When to Stay and When to Walk Away — The Analects

Book XVIII opens with three answers to a bad king. The Viscount of Wei withdraws from court. The Viscount of Chi becomes a slave to Zhou. Pi-kan remonstrates and dies. Confucius says the Yin dynasty possessed these three men of virtue. Hui of Liu-hsia, chief criminal judge, is dismissed three times. Asked why he does not leave, he says upright service will get him dismissed anywhere; if he served crookedly, why leave his parents' country? Duke Jing of Qi will not treat Confucius like a great minister and says he is too old to use his doctrines. Confucius departs. Qi sends female musicians; Chi Hwan accepts them; for three days no court is held. Confucius departs again. The middle is a road argument about withdrawal. The madman Chieh-yu sings that virtue has degenerated and warns against vain pursuit of government; Confucius dismounts to talk, but the man runs. Two farmers at a ford tell Tsze-lu that Confucius knows the ford and that disorder spreads like a flood; better follow those who withdrew from the world than one who withdraws from person to person. Confucius sighs: you cannot live with birds and beasts as equals; if he will not associate with people, with whom shall he associate? If right principles prevailed, he would not need to change the state. An old recluse scolds Tsze-lu for soft hands and hosts him overnight; Tsze-lu argues that refusing office is not righteous when old and young duties matter. Confucius then sorts recluses: Po-i and Shu-ch'i refused all taint; Liu-hsia and Shao-lien bent but spoke reasonably; Yu-chung and I-yi hid and spoke freely; he claims no predetermined course for or against. Closing shifts from debate to exodus and governance. The grand music master Chih goes to Qi; other band masters scatter to Chu, Ts'ai, Ch'in, north of the river, the Han, and an island in the sea. Talent leaves when the center fails. The Duke of Zhou tells the Duke of Lu that a virtuous prince does not neglect relations, does not make great ministers repine at non-employment, does not dismiss old families without great cause, and does not demand every talent from one man. Book XVIII ends by naming the eight officers of Zhou: Po-ta, Po-kwo, Chung-tu, Chung-hwu, Shu-ya, Shu-hsia, Chi-sui, and Chi-kwa.