子之 / Zi Zhi
子之 / Zi Zhi enters the wiki through 《资治通鉴·周纪》52丨 陈庄叛秦 端起碗吃饭放下碗骂娘 as the negative talent-judgment example in 燕国. The episode says 燕王哙 treated Zi Zhi as a worthy person, but that judgment helped lead to Yan’s collapse and Qi’s intervention.
《资治通鉴·周纪》47丨燕王哙的理想主义 gives the mechanism behind that judgment. Zi Zhi is linked to 苏代 by marriage, and Su Dai first gets Yan Wang Kuai to treat trust in Zi Zhi as the difference between a hegemonic ruler and an ineffective one. 鹿毛寿 then turns that trust into abdication language and finally into real appointment authority.
The source presents Zi Zhi’s public refusal of the state as tactically useful rather than proof of worthiness. Once Yan Wang Kuai hands over the seals for senior officials, people and finances follow Zi Zhi, making him the practical ruler and the beneficiary of 破坏规则式禅让.
《资治通鉴·周纪》48丨君王为啥不能传位宰相 shows the practical rule collapsing. After three years of Zi Zhi’s control, 燕国 is disordered enough that 市被 and the crown prince attack him, then the failed internal move opens the way for 齐宣王 and 张子. Qi captures Zi Zhi and kills him brutally, turning his rise from appointment power into a negative case for 礼制政治秩序.
The source uses Zi Zhi mainly as contrast. 燕昭王 later treats 乐毅 and 剧辛 as the real talent base for Yan’s recovery, showing that valuing talent is not enough if the ruler cannot judge who is actually useful.
Connections
- 燕王哙 - ruler associated with the failed judgment.
- 燕国 - state damaged by the succession and governing failure.
- 苏代, 鹿毛寿, 揣摩, and 破坏规则式禅让 - Zhouji 47 persuasion and power-transfer mechanism.
- 市被, 齐宣王, 张子, and 礼制政治秩序 - Zhouji 48 failed internal attack, Qi intervention, and rule-order collapse.
- 燕昭王, 乐毅, and 剧辛 - contrast branch in the same episode.
- Talent Attraction Through Respect / 礼贤下士式人才吸附 and Talent-Virtue Distinction / 才德之分 - adjacent talent-judgment concepts.