page_title: Qiqi (tilting vessel)
section_title: Kongzi jiayu
hierarchical_section_title: Qiqi (tilting vessel) / Textual versions / Kongzi jiayu
caption_attribution_description: English: Confucius and his disciples examining a qiqi, Kongzi jiayu illustrated edition, 1589, Ming dynasty
context_page_description: The qīqì was an ancient Chinese ceremonial utensil that automatically overturned and spilled its contents once it reached capacity, thus symbolizing moderation and caution. Both Confucian and Daoist Chinese classics include a famous anecdote about the first time Confucius saw a tilting vessel. In the Confucian tradition it was also named yòuzuò zhī qì, with three positions, the vessel tilts to one side when empty, stands upright when filled halfway, and overturns when filled to the brim—illustrating the philosophical value of the golden mean. In the Daoist tradition, the tilting vessel was named yòuzhī, with two positions, staying upright when empty and overturning when full—illustrating the metaphysical value of emptiness, and later associated with the Zhuangzian zhīyán rhetorical device.
context_section_description: The Kongzi Jiayu ("The School Sayings of Confucius") is a collection of ancient pre-Han traditions about Confucius, yet the received text contains some spurious passages apparently interpolated by Wang Su (195–256 CE). Although later scholars dismissed the Kongzi jiayu as a forgery, archeological discoveries in the 1970s revealed fragmentary copies of the book written on bamboo strips in Western Han tombs dating from 165 and 55 BCE.
  This version of the story uses qīqì (欹器, tr. "slanting vessel") and yòuzuò zhī qì (宥座之器, tr. "seat-companion vessel").
  Confucius inspected the ancestral temple of Duke Huan of Lu. There was a slanting vessel in it. Confucius asked the temple-warden: "What vessel is this?" He answered, saying: "This must be the seat-companion vessel". Confucius said: "I have heard that the seat-companion vessel slants when empty, stands straight when half filled and overturns when full to the brim. The enlightened rulers considered it a serious warning and therefore they constantly placed it beside their seats". Looking back he said to a disciple: "Try and pour water into it". So they poured water into it: when half filled it stood straight, when full to the brim it overturned [中則正, 滿則覆]. The Master sighed deeply and said: "Alas! Would there be anything which would not overturn when full to the brim?" Tzu-lu came forward and said: "May I ask if there is a way to keep it filled to the brim? [持滿有道]" The Master said: "Intelligence penetrating [all] wisdom is restrained by stupidity. Meritorious deeds covering the whole world are restrained by the [quality of] giving way. Courage and force shaking the age are restrained by fear. Riches [extending to] the possession of all within the four seas are restrained by modesty. This is what is called the way of "decreasing and again decreasing [損之又損之之道]." (tr. Kramers 1950: 241)
caption: Confucius and his disciples examining a qiqi, Kongzi jiayu illustrated edition, 1589, Ming dynasty
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