The Book of Literary Design

49. Weighing the Vessel

Weighing the Vessel Man as material is like timber to the carpenter. That is the comparison offered by the Shujing, in the spirit that utility must go hand in hand with refinement. Articles that have been made must yet be painted red, walls erected must be white-washed. Unfortunately men of letters in recent history have only striven for flowering, forgetting that they must also bear fruit. In the words of Cao Pi, "Men of letters past and present have on the whole been inattentive to details of behaviour." Wei Dan lashed out at some of them individually with considerable vigour. What a pity it is we have had to concur with a mixture of the judgements of Cao and Wei. Let us consider how men of letters have erred, how Sima Xiangru snatched a wife and had his palm greased,1 how Yang Xiong drank excessively and miscalculated,2 how Feng Yan failed to meet the demands of decorum,3 how Du Du could not be satisfied,4 Sima Xiangru seduced a new widow and accepted bribes. See "Sima Xiangru liezhuan" Chapter ofShiji in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 1, p. 330. 2 Renowned for his incontinence, Yang Xiong spent a small fortune on drinking and lived in poverty. See "Yang Xiong zhuan" Chapter ofHanshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 1, pp. 690, 696. 3 See "Feng Yan zhuan" Chapter of Houhanshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, p. 891. 4 Du Du was jailed for his insatiable greed. See "Wenyuanzhuan" Chapter of Houhanshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, p. 1029. 182 I The Book ofLiterary Design how Ban Gu sucked up to Dou Xian and made a nuisance of himself,5 how Ma Rong took bribes and the part of Liang Ji,6 how Kong Rong behaved with arrogance and courted his own ruin,7 how Mi Heng, too, had died because he was fanatical,8 how Wang Can was frivolous and impatient,9 how Chen Lin was ignorant and inconsistent,10 how Ding Yi being avaricious begged,11 how Lu Cui would eat and drink and be shameless,12 how Pan Yue played a dirty trick on Prince Minhuai,13 how Lu Ji danced attendance on Jia Mi and Guo Zhang,14 how Fu Xuan, narrow-minded and fiery, railed in the government office,15 and how Sun Chu, no less ferocious, instituted legal proceedings;16 these are blemishes, of which your men of letters have been found guilty. 5 Ban Gu was guilty of flattery and favouritism. See "Ban Gu zhuan" Chapter of Houhanshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, p. 925 6 At the instigation of Liang Ji, Ma Rong made a verbal assault on Li Gu, who was noted for his probity. See "Ma Rong zhuan" Chapter ofHouhanshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, p. 975. 7 Kong Rong infuriated Cao Cao on many occasions and was killed as a result. See "Kong Rong zhuan" Chapter ofHouhanshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, pp. 1001-1002. 8 Mi Heng's immodesty to Huang Zu cost him his life. See "Mi Heng zhuan" Chapter of Houhanshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, p. 1034. 9 Wang Can was frivolous and failed to win the favour of Liu Biao; he was impatient because Cao Cao showed Du Xi more respect. See "Wang Can zhuan" Chapter ofSanguozhi in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, p. 1138 10 Chen's inconsistency was demonstrated by his shift of allegiance from Yuan Shao to Cao Cao, Yuan's arch-rival. 11 Apart from the fact that Ding was a literary figure of the Eastern Han period, little is known about him. 12 Lu Cui conspired with Cao Cao to frame up Kong Rong. See "Kong Rong zhuan" Chapter of Houhanshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, p. 1002. 13 In an attempt to oust Prince Minhuai, heir to the throne of Jin, Queen Jia, mastermind of the plot, had Pan Yue draft a prayer subversive in tone and had the drunken prince copy it. This imperial drama ended in the prince being forced to relinquish his title. See "Minhuai taizi zhuan" ofJinshu in Ershiwu shi (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986) vol. 2, p. 1413. 14 Lu Ji made an effort to...