邹忌讽齐王纳谏
Zou Ji Persuades the King of Qi to Accept Advice
邹忌修八尺有余，而形貌昳丽。朝服衣冠，窥镜，谓其妻曰：“我孰与城北徐公美？”Zou Ji was over eight chi tall and of striking appearance. One morning, he put on his clothes and hat, looked into the mirror, and asked his wife, "Who is more handsome, I or Xu Gong of the north of the city?"
其妻曰：“君美甚，徐公何能及君也？”城北徐公，齐国之美丽者也。His wife said, "You are extremely handsome. How could Xu Gong compare with you?" Xu Gong of the north of the city was a renowned handsome man in the State of Qi.
忌不自信，而复问其妾曰：“吾孰与徐公美？”Zou Ji was not confident in this assessment, so he asked his concubine, "Who is more handsome, I or Xu Gong?"
妾曰：“徐公何能及君也？”The concubine replied, "How could Xu Gong compare with you?"
旦日，客从外来，与坐谈，问之客曰：“吾与徐公孰美？”The next day, a guest came from outside. As they sat and talked, Zou Ji asked the guest, "Who is more handsome, I or Xu Gong?"
客曰：“徐公不若君之美也。”The guest said, "Xu Gong is not as handsome as you."
明日徐公来，孰视之，自以为不如；窥镜而自视，又弗如远甚。The day after, Xu Gong came. Zou Ji looked at him carefully and felt he was not as handsome as Xu Gong. Looking into the mirror and comparing himself, he realized he was far less handsome.
暮寝而思之，曰：“吾妻之美我者，私我也；妾之美我者，畏我也；客之美我者，欲有求于我也。”That night, as he lay in bed thinking, he said, "My wife said I was handsome because she is partial to me; my concubine said so because she is afraid of me; and the guest said so because he wanted to ask something of me."
于是入朝见威王，曰：So Zou Ji went to the court to see King Wei of Qi and said:
“臣诚知不如徐公美。臣之妻私臣，臣之妾畏臣，臣之客欲有求于臣，皆以美于徐公。"I know I'm not as handsome as Xu Gong. My wife is partial to me, my concubine is afraid of me, and my guest wanted to ask something of me, so they all said I was more handsome than Xu Gong.
今齐地方千里，百二十城，宫妇左右莫不私王，朝廷之臣莫不畏王，四境之内莫不有求于王：由此观之，王之蔽甚矣。”Now, the State of Qi has a territory of a thousand li square and a hundred and twenty cities. All the palace ladies and attendants are partial to Your Majesty. All the court officials are afraid of Your Majesty. Everyone within the four borders has something to ask of Your Majesty. From this perspective, Your Majesty is deeply deceived."
王曰：“善。”The king said, "Well said."
乃下令：“群臣吏民能面刺寡人之过者，受上赏；上书谏寡人者，受中赏；能谤讥于市朝，闻寡人之耳者，受下赏。”Then he issued an order: "All officials, commoners, and subjects who can directly point out my mistakes will receive the highest reward; those who submit memorials to remonstrate with me will receive a medium reward; those who can criticize and remonstrate in public places and whose words reach my ears will receive the lowest reward."
令初下，群臣进谏，门庭若市；数月之后，时时而间进；期年之后，虽欲言，无可进者。When the order was first issued, officials came to remonstrate in crowds, and the palace gate was as busy as a marketplace. After a few months, there were still occasional remonstrations. After a year, even if people wanted to say something, there was nothing more to remonstrate about.
燕、赵、韩、魏闻之，皆朝于齐。此所谓战胜于朝廷。When the states of Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei heard of this, they all came to pay homage to the State of Qi. This is what is meant by winning a victory without going to war through good governance in the court.
