Baili Xi was a native of the State of Yu (located in present-day Pinglu, Shanxi, near Sanmenxia). He did not marry until his thirties; his wife was Lady Du, and they had a son named Mengming Shi (whose formal name was Shi, styled Mengming, of the Baili lineage).
A willow branch farewell
Though the couple was deeply devoted, they lived in poverty. Baili Xi longed to seek his fortune elsewhere but could not bear to leave his family. One day, Lady Du said to him,
“A true man should have ambitions beyond the home. You are in the prime of life – if you do not go now, will you wait until old age? Do not worry about us; I too have a pair of hands.”
Moved by her words, Baili Xi decided to depart the next day.
The following day, Lady Du prepared a farewell meal. With only one old hen left, she slaughtered it. Having no firewood, she burned the wooden door bolt to cook the hen, served millet and boiled cabbage, and urged her husband to eat heartily.
As he was leaving, Lady Du, holding their child and clutching his sleeve, could no longer hold back her tears. Sobbing, she said,
“If you achieve glory, do not forget us.”
With tears in his eyes, Baili Xi comforted her. At the riverbank, Lady Du broke a willow branch from a crooked-neck tree and gave it to him as a keepsake.
Wandering in search of opportunity
Leaving his homeland, Baili Xi traveled to the State of Qi, hoping to gain an audience with Duke Xiang. However, lacking connections, he was reduced to beggary. Later, in his forties, he reached the State of Song, where he met a recluse named Jian Shu, a year his senior. The two found much in common and became close friends.
Yet Jian Shu was not wealthy, and Baili Xi could not long depend on him; he eventually worked as a cowherd in the countryside. The two friends journeyed to several states seeking opportunity but found no suitable patron. Finally, Jian Shu suggested returning home. Remembering his wife, Baili Xi decided to go back to Yu state, while Jian Shu, who knew the Yu minister Gong Zhiqi, agreed to accompany him.
Return to a broken home
Upon reaching his hometown, Baili Xi found his dilapidated house standed unchanged, and the crooked willow by the river remained as before – but his wife and child were gone.
Neighbors told him,
“Years of famine have struck; some died, some fled. A woman alone might have remarried or perished.”
Stunned at the doorway, he recalled Lady Du burning the door bolt and stewing the hen, and tears fell as he left in sorrow.
He then went to Jian Shu, who took him to meet Minister Gong Zhiqi. Gong Zhiqi invited them to stay and promised to present them to the ruler of Yu. However, Jian Shu had already learned about the Duke of Yu and shook his head, saying,
“The Duke is short-sighted and greedy for petty gains – no man of vision.”
Baili Xi, weary from his wanderings, replied,
“I shall stay here.”
Jian Shu sighed and said,
“I understand. But I will return home. If you ever wish to see me, come to Minglu Village.”
Thus, Baili Xi remained in Yu and, through Gong Zhiqi, became a low-ranking official. Yet, as Jian Shu had foreseen, the Duke’s petty greed would soon lead the state to ruin.
The fatal bribe and a warning ignored
In 655 BCE, an envoy from the powerful State of Jin (based in present-day Jiang County, Shanxi) arrived in Yu, bearing gifts of a thousand-li horse and a pair of precious jade discs. The envoy said,
“The State of Guo (also called Northern Guo, near Pinglu, Sanmenxia) repeatedly harasses us. We plan to campaign against them and request permission to pass through your territory for convenience.”
The Duke of Yu, enchanted by the jade and the steed, eagerly agreed.
But Minister Gong Zhiqi urgently objected:
“This cannot be! Guo and Yu are as close as lips and teeth. As the saying goes, ‘When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold.’ Our two small states rely on each other for survival. If Guo is destroyed by Jin, Yu cannot possibly be preserved.”
The Duke retorted,
“Jin offers us priceless treasures in friendship – how can we deny them passage? Besides, Jin is ten times stronger than Guo. Losing a small neighbor to befriend a great power – is that not better?”
As Gong Zhiqi tried to argue further, Baili Xi quietly held him back.
Afterward, Gong Zhiqi asked Baili Xi,
“You not only failed to support me but even stopped me – why?”
Baili Xi replied,
“To persuade a fool is like casting pearls upon the road.”
Realizing Yu was doomed, Gong Zhiqi secretly fled with his family.
The fall of Yu and its aftermath
The Jin army, led by its generals, passed through Yu, annihilated Guo, and then turned to conquer Yu as well, reclaiming the thousand-li horse and jade discs.
The Duke of Yu and Baili Xi were both captured. In remorse, the Duke asked Baili Xi,
“Why did you not stop me then?”
Baili Xi answered,
“If you would not listen to Gong Zhiqi, how could you have listened to me?”
The Jin ruler, Duke Xian of Jin, offered an official post to Baili Xi, but Baili Xi, choosing to remain a captive, refused to serve the state that had destroyed his homeland.
Later, Baili Xi was recommended to Duke Mu of Qin. Using merely five ram skins as ransom—the price of an ordinary slave—Duke Mu of Qin secured Baili Xi’s release and appointed him as his prime minister.
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