Biographies of Mencius and Xun Qing, Chapter 14
The Grand Historian says: When I read Mencius’s book, up to the point where King Hui of Liang asked, “How can I profit my state?” I could not help setting down the book and sighing. I say: Alas, profit is indeed the root of all calamity! The Master Confucius rarely spoke of profit, in order to guard against its source from the very beginning. Thus he said, “Acting from profit invites much resentment.” From the Son of Heaven down to common folk, what difference is there in the harm of loving profit?
Meng Ke was a man of Zou. He studied under the disciples of Zisi. When his learning was thorough, he went to advise and serve King Xuan of Qi, but King Xuan could not employ him. He went to Wei, but King Hui of Liang did not adopt his proposals, deeming his words. At that time, Qin employed Shang Yang to enrich the state and strengthen its army; Chu and Wei employed Wu Qi to defeat enemies and weaken rivals; Kings Wei and Xuan of Qi employed Sun Bin, Tian Ji, and others, so that the feudal lords all came east to pay court to Qi. The whole world was devoted to vertical and horizontal alliances, regarding warfare and conquest as worthy, yet Mencius extolled the virtuous governance of Yao, Shun, and the Three Dynasties of Xia, Shang, and Zhou. Therefore, wherever he went, he was out of season. So he withdrew and, together with Wan Zhang and others, edited the Odes and Documents, set forth the ideas of Confucius, and composed the seven books of Mencius. After him came men like Zou Yan.
In Qi there were three scholars of the Zou clan. The earliest was Zou Ji, who gained audience with King Wei of Qi through his skill in playing the zither, thereby participated in state affairs, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Cheng, and received the seal of prime minister—this was earlier than Mencius.
Next came Zou Yan, after Mencius. Zou Yan saw that the rulers of states were increasingly extravagant and dissolute, unable to esteem virtuous governance, to cultivate themselves as the Greater Elegance required, and to extend this to the people. So he deeply observed the laws of yin and yang waxing and waning, created strange and doctrines, and wrote the books Endings and Beginnings and Great Sage, among others, totaling over a hundred thousand words. His words were vast and did not conform to common sense; he always began by verifying small things, then extended them to the infinite. He first narrated events from the present back to the Yellow Emperor—matters studied in common by scholars, generally based on the rise and fall of ages—and thereby recorded omens of good and ill fortune and institutions, then pushed further back to a time before Heaven and Earth were formed, to an obscure and unfathomable origin. He first listed China’s famous mountains, great rivers, accessible valleys, birds and beasts, products of soil and water, and various precious things, and from these extended outward to things beyond the seas that people could not see. He declared that since the separation of Heaven and Earth, the Five Powers had shifted, and each age had its appropriate way of governance, with portents appearing accordingly. He held that what the Confucians called China was but one eighty-first part of the whole world. China was named Chixian Shenzhou (Red District Divine Continent). Within Chixian Shenzhou there were itself nine provinces—the nine provinces arranged by the Great Yu—but these could not count as the total number of provinces. Outside China there were nine such regions like Chixian Shenzhou; these were what are called the Nine Provinces. Around these there were small seas encircling them, so that people and beasts could not cross to one another; each region like this formed one province. There were nine such provinces, and beyond them was a great encircling sea—this was the boundary of Heaven and Earth. All his doctrines were of this kind. Yet in summarizing his main purpose, he always returned to benevolence, righteousness, frugality, the relationships between ruler and minister, superior and inferior, and the six kinship bonds—only his initial statements were somewhat boundless. The princes and high ministers, when they first saw his doctrines, were all startled and affected, but later they could not put them into practice.
Therefore Zou Yan was held in high regard in Qi. When he went to Wei, King Hui of Liang went out to the suburbs to welcome him, performing the rites of host and guest. When he went to Zhao, the Lord of Pingyuan walked sideways and brushed his mat for him. When he went to Yan, King Zhao of Yan held a broom to clear the way before him, requested that he sit in the seat of a disciple to receive instruction, built the Jieshi Palace for him, and personally went to pay homage as a teacher. He wrote the chapter Lord of the Five Powers. The respect and honor he received when advising the feudal lords were like this—how could it compare to Confucius starving in Chen and Cai, or Mencius being trapped in Qi and Liang! Thus King Wu of Zhou, through benevolence and righteousness, attacked Zhou and became king, yet Boyi starved to death rather than eat Zhou’s grain; Duke Ling of Wei asked about battle formations, and Confucius did not answer; King Hui of Liang plotted to attack Zhao, yet Mencius extolled King Tai’s departure from Bin. How could this be a matter of flattering the world and compromising! If you take a square tenon and try to fit it into a round mortise, can it go in? Some say: Yi Yin carried a cauldron to encourage Tang and thereby enabled him to become king; Baili Xi fed oxen under a cart, and Duke Mu of Qin used him to achieve hegemony—both first catered to their lords, then guided them onto the great path. Although Zou Yan’s words did not conform to convention, perhaps they had a similar intention to Yi Yin carrying the cauldron or Baili Xi feeding oxen?
Since Zou Yan and the Jixia scholars of Qi, such as Chunyu Kun, Shen Dao, Huan Yuan, Jiezi, Tian Pian, and Zou Shi, each wrote books discussing order and chaos, seeking employment from the rulers of their time—how could this be fully recounted!
Chunyu Kun was a man of Qi. He was broadly learned and had a strong memory, but his studies were not confined to one school. In his remonstrances and persuasions, he admired the conduct of Yan Ying, yet he devoted himself to observing expressions and moods. A retainer introduced Chunyu Kun to King Hui of Liang. King Hui dismissed his attendants, sat alone, and received him twice, but Chunyu Kun never spoke. King Hui was puzzled and therefore rebuked the retainer, saying: “You praised Master Chunyu, saying that Guan Zhong and Yan Ying were inferior to him; yet when he saw me, I gained nothing. Could it be that I am not worthy of his words? What is the reason?” The retainer reported this to Chunyu Kun. Chunyu Kun said: “It was naturally so. The first time I saw the king, his mind was on driving horses and hunting; the second time I saw him, his mind was on songs and music—therefore I remained silent.” The retainer reported all this to King Hui, who was greatly surprised and said: “Ah! Master Chunyu is truly a sage! The first time Master Chunyu came, someone had presented me with fine horses, and I had not yet looked at them when the master arrived. The second time he came, someone had presented singers, and I had not yet listened to them when the master also arrived. Although I dismissed others, my mind was on those matters—it was indeed so.” Later, when Chunyu Kun came for an audience, he conversed for three days and three nights without weariness. King Hui wanted to treat him as a high minister, but Chunyu Kun declined and left. Thereupon King Hui sent him a carriage drawn by four horses, bundles of silk with jade disks, and a hundred yi of gold. Chunyu Kun never held office for the rest of his life.
Shen Dao was a man of Zhao. Tian Pian and Jiezi were men of Qi. Huan Yuan was a man of Chu. They all studied the doctrines of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi concerning the Way and Virtue, and thereby elucidated and arranged their meanings. Thus Shen Dao wrote twelve essays, Huan Yuan wrote upper and lower books, and Tian Pian and Jiezi also each had writings.
Zou Shi was one of the various Zou scholars of Qi; he also largely adopted Zou Yan’s doctrines to compose his writings.
Thus the King of Qi honored them. From Chunyu Kun downward, they were all appointed as grand masters of the ranks, given residences along the great road—high gates and large houses—to show them honor and favor. This also demonstrated to the guests of the feudal lords under Heaven that Qi could attract worthy men from all over the world.
Xun Qing was a native of Zhao. It was only at the age of fifty that he came to Qi to study. Zou Yan’s theories were far-reaching, grandiose, and eloquent; Zou Shi’s writings, though complete, were difficult to put into practice; Chunyu Kun, having spent much time with him, often received some beneficial remarks. Therefore, the people of Qi praised them, saying: “The one who discourses on heaven is Zou Yan, the one who carves dragons is Zou Shi, and the one who lubricates the axle is Chunyu Kun.” Tian Pian and others all passed away during the reign of King Xiang of Qi, and Xun Qing was the oldest teacher. Qi was still filling the vacancies of the supplementary grandees, and Xun Qing had thrice served as libationer. Someone in Qi slandered Xun Qing, so Xun Qing went to Chu, where Lord Chunshen made him the magistrate of Lanling. After Lord Chunshen died, Xun Qing was dismissed, and thus he settled his household in Lanling. Li Si was once his student and later became the Chancellor of Qin. Xun Qing detested the governance of chaotic times, with ruined states and rebellious lords succeeding one another without following the Great Way, instead believing in shamans and divinations, trusting in omens of good and ill fortune, and with vulgar Confucians clinging to trivial details, while men like Zhuang Zhou and others disrupted customs with their absurdities. Therefore, he investigated the rise and fall of the practices of the Confucians, Moists, and Daoists, compiled and wrote several tens of thousands of words, and then died. Thus he was buried in Lanling.
Zhao also had Gongsun Long, who debated the topics of “hardness and whiteness” and “sameness and difference,” along with the discourses of Ju Zi; Wei had Li Kui, who advocated decrees for fully utilizing the land’s productivity; Chu had Shi Zi and Chang Lu; the A region had Yu Zi. From Mencius to Yu Zi, most of them had their writings transmitted in the world, so their biographies are not commented upon here.
Mo Di was a grandee of Song, skilled in defensive warfare and advocated frugality in expenditure. Some say he was a contemporary of Confucius, others say he lived after Confucius.
In the final period of the Six States, each state competed for dominance through military victories. Meng Ke traveled to lobby the states of Qi and Wei, but his proposals were not implemented. He withdrew and wrote, stating that his Way had reached a dead end. Xun Qing served Chu in Lanling, Zou Yan discoursed on empty theories. Though they were ranked among the great avenues, no practical achievements from them were seen.