The Analects – Chapter 128 (6.10). When virtue meets tragedy: Confucius’ lament for Ran Boniu

6.10

When Ran Geng was ill, the Master went to enquire after him, and grasping his hand through the window said, “It is all over with him! Heaven has so ordained it — but that such a man should have such an illness! That such a man should have such an illness!”

伯牛有疾，子問之，自牖執其手，曰：「亡之，命矣夫！斯人也而有斯疾也！斯人也而有斯疾也！」

Notes

Ran Boniu, surname Ran, given name Geng, styled Boniu, was a renowned disciple of Confucius. When Ran Geng contracted a severe and incurable contagious disease, Confucius lamented the injustice of heaven toward him, sighing that virtue and fate are not aligned sometimes.

“There was Yan Hui. He had a great love of learning. He never vented his wrath upon the innocent nor repeat a fault. Unfortunately the span of life allotted to him by Heaven was short, and he died. At present there are none or at any rate I have heard of none who are fond of learning.”(Analects 6.3)

“There was Yan Hui, who was fond of learning. Unfortunately, he died at a young age. Now there is no one like him anymore.”(Analects 11.7)

Yan Hui was Confucius’ most accomplished disciple in moral virtue, yet he “unfortunately died young”. Confucius’ grief over his death was exactly the same as his lament over Ran Boniu’s illness – both were expressions of helplessness toward the will of heaven that “a virtuous person should suffer such misfortune”.

They reflect the understanding that there is no inevitable connection between one’s talent and virtue and the length of one’s life, which is completely consistent with the logic of grief embodied in the exclamation “How could such a man suffer from such a disease!”.

Zixia said: “Life and death are determined by fate; wealth and honor depend on heaven.”(Analects 12.5)

Zixia’s words were a direct summary of the concept of “fate”, which is in the same vein as Confucius’ exclamation “It is fate!”. The fact that Ran Boniu, a virtuous man, contracted a serious illness and that Yan Hui, a talented and virtuous man, passed away at an early age both confirmed the truth that “life and death are determined by fate” – external circumstances such as life and death cannot be altered by human effort.

Through this dialogue from the Analects, we can learn that one should accept them with a mindset of understanding fate, while at the same time upholding one’s inner virtue. (This stands in contrast to “wealth and honor depend on heaven”, highlighting the importance of striving for what lies within one’s own control.)