范睢蔡泽列传 — Shiji

Upon returning home, Xu Shang nursed his grudge against Fan Ju and reported the matter to the Prime Minister of Wei. The Prime Minister was Wei Qi, one of the nobles of Wei. Wei Qi flew into a great rage and ordered his retainers to beat Fan Ju, breaking his ribs and shattering his teeth. Fan Ju feigned death. They then rolled him in a mat and placed him in the latrine. Guests who had been drinking became drunk and, relieving themselves, urinated on Fan Ju—all to humiliate and punish him as a warning to others, to ensure no one would dare speak rashly. From within the mat, Fan Ju called to the guard: "If you can get me out of here, I will reward you handsomely." The guard petitioned to remove the corpse from the latrine and cast it aside. Wei Qi, drunk, said: "Very well." Thus Fan Ju escaped.

Later, Wei Qi regretted his action and summoned men to search for Fan Ju. A Wei man named Zheng Anping heard of this and immediately took Fan Ju into hiding, concealing him while giving him a new name: Zhang Lu.

At this time, King Zhaoxiang of Qin was sending his envoy Wang Ji to Wei. Zheng Anping disguised himself as a servant and waited on Wang Ji. Wang Ji asked: "Is there any worthy man in Wei who might accompany me on a journey west?" Zheng Anping replied: "There is a Zhang Lu in my village, sir. He wishes to see you and discuss matters of the realm. But this man has enemies, so he dares not appear by daylight." Wang Ji said: "Bring him to me at night."

Zheng Anping brought Zhang Lu to meet Wang Ji that night. Before their conversation had run its full course, Wang Ji recognized Zhang Lu's worth and said: "Wait for me south of the Three Pavilions." They made a private agreement and parted ways.

After a while, the Marquis of Rang indeed arrived. He stopped to converse with Wang Ji, then stood by his carriage and asked: "Any news from east of the Pass?" Wang Ji answered: "Nothing." The Marquis then said: "Did you perhaps bring along some foreign advisors with you? That would be useless—nothing but trouble for their home states." Wang Ji said: "I would not dare."

With that, they parted ways. Fan Ju said: "I have heard that the Marquis of Rang is a wise man, but he is slow to act. Just now he suspected someone was hidden in the carriage but forgot to search it." With that, Fan Ju dismounted and walked away, saying: "He will surely regret this."

After walking more than ten li, the Marquis of Rang indeed sent riders back to search the carriage. Finding no passenger, they gave up. Wang Ji then proceeded with Fan Ju into Xianyang.

Upon reporting his mission, Wang Ji said: "Wei's Zhang Lu is the most eloquent strategist under heaven. He says that your kingdom is in greater peril than eggs stacked atop each other, yet with this man you would find safety. However, this cannot be conveyed in writing—that is why I have brought him with me." The King of Qin did not believe him, and had Fan Ju lodged with the most modest accommodations.

The Marquis of Rang, the Marquis of Huayang, was the brother of Queen Mother Xuan, the mother of King Zhaoxiang. The Marquis of Jingyang and the Marquis of Gaoling were both the King's half-brothers. The Marquis of Rang served as Prime Minister, and these three men took turns commanding armies. They held enfeoffed territories, and because of the Queen Mother's favor, their private wealth rivaled that of the royal house.

When the Marquis of Rang was preparing to lead Qin's armies east across Han and Wei to attack Qi, intending to expand his own fief of Tao, Fan Ju submitted a memorial:

"Your servant has heard that an enlightened ruler establishes a government wherein those who achieve merit cannot fail to receive reward, and those with ability cannot fail to obtain office. Those who bear great burdens receive generous stipends; those whose contributions are many receive honored titles; those who can govern many receive high positions. Thus, men without ability dare not accept office, yet men of ability cannot be kept hidden.

If Your Majesty finds my words acceptable, let me proceed and further the principles I advocate. If my words are unacceptable, there is no point in keeping me here indefinitely. As the saying goes: 'A mediocre ruler rewards those he favors and punishes those he dislikes; an enlightened ruler does otherwise—he rewards only those who have achieved merit, and punishment falls only upon those who have committed crimes.'

Now my chest is not sufficient to withstand the executioner's block, nor my waist to await the axe's stroke—how then would I dare to test Your Majesty with half-formed proposals? Even if you consider me base and fit only for contempt, would you not nonetheless heed a man whose loyalty to Your Majesty does not waver?

I have also heard that Zhou possessed Dimo, Song possessed Jielü, Liang possessed Xuanli, and Chu possessed Hepu—these four legendary gems, born of the earth yet sought by the finest craftsmen, are called the famous treasures of the realm. Yet if the Sage Kings rejected such men, would that not harm the state?

I have heard that one who wishes to enrich his family draws from his state; one who wishes to enrich his state draws from the lords. When there is an enlightened sovereign under heaven, the lords cannot grow powerful alone—for what reason? Because he has claimed their excellence for himself.

A skilled physician knows whether a patient will live or die; a sage ruler understands which ventures will succeed and which will fail. When something is advantageous, he pursues it; when harmful, he abandons it; when uncertain, he proceeds cautiously. Even if Yao or Yu were reborn, they could not alter such conduct.

If it is none of these, then I ask only for a brief moment of your attention, a glimpse of your countenance. If a single word of mine proves worthless, I will submit to the axe's stroke."

King Zhaoxiang of Qin was greatly pleased. He thanked Wang Ji and sent carriages to summon Fan Ju.

Fan Ju was received in the Separated Palace. He pretended not to know the way to the inner passage and walked into it. The King arrived, and a court eunuch, furious, drove him away, shouting: "The King comes!" Fan Ju, feigning ignorance, said: "Where is there a king in Qin? Qin has only the Queen Mother and the Marquis of Rang!"

This was calculated to provoke King Zhaoxiang's anger. When the King arrived and heard Fan Ju arguing with the eunuch, he rushed forward to meet him and said apologetically: "I should have accepted your teachings long ago. But the affairs of the Yiqu people were urgent, and I was attending to the Queen Mother daily. Now that the Yiqu matter is resolved, I can finally receive your instructions. I have been slow and unfit—please let me observe proper hospitality."

The King dismissed his attendants, and the palace was empty. The King knelt and asked: "What instructions does the gentleman favor me with?" Fan Ju answered: "Yes, yes." After a pause, the King knelt again and asked: "What instructions does the gentleman favor me with?" Fan Ju answered: "Yes, yes." This happened three times.

The King knelt and said: "Does the gentleman truly intend not to instruct me?" Fan Ju said: "I would not presume such a thing. I have heard that in ancient times, when Lü Shang met King Wen, he was merely a fisherman casting his net by the Wei River. In such circumstances, their relationship was distant. Yet King Wen took his counsel and made him Grand Tutor, carrying him back in his carriage—their conversations had been profound. Thus King Wen reaped the fruits of Lü Shang's wisdom and ultimately became ruler of all under heaven.

Had King Wen kept Lü Shang at a distance and not engaged him deeply, then Zhou would have lacked the virtue of a Son of Heaven, and Kings Wen and Wu would have had no one to help them establish their rule.

Now I am a stranger, a wanderer in a foreign land. My relationship with Your Majesty is distant, yet what I wish to discuss are affairs that will rectify your rule—matters touching upon the closest bonds of kinship. I offer my foolish loyalty, but I do not yet know Your Majesty's mind. This is why, though asked three times, I dared not answer.

It is not that I am afraid and dare not speak. I know full well that what I say today may bring execution tomorrow. Yet I do not shrink from it. If Your Majesty truly acts upon my words, death is not enough to make me hesitate, exile is not enough to cause me worry, nor would having my body covered with lacquer until it becomes repulsive or my hair shaved down to make me appear mad—none of these would I count as shame.

The Sage Emperors died; the humane Kings of the Three Dynasties died; the worthy Hegemons of the Five Prototypes died; Wu Huo and Ren Bi, famed for their strength, died; Cheng Jing, Meng Ben, Wang Qingji, and Xia Yu, famed for their courage, died. Death is something no one can avoid. Given the inevitable fate that awaits all, if I can offer some small benefit to Qin, that is my greatest desire—what cause have I for worry?

"One whose name can be taken as a model but who dies is the next best. One whose name is stained with disgrace but whose person is preserved is the lowest." At this, the Marquis of Ying approved. Cai Ze found an opening and then said: "Lord Shang, Wu Qi, and Grandee Zhong — as ministers they exerted utmost loyalty and achieved merit; that may be excused. Yet Hong Yao served King Wen, and the Duke of Zhou assisted King Cheng; were they not also loyal and sage? If we discuss them in terms of the ruler-minister relationship, how could the excusable qualities of Lord Shang, Wu Qi, and Grandee Zhong compare with those of Hong Yao and the Duke of Zhou?" The Marquis of Ying said: "Lord Shang, Wu Qi, and Grandee Zhong are no match for them."

Cai Ze said: "That being so, your lord is benevolent and trusts loyal ministers, treats old friends with sincerity and generosity; his sagely wisdom forms an unbreakable bond with men of the Way, and in righteousness he does not betray meritorious officials. How does he compare with Duke Xiao of Qin, King Dao of Chu, and King Yue?" Marquis Ying replied, "I do not know how he compares." Cai Ze said: "Now, in drawing close to loyal ministers, your lord does not surpass Duke Xiao of Qin, King Dao of Chu, or King Yue. Yet you set your wisdom in motion, able to secure your lord against peril and refine governance, bring order to chaos and strengthen the army, ward off disaster and overcome difficulties, expand territory and increase the grain harvest, enrich the state and make households sufficient, empower your lord, exalt the altars of state, and glorify the ancestral temple. Throughout the realm none dares defy or offend your lord; his might makes the lands within the seas tremble, his achievements blaze forth ten thousand li away, his fame and splendour are transmitted for a thousand generations. How do you compare with Lord Shang, Wu Qi, and Grandee Zhong?" Marquis Ying replied, "I do not equal them."

Cai Ze said: "Now, in drawing close to loyal ministers and not forgetting old ties, your lord does not equal Duke Xiao, King Dao, or Goujian; and in your achievements, the affection and trust you receive, and your intimate favour, you do not equal Lord Shang, Wu Qi, or Grandee Zhong. Yet your emolument and rank are honoured and flourishing, and the wealth of your private household surpasses that of these three men. If you do not withdraw from office, I fear disaster will be more severe than what befell them—privately I am anxious for you. A saying goes: 'When the sun reaches the zenith, it begins to shift; when the moon is full, it begins to wane.' When things reach their height, they decline; this is the constant principle of Heaven and Earth. Advance and retreat, expansion and contraction, changing with the times—this is the constant Way of the sage."

"Thus, when the state possesses the Way, one serves; when the state lacks the Way, one retires into seclusion. The sage says: 'The flying dragon is in the heavens; it is advantageous to see the great man.' Wealth and rank gained through unrighteousness are to me like drifting clouds. Now your grievances have been avenged and your debts of gratitude repaid; your heart's desire has been fulfilled, yet you make no change of plan. Privately I hold that this is not advisable for you. Furthermore, though kingfishers, swans, rhinoceroses, and elephants are not situated far from death, what causes their death is that they are beguiled by the bait. The wisdom of Su Qin and Zhi Bo was not insufficient to avoid disgrace and keep death at a distance; what caused their death was that they were beguiled by greed for gain and could not stop."

"Therefore the sage institutes ritual propriety to restrain desire, takes from the people in due measure, employs them according to the seasons, and stops his expenditures at the proper point. Hence his will does not overflow, his conduct is not arrogant; constantly he walks together with the Way and does not stray. Thus all under Heaven receives and continues without interruption. Formerly, Duke Huan of Qi assembled the feudal lords nine times and brought unity to the realm, but by the time of the meeting at Kuiqiu, his heart grew proud and conceited, and nine states revolted. King Fuchai of Wu commanded a military force without rival in the world; brave and fierce, he despised the feudal lords and assaulted Qi and Jin. Consequently he met his death and his state perished."

"Xia Yu and Taishi Jiao could shout and startle three armies, yet they died at the hands of ordinary men. All these are examples of the calamity that follows from riding supreme prosperity without returning to the principles of the Way, and from refusing to dwell in humble withdrawal and abide in frugal restraint. Lord Shang, on behalf of Duke Xiao of Qin, clarified laws and ordinances, cut off the roots of iniquity, honoured rank and made rewards certain, punished the guilty without fail, standardised weights and balances, rectified measures and limits, adjusted what was light and heavy, divided up the field footpaths and boundaries; in this way he stabilised the livelihood of the common people and unified their customs, encouraged the people to plough and till and profit from the land, so that each household had no secondary occupation, put their strength into farming and stored up produce, and practised the affairs of battle and formations. Thus when the army moved, territory expanded; when the army rested, the state grew rich. Hence Qin became unequalled in the world, established its authority over the feudal lords, and accomplished the great enterprise of the state of Qin. His achievements were complete, and yet in the end he was torn apart by chariots."

Chu possessed territory spanning several thousand li and a million spear-wielding soldiers. Bai Qi led a force of only tens of thousands to engage Chu in battle. In the first campaign, he seized Yan and Ying and burned Yiling; in the second, he annexed Shu and Han to the south. He then crossed Han and Wei to attack mighty Zhao, burying alive the troops of Mafu in the north, slaughtering over four hundred thousand men, all perishing beneath Changping—blood ran in rivers, the roar of battle like thunder. Then he besieged Handan, giving Qin the foundation for an imperial enterprise. Chu and Zhao were the preeminent powers of the realm and Qin's sworn enemies. Henceforth, both trembled in submission and dared not attack Qin, all due to Bai Qi's awe-inspiring might. In person he conquered over seventy cities, his achievements complete, yet at Duyou he was presented with a sword and ordered to take his own life.

Wu Qi enacted laws for King Dao of Chu: he diminished the authority and prestige of great ministers, dismissed the incompetent, abolished useless offices, pruned superfluous posts, blocked private solicitations, unified the customs of Chu, banned itinerant office-seekers, streamlined the soldiers who farmed and fought, annexed Yangyue in the south, absorbed Chen and Cai in the north, broke up horizontal alliances and scattered vertical coalitions, so that silver-tongued persuaders found no chance to open their mouths, forbade factionalism to encourage the common people, stabilized the governance of Chu, and caused its armies to shake the realm and its majesty to overawe the feudal lords. His achievements were complete, yet in the end he was brutally dismembered. Grandee Wen Zhong devised far-reaching strategies for the King of Yue, relieved the peril of Kuaiji, turned ruin into survival, transformed humiliation into glory, reclaimed wilds and populated settlements, opened up lands and cultivated grain, rallied men from all quarters, united the strength of high and low, assisted the worthiness of Goujian, exacted vengeance on Fuchai, and ultimately captured mighty Wu.

He brought Yue to hegemony. His merit was manifest and his trustworthiness proven, yet Goujian in the end betrayed and killed him. These four men: their achievements were accomplished yet they did not withdraw, and thus disaster befell them. This is what is meant by being trustworthy yet unable to bend, advancing yet unable to turn back. Fan Li understood this. Detached, he withdrew from the world and long remained as Lord Tao Zhu. Have you alone not observed those who play at gaming boards? Some wish to stake everything on a great throw, others wish to share the credit. These things Your Lordship clearly knows. Now you serve as Chancellor of Qin, devising stratagems without leaving your mat, making plans that never go beyond the palace halls, dominating the feudal lords from your seat, spreading profit to the Sanchuan region to strengthen Yiyang, piercing the defiles of Yangchang, blocking the roads of Taihang, severing the paths of the Fan and Zhonghang clans, so that the Six States could not ally vertically, building a thousand li of trestle roads to link Shu and Han, and causing all under heaven to fear Qin. Qin's desires are near fulfillment and Your Lordship's merit has reached its zenith—this is just the moment for Qin to share the credit.

If you do not withdraw under such circumstances, you shall end like Lord Shang, Lord Bai, Wu Qi, and Grandee Wen Zhong. I have heard: 'By water as mirror one sees the face's reflection; by men as mirror one knows fortune and misfortune.' The Book of Documents says: 'Beneath towering success, one cannot long linger.' The calamities of those four men—where will Your Lordship abide? Why not at this moment return your Chancellor's seal, yield it to a worthy and entrust him with it, withdraw to dwell among cliffs and gaze upon rivers? Thus you would surely preserve the integrity of Boyi, long remaining as Marquis Ying, from generation to generation styled the Solitary One, possessing the self-yielding virtue of Xu You and Yanling Jizi, the longevity of Wang Ziqiao and Chisongzi—how does that compare with ending in disaster? So where will Your Lordship lodge? If you cannot bear to part despite yourself, hesitate and cannot decide for yourself, the doom of those four men will surely be yours. The Book of Changes says: 'The haughty dragon will have cause to repent.' This speaks of one who can rise but cannot descend, one who is trusted but cannot bend, one who advances but cannot turn back. I beg Your Lordship to weigh this carefully!

If I could serve Your Majesty as Wu Zixu served Wu, even if afterward I were imprisoned for life and never saw the light of day, my counsel would have prevailed—what worry would I have?

Jianzi and Jieyu covered themselves with lacquer until they became repulsive and shaved their heads to appear mad, yet they were of no benefit to their rulers. If I could accompany Jianzi and achieve something beneficial to the worthy sovereign I serve, that would be my greatest honor—what shame would that be?

What I fear is only this: that after my death, when the world sees a man who gave his all in loyalty yet perished for it, they will seal their lips and go no further, refusing to turn their faces toward Qin.