| | A stone may be broken, but its firmness cannot be taken away; Cinnabar may be ground up, but its red color cannot be taken away. Firmness and redness are inherent properties of their nature. Nature, then, is what one receives from Heaven; it is not something that can be chosen or acquired deliberately. A man of noble character who values his own integrity cannot be defiled, just as a stone's firmness and cinnabar's redness cannot be taken away.
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| | In the past, when the Zhou dynasty was about to rise, there were two men living in Guzhu, called Bo Yi and Shu Qi. The two men said to each other: "We have heard that there is a regional lord in the west, who seems to be a man of virtue. Now why should we remain here?" The two men traveled westward to Zhou and arrived at Qiyang, but by then King Wen had already died. King Wu ascended the throne and observed the virtue of Zhou. Then, the king sent Shu Dan to find Jiao Ge at Ci Si Nei and made an alliance with him, saying: "Increase his wealth by three grades and appoint him to a rank in officialdom." They prepared three written documents with identical wording, used the blood of sacrificial animals for sealing them, buried one at Ci Si Nei, and each took one back with them. They also sent Bao Zhao Gong to find Weizi Kai under Gongtou and made an alliance with him, stating: "Your descendants shall be perpetual marquises, guarding the ancestral rites of Yin, assisting in the ceremonies at Sanglin, and having exclusive rights over Mengzhu." They prepared three written documents with identical words, sealed them with the blood of sacrificial animals, buried one beneath Gongtou, and each took one back. Bo Yi and Shu Qi heard about this and looked at each other, laughing and saying: "Ah! How strange it is!" This is not the way we meant. In ancient times, when Shen Nong Shi ruled over the world, he observed seasonal sacrifices with utmost reverence but did not pray for blessings. As for people, he governed them with loyalty and trustworthiness to perfection without seeking anything in return. He took joy in uprightness and made it the standard, he took joy in good governance and made it his practice. He did not achieve success at the expense of others' failure, nor did he elevate himself by looking down on others. Now the Zhou dynasty sees that Yin is corrupt and chaotic, yet hastily assumes uprightness and good governance. They plan from above while distributing wealth, build hills to block the way and preserve their power. They slaughter sacrificial animals and make oaths to establish trust, using Si Nei and Gongtou as symbols of their actions. They spread rumors in Meng to persuade the people, wage wars for profit, and thus succeed Yin — replacing violence with chaos. I have heard that in ancient times, a man of virtue who encountered an age of good governance would not avoid his responsibilities; but when encountering a time of chaos, he would not merely seek to survive. Now the world is dark and the virtue of Zhou has declined. Rather than associate with Zhou and defile our integrity, we would rather retreat to preserve the purity of our conduct." The two men journeyed northward and arrived beneath Shouyang, where they starved. Human nature is such that nothing lacks what is esteemed, and nothing lacks what is considered light or trivial. What one esteems, he wishes to preserve; what one considers light, he uses to nurture the esteemed. Bo Yi and Shu Qi — these two men — all left their status behind, sacrificing life itself to establish their principles; for them, what was light or heavy had already been clearly determined.
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