The Greatest Fear
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear;
so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
Proverbs 28:15
No one attacks it with a long lance,
No one plies a strong cross-bow.
Suckling its grandsons, rearing its cubs,
It trains them into savagery.
Its reared head becomes a wall
Its waving tail becomes a banner.
Even Huang from the Eastern Sea,
Dreaded to see it after dark,
A righteous tiger, met on the road,
Was quite enough to upset Niu Ai.
What good is it for that short sword
To hang on the wall, growling like thunder?
When from the foot of Tai mountain
Comes the sound of a woman weeping,
Government regulations forbid
Any official to dare to listen.
Li He, Ballad of the Savage Tiger, c. 810 AD
Confucius was passing by the side of Mount Tai
when he saw a woman weeping bitterly at a grave.
He sent someone to inquire the reason.
The woman replied, My father-in-law was killed here by a tiger.
My husband was also killed by a tiger.
And now, my son has met the same fate.
Confucius asked, Why don’t you leave this place?
She answered, There is no oppressive government here.
Confucius then turned to his disciples and said,
Remember this my children:
an oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.
The Book of Rites 禮記