Shǐ Liú Wèn Yú Fūzǐ 史蒥問於夫子
Historian Liu Consults the Master (modern editorial title)
(anonymous; excavated bamboo manuscript, no attributable author)
About the work
Shǐ Liú Wèn Yú Fūzǐ 史蒥問於夫子 is a philosophical dialogue preserved on approximately 6 bamboo strips from the Shanghai Museum corpus of Warring States Chǔ 楚 manuscripts, published in 馬承源 Mǎ Chéngyuán ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 9, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè 上海古籍出版社, 2012. The text belongs to a recognized sub-genre of Warring States philosophical literature: the “consultation with the Master” (wèn yú Fūzǐ 問於夫子) dialogue, in which a named questioner — typically a lower official or outsider figure — consults a sage identified only as “the Master” (Fūzǐ 夫子, most naturally understood as Confucius 孔子 in these contexts). The text addresses the “eight [dangers to governance]” (bā 八) and the virtues of trustworthiness (xìn 信) and reverence/respect (jìng 敬).
Abstract
The questioner’s self-identification. The text opens with the questioner presenting himself: “[I am] Shǐ Liú 史蒥 — a son of a lowly clerk of the Qí state (gù Qí bāng bì lì zhī zǐ 故齊邦敝吏之子), without plans or strategy…” He has heard the Master’s words and is greatly afraid, not knowing what to do. The Master replies: “Excellent! To be in awe when facing affairs — this is not…”
On entrusting a person with government. The middle section (strip 2) concerns the question of whom to entrust with governance: “Having [already experienced] death, [a person who is loyal] to his son and to himself (zǐ qí shēn zhī 子其身之)… Now if you make someone his teacher, his ruler, choosing him carefully…”
The eight dangers (strips 3–4). Shǐ Liú asks: “What are called the eight?” The Master replies: “Inner evil and deception (nèi xié wěi 內邪偽); secret [indulgence in] women and wine (yōu sè yǔ jiǔ 幽色与酒); great bells and tripods (dà zhōng dǐng 大鐘鼎); beautiful palaces (měi gōng shì 美宮室); driving [chariot-hunts] and pursuing [game] (qū zhǐ tián liè 驅軹畋獵); [excessive] litigation and lawsuits (jǔ sòng yù 舉訟獄) — these are the ways of losing [the state]; they cannot be left unguarded against (bù kě yǐ fú jiè 不可以弗戒).”
This list of eight vices or dangers to rulership shows close parallels with similar enumerations in early Chinese political literature, including the Guǎnzǐ 管子 (particularly the Mùmín 牧民 chapter) and various Warring States shū 書 (written advice) texts, suggesting a shared discursive tradition of taxonomizing royal failure.
The Master continues: “If your affairs are carried out, the hundred surnames will obtain their benefit and the state and family will be at peace; if your affairs are not carried out, the hundred surnames [will suffer]… [the state] will surely crumble (wēi 危) — it can [collapse to a level worse than] Yǔ and Tāng; [but] Yǔ and Tāng studied [these principles]: from the beginnings of having people until now, none has been able to be truly established on the earth without at some point having not escaped disaster.”
On trustworthiness and reverence (strips 5–6). Shǐ Liú asks: “What is called trustworthiness? What is called reverence?” The Master replies: “As for reverence (jìng 敬): it is to observe a person’s face and expression and act accordingly — to see what they desire and [act accordingly].” The final strip is fragmentary but includes a general statement on the inviolability of the people’s will: “The common people (mín máng 民氓) cannot be insulted; what the multitude has set up, nothing can overthrow; what the multitude has [brought down], nothing can erect.” A closing reference to heeding what is “constant through antiquity” (tōng gǔ 通古) rounds the dialogue.
Significance. The text is notable for the questioner’s explicit self-identification as a Qí 齊 official’s son — a rare instance in Warring States dialogue literature of a named petitioner from a specific regional background. The enumeration of the “eight dangers” constitutes an important parallel to transmitted political literature, including the list of eight evils in the Guǎnzǐ. The text’s treatment of jìng 敬 (reverence) as a practical responsiveness to others’ needs and expressions — rather than as a cosmic religious attitude — is characteristic of Confucian-adjacent political thought in the later Warring States.
Translations and research
- 馬承源 ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 9, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè, 2012 — editio princeps.
- Shaughnessy, Edward L. Rewriting Early Chinese Texts. SUNY Press, 2006.
- Pines, Yuri. Envisioning Eternal Empire. University of Hawai’i Press, 2009.
Links
- Wikipedia (Shanghai Museum bamboo texts): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Museum_bamboo_texts