| Annals of Yin: |
Now Chief of the West, on returning from his expedition, secretly cultivated virtue, and was charitable; many of the princes revolted from the tyrant and gave their allegiance to Chief of the West, who from this time gained in influence, while the tyrant rather lost his authority. The monarch's son Bigan remonstrated with his father, but he was not listened to. Shangrong praised his worth, and the people loved him, but the tyrant set him aside. Chief of the West marched against and conquered the Ji State, and the tyrant's minister Zu-yi heard of it, and blaming [the house of] Zhou hurried off in alarm to report it to the tyrant. He said: 'Heaven is bringing to an end the destiny of our dynasty of Yin; great men and the ancient tortoise do not venture to foretell good fortune. It is not that the former kings do not aid us men of this later time; but you, O king, by your dissoluteness and oppression are cutting yourself off. Heaven has therefore rejected us; we do not eat our meals in peace, we do not consider our heavenly nature, we do not follow and observe the statutes. Our people are now all longing for the destruction of the dynasty, saying, Why does not Heaven send down its awe-inspiring authority? Why is not its great decree manifested? What remedy is there against the present king?' The tyrant said: 'Is not my life secured by the decree of Heaven?' Zu-yi returned, and said, 'The tyrant cannot be remonstrated with.' Chief of the West having died, King Wu of Zhou in his march eastward arrived at the ford of Meng. The princes revolted, and 800 princes of the house of Zhou having assembled declared that the tyrant ought to be attacked. King Wu said, 'You know nothing of Heaven's decree,' and retired. |
