1.12 [12] 景公病久不愈欲诛祝史以谢晏子谏

齐景公生病经久不愈打算诛杀祝史来向上帝谢罪，晏子进谏

【原文】

景公疥且疟，期年不已。召会谴、梁丘据、晏子而问焉，曰：“寡人之病病矣，使史固与祝佗巡山川宗庙，牺牲珪璧，莫不备具，（数其）〔其数〕常多〔于〕先君桓公，桓公一则寡人再。病不已，滋甚，予欲杀二子者以说于上帝，其可乎？”会谴、梁丘据曰：“可。”晏子不对。公曰：“晏子何如？”晏子曰：“君以为祝有益乎？”公曰：“然。”晏子免冠曰：“若以为有益，则诅亦有损也。君疏辅而远拂，忠臣拥塞，谏言不出。臣闻之，近臣默，远臣喑，众口铄金。今自聊、（挕）〔摄〕以东，姑、尤以西者，此其人民众矣，百姓之咎怨诽谤，诅君于上帝者多矣。一国诅，两人祝，虽善祝者不能胜也。且夫祝直言情，则谤吾君也；隐匿过，则欺上帝也。上帝神，则不可欺；上帝不神，祝亦无益。愿君察之也。不然，刑无罪，夏、商所以灭也。”公曰：“善解予惑，加冠！”命会谴毋治齐国之政，梁丘据毋治宾客之事，兼属之乎晏子。晏子辞，不得命，受相退，把政，改月而君病悛。公曰：“昔吾先君桓公以管子为有功，邑狐与谷，以共宗庙之鲜，赐其忠臣，则是多忠臣者。子今忠臣也，寡人请赐子州款。”辞曰：“管子有一美，婴不如也；有一恶，婴不忍为也，其宗庙之养鲜也。”终辞而不受。

【今译】

齐景公生了疥疮又患有疟疾，一年多了还没痊愈。他召见会谴、梁丘据和晏子，问道：“我的病越来越严重了，我派史固和祝佗巡行山川宗庙，所用的牺牲和珪璧等祭品，没有一样不齐备的，而且数量还常常多于先君桓公，桓公用一份我就用两份。可是我的病不仅没好，反而更严重了，我想杀了这两个人以取悦上帝，你们觉得可以吗？”会谴和梁丘据都说：“可以。”晏子却不回话。景公说：“晏子您认为如何？”晏子说：“您觉得向神灵祷告对您有好处吗？”景公说：“当然。”晏子（摘下帽子）说：“如果祷告有益，那么诅咒也就有损害了。您疏远辅政的大臣，忠臣有话闷在心里，不敢向您进谏。我听说，近臣沉默，远臣噤声，众人的言论可以销熔金属。现在从聊、摄以东，姑、尤以西的地方，人口众多，百姓们怨恨指责，向上帝诅咒您的人太多了。一个国家的人诅咒，两个人祷告，即使是精于祷告的人也不能取胜。而且向神灵祷告时诉说实情，就是说您的坏话；隐瞒您的过失，又是欺骗上帝。上帝若是神灵，那就不能欺骗；上帝如果不是神灵，那么即使祷告也没什么帮助。希望您能明察此事。否则，诛杀无罪之人，这就是夏桀、商纣灭亡的原因啊。”景公说：“您真是善于解除我的困惑，请您戴上帽子吧！”景公下令命会谴不得再参与齐国的政事，梁丘据不得再管理招待宾客的事，他们的事务都交给晏子处理。晏子推辞，没有得到景公的允许，只好服从命令，接管了会谴和梁丘据的事务，晏子把持政务之后，过了一个月景公的病就好了。景公说：“从前我的先祖桓公认为管仲是有功之臣，就把狐、谷两地封给他，以便供应宗庙祭祀所需要的血食，赏赐忠臣，就是嘉奖忠臣。您现在就是忠臣，请允许我把州款这个地方赏赐给您吧。”晏子推辞说：“管仲有一美德，我不如他；有一恶行，我也不忍去做，那就是用血食祭祀宗庙。”最终还是推辞没有接受封邑。

Duke Jing suffered from scabies and intermittent fever for a whole year. He summoned Hui Qian,^[2] Liangqiu Ju,and Yanzi and asked them about it: “Since my illness became severe I charged Gu,the Scribe,and Tuo,the Invocator,to tour the temples of the famous mountains and rivers,and the ancestral temple. A ll the requisite sacrificial animals and the gui jade baton and bi jade disk for offering were prepared; nothing was missing. I’ve always provided a greater number of offerings than did my predecessor,Duke Huan—where Duke Huan offered one,I doubled it—and still my illness did not cease but rather worsened greatly. I w ish to execute these two in order to make the God on High ^[3] happy. Would that be advisable?”

Hui Qian and Liangqiu Ju said: “It would.” Yanzi did not answer.

The Duke said: “Yanzi,what do you think about it?”^[4]

Yanzi said:^[5] “Do you believe that prayers are beneficial,my Lord?”

The Duke said: “Yes.”

Yanzi continued: “If you think that prayers are beneficial,then surely curses are also harm ful. If you neglect your aides and distance your reliable advisors,my Lord,then loyal ministers will be blocked and remonstrations w ill not be issued. I have heard: ‘When ministers close at hand are rendered speechless and ministers removed from the throne become mute,the mouths of the masses seethe like molten metal.’^[6] Now,numerous people live in the area ranging from the East of Liao and She to the West of Gu and You.^[7] M any among the common people reproach,vilify,and curse you to the God on High,my Lord. When an entire state curses you and only two pray for you,then even if they are very good invocators,they w ill not be able to prevail. Moreover,if the invocators’ prayers truthfully describe the state of things,then they will vilify you. If they conceal your mistakes,then they w ill cheat the God on High,my Lord. If the God on High has numinous force,then he cannot be deceived; but if he has not,then prayer to him is of no benefit. I w ish that you would thoroughly consider the matter,my Lord. Otherw ise you w ill execute the innocent,and this was the reason for the downfall of Xia and Shang.”

The Duke said: “You are good at dispelling my confusion. I hereby endow you w ith additional official titles.^[8] Then he ordered Hui Qian to stop dealing with the business of government in Qi,and Liangqiu Ju to stop dealing w ith the affairs of guests of the state,and charged Yanzi with both tasks.

Yanzi wanted to refuse,but he was not granted permission to do so. He accepted the position of prime minister and left the audience. He took charge of the affairs of the government,and during the next month the Duke recovered from his illness.

The Duke said: “In the past,my predecessor,Duke Huan,thought that Guanzi^[9] was meritorious^[10] and enfeoffed him w ith the cities of Hu and Gu so that he could offer freshly killed game in his ancestors’ temple. To grant gifts to a loyal minister is to praise a loyal minister. Now you are my loyal m inister; I would like to grant you Zhou-kuan as a fiefdom.”

Yanzi declined,saying: “Guanzi had one excellent trait that renders me inferior and one vice that I cannot bear to comm it. The latter is his sacrificing of game at the temple of the ancestors.”^[11]

He ultimately declined and did not accept the enfeoffment.

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注释

[1]Item 1.12 [12] ↔ Item 7.7 [177]; Zuozhuan,B10.20.6/374/27. For a discussion of the Zuozhuan’s version,see Yuri Pines,Foundations of Confucian Thought: Intellectual Life in the Chunqiu Period,722-453 B.C.E. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press (2002): 81-82.

[2]An unidentified figure. In the alternative versions,mentioned above,a Qi official by the name of Yi Kuan 裔款 assumes the role of Hui Qian 会谴.

[3]Shang-di 上帝—the God on High or the Supreme Lord of Heaven,one of the most prom inent gods of ancient China. For a short analysis and useful references to relevant discussions concerning Shang-di 上帝,see Andrew Plaks,tr. Ta Hsüeh and Chung Yung (The Highest Order of Cultivation and On the Practice of the Mean). Harmondsworth,Penguin (2003): 111-112; Mu-chou Poo,In Search of Personal Welfare: A View of Ancient Chinese Religion. SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture. A lbany (1998): 29-30; Julia Jing,Mysticism and Kingship in China: The Heart of Chinese Wisdom. Cambridge studies in religious traditions. Cambridge University press,Cambridge: (1997): passim. For a sim ilar case in which a human sacrifice is offered to God on High,see Mozi,4.3/29/10.

[4]The way in which the Duke addresses Yanzi in this item (晏子何如) is somewhat anachronistic. Throughout the entire text,the Duke always addresses Yanzi with the current designation of the period 夫子 or 子–“M aster.”

[5]JS,45/9,suggests inserting 免冠 into the sentence 晏子曰 so that the new ly-formed sentence would read: 晏子免冠曰 (“Yanzi took off his cap saying :”).

[6]Cf. Zhanguoce 战国策,273/144/17; Xinxu,3.7/16/24.

[7]Liao 聊 and She 摄 were two cities on the Western border of Qi. Gu 姑 and You 尤 were two rivers on the Eastern boarder of Qi. Yanzi therefore refers to the population that lives throughout the w idth of the state of Qi.

[8]加冠 may also mean: “You may put on your cap.” For this reason the JS,45/9 suggested the alternative wording,which appears in note 68,above: 晏子免冠曰(“Yanzi took off his cap saying :”).

[9]Guanzi 管子 is Guan Zhong 管仲,the famous seventh-century Minister of the State of Qi w ho meritoriously served Duke Huan. The philosophical w ork entitled Guanzi管子 is traditionally ascribed to him.

[10]力→功 JS,47/22.

[11]JS,47-48/26,regards these seven characters (其宗庙之养鲜也) problematic. It first quotes Sun Xingyan 孙星衍,who stated that the offering of game in the ancestral temple was forbidden and considered a vice by the rites. Wu Zeyu 吴则虞,the compiler of the JS,then concludes that all attem pts to exp lain the sentence as an integral part of the YZCQ text are doubtful and the seven characters are probably a latter interpolation.