Case of the Zheng Fire, Zichan's Mass Search, Slaying Boyou's Ghost, and the Convict Riot

In the Zheng State, a devastating fire broke out in the capital, sparking mass hysteria. Many citizens, gripped by fear, believed the ghost of the deceased noble Boyou had returned to exact revenge on his enemies. Rumors spread that his spirit would kill specific officials on prophesied dates. To quell the panic, Prime Minister Zichan ordered a thorough citywide search. He publicly “executed” an effigy representing Boyou’s ghost and cracked down on those spreading the ghost stories. Seizing the chaos, a group of Xu Mi (convict laborers) rioted and attempted to revolt. Zichan swiftly mobilized forces, suppressed the uprising, and meted out severe punishments to the ringleaders. By addressing both the supernatural terror and the physical rebellion without resorting to ritual appeasement, order was restored.

Zichan executed the individuals who fabricated and spread the ghost panic, destroyed the ritual effigies associated with Boyou, and sentenced the leaders of the convict riot to death. The panic over the ghost immediately ceased, and the convict rebellion was crushed, restoring social order in the capital.

The central dispute was whether to placate the vengeful ghost through sacrifices and rites, as demanded by tradition and popular fear, or to enforce secular law by punishing the rumor-mongers and rebels. Zichan’s choice to ignore the supposed ghost and use state violence raised a fundamental conflict between religious superstition and rational governance, highlighting the tension between the old ritual order and emerging legal principles.

This case marked a significant shift from rule by ritual to rule by law in the Spring and Autumn period. Zichan’s refusal to bow to superstition and his reliance on penal severity reinforced state authority and foreshadowed his historic codification of law, the casting of the bronze penal tripods. It demonstrated that human reason and statutory punishment could overcome fear, influencing later Legalist thought and setting a precedent for treating supernatural panic as a public order crime.