Chunyu Kun
Encyclopedia
Chunyu Kun (4th century BC) was a wit, Confucian philosopher, emissary, and official during the Chinese Warring States Period
. He was a contemporary and colleague of Mencius
.
In the Records of the Grand Historian
, Chunyu Kun appears in Linzi
, the capital of the northern state of Qi, as an adviser to the chief minister under King Wei of Qi
, and as a master scholar at the Jixia Academy, the foremost institution of learning in ancient China. He is said to be "a man of Qi who lived with his wife's family. He was less than five feet tall. Thanks to his wit and his ready tongue he was sent several times as an envoy to other states and was never worsted in argument." He is discussed in the chapter called "Jesters" (ch. 126, Huaji liezhuan 滑稽列傳).
"There is widespread agreement that the Yanzi Chunqiu [晏子春秋] (The Spring and Autumn Annals of Minister Yan Ying
) was an anthology of the writings of Jixia scholars. It is quite probable that it was composed by followers of Chunyu Kun."
There are several famous stories about Chunyu Kun. In a rhetorical argument with Mencius, he tried to get Mencius to say that, because men and women should never touch each other, it was wrong to save one's sister-in-law from drowning. Mencius replied that someone who would not rescue the woman is a wolf. Kun said, "'The whole kingdom is drowning. How strange it is that you will not rescue it!' Mencius answered, 'A drowning kingdom must be rescued with right principles, as a drowning sister-in-law has to be rescued with the hand. Do you wish me to rescue the kingdom with my hand?'"
Chunyu Kun was so influential with the king of Qi that he was able to present scholars for promotion and introduce foreign advisers to the king. He was "a Qi nobleman famous for his erudition."
Chunyu Kun was also at the origin of the four-character idiom
送客留髡 (pinyin
=sòngkè liúkūn), which means "sending off the guests, Kun is left behind." This means "getting lucky" and refers to his joke that he would drink a single cup of wine with the emperor, but a cask if he was with courtesans and had sent off all the other guests.
In the Records of the Grand Historian
, Sima Qian
describes an incident in which Chunyu Kun's quick wit allowed him to advise his ruler to change his foolish command without getting in trouble himself.
The powerful nation of Chu
was sending a large army against Qi. The king of Qi gave Chunyu Kun a hundred catties of gold and ten four-horse carriages, and told him to go to the neighboring state of Zhao
to ask for help.
"Chunyu Kun threw back his head and laughed so hard that the cord of his hat snapped."
The king asked if he thought it was too little, and Chunyu Kun said, "How dare I?"
"Then why are you laughing?"
Chunyu Kun replied, "I saw... a man praying for a good harvest and offering one pig's trotter and one cup of wine. 'May the crops from the highland fill whole crates!' he prayed. 'May the crops from the lowland fill whole carts! May grain harvested in abundance fill my house!' He offered so little but expected so much in return. That is why I laughed."
The king then gave him "one thousand yi of gold, ten pairs of white jade discs
and a hundred four-horse carriages." Chunyu Kun took them and successfully arranged military aid from Zhao, which forced the troops of Chu to return home.
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
. He was a contemporary and colleague of Mencius
Mencius
Mencius was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself.-Life:Mencius, also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou, now forming the territory of the county-level city of Zoucheng , Shandong province, only thirty kilometres ...
.
In the Records of the Grand Historian
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
, Chunyu Kun appears in Linzi
Linzi
Linzi was the capital of Qi from 859 BC to 221 BC during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period in China. The ruins of the city lie in modern day Linzi District, Shandong, China. The city was one of the largest and richest in China during the Spring and Autumn Period...
, the capital of the northern state of Qi, as an adviser to the chief minister under King Wei of Qi
King Wei of Qi
King Wei of Qi , whose personal name was Tian Yinqi , was the king of the northern Chinese state of Qi during the Warring States Period, when Qi was one of the most powerful states in China. He reigned from 356 to 320 BC. or according to another source from 378 to 343 BC.His successor was King Xuan...
, and as a master scholar at the Jixia Academy, the foremost institution of learning in ancient China. He is said to be "a man of Qi who lived with his wife's family. He was less than five feet tall. Thanks to his wit and his ready tongue he was sent several times as an envoy to other states and was never worsted in argument." He is discussed in the chapter called "Jesters" (ch. 126, Huaji liezhuan 滑稽列傳).
"There is widespread agreement that the Yanzi Chunqiu [晏子春秋] (The Spring and Autumn Annals of Minister Yan Ying
Yan Ying
Yan Ying was prime minister of the ancient Chinese state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period,"noted for his thrifty habits of life. At meals, he would not eat of two kinds of meat, neither would he allow his womenfolk to wear silk. A small shoulder of pork sufficed for his ancestral...
) was an anthology of the writings of Jixia scholars. It is quite probable that it was composed by followers of Chunyu Kun."
There are several famous stories about Chunyu Kun. In a rhetorical argument with Mencius, he tried to get Mencius to say that, because men and women should never touch each other, it was wrong to save one's sister-in-law from drowning. Mencius replied that someone who would not rescue the woman is a wolf. Kun said, "'The whole kingdom is drowning. How strange it is that you will not rescue it!' Mencius answered, 'A drowning kingdom must be rescued with right principles, as a drowning sister-in-law has to be rescued with the hand. Do you wish me to rescue the kingdom with my hand?'"
Chunyu Kun was so influential with the king of Qi that he was able to present scholars for promotion and introduce foreign advisers to the king. He was "a Qi nobleman famous for his erudition."
Chunyu Kun was also at the origin of the four-character idiom
Four-character idiom
Chengyu are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions, most of which consist of four characters. Chengyu were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language today...
送客留髡 (pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
=sòngkè liúkūn), which means "sending off the guests, Kun is left behind." This means "getting lucky" and refers to his joke that he would drink a single cup of wine with the emperor, but a cask if he was with courtesans and had sent off all the other guests.
In the Records of the Grand Historian
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
, Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
describes an incident in which Chunyu Kun's quick wit allowed him to advise his ruler to change his foolish command without getting in trouble himself.
The powerful nation of Chu
Chu (state)
The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...
was sending a large army against Qi. The king of Qi gave Chunyu Kun a hundred catties of gold and ten four-horse carriages, and told him to go to the neighboring state of Zhao
Zhao (state)
Zhao was a significant Chinese state during the Warring States Period, along with six others...
to ask for help.
"Chunyu Kun threw back his head and laughed so hard that the cord of his hat snapped."
The king asked if he thought it was too little, and Chunyu Kun said, "How dare I?"
"Then why are you laughing?"
Chunyu Kun replied, "I saw... a man praying for a good harvest and offering one pig's trotter and one cup of wine. 'May the crops from the highland fill whole crates!' he prayed. 'May the crops from the lowland fill whole carts! May grain harvested in abundance fill my house!' He offered so little but expected so much in return. That is why I laughed."
The king then gave him "one thousand yi of gold, ten pairs of white jade discs
Bi (jade)
The bi is a form of circular jade artifact from ancient China. The earliest bi were produced in the Neolithic period, particularly by the Liangzhu culture . Later examples date mainly from the Shang, Zhou and Han dynasties. They were also made in glass.-Description:A bi is a flat jade disc with a...
and a hundred four-horse carriages." Chunyu Kun took them and successfully arranged military aid from Zhao, which forced the troops of Chu to return home.