Annotations to Canon IV:—
Ch`ên Hsü, minister to the King of Wey, was on good terms
with the King of Ching. Once he induced Ching to attack
Wey. Then he concluded the peace terms on behalf of the
King of Wey. He, accordingly, became Premier of Wey
through the influence of Ching.
At the time of Marquis Chao of Han seeds of millet continued
expensive and farmers scarcely had any of it. Therefore
Marquis Chao sent men to inspect the state granary. They
found the granary-keeper had been stealing millet seeds
and smuggling a big amount to foreign countries.
When Chao Hsi-hsü was in official service in Ching, once
someone set fire to the openings of the state storehouses and
silos but it was not known who he was. Thereupon Chao
Hsi-hsü ordered officials to arrest sellers of reeds and examine
them, and found out they were actually the incendiaries.
At the time of Marquis Chao-hsi, one day when the cook
brought in the meal, the soup had pieces of raw liver in it.
Therefore, the Marquis sent for the second cook, blamed him,
and asked, "Why did you put pieces of raw liver in the soup
for me?" Bowing his head to the ground, the cook admitted
his capital crime and confessed that he had thereby intended
to get rid of the chief cook.
According to a different source: Once when Marquis Hsi
was going to take a bath, the hot water had pebbles in it.
Marquis Hsi then asked the attendants if anybody would
take up the vacancy upon the dismissal of the bath-boy.
"Certainly," replied the attendants. "Bring him here,"
said Marquis Hsi. Then he questioned the man why he had
put pebbles in the hot water. In reply the man said: "If the
bath-boy is dismissed, thy servant will be able to take his
place. Therefore, thy servant put pebbles in the hot water."
At the time of Duke Wên, one day when the cook brought
in roast meat, it was twisted with hairs. So Duke Wên sent
for the cook and asked him: "Do you intend to choke me
to death? Why did you twist the roast meat with hairs?"
The cook bowed his head to the ground, repeated salutations,
begged for pardon, and said: "Thy servant has committed
three capital crimes: He held the grindstone and whetted
the knife till the knife became as sharp as the Kan-chiang
sword. In cutting the meat it tore the meat but the hairs
did not tear. This is the first crime of which thy servant
is guilty. Then he held the awl and pierced through the meat
chop but failed to see the hairs, which is the second crime.
Finally, he kept the charcoal burning in the cooking stove
so that all the meat became red and was roasted and well done,
but the hairs were not burned at all, which is the third crime.
Could there be nobody inside the hall who has been jealous[36]
of thy servant?" "You are right," the Duke said, and then
summoned all the subordinates inside and questioned them.
Among them he actually found out the true culprit, whom he
put to death.
According to a different source: Once upon a time,
when Duke P`ing entertained guests at a wine feast, a petty
official brought in roast meat which was twisted with hairs.
Duke P`ing sprang to his feet and was going to kill the cook
and allowed nobody to disobey his order. The cook cried
to heaven and said: "Alas! Thy servant has committed
three crimes, and how does he not know the death penalty
for them himself?" "What do you mean by saying that?"
asked Duke P`ing. In reply the cook said: "The knife of
thy servant is so sharp that bones can be cut just as grass is
blown down by winds, and yet hairs were not cut, which is
the first capital crime thy servant is guilty of. Roasted with
mulberry charcoal, the meat became red and then white but
the hairs were not burned, which is thy servant's second
capital crime. When the meat was roasted and well done, thy
servant repeated moving his eyelashes and looked at it
carefully, but the hairs twisting the roast meat were not seen,
which is thy servant's third capital crime. Does it seem that
there is somebody inside the hall who hates
[37]
thy servant?
If so, is it not too early to kill thy servant so abruptly?"
When Marquis Hsiang was Premier of Ch`in, Ch`i was
powerful. Marquis Hsiang wanted to proclaim the Ruler of
Ch`in emperor, which Ch`i refused to recognize. Then he
offered to proclaim the Ruler of Ch`i eastern emperor.
Thereby[38]
he became able to proclaim the Ruler of Ch`in
emperor.
