Amiram Hayardeny's My China Experience

Two Peaches Kill Three Knights...

After reading the story about King Solomon ruling of the live baby, Paul Lee, a colleague and a scholar, mentioned to me that there's a Chinese idiom from which one can learn a similar lesson.  The story itself is not a corresponding one.  It describes arrogance, inability to compromise and even listen to others, being too sure and confident, and the inevitable tragic results.  The idiom is simple: "Two Peaches Kill Three Knights".  Here it is:

The kingdom of Qi had three powerful knights, Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang, and Gu Yezi, who were so arrogant and secure in their power that they were grossly disrespectful of their kingdom's Chief Minister, one Duke Yanzi.  When he complained of their behavior to the king, the king sadly replied that the knights were too powerful for him to punish. 

Taking matters into his own hands, Tanzi plucked the two best peaches from the finest tree in the king's garden and sent them to the three knights via messenger, with the news that the two peaches must go to the two most valiant knights. 

Gongsun Jie immediately spoke up, claiming to have killed a wild boar with his bare hands, as well as capturing a tiger in the same manner.  Needless to say, he grabbed a peach as soon as he was done talking. 

Tian Kaijiang routed two entire armies with just his sword and no companions, finishing his story by snatching up the other peach.

Then Gu Yezi spoke.  When he was riding along the Yellow River on horseback, a giant turtle grabbed his steed and made off with it, dismounting him at the same time.  Not willing to give up his horse, Gu Yezi sank to the river bottom, first running a hundred steps upstream and then, after having gotten his bearings, ran nine miles downstream, finally killing the turtle and rescuing his horse.  When the locals saw him emerge from the depths of the river with the trophy head of the turtle in one hand and his horse's tail in the other, they promptly mistook him for a river God. 

By now, of course, the peaches were gone, so he drew his sword and demanded one.  The other two knights were so ashamed of their greed that they handed over both their peaches to Gu Yezi, then committed suicide.  Immediately afterwards, Gu Yezi himself felt guilt, both for having brought about the deaths of his comrades and for bragging about himself.  Naturally, he committed suicide as well, and as a last gesture of his arrogance, he lamented the greed of his fellows, commenting that if they had given him one peach and split the other in two between them, then everyone would have gotten what he deserved.  Thus ends the story known in China as "Two Peaches Kill Three Knights."

The approaching New Year made me look at the Jewish calendar - something I do not do very often.  I found (what I should have known) that the Chinese Lunar year is completely parallel to the Jewish months.  Indeed, the Chinese New Year is celebrated on the first of the month of Adar, which is the sixth month on the current Jewish calendar, and the 12th month on the ancient Jewish calendar.  (In ancient times, the Jewish New Year was celebrated in the spring, on the first day of the month of Nissan.  (http://www.eifiles.cn/cjc.htm)

Posted at 10:27AM Feb 07, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[0]