周公 / Duke of Zhou

周公 / Duke of Zhou appears in 《资治通鉴·周纪》49丨孟子曰：我教你治国 你却把我当花瓶 as 陈甲’s example of a sage who could still make an understandable mistake. Chen Jia cites the episode where Zhou Gong sent Guan Shu to oversee the former Shang lands and Guan Shu later rebelled.

孟子 / Mencius does not use the example to deny error. Instead, he says the mistake was understandable because Zhou Gong could not know in advance that Guan Shu would rebel, then shifts the issue toward correction: ancient gentlemen corrected faults, while later self-styled gentlemen invented excuses. Zhou Gong therefore becomes part of the episode’s 犯错能改的领导力 frame.

Connections

• 陈甲 - speaker who introduces the example.
• 孟子 / Mencius and 《孟子》 - interpretive frame.
• 犯错能改的领导力 - concept supported by the example.