In the late Spring and Autumn period, Zhi led a slave uprising, but the ruling class slandered him as a bandit, dubbing him "Robber Zhi."
Confucius once heard of a formidable outlaw named Robber Zhi, who commanded a force of 9,000 men. Hoping to reform him with moral persuasion, Confucius took his disciples Yan Hui and Zigong to pay Robber Zhi a visit.
When the infamous bandit Robber Zhi heard that Confucius had come to pay him a visit, he flew into a rage and told his messenger, "Isn't that Confucius the hypocrite from the state of Lu? He doesn't till the land, yet he eats well; he doesn't weave cloth, yet he dresses well. All day long he wags his tongue, stirring up trouble and confusing the rulers of various states, putting on a false show of filial piety and brotherly love to win their favor and gain wealth and rank. Tell him that in my eyes, he is a man guilty of heinous crimes—get him out of here now! Otherwise, I'll kill him!"
The messenger reported this to Confucius, who still repeatedly requested an audience. So Robber Zhi let Confucius in and said, "Confucius, say what you have to say, and be quick! If what you say pleases me, I will let you live; if it displeases me, I will have you killed!"
Confucius was not afraid, saying:
"General, your towering stature, extraordinary wisdom, and fierce bravery are enough to claim kingship in the south. Why should you be called a thief? I find this unworthy of you."
"General, if you follow my advice, I can persuade the rulers of Qi, Lu, Wu, Yue, Song, Wei, Jin, and Chu to build you a city and honor you as a feudal lord. From then on, you will no longer have to bear the infamous label of 'bandit.'"
Upon hearing this, Dao Zhi shouted in rebuke:
"Even if you don't praise me, I know I have many strengths. Your attempt to tempt and buy me with worldly riches is nothing but delusion. What is a city's size compared to the whole world? Yao and Shun once possessed the world, yet their descendants had no place to stand; as for the descendants of Shang and Zhou, most were wiped out."
Looking back through history, conflict never ceased and bloodshed never stopped. The Shang overthrew the Xia, and the Zhou overthrew the Shang—each time the strong bullied the weak. Now, the struggles between the feudal states are no different—the strong always prey on the weak. Aren't their actions just like those of thieves? Yet you use so-called benevolence and righteousness to deceive the people, seeking your own wealth and honor. In another sense, you are also a thief—an even bigger thief than me. So why is no one calling you 'Thief Qiu'?
"So, all your talk is hypocritical and deceptive. I won't kill you—get out of here!"
Confucius, having been thoroughly rebuffed, could only slink away in defeat.
Later, the idiom "bullying the weak with strength" came to describe using power to oppress the vulnerable.
Source: *Zhuangzi*, "Robber Zhi"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "以强凌弱" came to describe using power to oppress the vulnerable.