The China of Confucius Series - Part 5When Confucius was forty-seven the chief officer of the Chi family, named Yang Hu, attacked the head of the family and imprisoned him, forcing him to subscribe and swear to a covenant. The next year he forced the chiefs of all three families, as well as others in the state, to swear to another covenant. At this time Lu was actually ruled neither by the Duke, nor by the three families, but by Yang Hu. Two years later Yang, with some other officers, plotted to murder the heads of all three families; Yang expected to replace the chief of the Chi family himself. The plan almost carried, but when it was discovered at the last moment Yang had to flee the state.
Not merely in Lu, but in the other states as well, there was almost no basis of authority and order, save the constantly shifting balance of brute force. The forms of religion were widely practiced, as witnessed by the ceremonies with which treaties were constantly being solemnized, but an officer of Ch'u struck the keynote of the age when he said, "If we can gain the advantage over our enemies, we must advance without any consideration of covenants." Nor was there our concept of the law, which stands over all alike. Human life was cheap. When a ruler of Wu did not wish bad news he had received to spread, he cut, with his own hand, the throats of seven men who happened to be in his tent. Food suspected of being poisoned was tested on a dog and a servant. The ruler of one small state was a collector of swords and tried out new acquisitions on his subjects. Duke Ling of the great state of Chin enjoyed shooting at the passers-by from a tower, to watch them try to dodge his missiles; when his cook did not prepare bears' paws to his taste, he had the cook killed. Such rulers were unusual, but it was not unusual for nobles to threaten subordinates who dared to advise against their conduct and to kill those who continued to remonstrate. Hired murderers were sometimes used. Punishments were severe and common; in Ch'i mutilation of the feet was so usual that special footgear was sold in the shops for those who had suffered it. Bribery at all levels was common, from the perversion of justice in favor of individuals to bribes demanded and received by ministers of great states, from other states, to insure a favorable foreign policy.
Even relatives could not trust each other. An idea of the degree of confidence that existed between members of the ruling group may be gained from the account of a banquet which one of his relatives gave for the ruler of Wu, when Confucius was about thirty. This relative, named He' Lu, intended to kill the ruler at this banquet and to succeed him. He concealed his assassins in an underground chamber beneath the banquet hall. The ruler suspected the plot but went anyway, taking due precautions. He had his soldiers line the road all the way from his palace to the place of entertainment and posted his friends, well armed, all over the banquet hall. These friends met each waiter bringing food, at the door, stripped him and made him change clothes, and then made him crawl in with the food on hands and knees; even then two of them accompanied him, with drawn swords. The precautions seemed more than ample. But one of He Lu's bravos placed a dagger inside a fish, crawled to set the fish before the ruler, then suddenly drew the dagger and stabbed the king to death. At the same moment, says the chronicler, "two swords met in the assassin's breast."
Two powerful families in Ch'i were inimical toward two other families and heard that their enemies were coming to attack them. Immediately they assembled their followers and gave them arms. This done, they inquired into what their enemies were doing and found that the whole story had been false. Concluding, nevertheless, that as soon as their adversaries heard that they had armed their followers they would attack, they took the initiative themselves.
If it be true, as sometimes alleged, that Confucius was puritanical in his ethics, the same charge cannot be made against many of his contemporaries. Adultery and even incest were rather common among the nobles. Women, even the wives of other nobles, were sometimes appropriated without ceremony by those who had the desire and the power.
There were, of course, some cases of great fidelity and chivalry, of men dying for their lords and for their principles, and of men refusing unjust gain. But they are far less numerous in the records than the reverse, and many of them are far less convincing as history. Some idea of the disordered and precarious nature of the times may be gained from the fact that some nobles, far from wanting more territory, deliberately turned some of their lands back to their overlords, hoping that the lack of great possessions might enable them to escape catastrophe. Confucius Ruler of Families - Confucius and the Chinese Way - HG Creel
