Chapter 8 King Wen Asks for Hexagrams
Chapter 8 King Wen Asks for Hexagrams
After King Zhou got his favorite concubine Daji, he indulged in pleasure every day and ignored the government affairs. He even invented a torture called Paolao. Even if the prisoner walked on the copper pillar coated with oil, if he slipped, he would fall into the fire pit, and his skin would be burnt and his flesh would be rotten, and he would die. Daji would laugh every time she saw the miserable state of the prisoner, so King Zhou kept forcing the prisoner to suffer this torture to make Daji laugh. The princes thought that this punishment was inhumane and dared not speak out. When King Jichang of Xibo learned about this, he intended to offer a piece of land on the west bank of Luo River in Zhou State in exchange for abolishing Paolao.
At that time, one of Xibo Jichang's ministers advised him: "Land is the foundation of a country. How can it be given away so easily? Moreover, King Zhou is incompetent and willfully harms his ministers and people. If you keep advising such a monarch, you may bring disaster upon yourself."
Ji Chang said: "The earth carries all things and nourishes all living things growing on it without asking for anything in return. This is the virtue of the earth. Shouldn't the existence of a country follow the example of the earth and protect the people without asking for anything in return? The people of the world live and multiply on the same land. The earth has never treated them differently because of their different locations. The people of the world, whether in Shang or Zhou, yearn for a peaceful and harmonious life. How can we ignore their suffering just because they are in different countries and regions?"
Ji Chang still insisted on offering land to King Zhou. King Zhou agreed to his request and abolished the punishment of burning people with fire. Ji Chang was loved by the people of the world because of this. However, as the minister of remonstrance had expected, soon a treacherous minister slandered King Zhou, saying: "Xi Bo is doing good deeds everywhere to establish his own prestige. Now that the princes all admire him, I am afraid it is not good for the king!"
King Zhou heard this and pretended to summon Ji Chang, but took the opportunity to imprison him in Youli, intending to harm him. When the people of the Western Zhou Dynasty learned about this, they immediately discussed how to rescue him. One of the officials said, "King Zhou likes beauties and treasures. Why not send someone to Chaoge to offer treasures to save Xibo?"
Ji Chang's eldest son Bo Yikao said, "Let me go to Chaoge to present the treasure."
The ministers advised: "King Zhou is tyrannical, and there may be accidents if you go there. You should not go there in person, but send someone wise and capable."
Bo Yikao said, "How can I sit back and wait for my father to be in trouble? If he is really in trouble, it is my duty as a son to suffer for my father. How can I let innocent people suffer for my father and me?"
The ministers could not persuade him any more and had to follow him. Bo Yikao then took the seven-scented carriage, the sobering felt and the white ape, three rare treasures, and went to Chaoge to offer them to save his father.
King Zhou was very happy to receive the treasures presented by Bo Yikao, and wanted to let him and his son go back. But his favorite concubine Daji said, "Others say that Xibo Hou is a saint, and his art of the Eight Trigrams is accurate in all divinations. Why not give him a try?"
King Zhou asked, "How do you test it?"
Daji said, "Cook Bo Yikao, make meatballs out of him and send them to Xibo. If he eats it, it means he doesn't have the ability to predict the future, so we can let him go. If he refuses to eat it, it means he already knew it, so Xibo can't stay."
King Zhou said, "Great! Great! I will follow your advice."
Ji Chang was imprisoned in Youli, and his every move was under strict surveillance. In the small cage, he could only study the Eight Trigrams for fun. There were a total of 64 hexagrams, and the rest were all written down. Now he was still considering the hexagrams of Qian and Kun. Today, he suddenly felt uneasy, so he arranged the hexagrams and made a hexagram, and got the Qian hexagram. Ji Chang looked at this hexagram, and his eyes widened, and cold sweat broke out. He got up and arranged the hexagrams again, and calculated again, but it was still the same as before, and the hexagram did not change at all. Ji Chang did not believe it, and he made another hexagram, but the hexagram did not change. Ji Chang was furious, and he stood up and overturned the table, and the hexagrams on the table were scattered all over the floor, making crackling sounds. The jailer guarding the door heard the sound and hurried in to check, only to see the hexagrams scattered on the ground, and Ji Chang was picking them up one by one.
The jailer shouted, "What's going on?"
Ji Chang said, "I accidentally knocked over the table, and these things were scattered all over the floor. Please don't blame me, sir." The jailer snorted, "What's the point of you, old man, fiddling with these broken things every day?"
Ji Chang laughed and said, "I have nothing to do, so I am just entertaining myself and killing time."
The jailer ignored him and turned away. Ji Chang fell to the ground, trying hard to hold back his sobs. A tear fell from the corner of his eye. He murmured, "Continuously strive for self-improvement? Continuously strive for self-improvement? Now that I am in prison, what can I do? He is right. What is the point of fiddling with these things all day? In this situation, what else can I do except endure it? Haha, Continuously strive for self-improvement, isn't that nonsense? It's better not to tell this divination!" Ji Chang shook his head and cried, then stood up with a silly smile, not knowing whether he was laughing at his situation or at his unsolvable divination.
"Old man, it's time to eat! This time, the king personally gave it to you. You are in for a treat!" The jailer placed the prepared food on Ji Chang's table and looked at him quietly. Ji Chang slowly picked up the chopsticks, held his trembling right hand with his left hand, and slowly picked up a meatball.
Ji Chang lowered his head so low that no one could see his expression at that moment.
"You eat first, I have something else to do." The jailer said as he walked out with a smile. Ji Chang sat there motionless, like a dead tree. After a long time, he heard a snap, and the chopsticks in his hand broke in half. Tears rolled down his eyes and dripped onto the chopsticks that were broken in half.
When King Zhou and Daji heard about this, they both laughed so hard that they fell backwards: "How can Ji Chang be called a saint? Who said he could know the past and the future?"
Ji Chang finally returned to Zhou. Although he was old at that time, he was more diligent in handling government affairs. Later, he invited Jiang Ziya to come out of seclusion to assist him. Under his governance, Qi Zhou quickly became strong and had the potential to compete with King Zhou of Shang. Unfortunately, he was not blessed with longevity and death was approaching. But he could foresee that the day of peace in the world was not far away.
Before leaving, Ji Chang called his son Ji Fa to his bedside and taught him: "A gentleman should not blame heaven or others no matter what situation he is in. He should always have a broad mind and tolerate everything that happens around him. Even if he is unable to break the situation, he should be content to endure it, not give up easily, and wait for the next opportunity to come. Doing so is to imitate heaven and earth. You should have such character and mind to face all the people and things around you."
Ji Fa agreed with tears in his eyes: "I have memorized my father's teachings and will never forget them."
After Ji Chang passed away, Ji Fa, while sorting out his father's belongings, found that the Qian and Kun hexagrams in the "Book of Changes" already had hexagram texts.
The Qian hexagram says: "Heaven moves vigorously, and the gentleman should constantly strive to strengthen himself."
The Kun hexagram says: "The earth is in a low position, and the gentleman should carry the world with great virtue."
(End of this chapter)