商君列传 — Shiji

Lord Shang was a son of the ducal house of Wei, though of a branch line. His given name was Yang, his surname was Gongsun, and his ancestors had originally borne the surname Ji. In his youth Yang was drawn to the study of penal law and administration, and he served under the Wei minister Gongshu Cuo as a mid-level official. Gongshu Cuo recognized his worth but died before he could recommend him to the king.

When Cuo's illness grew severe, King Hui of Wei came personally to inquire. "If your illness proves fatal," the king said, "what will become of the state?" Cuo replied, "Among my household officials is Gongsun Yang, young in years but possessed of remarkable talent. I beg Your Majesty to entrust him with the running of the entire realm." The king said nothing. As the king was about to leave, Cuo sent everyone away and said privately, "If Your Majesty does not intend to employ Yang, you must have him killed. Do not let him leave our borders." The king agreed and departed.

Cuo then summoned Yang and said to him, "When the king asked me who might serve as minister, I spoke of you, and the king seemed disinclined. I had to put the state's interests before our personal relationship, so I told him that if he wouldn't employ you, he should have you killed. He agreed with me. You must flee at once—you will be captured otherwise."

Yang replied, "Since the king couldn't bring himself to employ you when you spoke on my behalf, how could he possibly listen to you now and have me killed?" He did not leave.

After the king departed, he said to his attendants, "Gongshu Cuo's illness is most grave. How sad—wanting me to hand over the entire state to Gongsun Yang, then immediately advising me to kill him. How perverse!"

When Gongshu Cuo died, Yang heard that Duke Xiao of Qin had issued a call throughout the realm for men of ability, seeking to restore the achievements of Duke Mu and recover territories lost to the east. He therefore traveled west into Qin and, through the influence of the duke's trusted advisor Jing Jian, secured an audience with Duke Xiao.

Duke Xiao received Yang, and they discussed affairs for a long time, but the duke kept dozing off and paid no attention. When the audience ended, the duke flew into a rage at Jing Jian: "Your guest is nothing but a charlatan. How could he possibly be of use?"

Jing Jian reproached Yang, who said, "I explained to the duke the Way of the Former Kings, but his wisdom is not yet opened to such truths. Let me see him again in five days."

Lord Shang said: 'I was able to meet you thanks to Meng Langao. Now I would like to request your friendship. May I?' Zhao Liang replied: 'I dare not consent to this. Kong Qiu once said: He who promotes the worthy and honors the capable will advance; he who gathers the unworthy will be cast down. I am unworthy, and therefore dare not accept your command. I have also heard: To occupy a position that is not one’s own is called coveting position; to possess a title that is not one’s own is called coveting fame. If I were to comply with your goodwill, I would fear that I might be coveting position and fame. Hence I dare not heed your request.'

Lord Shang said: 'Are you not pleased with my governance of Qin?' Zhao Liang said: 'He who listens to opposing views is called perceptive; he who examines himself is called discerning; he who conquers himself is called strong. Yu Shun once said: To humble oneself is to be exalted. You had better follow the way of Yu Shun and need not question me.' Lord Shang said: 'At first, Qin was taught by the ways of the Rong and Di barbarians; fathers and sons were not differentiated, and they dwelt together in the same chamber. Now I have reformed these customs, establishing distinctions between men and women, and on a grand scale have built the Ji Que gate. I have made Qin as orderly as Lu and Wei.'

Lord Shang said: 'In your view, comparing my governance of Qin with that of Baili Xi, the Five-Ram Fleece Grandee, who is worthier?' Zhao Liang said: 'A thousand sheep skins are not worth the fur from one fox’s armpit; a thousand men’s murmured assent is not worth one man’s forthright remonstrance. King Wu of Zhou flourished through forthright remonstrance; King Zhou of Yin perished through mute silence. If you do not disapprove of King Wu, then I beg to speak straight words all day without facing execution. May I?' Lord Shang said: 'There is a saying: Polished words are flowery, true words are solid; bitter words are medicine, sweet words are disease. If you, master, are willing to speak straight words all day, that will be my medicine.'

"Shang Yang wished to serve you; why did you decline?" Zhao Liang said: "That Five-Ram Grandee was originally a humble man from the borders of Chu. Hearing of the worthiness of Duke Mu of Qin, he desired an audience, but having no funds for the journey, he sold himself to a Qin traveler, clothed himself in coarse cloth and fed oxen. After a year, Duke Mu learned of him, raised him from beneath the ox's mouth, and placed him above the common people; no one in Qin dared covet such a position. He served as chief minister of Qin for six or seven years, campaigned east against Zheng, three times installed rulers of Jin, and once rescued Chu from disaster. He spread moral instruction within the borders, and the Ba people sent tribute; he extended kindness to the feudal lords, and the eight Rong tribes came to submit."

"When Youyu heard of this, he knocked on the pass and requested an audience. When the Five-Ram Grandee served as chief minister of Qin, he toiled without riding in a carriage, in summer he did not spread a canopy; he walked through the state without a carriage retinue and carried no weapons. His achievements and fame were stored in the state archives, his virtue spread to later generations. When the Five-Ram Grandee died, the men and women of Qin shed tears, children stopped singing, and pestle-beaters ceased their pounding songs. Such was the virtue of the Five-Ram Grandee. Now, your interview with the King of Qin was obtained through the favorite Jing Jian acting as your sponsor—this is not the way to establish a good name."

"Serving as chief minister of Qin, you do not make the people your concern, but vigorously construct grand gate towers; this is not true merit. You punished and branded the tutors of the crown prince, maiming and injuring the people with harsh laws—this is piling up resentment and storing up calamity. Instruction transforms the people more deeply than commands; the people imitate their superiors more swiftly than they obey decrees. Now you also improperly establish authority and arbitrarily alter statutes—this is not the way to instruct. You face south and style yourself ‘the solitary one,’ daily binding the noble sons of Qin with legal restrictions. The Odes say: ‘Look at the rat: it has its limbs; a man without propriety, a man without propriety, why does he not quickly die?’ Judging from this poem, your course is not one of longevity."

"Prince Qian has kept his door shut and not gone out for eight years now; you have moreover executed Zhu Huan and branded Gongsun Jia. The Odes say: ‘He who wins the people prospers; he who loses the people collapses.’ These several actions are not the way to win the people. When you go out, you are followed by more than ten chariots; your escort wagons carry armor, and men of great strength and broad ribs serve as your bodyguards in the carriage, while spearmen and halberdiers run alongside. If a single one of these things is not in order, you absolutely will not venture out. The Book of Documents says: ‘He who relies on virtue flourishes; he who relies on force perishes.’ Your peril is like morning dew, and yet you still wish to prolong your years and extend your life? Why not then return the fifteen towns, irrigate a garden in the countryside,"

"advise the King of Qin to honor the worthies hidden among the cliffs, nourish the aged and care for orphans, respect fathers and elder brothers, rank men by merit, and revere the virtuous—thereby the state might gain a measure of peace. If you, my lord, still covet the wealth of Shang-Yu, flaunt the transformation of Qin's customs, and store up the people's resentment, then once the King of Qin casts aside his guests and no longer presides over the court, will the means by which Qin can settle accounts with you be insignificant? Destruction can be awaited on tiptoe." Lord Shang did not follow this advice. Five months later, Duke Xiao of Qin died and the crown prince ascended.

When Yang saw the duke again, the duke found his arguments compelling but still did not employ him. The audience ended and Yang withdrew. The duke said to Jing Jian, "Your guest is good. I can speak with him."

Yang said, "I explained to the duke the Way of Despotism, and now he is inclined to employ me. If you can arrange another meeting, I know what will work."