Min Gong, whose courtesy name was Zhongshu, was a native of Taiyuan. He was universally praised as a man of unyielding moral integrity; even Zhou Dang, who was renowned for his pristine purity, considered himself inferior to Min Gong. Once, seeing that Min Gong ate without any vegetables, Zhou Dang gave him some raw garlic. Min Gong remarked, “I only wished to avoid unnecessary trouble. Has this not merely created more trouble for me?” He accepted the garlic but did not eat it.
During the Jianwu era, Min Gong responded to the recruitment of Situ (Minister over the Masses) Hou Ba. Upon arriving, Hou Ba did not consult him on matters of state, but merely offered him polite greetings and condolences for his hardships. Resentful, Min Gong said, “Does Hou Ba consider Min Zhongshu unworthy of being consulted? If so, he should not have summoned me. To summon a man and yet not consult him is to fail in recognizing talent.” He then took his leave, threw down the official summons, and departed. Later, when the court summoned him again to serve as an Erudite (Boshi, doctor), he did not go.
Living as a guest in Anyi County, he was old, ill, and impoverished. Unable to afford meat, he asked only for a single slice of pig’s liver each day, and sometimes the butcher would even refuse to sell it to him. Upon hearing this, the local magistrate ordered his subordinates to regularly supply Min Gong with liver. Puzzled, Min Gong inquired about the reason. Upon learning the truth, he sighed, “How can I, Min Zhongshu, burden the people of Anyi merely to satisfy my appetite?” He then left Anyi and settled in Pei County, where he lived out the rest of his days in peace.
Note
Upright scholar Min Gong valued dignity above all. He quit Hou Ba’s service for being ignored on state affairs and rejected later imperial summons. Declining local officials’ meat supply to avoid burdening townsfolk, he spent his final years in Pei County.
Min Gong / Min Zhongshu:
A highly principled scholar of the early Eastern Han dynasty. His story is a masterclass in personal dignity. He demonstrates that a true scholar’s worth cannot be bought with superficial politeness or charity; they demand genuine intellectual respect and absolute personal independence.
Zhou Dang:
Another famous hermit of the era, known for his extreme cleanliness and refusal of office. The fact that Zhou Dang is used as a benchmark to highlight Min Gong’s even higher moral standards shows the intense cultural reverence for recluses during this period.
Raw Garlic:
In ancient China, strong-smelling vegetables like raw garlic were often avoided by scholars and monks because they were considered to stimulate base desires and disrupt mental clarity. Min Gong’s refusal to eat it, despite being poor, perfectly illustrates his uncompromising commitment to his personal principles over practical needs.
Throwing Down the Summons:
The Xi (檄) was an official government document. Throwing it down was a highly symbolic and dramatic gesture of defiance. It signified a complete and public severing of ties with the political establishment, asserting that intellectual dignity supersedes imperial authority.
Burdening the County for a Slice of Liver:
This is the philosophical core of the passage. Min Gong’s refusal of the magistrate’s charity highlights the ultimate Daoist/recluse ideal: absolute self-reliance. He would rather endure physical hardship than allow his personal needs to compromise his spiritual and social independence.
闵贡字仲叔，太原人也，世称节士，虽周党之洁清自以弗及也。党见仲叔食无菜，遗以生蒜，仲叔曰：“我欲省烦耳，今更作烦邪！”受而不食。建武中，应司徒侯霸之辟，既至，霸不及政事，徒劳苦而巳。仲叔恨曰：“以仲叔为不足问邪？不当辟也。辟而不问，是失人也。”遂辞出，投檄而去。复以博士徵，不至。客居安邑，老病家贫，不能得肉，曰买猪肝一片，屠者或不肯与。其令闻，敕吏常给焉。仲叔怪，问知之。乃叹曰：“闵仲叔岂以口腹累安邑邪？”遂去，客沛，以寿终。
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