Who is Shu Xiang 叔向?

Shuxiang (? ~ 514 BC) was a statesman of the Jin State during the Spring and Autumn Period. His courtesy name was Shuxi and his clan surname was Yangshe.

He successively held the positions of Grand Tutor, Minister, and Chief Minister, and took charge of the state affairs of the Jin State for nearly fifty years. He was as famous as Zichan of the Zheng State and Yan Ying of the Qi State.

In 514 BC, he was exterminated along with his whole clan on the charge of "aiding the rebellion".

Politically, he tended to be conservative and advocated "upholding the old laws and referring to the precedents of the former kings" (from Zuo Zhuan, the fifth year of Duke Zhao's reign). He expressed his opposition to the people of Zheng State casting the criminal law on bronze. Philosophically, his views were close to those of Laozi. He advocated "pursuing virtue and not vying for the lead" (from Guoyu, the eighth chapter of the Discourses of Jin). This was consistent with Laozi's view of "not daring to be the first in the world". He showed that one should worry about virtue rather than wealth and asserted, "If one doesn't worry about the failure to establish virtue but is concerned about the insufficiency of property, there will be no time to offer condolences, let alone offer congratulations." (Ibid.) This was consistent with Laozi's view that "there is no greater disaster than insatiability".

He adhered to Laozi's thought of "valuing softness" and believed that softness was superior to hardness. He said, "The soft and weak are those related to life, while the hard and strong are those related to death. What is alive will be damaged but will surely recover, and what is dead will be broken and its destruction will spread more widely. That's why I know that softness is stronger than hardness." He also said, "The soft can be knotted but not broken, and be sharp but not chipped. Why call it brittle! The way of heaven is that the subtle prevails. Therefore, when two armies confront each other, the soft one can defeat the hard one; when two enemies compete for interests, the weak one can gain. …… If one harbors the softness of modesty and a sense of insufficiency, and is assisted by the four ways (the four ways refer to the way of heaven, the way of earth, the way of ghosts and gods, and the way of human beings), then where can one go without achieving one's ambition?" (Quoted from Shuo Yuan, the chapter of Jing Shen by Liu Xiang) Shuxiang lived in the same era as Laozi and was a believer in Laozi's thought of valuing softness.