The Analects – Chapter 163 (7.15). Moral principle over political power

7.15

Ran Qiu said, “Is our Master on the side of the Prince of Wei?”

Zigong said, “Yes, I must ask him about that.”

He went in and said, “What sort of people were Boyi and Shuqi?”

The Master said,”They were good men who lived in the days of old.”

Zigong said, “Did they repine?”

The Master said, “They sought Goodness and got Goodness. Why should they repine?”

On coming out Zigong said, “Our Master is not on his side.”

冉有曰：「夫子為衛君乎？」子貢曰：「諾。吾將問之。」入，曰：「伯夷、叔齊何人也？」曰：「古之賢人也。」曰：「怨乎？」曰：「求仁而得仁，又何怨。」出，曰：「夫子不為也。」

Notes

The “ruler of Wei” refers to Duke Chu of Wei, (Wei Zhe, the grandson of Duke Ling of Wei). After Duke Ling’s death, his son Kuai Kui (Wei Zhe’s father) was forced into exile for offending Duke Ling’s wife, Nanzi. Wei ministers installed Zhe as ruler, who in turn refused his father’s return — a scenario potentially violating Confucian ritual propriety.

When Confucius stayed in Wei during his travels, Ran You (a disciple) worried Confucius might support Duke Zhe for pragmatic reasons. Ran You asked Zigong (another disciple) to probe Confucius’ stance.

Zigong employed an indirect approach: He asked Confucius about Bo Yi and Shu Qi — brothers who renounced thrones to uphold righteousness — implicitly contrasting them with Duke Zhe’s power struggle against his father. This highlighted the core question: Does ethical principle outweigh political power?

• From Confucius’ praise for Bo Yi and Shu Qi, Zigong inferred his position:
• Bo Yi and Shu Qi were “virtuous” for yielding power to uphold righteousness;
• Duke Zhe seized power by violating ethical bonds;
• Thus, Confucius would never support Duke Zhe.

Bo Yi and Shu Qi

Boyi (Bo Yi) and Shuqi (Shu Qi), sons of the ruler of Guzhu at the end of the Shang dynasty, famously yielded the throne to each other and fled their state. After King Wu of Zhou overthrew the tyrannical King Zhou, they condemned the rebellion as “replacing violence with violence” and withdrew to Shouyang Mountain. Refusing to eat grain of the new Zhou dynasty, they sustained themselves on wild herbs until starving to death.

“Boyi and Shuqi never bore old ills in mind and had but the faintest feelings of rancour.”(Analects 5.3)

This narrative from the Analects subtly articulates Confucius’ stance: Adherence to righteousness transcends submission to power. Its core wisdom: Confucian “humaneness” is not empty morality but principled restraint before power and gain. True value lies not in what one obtains, but what one upholds.