In the past, King Wen of Zhou attacked Meng, conquered Ju, and seized Feng. After these three campaigns, King Zhou of Shang came to resent him. King Wen was afraid and offered to cede the lands west of the Luo River, a region of red soil measuring a thousand li square, in order to request the abolition of the Paoluo punishment. All under heaven were pleased. When Confucius heard of this, he said, “How benevolent was King Wen! He treated a domain of a thousand li as light and asked only that the Paoluo punishment be abolished. How wise was King Wen! He gave up a thousand li of land and won the hearts of all under heaven.”
Someone says: Was Confucius not mistaken to call King Wen wise? A wise person is one who recognizes where disaster may arise and avoids it, so that he does not himself fall into calamity. If King Zhou resented King Wen because Wen lacked the people’s support, then it might have been acceptable for Wen to seek the people’s hearts in order to relieve Zhou’s hostility. But King Zhou resented him precisely because he had won the people’s hearts; and Wen then lightly gave up land to win even more popular support. This only deepened the suspicion against him. That he was later fettered and imprisoned at Youli was indeed the consequence. An elder of Zheng said, “One who embodies the Way acts without striving and does not display himself.” This advice would have been most suitable for King Wen, for it would have prevented others from suspecting him. Confucius praised King Wen’s wisdom, but he did not reach this understanding.
Note
This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 37.3 disputes Confucius’ praise for King Wen of Zhou. It argues King Wen’s land‑ceding gesture aggravated Shang King Zhou’s suspicion, bringing about his imprisonment; prudent non‑display would have been wiser statecraft.
Han Feizi and the “Nan” chapters:
The Han Feizi is a foundational Legalist text from the late Warring States period. The Nan chapters often take stories praised in Confucian tradition and reinterpret them, arguing that political success depends on avoiding suspicion, controlling power, and understanding the ruler’s mindset.
The founder of the Zhou dynasty’s rise against the Shang. He is traditionally portrayed as a model of virtue and restraint. Confucian texts often praise him for winning support through moral conduct rather than brute force.
King Zhou of Shang:
The last ruler of the Shang dynasty, traditionally depicted as a cruel tyrant. His suspicion of King Wen reflects the dangerous relationship between a declining ruler and a rising vassal.
Meng, Ju, and Feng:
Places associated with King Wen’s military campaigns. Feng later became an important Zhou center. Their exact locations are less important here than their function in the story: they show King Wen expanding his power and thereby arousing Zhou’s jealousy.
Paoluo punishment:
A notorious punishment in traditional accounts of King Zhou’s tyranny, often described as forcing people to walk over bronze pillars heated by fire. Whether historically precise or not, it became a symbol of cruel rule.
Land west of the Luo River:
A large and valuable territory. In Confucian readings, giving it up to abolish a cruel punishment shows benevolence. Han Fei sees it as a politically dangerous act that reveals ambition.
Youli:
The place where King Wen was imprisoned according to tradition. His imprisonment is often cited as evidence of King Zhou’s cruelty and King Wen’s endurance.
Confucius’ praise:
Confucius treats King Wen’s act as both benevolent and wise. Han Fei disagrees, arguing that winning popular support while already suspected by the ruler is not wisdom but self-endangerment.
The elder of Zheng:
A figure cited here to represent a Daoist-inflected political idea: the wise person avoids display and does not provoke suspicion. For Han Fei, this is more suitable for King Wen than openly winning popular hearts.
Legalist view of suspicion:
Han Fei repeatedly warns that ministers and vassals must understand the ruler’s fears. Acting in ways that look morally impressive but increase the ruler’s suspicion can lead to disaster.
三
昔者文王侵孟、克莒、举酆，三举事而纣恶之。文王乃惧，请入洛西立地、赤壤之国方千里，以请解炮烙之刑。天下皆说。仲尼闻之，曰：“仁哉，文王！轻千里之国而请解炮烙之刑。智哉，文王！出千里之地而得天下之心。”
或曰：仲尼以文王为智也，不亦过乎？夫智者，知祸难之地而辟之者也，是以身不及于患也。使文王所以见恶于纣者，以其不得人心耶，则虽索人心以解恶可也。纣以其大得人心而恶之，己又轻地以收人心，是重见疑也，固其所以桎梏、囚于羑里也。郑长者有言：“体道，无为无见也。”此最宜于文王矣，不使人疑之也。仲尼以文王为智，未及此论也。
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