When King Zhou ordered chopsticks made of ivory, Ji Zi was most perturbed. He reasoned: “Ivory chopsticks demand rhino horn cups; rhino cups demand exotic delicacies; delicacies demand silk robes and palace halls. This insatiable chain will end in tyranny and ruin.”
“It is fear of what this will lead to,” said Ji Zi, “that upsets me.”
Five years later, indeed, King Zhou had a garden filled with meat, tortured his subjects with hot irons, and caroused in a lake of wine.
King Zhou’s excesses sparked rebellion, and so he lost his kingdom.
Allegorical Meaning
The Domino Principle of Moral Decay
Ji Zi’s prophecy reveals the fatal cascade of desire:
- Luxury demands escalation:
Ivory chopsticks > Rhino cups > Rare meats > Grand palaces > Oppression - Psychological Mechanism:
Each indulgence normalizes the next, eroding restraint.
The Minister as Prophet of Systems Thinking
Ji Zi’s genius lies in seeing hidden connections:
- Micro > Macro: A single opulent object predicts national collapse.
- Material > Moral: Physical luxury corrodes ethical boundaries.
Han Feizi argues: Rulers must diagnose society like physicians — symptoms reveal fatal diseases.
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