| | The human eye is used to see things; when closed, it does not see, and this state of non-seeing is the same as blindness. However, what enables seeing and what causes blindness are different. A blind person has never seen, so they have never perceived things; this is because a blind eye cannot make contact with objects. To speak of perception without the possibility of contact is false. Wisdom is also like this: what enables wisdom to make contact and what prevents it from making contact may be the same in form, but what can be contacted and what cannot be contacted are different. The wise person is able to make contact with things that are distant, while the foolish person is only able to make contact with what is near. If one can only make contact with what is nearby and is told about things far away, by what means could they possibly connect? Without a means of connection, even the most skillful speaker cannot convey understanding. A Rong person saw a coarse cloth and asked about it, saying: "What is this vast expanse?" He pointed to the hemp and showed it to him. He angrily said: "Who would take such coarse soil and make this vast expanse from it?" Therefore, a fallen state is not one that lacks wise people or virtuous individuals; rather, it is because the ruler has no means of making contact with them. The problem of having no means of contact arises when one considers oneself wise; if one believes oneself to be wise, then wisdom will certainly not make contact. To consider oneself wise without making any contact is absurd. If this is the case, then the state will have no way to survive, and the ruler will have no way to remain secure. If wisdom has no means of contact yet one is aware that they are not wise, then there will be no news of a fallen state or a ruler in peril.
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| | Guan Zhong fell ill. Huan Gong went to visit him and said: "Master Zhong, you are unwell; what instruction do you have for me, your humble servant?" Guan Zhong said: "There is a proverb among the common people of Qi: 'Those who stay have no burden to carry, and those who travel have no need for burial.'" "Now I am about to make a distant journey; how can there be anything left to ask?" Huan Gong said: "I hope you, Master Zhong, will not refuse [to give me instruction]." Guan Zhong replied: "I hope Your Majesty will keep a distance from Yiyá, Shudao, Chang Zhi Wu, and Wei Gongzi Qifang." Huan Gong said: "Yiyá boiled his own son to please me; is there still any reason to doubt him?" Guan Zhong replied: "It is not that people do not love their sons, but if one can be cruel enough to his own son, what will he not do toward the ruler?" Huan Gong said: "Shudao castrated himself to be close to me; is there still any cause for suspicion of him?" Guan Zhong replied: "It is not that people do not cherish their own bodies, but if one can endure the cruelty of castration to himself, what will he not endure toward the ruler?" Huan Gong said: "Chang Zhi Wu is skilled in matters of life and death, and can remove severe illnesses; is there still any reason to suspect him?" Guan Zhong replied: "Life and death are matters of fate, and serious illness is a misfortune. A ruler who does not trust in the will of heaven or safeguard the fundamentals, but instead relies on Chang Zhi Wu—the physician—will find that this man will have no limit to what he may do." Huan Gong said: "Wei Gongzi Qifang has served me for fifteen years; when his father died, he dared not return to mourn, is there still any reason to be suspicious of him?" Guan Zhong replied: "It is not that people do not care for their fathers, but if one can suppress the grief of his own father's death, what will he not suppress toward the ruler?" Huan Gong said: "I understand." After Guan Zhong died, Huan Gong expelled them all. His food tasted unsatisfying, the palace was not properly maintained, severe illnesses arose, and court affairs became disorderly. After three years, Huan Gong said: "Master Zhong's advice was not also excessive?" Who would say that Master Zhong knew everything thoroughly?" Thus, he summoned them all back. The following year, Huan Gong fell ill, and Chang Zhi Wu emerged from within the palace and said: "Your Majesty will pass away on a certain day." Yiyá, Shudao and Chang Zhi Wu conspired to start a rebellion. They blocked the palace gates, built high walls, cut off all access for people, and forged orders in the ruler's name. A woman climbed over the wall to enter and reached where Huan Gong was. Huan Gong said: "I wish to eat." The woman said: "I have found nothing [to bring]." Huan Gong again said: "I wish to drink." The woman said: "I have found nothing [to offer]." Huan Gong asked: "Why is that?" She replied: "Chang Zhi Wu came out from within and said, 'Your Majesty will pass away on a particular day.'" Yiyá, Shudao, and Chang Zhi Wu plotted a rebellion together. They blocked the palace gates and built high walls to cut off access for people; therefore, nothing could be obtained. Wei Gongzi Qifang brought forty clans under his control to submit to the state of Wei." Huan Gong sighed deeply and wept, saying: "Alas! How far-sighted the sage is indeed?!" If the dead can know, with what face shall I meet Master Zhong?" He covered himself in his sleeves and died in the ancestral temple. Worms oozed out from the door; they covered him with a fan from the Yangmen, and he was not buried for three months. This was because Huan Gong did not ultimately heed Guan Zhong's advice. Huan Gong was not lightly dismissive or hostile toward Guan Zi; rather, there was no means for him to make contact and understand the truth. Without a means of making contact, he naturally rejected loyal advice and favored those whom he held in high esteem.
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