3.門庭若市
The Courtyard Is as Crowded as a Market
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Zou Ji went to the court to see King Wei of the State of Qi, and
said to him: "To my knowledge I am indeed not so handsome as Xu
Gong, but my wife says that I am, because she flatters me; so does my
concubine because she fears me; and even my guests say the same thing
because they want to ask me favors. From this I realize that since
ours is a big state possessing a thousand square miles of land and 120
cities, there is no lady around you who does not flatter you, no
courtier who does not fear you, and no one throughout the state who do
not want to ask you a favor. So, I should say Your Highness must
have been much more fooled by honeyed words than I."
"You are quite right," rejoined the King. Then he decreed that "whosoever among my subjects can point out my faults in my face will be highly rewarded; those who remonstrate with me in writing will receive a reasonable reward; and those who lampoon me and speak ill of me in the court and the market and whose remarks eventually reach my ear will be moderately rewarded." In the first few days of the proclamation, great numbers of subjects went to the court to remonstrate so that the courtyard was as crowded as a marketplace. A few months later, those who entered the court to criticize became less in number and they came only occasionally. A year later, nobody had any criticism to make though he wished he could have something to say. At this news, the states of Yan, Chao, Han and Wei all came to pay tribute to Qi. This is what is meant by conquest through peaceful means starting right in the court. Zhanguo ce (Warring States Records) |
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鄒忌入朝，見威王曰：「臣誠知不如徐公美，臣之妻私臣，臣之妾畏臣，臣之客欲有求於臣，皆以美於徐公。今齊地方千里，百二十城，宮婦左右莫不私王，朝廷之臣莫不畏王，四境之內莫不有求於王。由此觀之，王之蔽甚矣。」 王曰：「善。」乃下令：「群臣吏民能面刺寡人之過者，受上賞；上書諫寡人者，受中賞；能謗譏於市朝，聞寡人之耳者，受下賞。」 令初下，群臣進諫，門庭若市；數月之後，時時而間進；期年之後，雖欲言，無可進者。 燕、趙、韓、魏聞之，皆朝於齊。此所謂戰勝於朝廷。 《戰國策•齊策一》 |