University of Virginia Library

BOOK ELEVEN

Chapter XXXII

OUTER CONGERIES OF SAYINGS, THE UPPER
LEFT SERIES[1]

I. The enlightened sovereign's way of government is
like the remark Yu-jo gave Mi Tzŭ. The stupid[2] sovereign,
in listening to words, admires their eloquence, and, in observing
deeds, reveres their unworldliness. In consequence, it
becomes the way of the officials, gentry and commoners, to utter
roundabout and high-sounding words and attempt in personal
conduct to rise above the worldly fact. The saying is based
on T`ien Chiu's reply to the King of Ching. For further
illustration, Mo Tzŭ constructed the wooden kite and the
Singer Kuei built the war palace. Indeed, drugged wine
and useful advice are what wise men and enlightened
sovereigns ought to appreciate in particular.[3]

II. If the lord of men, in listening to words, does not take
function and utility as objective, dialecticians will present
such absurd discussions as the Stories of the Bramble Thorn
and the White Horse. If there is no aim and mark concerned,
then every archer will become as skilful as Yi. The lord of
men inclined towards theories is always like the King of
Yen attempting to learn the way to immortality. Those men
proficient in argumentation are all like the Chêngs contending

for seniority in age. Therefore, words that are too minute
to be scrutinized and too ineffable to be carried out are not
the need of honour. Thus, for instance, Chi[4] Liang, Hui Shih,
Sung Hsing, and Mo Ti,[5] were like the painter of the whip.
As their theories, being roundabout, profound, magnificent,
and exaggerating, were not practical; Wey[6] Mou and Chan
Ho[7] when the former was dealing[8] with the latter, were both[9]
like devils and demons inasmuch as their deeds, being
frequently unnatural, difficult, stubborn, and angular, were
unpractical; and Wu Kuang, Pien Sui, Pao Chiao, Chieh
Tzŭ-t`ui,[10] and T`ien Chung,[11] were all like hard gourds.
Moreover, Yü Ch`ing impressed the carpenter[12] with reasons,
wherefore the house fell to pieces; Fan Chü brought the
bow-maker to his wits' end, wherefore the bows broke to
pieces. For this reason, to seek for truth one must trust
to practical means.

III. Indeed, when two persons work together, they blame
each other for losses and hope for gains from each other;
when one works for himself, the affair proceeds well. Thus,
even father and son sometime blame and scold[13] each other.

The employer of workmen, provides them with delicious
soup. The saying is based on Duke Wên's declaration of
enemies' faults before he opened any attack upon Sung and
on Kou-chien's mention of the Ju-huang Tower built by
Wu. For further illustration, Duke Huan concealed his
anger at Ts`ai and attacked Ch`u. Wu Ch`i wanted
his subordinate officer's[14] earliest recovery and so sucked his
boil. Moreover, the loose and panegyric poems composed
by the early kings as well as the precepts inscribed on bells
and tripods are all like the footprint left by the Father
Sovereign of Chao on Mountain Fan-wu[15] and the backgammon
made by King Chao of Ch`in on the Hua Mountain.
However, what the early kings expected was material profit
what they employed was physical strength. That Duke
Wên quoted the proverb about the shrine-builders was to
ascertain his self-excuse. Supposing one listened to the
scholars and made glorious and exaggerating quotations
from the early kings, might not the whole thing be unsuitable
to the present age? Yet conditions as such cannot be reformed!
This is just like the man from the Prefecture of Chêng getting
a yoke, the man of Wei shooting stringed arrows,[16] the wife
of Po Tzŭ purposely making new trousers like old ones, the
youngster attending on the elder men drinking.[17] After all,
when the early kings' words are of little use, people of the
present world think they are very useful; when they are very
useful, people of the present world think they are of little
use. They cannot always tell which are really very useful
and which are not so. The basis of the saying is found in
the Sung man's understanding of an ancient book and in the
Liang man's reading of an ancient record. Thus, whenever
the early kings wrote down any word as the man of Ying did
in his letter to the Premier of Yen, most people of posterity
revere it in the way the Premier of Yen interpreted the meaning
of the word. Indeed, whoever does not suit means of
political control to actual state affairs but takes advice solely
from the words of the early kings instead, is like the man
going home from the shoe market to get the measurements
of his feet.

IV. Wherever lies profit, there people go; wherever
fame is offered, there officers die. Therefore, if any meritorious
service goes beyond the limits of the law and reward
is bestowed therefore, then the superior cannot[18] gain any
profit from the inferior; if fame goes beyond the limits
of the law and honour accompanies it, then officers will
strive after their own fame but never[19] will cultivate any fame
for the ruler. For this reason, after Chung-chang and Hsü-i
had been appointed to office, the people of Chung-mou
deserted their fields and farms and those who pursued the
literary studies numbered half the population of the fief.
Similarly, because Duke P`ing, in spite of the soreness of his
calves and the numbness of his legs, dared not leave his
seat when Shu Hsiang was having an audience with him, men
of Chin who resigned from official posts and yearned after

Shu Hsiang occupied one-third[20] of the size of the country.
These three personages, when their words were in accordance
with the law, were merely subjects loyal to the government,
and, when their deeds were suitable to affairs, were simply
people obedient to orders. Yet the tributes paid them by both
their Rulers were too great. If their words went beyond the
limits of the law and their deeds were far from meritorious,
then they were people slipping out of the inked string.[21]
In that case why should both their Rulers have paid them any
tribute at all? If they did, they missed the point of propriety.
Moreover, private scholars pursuing studies, when the state
is at peace, never exert their physical strength, and, once
an emergency comes, never don armour. If revered, they
neglect the work of farming and fighting; if not revered,
they injure[22] the law of the sovereign. When the state is in
security, they are ennobled and celebrated; when the state is
in danger, they are as cowardly[23] as Ch`ü Kung. Such being
the case, what can the lord of men gain out of the private
scholars pursuing studies? Therefore, the enlightened
sovereign[24] would take into consideration Li Tz`ŭ's report
of the Central Hills State.

V. It is said in the Book of Poetry, "In him, himself inert,
the people put no trust."[25] Of this precept a Grand Tutor
persuaded a feudal lord to wear no purple clothes. In

illustration of it the cases of Duke Chien of Chêng and Duke
Hsiang of Sung can be cited.[26] It charges every ruler with the
duty of honouring and esteeming,[27] farming and fighting.
Indeed, who distinguishes between high and low, does not
hold subordinates responsible for successful outcome,[28] but
merely makes himself an example to the inferior,[29] does the
same[30] as Duke Ching when he left the carriage and ran on foot,
King Chao read the code and fell down asleep, and a certain
ruler[31] covered with his hands his worn-out plain clothes. Kung
Ch`iu, not knowing this, said that the ruler was like a basin.
The Ruler of Tsou, not knowing this, humiliated himself
before doing anything else. The way of the enlightened
sovereign is the same as Shu Hsiang distributing bounties[32]
and as Marquis Chao granting nobody any request.

VI. If small faith is well accomplished, great faith will
naturally be established. Therefore, the enlightened
sovereign accumulates faith. If reward and punishment are
of no faith, then prohibitions and orders cannot prevail.
The basis of the saying is found in Duke Wên's attack on
Yüan and in Chi Chêng's rescue of the starvelings. For the
same reason, Wu Ch`i waited for his old friend till he came
to dine with him; Marquis Wên met the men of Yü at the
appointed time before he started hunting. Therefore, the

enlightened sovereign would value[33] faith in the way Tsêng
Tzŭ killed a pig. The calamity of breaking faith is illustrated
by King Li's[34] beating the alarm drum and by Li Kuei`s
deceiving the guards of both gates.

So much for the canons.

Annotations to Canon I:—

Mi Tzŭ Chien governed San-fu. Once Yu-jo saw him and
asked him. "Why have you become so thin?" In reply
Mi Tzŭ said: "His Highness, not knowing my inferiority
and unworthiness, appointed me Governor of San-fu. The
official duties are urgent. My mind is always worried over
them. Therefore I have become thin." Thereupon Yu-jo
remarked: "In bygone days Shun played the five-stringed
guitar and sang the South Wind Poem[35] but All-underHeaven
was well governed. Now that San-fu is so tiny and
you have worried about governing it, what can be done with
All-under-Heaven? Thus, if you have the right craft to rule
the country, then even though you remain seated in the hall
of the palace and retain the charming complexion of a girl,
there will be no harm to political order. But if you have no
tact to rule the country, then even though your body
becomes exhausted and skinny, still there will not be help
to political order."

The King of Ch`u once said to T`ien Chiu: "Mo Tzŭ
was a celebrity for learning. What he personally practised[36] is
agreeable but his sayings are mostly not eloquent. Why?"
In reply T`ien Chiu said: "Formerly when the Earl of
Ch`in married his daughter to the prince of Chin, he
embellished her dowry[37] by adding seventy beautifully
dressed[38] maids to it. Upon their arrival in Chin, the Chins
loved the concubines but slighted the princess. This may be
said to be good in marrying out the concubines but cannot
be said to be good in marrying out the daughter. Once
upon a time a man of Ch`u was selling pearls in Chêng. For
the pearls he made magnolia boxes, which he perfumed with
cassia spice, bound with beads, decorated them with red gems,
and filled harmoniously with the kingfisher's feather.[39] In
the long run people in Chêng bought the caskets but returned
the pearls. This may be said to be good in selling caskets but
cannot be said to be good in trading pearls. Now, the
itinerants of the present world all speak with the words of
eloquent persuasiveness and literary phrasing. In consequence
the lord of men reads the literature with exceeding interest
but forgets its utility. The teachings of Mo Tzŭ convey the
principles of the early kings and theorize the words of the
saintly men and thereby propagate ideas among people.
If he made his phrasing eloquent, people might, it was feared,
harbour the literature but forget the utility,[40] that is to say,
he might injure the utility with the literature. That would be

doing exactly the same thing as the man of Ch`u trading
pearls and the Earl of Ch`in marrying out his daughter.
Therefore, the sayings of Mo Tzŭ were mostly not eloquent."

Mo Tzŭ once constructed a wooden kite, which it took
him three years to complete. After flying for one day, it
broke. His disciples said: "The master's skill is so excellent
as to make the wooden kite fly." Mo Tzŭ said: "I am not as
skilful as the maker of the cross-bar for yoking the oxen.
He uses a piece of wood eight inches or one foot[41] long and
spends less time than one morning while the bar can pull
the burden of thirty piculs,[42] has the strength for going a long
way, and lasts for a number of years. Now, in constructing
a wooden kite, it took me three years to complete it, which
broke after one day's flying." Hearing about this, Hui Tzŭ
said, "Mo Tzŭ was exceedingly skilful, considering the
construction of the cross-bar skilful and the construction of
the wooden kite clumsy."

The King of Sung was at feud with Ch`i. When he was
building the war palace, the Singer Kuei led the chorus of the
workmen. As a result, the passers-by stopped to see them
while the builders never felt tired. Hearing about this, the
King summoned Kuei and rewarded him therefor. Thereupon
Kuei said, "Thy servant's master Hsieh Chi, sings
better than thy servant does." The King, accordingly,
summoned Hsieh Chi and ordered him to sing. As a result,
the passers-by never stopped while the builders perceived
their own weariness. "Now that the passers-by do not

know what is going on while the builders perceive their own
weariness, he sings not[43] as well as Kuei. What is the reason?"
asked the King. In reply Kuei said, "Suppose Your Majesty
measure the respective results. Kuei by his singing had only
four panel boards done while Hsieh Chi had eight. As regards
the solidity of the walls, they can pierce five inches through
Kuei's work but only two inches through Hsieh Chi's work."

Indeed, good drugs are bitter to the mouth, but intelligent
people are willing to take them because they know the drugs
after being taken will cure their diseases. Loyal words are
unpleasant to the ears, but the enlightened sovereign listens
to them, because he knows they will bring about successful
results.

Annotations to Canon II:—

Once a man of Sung asked permission to engrave a female
ape on the edge of a bramble thorn for the King of Yen.
According to him, the King must remain purified for three
months before he could see it. The King, accordingly,
supported him with the emolument[44] of three chariots.[45]
Thereupon the smith who attended on the King said[46] to him:
"Thy servant has heard, `No lord of men can remain
purified for ten days without having a drinking feast in the
meantime.' Now that the Sung man knows the inability of
Your Majesty to remain purified long enough in order to see
a useless object, he purposely set three months as the period
of purification. As a rule, the instruments of engravers and

carvers must always be smaller than their objects. Being a
smith himself, thy servant finds no way to make him any
instrument for carving. It is an unattainable object. May Your
Majesty deliberate on the matter!" Accordingly, the King
arrested and questioned the man of Sung, found out his falsehood,
and put him to death. The smith again said to the King,
"If the state has no weights and measures to regulate things,
itinerants would present mostly such absurd discussions as
the Bramble Thorn Story."

According to a different source: Once the King of Yen
was recruiting skilful artists, when a man of Wei asked permission
to engrave a female ape on the edge of a bramble
thorn. Delighted, the King of Yen supported him with the
emolument of five chariots. Then the King asked "May I,
the King, for trial see the ape on the bramble thorn engraved
by my honourable guest?" "If the lord of men wants to
see it," replied the guest, "he must be absent from his harem
and abstain from wine and meat for half a year. Then, when
the rain clears up and the sun shines again, he will be able to
see the female ape in a dark shady place." In consequence,
the King of Yen purposely supported the man of Wei but
could not see his female ape. In the meantime a smith famous
for making kitchen utensils in Chêng said to the King of
Yen: "Thy servant is a carver. Every tiny object to be
carved must have a carving knife, and the carving instrument
is always larger than the object to be carved. Now that
the edge of the bramble thorn is too small even for the tip
of an awl, it must be extraordinarily difficult to handle the
edge of the bramble thorn. Suppose Your Majesty try to see
the awl of the guest. Then either his ability or inability will
be known." "Good," the King said, and then asked the man

of Wei, "What kind of an instrument does my honour-able
guest use in carving the female ape on the bramble
thorn?"[47] "An awl," "I want to see[48] it," said the King.
"May thy servant go back to his lodging place and get it?" So saying, the guest ran away.

Ni Yüeh[49] was a skilful dialectician among the Sungs.
Maintaining the argument that "the white horse is not the
horse,"[50] he overcame the debaters beneath the Grain[51] Gate

of the capital of Ch`i. Once when he rode a white horse and
came to a pass, he had to pay the horse-tax for the white horse.
Thus, on playing with empty terms, he could triumph over
the whole country, but on investigating facts and examining
features he could not deceive anybody.

Indeed, suppose you sharpen an arrow, draw the bow, and
shoot the arrow, then though you close your eyes and shoot
at random, the pointed head of the arrow is bound to hit the
tip of an autumn spikelet. However, unless you can hit the
same spot again, you cannot be called a skilful archer. For
you have no constant aim and mark. Now if the target were
five inches in diameter and the arrow were shot from a distance
of one hundred steps,[52] then nobody other than Yi and
Fêng Mêng could with certainty hit[53] the mark every time.
For there would then be a constant aim and mark. Therefore,
in the presence of a constant aim and mark the straight hit
by Hou Yi and Fêng Mêng at a target five inches in diameter
is regarded as skilful; whereas in the absence of a constant
aim and mark the wild hit at the tip of an autumn spikelet is
regarded as awkward. For the same reason, if the sovereign
has no fixed standard and makes responses to any speaker,
then the itinerants will talk too much nonsense; whereas if
he establishes a fixed standard and holds any speaker to it,
then even intelligent men will be afraid of making mistakes
and dare not speak at random.[54] Now, the lord of men, in
listening to suggestions, does not consider them under a
fixed standard but simply approves[55] of their eloquence, does

not measure them with their meritorious services but plainly
honours their virtuous deeds, and does not take any concern
in a constant aim amd mark.[56] This is the reason why the lord
of men is always deceived and the itinerants are for ever
supported.

Once a traveller taught the King of Yen the way to
immortality. The King then sent men to learn it. Before
the men sent to learn completed their study, the traveller
died. Enraged thereby, the King chastized the students.
Thus, the King did not know that he himself had been
deceived by the traveller, but censured the students for their
tardiness. Indeed, to believe in an unattainable thing and
chastize innocent subjects is the calamity of thoughtlessness.
Moreover, what a man cares for is nothing other than
his own self. If he could not make himself immortal, how
could he make the King live for ever?

Once there were men of Chêng contending for seniority
in age. One man said, "My age is the same as Yao's."
Another man said, "I am as old as the elder brother of the
Yellow Emperor." They brought the dispute to the court,
but the judge could not make any decision. Finally he ruled
that the one who was the last to stop arguing won the case.

Once a traveller, who painted the whip for the Ruler of
Chou, spent three years to complete it. When the Ruler saw
it, it looked exactly like a plainly varnished whip. Thereby
the Ruler of Chou was enraged. Then the painter of the
whip said, "Build a wall twenty feet[57] high and a window
eight feet long. Place the whip upon it at sunrise and then

look at it." The Ruler of Chou, accordingly, looked at the
features of the whip in the way he had been instructed and
found them all turning into dragons, serpents, birds, beasts,
carriages, and horses, and the forms of myriad other things
all present. Thereat he was greatly pleased. The work done
to this whip certainly was delicate and difficult. Yet its
utility was the same as that of any plainly varnished whip.

Once upon a time there was a traveller drawing for the
King of Ch`i. "What is the hardest thing to draw?" asked
the King. "Dogs and horses are the hardest." "Then what
is the easiest?" "Devils and demons are the easiest. Indeed,
dogs and horses are what people know and see at dawn and
dusk in front of them. To draw them no distortion is permissible.
Therefore they are the hardest. On the contrary, devils
and demons have no shapes and are not seen in front of anybody,
therefore it is easy to draw them."

In Ch`i there was a retired scholar named T`ien Chung.
Once a man of Sung named Ch`ü Ku saw him and said: "Ku[58]
has heard about the principle of the respected master not to
depend upon people for his food supplies. Now, Ku has a
way of planting the gourd, whose fruits are as hard as stones
and are solid but not hollow inside. Therefore, he is presenting
them to the master." Then Chung said: "Indeed, gourds
are valuable because they can serve as vessels. Now that they
are solid and not hollow, they cannot[59] serve up anything. If
they are as hard as stones,[60] they cannot be split for emptying
out.[61] I have no use for these gourds." "If so, Ku will throw

them away." Now that T`ien Chun not depending upon
people for food supplies was also of no use to the country of
people, he was like the hard gourds.

Yü Ch`ing was building a house, and said to the carpenter,
"This house will be too high." Then the carpenter said:
"This is a new house, its plaster being wet and its beams
supporting the eaves still unseasoned. Indeed the wet plaster
is heavy and the unseasoned beams are curved. With curved
beams supporting wet plaster, the house ought to become low
enough." "That will not be so," said Yü Ch`ing. "After a
number of days, the plaster will be dry and the beams will be
seasoned. When dry, the plaster will be light; when seasoned,
the beams will be straight. With straight beams supporting
dry plaster, the house will be still higher." Thereby the
carpenter gave in and did the building in the way Yü Ch`ing
wanted, but the house collapsed.

According to a different source: Yü Ch`ing was going to
build a house, when the carpenter said: "The wood is
unseasoned and the plaster is wet. Indeed, when unseasoned,
the wood is curved; when wet, the plaster is heavy. With
curved wood supporting heavy plaster, the house, though it
may be completed now, will certainly collapse as time goes on."
In response to this Yü Ch`ing said: "When dry, the wood
will become straight; when dry the plaster will become light.
Suppose the wood and the plaster are really dry now. Then
they will become lighter and straighter day by day and will
never collapse even after a long period of time." Thereby
the carpenter gave in and did the building in the way Yü
Ch`ing wanted. In the meantime following the completion,
the house actually collapsed.

Fan Chü[62] said: "The bow breaks always towards the
end and never at the beginning. To be sure, the bow-maker
first draws the bow, leaves it in the stand for thirty days,[63] then
puts the string on it, and after one day shoots arrows with
it. Thereby he makes it tender at the beginning and tough
towards the ending. How can the bow not break? Chü's
way of making bows is not the same—namely, to leave the
bow in the stand for one day, then put the string on it, and
after thirty days shoot arrows with it. Thereby I make it
tough at the beginning and tender towards the ending."
At his wits' end, the bow-maker made bows in the way Fan
Chü wanted. The bows broke to pieces.

The sayings of Fan Chü and Yü Ch`ing are all eloquent in
structure and excellent in diction to the realities of things.
Yet the lord of men is always delighted at such sayings and
never suppresses them. This is the cause of his failure.
Indeed, not to seek for the merits in attaining order and
strength but to covet the voices in making eloquent speeches
and beautiful compositions, is to reject the experts in statecraft
and trust to such laymen as would break houses and
bows. Therefore, the lord of men in administering state
affairs is always not as skilful as the carpenter in building
houses and the craftsman in making bows. However, the
experts are driven to their wits' end by Fan Chü and Yü
Ch`ing. Because[64] of the futility of[65] empty phrases the latter

triumph. Because of the immutability of[66] practical things
the former are driven at bay. The lord of men makes much
of useless eloquent speeches and makes light of immutable
propositions. This is the cause of disorder. In the present
world there are always men who would imitate Fan Chü
and Yü Ch`ing, but the lord of men is uncreasingly delighted
with them. This is to revere such types of men as the
house- and bow-makers and look at the technical experts as
carpenters or craftsmen. As the carpenter and the craftsman[67]
could not exert their technical skill, the house collapsed and
the bow broke. Likewise, as the experts in statecraft cannot
carry out their policy, the state is disorderly and the sovereign
is jeopardized.

To be sure, children, when they play together, take soft
earth as cooked rice, muddy water as soup, and wood
shavings as slices of meat. However, at dusk they would go
home for supper because dust rice and mud soup can be
played with but cannot be eaten. Indeed, tributes to the legacy
of remote antiquity, are appreciative and eloquent but superficial;
and admiration of the early kings for their benevolence
and righteousness, cannot rectify the course of the state.
Therefore, they can be played with but cannot be used as
instruments of government, either. Indeed, those who have
longed after benevolence and righteousness and become
weak and disorderly are the Three Chins. The one who has
never longed but has become orderly and strong is Ch`in.
However, she has not yet become an empire because her
government is not yet perfect.

Annotations to Canon III:—

If one receives no good care in his childhood from his
parents, when he grows up, as a son he shows resentment at
them. Though the son grows to be a big and strong man,
his provisions for his parents are rather scanty. Then the
parents become angry and reprimand him. Now, father and
son are the closest relatives. Yet they either reprimand or
show resentment at each other simply because they are driven
together by force of circumstances and neither can accomplish
his self-seeking purpose.

Indeed, in the case of workmen selling their services in
sowing seeds and tilling farms, the master would at the
expense of his housekeeping give them delicious food and
by appropriating cash and cloth[68] make payments for their
services. Not that they love the hired workmen, but that,
they say, by so doing they can make the workmen till
the land deeper and pick the weed more carefully.[69] The hired
workmen, by exerting their physical strength, speedily pick
the weed and till the land,[70] and, by using their skill, rectify
the boundaries between different tracts[71] of ground and the
dykes separating different fields.[72] Not that they love their
master, but that, they say, by their so doing the soup will
be delicious and both cash and cloth will be paid to them.
Thus, the master's provisions and the workmen's services
supplement each other as if between them there were the

compassion of father and son. However, their minds are well
disposed to act for each other because they cherish self-seeking
motives respectively. Therefore, when men deal
with each other in managing affairs and rendering services, if
their motive is hope for gain, then even with a native from
Yüeh, it will be easy to remain harmonious. If the motive is
fear of harm, then even father and son will become estranged
and show resentment toward each other.[73]

Duke Wên attacked Sung but made a declaration beforehand,
saying: "I have heard the Ruler of Sung follows
no right way of government, insulting seniors and elders,
making unfair distribution of alms, and issuing faithless
precepts and ordinances. Therefore, I am coming to punish
him on behalf of the people."

Yüeh was attacking Wu. The King of Yüeh made a declaration
beforehand, saying: "I have heard the King of Wu
built the Ju-huang Tower and dug the Deep Spring Pool,
wearing out the hundred surnames and wasting the money
and resources of the country and thereby exhausting the
strength of the people. Therefore, I am coming to punish
him on behalf of the people."

A princess of Ts`ai became a concubine of Duke Huan.
One day Duke Huan and she went on a boat. She moved the
boat at random. Much frightened, Duke Huan stopped her
but she kept on doing it. Enraged, he divorced her. Soon
he recalled her. But the Ts`ais replied that they had married
her out elsewhere. Thereat Duke Huan became very angry
and thought of attacking Ts`ai. Uncle Chung, accordingly,

admonished him, saying: "Indeed, the trouble due to the
play between sleeping partners makes no sufficient cause
for attacking their country. Otherwise, the achievement
of Hegemony cannot be expected. Please do not take this
as a wise plan." Duke Huan would not listen. So Uncle
Chung said: "Suppose Your Highness cannot help
attacking Ts`ai. Well, for three years Ch`u has not brought
thorny reeds[74] as tribute to the Son of Heaven. Your Highness
had better raise an army and attack Ch`u on behalf of the Son
of Heaven. After Ch`u is subdued, turn back and raid Ts`ai
and say to the world, `when His Highness was attacking
Ch`u on behalf of the Son of Heaven, Ts`ai never followed
him with reinforcements. Therefore His Highness is
destroying it.' This will be righteous in name and profitable
in fact. In consequence, Your Highness will have the name
of punishing the disobedient on behalf of the Son of Heaven
and the fact of taking revenge."

Wu Ch`i commanded Wey's forces in attacking Central
Hills. Among his soldiers someone became sick of boils.
Therefore, Wu Ch`i knelt down himself and sucked the pus
out of the boil. The mother of the wounded soldier was standing
by and crying. People then asked her, "The general is
so kind to your son. Why should you keep crying?"
In reply she said: "Wu Ch`i sucked the pus out of his
father's wound and his father later died fighting. Now the
son will die fighting, too. I[75] am, therefore, crying."

The Father Sovereign of Chao once ordered masons to
use a scaling ladder, thereby climb Mountain Fan-wu, and

on the summit engrave a human footprint three feet wide
and five feet long, and inscribe it, "The Father Sovereign
once strolled here."

King Chao of Ch`in ordered masons to use a scaling ladder,
thereby climb the Hua Mountain, on the summit construct
a backgammon board with the kernels of pines and cypresses
and arrows eight feet long and chess pieces eight inches long,
and inscribe on the board, "King Chao once played backgammon
with a heavenly god here."[76]

Duke Wên on the way to his homeland reached the Yellow
River, where he ordered all bamboo and wooden vessels for
food to be thrown into the river, the sheets and mats to
be thrown into the river, the men whose hands and feet are
thick and chapped and those whose faces and eyes were
black or dark to follow from behind. Hearing about this,
Uncle[77] Fan wept all night. So Duke Wên asked him, "I have
been exiled for twenty years till now when I am barely able to
return to my native soil. Hearing about this, Uncle Fan is
not delighted but crying all the time. Does it mean that he
does not want His Highness to return to his native country?"
In reply Fan said: "The bamboo and wooden vessels have
been used for serving food but Your Highness is going to
throw them away. The sheets and mats have been used for
making beddings but Your Highness is going to give them
up. The men whose hands and feet are thick and chapped
and faces and eyes are black or dark have rendered meritorious
services but Your Highness is going to keep them following
from behind. Now thy servant happens to be among the

group following from behind. Unable to bear the sadness, I
am crying. Moreover, thy servant in order to enable Your
Highness to return to his native country committed misrepresentations
many times. Of this even thy servant never
approves. How much less would Your Highness?"[78]
So saying, he repeated bowing and took his leave. Stopping
him from leaving, Duke Wên said: "There is a proverb
saying, `Builders of the shire take off their clothes when
installing the image in it but wear their black hats straight
when commemorating the enshrined spirit.' Now, with me
you have recovered the country but you are not going to
govern the country with me. This is the same as though
you installed the image in the shrine with me but would not
commernorate the enshrined spirit with me." So saying, he
untied the horse attached to the left of the yoke of his carriage
and swore by the River to repeal the order.

Once a man of the Prefecture of Chêng, named Po Tzŭ,
asked his wife to make a pair of trousers. "How would
you like to have your trousers made this time?" asked the
wife. "Like my old trousers," replied the husband.
Accordingly the wife tore the new trousers and made them
look like the old ones.

Once a man of the Prefecture of Chêng came by a yoke
but did not know its name. So he asked somebody else,
"What thing is this?"[79] "It is a yoke," was the reply.
Suddenly he found a yoke again and asked, "What thing
is this?" "It is a yoke," was again the reply. Thereby the
man was enraged and said, "You called the former one
a yoke and are again calling the present one a yoke. Why so

many? Aren't you deceiving me?" So saying, he started
quarrelling with the man.

A man of Wei intended to shoot arrows with strings tied
to them. When a bird came, he beckoned to the bird with
the ball of string. The bird was frightened. He did not
shoot.

Once the wife of Po Tzŭ, a man of the Prefecture of
Chêng, went to the market, bought turtles, and was bringing
them home. Passing by the Ying Water, she thought the turtles
were thirsty, let them go drinking, and lost her turtles.

Once upon a time a youngster was attending an elder
man drinking wine. But every time the elder took a drink,
he would himself drink,[80] too.

According to a different source: A man of Lu wanted to
learn etiquette.[81] He saw elder people drinking wine and
spitting it out whenever unable to finish it. So he followed
them in spitting wine out.

According to another different source: A youngster of
Sung wanted to learn etiquette. Once at a feast he saw elder
people drinking a toast and not leaving a single drop. So
he started finishing the whole cup though not drinking a
toast.

It is said in an ancient book, "Gird yourself, belt yourself!"
A man of Sung, who once ran across this passage, doubled
his sash and girdled himself with it accordingly. "Why do
you do that?" asked someone else. "The ancient book
saying so, so must I do," was the reply.

It is said in an ancient record,[82] "Already engraved and
already carved, it reverts to its naiveté." A man of Liang,
who once ran across this passage, would talk about learning
in his daily action and quote facts from the writing in
illustration of his theory. Everyday[83] he would do the
same, till he lost the genuineness of his nature. Thereupon
someone else asked him, "Why do you do that?" "The
ancient record saying so, so must I do," was the reply.

A man of Ying once wrote a letter to the Prime Minister
of Yen. He wrote the letter at night. When the light was
not bright, he, accordingly, said to the candle-holder,
"Raise the candle!" So saying he wrote down by mistake
the words, "Raise the candle," although raising candles
was not the gist of the letter. However, the Prime Minister
of Yen on receiving the letter was glad and said: "To raise
the candle means to exalt the bright. To exalt the bright
means to elevate the worthy and appoint them to office."
Therefore, the Premier of Yen spoke to the King about the
policy of appointing the worthy to office, which the King was
very glad to carry into effect. In consequence, the state
became orderly. As regards the problem of political order,
they did attain political order. But it was not the gist of
the letter! Thus, scholars of the present world mostly
resemble the Premier of Yen in interpreting the meaning of
words.

Once a man of Chêng wanted to buy a pair of shoes for
himself. He measured his feet first and left measurements
on his seat. He arrived at the market-place, but had forgotten

to take the measurements along. Though he had already
found the shoes for himself, he said, "I have forgotten to
take the measurements along. Let me go home to get them
here." When he came back again, the market was closed,
however. He could not get the shoes after all. "Why
didn't you try the shoes with your own feet?" asked people.
"I have confidence in the measurements but not in my own
feet," was the reply.

Annotations to Canon IV:—

Wang Têng, Magistrate of Chung-mou, once in his
proposition to Lord Hsiang of Chao said: "Chung-mou
has scholars named Chung-chang and Hsü-i, whose personal
appearances are very refined and whose learning is very
erudite. Why does Your Highness not take them into
service?" In reply Lord Hsiang said: "You go to find them.
I will appoint them Middle Officials." Thereupon the
Premier remonstrated with him, saying, "The post of the
Middle Official is an important rank in Chin. Now, appointment
of men of no merit to office is not in accordance with
the constitution of Chin. Your Highness has only heard
about them but not yet seen them, isn't it so?" "When
I took Têng into service," replied the Lord, "I saw him after
having heard about him. The men he has recommended
I will see after I have heard about them, too. This is the way
to use others as my own ears and eyes without cease."
Thus, Wang Têng in one day recommended two Middle
Officials to interview the Lord, who bestowed upon them
fields and residences. In consequence, the people of Chung-mou,
who stopped tilling fields and mowing grass, sold their
houses and farms, and pursued literary studies, numbered
half the population of the fief.

Shu Hsiang sat by Duke P`ing and reported to him on
different affairs. Though the calves of Duke P`ing became
sore and the legs numb, yet he only turned his muscles
around but dared not leave his seat. Hearing about this,
everybody in the Chin State said: "Shu Hsiang is a worthy.
Duke P`ing respected him so much that during the interview
he only turned his muscles around but dared not leave his
seat." In consequence, men in the Chin State who resigned
from official posts and yearned after Shu Hsiang occupied
one-third[84] the size of the country.

A man of Chêng, named Ch`ü Kung, whenever he heard
enemies were coming, would fear lest he himself[85] should die
at their hands and also fear lest he himself should be captured
alive by them.

The Father Sovereign of Chao sent Li Tz`ŭ to inspect
Central Hills and see whether or not the country could be
attacked. Upon his return Tz`ŭ reported that the country
could be attacked and that if His Majesty did not strike early
enough, he would lag behind Ch`i and Yen. "Why can
the country be attacked?" asked the Father Sovereign. In
reply Li Tz`ŭ said: "It is because the Ruler is fond of
celebrating retired scholars in rocky caves. For tens of times,
he pulled down his carriage-cover and offered seats in his
carriage when meeting scholars from destitute village gates
or narrow alleys. The times that he paid such courtesies to
scholars wearing hemp clothes as if they were his equals,
numbers hundreds." "According to your description and
estimation," remarked the Father Sovereign, "he is a worthy

ruler. Why then can the country be attacked?" "That is
not so," replied Tz`ŭ, "because if the Ruler is fond of celebrating
retired scholars from rocky caves and employs them
in the court, then warriors will neglect their duties at the
camps; if the superior esteems learned men, condescends to
country scholars, and employs them in the court,[86] then
farmers will relax their efforts in the fields. If the warriors
neglect their duties at the camps, the army becomes weak:
if the farmers relax their efforts in the fields, the state becomes
poor. With the army weakened by enemies and the state
impoverished at home, no country ever evades destruction.
Isn't it then practicable to attack such a country?" "Right."
So saying, the Father Sovereign raised an army, attacked
Central Hills, and finally destroyed the country.

Annotations to Canon V:—

Duke Huan of Ch`i was fond of wearing purple clothes,
till everybody in the country wore purple clothes, too. At
that time, nobody could get one purple thread at the cost
of five plain white threads. Worried over this, Duke Huan
said to Kuan Chung, "I am fond of wearing purple clothes,
but purple clothes are very expensive. The hundred surnames
in the country like to wear purple clothes continually.
What should I do about that?" "If Your Highness wants
to stop them," replied Kuan Chung, "why doesn't he for
a time not wear any purple clothes at all, and tell the attendants,
`His Highness dislikes the bad odour of purple
clothes'." "All right," said the Duke.[87] Thenceforth,

whenever any attendant in purple clothes came in, the Duke
would say, "Get away a little! I dislike the bad odour of
purple clothes." Accordingly, that day no courtier wore
purple clothes; next day nobody in the state capital wore
purple clothes; and by the third day nobody within the
state boundaries wore purple clothes.

According to a different source: The King of Ch`i was
fond of wearing purple clothes. So were the people of Ch`i.
As a result, in the Ch`i State with the cost of five plain white
threads nobody could buy a purple one. Over the expensiveness
of purple clothes, the King of Ch`i worried. Thereupon
the Grand Tutor said to the King: "It is said in the Book
of Poetry, `In him, himself inert, the people put no trust.'
Now, if Your Majesty wants the people to wear no purple
clothes, let Your Majesty take off purple clothes himself and
then go to the court, and, when any officials wearing purple
clothes come in, tell him, `Get away farther! I dislike the
bad odour!" In consequence, that day no courtier wore purple
clothes; in a month nobody in the state capital wore purple
clothes; and in a year nobody within the state boundaries
wore purple clothes.

Duke Chien of Chêng once said to Tzŭ-ch`an: "Our
country is small and pressed between Ching and Chin. Now
that the city-walls of the capital are not in good repair and
weapons and armour are not well prepared, we cannot provide
against eventualities." "Thy servant has already shut the
outer foes far off," said Tzŭ-Ch`an, "and already made the
inner defences firm. Though the country is small, yet thy
servant does not think it is in danger. May Your Highness
not worry over it?" Therefore, Duke Chien had no worry
in his life.

According to another source[88] : Tzŭ-ch`an was Premier of
Chêng. Once Duke Chien said to him: "If drinking wine
is no joy, sacrifical vessels[89] are not large, and bells, drums,
Yü[90] instruments, and sê[91] harps do not sound, I must be
responsible[92] therefor. If political[93] affairs are not unified,
the state is not stabilized, the hundred surnames do not keep
order, and farmers and warriors do not live in peace and
harmony, you must similarly be responsible therefor. You
have your official duties, I have my own, too. Let each of us
attend to his duties." Tzŭ-ch`an withdrew and administered
the state affairs for five years, till the country had neither
thieves nor robbers, no one would pick up things dropped on
the road, peaches and dates hanging over the street were
not picked off, and such tiny things as gimlets and knives
dropped on the road were promptly returned to their owners
within three days. The same continued for three years and
the people never suffered starvation.

Duke Hsiang of Sung fought with the Ch`us in the Cho
River Gorge. When the Sung forces had already formed in
line, the Ch`u troops had not yet finished their lines. Thereupon
the Right Minister of War, Kou Ch`iang, ran forward
and advised the Duke, saying: "As the Ch`us are
numerous and the Sungs are few, let us attack them when they
are half crossing the River and not yet in line. They will
certainly be defeated." "I have heard," said Duke Hsiang,

"the gentleman would not wound the wounded, not capture
men having two kinds of hair,[94] not push people into danger,
not drive people to bay, and not beat the drum towards
enemies not yet in line. Now, the Ch`u troops have not
completed their lines. If we attack them, we act against
righteousness. Let them finish crossing the River and complete
their lines. Then beat the drum and lead the army."
"Your Highness does not love the people of Sung in leaving
the confidential supporters in precariousness solely for the
sake of righteousness." "If you do not return to your line,"
said the Duke, "I will enforce the martial law." The Right
Minister returned to his line, when the Ch`u troops had already
formed in line and established their positions. Then the
Duke beat the drum. The Sung forces suffered a crushing
defeat. The Duke was wounded in the thigh and died in
three days.[95] This is the calamity of yearning[96] after benevolence
and righteousness. Indeed, to expect the lord of men
to do everything himself as a good example and the people
to obey him and follow his example afterwards is to make the
lord of men till the land and thereby acquire his food supplies[97]
and bear arms and line up with the soldiers before the people
are willing to till and fight. If so, is the sovereign not facing
too much danger and are the subjects not enjoying too much
security?

Once, when Duke Ching of Ch`i travelled to the Small Sea,
a courier rushed from inside the capital to have an audience
with him, and said, "Premier Yen Yin is very ill and about to

die, and is afraid Your Highness might arrive after his death."
Duke Ching quickly rose from his seat, when another courier
came. "Quickly prepare the carriage of the good horse,
Fan-chieh," said Duke Ching, "and order Coachman Han
Ch`ü to drive it." After setting out a few hundred steps, he
thought the coachman was not fast enough, took the reins
away from his hands, and drove the carriage in his place.
After another few hundred steps, he thought the horse would
not go farther,[98] and alighted from the carriage, and ran on
foot. Thus, in spite of the speed of Fan-chieh and the skill
of Coachman Han Ch`ü Duke Ching thought it the best
to get off the carriage and run on foot.

King Chao of Wey wanted to have a hand in the official
routine and said to the Lord of Mêng-ch`ang, "I, the King,
want to have a hand in the official routine." "If Your
Majesty wants to go through the official routine," said the
Lord, "why does he not for trial learn and read the legal
code?" King Chao, accordingly, started reading the code.
After reading ten and some bamboo slips,[99] he fell asleep.
"I am unable to read this code," said the King. After all,
if the ruler does not hold the august position and supreme
handles firmly in hand but wants to perform the duties which
the ministers ought to perform, is it not reasonable that he falls
asleep in so doing?

Confucius said: "The ruler of men is like the basin, the
people like water. If the basin is square, the water is square;
if the basin is round, the water is round."

The ruler of Tsou was fond of wearing long fringes. So

were all his attendants. In consequence, fringes became very
expensive. Worried over this, he asked the attendants about
it. In reply they said: "As Your Highness is fond of wearing
them, most of the hundred surnames wear them too. Therefore,
they are expensive!" Accordingly, the Ruler cut off
his fringes himself and went out. As a result, nobody in the
country would wear long fringes any more. Thus, the Ruler,
unable to issue orders to regulate the style of the clothing of
the hundred surnames and thereby prohibit them from wearing
long fringes, cut off his own fringes and went out to show
his example to the people. In this way he exercised his
authority over the people through self-humiliation.

Shu Hsiang in distributing emoluments bestowed more
for the more meritorious and less for the less meritorious.

Marquis Chao of Han once said to Shên Tzŭ, "Laws and
rules are not easy to enforce." "The law is such a principle,"
said Shên Tzŭ, "that men of merit are given rewards and
able personages are taken into office. Now, Your Highness
establishes laws and rules but grants the attendants' requests.
This is the cause of the difficulty in enforcing laws and
rules." "From now onward," said Marquis Chao, "I know
how to enforce laws, and will not grant anybody any request."
One day Shên Tzŭ begged the Marquis to appoint his elder
cousin to an official post. In regard to his request, Marquis
Chao said: "This is not what I learned from you. If I grant
you such a request, I contradict your teaching. I had better
not allow your request."[100] Thereupon Shên Tzŭ withdrew to
his residence and apologized for his fault.

Annotations to Canon VI:—

Duke Wên of Chin attacked Yüan. As he packed ten days'
food supplies, he set the time limit at ten days to his High
Officers. When ten days had elapsed, he arrived at Yüan,
but in ten days Yüan did not fall. Therefore, he ordered
them to cease hostilities and leave for home. Meanwhile, some
men coming out from the Yüan capital said: "In three more
days Yüan will fall." All the ministers and attendants also
remonstrated with him, saying: "The food of Yüan is
running low and her strength is exhausted. May Your Highness
wait longer!" In response the Duke said: "I set the
time limit to my men at ten days for the expedition. If I do
not leave, I will violate faith with my men. Taking Yüan
and thereby breaking faith, I can not bear." So saying, he
stopped the campaign and left. Hearing about this, the Yüans
said: "Such a faithful ruler they have! How can we refuse
to turn to him?" So saying, they surrendered themselves
to the Duke. The Weis, hearing about the same, said:
"Such a faithful ruler they have! How can we refuse to obey
him?" So saying, they surrendered, too. Confucius heard
about this and recorded: "That Duke Wên attacked Yüan
at the beginning but even won the submission of Wei in
the end, was because of his faithfulness."

Duke Wên asked Chi Chêng how to rescue the starvelings?
"By keeping faith," was the reply. "What shall
I keep of faith?" asked the Duke. "Keep titles of faith,
keep affairs of faith, and keep righteousness of faith![101] If
you keep titles of faith, all officials will attend to their respective
duties; the good and the bad will not override each
other; and every kind of work will not be neglected.

If you keep affairs of faith, you will not miss the times of
heaven and the hundred surnames will not make mistakes
in farming. If you keep righteousness of faith, the near
and dear will be encouraged thereby and become diligent
while the distant will turn to you for government."

Once Wu Ch`i went out, met an old friend, and invited
him to dinner. "All right. When I come back, I shall dine
with you," said the old friend. "I shall wait for you to come,"
said Wu Tzŭ, and "and then eat". The old friend did not
come when evening arrived. Wu Ch`i did not eat all evening
and waited. Next day he sent men out to invite his friend.
When the friend came, he then dined with him.

Marquis Wên of Wey once made an appointment with the
Yüs to go hunting. On the following day the weather
happened to be very windy. The attendants stopped Marquis
Wên, but he would not listen. "Nobody should break
faith," said the Marquis, "because it is very windy. I will
not break faith!" Finally he drove the carriage himself,
went to the hunting ground against the winds, and told the
Yüs to stop the hunting.

One day the wife of Tsêng Tzŭ went to the market. His
son went along with her and kept crying. "You go home,"
said the mother, "and when Mother comes home from
shopping, Mother will kill a pig for you." When she came
home from the market, Tsêng Tzŭ wanted to catch a pig and
kill it. His wife stopped him and said, "That was just a joke
with the child." "Be sure," said Tsêng Tzŭ, "children are
not supposed to be joked with. They do not possess any
inborn ideas. They depend upon their parents for learning,
and listen to their parents' teachings. Now, if you deceive
him, it means you teach him the way of deception. If the

mother deceives her son, the son will have no faith in his
mother. This is not the way to give teaching to children."
At last they killed a pig and cooked the pork for their son.

King Li of Ch`u had an alarm drum. By beating the drum
he gave the hundred surnames warnings. One day he took
wine and was very drunk and beat the drum. The people
were frightened very much. Thereupon the King sent men
to stop their fright and said to them, "I was then drunk and
playing with the attendants when I struck the drum." The
people all gave up the fright. In the course of several months,
there was a real alarm. The drum was beaten but the people
made no move. Therefore, the King changed his orders and
made the signal clear and of faith, so that the people began to
have faith in him.

Li K`uei warned the guards of the right and left gates of
the camp and said: "Be prudent and alert! The enemies
might come at dawn or at dusk to attack you." He repeated
the same over and over again. Yet the enemies never
came. Both groups of guards became tired and neglected
their duties and had no faith in Li K`uei. In the course of
several months the Ch`ins came to raid them and almost put
the whole army to rout. This is the calamity of being
faithless.

According to a different source: Li K`uei fought with the
Ch`ins and said to the guards of the left gates, "Scale the
walls quickly! The guards of the right gate have already
gone up." Then he drove to the other flank and said to the
guards of the right gate, "The left have already gone up."
The left and right guards,[102] accordingly, struggled with each
other to scale the walls. In the following year, when they

fought with the Ch`ins, the Ch`ins raided them and almost
routed the whole army. This was a calamity of being
faithless.

Once there were litigants. Tzŭ-ch`an separated them and
never allowed them to speak to each other. Then he inverted[103]
their words and told each other's argument and thereby
found the vital facts involved in the case.

Duke Ssŭ of Wei[104] once sent men out to go[105] through the
pass. There the officers made them serious troubles, wherefore
they bribed the officers with gold. The officers, accordingly,
released them. Later, Duke Ssŭ said to the officers:
"At a certain time there came certain travellers to go through
the pass. Since they gave you gold, you sent them away."
Thereby the officers were frightened very much and thought
Duke Ssŭ was clear-minded.[106]