Yi Yin

Yi Yin is presented as a paradigmatic minister through a brief comparison: when Tang selected and employed him, those without virtue disappeared from public life. His significance is not developed through biography or a narrated career, but through the political effect attributed to choosing worthy officials.

The Example of Tang’s Appointment

In a discussion of employing upright people and setting aside the crooked, Confucius’s saying is recalled by Fan Chi and explained by Zixia through precedents from sage rulers. Shun selected Gao Yao from among the people, and the people devoid of virtue disappeared; Tang likewise selected Yi Yin, with the same result. Yi Yin’s appearance is thus part of an argument about government by discerning appointment: the ruler’s choice of minister is linked to the moral character of public life.

Political Meaning and Limits of the Account

The passage places Yi Yin beside Gao Yao, not as the subject of a separate story but as one half of a parallel. Each minister is selected by a ruler and associated with the removal of the unvirtuous. The text offers no details of Yi Yin’s origins, duties, policies, or subsequent life, so his role remains exemplary rather than biographical. What it does establish is the force of appointment as a governing act: employing a virtuous minister is presented as capable of changing who can remain influential in the state.