Book 18 微子篇第十八

18.1 The Viscount of Wei left him; the Viscount of Ji became his slave; Bi Gan remonstrated and died. The Master said: "The Yin had three humane men."

18.2 Liuxia Hui was chief judge and was dismissed three times. Someone said: "Are you not able to leave?" He said: "If I serve men with an upright way, where can I go and not be dismissed three times? If I serve men with a crooked way, why need I leave the land of my parents?"

18.3 Duke Jing of Qi, receiving the Master, said: "To treat you as the Ji family is treated — that I cannot do; I will treat you between the Ji and the Meng." He said: "I am old; I cannot use you." The Master departed.

18.4 The men of Qi sent a gift of singing girls; Ji Huanzi accepted them and for three days did not hold court; the Master departed.

18.5 The madman of Chu, Jie Yu, sang as he passed by the Master: "Phoenix, phoenix! How your virtue has waned! What is past cannot be amended; what is to come may still be pursued. Enough, enough! Those who hold office now are in peril!" The Master came down, wishing to speak with him, but Jie Yu hurried away and avoided him, and he could not speak with him.

18.6 Chang Ju and Jie Ni were ploughing together as a pair. The Master passed by and sent Zilu to ask where the ford was. Chang Ju said: "Who is that holding the reins?" Zilu said: "It is Kong Qiu." "Is that the Kong Qiu of Lu?" "It is he." "Then he knows the ford." He asked Jie Ni. Jie Ni said: "Who are you?" "I am Zhong You." "Are you a follower of the Kong Qiu of Lu?" He answered: "Yes." Jie Ni said: "The whole world is one great flood; who will change it for you? And rather than follow one who flees from men, would it not be better to follow one who flees from the whole age?" He went on covering the seed without stopping. Zilu went and told the Master. The Master looked troubled and said: "One cannot flock with birds and beasts. If I do not go with these men, with whom shall I go? If the world had the Way, I would not be seeking to change it."

18.7 Zilu, following the Master, fell behind and met an old man carrying a basket on his staff. Zilu asked: "Have you seen the Master?" The old man said: "Your four limbs are unpracticed and you cannot tell the five grains apart — who is your Master?" He planted his staff and went on weeding. Zilu stood with his hands folded. The old man kept Zilu for the night, killed a chicken and cooked millet and fed him, and brought out his two sons to meet him. The next day Zilu went on and told the Master. The Master said: "He is a recluse." He sent Zilu back to see him, but when he arrived the old man had gone. Zilu said: "Not to hold office is to lack righteousness. If the order between elders and young is not to be set aside, how can the righteousness between lord and minister be set aside? He wished to keep himself clean and yet disordered the great bonds of men. The noble man takes office to practice righteousness; that the Way does not prevail, he already knows."

18.8 Men who withdrew from the world: Bo Yi, Shu Qi, Yuzhong, Yiyi, Zhuzhang, Liuxia Hui, Shaolian. The Master said: "They did not lower their purpose nor disgrace themselves: Bo Yi and Shu Qi, yes!" Of Liuxia Hui and Shaolian he said: "They lowered their purpose and disgraced themselves; yet their words kept to the order of things and their deeds to what was thought right — that is all." Of Yuzhong and Yiyi he said: "They lived in hiding and spoke freely, kept themselves pure in person, and in withdrawal weighed what was right. I am different from these: I have no must and no must-not."

18.9 The Grand Music Master Zhi went to Qi; the musician of the second meal, Gan, went to Chu; of the third meal, Liao, went to Cai; of the fourth meal, Que, went to Qin; the drummer Fang Shu went into the region of the River; the hand-drum player Wu went into the region of the Han; the junior Music Master Yang and the chime-stone player Xiang went into the sea.

18.10 The Duke of Zhou said to the Duke of Lu: "The noble man does not cast off his kin, nor let his great ministers resent not being employed. Old friends and old servants, unless there is grave cause, he does not abandon. He demands no single man be perfect in all things."

18.11 The Zhou had eight scholars: Bo Da, Bo Kuo, Zhong Tu, Zhong Hu, Shu Ye, Shu Xia, Ji Sui, Ji Gua.

18.1 The Viscount of Wei left him; the Viscount of Ji became his slave; Bi Gan argued with him and was killed. Confucius said, "The Yin had three good men."

18.2 Liuxia Hui was chief judge and was fired three times. Someone said, "Can't you leave?" He said, "If I serve people honestly, where could I go and not be fired three times? If I serve people dishonestly, why would I need to leave my own homeland?"

18.3 Duke Jing of Qi, receiving Confucius, said, "I can't treat you the way the Ji family is treated; I'll treat you somewhere between the Ji and the Meng." He said, "I'm old; I can't put you to use." Confucius left.

18.4 The people of Qi sent a gift of singing girls; Ji Huanzi accepted them and for three days didn't hold court; Confucius left.

18.5 The madman of Chu, Jie Yu, sang as he passed by Confucius: "Phoenix, phoenix! How your virtue has faded! What's past can't be fixed; what's coming can still be chased. Give it up, give it up! The men in power now are in danger!" Confucius came down from his carriage and wanted to talk with him, but Jie Yu hurried away and dodged him, and he never got to talk with him.

18.6 Chang Ju and Jie Ni were ploughing a field together. Confucius passed by and sent Zilu to ask where the crossing was. Chang Ju said, "Who's that holding the reins?" Zilu said, "That's Kong Qiu." "The Kong Qiu of Lu?" "Yes." "Then he knows where the crossing is." He asked Jie Ni. Jie Ni said, "Who are you?" "I'm Zhong You." "One of the followers of the Kong Qiu of Lu?" "Yes." Jie Ni said, "The whole world is one big flood — who's going to change it for you? Besides, instead of following a man who runs from one ruler to the next, wouldn't it be better to follow someone who runs from the whole age?" And he went on covering the seed without stopping. Zilu went back and told the Master. The Master looked lost for a moment and said, "You can't herd with birds and beasts. If I don't join up with people like these, who do I join up with? If the world were on the right path, I wouldn't be out here trying to change it."

18.7 Zilu fell behind and met an old man carrying a basket of weeds on his staff. Zilu asked, "Have you seen the Master?" The old man said, "Your arms and legs aren't used to work and you can't tell one grain from another — who's your Master?" He stuck his staff in the ground and kept weeding. Zilu stood with his hands folded. The old man kept Zilu overnight, killed a chicken and cooked millet and fed him, and brought out his two sons to meet him. The next day Zilu went on and told the Master. The Master said, "He's a hermit." He sent Zilu back to see him, but when Zilu got there the man had gone. Zilu said, "It's wrong not to serve in office. If the order between old and young can't be thrown away, how can the duty between ruler and minister be thrown away? He wanted to keep himself clean and ended up wrecking the biggest human ties. A good man takes office to do what's right. That the Way isn't working, he already knows."

18.8 Men who walked away from the world: Bo Yi, Shu Qi, Yuzhong, Yiyi, Zhuzhang, Liuxia Hui, Shaolian. The Master said, "They wouldn't lower their aim or disgrace themselves: that's Bo Yi and Shu Qi." Of Liuxia Hui and Shaolian he said, "They lowered their aim and disgraced themselves, but their words were always sensible and their actions thought out — that's all there is to them." Of Yuzhong and Yiyi he said, "They hid away and spoke their minds; they stayed clean, and their quitting was well judged. I'm different from all of them: I have no 'must' and no 'must not.'"

18.9 The Grand Music Master Zhi went to Qi. The musician for the second meal, Gan, went to Chu; for the third meal, Liao, went to Cai; for the fourth meal, Que, went to Qin. The drummer Fang Shu went to the country of the Yellow River; the hand-drum player Wu went to the country of the Han River; the junior Music Master Yang and the chime player Xiang went to the sea.

18.10 The Duke of Zhou said to the Duke of Lu: "A good man doesn't push his own family aside, and he doesn't let his chief ministers resent being ignored. Old friends and old servants, unless something serious has happened, he doesn't drop them. And he doesn't demand that one person be perfect at everything."

18.11 The Zhou had eight worthy men: Bo Da, Bo Kuo, Zhong Tu, Zhong Hu, Shu Ye, Shu Xia, Ji Sui, Ji Gua.