孟尝君列传 — Shiji

Lord Mengchang's given name was Wén, and his family name was Tián. His father was Jìngguō-jūn Tián Yīng. Tián Yīng was a younger son of King Wēi of Qí and a half-brother of King Xuān of Qí. From the reign of King Wēi, Tián Yīng held official positions and wielded influence in court. He served alongside the Lord of Chénghóu, Zōu Jì, and Tián Jì, leading campaigns to rescue Hán and attack Wèi. Lord Chénghóu and Tián Jì became rivals for the king's favor, and Lord Chénghóu slandered Tián Jì. Fearing for his life, Tián Jì raided a border town of Qí, but his attack failed and he fled abroad. When King Wēi died and King Xuān took the throne, the new king learned that Lord Chénghóu had betrayed Tián Jì, so he recalled Tián Jì and restored him to his command.

In the second year of King Xuān's reign, Tián Jì, together with Sūn Bìn and Tián Yīng, invaded Wèi and defeated them at Mǎlíng, capturing the Wèi heir apparent, Shēn, and killing the Wèi general, Páng Juān. In the seventh year of King Xuān's reign, Tián Yīng was sent as envoy to Hán and Wèi, and both states submitted to Qí. Tián Yīng met with King Hán Zhāo-hóu and King Wèi Huì at a place south of Dōng'ē together with King Xuān of Qí; they swore an alliance and departed. The following year, they met again with King Liáng Huì at Zhēn. That year, King Liáng Huì died. In the ninth year of King Xuān's reign, Tián Yīng became chancellor of Qí.

King Xuān of Qí and King Wèi Xiāng met at Xúzhōu and agreed to recognize each other as kings. When King Wēi of Chǔ heard of this, he flew into a rage at Tián Yīng. The following year, Chǔ attacked and defeated the Qí army at Xúzhōu, and sent envoys demanding the expulsion of Tián Yīng. Tián Yīng dispatched Zhāng Chǒu to negotiate with King Wēi of Chǔ, who then relented.

Tián Yīng served as chancellor of Qí for eleven years. King Xuān died and was succeeded by King Mǐn. Three years into his reign, King Mǐn enfeoffed Tián Yīng at Xuē.

Originally, Tián Yīng had over forty sons. Among them, one was born to a concubine of low status. His name was Wén, and he was born on the fifth day of the fifth month. Tián Yīng ordered his mother: "Do not raise this child." But his mother secretly kept him alive and raised him. When the boy grew up, his mother took advantage of a family gathering to present her son Wén to Tián Yīng. Tián Yīng angrily confronted his mother: "I ordered you to abandon this child, yet you dared to keep him alive. Why?" Wén knelt and touched his forehead to the ground, then asked: "My lord, why did you refuse to raise a son born on the fifth day of the fifth month?" Tián Yīng replied: "A child born on the fifth day of the fifth month will grow to be as tall as the doorframe, and this will bring misfortune to his parents." Wén said: "Does one's life come from Heaven, or does it come from the doorframe?" Tián Yīng had no answer. Wén continued: "If life comes from Heaven, you have nothing to worry about. If it comes from the doorframe, you need only raise the doorframe higher—who could possibly climb over it?" Tián Yīng said: "Enough, child."

Someone advised King Zhao of Qin, saying: "Mengchang Jun is talented, and he is of the Qi royal clan. If you now make him chancellor of Qin, he will surely put Qi first and Qin last. Qin will be in danger." Thereupon King Zhao abandoned the idea, imprisoned Mengchang Jun, and plotted to kill him. Mengchang Jun sent a messenger to the king’s favourite concubine to beg for his release. The favourite concubine said: "I wish to have your lordship’s white fox-fur coat." At that time Mengchang Jun possessed a white fox-fur coat worth a thousand pieces of gold, unmatched under heaven, but he had already presented it to King Zhao upon entering Qin, and there was no other such coat. Mengchang Jun worried deeply. He asked all his retainers, but none could come up with a solution. The lowest seated among them, a man skilled in dog-like theft, said: "I can get the white fox-fur coat." That night he disguised himself as a dog, crept into the Qin palace treasury, recovered the coat that had been given as tribute, and presented it to the king’s favourite concubine. The favourite concubine pleaded on Mengchang Jun’s behalf with King Zhao, and King Zhao released him.

Once Lord Mengchang got away, he galloped off, changed his travel pass, and altered his name in order to get through the gate. At midnight he reached Hangu Pass. King Zhaoxiang of Qin regretted releasing Lord Mengchang. By the time he sent men to find him, he had already left, so he dispatched riders on relay chariots to pursue him. When Lord Mengchang arrived at the pass, the rule was that travelers could only go out when the roosters crowed. Lord Mengchang, fearing the pursuers would catch up, had a retainer seated in a low position who could imitate a cock’s crow. This man crowed, and all the roosters joined in, so the pass was opened and Lord Mengchang went through. About the time it takes to eat a meal later, the Qin pursuers did indeed reach the pass, but Lord Mengchang had already crossed, so they turned back. Earlier, when Lord Mengchang first listed these two men among his retainers, all the other retainers were ashamed of them. Yet when Lord Mengchang encountered trouble in Qin, it was these two who finally rescued him. From then on, the retainers all respected them. Lord Mengchang passed through Zhao, and Lord Pingyuan of Zhao entertained him as a guest.

Thereupon Tián Yīng treated Wén with courtesy and appointed him to manage the household and receive guests. Visitors multiplied daily, and Wén's reputation spread throughout the realm. Other lords sent envoys requesting that Tián Yīng name Wén as his heir, and Tián Yīng agreed. When Tián Yīng died, he was posthumously titled Jìngguō-jūn. Wén indeed succeeded him as Lord of Xuē, and thus became known as Lord Mèngcháng.

Once, Lord Mèngcháng was entertaining a guest at dinner in the evening. Another guest sat in the light of a lamp or candle, and the dinner was unevenly distributed. The guest, thinking himself slighted, stopped eating and prepared to leave. Lord Mèngcháng rose, took his own portion, and compared it to the other's. The guest was so ashamed that he cut his own throat. Many such gentlemen were won over to Lord Mèngcháng's service. He never turned anyone away, and treated all with kindness. Each guest believed himself to be Lord Mèngcháng's closest friend.

When King Zhāo of Qín heard of Lord Mèngcháng's virtue, he first sent the Prince of Jīngyáng to Qí as a hostage, seeking an audience with Lord Mèngcháng. When Lord Mèngcháng prepared to journey to Qín, none of his guests wished him to go and remonstrated with him, but he would not listen. Sū Dài said to him: "This morning I came from outside and saw a wooden puppet and a clay puppet conversing. The wooden puppet said, 'It is raining, and you will be destroyed.' The clay puppet replied, 'I was born from clay, and if I am destroyed, I return to clay. Now the rain comes and will carry you away—I wonder where you will end up.' Qín is a country of tigers and wolves. If you go there and cannot return, will you not end up like that clay puppet, laughed at by all?" Lord Mèngcháng then relented.

In the twenty-fifth year of King Mǐn of Qí, he finally sent Lord Mèngcháng to Qín. King Zhāo immediately made him Chancellor of Qín. Someone warned King Zhāo: "Lord Mèngcháng is a man of talent, and he is of Qí's royal lineage. If he becomes Chancellor of Qín, he will surely put Qí's interests before Qín's. This is dangerous." Thereupon King Zhāo had Lord Mèngcháng imprisoned and plotted to kill him.

Lord Mèngcháng sent someone to approach King Zhāo's favored consort and request her intercession. The consort said: "I would like to have the white fox fur coat." Now Lord Mèngcháng possessed a single white fox fur coat worth a thousand pieces of gold, unmatched under heaven. He had presented it to King Zhāo upon arriving in Qín, and there was no other such coat. Lord Mèngcháng was greatly troubled. He questioned his guests, but none could offer a solution. Among those seated in the lowest position was a man skilled in the art of disguising oneself as a dog: "I can obtain the white fox fur coat." That night, he crawled in like a dog and infiltrated the palace treasury, retrieving the white fox fur coat that had been presented, which he then delivered to the king's consort. She spoke on Lord Mèngcháng's behalf to King Zhāo, who released Lord Mèngcháng.

Once free, Lord Mèngcháng raced away, changed his seals and travel documents, and altered his name to pass through the border posts. At midnight he arrived at Hángǔ Pass. King Zhāo of Qín, regretting that he had released Lord Mèngcháng, searched for him and learned he had departed. He immediately dispatched men in swift chariots to pursue. Lord Mèngcháng reached the pass, where the regulations required that travelers be released only at cockcrow. Fearing pursuit, one of the guests seated at the very end was capable of imitating a rooster's crow, and when the roosters throughout the area answered, the guards opened the gate and let Lord Mèngcháng pass through. He had been gone perhaps the time it takes to eat a meal when the Qín pursuers indeed arrived at the pass. By then Lord Mèngcháng had long since departed and was already on his way back.

Originally, Lord Mèngcháng had listed these two men among his ordinary guests, and the other guests had all considered them a disgrace. But when Lord Mèngcháng faced disaster in Qín, it was precisely these two men who rescued him. From that time, all the guests were convinced of his judgment.

Lord Mèngcháng passed through the state of Zhào, where Lord Píngyuán-jūn treated him as a guest. The people of Zhào, having heard of Lord Mèngcháng's fame, went out to observe him. All laughed and said: "We thought the Lord of Xuē would be an imposing figure, but looking at him now, he is just a tiny little man!" Lord Mèngcháng, upon hearing this, flew into a rage. His followers hacked and killed several hundred people and razed an entire county before departing.

King Mǐn of Qí, feeling uneasy about his own conduct, had sent Lord Mèngcháng to Qín. Upon his return, Lord Mèngcháng was immediately appointed Chancellor of Qí and entrusted with the conduct of state affairs. Lord Mèngcháng bore a grudge against Qín and planned to use Qí's strength to attack Chǔ in alliance with Hán and Wèi. He also sought to borrow grain from the Western Zhōu.

"Burning the useless empty bond contracts, abandoning the uncollectable empty accounts — this will make the people of Xue feel close to you and proclaim your good name; what doubts do you have, my lord!" Lord Mengchang then clapped his hands and thanked him. The King of Qi was deceived by the slanders of Qin and Chu, thinking that Lord Mengchang's name was more illustrious than his sovereign's and that he had usurped the power of Qi, so he dismissed Lord Mengchang. When the various retainers saw that Lord Mengchang was dismissed, they all left. Feng Huan said: "Lend me a single carriage, that I may enter Qin. I will surely make your authority weigh heavily in the kingdom and your fief even wider. May I?" Lord Mengchang then prepared carriage and gifts and sent him off.

Sū Dài spoke to the Western Zhōu on Lord Mèngcháng's behalf: "Your lordship has, over nine years, used Qí to attack Chǔ and seize the lands north of Yuān and Yè, thereby strengthening Hán and Wèi. Now you attack Qín again to further benefit them. With Hán and Wèi free from worry in the south and free from danger in the west, Qí will be in peril. Hán and Wèi will surely despise and fear Qí—I believe this puts Your Lordship in a dangerous position."

"It would be better for you to have your state align closely with Qín, while refraining from attacking anyone and from borrowing grain. Position yourself at Hángǔ Pass but do not attack. Have your state inform King Zhāo of Qín through Lord Mèngcháng: 'Lord Mèngcháng will certainly not devastate Qín to strengthen Hán and Wèi. His attack on Qín is intended to compel the King of Chǔ to cede the eastern territories to Qí, while Qín releases King Huái of Chǔ in exchange for peace.' If Your Lordship grants Qín this favor, Qín will avoid devastation while extricating itself from the eastern territories; Qín will certainly desire this. If the King of Chǔ is freed, he will surely be grateful to Qí. Qí, gaining the eastern territories and growing stronger, will ensure Xuē's safety for generations to come. Though Qín will not be weakened much, it will be bordered by the three Jìn states to the west, and they will value Qí's friendship."

Lord Mèngcháng said: "Excellent." He thereupon instructed Hán and Wèi to congratulate Qín, so that the three states would not attack anyone, and there would be no need to borrow grain from Western Zhōu. At that time, King Huái of Chǔ had entered Qín, and Qín was detaining him, so it was determined to release him after all. Qín did not actually release King Huái of Chǔ.