Miscellaneous Sayings

AnonymousThe Commercial Press · ChinaJun 2024

2.6

Word count: 8K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The worthy man and the noble gentleman understand the seasons of prosperity and decline, comprehend the causes of success and failure, examine the principles of order and chaos, and scrutinize human nature. They know when to leave and when to stay. Thus, though poor, they do not dwell in a doomed state; though impoverished, they do not accept the salary of a corrupt ruler. This is why the Grand Duke reached seventy without advancing himself, and Sunshu Ao thrice left the office of prime minister without regret. Why? Because they would not force a union with those who were not their kind. The Grand Duke united once with Zhou, and his descendants held titles for seven hundred years. Sunshu Ao united once with Chu, and his fief endured for ten generations. The Grand Officer Zhong preserved the fallen state of Yue and made Goujian a hegemon, yet was given death before them. Li Si accumulated merit in Qin, yet in the end suffered the five punishments. Exhausting loyalty and worrying for the ruler, endangering oneself to secure the state—their merit was the same. Yet one was enfeoffed and his line unbroken, the other was given death and punished. What they sought and the paths they took differed. Thus Jizi left his state and feigned madness, Fan Li left Yue and changed his name, and Zhiguo left his ruler and elder brother and altered his surname—all saw far and recognized the subtle, and their benevolence enabled them to leave wealth and power to avoid incipient disaster. As for violent and chaotic rulers, who can escape their bonds and subject themselves to them, and share in their calamities? Thus the worthy are not merely fearing death and avoiding harm; they act because self-destruction brings no benefit and only displays the ruler's cruelty. Bi Gan died under Zhou but could not correct his conduct; Wu Zixu died under Wu but could not preserve that state. These two died from forceful remonstrance, which merely illuminated the ruler's cruelty, and was not beneficial by even a hair's breadth. Therefore the worthy conceal their wisdom, block their abilities, and wait until they find the right person before uniting with him. Thus their words are all heeded, their actions never doubted, ruler and minister both give, and to the end of life there is no calamity. But now, if one has not met the right time and also lacks the right person, and merely because private feelings cannot be stopped, pities the disorder of the age, worries over the ruler's danger, and with a body worth nothing takes the obstructed path, passes before slanderers, approaches a ruler beyond measure, and commits an unforeseeable crime, injuring one's own nature—is this not delusion? Thus the Marquis of Wenxin and Li Si were what the world called worthy. In planning for the state, they fathomed the subtle and sought out the hidden; one may say they had no faulty strategies.

Editor's review

This book is the original Republican-era Commercial Press edition of Miscellaneous Words. Taking as its thread how worthy men and gentlemen conduct themselves amid rise and decline, understand success and failure, and examine order and chaos, it uses the experiences of a series of historical figures—Grand Duke Jiang, Sunshu Ao, the Grand Officer Zhong, Li Si, Jizi, Fan Li, Bi Gan, and Wu Zixu—to discuss how “fitting the times” and “meeting the right ruler” determine whether a scholar advances or retreats. The prose alternates parallel and free phrasing and makes telling use of contrast: all alike loyally serve and worry for their rulers, yet some are enfeoffed as marquises with lines unbroken while others are ordered to die or mutilated. From this the author draws a distinction between “seeing what is distant and discerning what is subtle” and “the futility of forceful remonstrance,” finally arriving at the claim that the worthy keep their wisdom and ability concealed and wait for the right person before joining with him. Its strength lies in refusing empty moralizing: the meeting of ruler and minister is weighed against concrete political consequences, giving the reading a coolly pragmatic feel. It suits as a supplementary reader on the Pre-Qin and Han views of a scholar’s coming forward or withdrawing, and can be read alongside relevant chapters of Mencius and Xunzi to appreciate different ways of building an argument.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying Pre-Qin and Han views of a scholar’s coming forward or withdrawing and of ruler-minister ethics
Students who enjoy discussing political choices through cases of historical figures
Language teachers who need Classical Chinese argumentative prose for close-reading practice
Readers interested in comparing this text with relevant chapters of Mencius and Xunzi

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for a systematic philosophical system or rigorously structured argument
General readers impatient with Classical Chinese argumentative prose
Practical readers hoping for modern management or workplace advice

Reading tips

First list the historical figures that appear in the text, check each one’s deeds, then review how the author selects and shapes the material to serve the argument.
Place “the Grand Duke at seventy did not make himself known” beside “Sunshu Ao left the prime ministership three times without regret,” and consider the author’s emphasis on “waiting for the time.”
Read this alongside the Mencius passage “in poverty, one cultivates oneself alone,” and compare the two texts’ different conditions for a scholar’s advance or retreat.
After finishing, summarize in your own words the chain of argument in “the worthy keep their wisdom and ability concealed,” to test whether you have truly understood it.

About the publisher

The Commercial Press China · Founded in 1897

"Republic-era Commercial Press Original Editions" refers to original books printed by The Commercial Press during the Republican period, not a separate publishing house. Judging from the 300 titles held in the collection, its publishing focus centers on classical poetry and lyrics, literary appreciation, classic works, military texts, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy. Representative titles include Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua, Zhong Rong's Shipin, the lyric collections of Xin Qiji and Liu Yong, Sun Wu's The Art of War, and Lü Buwei's Xianshi Lan. Its author resources are mainly classical writers, together with modern scholars such as Li Jingbang and Guo Huaruo, whose collations and annotations are also represented, giving the list a character centered on original texts while attending to annotation and appreciation. Public information on the precise Republican-era catalog and printings is limited; this overview is based only on the titles held in the collection.

版权信息
卷十七杂言

FAQ

What is the core argument of Miscellaneous Words?

According to the text, the core is that worthy men and gentlemen should understand rise and decline, success and failure, order and chaos, and human feeling, and know when to leave or stay; they should not force a union with the wrong person but wait to meet the right one, and only then can their words all be heeded and their actions never doubted. The author uses many historical figures to show that fitting the times and meeting the right ruler preserves the self and achieves deeds better than mere loyalty and forceful remonstrance.

Why does the text say that Bi Gan’s and Wu Zixu’s “forceful remonstrance unto death” was useless?

The author holds that Bi Gan’s death under King Zhou could not correct the king’s conduct, and Wu Zixu’s death in Wu could not preserve that state; their deaths only served to display the ruler’s cruelty and were “not beneficial by so much as the tip of an autumn hair.” This judgment rests on measuring actions by their actual political effects, and it stands in tension with the Confucian tradition’s praise of blunt remonstrance; note the argument’s premises as you read.

Why does the book place Li Si alongside the Marquis of Wenxin?

The text calls the Marquis of Wenxin and Li Si “whom the world calls worthy” and says they “planned for the state, fathomed the subtle and anticipated the hidden, and had what may be called faultless strategies,” yet their political ends did not escape disaster because of their worth and ability. The author uses this to show that even faultless strategy cannot avert trouble if one meets the wrong person and lives in the wrong time, thereby supporting the argument “wait to meet the right person before joining with him.”

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.