Shun had five ministers, and the empire was well-governed.
King Wû said, “I have ten able ministers.”
Confucius said, “Is not the saying that talents are difficult to find, true? Only when the dynasties of T’ang and Yü met, were they more abundant than in this of Châu, yet there was a woman among them. The able ministers were no more than nine men.
“King Wǎn possessed two of the three parts of the empire, and with those he served the dynasty of Yin. The virtue of the house of Châu may be said to have reached the highest point indeed.”