Duke Wen, 1st Year
In the first year of the spring season, in the first month of the Zhou calendar, Duke Wen of Lu ascended the throne.
On the Guihai day of the second month, a solar eclipse occurred.
The Son of Heaven sent Shufu to attend the funeral.
In summer, on the Dingsi day of the fourth month, our ruler Duke Xi was buried.
The Son of Heaven sent Maobo to bestow a written mandate upon Duke Wen of Lu.
The Marquis of Jin attacked the state of Wei.
Shusun Dechen went to the capital.
The people of Wei attacked the state of Jin.
In autumn, Gongsun Ao met with the Marquis of Jin at Qi.
In winter, on the Dingwei day of the tenth month, the crown prince of Chu, Shangchen, assassinated his ruler, Xiong Yun.
Gongsun Ao went to the state of Qi.
In the first year of the spring season, the Son of Heaven sent the Inner Scribe Shufu to attend the funeral of Duke Xi. Gongsun Ao, hearing that Shufu was skilled in physiognomy, had his two sons appear before him. Shufu said, "This son, Gu, will perform sacrifices and support you; this son, Nan, will bury you. Gu has a full chin; his descendants will surely prosper in Lu."
In this year, an intercalary third month was added, which was contrary to ritual propriety. The former kings rectified the seasons, beginning the calendar from the start of the year, establishing the order of months in the middle of the year, and gathering the surplus days at the end of the year. By beginning from the start of the year, the sequence would not be disordered; by establishing the order of months in the middle of the year, the people would not be confused; by gathering the surplus days at the end of the year, affairs would not go against the seasons.
In summer, on the Dingsi day of the fourth month, Duke Xi was buried.
The Son of Heaven sent Maobo Wei to bestow a written mandate upon Duke Wen of Lu. Shusun Dechen went to the Zhou capital to express gratitude.
In the later years of Duke Wen of Jin, the feudal lords paid court to Jin. Duke Cheng of Wei did not go to court, but instead sent Kong Da to invade Zheng, attacking Mianzi and Kuang. After Duke Xiang of Jin completed the mourning period, he sent word to the feudal lords and raised an army to attack Wei. When the army reached Nanyang, Xian Qieju said, "Imitating evil deeds will bring disaster. I ask that you, my lord, go to pay court to the Son of Heaven, while I follow the army into battle." Duke Xiang of Jin paid court to the Son of Heaven at Wen, while Xian Qieju and Xu Chen attacked Wei. On the Xinsi day of the fifth month, the first day of the month, the Jin army surrounded Qi. On the Wuxu day of the sixth month, they captured Qi and took Sun Zhaozi prisoner. The people of Wei sent word to the state of Chen. Duke Gong of Chen said, "Attack them again, and I will negotiate with them." Kong Da of Wei led an army to attack Jin. The junzi considered this in accord with ancient practice; in ancient times, it was permissible to plan affairs by passing through other states.
In autumn, the Marquis of Jin demarcated the boundaries of the fields at Qi, so Gongsun Ao went to meet him.
Initially, King Cheng of Chu intended to establish Shangchen as crown prince and consulted Lingyin Zishang. Zishang said, "Your Majesty is not yet old, and you have many favored consorts. If you later depose the crown prince, disaster will arise. In Chu, when establishing a crown prince, the younger one is often chosen. Moreover, this man Shangchen has eyes like a wasp and a voice like a wolf; he is a cruel man and should not be made crown prince." King Cheng of Chu did not listen. Shortly afterward, he wanted to establish Prince Zhi and depose Crown Prince Shangchen. Shangchen heard of this but was not certain, so he told his teacher Pan Chong, "How can I find out?" Pan Chong said, "You should host a banquet for Jiang Mi, but deliberately show her disrespect." Shangchen did so. Jiang Mi became angry and said, "Oh! You wretch! No wonder the king wants to kill you and establish Zhi as crown prince!" Shangchen told Pan Chong, "It is indeed true." Pan Chong said, "Can you serve Zhi?" Shangchen said, "I cannot." Pan Chong said, "Can you flee?" Shangchen said, "I cannot." Pan Chong said, "Can you undertake a great deed?" Shangchen said, "I can." In winter, in the tenth month, Shangchen led the palace guards to surround King Cheng of Chu. King Cheng of Chu asked to eat bear paws before dying; Shangchen did not agree. On the Dingwei day, King Cheng of Chu hanged himself. When he was given the posthumous name "Ling," his eyes would not close; when it was changed to "Cheng," his eyes closed. King Mu of Chu ascended the throne, and he bestowed upon Pan Chong the palace and treasures from his time as crown prince, appointed him Grand Tutor, and placed him in charge of the palace guard commander.
Mubo (Gongsun Ao) went to the state of Qi and began the ritual of formal diplomatic visits. This was in accord with ritual propriety. Whenever a ruler ascended the throne, the high ministers and officers were to go abroad and conduct widespread diplomatic visits, continuing to repair former friendly relations, forming alliances with external support, and treating neighboring states amicably, thereby protecting the state. This was the way of loyalty, trustworthiness, and humble deference. Loyalty is the purity of virtue; trustworthiness is the firmness of virtue; humble deference is the foundation of virtue.
After the battle at Xiao, the people of Jin released the Qin army. The high ministers and close attendants of Qin said to the Earl of Qin, "This defeat was the fault of Mengming; you must kill him." The Earl of Qin said, "This is my fault. In the poem of Zhou's Ruoliangfu, it says: 'The great wind is violent; the greedy man destroys his kind. Hearing agreeable words, he answers; hearing remonstrations, he feigns drunkenness. He cannot employ the worthy; instead, he brings confusion upon me.' This is due to greed. It speaks of me. I indeed caused disaster to the master through greed; what fault does the master have?" Thereupon he reinstated Mengming to govern.