伍員

Shortly after the birthday party, I dined with Z - a friend of mine who was recently fired.

I shall not tell you what happened to my friend. Just that the story of Wu Zixu (伍子胥) came through my mind.

It goes like this:

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Wu Zixu was the second son of Wu She (伍奢), the chief advisor of the crown prince Jian of the state of Chu (楚). During a political struggle, Wu She was accused of setting plots against the kind of Chu, and was sentenced to death. Before his execution, Wu She was forced to send a letter to his sons, Wu Shang (伍尚) and Zixu, and asked them to save him from the prison. While both realized that this was a trap, Wu Shang decided to die with his father. Zixu, promising revenge, fled to the state of Wu (吳).

In Wu (吳), Zixu became the chief advisor (like his father!) of King Helü (闔閭). Under the leadership of Zixu and Sun Tzu (孫武), Wu's army had a determining victory over Chu (楚) in the Battle of Boju (柏舉之戰). After entering the abandoned capital of Chu, Zixu exhumed the corpse of the king of Chu, and gave it three hundred lashes as vengeance.

So far so good?

After King Helü died, Zixu continued to be the advisor of Helü's successor, King Fuchai (夫差). Zixu just wanted to stick to his job. He saw the danger of King Goujian (勾踐) of Yue (越) and advised  Fuchai to conquer Yue.

But no. In short, Zixu was suicided by Fuchai.

PS. You see? Passive suicide has a long history of practice in our home country!