batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l12652-l12775
---
record_id: batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l12652-l12775
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
passage_locator:
label: LANGUAGE. / CHAPTER XXVIII. / ON DECLINING POWER. / CHAPTER XXIX.; lines
12652-12775
start: '12652'
end: '12775'
translation: 'Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage introduces Robber Chê, a violent outlaw and younger brother
of Liu Hsia Chi. Confucius insists on visiting him despite warnings. Robber Chê
is encamped south of T'ai-shan, eating minced human liver, and angrily threatens
Confucius. Confucius praises him and proposes that he become a ruler, disband
his band, restore kinship ties, and worship ancestors. Robber Chê rejects the
approach as flattery and bribery by words and offers.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The chapter heading identifies the section as “Robber Chê” and marks it as
spurious.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Confucius is described as a friend of Liu Hsia Chi, whose younger brother
is called Robber Chê.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Robber Chê has nine thousand followers and ravages the empire through plundering,
house-breaking, stealing livestock, and abducting wives and daughters.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The passage says Robber Chê disregards family ties, parents, brothers, and
ancestor worship.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Confucius argues that fathers and elder brothers should admonish and teach
younger kin, and offers to speak with Robber Chê for Liu Hsia Chi.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Liu Hsia Chi warns Confucius that Robber Chê is passionate, forceful, argumentative,
pleased by compliance, angered by opposition, and abusive in speech.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Confucius travels to Robber Chê with Yen Hui as charioteer and Tzŭ Kung on
his right.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Robber Chê is encamped south of T'ai-shan and is eating minced human liver
when Confucius arrives.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Confucius addresses the doorkeeper, identifies himself, praises the captain’s
character, and salutes the doorkeeper twice.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Robber Chê reacts furiously to Confucius’s arrival, denounces him as a word-monger
and threatens to put his liver in the morning stew if he does not leave.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: Confucius sends a second message asking to see Robber Chê, after which Robber
Chê orders that he be brought in.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: Robber Chê confronts Confucius angrily with his hand on his sword and threatens
him with life or death depending on whether his words suit Robber Chê’s ideas.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: 'Confucius classifies three kinds of virtue: beauty, wisdom that embraces
and explains the universe, and courage that gathers followers.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: Confucius praises Robber Chê as possessing all three classes of virtue and
describes his height, expression, lips, teeth, and voice.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:15
text: Confucius offers to obtain territory, walls, settlements, and rulership for
Robber Chê if he disbands his men, gathers his brothers, and joins in ancestor
worship.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:16
text: Robber Chê rejects Confucius’s praise and proposal as flattery and an attempt
to square him by offers and words.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Confucius
description: A man of Lu, friend of Liu Hsia Chi, who visits Robber Chê to speak
with him and proposes a transformation into legitimate rulership.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:12
- ev:14
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Liu Hsia Chi
description: A virtuous official of Lu and elder brother of Robber Chê; he warns
Confucius not to approach Robber Chê.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Robber Chê
description: Younger brother of Liu Hsia Chi, leader of nine thousand followers,
violent outlaw, and hostile interlocutor of Confucius.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:15
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Yen Hui
description: Travels with Confucius as charioteer.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Tzŭ Kung
description: Travels with Confucius on his right.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Doorkeeper
description: Receives Confucius’s messages and announces him to Robber Chê.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Robber Chê’s followers
description: A band described as nine thousand strong.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: visitor to outlaw camp
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Confucius travels to see Robber Chê and sends messages through the doorkeeper.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:2
label: moral remonstrator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Confucius says fathers and elder brothers should admonish and teach, and
he offers to speak with Robber Chê.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: political persuader
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Confucius proposes territory, rulership, disbanding followers, restoring
brothers, and ancestor worship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: role:4
label: elder brother
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Liu Hsia Chi is identified as Robber Chê’s elder brother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: cautioning adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He warns Confucius that Robber Chê is dangerous and says not to go near him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: outlaw leader
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Robber Chê leads nine thousand followers and ravages the empire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: hostile host
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He receives Confucius with anger, threats, and his hand on his sword.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
- id: role:8
label: critic of Confucian persuasion
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He denounces Confucius’s language and rejects his praise and offers as flattery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:15
- id: role:9
label: charioteer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Yen Hui is named as Confucius’s charioteer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: right-side attendant
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Tzŭ Kung travels on Confucius’s right.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:11
label: gate intermediary
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The doorkeeper carries Confucius’s messages to Robber Chê.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:12
label: armed band or retinue
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Robber Chê’s band is said to be nine thousand strong.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: T'ai-shan
literal_form: mountain location south of which Robber Chê is encamped
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: minced human liver
literal_form: dish of minced human liver eaten by Robber Chê
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: sword
literal_form: sword on which Robber Chê lays his hand while threatening Confucius
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:4
label: chariot
literal_form: vehicle in which Confucius travels with Yen Hui and Tzŭ Kung
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: ancestor worship
literal_form: worship of ancestors neglected by Robber Chê and later proposed by
Confucius
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:14
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Introduction of Robber Chê’s violence
summary: Robber Chê is introduced as Liu Hsia Chi’s younger brother and as the leader
of nine thousand followers who plunder, steal, abduct, and distress the people.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Confucius proposes admonition and is warned away
summary: Confucius says Liu Hsia Chi should correct his younger brother and offers
to speak with him, while Liu Hsia Chi warns that Robber Chê is dangerous and abusive.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Journey to the outlaw camp
summary: Confucius ignores the warning and goes with Yen Hui and Tzŭ Kung to Robber
Chê’s encampment south of T'ai-shan.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Messages through the doorkeeper
summary: Confucius identifies himself and praises Robber Chê, while Robber Chê denounces
him and threatens that his liver will be cooked if he does not leave; Confucius
sends a second request and is admitted.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:5
label: Threatened audience
summary: Robber Chê confronts Confucius in anger with his hand on his sword and
says Confucius will live or die according to whether his words please him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: scene:6
label: Confucius’s praise and political offer
summary: Confucius describes three classes of virtue, praises Robber Chê as possessing
them, and proposes that he become ruler over a walled state, disband his men,
gather his brothers, and worship ancestors.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: scene:7
label: Robber Chê rejects persuasion
summary: Robber Chê rejects Confucius’s praise and offer as face-flattery and an
attempt to bribe him with words and rewards.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: failed moral remonstrance before a violent outlaw
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Confucius frames his visit as admonition and teaching, but Robber Chê reacts
with threats and later rejects the persuasive speech.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:11
- ev:15
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a rhetorical encounter rather than a clearly marked
mythic wisdom contest; taxonomy assignment to wisdom is approximate.
- id: motif:2
label: dangerous audience with a hostile ruler-like figure
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Confucius must enter through a doorkeeper, faces threats of death, and speaks
before Robber Chê, who controls admission and violence in the camp.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: Robber Chê is an outlaw captain, not an actual king or deity.
- id: motif:3
label: conversion of outlaw power into legitimate rulership proposed but refused
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Confucius proposes walls, settlements, rulership, disbanding men, restored
kinship, and ancestor worship; Robber Chê rejects the proposal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- ev:15
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage contains a political offer of legitimacy, not an achieved
royal accession.
- id: motif:4
label: critique of persuasive language as flattery
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Robber Chê denounces Confucius as a word-monger and rejects the praise and
political offer as flattery and manipulation by words.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:15
confidence: high
cautions: This is a philosophical-rhetorical motif rather than a narrative supernatural
motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: citation
locator: lines 12652-12656
quote_or_summary: Chapter XXIX is titled “Robber Chê” and marked “[Spurious.].”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short title citation.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 12658-12664
quote_or_summary: Confucius is on friendly terms with Liu Hsia Chi, whose younger
brother is known as Robber Chê; an editorial note calls this an anachronism and
identifies Liu Hsia Chi as a virtuous official of Lu.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 12666-12674
quote_or_summary: Robber Chê leads nine thousand followers, ravages the empire,
plunders nobles, breaks into houses, steals livestock, abducts women, disregards
kinship and ancestor worship, and alarms states and people.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 12676-12686
quote_or_summary: Confucius tells Liu Hsia Chi that fathers and elder brothers should
admonish or teach younger kin, and offers to speak with Robber Chê on Liu Hsia
Chi’s behalf.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 12688-12699
quote_or_summary: Liu Hsia Chi replies that a son or younger brother may not listen
and warns that Chê’s passions are like a spring, his thoughts like a whirlwind,
and that he is strong, argumentative, easily angered, and abusive.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 12701-12703
quote_or_summary: Confucius disregards the warning and goes to see Robber Chê with
Yen Hui as charioteer and Tzŭ Kung on his right.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 12705-12707
quote_or_summary: Robber Chê is encamped south of T'ai-shan and is eating a dish
of minced human liver when Confucius arrives.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 12707-12713
quote_or_summary: Confucius alights, addresses the doorkeeper, identifies himself
as Confucius of Lu, says he has heard of the captain’s high character, and salutes
twice.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 12715-12734
quote_or_summary: Robber Chê reacts furiously, calls Confucius a crafty scoundrel
and word-monger, criticizes his talk and conduct, and threatens that if he does
not leave his liver will be in the morning stew.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 12736-12743
quote_or_summary: Confucius sends a second message saying he is a friend of Liu
Hsia Chi and wants to see the captain; Robber Chê orders him brought in, and Confucius
enters and bows.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 12745-12749
quote_or_summary: Robber Chê, angry, spreads his legs, lays his hand on his sword,
glares, roars, and tells Confucius that he will live if his words suit him and
die otherwise.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 12751-12759
quote_or_summary: 'Confucius describes three classes of virtue: unmatched beauty,
wisdom that embraces and explains all things, and courage that gathers followers.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 12761-12768
quote_or_summary: Confucius says such virtue makes one fit to rule, praises Robber
Chê as uniting all three classes, and describes his height, expression, lips,
teeth, and voice.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 12770-12778
quote_or_summary: Confucius offers to arrange a walled state and rulership for Robber
Chê, who would disband his men, gather his brothers, and join in ancestor worship.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: lines 12780-12788
quote_or_summary: Robber Chê rejects the appeal, saying offers and words affect
only the vulgar, that his height and beauty came from his parents, and that face-to-face
flattery hides backbiting; he treats the proposed state and population as an attempt
to square him by offers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is clear for figures, actions, and rhetorical sequence. Motif
labels are candidate abstractions and require human review; no comparison claims
were made because the passage itself does not support explicit cross-textual comparison.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Extraction uses only the supplied passage and metadata. Editorial notes in the passage were treated as part of the supplied text but not used for broader historical inference.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg__l12652-l12775
passage_sha256=c47d51902d99acd32b0ee5e9fb0827f0a3b5ae58f0ed21a21e7a519bc22dd6a8