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武王踐阼

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Text ID
KR2p0068
Date
-350–-250
Dynasty
戰國

Wǔwáng Jiàn Zuò 武王踐阼

King Wu Ascending the Throne (modern editorial title; received texts transmit this title in the Dàdǎi Lǐjì 大戴禮記 and related traditions)

(anonymous; excavated bamboo manuscript, no attributable author)

About the work

Wǔwáng Jiàn Zuò 武王踐阼 is one of the texts in 馬承源 Mǎ Chéngyuán ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 7, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè 上海古籍出版社, 2008, comprising approximately 15 bamboo strips. The text is a version of the Wǔwáng Jiàn Zuò tradition, which records King Wǔ of Zhōu 周武王 consulting his general and adviser Shī Shàng Fù 師尚父 (the Tàigōng Wàng 太公望 / Jiāng Zǐyá 姜子牙 of later tradition) about the Way of the sage kings of antiquity. The master hands King Wǔ the Red Book (dān shū 丹書), the repository of ancient wisdom; King Wǔ then inscribes moral maxims on his household furnishings as daily reminders of governance virtue. A parallel text is preserved in the received Dàdǎi Lǐjì 大戴禮記 (chapter 59, also titled 武王踐阼).

Abstract

The opening inscription (§1). The text opens with a “branch inscription” (zhī míng 枝銘): “Hate danger — danger comes from anger and brutality. Hate losing the Way — losing the Way comes from addiction to desire. Hate mutual forgetting — mutual forgetting comes from wealth and noble rank.” These three warnings — danger from anger, loss of the Way from desire, alienation from wealth — frame the text’s governing concerns.

King Wu inquires about the Red Book (§§2–5). King Wǔ asks Shī Shàng Fù: “Do the Ways of the Yellow Emperor, Zhuānxū, Yáo, and Shùn still exist? Or are they nearly lost, impossible to behold?” Shī Shàng Fù answers: “They are in the Red Book (dān shū 丹書).” The King wants to see it. Shī Shàng Fù counsels the King to fast first. King Wǔ fasts three days, puts on formal robes and cap, crosses the hall, and stands facing south. Shī Shàng Fù says: “The books of the former kings are not [shown] to one who faces north [= the subordinate’s position].” King Wǔ turns west and approaches from the south, then faces east. Shī Shàng Fù presents the book and reads its words: “Sloth overcomes righteousness — then perish; righteousness overcomes sloth — then long-lasting; righteousness overcomes desire — then compliance; desire overcomes righteousness — then ominous” (dài shèng yì zé sàng, yì shèng dài zé cháng, yì shèng yù zé cóng, yù shèng yì zé xiōng 怠勝義則喪，義勝怠則長，義勝欲則從，欲勝義則兇). The dynastic consequence sequence: “Obtained by humaneness, guarded by humaneness — the dynasty runs for a hundred generations; not humanely obtained, humanely guarded — ten generations; neither obtained nor guarded by humaneness — ends in one’s own lifetime.”

King Wu’s inscriptions (§§6–10). Frightened and awed by the teachings, King Wǔ inscribes moral maxims on his furnishings:

  • Seat inscription (xí míng 席銘): Left end: “In peace and contentment (ān lè 安樂), be vigilant.” Right end: “Do not do what you will regret.” Rear left: “The people’s restless hearts (fǎn cè 反側) — one must also keep them in mind.” Rear right: “Yin’s mirror [= Shang’s downfall] is not distant — observe what [the Zhou] replaced.”
  • Bed-frame inscription (jī míng 機銘): “Fearful, fearful — be careful of the mouth; the mouth produces reverence; the mouth produces shame — be careful of the mouth (shèn zhī kǒu 慎之口).”
  • Mirror inscription (jiàn míng 鑒銘): “Seeing what is in front, one must think of what is behind.”
  • Washbasin inscription (guàn míng 盥銘): “Rather than drowning in [the favor of] people, better to drown in an abyss; drowning in an abyss one can still swim; drowning in people one cannot be rescued.”
  • Table inscription (tǐng míng 桯銘): “Do not say ‘what harm is there?’ — disaster will grow long; do not say ‘what evil will it do?’ — disaster will grow great; do not say ‘what can it destroy?’ — disaster will come to pass.”
  • Window inscription (yǒu míng 牖銘): “Position is hard to get and easy to lose; officers are hard to get and easy to estrange — without vigilance, one cannot remain mindful…”

Second transmission of the Red Book (§§11–13). King Wǔ asks Tàigōng Wàng if there is a Way of not more than ten words that will ensure a dynasty does not fail for a hundred generations. Tàigōng Wàng says there is, but requires the King to fast again — for seven days. The King fasts; Tàigōng Wàng brings the Red Book again, this time facing south (reversing positions: now the teacher faces south, the king faces north). The book’s content is re-presented with slight variation: “Will overcomes desire → benefit; desire overcomes will → perish; will overcomes desire → compliance; desire overcomes will → ominous” — closely parallel to §5 but substituting zhì 志 (will/determination) for yì 義 (righteousness).

Relation to the received Dàdǎi Lǐjì. The received Dàdǎi Lǐjì 大戴禮記 chapter 59 (Wǔwáng Jiàn Zuò) is the closest parallel text; it contains the Red Book transmission, the sequence of furnishing inscriptions, and the repeated fasting ceremony. The Shanghai Museum version is generally more compact; some inscriptions appear in different order; the received text adds inscriptions on additional objects (belt, bow, axe-handle, etc.) not preserved in the Shanghai Museum strips. Both texts appear to draw on a common pre-Hàn source tradition.

Translations and research

  • 馬承源 ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 7, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè, 2008 — editio princeps.
  • Knoblock, John, and Jeffrey Riegel, trans. The Annals of Lü Buwei (Lüshi Chunqiu). Stanford UP, 2000 — contextual background for the “Red Book” and ancient Zhou moral teaching traditions.
  • Deane, Thatcher, trans. Da Dai Li Ji (Greater Dai Record of Rites). (Partial, unpublished) — for the received parallel at 大戴禮記 chapter 59.
  • Shaughnessy, Edward L. Western Zhou History and Culture. — background on the King Wu / Taigong Wang tradition.

Other points of interest

The dān shū 丹書 (“Red Book” — a book written in red/cinnabar) is a legendary repository of royal wisdom associated in the Warring States period with transmission from sage kings. The Shanghai Museum text is the earliest complete exemplar of the Wǔwáng Jiàn Zuò tradition; the received Dàdǎi Lǐjì version is commonly assumed to be Hàn-period compilation, but the Shanghai Museum text demonstrates that the core tradition predates the Hàn. The practice of inscribing moral maxims on household objects as daily moral reminders (jǐng 警, literally “warnings”) became a major Chinese literary genre (zuòmíng 座銘 / 座右銘) that persisted for two millennia.

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