不可救药 — “Beyond remedy or cure”

During the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the noble slave-owners became increasingly corrupt, constantly plundering wealth, waging wars, and oppressing common people and slaves. When King Li ascended the throne, his exploitation and oppression intensified. He was greedy for wealth and profit, monopolizing mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes, forbidding people from hunting, gathering firewood, or fishing. He also sent spies to monitor their words and deeds; anyone who dared to criticize him was put to death. The people, pushed beyond endurance, rose up in resistance everywhere, and the Zhou Dynasty's rule became increasingly unstable.

Seeing the Zhou Dynasty's regime on the verge of collapse, concerned ministers were deeply distressed. Fan Bo, a loyal elder statesman, earnestly advised King Li to change his tyrannical policies, cultivate virtuous governance, and save the country. However, King Li refused to listen, and some powerful officials even ridiculed Fan Bo, calling him muddled and out of touch with the times.

Fan Bo was furious and penned a long poem to express his anxious feelings. The poem was lengthy, and one section read: "Heaven is showing its might and rage, Do not revel in such blind joy. My old heart speaks with sincerity, Yet these young men are arrogant and self-satisfied. My counsel is not the ramblings of an old fool, But you mock and make light of it. Your arrogance burns like a fierce fire, Truly, the illness is so severe it cannot be cured by medicine."

The essence of this poem was to advise King Li and his powerful officials not to treat troubles as a game, but to prevent them before they arrived. For if worries accumulated, it would be like an illness so severe it could not be cured.

As Fan Bo predicted, a revolt occurred in 842 BC. Common people and slaves took up arms, stormed the palace, and King Li fled in panic. The Western Zhou Dynasty declined from then on, entering a period of fragmentation and collapse.