Explanations III
When King Wen of Zhou attacked Chong and reached Fenghuangxu, his sock strings came untied, so he tied them himself. Taigong Wang asked, “Why do you do this yourself?” King Wen said, “With those above, a ruler lives among them as among teachers; with those in the middle, as among friends; with those below, he may fully employ them as servants. Now all here are ministers of my late father, so there is no one I can properly order about.”
Another version says: When Duke Wen of Jin fought Chu and reached Huangfengling, his shoe strings came untied, so he tied them himself. His attendants asked, “Could you not have someone else do it?” He said, “I have heard that those with whom a ruler associates at the highest level are those he reveres; those in the middle are those he loves; those at the lowest level are those he treats lightly. Though I am unworthy, the men of my late father are all present, so I find it difficult to order them about.”
Ji Sun loved to patronize scholars. All his life he was dignified, and his daily dress and conduct were usually as formal as at court. Yet when he once relaxed and made a mistake, he could not maintain that dignity forever. His guests therefore thought he was weary of them and treated them with contempt. Together they resented him and eventually killed Ji Sun. Hence a gentleman avoids excess and extremism.
Another version says: Nangong Jingzi asked Yan Zhuoju, “Ji Sun supported disciples of Confucius, and more than ten of them sat with him in court dress. Why, then, was he assassinated?” Yan Zhuoju replied, “In the past, King Cheng of Zhou kept actors and dwarfs close to satisfy his personal wishes, yet he decided affairs of state with gentlemen. Thus he was able to fulfill his desires throughout the realm. Now Ji Sun supported disciples of Confucius and sat with them in court dress, yet he decided important matters with actors and dwarfs. That is why he met disaster. Hence it is said: what matters is not merely with whom one lives, but with whom one plans.”
Confucius was seated in attendance upon Duke Ai of Lu. The duke gave him peaches and millet and said, “Please enjoy them.” Confucius first ate the millet and then the peaches. The attendants all covered their mouths and laughed. The duke said, “Millet is not meant to be eaten like this; it is used to wipe the peaches.” Confucius replied, “I know this. Yet millet is the chief of the five grains and serves as a fine offering when sacrificing to former kings. Among the six kinds of fruits, peaches are the lowest and are not admitted into the ancestral temple. I have heard that a gentleman does not use what is lowly to wipe what is noble, and I have not heard of using what is noble to wipe what is lowly. Now to use the chief of the five grains to wipe the lowest of fruits is to use the noble to wipe the base. I believe this violates righteousness, so I did not dare place what belongs to ancestral sacrifice before the peaches.”
Lord Jian of Zhao said to his attendants, “The mat in my carriage is too fine. A cap may be cheap, but it must be worn on the head; shoes may be costly, but they must be trodden underfoot. If the carriage mat is this fine, what kind of shoes should I wear upon it? To make what is below overly splendid while diminishing what is above harms the root of proper order.”
Fei Zhong urged King Zhou of Shang, “Xibo Chang is worthy; the people rejoice in him, and the feudal lords attach themselves to him. He must be executed. If he is not executed, he will surely become a disaster for Yin.” King Zhou said, “By your own words, he is a ruler of righteousness. How can he be executed?” Fei Zhong replied, “Though a cap is worn and torn, it must still be worn on the head; though shoes are multicolored and fine, they must still be trodden on the ground. Now Xibo Chang is a minister, yet he cultivates righteousness and the people turn to him. In the end he will become a calamity for the world, and he will surely prosper. When people do not devote their worthiness to their sovereign, he cannot be left unpunished. Moreover, if a lord executes his minister, where is the fault?” King Zhou said, “Benevolence and righteousness are what the superior uses to encourage the inferior. Now Chang loves benevolence and righteousness; he cannot be executed.” Fei Zhong remonstrated three times without being heeded, and so the dynasty perished.
King Xuan of Qi asked Kuang Qian, “Do Confucian scholars play board games?” He replied, “They do not.” The king asked, “Why?” Kuang Qian said, “In such games the piece called the ‘owl’ is valued, and the winner must kill it. To kill what is valued is regarded by Confucians as harmful to righteousness, so they do not play.” The king asked, “Do they shoot birds with a bow and string?” He replied, “They do not. To shoot from below and harm what is above is like injuring a ruler from below; Confucians regard it as harmful to righteousness, so they do not do it.” The king asked, “Do they play the se zither?” He replied, “They do not. On the se, the small strings produce loud sounds and the large strings produce soft sounds. This reverses the order of large and small and displaces the positions of noble and base; Confucians regard it as harmful to righteousness, so they do not play.” King Xuan said, “Well said.” Confucius said, “It is better that the people flatter those above than that they flatter those below.”
Note
This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 33.9 Legalist excerpt collects diverse short tales. It stresses strict ritual‑political hierarchy between superiors and subordinates, warning against reversed noble‑base order which may bring political ruin.
Han Feizi / Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE):
A Legalist philosopher who stresses clear hierarchy, proper rewards and punishments, and the ruler’s need to control ministers through institutions rather than personal trust.
A foundational figure of the Zhou dynasty. Here he ties his own shoe or sock strings to show respect for senior ministers.
Taigong Wang / Jiang Ziya:
A famous strategist and adviser to King Wen and King Wu of Zhou.
A Spring and Autumn hegemon. The parallel story shows a ruler reluctant to treat former ministers as servants.
Ji Sun / Jisun:
A powerful ministerial figure of Lu. Han Fei uses him to warn that constant formality cannot replace proper political judgment.
Nangong Jingzi and Yan Zhuoju:
Figures used to discuss why Ji Sun was killed. The point is that one must plan state affairs with capable and serious ministers, not with entertainers.
Confucius and Duke Ai of Lu:
Confucius explains ritual priority: millet, as a staple grain used in ancestral sacrifice, should not be treated as merely a tool for wiping peaches.
Millet and peach ritual order:
In early Chinese ritual thinking, food used in ancestral temples carried higher symbolic status than ordinary fruits.
Lord Jian of Zhao / Zhao Jianzi:
A Jin statesman. His remark about the carriage mat shows that excessive luxury below can symbolically diminish the ruler above.
Fei Zhong and King Zhou of Shang:
Fei Zhong warns that a virtuous minister who attracts popular support may threaten the throne. King Zhou refuses to act, and Han Fei presents this as a fatal mistake.
Xibo Chang / Ji Chang:
Another name for King Wen of Zhou before he founded the Zhou dynasty. Here he appears as a minister whose moral prestige threatens the Shang ruler.
King Xuan of Qi and Kuang Qian:
A dialogue showing how Confucians read games, hunting, and music as symbolic of political order.
Se zither / 瑟:
An ancient Chinese string instrument. The story claims Confucians avoid it here because its small strings sounding louder than large strings symbolizes inverted hierarchy.
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