IV. Fourth year.

 經四年．
  1. 春．王正月．公及齊侯平莒及郯．莒人不肯．公伐莒．取向．
  2. 秦伯稻卒．
  3. 夏．六月．乙酉．鄭公子歸生弒其君夷．
  4. 赤狄侵齊．
  5. 秋．公如齊．
  6. 公至自齊．
  7. 冬．楚子伐鄭．
 IV. Fourth year.

1. In his fourth year, in spring, in the king's first month, the duke and the marquis of Qi [tried to] reconcile Ju and Tan. The people of Ju were not willing [to be reconciled], and the duke invaded Ju and took Xiang.
2. Dao, earl of Qin, died.
3. In summer, in the sixth month, on Yiyou, duke [Wen's] son, Guisheng of Zheng, murdered his ruler, Yi.
4. The Red Di made an incursion into Qi.
5. In autumn, the duke went to Qi.
6. The duke arrived from Qi.
7. In winter, the viscount of Chu invaded Zheng.

 傳四年．
  1. 春．公及齊侯平莒及郯．莒人不肯．公伐莒取向．非禮也．平國以禮．不以亂．伐而不治．亂也．以亂平亂．何治之有. 無治．何以行禮．
  2. 楚人獻黿於鄭靈公．公子宋．與子家將見．子公之食指動．以示子家．曰．他日我如此．必嘗異味．及入．宰夫將解黿．相視而笑．公問之．子家以告．及食大夫黿．召子公而弗與也．子公怒．染指於鼎．嘗之而出．公怒．欲殺子公．子公與子家謀先．子家曰．畜老猶憚殺之．而況君乎．反譖子家．子家懼而從之．
  3. 夏. 弒靈公．書曰．鄭公子歸生弒其君夷．權不足也．君子曰．仁而不武．無能達也．凡弒君稱君．君無道也．稱臣．臣之罪也．
  4. 鄭人立子良．辭曰．以賢則去疾不足．以順．則公子堅長．乃立襄公．襄公將去穆氏．而舍子良．子良不可. 曰．穆氏宜存．則固願也．若將亡之．則亦皆亡．去疾何為．乃舍之．皆為大夫．
  5. 初．楚司馬子良．生子越椒．子文曰．必殺之．是子也．熊虎之狀．而豺狼之聲．弗殺．必滅若敖氏矣．諺曰．狼子野心．是乃狼也．其可畜乎．子良不可．子文以為大慼．及將死．聚其族曰．椒也知政．乃速行矣．無及於難．且泣曰．鬼猶求食．若敖氏之鬼．不其餒而．
  6. 及令尹子文卒．鬥般為令尹．子越為司馬．蒍賈為工正．譖子揚而殺之．子越為令尹．已為司馬．子越又惡之．乃以若敖氏之族．圄伯嬴於轑陽．而殺之．遂處烝野．將攻王．王以三王之子為質焉．弗受．師于漳澨．
  7. 秋．七月．戊戌．楚子與若敖氏戰于皋滸．伯棼射王．汰輈．及鼓跗．著於丁寧．又射．汰輈．以貫笠轂．師懼．退．王使巡師曰．吾先君文王克息．獲三矢焉．伯棼竊其二．盡於是矣．鼓而進之．遂滅若敖氏．
  8. 初．若敖娶於鄖．生鬥伯比．若敖卒．從其母畜於邧．淫於邧子之女．生子文焉．邧夫人使棄諸夢中．虎乳之．邧子田．見之．懼而歸．夫人以告．遂使收之．楚人謂乳穀．謂虎於菟．故命之曰鬥穀於菟．以其女妻伯比．實為令尹子文．
  9. 其孫箴尹克黃．使於齊．還及宋．聞亂．其人曰．不可以入矣．箴尹曰．棄君之命．獨誰受之．君．天也．天可逃乎．遂歸復命．而自拘於司敗．王思子文之治楚國也．曰．子文無後．何以勸善．使復其所．改命曰生 ． 
  10. 冬．楚子伐鄭．鄭未服也．
 COMMENTARY
  1. In spring, the duke and marquis of Qi tried to reconcile Ju and tan. The people of Ju were not willing to be reconciled, and the duke invaded Ju and took Xiang. This was contrary to the rule. States must be reconciled by the rules of propriety, and not by disorder. To attack Ju, without regulating [the difference by those rules], was creating disorder. By disorder to attempt to reconcile disorder, left no room for the [proper] regulation; and without such regulation, how could any rule of propriety be carried out?
  2. A large turtle had been presented from Chu to duke Ling of Zheng. Gongzi Song and Zijia were going [soon after] to have an audience of the duke, when Zigong's [The Gongzi Song] forefinger began to move. He showed it to Zijia, saying, "On other occasions, when my finger has done this, I have been sure to taste [soon] some extraordinary dish." When they entered the palace, the cook was about to cut up the turtle, and they looked at each other, and laughed. The duke [saw it, and] asked the reason, which Zijia told him. When the duke, however, was feasting the [other] great officers on the turtle, he invited Zigong, but did not give him any. Zigong was angry, dipped his finger into a dish, tasted the turtle, and went out, which so enraged the duke that he wished to kill him. Zigong then consulted with Zijia about their first killing the duke; but Zijia said, "Even an animal which you have long kept about you, you shrink from killing; how much more should you shrink from killing your ruler!" The other turned round, and threatened to bring a charge against Zijia, who then agreed, through fear, to let him take his course; and Zigong murdered duke Ling in the summer.
  3. The text says that Guisheng murdered his ruler, because his power was not sufficient [to prevent the deed, as it ought to have been]. The superior man may say that a man who is benevolent, but has not prowess, cannot carry out his benevolence. In cases of the murder of a prince, when he is mentioned [by name], it indicates that he was without principle (?), and the mention of the name of the minister indicates his guilt.
  4. 'The people of Zheng wanted to raise Ziliang [A son of duke Mu by a concubine] to be earl, but he declined the dignity, saying, "If it is to be given to the worthiest, I, Quji am not fit to receive it. If it is to be given according to natural order, my brother Jian is the oldest." On this [Jian, known as] duke Xiang was appointed. He wished to drive away all the sons of duke Mu excepting Ziliang, who remonstrated against the proposed measure, saying, "The sons of Mu should all be allowed to remain, and this is what I wish. If you banish them, then I will go into banishment with the rest;—what should I do, [remaining here alone]?" On this the duke let them alone, and they all became great officers.
  5. Before this, Ziliang, the minister of War in Chu, had a son born to him,—Ziyue Jiao. [When] Ziwen [Ziliang's elder-brother] [saw the child], he said 'You must put him to death. He has the appearance of a bear or a tiger, and the voice of a wolf. If you do not kill him, he will cause the extinction of our Ruo'ao family. There is the common saying, 'A wolf-like child will have an evil heart.' This is a wolf, and should he be brought up in your family?" Ziliang rejected this proposal,—to the great grief of Ziwen, who collected all his family, when he was about to die, and said to them, "When Jiao is entrusted with the govt., do you quickly leave the State, so as to avoid the misfortunes he will occasion." He then wept, and said, "If ghosts must be seeking for food, will not those of our Ruo'ao clan be famished?" 
  6. When Ziwen, who was the chief minister of Chu, died, the office was given to Dou Ban [Ziwen's son, designated Ziyang]. Ziyue was then minister of War, and Wei Jia minister of Works. The latter made a false charge against Ziyang and procured his death, when Ziyue was made chief minister, and Jia himself became minister of War, but was hated by Ziyue, who, with the help of all the branches of the Ruo'ao clan, imprisoned him—Boying—in Liaoyang, and put him to death. Jiao then took up his quarters in Zhengye, and threatened to attack the king, who offered to place the sons of his three predecessors (Wen, Cheng, and Mu) with him as hostages. The other, however, would not receive them, and encamped with his army on the banks of the Zhang.
  7. In autumn, in the 7th month, the viscount of Chu and the Ruo'ao fought at Gaohu. Bofen [Jiao] shot an arrow at the king, which skirted the curved pole of his chariot, reached the frame of the drum in it, and hit the metal jingle. A second arrow skirted in the same way the curvature of the pole, and then pierced the bamboo screen above the wheel. The troops became frightened and retired. The king made it be circulated through the army, that when the former ruler, king Wen, subdued Xi, he had got three [great] arrows, two of which had been stolen by Bofen, but had now been both discharged. He then made the drums be beaten again, and urged his men on, so that he [gained a complete victory, and] extinguished the clan of Ruo'ao.
  8. Before this, Ruo'ao [Ruo'ao was viscount of Chu from B.C. 789 to 763] took to his harem a daughter of the House of Yun, who bore to him Dou Bobi [See the Zhuan at the beginning of II. xiii.] but, on his father's death, this son followed his mother, and was brought up in Yun. He had an intrigue with a daughter of the viscount of Yun, the fruit of which was a son, afterwards styled Ziwen. Her mother caused the child to be thrown away in the [marsh of] Meng. There a tigress suckled him. The thing was seen by the viscount of Yun, when hunting; and when he returned home in terror, his wife told him the whole affair, on which he sent for the child and had it cared for. The people of Chu called suckling gou, and a tiger they called wutu; hence the child was named Gouwutu [See his first appearance in the Zhuan after III.xxx.2, where he is called Gouwutu instead of Gouwutu], and his mother was married to Bobi. The child subsequently became the chief minister of Chu, Ziwen. 
  9. His grandson, Kehuang, was minister of Remonstrance, and was absent on a mission to Qi [when the above rebellion took place]. He heard of it in Song, on his way back, when his people said to him, "You must not enter the State." But he replied, "If I abandon the king's commission, who will receive it? My ruler is Heaven;—can Heaven be fled from?" He accordingly returned to Chu, reported the discharge of his mission, and then delivered himself a prisoner to the minister of Crime. The king thought of Ziwen's govt. of Chu, and said, "If I leave Ziwen without any posterity, how shall I encourage men to good?" He made Kehuang return to his office, and changed his name to Sheng.
  10. the reason of this invasion was that Zheng had not yet submitted, notwithstanding that Chu had attacked it in the summer of last year.

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