Confucius [and his disciples] were in distress between Ch`ên
and Ts`ai.[2]
They spent seven days without food sitting on the
"Three Classics mat."[3]
They had li soup but no rice,[4]
and the
disciples had a hungry look. They read the Shu and practiced
rites (li) and music without stopping.[5]
Tzŭ-lu offered an objection:
"Heaven rewards with good fortune those who practice
good and requites with disaster[6]
those who practice evil. Now
you, Master, have long accumulated virtue, piled up jên, and
practiced good. I suppose there is still some defect in your conduct?[7]
Otherwise why do you live in obscurity?"[8]
Confucius said, "Come, Yu. You are a mean man, without any
understanding of principles. Be still while I tell you. Do you
think that the wise are never punished? Then how was it the
Prince Pi-kan had his heart cut out and died? Do you think the
just are [always] hearkened to? Then how was it Wu Tzŭ-hsü
had his eyes torn out and hung from the eastern gate of [the
capital of] Wu?[9]
Do you think the scrupulous are [always]
employed? Then how was it Po-i and Shu-ch`i starved on Mt.
Shou-yang? Do you think the sincere are [always] employed?
Then how was it that Pao Shu was not employed, or that Tzŭ-kao,
Duke of Shê, never took office?[10]
Pao Chiao embraced a tree and
wept; [Chieh] Tzŭ-t`ui climbed a hill and was burned to death.
Many superior men of wide learning and subtle plans have not
met with the right time; I am certainly not the only exception.
A man's ability depends on natural endowment; his success or
failure is a matter of opportunity.[11]
Now without opportunity,
what use is there for a man of worth? That Shun of Yü was set
up as Son of Heaven from having plowed a field on the north
slope of Mt. Li was due to his meeting Yao. That Fu Yüeh was
made a Great Officer from having carried dirt and worked with
building frames[12]
was due to his meeting Wu-ting. Originally
I-yin was a servant in the Hsin family, carrying the tripods,
holding the sacrificial stand, and blending the five flavors.[13]
That
he was set up as minister was due to his meeting T`ang. When
Lü Wang was fifty he sold food in Chi-chin, and at seventy he
was a butcher in Ch`ao-ko; at ninety he was Teacher to the Son of
Heaven—this because he met King Wên. Kuan I-wu was bound
and kept with sealed-up eyes in a barred cart.
[14]
That he became
Chung-fu was because he met Duke Huan of Ch`i. Po-li Hsi sold
himself for five rams' skins to the Po family of Ch`in and herded
cattle. That he was raised to the rank of Great Officer was because
he met Duke Mu of Ch`in. That Yü-ch`iu [was famous] in the
empire
[15]
for yielding his position as Prime Minister to Sun-shu
Ao was because he met King Chuang of Ch`u. Wu Tzŭ-hsü at
first had considerable merit. Later on he was put to death by
decapitation. It was not because his understanding had decreased,
but because he first met Ho-lü and later met Fu-ch`ai. Now that
a thoroughbred horse is put to work on the salt carts
[16]
is not
because he has not the appearance [of a thououghbred], but because
no one recognizes him as such. If a thoroughbred horse
does not get his Po-lo, how can he achieve a thousand-
li run, and
how could Tsao-fu in his turn manage to drive a thousand-
li?
If there is no one to see the
lan-ch`ih plant growing in a dense
forest in the depths of the mountains, it will not be the less
fragrant.
[17]
So the purpose of study is not to achieve success, but
[to enable one] to be in straits and not be distressed, and to keep
the determination from failing in times of difficulty. First understand
the beginnings of disaster and good fortune, and your
mind will be without illusions. For this reason the sages lived in
retirement and reflected profoundly; they were unique in their
apprehension and insight.
[18]
Now Shun was certainly a sage and
a saint, but that he faced south and ruled the empire was solely
due to his meeting with Yao. If Shun had lived in the times of
Chou or Chieh, he would have been well off to escape punishment
or execution; there would have been no question of his holding
office. Chieh put Kuan Lung-fêng to death, and Chou put the
Prince Pi-kan to death. On those occasions did Kuan Lung-fêng
lack understanding? Did the Prince Pi-kan lack wisdom? In
both cases it was a matter of not meeting with the right time.
So the superior man devotes himself to study. He rectifies himself
and orders his conduct, waiting for the right time. May you
not be confused about this."
The Ode says,[19]
The crane cries in the ninth pool of the marsh,
And her voice is heard in the sky.
