The Farmer of Shihu was a man whose origins are unknown. He was a friend of Shun. When Shun offered to yield the world to him, the Farmer of Shihu remarked: “How tirelessly laborious the Lord is! He is indeed a man who exhausts his strength [for the sake of others].”
Consequently, with the husband carrying [the luggage] on his back and the wife balancing it on her head, they took their children and fled into the sea [or to an island in the sea], never to return for the rest of their lives.
Note
This brief but poignant story highlights the Daoist critique of the Confucian ideal of the “sage king” who sacrifices personal well-being for the state.
The Farmer of Shihu (Shihu Zhi Nong)
A legendary hermit whose name derives from his location (“Stone Door” or “Rocky Gateway”). He represents the ultimate rejection of political power. Unlike others who might refuse due to lack of ability, he refuses because he pities the ruler’s burden.
Emperor Shun
One of the Five Emperors and a paragon of Confucian virtue. In this story, his willingness to work himself to exhaustion for the people is seen not as a virtue by the hermit, but as a tragic trap that destroys one’s natural life.
The Wife and Children
Their inclusion emphasizes that the rejection of power is a total family lifestyle choice. The entire household flees together, indicating a complete severance from societal structures.
Laborious/Exhausting Strength
- The phrase describes Shun as someone who is constantly toiling and preserving/expending his physical energy for the state.
- From a Daoist perspective (echoing Zhuangzi), a ruler who works this hard has lost the Dao. True sagehood should involve Wu Wei (non-action), where the world governs itself. If the ruler must exhaust himself, the system is flawed.
- The Farmer pities Shun, viewing the throne not as a prize, but as a sentence to a life of drudgery that shortens one’s lifespan and harms one’s nature.
“Fleeing into the Sea”
Fleeing to the sea or islands was a common motif for hermits who wanted to escape the reach of the Chinese empire entirely (similar to later stories of Xu Fu). The sea represents the boundary of civilization; crossing it means entering a realm beyond the Emperor’s control and moral judgment.
The Burden of Rule
This story flips the script on the traditional narrative of “yielding the throne.” Usually, yielding is seen as the highest act of virtue by the giver (Shun) and humility by the receiver. Here, the receiver views the offer with pity. It suggests that in the eyes of the truly wise, political power is a curse that enslaves the holder, making them a “laborer” rather than a free spirit.
石户之农，不知何许人也，与舜为友。舜以天下让之石户之农，石户之农曰：“卷卷乎后之为人葆力之士也。”於是夫负妻戴，携子以入于海，终身不反也。
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