When Yan Yuan died, the Master [i.e., Confucius] said: “Alas! Heaven has caused me this loss!” When Zi Lu died, the Master said: “Alas! Heaven is cutting me off!” When a
qilin was captured in a royal hunt in the west, Confucius said: “My Way has come to an end! My Way has come to an end!”
2 Three years later, he passed away. From these events, we see that successes and failures are decreed by Heaven. The sage knows this and [also that] there are certain situations that he is powerless to salvage. Such events are decreed [by Heaven]. [9/20/5–7]
Before the death of Duke Xian of Jin, Duke Huan of Qi called a meeting at Kuiqiu and gathered [his allies] together twice in one year.
4Before Duke Xiao of Qi had been dead for [even] a year, Duke Xi of Lu sought military aid [from Chu] and occupied the Qi territory of Gu.
5Relying on his power to intimidate, Duke Wen of Jin summoned the Son of Heaven to meet with the Lords of the Land twice in a single year.
6 A year before Duke Wen of Jin died, the heart of Duke Xi of Lu became divided, and he began to serve Qi. By the [end of the] reign of Duke Wen [of Jin], the state of Lu no longer served the state of Jin.
7A year before Marquis Bang of Qi [i.e., Duke Zhao of Qi] died, Duke Wen of Lu traveled to the state of Jin [to conclude a covenant]. The marquis of Wey and the earl of Zheng did not make the appropriate plans in advance before concluding covenants with Duke Wen.
8 Once the Marquis Bang of Qi passed away, the Lords of the Land consequently met with [Zhao Dun,] the great officer of Jin at Xincheng.
9Duke Zhao of Lu served the state of Chu; [therefore] the men of Jin would not allow [Duke Zhao] to enter [their state].
10 When the ruler of Chu became powerful enough to realize his ambitions, he summoned the Lords of the Land for an interstate meeting twice in a single year, violently attacked Wu, killed the rebellious minister [Qing Feng] on behalf of the state of Qi, and proceeded to annihilate the state of Li.
11 The state of Lu relied on the power of Chu and destroyed the state of Zeng.
12 The following year, Duke Zhao of Lu entered Jin and did not encounter resistance when crossing the Yellow River.
13 [Thus] a year before Duke Zhao of Jin died, [Duke Zhao of Lu] no longer encountered any resistance [from Jin].
There was disorder in the state of Chu. A minister assassinated the ruler.
14 The Lords of the Land met at Pingqiu to plan the execution of this rebellious minister of Chu.
15 Duke Zhao of Lu did not participate in the alliance, and his great officer [Jisun Yin] was taken captive.
16 At Jifu, the state of Wu utterly defeated the six states of the Chu alliance.
17 Duke Zhao of Lu traveled to Jin and was greatly humiliated. The
Spring and Autumn concealed this fact on his behalf and stated instead that he had fallen ill.
From these events, we see that when you act in concert [with other states], you cannot rely solely on them. When you serve [other states], you cannot be unwary of them. This also is the essence of a state’s preservation or destruction, glory or humiliation.
Three years before King Zhuang of Chu died, the state of Jin vanquished the Lu clan, the Shen clan, and the Liu clan of the Red Di.
18Two years before Viscount Shen of Chu died,
19 Zheng surrendered [to Jin] at the meeting of Xiaoyu.
20[The year that Duke Diao of Jin died] and two years before Viscount Zhao of Chu died, Chu joined with the states of Chen and Cai to attack and soundly defeat Zheng.
21 The following year, Chu Jian of Chu met with the Lords of the Land and extended [the territory of] the Central States.
22 The year after he died,
23 the rulers of the various Sinitic states [of the Central Plains] traveled to Chu to pay court respects.
24 Viscount Zhuan of Chu succeeded [Viscount Zhao of Chu], but he died after [ruling for only] four years. Yet the state of Chu was not occupied by the ruler of another state. On the contrary, it became more prosperous and powerful, and the Central States could not match it. Why was this the case? It was because Viscount Zhao of Chu exceeded in ability all the [other] Lords of the Land. Everyone in the world who despised their rulers brought their complaints to him and availed themselves [of his aid]. Whenever [lit., four or five times] he sent forth his armies, his troops always were numerous and those he fought were few, [so] whenever he attacked, [the enemy] was defeated. He developed his righteousness to the fullest.
Four to five years before King Kang of Chu died, the Central States were no longer united. The armies of Qi, Jin, Lu, and Wey had dispersed to guard their respective territories. Powerful states attacked weaker ones. The Lords of the Land met again at Chenyi.
25 The ruler of Qi did not attend. Wu lay to the south of Chu, but two rulers had been assassinated [there].
26 The Central States lay to the north of Chu, but the great officers of Qi and Wey assassinated their rulers.
27 Qing Feng coerced his ruler and revolted against his state. The great officer of Wey, She Wu, and his followers united their forces. Wei Heng took possession of Chenyi and deceived [Sun] Linfu [of Wey]. [Sun Linfu] took possession of Jie and rose up in rebellion. Duke Ping of Song murdered the heir apparent, and the state of Lu suffered a devastating famine.
The conduct of the rulers of the various states of the Central Plains corresponded to the conduct of states on the verge of destruction. Between the reigns of Duke Wen and Duke Huan of Lu, five rulers were assassinated within five years. Duke Ling of Jin sent the great officer [Zhao Dun] to meet with the other Lords of the Land at Feilin. Clasping their hands to their breasts and bowing low, there was not a single Lord of the Land at the meeting who dared not send troops [to help Jin]. [They were constrained by the lord of Jin,] just as “the marsh has its banks.”
28 [9/20/9–26]