Liu Bowen's Fable: How Deception Can Ruin Nations and Individuals

【Editor’s Note】Liu Ji (also known as Liu Bowen) was a prominent military strategist during the founding of the Ming Dynasty and renowned for his prophetic abilities. Additionally, he was a master storyteller, with "Yu Li Zi" containing nearly 180 fables. He believed that if future generations embraced the wisdom in this book, they could achieve prosperous and civilized governance. "Yu Li Zi" offers profound, intricately crafted, and meaningful insights. Here, we share a story from "Yu Li Zi" titled "King Yan of Song," as follows:

King Yan of Song

During the Warring States period, the ruler of the State of Song, King Kang, also known as Yan, harbored a deep resentment for King Wei of Chu and frequently disparaged the state of Chu. Every morning in court, King Kang would malign Chu for amusement and as an outlet for his frustrations, often claiming, "The Chu state is so incompetent, it cannot be saved! Am I not destined to conquer Chu?" His ministers echoed his sentiments, as if in unison.

As a result, any merchants or travelers coming from Chu had to fabricate tales disparaging Chu to gain King Kang’s favor and acceptance in the State of Song.

These fabricated rumors spread among the people and officials of Song and quickly reached the royal court. Despite knowing the falsity of these claims, officials reported them to curry favor with the king, often exaggerating Chu’s deficiencies to make it appear utterly inept. Over time, shaped by this skewed public opinion, even those who initially fabricated the lies started to believe Chu was genuinely inferior to Song.

Buoyed by the "compliments" surrounding him, King Kang became arrogant and decided to launch an attack on Chu!

While most ministers supported King Kang, one official named Hua Ju, upon learning of the king's plans, urgently advised against it: "Song is not a match for Chu; history has proven this. The two states are like a mole compared to a giant beast, with a vast disparity in strength. Even if Chu is as incompetent as you suggest, its power still surpasses Song’s tenfold. If Song is one, then Chu is ten. Even if Song triumphs ten times, it falls short of compensating for a single defeat. How can we gamble the fate of our nation on such a risk?"

Yet, filled with hatred and misinformation about Chu, King Kang’s arrogance made him dismiss advice. He proceeded stubbornly with an attack on Chu.

Catching Chu unprepared, Song's army achieved victory at the upper reaches of the Ying River in Henan. King Kang grew increasingly complacent, convinced of Chu's weakness, and prepared for further confrontation.

Hua Ju cautioned again: "I have heard that a small state defeating a large one often occurs when the larger state is caught off-guard. Such luck can’t be relied upon, and fluke victories do not permit careless actions. Armies are not to be whimsically commanded, nor adversaries insulted without consequence. It is difficult to insult even the smallest of foes, let alone a major state! Now that Chu is vigilant, Your Majesty grows more arrogant. A large state on guard and a small state acting recklessly spells disaster!"

Upon hearing this, King Kang was enraged. Sensing impending doom for Song, Hua Ju fled to the State of Qi that very night.

The following year, Song once again attacked Chu. This time, Chu was fully prepared, launching a robust counterattack that not only defeated the Song army but obliterated the State of Song entirely.

Slandering others with lies ultimately leads to one’s own downfall, as shown by King Kang of Song, who used deception to defame Chu, misled the world, and met a fate of ruin and disgrace, becoming a target of derision.

Historical accounts portray King Kang of Song as a tyrant, compared to King Jie of the Xia Dynasty, earning him the nickname "Jie Song." His arrogance and recklessness, evidenced by actions like destroying altars and shooting arrows at the sky, render him laughable. In Liu Bowen's fable, King Kang’s jealousy of King Wei of Chu led him to boast falsely about the enemy’s weakness and his own strength, while ministers, eager to please, echoed his deception. Trapped in a web of his own lies, King Kang’s imagined "strength" led him to attack Chu, ultimately ending in his state's downfall.

Through this story, we witness the terrifying power of lies. Officials and citizens alike were deceived by illusions, leading them to overestimate Song’s standing against Chu. However, lies will eventually be exposed, and the truth will dismantle these fabrications. Whether fabricating or perpetuating lies, in the end, one deceives oneself and suffers the consequences.

Original Text of "Yu Li Zi: King Yan of Song":

Song Wang Yan e Chu Wei Wang, hao yan Chu zhi fei, dan ri shi chao bi di Chu wei xiao, qie yue: 'Chu zhi bu neng ruo shi, shen yi. Wo qi de Chu hu?' Qunchen he zhi, ru chu yi kou. Yu shi xing lu zhi zi Chu zhi Song zhe, bi gou Chu duan yi wei rong. Guo ren da fu chuan yi da yu chao, niu er yang, sui yi Chu wei guo bu ruo Song, er xian wei qi yan zhe yi huo yan. Yu shi mou fa Chu, da fu Hua Ju jian yue: 'Song zhi fei Chu di ye jiu yi, you kui niu zhi yu fen shu ye. Shi cheng ru Wang yan, Chu zhi li you zu yi shi Song, Song yi Chu shi, shi sheng bu zu yi zhi yi bai, qi ke yi guo shi hu?' Fu ting, sui qi bing bai Chu shi yu Ying shang. Wang yi cheng, Hua Ju fu jian yue: 'Chen wen xiao zhi sheng da ye, xing qi bu wo yu ye. Xing bu ke chang, sheng bu ke shi, bing bu ke wan, di bu ke wu. Wu xiao ren qie bu ke, kuang da guo hu? Jin Chu ju yi, er Wang yi ying. Da ju xiao ying, huo qi zhi yi!' Wang nu, Hua Ju chu fen Qi. Ming nian Song fu fa Chu, Chu ren fa bai zhi, sui mie Song.

Source of text and images: Look China (Original text)