Sima Qian: 3 Chances and a Rat

 

What do would-be ministers do with three chances?  Both Lord Shang and Fan Ju had their three chances to become proper advisors; one did not survive, and one did.  A classmate said he was surprised by Lord Shang’s fate.  Sima Qian was not surprised, for Lord Shang was in the wrong from the beginning when he misused his three chances to be a true advisor [Q90m-91m].  The young Yang clearly showed talent and worth, as his mentor Gonshu Cuo recognized when he recommended him to be the Wei king’s prime minister.  The king declined, and Yang later went off to seek his fortunes in Qin.  And that was when he showed his unscrupulous nature.  Three interviews with Duke Xiao, each time showing not just his true intent (to exploit the office), but also showing his cynical assessment of the ruler who was not worthy to be emperor, or king, but could be a warlord.  In the end, he enjoyed his office, usurped power, imposed his ideas of the punitive state, refused helpful remonstrances, and thus met his proper end.  As Zhao Liang warned him [Q97b]: “See the rat – it has a body, but this man has no manners!  A man with no manners, why doesn’t he hurry up and die!”

Fan Ju, a later Qin advisor, fared better.  Another man of learning, he very quietly, subtly, tested King Zaoxiang three times at their first meeting, and was able to determine that he could indeed advise the king to rule as a king.  And as the king prospered, so did Fan Ju.  He was not a man of perfect virtue, and was capable of both generosity as well as exacting revenge on those who betrayed him.  Yet as powerful as he became, he managed to retain the ability to distinguish truth and ability, as when Cai Ze challenged him and convinced him that it was indeed time to retire. Fan Ju had done what he set out to do, that is, be a trusted advisor and help his king achieve his goals.  But the wise man must also recognize when he can no longer help the king who had bigger challenges ahead of him, and thus knows when to retire with his life, and integrity, intact [Q147b-48t, 155mb]. 

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