Analects of Confucius Book 17: testy encounters
Confucius has a number of testy encounters with his followers in Book 17, starting in 17.4 when he earns a rebuke from Ziyou for the patronizing comment he makes when he hears the sounds of a ritual ceremony taking place nearby. Although Confucius hastily backtracks by saying his remarks were meant as a joke, his attempt at an apology fails to mask his snobbery towards the ordinary people of the rough and tough border town of Wucheng. It does not exactly show any respect either for the hard work that Ziyou has put in to instill the teachings of the sage in the local population.
17.5 features an even testier exchange between Confucius and his faithful friend and follower Zilu, who is appalled that the sage is even considering accepting a summons from the rebel Gongshan Furao to join him in his attempt to take down the powerful Ji family. Although Gongshan claims that his only aim is to restore the rightful authority of the hereditary ducal family over the state of Lu, Zilu is extremely suspicious of his true motives. How he must have cringed at Confucius’s naivete and vanity in declaring that if Gongshan Furao were to employ him, “perhaps I could establish a new Zhou Dynasty in the East.”
It is not clear whether Confucius did go to meet Gongshan, but even if he did nothing ever came out of it. A good thing, too, given that any form of association with a rebel like him would have destroyed Confucius’s reputation and tarnished his legacy forever.
Zilu questions Confucius’s motives again in a similar episode in 17.7, when the sage is tempted by a summons from a rebel from the state of Jin called Bi Xi. “Master, in the past I have heard you say, ‘An exemplary person does not enter the domain of those who commit evil,’” Zilu admonishes him. “Bi Xi is using his stronghold of Zhongmou as the base of a rebellion. How can you contemplate going to join him?”
Confucius’s blustering and self-pitying response to Zilu’s biting criticism reveals how desperate he must have become to achieve a position of influence: “Am I no more than a bitter gourd that is hung on a piece of string instead of being eaten?”
Even though Confucius is the master and Zilu is the follower, Zilu does not hesitate to call Confucius out when he feels he is going down the wrong path. Given that Confucius did not team up with either Gongshan Furao or Bi Xi, it is likely that Zilu’s disapproval played a role in persuading him against further pursuing these questionable opportunities.
Confucius is on much safer ground in his other two interactions with Zilu. In 17.8 he lectures him on the “six virtues and their six attendant vices” and in 17.23 reminds his impetuous follower that if courage is not tempered by rightness it could lead to chaos and banditry. Unlike the fiery exchanges in 17.5 and 17.7, however, these passages are anodyne and do nothing to show the closeness of the relationship between the two men.
The relationship between Confucius and Zai Yu was nowhere as close as the one between him and Zilu. One possible reason for this was the thirty-year age gap between the two men. Another more fundamental factor was that Zai Yu took great pleasure in winding up the sage by challenging his teachings.
Zai Yu’s feistiness is vividly illustrated in yet another testy exchange in 17.21 when he questions whether the traditional three-year mourning period (usually around twenty-five months) following the death of a parent should be reduced to a year. Confucius argues vociferously against Zai Yu, of course, but after his young follower departs he feels the need to further expand his defense of this declining practice. Maybe, just maybe, this is because he fears that he was unsuccessful in countering Zai Yu’s contentions.
17.21 marks the final appearance of Zai Yu in the Analects. Even though he is only featured in five passages throughout the entire text, he certainly counts as one of the most memorable of all the followers of Confucius — not least because of the words of despair the sage utters in 5.10 when he finds him sleeping rather than studying: “Rotten wood cannot be carved; dung walls cannot be troweled. What’s the point of scolding him anymore?”
The age gap between Confucius and Zizhang was even wider than it was between the sage and Zai Yu at forty-eight years. Like Zai Yu, Zizhang was fond of posing tricky questions to Confucius. In 17.6, however, he does not attempt to lay any rhetorical traps when he asks him to define consummate conduct (仁/rén). As is his habit when asked about this topic, Confucius tailors his response to highlight the key issues that he thinks his questioner should address in order to move closer to achieving this exalted state. In this case, he counsels the intelligent but arrogant Zizhang to smooth the rough edges in his character by showing greater respectfulness, tolerance, trustworthiness, diligence, and generosity.
Zigong is the final follower to appear in Book 17. When Confucius tells him in 17.19 that he wishes to speak no more, Zigong asks the sage how his followers will be able to pass on his teachings. “Does heaven speak?” Confucius famously replies, before going on to muse: “The four seasons turn and all the creatures continue to be born, but does heaven speak?”
Of course, Confucius is not promising to stop speaking at all. He is making the much more profound point that actions speak much louder than words and that his followers could learn much more by simply observing him than listening to him sound off.
When Zigong asks Confucius in 17.24 if an exemplary person has things that they loathe, the sage certainly is not lost for words. Indeed, he launches into a passionate tirade that culminates in a blanket condemnation of people who pretend to be learned by plagiarizing, brave by acting arrogant, and frank by being malicious.
While heaven may not speak, it appears, the sage cannot stay silent when it comes to speaking out against the evils of the world.
