King Hui of Wei

Template:Short description Template:Infobox royalty King Hui of Wei (Template:Zh; 400–319 BC), also known as King Hui of Liang (Template:Zh),Template:Sfn personal name Wei Ying, was a monarch of the Wei state, reigning from 369 BC to 319 BC.Template:Sfn He initially ruled as marquess, but later elevated himself to kingship in 344 BC. He was a grandson of Marquess Wen, the founder of the state, and a son of his predecessor, Marquess Wu. He was succeeded by his son, King Xiang.Template:Sfn

He came to the throne after a war of succession during which Wei was nearly partitioned by the Zhao and Han states.

He is notable for four policies:Template:Sfn

1. In 361 BC, he moved the capital from Anyi to Daliang to get it out of the reach of the Qin state. Anyi was on the plateau south of the Fen River not far from where the Fen River and Wei River join the Yellow River. Daliang was to the far southeast of Wei near the border with the Song state. Thereafter, the Wei state was briefly called Liang.
2. In 362–359 BC, he made exchanges of territory with Zhao to the north and Han to the south. This gave Wei more rational borders, secured the new capital and gave Wei more control over trade routes.
3. In 361–355 BC, he held several face-to-face meetings with the rulers of the neighboring states.
4. In 344 BC, he promoted the Wei state from a march to a kingdom.

In Mencius

13th-century print of Mencius, with the first King Hui of Liang chapter visible.

During the time in which Wei was called Liang, King Hui conducted several dialogues with the renowned Confucian scholar Mencius. At first, Mencius notably speaks out against King Hui's use of the word "profit," which, according to Sima Qian, was in the presence of Zou Yan and Chunyu Kun, and after several defeats.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Mencius later contends with the State of Liang's centralisation of food and wealth, causing widespread famine whilst losing territory to Qi, Qin, and Chu. There is additionally a dialogue regarding why common people take pleasure in watching animals. In the second chapter, Mencius regarded King Hui as "the opposite of benevolent," given his penchant for profit-seeking and warmongering, even sending his own son to losing battles.<ref>Meng, K. (Legge, J. & Shi, Y.H. Transl.). 2016. 孟子 [The Works of Mencius]. 中州古籍出版社 [Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House]. Template:ISBN</ref>

It is written in Fengsu Tongyi by Ying Shao that King Hui of Liang appointed Mencius as a high official at some point.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In Zhuangzi

King Hui of Wei, and his minister, Hui Shi, appear frequently in Zhuangzi. Among these is within the parable Nourishing the Lord of Life, where he bears witness to the Butcher Ding's use of Wu Wei to effortlessly cut an ox with a 19-year old knife. Hui asks Ding of how he managed to achieve such skill, but is met with the reply that as one's skill approaches the Dao, it goes beyond mere "skill".<ref name="zhz">Zhuang, Z. (2016). 庄子 [The Chuang Tzu] (J. Legge, J. Liu, & Y. Wang, Trans.; 1st ed.). 中州古籍出版社 [Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House].</ref> Sima Qian adds context to this passage, stating that King Hui was a contemporary of Zhuang Zhou himself.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

庖丁爲文惠君解牛，手之所觸，肩之所倚，足之所履，膝之所踦，砉然嚮然，奏刀騞然，莫不中音，合於《桑林》之舞，乃中《經首》之會。文惠君曰：「譆，善哉！技蓋至此乎？」庖丁釋刀對曰：「臣之所好者，道也，進乎技矣。始臣之解牛之時，所見无非牛者。三年之後，未嘗見全牛也。方今之時，臣以神遇而不以目視，官知止而神欲行，依乎天理，批大郤，導大窾，因其固然。技經肯綮之未嘗，而況大軱乎？良庖歲更刀，割也；族庖月更刀，折也。今臣之刀十九年矣，所解數千牛矣，而刀刃若新發於硎。彼節者有間，而刀刃者无厚，以无厚入有間，恢恢乎其於遊刃必有餘地矣，是以十九年而刀刃若新發於硎。雖然，每至於族，吾見其難爲，怵然爲戒，視爲止，行爲遟，動刀甚微，謋然已解，如土委地。提刀而立，爲之四顧，爲之躊躇滿志，善刀而藏之。」文惠君曰：「善哉！吾聞庖丁之言，得養生焉。」

His cook was cutting up an ox for the ruler Wen Hui. Whenever he applied his hand, leaned forward with his shoulder, planted his foot, and employed the pressure of his knee, in the audible ripping off of the skin, and slicing operation of the knife, the sounds were all in regular cadence. Movements and sounds proceeded as in the dance of 'the Mulberry Forest' and the blended notes of the King Shou.' The ruler said, 'Ah! Admirable! That your art should have become so perfect!' (Having finished his operation), the cook laid down his knife, and replied to the remark, 'What your servant loves is the method of the Dao, something in advance of any art. When I first began to cut up an ox, I saw nothing but the (entire) carcase. After three years I ceased to see it as a whole. Now I deal with it in a spirit-like manner, and do not look at it with my eyes. The use of my senses is discarded, and my spirit acts as it wills. Observing the natural lines, (my knife) slips through the great crevices and slides through the great cavities, taking advantage of the facilities thus presented. My art avoids the membranous ligatures, and much more the great bones. A good cook changes his knife every year; (it may have been injured) in cutting - an ordinary cook changes his every month - (it may have been) broken. Now my knife has been in use for nineteen years; it has cut up several thousand oxen, and yet its edge is as sharp as if it had newly come from the whetstone. There are the interstices of the joints, and the edge of the knife has no (appreciable) thickness; when that which is so thin enters where the interstice is, how easily it moves along! The blade has more than room enough. Nevertheless, whenever I come to a complicated joint, and see that there will be some difficulty, I proceed anxiously and with caution, not allowing my eyes to wander from the place, and moving my hand slowly. Then by a very slight movement of the knife, the part is quickly separated, and drops like (a clod of) earth to the ground. Then standing up with the knife in my hand, I look all round, and in a leisurely manner, with an air of satisfaction, wipe it clean, and put it in its sheath.' The ruler Wen Hui said, 'Excellent! I have heard the words of my cook, and learned from them the nourishment of (our) life.' -- James Legge translation, 1891.<ref name="zhz" />

Bibliography

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