Wanli Emperor-
“Tzu-lu asked about the way to serve a lord. The master said, ‘Make sure that you are not being dishonest with him when you stand up to him.” (XIV.22)
My lord, why have you changed so? There was a time when you were very much distressed by official corruption, concerned about bribery between government officials, took the rituals seriously, wondered why so many officials absented themselves from your morning audience, and showed displeasure when your officials did not drill themselves to perform their part in ceremonies with flawless perfection (Huang 103). In the first decade of your reign nomadic invasions no longer threatened our northern frontier, pirates disappeared from our eastern coasts, and after this long period of peace the treasury had silver bullion to spare (Huang 14)! Why have you changed my lord? Why have you strayed from the benevolent path, choosing instead to consort with women and eunuchs?
I know you would not hear me ask you this. I know you would prefer that I devise a so-called “practical solution” to the problems facing our empire. I know some have told you that the faults of your kingdom lie in the small people, the common folk. They have told you that the people must be punished for erring, that pirates from our lands must be branded or conscripted into the army, and foreign pirates must be beaten and killed. They tell you that we should redouble our military forces in order to fight the raiding barbarians. They tell you that we should work to impose heavier taxes on the landowners in order to fill our treasury for such military excursions. Yet I must beg the question, why? Why must all these things be done when only five years ago, none of these issues were a problem at all? None of these things were a problem when you were a benevolent ruler. None of these things were a problem when you kept the people in line with the rites (II.3).
Now instead, you sit in the courtyards, watching eunuchs toss pieces of silver while your empire slides into the abyss (Huang 103). Now you no longer actually choose who in your bureaucracy may be promoted, demoted, or transferred, you cast lots and allow chance to make that choice (Huang 76). In some matters you even allow eunuchs to wield the vermilion brush for you (Huang 76). You often did not attend your tutoring sessions when you were young, which causes great concern to many in your court, particularly when the palace eunuchs reveal that instead of being ill like you have claimed, you were riding horses and drinking and dallying with the palace ladies (Huang 47). Your mere attendance at the tutoring sessions would show that you are subjecting yourself to cosmic order and moral law, and the fact that you are not attending these sessions indicates that you are directly opposing them (Huang 47). If these habits persist, they could be most detrimental to both your moral character and your empire. You have neglected your duty, my lord.
I cannot claim to know why you have become this way, my lord. But I fear that what the Master said in Analect 18, book nine, applies even to you, “I have yet to meet the man who is as fond of virtue as he is of beautiful women.” It appears to many that your love for your consort, Lady Cheng, has blinded you to the cosmic order and moral law. You wish to make her son, your third-born, heir because you believe it would please her (Huang 75). The entire population knows that fathers must be impartial to their sons, that elder brothers are supposed to command and lead their younger brothers, and that men of rectitude, yes, even you my lord, should never be swayed by women to modify their public obligations because of sentiment (Huang 84), for the Master said, “In one’s household, it is the women and the small men that are difficult to deal with. If you let them get too close, they become insolent. If you keep them at a distance, they complain” (XVII.25). Some have speculated, Myriad Years, that you are being forced against your better judgment by this woman (Huang 85). I only hope this is the case, and if it is, I suggest that you remove her from your presence as quickly as you can so that you can be free to do as you should, and put your son Chang-lo as your heir, start acting like an emperor, and shoulder some responsibility.
“Tzu-lu asked about the way to serve a lord. The master said, ‘Make sure that you are not being dishonest with him when you stand up to him.” (XIV.22)
My lord, why have you changed so? There was a time when you were very much distressed by official corruption, concerned about bribery between government officials, took the rituals seriously, wondered why so many officials absented themselves from your morning audience, and showed displeasure when your officials did not drill themselves to perform their part in ceremonies with flawless perfection (Huang 103). In the first decade of your reign nomadic invasions no longer threatened our northern frontier, pirates disappeared from our eastern coasts, and after this long period of peace the treasury had silver bullion to spare (Huang 14)! Why have you changed my lord? Why have you strayed from the benevolent path, choosing instead to consort with women and eunuchs?
I know you would not hear me ask you this. I know you would prefer that I devise a so-called “practical solution” to the problems facing our empire. I know some have told you that the faults of your kingdom lie in the small people, the common folk. They have told you that the people must be punished for erring, that pirates from our lands must be branded or conscripted into the army, and foreign pirates must be beaten and killed. They tell you that we should redouble our military forces in order to fight the raiding barbarians. They tell you that we should work to impose heavier taxes on the landowners in order to fill our treasury for such military excursions. Yet I must beg the question, why? Why must all these things be done when only five years ago, none of these issues were a problem at all? None of these things were a problem when you were a benevolent ruler. None of these things were a problem when you kept the people in line with the rites (II.3).
Now instead, you sit in the courtyards, watching eunuchs toss pieces of silver while your empire slides into the abyss (Huang 103). Now you no longer actually choose who in your bureaucracy may be promoted, demoted, or transferred, you cast lots and allow chance to make that choice (Huang 76). In some matters you even allow eunuchs to wield the vermilion brush for you (Huang 76). You often did not attend your tutoring sessions when you were young, which causes great concern to many in your court, particularly when the palace eunuchs reveal that instead of being ill like you have claimed, you were riding horses and drinking and dallying with the palace ladies (Huang 47). Your mere attendance at the tutoring sessions would show that you are subjecting yourself to cosmic order and moral law, and the fact that you are not attending these sessions indicates that you are directly opposing them (Huang 47). If these habits persist, they could be most detrimental to both your moral character and your empire. You have neglected your duty, my lord.
I cannot claim to know why you have become this way, my lord. But I fear that what the Master said in Analect 18, book nine, applies even to you, “I have yet to meet the man who is as fond of virtue as he is of beautiful women.” It appears to many that your love for your consort, Lady Cheng, has blinded you to the cosmic order and moral law. You wish to make her son, your third-born, heir because you believe it would please her (Huang 75). The entire population knows that fathers must be impartial to their sons, that elder brothers are supposed to command and lead their younger brothers, and that men of rectitude, yes, even you my lord, should never be swayed by women to modify their public obligations because of sentiment (Huang 84), for the Master said, “In one’s household, it is the women and the small men that are difficult to deal with. If you let them get too close, they become insolent. If you keep them at a distance, they complain” (XVII.25). Some have speculated, Myriad Years, that you are being forced against your better judgment by this woman (Huang 85). I only hope this is the case, and if it is, I suggest that you remove her from your presence as quickly as you can so that you can be free to do as you should, and put your son Chang-lo as your heir, start acting like an emperor, and shoulder some responsibility.
posted by Lucius Cornelius Cinna (Emily) | 2:54 PM
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