Jì Gēngzǐ Wèn Yú Kǒngzǐ 季庚子問於孔子
Ji Kangzi’s Questions to Confucius (modern editorial title; the textual orthography gives “Gēngzǐ” 庚子 for the received “Kāngzǐ” 康子 — a graphic variant or phonetic substitution)
(anonymous; excavated bamboo manuscript, no attributable author)
About the work
Jì Gēngzǐ Wèn Yú Kǒngzǐ 季庚子問於孔子 is one of the texts in 馬承源 Mǎ Chéngyuán ed., 《上海博物館藏戰国楚竹書》 vol. 5, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè 上海古籍出版社, 2005, comprising approximately 19 bamboo strips. The text is a dialogue between Jì Kāngzǐ 季康子 (here spelled 庚子 — a Warring States phonographic variant) and Confucius on governance, the virtue-cultivation of the jūnzǐ 君子, and the sources of political authority. Jì Kāngzǐ, head of the powerful Jì 季 clan in Lǔ, appears in several Lúnyǔ 論語 dialogues (notably 12.17–19 on governance and punishment); the Shanghai Museum text greatly extends those exchanges.
Abstract
Jì Kāngzǐ opens by confessing that he — “Féi” (féi 肥 is his personal name) — following the officials (yǒusī 有司), does not know how to secure the people’s welfare, and asks for the gentleman’s approach to affairs and the people. Confucius replies: “Treat the people humanely through virtue — this is the great affair of the gentleman” (rén zhī yǐ dé, cǐ jūnzǐ dà wù yě 仁之以德，此君子大務也).
Kāngzǐ asks what this means. Confucius explains:
Virtue-cultivation before governance (§§3–4). The gentleman stands above the people; he grasps the people’s centre (zhí mín zhī zhōng 執民之中); he issues moral education to the hundred surnames. If the people do not comply, that is the gentleman’s shame. Therefore “the gentleman perfects his words like jade and perfects his conduct — respectfully completing his virtue in facing the people; the people look to his way and comply — this is what is meant by treating the people humanely through virtue.” He cites Guǎnzhòng 管仲: “The gentleman who is respectful (gōng 恭) succeeds; the arrogant (jiāo 驕) is insulted.”
The three exemplary arts (§6). Confucius quotes “Mèngzǐ Yú” 孟子餘 (an otherwise unknown authority): “Books serve to display the virtue of the gentleman; Odes serve to preserve the gentleman’s aspirations; ritual forms (yí 儀) serve to discipline the gentleman’s conduct.” The gentleman engages deeply with them; the common people observe them from outside.
Practical governance advice (§§7–17). After an exchange of compliments and deflections (Kāngzǐ insists Confucius’s words “carry too much weight for me”), the text proceeds with an extensive governance dialogue drawing on historical precedent:
- Quote attributed to Liè jīn 烈今 (an unidentified ancestor or authority of Kāngzǐ’s lineage) on the need for the gentleman to be strong (qiáng 強), authoritative (wēi 威), and consistent; to elevate those who are worthy in the state; to penalise crimes proportionally (great crimes → death; regular crimes → punishment; minor crimes → censure).
- Confucius responds with appreciation for Liè jīn’s words but offers an alternative tradition from Cáng Wén Zhòng 藏文仲 (Zāng Wén Zhòng 臧文仲, a Lǔ statesman): “The gentleman who is strong leaves [things undone]; the authoritative cannot guide the people; the salty (lǔ 鹵) loses the multitude; the harsh (lèi 礧) loses intimacy; the fond of punishment is inauspicious; the fond of killing produces disorder.”
- Zāng Wén Zhòng’s positive prescription: “The worthy person residing in the state is diligent morning and evening; [he] descends to the end and aligns [with things]; he encourages the people toward virtue and away from evil; he is cautious about small things to combine them into large [accomplishments]; he speaks sparingly but guards his commitments closely.”
- Final counsel: do not trust hidden enmities; elevate those the state deems worthy; punish great crimes with execution, regular crimes with punishment, minor transgressions with censure; if you steadfastly hold to this, the people must comply.
Relation to the Lúnyǔ. The received Lúnyǔ 12.17–19 preserves three exchanges between Jì Kāngzǐ and Confucius, all brief (a few sentences each): on governance as rectification (zhèng 政), on the relation between ruler’s virtue and the people, and on punishment. The Shanghai Museum text enormously expands the governance dialogue, introduces Guǎnzhòng and Zāng Wén Zhòng as quoted authorities, and develops a three-way source-of-authority structure (ruler’s virtue → art of governance → historical precedent) not visible in the Lúnyǔ excerpts.
Translations and research
- 馬承源 ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 5, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè, 2005 — editio princeps.
- Hunter, Michael. Confucius Beyond the Analects. Brill (Sinica Leidensia 139), 2017 — treats comparable Confucius dialogue traditions in the Shanghai Museum corpus.
- Slingerland, Edward. Confucius: Analects with Selections from Traditional Commentaries. Hackett, 2003 — context for the Lúnyǔ parallels in books 12–13.
Links
- Wikipedia (Shanghai Museum bamboo texts): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Museum_bamboo_texts