Translation and appreciation of "Guwen Guanzhi·Wu Xu Yuecheng"

Wu Xu Yuecheng

Wu Xu Yuecheng

"Zuo Zhuan, Year of Ai Gong"

Explanation

BC In 494, King Wu Fucha defeated Yue. King Goujian of Yue sent his official Wen Zhong to ask Fucha for peace. Fucha wanted to agree, but was opposed by the official Wu Zixu. Wu Zixu pointed out that once the Yue State recuperated and became stronger, it would pose a great threat to the Wu State. He advised Fu Chai to eradicate the situation, but Fu Chai did not listen to Wu Zixu's advice and agreed to the Yue State's suing for peace, which ultimately led to the demise of the Wu State.

Original text

King Wu Fu Chai was defeated by Yue Fu Jiao and reported to Li Ye [88]. Then he entered Yue. Yuezi secured it in Kuaiji with 5,000 armored frames, and ordered the officials to plant the seeds with Wu Dazai Pei [89]. Wu Zi will promise it. Wu Yuan said: "No. I heard it: 'There is nothing more virtuous than nourishing a tree, and there is nothing better to cure disease than to eliminate it.' In the past, people used to pour water to kill people, pour irrigation, cut and pour poison, and destroy the queen of Xia. Hou Min was pregnant [90] and escaped. From the sinus, he returned to Youyi, and he was born in Shaokang. He was still able to warn him [91]. p> Notes

[88]槜(zuì) Li: In the 14th year of Dinggong in present-day Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, King Helu of Wu led troops to attack the State of Yue. He was defeated by the Yue army in Zhuì. Lu was injured and died.

[89] Pei Yixingcheng: Pei, a favored minister of King Wu Fucha at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the grandson of Bozhou Li, the official of Chu, went to Wu to serve as Taizai.

[90] Hou Min (mín) Fang Zheng: Hou Min, the wife of Xia Houxiang, has a daughter of the still family.

[91] Fang Zheng. (jì): Hatred, resentment.

Translation:

King Wu Fucha led his troops to defeat the Vietnamese army in Fujiao, in order to protect his father who died in the Battle of Li. Afterwards, the Wu army took advantage of the situation and invaded the Yue Kingdom. King Gou Jian of Yue led 5,000 soldiers in armor and shields to guard Kuaiji Mountain, and sent the official Wen Zhong to ask for peace from the King of Wu through the Grand Prime Minister of Wu. And. Wu said: "No! I heard: "To build up moral character, we need to accumulate it over time, and to eliminate evil we must be thorough and thorough." In ancient times, Zhenguan, who passed through the country, killed Zhenguan and attacked Zhennu, and finally destroyed the king of Xia. The prime minister's wife Min was pregnant at the time. She escaped from a small hole in the city wall, returned to Youyang, and gave birth to Shaokang. When Shaokang grew up, he became the Mu Zheng of Youyang. He hated Fu extremely and was always wary of him. He sent his minister Zijiao to search for Shaokang's whereabouts, and Shaokang fled to the state of Yu, where he worked as a cook and thus escaped death.

Original text

Yu Si then gave his wife two Yaos [92], and all the counties in the city had one field and one brigade. He was able to spread his virtues and foreshadow his plans, so as to win over the Xia people and appease them with official positions. His servant girl Ai Spy sent Ji Shu to lure Ji Zhu, so that he could destroy Guo and Ge, and restore Yu's achievements. Worshiping Xia Peitian without losing old things. Now Wu is not as good as Guo, but it is bigger than Shaokang, and maybe it will be prosperous. Isn't it difficult? Gou Jian is able to be close to others and do alms, and his alms do not alienate people.

Notes

[92] Eryao: Yu Si’s two daughters. The Yu family is a descendant of Shun, with the surname Yao.

Translation

Later, Yu Si married his two daughters to him, and also granted him Lunyi, with a land area of ??ten miles and five hundred people. He implemented benevolent policies and began to prepare plans for the restoration of the country. He summoned the remaining immigrants from the Xia Dynasty, appeased them and gave them official posts. At the same time, he sent Nv Ai to serve as a spy there, and Ji Shu to seduce Chu's younger brother Qi, thus destroying Guo and Ge and reviving Xia Yu's achievements. The ancestors of the Xia were re-sacrificially worshiped to be worthy of the Emperor of Heaven, and the rules and regulations of the Xia Dynasty were maintained. The current state of Wu is not as good as the state of Guo, but King Gou Jian of Yue is stronger than Shaokang. If God makes the state of Yue stronger, won't it become a major hidden danger to the state of Wu? Gou Jian was a man who could get close to the people and benevolent without leaving out any meritorious people. The country of Yue was connected to the land of our country and had feuds from generation to generation.

Original text

So it is impossible to take it, but it will be saved again, and it will go against the will of nature. Although it will be regretted later, it cannot be eaten [93]. The decline of Ji will come soon[94]. He is among the barbarians and has long been a bandit, so he will not be able to seek help from his uncle. "But he didn't listen. He retreated and told others: "It takes ten years to gather together, and ten years to teach, and twenty years later, Wu Qi is a swamp! ”

Notes

[93] Inedible: cannot regret, cannot be saved. Eat, extended to eliminate, used as a verb.

[94] Immediately: Wait.

Translation

At this time, we defeated him. Instead of destroying him, we planned to save him. This was really going against God's will and encouraging the enemy. Even if we regret it later, it will be too late! The decline of the surname is just around the corner. Our country is among the barbarians, but we allow our enemies to become as powerful as they want. It is obviously not feasible to seek hegemony in this way!" King Wu refused to listen. The soldiers retired and told others: "It took the Yue State ten years to gather wealth, and another ten years to educate the people and train the army. After twenty years, the palace of the State of Wu will probably turn into a swamp!"

Commentary

This article is a piece of satirical advice. Although the story is ordinary, Wu Zixu’s satirical words of advice are unique.

He did not make excuses for Fu Chai, but used the story of Shaokang's revival of the Xia Dynasty to satirize Fu Chai not to tolerate adultery, so as not to let the tiger return to the mountain and raise the tiger.

The focus of the article is to highlight Wu Zixu’s loyal advice. In order to illustrate the truth that “there is no better way to cultivate virtue than nourishment, and there is no better way to eliminate disease than to eliminate disease”, Wu Zixu took the trouble to tell the story of Shaokang Zhongxing in order to alert King Wu Fu Chai to be vigilant. . This is Wu Zixu's first intention. Immediately afterwards, Wu Zixu clearly understood the serious consequences of Wu Xuyue's request for peace. He made a sharp comparison between history and reality, and directly pointed out to King Wu Fucha that the current Wu State is not as powerful as the former state. Once the Yue State develops and grows, it will be difficult to Dealt with it. This is Wu Zixu's second intention. Finally, Wu Zixu analyzed Gou Jian's personal qualities and the severe life-and-death situation between Wu and Yue. This is Wu Zixu's third level of intention.

But the unfortunate Fu Chai made mistakes in his decision-making and refused to accept his loyal advice. He finally reaped the consequences and paid a heavy price for the country's subjugation.