ATC	Mencius inconsistencies

2A.2 Gongsun Chou said, “On the one hand you have said, ‘Wherever the will leads the qi will follow.’ But you have also said, ‘Grasp your will and do not dissipate your qi.’ Is there not an inconsistency?”
Mencius_iENO 2A2 p.39

6B.5 Wuluzi was delighted. “I have detected an inconsistency!” he said. He posed a question to Mencius: “When you went to Ren you visited Jizi. However, when you went to Qi you did not visit Chuzi; was this because he was prime minister?”
Mencius_iENO 6B5 p.117

ATC	“The gentleman does not esteem feats that are difficult but improper »

In matters of conduct, the gentleman does not esteem feats that are difficult but improper. In matters of argument, he does not esteem improper inquiries. In matters of reputation, he does not esteem improper fame. Only what is proper does he esteem. To cast oneself into a river while clutching a heavy stone is a difficult thing to do, but Shentu Di could do it.¹ However, the gentleman does not esteem such conduct because it does not accord with ritual and yi.
Claims such as “Mountains and valley are level”, Heaven and Earth lie even”, “Qi and Qin are adjacent”, “It enters the ear and comes out the mouth”, “Women have whiskers”, “Eggs have feathers” — These are difficult arguments to propound, but Hui Shi and Deng Xi could do it. However, the gentleman does not esteem such arguments, because they do not accord with ritual and yi.

Robber Xhi was terrifying enough to make people stutter, but his reputation is widely known like the sun and moon and is ceaselessly handed down together with that of the Sages Shun and Yu.³ However, the gentleman does not esteem such reputation because it does not accord with ritual and yi. 

And so, I say: In matters of conduct, the gentleman does not esteem feats that are difficult but improper. In matters of argument, he does not esteem improper inquiries. In matters of reputation, he does not esteem improper fame. Only what is proper does he esteem. The Odes say; He does have many a good thing,/ But only with the right timing.
This expresses my meaning.

Xunxi_HUTTON, chapter 3, Nothing improper, p. 16

ATC	Confucean Sorite If names are not right then speech does not accord with things; if speech is not in accord with things, then affairs cannot be successful.

The term « Chinese sorite » or « Confucian sorite » is used by Masson-Oursel ([1912], p. 17) to designate « arguments [argumentations] expressing a sequence of means implemented by human activity in view of an end. » (1912, p. 20).
Regarding this form of argumentation in a passage from Confucius, Graham refers to « the sorite form later so common (if A then B; if B then C…)” (1989 p. 24). The qualification “Chinese” is actually unnecessary, since the phenomena referred to by the term “sorite” are of the same order in both Chinese and Western traditions.
The term « sorite » can be used  when there is no risk of confusion, and, when necessary, the  expression “Confucian sorite,” since since Confucius seems to have been the first to use this textual form.

Eno (2015, p. 11) uses the term ‘chain syllogism’ to refer to the well-known passage in the Analects in which Confucius justifies the importance of rectifying names.

13.3 Zilu said, “If the ruler of Wei were to entrust you with governance of his state, what would be your first priority.”
The Master said, “Most certainly, it would be to rectify names.”
Zilu said, “Is that so? How strange of you! How would this set things right?”
The Master said, “What a boor you are, Yóu! A junzi keeps silent about things he doesn’t understand.
“If names are not right then speech does not accord with things; if speech is not in accord with things, then affairs cannot be successful; when affairs are not successful, li and music do not flourish; when li and music do not flourish, then sanctions and punishments miss their mark; when sanctions and punishments miss their mark, the people have no place to set their hands and feet.
« Therefore, when a junzi gives things names, they may be properly spoken of, and what is said may be properly enacted. With regard to speech, the junzi permits no carelessness. »
Analects_ENO 2015, 13.3, p. 66.

Notes ENO
13.3 This states one facet of what is known as the doctrine of the “rectification of names.” There are many aspects to this idea. Passage 12.11, which stresses the need for people to perform their social roles properly, is often taken as a basic text for this doctrine. Passages 3.1 and 3.2, which concern usurpations of ritual prerogatives, are also sometimes linked to these ideas. Those passages stress the need to make one’s conduct match one’s social position. 13.3 stresses the need to align names to reflect the reality of circumstances; in this, it may resonate with 6.25.
Philosophical questions concerning the alignment of words and reality became central to fourth and third century BCE thought, and many interpreters believe that 13.3 is a product of that era or later.The Analects of Confucius 67w

Zilu was an important official in the state of Lu and a senior disciple of Confucius. Here, he openly challenges the Master by declaring that what he had just said seems ‘strange’ to him.
In general, in the Analects, he speaks to the Master with little regard for the ritual rules governing master-disciple interactions.
The process of degradation presented in this sorites unfolds in five stages which follow one another by virtue of a cause-and-effect relationship: ‘If… (then)…”. The first stage involves the indiscriminate use of names, and the final stage is strongly detrimental to the people, which corresponds to a state of social chaos.
The progression of the sorites can generally be temporal (before > after), causal (cause > effect) or logical (antecedent > consequent), or a combination of these (generation, narrative thread, etc.).

Progressive and Regressive Sorite

Masson-Oursel (1912) contrasts progressive and regressive sorites [1]

Texts considered as sorites can be classified under two headings: here the progression is forward, there it is backward.
Most progressive sorites mark the transition with the expression tse, “then.” The pattern of reasoning is: “This, then that.” This is how hypothetical judgments are expressed in Chinese, rendered in English as “if” or “when.”
Tse can be replaced by its synonyms tseu or seu.
In the first and third sorites of the Ta Hio, the expression eul heou, “then,” appears.
The connection is very strongly affirmed by the formula: “A cannot go without B” (pou k’o i pou), “A cannot not be followed by B.”
In all these examples, the first condition spreads like wildfire, so to speak, and propagates into new conditions, each one arising from the other. Thus, in Mencius IV, 1, § 27, each term is linked to the next by the expression: “the main fruit (‘chĕu’) of A is B

We know of only three examples of regressive sorites. The second sorite of « the Great learning” [1]indicates transitions with the word « previously (his). » To give a concrete example, let’s translate the passage literally.
« The ancient kings who wanted to shine brilliant virtues in the universe previously ruled their own country. Wanting to rule their country, they first brought order to their homes. Wanting to bring order to their homes, they first cultivated themselves. Wanting to cultivate themselves, they first corrected their hearts. Wanting to correct their hearts, they first made their thoughts sincere. Wanting to develop their knowledge, they first sought to make their thoughts sincere. Developing one’s knowledge means grasping the nature of things.”
The other regressive sorites apply to cases where reasoning is mixed, alternately regressive and progressive. Each step forward is an anticipation that is justified after the fact thanks to the formula: « In view of B, there is a means, a path to follow (you tao); given A, then B is also given. »

Masson-Oursel, Paul, 1912, p. 19-20.
The original text contains the references for the examples.
(1) Daxue =  Ta Hio, translated as “Great Learning”

Two Sorites of Confucius’s Great Learning

The short Confucian treatise The Great Learning begins with the regressive sorite (mentioned supra immediately followed by a progressive sorite with identical content.

[Progressive Sorite]

Only after affairs have been aligned may one’s understanding be fully extended. Only after one’s understanding is fully extended may one’s intentions be perfectly genuine. Only after one’s intentions are perfectly genuine may one’s mind be balanced. Only after one’s mind is balanced may one’s person be refined. Only after one’s person is refined may one’s household be aligned. Only after one’s state is ordered may the world be set at peace.
The Great Learning_ENO, p. 11-12

[Regressive Sorite]

In ancient times, those who wished to make bright virtue brilliant in the world first ordered their states; those who wished to order their states first aligned their households; those who wished to align theirhouseholds first refined their persons; those who wished to refine their persons first balanced their minds; those who wished to balance their minds first perfected the genuineness of their intentions; those who wished to perfect the genuineness of their intentions first extended their understanding; extending one’s understanding lies in aligning affairs.
The Great Learning_ENO 2016_{p. 11-12}

To sum up: A list of the eight successive stages to set the world at peace:

1. Aligning affairs
2. Extending understanding
3. Making intentions genuine
4. Balancing the mind
5. Refining one’s person
6. Aligning one’s household
7. Ordering the state
8. Setting the world at peace

Regressive Sorite

Progressive Sorite

These sorites describe a cursus educationis, the Confucian program of education. Progress along this path is not determined by any logical or causal inference. It is a way shown by the master to his privileged disciples, leading to the fulfillment of their human nature.

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Masson-Oursel, Paul, 1912. Esquisse d’une théorie comparée du sorite . Quoted after the Études de philosophie comparée. “Les classiques des sciences sociales”. Site web: http://classiques.uqac.ca.

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ATC	Definition of opposite words

Forke Chinese sophists, 1901, note p. 10

Yin Wên Tse distinguished three categories of words, or, properly speaking, of attributes :
(1) words describing things, such as square and round, white and black ;
(2) words approving or disapproving, e. g. good and bad, noble and mean,
(3) comparative words, e. g. wise and stupid, to love and to hate.

.

ATC	Han Fei Tzü Tortures and ignominious death for « benevolent, worthy, loyal, and upright » counsellors of « unreasonable, violent, stupid, and crooked masters »

« Though the wisest man wants to persuade the sanest man, he is not necessarily welcomed upon his first arrival. » Such was the case of I Yin’s persuading T`ang. Again the saying: « Though the wise man wants to persuade the fool, he is not necessarily listened to. » Such was the case of King Wên’s 10 persuading Chow. 11

Thus, just as King Wên attempted to persuade Chow and was put in jail, 12 Marquis Ih 13 was broiled; Marquis Chiu’s 14 corpse was dried; Pi-kan 15 had his heart cut open; and Earl Mei’s corpse was pickled. 16

Furthermore, I-wu was bound with chains. Ts`ao Ch`i 17 absconded to Ch`ên. Pai-li Tzŭ 18 begged on his way to the capital of Ch`in. Fu Yüeh 19 was sold into slavery from place to place. Sun Tzŭ 20 had his feet cut off in Wey. Wu Ch`i 21 wiped off his tears at Dike Gate, lamented over the impending cession of the Western River Districts to Ch`in, and was dismembered in Ch`u. Kung-shu Tso 22 spoke of a man fit to be a pillar of the state but was regarded as unreasonable, so that Kung-sun Yang 23 absconded to Ch`in. Kuan Lung-p`êng 24 was executed. Ch`ang Hung 25 had his intestines chopped into pieces. Yin Tzŭ 26 was thrown into a trap among brambles. The Minister of War, Tzŭ-ch`i, 27 was killed and his corpse was floated on the Yang-Tzŭ River. T`ien Ming 28was stoned 29 to death. Mi Tzŭ-chien 30 and Hsi-mên Pao 31 quarrelled with nobody but were killed. Tung An-yü 32 was killed and his corpse was exposed in the market-place. Tsai Yü 33 had to suffer the disaster caused by T`ien Ch`ang. 34 Fan Chü 35 had his ribs broken in Wey.

These tens of men 36 were all benevolent, worthy, loyal, and upright persons in the world and followers of the right way and true path of life. Unfortunately they met such unreasonable, violent, stupid, and crooked masters, and lost their lives in the long run.

ATC	Virtues of Speech Blamed a Rhetorical Vices

Han Fei Tzi, Chapter III, On the Difficulty in Speaking: A Memorial

Thy servant, Fei, is by no means diffident of speaking. As to why he has to hesitate in speaking: if his speeches are compliant and harmonious, magnificent and orderly, he is then regarded as ostentatious and insincere; if his speeches are sincere and courteous, straightforward and careful, he is then regarded as awkward and unsystematic; if his speeches are widely cited and subtly composed, frequently illustrated and continuously analogized, he is then regarded as empty and unpractical; if his speeches summarize minute points and present general ideas, being thus plain and concise, he is then regarded as simple and not discerning; if his speeches are very personally observing and well-versed in the inner nature of mankind, he is then regarded as self-assuming and self-conceited; if his speeches are erudite and profound, he is then regarded as boastful but useless; if his speeches touch the details of house-keeping and estimate each item in terms of numerals, he is then regarded as vulgar; if his speeches are too much concerned with worldly affairs and not offensive in wording, he is then regarded as a coward 2 and a flatterer; if his speeches are far from commonplace and contrary 3 to human experience, he is then regarded as fantastic; if his speeches are witty and eloquent and full of rhetorical excellences, he is then regarded as flippant; if he discards all literary forms of expression and speaks solely of the naked facts, he is then regarded as rustic; and should he quote the Books of Poetry and History from time to time and act on the teachings of the former sages, he is then regarded as a book chantor. 4 These things explain the reason why thy servant, Fei, is diffident in speaking and worried about speaking.

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ATC	Chunyu Kun (4th C. bce) I saw a man praying for a good harvest and offering one pig’s trotter and one cup of wine.

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.^[*]

(*) Sima, Qian (2001). Selections from Records of the Historian. Translated by Yang Xianyi; Gladys Yang. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, p. 486.

Quoted from Wikipedia, Chunyu Kun (10-23-2025)

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Baccini, Giulia.  2008. The Forest of Laughs (Xiaolin) – Mapping the offspring of self-aware literature in ancient China. Dottorato di ricerca in Lingue, Culture e Società, Tutori del dottorando, Prof. Tiziana Lippiello. Prof. Olga Lomová. 

ATC	Other indications (Maps, …)

 

atc	Same counsel to both parties

The Wei River is very great in size. A wealthy man from Zheng drowned in it, and someone retrieved his body. The wealthy man’s family sought to buy it, but the one who found the body was asking a great deal of money. The family reported this to Deng Xi, who said, “Do not worry about it. He certainly can sell it to no one else.” The man who found the corpse was anxious about this and reported to Deng Xi, who told him, “Do not worry about it. They certainly will be unable to buy the corpse from someone else.”
The situation of persons who vilify loyal officials resembles this case. Loyal officials are vilified if they fail to win the people, and they are vilified if they win the people. Is it not grievous that rulers lack proper standards and thus have no way of realizing this?

According to the conflict of interest rule, a lawyer cannot advise or represent two parties with opposing interests. However, this is not the issue here.
Deng Xi is counsel for both parties and gives them the same advice, which could benefit both. He misled neither of them.
Unfortunately, the advice does not amount to much. It could lead to an indefinite deadlock.

It can be seen as a kind of joke.

 

ATC	Chunyu Kun THE VERTICAL ALLIANCE or THE HORIZONTAL AXIS?

Chunyu Kun, a native of Qi, offered a persuasion that the king of Wei should join the Vertical Alliance in opposition to Qin. Because the king of Wei considered his argument subtle, he gave him ten chariots for a mission to Chu. As Chunyu Kun was taking his leave, he offered a persuasion that the king of Wei should join the Horizontal Axis with Qin, so the king of Wei canceled his mission. He failed not only in getting the ruler to join the Vertical Alliance, but also in having him join the Horizontal Axis. He would have been better off with fewer abilities and no eloquence at all.
On the Zhou tripods there is pictured the ancient artisan Chui chewing on his own fingers. By this means did the ancient kings illustrate the uselessness of excessive skill.
Id., 18/4.6