What means indulging in female entertainers and music? In ancient times, the King of the Rong tribes sent You Yu as an envoy to Qin. Duke Mu of Qin asked him: “I have heard of ways of governance yet never witnessed them directly. May I know why ancient wise rulers gained or lost their states?”
You Yu replied: “I have heard they usually gained states through frugality and lost them through extravagance.”
Duke Mu said: “I humbly seek the great way from you, yet you only speak of frugality. Why?”
You Yu answered: “I heard that when Yao ruled the world, he ate from earthen bowls and drank from clay vessels. His territory stretched south to Jiaozhi, north to Youdu, east and west to where the sun and moon rise and set – all submitted to him.
Yao abdicated in favor of Shun. Shun made dining wares by cutting mountain wood, polishing them and painting them black for the palace. Feudal lords deemed this extravagant, and thirteen states refused submission.
Shun passed the throne to Yu. Yu made sacrificial vessels painted black outside and red inside, silk cushions, decorated mats, colored wine cups and ornate ritual vessels. Extravagance grew, and thirty‑three states rebelled.
After the Xia Dynasty fell, the Shang inherited power. They built grand carriages with nine‑streamer banners, carved dining and drinking vessels, whitened walls and steps, and embroidered cushions. Extravagance increased further, and fifty‑three states refused allegiance.
As rulers pursued luxury ornamentation, fewer states wished to submit. Thus I say frugality is the true way of governance.”
After You Yu left, Duke Mu summoned Minister Liao and said: “A sage in a neighboring state is a threat to enemies. You Yu is such a sage. I fear him. What can I do?”
Minister Liao said: “The Rong king lives in a remote, backward land and has never known Central Plains pleasures. Send him sixteen female entertainers to disrupt his governance. Meanwhile request an extended mission period for You Yu to weaken his influence. Once rift appears between ruler and minister, we may conquer Rong.”
Duke Mu agreed. He sent sixteen female musicians via Minister Liao and asked for You Yu’s prolonged stay.
The Rong king delighted in the entertainers, held constant feasts, indulged in music day and night, and refused to move his camps for years. Half his cattle and horses perished.
When You Yu returned and remonstrated, the Rong king ignored him. You Yu then fled to Qin. Duke Mu welcomed him and appointed him Senior Minister, learning Rong’s military and geographical secrets.
With this knowledge, Qin attacked Rong, annexed twelve states, and expanded territory by a thousand li.
Hence it is said: indulging in female entertainers and neglecting state governance brings the disaster of national ruin.
Note
This passage delivers two interwoven Legalist lessons: rulers must reject indulgence in female entertainment and luxury to preserve governance; meanwhile, enemies may use such pleasures to corrupt and conquer a state.
Core Legalist thinker of the late Warring‑States Period. This story comes from The Ten Faults (Shi Guo), illustrating the sixth fatal ruler’s mistake: indulgence in female entertainment leading to state ruin.
Duke Mu of Qin
Duke Mu of Qin was the renowned hegemon of the Spring‑and‑Autumn Period, who used cultural pleasure as a political stratagem against the Rong tribes.
You Yu
Wise Rong statesman who emphasized frugality as the core of good governance, later defecting to Qin.
King of Rong
Nomadic tribal ruler ruined by indulgence in music and female entertainers.
Minister Liao
Clever Qin minister who devised the strategy of using female performers to weaken an enemy state.
Yao, Shun, Yu, Shang
Legendary sage‑kings cited to prove that increasing luxury gradually alienates vassal states.
Frugality vs Extravagance
A central theme in Chinese political thought: frugality maintains popular loyalty and interstate submission, while luxury erodes authority.
Female Entertainers as Political Weapon
Qin used sensual pleasure to corrupt the enemy ruler, a classic example of cultural infiltration in ancient statecraft.
Nomadic Rong Tribes
Non‑Chinese frontier peoples in western China, often targeted by Central Plains states through political manipulation and military conquest.
The Decline‑through‑Luxury Narrative
Han Fei uses the gradual rise of extravagance from Yao to Shang to argue that pleasure‑seeking inevitably weakens rulers.
奚謂耽於女樂？昔者戎王使由余聘於秦，穆公問之曰：「寡人嘗聞道而未得目見之也，願聞古之明主得國失國何常以？」由余對曰：「臣嘗得聞之矣，常以儉得之，以奢失之。」穆公曰：「寡人不辱而問道於子，子以儉對寡人何也？」由余對曰：「臣聞昔者堯有天下，飯於土簋，飲於土鉶，其地南至交趾，北至幽都，東西至日月之所出入者，莫不賓服。堯禪天下，虞舜受之，作為食器，斬山木而財之，削鋸修之跡流漆墨其上，輸之於宮以為食器，諸侯以為益侈，國之不服者十三。舜禪天下而傳之於禹，禹作為祭器，墨染其外，而朱畫其內，縵帛為茵，蔣席頗緣，觴酌有采，而樽俎有飾，此彌侈矣，而國之不服者三十三。夏后氏沒，殷人受之，作為大路，而建九旒，食器雕琢，觴酌刻鏤，四壁堊墀，茵席雕文，此彌侈矣，而國之不服者五十三。君子皆知文章矣，而欲服者彌少，臣故曰儉其道也。」由余出，公乃召內史廖而告之，曰：「寡人聞鄰國有聖人，敵國之憂也。今由余，聖人也，寡人患之，吾將奈何？」內史廖曰：「臣聞戎王之居，僻陋而道遠，未聞中國之聲，君其遺之女樂，以亂其政，而後為由余請期，以疏其諫，彼君臣有間而後可圖也。」君曰：「諾。」乃使史廖以女樂二八遺戎王，因為由余請期，戎王許諾。見其女樂而說之，設酒張飲，日以聽樂，終歲不遷，牛馬半死。由余歸，因諫戎王，戎王弗聽，由余遂去之秦，秦穆公迎而拜之上卿，問其兵勢與其地形，既以得之，舉兵而伐之，兼國十二，開地千里。故曰：耽於女樂，不顧國政，亡國之禍也。
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