Wáng Jū (xià) 王居 (下)
The King’s Residence (Part Two) (modern editorial title; this text continues KR2p0076 KR2p0076 as the second part of the text 王居; TLS strip markers explicitly identify these strips as belonging to 王居)
(anonymous; excavated bamboo manuscript, no attributable author)
About the work
Wáng Jū 王居 Part Two continues the Chu court narrative of KR2p0076, now shifting focus to a royal audience in which the king admonishes a minister, and then a subsequent intercession by Prime Minister Zǐchūn. The strips in this file carry 】（王居）markers in the TLS transcription identifying them as continuing the Wáng Jū text.
Abstract
The king’s admonishment (§§1–4). The text opens: “The king resides in the Su Mian chamber (Sū Miǎn zhī shì 蘇澫之室). Péng Tú 彭徒 returns from the Yang Gate (Yáng Guān 陽關), delivers the command (zhì mìng 致命). Lǘ Chāng 郘昌 reports it to the king; the king has not yet answered. Guān Wú Wèi 觀無畏 holds the document (shū 書) and speaks (nǎi yán 乃言): ‘This is Chu’s tough and stubborn person — he turns his mouth and tongue to change and deceive the king; [but] even if the great officer’s words do not obtain [their proper] offense, [they] might still [cause the person to] run and [return to] serve the king — what will the people of the state say?‘”
The king then delivers an extended admonishment to the implicated official: “I have heard that the good ministers of antiquity did not enter the king’s gates [bringing] private favors or private resentments. [You are] what I depend on to see and hear from afar — even if you don’t [always] speak on my behalf, [you should] select among my fathers, brothers, nephews, and maternal uncles those who have some goodness; classify their talents (lèi cái 庸材) as an offering; [but] you cannot even maintain where to impose punishment on [actual] criminals. Instead, through slander you [incite people to] blame each other — causing me to incur blame in the state, too much! I want to bring you to [the level of] crime.”
“The people of the state will say: ‘I cannot call people up in the morning and dismiss them by evening’ — that would be entirely my (bù gǔ 不穀 — the lord’s first-person) fault. Henceforth do not act this way. Although I cherish you, I cannot let the altars of soil and grain [= the state] bear [the consequences]. You must be genuinely careful.”
Intercession by Prime Minister Zichun (§§5–6). The next day, Prime Minister Zǐchūn 令尹子春 familiarly approaches the king (yǎ wáng jiù zhī 厭王就之): “Péng Tú, having labored once for [the king’s] residence (wáng jū 王居) — I will shield him.” The Prime Minister receives the command and waits for the king to finish; the king says “I want to do this swiftly” and gives consent — commanding that [the matter] wait before shielding him.
The king then says to Guān Wú Wèi: “Wú Wèi, these evil words you have already spoken are already heard by the multitude; the people of the state will become dispirited and dispersed. [They say] ‘He cannot give proper recognition’ — that Péng Tú can advance someone from behind, [and I] wish that the great officer not turn his back on Tú [= Péng Tú] to add to my harm and disgrace.”
Genre. The text dramatizes the complexity of Chu court politics: a loyal but imperfect minister (Péng Tú) delivers a message, faces accusation, is threatened by the king, and then protected by the Prime Minister’s intercession. The royal admonishment for using “private favors and resentments” rather than public criteria (gōng 公) in palace politics reflects a standard Warring States discourse on impartiality in administration.
Translations and research
- 馬承源 ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 8, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè, 2011 — editio princeps.
- Pines, Yuri. Envisioning Eternal Empire. University of Hawai’i Press, 2009 — on minister-king dynamics in Warring States political culture.
Links
- Wikipedia (Shanghai Museum bamboo texts): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Museum_bamboo_texts