‘Where are you going?’ asked Confucius.
‘To the state of Wei.’
‘For what reason?’
He replied, ‘Hui, Prince of Wei, is full of youthful vigour and determined in all he does. He treats his country with scant regard and is incapable of seeing his own faults. He has scant regard for the death of the people, and the dead lie across his country like scrub in the marshland. As for the people, they don’t know where to turn. About Hui, I have heard you say, my Master, “Pay no heed to the state that is well run, but go to the state that is in real trouble. Around the door of the doctor gather many who are ill.” Using these words of yours as a guide, I want to see if I can do anything for that state.’
‘Alas!’ said Confucius. ‘You will certainly bring sorrow and even death upon yourself! The great Way doesn’t get involved like this, mixing many things together. In such a mixture, the one true path gets lost in the many. With many paths comes confusion; with confusion comes problems; when problems arise, the situation cannot be resolved. The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others. If you look to yourself and find there are troubles, what use will you be if you try to sort out a dictator?
‘Do you know how virtue is ruined, or where knowledge comes from? Virtue is ruined by fame and knowledge comes from argument Struggling for fame, people destroy each other, and knowledge is used for argument. Both of them are used for evil and you should have nothing to do with them. You may have great virtue and unquestionable sincerity. You may be kind-hearted and without interest in fame, but if you do not understand how people feel and think, you will do harm, not good. Such people try to force the people to be benevolent, to act properly and impose laws, and as a result they end up being hated precisely because they care about others. This is known as hurting others. Those who hurt will themselves be hurt and this is likely to be what will happen to you!
‘Imagine, he could be the sort of king who values the good and hates the bad, so what point would there be in you trying to make him change his ways? Keep your advice for yourself. Kings and princes tend to assume they are right and will do all they can to win. You will find your eyes dazzled, your colour changing and your mouth trying to find words to apologize with, you will bend in contrition and your mind will agree with whatever he says. This is like trying to fight fire with fire, or water with water. This is to pile more on to more. Once you do this, you will be unable to argue with him again. Your words will be of no avail, for he will not believe them. As a result, you will be killed by a dictator like this.
‘In earlier times, Chieh18 murdered Kuan Lung Feng and Chou killed Prince Pi Kan.19 Both these two were men who developed their characters best in order to pass the benefits down to their people. Those who ruled them were upset by the concern of these two, and as a result of their morality, they were destroyed by the rulers. Both the good and the bad struggle for fame. In ancient times, Yao attacked the states of Tsung Chih and Hsu Ao, Yu attacked the state of Yu Hu, and as a result these states were destroyed, their kings killed. Their desire for warfare had been insatiable and their wish for power inexhaustible. All of these sought fame and fortune – surely you know of them? The sages could not handle such people, how much less can you! However, you obviously have some plan in mind, so go on, tell me what it is!’
‘If I am stern in intent and dispassionate, keen and single-minded, will this be enough?’ asked Yen Hui.
Confucius said, ‘Is that it? That will not do! This man acts as if he were supremely confident and puts himself about with style, yet you cannot judge what he really thinks from his demeanour. Ordinary people do not get in his way, so he has developed a taste for trampling upon other people’s feelings. Given that normal virtues are wasted on him, how do you expect to present him with yet higher ones! He will dig his toes in and refuse to change. He may pretend to agree with you, but there will be no inner change. How can you imagine you will succeed?’
‘I will retain my inner integrity, but outwardly be deceptive. I shall cite historical precedent. Inwardly genuine, I shall be guided by Heaven. Guided by Heaven, I shall know that both I and the Prince, the Son of Heaven, are both children of Heaven. Who then cares whether what he says is listened to or not? Surely someone like this is called a child by the people. This is what comes of being a child of Heaven. With this external guile, I can befriend people. Bowing and scraping, paying obeisance, this is what all ministers do. As this is what everyone does, no one will hold it against me. If I do just what others do, no one can criticize me. Citing historical precedent, I will be the dutiful student of antiquity. The words I shall use will condemn and reprove, but the point is they will be seen as the words of the old ones, not mine. This means I can tell the truth but be free from any blame. This is what I mean by citing historical precedent. If I do this, do you think it will work?’
Confucius said, ‘Is that it? That will not do! There are too many schemes here, good ones but not well thought out.
