Zhi the Robber (1)

1 LiuXia Ji was Confucius’s friend. His younger brother was notorious Robber Zhi who led nine thousand underlings to go around for robbing, looting and trespassing. He sniffed love, kindness, filial piety to parents and prudence of all time. The gang of bandit terrified local people. The big countries closed the gate of city to keep them away; the small ones had to hand in rice and pay tax as the fee of protection for avoiding loot. Nobody or no group could crack down the source of disorder. People in those countries suffered a lot from it.

2 Confucius thought that he must stand out to get ride of the power which causing disorder to the society.

3 One day, he went to see Liuxia Ji. He told him, “Father should take responsibility for educating his children. Elder brother should be obligated to induce his younger brother to the right way. If father and elder brother can’t do that, the system of family will be of no significance.”

4 You are sage while your brother is the head of bandit. You should take responsibility to educate and induce him to get rid of the bane. If you do not do your job, then, I have to go and represent you to persuade and exhort him.”

5 Liuxia Ji replied, “I feel shameful for it. However, my younger brother never obeyed my father and kept away from my instruction. He never took worldly rules into consideration. What can I do?”

6 Confucius! You don’t know my brother. He is very clever, fraught with tricks. Taking weapon, he can fight. Going into dispute, he can convince you that white is black. He is bad tempered; if he agrees with you, that fine, however, if he thinks something wrong somewhat, he bursts into rage and looses a stream of abuse against you. If I were you, I would not go.”

7 Confucius refused his suggestion and insisted to go. Nothing Liuxia Ji could do but sign and shake head.

8 Yan Hui drove for Confucius, Zigong stood left to be guardian. So, the three set out to see Robber Zhi.

9 When Confucius saw the bandits, Robber Zhi with his underlings camped at the east foot of Tai Mountain. The bandit cut off human’s liver and sliced it. They ate it with blood.

10 Stepping down his carriage, Confucius was courteous to tell the receptionist, “Confucius is me. I admired your general of great prestige. So I come specially to visit him.”

11 Hearing the receptionist, Robber Zhi flied into rage, with eyes like full moon and hair standing up.

12 Robber Zhi said, “This guy is the hypocrite of Lu – Confucius? You tell him: “You guy make rumor that you can fight and write. You wear the odd cap, tied ox hide belt around your waist. All day you sprout nonsense. Actually, you can’t do anything. You don’t produce and cheat of rice and wine. All but your mouth bewilder the kings.

13 You give a bad example to the young who all imitate you and engage in nothing. In order to cheat of reputation, you disguise filial piety. You always expect someday to be appointed as high official, so can enjoy richness and high rank. It’s you who make all vanity.

14 You go out and ask Confucius to piss off, or I will cut off his liver as lunch.”

15 Reluctant to being driven off, he told the receptionist again, “Please tell him that I am Liuxia Ji’s friend. For the sake of his brother, let me see him.”

16 The receptionist had to inform again. When Robber Zhi heard that he was his elder brother’s friend, his attitude softened somewhat. Considering for a while, he said, “Well! Let him in.”

17 Confucius gingerly walked, in the way he had an audience with the king. Robber Zhi, who only likes eating meat of hunk and drinking wine of big bowl, loathes the shit courtesy very much. He flied into an unspoken fury when he saw Confucius bowed, knelt, kowtowed and greeted times.

18 With feet stretching out, handing on his sword, he glared at Confucius and shouted, “Confucius, old guy, now you see me. If I agree with what you say, you are lucky; if not, I will kill you there at once.”

19 On the moment of speaking, Robber Zhi pulled his sword out and put it on the table. After all, Confucius had been around so he wasn’t frightened by the threat. Standing there, he said calmly, “I heard that there were three ranks of hero whom heaven favors. The first class is the one who is tall and handsome and possesses of stateliness only standing in silence, people are in awe of him.

20 The second rank is the one who learns and works hard after birth. He is learned so nothing can corner him. The third rank is the one who fights bravely, never hesitating in battle. He is calm in directing battle and victory is a piece of cake to him.

21 A common people can come to the throne and rule a region as long as he is one of the said ranks. In my view, you are all of the three. You are eight feet and two inches tall, face and eyes beaming, lips red, teeth tidy and white, voice loud. You have a look of emperor, but because there has no sage direct you, you now do as a head of bandit, called Robber Zhi; it is rather pitiful.

22 If you would like to ask me as your counselor to help you build a country, I, as a minister, with your order, I would acquire a lot of land from Wu, Yue, Qi, Lu, Wei, Jin and Chu. I would help you to build a country covering several hundred li with dozen of thousand in population. Being peer of the dominant king, then, you wouldn’t fight hardily as a guerilla.

23 When you came to throne, you possess of wealth, nobility and glory. You could make your ancestor glorified and ask your relatives to live in your palace to share your good life. Even your ancestor could receive rich sacrifice. With permission by time and environment, this is the cause that sage must do. It also is the direction in which people ask a statesman to lead for social stability.”

24 Confucius’s suggestion didn’t relieve Robber Zhi’s fury. He called, “Old guy! Your tricks and words only can cheat the provincial fool. Don’t waste your breathe to me.

25 I am tall, stately and handsome, which I owe to my parents. It has nothing to do with my ability. I know it clearly not need you to remind me. It was said ‘they who praise directly to other’s face is kiss-ass. ’ They are aptest to betray and call your name behind you. As robber, we hate any attempt to engage in internal strife.

26 Just now you suggested me to acquire some land to build a country, and my government and I could live on tax for people. Is it truly a long and stable way?

27 Now, I am very comfortable. All land under the sun is my field and I can go anywhere as I like. Why do I give up the big one to get the small? What’s more, Yao and Shun ever were emperors but their offsprings became too poor to live. When Tang and King Wu were emperors, they were proud and showy, but their offsprings all were killed. Is it the benefit of a country which you suggest to make?”

28 As I know, in the initial stage of the evolution of human, all people live well without the system of country and government. At that time, animal was everywhere and human was considerably fewer, human had to perch on the tree in order to ward off animal. They picked fruit in day and slept on tree in the evening. So, we call them people of nest.

29 The primitive people had no clothes. In winter they made fire to warm them with the firewood that was collected in summer. So they were called people of using fire.

30 Age of Shennong Shi witnessed the utmost level of self-nature development. People slept well and lived happily. The system of family didn’t form yet. Kid only knew his mother and didn’t know how his father looked like. They bred elk for meat and milk. They lived on their own harvest, without any malice to hurt each other.”

31 When Yellow Emperor was in power, because of his ambition and the different standard of behavior set up by each other, Yellow Emperor fought fiercely against Chiyou in Zhoulu. Both sides took a heavy toll of soldiers. Stability and peace of human society had been spoiled since then.

32 Later Yao and Shun organized government and defined the relation of kin, since then, society started to break up. In the movements in which each individual hoped to find his best location in the society, fight, conflict and looting took place. Tang banished his king and replaced him. King Wu even killed his emperor Jie and established his own dynasty.

33 They gave people an example that the strong bullied the weak and the masses stroke the less. To protect themselves, all nations enforced their military forces. Therefore, as you read, the history after Tang and King Wu was a history of war. Those men who found a country were careerists. Countries under the careerist’s ruling, is there stability under the sun possible?

34 Now you learn literature, military art, and improve your eloquence. What’s more, besides you, you enroll a lot of students to impart them your knowledge. They usually are requested to wear the uniform you designed; their daily conduct should comply with your queer regulations. You teach them to cheat of position by lie and misdeed for wealth, rank and honor. These officials often cater for high level official by some eccentric ideas. In consequence, country goes into mess, war happens one after another.

35 You, Confucius, is a really robber. As far as harm is concerned, mine is far from yours. I wonder why people don’t call you Robber Confucius but call me Robber Zhi.

36 By soft words, you cheat Zilu to be your disciple. You ask him to replace helmet with Ru hat and ask him to wrap up sword to learn Confucianism from you. What’s the result? Later Zilu tried to assassinate King Wei but failed. He instead was killed by the death penalty. He was chopped into pieces at executive ground of east gate. Isn’t it your fault that made him went to such destiny? It is you teach him and let him involve into the whirl of politic conflict.

37 You flatter yourself that you are learned and sainted. However, your destiny is not better than others. You were banished twice by King Lu and house-arrested in Wei, down and out in Qi but nobody cared you. You were besieged between Chen and Cai, which was notorious under sun. It is obvious that your theory is out of place to people. In my eyes your theory actually is nothing.

38 You see. Yellow Emperor is the most honorable man by your Confucian. But he couldn’t have complete virtue yet. He launched a war against Chiyou in Zhuolu. In the battlefield, soldiers’ corpus of both sides lay everywhere, blood was streaming like the current in river.

39 It was not kind that Yao killed his first son, Danzhu. It is not filial that Shun banished his father Aoshou. Yu didn’t know how to conserve health because he was too moiling and paralyzed his half body.

40 Tang banished his emperor and King Wu killed his boss Jie. They are treasonous underling. King Weng was detained in Youli for his offense to King Zhou because he didn’t know how to fit himself to the environment.

41 The said six persons are the leaders who your Confucian sang the praises of. Nevertheless, let’s analyze them and find that they make use of interest to carry out their policy, instead of sincerity to move people; when they dealt with the affairs with underling or high level official, they would not show their real intent, and instead, they held back his feeling and spoke only what they thought others like to hear.

42 In my eye, the official affectation is very shameful, not better than our bandits who are frank and open.

43 The most honorable sage by your Confucian is so-so in my eyes. Boyi and Shuqi, the two stupid guys, gave up the position in Guzhu to look for sainted king in Zhou. As a result, they got disappointed and starved to death in Shouyang Mountain. Their corpus even weren’t buried.

44 Bao Jao also was an odd fish. Zigong said to him, “I heard that he, who didn’t serve for his king, should not step on the land of the king and he, who stained his king, not receive the salary from the king.” Which stimulated him, so he climbed and stayed on the tree and therefore, starved to death.

45 Shentu Di didn’t get response from his king on his persuasion. He suddenly held a big stone to jump into river, becoming food of fish and turtle.

46 Jiezi Tui was loyal to follow King Weng. When the king in distress was hungry, Jiezi Tui cut off a piece of his leg meat to feed him. Later King Wen, however, dismissed him for his petty fault. Jiezi Tui was so angry that he burned himself.

47 Weisheng’s death was unworthy most. He had a date with a girl under the bridge pillar but the girl didn’t come. The man of love infatuation, however, still waited under the bridge. He consequently was drowned on the tide.

48 The said six persons are the sages who your Confucius advocates. Tell you the truth; they don’t know how to cherish life. They are wretches as wild dog or beggar. How are they worth being learned from?

49 Prince Bigan and Wu Zixu were loyal ministers in your eyes. What’s their destiny? Wu Zixu committed suicide by jumping into river; Bigan was heart-ripped, which became laughingstock in chat of leisure time. So, the two so-called loyal ministers are unworthy of being imitated also.

50 What you want to tell me today, excepting the other space, such as god and ghost, which I could not know, in this world is not more than the said things.

51 So what? Is my analysis clear? So you don’t have to waste your time to tell me anything anymore.

52 Now that you are here, and I am in a good humor today. Let me tell you something about people.

53 Eyes like to see nice things; ears like to hear good voice; mouth likes to eat delicious food; brain keeps thinking all the day. What you emphasize: not seeing, listening and thinking anything out of etiquette are conducts actually diverging human’s feeling.

54 People of long life are a hundred years old; people of medium life are about eighty; people of short life are about sixty. In the life, the feeling of illness, death, sadness, and worry takes up most of the time. Time of real joy and laugh is four or five days at most in a month.

55 Therefore, life is bitter, which is destiny. Time and space are limitless; comparing these, our life is transient, like a swift horse galloping over a gap. In such limited time and space, all conducts that not applying him to accomplish his ideals and not treasuring and conserve health, are not in accordance with the requirements of human nature, self-nature and Tao.

56 Old guy! What you advocate and teach is what I throw away, so you say no more and piss off! I don’t want to hear your tricky and fictitious words designed for cheating of fame, honor, wealth and rank. These don’t conform to human nature and truth; I don’t want to waste my time here.”

57 At that moment, Confucius was embarrassed to the most. Sweat dripping from forehead, he stood there and could say nothing. Robber Zhi asked him to leave, he felt as if disburdening. He bowed courteously and minced slightly out of the camp.

58 In the carriage he still was depressively in the mood of listening to Robber Zhi’s moralistic. His eyesight was dispersed and face was pasty. On the way back, he seemed to be in a trance and lost bridle from his hands three times. His body leaned against handle, wordless, head drooping, breath weak.

59 When their carriage passed east gate of Lu, they happened to see Liuxia Ji. Liuxia Ji asked Confucius, "I haven’t seen you for a few days. You look tired and seem to endure the hardships of a long journey. Do you go to see my young brother Robber Zhi?"

60 Looking up to the sky, Confucius signed, “Yes! We go and see him.”

61 Liuxia Ji asked again, “Is my brother as the same as what I have told you? He must have told off you and doesn’t change his mind eventually.”

62 Confucius said, “Yes! It is as what you have said. He has told off me but it is all I ask for. Why did I not weigh my ability to touch tiger's beard self-assertively. I was almost bitten by the tiger.”