The Power of Rumors Exposed

Various patterns are vividly depicted,

Woven into colorful shell-patterned silk.

Who is this malicious rumor-monger?

Their heart is truly cruel!

A foul mouth, how grand it is,

Like the southern sky’s star, the Miao.

Who is this schemer spreading falsehoods?

Who crafted such deceitful plans?

Their flowery words chirp incessantly,

Seeking to trap and deceive.

I urge you to be more accountable,

Or no one will heed your words in the future.

Deceitful speech, fabricating lies,

Spreading rumors and falsehoods.

It’s not that no one is deceived,

Someday the truth will be revealed.

The slanderer succeeds, while the slandered’s heart turns cold.

Heaven, oh heaven, you are above!

Please deal with those harmful souls,

And show mercy to those wronged!

Who is this treacherous schemer?

Catch this evil doer,

And throw them to the wild to be eaten by beasts.

If the beasts refuse, cast them into the barren North.

If the North refuses, let the heavens deal with them.

A great road leads to Yang Garden,

Yang Garden is close to the acre’s edge.

I, the eunuch Mengzi, wrote this poem.

To all you esteemed gentlemen, please listen to my words!

Rumors are effective because they are cloaked in a beautiful guise. As the British philosopher Francis Bacon said, “Poets describe rumors as a monster. They describe it with both elegant and serious terms. They talk about its feathers, how many eyes it has, how many tongues and voices it possesses, and how many ears it can raise!” In ancient times, creating false accusations was metaphorically described as “weaving false charges,” and the poem’s opening line, “萋兮斐兮, 成是贝锦” (“vivid and patterned, like shell-patterned silk”), is a vivid illustration of this concept.

The danger of rumors lies in their covert nature—they are like hidden arrows that wound without immediate detection, making it impossible to refute them in time. By the time one becomes aware, it is often too late. The poem’s second, third, and fourth stanzas vividly depict the malicious behavior of the rumor-mongers, who spread their slanders with exaggerated gestures and deceitful tongues, manipulating public opinion.

The poet expresses deep outrage, questioning, “Who is this schemer?” and warns them, “Beware of your words, or no one will believe you!” The poem’s tone reveals a profound disdain for those who use their tongues to harm others, as they commit their crimes without facing death penalties. The poet’s anger is so intense that they invoke a powerful curse, hoping for divine retribution against these evildoers. The final lines suggest the poet’s wish for the ultimate punishment, comparing the schemer’s fate to being thrown to wild beasts or cast into the desolate North if the beasts refuse to consume them.

The poem’s ending is significant as it includes the poet’s name, Mengzi, making it one of the few named works in the Book of Songs. This inclusion indicates that the poem was deeply personal and was written in response to the poet’s own experiences of injustice. It is likely that there was originally a preface detailing the poet’s grievances before the poem itself, which has since been lost.

Mengzi, likely a figure of integrity akin to the historian Sima Qian, expressed similar feelings of grief and frustration. The intense emotion and vehement denunciation found in this poem resonate strongly with anyone who has faced unfairness and slander. Its powerful depiction of the destructive impact of falsehoods and the call for justice and divine intervention strikes a chord with all who have suffered from baseless accusations.

The poem stands as a potent reminder of the harm caused by rumors and the need for accountability and righteousness in speech.

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