Original subtitles

States of Tsi and Lu

Heavens, give us a saint who saves the people!

(Sound missing) (Confucius tells his disciples,)

("All men share a duty for the rise and fall of their nation,")

(Among the disciples, Tse Loo is courageous,)

(Tse Kung is gifted,)

(Yen Huei the most benevolent,)

Mao: Your subject, Shaotsen Mao,

Viceroy of Lu: Minister Mao, you've come at the right time,

Reporting to Your Highness, Tsi soldiers had occupied Wen Yang,

Occupied Wen Yang!

The Viceroy of Tsi has gone too far!

The Viceroy of Tsi has gone too far!

I'll report to the Emperor

and ask him to send troops,

The Emperor's troops are far away,

Besides, his command doesn't reach beyond his domain,

You must have a plan to repel the enemy,

At tomorrow's court, summon the clans

Meng Shun, Shu Shun and Chi Shun

to discuss the matter,

These clans hold the state's military power,

Since you know that

they hold the military power,

why do you come to the palace?

Viceroy of Lu: The Viceroy of Tsi has gone too far,

You must work out a plan to repel the enemy,

Chi Shun, Meng Shun and Shu Shun,

how many troops can your clans send?

So we just give up?

Clans: Let us discuss with our advisors,

Ask your advisors?

I ask you, but you ask your advisors!

Why don't I give you my throne?

We wouldn't dare!

You wouldn't dare! You wouldn't dare!

Confucius: The Emperor can't control the viceroys,

The viceroys can't control officials,

Officials can't control their advisors,

No rules to the land, The people are destitute,

Rebels and traitors run the government,

Confucius: Be genuine and sincere, Cultivate moral character,

harmony at home, order in the state, then tranquility across the land,

Loyalty, filial piety, humanity, trustworthiness, tolerance_

these are essentials on which a true man establishes his integrity,

Confucius: When a true man establishes his integrity and conduct,

going too far is as flawed as not going far enough,

He should be upright and unbiased,

These are inclined earthen pots,

All three pots are empty,

When empty, the pots tilt,

but when water is added...

Tse Loo!

Don't be too full, but don't under-fill,

When properly filled, it becomes upright,

Going too far is as flawed as not going far enough,

This is the Doctrine of the Mean,

More water...

even more...

The pot overturns,

For an individual or an entire nation...

Going too far will have the same result,

Yang: Must be the result of a saint's emergence,

Pei Yu: Yang and Mao... traitors!

Confucius' disciples must have done this!

Tse Loo: No defeated generals

or desperados allowed,

Those who are...

disloyal, perfidious or lacking filial piety not allowed,

Yang: Who is he?

Mao: He is Chung Yu, also known as Tse Loo,

No rebels and traitors allowed,

Confucius' disciples are proficient

in the six arts and in both the letters and martial arts,

If Confucius achieves his ambitions,

you and I will be irrelevant,

Confucius is only a common citizen,

If you put him in

an important position...

Shall we talk to him?

All right,

Yang: If I don't kill Confucius, I'm not a man,

Mao: Confucius' disciples are all over the land,

Neither you nor I is the one to kill him,

First, let's remove the three clans,

And gain political control of Lu,

What if we fail?

We can borrow troops from the state of Tsi,

What if Tsi rejects you?

Would we fail like that?

We can always go to Chin,

Chin is very powerful,

You won't have any influence there,

Chin is powerful while Wei is weak,

Wei can be conquered,

State of Wei

Viceroy of Wei: Ni,

has Sung Chao arrived?

Honourable wife, he's here!

Chao: Your subject, Chao of Sung,

Greetings! You must be tired from the trip,

My wife misses you a lot,

This is Kuei, our prince,

This is Ce, my grandson,

Chao: Nan...

My lady,

Nan Tse: Sir!

Nan Tse,

Chao...

Chao, you'd better return to Sung!

Till the end of time... I can't abandon you!

If we continue,

terrible things may happen,

State of Tsi

Viceroy of Tsi: Yang in distress offers his service, how should we treat him?

Li: Yang is a hero of Lu,

Most of the Meng, Shu and Chi clansmen are under his command,

He can help Tsi attack Lu,

Yan,

what do you think?

Yan: Yang is a scoundrel,

Your subject dare not agree with Minister Li,

Yang: Your subject Yang,

Thank you for seeing me, a refugee,

I offer Huan Yang, the fiefdom beyond Wen,

and wish you longevity,

Viceroy of Lu has lost integrity and the three clans dominated,

Lu citizens live in misery,

If you attack Lu

to punish the offenders and liberate the people, three battles will be enough,

At present, the strongest state across the land...

is Chin in the Northwest,

Conquering Lu, you will dominate the Southeast,

You can go, I want to think it over,

Pao: Regarding Lu, don't be hasty with troops,

Viceroy and subjects of Lu live in harmony_ the people have peace and happiness,

enjoying trusting ties with Northwest's Chin and Southeast's Chu,

If we fight for no reason,

how can we summon respect from the world?

Minister Pao, you're too old,

Yang shows no integrity_ he betrays Chi Shun,

he seeks refuge here and asks for troops to attack Lu,

Such a disloyal and immoral man, why should we take him in?

A strong Lu is a threat to us,

Attacking Lu won't be because of Yang,

My fear is that if the battle drags on, casualties will be heavy,

Then the wicked Yang will certainly scheme against us,

His acts in Lu should serve as a warning to us,

Lu removed Yang, a major menace,

so why should we buy trouble for ourselves?

Please arrest Yang immediately and return him to Lu to be tried,

What am I guilty of?

High treason!

Tse Loo: A true man, born in troubled times...

Confucius: Tse Loo!

Tse Loo

How can our true man not wear his hat!

Viceroy of Lu: Confucius, I'm appointing you Minister of Zhong Du,

Confucius, I'm appointing you Minister of Public Works,

Confucius, I'm appointing you Minister of Crime,

Viceroy of Tsi: The state of Lu has assigned Confucius to high office_

it'll be prosperous and powerful,

Tsi and Lu are historical rivals, we'd better be prepared,

Li: Your subject has a plan

to get the Viceroy of Lu to surrender and dismiss Confucius,

What is this brilliant plan of yours?

Arrange to meet the Viceroy of Lu at Chia Valley_

pretend to establish relations between states, but...

The scheme is clever, but we might outsmart ourselves...

If unsuccessful, I'm ready for severe punishment,

Li: From now on, Tsi and Lu will cease fighting each other...

and become allies, When Tsi goes to battle,

Lu will provide 300 war chariots

and 25,000 armoured soldiers

fighting battles together in support of Tsi,

Viceroy of Tsi: Tsi and Lu are like brothers,

we should help each other,

Viceroy of Lu: This...

Play the music from the four quarters of the earth!

Confucius: This is a meeting to establish friendship

but Your Highness is using East Sea barbarians to intimidate our Viceroy,

A serious breach of protocol!

Making fun of a Viceroy, he should be beheaded!

Behead him!

Lu will provide 300 war chariots

and 25,000 armoured soldiers

to help Tsi fight battles, Thus concludes the treaty of alliance,

Tsi should return to us the three regions you occupy in Wen Yang:

Gui Yin, Yun and Huan Yang,

Viceroy of Tsi: Throw him out!

Li: I have another plan,

Another plan?

The sovereign and subjects of Lu crave money and sex, lf...

Viceroy of Lu: Confucius, you've come at the right time, Join us,

Confucius: Excuse my bluntness, but Your Highness should return to the palace,

I am happy here!

Your Highness has not attended to court affairs for three days,

Our people are in privation,

Please don't disappoint the people,

Confucius, you talk about poetry, history, courtesy and music,

Tsi and Lu have renounced hostility for friendship,

The Viceroy of Tsi has befriended me, isn't this 'courtesy'?

Listening to bells and drums, and watching beautiful maidens dance,

isn't this 'music'? Indeed, I say it's 'courtesy and music'!

Tsi is not being sincere, clearly a deception,

Offering women and music as gifts is obviously debauched,

Definitely not 'courtesy and music'!

Confucius, you handle state affairs,

Please don't interfere with my feasting and entertainment,

Minister Li, call them back,

Confucius: There are many selfish,

licentious and unashamed people across the land,

Oh, Heavens...

My efforts alone are not enough to redeem them,

Pei Yu: Father didn't sleep well last night,

I don't know why,

Tse Kung: Maybe he's sick?

No, not sick...

Master!

Confucius: As chancellor,

I failed to convince the Viceroy to be diligent and love his people,

I should resign,

To redress the problems of this chaotic world...

requires righteousness in humanity,

I am not yet old and

am willing to travel everywhere, even to far-off places,

to spread the Doctrine of the Virtuous,

You had followed me for years,

It pains me to think of parting,

If you are willing to follow me everywhere,

together we will bear weal and woe_

otherwise, please leave now,

Tse Kung: Through fire and water, we'll risk death with you,

Pei Yu: I will accompany you, Father,

Confucius: No, you should stay home,

Riches and honour acquired dishonestly are to me as fleeting clouds,

States of Wei and Lu

Viceroy of Wei: Teacher, Wei is small and weak,

We're bullied by larger states, with much internal disorder,

I intend to reorganize my troops,

Do you have any military advices...

Confucius: I'd never studied military matters,

Oh...

Confucius: Lu and Wei are like brothers when it comes to politics,

The principle of establishing a state is always based on humanity,

Viceroy of Wei: Ah...

Based on humanity,

Based on humanity...

Chao Yen: Travelling throughout the land?

As long as I hold office in Chin,

Confucius won't be allowed to enter!

Yang: We need authority and military force to bring

tranquility across the land,

Nothing to do with humanity and morality!

Confucius is repudiated everywhere

and accomplishes nothing,

Confucius went to Wei first,

You think the Viceroy of Wei will retain him?

What are your thoughts, Prince Kuei?

Confucius' daughter: Heavens, bless my father on his trip,

Save him from calamity,

May all understand the principle of loyalty, filial piety, humanity,

courtesy, righteousness, honour and shame,

Don't let rebels and traitors harm my father,

State of Kuan

State of Sung

State of Wei

Viceroy of Wei: He gave big talks like

"rulers aren't ruling, officials aren't officiating" and

"cardinal guides and constant virtues are in disorder,"

Nan Tse: I've heard that Confucius is a saint,

I want to see him,

He's someone in the wilderness,

How can he come into the palace to see my wife?

I insist!

Besides, he's an old codger...

Ni! Ni!

Ni!

My wife wants to see Confucius, You...

Confucius: Tse Loo, why are you displeased?

Tse Loo: Nan Tse is licentious, Why did Master see her?

To spread righteousness, I have no choice,

Tse Kung: A diplomatic envoy from Chu has arrived

to invite Master to visit,

If Master...

Ask Tse Loo to come here,

If we can't stay here, shall we go to Chu?

State of Tseng

Confucius' daughter: Heavens, bless my father so that he returns home safely,

Yang: The saint has become wretched like a stray dog!

States of Chen and Tsai

Confucius: Tse Loo, are you okay?

Rest!

Tse Loo: Master, soldiers like tigers and wolves are everywhere,

We should be on alert,

They are not wolves and tigers, only sheep,

but they think we are tigers and wolves

and trap us in this wilderness,

Tse Kung: Master!

Tse Loo: Master!

We practise humanity but end up in this predicament,

If something happens...

In earlier eras, Bi Gan tore out his heart and died,

Bo Yi and Shu Qi starved themselves to death,

and Jie Zhi Tui gave up his life in a fire, all for humanity,

I practise humanity for the sake of humanity,

matters of life and death are unimportant!

Yen Huei, I just noticed that

you have a few grey hairs,

Tse Kung: The states of Lu and Wei rejected us,

we were attacked and chased by rebels in Kuan and Sung,

Now, we've been trapped between Chen and Tsai for seven days without food...

Tse Loo: Chen and Tsai ministers had ordered that

the person who kills the Master won't be prosecuted,

Who would've thought the Master would be rejected everywhere?

Yen Huei: Rebels and traitors are active everywhere,

That's why the world, vast as it is, doesn't accept the Master,

Disciple: Look!

Tse Loo: I can't take this anymore,

Let's break out!

Tse Kung: Failure to endure small troubles ruins big plans,

How can our small crowd defy

combined forces from Chen and Tsai?

If we don't fight our way out,

aren't we just awaiting our deaths?

Relief troops from Chu will arrive in two or three days,

The siege will end, Why don't we wait?

Tse Loo: We have come to this privation,

yet Master is in the mood for music?

Confucius: Boundless is the wilderness, the grass withering and yellowing,

Here and there we run, desolate and shivering,

Wipe out the treacherous rebels, drive out the wolves!

Wipe out the treacherous rebels, drive out the wolves!

Men: Confucius has come to this!

Confucius: I've travelled throughout the land for 14 years,

Nothing accomplished_ I might as well return,

(Sound missing) (Tells Tse Loo to stay in Wei,)

(Advises Tse Kung:

Putting oneself in the place of another is considered forbearance_)

(what you do not wish on yourself, do not do to others,)

Confucius: Heaven is destroying me! Heaven is destroying me!

Tse Sze: "The Spring and Autumn Annals"

Confucius: "The Spring and Autumn Annals"

I want to compile what happened the last 200 years:

How viceroys in various states made war against each other,

how rebels and traitors murdered sovereigns and seized their thrones,

wreaking havoc across the land and harming the people,

All these crimes will be recorded on these bamboo strips,

To set the right names and backgrounds, to establish appraisals of history,

to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil,

and set an example for future generations,

Future generations will either understand me or condemn me

depending on how these annals are regarded,

State of Chin

Yang: The Viceroy of Wei is getting old,

When he dies, you can return to the state

using the funeral as an excuse,

With my help, why worry?

Kuei: However...

Chao Yen: With our military support,

why is the Prince in doubt?

Kung Kuei: When Viceroy of Wei was still alive,

he deeply regretted not listening to the Master,

Now the State is in trouble and rioting is everywhere,

With Prince Kuei in exile and his son enthroned,

I'm afraid father and son will fight over the throne, Unrest is imminent,

I'm ineffective in my old age,

The future of Wei is in your hands,

Tse Loo: I will do my utmost to help,

Yang: The Prince has given the command:

Surround the palace!

Don't let Nan Tse escape,

don't let Viceroy's grandson escape,

don't let Kung Kuei escape!

Kuei: Minister Kung, how are you?

Yang: Minister Kung, are you in shock?

Kung Kuei: Yang, you're not dead!

I'm quite healthy,

Minister Kung, I heard Viceroy's grandson has fled,

The Prince must be enthroned immediately

to calm the people,

The Prince assassinated his mother and forced his son to abdicate,

he should be condemned,

The right thing to do is to withdraw troops

and restore Viceroy's grandson to the throne,

Kung Kuei!

Your life is in my hands,

The Prince must be enthroned immediately!

No!

Dismiss Confucius' disciples,

No!

You'd better obey,

No!

Tse Loo: Minister Kung, I am here!

Tse Loo, you've arrived...

Tse Loo, you've come at the right time,

Tell them to stop fighting,

Let Tse Loo come up,

Tse Loo...

Minister Kung,

let's get off the platform,

Brother Tse Loo, what's the hurry?

Since you're here, may as well stay,

Yang, you traitor, I...

Tse Loo, you're outnumbered,

Quick, get off the platform!

This is your day to die!

I'm pleased to!

Why fight like a cornered beast?

Put down your sword!

Hold it!

Master, I am exhausted!

When a true man dies, he's not exempt from wearing his hat! Master...

Confucius: Disciples who were with me during the Chen-Tsai ordeal

aren't here,

Your father died young,

Today there is only you,

Always remember:

Righteousness, sincerity, cultivate moral character,

establish harmony at home, institute order in the state,

bring tranquility across the land...

these are all essentials upon which a true man establishes his integrity,

The true man shouldn't be greedy for life and afraid of death,

He does not seek to survive at the expense of humanity_

he must sacrifice his life to preserve humanity,

Yen Huei didn't betray humanity for riches and honours_

he died in poverty and illness,

Tse Loo fought rebels and traitors to the bitter end,

Tse Kung, you've all come, very good,

Today, you are ministers

with heavy responsibilities throughout the land,

Remember that a true man establishes his integrity

and rules the state with humanity,

Today, anxiety and declining morality abound,

Strong states take advantage of weak states,

Rebels and traitors are on rampage

fighting and killing each other,

How can there be hope of peace?

I am 73 years old_ death is my only prospect,

Yet, after I die, all of you remain,

After you die, there'll be millions of descendants,

As long as noble spirit lingers...

Confucius: Will the Tai Mountain collapse, the roof beam fall?

Will also the noble spirit that fills heaven and earth vanish?

Tse Kung: The Tai Mountain will collapse, so will the roof beam,

yet Master's teachings

will prevail throughout the ages,

What?

Master's teachings will prevail throughout the ages!

Master Confucius, great is Master Confucius!

Before Master Confucius, there was no Master Confucius!

After Master Confucius, there won't be another Master Confucius!

Master Confucius, great is Master Confucius!

English subtitles co-translated by Sam Ho and Victor Or