Case of King Ling of Chu Hunting in Zhoulai and Zi Ge's Remonstrance by Reciting Qi Zhao

In 530 BCE, King Ling of Chu, an arrogant ruler, launched an extravagant hunting expedition in Zhoulai (modern Fengtai, Anhui) and flaunted his military strength, even hinting at usurping the Zhou royal authority. Summoned at night, minister Zi Ge recited the ancient poem “Qi Zhao,” which praised a ruler who restrained his ambitions and cherished the people. The implied criticism struck the king; he immediately halted the hunt and spent days in self-reflection, unable to eat or sleep. This incident is treated as a case in which the king’s misuse of state resources, forced labor, and disturbance of farming life for personal indulgence were checked solely by a minister’s moral remonstrance. Although King Ling temporarily corrected his behavior, his underlying tyranny later led to his downfall. The case highlights early Chinese principles of ministerial remonstrance as an informal check on absolute power.

No formal trial took place; the case was resolved when King Ling accepted Zi Ge's poetic remonstrance and terminated the hunt, demonstrating a temporary triumph of moral persuasion over tyrannical impulse.

Whether a monarch's abuse of power and wasteful indulgence can be effectively restrained through ministerial remonstrance, and the tension between absolute royal authority and the moral duty of officials to admonish the ruler.

The incident became a canonical example in Confucian tradition of “remonstrance through poetry,” inspiring later officials to use literary and historical allusions to correct imperial misconduct. It reinforced the ideal of courageous ministerial loyalty and contributed to the enduring cultural notion that even the highest power should yield to ethical counsel.