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XIV. Retiring From Office

114---General Remarks (II B. 8a-b).

a. At seventy a Minister hangs up his harness ¹ and retires from office because, having made it his duty in the performance of his task [always] to work under hard pressure, his virile strength is exhausted at seventy while his ears and eyes are dimmed, so that he may be classed as an invalid. For this reason he retires on account of his old age, and detaches himself from the world of officialdom, so as to retain his integrity and avoid shame.

b. To hang up his harness means [that he considers himself] to be of no use. 'To retire from office' chih-shih² means that he 'returns' chih³ his task to his Lord. The reason that the Lord does not cause him to retire but allows him to go of his own [free will] is in order to pay respect to the worthy. Therefore the Ch'ü li says: "The great officer retires from office at seventy" ⁴. The Wang chih says: "At seventy [a great officer] retires from government" ⁵.

c. When a Minister or a great officer who has reached old age, but is [still] in the full possession of his capacities, remains in office he is granted a stool and a stick; he is not considered to be able adequately to perform the rites which require muscular strength.

d. Those who [have resigned and] stay at home are given one third of their emoluments to reward their worthiness.

e. At seventy a man will not lie warm without a bed-mate ⁶. Wherever he goes he sits in a comfortable carriage and is accompanied by his wife. He calls himself lao-fu 'the Old Man' ⁷. The Ch'ü li says: "When [at seventy] a great officer offers his resignation, but is not allowed to retire, he must be given a stool and a stick" ⁸. The Wang tu chi says: "A servant who has retired from the service of his Lord is maintained by one half of his emoluments" ⁹.

f. The stool and the stick serve to support the weak. Therefore the Wang chih says: "At fifty one may carry a staff in one's home, at sixty one may do so in his village, at seventy in the capital, at eighty at [the Lord's] court" ¹⁰.

g. When a ruler has some question to ask from a Minister who has retired on account of old age, and who has [by now] reached his ninetieth year, he goes to his residence accompanied with prec- ious presents ¹¹. It means that [in this way] he pays respect to the worthy. Therefore the Li chi i says: "At eighty [a man does] not wait out the audience, and when the ruler has some question to ask he goes [to his residence]" ¹².

h. When a great officer who has retired on account of old age dies he is buried with the rites pertaining to [his position of] a great officer. How [are the regulations concerning] the [funeral] car, the horses, and the clothes? They must be exactly as [they were used by him] of old.

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Published by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003 by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia