3.8 [58] 景公问莒鲁孰先亡晏子对以鲁后莒先

齐景公问莒国和鲁国谁先灭亡，晏子回答说鲁国后亡莒国先亡

【原文】

景公问晏子：“莒与鲁孰先亡？”对曰：“以臣观之也，莒之细人，变而不化，贪而好假，高勇而贱仁，士武以疾，忿急以速竭，是以上不能（飬）〔养〕其下，下不能事其上，上下不能相〔收〕，则政之大体失矣。故以臣（之观）〔观之〕也，莒其先亡。”公曰：“鲁何如？”对曰：“鲁之君臣，犹好为义，下之妥妥也，奄然寡闻，是以上能（其养）〔养其〕下，下能事其上，上下相〔收〕，政之大体存矣。故鲁犹可长守，然其亦有一焉。彼邹滕雉奔而出其地，犹称公侯，（大）〔小〕之事（小）〔大〕，弱之事强，久矣，彼周者，殷之树国也，鲁近齐而亲殷，以变小国，而不服于邻，以远望鲁，灭国之道也。齐其有鲁与莒乎？”公曰：“鲁与莒之事，寡人既得〔而〕闻之矣，寡人之德亦薄，然后世孰践有齐国者？”对曰：“田无宇之后为几。”公曰：“何故也？”对曰：“公量小，私量大，以施于民，其与士交也，用财无筐箧之藏，国人负携其子而归之，若水之流下也。夫先与人利，而后辞其难，不亦寡乎？若苟勿辞也，从而抚之，不亦几乎？”

【今译】

齐景公问晏子：“莒国和鲁国哪个先灭亡？”晏子回答道：“在我看来，莒国的百姓，改变常理而不遵从教化，生性贪婪而喜好作假，推崇勇武而轻视仁德，士人们（处理事情）急于动用武力，忿恨急躁而很快衰竭，因此国君不能豢养他的臣下，臣下也不能侍奉他的国君，上下不能互相配合，那么国家的根本就丧失了。所以在我看来，莒国应该会先灭亡。”景公说：“鲁国怎么样呢？”晏子回答说：“鲁国的君臣，仍然喜好推行仁义，臣民很安定，见闻也少，因此国君能豢养他的臣下，臣下也能侍奉国君，上下之间可以互相配合，国家的根本还存在。因此鲁国还可以长期守住国家，但他也有一个失误。邹国和滕国都是小国，野鸡奔跑就能穿过它们的国境，还能称为公侯，小国侍奉大国，弱国侍奉强国，由来已久，宋国是周朝分封建立的国家，鲁国靠近齐国而去亲附宋国，以狭小的国土而不归附强大的邻国而寄希望于远方的晋国，这是使国家灭亡的政策。齐国大概会占有鲁国和莒国吧！”景公说：“鲁国和莒国的情况，我大概了解了，我的德行浅薄，然而后世谁能登上齐国的国君之位呢？”晏子回答说：“田无宇的后人差不多。”景公说：“为什么呢？”晏子说：“田氏收粮时用小斗，贷粮时用大斗，用这种办法施恩于百姓，他和士人交往，用钱时能倾尽所有，国内的百姓带着儿子去归附他，就像水往低处流一样。先给百姓利益，然后推辞为百姓作君主，这种事不是太少了吗？假如不想推辞作君主，又去顺从民意安抚百姓，这不是已经接近享有齐国了吗？”

Duke Jing queried Yanzi as follows: “Which w ill be the first to perish,Lu or Ju?”^[1]

Yanzi replied: “As I see it,the common people of Ju change,but they are not transformed for the better. They are greedy and fond of falsehood. They value courage highly and hold humaneness in contempt. Their officers are fast,quick-tempered,and quickly exhausted. Therefore,the superiors cannot nurture their inferiors,while the inferiors cannot serve their superiors. When superiors and inferiors cannot get on close terms with each other,then the fundamental structure of the government is lost. Therefore,as I see it,Ju w ill probably be the first to perish.”

The Duke said: “What about Lu?”

Yanzi said: “The ruler and ministers of Lu seem to be fond of acting righteously; their inferiors are docile,weak,and seldom heard from. Therefore,the superiors can nurture their inferiors,while the inferiors can serve their superiors. When superiors and inferiors get on close terms with each other,the fundamental structure of the government survives. Hence,it looks as if Lu may be preserved for a long time—though there is one reason why they m ight fail^[2] after all. The territories of Zou and Teng^[3] are so small that pheasants who merely flutter about are already beyond the borders,and still their rulers are called ‘dukes’ and ‘lords.’ It has been the rule for long that the small serves the big and the weak serves the strong; even the Zhou Kingdom was previously a state enfeoffed by Yin.^[4] Lu is located near Qi but feels kinship to Yin,^[5] and thereby contravenes the rule of conduct for small states,and is no longer subjected to its strong neighbor. From a distant vantage-point,this is how Lu w ill be destroyed. Qi w ill take possession of both Lu and Ju.”

The Duke said: “I have already heard of the situation in Lu and Ju. My virtue,too,is slight,so who in later generations w ill ascend the throne and take possession of the State of Qi?”

Yanzi replied: “Probably the descendants of Tian Wuyu.”^[6]

The Duke said: “Why?”

Yanzi replied: “The standard,public measures are small,but their own private measures are large,and they distribute to the people accordingly.^[7] In dealing w ith officers,they make use of property w ithout depositing it in boxes and trunks. The people of the state turn to them,as water flows downhill,carrying their children on their backs and arms. Isn’t it unlikely for people to first benefit from others and then turn away from them in time of difficulty? And if,indeed,they do not ignore their beneficiaries’difficulties,and their beneficiaries continue to pacify them,are they not coming close to gaining possession of Qi?”

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注释

[1]Ju 莒 was a small state located in the present day Ju County,which was destroyed by the state of Chu 楚 in 431.

[2]亦→失 (JS,194/8 ).

[3]Zou 邹—identical with Zhu 邾—and Teng 滕 were two tiny princedoms located in Lu and Song,respectively.

[4]The Yin (Shang) dynasty enfeoffed the Zhou as a city-state,which developed as a kingdom situated to the west of the Yin and subservient to them. Later,the Zhou overthrew the Yin and enfeoffed their descendants in the state of Song 宋.

[5]I.e.,they feel kinship to the small and w eak state of Song 宋. The JS,194/11,suggests to replace Yin 殷 with Jin 晋 since during the period under consideration,the ruler of Lu paid many tribute visits to the state of Jin.

[6]Tian Wuyu or Chen Huanzi 陈桓子,the fifth head of the Chen lineage in Qi. For a sim ilar discussion between Duke Jing and Yanzi concerning the future of Qi and the Tian (Chen) fam ily,see,Hanfeizi,34/98/22.

[7]Item 4.17 [97],and the Zuozhuan,B10. 3/323/23-26,say that the private measures of the Chen (Tian) clan such as dou 豆,qu 区,fu 釜 and zhong 钟 are a quarter bigger than the standard public measures. Both texts continue to explain that the members of the clan lend to the people according to their own private measures and take back according to the standard,public measures; hence their popularity.