The Two Recluses of Lu were both natives of the state of Lu. After Gaozu of Han had pacified the realm and ascended the throne, the academician Shusun Tong petitioned to recruit over thirty Confucian scholars from Lu, intending to establish the ceremonial rites and music for the Han dynasty. Only these two recluses refused to go. They scolded Tong, saying, “The realm has just been pacified; the dead have not yet been buried, and the wounded have not yet recovered. Yet you wish to initiate rites and music! Rites and music arise only after a hundred years of accumulated moral virtue. We cannot bear to do what you are doing. Your actions do not conform to the ancient ways; therefore, we will not go. Leave us now, and do not defile us!” Tong did not dare to press them further and departed.
Note
Two orthodox Lu Confucians rejected Shusun Tong’s summons to draft Han court rituals. They criticized him for pushing rites amid post-war chaos, arguing proper rituals need a century of virtue. Unwilling to compromise ancient principles, they sent him away to preserve their integrity.
Shusun Tong (叔孙通):
A prominent scholar and official of the early Han dynasty. Originally serving under Qin and Chu, he famously adapted ancient Confucian court rituals to suit the pragmatic and somewhat unrefined tastes of Liu Bang’s newly established Han court. While successful in establishing imperial order, he was often criticized by orthodox Confucians for being overly accommodating and compromising traditional rites for political expediency.
The Two Recluses of Lu:
These two unnamed scholars represent the uncompromising orthodox Confucian conscience. They believed that true ritual and music could only be the natural fruit of long-term moral governance, not a superficial tool hastily manufactured to legitimize a new dynasty born from bloodshed.
A Hundred Years of Virtue:
This is a core orthodox Confucian political philosophy. It asserts that institutionalized rites and music are not mere administrative protocols, but the outward manifestation of a deeply cultivated, harmonious society. They argued that imposing rituals prematurely on a war-torn society was hypocritical and doomed to fail.
Do Not Defile Us:
This powerful phrase highlights the fierce moral purity of the noble recluse. By refusing to associate with Shusun Tong’s politically motivated ritual-making, the scholars were protecting their intellectual and spiritual integrity from being tainted by the corrupting forces of pragmatic statecraft.
鲁二徵士者，皆鲁人也。高祖定天下，即皇帝位，博士叔孙通白征鲁诸儒三十余人，欲定汉仪礼。二士独不肯行，骂通曰：“天下初定，死者未葬，伤者未起，而欲起礼乐！礼乐所由起，百年之德而后可举。吾不忍为公所为。公所为不合古，吾不行。公往矣，无污我！”通不敢致而去。
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