A Battle Victory in the Court
Apr. 16th, 2009 12:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ximenAnd here is an example of a king not being stupid.
People:
Zou Ji: a feudal lord in Qi
Lord Xu of Chengbei: a famously beautiful man of the time. "Chengbei" means "the northern city" or "the northern castle"
Places:
-Qi, a warring state to the east.
-Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei, other warring states. These five were all clustered together (along with some smaller states)
Things:
chi a unit of measurement. Currently about a foot, but that was probably not the case at the time
li a unit of measurement. Currently about half a kilometer, but who knows what it was at the time
Zou Ji was a little over eight chi tall, and his body and build were dazzling and elegant. In the morning he put on his clothes and cap and peered at himself in the mirror. He said to his wife, "Between myself and Lord Xu of Chengbei, who is the more beautiful?" His wife said, "My lord is extremely beautiful. How could Lord Xu reach your beauty?" Lord Xu of Chengbei was the great beauty of the state of Qi. Ji was not confident and so he asked the same question to his concubine, saying "Between me and Lord Xu, who is more beautiful?" His concubine said, "How could Lord Xu reach my lord's beauty?" That same day, a guest from outside came to sit and chat with Zou Ji. He asked the guest the question, saying, "Between me and Lord Xu, who is more beautiful?" The guest said, "Lord Xu's beauty is nothing like my lord's." The next day, Lord Xu came. Zou Ji looked at Lord Xu, and thought that he himself was the less beautiful. He peered in the mirror and looked at himself and again he was not as beautiful. The difference was great. He went to bed late and thought about it, saying, "My wife deems me beautiful because she is intimate with me. My concubine deems me beautiful because she fears me. My guest deems me beautiful because he wants to get what he seeks from me." He went to warn the king on this matter, saying, "I truly know that I am not beautiful like Lord Xu. My wife is intimate with me, my concubine fears me, and my guest wants to get what he seeks from me. They all deemed me more beautiful than Lord Xu. Now Qi's territory is a thousand li, its walled cities numbering one hundred twenty. None of the palace women and advisers are not intimate with the king. None of the vassals of the courtyard do not fear the king. None within our four borders do not have something they seek from the king. From these I observe that your majesty has been extremely sheltered. The king said, "Very well, then I pass down this command: if the gathered vassals or the people can criticize Our faults to Our face, they shall receive the highest reward. If they offer up a document admonishing Us, they will receive the middle reward. If they can publicly denounce and discuss in the market or court and make it heard by Our ears, they will receive the lowest reward." When the order first came down, the gathered vassals put forth criticisms. The doorways and yard were like a marketplace. After several months, they put forth criticisms from time to time. After a full year, although they wanted to speak, there was nothing that could be put forth. Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei heard of this, and they all paid a court visit to Qi. This is what is called, "a battle victory in the Court."
notes: there's some great commentary on this one. My favorites include noting that "'being intimate' means 'love'" and "'fear' also means 'love,'" the note explaining that they didn't have any more criticisms because the king had reformed, and the final note, which says, "Talking with rival states is a battle victory inside the Court," and then throws in a quote from Laozi.
People:
Zou Ji: a feudal lord in Qi
Lord Xu of Chengbei: a famously beautiful man of the time. "Chengbei" means "the northern city" or "the northern castle"
Places:
-Qi, a warring state to the east.
-Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei, other warring states. These five were all clustered together (along with some smaller states)
Things:
chi a unit of measurement. Currently about a foot, but that was probably not the case at the time
li a unit of measurement. Currently about half a kilometer, but who knows what it was at the time
Zou Ji was a little over eight chi tall, and his body and build were dazzling and elegant. In the morning he put on his clothes and cap and peered at himself in the mirror. He said to his wife, "Between myself and Lord Xu of Chengbei, who is the more beautiful?" His wife said, "My lord is extremely beautiful. How could Lord Xu reach your beauty?" Lord Xu of Chengbei was the great beauty of the state of Qi. Ji was not confident and so he asked the same question to his concubine, saying "Between me and Lord Xu, who is more beautiful?" His concubine said, "How could Lord Xu reach my lord's beauty?" That same day, a guest from outside came to sit and chat with Zou Ji. He asked the guest the question, saying, "Between me and Lord Xu, who is more beautiful?" The guest said, "Lord Xu's beauty is nothing like my lord's." The next day, Lord Xu came. Zou Ji looked at Lord Xu, and thought that he himself was the less beautiful. He peered in the mirror and looked at himself and again he was not as beautiful. The difference was great. He went to bed late and thought about it, saying, "My wife deems me beautiful because she is intimate with me. My concubine deems me beautiful because she fears me. My guest deems me beautiful because he wants to get what he seeks from me." He went to warn the king on this matter, saying, "I truly know that I am not beautiful like Lord Xu. My wife is intimate with me, my concubine fears me, and my guest wants to get what he seeks from me. They all deemed me more beautiful than Lord Xu. Now Qi's territory is a thousand li, its walled cities numbering one hundred twenty. None of the palace women and advisers are not intimate with the king. None of the vassals of the courtyard do not fear the king. None within our four borders do not have something they seek from the king. From these I observe that your majesty has been extremely sheltered. The king said, "Very well, then I pass down this command: if the gathered vassals or the people can criticize Our faults to Our face, they shall receive the highest reward. If they offer up a document admonishing Us, they will receive the middle reward. If they can publicly denounce and discuss in the market or court and make it heard by Our ears, they will receive the lowest reward." When the order first came down, the gathered vassals put forth criticisms. The doorways and yard were like a marketplace. After several months, they put forth criticisms from time to time. After a full year, although they wanted to speak, there was nothing that could be put forth. Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei heard of this, and they all paid a court visit to Qi. This is what is called, "a battle victory in the Court."
notes: there's some great commentary on this one. My favorites include noting that "'being intimate' means 'love'" and "'fear' also means 'love,'" the note explaining that they didn't have any more criticisms because the king had reformed, and the final note, which says, "Talking with rival states is a battle victory inside the Court," and then throws in a quote from Laozi.