6月20日

鄒忌諷齊王納諫 ( 白話 )
西漢 劉向 編 ( 77~6 B.C.E. )

鄒忌形貌俊秀英挺,他聽聞城北的徐公是個
美男子,於是分別問了妻子、侍妾及來訪的賓客：
「我與徐公誰美?」他們都回答:「徐公不如您
美!」隔天徐公來訪,鄒忌仔細端詳他,自認遠
不如徐公。夜晚自忖:「妻子說我美，是偏愛我
侍妾說我美,是懼怕我；客人說我美，是有求於我啊!」

於是以此上諫齊威王:「齊國土地方圓千里，
有一百二十座城邑，陛下的後宮嬪妃左右親信
沒有一個不偏愛陛下；滿朝大臣，沒有一個不懼
怕陛下；齊國人民，沒有一個不有求於陛下。
可見，陛下被隱瞞的真相，那就更多了!」齊威
王於是發佈命令:「能當面指責我的過錯者，
得上等獎賞；呈上書信勸諫者，得中等獎賞；
能在公共場所說出我的錯誤傳到我耳中者，
得下等獎賞。」命令發布後，進諫的人多如市集，
排滿宮城內外；直至一年，才漸趨止息。
燕國、趙國、韓國、魏國聽聞此事，都來朝拜齊威王。
此即「戰勝於朝廷」。

──選自《戰國策》

June 20

Zou Ji Remonstrates King Wei of Qi
Liu Xiang (77 BCE - 6 BCE, Western Han Dynasty)
English translation: Zhi Yue

Zou Ji* was a handsome man with a stately appearance. When
he heard that Mister Xu from the north was also a good-looking
man, he asked his wife, his concubine, and his guests on separate
occasions, “Is Mister Xu or am I better-looking?”

They all answered, “Mister Xu is not as handsome as you are!”

The next day, when Mister Xu came for a visit, Zou Ji was
particularly attentive and scrutinous, finally admitting that he was
not as good-looking as Mister Xu.

That evening, he thought to himself, “My wife said that I was
handsome, because she is biased towards me. My concubine said
I was handsome, because she is afraid of me. And my guest said I
was handsome, because he has a favor to ask of me!”

Because of this incident, he went to the imperial court to
remonstrate King Wei of Qi. “The state of Qi has a territory
spanning over a thousand li**, and a hundred and twenty cities.”
said Zou Ji. “There isn’t a single one of your Majesty’s concubines
and attendants, who isn’t biased towards you. There isn’t a single
high official who isn’t afraid of you. And there isn’t a single
subject of the state of Qi who doesn’t have a favor to ask of you.
As you can see, there is a lot of truth that is concealed from your Majesty!”
King Wei then issued an official order, “All those can point out
my faults in person shall receive the highest rewards. Those who
admonish me in writing shall receive moderate rewards. And those
I have received news of voicing their complaints in public shall
receive small rewards.”

Shortly after the decree was announced to the public, people
swarmed to the imperial court, packing it like a crowded market
place. There were queues of officials lining both inside and outside
the city walls. It wasn’t until after a year later did the number of
people dwindle.

Upon hearing this news, the neighboring states of Yan, Zhao,
Han, and Wei all came to pay homage to King Wei. And this was
how a war was won without having to use military force.

── from Zhan Guo Ce (Records of the Warring States)

* Zou Ji was a high minister of the state of Qi during the Warring States period.
** A li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, measuring approximately half a kilometer.