Stories From History: What Was the Shang Dynasty Emperor Afraid of?

Yi Dou

PureInsight | August 2, 2007

[PureInsight.org] During the
Shang Dynsty, Xi Bo, the king of the Zhou State, respected his
officials and managed the whole state with virtue.  And the Zhou
State was in good order.



When the Yu and Rui States were having conflicts, they could not
resolve their differences.  They decided to ask Xi Bo to mediate.
When the people from the States of Yu and Rui walked into the State of
Zhou, they found out that the land owners in Zhou would give up some of
their land to keep peace with their neighbors and people respected the
elderly on the streets.  They then said, "What we are fighting
about is exactly what the people in the State of Zhou are ashamed of.
What do we want to see Xi Bo for? We are just throwing dirt in our
faces."  They went home and learned to be considerate of others
and did not fight again.



Someone said to Zhou Wang, the emperor of Shang Dynasty, "Xi Bo does
good deeds and accumulates virtue and the kings of other states all
look up to him. I don't think that is very good for you."  As a
result, Zhou Wang put Xi Bo in prison.



(Historical Records)



Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2007/7/29/44995.html

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