白公胜 / Bai Gong Sheng

白公胜 / Bai Gong Sheng enters the wiki through 《资治通鉴·秦纪》119-1｜拆解荆轲刺秦必败的秘密 as 司马光’s negative comparison for 燕太子丹 and 荆轲. The episode does not build a full biography; it uses him as the kind of person whose apparent 信 and 勇 fail because they are not governed by 仁义.

The source identifies Bai Gong Sheng as the son of 太子建, a Chu crown prince caught in a violent succession and exile chain. That family background matters because it gives Bai Gong Sheng inherited grievance and a plausible revenge frame, but the episode’s point is that grievance plus courage is still not enough to make an action righteous.

In the closing comparison, 叶公’s judgment becomes the key interpretive rule. Trustworthiness and bravery only become admirable when they are grounded in 仁义为本的信勇; otherwise, they can become destructive traits that resemble the assassin politics Sima Guang rejects in the Jing Ke branch.

《资治通鉴·秦纪》119-2｜咱们都冤枉了背负2000多年黑锅的“叶公好龙” gives the full narrative behind that comparison. 子西 recalls Bai Gong Sheng into 楚国 despite Ye Gong’s warning and grants him Bai county. Bai asks to attack 郑国 to avenge Taizi Jian, but Zi Xi first delays and then rescues Zheng when 晋国 attacks it, leaving Bai enraged.

The episode uses Bai’s speech as evidence of character. While sharpening a sword, he tells Zi Xi’s son that he is preparing to kill Zi Xi; the source treats this not as harmless bluntness but as 言语作为德行信号. Bai later turns a victory over 吴国 into an armed entry to the Chu capital, kills Zi Xi, seizes 楚惠王, and kills 管修. Ye Gong suppresses the 白公胜之乱, and Bai flees and hangs himself.

Connections

• 太子建 - father whose exile and death form the background grievance.
• 叶公 - figure whose judgment supplies the renyi condition for 信 and 勇.
• 荆轲 and 燕太子丹 - Sima Guang’s comparison targets.
• 仁义为本的信勇 and 政治刺杀伦理 - conceptual frames for the source’s moral evaluation.
• 子西, 楚惠王, 管修, and 白公胜之乱 - Qinji 119-2 rebellion branch.
• 郑国, 晋国, 吴国, and 楚国 - interstate setting for Bai’s revenge, frontier appointment, and armed entry.
• 言语作为德行信号 - concept extracted from the episode’s rejection of “刀子嘴豆腐心.”