Guōdiàn Chǔmù Zhúshū‧Qióng Dá Yǐ Shí 郭店楚墓竹書‧窮達以時
Chu Tomb Bamboo Books from Guōdiàn — “Qióng Dá Yǐ Shí” (Adversity and Success Depend on One’s Time)
(anonymous; early Confucian philosophical text)
About the work
A short philosophical treatise arguing that human success (dá 達) and failure (qióng 窮) in life depend upon the circumstances of one’s time (shí 時) rather than on the quality of one’s virtue or intelligence alone. The text is recovered from Guōdiàn 郭店 Chu Tomb 1, Jīngmén, Húběi (sealed ca. 300 BCE) and is labeled in the source file “郭店楚簡七《窮達以時》” (text 7). It is one of the most studied of the non-Lǎozǐ Guōdiàn texts.
Abstract
Provenance. Guōdiàn Tomb 1, Jīngmén, Húběi, ca. 300 BCE. For archaeological background see KR2p0148.
Content. The text opens with a conceptual framework: “有天有人，天人有分。察天人之分，而知所行矣” (“There is heaven, there is man; heaven and man have their separate domains. Understand the separation of heaven and man, and you will know how to conduct yourself”). The argument is then illustrated with a series of famous historical exemplars — men of exceptional virtue and ability who nonetheless suffered adversity before meeting the right patron:
- Shùn 舜, who ploughed at Lìshān 歷山 and fired ceramics at the Yellow River before becoming Son of Heaven — because he met Yáo 堯.
- Fù Yuè 叴䌛 (Fù Yuè), who wore hemp and thatch before being raised to assist King Wǔdīng 武丁 of Shāng — because he met Wǔdīng.
- Lǚ Wàng 呂望 (Jiāng Tàigōng 姜太公), who served as a menial and butchered oxen at Zhāogē 朝歌 until age seventy — because he met King Wén of Zhōu 周文王.
- Guǎn Yíwú 管夷吾 (Guǎn Zhòng 管仲), released from imprisonment and bonds — because he met Duke Huán of Qí 齊桓公.
- Bǎilǐ 百里 (Bǎilǐ Xī 百里奚), who herded cattle and was redeemed for five sheepskins — because he met Duke Mù of Qín 秦穆公.
- Sūn Shū 孫叔 (Sūn Shū’ào 孫叔敖), three times dismissed before becoming lìng yǐn 令尹 (chief minister of Chu) — because he met King Zhuāng of Chu 楚莊王.
By contrast, the text notes: Wǔ Zǐxū 子胥 (Wǔ Yuán 伍員) had earlier great merit but later died dishonored — not because his wisdom declined. A thoroughbred horse may go lame on a mountain — not because it lacks strength; it simply needs the right groom (Zào Fù 造父). “遇不遇，天也。動非為達也，故窮而不怨。隱非為名也，故莫之知而不吝” (“Meeting [one’s patron] or not meeting — this is heaven. Acting is not done for success, so when in adversity one does not complain. Withdrawal is not done for fame, so when unknown one is not vexed”).
The text closes with the famous statement: “窮達以時，德行一也” (“Adversity and success are matters of time; virtue and conduct are one and the same”). And: “君子敦於反己” (“The gentleman is earnest in self-examination”).
Significance. The text is a sustained philosophical argument against fatalistic despair as well as against opportunistic striving. Its position — that external success is a function of timing and encounter (yù 遇), while moral conduct remains constant regardless of circumstance — mediates between the Confucian emphasis on self-cultivation and what might be a Daoist or Legalist emphasis on circumstances. The text appears to be associated with the same early Confucian (Zǐsī school) milieu as the other Guōdiàn non-Lǎozǐ texts, but its argument draws on a broad range of historical exemplars that transcend school boundaries.
Relationship to received texts. No complete received parallel exists, though the catalogue of exemplars overlaps with passages in the Hán Shī wàizhuàn 韓詩外傳, Lǚ shì Chūnqiū 呂氏春秋, and Xúnzǐ 荀子. The text is not attested in any pre-Guōdiàn source and is generally treated as a newly recovered Warring States composition.
Dating. The manuscript was copied ca. 300 BCE; composition is probably late fourth century BCE. The bracket notBefore: −400, notAfter: −300 is applied.
Translations and research
- 荊門市博物館, 《郭店楚墓竹書》, 文物出版社, 1998 — editio princeps.
- Cook, Scott. The Bamboo Texts of Guodian: A Study and Complete Translation. 2 vols. Cornell East Asia Series, 2012.
- Holloway, Kenneth. Guodian: The Newly Discovered Seeds of Chinese Religious and Political Philosophy. Oxford University Press, 2009.
- Shaughnessy, Edward L. Rewriting Early Chinese Texts. SUNY Press, 2006.
- Pines, Yuri. Envisioning Eternal Empire. University of Hawai’i Press, 2009 — contextualizes the theme of exemplary failure and the ruler–minister encounter.
Links
- Wikipedia (Guodian Chu Slips): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guodian_Chu_Slips