to Kung-sun Hsien, a minister of Ch'in. 'Sir, give me sixty thousand troops and let me attack West Chou. The Nine Brazen Cauldrons will be yours to curb Kan Mao with if I take it; if not, then Ch'in will have attacked Imperial Chou and the world will hate her for that. All will come swiftly to the aid of Han, and Kan Mao's undertaking will fail.' SPTK 8.14a KY60.14
396 Yu T'eng tells Kung-chung how to save Yi-yang When Ch'in surrounded Yi-yang, Yu T'eng said to Kung-chung: 'Why don't you present Chao with your cities of Lin-li and Shihch'i in exchange for a hostage from Chao? In this fashion Lou Huan's 1 B = ffl. 2 fj| =IB, following Yokota. 8 At Chang Yi for taking it upon himself to make such a gift.
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attempts1 will be frustrated. When united troops of Han and Chao approach Wei, Lo P'i will be defeated. When Han and Chao act as one, Wei will desert Ch'in, and Kan Mao will fail. 'Ch'eng-yang, if given to Ti Ch'iang, will defeat the alliance of Ch'i and the exclusion of Ch'u.2 If Ch'in loses Wei then Ch'in will be defeated 3 and will be unable to take Yi-yang.' SPTK 8. 14a KY60. 15
397 A beast at bay Kung-chung of Han said to Hsiang Shou: 'Remember that a beast at bay can overturn a chariot. You have smashed Han and insulted Kung-chung.4 Kung-chung turned his state over to the service of Ch'in and expected a fief for it. However, you now have given Ch'u the district of Chieh-chung and enfeoffed her lesser ling-yin with Kuei-yang. If Ch'in and Ch'u unite in another attack on Han, Han will perish. In that event Kung-chung will certainly command his personal guard and fight Ch'in to the death. You should think most soberly on this, sir.' 'I am not uniting Ch'in and Ch'u in order to attack Han', replied Hsiang Shou. 'Will you make it clear to Kung-chung that Ch'in and Han can still be allies?' 'I will be happy to report this. However, there is a saying which goes, "He who honours what the honoured honour is honoured" At present your king is more fond of Kung-sun Ho than he is of you, and he finds Kan Mao's sagacity superior to yours. Yet these two men are not in charge. Instead you and the king of Ch'in alone control all aspects of your state because the other two have these shortcomings: Kung-sun Ho is partial to Han and Kan Mao is biased in favour of Wei and this makes your king suspect them. If, while Ch'in and Ch'u are contesting 1
To ally Chao and Ch'in.
8
See 340. Following Yokota's suggestion I have inverted these two phrases and changed
3
m to IIJ. In SC Su Tai is telling this to Hsiang Shou. I believe this is how it should be so I use Kung-chung instead of the pronoun, T. 4
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supremacy, you commit yourself to Ch'u, you must not imagine jthat this differs at all from what Kung-sun Ho and Kan Mao have done. Everyone admits that Ch'u is very fickle but you believe she will be otherwise now. You do yourself too much honour, sir. 'You had much better plan together with your king for Ch'u's inconstancy and treat Han well to prepare against such a contingency: this will permit you to avoid disaster. Han was obliged to follow Kungsun Ho the first time, and next she had to submit to Kan Mao; so both of these men became Han's personal enemies. But if you were to say, "Let us treat Han well in order to prepare against Ch'u", you could give Han an inescapable enemy and a target other than yourself.'[?] 'I am very anxious to join with Han', replied Hsiang Shou. 'Kan Mao promised Kung-chung the town of Wu-sui for the displaced people from Yi-yang. At the moment you have simply taken the area and so it is very difficult [to settle the Yi-yang refugees.]' [?] 'What can be done then, since Wu-sui will never be returned?' asked Hsiang Shou. 'Well, could you not use the threat of Ch'in and on Han's behalf seek to get Ying-ch'uan from Ch'u? It is an area that Han once had claim to. If you could ask for and get this land it would prove your orders are honoured by Ch'u, and you could use the land to oblige Han. If you fail, the rancour Han and Ch'u feel toward one another will not diminish, and the two states will compete for favourable relations with Ch'in. With Ch'in and Ch'u struggling for supremacy, if you antagonize Ch'u in order to reap Han's good will, Ch'in will profit by it.' 'How so?' asked Hsiang-tzu. 'It is a very good thing for you to do: Kan Mao wants to use Wei as a means to attract Ch'i, Kung-sun Ho wants to use Han to attract Ch'i, but today, your honour, you can have the merit of taking Yi-yang1 and settling things between Ch'u and Han in order to keep the city peaceful and to fix the blame on Ch'i and Wei. This will leave Kungsun Ho and Kan Mao helpless.' SPTK 8.14b KY60.19 1 Most commentary either states or implies that Kan Mao had all but taken Yiyang, but Han hated him and would surrender to Hsiang Shou if he treated Han well. Even accepting the commentary the second half of the item is not very clear.
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398 The king ofCh'in is compared favourably with his ministers [The Visiting Minister1] spoke to the king of Ch'in for Han: 'The criticisms of Han Min are limited to his own ruler, for he docs not recognize rulers of other states, and his plans are limited to his own state, for he does not even acknowledge other states. But Kung-chung can be impressed by the power of Ch'in. If he were fortified2 with the might of Ch'in he could rout Han Min.' [To advance the troops of Ch'i and Sung to Shou-yuan and to put pressure at a distance on the suburbs of Ta-liang but not overrun[?] Wei; to find this satisfactory and thereafter to cross the Nan-yang road can only be because [she?] wants to head the four states in the direction of Ch'in. Those who are against it say, 'Remember that the defeat of Yen by Ch'i, the defeat of Wei by Ch'in, and the loss of Ch'en and Ts'ai to Ch'u were all decided by size and geography,]3 'Ministers will band together and hoodwink their ruler; great officers will work for the Lords to the detriment of their own states. At present your majesty sits a firm throne. The honour paid to Chang Yi is such that he cannot criticize Kung-sun Ho - here a secondary minister does not serve a great officer. Kung-sun Ho's honour is such that he cannot criticize Kan Mao - here a great officer cannot connive with a close minister. The mighty and the less honoured do not serve each other's purposes, but each has his place and all work for their ruler, as the spokes do for the hub of a wheel. Since this is so, the worthy and the unfit among them can be distinguished. This is the first example of your majesty's discernment. 'Since Kung-sun Ho once allied Ch'i and Han and was not raised in rank because of it, your great ministers dare not work for other states at the expense of their own. Ch'i and Han once relied on Kung-sun Ho to get an alliance with Ch'in but they were not accepted by her. For this reason the Lords no longer believe they can secure alliances simply In some editions the phrase is missing and it probably should not be here. After Seki. 3 1 agree with Seki that this passage is an insertion and Ifindit very difficult to make any sense of it at all. 1
2
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because they have the ear of a minister. In this fashion neither states outside Ch'in nor ministers inside can work for one another and so the true feelings of the Lords can be discovered by your majesty. This is the second example of your discernment. 'Kung-sun Ho and Ch'u-li Chi have requested Ch'in not to attack Han Ch'en 1 and 2 suggested that she disperse her troops, but your majesty attacked none the less. Kan Mao not only had a treaty with Chu and Chao, but he perversely favoured Wei while talking peace with my state of Han. But when Kan Mao finally attacked Yi-yang you revised your treatment [?] of him. This is simply a demonstration that the wisdom of your ministers is nowhere near as great as your majesty's. 'It is for this reason that I urged Kung-chung to turn the management of the state over to your majesty rather than to his attendants.' SPTK 8.16a KY66. 12
399 Kung-chung hears a speech rehearsed Someone said to Kung-chung, 'He who listens to his country may not hear anything of great worth.3 Nevertheless former kings did listen to the voices of their people in the market place; and for the same reason I trust your excellency will now listen to your minister. 'Your excellency sought to be neutral with respect to Ch'in and failed. You treated Ch'in's minister Kung-sun Ho well in order to embarrass Kan Mao, and you spurred Ch'i on in order to stop Wei. You also have made both Chao and Ch'u your enemies, and I am fearful of the trouble this will bring your state. I hope your excellency will try again for neutrality.' 'But how?' asked Kung-chung. 'The king of Ch'in felt that Kung-sun Ho was merely a member of your excellency's faction and so he paid him no heed. Kan Mao is out of favour with your excellency, so he will not speak on your behalf. Meaning Yi-yang? With Yokota 0 an error for iffi. 3 Yasui says this is a graphic error for hsien Hi 'a worthy'.
1
2
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Why not get Hsing Yuan1 to present your desires to the king of Ch'in? Hsing Yuan, as minister for the king of Ch'in, has always spoken impartially. 'Next, I beg your permission to say to the king of Ch'in, "Which is more profitable for Ch'in, to have Ch'i and Wei allied to one another or inimical? Which is better for Ch'in, to have Ch'i and Wei disaffected with each other or to have them united?" Ch'in must reply that to have Ch'i and Wei antagonistic would make Ch'in more important but to have those countries allied would weaken Ch'in. To have those two states disaffected would make Ch'in strong; but united they would make Ch'in feeble. Then I will say, "But if your majesty hearkened to Kung-sun Ho, he would unite the forces of Han and Ch'in and attack Wei for the convenience of Ch'i. Wei will not dare resist, of course, but she will cede land to Ch'i and ally herself with her. This will leave Ch'in weakened. In my opinion Kung-sun Ho is being less than loyal in suggesting this. If your majesty heeds Kan Mao and with the forces of Ch'in and Han accepts Wei's cause and attacks Ch'i, Ch'i will not dare resist but will ask to cede land to and ally herself with Wei. This also will leave Ch'in weakened. In my opinion Kan Mao is not acting in good faith either. ' "For these reasons your majesty could do no better than order Han to remain neutral while you attack Ch'i. You should then spread the word that Han will come to Wei's rescue so that Wei's resolve will be stiffened. This way neither Ch'i nor Wei will trust the other and they will withdraw their troops2 and offer you concessions. ' "If your majesty wishes it, of course he may put his faith in Kungsun Ho and Ch'i and seize Nan-yang for Han, exchange it for Kuch'uan and return home - this was the ambition of your ancestor, king Hui. Or if your majesty wishes it, of course he may put his trust in Kan Mao and Wei. Then, using the combined forces of Ch'in and Han he can seize Wei and isolate her from Ch'i - this was the ambition of your ancestor king Wu. ' "However, in my opinion, leaving Han neutral and attacking Ch'i Another very strange surname. It does not appear in Index. The context forces my translation but I find the text suspect. 2 This item is quite corrupt in several places. SPTK has gibberish here, but emending it has been done by conjecture.
1
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by itself is the most outstanding opportunity for Ch'in. Kung-sun Ho is partial to Ch'i so he could not suggest such a plan, Kan Mao's influence now is so weakened that he does not even come to audience. These two men are the king's greatest misfortune; so I would have your majesty think soberly on my plan." ' SPTK8.18a KY60. 20
400 Kung-chung isolated The kung-chung, Han P'eng, had proved himself so untrustworthy with the Lords that they agreed to isolate him. He then sought to turn his country over to Ch'u, but Ch'u would not accept him. Su Tai said to the king of Ch'u, 'You should heed his request and take advantage of his turncoat habits. P'eng has been so untrustworthy in the past - by depending on Han and rejecting Ch'u, by using Ch'i and rejecting Ch'in - that now the four states will have nothing to do with him. He is greatly troubled by it and now must act as faithfully as Wei-sheng himself.' SPTK 8.19a KY61.24
401 Kung-shu is told how to get a town without asking Someone said to Kung-shu, 'You wish to get Wu-sui from Ch'in and not run the risk of having Ch'u take Ho-wai, so you must send a man to Ch'u to worry her enough to make her dispatch an envoy to request Wu-sui from Ch'in for you. 'This man must say to the king of Ch'u, "Send an impressive delegation to Ch'in to request the city of Wu-sui for Han. If the king of Ch'in accedes, it will prove that your orders are obeyed by even the most powerful state. If Han gets Wu-sui, it will mark a limit to Ch'in's expansion and, being relieved of pressure from Ch'in, Han will be
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greatly obliged to Ch'u and become nothing more than another province of yours. If she does not accede, then the rift between Han and Ch'in will be seen to be too deep for repair, and Han will become an ally of Ch'u."' SPTK 8. 19b KY62. 7
402 A leaking boat Someone said to Kung-shu, 'If you are sailing and the boat leaks, you must plug the hole or the boat will sink. If you are so busy plugging the hole that you neglect the great waves of Yang-hou1, your boat will be overturned. At the moment you feel you are conversant with the Duke of Hsiieh so you neglect Ch'in. This is plugging holes in your boat while ignoring Yang-hou's waves. Think on it, sir.' SPTK 8. 20a KY62. 8
403 Thefiercedog Ch'i ordered Chou Tsui to Cheng Han to see that Han Jao replaced Kung-shu. Chou Tsui complained bitterly, 'But Kung-shu and the ruler of Chou are on the best of terms! If you send me to seat Han Jao and depose Kung-shu then "anger in the house will show flushed cheeks in the market" as the saying goes. Kung-shu hates Ch'i now, and that cannot be helped; but if I go it will certainly end good relations with Chou and cause him to hold a grudge against me!' 'Perform the task', said his companion Shih She, 'and I will see to it that Kung-shu still holds you in esteem.' When Chou Tsui reached Cheng, Kung-shu was in a towering rage, so Shih She entered and had audience: 1
Which drowned the Marquis of Yang.
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'Chou Tsui did not want this commission, your excellency, but I had the temerity to urge it on him. It was because he wished you well that Chou Tsui did not want the task, but it was also for your good that I urged him to take it.' 'I would be pleased to hear why', said Kung-shu. 'The sons of one of our ministers had a dog which was extremely fierce and could not be called off. If anyone tried it, he was promptly bitten. Finally one of the minister's men asked permission to call the dog off. He fixed it with a stern look and spoke to it in a very grave fashion. The beast made no move against him, so the man called the dog away. And from that time on the dog wished to bite no one. 'Now Chou Tsui wishes only to serve you, and since he does, he had no choice: he took the mission because he alone can present the matter in such a way and soften the statements of our king in such a fashion that the king of Han will not believe our ruler is very anxious about the affair and will refuse to do it.1 'If Chou Tsui had been ordered not to come and another came instead, that one might not be well disposed toward your excellency and might wish to obligate Han Jao. Then he would show great concern with his countenance, he would make the matter appear very urgent and the king of Han would certainly comply.' 'Good', said Kung-shu and treated Chou Tsui well. As expected, the king did not accept Han Jao in place of Kung-shu. SPTK 8. 20a KY62. 9
404 Kung-chung engages an expert on Ch'u affairs Kung-chung sent Han Min2 to seek the town of Wu-sui from Ch'in, but he feared that Ch'u would be angered by it. T'ang K'o said to Kung-chung, 'Han's making overtures to Ch'in for the purpose of He will speak to the dog so it will not bite? Cf. also 242. The anecdote seems just to miss being apposite. 2 As in so many Han items there is confusion here over names. In other stories Han Min is the Kung-chung, which he appears to be at the end of this item as well.
1
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obtaining Wu-sui will not cause my king1 to be jealous. When Han has got Wui-sui then she can treat Ch'u well. I have something I would like to say but I fear you will think I speak for Ch'u's benefit. [I would say to the king of Ch'u], 2 "At present the seniors of the royal family and those favoured by the people are not ministers of Han. Han cannot pursue an independent course and should tend toward close relations with Ch'u." 'Then the king will say, "I will use my state to support Han Min; would that be good?" "The elders of Chao are against Min" I will say, "so he will certainly feel compelled to secure his state by relying on Ch'u.'" Kung-chung was delighted and made T'ang K'o one of his nobles in personal charge of relations between Han and Ch'u. SPTK8.2ia KY 66. 10
405 Kung-chung and Kan Mao Kung-chung became the implacable foe of Kan Mao because of the capture of Yi-yang. Later, Ch'in returned Wu-sui to Han and the king of Ch'in always suspected that Kan Mao had used Wu-sui to gain favour with Kung-chung. For this reason Tu Liao said to the king of Ch'in for Kung-chung, 'It is because of Kan Mao that Kung-chung P'eng wishes to serve your majesty.' The king was furious with Kan Mao and Ch'u-li Chi was delighted with Tu Liao. SPTK8.2ib KY 60. 16
406 Cheng Ch'iang hears a cheaper way to injure Han Cheng Ch'iang brought eight hundred in gold into Ch'in and asked to 1 2
i.e., Ch'u's king. Following Yokota's suggestion that this be added.
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use it to provoke an attack on Han. Leng Hsiang said to him, 'Ch'in will certainly not heed your request to use this eight hundred in an attack on Han, for Han is our ally. You should, instead, make the king of Ch'in suspicious of Kung-shu.' 'But how am I to do that?' 'Kung-shu told everyone that he was attacking Ch'u because his rival Chi Se was there as hostage. Yet now he has got the king of Ch'u to enfeoff Chi Se, give him a hundred carriages, settle him in Yang-ti and make Chao Hsien live with him 1 there. Chi Se is supposed to be Kung-shu's enemy, while everyone knows that Chao Hsien is Kungshu's man.When the king of Ch'in hears of this he will certainly suspect that Kung-shu works for Ch'u.' SPTK 8.21b KY 59. 12
407 Kung-shu learns that there are more effective ways of protest than resignation Kung-chung was arranging for an exchange of land between Han and Wei. Kung-shu resisted the exchange, was ignored, and prepared to leave the country. Shih T'i said to Kung-shu, 'If you flee, the exchange will certainly go through. If you give no explanation and later return to the state, it will be clear to the empire that you are held in little esteem here. It would be best to agree to the plan; for if Han yields land above the river it will harm Chao, and if Wei cedes land below the river it will harm Ch'u. You should disclose the intended exchange to Chao and Ch'u, who will oppose it. When Chao hears this, she will raise her troops and approach Sheepgut. When Ch'u hears it she will send her troops to Fang-ch'eng and the exchange will never take place.' SPTK 8. 22a KY61.3 1
After Yokota I omit the next six characters.
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408 A profitable alliance When Ch'i Hsiian was instructing the king of Han how to make a profitable alliance with Ch'in he spoke as follows: 'Arrange a retinue of one hundred carriages for Kung-shu and say he is being sent to Ch'u to exchange Three Rivers. Then order Kungchung to say to the king of Ch'in, "Because the people of Three Rivers say to themselves that the king of Ch'in is certain to seize them, the king of Han cannot be dissuaded from exchanging Three Rivers with Ch'u. 1 " Why does your majestynot try sending Hsiang-tzu as hostage to Han and thereby let the king of Han know you have no designs on Three Rivers?' Thereafter he sent Hsiang-tzu away and obliged the heir to him.2 SPTK 8. 22b KY61.4
409 Kung-shu is shown how, by promising to fight but doing nothing, he can please two countries During the battle of Hsiang-ling, Pi Ch'ang said to Kung-shu, 'Ch'u, because it wants Kung-tzu Chiu on Han's throne, has taken its troops to Wei; but why do you not get someone to say to Chao Yang, "Victory is not necessarily assured. Let me raise my troops, approach Wei, and give you thereby an excuse for breaking off your battle with Wei?" In this fashion the heir, Chao Yang, and the king of Wei will all be in debt to you.' 3 SPTK 8. 23a KY61. 5 1 On the grounds that if he is going to lose it any way, he may as well get something for it before Ch'in moves in. 2 The implication of the last statement is that Hsiang-tzu was in competition with Ch'in's heir and in one move the king of Ch'in could settle two problems. 3 This passage is badly preserved and according to Yasui does not make much sense the way it stands. I agree, but his alternative seems no better and equally conjectural.
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410 Feng Chun seeks a way to avoid detention Kung-shu sent Feng Chun to Ch'in and the latter feared that Ch'in would detain him, so he instructed Yang Hsiang to say the following to the king of Ch'in: 'If you keep Feng Chun here in order to ingratiate yourself with Han's ministers you are not using the wisest counsel.1 It would be better to treat Feng Chun well and give him the backing of Ch'in. Then his influence will be so broadened2 by your majesty's support that he will not obey Kung-shu but will fight against the heir, and your majesty's position in Han will be greatly enhanced to the detriment of Han.' ' SPTK 8.23b KY62. 6
411 Cheng Ch'iang exceeds his commission but is not punished Kung-shu of Han was struggling with Chi Se for power. Cheng Ch'iang was on an embassy to Han for the state of Ch'u and took it upon himself to declare that Ch'u was assigning Hsin-ch'eng and Yangjen to the shih-tzu (Chi Se) to help in his struggle with Kung-shu. The king of Ch'u was angered and would have punished Cheng Ch'iang for his temerity, but the latter said to him: 'I took it upon myself to make the offer for the good of your state. I believe that by giving the shih-tzu Chi Se Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen, he will fight it out with Kung-shu and survive. Wei will be upset by this and put pressure on Han. Han will then be begging for her life from Ch'u. Will she be likely to ask for Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen then? Suppose Chi Se fights Kung-shu and loses. Suppose he does not perish butflees.He will certainly come here. But will he dare to ask for Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-jen then?' 'True', admitted the king and did not punish him. SPTK 8.23b 1 2
K Y 6 2 . 10 Following Yokota, i . M is an error. I accept Yasui's explanation of JSS here. It seems less strained than Yokota's.
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412 The heir of Han shrinks from dividing his country and is forced to flee Kung-shu of Han was struggling with Chi Se for control of the state. The chung-shu-tzu Ch'iang1 said to the heir, 'You should strike Kungshu swiftly in case Ch'i forces reach here.' 'I could not do that', replied the heir. 'A pitched battle with him here would split the country asunder.' 'If the matter does not turn out right you will be in mortal danger. What good will it do you then whether the state is whole or not?' The heir did not heed him, the Ch'i troops did indeed arrive, and the heir fled. SPTK 8. 24a KY62.11
413 The persecution of Chi Se Ch'i Ming said to Kung-shu, 'Ch'i drove Chi Se away and Ch'u has treated him well but Ch'u wants very much to be on good terms with Ch'i. Why don't you, my lord, cause the king of Ch'i to say to the king of Ch'u, "Your majesty should drive Chi Se forth to cause him difficulties !" If he complies then Ch'i and Ch'u will join each other and Chi Se must flee. If the king of Ch'u does not do as he is asked you will know someone is secretly working for him in Han.' SPTK 8.24b KY62.12
414 Kung-shu is advised against murdering Chi Se Kung-shu was about to murder Chi Se when someone said to him: 1
Doubtless KB 91 Cheng Ch'iang.
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'The heir makes much of your excellency because he fears Chi Se. If Chi Se should die today, the heir would have no worries and would favour you less. The older ministers see that the king is aging and they hope to see the heir used so they serve him. If the heir has no worries about Chi Se on the one hand and the support of the older courtiers on the other, then you will no longer be in favour. It would be best if you did not kill Chi Se but kept him to worry the heir who will then honour you for life.' SPTK 8. 24b KY62. 13
415 More reasons why Kung-shu should not kill Chi Se Kung-shu was about to kill Chi Se when Sung Ho spoke to Kung-shu on Chi Se's behalf: 'Chi Se is able to make trouble in two ways', said he. 'Internally he has the ear of the royal elders and abroad he has Ch'in and Ch'u. If you were to kill him now, your excellency, the heir would have no worries and would hold you in lower esteem. The great men of the court know the king is aged, and if the heir were certain to succeed they would secretly begin serving him. When Ch'in and Ch'u found they no longer had Han through Chi Se, they would secretly make overtures to Po Ying, and Po Ying would be another Chi Se. 'Your best course is not to kill Chi Se. Po Ying will then attach himself to you for security, and Han's courtiers, uncertain whether Chi Se will take the throne, will hesitate to aid Po Ying in any rebellion. Ch'in and Ch'u will have Chi Se with whom they can block Po Ying, so he will be deprived of their power outside the state. Inside he will lack the support of a majority of the royal elders, so he will not dare attempt to take over. 'This will prove most convenient for your excellency.' SPTK 8.25a 1 KY 62.14
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Lord Hsin-ch'eng hears how to obtain the services of Kung-shu and Po Ying Someone1 said to Lord Hsin-ch'eng of Ch'in,2 'Kung-shu and Po Ying are afraid that Ch'in and Ch'u will receive Chi Se.3 Why do you not ask for a hostage from Ch'u on Han's behalf. If the king of Ch'u sends a hostage son to Han, Kung-shu and Po Ying will be aware that neither Ch'in nor Ch'u wishes to use Chi Se as a means of overthrowing them and they will surely ally Han with Ch'in and Ch'u. When Ch'in and Ch'u have Han under them to threaten Wei, Wei dare not move eastward, so Ch'i will be isolated. 'Further, you should cause Ch'in to ask for a hostage from Ch'u and if Ch'u refuses, resentment will be produced in Han[?] . . .4 controlling Ch'i and Wei and casting angry glances at Ch'u. In that case the king of Ch'u will treat you with great honour. 'If your excellency uses Ch'in and Ch'u's high opinion of him to oblige Han, then both Kung-shu and Po Ying will serve your excellency with their state.' SPTK 8. 25b KY62. 15
417 A use for Chi Se When Hu Yen had driven Chi Se into Ch'u he told Kung-shu to say to the king of Wei, 'As long as Chi Se is in Ch'u, Han cannot break away from her. Why don't you try supporting Kung-tzu Chiu and request that he be made heir?' It is SuTai in SC. to be Ch'ien Jung •? 3®. 3 Also written H ft.
1
2 This is supposed
As Takigawa points out, SC 45/20, this is garbled and there is no way to settle the text. Yokota says the second Han should be omitted, but that helps the text very little. 4
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Then he was told to send someone to the king of Ch'u and say, 'Han has raised Kung-tzu Chiu and abandoned Chi Se, so you are holding an empty hostage. The best thing y o u can do is send C h i Se back quickly to Han where he will use the power of Han to avenge himself upon Wei and will be under obligation to your majesty.' SPTK 8.25b K Y 6 2 . 16
418 A kingly business When Chi Se fled he went to Ch'u. Ch'u wanted to put an end to Ch'in's plans so they returned him. Someone said to Ch'ien Jung of Ch'in 'The state that would have cast out Kung-shu to aid 1 Chi Se is Ch'u. Now Chi Se has fled to Ch'u and that country, wishing to bring our plans to an end2, has returned him. The moment Chi Se enters the capital at Cheng, Han will become a dependency of Ch'u. The best thing you can do is to tell the king of Ch'in to congratulate Po Ying on his succession to the throne. At that moment Han will cut off relations with Ch'u and serve Ch'in most expeditiously. When Ch'in has got Han and made alliance with Wei then Ch'i or Ch'u - whichever is the last to submit to Ch'in - will perish and that would be a kingly business.' SPTK 8.26a KY63. 17
419 A backer for Chi Se Leng Hsiang said to Han Chiu, 'Chi Se has fled to Ch'u and the king of Ch'u wants to return him. At the moment Ch'u has over a hundred thousand troops outside Fang-ch'eng. Let me go and tell the Ch'u forces to build a city large enough to hold ten thousand inhabitants next to the town of Yung-shih. Han will certainly muster its troops to 1 2
After Yokota eta/. JR , 'take over, bring to an end'.[?]
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prevent this but you will just as certainly be in charge of the force. Then you must support and welcome Chi Se into Cheng1 and give him the backing of both Han and Ch'u forces. Chi Se will be obligated to you for seeing him installed and both Han and Ch'u will support you.' SPTK 8. 26b KY63. 18
420 Leng Hsiang advises the heir to stay Ch'u ordered Ching Li to Han for Han was about to send the heir, Po Ying, to Ch'in, and Ching Li was troubled by it. Len Hsiang said to Po Ying: 'If you go to Ch'in she will keep you there and make her peace with Ch'u by restoring Chi Se. You will then be repudiated by Han.' SPTK 8. 26b KY63. 19
421 The king of Ch'in s mother makes an interesting disclosure and encourages the Han envoy to greater efforts Ch'u had besieged Yung-shih for five months when a Han envoy was sent to ask aid from Ch'in. Han's officials looked at each other anxiously but not a Ch'in soldier came through the passes of Yao. So Han sent Shang Chin as her envoy to Ch'in. Shang Chin said to the king of Ch'in, 'Han is a protective hedge for Ch'in by her very presence and she always walks in the same columns as Ch'in troops when she ventures abroad. Yet today Han is in peril and Ch'in sends no soldiers through the passes of Mt. Yao. I have heard it said that the teeth become cold when the lips are gone so I wish your majesty to think on it carefully.' Queen Hsiian, the king's mother, said, 'Envoys there have been in great plenty, but only Shang-tzu has put it properly.' Then she had him summoned in and said to him: 1
i.e., Han.
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' W h e n I served our former king and he would put his leg across my body I would object saying it was uncomfortable, but when he laid his whole body upon me I did not find it heavy. W h y was this? Because I felt the former act held little benefit. T o d a y we aid Han with few troops and little in the way of supplies, and it will surely be insufficient to rescue Han. But actually to save an imperilled Han would take a thousand in gold each day. Can I not be made to feel that there is profit in it?' Shang Chin sent a letter reporting this to the king of Han and the king dispatched Chang Ts'ui. Chang Ts'ui, explaining that he was ill, travelled slowly on his mission until he reached Kan Mao. 'Is Han's position so critical that you should travel here even though ill, sir?' asked Kan Mao. 'There is no crisis in Han', replied Chang Ts'ui. 'Come sir, Ch'in is a mighty state w i t h an intelligent ruler w h o knows all about Han's conditions', said Kan Mao. 'Yet you tell me you are not in a critical position - can this be?' 'If Han's position were critical she would already have broken off with Ch'in and gone over to C h ' u and I would not be here.' 'Say no more', said Kan Mao, and he entered and spoke to the king: 'Kung-chung expected to have C h ' i n troops so he has dared to stand Ch'u off. Today, with Yung-shih surrounded, if Ch'in's troops do not come to him through the passes of M t . Yao there will be no Han, and Kung-chung must hang his head and not show his face in court. Kung-shu will then unite his state w i t h Ch'u in the south. W h e n they become a single state, W e i must do as they tell her; so C h ' u will have three states to attack Ch'in w i t h . W h e n this happens, an attack on Ch'in is as good as launched. I had not heard that there is more profit in waiting for an attack then in going on the offensive.' 'Good', said the king of Ch'in, and he sent his troops through Mt. Yao to resuce Han. SPTK 8. 27a KY61. 1
422 Kung-sun Mei gives a frank account of Han s position Ch'u surrounded Yung-shih. Han ordered Leng Hsiang to seek
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rescue from Ch'in and what Ch'in did was to send Kung-sun Mei to Han. Kung-chung said to him, 'Do you believe Ch'in will come to Han's rescue or not?' 'The king of Ch'in said the following to me', replied Kung-sun Mei. "Ask for right of way to Nan-chcng and Lan-t'ien so that I can enter and attack Ch'u. We will bring our forces out through Three Rivers and there await your excellency." This seems to mean that he will not engage Ch'u 1 as requested.' 'What can we do, then?' 'The king of Ch'in will surely follow the old plan of Chang Yi', replied Kung-sun Mei. 'When King Wei of Ch'u attacked Wei, Chang Yi said to the king of Ch'in, "If you join Ch'u in an attack on Wei, Wei will break off and go over to Ch'u. Han is Wei's firmest ally and so Ch'in will be isolated. For this reason it would be best to send out troops to stiffen Wei's resistance. After that, take P'i-shih [.. .]." 2 The Wei forces did resist harder and King Wei of Ch'u grew angry; so Ch'u and Wei fought savagely. Ch'in, however, merely took the area beyond Hsi-ho and returned. Today Ch'in will spread the word that she is rescuing Han but will secretly accommodate Ch'u. 3 'If you are confident of help from Ch'in you are likely to undertake war on Ch'u rather lightly, and if Ch'u is secretly informed that you will not be able to expect Ch'in forces, then Ch'u will be able to deal with you easily. 'If you should be victorious over Ch'u, Ch'in will trade on her aid to you, bargain it for Three Rivers and send her forces home. If you lose, Ch'in will fortify Three Rivers and hold it. You will never be rescued by Ch'in, and if I were you I would feel shame over this. 'Ssu-ma K'ang 4 has gone thrice to Ying. Kan Mao and Chao Hsien have met at the border and what they say is that they have obtained the seal: what they mean is, they have an understanding.'5 Kung-chung was afraid. 'What shall I do, then?' Wu Shih-tao thinks the last four characters in the sentence V it ]?i SIU are excrescent. I agree. They do not appear in SC. 2 With Yokota, something is probably missing here. 3 By not lifting the siege of Yung-shih. 4 Known elsewhere as Ssu-ma Keng (f%). 5 The significance of this sentence is not clear. 1
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'You must put your reliance first upon your own state and last on Ch'in. You should consult yourself and not the schemes of Chang Yi. You had best ally your state immediately with Ch'i and Ch'u. Ch'in will certainly confirm you as head of your state in order to avoid attack. In that case the only things you will have frustrated are the schemes of Yi. In actuality you will not have forfeited Ch'in's good will at all.' SPTK 8. 28a KY61.2
423 Kung-chung is told how to be blessed in success and prosperous in failure Someone said to Han Kung-chung: 'Twins look so much alike that even their mothers can barely tell them apart. The appearance of profit and harm are so similar that even the very wise can just tell them apart. At the moment harm and benefit to your honour's country appear as alike as twin infants. If you know the secret of distinguishing between them your ruler will be honoured and your person will be safe. If you do not know the secret, the result will be dishonour and danger. 'At this moment Ch'in and Wei are concluding a treaty and you are not presiding over it and binding both parties to you. This will assure their scheming against Han. If Han comes later than Wei to seek the good will of Ch'in, she will appear to be a mere follower. The state will diminish in importance and the ruler will be held in disesteem. Then when Ch'in does settle good terms with Han she will want to put a favourite of hers in high position in Han to make certain that the agreement is entirely to her liking. This will be a danger to your person. 'Now, if you and Lord An-ch'eng were to manage the treaty between Ch'in and Wei, you would be blessed if it succeeded and prosper if it failed. If agreement is reached between them, and you had presided over it and bound both parties to you, Han would have become the doorway through which Ch'in and Wei reached accord. Han would be important and her ruler honoured. Lord An-ch'eng
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would be honoured in the east by Wei and esteemed in the west by Ch'in. He would be holding the right-hand half of the tally and would speak for you and explain to the rulers of Ch'in and Wei what their debt to you is. Your portion could be that both countries cede you land and make you one of the Lords. Certainly the least you can expect is to be minister to Han and Wei to the end of your days - this will bring honour to your ruler and security to your person. 'If, finally, Ch'in and Wei do not reach accord, Ch'i, 1 angered by not having got Wei as her ally, will surely wish to establish good relationships with Han in order to isolate Wei. If Wei does not do as Ch'in wishes in the matter of the treaty she will have to work very hard for good relations with Han in order to defend herself against Ch'in. You will be able to cut as much off either bolt of cloth as you like. 'If they reach accord, both states will be obliged to you; if they don't, both states will struggle to serve you. And this is why I said you will be blessed if it succeeds and prosper if it fails. Do not doubt it for a moment, your honour.' SPTK8. 30a KY64. 1
424 Kung-chung hears the advantage ofearly submission Someone said to Kung-chung, 'At this moment there is an action you may take which will show your loyalty to your ruler, will be a convenience for your state and profitable for yourself. I hope your excellency will undertake it. Now when the empire splits and serves Ch'in, Han is always the least important. When the states of the empire unite and oppose Ch'in, Han is the weakest among them, and successive alliances and discords in the empire always leave Han in the most perilous position. This causes the greatest trouble to ruler, state, leaders and citizens. 'If at this point you brought Han to an alliance with Ch'in ahead of all the other states, the empire would follow your lead. In effect Han would be leading the empire to submit to Ch'in which would obligate 1
As SPTK says, this should probably be Ch'in.
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that country to you deeply. Han would then go to the Ch'in court along with the rest of the empire but of them all only Han would have obligated Ch'in. So, by performing this act you would have shown the greatest loyalty to your ruler. 'If the empire should not join Ch'in - if Ch'in commands and they do not obey - Ch'in will certainly raise her troops and punish those who did not submit. Ch'in will then be angered and at war with the empire and her troops will never stop. But all this time Han will be resting her citizens and soldiers waiting for the end of the quarrel. To take this action then will be of great convenience to your state. 'In another age Chou Chiao arranged amicable relations between his state of West Chou and Ch'in: for this he was given the fief of Kengyang. Chou Ch'i brought about amicable relations between his state of East Chou and Ch'in: for this he was given the fief of P'ing-yiian. Today, you should bring about amicable relations between Ch'in and Han. Han being incalculably greater than the two Chous. Ch'in's interest in seizing such an opportunity will be ten thousand times greater than it was with Chou. If you cause Han to be first in the empire to submit to Ch'in, Ch'in will certainly make you one of the Lords in order to show the rest of the empire what they should do. Therefore, this act will be profitable for yourself. I hope your excellency will do as I have suggested.' SPTK 8. 30b KY64. 2
K I N G HSI (295-273 B.C.)
425 Chou sends back a Han prince When Han Chiu 1 was raised as ruler and things were still unsettled, his younger brother was in Chou. Chou wanted to send him back with a retinue of honour amounting to one hundred chariots. They feared, however, that with Han Chiu already there the people of Han might 1
Yokota reads it Han Kao.
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not accept him. 1 Chi-wu Hui 2 said, 'It would be best to send a hundred in gold along with him. Then if they accept him the sum can be used by him to take such precautions as he must. If they don't accept him we can say, "We are sending you your traitor."3 ' SPTK8. 31a KY63.20
426 The king of Ch'u tests his position The Five States united and attacked Ch'in with Ch'u as leader of their alliance. Since they were unable to harm Ch'in and the troops were exhausted, the armies halted in Ch'eng-kao. Wei Shun said to Lord Shih-ch'iu, 'The Five States, being worn out, are certain to attack Shih-ch'iu to recoup the expenses of their armies. If you will supply me with what I require I will forestall the attack on Shih-ch'iu.' 'Good', said Lord Shih-ch'iu and he despatched Wei Shun who travelled south to audience with the king of Ch'u. 'Your majesty united the Five States to attack Ch'in in the west. You were unable to harm Ch'in and because of this the empire will hold your majesty in low esteem but honour Ch'in', said Wei Shun. 'Why do you not test your standing with the empire?' 'How can I do that?' 'The empire's troops are wearied and the Five States are certain to attack Shih-ch'iu to regain the wealth they used on their armies', answered Wei Shun. 'If you order them not to attack Shih-ch'iu and the Five States still honour your majesty, they will obey you and not attack Shih-ch'iu. If they hold you in disesteem, they will ignore your words and attack Shih-ch'iu. In any case your majesty's position among them will be clarified.' The king of Ch'u did test his position and Shih-ch'iu was preserved. SPTK 8. 32a KY59. 11 With Yokota and all, chiu should here be jo. Also read Ch'i-mu Hui. 3 The implication is that the wealth was originally Han's?
1
2
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427 Su Tai assuages the king oj Ch'in s anger against Han Han1 forces attacked Sung and the king of Ch'in was infuriated: 'I treasure Sung as I do my own cities of Hsin-ch'eng and Yang-chin. What does Han Min mean by seeking good relations with Ch'in and then attacking what I greatly cherish?' Su Tai, speaking for Han, persuaded the king of Ch'in saying: 'Han Min is attacking Sung for your sake, your majesty. With the strength of Han - supplemented by Sung - Ch'in will frighten Ch'u and Wei and being frightened they will turn their faces westward and serve Ch'in. Your majesty without having broken a weapon, lost a man or become involved in a single engagement, will yet have An-yi yielded to him. This is Han Min's prayer for Ch'in.' 'I am certainly annoyed by the inconstancy of Han', complained the king of Ch'in. 'First she is allied this way and then that. What is the explanation?' 'Han is in fact forced to act this way because the rest of the empire causes her to be difficult2 to predict', replied Su Tai. 'However, since she has already attacked Sung she must face west and serve Ch'in in order to gain an alliance with a great state, for if she did not serve Ch'in she could never know peace for her Sung territory.3 'Every white-headed travelling persuader from the Middle Kingdoms has at some time summoned his ingenuity hoping to alienate Ch'in and Han. No one who has ridden a sedan chair or had a carriage harnessed to come west has ever told you to treat Han well. Nor has anyone ridden a sedan chair or driven a carriage east to tell Han to treat Ch'in well. None has ever wanted to see Ch'in and Han united. Why? Because the Chin states and Ch'u are clever while Ch'in and Han are stupid. The Chins and Ch'u united can control Han and Ch'in. Han and
SC and other authorities make it Ch'i which attacked Sung. W u Shih-tao says Han Min was conducting the attack for Ch'i but this item is quite obviously written about Han. 2 With Yokota, a negative should be supplied here. 3 i.e., the rest of the empire would constantly try to gain Sung for themselves. 1
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Ch'in united can make plans against the Chins and Ch'u. I ask you to make your decisions with this in mind.' 'Good', said the king of Ch'in. SPTK8. 32b KY64. 3
428 The king of Han is urged to pin all hopes on an alliance against Ctiin Someone said to the king of Han: 'The king of Ch'in intends to provoke an incident with Liang1 and he wants to attack her cities of Chiang and An-yi. What does Han plan to do about this? Ch'in greatly desires to attack Han in order to move east and be able to look right into the palaces of Chou. Ch'in can stop thinking about it only when he sleeps. But to the present Han has not understood this and entertains the thought of an alliance with Ch'in that would be a catastrophe for all the states East of the Mountains. ''Ch'in attacks Liang to secure that state in order to be close to Han. Since Ch'in fears that Liang will not obey her, she is inflicting a war upon her to make certain that Liang's relations remain dependable. If your majesty misunderstands this and hopes to remain neutral, Liang will certainly resent the fact that Han will not give her an alliance and she will break away from Han and lend herself to Ch'in's purposes. This means inevitably that Han will fall. I hope your majesty has given the matter mature thought. 'You should dispatch important missions in all haste to Chao and Wei to re-establish your treaties between those fraternal states and urge the states East of the Mountains to send forth elite troops to defend the western borders of Han and Liang. If you fail in this, East of the Mountains cannot save itself. This is the opportunity that comes once in ten thousand generations. ff The manner in which Ch'in hopes to take over the empire and become its king is not to be like the olden days. You can serve her as 1
i.e. Wei.
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faithfully as a son does his father yet you w i l l perish from it. Y o u may pattern your behaviour on Po Y i but you w i l l perish. Or you may even emulate Chieh and Chou and you w i l l perish no less surely. Y o u may treat her with the utmost good will and your position will not improve at all. There w i l l be no way to survive, just many ways to hasten your own end.
f/
'Therefore, i f states East of the Mountain cannot form an alliance against C h ' i n among themselves and become as firm as though they were a single state, every one of them w i l l perish.' SPTK8.33b KY65.4
429 T h e king of H a n is told of one way in which he emulate certain famous historical personages
could
Someone said to the king of Cheng : 'Marquis Chao-hsi of Han was the most enlightened ruler of his age just as Shen Pu-hai was its most worthy officer. Han and "Wei were countries of equal strength. Shen Pu-hai and Marquis Chao-hsi clasped their badges of rank and held audiences with the king of Wei not because they loved inferior men and disliked the honoured, and not because they wished to concentrate on faults and criticize shortcomings. Shen Pu-hai's reasoning went thus: i f I take office in W e i the king of Wei will gain what he desires from Han and this w i l l make him arrogant toward the rest of the empire. This i n turn w i l l result i n Wei's ruin. The Lords w i l l hate W e i and so serve Han. In this manner I need only crook m y back before one man i n order to gain stature over ten thousand men. A n d to weaken the forces of W e i while increasing the power of Han can best be done by my serving Wei. That Marquis Chaohsi heeded and employed Shen Pu-hai shows him to have been an enlightened ruler. That Shen Pu-hai conceived of such plans and spoke of them shows h i m to have been a loyal minister. 1
'Now the Han of today is weaker than that Han of yesterday while the Ch'in of today is stronger than yesterday's Ch'in. The Ch'in of today is of the same mind as the king of Wei was in the past but neither 1
i.e.
Han.
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your majesty nor his ministers are inclined to serve Ch'in in order to make Han more firm. So I have the temerity to conclude that your majesty's enlightenment is not the equal of Marquis Chao-hsi's and the loyalty of your majesty's ministers is not equal to Shen Pu-hai's. 'Of old Duke M u of Ch'in was victorious once i n Han-yuan and became Hegemon of Hsi-chou. Duke W e i of Chin won one victory at Ch'eng-p'u and secured the title of the Son of Heaven. Both of these established honourable names throughout the empire with a single victory. 'In our age Ch'in has been powerful for several generations. O f great victories she has had ten or more and of small ones over a hundred. Yet she has not achieved kingship through her great victories nor hegemony through her small ones. Her name is not respected throughout the empire nor are her laws observed. However, those of Ch'un-ch'iu times who used their troops did not do so only to establish their names in the empire. 'Of old there were kings who laboured to achieve a name for merit and others to achieve the actuality. Those who worked for the name addressed themselves to subduing the opinion of others, while those who worked for the actuality addressed themselves to subduing the substance and territories of others. 1
2
3
4
' Of old W u and Yiieh fought and Yiieh was so heavily defeated that it could defend only the summit of K'uai-chi. The W u people entered Yuen and quietened its people. The king of Yiieh sent Tai-fu Chung to come to an understanding with W u . Through him the king of Yiieh asked that all males be allowed to submit and all females become concubines of W u while he himself would walk in the rear of the king of Wu's ministers bearing offerings of the hunt. The men of W u took him seriously and came to an understanding without exacting a covenant, for they were assaulting the opinions of men. Afterwards 5
T s o - c h u a n , H s i - k u n g , 15th year, L e g g e , p. 168, where it is translated, 'the plains ofHan'. Idem, 28th year, L e g g e , p. 209. Some editions have t ' i e n hsia instead o f t ' i e n - t z u . W i t h Seki chu i should be li $L. Y o k o t a has a curious statement: 'This means C h ' u does not w a n t to be a M u - k u n g but an emperor.' T h e sentence can hardly mean that. A l s o k n o w n as W e n C h u n g JSC f l . '
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OF H A N - K I N G
HSI
Yueh and W u fought and W u was badly defeated. In its turn W u offered to make slaves of the W u men and concubines of their women and offered to use all the ceremonies with which Yueh once served Wu. Yiieh refused, decimated the country of Wu, and captured her king: they were attacking the substance of others. 'Now, do you wish to address yourself to attacking the opinions of others? If so, emulate the country of Wu. If you would attack their substance, emulate Yueh. If you do not do as W u did when you attack opinions or as Yiieh did when you attack substance and you hope to have young and old, minister and prince, high and low finally call you hegemon or supreme king, then I say you are like someone jumping into a well and calling out, "I am getting you a light." 'During the gathering at Tung-meng, Nieh Cheng and Yang Chien assassinated both ruler and minister and Hsu Y i surreptitiously kicked Marquis A i to warn him to feign death. When Marquis A i was raised as king of Cheng the entire Han clan obeyed him because Hsu Y i showed him such complete deference. For this reason while Marquis A i was ruler, Hsu. Y i was minister to the end of his days and the Han clan respected Hsu Y i with the same respect Hsu Y i showed Marquis Ai. 'Today you could not become a Marquis Ai. But suppose it were possible to become like the one who was minister to him till the end of his days, and suppose I did not speak to you of this; would I not be deficient in my planning? 'Of old Duke Huan of Chi'i nine times convoked the Feudal Lords but not once did he do it without the order from King Hsiang of Chou, so though all deferred to King Hsiang, it was Duke Huan who became Hegemon. The deference shown Duke Huan by those who attended the nine convocations was given him because he showed as much to King Hsiang of Chou. Though you could not become as honoured as King Hsiang by accepting [Ch'in as?] emperor, suppose you could become a Duke Huang and I did not tell you how. Would my planning not be deficient as well as my knowledge of how to secure honour? 1
2
Commentators agree this should be Y i - t z u ^ 35, M a r q u i s A i ' s son. T h e use o f yen M here is curious i n the extreme i f not faulty. I a m uncertain o f m y translation.
1
2
THE
BOOK
OF H A N - K I N G
HSI
497
'Several hundred thousand officers of the Han clans put Marquis A i on the throne as their ruler but among them only Hsu Y i became his minister and no other. All of the feudal rulers honoured the Chou house but only Duke Huan became his Hegemon, no other. 'Nowadays a certain mighty state will soon find it has the auspices to claim imperial dignity. If your country were first to recognize it, would this not be the same kind of action taken by Duke Huan and Hsu Yi? Would this not be called excellent planning? 'If I were the first to recognize this mighty state and this state then became king over all then I would be his hegemon. If this state failed then at least I would have avoided the weight of his weapons and persuaded him not to attack me. 'Should such a state accomplish its ends I would have put an emperor on the throne and I would be his hegemon. If it should not succeed it would still be greatly beholden to me. So i f I become allied to this mighty state today and it succeeds, I am blessed, yet if it fails I am not accursed. In such a case to be first to join this state becomes a plan worthy of the sages.' SPTK 8. 34b 1
KY65. 5
430 H a n Yang
obtains
his recall from
a burdensome
posting
Han Yang had been in charge of conscripts in Three Rivers and longed to return home. Tsu Ch'iang persuaded the king of Han saying, 'Three Rivers has submitted and did your majesty know that the troops there are going to support Han Yang for the throne?' The king immediately ordered various other princes off to Three Rivers and brought Han Yang back. SPTK 8. 37a KY65.6 1
i.e., C h ' i n .
498
THE
B O O K
OF H A N - K I N G
HSI
431 T h e beauties
of the
harem
appear
x
' . . . Ch'in is a great state and Han a small one. Han is in truth very disaffected with Ch'in but wants to to be close to her. Now, Han believes that without gold she will not achieve this so she is selling her harem beauties. Their price is very high and none of the other lords can buy them. Ch'in will pay three thousand in gold and Han will then use this money to perform services for Ch'in. As a result Ch'in will get both the gold and the beauties of Han. Because they resent being sold, the Han beauties will tell Ch'in just how rebellious Han is. Viewing it this way, Han will have lost its women and its gold and the truth of its disaffection with Ch'in will be made even more apparent to Ch'in. 'For this reason there was one who persuaded the king of Han and said, "The best thing you could do would be to cease your extravagant spending and use what is saved thereby to serve Ch'in. In this way the money will be forthcoming but Han's disaffection toward Ch'in will not be revealed. [Harem women know the inner affairs of a court and someone who truly knows how to make plans never reveals the inner workings of his court.]" ' SPTK 8.37b 2
KY65. 7
432 T h e district
of
Yiin
Chang Ch'ou had united Ch'i and Ch'u but was trying to secure peace with Wei. He said to Han Kung-chung: 'At present you are sharply attacking Wei's district of Yiin. If Wei becomes alarmed enough she will use this land to secure a peace with Ch'i and Ch'u. You would do much better to cease your attacks. Wei being somewhat relieved will fight Ch'i and Ch'u the harder. Even if she wins, you can then attack and take Yiin very easily. If she does not 3
1
2
3
There is probably a short lacuna here. I suspect this last line, may be the words o f a commentator. Since she w i l l then be more exhausted.
THE
BOOK
OF H A N - K I N G
HSI
499
win, of course, she will cede it to you herself.' 'I shall do it', replied Kung-chung. Chang Ch'ou then said to Ch'i and Ch'u: 'Han has already become an ally of Wei! If you think that unlikely then why do we not witness a continued attack by Kung-chung ?' The fact that Kung-chung no longer attacked Wei frightened Ch'i and Ch'u and they secured a peace with Wei without telling Han. SPTK 8. 38a
KY6$. 8
433 Honouring
the p h y s i c i a n
Someone said to the Chancellor of Han, 'Those who thought well of the physician Pien Ch'iao were ill and in pain. If you wished to make men who were well and in no pain honour him you would not succeed. At present, the reason you treat Lord P'ing-yiian well is because Han has bad relations with Ch'in, but the reason you are having bad relations with Ch'in is precisely because of your good treatment of Lord P'ing-yuan. 'I hope you will give it your maturest thought. SPTK 8.38a K Y 66.9 1
434 T h e king
of C h ' i n looks
after
a
friend
1
When Kung-chung was minister of Han he sent Han Ch'ih to Ch'in to request an attack on Wei. The king of Ch'in was delighted with him. When Han Ch'ih was in T'ang, Kung-chung died and Han Ch'ih [sent someone to] say to the king of Ch'in: 'Wei's emissary will say to Han Ch'en, the minister succeeding in Han, "You must charge Han Ch'ih with some crime for us." Han 2
1
2
S P T K h z s K u n g - c h u n g M i n (JS) but the ' M i n ' is excrescent. F o l l o w i n g Seki, Y o k o t a et at.
5oo
THE
B O O K
OF H A N - K I N G
HSI
Ch'en will reply, "This cannot be done because the king of Ch'in has employed Han Ch'ih and arranged treaties through him." The emissary will say, "Ch'in only appointed Han Ch'ih because of Kungchung. Now that Kung-chung is dead Ch'in would not even let Han Ch'ih into the state if he went to Ch'in. Even if he should get in, is he likely to control Ch'in and cause that state to harass the king of Wei?" Han Ch'en will be upset and he will surely obey the suggestion. 'So if your majesty does not summon Han Ch'ih to a post he will conceal himself in the mountains.' 'How can they think I am so changeable?' asked the king of Ch'in and he requested An Fu to summon Han Ch'ih to take a post in Ch'in. SPTK 8. 38b K Y 66.11 1
435 H a n M i n is advised
not to persecute
his personal
foes
When Han Min was minister of Ch'i he ordered his officers to drive away Kung Ch'ou-shu and was angry at Chou for retaining Lord Ch'eng-yang. Someone said to Han Min: 'If your excellency feels that these two men are worthies and that whatever country they enter will use them, then surely it were best if they stayed with small states. Why? Because Lord Ch'eng-yang went to Han at Ch'in's behest while Kung Ch'ou-shu is well treated by the king of Ch'u. If you drive them away, the two men will surely go to Ch'in and Ch'u respectively and there cause trouble for you. 'In addition, if you make it clear to the empire that you had a fallingout with these two, then all who have a grudge against you or who wish something from the state you serve, Ch'i, will receive these two, bring their troops close to Ch'i and demand she sell you out.' SPTK 8. 39a K Y 66.13 2
1
2
O r , i n Shan-chung i l l t » ? Surely this must be a fictitious and satirical n a m e ! D u k e Clique-faction indeed!
THE
B O O K
OP H A N - K I N G
501
HSI
436 Lord
Shan-yang's
fief
Someone said to Lord Shan-yang, 'When Ch'in enfeoffed you with Shan-yang and Ch'i gave you Chii they did so either because they held Han to be very important or because they believed you to be a worthy man. Now Ch'u has attacked Ch'i and taken Chii, but in the first instance Ch'u has not negotiated over it with Ch'i, and in the second instance Ch'u has not returned it to you. This is because Ch'u would restrain Ch'i and Ch'in, but thinks lightly of Han.' Lord Shan-yang then dispatched the man to Ch'u [to inquire about Chii?] SPTK 8. 39b K Y 66. 14
437 T ' i e n L i n g travels
in spite of illness from Ch'in
and obtains
help
Chao and Wei attacked Hua-yang and Han sent notice of her predicament to Ch'in. The cap and carriage-canopy of one Han emissary were seldom out of sight of another but Ch'in did not rescue Han. The Chancellor of Han said to T'ien Ling, 'The matter is critical; I want you, sir, despite your illness, to make this overnight journey.' When T'ien Ling got audience with Marquis Jang, Marquis Jang asked, 'Is Han in such a critical state that it sends your excellency?' 'No', replied T'ien Ling. 'Then why have there been so many envoys from your ruler that one is never out of sight of another', asked Marquis Jang angrily. 'And every one of them has said, "My rustic state is in crisis." You alone say you are not. Why?' 'If Han had reached a crisis she would already have revolted against you', replied T'ien Ling. 1
2
1
2
A l s o k n o w n as C h ' e n Shih I * 3 j and T ' i e n T ' u H ^ . C o m p a r e this sequence w i t h the very similar passage i n the second half o f
418.
502
THE
B O O K
OP H A N - K I N G
HSI
'There is no need, for audience with the king', replied Marquis Jang quickly. 'Allow me to give the order for troops to Han's rescue!' In eight days Chao and Wei were heavily defeated beneath the walls ofHua-yang. SPTK 8. 39b K Y 66. 15
438 Hsiang
C h i n regains
his post
Han was driving Hsiang Chin from Chou. The Chou envoy, Ch'eng Hui, spoke on Hsiang Chin's behalf to the king of Wei: 'Chou will certainly be patient with Han's request and will return Hsiang,' said he, 'so why should you not speak first of the matter to Chou? Then Hsiang Chin would be Wei's man in Chou.' 'I shall do so.' Then Ch'eng Hui spoke to the king of Han on Hsiang Chin's part and said, 'Han drives Hsiang Chin from Chou but Wei returns him. The result is Wei gains a spokesman in Chou, Hsiang Chin, and Han loses one - would it not be more sensible if Han returned him to Chou? 'Good,' said the king of Han, and had him reinstated. SPTK 8.40a K Y 66. 17
1
439 Pi Hsieh's
offences
Chang Teng said to Pi Hsieh, 'Allow me to get Kung-tzu Mou to say to the king of Han: ' "West Chou hates Pi Hsieh while East Chou considers him most valuable. This is why his family is worth tens of thousands in gold. Why should your majesty not summon him to become Protector of Three Rivers. In this way Hsieh will deny Three Rivers to West 1
F o l l o w i n g most commentators, this phrase belongs here instead o f thirteen characters above where it stands i n the text.
THE
BOOK
O F H A N- K I N G
HUAN-HUI
503
Chou and empty his family's coffers to serve your majesty. West Chou will so dislike the situation that she will hand over the vessels of her ancestors to keep you from doing it." 'The king of Han will certainly do as I say, and when West Chou learns of it she will forgive you all your offences in order to keep you from becoming Protector of Three Rivers.' SPTK 8.40a K Y 6 7 . 18
440 T h e S o n of H e a v e n The king of Wei called for a meeting at Chiu-li to restore Chou as Son of Heaven. Fang Hsi said to the king of Han, 'Do not obey him your majesty. The great states dislike the idea of a Chou emperor and a little state can take advantage of it. If you and the great states all disregard her how can Wei seat an emperor with only the aid of a few small states?' SPTK 8.40b K Y 67. 20 KING HUAN-HUI
(272-239 B.C.)
441 Lord
C h i e n - h s i n is advised
to cherish
H a n Hsi
Lord Chien-hsin of Chao despised Han Hsi, and Chao Ao spoke to Lord Chien-hsin for him. 'Wei is a state which survives only if Han's lands are intact and will perish if Han's lands are lost. Han is the state with whom you must have an alliance. 'At present you make light of Han Hsi and display much good will toward Ch'u and Wei. When the king of Ch'in sees how your relations have changed to satisfy Ch'u and Wei, Ch'in will bind herself even more tightly to Han. As a member of the Alliance Han will be scorned,
504
T H E BOOK
OF H A N - K I N G
HUAN-HUI
but being one of Ch'in's Coalition she will be important. Obviously she is not going to join the Alliance. 'If Ch'in sends her troops from San-ch'uan she will invest the city of Yen to the south. The route between Ts'ai and Shao will be impassable. Wei will be in such extremities that it will be too late for Chao to rescue her. Then Ch'in will raise all her troops, will break Han-tan, and Chao will perish. Therefore you must cherish Han and avoid this rift.' SPTK 8.41b KY67.21
THE B O O K OF Y E N
D U K E W E N (361-333 B.C.)
442 Lord
F e n g - y a n g overcomes a personal reasons of state
dislike
for
1
Lord Feng-yang, Li Tui, disliked Su Ch'in greatly. When Su Ch'in was in Yen someone spoke to Lord Feng-yang on Su Ch'in's behalf: 'When Ch'i and Yen are alienated Chao is important. When Ch'i and Yen unite Chao becomes insignificant. Your present attempts to unite Yen and Ch'i are not going to benefit Chao, and I should not do it if I were you.' 'In what way am I uniting Yen and Ch'i?' asked Lord Feng-yang. 'Su-tzu is the man in power in Yen', was the reply. 'Yen is a weak state - not the equal of Ch'i in the east or Chao in the west. Can she manage without an alliance eastward with Ch'i or westward with Chao? Yet you remain inimical toward Su Ch'in. Can Su Ch'in hold a weak Yen in his arms and stand alone against the empire? No, you are driving Yen into making an alliance with Ch'i. 'Furthermore, Yen is the remnant of a defeated state. The only way it can maintain its power is by outside support and service to the highly placed. So if I were making plans for your excellency I would be close to Su Ch'in when I approved of him and stay close to him even if I did not approve of his acts in order to keep both Yen and Ch'i suspicious. When Yen and Ch'i suspect each other Chao is honoured. When the king of Ch'i is suspicious of Su Ch'in then your excellency will be well supplied by Ch'i.' 2
3
1
Some texts do n o t have L i T u i here. Here ' L i T u i ' must be a mistake and I o m i t it. T h i s is w i l d l y anachronistic for it must refer to the defeat o f Y e n b y C h ' i . Seki thinks the w h o l e line should be taken out. 2
8
506
T H E B O O K
OF Y E N - D U K E
W E N
'Good', cried Lord Feng-yang, and sent an envoy to establish cordial intercourse with Su Ch'in. SPTK 9.1a KY67. 2
443 S u C h ' i n persuades
Yen to j o i n the A l l i a n c e
When Su Ch'in was forming the Alliance he went north to persuade the king of Yen thus: 'To the east of Yen there is Ch'ao-hsien and Liao-tung. To the north live the Lin-hu and the Lou-fan. West of Yen are Yiin-chung and Chiu-yiian and south of you are the Hu-t'o and Y i Rivers. Yen's land is two thousand li square and more, her armoured troops are several hundred thousand in number, she has seven hundred chariots and six thousand mounted troops. Her grain stores will suffice for ten years. In the south of the state is found the abundance of Chieh-shih and Yenmen and in the north the benefits of the date chestnut which, even though your citizens do not cultivate them in their fields, yet yield enough for all to eat. Your land is what is called a natural treasury. • 'No state has ever been so trouble-free and so often spared the grief of defeated troops and murdered generals. But do you know why, your majesty^/xen has never been invaded by troops and exhausted by soldiers because Ch'in has always feared to attack and leave Chao at her I
'If Ch'in and Chao battled five times and Ch'in won two victories or Chao won three, while they were holding each other in stalemate, your majesty - commanding an unharmed Yen - could subsequently control both states. 'Furthermore, to attack Yen, Ch'in would have to vault over Yiinchung and Chiu-yuan and pass Tai and Shang-ku over hemmed-in lands on narrow roads for several thousand //. Then, even if she took Yen cities she could not plan to hold them. It is clear that Ch'in cannot harm Yen. 'If Chao attacked Yen, however, less than ten days would pass between the order to raise troops and the encampment of several
THE
B O O K
OF YEN
507
- DUKE W E N
hundred thousand in Tung-yuan. It would not take five days to get them all across the Hu-t'o, over the Yi-shui, and up to the gates of the capital. This is why we say Ch'in must fight Yen at a distance of a thousand li and more, while Chao can do battle with Yen less than one hundred li away. No plan could be more wrong-headed than one which ignores grief only a hundred // off while preparing against trouble a thousand li away. 'This is the reason I would have your majesty become an ally of Chao by joining the Alliance. When the states in the empire are as one, your country will be untroubled.' 'My state is small', replied the king of Yen. 'I am pressed on my western border by mighty Ch'in and in the south I am close to Ch'i and Chao, both of which are strong states. Happily your ruler has now ordered and instructed me to join the Alliance to keep peace in Yen and I respectfully obey.' He then made a gift to Su Ch'in of horses, carriages, and wealth to be taken to Chao. SPTK 9.2a K Y 67.1
444 Yen
sues f o r peace
in order
to prolong
the war
During the troubles at Ch'iian, Yen fought twice and lost. Chao did not come to her aid. K'uai-tzu said to Duke Wen, 'It would be best if we ceded territory and sought a treaty with Ch'i. Then Chao will certainly come to our aid. If she does not save us we have no choice but to surrender to Ch'i anyway.' 'True', said Duke Wen, and sent Kuo Jen to seek peace from Ch'i. Chao heard of it and sent forth her troops to rescue Yen. SPTK 9. 3a KY67.3
508
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
YI
K I N G Y I {332-321 B.C.)
445 S u C h ' i n persuades
the k i n g of C h ' i n to his conquests
relinquish
During the time of Duke Wen of Yen, King Hui of Ch'in married his daughter to the heir of Yen. When Duke Wen died, King Y i took the throne. King Hsiian of Ch'i took advantage of the period of mourning to launch an attack against Yen and took ten cities. Lord Wu-an, Su Ch'in, persuaded the king of Ch'i on Yen's behalf. He began by offering his congratulations, then he bowed and offered his condolences. The king of Ch'i seized his dagger-axe and made Su Ch'in retreat: 'What mean these congratulations and condolences all in the same breath?' he cried. 'When men are starving', was the reply, 'the reason they will not eat deadly aconite is because it might fill their bellies but would be the death of them none the less. At this moment Yen is weak, but it is related by marriage to mighty Ch'in. You have won ten cities from Yen but you have incurred deep emnity in Ch'in. You caused a weak Yen to pour its troops into the battle; but mighty Ch'in is there to take advantage of the aftermath and to bring down upon you the most mettlesome troops in the empire. This is exactly like filling the belly with aconite.' 'But then what must I do?' asked the king of Ch'i. 'It is the common practice of the sages to turn disaster into good fortune and defeat into victory. This is how Duke Huan could turn his back on the woman sent to be his wife yet make this the means of gaining more honour. Han Hsien made admission of a crime the basis for an even more intimate relationship with his ruler. This is how to turn calamity into good fortune and defeat into accomplishment. 'If you are able to profit by my advice you had best return Yen's ten 1
2
1
H e returned a w o m a n f r o m Ts'ai then attacked that country a n d i n the process overcame C h ' u as w e l l . T s o - c h u a n , Hsi, t h i r d year, L e g g e , p . 137. Idem, Hsiian, 12th year, L e g g e , p . 317.
2
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - K I N G
509
YI
cities and use the humblest terms in your apology to Ch'in. When Ch'in learns that you have returned Yen's ten cities of your own accord she will be beholden to your majesty. When Yen unexpectedly receives her ten cities back she will also be obligated to your majesty. In this manner you will have eUminated a deep enmity and in its place commenced close intercourse. With Yen and Ch'in both deferring to you your majesty's orders will be attended by the rest of the empire. 'So, for a few empty words to Ch'in and a mere ten cities you will have got control of the empire. This is the beginning of hegemony and is what I mean by turning calamity into good fortune and defeat into accomplishment.' The king of Ch'i was delighted, returned the ten Yen towns, and offered a thousand ounces of gold in apology. He made a deep and humble obeisance on the bare earth and pleaded to become a fraternal state with Yen. SPTK 9. 3b KY68.4
446 T h e concubine
who spilled
the wine
There was one who would discredit Su Ch'in before the king of Yen. 'Prince Wu-an is the most faithless man in the empire', said he. 'My lord now puts ten thousand chariots under him and honours him in his own castle. This informs the world that my lord consorts with inferior men.' When Su Ch'in returned from Ch'i the king would not give him lodging. 'Your minister was a simple man of Eastern Chou when first I saw you, my lord', said Su Ch'in. 'There was about my person not the least measure of merit and yet you welcomed me at the outskirts and interviewed me in your chambers. Now that I have been on a mission for you, you have profited by ten cities, and have the merit of sustaining an imperilled Yen, I am not to be heard. Surely someone has called me unfaithful and injured me to your majesty. M y faithlessness is 1
1
i.e., Su C h ' i n .
5io
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - K I N G
YI
my king's fortune. Would it be possible for me to serve you if I were as faithful as Wei-shen, as pure as Po Y i , as filial as Tseng Shen, three men who were models of action for all?' 'It would', replied the king. 'If there were such a minister he would not serve you, said Su Ch'in. 'For look, the filial Tseng Shen's virtue was never to leave his parents to spend so much as one night abroad. How then would you dispatch him to Ch'i? Or suppose he were as pure as Po Y i , who would not eat the bread of idleness, who looked black even upon the integrity of King W u and would not be minister to him, who took his leave of Ku-chu and starved himself to death in the mountains of Shou-yang. Would a person of such purity toil a thousand miles afoot to serve the imperilled ruler of a weakened Yen? And the faithful Wei-sheng who waited for her who came not, who clasped the pilings and drowned rather than move? Would such faithfulness allow him to vaunt the power of Yen and Ch'in in Ch'i and gain great merit from it! 'These acts of faithfulness are ever done for oneself and never done for others. In these lie the art of sheltering one's own name, but not the way of advance and advantage. The successive rise of the Three Kings, the repeated thriving of the Five Hegemons were not brought about by brooding a clutch of virtues. Had they felt that nurturing a reputation was important, Ch'i's hegemony would not have increased beyond Ying-ch'iu, and you, my lord, would never cross your own marches nor peer beyond your border walls. 'Your servant has an aged mother in Chou. Leaving her to serve my lord meant casting aside the art of sheltering my name and devising ways of advance and advantage. My inclination is not, then, in accord with your majesty's. You are a ruler who would prefer a reputation, I a minister who prefers advantage. This is what they mean by "loyalty and faith will offend your ruler".' 'What offence can there be in loyalty and faith?' 'Does your majesty not know? A neighbour of mine who had been long absent on a mission had a wife who was being unfaithful. When the husband was on the point of returning the lover became worried.' "Good sir, fear nothing," said she, "I have already poisoned the wine to be served him on his return." 1
iThefiefofT'ai-kung.
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
511
K'UAI
'Two days later the husband returned and his wife sent a concubine in to him bearing the cup of wine. The concubine knew the wine was poisoned. If she presented it, she killed her master; if she spoke, her mistress would be driven from the house. She feigned clumsiness and spilled the wine, and her master beat her in his rage. The concubine's one act of clumsiness spilled the wine and preserve the life of her master and the safety of her mistress; but the loyalty that prompted the act also earned her a whipping. This is the "loyalty and faith which offends the ruler". 'My services, my lord, are unhappily much like those of the concubine spilling wine. I sought ever to heighten my king's honour and strengthen his state - and yet I have offended him by doing so. I fear, your majesty, that whoever serves you henceforward will therefore not take such pains over these things. When I persuaded Ch'i, I cheated her not at all. Whoever is sent next to Ch'i and does not speak with the same words that I used may have the knowledge of Yao and Shun but Ch'i will still reject him!' SPTK 9. b 4
KY68.5
K I N G K ' U A I (320-314 B.C.)
447 S u T a i tells
the k i n g of Yen
how to annihilate
Ch'i
When Su Ch'in died, his younger brother Su Tai hoped to take his place, so he went north to have audience with King K'uai of Yen, to whom he said: 'I am only a simple man from East Chou, but I heard that your majesty's practice of righteousness is both lofty and timely. I am not quick of mind, but having heard of you I immediately threw down my hoe and cultivator and set off to seek you. When I reached Han-tan what I heard there was higher praise than I heard in East Chou. I then turned my back on ambition [?]. Then when I had reached the
512
THE
B O O K
OP Y E N - K I N G
K'UAI
Yen court and. saw its ministers and officials I knew your majesty was an enlightened monarch for the empire.' 'What is he like, this enlightened monarch you speak of?' asked the king. 'As I understand it,' replied Su Tai, 'the enlightened monarch makes it his business to listen to his own faults but not to praise of himself. If I may, I would like to acquaint your majesty with your faults. 'Ch'i and Chao are your majesty's implacable enemies. Ch'u and Wei are your natural rescuers. Yet now you receive your enemies and attack your saviours. Surely this cannot benefit Yen. If your majesty will reflect on it you will see that your plans have been at fault and that those who do not point it out are not acting as loyal officials should. 'But I do not have the temerity even to contemplate an attack on Ch'i and Chao', protested the king of Yen. | / T O have designs on another and allow them to suspect it is dangerous. To have designs on no one but jto cause others to suspect that you have is clumsiness'^replied Su Tai. 'To have your plans noised abroad before they have been begun is perilous/nevertheless I have heard that your majesty is discontent with the way you live and that food is no longer sweet in your mouth. You yearn to avenge yourself upon Ch'i. You spend your days burnishing your armour, and your wife spends hers plaiting new cords for your breast-plates. And both of you say to one another, "The day of great reckoning will come." Is this true?' 'You have heard it, sir,' replied the king, 'and I shall not hide the fact. I feel the depths of anger and the heights of hatred against Ch'i. Throughout two whole years I have longed for my revenge. Ch'i is my enemy and I am most anxious to attack her. My only regret is that my state is exhausted and my forces weak. If you can make Yen a match for Ch'i then I will turn the government completely over to you.' 'There are seven warring states in the empire,' replied Su Tai, 'and Yen is the weakest of them. She is not capable of fighting by herself, but whoever she joins will be made powerful. If she joins Ch'u in the south Ch'u will be powerful. If she joins Ch'in in the west, Ch'in will be made mighty; and if she joins Han and Wei at the centre, Han and Wei will become great. But if whatever state you join is made important thereby, then this in itself makes your majesty important. 'The king of Ch'i has been the leader of leaders and he has taken ad-
THE
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K'UAI
513
vantage of this to attack Ch'u in the south for five years. During this time his supplies were exhausted. He attacked in the west against Ch'in for two years and his people were worn and haggard and his officers were exhausted and sickened. In the north he attacked Yen and ruined his three armies in the capture of two of your generals. Now Ch'i wants to take what is left of her forces south to raze the tiny, stiffnecked state of Sung and to dictate to the twelve Lords. 'This will meet the desires of Ch'i's king; but his people's strength will be so eroded that he will have none left he can utilize. I have heard it said that many battles tire your people and long service in the lines wears out your troops.' 'I have heard, however,' replied the king of Yen, 'that Ch'i holds the clear Chi and the muddy Ho as strongholds, and long walls and great defence works as fortresses. Is this in fact so?' 'If heaven does not grant one the time, one may have control of the Chi and the Ho; but will they bestrongpoints?' asked Su Tai. 'If your people are worn out, though you have long walls and great defence works, will they function as fortresses? 'At another time no expeditions were made by Ch'i west of the Chi because she feared Chao. No troops went north of the Ho for fear of Yen. At present, however, she is engaged in both areas and so has weakened herself inside her borders. 'An overweening ruler dislikes planning and the minister of a doomed state is fond of wealth. If your majesty will not shrink from sending your favourite sons or brothers-german as hostages to Ch'i, if your majesty will bribe the king of Ch'i's attendants with wealth, jewels and silks, the king of Ch'i will be greatly obliged to you. He will be ill-advised and will undertake the destruction of Sung, and his state of Ch'i will be as good as lost.' 'I shall use you, sir, as though you bore the commands of heaven itself, said the king of Yen. ' "Inside the court when planners disagree, outside the court you'll find the enemy",' replied Su Tai. 'Take care of Ch'i outside her court, your majesty, and I shall subvert those in it. This is the way to annihilate Ch'i.' SPTK 9. 6b KY68.8
514
THE
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448 C h ' u n - y u K ' u n promises
to act the part
of P o L o
Su Tai was to persuade Ch'i on behalf of Yen, but before he got audience with Ch'i's king he spoke to Ch'un-yu K'un: 'Once there was a merchant who was selling a very fine horse. For three whole days together he stood in the market place and no one paid him the least attention. Finally he went to Po Lo and said, "I have a superior beast I wish to sell, but I have stood in the market place for three whole days and no one has even remarked on the horse. I beg you, sir, to come and look him up and down, and when you leave, keep glancing back at him. For this I would like to give you a sum equal to my expenses for one day's market." 'Po Lo did look the horse over carefully, and as he left he glanced back at it. In a single morning offers for the horse increased ten-fold. 'Now I want to "show a splendid steed" to the king and I have no One to introduce me. Would you be willing to be my Po Lo? I would like to make you a gift of a pair of white pi and a thousand measures of gold to defray the expenses of your horses' fodder.' 'I shall attend your commands with diligence', replied Ch'un-yu K'un and asked the king to give Su Tai audience. The king of Ch'i was delighted with Su-tzu. SPTK 9. 8b 1
KY70.3
449 C h ' e n T s ' u i and the Q u e e n M o t h e r Ch'en Ts'ui was creating an alliance between Ch'i and Yen and was about to order the king's younger brother into Ch'i as hostage. Though the king of Yen had given his consent, the king's mother heard of it and was furious. 'If this Ch'en does not know how to manage someone's state then 1
M e a n i n g the market tax, perhaps, or the expense o f keeping the horse, or both.
THE B O O K
OF YEN - KING
K'UAI
515
let us have an end. to him', said she. 'How dare he separate a child and its mother? I shall have my revenge on him.' Ch'en Ts'ui wanted an audience with the queen but the king of Yen said, 'She is furious with you now; delay the audience a while.' 'There will be no trouble', replied Ch'en Ts'ui, and he went in for audience with the queen. 'Why are you losing weight?' he asked her. 'Thanks to the grain stores my late husband, the king, kept for his wild fowl, I do not lack for food. I grow thin because I grieve for the young duke who is to be sent as hostage to Ch'i.' 'You know, the rulers of men do not love their children as much as common folk', observed Ch'en Ts'ui. 'Not only that, they especially give their male offspring far less attention than do common folk.' 'What makes you say that?' 'Your highness married off her daughter to one of the Lords, gave her a thousand in gold and the gift of a hundred // of land because you were anxious to make her secure for the rest of her life. 'At the moment the king wants to enfeoff the young duke, but all his officers and ministers loyally protest: "The young duke has gained no merit and so should not be given a fief." The king would now like the young duke to go as hostage to Ch'i and taking this as an act of merit he would give the boy a fief; but you will not hear of it. This is how I know that royalty is especially heedless of its male offspring. 'Furthermore, you and the king, happily, are both still alive, so the young duke is honoured. But after a thousand autumns pass for you, and the king quits his throne, and the heir apparent takes over, the young duke will be less honoured than a commoner. So, unless your highness and his majesty arrange a fief for him now he will go without one for the rest of his life.' 'I am an old woman who understands nothing of a ruler's plans', said the queen. Then she ordered the young duke to Ch'i and made ready carriage clothes and articles for a journey. SPTK 9. 9a 1
KY70. 6 A n o t h e r persuasion o n the pattern o f 262, but m u c h inferior to it i n construction. 1
516
THE
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450 T h e k i n g of Yen receives a letter and sends troops j o i n the Three Chin
to
Someone sent the following letter to the king of Yen: If you are able to disregard your own position, your majesty, and if you can find it not too repugnant to assume a humble name and serve another power, you can make your country flourish long and peacefully. As a very long term plan this is a good one. But, if you serve a great power and cannot thereafter lay plans for the distant future you had better instead ally a number of the lesser powers. However/J)y what means the coalition of weaker states can be made to stay uni|ed is the most vexing problem of the states East of the MountainM believe. The one-eyed fishwill not move unless it has found another with which to swim. For this reason the ancients praised it for understanding how to unite two parts to form a unity. The present states of the Shan-tung area are unable to unite themselves at all, which proves them to be less intelligent than a fish. Or, take stablemen handling a chariot. If three of them cannot draw it they call for two moje and the chariot then moves because five men draw it togetherfjtn Shan-tung at present three states are too weak to withstand Chin, but if they could bind two more states together they would all be victorious over Ch'in. However, the Shang-tung states do not know how to call on one another! and in this respect they are less intelligent than stablemen. The Hu barbarians and the Yiieh cannot understand one another's language and cannot communicate their ambitions, but when mountainous waves arise about the boat they share, they rescue one another as though they were all from a single state. The allies of Shan-tung are now all in the same boat and it is foundering. But when Ch'in troops reach them they will not rescue one another as though they shared a single state. This demonstrates that the Lords are less intelligent than Hu and Yiieh people. 1
pi-mu
In these three situations other men .will behave properly but the 1 W i t h Y o k o t a ^ 16 should be M
THE
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517
K'UAI
rulers of Shan-tung remain unaware that they can too. This is what I call 0 t curse of the states East of the Mountains jfl hope your majesty will give it his most sober thought. • |/The one who would lead the rulers of Shan-tung together with those states which refuse to submit [to Ch'in] is he who can make plans for the continued preservation of all/A(ou must all send forth your regiments in order to engage [Ch'in] in battle to the west of Han and Liang - this is the best of plans for Shan-tung. If it is not hastened into action all Shan-tung states will be in jeopardy and their kings will know grief. Now the states of Han, Liang and Chao are already allied. Ch'in will see that the Three Chin are firm so she will turn south against Ch'u. When Chao sees Ch'in attacking Ch'u, Chao will assault Yen in the north. The events will be different but the disasters will be the same for Yen as they were for Chung-shan. For in the past when Ch'in attacked Han in a drawn-out battle Chao seized the chance and took Chung-shan. Now, while Ch'in is engaged in a lengthy attack on Ch'u, Yen will fall to Chao. In my ignorance I believe that my best schemes for your majesty insist that you muster your troops^ ally yourself with the Three Chin and join them in arms in the wesjMf Shan-tung is not capable of this much solidarity all of the states East of the Mountains will surely perish<> In the enu Yen did send her troops south to join the Three Chin. SPTK 9.10a 1
2
3
4
K Y 7 1 . 10
451 K i n g K ' u a i of Yen emulates the hut loses his life
sage-kings
When King K'uai of Yen took the throne, Su Ch'in died in Ch'i. While 1
Y o k o t a makes these emendations i n what otherwise is near gibberish. ± s h i h to be understood as s h i h . f $ Y e n should here stand for Shan-tung. This section is v e r y corrupt but b y using Pao's and Y o k o t a ' s notes some m e a n i n g can be squeezed f r o m it. 2
3
4
5
i8
THE
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OF Y E N - K I N G
K'UAI
he had. been in Yen, however, he had become related by marriage to Yen's minister Tzu-chih, so Su Tai and Tzu-chih knew each other well.When Su Ch'in died, King Hsiian of Ch'i used Su Tai in his stead. It was in the third year of King K'uai of Yen that he attacked Ch'in in alliance with Ch'u and the Three Chin. Having been unsuccessful they all returned. Tzu-chih was Yen's minister. He was honoured, influential, and the maker of Yen's policy. Su Tai became Ch'i's envoy to Yen and the king of Yen questioned him. 'What kind of a ruler is King Hsiian of Ch'i?' he asked. 'He will never be hegemon', was the reply. 'Why?' 'Because he does not trust his ministers.' Su Tai hoped to prick the king of Yen into giving Tzu-chih an even more important position. From that time on the king of Yen put the utmost faith in Tzu-chih, and Tzu-chih in turn gave Su Tai a hundred in gold and saw to it that his mission was accomplished. Lu Mao-shou said to the king of Yen, 'The best thing your majesty could do would be to hand over his country to Tzu-chih. Men speak of Yao's virtue because he yielded his state to Hsu Yu. Hsu Yu did not accept it, of course, so Yao acquired a name for passing on his throne to the most virtuous; but in fact he never lost control of the empire. If your majesty should yield his state to his minister Tzu-chih, Tzu-chih surely would not dare accept it, but this act would demonstrate that your majesty's behaviour is the equal of Yao's.' The king of Yen thereafter gave his land over entirely to Tzu-chih who became very powerful. Someone said: ' Y i i handed down his throne to Y i and made Ch'i his official. When he had grown older he felt that Ch'i was not capable of managing the empire so he handed on the throne to Y i alone. Ch'i and his faction attacked Y i and stole the empire from him. So you see that Y i i has a name for having given the empire to Y i when in fact he forced Ch'i to take over. At present you speak of turning over the 1
[sic]2
1
This is used b y M a s p e r o and others to date what is thought to be an actual alliance o f the C h o u states against C h ' i n w h i c h m a y have been the historical i n spiration for the Alliance w h i c h is fictional. Hsiian was his temple name n o t used u n t i l after his death. 2
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K'UAI
519
state to Tzu-chih, your majesty, but all our officials are the heir apparent's men. In this manner you may gain a name for handing over your throne to Tzu-chih, but in fact the country will be run by the heir.' The king of Yen then called in all the officials' seals of office carrying incomes of more than three hundred measures and gave them to Tzuchih. Then Tzu-chih faced south and was king. King K'uai pleaded old age, abdicated, and became a subject, while Tzu-Chih conducted all affairs of the state. In the third year of Tzu-chih there was a great insurrection in Yen, for its citizens had suffered, and they resented him. General Shih Pei and the heir apparent, P'ing, planned an attack upon Tzu-chih. Chu-tzu said to King Hsiian of Ch'i, 'If you seize this opportunity to make your attack you will certainly shatter Yen.' The king sent his agent, therefore, to say to P'ing, the heir apparent, 'I have heard of your righteous intent to cast down private gain for the sake of public good, to add lustre to the relationship of minister and prince, and to correct the association proper between father and son. My state is a small one, hardly adequate to support you, but such as it is, it is all at your command.' The heir then gathered his adherents and mustered his men, and his general Shih Pei surrounded the palace. They attacked Tzu-chih but failed to defeat him. Then even the common people turned on P'ing, the heir apparent. General Shih Pei died for his country and there was disorder for a number of months during which time tens of thousands died. The people of Yen grew fearful and angry and the hearts of her citizens turned from P'ing. Mencius said to King Hsiian of Ch'i: 'You should now attack Yen. This is the kind of opportunity which was accorded King Wen and King W u and it must not be lost.' The king then named Chang-tzu commander of the troops from all five tu and ordered him to use the forces stationed in the northern area and make the attack on Yen. Not a soldier nor an officer opposed them nor were the gates closed against them. King K'uai of Yen died, Ch'i 1
Here I leave out C h i a n g - c h i i n S h i h P e i on the advice o f at least one commentary.
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THE B O O K
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K'UAI
gained a great victory over Yen, and Tzu-chih fled. Two years later the people of Yen raised the heir apparent, P'ing, to the throne and he became King Chao of Yen. SPTK 9.12a KY68. 9
425 S u L i and S u Tai and the affairs
of Y e n and
Ch'i
Earlier Su Ch'in's brother, Su Li, on the occasion of Yen's heir becoming hostage in Ch'i, sought audience with the king of Ch'i. Now the king bore ill will toward Su Ch'in and was going to put Su Li in prison. The Yen hostage heir interceded on Li's behalf and the king of Ch'i ceased his efforts against Li and made the Yen hostage a minister in Ch'i. The minister of Yen, Tzu-chih, was related to Su Tai by marriage and wanting complete power in Yen he sent Su Tai with Yen's hostage to Ch'i. Ch'i sent Su Tai back to report on the transaction to Yen. King K'uai of Yen asked him, 'Will the king of Ch'i gain hegemony?' 'He cannot.' 'Why?' 'Because he does not put his trust in his officials', replied Su Tai. Thereafter the king of Yen used Tzu-chih in everything and finally yielded his throne to him. Yen was then afflicted by civil war and Ch'i attacked her, kilHng King K'uai and Tzu-chih. Yen then raised King Chao and thereafter neither Su Tai nor Su Li dared enter Yen, but both finally returned to Ch'i where they were treated well. SPTK 9.13b 1
KY68. io 1
2
C o m m e n t a r y suggests that it should be S u C h ' i n to w h o m T z u - c h i h was related b y marriage. T h i s does not clear up the confusion about what exactly S u T a i and S u L i are supposed to be d o i n g i n this i t e m . This and the f o l l o w i n g i t e m were originally part o f 451. C h u n g Feng-nien thinks a l l three are actually units o f the same i t e m . 449 appears simply to be a garbled version o f 451 - perhaps another persuasion done o n the same theme b y 3 different man? a
THE
B O O K
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C H A O
521
453 C h ' i procures
S u T a i ' s release from
Wei
When Su Tai passed through Wei, Wei seized him to hold him for Yen. Ch'i sent a man to say the following to the king of Wei: 'Ch'i has asked permission to make Sung the fief of Lord Chingyang of Ch'in but Ch'in has refused. It is not because Ch'in would not find it profitable to have an alliance with Ch'i and the land of Sung but simply that she does not trust either Ch'i or Su-tzu. If Ch'i and Wei should now have such a serious falling-out over Su Tai, Ch'i could not afford to cheat Ch'in, and Ch'in, knowing this, would join with Ch'i, Ch'in and Ch'i allied and Lord Ching-yang in possession of Sung could in no way profit Wei. You should send Su-tzu on eastwards to Ch'i, your majesty, then Ch'in will simply remain suspicious of him. As long as Ch'in and Ch'i do not join forces and there is no unbalancing of power in the empire, Ch'i will be in a vulnerable position.' Wei then sent Su Tai to Sung and Sung treated him well. SPTK 9.14a K Y 68. 10a K I N G C H A O (311-279 B.C.)
454 C h a n g Yi persuades
Yen to j o i n the C o a l i t i o n
Chang Y i , working to establish Ch'in's Coalition and to break up the Alliance, spoke to the king of Yen thus: 'Of the states your majesty counts close to him, none is so important as Chao. Of old, the king of Chao gave his older sister in marriage to the king of Tai. He wanted to annex Tai, so he arranged a meeting with its king at the fort on Kou-chu. He also ordered his artisans to fashion a brazen wine dipper with a handle long enough to strike a man. He left orders with the cooks that when he and the king of Tai were toasting each other and the king of Tai began to feel the pleasure of drink they were to bring in newly heated wine along with this heavy dipper, seize 1
1
Presumably C h a o Hsiang-tzu as S C says.
522
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C H A O
the opportunity, reverse the clipper quickly and strike the king of Tai down with it. 'So when the king of Tai had become happy with drink they brought in newly heated wine and, while approaching to serve it, the man with the dipper turned it about and struck the king with the heavy handle. The king of Tai's brains were spattered on the ground. When the king of Chao's sister heard what her brother had done she sharpened a stout brass hairpin and stabbed herself to death with it. That is why, to this very day, there is a place called Hairpin Hill. Everyone in the empire knows about it. 'The king of Chao was wolflike in his cruelty and formed close ties with no one. This, your own intelligence has made clear to you. But do you think the present king of Chao is any more susceptible to kinship ties? Chao once raised troops and attacked Yen. She twice surrounded the capital of Yen and plundered it and Yen was obliged to cede ten cities before Chao withdrew. 'At this very moment the king of Chao is meeting Ch'in at Miench'ih to offer all of Ho-chien as a token of his submission to her. If your majesty does not now proclaim himself in Ch'in's service, Ch'in will send her armour down through Yiin-chung and Chiu-yiian; she will prod Chao forward to attack Yen. Then the Y i River and your long walls will be taken from your control. 'On the other hand, Chao is at the moment nothing more than a province of Ch'in and dares not raise troops to launch an expedition by herself. If you were in Ch'in's service, the king of Ch'in would certainly be pleased with you and Chao would not risk a single rash move. 'In this fashion you could have the aid of mighty Ch'in in the west and in the south be secure against Ch'i and Chao. This is why I ask your majesty to give these proposals his maturest attention.' 'I am but a barbarian from an isolated state', replied the king. 'I am surrounded by mature adults but they have behaved as children; for their speech has not helped me to discoverfirstprinciples and their plans have not helped me make proper decisions. Now, fortunately, my honoured guest has instructed me and I beg leave to turn my state toward the west to serve Ch'in and cede that country five cities in the foothills of Ch'ang-shan.' SPTK 9.14b KY68.6
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - KING
C H A O
523
455 T h e k i n g of W e i is persuaded
to receive
the Yen
ambassador
Kung T'o was Yen's envoy to Wei but Wei would not give him a hearing. When he had been detained in Wei several months, one of the king's retainers asked the king of Wei, 'Why will you not give the Yen envoy a hearing?' 'Because Yen is in rebellion', the king replied. 'But when T'ang attacked Chieh he hoped for a rebellion', said the other, 'If Yen's rebellion is great you may seize her land; if it is small you will receive her treasure. The envoy from Yen has just told me that if your majesty will only do as he asks, Yen will repay him if it takes all her land and treasure. Why then do you not give him audience?' The king was delighted, gave the man from Yen an audience and sent him on his way. SPTK 9.16a KY68. 7
456 K i n g Chao's
revenge
After King Chao had taken the throne of a shattered Yen he humbled his person and sought worthy men with costly gifts, for he wanted revenge. To this purpose he went to see Master Kuo Wei. 'Ch'i took advantage of my country's troubles to attack and crush the isolated state of Yen', he said. 'I know all too well that Yen is small and weak and hardly suited for vengeance, but it is my desire to get worthy men, share the government of my state with them, and avenge the dishonour my ancestors suffered. And so I dare ask you, sir, how must I use my state to win revenge?' 'Who would be emperor', replied Kuo Wei, 'must live with a teacher; who would be king will dwell among friends; who would be hegemon with ministers; and he who would lose his state will dwell among servants. So fold your hands, sit facing north as a student of
524
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - K I N G
CHAO
worthy men, and soon men a hundred times your own worth will come to you. Let worthy men precede you, rest only when they have rested, let only questions come to your lips and silence thereafter, and soon men ten times your own worth will come to you. If you move as an equal with them, only men of your own worth will find you. If you sit on your mat, hold your staff, narrow your eyes and summon men, only servants will come to you. If you are violent and strike, i f you stamp and shout, none but slaves will obey. This was how ancients who respected the Way found their officers. 'If the king will honestly seek out men of worth in his own country and wait beside their gates, the empire will hear that the king holds court with worthy ministers and "officers of the empire" will certainly find their way to Yen.' 'Whom should I bring to court to accomplish this?' asked King Chao. 'I have heard that an ancient ruler once offered a thousand pieces of gold for a Thousand-league Horse', replied Kuo Wei. 'Three years went by but no horse did he get. Then his page said to him, "Let me find you one." The ruler sent him off and in less than three months he had found a Thousand-league Horse. But the horse was dead. The page bought its remains for five hundred pieces of gold, returned and reported to the ruler. The ruler was furious. "I wanted a live horse," he cried, "of what use is a dead horse - and I have lost five hundred in gold!" Said the page, "If you will spend five hundred for a dead horse what might you not do for a live one? The empire is now convinced that your majesty is truly in the market for such a horse, so the horse is as good as here!" In less than a year three Thousand-league Horses were brought to him. 'If your majesty truly wants to attract officers, let him begin by appointing me. If you would appoint me what might you not do for worthier men than I? Distance will mean nothing to them!' Then King Chao built a great house for Kuo Wei and took him as his teacher. Yiieh Y i came from Wei, Tsou Yen came from Ch'i, and Chii Hsin came from Chao. Officers from everywhere gathered in Yen. The king of Yen buried his dead, consulted the living, and shared joy and grief alike with his citizens. Twenty-eight years passed while Yen became flourishing and waxed rich. Its soldiers were content and eager for battle. Then the king appointed Yueh Y i commander of the armies,
THE
B O O K
OP YEN
- KING
C H A O
525
planned strategy with Ch'in, Ch'u, and the Three Chin, and fell upon Ch'i. Ch'i's troops were defeated, King Min fled the land, and the armies of Yen pursued him. Yen entered Lin-tzu, the capital city, sacked its treasure and burned its palaces and temples. All of Ch'i's towns were reduced except Chii and Chi-mo. SPTK 9.16a K Y 6 9 . 11
457 B y S u - t z u s craft C h ' i is weakened and Yen is able to lead the other states against her A retainer spoke to the king of Yen: 'Ch'i has broken Ch'u to the south, to the west she has deflected Ch'in, and she uses the troops of Han and Wei as well as the populace of Yen and Chao as though they were her whips and spurs. If Ch'i should turn northward on Yen, then though there were five states of Yen we could not resist her. Why do you not send forth envoys in secret, your majesty, and scatter persuaders among the states to stop Ch'i's troops, weaken her citizenry, and bring about peace for generations to come?' 'Had I but five years' grace I could carry out such ambitions', said the king of Yen. 'Allow me to give your majesty ten years' grace', said Su-tzu. The king was delighted and presented Su-tzu with fifty carriages. He went south to Ch'i and said to the king of Ch'i, 'You have broken Ch'u in the south, deflected Ch'in to the west and used the troops of Han and Wei as well as the populaces of Yen and Chao as though they were yourflailsand spurs. But I have heard that the princes responsible for the regulation of this day and age must punish violence, rectify the rebellious, deal with the unprincipled and attack the unjust. Yet today the king of Sung shoots at heaven and strikes earth, has caused effigies of the Lords to be made and has placed them in his privy where he can reach them and make water upon their faces. These actions are among the most unprincipled and improper in the empire,
1
1
T h e first section seems unrelated to the rest o f the i t e m .
526
THE
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OF Y E N - KING
CHAO
and until you have punished them you do not deserve the name of True King. 'In addition, Sung is one of the Middle Kingdoms possessed of fat, rich soil; it is a place where people from all sides would like to dwell. One would rather have ten li from Sung than a hundred li from the state of Yen, and by attacking Sung a name for righteousness can be had along with the reality of profit. Why should you not achieve these, your majesty?' 'Good', said the king, and raised his troops. He attacked and defeated Sung in three battles and Sung was taken. When the king of Yen heard this he broke relations with Ch'i and at the head of the empire's troops he led the attack against Ch'i. In one great and two lesser battles the king of Yen took Ch'i and made a name for himself. [So it is said that 'If strength be dealt with strongly it can be broken; if size be dealt with by sizable numbers it can be diminished.'] SPTK 9.18a KY71.11
458 S u T a i writes
a letter
to the k i n g of Y e n
When Ch'i attacked Sung, Sung panicked and Su Tai sent a letter to King Chao of Yen saying the following: To be among the great powers and still to have a hostage at Ch'i's court is degrading and diminishes your state's influence. To accept Ch'i's commission and help her attack Sung will exhaust your people and lay waste your goods. To break Sung and fragment the Huaipei area of Ch'u will only fatten Ch'i the more - your enemies will be stronger and you will grow weaker. Each of these three things will result in great defeats for your state, yet you are undertaking them in the vain hope of avoiding harm from Ch'i. You are placing your faith in Ch'i, while Ch'i has never shown your majesty that she is to be trusted. This serves only to increase Yen's ill omens and the reason your .majesty began to serve Ch'i is already lost. So you will 1
1
i.e., to keep Y e n safe.
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - K I N G
CHAO
527
have wearied your people and wasted your goods with not so much as an inch of merit to show for it. You will have broken Sung to fatten Ch'i to the everlasting harm of the rest of the world. Taking Sung and adding Huai-pei to it, your majesty, will create a strong state by itself. Now if Ch'i annexes that area it will have increased itself by itself again. The northern barbarians hold an area seven hundred li square and if Lu and Wei be added to that area we could call the result a mighty state. Then if Ch'i annexed the whole, she would have increased her size by two Ch'is. Since Yen seems incapable of resisting a single Ch'i, to surround Yen with the equivalent of three Ch'is would surely create great calamity. However that may be, I have heard that the wise man who sets his hand to management can turn calamity into good fortune and defeat into accomplishment. In Ch'i rejected white cloth when dyed purple increases its value ten times. Also, Kou-chien, king of Yiieh, was isolated at K'uai-chi but later destroyed W u and became Hegemon over the empire. These are examples of turning calamity into good fortune and defeat into accomplishment. Now should your majesty desire to turn calamity into fortune and defeat into accomplishment, the best thing you can do is arrange - at a distance - for Ch'i's hegemony and honour her in every way. You should send your representative with Ch'i's to a convenant in Chou where all the empire would burn the tallies they hold from Ch'in and make the following agreement: 1
'The prime goal is to smash Ch'in; next in order is to isolate her . For i f Ch'in suffers exclusion, she can only wait for destruction. The king of Ch'in will be vexed by this. For five generations Ch'in has tried to unite the Feudal Lords, but to this . day she remains in a lower position than Ch'i. The king of Ch'in's ambition is to humble Ch'i, and he would give his capital city to the one who could manage it for him.' But in that case your majesty should send trusted men who will speak persuasions to the king of Ch'in which tell him how to humble Ch'i. They should say: 'The reason Yen and Chao attack Sung and thus fatten and honour Ch'i while they remain under her, is not because there is profit in 1
W i t h Y o k o t a one ' C h ' i n ' and
are excrescent.
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
CHAO
it for these two states. Why should they continue doing this even though there is no profit for them? It is only because they do not trust Ch'in. Why should Ch'in not send persons whom they can trust to gain the confidence of Yen and Chao? If Lord Ching-yang and Lord Kao-yang took the initiative with Yen and Chao and Ch'in left them in those states as hostages against the breaking of a treaty, Yen and Chao would trust Ch'in. 'Ch'in could then become Emperor of the West, Chao, Emperor of the Centre and Yen, Emperor of the North. Three emperors would be established and they would give the Lords their orders. If either Han or Wei refused to obey, Ch'in would attack them. If Ch'i did not obey, Yen and Chao would attack her. Would any in the empire darefloutus? 'When the empire was submissive we would prod Han and Wei into an attack on Ch'i, telling them that Ch'i must return Sung lands and give back Huai-pei to Ch'u. 'Of course, restoring Sung and giving back Ch'u's Huai-pei lands would be of great benefit to both Yen and Chao, while establishing three emperors is something they are quite wuling to do. So, gaining in reality that which profits them while gaining in name that which pleases them would cause Yen and Chao to cast off Ch'i the way one kicks off an old sandal. 'If your majesty should not now support Yen and Chao [as Emperors?] then Ch'i's hegemony is assured. The Lords will support Ch'i; your majesty alone will not. This invites an attack on your state. If the Lords support Ch'i and your majesty merely goes along with them, your name will be cheapened. Thus, by not accepting Yen and Chao, your majesty's name is diminished and your state is in peril. By receiving Yen and Chao your majesty's name is honoured and your state secure; no intelligent person rejects honour and security to seek dishonour and danger.' When the king of Ch'in hears a persuasion like this he will surely be pricked to the heart. Why then do you not make an effort to send wise to speak a persuasion such as this? It would insure Ch'in's attack on Ch'i. Surely to be accepted by Ch'in is an association of prime importance, and an attack on Ch'i is your principal source of benefit? Now to honour your prime association while working
shih
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
520
C H A O
out your principal source of benefit is the kind of transaction the sage kings undertook. King Chao of Yen thought the letter excellent and said, 'My ancestor was once obliged to Su-tzu and when Tzu-chih's rebellion broke out Su-tzu left Yen. I want revenge upon Ch'i for my country. I must have Su-tzu to help me.' Then he summoned Su-tzu, treated him well, and planned the attack on Ch'i with him. They finally broke Ch'i and King Min of Ch'i fled his country. SPTK 9.19a 1
KY69.12
459 S u T a i discusses the nature of h i s service with the k i n g of Yen and tells him the story of the faithful concubine Su Tai said to King Chao of Yen: 'Let us say there was a man here as filial as Tseng Shen and Hsiao Yi, as faithful as Wei-sheng Kao and as pure as Pao Chiao and Shih Ch'iu. Let us say I combined all these qualities to serve your majesty. What would you think?' 'That you would be equal to the task.' 'You think I would be equal to it but I assure you I would not serve your majesty at all! I would instead devote myself to non-action and return to my plough in upper Chou. I would eat what I sowed and wear what I wove.' 'But why?' asked the king. 'Filial persons such as Tseng Shen and Hsiao Yi did nothing but care for their families. Faithful ones like Wei-sheng Kao accomplished nothing except to prove their dependability. The incorrupt, such as Pao Chiao and Shih Ch'iu devoted themselves to refusing to take the wealth of another. I am one who works for advance and advantage and 1
W e hardly need agree, however, i t is totally u n c o n v i n c i n g and needlessly involved.
530
THE B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
C H A O
I look upon incorruptibility as holding no hope for personal success. I look on righteousness as incapable of sustaining my livelihood or securing me a position. Those who practise benevolence and righteousness seek only the way to self-fulfilment; they abominate the arts of advance and advantage.' 'But is not cultivation of one's self a sufficient task?' asked the king. 'Had self-cultivation been enough then Ch'in would never have gone beyond the forts at Yao, Ch'i would not have expanded beyond Ying-ch'iu nor Ch'u beyond Shu-chang. The Three Kings who succeeded one another and the Five Hegemons who successively held the government did so because they were not concerned with selfcultivation. 'If self-cultivation were enough I should long ago have returned to Chou and picked up my winnowing basket. What sense would there be then in annoying your majesty's court? 'In days past Ch'u took Chang-wu and the Lords all submitted to the south. Ch'in took Hsi-shan and the Lords went west to court. In the past Yen did not go to the Chou house and rule; i f she had, the Feudal Lords would not have driven their carriage to courts other than Yen. 'I have heard that the man capable of great undertaking first weighs the size of his state, next measures the power of his enemies' troops and then can count on achievement and the establishment of his name. Those who are incapable of a great undertaking do not first measure the size of their states or test the power of their enemies' troops and the result is neither achievement nor fame. 'At this moment your majesty longs to go east and overcome Ch'i. Your least intelligent minister knows that.' 'How would he know?' 'You fit new handles to your halberd, sharpen your blades and take every opportunity to climb up some prominence, gaze eastward and sigh. This is how the stupidest of ministers can tell. 'Now, the Black Catcher once could raise a weight of a thousand measures but, at age eighty, when he walked he too needed someone to support him. Therefore, Ch'i which is a strong state is being 1
2
1
2
' N o r t h ' is obviously an error. This is not clear.
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
CHAO
531
tired by Sung in the west and exhausted by Ch'u in the south. The troops of Ch'i can now be defeated and the area of Ho-chien can be taken.' 'Good', said the king. 'I ask you to become my highest minister and I will supply you with one hundred carriages. Suppose, in consideration of this you go eastward to Ch'i for me?' 'If you are doing this out of affection then why not entrust the commission to your beloved offspring, the noble uncles and clansmen, or such grandchildren as you may [cherish?]? Why should you give this all to a very unworthy minister? What manner of man do you suppose me to be, your majesty? You should know that I serve you with loyalty, but I fear this loyalty will offend your majesty's attendants. 'Come!' said the king. 'Has there ever been a minister who exhausted his strength and abilities in the service of his king who offended his ruler?' 'Let me make a comparison for your majesty', replied Su Tai. 'In bygone days there was a family in upper Chou the head of which had been three years absent on a mission. His wife had a lover. One day the lover said, "What shall we do when your husband returns?" "Never fear, I have already poisoned the wine to give to him on his return," replied the wife. Finally when the husband returned she sent a concubine in to him bearing the poisoned drink. The concubine knew of the poison and half way to her master she stopped and thought: "If I give this drink to my master it will kill him. If I tell him of the matter he will drive my mistress away. Rather than kill my master or have my mistress driven from the house I will pretend to stumble and overturn it." Thereupon she feigned clumsiness and knocked it over. "I purposely prepared this fine wine for my master on his return from distant journeying," complained the wife, "and now this woman has spilled it while presenting it to you." The husband, all unaware, had his concubine bound and flogged. 'She wasfloggedfor being loyal and faithful. So, when I serve your majesty in Ch'i I fear my loyalty may not manifest itself to your majesty's attendants. 'I have heard it said that a great state should not be controlled by 1
1
B y this he means the k i n g himself. See 446 for the same story.
532
T H E B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
C H A O
shih
ministers, a great clan must not be controlled by a majority of its members, and ordinary travelling should not be controlled by their wives and concubines. How much more does this apply to the worthiest ruler of the age? I will take your commission but I beg your majesty not to be swayed by your ministers.' SPTK 9. 21a KY69.13
46O The
go-between
'What we can least abide', said the King of Yen to Su Tai, 'is the glib deceiver!' 'In the land of Chou the go-between is held in lowest esteem,' replied Tai, 'for she praises both parties equally: to the groom's family she says, "The girl is fair", and to the bride's, "the boy is wealthy." 'But it happens that by Chou custom a man may not choose a wife himself. Thus, if one dispensed with the go-between to marry off his daughter she would grow old and remain unwed; were he to disregard the intermediary and show off the girl himself she would become cheapened and remain unbought. 'The one person who can readily bring the thing to pass - who can market without cheapening - is still the go-between! 'It is the same with ruling: there must be authority or nothing can be begun; power, or nothing can be achieved. But it is only your "glib deceiver" who can produce the desired results for the holder of power and authority.' 'Good', said the king. SPTK 9. 23a
KY69.14
46I S u T a i g i v e s h i s reasons f o r f e i g n i n g f l i g h t Su Tai said to Lord Feng-yang, 'Persuade them in Chao by speaking of Yen's hatred and make Chao attack Ch'i also.'
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
C H A O
533
Lord Feng-yang paid him no heed so Su Tai went to Ch'i to slander Chao and cause Ch'i to break relations with her. When Ch'i had broken off with Chao, Su Tai went to Yen and said to King Chao of Yen: 'Han Wei said to me, "People are telling Lord Feng-yang that the one who caused Ch'i to mistrust Chao is Su-tzu. The one who caused the king of Ch'i to call back Shu-tzu from his attack on Sung was Su-tzu. The one who made plans with the king of Ch'i and told him to establish ties with Ch'in in order to scheme against Chao was Su-tzu. The one who caused Ch'i to protect Chao's hostage with a cordon of armoured troops was also Su-tzu. And someone told Lord Feng-yang to ask (Su)-tzu to request this of Ch'i and i f Ch'i did in fact protect the hostage from Chao then Chao must [also?] protect Su-tzu and the hostage with armour. [?]' 'All that Han Wei said was slanderous but you must not be concerned over me [?], your majesty', continued Su-tzu. 'I knew when I entered Ch'i, Chao would try to embarrass me. I did it because it will accomplish what we want. If I should mysteriously die Ch'i would be furious with Chao. I will survive, you may be sure. 'To cause Ch'i and Chao to sever relations is to cause great confusion but I am not a Chang Meng-t'an. If I were one, Ch'i and Chao would have to have someone else to play Earl Chih. 'Lord Feng-yang said to Chu Huan and Chao Tsu, "The king of Ch'i once sent Kung Yii-jan to order me never to allow Han Min to return yet now he himself summons him. I was told never to employ Su-tzu and now he has entrusted him with the seal of a minister. I was told never to make an alliance with Yen but now Yen is our most important ally. 1
2
3
4
5
6
F o l l o w i n g K o k u y a k u though E l could conceivably be the hostage's name. K a o - t z u is construed b y Pao as a proper name but W u a n d Y o k o t a disagree and I concur w i t h t h e m . This is a badly confused item. T h e significance o f protection b y armed troops [?] escapes me. Wu Shih-tao thinks it means the k i n g need not w o r r y over the fate o f Y e n because he is using Su-tai, for in the end it w i l l be an advantage to Y e n . Y e n is not in position to play C h i h P o . In the text he appears as K u n g wang y i i e h & EE 0 . W u Shih-tao corrects it to K u n g - y u Jan o r T a n f b and is quite likely right. 1
2
3
4
6
6
S34
THE
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OF Y E N - KING
C H A O
' "I am most mistrustful of Shun. His words are even more changeable than his father's. Shun was first an enemy of Su-tzu but, having given him audience, Shun will cause him no harm for he now thinks Su-tzu is a man of worth and he sides with him. In the end I will not have Ch'i's support!" 'Lord Feng-yang is now as angry as he can be and because he feels that the king of Ch'i's mistrust of Chao amounts to an accusation of himself he will desert Ch'i. If we do not seize upon the confusion of this moment and those two states compose their difference again we will never succeed at another time. 'To truly achieve the adherence of Ch'i and Chao to Yen, whenever this might happen, would permit me to die without regret or be banished without feeling shame. Becoming one of The Lords themselves could not give me so much honour, while undoing my hair and daubing me with lacquer to cause me leprous sores could not insult me. 'One thing troubles me,' continued Su Tai, 'if I should die and Ch'i and Chao should unite but not adhere to Yen and all three states attributed their division to my presence - and later others believed this too - this is something I would find unbearable. If it took my death to get them to attack each other I would seek death in order to avoid their alliance. After all, Yao and Shun died despite their worth, Y i i and T'ang died despite their knowledge, while Meng Pen and Wu-huo died despite their strength. Is there, in fact, anything which is born which does not die? Why do you think I would hesitate to utilize something inevitable to accomplish something 1 desire? [?] 'However, I believe my aim would be better accomplished if I were banished for some fabricated offence. Then I would use the fact that Han and Wei were well-disposed toward each other and ill-disposed toward Ch'i [?] to achieve an alliance between those two fraternal states and Ch'in and then bind all three to Chao to stiffen Chao's troops [?]. This will certainly drive Ch'i and Chao closer to war. Even though my doing this could implicate Yen, Lord Feng-yang will 1
2
3
4
5
a
S P T K suggests this means 'Shun w i l l think S u - t z u is harmless'. I f o l l o w S P T K . W u Shih-tao has fS 'be together i n the same place*. Y o k o t a makes it ffl = & kn = / J A : to 'consider h i m as an inferior person'. 5 W i t h Y o k o t a , 5E should be B . In S P T K ^ } is g i v e n as Wi and the w h o l e interpretation differs.
1
2
8
4
6
>
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
CHAO
535
say to Chu Huan, "Su-tzu is angry at the king of Yen; he says, 'The king does not use me, does not give me the seal of minister nor the badge of premier.' He does not have the ear of Yen." 'So suspicious will he be that what I do will not implicate Yen and should not stop [?] your majesty. 'Yi-yin twice fled T'ang and went to Chieh, then twice fled Chieh and went to T'ang. As a result the battle of Ming-t'iao was joined and T'ang became the Son of Heaven. W u Tzu-hsii fled Ch'u to go to Wu. This resulted in the battle of Po-chii being joined by which his father was avenged. If by flight I can effect distrust between Ch'i and Chao then such a deed can be recorded proudly in the annals. And who has not fled if by doing so could accomplish great deeds? During Duke Huan's troubles, Kuan Chung fled to Lu. During the difficulties at Yang-hua Confucius fled to Lesser Wei. Chang Y i fled to Ch'u and Po Kuei to Ch'in. Wang Chu was minister of Chung-shan and went on mission to Chao. Chao tried to coerce him into surrender of territory so he stormed the border crossing and escaped. During the troubles of Wai-sun the Duke of Hsiieh escaped through the borders in a fodder cart and the Three Chin praised him as a So, if done for the sake of great deeds, flight is not to be accounted a disgrace.' [In the end Ch'i was split from Chao, Chao joined Yen to attack and defeat Ch'i.] SPTK 9.23 b K Y 70. 2 1
3
shih.
3
462 T h e man of C h ' i King Chao of Yen was about to unite the empire in an attack on Ch'i There was a Ch'i man serving in Yen and to him King Chao said: 'I am about to attack Ch'i in alliance with the empire, the order is to be issued at any moment. You will surely have a quarrel with it and A s an indication o f the range o f translations possible i n this item, S P T K here says ' m e ' indicates 'Feng-yang C h u n ' . gfc should be i t . Y o k o t a . Y o k o t a says: ' W i t h the exception o f H u a n - k u n g and Confucius the other events have not been detailed anywhere.' 1
2
3
536
THE
B O O K
OP Y E N - K I N G
C H A O
feeling so will not obey it. For this reason you should, leave and go to Ch'i. When the time comes for me to make peace with Ch'i I shall certainly do it through you.' [At this time Yen and Ch'i were implacable enemies. Yen, however, was intent on nothing but the recovery of her former lands.] SPTK 9.26b KY70. 7
463 S u - t z u resolves
a
dilemma
Ch'i and Wei each sought to secure an alliance with Yen. Ch'i said to Yen, 'We have Chao on our side!' and Wei said to Yen, 'We have Chao on our side!' Yen was left with no way to decide and was unable to find a basis for alliance with either. Su-tzu said to the minister of Yen: 'I have heard that he whose speech is humble but whose wealth is great has not got allies, while he whose speech is arrogant though his wealth is slight is sure of the empire. Wei's speech now is arrogant though her wealth is not great.' Thereafter Yen allied herself with Wei and got Chao's help. As a result Ch'i was defeated. SPTK 9.26b K Y 7 1 . 13
464 S u T a i loses battles
on Y e n s
behalf
From Ch'i Su Tai sent a man to say to King Chao of Yen, 'I have split Ch'i and Chao. Since Ch'i is already isolated, why do you not attack her, your majesty, and I will undertake to further weaken her internally.' Yen did attack Ch'i and assaulted the town of Chin. Su Tai then sent a man to King Min of Ch'i to say, 'Yen attacks Ch'i because she wants her old territories back. The Yen troops are halted at Chin because their strength is not great and their plans uncertain. Why 1
1
W i t h Y o k o t a ' C h a o ' here is dittographic.
THE B O O K
OF Y E N - KING
C H A O
537
not send Su-tzu as your general to intercept Yen, your majesty? If a worthy like Su-tzu is sent to intercept these weak Yen forces, Yen is doomed to be broken. With Yen broken, Chao cannot afford to disregard you; so in a single stroke you will have both broken Yen and made Chao submit.' 'Good', cried King Min, and he called Su-tzu to him and said, 'The Yen troops are at Chin. I will dispatch a force to intercept them and I want you to be its general.' 'How am I to manage such a commission with your troops?' protested Su-tzu. 'You should choose someone else. If you send me I shall certainly lose you your soldiers and you will believe that I have sold out to Yen. I can neither win you a victory nor help restore your state's fortunes.' 'Go none the less', replied the king. 'I know your abilities.' Su-tzu did therefore command the troops and battled with the Yen forces beneath Chin's walls. The Ch'i troops were defeated and Yen took the heads and armour of twenty thousand men. Su-tzu assembled what remained of his troops, garrisoned Yangch'eng and reported to King Min of Ch'i: 'Your majesty made a faulty choice when he ordered me to intercept Yen. Now I have been defeated and lost twenty thousand men. I am guilty of a capital crime and I beg your permission to turn myself over to your officers for execution.' 'No', replied the king. 'This has been my fault and you are guiltless.' The next day Su-tzu dispatched a man in secret to tell Yen to attack Yang-ch'eng and Li while sending another to say to King Min of Ch'i, 'Last time, when Ch'i was defeated at Chin, it was not the fault of the troops. Ch'i was unlucky and Yen was given the greatest good fortune by heaven. Today Yen is attacking Yang-ch'eng and Li because they have mistaken heaven-sent fortune for their own accompUshment. If your majesty sends Su-tzu against them again he will strive many times harder now to requite your majesty because he lost your troops the first time.' 'Good', said the king, and again ordered Su-tzu to take command. Su-tzu steadfastly refused the appointment but the king would not hear of it. Therefore Su-tzu commanded and fought the Yen troops before Yang-ch'eng. The Yen forces won a great victory and took
538
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - K I N G
CHAO
thirty thousand heads. This led to a rift between the king and ministers of Ch'i and the people grew disaffected. Yen then commissioned Yiieh Y i , ordered a general mobilization, attacked Ch'i and destroyed her. SPTK 9.27a 1
KY70.4
465 S u T a i writes
from
C h ' i to h i s old
employer
Su Tai sent a letter to the king of Yen from Ch'i: I am aware that there is bound to be talk about my leaving Yen so I address this letter to your majesty's servants to inform them that: The fact that I am honoured in Ch'i will cause the great ministers to suspect me. But if I were not honoured there they would scorn me. If I am used they will expect much from Ch'i and i f Ch'i shows disaffection with us they will lay the crime to me. If the empire does not attack Ch'i they will say, 'He is a bit too anxious to make plans for Ch'i.' If the empire does attack Ch'i others will say, 'He has sold Ch'i out both to Yen and to the empire.' I am as insecure as though seated on a pile 'of eggs. Just as one eyebrow is a match for the other, the king's response to this will be, 'I certainly will not heed slander or bow to the demands of the many. I will retain my confidence in you. Your most important task is to become employed by Ch'i; it is secondary whether you are believed by those less important. Short of sacrificing your life [?] there should be nothing you will not do and you may feel sure that [you will be understood]. We do expect only that you will succeed.' In the five years that I have taken the responsibility for Ch'i she has 2
3
4
1
This seems quite obviously a late piece. T h e text unusually s m o o t h and action, n o t persuasion, is the armature o f construction. A n d here a k i n g is consistently given his temple name throughout the text, w h i c h is n o t true o f a majority o f CRT. 2
Y o k o t a suggests ' w i l l be envious o f me'. This is quite possible but not as apposite, I believe. O r , 'as surely as the brows are f o u n d above the eyes'. W i t h Y o k o t a , the next ten characters are f r o m somewhere else a n d should not be translated here. 3
4
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
C H A O
539
many times sent forth troops, but never against Yen. The relations of Ch'i and Chao with Yen are such that when one of them is united with Yen the other must be at odds with her.When your maj esty is not allied with Ch'i against Chao, he is allied with Chao against Ch'i. Ch'i's faith in Yen has now reached the point that she is emptying her northern border areas and moving the troops which used to be stationed there to guard against Yen. Yet at this very moment your majesty puts his faith in the words of T'ien Fa and Shen Ch'ii-chi and attacks Ch'i. You treat Ch'i as though she were nothing more than a horse or a hunting dog and do not discuss what she may do to Yen. Today you have sent Ch'ing to say to me, 'I wish to use those I favour.' If the king wishes to use them I beg to be allowed to serve them for you; but if your majesty prefers to use only those he favours and to relieve me of my duties, then I hope you will let me return to Yen when I am relieved, so that I may continue to have audience with you. Then I will be content. SPTK 9. 28a K Y 70. 5
466 S u T a i advises
the k i n g of Yen
against
g o i n g to C h ' i n
Ch'in summoned the king of Yen, who intended to obey and go to Ch'in. Su Tai warned him saying: 'Ch'u acquired Chih and lost her state, Ch'i got Sung and perished. It was inevitable that Ch'i and Ch'u should serve Ch'in when they had got Chih or Sung. Why? Because Ch'in has an abiding hatred for all who achieve great things. Ch'in has got the empire not through righteous action but through violence. Here is an example of her violence toward the empire: Ch'in made this open declaration to Ch'u, "In Shu we have our armour and supply barges on the Min. By using the summer spate to come down the Yangtze we can float to your capital of Ying in five days. Our armour in Han-chung can be loaded on boats and leave Pa. By using the summer spate to come down 1
2
1
2
Elsewhere w e find she o n l y lost her capital. C h ' i perishing is a similar hyperbole. See C h a n g Y i ' s persuasion of the k i n g of C h ' u i n 184.
540
THE B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
C H A O
the Han we can reach Wu-chu in four days. If I mass my troops east of Yuan and Hsia-sui before the wisest of your men could think of a scheme or the most gallant of your warriors become angry, I would be upon you like a swooping hawk. If you await the empire's attack on Han-ku to relieve you will that not be too slow to help?" Because of this threat the king of Ch'u for seventeen years served Ch'in. 'Ch'in openly declared to Han, "If I begin at Shao-ch'u I will have cut off T'ai-hang in a single day. If I begin at Yi-yang and attack P'ing-yang, in two days your whole country will be at war. If I go through the two Chous and strike Cheng, your state will fall in five days." Han believed this to be so and served Ch'in. 'Ch'in openly declared to Wei, "When I take An-yi and fortify Nii-chi, Han's T'ai-ytian will be roiled up tight. When I raze Chih-tao, Nan-yang, Feng and Chi, I will have embraced both Chous. Then by using the summer floods I can send my supply barges down the river with heavy crossbows in the lead and sharp pike-axes at the rear. I will isolate the mouth of the Ying and deny Ta-liang to Wei. I can cut off the mouth of White Horse and deny Chi-yang to Wei and sever Su-hsii so that Wei can no longer use Hsu or Tun-ch'iu. By land I will attack Ho-nei and by river T w i l l destroy Ta-liang." Wei believed this to be so and served Ch'in. 'Ch'in wished to attack An-yi but feared that Ch'i might come to its rescue, so she maligned Sung to Ch'i by saying: "The king of Sung is without scruple. He has made a wooden effigy of me and shoots arrows into its face. Now, my lands are distant from Sung, so I cannot attack her. But if your majesty were able to break Sung I would get the same satisfaction as taking it myself." 'But after Ch'in had got An-yi and fortified Nii-chi she laid the blame for the destruction of Sung on Ch'i. 'Ch'in wished to attack Han but feared the empire would come to her rescue, so she wronged Ch'i to the empire saying, "Four times Ch'i made a treaty with me and four times she has deceived me. Thrice she insisted on leading the empire against me. If Ch'i exists Ch'in cannot, if Ch'in exists Ch'i cannot. She must be attacked. She must be destroyed." 1
1
'Having already got Yi-yang, Shao-ch'u, and even Lin and Shih, This is almost totally unrelated to Chang Yi's threats to the king of Han, cf.
S C 70/29.
THE B O O K
OF Y E N - KING
C H A O
541
dh'in then pretended that the destruction of Ch'i was the crime of the empire as a whole. 'Ch'in wished to attack Wei and increase her intercourse with Ch'u, so Ch'in abandoned Nan-yang to Ch'u saying, "Since I am about to sever peaceful relations with Han, I have destroyed Chun-ling and sealed off Min-ai. Whatever results in profit for Ch'u is as good as benefit to myself." 'When Wei deserted her ally Ch'u and joined with Ch'in, Ch'in blamed Ch'u for the sealing off of Min-ai and used it as a pretext for war. 'When her troops were in difficulty in Lin-chung, Ch'in made much of Yen and Chao. To Yen she abandoned Chiao-tung and to Chao she abandoned Chi-hsi. But after she had settled with Wei she took Kungtzu Yen as a hostage and used the to find pretexts to send her troops against Chao. When her troops were hurt at Li-shih and defeated at Ma-ling and she wanted alliance with Wei, she abandoned She and Ts'ai to Wei. But when she had settled with Chao she turned to plunder Wei. She would not cede Wei the lands she had promised and when pressed she exploited the queen mother and Marquis Jang as peacemakers. But when she was winning, Ch'in would cheat even his royal mother and brother. 'Ch'in then accused Yen of seizing Chiao-tung and Chao of taking Chi-hsi. Of Wei she said, "They took She and Ts'ai", and about Ch'u, "She cut off Mang-ai." Ch'i was accused of taking Sung. Ch'in uses her words like manacles and her troops as poisonous insects [?]. The king of Ch'in's mother cannot restrain him nor his uncle limit him. 'In the battles of Lung Chia, An-men, Feng-ling, Kao-shang, and Chao Chuang, Ch'in slew several million citizens of the Three Chin and those who survive today are the orphans of men killed then by Ch'in. 'In the area beyond Hsi-ho, in Shang-lo, and San-ch'uan, the Three Chin surrendered half of their total lands. Since the calamity of Ch'in is of this magnitude I am greatly disquieted that Yen and Chou should 1
hsi-shou
2
1
This w o u l d appear to be the same place as the M a n g - a i , w r i t t e n w i t h somewhat different characters, b e l o w . i.e. M i n - a i (?). 2
542
THE B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
C H A O
secretly seek relations with Gh'in and indulge in wrangling with one another for the privilege of persuading Ch'in's ruler.' The king of Yen stopped what he was doing and Su Tai became honoured in Yen again. Yen then turned about and made treaties with the Lords as it was in the days of Su Ch'in. Some joined, others did not. From this time the empire followed the alliances of the Su family. Li and Tai both were honoured by all the Lords and each lived to a ripe old age. SPTK 9.29b KY70. 1
467 T h e C h ' u envoy
and the famine
in Yen
There was famine in Yen. Chao was on the verge of attacking her, so Ch'u sent an envoy to Yen. When the envoy passed through Wei he saw Chao Hui who said to him: 'Working to avoid disaster is much easier than rescuing someone after a disaster. [Wu Tzu-hsu, and Kung Chih-ch'i were not used, but Chu Chih-wu arid Chang Meng-t'an were rewarded handsomely.] For this reason the planner always addresses himself to ways of avoiding calamities and works in advance to keep them from happening at all. 'If I were to make you a parting gift of a hundred in gold it would not be as valuable to you as a few words. Hear me, then, and say the following to the king of Chao: "In the past W u attacked Ch'i because Ch'i was suffering a famine. The attack on Ch'i was never certain of success but what did happen allowed a weak Yiieh to seize upon Wu's weariness and become Hegemon. Your majesty is at present planning to attack Yen because she is suffering famine. This attack is not certain of success either, but mighty Ch'in is certain to use its troops against your western frontier. In this way you will be using a weak Chao to play the part that once was played by a powerful W u and causing mighty Ch'in to act out the role which eventually made weak Yiieh Hegemon. I wish your majesty would consider his plans carefully."' 1
1
T h e seventeen characters here translated must c o m e f r o m elsewhere.
THE
B O O K
OP YEN
- KING H U I
543
The Ch'u envoy did. persuade Chao in this manner. The king of Chao was delighted with the man and he desisted. "When King Chao of Yen heard this he enfeoffed the Ch'u envoy. SPTK 9. 32b KY71.
8
468 T h e mussel,
the heron,
and the
fisherman
Chao was about to attack Yen. Su Tai spoke to King Hui on Yen's behalf: 'Today as I came here I crossed over the Y i River and a large mussel had just opened its shell to sun itself. Along came a heron to peck its flesh and the mussel closed up on the bird's beak. "If it does not rain today or tomorrow there will be a dead mussel here", said the heron. "If he does not leave today or tomorrow there will be a dead heron here", replied the mussel. Neither was willing to relax his grip, so along came a fisherman and bagged them both. 'Now if Chao attacks Yen, Yen and Chao will be able to hold each other off for a long while and exhaust their citizenry. I fear then that Ch'in will play the fisherman. Please give this your most mature consideration, your majesty.' 'Good', said the king, and desisted. SPTK 9. 32b KY71.
12
K I N G H U I (278-272 B.C.)
469 Y u e h Y i corresponds
w i t h the king
of Yen
The Lord Ch'ang-kuo, Yueh Yi, acting for King Chao of Yen, united the five states, attacked Ch'i and reduced more than seventy of her cities. They became commanderies and prefectures of Yen. Only
THE
544
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
H U I
1
three towns remained to Ch'i when King Chao of Yen died. After King Hui of Yen took the throne he employed a man who was a Ch'i agent. The king was made to be suspicious of Yiieh Y i and sent Ch'i-chieh to replace him. Yiieh Y i fled to Chao where he received the title of Lord Wang-chu. T'ien Tan of Ch'i duped Ch'i-chieh, his troops defeated the Yen armies, and the seventy towns were restored to Ch'i. The king of Yen was full of remorse and fear that Chao would use Yiieh Y i against Yen while she was still weak. He sent an envoy as proof that he, the king of Yen, deferred to Yiieh Y i , and apologized to him as follows: 'My predecessor turned the direction of his country over to you, general, and you responded by defeating Ch'i and avenging my ancestors. Everyone in the empire was shaken by your feat. Is it likely that I should one day forget the merit you gained? It happened that my predecessor had dismissed most of his regular officers, and since I had just come to the throne, I was deceived by my attendants. I sent Ch'i-chieh to replace you, general, simply because you had been so long in the field that I wanted to give you a rest and plan the next steps with you. You misunderstood, assumed some rift existed between us, and rejected Yen in favour of Chao. You must make your own plans, of course, but is this the way to requite the treatment you had at the hands of my predecessor?' Yiieh Y i sent a letter by courier in answer to the king: Your servant has been incompetent, for he could not carry out the instructions of your predecessor in a fashion which fulfilled the expectations of your attendants. Because I deserved execution which I felt would damage your predecessor's reputation for knowing his men and also your majesty's hope for the fame of his predecessor -1 fled to Chao. I accepted the fact that I had acted unworthily, and so I have not even attempted an explanation until now. Today, however, you have sent an envoy to enumerate my crimes and I have some misgivings that your attendants and officers may not truly understand why your predecessor supported and honoured me and are, perhaps, unclear about the attitude I had toward serving him. This being so, I have ventured to write my reply. This is either the source o f S C ' s curious error (cf. C r u m p Intrigues, or it was b o r r o w e d f r o m SC.
1
p. 6 6 ; 69, 11)
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - KING
HUI
545
I have heard that the worthy sage ruler does not equip his family with fortunes. He uses the man who has earned much merit and does not strive to appoint those he cherishes to office. Whoever is competent he appoints. In the same fashion the successful ruler is one who discerns ability and appoints it to office, and the officer of repute is one who considers others' actions and then associates himself with them. When I looked at the behaviour of your predecessor in the light of all the knowledge I possessed, he appeared to have the loftiest ambition. So I begged a passport from the king of Wei to visit and examine Yen in person. Your predecessor did me too much honour: he placed me among his personal guests and raised me above his other officers - with no regard for kinsmen - making me his second in command. I honestly assumed that if I obeyed his commands and heeded his instructions, preferment would not lay me open to punishment, so I accepted his commission without demur. Your predecessor said: 'I bear so much resentment against Ch'i that it even outweighs the fact that my country is small and weak. I have determined to make Ch'i my mission!' 'Ch'i has a heritage of hegemony,' I replied, 'it has the benefit of numerous victories, it is trained in the use of weapons and practised in the arts of war. If you wish to attack her, your majesty, you must plan to do it with the rest of the empire. And if you plan to do it with the rest of the empire, nothing would be more straightforward than binding yourself to Chao! 'Furthermore, Ch'u and Wei are equally interested in the lands of Huai-pei and Sung. If Chao permits it, an agreement using all the strength of Ch'u and Wei could be arranged. If four countries set upon Ch'i she will be destroyed.' 'Good', said your predecessor. Having been given orders from his own mouth and holding all the credentials needed, I went southward to Chao. In no time the other Lords raised their troops and we attacked Ch'i. By the will of heaven and the presence of your predecessor all the lands north of the Yellow River followed his lead and raised troops, 1
1
W i t h Y o k o t a et a l . Sung is superfluous here.
THE BOOK
OF Y E N - K I N G
HUI
and he had them with him in Chi-shang. The armies at Chi-shang obeyed my command to strike Ch'i and gained a great victory. The fast troops of the vanguard struck straight for the capital and the king of Ch'i fled for Chii - barely able to save his own person. His wealth and treasure, the most beautiful chariots and armour all were booty for Yen. The great bell Ta-lii was displayed in Yiian-ying palace; the Tripod was sent to the Hall of Calendars; Ch'i utensils were used on the Ning Terrace; the trees bordering Yen's capital, Chi-ch'iu, were bamboos from the Wen River in Ch'i. No one had achieved as much as your predecessor since the days of the Five Hegemons: he felt that this ambition could be satisfied and that 1 would never harm his destiny, so he gave me enough of his land to make me the equal of a lesser Lord. In all honesty I assumed that obeying his commands and attending his instructions I could accept preferment without incurring blame, so I took my patent without demur. I have heard that virtuous, sage rulers never laid waste the merit they established and so were famous in the histories of their countries; prescient ministers did not destroy the fame they achieved and for this reason were spoken of by later generations. When an ancestor succeeds in avenging insult, lays waste to an enemy state of ten thousand chariots, collects the wealth of eight centuries - even when he dismisses all his ministers - his precepts should not be lost to later ages. They are the rules which should be observed by officers of the government, and should regulate families - indeed they should apply to the humblest - and they should be taught to succeeding generations. I have also heard that what is well begun is not always well completed; what starts out as good does not always end that way. In the past W u Tzu-hsii's persuasions were heeded by Ho-lii and so the king of W u left his marks even on the capital of Ch'u. But Fu-ch'ai did not think he was right and had him murdered, and his corpse floated down the Yangtze. Another king of Wu, therefore, did not comprehend that early estimation can lead to success, so he drowned Tzu1
2
3
1
2
3
F o l l o w i n g H s u K u a n g w h o m Y o k o t a prefers. See K i e r t n a n , p . 72, n . 56, for a discussion o f these objects and sites. W i t h Y o k o t a et a l . Wt. is excrescent.
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
H U I
547 1
hsii with no compunctions. Tzu-hsii did not recognize soon enough that the two rulers were of unequal capacities, so he remained inflexible even when he was thrown in the river. To add to your predecessor's fame while preserving myself and maintaining my merit was my guiding plan. To be destroyed unjustly and thereby reduce the reputation of your predecessor is my greatest fear. To expose myself to an unimaginable punishment by taking the chance of profit is the last thought I would entertain. It is my understanding that a gentleman of old would have no breath of scandal attached to his departure and a faithful minister leaving a country never had to cleanse his name. Though I am not clever, I have received instructions many times from gentlemen. I fear you have believed the persuasions of attendants and have not examined the reasons for my keeping my distance. This is why I dared write and I only hope your majesty will give the letter his attention. SPTK 9.34a 2
3
4
K Y 7 1 .9
470 C h a n g C h ' o u and the border
guard
When Chang Ch'ou was hostage in Yen, the king wanted him executed and he fled. While crossing the border he was apprehended by a border guard. 'The king of Yen wants me killed', said Ch'ou to the guard, 'because someone told him I have a pearl of great price and he wants it. I long ago lost it but the king refuses to believe me. If you turn me in I shall say that you took the pearl from me and swallowed it. Your king will have you killed and drawn and turn your entrails inside out to find it. 'If you want to turn me over to your ruler I cannot dissuade you 5
S P T K has /p. |SC. Surely K i e r m a n , 'not transmuted', is m o r e obscure than necessary. B y leading C h a o against Y e n . ' d i d not utter recriminations', K i e r m a n . W i t h Y o k o t a , w h o thinks |SL ought to have been « F o l l o w i n g Y o k o t a . SP T K has & . 1
2
3
4
548
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
HSI 1
by offering you anything; but remember, if I am taken it is your vitals which will be chopped to pieces!' The guard was frightened and let him go. SPTK 9. 38a 2
KY71.2
K I N G HSI (254-222 B.C.)
471 T h e k i n g of Yen writes
a letter
of
apology
King Hsi of Yen sent Li Fu with a hundred in gold to wish king Hsiaoch'eng of Chao long life. Three days later he reported back. 'All of Chao's men of conscript age died in the battle of Ch'angp'ing and their orphaned sons are not old enough to serve,' said he. 'Chao can be invaded!' The king summoned Yiieh Chien, Lord Ch'ang-kuo, and asked his opinion. 'Chao has secure borders on all sides and its people are practised in battle - we cannot make war on her', he replied. 'Suppose I double my forces for an attack, could we then?' 'No.' 'If I triple them?' 'No.' The king became furious and his attendants all assured him that Chao should be attacked. He hastily raised six hundred thousand troops for the assault, dispatched Li Fu with four hundred thousand against Hao, and Ch'ing Ch'in with two hundred thousand against Tai. Chao met Li Fu in Hao with eighty thousand troops under Lien P'o and Chao's general Yiieh Ch'eng with fifty thousand met Ch'ing Ch'in at Tai. The Yen generals were badly defeated. Yiieh Chien had fled to Chao, so the king of Yen apologized by letter: 3
1 g|=3j i
sa
fairly c o m m o n equation i n C K T .
Han-fei, p. 6 1 6 - L i a o I , 229 - where the story is t o l d o f W u Tzu-hsii. S C mentions C h a n g C h ' o u twice but not i n connection w i t h this story. T h e story is passed o n t h r o u g h W u - Y u e h C h ' u n - c h ' i u and T u n g - C h o u L i e h - k u o C h i h w i t h W u T z u - h s i i as its hero. S C has m & . 2
3
THE B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
HSI
549
I am not clever and so did not accept and follow your reasoning. The fact that you have gone to Chao with great loss to my state makes my own inability very clear. I would like to speak to you and tell you my desires but you might not listen to me. For this reason I send my messenger to present my ignorant opinions for your consideration. It is said that the humane do not lightly sever relations and the wise do not easily show anger. All the world knew how it was between you and my predecessor, so I hoped that if I did something wrong you would conceal it; I did not expect you to deliberately expose me to all. I hoped that if I transgressed you would teach and admonish rather than abandon me for all to see. There is not a soul in the state who does not know of my guilt nor one in the empire who has not heard about it. You left in secret thereby manifesting your anger when you deserted me. There is no doubt that I have been at fault. On the other hand I fear you have been less than generous. There is a saying, 'The generous do not destroy others to benefit themselves; the humane will not imperil others for the sake of a name.' So it is the behaviour of a generous man to screen the misdeeds of another and it is the custom of the humane man to rescue another from his folly. If there were only one man in all the empire who could be expected to screen my transgressions and rescue me from my folly, would he not be you, sir? You are honoured today because of the post you held under my predecessor, but since you have lightly abandoned me for your own satisfaction I am not likely to be screened or rescued by you! But it is precisely when the world holds someone in low esteem that generosity can be shown; kindness can be demonstrated best when someone has acted foolishly. That I am today taxed with an unworthy 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
After H H ' M and Y o k o t a . M y w i s h for y o u to return, that is. This is p r o b a b l y an error i n v i e w o f what is later said. H H has ' n o one i n the state'. W i t h o u t asking permission. H 45, to secure a name. W i t h Y o k o t a ȣc is an error for I S , an interrogative, as it is i n H H . This certainly indicates that Y i i e h Y i is the m a n i m p l i e d . S C says he was the son o f Y i but this is s i m p l y a w a y o f fixing up the bad anachronisms. 1
2
8
4
5
6
7
550
THE
BOOK
O F Y E N - K I N G HSI
offence and you are therefore involved in an ungenerous act of your choosing was of no one's wanting. A country has sealed borders and a home is enclosed by walls to protect what is good in them and to shelter them from what is not good outside. Rooms are not open to each other, and when one speaks to a neighbour it is not to reveal secrets. Resentments are not to be shown, and to reject home or country openly is not doing one's best to be generous. Now, though I have been unworthy, I am not so depraved as King Chou of the Y i n dynasty. You have not been treated as you wished; but neither have you suffered as did Shang Jung or Chi-tzu. None the less you did not shield your ruler in his own state but made your resentment clear to foreign countries. This action of yours, I fear, will mar your reputation among men of the highest honour and cheapen your conduct. If this were not so, if this action contributed to your reputation and made evident your sense of duty, then even though my name were damaged by your act it would not be so difficult to bear. If by wanting to expose me as ungrateful you reveal a lack of magnanimity, if by wanting to spread my shame abroad you lose honour yourself, it would seem that you are exchanging two evils for one "good. Since a man of conscience will not harm another to benefit himself, how much less should he wound another to harm himself! It is my hope that you will not compromise the accomplishments of the past because of my unworthiness. O f old Liu-hsia Hui held a post in Lu and was thrice degraded but did not leave the state. Someone asked if he should not leave. 'If I have a falling out with the ruler would I not be effectively dismissed whether or not I leave the country? This being the case, I would simply rather remain in my native state.' 1
2
Because Liu-hsia Hui did not feel himself compromised by three dismissals, we of this age do not forget his past accomplishments; because he did not set his heart on flight, today he has no detractors See S C 30/30, 80/14; H S W C p. 57, 90. T h i s is a bit o d d since b o t h o f these m e n were ignored (according to tradition) exactly as Y i i e h C h i e n was. A n a l e c t s (Legge, p. 195) has a loftier tone: ' S e r v i n g m e n i n an upright w a y where shall I g o and n o t experience such a thrice repeated dismissal. I f I choose to serve m e n i n a c r o o k e d w a y [why] leave the country o f m y parents?'
1
2
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
551
HSI
near or distant. Today, nobody in our country knows my mistake but I am being criticized all over the empire. The saying goes, 'Do not judge others as your emotions would judge them; do not criticize them lest they be harmed.' The humane do not lightly sever relations; the wise do not treat merit unceremoniously. He who arbitrarily discards great merit has halted his progress; he who lightly cuts himself off from great benefit has fallen prey to his own resentments. To end a career by abandoning it or to compromise oneself out of resentment is perhaps proper for others less close to me. But I hardly expected it of you. Had I not offended you you would certainly not harbour ill feeling toward Yen. So put resentment aside, remember only your relations with my ancestor, and return and instruct me! But you may say, 'I am happy to see your faults find you out and I will disregard what was between your ancestor and me in order to reveal your bad action.' This will prevent me from either going on to regain good esteem or retreating to rectify my errors. But it is in your hands. In the hope that you will think over my ignorant views on the matter I respectfully present them to you by letter. [Yiieh Chien and Yiieh Ch'eng, angered because their advice had not been heeded, remained in Chao and did not reply.] SPTK 9. 38a 1
2
3
4
5
KY71.3
6
472 C h a o takes advantage of an a l l i a n c e with Y e n , but is frustrated by a resourceful
C h ' i n to attack diplomat
7
Ch'in and Chao arranged a treaty and Chao started north to meet the 1
Indicating h o w unlike L i u - h s i a H u i Y i i e h C h i e n is. F o l l o w i n g S e k i , It: is probably an error for ? i . After Y o k o t a . *i!8 = ?ft; Y o k o t a etal. 2
3
W u Shih-tao, K u Y e n - w u and other commentators feel the H H version is 'correct'. I n i t K i n g H u i o f Y e n sends a letter to Y i i e h Y i . F o l l o w i n g Y o k o t a etal., # = but note that the k i n g o f Y e n is congratulating the k i n g o f C h ' i n o n it. There seems to be a degree o f submission i m p l i e d . 6
7
552
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - K I N G
HSI
1
Yen troops. When the king of Yen heard of it he sent an envoy to congratulate the king of Ch'in. The envoy passed through Chap and the king of Chao had him seized and bound. 'Ch'in and Chao are now one,' said the envoy, 'and the empire submits to this combination. What will make Yen submit to you is the presence of Ch'in. I am on a mission to Ch'in and i f I am seized and bound by Ch'in's ally, Chao, it will cause ill feeling between the two. If there were ill feeling between Ch'in and Chao the empire would no longer yield nor would Yen submit to Chao. Besides, my mission to Ch'in in no way hinders Chao's attack on Yen.' The king of Chao was convinced and sent him on his way. 'It has come to the attention of the king of Yen that Ch'in has subdued Chao,' said Yen's envoy to the king of Ch'in, 'so my king has sent me to convey his congratulations to your majesty with this gift of a thousand in gold.' 'But the king of Yen is not doing the proper thing,' replied the king of Ch'in, 'for I have pledged the kingdom of Yen to Chao! Why should you felicitate me?' 'I have heard it said', replied the envoy, 'that when Chao was a whole state she had Ch'in for her neighbour on the south and Yen, at Hsiach'ii Yang, in the north. At that time she was three hundred li broad. But now she has been resisting Ch'in for fifty years and. can no longer win battles against her for she has become a minor state with no more land to draw on. If you cause Chao to annex Yen in the north, Yen and Chao will combine their strength and Chao will no longer take her orders from Ch'in! Out of respect for your majesty, I am distressed at the thought.' The king of Ch'in was convinced, mustered his troops and rescued Yen. SPTK 9.41a 2
3
KY71.4
1
H a v i n g the security o f a C h ' i n treaty C h a o attacks Y e n , also i t is i m p l i e d later that a free h a n d against Y e n was part o f the agreement. Y o u must because o f A and because o f B there is n o h a r m i n d o i n g it. i l r is added i n S P T K and Y o k o t a ' s note implies the same meaning. 2
3
THE
BOOK
OF Y E N - K I N G
HSI
553
473 C h i n g K ' o the
assassin
1
The heir of Yen, Prince Tan, had. been hostage to Ch'in and escaped only to find that Ch'in was about to wipe out the Six States and that her troops had advanced to the banks of the Y i River. Tan feared that calamity was about to reach Yen and it grieved him. 'Yen and Ch'in cannot exist together,' said Tan to his tutor, Chu Wu, 'you must devise a plan against her.' 'Ch'in's territories lie athwart the empire,' replied Wu, 'and if the clans of Han, Wei and Chao have been intimidated, can any place north of the Y i River be secure? Is anger over your insult at Ch'in's hand? an excuse to ruffle her poison scales?" 'Then what can be done?' 'If you will excuse me I will think about it.' A while later General Fan defected from Ch'in and fled to Yen and the heir gave him asylum. 'You cannot do this!' warned Chii W u . 'The king of Ch'in's cruelty and his grievances against Yen are already enough to chill the heart. What will happen when he hears that General Fan is here? It is like tossing fresh meat in front of a hungry tiger. Nothing can save us. Even if you had the advice of a Kuan-tzu or a Yen-tzu they could devise no scheme for this! Your highness must send General Fan out to the Hsiung-nu so that Ch'in can not use him as a pretext for attacking you. Afterwards you must make a treaty with the Three Chin in the west; to the south you must ally us with Ch'i and Ch'u and in the north you must come to terms with the Ch'an-yu. Then we may be able to devise a plan.' 2
3
4
T h o u g h this account is obviously w e l l - w r o u g h t fiction (cf. P r i n c e D a n of Y a n n translated b y C h e n g L i n , Shanghai, W o r l d B o o k C o . , 1946) the assassination attempt b y C h i n g K ' o has better historical credentials than almost any other event i n C K T . Ssu-ma C h ' i e n (cf. W a t s o n , I . ) implies that he had personally spoken to a m a n w h o k n e w one o f the m e n present at the C h ' i n court the day i t happened. 1
2
Traditionally, T a n was ill-used w h i l e hostage i n C h ' i n . Surely the heir apparent c o u l d not have had this m u c h p o w e r over state p o l i c y unless i t suited the writer o f a romance. T h e title o f the chief o f the H u n s . 3
4
554
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - KING
HSI
'My tutor's plans involve much time and he is blind to the fact that we have hardly any left to us', said Prince Tan. 'Not only that, but General Fan was rejected by all others and turned to me. I do not propose to allow mighty Ch'in to force me to abandon all demands of compassion and place him among the Hsiung-nu. That will only happen after I am dead. Think further.' 'Master T'ien Kuang is in Yen', replied Chu W u . 'His great wisdom is rivalled only by his great bravery. You could consult with him.' 'I should like you to bring Master T'ien and me together.' 'I obey your command', replied Chii Wu. He went to see T'ien Kuang and said: 'My prince would like to consult with you, Master, on plans for his state.' 'I will honour your instructions,' said T'ien Kuang; and he went to the prince. The heir greeted T'ien kneeling and led him to his seat without turning his back to him. When Master T'ien was seated and all attendants had left, the heir arose and made his request. 'Ch'in is Yen's mortal enemy and I wish you to give this your attention, Master.' 'I have heard that in his prime the stallion Chi could gallop a thousand li in a day,' replied Ti'en Kuang. 'But in his declining years the worst nag could outrun him. Your highness has heard of me as I was in my prime and is not aware that I have declined greatly. However, though I would only be a detriment to affairs of state, Ching K'o, a man with whom I am on good terms, can be of use.' 'Will you please arrange things with Ching K'o?' asked the heir. 'Certainly', replied T'ien Kuang and he rose to hurry off. The heir escorted him, and when they reached the door left him with this injunction: 'What I have told you and your replies to me are matters of state; do not divulge them.' T'ien Kuang bowed his head and laughed. 'As you command', said he, and walked off with head still bowed to see Ching K'o. 'You and I are friends, as all of Yen knows', said T'ien Kuan to 1
2
1
2
After Seki. W i t h S P T K , the 0 is superfluous.
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
HSI
used
555
Ching K'o. 'Today the prince heard of me as I to be and, not knowing that I can no longer be of use, he graciously said, "Yen and Ch'in cannot exist together and I wish you would put your thoughts to this." But I would not for a moment have him deceived so I told him of you and he wishes you to come to the palace." 'I am at your command', replied Ching K'o. 'I have heard that honourable men never act in a fashion to cause others to doubt them', continued T'ien Kuang. 'Yet this day the prince cautioned me not to allow anything of what we said leak out for it was a matter of state. He said it because he doubted me. If my conduct has been such that any man can doubt me then I am not an officer of spotless honour.' And since T'ien Kuang wished to make his suicide a spur for Ching K'o he said, 'Go straightway to the prince and say to him that Kuang has already died to make it clear he will never talk.' With that he cut his throat and died. When K'o saw the prince he told him that T'ien Kuang was dead and related what Kuang had said to him. The prince bowed twice and then knelt; still kneeling he moved to his seat and wept. After a while he spoke: 'I cautioned Master T'ien to say nothing because I was anxious for our important plans to succeed. Alas, I never intended him to die to prevent these matters being divulged.' When Ching K'o had been seated the prince rose from his mat and made deep obeisance. 'Master T'ien did not know how unworthy I am, but he sent you to me, and you are willing to speak to me, so I know that heaven has taken pity on Yen and has not abandoned us. 'At present Ch'in is insatiable. Short of subduing the entire world and bringing all the kings in it to her feet she cannot be satisfied. She has taken the king of Han prisoner and annexed his lands. Further, she has mounted attacks southward on Ch'u and northward on Chao. Her general Wang Chien at the head of several hundred thousand troops is approaching Chang and Yeh, and L i Hsin has sent out his troops against T'ai-yiian and Yiin-chung. When Chao becomes unable to withstand Ch'in and submits, calamity will be upon us. Yen is small and weak and has been devastated many times by attacks. Today she could not withstand Ch'in even though her entire population were conscripted;
55«
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - KING
HSI
in addition, the Lords have all submitted to Ch'in, so they would not dare join us in alliances against her. 'But I have a secret plan. It is my worthless opinion that if one daring man, the bravest in the empire, were sent to Ch'in and given something valuable enough to get him in to an audience with the king, Ch'in would be so covetous of the prize that this man would be able to do what he wanted. Oh how wonderful to plunder Ch'in alive so that he would have to return all the lands he has invaded - just as Ts'ao Mei did with Duke Huan of Ch'i! And if the king claimed that he could not do it, he would be stabbed. Then all his great generals and their armies would mutiny outside Ch'in, and confusion would overtake Ch'in itself. Then master and servant would look with suspicion on one another and during this time the Lords could form an alliance to make certain that the state of Ch'in was made to repay what she has taken. This is what I want so much. But I do not know who should be given the commission.Would my minister Ching give it his attention?' For a long time Ching K'o said nothing, then: 'This is a grave matter of state. I fear I am unequal to the commission.' The prince then prostrated himself before Ching K'o and begged him not to refuse. In the end Ching accepted. From then on the heir apparent honoured Ching K'o as chief among his ministers, housing him in the best quarters, visiting him each day to hear his wishes and supplying him with the choicest beeves and the rarest objects. From time to time he supplied him with chariots, horses, lovely women just as Ching K'o wished. For the prince wanted him satisfied in every fashion. Some time passed and Ching K'o showed no signs of leaving. The Ch'in general, Wang Chien, defeated Chao, captured her king and seized all her lands. Then he advanced his armies to the north and invaded the territory as far as the southern boundaries of Yen. Prince Tan was frightened and pleaded with Ching: 'Ch'in troops will reach the Y i River any day. When that happens I could no longer treat you with honour even though I might wish to!' 'Had you not spoken of it, your highness,' replied Ching K'o, 'I 1
1 a m here t r y i n g t o translate Y o k o t a ' s choice o f Ufa ^ of S C and S P T K .
1
*f instead o f the ft'l ^ SI
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - KING
HSI
557
would still have departed for Ch'in, but if I were to leave now I would bear with me nothing important enough to gain me audience in Ch'in. However, at this moment the king of Ch'in offers a thousand catties of gold and a fief of ten thousand families for the return of General Fan. If I had General Fan's head and a map of Yen's rich lands of Tu-k'ang to offer the king of Ch'in, he would be delighted to see me. And so I might avenge your highness.' 'General Fan turned to me for asylum in his extremity and I will not lose my honour for the sake of my own strategems. You must think of something else, sir.' When Ching K'o knew the heir would not ignore claims of sanctuary he went himself to General Fan Yii-ch'i and said: 'Ch'in has used you very badly indeed, general. Your parents and clan have been wiped out and I hear that Ch'in is offering a thousand catties of gold and a fief of ten thousand families for your head. Do you intend to do nothing in revenge?' The general raised his face to the heavens, sighed deeply and weeping said: 'Whenever I am reminded of the disgrace the very marrow of my bones aches. But I can think of no remedy.' 'Suppose a single conversation could relieve Yen from its predicament and avenge you, general, what would you do?' Fan Yii-ch'i came forward: 'How could I help in this?' 'I want your head to offer the king of Ch'in. Ch'in will be delighted and will give me an intimate audience at which time I shall seize his sleeve with my left hand and with my right I shall stab him through the breast. By that stroke you will be avenged, general, and the insult Yen suffered wiped out. How say you?' Fan Yii-ch'i pulled his garment away from one side of his throat and grasped his right wrist with his left hand. Coming forward, he said: 'I have gritted my teeth night and day and eaten my heart away in 1
2
3
Ifo w h i c h does not appear i n S P T K was probably a gloss o n w h i c h then became }f£ i n the text. 2 S C S o - y i n says, ' B r a v e men, w h e n s u m m o n i n g up determination, used to l a y hold o f their right wrists w i t h their left hands.' "Where this interesting piece o f information comes f r o m is not clear. L i n Y i m - m i n g says he h e l d his wrist preparatory to cutting his throat (to steady it?). 3 After S P T K .
1
558
THE B O O K
OP Y E N - K I N G
HSI
the hope of hearing such as this!' And he slashed his throat then and there. When the prince heard of it he rushed to General Fan, flung himself upon the corpse and wept in great grief. But what was done could not be undone, so the head of Fan Yii-ch'i was put in a sealed container. Then the prince sought out the sharpest dagger in all the empire - it belonged to a man named Hsu in Chao - bought it for one hundred in gold and had it tempered and quenched in poison by an artisan. It was tested on men and when it drew so much as a thread of blood they perished instantly. These-the head and the map-were wrapped together to be sent with Ching K'o. Now, in Yen there was a killer named Ch'in Wu-yang who had murdered his first victim at the age of thirteen. No one dared even to look askance at him. The prince ordered him to accompany Ching K'o, although Ching K'o was waiting for another with whom he wanted to make the journey. This man lived a good distance away but K'o waited for him. When after some time Ching K'o did not leave, the prince feared he was temporizing and might be changing his mind. So he spoke to him again: 'Our time is almost run out', he said. 'My minister Ching is perhaps of another m i n i . Let me send Ch'in Wu-yang first.' Ching K'o shouted at him furiously, 'I am the one who goes forth today and will not return! I, with a single dagger, am entering Ch'in, that country of unimaginable power. I lingered only to wait for the friend with whom I wanted to travel. But if your highness feels that I delay overlong, let me take my leave immediately.' And with that he departed. The prince and guests who knew of the mission were all dressed in white mourning robes and caps to see him off. They went with him as far as the Y i River. He made sacrifice to the gods of the place to grant him a good journey. Kao Chien-li struck the strings of his lute and Ching K'o joined him, singing in a sad, minor key. All the officers 1
2
H e appears suddenly here and again at the very end o f this i t e m , p . 561, almost p?* as an afterthought. I f w e h a d the w h o l e romance ( o f w h i c h this item must be a J* part) it m i g h t n o t seem so abrupt. A n o t h e r tradition, b y w a y o f a fit o f S u n g Y i i and a p o e m o f T ' a o C h ' i e n , supplies another character, Sung J u - y i . zgli ' P r o b a b l y it's tune was m o u r n f u l ' , say the commentators and m y translation 3P™ reflects their guess. "2? 1
2
THE B O O K
OF Y E N - KING HSI
Hsiao-hsiao
559
who listened, wept. Then he walked away singing.: soughs the wind, oh Cold the waters of the Y i . The knight who leaves you now, oh You shall nevermore see. After this he sang the 'Song of the Generous Knight' and the eyes of all the officers grew angry and they bristled with resentment. Ching K'o walked to his carriage and left without a backward glance. "When he arrived in Ch'in he made gifts worth thousands in gold to Ch'in's closest ministers and to the king's favourite, Meng Chia. The latter preceded Ching K'o and said to the king of Ch'in: 'You have excited fear in the king of Yen who is so respectful of your majesty's might that he dare not raise troops to resist you but wishes to hand over his country and himself to serve you as vassal. He will pay tribute just as your majesty's prefectures and commandaries do if only he is allowed to maintain the temples of his ancestors. So great is his fear that he dared not come in person but - out of respect for your majesty-executed Fan Yii-ch'i and sent his head, together with a map of Yen's Tu-k'ang regions, by envoy to your majesty's court to hear your majesty's command and to obey your majesty's orders.' The king of Ch'in was overjoyed to hear this, commanded the court to wear ceremonial clothes and receive the envoy from Yen according to the usages of imperial ceremonies, and held audience with the envoy from Yen in the Hsien-yang Palace. Ching K'o bore the box containing Fan Yii-ch'i's head. Ch'in W u yang carried the map-container. As they approached the dais, one behind the other, Ch'in Wu-yang grew pale and shook so with fear that the courtiers noticed it. Ching K'o, looking back at him, laughed and moved forward to apologize for him: 'The ordinary mortal among northern barbarians has never been in the presence of the Son of Heaven so he trembles. Would your majesty please excuse him for a moment and when the audience is concluded summon him before you?' 'You may arise,' said the king to Ching K'o, 'and bring the map he is carrying.' K'o took the map and presented it. The king unrolled it and as he came to the end the dagger was exposed. Then K'o seized the king's
THE B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
HSI
sleeve with his left hand and gripping the dagger in his right he thrust. But before the point reached him the king started, drew back, and his sleeve tore away. He pulled at his sword but it was a long one and did not come free of its housing. The king panicked and the sword remained firm so he could not clear it rapidly. Ching K'o pursued the king and the latter dodged around a pillar. The ministers were all so dazed at the speed with which it happened that none of them could think, and all of them forgot their duties. Also, it was the law in Ch'in that no man who served the king on the dais could have so much as an inch of blade on his person and all the attendant guards were stationed below the platform and could not step up un- ; less ordered to. Now, when there was a crisis, there was no time to summon men-at-arms from below the dais. Ching K'o, therefore, could pursue the king of Ch'in, and the king was so fear-smitten that, having nothing else to use, he was beginning to strike K'o with his fists. At that moment Hsia Wu-chii, the physician, toppled Ching K'o ": over with his drug-bag. The king ducked around the pillar, not knowing what else to do, but his attendants were crying at him 'Pi -h your scabbard to the rear.' The king slid it behind him and then was able to draw, strike Ching K'o, and cut through his left leg, K'o fell ,yV and drew back his dagger to hurl it at the king. He missed and the, I?? dagger struck the pillar. The king again attacked K'o and wounded f t him eight times. Knowing he had failed, K'o propped himself against the pillar and £ laughed. He sprawled with his legs fanwise and cursed aloud: 'Thi thing failed because I wanted to plunder Ch'in alive and get the guarantees my prince desired.' After his attendants had come forward and beheaded Ching K'o, the?.f king fell into a faint which lasted quite a while. When he recovered. Iv 2 spoke of what rewards were due. All of his ministers he found wanting,' 2gp but he made a gift of two hundred measures of real gold to 1 Wu-chii. 1
2
3
1
T a k i g a w a notes that one edition o f S C has H 'vertical', w h i c h w o u l d maks,, better sense, for i f the scabbard o f a l o n g s w o r d hangs straight d o w n it is difficultt o extract the s w o r d until y o u tilt the scabbard. 2
3
After Y o k o t a e t a l . T h i s speech is n o t consistent w i t h others he made earlier, as T a k i g a w a points out.*
THE
B O O K
OF Y E N - K I N G
56i
HSI
'Wu-chii loves me,' he said, 'for he knocked Ching K'o down with his bag of drugs.' Then Ch'in showed her fury with Yen. She dispatched more troops to Chao and ordered Wang Chien's army to attack Yen forthwith. In ten months they took Chi-ch'eng. King Hsi of Yen, the heir apparent and others, leading Yen's best troops fled east for security into Liaotung. Li Hsin followed and struck them. The king, in panic, took the advice of King Chia of Tai, killed Prince Tan and offered his head to Ch'in. Ch'in again drove against them and in five years finally exterminated Yen and captured King Hsi. After Ch'in had unified the empire, Ching K'o's retainer, Kao Chien-li, gained audience with the Ch'in emperor and tried to club him to death with his lute to avenge Yen. He also failed and died. SPTK 9. 41b KY71.5I 1 Sec a l s o Watson I , p. 191. K ' a n - y e n remarks o f this item, ' A l m o s t exactly the same as [SC], but the biography has more felicitous phrasing i n i t . '
THE B O O K OF SUNG
D U K E C H I N G (516-469 B.C.)
474 M o - t z u convinces
the king of C t i u that S u n g is not worth attacking 1
Kung-shu Pan was chief artificer of Ch'u and Ch'u was about to attack Sung. When Mo-tzu heard of it he walked one hundred li a day on calloused feet until he reached Ch'u and had audience with Kungshu Pan. 'I heard of you in Sung, sir,' said Mo-tzu, 'and I would like to use you for the murder of my king.' 'But I have no intention whatever of killing any king', replied Kungshu Pan. , 'I have heard thatyou are preparing scaling ladders with which to attack Sung, though,' said Mo-tzu, 'and what crime has Sung committed against yov/? You would not murder a king but you would attach a state. This means that you would not kill few but you are willing to kill many. May I ask what sense it makes if you are willing to attack Sung ?' ' Kung-shu Pan was completely bested in the argument and arranged , an audience for Mo-tzu with the king. When Mo-tzu saw the king In. said: 'Suppose there were a man here, your majesty, and he abandoned his ^ painted and gilded coach and wanted to steal the ramshackle cart of his „neighbour. Or, suppose he discarded his brocaded and embroiden J coat because he coveted his neighbour's coarse, short jacket. Or supp< he gave up his meat and millet because he wanted to steal his n< hour's dregs and lees. What kind of a man would you take him to be" 'I should be certain that he was afflicted with the madness of avai 110.'. j A 'The territories of Ching are five thousand li square, those 1
1L e. C h ' u .
rm£
THE B O O K
OF S U N G - D U K E
563
CHING
Sung are five hundred. You may compare one with the ornamented coach and the other with a ramshackle cart. Ching has Yiin-meng, filled with rhinoceros, buffaloes, and deer, and the Chiang and the Han are full of fish, tortoise, giant turtles and great lizards - enough to feed the empire. Sung, on the other hand, is known as a land that even has too few pheasant, rabbits, and perch. So this is like exchanging meat and millet for dregs and lees. Ching has tall pines and beautiful catalpa, splendid and trees while Sung is devoid of commo tall timber. This is like the embroidered gown and the short jacket. So I find that your majesty's officers in their attack on Sung are behaving like men afflicted with the stealing sickness.' 'Good,' said the king, 'I shall not attack Sung.' SPTK 10. ia K Y 72. 2
pien-jan yii-chang
475 S u n g and C h a o p l a y at war and L i a n g is
pleased
The king of Wei was attacking Chao's capital of Han-tan and demanded troops from Sung. The ruler of Sung sent his envoy to make the following request of the king of Chao: The forces of Wei are vigorous and their power is great. Presently they are demanding that my humble prince supply them with soldiers against you. M y prince is afraid that if he does not comply it will mean the end of his country. But my prince said, "If Liang should attack Chao and truly harm her I could not bear it." Please give me instructions for my prince.' 'I would like to do as you ask,' replied the king of Chao, 'for I know Sung is no match for Wei and that weakening Chao to strengthen Wei is in no fashion beneficial to Sung, but what can I say to help you?' T shall request from you a border town which we will attack slowly and over which we will spend many days until you send down your officers to take over the place again.' 'Good', cried the king of Chao. 1
Sung forces were raised and crossed the Chao boundary to surround l
i.e. Wei.
5<54
THE
B O O K
OF S U N G - D U K E
CHING
a town there. The king of Liang was happy and said, 'The Sung forces are aiding my attack.' The king of Chao was also happy and said, 'The Sung forces will stop there.' [So troops were retired, the difficulty solved, obligation was placed upon Liang, Chao's anger was avoided, a name was made and advantage accrued.] SPTK 10. zb K Y 72. 4
476 A regent
is told how to prolong
his
rule
ta-yin,
Someone said to the 'The ruler is almost grown and he will soon take over the government himself leaving you unused. 'It were best if you got Ch'u to take special pains to congratulate the successor on his filial piety, which will deter the young ruler from taking the reins of government too quickly from his mother and will result in your being used in Sung forever.' SPTK 10. 3b KY72. 5
477 S u n g trades
on a promise of help from C h ' u in order to obtain peace with C h ' i
Sung and Ch'u were fraternal states. Ch'i attacked Sung and the king of Ch'u promised he would rescue her. Sung then traded on Chu's power to seek a favourable peace with Ch'i. Ch'i would not listen. Su Ch'in, on Sung's behalf, said to Ch'i's minister. 'It would be better for you i f you gave Sung her treaty just to make clear to Ch'u how shamelessly Sung traded on Ch'us power to get such a treaty. Ch'u, angered, will surely break off relations with Sung and serve Ch'i. With Ch'i and Ch'u united, taking Sung will be simple.' SPTK 10. b K Y 72. 6 3
THE
BOOK
OF S U N G - K I N G
T'1-CH'ENG
565
K I N G T T - C H ' E N G (369-329) B.C.
478 W h y T s a n g - t z u was sad Ch'i was about to attack Sung and Sung sent Tsang-tzu to beg succour of Ching. The king of Ching was delighted and promised help with protestations of great affection. Tsang-tzu returned with a sad face. 'Why should you look troubled when our request for help was granted ?' asked his charioteer. 'Sung is a small state and Ch'i is a great one. To rescue a small state and so gain the enmity of a great one should be something to distress the king of Ching, but instead he was delighted. I am certain he is encouraging us to fight so that by our increased resistance Ch'i will become exhausted. This would be very profitable for Ching.' After Tsang-tzu had returned, the king of Ch'i, as was expected, attacked and took five cities in Sung, and the soldiers of the king of Ching never arrived. SPTK 10. 4a K Y 72.1 1
K I N G K ' A N G (337-286 B.C.) 2
479 T h e wickedness
of K i n g K ' a n g
In the days of King K'ang of Sung a hawk was hatched in a tit's nest on the city wall. The astrologer was ordered to explain the omen and said, 'The small has borne the great; Sung will rule the empire.' The king was overjoyed. He destroyed the country of T'eng, attacked Hsiieh, and took the lands of Huai-pei. Because of these successes he became more puffed up. Desiring to hasten his hegemony over all, he shot heaven and cudgelled earth, chopped down his country's altars and burned them, saying: 'Even the gods of heaven and the spirits of earth shall submit to me.' He cursed the country's 1 After Y o k o t a , ft should here be f t 2 Usually referred to as ' P r i n c e Y e n ' .
566
THE B O O K
OF SUNG - KING
K ' A N G
elder ministers as so many faceless headdresses [?]; to show his fearlessness he cut open the deformities of the hunchbacked, hamstrung men who forded the river and his people were terrified. Ch'i heard of it and attacked him. His people fled and the cities were not defended. The king escaped to the hostel of Ni-hou where he sickened and died. [If an auspicious omen be seen and not acted [on?] it will turn into calamity. ] SPTK 10.4b 1
2
3
4
KY72. 8 1
Since the text is unclear here m y division o f it m a y be faulty as w e l l . T h i s is nonsense and always has been. I submit it should probably be HJ # (?) meaning club-footed (?) pigeon-toed(?). Thus, ' H e hamstrung the club-footed' w h i c h balances the phrase preceding it. 2
F r o m HH. A sententious s c h o l i u m h a v i n g little meaning as i t stands - it w o u l d appear that K i n g K ' a n g 'acted' a g o o d deal m o r e than was called for. 3
4
T H E B O O K O F W E I , T H E LESSER
D U K E L I N G (534-493 B.C.)
480 The
stove
When Duke Ling of Wei ruled he kept Yung Chii and Mi-tzu Hsia close to him. These men exercised all the powers of the ruler and barred the rest of his attendants from the sight of the duke. Falseface Fu-t'u Chen said to his ruler, 'The other night I dreamt I saw your highness.' 'And what did you dream then?' Tdreamt your highness was a stove.' The rulerflushedwith anger. 'I have heard that when one dreams of the ruler of men one dreams of the sun. How dare you dream of a stove and tell me it was I? If this is a persuasion, I shall allow it; if not, you will die.' 'The sun shines upon the whole world and nothing can obscure it. With a stove, however, this is not so: one man continually warming himself before it can prevent anyone else behind him from even seeing the fire. I fear there is someone warming himself close to your highness' fire and that is why I dreamt of a stove.' 'Well said', replied the ruler. He thereafter put Yung Chii and M i tzu Hsia aside and raised Ssu-k'ung Kou. SPTK 10. 5b 1
K Y 43.16a
1
T h i s is obviously a parable: not only is F u - t ' u C h e n (Falseface?) afictitious name but Y u n g C h i i , ' M r . Cancer', M i - t z u Hsia, ' M r . H i d e f l a w ' , and Ssu-k'ung K o u , 'the D o g - S h e r i f f ' are all satirical. T h i s being so, the case for this i t e m being properly a part o f 276 is very strong indeed.
S<58
THE B O O K
OF WEI, THE L E S S E R - D U K E T A O
D U K E T A O (468-450 B.C.)
48l N a n - w e n T z u discounts
a
threat
hsi-shou1
A when attacking Huang crossed over the territory of Lesser Wei and sent an envoy to say this to the ruler of Wei: 'My prince has led his troops through the outskirts of your great state but not a single official have you sent to wish him well. We presume you have taken some offence. When the city of Huang has fallen we will bring our troops to the walls of your great state to inquire about it.' The duke of Lesser Wei, terrified, collected and packed three hundred bolts of silk and three hundred measures of gold to be taken back by the envoy. Nan-wen Tzu halted these preparations and said: 'If they take Huang, they will not dare come back this way; but if they fail they will not risk it either. 'If his attack takes Huang, then the will have earned great merit and a good name; so those of a comparable rank in his state will begin finding fault with him. Those inside the palace will begin criticizing what he has done. Now, to hold a fine name and much merit and then to sit in one's chariot outside and try to forestall the criticisms that will go on inside the court is something the would not do even if he were stupid. 'If this attack does not succeed against Huang he will race back home, his heart shattered with fear, anxious that he may not be in time to avoid punishment. In this case would he be likely to attack Wei and risk aggravating further his earlier crime of being defeated?' Huang was taken and, as had been predicted, the led his troops directly home, not daring to pass through Wei. SPTK 10. 6a K Y 72. 3
hsi-shou
hsi-shou
hsi-shou
1
Traditionally supposed to be a hsi-shou
other than K u n g - s u n Y e n .
THE
B O O K
OF WEI, THE LESSER-DUKE T A O
569
482 N a n - w e n T z u suspects
a
gift
.f
Earl Chih was preparing to attack Lesser Wei so he presented its ruler with four hundred mustangs and a beautiful white jade pi. The king was overjoyed and his ministers all offered their congratulations, but Nan-wen Tzu looked distressed. 'The great state is very pleased with us', said the ruler to Nan-wen Tzu. 'Why then, do you look troubled?' 'One must always examine thoroughly a reward given for no merit and deference shown where no force has been applied. Four hundred mustangs and a white jade pi constitute the kind of gift a small state might give when serving a great one. But in this case the larger state makes the gift. Your majesty should ponder this.' The duke of Wei told his border guards what Nan-wen Tzu had said, and, as predicted, Earl Chih raised his troops to attack Wei. But when he reached the border he retired saying, 'There are worthy men in Wei, for they have anticipated my plans.' SPTK 10. 7a K Y 72. 9
483 N a n - w e n T z u averts
an
attack
Earl Chih wanted to attack Wei, so he pretended he was banishing his heir who was told to flee to Wei. Nan-wen Tzu said, 'The heir Yen is a prince. He is much loved and favoured at home and has not come here to escape punishment for some great offence. This is certainly done with special reason. Send some of our men to the border, and if the heir appears with more than five carriages, take all precautions and do not admit him.' Earl Chih heard of this and ceased his planned attack. SPTK 10. 7b K Y 7 2 . 10
570
THE B O O K
OF WEI, T H E LESSER - PRINCE
SSU
P R I N C E S S U (324-283 B.C.)
484 H u Yen saves P ' u Ch'in attacked Lesser Wei at P'u. Hu Yen inquired of Ch'u-li Chi, 'Are you attacking P'u for Ch'in's benefit or for Liang's? If you are doing it for Liang then you do well; if for Ch'in then you show bad faith. 'What allows Lesser Wei to remain Lesser Wei is its possession of P'u. If P'u were now made a part of Liang, Lesser Wei would simply be broken off by Liang. When Liang lost the area beyond Hsiho to Ch'in and could not regain it, it was because she was weak. If Wei is now annexed by Liang she will become powerful again; and the day she does will be a day of danger for the area beyond Hsi-ho. The king of Ch'in will look upon what you have done and conclude that you were harming Ch'in because you were working for Liang, and he will bear you malice.' 'What must I do, then? 'asked Ch'u-li Chi. 'If you will raise your siege of P'u and attack no longer, I will enter the town to explain the conditions to its guardian and oblige the ruler of Lesser Wei to your excellency.' 'Good', said Ch'u-li Chi. Hu Yen then entered P'u and said to its guardian, 'Ch'u-li Chi knows how P'u is suffering but he says, "I must take P'u." However, I am able to make him relax the siege and cease his attack.' Twice the guardian of P'u bowed to Hu Yen, gave goods the value of three hundred measures of gold to him and said, 'If the Ch'in troops truly do withdraw I shall request that you be generously treated by the ruler of Wei.' Hu Yen took the wealth from P'u and established himself with Lesser Wei. Ch'u-li Chi got the three hundred in gold and returned home. In addition he had obliged the ruler of Wei. SPTK 10. 7b K Y 73. 11 1
1
1 use L i a n g throughout this last section to decrease chances o f confusion w i t h Lesser W e i . T h e text gives W e i , not L i a n g , i n a l l cases.
THE
B O O K
OF WEI, T H E LESSER - PRINCE SSU
571
485 Master
W u - h s i a earns
his bribe
Lesser Wei sent a man to serve in the Liang court, but after three years he had not been given audience. Being greatly troubled, the Wei man saw Master Wu-hsia and tried to enlist his help with a gift of one hundred in gold. 'I will help you', said Master Wu-hsia and went to have audience with the king of Liang. 'I have heard that when Ch'in sends forth her troops, no one knows where they may go. Relations between Ch'in and Liang have long been cordial and I ask that your majesty proclaim service to Ch'in and give up all other plans.' 'I shall', said the king. 'Wu-hsia Tzu left, but having got as far as the porch gate he returned and said, 'I fear that you will delay too long proclaiming your allegiance to Ch'in.' ' Why do you fear that?' 'Men usually are too anxious to serve themselves and too slow to serve others. But since your majesty nowadays is remiss even in serving himself, is it likely he will be prompt serving others?' 'How do you know I am remiss?' 'There has been an officer from Lesser Wei here to serve you for three years already,' replied the Master, 'and he has yet to be given an audience. That is how I know your majesty is remiss.' The king of Liang hastily arranged for an audience with the man from Wei. SPTK 8.10b K Y 7 3 . 12
486 T h e price
of 1
extradition
During the time of the Successor in Wei, a petty criminal [?] escaped to Liang. Lesser Wei offered a bribe of one hundred in gold but did not get him back. Wei then offered its town of Tso-shih. A l l 1
i . e. Prince Ssu
572
T H E B O O K
OF WEI, T H E LESSER - PRINCE SSU
the "Wei ministers remonstrated and asked whether land worth a hundred in gold to buy back a criminal was not already enough. 'If it is well governed, no country is small', replied the ruler. 'If it is rebellious, no state is large. If its people are properly schooled, a city of three li1 is worth ruling. If all its people were shameless then though I had ten towns like Tso-shih what would it avail me?' SPTK 10. 9a KY73.14
487 Y i n S h u n - c h i i at the r u l e r s
death-bed
The Successor in Wei was ill. Fu Shu said to Yin Shun-chii, 'If you will listen to my words and then use them to persuade the ruler, not changing a single phrase, you will gain his favour. You should say: ' "The thoughts of a man still full of living differ from the mind of. one who nears death. ' "Previously your highness' actions were devoted solely to the search for great beauty, and so you employed Hsieh Ts'o and Na Pao. All your ministers assumed that your highness slighted his state because of his love of beauty, and so of course none ever spoke to you of affairs of state." 'Then you must say to the ruler, "Your highness' actions toward the empire have been badly in error. Hsieh Ts'o has made all decisions in the state and Na Pao has confirmed them. From your generation on, your highness, your descendants will never know a blood sacrifice." ' [When he had said this to the prince] the prince said, 'Good', and gave him the seal of minister saying, 'When I die you are to manage all matters.' When the Successor died, Yin Shun-chii in obedience to the ruler became minister to his son Ch'i and Hsieh Ts'o and Na Pao and their clans were exiled. SPTK 9.10b KY73-I3 2
1
2
After T o z a k i . M e a n i n g his line w i l l cease because of usurpation.
THE
B O O K
OF WEI, T H E LESSER - PRINCE
SSU
573
488 T h e tactless
bride
. . 'There once was a man of Lesser Wei who went to fetch his new wife. When she got into the carriage she asked, "Whose horses are those on the outside?" ' "They are borrowed", replied the driver. '"You may beat the two outside horses," said the new wife to the servant, "but not the centre one." 'When the carriage reached the door of the groom's house she cried to the old woman who was there to help her down, "Put out the fire in that stove, it's about to set something alight!" 'When she entered the house and saw the rice mortar she said, "Move it under the window, it is in the way where it is!" and the master of the household laughed at her. 'Now, all three things she said were matters of some importance but she was laughed at because she had said them at an inappropriate time.' SPTK 10.10a K Y 7 3 . 15 1
T h i s is obviously missing an introduction and probably something at the end as w e l l . It was certainly once a parable inside a persuasion.
THE B O O K OF C H U N G - S H A N
489 Yiieh
Yang
eats h i s son
Yiieh Yang was Wei's general in the attack against Chung-shan. His son was hostage in Chung-shan at the time and the ruler of that state had him boiled alive and made into a soup which was sent to Yiieh Yang. Yiieh Yang ate it and he was praised by one and all. [Yiieh Yang ate his son to show his loyalty. He made it clear that he would disregard the claims of fatherhood in favour of his devotion to duty.] SPTK 10. 12a KY74.9
490 T h e ruler
hsi-shou
of C h u n g - s h a n assumes 1
the royal
title
The raised three states to kingship and afterward Chung-shan also claimed kingship. 'I am ashamed to be a king i f the ruler of Chung-chan can be one too', said Ch'i to Chao and Wei; 'I wish to attack that country with the aid of your two great states in order to abolish its kingship.' When the ruler of Chung-shan heard this he was terrified and summoning Chang Teng he said to him, 'I called myself king and Ch'i said to Chao and Wei that she would be ashamed to hold the same title as I - and she wants to attack me. I fear the loss of my kingdom so I don't insist on the title, but you, sir, are the only one who can help me.' 'Supply me with many carriages and much wealth and give me your permission to speak to T'ien Ying of Ch'i', replied Chang Teng, and the ruler of Chung-shan sent him off to Ch'i. 1
F o l l o w i n g Y o k o t a , not five but three.
THE
B O O K
OF
C H U N G - S H A N
575
There Chang Teng had audience with Ying-tzu and said, 1 have heard that your excellency hopes to abolish Chung-shan's title of king and to do so you want to attack her together with Chao and Wei. This is a mistake. 'Three countries combined against something as small as Chungshan will certainly cause her to abandon the title of king and will make her obey your orders, but in her fear Chung-shan will abandon the title in favour of Chao and Wei and labour hard to become attached to them. This will be a case of your excellency's herding sheep so that Chao and Wei can eat mutton. There can be no profit in this for Ch'i. Would it be as good as causing Chung-shan to abandon the title and have her serve Ch'i?' 'What should we do to accomplish that?' asked T'ien Ying. 'You should notify Chung-shan this very day that you will treat with her and will allow her the title of king. Chung-shan will be delighted and will sever relations with Chao and Wei. Those two states in turn will become angry and attack Chung-shan. Chung-shan will panic and remembering that you once begrudged her the title of king, will abandon that title and serve Ch'i for you, fearing the loss of state as well as title. In this fashion your excellency will have abolished the kingship but secured the state as part of his own. This is infinitely better than herding sheep for Chao and Wei.' 'I shall do it', replied T'ien Ying. 'You must not', said Chang Ch'ou. 'I have heard that those with the same love hate each other but those with the same troubles grow closer. At the moment three states are recognizing each other and Chung-shan as kingdoms but Ch'i, the state with the sea at her back, will not join them in the recognition of Chung-shan. In this matter all save Ch'i have the same desire, kingships [for themselves and Chungshan] and all are troubled by the same thing namely, the state with her back to the sea, which will not recognize Chung-shan. 'If you summon the ruler of Chung-shan now, treat with him and grant him the title of king, you will be stealing from the three states in order to fatten the country with the sea at her back. You will be gaining Chung-shan and cutting off three states. This will strike a chill to the The piece is ambiguous here but I believe my additions make the most overall sense. 1
1
576
THE
BOOK
OF
C H U N G - S H A N
hearts of the three so they will all confirm Chung-shan's title and make her their close ally as well. You will grow closer to Chung-shan and farther from the three states. Chang Teng is by nature a man much given to devious schemes and has long advocated making the ruler of Chung-shan a king. It is difficult to believe there could be profit in this for Ch'i.' T'ien Ying did not heed him but did summon the ruler of Chungshan and recognized him as a king. After that Chang-Teng said to the states of Chao and Wei, 'Ch'i is about to attack the Ho-tung section of Wei. How do I know this? Did not the king of Ch'i express the greatest distaste for the title of king if Chung-shan assumed it? Well, presently he summons the ruler of Chung-shan, treats with him and confirms him in his title of king. This is because he wants to use Chung-shan's troops. 'Should your great states not anticipate him and be first to confirm Chung-shan in kingship thereby putting an end to Chung-shan's intercourse with Ch'i?' Chao and Wei agreed, confirmed the ruler of Chung-shan in his kingship and established close ties. Chung-shan in turn did sever ties with Ch'i and join an alliance with Chao and Wei. SPTK 10. iaa KY73.2
491 C h a n g Teng's
rehearsal
When Chung-shan, Yen and Chao declared themselves kings, Ch'i closed her borders to Chung-shan and would not let her envoys pass. Ch'i said, 'I am a state often thousand chariots and Chung-shan is one of a thousand chariots. How dare she assume a title the equal of mine?' After that she offered to cede P'ing-yi as an inducement to Yen and Chao to attack Chung-shan. Lord Lan-chu of Chung-shan was distressed by this and Chang Teng asked him, 'Why is your excellency upset over Ch'i?' 'Ch'i is a powerful state of ten thousand chariots', replied Lord Lan-chu. 'She is ashamed to share the same title with Chung-shan and 1
1
P r o b a b l y the same as L o r d W a n g - c h u ( Y i i e h Y i ) see
469.
THE
BOOK
OF
C H U N G - S H A N
577
she does not scruple to cede land and bribe Yen and Chao into an attack against Chung-shan. Yen and Chao are covetous of status and land,' he continued, 'and I fear they will not sustain us. At the worst the country is in danger and at the least the title of king is threatened. How shouldl not be troubled, then?' 'Please allow me to make both Yen and Chao support Chung-shan staunchly and thereby cause her title of king to be firm. Is this what your excellency desires?' 'This is what I want', replied Lord Lan-chu. 'Let us pretend that you are the king of Ch'i, then, and see if I can persuade you to do this thing.' 'I should like to hear your persuasion', replied Lord Lan-chu. 'Is it true that your majesty does not scruple to cede land as a bribe to Yen and Chao and you send forth your own troops to attack Chungshan because you want to make Chung-shan abandon the title of king?' 'It is.' 'Then what you are doing, your majesty, is both wasteful and dangerous. Ceding land to bribe Yen and Chao is simply a way to strengthen your enemies; and sending forth your own troops against Chungshan is to take on grave difficulties. If your majesty does both these things he has no assurance that Chung-shan will fall. But i f your majesty uses my method he will neither lose land not use troops yet Chung-shan will abandon the title. Now, at this point the king will certainly say, "What is the minister's method?" 'Oh', said Lord Lan-chu. 'All right, what is the minister's method?' 'Your majesty must send out an important mission,' continued Chang Teng, 'and the envoy must say to the ruler of Chung-shan for you, "The reason I have closed my borders against envoys from Chung-shan is because Chung-shan assumed the title of king consulting only Chao and Yen. I was not told of it and this is why I resisted it. If, however, you should see fit to make your way here and have audience with me, I should like to pledge my support also." 'Chung-shan still fears Yen and Chao will not support her and if the country of Ch'i offered to support her kingship she would certainly by-pass Yen and Chao to hold audience with your majesty. When Yen and Chao hear of it they will break off relations in anger. Then when you sever your relations with Chung-shan she will be completely
578
THE
BOOK
OF
CHUNG-SHAN
isolated and being isolated has she any choice but to abandon the tide? 'If I were to persuade the king of Ch'i with that speech would he do as he was told?' 'He would certainly heed it,' replied Lord Lan-chu, 'but this is all about how we must abandon the title. How can we preserve it, then?' 'This is how your king will preserve his title', said Chang-Teng. 'When Ch'i comes to her with these words Chung-shan will tell Yen and Chao of it and will not go to the Ch'i court. She will give Yen and Chao costly gifts. Then Yen and Chao will surely say, "Ch'i's offer of P'ing-yi to bribe us was not to cause Chung-shan to abandon the title of king but to drive us away from Chung-shan so that she herself could get closer to that small state." Though Ch'i offered a hundred P'ing-yi's, Yen and Chao would never accept them then.' 'Good', said Lord Lan-chu, and sent Chang Teng off. [As expected, Ch'i came with the speech he had predicted, Chungshan told Yen and Chao and refused to go to Ch'i. Yen and Chao did support Chung-shan, as predicted, and confirmed the king in his title.] [?]!' SPTK 10. 14a KY73.3
492 K u n g - s u n H u n g seeks to cast suspicion on but finds that it rebounds upon himself
another
Ssu-ma Hsi of Chung-shan was once its envoy to Chao and because of that sought to make himself chief minister in Chung-shan. Kung-sun Hung discovered it but kept the matter secret. Then when the ruler of Chung-shan went out in his carriage Ssu-ma Hsi acted as driver and Kung-sun Hung was a passenger. 'What would your majesty think of a man who used the threat of a foreign power to make himself your chief minister?' asked Kung-sun Hung. 1
P r o b a b l y a later commentary.
THE B O O K
579
OF C H U N G - S H A N
'I should eat every hit of his flesh myself allowing no one else a single piece!' Ssu-ma Hsi bowed and struck his head against the carriage rail. 'I know I am guilty and deserve death', said he. 'Why?' 'I am guilty of a crime.' 'Come into my carriage; I know all about it', replied the ruler. A while later Chao sent an envoy to urge that Ssu-ma Hsi be made chief minister. The king then grew deeply suspicious of Kung-sun Hung who then fled. SPTK 10.15b 1
KY74.4
493 Ssu-ma
H s i makes
h i s enemy
a
queen
Ssu-ma Hsi had thrice been chief minister of Chung-shan, but the ruler's favourite concubine, Ying Chien, was his enemy. T'ien Chien finally said to him 'Could you not, when the ambassador from the country of Chao arrives for secret talks, fill his ear with nothing but the beauties of Yin Chien? The king of Chao would then surely ask for her. If your ruler gives her to Chao, you will have settled your internal troubles. If he refuses to give her to Chao then you should urge your ruler to take Yin Chien as his queen. In this way you would gain boundless favour with Yin Chien.' And so it came about that he did cause Chao to ask for Yin Chien, and the ruler of Chung-shan refused to give her to Chao. Ssu-ma Hsi then told his ruler, 'Sire, if you refuse, the king of Chao will be greatly angered, and you will be in danger. But, i f you were to take her as your legal wife, surely there has never been a time when 1
Because he had seemed to k n o w what C h a o was g o i n g to d o and so probably caused C h a o to do it?
S8o
THE
B O O K
OF
C H U N G - S H A N
a man asked, for another's wife and was then angered when he was refused!' [Thus it was that T'ien Chien's scheme for the ambassador from Chao did favour Szu-ma Hsi, was advantageous to Y i n Chien and made Chao powerless to request her.] SPTK 10.16a KY74.5
494 H o w Ssu-ma
H s i made
Y i n C h i e n a queen
The concubines Yin Chien and Chiang were both striving to become queen. Ssu-ma Hsi spoke to Yin's father. 'If she succeeds in this matter, you will become honoured and titled. If, however, she fails, I fear you will lose your life. Why not secure me an audience?' 'If it is as you say, sir,' replied Yin's father bowing his head, 'who can predict the outcome of such things ?' Ssu-ma Hsi immediately wrote to the ruler of Chung-shan saying, 'I know how to weaken Chao and strengthen Chung-shan.' The king of Chung-shan was delighted, gave him an audience and said, 'I would hear how Chao can be weakened and Chung-shan strengthened.' 'I must first go to Chao', said Ssu-ma Hsi, 'to judge the terrain of the country, the wealth of the people and the virtue or unworthiness of the ruler and his ministers. All of this must be the basis for our discussion of the enemy. I cannot reveal more to you till this is done.' The king of Chung-shan sent him off. Ssu-ma Hsi got audience with the king of Chao and said: 'I had always heard that the country of Chao was the place from which came all the talented beauties of the world. But, now I have been here and have travelled from boundary to boundary through all its cities and towns and heard the songs and customs of the people and seen all their faces, and found not a single real beauty among them. I have travelled almost everywhere but never have I seen one creature so lovely as Yin of Chung-shan. Those who do not know who she is have mistaken her for a goddess. Indeed, her face and
THE
B O O K
OF
58i
C H U N G - S H A N
hair so far surpass others that she cannot be described, in words. Her eyes and brows, the bridge of her nose, her cheeks and jaw, the shape of her temples and brow are made for the consort of an emperor, not for the concubine of a Feudal Lord!' The king was greatly excited and cried joyfully, 'I shall request her. Can you arrange this?' 'Having seen her beauty,' replied Ssu-ma Hsi, 'I could not help speaking as I just did. But, if you wish to request her, this is something I dare not discuss. I beg you, moreover, not to reveal what I have said.' Ssu-ma Hsi took his leave soon afterwards and returning to Chungshan reported to the king. 'The king of Chao is without virtue' said he. 'Instead of loving the way of virtue he loves frivolity. Instead of humanity and justice he loves force. I heard that he even wishes to request the one called Yin.' The king's face coloured and grew morose. 'Chao is a powerful state', continued Ssu-ma Hsi. "What it requests must be given. If you, sire, do not yield, your state will be in danger. If you do yield, you will be the laughing stock of the other Lords.' 'What can be done?' asked the king. 'You must elevate her as your queen and forestall Chao's request', replied Ssu-ma Hsi. 'No one has ever asked for another's queen, and even if he should wish to, the neighbouring states would never allow it.'. The king of Chung-shan thereupon raised Yin Chien as queen and Chao never made his request. SPTK 10.16b KY74.7
495 L i T z ' u declares
C h u n g - s h a n ripe f o r
attack
The Ex-King of Chao wanted to attack Chung-shan and sent L i Tz'u to inspect that state. 'The country can be attacked', reported Li Tz'u. 'If you do not do it someone else is bound to'. 'Why do you say this?'
582
THE B O O K
OF C H U N G - S H A N 1
'The ruler of Chung-shan has folded back the canopy of his carriage to go into the meanest alleys to pay his respects to seventeen men of worth', replied Li Tz'u. 'Why, he is a worthy ruler then!' exclaimed the Ex-King. 'How cati such as he be attacked?' 'It is not that way at all,' replied Li Tz'u. 'Because he has summoned these men of worth his people have been more diligent working for a name than they have in working for substance. Bringing worthies to court has made his farmers lazy and his soldiers timid. A state in this condition which did not finally perish is yet to be heard of.' SPTK 10.17b KY74.6
496 T h e bowl
of
mutton
The ruler of Chung-shan feasted all the officers of his cities and Ssu-ma Tzu-ch'i was among them, but at the banquet the mutton broth was never passed to him. Angry, he left and went to Ch'u where he persuaded the king of Ch'u to attack Chung-shan. When the ruler of Chung-shan fled, two men carrying dagger-axes followed him at a distance. Turning to them he asked, 'What are you gentlemen doing?' 'Our father was once on the point of starvation when your highness sent him food and drink in your personal vessels. When our father died he said to us, 'If Chung-shan is attacked you must perish with it. We have come to die for you.' The ruler of Chung-shan took a deep breath, threw back his head and sighed, 'It matters not at all if the gift be great or small - only how much the receiver needs it. It matters little whether an offence is grave or slight - only how deeply it wounds the heart of a man. I fled my state because of a bowl of mutton broth and gained two devoted followers with a trencher full of food.' SPTK 10. n a KY74. 8 1
Because the alleys were too n a r r o w for i t t o be left up, according t o Y o k o t a . There are several other interpretations o f this line, however.
THE
BOOK
OP
CHUNG-SHAN
583
497 A plan for
survival
Marquis "Wen of Wei wished to destroy Chung-shan. Ch'ang Chuangt'an said to Viscount Hsiang of Chao, 'If Wei annexes Chung-shan, Chao will perish. Why does your excellency not request Wei's daughter, Kung-tzu Ch'ing, to be your formal wife and then enfeoff her with Chung-shan. This way Chung-shan will survive.' SPTK 10.11b K Y 73.1
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Shih~chi cheng-yi. See under SC.) 'Chan-kuo Tse Chu-tso Shih-tai K'ao.' ^ M M W By Ch'i Ssu-ho ^ M ^B. Yenching Hsueh-pao, No.
CHENG-YI
(i.e.
C H ' I SSU-HO
3
256-78.
Supra-text notations in the Kamhun edition of CKT. CKT I (i.e. Chan-kuo Ts'e.) Unless otherwise specified it refers to: Senkokusaku Seikai M M IE MBy Yokota Iko ft ffl 'If #• First published in 1829. Yokota draws upon earlier Japanese works - Senkokusaku Toko of Tosaki Tan'en )3 SHsJ IS and the Kokusaku Koc Hosei IE of Seki Kuncho 1 ^ ^ . He also uses notes and comments by Ch'eng En-tse ^ JgJ HI from Kuo-ts'e Ti-ming K'ao, M u Wen-hsi's f|| 3£ notes from Ch'i-hs Ts'e-tsuan Ai5t|i JH U , and others. He knows both Huang P CHODAI
(1776)
ISJ
^
(1796)
!S£
lieh's 51 3S $ i work and the "Wu Shih-tao ^ Sip C K T II
Sengokusaku Seikai Kanhun Taikei
edition.
c
life 11 Jjl IE (Eyebrow notes, Nakai Riken ^ ft W •) In the series. Based on the above with addenda b Yasui Kotar5 n£ ft /J> ^fc who adds other information from the W u Shih-tao edition. This edition is much more readily found, but it is marred by a number of typographical errors. Huang's is appended. C K T IV
cha-chi Ch'ung-k'o Shan-ch'uan Yao-shih Pen Chan
Shih-li Chu Ts'ung-shu. Pai-hua Yi-chieh Chan-kuo Ts'e. & !§ PP $i? S§5
Huang P'i-lieh's woodblock edition of the Yao version. The best copy is found in i t jH M IS § . CKT V .
585
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Trans, by Yeh Yii-lin |f| 5E Hf. 2 vols., Shanghai, 1940. 225 pieces from and translations of them. Helpful, but sometimes in error. Reprint, Hong Kong, 196?. Reprint, T'aipei
CKT pai-hua
I96?as g
£ # } J i I « It
CRUMP I
'The
Chan-kuo Ts'e and its Fiction.' By
J . I.
Crump. T'oung Pao
xlvii, 4-5, (i960), 305-75.
Intrigues: Studies ofthe Chan-kuo Ts'e.
CRUMP, INTRIGUES
By J . I. Crump. Ann Arbor, 1964. HAN-FEI-TZU I (See also LIAO.)
Han-fei-tzu Chiao-shih. ff*
-J" fP- By Ch'en Ch' Eft 5*C> 1938, and Hong Kong, 1958. Excellent supplements of ancient and modern scholars' comments on the work.
Ch'u-tz'u: The Songs of the South. By David Haw
HAWKES
I959-
HH
Hsin-hsu Chiao-chu {fu Hsin-hsu, Yi-wen Chia $c 3fc H . Ed. by Chang Kuo-ch'iian. H[ Ch'eng-tu, Ju-ku Shu-chu J5^ ^JJ § vols. The yi-wen and its 1944.2
notes are especially important. HJAS Hsu
The Harvardfournal ofAsiatic Studies, Cambridge, FOU-YUAN
Author of fragmentary notes on CKT, and HSWC
CKT II. Han-shih Wai-chuan.
cited by Yokota in CKT
I
f U ^ ^ - f i l . Trans, j . R. Hight
Cambridge, Mass., 1952.
Ch'ung-k'o Sha ch'uan Yao-shih Pen Chan-kuo Ts'e Cha-c Jniex Tchan-kou Ts'o. ^ II jf£ si. fit* Universite de Pa
HUANG
Huang P'i-(or P'ei-)lieh H 35 ^lJ> editor of the INDEX
Centre d'Etudes Sinologiques de Pekin. Peking, 1948.
586
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Journal ofthe American Oriental Society.
JAOS
K A M B U N (See
KY
C K T II.)
Kuo-ts'e K'an-yen. Fjg jH |gf jjflf. By Chung Feng-nien @ JH, Yenching Hsiieh-pao, Monograph, n. n . Peking,
1936.
into three parts: (1) Notes on the Yao edition - from which my code numbers are derived; (2) Notes on the Pao edition; (3) 'Discussion of Errors.' A fourth section on the chronology of CKT - which he mentions in the text - was never published for reasons painfully obvious to anyone who has worked with inferential dates in the CKT.
Ssu-ma Ch'ien s Historiographical Attitudes Warring States Biographies. By F. A . Kierman. Wie
KIERMAN
/
Biographies, with CKT variorum, of Yiieh Y i , Lien P'o, Lin Hsiang-ju, T'ien Tan, and Lu Chung-hen. Copious notation.
Kokuyaku Kambun Taisei.
KOKUYAKU
version of CKT K.M. _
Tokyo, 1924. The Sin
II.
Erh-shih-wu Shih. Zl-JT 3L jJ*. Shanghai,
1935 (1962), K'a
Shu-tien. 9 vols. Pages serially numbered 1-7949.
LEGGE
The Chinese Classics. Trans. James Legge (reprint) Shang 3LIAO
The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu: A Class Science. By W . K . Liao. Trans., Vol. London, (photoI,
1939
reprint, 1959); Vol. II, 1959. Very poorly indexed. LSCC
Lii-shih Ch'un-ch'iu Chi-shih.
g J£ Hsu Wei-yu.ff $ | | | . Ch*ing-hua Univ., 1935.6 vols.
M
Com
Shih-chi So-yin. (See under SC.) , The Shih-chi; specifically, Shikikaichii Kosho |E
SO-YIN
SC
?ff $ c
BIBLIOGRAPHY
587
(Shih-chi Hui-chu K'ao-cheng). Edited by Takigawa
i ' i $fkzk$£>- Kyoto, 1936 and 1958. 10vols. Photolith.reprint by Wen-hsueh Ku-chi, 1955. Also pirated edition in Taiwan, c. 1959. Pages are numbered serially in the 1955 edition making reference to it very simple. SPTK The JSJ ^ fj| ^fj editions. Shanghai: C mercial Press, 1920-2. SY f£ ^ (more properly
li
Ssu-pu Ts'ung-k'an.
Shuo-yuan Shui-yiian). SPTKed. Chung-kuo Ti-ming Ta Tz'u-tien (various reprints). The Book of Songs. Translated by Arthur Waley. Boston and N
TI-MING
W A L E Y , SONGS
York 1937 and 1954.
Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Grand Historian of China. By Bur
WATSON I
York, 1958.
Records of the Grand Historian of China. By Bur
W A T S O N II
York, 1961.2 vols.
Early Chinese Literature. By Burton Watson. New York, Wei-shu T'ung-k'ao. fH ^ 3§. Edited by Chang Hsin-ch
WATSON III
19
WEI-SHU T ' U N G - K A O
Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1939, (1954), 2 vols., 1144 pages.
ALPHABETICAL FINDING LIST It is difficult t o devise a m e t h o d o f comprehensive and discrete identification for a l l items i n the C h a n - k u o T s ' e . R o m a n i z i n g the o p e n i n g phrase o f each w i l l generally distinguish one f r o m another but i t can breed confusion because variants exist i n the t w o major editions. I have t r i e d v e r y h a r d to enter t h e m a l l i n their p r o p e r places i n the A l p h a b e t i c a l F i n d i n g L i s t but because o f c o m p l i c a tions, n o t w o r t h enlarging o n here, I a m n o t sure they are a l l there. C h u n g F e n g - n i e n i n his K ' a n - y e n has analysed a n d collated the t w o major recensions o f C h a n - k u o T s ' e - the so-called Y a o a n d P a o texts. C h u n g ' s v e r y useful analysis o f the Y a o text (the f o r m o f C K T least often seen i n m o d e r n republications) occupies the first seventy-four pages o f K ' a n - y e n . T h e Y a o text is d i v i d e d i n t o diirty-three p ' i e n and 492 c h a n g . T h e ' K Y * n u m b e r g i v e n at t h e e n d of each
translated
C h a n - k u o T s ' e item
i s composed
s i m p l y of the p a g e and i t e m
numbers
f r o m C h u n g F e n g - n i e n s K ' a n - y e n . F o r example, 17.6 means m e r e l y that b y t u r n i n g to page seventeen i n C h u n g ' s analysis o f the Y a o text a n d f i n d i n g the i t e m n u m b e r e d six o n that page, the reader w i l l have p o s i t i v e l y identified the i t e m and w i l l see before h i m o n that page the o p e n i n g phrase o f the i t e m i n Chinese characters. T h e e d i t i o n this translation f o l l o w s is a P a o text and f o l l o w s P a o Piao's arrangement o f the items. T h i s b e i n g so, the reader w i l l be able to locate any i t e m i n either a Y a o o r a P a o e d i t i o n b y using the code n u m b e r furnished i n this translation at the e n d o f each i t e m . I cannot r e c o m m e n d C h u n g Feng-nien's K ' a n - y e n t o o strongly to serious students o f C K T
because i n a d d i t i o n to his c o l l a t i o n o f the texts he indicates
w h e r e a particular i t e m (or a substantially identical story) m a y be f o u n d i n other H a n a n d p r e - H a n texts. So w e l l has he done this j o b that the translator includes m e n t i o n o f the other texts i n w h i c h an i t e m appears o n l y w h e n there is s o m e t h i n g p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r i k i n g about i t .
A l p h a b e t i c a l F i n d i n g L i s t based t e x t . T h e figures g i v e n are the numbers
o n the romanised
o p e n i n g words
of the i t e m s as t h e y appear
A n Y i c h i h y i i s h i h ssu, 379 C h a i C h a n g ts'ung L i a n g l a i , s . v . ' T i C h a n g ' C h a n g C h ' o u c h i h h o C h ' i , C h ' u , 432 C h a n g C h ' o u w e i c h i h y i i Y e n , 470 C h ' a n g - k u o C h u n Y i i e h Y i , 469
of the C h i n e s e
i n this book.
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
C h a n g M e n g - t ' a n c h i k u C h a o , 331 C h ' a n g - p ' i n g c h i h y i P ' i n g - t u C h u n , 365 C h ' a n g - s h a c h i h nan, 216 C h ' a n g T ' o w a n g H s i - C h o u , 35 C h a n g T e n g w e i P i H s i e h y i i e h , 439 C h a n g - t z u y i C h ' i n hsiang, 317 C h a n g Y i c h i h C h ' u p ' i n , 192 C h a n g Y i c h i h ts'an C h ' u - l i C h i , 62 C h a n g Y i c h u H u i S h i h y i i W e i , 198 C h a n g Y i hsiang C h ' i n , 196 C h a n g Y i shih C h ' i n H u i - w a n g , 143 C h a n g Y i shui C h ' i n - w a n g y i i e h , 107 C h a n g Y i tsou c h i h W e i , 330 C h a n g Y i w e i C h ' i - w a n g y i i e h , 318 C h a n g Y i w e i C h ' i n Hen h e n g , 237 C h a n g Y i w e i C h ' i n . . . shui C h ' i , 142 C h a n g Y i w e i C h ' i n . . . shui H a n , 393 C h a n g Y i w e i C h ' i n . . . shui W e i , 328 C h a n g Y i w e i C h ' i n p ' o tsung, 195 C h a n g Y i w e i C h ' i n p ' o tsung l i e n h e n g W e i Y e n , 454 C h a n g Y i w u C h ' e n C h e n y i i W e i , 314 C h a n g Y i y i C h ' i n hsiang, 317 C h a n g Y i y u w u C h ' e n C h e n , 54 C h a n g Y i y i i c h i a C h ' i n p i n g , 61 C h a n g Y i y i i c h ' i u n g C h ' e n C h e n , 315 C h a n g Y i y u p i n g hsiang C h ' i n , 311 C h a n g Y i y i i y i H a n - c h u n g y i i , 63 C h a n g Y i y i i y i W e i h o y i i C h ' i n , 316 C h a o ch'ieh fa Y e n , 468 C h a o C h i e n y i i T u n g - C h o u w u , 36 C h a o c h ' u C h o u c h i h c h i t i , 32 C h a o H s i - h s i i y i i P ' e n g - c h ' e n g , 177 C h a o - h s i e n tsai Y a n g - t i , 25 C h a o H u i - w e n - w a n g san-shih n i e n , 261 C h a o shih C h a o C h u a n g h o tsung, 284 C h a o shih C h i H o c h i h C h ' i n , 244 C h a o shih C h ' o u H o c h i h C h ' i n , 244 C h a o shih Y a o C h i a y i i e h H a n , 269 C h a o shou t'ien-hsia c h ' i e h , 256 C h a o t ' a i - h o u hsin y u n g shih, 262
589
590
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
C h a o - w a n g c h i h s i m i n shan, 104 C h a o - w a n g feng M e n g - c h ' a n g C h i i n , 251 C h a o , W e i k u n g H u a - y a n g , 437 C h a o Y a n g w e i C h ' u fa W e i , 134 C h a o , Y e n h o u H u f u , 241 C h ' e n C h e n c h ' u C h ' u c h i h C h ' i n , 55 C h ' e n C h e n c h ' u C h ' u c h i h W e i , 199 C h ' e n C h e n k a o C h ' u c h i h W e i , 199 C h ' e n C h e n w e i C h ' i n shih y i i , 319 C h ' e n T s ' u i h o C h ' i , Y e n , 449 C h e n g C h ' i a n g c h i h tsou C h a n g Y i , 394 C h e n g C h ' i a n g tsai pa-pai c h i n , 407 C h ' e n g - h o u T s o u C h i w e i C h ' i , 118 C h ' e n g H u n c h ' u C h o u , 206 C h e n g T ' u n g p e i c h i e n C h a o - w a n g , 258 C h ' e n g - w u ts'ung C h a o l a i , 384 C h ' e n g - y a n g C h i i n y i i y i H a n , W e i , 357 C h ' i chiang feng T ' i e n Y i n g y i i , 136 C h ' i chiang k u n g S u n g e r h C h ' i n , 253 C h ' i , C h ' i n y i i e h k u n g C h ' u , 211 C h ' i c h u C h ' u k u n g C h ' i n , 58 C h ' i C h ' u c h i h chiao, 188 C h ' i C h ' u k o u nan, 173 C h ' i fa S u n g , S u n g c h i , 458 C h ' i f u k u o c h i h m i n , 159 C h ' i , H a n , W e i k u n g k u n g Y e n , 220 Ch'i, Han wei yii kuo ,141 1
C h ' i H s i i a n c h i h chiao H a n - w a n g , 408 C h ' i H s i i a n - w a n g c h i e n Y e n C h ' u , 130 C h ' i - j e n chien T ' i e n P ' i e n , 132 C h ' i - j e n L i P o c h i e n C h a o , 282 C h ' i - j e n y u F e n g H s i i a n che, 154 C h ' i k u n g S u n g , F e n g - y a n g C h i i n , 254 C h ' i k u n g S u n g , S u n g shih T s a n g , 478 C h ' i l i n g C h o u T s u i shih C h e n g , 403 C h ' i M i n - w a n g c h i h y i i sha, 171 C h ' i M i n g shui C h o H u a , 202 C h ' i M i n g w e i K u n g S h u y i i e h , 413
t^K'an-yen
has m i s t a k e n l y reversed H a n a n d C h ' i i n this title.
ALPHABETICAL FINDING LIST Ch'i p'o Yen, Chao yii ts'un, 236 Chi Se wang chih Ch'u, 418 Ch'i t'ing Chu Fu, 39 Ch'i-wang chiang chien Yen, Chao, 320 Ch'i-wang Chien ju ch'ao, 172 Ch'i-wang fu-jen ssu, 146 Ch'i-wang shih shih-che wen Chao, 170 Ch'i, Wei chan yii Ma-ling, 306 Ch'i, Wei cheng Yen, 463 Ch'i, Wei yiieh erh fa Ch'u, 329 Ch'i yi Nao-chun chih luan, 218 Ch'i yii fa Wei, Ch'un-yu K'un, 128 Ch'i yii fa Wei, Wei shih jen, 129 Ch'i yii kung Sung, Ch'in ling, 252 Chiang Yi shui yii An-ling Chiin, 181 Chiang Yi wei Wei shih yii Ch'u, 175 Chiang Yi wu Chao Hsi-hsii, 179 Chiang Yi'.yu wu Chao Hsi-hsii, 180 Chiang Yin yii wu, 178 Chien-hsin Chiin ch'ing Han Hsi, 441 Chien-hsin Chiin kuei yii Chao, 276 Chih Po shuai Chao, Han, Wei, 229 Chih Po so ti yii Wei, 292 Chih Po tsung Han, Wei ping, 226 Chih Po yii fa Wei, 482 Chih Poyu hsi Wei, 483 Ch'in Chao chan yii Ch'ang-p'ing, 264 Ch'in chao Chou-chun, 16 Ch'in chao Ch'u erh fa Ch'i, 191 Ch'in chao Ch'un-p'ing hou, 289 Ch'in, Chao kou nan erh chan, 364 Ch'in Chao-wang wei tso-yu yiieh, 97 Ch'in chao Wei hsiang Hsin-an, 337 Ch'in chao Yen-wang, 466 Ch'in, Chao yiieh erh, 344 Chin Ch'eng-ch'ang Wei Chien, 278 Ch'in chia tao Han, Wei, 116 Ch'in chia tao yii Chou yi fa Han, 26 Ch'in chiang fa Wei, Wei-wang wen, 350 Ch'in ch'u Ch'u Han-chung, 85
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
C h ' i n , C h ' u k u n g W e i w e i P ' i - s h i h , 339 C h ' i n fa W e i , C h ' e n C h e n h o san, 140 C h ' i n fa Y i - y a n g , C h ' u - w a n g w e i , 204 C h ' i n , H a n chan y i i Cho-tse, 391 C h ' i n , H a n w e i L i a n g , 301 C h ' i n hsing s h i h l i n C h o u , 20 C h ' i n H s i i a n t ' a i - h o u , 98 C h ' i n H u i - w a n g ssu, 60 C h ' i n H u i - w a n g w e i H a n C h ' i i a n - t z u , 48 C h ' i n k ' o - c h ' i n g Tsao w e i J a n g , 89 C h ' i n k u n g C h a o , C h ' a n g - p ' i n g , 167 C h ' i n k u n g C h a o , C h a o l i n g L o u , 135 C h ' i n k u n g C h a o k u to c h i h y i n , 281 C h ' i n k u n g C h a o , L i n - l i S h i h - c h ' i , 257 C h ' i n k u n g C h a o , P ' i n g - y i i a n C h i i n , 267 C h ' i n k u n g C h a o , S u - t z u ( w e i ) w e i , 106 C h ' i n k u n g C h a o y i i C h ' a n g - p ' i n g , 265 C h ' i n k u n g H a n c h i h K u a n , 353 C h ' i n k u n g H a n - t a n shih-ch'i y i i e h , 105 C h ' i n k u n g H a n w e i H s i n g , 99 C h ' i n k u n g H s i n g , 390 C h ' i n k u n g W e i c h i , 380 C h ' i n k u n g W e i chiang H s i W u , 10 C h ' i n k u n g W e i c h i h P ' u , 484 C h ' i n k u n g W e i c h ' u N i n g - y i , 268 C h ' i n k u n g Y i - y a n g , 21 Ch'in ling Ch'u-li C h i , 5 C h ' i n p a H a n - t a n k u n g W e i , 371 C h ' i n p a N i n g - y i , 370 C h ' i n p a i C h ' u H a n - c h u n g , 213 C h ' i n p a i T u n g - C h o u y i i W e i , 343 C h ' i n p a i W e i chiang H s i W u , i o C h ' i n p a i W e i y i i H u a , tsou, 358 C h ' i n p a i W e i y i i H u a , W e i - w a n g , 3 59 C h i n P i Y a n g c h i h sun Y i i J a n g , 232 C h ' i n p i n g C h a o pei hsiang, 472 C h ' i n p ' o C h a o , C h ' a n g - p i n g , 167 C h ' i n shih C h a o k u n g W e i , 349 C h ' i n shih W a n g C h i e n k u n g C h a o , 291 C h ' i n ta k u o y e h , 431
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
C h ' i r i - w a n g s h i h j e n w e i A n - l i n g , 381 C h ' i n - w a n g w e i K a n M a o y i i e h , 72 C h ' i n - w a n g w e i k u n g - t z u T ' o , 263 C h ' i n - w a n g y i i chien T u n J o , 112 C h ' i n - w a n g y i i C h u n g C h ' i cheng, 76 C h ' i n w e i C h a o c h i h Han^-tan, 266 C h ' i n , W e i w e i y i i k u o , 361 C h ' i n w e i Y i - y a n g Y u T ' e n g w e i , 396 C h ' i n W u - w a n g w e i K a n M a o y u e h , 66 C h ' i n y i i k u n g C h o u , .18 C h ' i n y i i e h C h a o e r h fa W e i , 344 C h ' i n g - h s i a n g - w a n g erh-shih, 90 C h i n g H s i i a n - w a n g w e n c h ' i i n , 176 C h ' i n g - k u o C h i i n chiang c h ' e n g , 137 C h ' i n g - k u o C h i i n shan C h ' i M a o , 139 C h ' i n g - k u o C h i i n w e i C h ' i - w a n g , 138 C h o u - c h i i n c h i h C h ' i n , 17 C h o u hsiang L i i T s ' a n g , 40 C h o u H s i a o w e i K u n g T ' o y i i e h , 373 C h o u K u n g t'ai-tzu ssu, 2 C h o u T s u i j u C h ' i , 336 C h o u T s u i shan C h ' i , 335 C h o u T s u i w e i C h i n T ' o u y i i e h , 44 C h o u T s u i w e i L i i L i y i i e h , 37 C h o u W e n - c h u n m i e n k u n g shih, 41 C h ' u C h a o H s i e n hsiang H a n , 3 89 C h ' u chiang fa C h ' i , L u c h ' i n , 117 C h ' u c h ' i n g tao e r h C h o u , 15 C h ' u c h i i e h C h ' i , 59 C h u F u Y i i fa C h u n g - s h a n , 495 C h ' u H s i a n g - w a n g w e i t ' a i - t z u , 214 C h ' u hsii W e i l i u c h ' e n g , 313 C h ' u H u a i - w a n g c h i i C h a n g Y i , 193 C h ' u K ' a o - l i e h - w a n g w u t z u , 227 C h ' u k u n g W e i , C h a n g Y i w e i , 52 C h ' u k u n g Y u n g - s h i h , 27 C h ' u l i n g C h i n g L i j u H a n , 420 C h ' u p i n g tsai shan n a n , 14 C h ' u shih che C h i n g L i tsai, 50 C h ' u S u C h ' i n t i l i , 452
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
Ch'u Tu Ho shui Ch'u-wang, 208 Ch'u-wang chiang ch'u Chang-tzu, 194 Ch'u-wang chu Chang Yi yii Wei, 187 Ch'u-wang-hou ssu, 201 Ch'u-wang kung Liang nan, 327 Ch'u-wang ling Chao Ch'ii, 197 Ch'u-wang shih Ching Li ju, 51 Ch'u-wang ssu, t'ai-tzu tsai, 145 Ch'u-wang wen yii Fan Huan, 209 Ch'u, Wei chan yii Hsing-shan, 49 Ch'u Wei-wang chan sheng yii, 124 Ch'u wei Yung-shih, Han ling, 422 Ch'u wei Yung-shih wu yueh, 421 Chuan chih nan, Ch'i, Yen, 125 Ch'iian chili nan, Yen tsai chan, 444 Chuang Hsin wei Ch'u Hsiang-wang, 219 Ch'un-yu K'un yi jih, 127 Chung-shan Chun hsiang tu shih, 496 Chung-shan yii Yen, Chao wei, 491 Fan Chii chih, 94 Fan chii yueh, ch'en chii, 95 . Fan-tzu yin Wang Chi ju Ch'in, 93 Feng Chi ch'ing chien Chao-wang, 287 Feng Chi wei Lu-ling Chiin, 286 Feng-yang Chiin shen pu ch'ii yii, 442 Fu Chi wei shih erh chii, 249 Fu Ting yii yi Chao ho Ch'i, 246 Han, Chao hsiang nan, 293 Han, Ch'i wei yii kuo, 141 Han Chiu li wei chiin, 425 Han hsiang Kung-chung Min shih, 434 Han hsiang Kung-chung shih Han Min, 434 Han-jen kung Sung, 427 Han K'uei hsiang Han, 383 Han Kung-chung hsiang Ch'i, 188 Han Kung-chung wei Hsiang, 397 Han Kung-shu yii Chi Se cheng, 411 Han Kung-shu... chung shu tzu, 412 Han Kung-shu yu Ch'i, Wei, 207 Han Min hsiang Ch'i, 435
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
H a n M i n g c h i e n C h S m - s h e n C h i i n , 226 H a n shih c h u H s i a n g C h i n y i i , 438 H a n - t a n c h i h n a n , C h a o c h ' i u , 115 H a n - t a n c h i h n a n C h a o H s i - h s i i , 174 Han^Wei y i ti, 9 H a n Y a n g y i y i i San-ch'uan, 430 H s i H s i e h chien C h i e n - l i s i n C h i i n , 279 H s i - m e n P a o w e i Y e h l i n g , 295 H s i S h o u c h i e n L i a n g - c h u n y u e h , 324 H s i S h o u fa H u a n g , 481 H s i S h o u l i w u w a n g , 490 H s i S h o u T ' i e n ' P ' a n y i i te C h ' i , 323 H s i S h o u y i L i a n g w e i C h ' i , 144 H s i W u pai C h o u shih C h o u T s u , 12 H s i W u p a i y i i Y i C h ' i i e h , 11 H s i a n g L i n g c h i h y i P i C h ' a n g , 409 Hsien-sheng W a n g T o u , 131 H s i e n shu C h ' i n - w a n g y u e h , 341 H s i e n Tse w e i K u n g - s u n H s i a o , 78 H s i n - l i n g C h i i n sha C h i n P i , 374 Hsing-shan c h i h shih, 88 H s i i - c h o u c h i h y i , 309 H s i i a n ( H u i ) - w a n g w e i C h i u L i u , 388 H s i i e h - k u n g j u W e i e r h c h ' u C h ' i , 86 H s i i e h - k u n g w e i W e i w e i W e i J a n , 80 Hsiieh-kung y i C h ' i , 7 H u Y e n c h i h c h ' u C h i Se, 417 H u a - y a n g c h i h chan W e i p u , 360 H u i S h i h w e i C h ' i * W e i , chiao 307 H u o hsien shu Y e n - w a n g , 450 H u o w e i C h ' i - w a n g y u e h C h o u , 168 H u o w e i C h i e n - h s i n C h i i n y u e h , 277 H u o w e i C h o u T s u i w e i C h i n , 43 H u o w e i C h ' u - w a n g y u e h , 224 H u o w e i H a n H s i a n g - k u o , 433 H u o w e i H a n K u n g - c h u n g y u e h , f u , 423 H u o w e i H a n - w a n g y u e h , 428 H u o w e i H u a n g C h ' i y u e h , 203 H u o w e i K u n g - c h u n g y u e h , c h i n , 424 H u o w e i K u n g C h u n g y u e h t i n g , 399
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
H u o w e i l i u k u o shui C h ' i n - , 112 H u o w e i P ' i H s i a n g - k u o y i i e h , 271 ( H u o ) w e i Shan-yang C h u n y i i e h , 436 H u o w e i W e i - w a n g , w a n g c h i n g , 377 J a n g - h o u k u n g T a - l i a n g , 351 J e n y u w u S u C h ' i n y i i Y e n - , 446 J u i S u n g y i i chiieh C h ' i n , C h a o , 354 K a n M a o hsiang C h ' i n , 73 K a n M a o k u n g Y i - y a n g , 68 K a n M a o w a n g C h ' i n c h ' i e h c h i h , 77 K a n M a o w e i C h ' i n y i i e h W e i , 238 K a n M a o y i i e h C h ' i n , W e i , 74 K ' o chien C h a o - w a n g y i i e h , 288 K ' o - c h ' i n g w e i H a n w e i C h ' i n , 398 K ' o shui C h ' u n - s h e n C h i i n y i i e h , 222 K ' o w e i Ssu-ma Y i - c h i y i i e h , 369 K ' o w e i Y e n - w a n g y i i e h , 457 K ' u C h ' e n g - c h ' a n g w e i C h i e n - , 278 K u a n P i c h i h l i n g C h a i C h ' i a n g , 356 K u a n Y a n g w e i C h ' u n - s h e n c h i i n , 378 K u a n Y e n te tsUi C h ' i - w a n g , 133 ^ K u n g - c h u n g shih H a n M i n c h i h , 404 K u n g - c h u n g shu p u h s i n y i i c h u , 400 K u n g - c h u n g w e i H a n , W e i y i t i , 407 K u n g - c h u n g y i Y i - y a n g c h i h k u , 405 K u n g - s h u chiang sha C h i Se, 414 K u n g - s h u c h ' i e h sha C h i Se, 415 K u n g - s h u P a n w e i C h ' u she c h i , 474 K u n g - s h u shih F e n g - c h u n y i i , 410 K u n g - s u n Y e n w e i W e i chiang, 322 K u n g T ' o w a n g H s i C h o u , 35 K u n g T ' o w e i C h o u - c h i i n y i i e h , 19 K u n g T ' o w e i Y e n shih W e i , 455 K u o - t z u y i i e h C h ' i n p ' o M a F u , 169 L e n g H s i a n g w e i C h ' i n w a n g , 81 L e n g H s i a n g w e i H a n C h i u y i i e h , 419 L i a n g - w a n g fa H a n - t a n , 475 L i a n g - w a n g , W e i Y i n g shang c h u , 303 L o u H u a n chiang shih, 259 L o u W u y i i e h C h ' i n , W e i chiang, 366
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
Lou Wu yueh Ch'in, Wei; Wei, 338 Lu Chung-lien wei Meng-ch'ang Chiin, 166 Mang Map wei Ch'in-wang, 345 Meng-ch'ang Chun chiang ju, 147 Meng-ch'ang Chiin ch'u hsing, 153= Meng-ch'ang Chiin chu yii Ch'i, 155 Meng-ch'ang Chun feng Hsia-hou, 149 Meng-ch'ang Chiin she-jen, 151 Meng-ch'ang Chiin tsai Hsueh, 148 Meng-ch'ang Chun wei tsung, 165 Meng-ch'ang Chiin yen tso, 150 Meng-ch'ang Chiin yu she-jen, 152 Nan-hang chih nan, 120 Nu-a wei Su-tzu yueh, 215 Pa nien wei Wei-wang yiieh, 367 P'ang Ts'ung yii t'ai-tzu chih, 302 P'ing-yiian Chiin wei Feng Chi, 273 P'ing-yiian Chiin wei P'ing-yang, 274 Po Kuei wei Hsin-ch'eng Chiin, 352 P'u Shang chih shih, 114 P'u-yang jen Lii Pu-wei, 109 San-Chin yi p'o Chih-shih, 382 San kuo ai Ch'in, 34 San kuo kung Ch'in fan, 8 San kuo kung Ch'in, Chao kung, 248 San kuo kung Ch'in ju Han-ku, 79 Shen-tzu ch'ing shih ch'i, 386 She-yang Chiin yiieh Wei, 348 Shih Chi wei Han shih Ch'u, 228 Shih Chii fei Hsi Shou, 326 Shih-hsing ch'in, 45 Shih-pa nien wei, 367 Shu Shih fa Ch'u, 212 Shui Chang Hsiang-kuo yiieh, 275 Su Ch'in chiang wei tsung pei — Yen, 443 Su Ch'in chih Ch'u, 183 Su Ch'in chii yii Wei, 346 Su Ch'in shih chiang lien, 47 Su Ch'in shui Ch'i Min-wang, 158 Su Ch'in shui Li Tui, 250
ALPHABETICAL FINDING LIST Su Ch'in ssu, 447 Su Ch'in ts'ung Yen chih Chao, 234 Su Ch'in tzu Yen chih Ch'i, 156 Su Ch'in wei Chao . . . Ch'i, 126 Su Ch'in wei Chao . . . Ch'u, 184 Su Ch'in wei Chao . . . Han, 387 Su Ch'in wei Chao-wang shih, 235 Su Ch'in wei Ch'i-wang yiieh, 157 Su Li wei Chou-chiin yiieh, 13 Su Li wei Chou Tsui, 28 Su Tai chii yii Wei, 346 Su Tai kuo Wei, 453 Su Tai tzu Ch'i hsien shu yii, 465 Su Tai tzu Ch'i shih jen wei, 464 Su Tai wei Feng-yang Chiin shui, 461 Su Tai wei T'ien Hsu wei Wei, 325 Su Tai wei Yen Chao-wang yiieh, 459 Su Tai wei Yen shui Ch'i, 448 Su-tzu shui Li Tui, 250 Su-tzu tzu Yen chih Ch'i, 156 Su-tzu wei Chao ho tsung shui, 310 Su-tzu wei Ch'i-wang yueh, 157 Su-tzu wei Ch'u-wang yiieh, 186 Sung K'ang-wang chih shih, 479 Sung yii Ch'u wei hsiung-ti, 477 Ssu-k'ou Pu, 4 Ssu kuo fa Ch'u, 205 Ssu kuo wei yi, 113 Ssu-ma Hsi san hsiang Chung-, 493 Ssu-ma Hsi shih Chao wei chi, 492 Ssu-ma Ts'o yii Chang Yi, 57 (Ta) Ch'eng Wu ts'ung Chao lai, 384 T'ang Chii chien Ch'un-shen, 221 Tao Ti ch'ang wu T'ien Tan, 163 Ti Chang ts'ung Liang lai, 285 Tiao Po ch'ang wu T'ien Tan, 163 T'ien Chi wang Ch'i erh chih, 122 T'ien Chi wei Ch'i chiang, 121 T'ien-hsia chih shih, 101 T'ien-hsia ho tsung, Chao shih, 225
ALPHABETICAL FINDING
LIST
T'ien Hsin chih wei Chen Chen, 53 T'ien Hsu kuei yii Wei-wang, 333 T'ien Hsu. ssu, 334 T'ien Tan chiang kung Ti, 164 T'sai Tse chien chu, 108 Tsou Chi hsiu pa ch'ih yu yii, 119 Tsou Chi shih Hsiian-wang, 123 Tu Ho yii chung Ching Ts'ui, 33 Tuan Ch'an wei Hsin-ch'eng Chun, 91 Tuan-kan Yiieh-jen wei Hsin-, 92 Tung-Chou yii Hsi-Chou chan, 22 Tung-Chou yii Hsi-Chou cheng, 23 Tung-Chou yii wei tao, 24 Tung-meng chih hui, 429 Wang li Chou Shao wei ch'uan, 240 Wang p'o Yiian Yang, 242 Wang-sun Chia nien shih-wu, 160 Wei Chang Y i chen wei Ch'i, 318 Wei Chao-wang yiieh San-Chin ho, 245 Wei Cheng-wang yiieh, 429 Wei Ch'i hsien shu Chao-wang, 283 Wei Ch'i-wang yiieh, 3 Wei chiang yii Ch'in kung Han, 363 Wei Chieh wei Chien-hsin Chiin, 280 Wei chih wei Han-tan, 385 Wei, Ch'in fa Ch'u, Wei, wang, 342 Wei, Ch'in-wang yiieh, ch'en 75 Wei Chou Tsui wei Wei-wang, 30 Wei Chou Tsui yiieh Ch'ou Ho, 29 Wei Chou Tsui yiieh Wei-wang, 31 Wei Han hsiang-kuo yiieh, 433 Wei Han wei Ch'in-wang, 398 Wei hsiang Ti Ch'iang ssu, 210 Wei Hsin-ch'eng Chun yueh, 416 Wei Hsiieh-kung yiieh, 38 Wei Hui-wang ch'i ching nei, 304 Wei Hui-wang ssu, 308 Wei Jang-hou yiieh, 82 Wei-jen ying hsin fu, 488 Wei K'uei wei Chien-hsin Chiin, 280
6oo
ALPHABETICAL FINDING LIST "Wei kung Kuan erh pu hsia, 375 Wei Kung-shu Ts'o ping, 300 Wei Kung-shu Ts'o wei Wei-chiang, 299 Wei Kung-shu yiieh ch'eng chou, 402 Wei Kung-shu yiieh, kung yii te, 401 Wei Ling-kung chin Yung Chii, 480 Wei ling Kung-sun Yen ch'ing, 321 Wei pai Ch'u yii Hsing-shan, 243 Wei P'i hsiang-kuo yiieh, 270 Wei shih jen yin P'ing-yiian, 272 . Wei shih k'o shih Wei, 485 Wei shih wu Chao Hsi, 178 Wei Ssu-chiin ping shih, 487 Wei Ssu-chiin shih, 486 Wei ta yin yiieh, 476 Wei t'ai-tzu tsai Ch'u, 340 Wei t'ai-tzu tzu chiang kuo, 305 Wei-wang chiang hsiang Chang, 312 Wei-wang ling Hui Shih chih, 332 Wei-wang wei Chiu-li chih meng, 440 Wei-wang wen Chang Mao, 368 Wei-wang wen yii Mo-ao Tzu-hua, 185 Wei-wang yi Ch'u-wang mei jen, 200 Wei-wang yii kung Han-tan, 372 Wei-wang yii Lung-yang Chun, 376 Wei Wei Jan yueh, Ch'u p'o, 83 Wei Wei Jan yiieh ho pu ch'eng, 87 Wei Wei wei Ch'u-wang yiieh, 355 Wei wei Wei Jan yiieh, 64 Wei Wen-hou chieh tao yii Chao, 233 Wei Wen-hou yii T'ien Tzu-fang, 297 Wei Wen-hou yii ts'an Chung-, 497 Wei Wen-tzu T'ien Hsu Chou, 331 Wei Wu-hou yii chu-tai-fu, 298 Wei Yang wang Wei ju Ch'in, 46 Wei yin Fu Ting, 247 Wei Ying-hou yiieh, chiin ch'in, 102 Wen-hou yii yii jen ch'i lieh, 296 Wen-hsin-hou ch'u tsou, 290 Wen-hsin-hou yii kung Chao, no
ALPHABETICAL FINDING LIST Wen Jen chih Chou, 42 Wen-tzu T'ien Hsu, 331 Wu kuo fa Ch'in, Wei, yii ho, 190 Wu kuo fa Ch'in wu kung erh, 347 Wu kuo fa Ch'in wu kung pa yii, 255 Wu kuo pa Ch'eng-kao, 84 Wu kuo yiieh Ch'in yi fa Ch'i, 189 Wu kuo yiieh erh kung Ch'in, 426 Wu-kuo yiieh yi fa Ch'i, 189 Wu-ling-wang p'ing chou hsien, 239 Yen Chao-wang ch'ieh yii t'ien, 462 Yen Chao-wang shou p'o Yen hou, 456 Yen chi, 467 Yen feng Sung-jen Jung Fen, 260 Yen kung Ch'i, Ch'i p'o, 162 Yen kung Ch'i ch'ii ch'i shih, 161 Yen-shih wei tsei, 1 Yen Shuai chien Kung-chung, 392 Yen t'ai-tzu Tan chih yii Ch'in, 473 Yen-wang K'uai chi li, 451 Yen-wang Hsi shih Li-fu, 471 Yen-wang wei Su Tai yiieh, 460 Yen Wen-kung shih, 445 Yi-ch'ii Chun chih Wei, 56 Y i Pien-ch'iao chien Ch'in, 65 Yi-yang chih yi Ch'u pan Ch'in, 70 Yi-yang chih yi Feng Chang, 67 Yi-yang chih yi Yang Ta, 71 Yi-yang wei te, 69 Yin-chi yii Chiang-chi cheng, 494 Ying-hou shih Han chih Ju-nan 103 Ying-hou wei Chao-wang yiieh, 96 Ying-hou yiieh Cheng jen, 100 Yingjenyuyu, 182 Yii Ch'ing wei Chao-wang, 362 Yii Ch'ing wei Ch'un-shen Chiin, 223 Yu hsien pu-ssu chih yao, 217 Yu-hsing-ch'in, 45 Yiieh Ch'in, Han chih ti-hsing, 94 Yiieh Yang wei Wei chiang, 294
