The Master said, “Zang Wuzhong used his fief of Fang to demand that the ruler of Lu appoint his descendants as successors. Even if someone claims he was not coercing his lord, I do not believe it.”
Note
This statement from the Analects of Confucius reflects his strict demand for congruence between appearance and reality in political conduct, and his insistence on the loyalty and propriety owed by ministers to their rulers.
Zang Wuzhong, a minister of Lu, had fallen from power and fled into exile. Yet instead of accepting his fate, he leveraged his continued control over the fortified city of Fang as bargaining power: he offered to surrender the city only if the duke granted hereditary rights over Fang to his lineage. Though framed as a “request,” this was in effect coercion backed by military or territorial leverage.
Confucius sharply points out: regardless of how one might verbally deny it, any action that effectively challenges the ruler’s authority violates the Confucian principles of loyalty and ritual propriety. As stated elsewhere, “The ruler should employ ministers according to ritual; ministers should serve rulers with loyalty” (Analects 3.19). Even in disgrace, a minister must know his place and not use residual power to pressure the sovereign.
This also reveals Confucius’s wariness of rhetorical cover-ups – people often disguise improper motives with polite language. But Confucius judges by substance, not form, consistent with his method of “listening to one’s words and observing one’s actions” (Analects 5.10).
In sum, Confucius uses this case to condemn political maneuvering that hides improper intent behind formal legality, reaffirming the minister’s duty of reverence, loyalty, and respect for hierarchical boundaries – a cornerstone of ritual-based social order.
Further Reading
Duke Ding asked, “How should a ruler employ ministers, and how should ministers serve their ruler?” Confucius replied, “The ruler should employ ministers according to ritual; ministers should serve rulers with loyalty.” Analects 3.19 (Ba Yi)
Both emphasize the reciprocal yet hierarchical relationship between ruler and minister, where loyalty must be genuine and not compromised by self-interest or coercion.
The Master said, “In the past, when I judged people, I heard their words and believed their actions; now I hear their words and observe their actions.” Analects 5.10 (Gong Ye Chang)
Reinforces Confucius’s skepticism toward surface claims (e.g., “I’m not coercing”) and his focus on actual behavior – as seen in his disbelief of Zang Wuzhong’s alleged innocence.
子曰：「臧武仲以防求為後於魯，雖曰不要君，吾不信也。」
Leave a Reply