University of Virginia Library

Chapter XXII

COLLECTED PERSUASIONS, THE UPPER SERIES[1]

T`ang had already subjugated Chieh. Fearing lest Allunder-Heaven
should speak of him as covetous, he transferred
the rule over All-under-Heaven to Wu Kuang. Again,
fearing lest Wu Kuang should accept the throne, he sent
men to persuade Wu Kuang that T`ang having killed the
ruler wanted to pass the bad reputation to him and so
transferred the rule over All-under-Heaven to him. In
consequence, Wu Kuang plunged into a river.

King Wu of Ch`in ordered Kan Mu to choose the post
he wanted, Grand Chamberlain or Minister of Foreign
Affairs.[2] Mêng Mao said to him: "Your Excellency had
better choose the post of Grand Chamberlain. What Your
Excellency excels in is the office of an envoy. Though Your
Excellency holds the post of Grand Chamberlain, yet His
Majesty will appoint you envoy in the hour of need. Then
Your Excellency while holding the seal of the Grand
Chamberlain in hand will be Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In other words, Your Excellency will hold an additional
post."

Tzŭ-yü once introduced Confucius to the Prime Minister
of Shang.[3] Confucius went out. Tzŭ-yü went in and asked
for the Premier's opinion of the visitor. In reply the Prime
Minister said: "After I have seen Confucius, you look as
small as lice and fleas to me. Now I am going to introduce
him to His Highness." Afraid that Confucius might be held

in high esteem by the ruler, Tzŭ-yü persuaded the Prime
Minister that after seeing Confucius, the ruler might also
consider him as small as lice and fleas. The Prime Minister,
accordingly, never saw Confucius again.

King Hui of Wey called a conference of the feudal lords
at Chiu-li with a view to restoring the supreme authority to
the Son of Heaven. Thereupon P`êng Hsi said to the Ruler
of Chêng: "Your Highness had better not listen to him.
Big powers dislike the existence of the Son of Heaven.
Smaller states profit by it. If Your Highness sides with the
big powers and does not listen to him, then how can the
Wey State together with smaller ones restore the supreme
authority to the Son of Heaven?"

When the Chins were attacking Hsing, Duke Huan of
Ch`i thought of rescuing it. Thereupon Pao Shu said:
"Too early. Hsing is not yet going to ruin. Chin is not
yet exhausted. If Chin is not exhausted, Ch`i cannot become
very influential. Moreover, the merit of supporting a state
in danger is not as great as the virtue of reviving a ruined
one. Your Highness had better rescue it later so as to exhaust
Chin! The result[4] will be advantageous in fact. If we
wait till Hsing is ruined and then revive it, it will be beautiful
in name."[5] Duke Huan, accordingly, stopped sending
reinforcements to Hsing.

When Tzŭ-hsü was making his escape, a frontier patrol
caught him. Tzŭ-hsü said: "The authorities want me
because they think I have a beautiful pearl. Now I have
already lost it. But I will say that you have seized and
swallowed it." Thereupon the patrol released him.

Ch`ing Fêng had caused a civil war in Ch`i and was
thinking of seeking refuge in Yüeh. His relatives said:
"Chin is near. Why won't you go to Chin?" "Yüeh is far,"
replied Ch`ing Fêng, "and so is good for seeking safety."
"If your rebellious nature can be changed," said the relatives,
"it is all right to stay in Chin; if it cannot be changed,
though you go far away to Yüeh, will you be safe there?"

When Earl Chih demanded territory from Viscount
Hsüan of Wey, the latter thought of not giving. "Why is
Your Highness not going to give?" asked Jên Chang.
"For no reason," replied Viscount Hsüan, "he is
demanding land from us. Therefore I am not going to
give." "If he demands territory from us without any
reason," said Jên Chang, "other neighbouring countries
will be afraid of the same demand. If his greed grows
insatiable, All-under-Heaven will worry about it. If Your
Highness gives him land now, he will become arrogant
and slight his enemies and the neighbouring countries will
out of common fear consolidate their friendship. If mutually
friendly troops cope with the country slighting its enemies,
the life of Earl Chih will not last long. It is said in the
Book of Chou, `When about to conquer anybody, be sure
to assist him; when about to take, be sure to give.' Your
Highness had better give and make Earl Chih arrogant.
Besides, why should Your Highness hesitate to scheme for
the Chih Clan with the rest of the world instead of making
ourselves alone the target of the Chihs?" "Right," replied
the Viscount, and, accordingly, gave out a fief of ten thousand
families. Thereby Earl Chih was greatly pleased. Then he
also demanded territory from Chao. The Chaos refused to
give, wherefore he besieged Chin-yang. It came to pass

that Han and Wey revolted outside while the Chaos responded
to them from inside the city. Thus in the long run[6] the
Chihs were destroyed.

Once Duke K`ang of Ch`in built a tower taking three
years. In the meantime, the Chings raised an army and were
about to attack Ch`i. Thereupon Jên Wang said to the
Duke: "Famine calls in invaders, pestilence calls in invaders,
compulsory labour service calls in invaders, civil war calls
in invaders. For three years Your Highness has been building
the tower. Now the Chings are raising an army and are
about to attack Ch`i, thy servant is afraid they will fight
Ch`i in name but raid Ch`in in fact. Better take precautions
against their invasion." Accordingly, Ch`in made military
preparations on its eastern border, wherefore the Chings
actually halted their expedition.

Once Ch`i attacked Sung. Sung sent Ts`ang-sun Tzŭ to
ask for reinforcements from Ching. The King of Ching,
greatly pleased, promised him reinforcements in a very
encouraging[7] manner. However, Ts`ang-sun Tzŭ looked
worried during his return trip. Therefore the coachman
asked: "The request for reinforcements has been just
granted, but why does Your Excellency look worried?"
In reply Ts`ang-sun Tzŭ said: "Sung is small while Ch`i
is big. To rescue small Sung and thereby offend big Ch`i,
it is what everybody worries about. Yet the King of Ching
was so willing to give us help. He must thereby mean to
stiffen our resistance. For if we offer stubborn resistance,
Ch`i will be exhausted, which will eventually be to the
advantage of Ching." So saying, Ts`ang-sun Tzŭ returned.

Meanwhile, the Ch`is took five cities from Sung, but Ching's
reinforcements did not come at all.

Once Marquis Wên of Wey wanted to borrow the way
through Chao to attack Central Hills. Marquis Shu of
Chao at first thought of not letting him have the way.
Thereupon Chao K`ê said: "Your Highness is mistaken.
Suppose Wey attack Central Hills and does not win, Wey
will then cease hostilities. Should she cease hostilities, she
will fall into contempt while Chao will thereby increase her
own prestige. Even though Wey succeeds in taking Central
Hills, she will not be able to maintain her rule over the new
territory across Chao. This will eventually mean that Wey
uses her troops but Chao gains their conquered territory.
Therefore, be sure to grant their request in a very
encouraging[8] manner! As soon as they come to know
that Your Highness is going to profit thereby, they will
stop the expedition. Therefore better let them have the way
and show that we are obliged to do so."

Ch`ih-i Tzŭ-p`i was working for Viscount T`ien Ch`êng.
When Viscount T`ien Ch`êng left Ch`i and was making an
escape to Yen, Ch`ih-i Tzŭ-p`i carried his pass along and
followed him. Upon their arrival at Hope Town Tzŭ-p`i
said: "Has Your Highness ever heard the story of the
snakes in a dry swamp? As the swamp was drying up and
the snakes had to move away, the small snake said to the big
one: `If you go in the front and I follow from behind,
men will think it is nothing but the migration of snakes,
and some of them might kill you. Better let our mouths
hold each other. And will you carry me on your back while
we are moving onward? Then men will regard me as ruler

of spirits.' Accordingly, they held each other's mouths and
one carried the other. When they were moving across the
public avenue in this manner, everybody avoided them,
saying, `It's the ruler of spirits.' Now that Your Highness
is handsome while I am homely, if Your Highness appears
to be my guest of honour, I would be taken for a ruler of
one thousand chariots; if Your Highness appears to be
my servant, I would be taken for a noble serving under a
ruler of ten thousand chariots. Suppose Your Highness be
my retainer." Viscount Ch`êng, accordingly, carried the
pass along and followed him to an inn. The inn-keeper
actually entertained them with great hospitality and presented
them with wine and meat.

Once a man of Wên went to Chou, but the Chous would
not admit any alien. "An alien?" asked a Chou official.
"No, a native" was the reply. The official then asked him
about the alley he was living in, but he did not know. Therefore
he put him under arrest. The Ruler of Chou then sent
men to ask him, "You are not a native of Chou, but why
did you say you were not an alien?" In reply the man
said: "Since thy servant was a child, he has been reciting
the poem saying:

Now that Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, thy servant
is one of his subjects. Then can thy servant be both a subject
and an alien to His Majesty? So, thy servant said he was a
native." Thereupon the Ruler ordered him to be released.

King Hsüan of Han once asked Chiu Liu: "I, the King,
want to appoint to office both Kung Chung and Kung Shu.
Will it be safe?" "No, it will not be safe," replied Chiu
Liu. "As Chin employed the Six Nobles, the state was
eventually partitioned; as Duke Chien employed both Ti`en
Ch`êng and Kan Chih, he was murdered in the long run;
and as Wey employed both Hsi-shou and Chang Yi, all
the territory to the west of the Yellow River was lost as a
result. Now suppose Your Majesty employ both of them.
Then the more powerful one will form his own faction
inside[10] while the less powerful one will count on foreign
influence. Among the body of officials, if there are some
forming factions inside and thereby acting arrogantly towards
the sovereign and some others cultivating friendships with
foreign states and thereby causing territorial dismemberment,
then Your Majesty's state will be jeopardized."

Once upon a time, Shao Chi-mei was drunk and asleep
and lost his fur garment. The Ruler of Sung[11] asked, "Is
drunkenness sufficient to lose a fur garment?" In reply
he said: "Because of drunkenness Chieh lost his rule over
All-under-Heaven. So does the `Announcement to K`ang'[12]
read: `Do not indulge in wine.' To indulge in wine
means to drink wine habitually. The Son of Heaven, if he
becomes a habitual drinker, will lose his rule over All-underHeaven.
An ordinary man, if he becomes a habitual drinker,
will lose his life."

Kuan Chung and Hsi P`êng accompanied Duke Huan in
the expedition against Ku-chu. When spring was gone and
winter came again, they went astray and lost the way.
Thereupon Kuan Chung said: "The wisdom of old horses
is trustworthy." So they let old horses go of themselves and
followed them from behind, till they found the way. As
they went onward, there was no water in the mountains.
Thereupon Hsi P`êng said: "Ants live on the sunny side
of the mountain in winter and on the shady side in summer.
Wherever there is an ant-hill one inch high, there is always
water underneath it." So they dug the ground and found
water. Thus, Kuan Chung despite his saintliness and Hsi
P`êng despite his intelligence never hesitated to learn from
old horses and ants what they did not know. Men of to-day,
however low their mentality may be, never think of learning
from the wisdom of saintly men. Is it not a great fault?

Once upon a time, somebody presented the elixir of life
to the King of Ching. The court usher held it in his hand
and entered the palace. There the guard asked him, "May
I eat it?" "Of course" was the reply. The guard,
accordingly, took it away from the usher and ate it. Enraged
thereby, the King sentenced him to death. The guard then
sent men to persuade the King, saying: "Thy servant
asked the usher. The usher[13] said I might eat it. Therefore
thy servant ate it. This means that thy servant is innocent
and the usher is the one to blame. Further, the guest is
supposed to have presented the elixir of life. Now, if Your
Majesty puts thy servant to death after thy servant ate it,
then the elixir must be a mortal drug. This will testify his
deception of Your Majesty. Indeed, to put thy innocent

servant to death and thereby prove somebody else's deception
of Your Majesty is not as good as to release thy
servant." Hearing this, the King refrained from killing him.

T`ien Ssŭ once deceived the Ruler of Tsou, wherefore the
Ruler of Tsou was about to send men to kill him. Fearing
the penalty, T`ien Ssŭ appealed to Hui Tzŭ for help. Hui
Tzŭ, accordingly, interviewed the Ruler of Tsou, saying:
"Now suppose someone look at Your Highness with one
eye shut, what will Your Highness do to him?" "I will
put him to death," replied the Ruler. "Yet the blind man
shuts both his eyes. Why don't you kill him?" asked
Hui Tzŭ. "It is because by nature he cannot help shutting
his eyes," replied the Ruler. "Well, T`ien Ssŭ deceived
the Ruler[14] of Ch`i in the east," said Hui Tzŭ, "and in the
south deceived the King of Ching. Ssŭ habitually deceives
people just as the blind man has to shut both his eyes. Why
should Your Highness show resentment at him in
particular?" Hearing this, the Ruler of Tsou refrained
from killing him.

Duke Mu of Lu sent out the various princes to take up
office at the court of Chin and the court of Ching. Thereupon
Li Chü said: "Suppose we employ men from Yüeh to
rescue our drowning sons. Then though the Yüehs are
good swimmers, our sons' lives would not be saved. Suppose
a fire burst out and we fetch water from the sea. Then
though the water of the sea is abundant, the fire would not
go into extinction. Thus, distant water cannot put out a
fire at hand. Now, though Chin and Ching are strong,

Ch`i is a close neighbour. Should Lu worry that Chin and
Ching might not come in time to rescue Lu in case of conflict
with Ch`i?"

Yen Sui was not on good terms with the Ruler of Chou,
wherefore the Ruler of Chou[15] worried. So Fêng Chü[16]
said: "Yen Sui is Premier of the Han State, but the Ruler
holds Han K`uei in high respect. The best is to assassinate
Han K`uei. Then the Ruler of Han would hold the Yen
Clan responsible for the act."

Chang Ch`ien, Premier of Han, was ill and about to die.
Kung-ch`êng Wu-chêng took thirty taels of gold along in
his bosom and inquired after his health. In the course of
one month the Ruler of Han went himself to ask Chang
Ch`ien: "If the Premier passes away, who else should
take his place?" In reply Chang Ch`ien said: "Wu-chêng
upholds the law and reveres the superior. However, he is
not as good as Prince Shih-wo in winning the hearts of the
people." Chang Ch`ien died. The Ruler, accordingly,
appointed Wu-chêng Prime Minister.

Yo Yang commanded the Wey forces in attacking Central
Hills, when his son was in that country. The Ruler of
Central Hills steamed his son and sent him the soup. Yo
Yang, then seated beneath the tent, supped the soup and
drank up the whole plateful. Marquis Wên said to Tu
Shih-chan: "Yo Yang on account of His Highness ate the
flesh of his son." In response to this Tu Shih-chan said:
"Even his own son he ate. Who else then would he not
eat?" When Yo Yang came back from the campaign in

Central Hills, Marquis Wên rewarded him for his meritorious
service but suspected his mind.

Mêng Sun went out hunting and got a fawn. He then
ordered Ch`in Hsi-pa to bring it home. On the way the
mother deer followed along and kept crying. Unable to
bear that, Ch`in Hsi-pa gave the fawn back to its mother,
when Mêng Sun arrived and asked for the fawn. In reply
Hsi-pa said: "Unable to bear the mother's crying, I gave
it back to her." Enraged thereby, Mêng Sun dismissed him.
In the course of three months, he recalled him and appointed
him tutor of his son. Out of wonder his coachman asked,
"Why did Your Excellency blame him before and has
now called him back to be tutor of the young master?"
"If he could not bear the ruin of a fawn," replied Mêng
Sun, "how would he bear the ruin of my son?"

Hence the saying: "Skilful deception is not as good as
unskilful sincerity." For instance, Yo Yang despite his
merit incurred suspicion while Ch`in Hsi-pa despite his
demerit increased his credit.

Tsêng Ts`ung Tzŭ was good in judging swords. The
Ruler of Wei had ill will towards the King of Wu. Therefore
Tsêng Ts`ung Tzŭ said to him: "The King of Wu is
fond of swords. Thy servant is good in judging swords.
May thy servant go to judge swords for the King of Wu,
and, when drawing out a sword to show him, thrust him
with it and thereby avenge Your Highness?" In reply the
Ruler of Wei said: "Your action[17] is right to your own
advantage but not for any public cause. Now that Wu is
strong and rich while Wei is weak and poor, if you go at
all, you would, I am afraid, be employed by the King of
Wu to do the same to me." So saying, he dismissed him.

When Chow made chop-sticks of ivory, the Viscount of
Chi was frightened. He thought: "Ivory chop-sticks
would not be put on earthen-wares but on cups made of
jade or of rhinoceros horns. Further, jade cups and ivory
chop-sticks would not go with the soup made of beans
and coarse greens, but with the meat of long-haired buffaloes
and unborn leopards. Again, eaters of the meat of longhaired
buffaloes and unborn leopards would not wear short
hemp clothes and live in a thatched house but would put
on nine layers of embroidered dresses and move to live on
lofty terraces and in magnificent mansions. Thus, if their
demands go onward at this rate, even All-under-Heaven
will not be sufficient." The saintly man by seeing the obscure
knew the manifest, and by seeing the origin knew the
outcome. Therefore, on seeing the ivory chop-sticks made,
he was thereby frightened and knew that eventually even
All-under-Heaven would not be sufficient.

Duke Tan of Chou, having vanquished Yin, was about
to attack Shang-kai, when Duke Chia of Hsin said to him:
"Big states are hard to attack, small ones are easy to
subjugate. The best is to subjugate small states and thereby
intimidate big ones." Accordingly, they fell upon the Nine
Barbarians with the result that Shang-kai submitted also.

Chow indulged in over-night drinking and through the
pleasure[18] forgot the date of the day. He asked his attendants
about the date. None of them knew. So he sent men to
ask the Viscount of Chi. Thereupon the Viscount of Chi
said to his followers[19] : "Now that he who is the Lord of
All-under-Heaven finds everybody in the whole country

forget the date of the day, All-under-Heaven must be in
danger. Since nobody in the country is aware of the date
and I alone am aware of it, I must be in danger, too." So
saying, he refused to tell the date by pretending to
drunkenness and ignorance of it.

Once upon a time, a man of Lu, who was a good maker
of sandals, and whose wife was a good weaver of gloss-silk,
was about to migrate to Yüeh. Thereupon someone said,
"You are bound to become poor there!" "Why?" asked
the man. "Because sandals are for the feet to wear, but the
Yüehs go bare-footed. Gloss-silk is for making crowns,
but the Yüehs dishevel their hair. With your skill
unemployed in that country, how can you help becoming
poor?"

Ch`ên Hsü[20] was held in esteem by the King of Wey.
Hui Tzŭ said to him: "Be sure to keep on good terms with
the attendants. Indeed, the aspen, whether planted sidewise
or upside down or from a branch broken off, grows just
the same. However, suppose ten men plant ten aspens and
only one man pulls them out. Then there will grow no
aspen. Now, ten men planting trees so easy to grow cannot
overcome only one person pulling them out. Why? It is
because it is hard to plant them but easy to pull them out.
Similarly, though Your Excellency is skilful in establishing
himself with the favour of the King, if those who want to
oust Your Excellency are many, Your Excellency will be in
danger."

Chi Sun of Lu had recently murdered the Ruler, while
Wu Ch`i was still serving him. Thereupon someone said
to Wu Ch`i: "Indeed, a dead person who has just died

still has living blood. But living blood will turn into dead
blood, dead blood into ashes, and ashes into earth. When
it is earth, nothing can be done about it. Now, Chi Sun
still has living blood. Might it be possible to foreknow
what he will become?" Hearing this, Wu Ch`i left for
Chin.

Once, when Hsi Ssŭ-mi visited Viscount T`ien Ch`êng,
Viscount T`ien Ch`êng took him to a tower to look out
over the four directions. In three directions they could
admire far-reaching views, but when they looked out over
the south, they saw the trees of Hsi Tzŭ's residence[21] in the
way. Thereat Viscount T`ien Ch`êng as well as Hsi Ssŭ-mi
made no remark. Upon his return to his residence Hsi Tzŭ
ordered servants to hew down the trees. No sooner had the
axes made several cuts than Hsi Tzŭ stopped them. "Why
does Your Excellency change his mind so suddenly?"
asked the house servants. In reply Hsi Tzŭ said: "The
ancients had a proverb saying, `Who knows the fish in the
abyss is unlucky.' Indeed, Viscount T`ien is about to
launch an extraordinary affair. If I show him that I know
its minute details, I will be jeopardized. Not hewing down
the trees will constitute no offence; knowing what he
never utters in word will amount to a serious offence." So
they stopped hewing down the trees.

Once Yang Tzŭ passed through Sung and stayed[22] in an
inn. The inn had two waitresses. The ugly one of them was
esteemed but the beautiful one was despised. Therefore
Yang Tzŭ asked the reason. In reply the old inn-keeper said:

"The beautiful one thinks so much of her own beauty,
but I never notice her being so beautiful. The ugly one is
so conscious of her own ugliness, but I never notice her
being so ugly." Thereupon Yang Tzŭ said to his disciples:
"Who practises worthiness and abandons the aptitude for
self-esteem, would be praised wherever he goes."

Once a man of Wei on giving a daughter in marriage
taught her, saying: "Be sure to accumulate your own
savings because it is usual for a married woman to be
divorced and it is unusually lucky if she can succeed in
making a new home." The daughter, accordingly,
accumulated her own savings in secret. In consequence,
her mother-in-law, regarding her as extraordinarily self-seeking,
divorced her. Upon her return her possession was
twice as much as her dowry. The father not only never
blamed himself for having given his daughter a wrong
precept but even considered the way he had increased his
wealth astute.[23] In these days,[24] office-hunters when appointed
to posts would do the same as the daughter given in marriage.

Lu Tan thrice persuaded the Ruler of Central Hills, but
his advice was never taken. So he spent fifty taels to gain
the good-will of the attendants. Then he went to have
another audience, when the Ruler, before speaking one
word to him, invited him to a banquet. When Lu Tan
went out, he did not return to his lodging place but left
Central Hills at once. Out of wonder his coachman asked
him: "The Ruler of Central Hills only began to show
Your Excellency courtesies during the last interview, but

why should Your Excellency leave so soon?" In reply he
said: "Indeed, just as he showed courtesies to me in
accordance with people's words, he would charge me with
crimes in accordance with people's words, too." True,
before they went out of the state border, the heir apparent
slandered him, saying that he had come to spy for Chao.
The Ruler of Central Hills, accordingly, searched for him
and found him guilty.

Earl T`ien Ting loved warriors and scholars and thereby
kept his Ruler in safety; the Duke of White loved warriors
and scholars and thereby threw Ching into confusion. Their
loving warriors and scholars was the same, but the motives
behind the action were different. Again, Kung-sun Chi[25]
cut off his feet and thereby recommended Pai-li Hsi; Shu
Tiao castrated himself and thereby ingratiated himself with
Duke Huan. Their punishing themselves was the same,
but the motives behind their self-punishment were different.
Therefore, Hui[26] Tzŭ said: "An insane person is running
eastward and a pursuer is running eastward, too. Their
running eastward is the same, but the motives behind their
running eastward are different." Hence the saying: "Men
doing the same thing ought to be differentiated in motive."