Tso Chiu Min puts his women on a high pedestal where they shine forth with their virtue, wisdom, and brilliance which endeared them to men particularly of his age. While he would dispatch a bad woman with one or two sentences, he goes into great detail in describing a woman who meets his requirements of excellence. In order to do that, he does not hesitate to invade the privacy of the boudoir. It is uncanny how in an age when there were no news reporting facilities of the kind we know today, he could penetrate the innermost sanctum of the palace to report what had passed between a king and his queen. In reading the following story, who can help respecting a queen who, knowing that her husband had not many days to live, wanted him to die a king's way while leading his army to war?
King Wu of Chu prepared to attack Sui. Just before fasting1, he went in to tell Queen Teng Mahn that he felt palpitation of the heart.
Teng Mahn sighed and said: "I am afraid that Your Majesty's emoluments are at an end. When the span of life is to end, it is the law of nature that the heart should palpitate. The ancestors are aware of it, so they shake your heart before this military undertaking. But if Your Majesty should die on the march while your troops remain intact, your death will mean a blessing to the country."
The King led his troops towards Sui and died on the march.
On a prior occasion, the same wise queen almost succeeded, but unfortunately did not, in averting a military defeat for her country, as is witnessed in the following story:
Ch'u Hsia of Chu attacked the state of Lo. Dou Peh Pi (an official of Chu) went to bid him farewell. On his way home, he said to his driver: "Mo Ao (Ch'u Hsia's fief) is certain to suffer defeat. His tread is proud and arrogant, so his heart is not stable."
Dou then went to see the King of Chu and said: "There must be reinforcements." The King refused his request and proceeded to the inner chambers to tell Queen Teng Mahn about it.
"Your minister might not have meant reinforcements of troops," said Teng Mahn. "What he had in mind was probably that you should comfort your subjects and troops with bounties and sincerity, exhort your generals and officers with moral excellence, and serve a stern warning on Mo Ao. Mo Ao is so conceited over his victory at Pu Sao that he would feel self-confident and would look down upon Lo. Unless you warn him, he will be off guard. So I do think that Dou wishes you to appeal to the troops and comfort them with kind words, assemble your officers and urge them to be virtuous, and send for Mo Ao to tell him that Heaven will not always be indulgent to a reckless man who looks down upon his enemy. It cannot be otherwise, for does not Dou know that all the troops in the country have been dispatched."
The King's messenger sent to stop Mo Ao did not reach him in time. As foreseen by Queen Teng Mahn, Mo Ao, growing self-confident, issued an order, as soon as he took over command of the troops, that punishment would be dealt out to anyone bold enough to remonstrate with him on the execution of the campaign. He did not take adequate precaution against the Lo troops and was overwhelmingly defeated by them.
In the following story Tso Chiu Ming tells of a woman whose love for her husband prompted her to do vengeance on the man who harmed him.
Duke Ai of Tsai who had differences with the Duke of Hsi praised the beauty of Chui, the latter's wife, before the Earl of Chu. Whereupon the Earl of Chu attacked and conquered Hsi and brought Chui back as his wife. She gave birth to Tu Ao and Cheng Huang, but all the time she had not spoken a word. The Earl of Chu asked her the reason. "I am a woman who has served two husbands," she answered. "I should seek death and yet I am living and enduring the dishonor. What is there that I can say?"
The Earl of Chu recalled that he had attacked Hsi because of the Duke of Tsai. To placate Chui, he attacked Tsai, and conquered it.
Mention has been made that Tso Chiu Ming usually dispatched the bad women with one or two sentences. Lady Chi, second wife of the Marquis of Tsin, who plotted to make her own son heir of the state, was the only exception. Following is the culmination of a long plot by her to alienate the affection between the Prince of Tsin2 and his father:
"The Marquis has dreamed of Lady Chi (the Prince's deceased mother)," said she to the Prince, "so you must offer sacrifices to her."
The Prince offered sacrifices at Ch'u Wu and brought back to the Marquis the wines and meats used in the offering. It happened that the Marquis had gone hunting and Lady Li left the offerings in the palace for six days. After the Marquis had returned, she put poison in the offerings and brought them to him, taking care to warn him that as the food came from outside, he should have it tested before taking it himself. The Marquis poured the wine on the ground, the ground cracked. He gave some meat to the dog, the dog dropped dead. He tried it on a minor official, the latter also dropped dead.
Lady Li wept, saying: "The poison came from the Prince."
The Prince hung himself. But Lady Li was not satisfied and told the Marquis that his two other sons were also in on the plot. The two sons Chung Erh and Yi Wu learned of the impending danger and fled.
During Prince Chung Erh's tour in other states, he married a number of women. The most interesting of these was one Lady Kiang, though few would probably like to befriend a woman who could wield a knife as facilely as she did, as may be witnessed from the following story:
Duke Huan of Chi gave his daughter in marriage to Prince Chung Erh with a dowry of eighty horses. The Prince wanted to settle down in Chi, but his followers objected to it. Before they left, they made plans under a mulberry tree. The maid attending to silk worms was on the tree and told Lady Kiang of their plans. Lady Kiang killed her and said to the Prince: "You have ambitions to travel. I have killed the one who has overheard you."
The Prince replied that he had no intention to leave Chi.
Lady Kiang said: "You must go. Love and comfort will ruin you."
The Prince still refused to go. Whereupon Lady King and Tse Fan together made him drunk and loaded him into a carriage to take him away. When he woke up, he snatched a spear and went after Tse Fan.
Prince Chung Erh came across another wonderful woman in quite a different way, as may be seen from the following story:
When Prince Chung Erh and his followers reached Tsao, Duke Kung of Tsao, hearing that the Prince's ribs grew close together, wanted to see him naked. When the Prince was bathing, he went near to have a good look.
The wife of Hsi Fu Chi (a minister of Tsao) said to her husband: "I see that all the followers of the Prince of Tsin have the capability of becoming minister of state. With their assistance, the Prince will certainly return to his country. After his return, he will become king and chief of the feudal lords. After he becomes chief, he would certainly deal with those who had been ungracious to him; and Tsao would probably head the list. Why don't you differentiate yourself from others in good time?"
Hsi, therefore, presented the Prince with a platter of food in which he placed a jade. The Prince accepted the food but returned the jade.
The Prince's tour was a series of romances. He had a wife in every state he visited, and all the wives were devoted to him. It seems that the hearts of the women he met melted at the sight of him. When he left Ti, he told his wife there to get married after waiting twenty-five years for him. Even with the knowledge of the other wives he had, she demurely replied: "I am twenty-five now. In twenty-five more years, I'll be fit to be buried. I'll wait for you."
The Spring and Autumn was an age of superstitions. Divination by tortoise shell was common. Before a war, before an engagement or marriage, the service of a fortuneteller was usually sought. The fortuneteller would cast a horoscope and decide whether the contemplated action was advisable. It was believed that after death people would go to another world where they would meet their relations. All through Tso Chuan, the gods and ghosts were rather rational beings, as may be seen from the following stories:
1) Duke Huan of Chin invaded Tsin. Wei Ko defeated the Chin troops at Pu Shih and captured Tu Hui, a strong man of Chin. Years ago, Wei Ko's father, Wu Tse, had a favorite concubine who gave birth to no child. When Wu Tse first fell sick, he said to Ko: "After I am gone, let her remarry." When he became seriously ill, he said: "You must bury her with me."
After his death, Ko, let her remarry, saying: "Serious illness causes confusion of the mind. 1 would rather follow the instructions given by my father when he was his normal self."
During the engagement at Pu Shih, Ko saw an old man throwing mats of straw on the path of Tu Hui in order to trip him. Tu Hui tripped, fell, and was thus captured by Wei Ko.
Wei Ko had a dream that night in which he saw the old man, who said to him: "I am the father of the woman whom you allowed to remarry. You followed the instructions given by your father when he was normal. That was why I showed my gratitude to you by helping you capture Tu Hui."
2) Hu Teh (an official of Tsin) visited Ch'u Wu where he met the ghost of the Prince3. The Prince said to him: "Yi Wu4 is impertinent. I have asked the permission of God to give Tsin to Chin. Chin will worship me." "I have heard," said Hu Teh, "that the gods will not accept sacrifices from an alien race and that people will not worship an outsider. So it seems to me that if you give Tsin to Chin, you will not be worshiped any longer. Besides, what have the people of Tsin done that they should be deprived of protection and their ancestors of worship. I wish you would consider that."
The Prince said: "Well, I shall make another request. After seven days go to west of Hsin Cheng; a sorceress there will bring you to me. When Hu Teh went at the appointed time, the Prince told him: "God has permitted me to punish the culprit in another way. Yi Wu will be defeated at Han."
3) The Duke of Tsin dreamed of a big ghost with hair trailing to the ground, beating his chest and hopping about, pointing an accusing finger at him and saying: "You killed my grandsons without justification. I have obtained permission from God." The Duke woke up and sent for the sorceress at Sang Tien, who detected the presence of the ghost just as the Duke had dreamed.
"What would be the outcome?" asked the Duke.
"Before the new crop of wheat can be eaten" was the reply.
His illness becoming serious, the Duke sent for a physician from Chin. The Earl of Chin sent a physician by the name of Huan to him. Before the physician arrived, the Duke dreamed of two boys. One of these said: "He is a good doctor. I am afraid he will hurt me. Let us run away." The other said: "If I stay on top of the diaphragm and below the heart. What harm can he do to me?"
When the physician arrived, he said: "It is impossible to do anything to rid the patient of the illness, for it is located above the diaphragm and below the heart. Singeing is not practical. The needle will be too short. Medicine will not reach it. It is impossible to do anything."
The Duke said: "Here is a good physician. Send him back with heavy presents." In June, the Duke of Tsin wanted to eat wheat and sent for it from the man in charge of the farms. The chef cooked it. The Duke sent for the sorceress from Sang Tien, showed it to her, and had her killed.
Before the Duke had eaten, he felt his stomach distended with gas. He went to the privy and dropped dead.
Because of the large number of feudal lords constantly at war with one another, warcraft and strategic concepts were gradually shaping up. The greatest ancient Chinese strategist, Sun Tse, was born at a later date; but there is little question that much of what Sun Tse said was based on the lessons learned during the many wars in the two hundred-odd years of the Spring and Autumn. Because of the fact that Tso Chuan was widely read, the book had great influence in later strategy and conducts of war. The following accounts of war in Tso Chuan should be of interest to the readers.
1) The Emperor deprived the Earl of Cheng of his share in the administration. The Earl of Cheng did not go to the Emperor's court. The Emperor took the lords to invade Cheng. The Earl of Cheng resisted and used a lineup called Yui Li. The plan was to put groups of twenty-five chariots in front followed by foot soldiers in groups of five, who filled up the space among the chariots. The battle took place in Sui Ko. The Emperor's men were routed. Chu Tan shot at the Emperor and hit him at the shoulder. The Emperor was also a good general. Chu Tan asked permission to close in on the Emperor. The Earl said: "The superior man does not like to transcend others. How dare he transgress the Emperor? If we can save ourselves and the country, it is more than we can expect. In the evening, the Earl of Cheng sent Chai Tsu to visit the Emperor and inquire after His Majesty's entourage.
2) The Yun forces were stationed at Pu Sao where they expected troops from Sui, Chiao, Chou, and Liao to join them in the attack on Chu. Mo Ao (of Chu) was uneasy about it. Tou Lien said: "The Yun forces would not be on guard in view of the fact that they are staying near their own borders. They would also be daily expecting the arrival of the troops of the four states. If you would only encamp on the border of Cheng to keep off the reinforcements from the four states, I will take the crack troops and attack Yun at night. Yun would be in no mood to fight, because it is both expecting reinforcements and depending on its ability to retreat behind the city walls. If we could defeat the troops of Yun, the four other states would have a change of heart."
Mo Ao said: "Why don't we ask for reinforcements from the King?"
"The troops win through harmony not by numbers," Tou Lien said. "You must have heard how Shang was no match of Chou. We came out as a whole force. Why should we ask for reinforcements?"
Mo Ao said: "Let us seek information by divination."
"Divination is consulted when in doubt. When there is no doubt, why should there be divination?" said Tou.
The result was that the Yun troops were defeated at Pu Sao.
3) Tse Yui (of Chu) sent Wan Chun to tell the troops of Tsin5, saying: "Please restore the Marquis of Wei and reestablish Tsao, your subject will lift the siege of Sung.
Tse Fan said: "Tse Yui is impertinent. He gives one to the rulers; but takes two himself as a subject. Let us not miss this chance of attacking him."
Hsien Chung said: "We should permit him. To bring peace to people is a good thing. If one word from Chu brings peace to three countries and one word from us ruins them, then we shall be in the wrong. How can we fight? This is also tantamount to forsaking Sung. We came out to relieve her; but if the net result was only to forsake her, how can face the lords? Chu has three acts of kindness. We will cause three grievances. With grievances accumulating, how can we fight a war? The best thing is to promise Tsao and Wei privately to restore them so as to alienate them from Chu. Then let us seize Wan Chun to provoke Chu. After war has started, then we can make other plans."
The Duke (of Tsin) was pleased. He, therefore, had Wan Chun detained in Wei and also promised privately to Tsao and Wei to restore the two states. Both Tsao and Wei severed their relations with Chu.
Tse Yui was incensed and pressed on the Tsin forces. The latter withdrew. An officer of Tsin remonstrated, saying: "We have now a ruler retreating before the subject. The Chu troops are getting weary, why should we retreat?"
Tse Fan said: "The army is strong when it is right; weary when it is wrong. The duration of campaigning has nothing to do with its strength. We would not be what we are today without the kindness of Chu. We should withdraw ninety li to show our gratitude. If we should forget our obligation and our promises to Chu, we shall be wrong and Chu right. Its men are well fed, so they cannot be considered as tired. If we withdraw and so does Chu, what more do we want. But if it does not, then we have a case where the ruler withdraws and the subject attacks. He would then be in the wrong. The Tsin troops withdrew ninety li.
The Chu forces would like to stop, but Tse Yui refused. The Marquis of Tsin, the Duke of Sung, Kwei Fu and Chui Yao of Chih, and the young son, Lai, of Chin encamped at Cheng Pu. The Chu troops encamped at a place with difficult terrain behind them. The Marquis of Tsin felt uneasy about it... Tse Fan said: "Let us fight. If we win, we shall lead the lords. If not, we shall defend ourselves between the river and the mountains. There would be no harm."...
Tse Yui sent Tou Po to declare war saying: "I shall be pleased to have a game with your Majesty's men. Your Majesty may rest on the arm of your chariot to view it. I may also have the same pleasure."
The Marquis of Tsin sent Luan Chi to give the reply, saying: "We have heard what you said. We are here because we have not forgotten the kindness of the King of Chu. That was the reason why we retreated before you because we dared not meet you. But as we have not received your order to stop. We would like to trouble you and your aides. Guard your chariots. Pay attention to your King's service. We shall meet on the morrow."
Tsin put on the field 700 chariots6. All the horses were protected by leather on the back, in the breast, and around the legs. The Marquis of Tsin ascended the mound of Yu Hsin to view the troops and remarked: "The young and the old are orderly. They should be able to give a good account of themselves." The Tsin forces cut trees to stir up dust with the purpose of simulating a greater number of troops.
Tse Yui used the six hundred men of Jo Ao as the central force and said: "This day would witness the last of Tsin."
Hsi Cheng (of Tsin) covered his horse with a tiger skin and attacked the troops of Chen and Tsai who were fighting for Chu. The right wing of Chu collapsed.
Hu Mao (of Tsin) raised two large flags and simulated retreat. Luan Tse made the chariot towed firewood to raise dust in an attempt to simulate retreat. The Chu troops rushed to attack him. Hu Mao and Hu Yen took the first army to attack Tse Hsi (of Chu) on flanks. The left army of Chu collapsed as a result of which the entire Chu forces were defeated.
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Editor's Note: This is the third of a series of articles on great storytellers of the Chou Dynasty by Mr. Edward Y. K. Kwong. The fourth will follow in an early issue.
1. In ancient days, fasting was required before worshiping the ancestors which in turn was required in appointing commanding officers before any military undertaking.
2. Here, as in many other places, Tso Chiu Ming regards the ruler of a state as the king and his heir apparent as the prince.
3. Named Sun Sun who committed suicide in a previous story. Ch'u Wu was his fief before his death.
4. The dead Prince's half brother who was then the reigning duke of Tsin.
5. The troops were personally commanded by the Marquis of Tsin, which explains why Tse Yui called himself "your subject."
6. A chariot was manned by three men in armor and supported by 72 infantrymen. Therefore, there were altogether 52,500 men on Tsin's side.