Chapter 8: King Wen Asks the Hexagram

Ever since Zhou Wang gained the favor of his beloved consort Daji, he had indulged in pleasure day after day, neglecting all affairs of state. He even devised a cruel punishment called the pao luo. He ordered the condemned to walk across a copper pillar smeared with oil; the moment they slipped, they would tumble into a pit of fire, their skin scorched and their flesh charred, dying an unnatural death. Every time Daji saw the wretched state of the condemned, she would laugh without cease, so Zhou Wang kept forcing prisoners to endure this torture to win a smile from Daji. The feudal lords all deemed this punishment inhuman, but they dared to be angry yet not to speak out. Upon learning of this, the Western Earl Ji Chang resolved to offer a tract of land on the western bank of the Zhou's Luo River, hoping to exchange it for the abolition of the pao luo torture.

At that time, a minister under the Western Earl Ji Chang advised him, saying: "Land is the foundation of a state; how can it be given away lightly? Moreover, Zhou Wang is a foolish and wanton tyrant who wantonly harms his ministers and people. To remonstrate with such a sovereign is likely to bring disaster upon oneself."

Ji Chang said: "The great earth bears all things, nourishing and sustaining the myriad living beings upon it without seeking reward — this is the virtue of the earth. Should the existence of a state not likewise emulate the earth, protecting its people without seeking reward? The people of the world all live and multiply upon the same great earth; the earth has never treated them differently based on where they stand. The subjects of the realm, whether in Shang or in Zhou, all yearn for a life of peace and tranquility. How then can we, simply because they belong to different states and regions, turn a blind eye to the suffering they endure?"

Ji Chang still insisted on offering the land to Zhou Wang. Zhou Wang agreed to his request and abolished the pao luo punishment; Ji Chang thereby won the love and respect of the common people throughout the realm. Yet, just as that remonstrating minister had predicted, it was not long before a treacherous courtier whispered slander to Zhou Wang, saying: "The Western Earl goes about doing good everywhere in order to build up his own prestige. Now all the feudal lords look up to him — this is surely to the detriment of Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wang pretended to summon Ji Chang for an audience, but took the opportunity to imprison him in Youli, intending to do him harm. When the people of Western Zhou learned of this, they hurriedly deliberated on a rescue. One minister said: "Zhou Wang is fond of beauties and treasures. Why not send someone to Zhaoge to present treasures, in order to save the Western Earl?"

Ji Chang's eldest son Bo Yikao said: "Then let me go to Zhaoge to present the treasures."

The ministers remonstrated with him, saying: "Zhou Wang is cruel and violent; this journey may meet with misfortune. You should not go in person — simply send some worthy man in your stead."

Bo Yikao said: "When a father is in peril, how can a son sit at ease upon his couch? If there is truly danger, for a father to suffer is also a son's duty; how could I involve innocent people to suffer in place of my father and myself?"

The ministers urged him in vain and could only let him go. Bo Yikao then took with him three wondrous treasures — the Seven Fragrance Carriage, the Sobering Felt, and the White Ape — and went to Zhaoge to present the treasures and save his father.

Zhou Wang was very pleased with the treasures Bo Yikao had presented, and had originally intended to let father and son return. But who would have expected that his beloved consort Daji would say: "People say that Western Earl is a sage, and that his art of the Eight Trigrams is infallible, divining correctly a hundred times out of a hundred. Why not put him to the test?"

Zhou Wang said: "How shall we test him?"

Daji said: "Simply boil this Bo Yikao and make him into meatballs, then send them to the Western Earl. If he eats them, it proves he has no power of foresight, and we may well let him go. If he makes excuses and refuses to eat, then it means he already knew — and this Western Earl cannot be spared."

Zhou Wang said: "Splendid! Splendid! Let it be as my beloved consort says."

Now Ji Chang was confined in Youli, his every movement under strict surveillance. In his cramped cell, he could only study the Eight Trigrams for amusement. He had already completed the judgments for all sixty-four trigrams save two. Now only the judgments of the Qian and Kun trigrams remained, which he was still mulling over. Today, however, he suddenly felt a disturbance in his heart and mind, so he arranged his divination tools and cast a hexagram — it was precisely the Qian. Gazing upon the image of this hexagram, Ji Chang could not help but widen his eyes in shock, cold sweat pouring forth. He rose and rearranged his divination tools, divining anew; the result was exactly as before, the hexagram image unchanged in the slightest. Ji Chang refused to believe it; he cast and divined again, and the hexagram image still did not change. Ji Chang flew into a great rage, rose and overturned the table; the divination tools upon it scattered across the floor with a clatter. The jailer on guard at the door, hearing the noise, hurried in to investigate, and saw the divination tools scattered one by one upon the ground, while Ji Chang was picking them up one by one.

The jailer barked: "What's going on?"

Ji Chang said: "I accidentally knocked the table over, and the things scattered all over the floor. Please don't take offense, sir." The jailer snorted coldly: "You old fool, fiddling with these broken trinkets all day — what's the use of it?"

Ji Chang chuckled and said: "With nothing to do, I amuse myself, just to pass the time."

The jailer paid him no more attention and turned to leave. Ji Chang dropped onto his backside upon the ground, barely holding back his sobs; a tear of old age slid down from the corner of his eye, and he murmured: "Self-strengthening without cease? Self-strengthening without cease? Now trapped behind bars, what can I do? He was right — fiddling with these things all day, what use are they? In such a plight as this, what can I do but endure in silence? Ha, self-strengthening without cease — isn't that just empty talk? This hexagram, better not to have cast it at all!" Ji Chang shook his head as he wept, then stood up with a foolish laugh, unsure whether he was laughing at his own plight or at that unsolvable hexagram of his.

"Old man, time to eat! This time, it's a personal reward from the King himself — you've got quite the luck, you rascal!" The jailer set the prepared meal upon Ji Chang's table and watched him quietly. Ji Chang slowly picked up his chopsticks, gripping his trembling right hand with his left, and slowly lifted a meatball.

Ji Chang kept his head bowed very low; no one could see the expression on his face at that moment.

"You eat first, I have things to do." The jailer spoke as he walked out with a smile. Ji Chang sat motionless in his place, like a withered old tree that had already died. After a long while, there was only a sudden crack — he had snapped the chopsticks in his hand into two, and tears streamed down from his eyes, falling drop by drop upon the broken halves of the chopsticks.

When Zhou Wang and Daji learned of this, they both laughed until they doubled over: "What kind of sage is this Ji Chang? Whoever said he could know the past and the future?"

Ji Chang was finally able to return to Zhou. Though he was now advanced in years, he attended to state affairs with even greater diligence. Later he also succeeded in inviting Jiang Ziya to come out of retirement to assist him; under his governance, Qizhou quickly grew powerful, already possessing the strength to stand as an equal against the Shang and Zhou. Yet Heaven did not grant him more years; death was drawing near. Still, he could sense that the day of peace throughout the realm was not far off.

At the moment of parting, Ji Chang summoned his son Ji Fa to his bedside and instructed him thus: "A gentleman, no matter in what circumstances he finds himself, never blames Heaven nor reproaches other men. He always keeps a broad and great heart, embracing with forbearance all that happens around him. Even when he lacks the power to break through a situation, he can still be content to endure, never giving up lightly, but waiting for the next opportunity to arise. To act in this way is to emulate Heaven and Earth. You should possess such character and breadth of mind, to face all the people and affairs around you."

Ji Fa answered with tears: "I have taken Father's teachings to heart; I shall never forget them."

Ji Chang passed away. When Ji Fa was sorting through his father's belongings, he saw that within the Zhou Yi, the Qian and Kun trigrams now had their judgments written.

The Qian says: "Heaven moves with strength; the gentleman thus strives unceasingly to strengthen himself."

The Kun says: "The earth's terrain is yielding; the gentleman thus bears all things with generous virtue."

(End of this chapter)