51 The Warlike King of Zhou

A3.32

After his return, Xibo just secretly cultivated virtue and did good deeds. Many princes rebelled against Zhou the Tyrant and joined Xibo. Xibo's power gradually grew, and Zhou the Tyrant's power was gradually losing. Zhou the Tyrant’s son Prince Bigan tried to weigh in his opinions but Zhou the Tyrant would not listen. Shangrong was a virtuous man, and the people loved him, but Zhou the Tyrant dismissed him. When Xibo marched against and conquered the State of Ji, Zhou the Tyrant's minister Zuyi heard about it and blamed Xibo's Zhou (周) State. He ran to Zhou (纣) the Tyrant and said: "Heaven is bringing an end to our Yin dynasty, the great men and the tortoise do not venture to foretell any good fortune. It's not that the previous kings did not help us, but because the king was licentious and tyrannical, and cut himself off from heaven, so heaven abandoned us and made it impossible for us to live in peace. If we don't know the will of Heaven in advance, how could we act according to the common law? Now there isn't a single one of our people who doesn't want the dynasty to perish, they all are saying, ‘Why hasn't the majesty of heaven descended? Why hasn't the will of heaven come yet?' What are you going to do now?" Zhou the Tyrant said, "Wasn't I born with the protection of heaven?" Zuyi came back and said, "Zhou the Tyrant can no longer be talked to." After Xibo died, his son Zhou Wuwang (周武王), the Warlike King of Zhou (周), went on an eastern conquest. When he came to Mengjin, 800 princes betrayed Yin and allied with the Zhou (周) army. The princes all said, "It's time to take down the tyranny of Zhou (纣)." King Wuwang said, "You don't know the will of heaven." So he went back.

西伯归，乃阴修德行善，诸侯多叛纣而往归西伯。西伯滋大，纣由是稍失权重。王子比干谏，弗听。商容贤者，百姓爱之，纣废之。及西伯伐饥国，灭之，纣之臣祖伊闻之而咎周，恐，奔告纣曰：“天既讫我殷命，假人元龟，无敢知吉，非先王不相我后人，维王淫虐用自绝，故天弃我，不有安食，不虞知天性，不迪率典。今我民罔不欲丧，曰‘天曷不降威，大命胡不至’？今王其柰何？”纣曰：“我生不有命在天乎！”祖伊反，曰：“纣不可谏矣。”西伯既卒，周武王之东伐，至盟津，诸侯叛殷会周者八百。诸侯皆曰：“纣可伐矣。”武王曰：“尔未知天命。”乃复归。