Profiles from the Analects: Duke Ding of Lu
Duke Ding (魯定公) was the predecessor of Duke Ai (哀公) as the ruler of Lu, reigning from around 509 to 495 BCE. Although responsible for elevating Confucius to his highest official position as minister of crime (大司寇), the duke was ultimately at least indirectly responsible for Confucius’s decision to go into exile because of his inability to control the Three Families, who were the de facto rulers of the state. Indeed, Duke Ding was said to be so weak that he was the kind of ruler who “held the blade of the sword and offered the handle to his enemies.”
In 501 BCE, Duke Ding appointed Confucius as Minister of Works (司空) following his successful stint as governor of Zhongdu (中都宰), a district located in modern-day Wenshang County in Shandong province.
One year later in 500 BCE, the duke asked Confucius to take charge of the preparations for a meeting at Xiagu with Duke Jing of Qi (齊景公), to formalize a peace treaty between the two states. To protect Duke Ding from a planned kidnap by Duke Jing’s retinue, Confucius stationed troops near to the meeting place. After succeeding in foiling the plot, he helped his ruler to secure an apology from Duke Jing together with the return of some disputed land that he had captured from Lu.
Following this great diplomatic victory, Duke Ding developed an even closer relationship with Confucius and subsequently appointed him as Minister of Justice. In 498 BCE, on the advice of Confucius, the duke pressed the powerful Three Families to destroy the walled cities they had built as their strongholds to root out rebels that were hiding in them following a serious uprising in the state.
After the head of the Shu family (叔孫) had complied, Ji Huanzi, the head of the Ji family (季孫), was about to follow suit by razing the city of Bi when Gongshan Buniu, one of the family’s retainers, launched a surprise attack on the capital of Lu using a force comprised of men from Bi.
While Duke Ding and the heads of the Three Families took refuge in the Jisun family mansion, Confucius organized an attack to beat back the rebels. When this was successful, the defeated rebels fled north and were defeated in a fight with government troops.
Although the Ji family destroyed the rebel base at Bi soon after this incident, the Meng (孟孙) changed their mind about getting rid of their family stronghold. To make them comply, Duke Ding dispatched troops to destroy the city but the campaign ended in failure and the relationship between him and Confucius was seriously weakened.
Less than a year after this incident, Duke Ding and Confucius parted ways when the sage left his home state of Lu for exile. Some sources claim that Confucius departed out of disgust at the duke and Ji Huanzi cavorting with a troupe of dancing girls sent by Duke Jing of Qi; others say it was because the duke slighted Confucius by failing to send him some meat that used in an important sacrificial ceremony.
Whatever the real reason was for the split between the two men, Confucius’s hasty departure marked the end of his official career. As for Duke Ding, he clung on to what little power he still had for another three years until he died in 495 BCE.
Appearances in the Analects of Confucius
Book 3, Chapter 19
Book 13, Chapter 15
Book 3
Chapter 19
Duke Ding asked: “How should a lord treat his ministers? How should ministers serve their lord?” Confucius replied: “A lord should treat his ministers in accordance with ritual; ministers should serve their lord with loyalty.”
定公問:「君使臣,臣事君,如之何?」孔子對曰:「君使臣以禮,臣事君以忠。」
Book 13
Chapter 15
Duke Ding asked: “Is there one single saying that can ensure the prosperity of a state?” Confucius replied: “No single saying could have such an effect. There is a saying, however: ‘It is difficult to be a ruler; it is not easy to be a minister.’ A saying that could make the ruler understand the difficulty of his task would come close to ensuring the prosperity of the state.” “Is there one single saying that can ruin a state?” Confucius replied: “No single saying could have such an effect. There is a saying, however: ‘There is nothing I love more about being a ruler than never having to be contradicted.’ If you are right and nobody contradicts you, that is great; but if you are wrong and nobody contradicts you, would not this come close to being a case of ‘one single saying that can ruin a state?’”
定公問:「一言而可以興邦,有諸?」孔子對曰:「言不可以若是其幾也!人之言曰:『為君難,為臣不易。』如知為君之難也,不幾乎一言而興邦乎?」曰:「一言而喪邦,有諸?」孔子對曰:「言不可以若是其幾也!人之言曰:『予無樂乎為君,唯其言而莫予違也。』如其善而莫之違也,不亦善乎?如不善而莫之違也,不幾乎一言而喪邦乎?」