[6] A minister of the Wei State in the seventh century B.C. In the revolution referred to the prince was driven from his throne, but afterwards reinstated through the "stupidity," that is to say, the unwavering loyalty and devotion of Ning. [7] These were brothers, celebrated for their protest against the overthrow of the Yin dynasty. Rather than live under the rule of the new sovereign, the great and virtuous Wu Wang, they wandered away into the mountains to perish of cold and hunger. This fidelity to the cause of Chou Hsin, one of the bloodiest and most infamous tyrants in history, seems a shade more quixotic than the conduct of those who espoused for so long the fallen fortunes of the house of Stuart. [8] This was a young man who, if legend may be trusted, died more heroically than he lived. He agreed to meet a girl under a bridge, but, woman-like, she failed to keep her appointment. Though the water was rising rapidly, her lover waited on, unwilling to quit his post, and finally clung to a pillar until he was drowned. [9] This is the man whom Confucius, according to Wade (see p. 73), ranked below Tzŭ Kung! [10] Po Niu is said to have been suffering from leprosy, and therefore he would not allow visitors to enter his room. [11] Few will see anything harmful in this anecdote as told by Confucius. Yet it is actually made to figure in the general charge of insincerity and untruthfulness brought against him by Legge. "The action was gallant," he says, "but the apology for it was weak and unnecessary. And yet Confucius saw nothing in the whole but matter for praise." In the first place, Legge entirely ignores the possibility that Mêng Chih-fan was really speaking the truth. But even if it were otherwise, Confucius' only comment is that he was "no braggart." Surely it is an overstrained morality that could be offended by this. [12] Compare Moltke's motto: "Erst wägen, dann wagen." Tzŭ Lu was noted for his reckless bravery. Evidently jealous of the praise bestowed on Yen Yüan, he makes a delightfully artless attempt to secure some recognition for himself, but only draws down a reproof. The Master's relations with this vain, impulsive, good-hearted disciple often remind one of those subsisting between Dr. Johnson and Goldsmith. [13] T‘ai Po was the direct heir to his father's throne, but knowing that the latter wished to be succeeded by his youngest son (the father of the future Wên Wang, the virtual founder of the Chou dynasty), he went into voluntary exile among the barbarous tribes of the south, but kept the motives of his conduct to himself, and thus obtained no credit for his self-sacrifice. [14] The "Great Yü," who in the reign of the Emperor Yao laboured incessantly for eight years to control the disastrous inundations of the Yellow River, himself became Emperor after the death of Yao's successor Shun, and founded the Hsia dynasty (2205-1766 B.C.).