© 2004 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
Digization was based on a photocopy (of the copy of the book held by University of Virginia Library).
UNESCO collection of representative works: Chinese series.
Han Fei Tzŭ's name also in Chinese on title page.
"The biography of Han Fei Tzŭ, by Ssŭ-ma Ch'ien": v. 1, p. [xxvii]-xxix.
The present work is the
first translation of the complete writings of Han Fei Tzŭinto a Western
language. It is based on the best Chinese text and commentaries, Wang
Hsien-shen's The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzŭwith
Collected Commentaries
Textual Criticisms of Han Fei Tzŭ's
Works
Wang Hsien-shen completed his monumental work in
1895. Its block-printed copies did not come off the press in Changsha, the
great scholar's native city, till over one year later. Though the text is not
punctuated like all the texts of other Chinese classics, I have found no
misprint. Nowadays it is apparently out of print, while rare copies may be
still procurable in big libraries and old book stores. The reprint of Wang's
work by the Commercial Press, Shanghai, with movable types, contains not more
than a dozen of misprints in the whole book. Yet it is regrettable that the
marks of punctuation, which they added with a view to increasing the
Wuhan University Quarterly Journal of Liberal
Arts,
As it is necessary in the translation to acquaint the
reader with the author's life and times as well as the history of the text in
the original, I have prefixed to the author's Works The
Biography of Han Fei Tzŭ, by Ssŭ-ma Ch`ien, Wang
Hsien-ch`ien's Preface to "The Complete Works of Han Fei
Tzŭwith Collected Commentaries", and Wang Hsien-shen's own
Foreword to "The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzŭ with
Collected Commentaries", which altogether can make a general introduction,
brief but clear. My methodological introduction is meant to clarify the main
problems, principles, and methods of translation.
On the completion of this work, I should acknowledge my thanks to Dr. M. S. Bates and Mr. Li Siao-yen for the criticisms and suggestions they have given me on all available occasions, and to the Libraries of the University of Nanking, the Institute of Chinese Cultural Studies, and the University of Hong Kong for the facilities they have afforded me, as well as to Dr. Neville Whymant, formerly of the London School of Oriental Studies, for helpful comments, and Mr. Arthur Probsthain for his congenial interest in promoting the present work and enabling its publication to materialize. I am also indebted to my wife who has carefully gone over the whole translation and inspired my perseverance in many painstaking efforts which the author since centuries ago has imposed upon anybody attempting to translate his writings into any alien tongue.
W. K. Liao. Hong Kong,
April, 1939.
I
The need and value of
translation, indeed, appears whenever there is an inter-cultural contact. So
did it appear when Buddhism, along with Hindu culture, was coming to China, and
such was the case during the Græco-Roman days. Cicero was puzzled by the
problems of translation, and many a scholar has ever since attempted to solve
the same problems. Confronted by the same, if not greater, difficulties, the
present translator hopes that a few remarks here on matters of translation may
not be out of place.
As the Chinese language is far more concise and less
precise than English, writers of both languages, though able to write lucidly
in either tongue, are somehow or other at a loss when asked, How should each be
rendered into the other? In this connection it is well remarked by Dr.
Duyvendak in the Preface to his own translation of The Book
of Lord Shang, that "a translation is a The Book of Lord Shang translated? To such natural
questions Duyvendak did not expound his answers, but only added that "a
translation into a Western language acquires therefore more clearness and
preciseness of expression than the original possesses, as Chinese characters
have a far
The first great achievement in the study of the
problems, principles, and methods of translation was in 1790 when A. F. Tytler
read before the Royal Society his papers on Translation, which were soon
afterwards published. Thus in his Principles of
Translation he prescribed three golden rules:—
I. A translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work.
II. The style and manner of writing in a translation should be of the same character as that of the original.
III. A translation should have the ease of the original composition.
The serviceability of these as guiding principles to subsequent scholars and the difficulties for every translator to reach such levels are beyond any doubt. Nevertheless, in correspondence to them, there were preached and practised by Yen Fu (1866-1921) three famous principles, Faithfulness, Elegance, and Proficiency, throughout his translations of English books into Chinese. So far in the art of translating English into Chinese, he has excelled everybody and has been surpassed by none.
On account of both technical requirements and
Again, I have endeavoured to assimilate the style and manner of writing in the translation to that of the original. Take for example parallelism, which is a peculiar characteristic of the style and manner of Chinese writing. For illustration, Han Fei Tzŭsaid, "the literati by means of letters disturb laws; the cavaliers by means of weapons transgress prohibitions." To preserve the native colour in cases like this, I have kept repetitions in wording and balances in expression close to the original, provided they do not appear tiresome; otherwise, I have shortened them. On the contrary, the Chinese language very often admits of such brevity of expression as can not be successfully imitated in the English; wherefore to achieve perfect transfusion of the sense in such cases, I have found it necessary to sacrifice the imitation of style. On significant occasions, however, even matters of rhyme and rhythm have been taken into consideration.
As regards idioms, there are a number in the original
to which I have found no corresponding idiom in English. In case a literal
translation appears to be confusing, the sense is expressed in plain and easy
English. Likewise, whenever the English way of expression is more concise in
wording
In short, I have taken for the guiding principle of the present translation the retention of Chinese native colour within the limits of intelligibility to an average English reader.
II
So much above for the art of translating—translating
words, phrases, and clauses. To me, however, translation can be science, as
well as art. And it ought to be science when we come to the translation of
sentences. This leads us to the logical methodology of translation. With such a
new methodological problem in the foreground, I have, therefore, since the
beginning of this work, thought of disclosing possibilities, if any, of
applying logical principles to the translation of one language into another, as
for
It is a truism that however different and numerous languages may be, the thought behind any language can be expressed in all of them equally well, provided that the thinker can skilfully command all the different systems of vocal gestures. It is practically the same as to say that one melody applies equally well to all different languages. What judgments are to thinking, so are melodies to feeling. Though single words of different languages may have different units of thought which they represent, yet every judgment laid down by reasoning always has its quantity and quality, regardless of the language it chooses for expression; just as the same melody, whether sung in Chinese or English, has its unique time and notes. Translation, therefore, is a restatement of thought in a different tongue with sentences rather than words as its basic units.
As judgments expressed in language make propositions,
it is possible to make a logical analysis of every sentence of any language and
then restate it in the appropriate form of a proposition and finally put it in
the symbolic form of a judgment. When the judgment is thus determined, the
original proposition in Chinese can be accordingly rendered into English. And,
if the English rendering expresses the same unit of thought quantitatively and
qualitatively, the translation, however grammatically and idiomatically
different
However, just as judgments differ from suspicions, so do propositions differ from questions. Yet certain types of questions customarily used are rhetorical and are more frequently found in Chinese than in English—such questions as, for instance, "Is it possible to rescue a misgoverned state from going to ruin?" or "How could it be justified to confer honours on loafers and demand services from warriors?" Inasmuch as such questions are suspicions in word but judgments in thought, in many cases my rendering chooses the form of propositions instead of questions.
As regards the three accepted types of propositions,
they are as a rule interchangeable, since the categorical proposition is the
origin of the hypothetical and alternative propositions. In the case of a
categorical proposition, if the writing in the English rendering of the
original sentence appears to be awkward or not intelligible to English readers,
it ought to be advisable to apply the doctrines of opposition and eduction and
see if the writing of the immediate inference from the original proposition is
elegant in style and proficient in composition. For instance, there are in
Chinese found such expressions as, "Man never fails to have father and mother,"
which implies "Everybody has parents". Now, compared with the former, which is
the transfusion of the meaning of the original, the latter, which is the
transfusion of an immediate inference of the original, certainly sounds elegant
and proficient, without losing any portion of the original thought. Likewise,
it is possible to express the substance of the original, which is a categorical
proposition
Furthermore, in classical Chinese writing, judgments
are very often expressed in hypothetical propositions, which the
English-speaking people customarily prefer to express either in alternative or
in categorical propositions. For instance, the saying, "Whoever advocates
strict legalism, if not executed by public authorities, is infallibly
assassinated by private swordsmen," is hypothetical, and can be restated in an
alternative proposition, "Every advocate of strict legalism is either executed
by public authorities or assassinated by private swordsmen." Of these two modes
of expression, the latter seemingly sounds more idiomatically English than the
former, while the sense remains the same. Another kind of hypothetical
proposition, such as, for example, "When peace reigns, the state feeds loafers;
once an emergency comes, she uses warriors," is the Chinese way of expression;
but the equivalent categorical proposition, "In time of peace loafers are
supported; in case of emergency warriors are employed," sounds far more
The last, but by no means the least, important point
Such being the case, it is evident that translation
is as closely allied with psychology and logic as with grammar and rhetoric and
its objective is basically concerned with thought rather than with word. In as
much as most readers of Han Fei Tzŭ's writings have been primarily
interested in his thought since his days, the present translation with the aid
of logic and psychology devotes more attention to the author's philosophical,
than to his etymological,
III
Turning to the contents of the translation, I have
found it necessary to divide each essay into paragraphs and, in a number of
works, add descriptive sub-titles with a view to facilitating the reading of
the text. Matters of historical and textual criticisms, which in many cases
have been briefly taken up in the notes, are mostly derived from the works done
by eminent commentators; while the annotations and elucidations are based on my
judgment of their usefulness to the collation of the translation with the
original. Matters of authenticity have been remarked in the notes frequently,
In the transliteration of the Chinese names I have
largely followed Giles's system with slight variations that I have found
necessary in the interests of distinction and convenience. Thus, I have
purposely differentiated "Chow"
In regard to the author's citations from other books, I have either translated them directly from the respective Chinese texts or availed myself of the translations accomplished by such Western Sinologues as James Legge, H. A. Giles, etc., to whom I have acknowledged my indebtedness in the notes, despite my occasional differences from them. My translation thus done has accepted every writing by Han Fei Tzŭ, whether genuine or spurious, as it has been preserved through all catastrophes since antiquity.
IV
The present translation is throughout my own, in both
method and substance, although I have used for reference certain partial
translations and sketchy quotations in English
The first ambitious attempt at translating Han Fei
Tzŭ into a Western language appeared in Russian (1912) by Ivanov. The
work was a partial translation. To my regret, I am unable to read it and
appreciate the translator's mastery of the Chinese original. Nevertheless, Paul
Pelliot's review of the work in the Journal Asiatique
(Septembre-Octobre, 1913) has afforded me a vivid glimpse of the whole
accomplishment. According to Pelliot, "Confusion de noms, prononciations
inacceptables, références insuffisantes, dates donnée d'après les commentateurs
chinois sans équivalents européens, ce sont là autant de défauts auxquels un
peu d'effort eût aisément remédié" (pp. 422-3). "Je ne puis me défendre,"
continues Pelliot further, "quoique à regret, de dire que la sinologie attend
de M. Ivanov autre chose. Son livre serait très honorable pour un amateur qui,
loin de toute bibliothèque, voudrait donner à des compatriotes un aperçu d'un
système chinois. Mais M. Ivanov est un technicien. . . ." (p. 423). In short,
the translation presents "un première ébauche" of Han Fei Tzŭ's thought
but can hardly acquaint the reader with its substance.
In The Development of the Logical
Method in Ancient China which appeared in 1917, Hu Shih rendered into
English all his citations from the works of Han Fei Tzŭ. On the whole,
his translations were proficient in composition as well as faithful to the
author's ideas; but, in most cases, he employed modern idiomatic English at the
expense of the original style.
Alfred Forke's translation of the passages he quoted
from Geschichte der Alten Chinesischen Philosophie (1927) is
an excellent reinterpretation of the author's ideas in the German language. On
certain points, however, I have had to disagree with his rendering. It is very
evident that if he never misread the Chinese original, he must have used the
text of an edition quite different from the one I have used.
In the same year, 1927, appeared Henri Maspero's
La Chine antique which contains a concise summary of Han
Fei Tzŭ's teachings. Therein are found very accurate translations of a
few passages, which I have read with great appreciation.
K. C. Wu's Ancient Chinese
Political Theories (1928) also contains one chapter on Han Fei Tzŭ,
in which a number of passages were rendered into English. His translations on
the whole appear more suggestive than accurate.
Dr. J. J. L. Duyvendak, in the introduction to his
English translation of The Book of Lord Shang (1928),
also translated some fragmentary passages from Han Fei Tzŭ. Though he
attempted in this scholarly work to be as accurate as possible, yet by his
style of writing an average reader can hardly know whether he intended to
preserve the original character of the text or to assimilate the manner of
idiomatic English.
In 1930, came out L. T. Chen's English translation of
Liang Ch`i-ch`ao's History of Chinese Political Thought
during the Early Tsin Period. Herein his translation of passages from Han
Fei Tzŭjust as that of Liang's whole book abounds with omissions,
inaccuracies, and
Last year appeared Derk Bodde's English rendering of
Fung Yu-lan's History of Chinese Philosophy: The Period of
the Philosophers, whose manuscript the author is alleged to have read and
approved. It is a well-earned shih
shu
Brief History of Early
Chinese Philosophy (1914) by Dr. T. Suzuki presents English readers a
sketch of ancient Chinese thought, Bodde's English rendering of Fung's work
certainly expands an elaborate panorama before them. In this connection I am
projecting a ray of hope that some day when a History of
Chinese Philosophy by some other Chinese scholar appears comparable to
Windelband's Geschichte der Philosophie, there will be
some other sinologue in the English-speaking countries attempting to make his
translation of the work from the Chinese as exquisite as Tufts' translation of
Windelband's work from the German.
V
The present translation of Han Fei Tzŭ's works has been worked out principally in view of the author's philosophy in general and political and legal thought in particular. Though etymological problems are not ignored at all, yet I have always seen to it that attention to words does not lead to distraction from thought. It is the author's thought that I have intended to restate intelligibly in English, but it is the Chinese native colour that I have expected to preserve as faithfully as possible. Between the horns of this dilemma I have groped towards the realization of this work.
Han Fei was one of the princes of
the Han State. He was fond of studies in penology, epistemology, law, and
Solitary Indignation, Five Vermin, Inner and Outer
Congeries of Sayings, Collected Persuasions, Difficulties in the Way of
Persuasion, which altogether covered upwards of one hundred thousand
words. Though Han Fei knew very well the difficulties of persuasion, wherefore
his work on the difficulties in the way of persuasion was very
Vide infra,
chap. xii. Here I have purposely omitted Ssŭ-ma Ch`ien's citation of Han
Fei Tzŭ's "Difficulties in the Way of Persuasion".
Someone had introduced his Works in Ch`in. Reading
the Works, Solitary Indignation and Five Vermin, the King of Ch`in exclaimed: "Lo! Only if I,
the King, can meet the author and become friendly with him, I would not regret
my death thereafter." "These are Works of Han Fei," remarked Li Ssŭ.
Therefore, Ch`in launched an attack upon Han. At
first, the King of Han did not take Fei into service. When the emergency came,
he sent Fei as a good-will envoy to Ch`in. The King of Ch`in liked him. Yet
before he had confidence in him and took him into service, Li Ssŭ and Yao
Ku did an ill office to him. Before the Throne, they slandered him, saying:
"Han Fei is one of the princes of the Han State. As Your Majesty is now
thinking of conquering the feudal lords, Fei will in the long run work for Han
and not for b.c.). . . .
Han Fei lived at the time
when the weakened State of Han was facing an imminent danger. On account of his
remoteness in kinship to the ruling house, he could not advance his career and
join governmental service. Witnessing the vices of the itinerants and
diplomatists, who beguiled the lords of men and thereby sought for their own
advantages, and the evils of the wicked and villainous people, who committed
violence and outrage at their own pleasure and could not be suppressed, he
bitterly criticized administrators of state affairs for their inability to
exercise the powers vested in them, enforce penal laws definitely, forbid
wicked deeds decisively, purge the government and the country from corruptions,
and scheme for peace and order. He took the fate of the country as his own and
pointed out the obstacles in its way. As there was left no chance for him to
reform the surroundings, he wrote laboriously and thereby clarified his
proposed remedies. Therefore, in thought he was vehement and in word
informative, thus differentiating himself sharply from the rest of the thinkers
and writers of the Era of the Warring States (403-222 B.C.).
After reading his literary remains in the present age
and inferring therefrom the political trends of his times,
Han Fei's ideas and principles, no doubt, involve biases and bigotries. Yet his teaching that law should be made clear and penalty should be made strict to save all lives out of chaos, purge All-under-Heaven from calamities, prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, the many from transgressing the few, and enable the aged and infirm to live a happy ending and the young and the orphan to grow up to their best, is an emphasis on the utility of the legal code and on the propriety of severity and leniency, which in motive and purpose does not differ from Mencius's advice how to utilize ease and leisure and clarify the rules of political and penal administration.
After his theory had failed to take effect in Han,
the legalism enforced by Ch`in happened to be identical with
His writings altogether cover twenty books. Hitherto
few of the commentaries have succeeded in elucidating the whole text. It is not
until my younger cousin, Hsien-shen, has collected all the commentaries,
corrected the errors, supplied the hiatuses, and discussed the meanings and
The Tao of the
Sovereign and its following Works were most probably written during the
lifetime of the author. The First Interview with the King of
Ch`in and others at the opening of the text were subsequently added. In
these memorials Fei attempted to persuade the Ruler of Ch`in not to ruin Han
and thereby schemed for the preservation of the ancestral shrines of his
people. His plan was extremely unique, wherefore every gentleman sees the more
reason to sympathize with his patriotic cause.
Old Man of the Sunflower Garden,
Wang Hsien-ch`ien. Twelfth Month, Winter, 22nd Year of Kuang-hsü
(January, 1897).
The Works of Han Fei
Tzŭin the remote past had Yin Chi-chang's Commentary
Records of Arts and Letters in the History of T`ang.
Commentary has been lost long before. During the Yüan
Dynasty (a.d. 1279-1367) Ho Huan said that Li Tsan's
Commentary
a.d. 1165-1173)
a.d.
960-1279) bears no name of the editor. Nobody has as yet disclosed the
anonymity. All the T`ai-p`ing Imperial
Library,
Literary Works on Facts and Varieties,
Classical Selections for Beginners,
As regards these early commentaries, they do not
completely cover the whole works of the author, and,
The
Complete Works of Han Fei Tzŭwith Collected Commentaries, in which
the author's text is largely based on the Ch`ien-tao edition whose errors are
corrected and hiatuses are supplied in accordance with the contents of other
editions.
Wang Hsien-shen. Changsha,
First Winter Month, 21st Year of Kuang-hsü (November, 1895).
Thy servant has heard: "Who knows not but speaks, is not wise. Who knows but speaks not, is not loyal. Any minister, if not loyal, must be condemned to death. If what he speaks be not true, he must be condemned to death, too." However, thy servant begs to speak all he has heard and entreats Your Majesty to convict him of whatever crime.
Thy servant has heard, All-under-Heaven
b.c.
At present, the treasuries and armouries of the
allies are not full; their granaries
Now Ch`in issues verbal commands and written orders
and carries out rewards and punishments accordingly, both men of merit and of
no merit are clearly distinguished
In these days, Ch`in has a territory, which, if the
wider places are cut off to fill up the narrower places, extends over several
thousand square li, plus a famous army counting by
However, of late, so dull are her weapons and
armour growing, so ill are her gentry and commoners becoming, so scanty are her
savings and hoardings become, so fallow are her fields and arable lands
resting, so empty are her granaries and storehouses, that her neighbouring
feudal lords do not obey her and the title of Hegemonic Ruler
b.c.) it
was used as the style of a ruler first successful in foreign conquests and
later capable of respecting the authorities of the Son of Heaven and protecting
the rights of weaker and smaller states. The English renderings by Giles and
Dubs, therefore, seem to suit the connotation of the term of this period better
than Mei's. During the Era of the Warring States (b.c.), however, any
feudal lord who could emerge to be the strongest among all paid no respect to
the central authorities and gave no protection to any weaker and smaller State.
What he aimed at was the complete
Thy servant dares to speak:—
In times gone by, Ch`i in the south routed Ching,
in the east routed Sung, in the west subdued Ch`in, in the north routed Yen,
and in the centre put Han and Wey to use. Thus, with vast territory and strong
soldiers she won in warfare and took in attack, thus becoming able to enforce
her edicts and decrees throughout All-under-Heaven. Of Ch`i, the limpid Chi
Stream and the muddy Yellow River sufficed to make boundaries; the long walls
and the large dikes
b.c., the 31st year of King Nan of Chou, when
General Yo Yi of Yen crushed the entire forces of Ch`i
Besides, thy servant
b.c., the 37th year of King Nan of Chou, when
General Pai Ch`i of Ch`in crushed the entire forces of Ch`u.b.c., the
beginning year of the Era of the Warring States, were sometime called "Three
Chins".
Another time,
b.c., the 42nd year of King Nan, the 34th year of King
Chao of Ch`in.b.c.) of Ch`in.
In the days of old, Marquis Hsiang,
b.c. by King Chao of Ch`in.
The Chao Clan, indeed, holds the central state
inhabited by heterogeneous populations. Their people are frivolous
b.c.Schemes of
the Warring States has #### in place of ####.b.c.
Indeed, Chao doomed to ruin did not go to ruin;
Ch`in deserving Hegemony did not attain Hegemony. This was the first reason why
All-under-Heaven came to penetrate the ability of Ch`in's state counsellors.
Again, when Ch`in marched out all her officers and soldiers to launch a fresh
attack upon Han-tan, her men failed to take that city, threw away their armour
and
b.c.
Besides, thy servant has heard the saying: "Be
alarmed and trembling and act more carefully day after day. If thou act
carefully in due manner, thou mayest hold Historical
Records has #### in place of ####.b.c. A rather detailed narration of the whole event is
found in Chap. X.
In these days, Ch`in has a territory, which, if the
wider
Han Fei
Tzŭ's Memorial to the King of Ch`in
"Han has served Ch`in for upwards of thirty years.
To Ch`in she has formed a shielding barrier in case of war and made a restful
carpet in time of peace. Thus, whenever Ch`in sends out crack troops to conquer
new territory and Han
"Further, since Han pays tribute and renders
services to Ch`in, she does not differ from a district or county of Ch`in. Of
late, however, thy servant has in secret heard of the scheme of Your Majesty's
ministers to raise an army to invade Han. Verily it is the Chaos that have been
recruiting officers and soldiers and supporting the advocates of the
Perpendicular Union with a view to uniting the troops of All-under-Heaven. And,
with the clear understanding that unless Ch`in be weakened, the feudal lords
would eventually see their ancestral shrines ruined, they plan to turn west and
accomplish their task. This is not such a scheme as could be devised in the
brief space of one day. Now supposing
"Verily Han is a small country. To stand the
pressure by All-under-Heaven from the four directions, the sovereign has to
bear disgrace and the ministers have to undergo hardships, high and low having
thus for years shared griefs with each other in mending garrisons, in making
provision against strong foes, in keeping hoardings and savings, and in
building walls and moats, in order to solidify their defence works. Therefore,
though Ch`in starts invading Han now, she may be unable to take her in a year.
Should Ch`in
"Indeed, if Ch`in on going forward to raid Chao
cannot take and on turning backward to attack Han cannot win, her troops,
however invulnerable, will become tired of field operations abroad and her
transport corps will fall short of supplies
"Now, it is the stupid suggestion of thy humble
servant to send an envoy to Ching and, by bribing the ministers in charge of
her state affairs with precious presents, convince them of the reasons why Chao
has been conspiring against Ch`in, and at the same time send a hostage to Wey
to make her feel at ease, and then
"Hence the saying: `Weapons are dangerous
implements, and should not be employed at random.' For illustration, Ch`in in
vying with Chao has to challenge Ch`i and
"The turning-point
Li Ssŭ's Memorial to the
King of Ch`in
:—
"Under His Majesty's edict the memorial submitted
by the envoy from Han, in which he maintained that Han should not be taken, was
handed down to thy servant, Ssŭ. Thy servant, Ssŭ,
"What stomach and heart diseases are to man, that
is Han to Ch`in. The man having stomach and heart diseases ordinarily only
feels like standing in the mud which is sticky and cannot be brushed off; but
as soon as he starts running b.c. under the command of Lord Hsin-ling of Wey the
allied forces of Chao, Ch`u, Han, Wey, and Yen defeated the Ch`in invaders and
drove them as far back as the Pass of the Armour Gorge.
"Fei came here most probably with the intention to
elevate
"Now thy servant has devised a stupid scheme as
follows: Suppose Ch`in sends out troops without announcing the object of the
expedition. Then the ministers in charge of Han's state affairs will consider
serving Ch`in a good policy. Then thy servant will ask for Your Majesty's
permission to interview the King of Han and make him come to visit Your
Majesty. When he comes, Your Majesty retains him and never sends him away, but,
instead, summons a few important ministers
Ch`in accordingly sent Ssŭ to the court of Han. Li Ssŭ went to interview the King of Han, but could not have an audience of him. Therefore he sent in a memorial saying:—
"Of old, when Ch`in and Han combined their forces
and united their purposes to refrain from invading each other,
b.c.li. Thanks to the traditional policy she has pursued
from generation to generation to serve Ch`in,
"Another time, however, when the five feudal lords
launched a joint-attack upon Ch`in, Han in her turn joined them and stood at
the front of the allied line to meet the forces of Ch`in beneath the Pass of
the Armour Gorge.
b.c.b.c. General Pai Ch`i captured the capital of
Ching.
"Thus, ever since Han turned against Ch`in, the country has been oppressed, her territory invaded, and her army weakened, till the present day. The reason therefor is: Her rulers have been listening to the flippant theories of wicked ministers but have never considered actual conditions. Even if the wicked ministers be put to death, it would be impossible for Han to recover her former strength.
"At present, Chao is massing officers and soldiers
"Formerly, when Wey was about to despatch troops to
attack Han, Ch`in ordered guards to escort her good-will envoys to Han.
"Now supposing Your Majesty executed thy servant in
Han, it would not do Your Majesty any good. Moreover, since Your Majesty turns
no ear to thy servant's counsels, there will be fostered the seed of
catastrophes. For once Ch`in marches her troops out without stopping, Han will
then feel concern for the safety of her Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain.
After thy servant, Ssŭ, has had his corpse exposed in the market-place in
the capital of Han, though Your Majesty might begin to think about thy
servant's stupid but loyal counsels, it would be impossible to prevent
disaster. After the frontiers have been raided and only the defence work of the
capital is held and when the sounds of drums and bells are filling
"Moreover, though the limits of Han's military
strength are generally known throughout the world, she is now betraying Ch`in.
Indeed, if cities are evacuated and troops defeated, rebels among the rear
forces will infallibly raid the capital. When the capital falls, the civilians
will scatter. When the civilians scatter, no more troops can be recruited. Even
though the capital might be well defended, yet Ch`in would send out all her men
to besiege the only city of Your Majesty. When its communication with the
outside world is cut off, it will be impossible to accomplish any scheme, till
the situation becomes unsavable. As the consideration of the whole situation by
the chamberlains is not thorough,
"If what thy servant, Ssŭ, has said contains anything that does not coincide with actual facts, may Your Majesty allow him to complete his memorial before the throne! After that it will not be too late to put him to death through official censure. The King of Ch`in neither indulges in drinking and eating nor amuses himself with travelling and sight-seeing, but is whole-heartedly scheming against Chao. Therefore he has sent thy servant, Ssŭ, here to speak on his behalf. Thy servant has petitioned for a personal interview because he feels he must parley with Your Majesty on matters of urgent importance.
"Now, if Your Majesty grants no audience to thy servant, the faith of Han never will be proved. Verily Ch`in will cease the campaign against Chao and move the army against Han. May Your Majesty, therefore, kindly ponder over the matter again and again and grant thy servant a definite answer?"
Thy servant,
Fei, is by no means diffident of speaking. As to why he has to hesitate in
speaking: if his speeches are compliant and harmonious, magnificent and
orderly, he is then regarded as ostentatious and insincere; if his speeches are
sincere and courteous, straightforward and careful, he is then regarded as
awkward and unsystematic; if his speeches are widely cited and subtly composed,
frequently illustrated and continuously analogized, he is then regarded as
empty and unpractical; if his speeches summarize minute points and present
general ideas, being thus plain and concise, he is then regarded as simple and
not discerning; if his speeches are very personally observing and
Books of Poetry
and History from time to time and act on the teachings of the former
sages, he is then regarded as a book chantor.
Therefore, weights and measures, however accurate,
are not always adopted; doctrines and principles, however perfect, are not
always practised. Should His Majesty
For example, Tzŭ-hsü
b.c. In 511 b.c. he
successfully persuaded King Ho-lü of Wu to invade Ch`u and thereby avenged his
father and brother. Following the death of King Ho-lü he served King Fu-ch`a.
In 494 b.c. he helped the young king wage a
victorious war of revenge with King Kou-chien of Yüeh. Subsequently, because of
Pai P`i's slanders against him, he was ordered by King Fu-ch`a to commit
suicide with the famous Shu-lou sword (484 b.c.).b.c. As Hsiao-pai entered the capital first and ascended
the throne, Duke Chuang of Lu, who had been supporting Prince Chiu, suddenly
changed his mind, killed the prince, and sent Kuan Chung in a prisoner cart to
Ch`i. In Ch`i he was released by Hsiao-pai, then Duke Huan, and appointed Prime
Minister.
In remote antiquity, when T`ang
Thus, just as King Wên attempted to persuade Chow
and was put in jail,
b.c.).Historical
Records has #### in place of ####.
Furthermore, I-wu was bound with chains. Ts`ao Ch`i
b.c. he waged a successful war with Wey, during
which P`ang Chüan was killed in ambush.b.c. he sought refuge in the
Ch`u State and was appointed Prime Minister by King Cho. Despite all the
meritorious services he had rendered to the country, he was dismembered by his
political enemies upon the king's death in 381 b.c.b.c. As soon as he was entrusted by Duke Hsiao in
359 b.c. with all state affairs, he began to enforce
his legalism. He enriched the state and strengthened the army and caused Wey
many humiliating defeats till King Hui regretted with a sigh that he had not
taken Kung-shu Tso's advice.b.c. during the uprising caused by Prince Pai
Shêng.b.c.b.c.
These tens of men
Then, why could these worthies and sages escape
death penalties and evade disgrace? It was because of the difficulty
Favourite vassals, if too intimate with the ruler,
would cause him personal danger. Ministers, if too powerful, would overturn the
august position of the sovereign. Wives and concubines, if without distinction
of rank, would cause legitimate sons dangers. Brothers, if not subservient to
the ruler, would endanger the Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain.
Thy servant has heard: "The ruler of one thousand
chariots, if not on his guard, would find close by him vassals of one hundred
chariots aiming to shake his authority
Nothing is more valuable than the royal person,
more honourable than the throne, more powerful than the authority of the
sovereign, and more august than the position of the ruler. These four
excellences are not obtained from outside nor secured from anybody else, but
are deliberated in the ruler's own mind and acquired thereby. Hence the saying:
"The lord of men, if unable to exercise his
Of old, the ruin of Chow and the fall of Chou were
both due to the territorial expansion of the feudal lords; the partition of
Chin
b.c. by the Chao, Han, and Wey Clans.b.c. by the T`ien Clan.
For this reason, the intelligent ruler, in keeping
officials in service, exhausts their abilities with laws and corrects their
errors with measures. Hence no release from the death penalty, no remission of
punishment. Both release from the death penalty and remission of punishment,
being called "authority-losing"
Therefore, no minister, however large his bounty
may be, should be allowed to include
For the same reason, no minister should be allowed to have a four-horsed chariot as personal escort nor should he be allowed to carry any kind of weapons. If anyone, being neither a public courier nor a herald of urgent messages, transport implements of war from place to place, he should be condemned to death without mercy. This is the way the intelligent ruler should provide against accidents.
Tao is the
beginning of the myriad things, the standard of right and wrong. That being so,
the intelligent ruler, by holding to the beginning, knows the source of
everything,
Hence the saying: "The ruler must not reveal his
wants. For, if he reveals his wants, the ministers will polish their manners
accordingly. The ruler must not reveal his views. For, if he reveals his views,
the ministers will display their hues differently." Hence another saying: "If
the like and hate of the ruler be concealed, the true hearts of the ministers
will be revealed. If the experience and wisdom of the ruler be discarded, the
ministers will take precautions." Accordingly, the ruler, wise as he is, should
not bother but let everything find its proper place; worthy as he is, should
not be self-assumed but observe closely the ministers' motivating factors of
conduct; and, courageous as he is, should not be enraged but let every minister
display his prowess. So, leave the ruler's wisdom, then you will find the
ministers' intelligence; leave the ruler's worthiness, then you will find the
ministers' merits; and leave the ruler's courage, then you will find the
ministers' strength. In such cases, ministers will attend to their duties,
magistrates
Hence the saying: "So quiet, it rests without
footing; so vacant, it cannot be located." Thus, the intelligent ruler does
nothing, but his ministers tremble all the more. It is the Tao of the
intelligent ruler that he makes the wise men exhaust their mental energy and
makes his decisions thereby without being himself at his wits' end; that he
makes the worthy men exert their talents and appoints them to office
accordingly without being himself at the end of his ability; and that in case
of merits the ruler gains the renown and in case of demerit the ministers face
the blame so that the ruler is never at the end of his reputation. Therefore,
the ruler, even though not worthy, becomes the master of the worthies; and,
even though not wise, becomes the corrector of the wise men. It is the
ministers who do the toil; it is the ruler who gets the spoil. This is the
everlasting principle of the worthy sovereign.
Tao exists in invisibility; its function, in
Keep your decision and identify it with the words
and deeds of your subordinates. Cautiously take the handles
Vide
infra, Chap. VII.
For these reasons, the lord of men always has to
face five kinds of delusion: delusion by ministers impeding the sovereign,
delusion by ministers controlling public resources and revenues, delusion by
ministers issuing decrees at random, delusion by ministers distributing
personal favours,
The Tao of the lord of men regards tranquillity and
humility as treasures. Without handling anything himself, he can tell
skilfulness from unskilfulness; without his own concerns of mind, he can tell
good from bad luck. Therefore, without uttering any word himself, he finds a
good reply given; without exerting his own effort,
For this reason, the intelligent ruler, in
bestowing rewards, is as benign as the seasonable rain that the masses profit
by his graces; in inflicting punishments, he is so terrific like the loud
thunder that even divines and sages cannot atone for their crimes. Thus the
intelligent ruler neglects no reward and remits no punishment. For, if reward
is neglected, ministers of merit will relax their duties; if punishment is
remitted, villainous ministers will become liable to
No country is permanently strong. Nor is any country permanently weak. If conformers to law are strong, the country is strong; if conformers to law are weak, the country is weak.
King Chuang of Ching annexed as many states as
b.c.b.c. Wey with Ch`in and Ch`u attacked
Yen. In 257 b.c. Lord Hsin-ling of Wey smashed the
forces of Ch`in at Han-tan and thereby rescued Chao.
Thus, as long as King Chuang of Ching and Duke Huan
of Ch`i were alive, Ching and Ch`i could remain hegemonic; as long as King
Hsiang of Yen and King An-li of Wey were alive, Yen and Wey remained strong.
Now their countries all fell into decay, because their ministers and
magistrates all followed the path to chaos and never sought
Therefore, at present, any ruler able to expel
private crookedness and uphold public law, finds the people safe and the state
in order; and any ruler able to expunge private action and act on public law,
finds his army strong and his enemy weak. So, find
Now supposing promotions were made because of mere
reputations, then ministers would be estranged from the sovereign and all
officials would associate for treasonable purposes. Supposing officials were
appointed on account of their partisanship, then the people would strive to
cultivate friendships and never seek employment in accordance with the law.
Thus, if the government lack able men, the state will fall into confusion. If
rewards are bestowed according to mere reputation, and punishments are
inflicted according to mere defamation, then men who love rewards and hate
punishments will discard the law
For such reasons, loyal ministers, innocent as they are, are always facing danger and the death penalty, whereas wicked ministers, though of no merit, always enjoy security and prosperity. Should loyal ministers meet danger and death without committing any crime, good ministers would withdraw. Should wicked ministers enjoy security and prosperity without rendering any meritorious service, villainous ministers would advance. This is the beginning of decay.
Were such the case, all officials would discard
legalism, practising favouritism and despising public law. They would frequent
the gates of the residences of cunning men, but never once would they visit the
court of the sovereign. For one hundred times they would ponder the interests
of private families, but never once would they scheme for the state welfare of
the sovereign. Thus, their subordinates, however numerous, are not for
glorifying the ruler; the officials, however well selected, are not for serving
the country. If so, the sovereign would have the mere name of the lord of men
but in reality he simply commits himself to the care of the houses of the
various ministers. Hence thy servant says: "The court of a decaying state has
no man."
That the court has no man does not imply the
emptiness of the court. It means that private families strive to benefit one
another but never seek to enhance the state welfare; that high officials strive
to honour one another but never seek to honour the ruler; and that petty
officials spend their salaries in cultivating personal friendships but never
attend to their official duties. The reason therefore is: The sovereign never
makes his decisions in accordance with the law but always trusts in his
subordinates for
Therefore, the intelligent sovereign makes the law select men and makes no arbitrary promotion himself. He makes the law measure merits and makes no arbitrary regulation himself. In consequence, able men cannot be obscured, bad characters cannot be disguised; falsely praised fellows cannot be advanced, wrongly defamed people cannot be degraded. Accordingly, between ruler and minister distinction becomes clear and order is attained. Thus it suffices only if the sovereign can scrutinize laws.
The wise man, on ministering to a ruler, faces the
north
Han Fei Tzŭ's Utopia, however, runs in
parallel to the ideal state of nature described by Lao Tzŭ:—
The Li Ki,
Bk. VII, Sect. i, 2.)
Tao Teh
King, lxxx.)
Now, those who make light of rank and bounties,
resign from their offices and desert their posts with ease, and thereby choose
their masters, thy servant does not call upright. Those who falsify theories,
disobey laws, defy the sovereign, and make forcible remonstrances, thy servant
does not call loyal. Those who bestow favours, distribute profits, win the
hearts of inferiors, and thereby make names, thy servant does not call
benevolent. Those who leave the world, retire from active life, and thereby
reprove the sovereign, thy servant does not call righteous. Those who serve
abroad as envoys to other feudal lords, exhaust the strength of the native
country, and wait for the moment of crisis
The law of the early kings said: "Every minister
shall not exercise his authority nor shall he scheme for his own advantage but
shall follow His Majesty's instructions. He shall not do evil but shall follow
His Majesty's path."
Great Plan contains a passage somewhat different from
this citation.
Indeed, the lord of men, if he has to inspect all
officials himself, finds the day not long enough and his energy not great
enough. Moreover, if the superior uses his eyes, the inferior ornaments his
looks; if the superior uses his ears, the inferior ornaments his voice; and, if
the superior uses his mind, the inferior twists his sentences. Regarding these
three faculties as insufficient, the early kings left aside their own talents
and relied on laws and numbers and acted carefully on the principles of reward
and punishment. Thus, what the early kings did was to the purpose of political
order. Their laws, however simplified, were not violated. Despite the
autocratic rule within the four seas, the cunning could not apply their
fabrications; the deceitful
Indeed, the minister trespasses against the
sovereign in the court as in the lie of the land. Leading forward step by step,
Hence to govern the state by law is to praise the
right and blame the wrong.
Analects.
The law does not fawn on the noble; the string does
not yield to the crooked. Whatever the law applies to, the wise cannot reject
nor can the brave defy. Punishment for fault never skips ministers, reward for
good never misses commoners. Therefore, to correct the faults of the high, to
rebuke the vices of the low, to suppress disorders, to decide against mistakes,
to subdue the arrogant, to straighten the crooked, and to unify the folkways of
the masses, nothing could match the law. To warn
The means
Ministers are afraid of censure and punishment but
fond of encouragement and reward. Therefore, if the lord of men uses the
handles of chastisement and commendation, all ministers will dread his severity
and turn to his liberality. The villainous ministers of the age are different.
To men they hate they would by securing the handle of chastisement from the
sovereign ascribe crimes; on men they love they would by securing the handle of
commendation from the
As illustration, that which enables the tiger to subject the dog, is his claws and fangs. Supposing the tiger cast aside its claws and fangs and let the dog use them, the tiger would in turn be subjected by the dog. The lord of men controls his ministers by means of chastisement and commendation. Now supposing the ruler of men cast aside the handles of chastisement and commendation and let the ministers use them, the ruler would in turn be controlled by the ministers.
Thus, T`ien Ch`ang petitioned for rank and
bounties, which he in his turn conferred upon the body of officials, and
enlarged pecks and bushels, by virtue of which he distributed alms among the
hundred surnames. In other words, Duke Chien lost the handle of commendation,
which T`ien Ch`ang set to use. In the long run Duke Chien
b.c. In the same year Confucius composed the
Spring and Autumn Annals.Historical Records nor elsewhere except here. Granted
that this chapter is not spurious, Han Fei Tzŭmust have derived the
information from some unreliable source of his age.
The lord of men, whenever he wants to suppress
culprits, must see norm accord with name and word never differ from task.
Once in by-gone days, Marquis Chao of Han
b.c. During his reign his premier, Shên Pu-hai,
enforced legalistic policies so successfully that Han emerged to be a rich and
strong country. In the same country Han Fei Tzŭwas born about half a
century later and was therefore greatly influenced by the legalism taught and
practised by Shên Pu-hai (vide infra, Chap.
XLIII).
Thus, when an intelligent ruler keeps ministers in service, no minister is allowed either to override his post and get merits thereby nor to utter any word not equivalent to a fact. Whoever overrides his post is put to death; whoever makes a word not equivalent to a fact is punished. If everyone has to do his official duty, and if whatever he says has to be earnest, then the ministers cannot associate for treasonable purposes.
The lord of men has two difficulties to face: If he
appoints only worthy men to office, ministers will on the pretence of
worthiness attempt to deceive their ruler; if he makes arbitrary promotions of
officials, the state affairs will always be menaced. Similarly, if the lord of
men loves worthiness,
For instance, because the King of Yüeh liked brave
men, the people made light of death; because King Ling of Ch`u liked slender
waists, the country became full of starvelings; because Duke Huan of Ch`i was
by nature jealous and fond of women, Shu Tiao castrated himself in order to
administer the harem; because Duke Huan liked different tastes, Yi-ya steamed
the head of his son and served Duke Huan with the rare taste; because
Tzŭ-k`uai of Yen liked worthies, Tzŭ-chih pretended that he would
not accept the state.
b.c.
purposely abdicated in favour of him, who, however, took the throne with no
reserve.
Therefore, if the ruler reveals his hate, ministers
will conceal their motives; if the ruler reveals his likes, ministers will
pretend to talent; and if the ruler reveals his wants,
That was the reason why Tzŭ-chih, by
pretending to worthiness, usurped the ruler's throne; and why Shu Tiao and
Yi-ya, by complying with their ruler's wants, molested their ruler. Thus
Tzŭ-k`uai died in consequence of a civil war
b.c.vide infra, Chap. X, pp. 89-91).
In these days, if the lord of men neither covers
his feelings nor conceals his motives, and if he lets ministers have a chance
to molest their master, the ministers will have no difficulty in following the
examples of Tzŭ-chih and
Heaven has its destiny
The sceptre should never be shown. For its inner
nature is non-assertion.
China's
Own Critics: A Selection of Essays, 1931), he showed his whole-hearted
support of Han Fei Tzŭ. A few years later, as shown in his book,
My Country and My People (1936), he appeared to be far
more Taoistic and cynical than before, preferring inaction and non-interference
to any kind of remedial work which seems to him laborious but fruitless.
Indeed, everything has its function; every material
has its utility. When everybody works according to his special qualification,
both superior and inferior will not have to do anything. Let roosters herald
the dawn and let cats watch for rats. When everything exercises its special
qualification, the ruler will not have to do anything. If the ruler has to
exert any special skill of his own, it means that affairs are not going right.
If he is conceited and fond of displaying his ability, he will be deceived by
the inferiors. If he is sagacious and lenient,
The way to assume oneness
The way of the sage is to discard his own wisdom
and talent. If his own wisdom and talent are not discarded, it will be hard for
him to keep a constant principle of
Indeed, Tao is so magnificent as to have no form.
Teh is evidently systematic and so extensive as to permeate all lives. When it
functions proportionately, the myriad things are formed,
Hence the saying: "Tao does not identify itself
with anything but itself. Teh does not identify itself with the Yin and the
Yang. The balance does not identify itself with lightness and heaviness. The
inked string does not identify itself with ingress and egress. The reed-organ
Tao is never a pair. Hence it is called one.
Therefore, the intelligent ruler esteems singleness, the characteristic feature
of Tao. Accordingly, ruler and minister do not follow the same path. When the
minister presents any
In general, the right way to listen to the
ministers is to take what they utter as the measure of what they harvest.
To remain empty and tranquil and practise inaction
is the real status of Tao. To compare, refer, and analogize things, is the form
of affairs. Thus you sometime compare them and analogize them to other things
and sometime refer them to and accord them with the condition of emptiness.
When the root and trunk of a tree never change, motion
If the ruler does not share the supreme authority
with the ministers, the people will regard this as a great blessing. The ruler
should never discuss
If the sovereign is not mysterious,
To govern the interior
If the calf is larger than the thigh, it is hard to
run fast.
Any ruler wishing to give peace to the state must
disperse the partisans of powerful ministers. If he does not disperse their
partisans, they will enlarge their parties. Any ruler wishing to maintain order
in his country must adjust the distribution of his gifts. If he does not adjust
the distribution of his gifts, rapacious men will seek for extraordinary
profits. To grant them requests will then be the same as to lend axes to
enemies. It is not right to lend out such things. For they will be used for
assaulting the ruler.
The Yellow Emperor made the saying: "Superior and
inferior wage one hundred battles a day." The inferior conceals his tricks
which he uses in testing the superior; the superior manipulates rules and
measures in splitting the influences of the inferior. Therefore the institution
of rules and measures is the sovereign's treasure, the possession of partisans
and adherents is the minister's treasure. Such being the situation, if the
minister does not murder the ruler, it is because his partisans and adherents
are not yet
To detect culprits inside the court and guard
against crooks outside it, the ruler must personally hold his rules and
measures. Make the powerful wane and the powerless wax. Both waning and waxing
should have limitations. Never allow the people to form juntas and thereby
deceive their superiors with one accord. Make the powerful wane like the moon,
and the powerless wax like the heat of the bored fire. Simplify orders and
dignify censures. Make the application of penal laws definite. Never loosen
your bow; otherwise, you will find two males in one nest. Where there are two
males in one nest, there the fighting will continue at sixes and sevens. When
wolves are in the stable, sheep never will flourish. When two masters are in
one house, nothing can be accomplished. When both man
The ruler of men should often stretch the tree but
never allow its branches to flourish. Luxuriant branches will cover the gates
of public buildings, till private houses become full, public halls empty, and
the sovereign deluded. So, stretch out the tree often but never allow any
branch to grow outward. Any branch that grows outward will molest the position
of the sovereign. Again, stretch out the tree often but never allow any branch
to grow larger than the stem. When the branches are large and the stem is
small, the tree will be unable to endure spring winds. When the tree cannot
endure spring winds, the branches will damage its kernel. Similarly, when
illegitimate sons are many, the heir apparent will have worries and anxieties.
The only way to check them is to stretch out the tree often and never let its
branches flourish. If the tree is stretched out often, partisans and adherents
of the wicked ministers will disperse. When the roots and the stem are dug up,
the tree is no longer alive. Fill up the foaming fountain with mud and never
let the water clear. Search the bosoms of ministers and take away their powers.
The sovereign should exercise such powers himself with the speed of the
lightning and with the dignity of the thunder.
In general there are eight ways whereby ministers
are led
The first is said to be "through the bribery of
sharers of the same bed".
The second is said to be "through the bribery of
en bloc,
The third is said to be "through the entertainment
of uncles and brothers".
The fourth is said to be "through fostering
calamities".
The fifth is said to be "through buying up
vagabonds".
The sixth is said to be "through the employment of
fluent and convincing speakers".
The seventh is said to be "through the arrogation
of authority and strength".
The eighth is said to be "through the accumulation
of support from the four directions".
These eight in general are the ways whereby ministers are led to commit villainy and the sovereigns of the present age are deluded, molested, and deprived of their possessions. Therefore, every sovereign should not fail to study them carefully.
The intelligent ruler, as regards women, may enjoy their beauty but ought not to follow their entreaties and comply with their requests.
As regards those near him, though he enjoys their presence, he must always call their words to account and never let them utter any uncalled-for opinion.
As regards uncles, brothers, and chief vassals, the ruler, on adopting their words, ought to hold them liable to penalties in case of failure and appoint them to office in case of success but never give them any arbitrary promotion.
On seeking pleasures and enjoying curios, the ruler
ought to have a definite personnel in charge of them and allow nobody to bring
such objects in and out at pleasure
In regard to favour-distribution, it ought to be done on the initiative of the ruler to open the emergency treasury and public storehouses and benefit the people. No minister should be allowed to bestow personal favours.
Regarding persuasions and discussions, the ruler must ascertain the abilities of men reputed to be good and testify to the defects of those reputed to be bad, but never allow the ministers to speak to one another about them.
As regards bold and strong men, the ruler should
neither neglect reward for merit on the battle-field nor remit
With respect to the requests made by other feudal
lords, if they are lawful, grant them; if they are unlawful, spurn them.
The so-called doomed ruler is not one who no longer
has a state but one who has a state but not in his grip. If he lets his
ministers control the home affairs through the support they receive from
abroad, the ruler of men will be doomed to ruin. Granting that to obey big
powers is to save one's own country from ruin, the ruin will in case of
obedience come faster than in the case of disobedience. Hence never obey them.
As soon as the ministers realize that the ruler will not obey, they will not
make friends abroad with other feudal lords. As soon as the feudal lords
realize that he will not obey,
The reason why the intelligent ruler establishes
posts, offices, ranks, and bounties, is to promote the worthy and encourage the
men of merit. Hence the saying: "The
That is not so nowadays. There is neither any
Of the ten faults:—
The first is to practise loyalty in small ways, which betrays loyalty in big ways.
The second is to esteem small advantages, which hampers big advantages.
The third is to force personal bias, assert oneself, and behave discourteously before feudal lords, which leads to self-destruction.
The fourth is to neglect political counsels and indulge in the five musical notes, which plunges one into misery.
The fifth is to keep covetous and self-opinionated and rejoice in nothing but gain, which is the root of state-ruin and self-destruction.
The sixth is to indulge in women singers and neglect state affairs, which forecasts the catastrophe of state-ruin.
The seventh is to leave home for distant travels and ignore remonstrances, which is the surest way to endanger one's august position at home.
The eighth is to commit faults, turn no ear to loyal ministers, and enforce one's own opinions, which destroys one's high reputation and causes people to laugh at one.
The ninth is not to consolidate the forces within
one's
The tenth is to insult big powers despite the smallness of one's own country and take no advice from remonstrants, which paves the way to the extermination of one's posterity.
What is meant by "practising small loyalty"?
Once King Kung
Historical
Records has #### in place of ####.Revue Asiatique, 1913). The
Historical Records has #### above ####. I regard #### as
the full name and prefer to read it as "Shu Yang-ko". Among the accepted family
names of the Chinese people "Shu" is found but not "Shu-yang". During the
Period of Spring and Autumn, however, not many commoners had family names, so
#### most probably meant a boy attendant in this case. By the time of
Ssŭ-ma Ch`ien #### seems to have definitely become a family name; so much
so that he made the superfluous addition of #### to it in the Historical Records.
What is meant by "esteeming small advantages"?
Of old, when Duke Hsien of Chin thought of
borrowing the way through Yü to invade Kuo, Hsün Hsi said: "If we bribe the
Duke of Yü with the jade from Ch`ui-chi and the team of the Ch`ü breed,
The Duke of Yü, regarding the jade and the horses
as inordinate advantages, thought of granting the request. Against this idea
Kung Chi-ch`i remonstrated with him, saying: "Your Highness should not grant
the request. Indeed, Yü has Kuo as neighbour just as the carriage has its
wheels. Just as the wheels depend on the carriage, so does the carriage depend
on the wheels. Such is the
Three years elapsed after his attack on Kuo, his
conquest of the country, and victorious return
b.c.
Thus the Duke of Yü saw his army driven into peril and his country dismembered. Why? It was because of his love of small advantages and unconcern about its harmfulness. Hence the saying: "To esteem small advantages hampers large advantages."
What is meant by "enforcing personal bias"?
In by-gone days, when King Ling of Ch`u called an
inter-state conference at Shên, as the Crown Prince of Sung arrived late, he
arrested him and put him into jail. Further, he insulted the Ruler of Hsü and
detained Ch`ing Fêng of Ch`i. Against these outrageous acts a certain middle
chamberlain remonstrated with the King, saying: "In holding a conference of the
feudal lords nobody should break the inter-state etiquette. For it involves a
Before ten years elapsed,
Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals has #### in
place of ####. 529 b.c.
What is meant by "indulging in the five musical notes"?
In by-gone days, when Duke Ling of Wei on his way to Chin arrived by the P`u Water, he loosened his carriage, released the horses, and set up a pavilion for sojourning Towards midnight he heard somebody playing a novel piece of music and was thereby greatly pleased. In the morning he sent men out to find the musician in the vicinity, but all came back with the report that he could not be found. Thereupon, the Duke summoned Musician Chüan and said to him: "There was somebody playing strange music last night. I have just sent men out to find the musician in the vicinity, but all reported that they had been unable to find him. It might be the performance by some devil or spirit. Would you, therefore, listen to it and copy it for me?" "At your service," replied Musician Chüan. So he sat still at night and played the harp to copy the music. Next day Musician Chüan gave his report to the Duke, saying: "Thy servant got it but he is still lacking in practice. Let us stay here another night and thy servant will practise it." "Certainly," said Duke Ling. So they spent another night there. By the following day he had mastered it, wherefore they left for Chin.
Duke P`ing of Chin entertained them with a wine
feast on the Shih-i Tower.
This scale remained the same until the rise of
the Yüan Dynasty. For detailed information the English reader is referred to
Aalst's kung (####) for all
guttural sounds, shang (####) for all sibilant sounds,
kioh (####) for all dental sounds, chih (####) for all lingual sounds, and yü (####) for all labial sounds. It is said that the five
strings of the harp constructed by Fu-hsi were thus named. The five notes had
generally formed the Chinese system of notation down to the Yin Dynasty. To
them were added pien-kung (####) and pien-kioh (####) at the beginning of the Chou Dynasty
(allegedly by King Wên). In consequence, the ancient Chinese scale became
closely equivalent to the modern Western scale as follows:—
Kung for C,
shang for D, kioh for E,
pien-kioh for F # (peculiar), chih for G, yü for A,
pien-kung for B, and kung for
C1.Chinese Music.
"Is the pure sibilant tune the saddest among all?"
asked the Duke further. "No," replied Musician K`uang, "it is not as sad as the
pure lingual tune." "Is it possible to hear the pure lingual tune?" asked the
Duke still further. "No," replied Musician K`uang. "In antiquity, those who
heard the pure lingual tune were all rulers of virtue and justice. Now, as Your
Highness's virtue is still shallow, Your Highness as yet does not deserve to
hear it." "Music amusing me in particular, let me hear it?" asked the Duke
insistently. Thereby Musician K`uang was forced to hold up the harp and play
it. Following the performance of the first part, there came from the south
black cranes, two times eight, and assembled at the end of the ridge of the
gallery roof. After the performance of the second part, they lined up
themselves in a row. When the third part was performed, they raised their necks
to sing and stretched their wings to dance. Among the notes the pitches of
kung and shang echoed in heaven.
Thereby Duke P`ing was much pleased and the audience were all amused.
Meanwhile, Duke P`ing held a cup of wine and rose
to drink with the expression of his wish for the health and happiness of
Musician K`uang. When he took his seat again, he asked, "Is there no tune
sadder than the pure lingual tune?" "It is not as sad as the pure dental tune,"
replied Musician K`uang. "Is it then possible to hear the pure dental tune?"
asked Duke P`ing. "No," replied Musician K`uang. "In by-gone days the Yellow
Emperor b.c.
What is meant by "keeping covetous and
Of old, Earl Chih Yao led his allies, Chao, Han,
and Wey, to attack Fan and Chung-hang and destroyed them.
b.c. These six clans comprised the so-called Six Nobles
of Chin.
Likewise, he sent men to demand land from Wey. When
Viscount Hsüan of Wey
Schemes of the Warring States has #### above
####.Schemes of the
Warring States have #### below #### ####.Schemes of the Warring States has #### above ####.
Earl Chih finally sent men to Chao to demand the districts of Ts`ai and Kao-lang. As Viscount Hsiang of Chao refused to give them, Earl Chih formed a secret alliance with Han and Wey on purpose to invade Chao.
Thereupon Viscount Hsiang summoned Chang Mêng-t`an
and said to him: "Indeed, Earl Chih is by nature kind
Schemes of the Warring States has #### in place of
####.vide supra, p. 27).
Then he summoned Yen-ling Yü
Then the Viscount summoned Chang Mêng-t`an and
asked: "Though our city-walls are now in good repair, provisions for defence
measures are now ready, money and grain are now sufficient, and armour and
weapons are now more than enough, yet what can I do without arrows?" In reply
Chang Mêng-t`an said: "As thy servant has heard, when Tung Tzŭ was
governing Chin-yang, the fences of the Public Hall all had on their outer
enclosures bush-clovers and thorny reeds, whose height nowadays reaches ten
feet. Suppose Your Highness take them out and use them. There will then be more
than enough arrows." Meanwhile, the Viscount had the reeds and the bushes taken
out, had them tried, and found their stiffness not even surpassed by the
strength of the stems of fragrant bamboos.
Chün
(####) was the special name given to the bamboos from the Cloudy Dream Swamps
in the Ch`u State.
Soon afterwards the Viscount asked: "I have enough arrows, but what can I do without metal?" In reply Chang Mêng-t`an said: "Thy servant has heard that when Tung Tzŭ was governing Chin-yang, the drawing rooms of the Public Hall and the Public Dormitory all had columns and pedestals made of refined copper. Suppose Your Highness were to get them out and use them." So the Viscount had them taken out and got more than enough metal.
No sooner than the commands and orders were
established
Immediately after their arrival they fell on the
city-walls of Chin-yang and started fighting. Yet, despite three months'
engagement, they could not take the city; wherefore they spread out their
troops and besieged it, and led the water of the river outside Chin-yang to
inundate it. For three years
vide supra, p. ii, n.
5).
When Chang Mêng-t`an saw the Rulers of Han and Wey,
he said: "Thy servant has heard, `When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold.'
Now that Earl Chih has led Your Highnesses to invade Chao, Chao is on the verge
of destruction. After the fall of Chao, you both will fall next." "We know that
is very likely to happen," said the two
The two rulers, after having sent Chang Mêng-t`an
away with the promise, called on Earl Chih. On leaving they met Chih Kuo
outside the gate of the commander's
On the appointed night the Chao Clan killed the
enemy garrisons of the dikes and led the water to inundate the army of Earl
Chih. Earl Chih's troops on keeping the water out fell into confusion.
Meanwhile, Han and Wey launched a surprise attack from both sides while
Viscount Hsiang led his forces to raid the front. They defeated Earl Chih's
troops by long odds and captured Earl Chih. Earl Chih died, his forces were
crushed, his country was divided into three, and he became a laughing-stock of
the whole world.
b.c.
What is meant by "indulging in women singers"?
Of old, when Yu Yü was sent by the King of Jung to
pay a courtesy visit to the court of Ch`in, Duke Mu asked him, saying: "I have
heard about the right way of
After Yu Yü had gone out, the Duke summoned the
Officer of the Censorate Liao and said to him: "I have heard that the presence
of a sage in a neighbouring country is a constant threat to the enemy countries
adjacent to it. Now Yu Yü is a sage, I am worrying about it. What shall I do?"
In reply the Officer of the Censorate Liao said: "As thy servant has heard, the
dwelling of the King of Jung is so rustic and so remote
b.c.
What is meant by "leaving home for distant travels"?
Once upon a time, while Viscount T`ien Ch`êng
b.c. The "Right
Selected Persuasions has #### in place of ####. I think Han
Fei Tzŭ mistook #### for ####.
What is meant by "committing faults and turn no ear to loyal ministers"?
In by-gone days, Duke Huan of Ch`i called the
feudal lords to meet nine times, brought All-under-Heaven under one rule, and
became the first of the Five Hegemonic Rulers. And Kuan Chung assisted him.
When Kuan Chung became aged and unable to attend to his duties, he retired to
live at his home. One day Duke Huan went to call on him and asked: "Uncle Chung
is ill at home. If by any unlucky chance you should not be up and doing again,
to whom should the state affairs be entrusted?" In reply Kuan Chung said: "Thy
servant is old and hardly worth
"How about Pao Shu-ya?" asked the Duke. "No."
replied Kuan Chung. "For Pao Shu-ya is by nature rigorous, self-opinionated,
and stubborn-minded. Rigorous, he is likely to be violent towards the people.
Self-opinionated, he cannot win the hearts of the people. If he is
"Then how about Shu Tiao?" asked the Duke. "No," replied Kuan Chung. "Such is human nature, indeed, that everybody loves his own body. Now because Your Highness was habitually jealous and fond of women, Shu Tiao castrated himself for the single purpose of administering the harem. If he could not love his own body, how would he be able to love his master?"
"Then how about Prince K`ai-fang of Wei?" asked the
Duke. "No," replied Kuan Chung. "The distance between Ch`i and Wei is not more
than ten days' walk. Yet K`ai-fang in order to serve Your Highness and meet his
needs
"Well, then, how about Yi-ya?" asked the Duke.
"No," replied Kuan Chung. "Indeed, Yi-ya was in charge of the tastes of Your
Highness's diet, and, finding that what
"Well, then, who will be the right man?" asked the Duke. "Hsi P`êng is he," replied Kuan Chung. "For he is habitually steadfast in mind and upright towards people and has few wants but many credits. Indeed, steadfast in mind, he can offer an example to others; upright towards people, he can be appointed to important office; having few wants, he will be able to subject the masses; and having many credits, he will be able to make friends with the neighbouring states. A man like this is the right kind of assistant to the Hegemonic Ruler. Suppose Your Highness employ him." "Certainly," said the Duke.
More than one year later, Kuan Chung died, but the
Duke did not employ Hsi P`êng but passed the reins of government to Shu Tiao.
Shu Tiao had handled the state affairs for three years already, when Duke Huan
travelled southward to T`ang-fu. Thereupon Shu Tiao, leading Yi-ya, Prince
K`ai-fang of Wei, and the chief vassals, launched a rebellion. In consequence,
Duke Huan died of thirst and hunger in heavily-guarded confinement inside the
bed chamber by the south gate. There his dead body lay uncovered for three
months,
But why was it that Duke Huan was at last murdered
by his ministers, deprived of his high reputation, and
What is meant by "not consolidating the forces within one's boundaries"?
Of old, when Ch`in was attacking Yi-yang, the Han
Clan was in imminent danger. Thereupon Kung-chung P`êng said to the Ruler of
Han: "Our allies are not reliable. Is it not the best policy to make peace with
Ch`in through Chang Yi's good offices? Suppose we bribe Ch`in with a famous
city and join her in her southward campaign against Ch`u. This will appease our
trouble with Ch`in and defeat her friendship with Ch`u." "Good," the Ruler
b.c., the Ruler of
Han had called himself king for six years and was no longer a duke.
When the King of Ch`u heard about this scheme, he
felt uneasy, summoned Ch`ên Chên, and said to him: "P`êng of Han is going
westward to make peace with Ch`in. What shall we do?" In reply Ch`ên Chên said:
"Ch`in, after receiving one city from Han, will mobilize her best-trained
soldiers, and will turn the combined forces of Ch`in and Han southward against
Ch`u. This is what the King of Ch`in has sought in his prayer at his ancestral
shrine. No doubt, they will do Ch`u harm. Suppose Your Majesty
Han actually sent a delegation to Ch`u. The King of
Ch`u, accordingly, despatched chariots and cavalry and lined them up along the
northern road.
The situation at Yi-yang became more and more
threatening, when the Ruler of Han despatched envoys to press for
reinforcements from Ch`u. One envoy followed on the heels of another so closely
that their hats and canopies were almost within one another's sight; but all in
vain. Yi-yang was finally taken
b.c.
What is meant by "insulting big powers despite the smallness of one's own state"?
In by-gone days, when Prince Ch`ung-erh of Chin
b.c.) in exile. Upon his return to Chin he ascended
the throne as Duke Wên and subsequently became
Hsi Fu-chi went home, feeling unhappy. So his wife
asked him: "Your Excellency has just come home from outdoors but has some
unpleasant colour on the face. Why?" In reply Hsi Fu-chi said: "As I have
heard, `When the ruler has good luck, it will not visit me; but when he has bad
luck, it will befall me.' To-day His Highness summoned the Prince of Chin and
accorded him very discourteous treatment. I was attending before him. Therefore
I have felt unhappy." "As far as I can see," said his wife, "the Prince of Chin
will be a ruler of ten thousand chariots,
From Ts`ao the Prince entered Ch`u, and from Ch`u
entered Ch`in. After he had stayed in Ch`in for three years, Duke Mu of Ch`in
one day summoned all ministers for consultation, saying: "That in by-gone days
Duke Hsien of Chin kept intimate friendship with me, every feudal lord has
heard. Unfortunately Duke Hsien passed away from the body of officials. It is
nearly ten years since. His successors so far have been no good. I am therefore
afraid lest this state of continuous chaos should leave their ancestral shrine
deserted and deprive their Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain of regular
offerings. To make no decision to restore order to the country is not the way
to maintain my intimate friendship with them. I am therefore thinking of
supporting Ch`ung-erh and installing him on the throne of Chin. How do you
think?" "Fine," replied all the ministers. Thereupon the Duke raised an army of
five hundred leather-covered chariots, two thousand good horsemen, and fifty
thousand foot-soldiers, to help
After having been on the throne for three years,
Thus, Ts`ao was a small state pressed between Chin and Ch`u. Its ruler was in constant danger as piled eggs are, but he accorded the Prince of Chin such a discourteous reception. This was the reason why his posterity was wiped out. Hence the saying: "To insult big powers despite the smallness of one's own country and take no advice from remonstrants paves the way to the extinction of one's posterity."
Men
well versed in the principles of tact
Ministers who attend to their duties in conformity
to orders and fulfil their posts in accordance with laws, are not called
"heavy-handed men".
Men well versed in the principles of tact, being
clearly observing, if listened to and taken into service by the ruler, will
discern the secret motives of the heavy-handed men.
If the authorities concerned take all matters of
the state into their own hands, then everybody, whether outside or inside the
court, will be bound to become their tool. Thus, unless through their good
offices, feudal lords from abroad cannot accomplish any negotiation, wherefore
even enemy states praise
The heavy-handed men cannot be so loyal to the
sovereign as to recommend their enemies and the lord of men cannot rise above
their four assistances in such wise as to discern the right types of ministers.
Therefore, the more deluded
In general, the authorities concerned, in relation
to the lord of men, are rarely not trusted and beloved, and,
Indeed, the strange and distant, when contesting
with the near and dear, have no reason to win; newcomers and travellers, when
contesting with long acquaintances and old intimates, have no reason to win;
opponents of the sovereign's opinion, when contesting with his supporters of
the same taste, have no reason to win; the humble and powerless, when
contesting with the noble and powerful, have no reason to win; and a single
mouth,
Being thus hopelessly handicapped in their
equipment and rendered incompatible with the authorities by force of
circumstances, how can upholders of law and tact avoid dangers? Those who can
be falsely accused of criminal offences are censured with state laws; those who
cannot be indicted as criminals are ended by private swordsmen. For this
reason,
However, friends and partisans who form juntas on
purpose to delude the sovereign and twist their words so as to benefit
themselves, always win the confidence of the heavy-handed men. Accordingly,
those who can be accorded the pretext of meritorious services are ennobled with
official rank; those who cannot
In these days, the lord of men, without
investigating
Indeed, the Yüeh State was rich and her army was
strong. Yet the sovereign of every Central State, knowing that she was useless
to him, would say: "She is not within the reach of my control." Take for
example a state at present.
People
In general, the difficulty in enacting law and tact is met not only by rulers of ten thousand chariots but also by rulers of one thousand chariots. As the attendants of the lord of men are not necessarily intelligent, if in estimating new personnel he first takes counsel from men whom he considers wise and then discusses their words with his attendants, he is talking about wise men to fools. As the attendants of the lord of men are not necessarily worthy, if in estimating new personnel he first pays respect to men whom he considers worthy and then discusses their deeds with his attendants, he is talking about worthies to ruffians. If wise men have to submit their plans for fools' approval and worthies have to see their deeds estimated by ruffians, men of worthiness and wisdom will feel ashamed and the ruler's conclusions will be full of fallacies.
Among the sovereign's subjects aspiring to official
honours, refined men would keep their characters clean, and wise men would
advance their careers
The attendants of the lord of men are not as
upright in conduct as Poh-i.
The threat to the ruler of ten thousand chariots is
the chief vassals' being too powerful. The threat to the ruler of one
Thus, if the sovereign ever changes the
circumstances,
Ministers guilty of major offences must have deceived their sovereign. Such crimes deserve the death penalty. The wise men, far-seeing and afraid of death, never will obey the heavy-handed men. Similarly, the worthies, anxious to cultivate their personal integrity and ashamed of joining the wicked ministers in deceiving the sovereign, never will obey the chief vassals. That being so, the adherents and dependents of the authorities concerned, if not stupid and ignorant of the impending calamity, must be corrupt and mind no wickedness.
The chief vassals, holding such stupid and corrupt
men under control, co-operate with them in deceiving the sovereign from above
and collect spoils from below. Their friends and partisans exploit the masses
of the people,
i.—Difficulties in the way of persuasion, generally
speaking, are not difficulties in my knowledge with which I persuade the ruler,
nor are they difficulties in my skill of argumentation which enables me to make
my ideas clear, nor are they difficulties in my courage to exert my abilities
without reserve. As a whole, the difficulties in the way of persuasion lie in
my knowing the heart of the persuaded in order thereby to fit my wording into
it.
If the persuaded strives after high fame while you persuade him of big profit, you will be considered low-bred, accorded mean treatment, and shunned from afar. If the persuaded strives after big profit while you persuade him of high fame, you will be considered mindless and ignorant of worldly affairs and will never be accepted. If the persuaded strives after big profit in secret but openly seeks for high fame while you persuade him of high fame, you will be accepted in name but kept distant in fact; and, if you persuade him of big profit, your word will be adopted in secret but your person will be left out openly. These points should be carefully deliberated.
Indeed, affairs succeed if kept secret and
Historical Records has #### in place of ####.
Therefore, if you talk about great men to him, he
thinks you are intimating his defects. If you talk about small men to him, he
thinks you are showing off your superiority. If you discuss an object of his
love, he thinks you are expecting a special favour from it. If you discuss an
object of his hate, he thinks you are testing his temper. If you simplify your
discussion, he thinks you are unwise and will spurn you. If your discussion is
lucidly wayward and extensively Historical Records has #### in place of ####.
2.—In general, the business of the persuader is to embellish the pride and obliterate the shame of the persuaded. If he has any private urgent need, you ought to encourage him with the cause of public justice. If the persuaded has a mean intention but cannot help it, you ought to praise its excellent points and minimize its harmfulness to the public. If he has a high ambition in mind but his real ability falls short of the mark, you ought to enumerate its mistakes, disclose its disadvantages, and esteem his suspension from realizing it. If he aspires to the pride of wisdom and talent, you ought to enumerate different species of the same genus with reference to every object of knowledge and thereby supply him with abundant information and let him derive ideas from you but pretend to ignorance of his derivation so as to elevate his wisdom.
If you want the persuaded to adopt your suggestion
to cultivate inter-state friendship, you ought to explain it in the light of a
glorious cause and intimate its accord with his private interest. If you want
to describe things dangerous and injurious to the state welfare, you ought to
enumerate
Praise those men doing the same things as he does. Esteem the tasks under the same scheme as his tasks are. In regard to men having the same faults as he has, be sure to defend their harmlessness. In regard to men having met the same failures as he met, be sure to bring out their incurring no loss. If he makes much of his own strength, do not bring in any difficult task that impedes him. If he thinks his own decisions brave, do not point out their unlawfulness; that angers him. If he thinks his own scheme wise, do not recall his past failures which embarrass him. When your meaning is not offensive and your wording is not flippant, you are then under way to use all your wisdom and eloquence to persuade anybody. In this way you can become near and dear to him, avoid all suspicion, and exert your speech to the utmost.
I Yin had to work as a cook and Pai-li Hsi had to
go as a captive, both aiming thereby to approach their masters. These two men
were sages. Still they could not help lowering themselves to such a humble
level in order to introduce themselves to notice. Now take me
Indeed, as days multiply in the long course of time
and favour with the ruler grows well-grounded, when you are no longer suspected
of devising schemes profoundly and not convicted in joining issue with the
ruler on any point, Historical Records has #### in place of ####.
3.—In by-gone days, Duke Wu of Chêng, thinking of
invading Hu, married his daughter to the Ruler of Hu and thereby pleased his
mind. Then he asked his ministers, "I am thinking of starting a military
campaign. Which country should be invaded?" In reply High Officer Kuan
Ch`i-Ssŭ said, "Hu should be invaded." Angered thereby, Duke Wu executed
him saying: "Hu is a sister
There was in Sung a rich man. Once it rained and his mud fence collapsed. Thereupon his son said: "If the fence is not immediately rebuilt, burglars might come." So also did the father of his neighbours say to him. On the evening of that day he incurred a great loss of money. Thereafter his family had high regard for his son's wisdom but suspected the father of the neighbours.
Now, what these two men
Therefore, Jao Ch`ao,
b.c. during the reign of Duke Ling of Chin the Chin
In by-gone days, Mi Tzŭ-hsia was in favour
with the Ruler of Wei. According to the Law of the Wei State, "whoever in
secret rides in the Ruler's coach shall have his feet cut off." Once Mi
Tzŭ-hsia's mother fell ill. Somebody, hearing about this, sent a message
to Mi Tzŭ late at night. Thereupon Mi Tzŭ on the pretence of the
Ruler's order rode in the Ruler's coach. At the news of this, the Ruler
regarded his act as worthy, saying: "How dutiful he is! For his mother's sake
he even forgot that he was committing a crime making him liable to lose his
feet." Another day, when taking a stroll with the Ruler in an orchard, he ate a
peach. It being so sweet, he did not finish it, but gave the Ruler the
remaining half to eat. So, the Ruler said: "You love me so much indeed, that
you would even forget your own saliva taste and let me eat the rest of the
peach." When the colour of Mi Tzŭ faded, the Ruler's love for him
slackened. Once he happened to offend the Ruler, the Ruler said: "This fellow
once rode in my coach under
Therefore, if anybody stands in his master's
favour, his wisdom will function well and his intimacy with him will grow; once
he incurs the master's hatred, his wisdom will stop functioning
Extracts from Classical Works has no #### below
####.
Once a man
of Ch`u, named Pien Ho, came by an uncut jade in the Ch`u Hills. He brought it
home and submitted it as a present to King Wu.
When King Wên died and King Ch`êng ascended the
throne, Ho, carrying the uncut jade in his arms, cried at the foot of the Ching
Hills.
Indeed, pearls and gems are what the lord of men wants badly. Though Ho presented the uncut jade to the Throne, before it was made beautiful, he was never a harm to His Majesty. Nevertheless, it was only after both his feet had been cut off that the treasure was acknowledged. That to establish an opinion of a treasure should be so difficult!
To-day, the lord of men feels the need of law and
tact not necessarily as badly as he wants the Jade of Pien Ho, whereas he has
to suppress the self-seeking wickedness of all officials, gentry, and
commoners.
If the sovereign uses tact, then neither the chief
vassals can fix the state policies at their will, nor will the courtiers dare
to sell off any personal favour. If the magistrate enforces the law, then
vagabonds have to turn to tillage while itinerants have to stop talking about
warfare. If so, law and tact offer a drawback to the officials, gentry, and
commoners.
In by-gone days, Wu Ch`i taught King Tao of Ch`u a
state policy for Ch`u, saying: "When chief vassals are too powerful and
enfeoffed retainers too numerous, the body of officials will intimidate the
ruler and oppress the
Lord Shang taught Duke Hsiao of Ch`in to organize
groups of ten and five families, and establish the system of denunciation of
crime and joint responsibility for offence, to burn the Books
of Poetry and History
Historical
Records and other books never mention Lord Shang's teaching to burn the
Books of Poetry and History. Lord Shang might have
taught it, but Duke Hsiao apparently never carried it into effect.
Ch`u, not employing Wu Ch`i, was dismembered and
disturbed; Ch`in, practising the Law of Lord Shang, became
Wicked ministers, in
general, all think of following the mind of the lord of men in order to attain
the status of enjoying the sovereign's confidence and favour. For this reason,
whatever the sovereign likes they praise accordingly; whatever the sovereign
hates they blame accordingly. On
Indeed, if wicked ministers can take advantage of
the status of enjoying the sovereign's confidence and favour to blame, praise,
promote, and degrade the officials, it is because the lord of men has neither
the tact and measure
If the state has "lord-manipulating vassals", then
no official will be able to exert his wisdom and strength and
For this reason, as soon as the attendants come to
know the impossibility of seeking safety
Likewise, as soon as officials of all posts come to
know the impossibility of seeking safety by playing square and upright, they
will certainly say: "When we serve the superior cleanly and incorruptibly, to
seek safety is as hopeless as to make squares and circles without the
carpenter's compasses and squares. If we hold office by observing the law and
not forming juntos, to seek safety is the same as to scratch the head with the
foot, which is still more hopeless. If neither road leads to safety, why should
we not discard the law, practise selfishness, and thereby please the
Such being the case, those who work for the
Indeed, tactful men, when ministering to a ruler,
would enforce
For this reason, attendants and courtiers, as soon
as they come to know the impossibility of seeking safety by means of falsehood
and deceit, will certainly say: "If we do not stop wicked deeds and apply our
strength and exert our wisdom to serve the sovereign, but merely associate with
one another for treasonable purposes and make arbitrary blame and praise so as
to seek safety, it is as hopeless as to expect to live by falling into an abyss
of immeasurable depth with a weight of thirty thousand catties
chün is about thirty catties.
Likewise, officials of all posts, as soon as they come to know the impossibility of seeking safety by coveting wicked profits, will certainly say: "If we do not obey the law by keeping ourselves pure, incorruptible, square, and upright, but simply want to secure wicked profits by bending the law with the greedy and corrupt minds, it is as hopeless as to expect to live by going up to the top of a high hill and then falling down into the bottom of a deep ravine."
If the road to safety and danger is so clear, then
how can the attendants beguile the sovereign with empty words? And how dare the
officials exploit the masses covetously? Accordingly, ministers able to express
their spirit of loyalty Taoist Thesaurus edition has #### in place of
####.
From such a viewpoint, I can see that the sage in
governing the state pursues the policy of making the people inevitably do him
good
To be sure, ruler and minister having no blood
kinship, if able to seek safety
Certainly for this reason, though the lord of men
neither teaches the officials with his own mouth nor finds the culprits and
ruffians with his own eyes, yet the state is always orderly. The lord of men
does not have to possess such eyes as those of Li Lou in order to be bright,
nor does he have to possess such ears as those of Musician K`uang in order to
be acute. If he does not trust to measures but relies on his eyes alone for his
brightness, then what he sees will be little. For it
Therefore, who can hold his august position
skilfully, finds his state in safety; who does not know how to utilize his
august position, finds his state in danger. For illustration, in by-gone days
it was the custom in Ch`in for both ruler and minister to discard state laws
and uphold private creeds, wherefore the country was disorderly, the army weak,
and the sovereign ignoble. Thereupon Lord Shang persuaded Duke Hsiao of Ch`in
to alter the law and renovate the custom by making public justice clear,
rewarding the denouncers of culprits, discouraging secondary callings,
The law and craft of the best government are thus clear enough. Yet scholars in the world never understand them.
Further, all stupid scholars in the world do not
know the actual conditions of order and chaos but chatter nonsense and chant
too many hackneyed old books to disturb the government of the present age.
Though their wisdom and thought are not sufficient to avoid pitfalls,
Indeed, what the stupid scholars in the world are
to the upholders of tact, that is the ant-hill to the big mound. They are very
different from each other. The sage is the one who scrutinizes the facts of
right and wrong and investigates the conditions of order and chaos. Therefore,
when governing the state he rectifies laws clearly and establishes penalties
severely in order to rescue all living beings
vide supra, p. 55).
Of course, the stupid men want order but dislike
the true path to order.
If the upholders of law and tact, being located in
an unrighteous position, accorded slanders by everybody, and addicted to the
words of the age, want to face the severe Son of Heaven and seek safety, is it
not hard for them to hope
Lord Ch`un-shên,
Yü next wanted to kill Chia and make her own son the heir apparent instead. So she tore the lining of her own petticoat. Showing the torn clothes to the Lord, she shed tears and said: "It is a long time since Yü became able to enjoy Your Excellency's favour, which Chia has known of course. Just a while ago, he thought of taking liberties with Yü by force. Yü struggled with him, till he tore her clothes. No other impious act committed by a son could be worse than this!" Enraged thereby, the Lord killed Chia. Thus, the wife was deserted because of the falsehood of the concubine Yü and the son was killed because of the same.
From this I can see that even the father's love of
the son can be demolished and damaged. Now that the mutual relationship of
ruler and minister does not involve the kinship of father and son and the
slanderous words of the officials are not so simple as those coming out only
from the single mouth of a concubine, no wonder worthies and sages are
slaughtered and executed! This was the very
In general, ministers, when guilty of crimes, never want to be censured, but, when of no merit, all want to be honoured and celebrated. However, the sage, when governing the state, never bestows rewards on men of no merit but definitely inflicts censures on culprits. If so, the characters of the upholders of tact and measure are certainly disgusting to the attendants and wicked ministers. Accordingly, nobody but an intelligent sovereign can take advice from them.
Scholars of the present age in counselling the lord
of men do not say, "Make use of the august and commanding position and thereby
harass the wicked and villainous ministers," but all say, "Practise nothing but
benevolence, righteousness, favour, and love!" Accordingly, rulers of the
present age have praised the names of benevolent and righteous men but have
never examined their realities, so that in serious cases they have ruined their
states and lost their lives and in minor cases they have seen their territories
dismembered and their ranks relegated. How to explain this? Indeed, to give
alms to the poor and destitute is what the world calls a benevolent and
righteous act; to take pity on the hundred surnames and hesitate to inflict
censure and punishment on culprits is what the world calls an act of favour and
love. To be sure, when the ruler gives alms
Indeed, severe penalty is what the people fear, heavy punishment is what the people hate. Accordingly, the wise man promulgates what they fear in order to forbid the practice of wickedness and establishes what they hate in order to prevent villainous acts. For this reason the state is safe and no outrage happens. From this I know very well that benevolence, righteousness, love, and favour, are not worth adopting while severe penalty and heavy punishment can maintain the state in order.
Without the severity of the whip and the facility of the bridle, even Tsao-fu could not drive the horse; without the rule of the compasses and squares and the tip of the inked string, even Wang Erh could not draw squares and circles; and without the position of authority and power and the law of reward and punishment, even Yao and Shun could not keep the state in order. Now that rulers of the present age thoughtlessly discard heavy punishment and severe censure and practise love and favour, to realize the achievement of the Hegemonic Ruler is also hopeless.
Therefore, the skilful sovereign makes rewards
clear and displays advantages to encourage the people and make them
If you have a solid carriage and a good horse, you can go over slopes and cliffs on land; if you embark in a safe boat and hold its easy helm in hand, you can get over the hazards of streams and rivers on water. Similarly, if you have the measures of law and tact in your grip and carry heavy punishment and severe censure into effect, you will be able to accomplish the achievement of the Hegemonic Ruler. Now, to have law and tact, reward and punishment, in governing the state, is the same as to have a solid carriage and a good horse in travelling on land and have a fast boat and an easy helm in travelling on water. Whoever has them in his grip will eventually accomplish his purpose.
Yi Yin mastered them, wherefore T`ang became
supreme; Kuan Chung mastered them, wherefore Ch`i became hegemonic; and Lord
Shang mastered them, wherefore Ch`in became a powerful state. These three men
all understood the statecraft of supremacy and hegemony clearly and observed
the measures for order and strength closely and were never restrained by
worldly and popular sayings. Thus, meeting the demands of the intelligent
sovereigns of their times, they emerged from the status of wearers of hemp
cloth
T`ang, because he got Yi Yin, rose from one hundred
square li of territory to become the Son of Heaven. Duke Huan, because he got
Kuan Chung, became the first Hegemonic Ruler, called nine meetings of the
feudal lords, and brought All-under-Heaven under one rule. Because Duke Hsiao
got Lord Shang, his territory was extended and his army was strengthened.
Therefore, whoever has loyal ministers, has no worry over enemy states outside
and no anxiety about rebellious ministers inside, enjoying permanent peace in
All-under-Heaven and handing down his name to posterity. Such ministers are the
so-called loyal ministers.
Take the case of Yü Jang. When ministering to Earl
Chih, he could not counsel the lord of men and make him clearly understand the
principles of law and tact, rule and measure, so as to avoid disasters, nor
could he lead and control his masses so as to keep the state in safety. When
Viscount Hsiang had killed Earl Chih, Yü Jang branded
There is a proverb saying, "Even the leper feels
pity for the king."
Schemes of the Warring States, the passages beginning
with this sentence and ending with the present chapter were written by Sun
Tzŭ to Lord Ch`un-shên.
If the lord of men does not have law and tact to
control his ministers, then though he is still on the green margin of his life
and has excellent talents, chief vassals will, as usual, gain influence,
administer all state affairs at their will, and make all decisions on their own
authority, everybody working to his own advantage. Fearing lest uncles and
brothers of the sovereign or some heroic men should exercise the
Taoist Thesaurus edition and the Schemes of the Warring States have #### in place of
####.
Hence it is recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals: "Prince Wei of Ch`u was once on
his way to visit the court of Chêng. Before he crossed the state border, he
heard about His Majesty's illness and therefore turned homeward. When he went
in to inquire after the King's illness, he strangled His Majesty to death with
the ribbons of his hat, and finally established himself on the throne.
b.c.b.c.
As witnessed in recent times, no sooner had Li Tai
b.c.b.c. Three years later, his eldest son, Chang,
who had once been the Crown Prince, launched a revolt against Ho, then King
Hui-wên, but failed and sought refuge in the Father Sovereign's detached palace
at the Sandy Hill. Li Tai upon his arrival first killed the rebellious prince
and then locked up the Father Sovereign inside the palace and starved him to
death.b.c., he asked
for rescue from Ch`u. King Ch`ing-hsiang, accordingly, appointed Nao Ch`ih
commander of the reinforcements. Upon his arrival at Ch`i, Nao Ch`ih was
appointed Prime Minister by King Min. Fearing the Yen invaders, however, he
betrayed the King, secretly made peace with Yen, and finally murdered the King
in 283 b.c.
Therefore, the leper, despite the boils and swellings all over his body, as compared with rulers of the Spring and Autumn Period, never suffers such miseries as neck-strangling and thigh-shooting, and, as compared with rulers of recent times, never suffers such miseries as starvation to death and sinew-pulling. Thus, the mental agony and physical pain of the rulers molested and murdered certainly exceed those of the leper. From this viewpoint, though the leper feels pity for the king, there is good reason for it.
1. As a rule, if the state of the lord of men is small but the fiefs of private families are big, or if the ruler's sceptre is insignificant but the ministers are powerful, then ruin is possible.
2. If the ruler neglects laws and prohibitions, indulges in plans and ideas, disregards the defence works within the boundaries and relies on foreign friendship and support, then ruin is possible.
3. If all officials indulge in studies, sons of the family are fond of debate, peddlars and shopkeepers hide money in foreign countries, and poor people suffer miseries at home, then ruin is possible.
4. If the ruler is fond of palatial decorations, raised kiosks, and embanked pools, is immersed in pleasures of having chariots, clothes, and curios, and thereby tires out the hundred surnames and exhausts public wealth, then ruin is possible.
5. If the ruler believes in date-selecting,
6. If the ruler takes advice only from ministers of high rank, refrains from comparing different opinions and testifying to the truth, and uses only one man as a channel of information, then ruin is possible.
7. If posts and offices can be sought through influential personages and rank and bounties can be obtained by means of bribes, then ruin is possible.
8. If the ruler, being easy-going, accomplishes nothing, being tender-hearted, lacking in decision, and, wavering between acceptance and rejection, has no settled opinion, then ruin is possible.
9. If the ruler is greedy, insatiable, attracted to profit, and fond of gain, then ruin is possible.
10. If the ruler enjoys inflicting unjust punishment and does not uphold the law, likes debate and persuasion but never sees to their practicability, and indulges in style and wordiness but never considers their effect, then ruin is possible.
11. If the ruler is shallow-brained and easily penetrated, reveals everything but conceals nothing, and cannot keep any secret but communicates the words of one minister to another, then ruin is possible.
12. If the ruler is stubborn-minded, uncompromising, and apt to dispute every remonstrance and fond of surpassing everybody else, and never thinks of the welfare of the Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain but sticks to self-confidence without due consideration, then ruin is possible.
13. The ruler who relies on friendship and support from distant countries, makes light of his relations with close neighbours, counts on the aid from big powers, and provokes surrounding countries, is liable to ruin.
14. If foreign travellers and residents, whose property and families are abroad, take seats in the state council and interfere in civil affairs, then ruin is possible.
15. If the people have no
16. If the ruler does not take able men of the country into service but searches after foreign gentlemen, and if he does not make tests according to meritorious services but would appoint and dismiss officials according to their mere reputations till foreign residents are exalted and ennobled to surpass his old acquaintances, then ruin is possible.
17. If the ruler disregards the matter of legitimacy and lets bastards rival legitimate sons, or if the sovereign dies before he inaugurates the crown prince, then ruin is possible.
18. If the ruler is boastful but never regretful, makes much of himself despite the disorder prevailing in his country, and insults the neighbouring enemies without estimating the resources within the boundaries, then ruin is possible.
19. If the state is small but the ruler will not acquiesce in a humble status; if his forces are scanty but he never fears strong foes; if he has no manners and insults big neighbours; or if he is greedy and obstinate but unskilful in diplomacy; then ruin is possible.
20. If, after the inauguration of the crown prince, the ruler take in a woman from a strong enemy state, the crown prince will be endangered and the ministers will be worried. Then ruin is possible.
21. If the ruler is timid and weak in self-defence
and his mind is paralysed by the signs of future events; or if he knows what to
decide on
22. If the exiled ruler is abroad but the country sets up a new ruler, or if before the heir apparent taken abroad as hostage returns, the ruler changes his successor, then the state will divide. And the state divided against itself is liable to ruin.
23. If the ruler keeps near and dear to the chief
vassals whom he has disheartened and disgraced or stands close
24. If chief vassals rival each other in power and uncles and brothers are many and powerful, and if they form juntas inside and receive support from abroad and thereby dispute state affairs and struggle for supreme influence, then ruin is possible.
25. If words of maids and concubines are followed and the wisdom of favourites is used, and the ruler repeats committing unlawful acts regardless of the grievances and resentments inside and outside the court, then ruin is possible.
26. If the ruler is contemptuous to chief vassals and impolite to uncles and brothers, overworks the hundred surnames, and slaughters innocent people, then ruin is possible.
27. If the ruler is fond of twisting laws by virtue
of his wisdom, mixes public with private
28. If the terrian has no stronghold,
29. If the royal seed is short-lived, new sovereigns succeed to each other continuously, babies become rulers, and chief vassals have all the ruling authority to themselves and recruit partisans from among foreign residents and maintain inter-state friendship by frequently ceding territories, then ruin is possible.
30. If the crown prince is esteemed and celebrated, has numerous dependents and protégés, develops friendships with big powers, and exercises his authority and influence from his early years, then ruin is possible.
31. If the ruler is narrow-minded,
32. If the sovereign is easily provoked and fond of resorting to arms and neglects agricultural and military training but ventures warfare and invasion heedlessly, then ruin is possible.
33. If nobles are jealous of one another, chief
vassals are prosperous, seeking support from enemy states and harassing
34. If the ruler is unworthy but his half-brothers are worthy; if the heir apparent is powerless and the bastard surpasses him; or if the magistrates are weak and the people are fierce; then the state will be seized with a panic. And a panic-stricken state is liable to ruin.
35. If the ruler conceals his anger, which he would never reveal, suspends a criminal case, which he never would censure, and thereby makes the officials hate him in secret and increases their worries and fears, and if he never comes to know the situation even after a long time, then ruin is possible.
36. If the commander in the front line has too much power, the governor on the frontier has too much nobility, and if they have the ruling authority to themselves, issue orders at their own will and do just as they wish without asking permission of the ruler, then ruin is possible.
37. If the queen is adulterous, the sovereign's
mother is corrupt, attendants inside and outside the court
38. If the queen is humble but the concubine is
noble, the heir apparent is low but the bastard is high, the prime minister is
despised but the court usher is esteemed, then
39. If chief vassals are very powerful, have many strong partisans, obstruct the sovereign's decisions, and administer all state affairs on their own authority, then ruin is possible.
40. If vassals of private families are employed but
descendants of military officers
41. If the state treasury is empty but the chief vassals have plenty of money, native subjects are poor but foreign residents are rich, farmers and warriors have hard times but people engaged in secondary professions are benefited, then ruin is possible.
42. The ruler who sees a great advantage but does not advance towards it, hears the outset of a calamity but does not provide against it, thus neglecting preparations for attack and defence and striving to embellish himself with the practice of benevolence and righteousness, is liable to ruin.
43. If the ruler does not practise the filial piety of the lord of men but yearns after the filial piety of the commoner, does not regard the welfare of the Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain but obeys the orders of the dowager queen, and if he allows women to administer the state affairs and eunuchs to meddle with politics, then ruin is possible.
44. If words are eloquent but not legal, the mind
is sagacious but not tactful, the sovereign is versatile but performs his
duties not in accordance with laws and
45. If new
46. If the bounties and allowances of uncles and brothers exceed their merits, their badges and uniforms override their grades, and their residences and provisions are too extravagant, and if the lord of men never restrains them, then ministers will become insatiable. If ministers are insatiable, then ruin is possible.
47. If the ruler's sons-in-law and grandsons live behind the same hamlet gate with the commoners and behave unruly and arrogantly towards their neighbours, then ruin is possible.
Thus, portents of ruin do not imply certainty of ruin but liability to ruin.
Indeed, two Yaos
It is true, the tree breaks down because
If the sovereign of ten thousand chariots can
exercise tact and enforce law and thereby function as gale and rain to rulers
having portents of ruin, his annexation of
The lord of men has three precautions to take. If
the three precautions are complete, the state will be safe and he will be
prosperous; if the three precautions are not complete, the state will fall into
danger and his life will become precarious.
What are meant by the "three precautions"?
Whenever ministers memorialize the Throne the
faults of the authorities in power, the mistakes of the personnel in charge of
state affairs, and the actual conditions of the officials,
If the ruler does not by himself benefit the men he
loves
If the ruler dislikes the toil of governing the
state by himself and lets the ministers group together and administer state
affairs, and if in so doing he passes his handles and shifts his position
These are called "the three precautions unaccomplished". If the three precautions remain incomplete, the situation portends molestation and regicide.
In general, there are three kinds of molestation:
If ministers who hold the honour of chief vassals
have the key to the state government in their grip for patronizing the
officials and make the administration of foreign and home affairs necessarily
go through their approval; and, though there are worthy and upright personages,
if people disobeying them always have bad luck and those obeying them always
have good luck; then no official would dare to be loyal to the sovereign and
worry about state welfare
Again, suppose chief vassals distribute private
favours, have all powers to themselves, overawe the country by pretending to
have influence abroad, follow the like and hate of the sovereign with his
forced interpretation of the signs of fortune and misfortune, advantages and
Finally, in matters of court and jail administration as well as prohibition and punishment, if ministers have powers to themselves, their act as such is called "molestation through the application of penal laws".
In short, if the three precautions are not complete, the three molestations will arise; if the three precautions are complete, the three molestations will stop. If the sovereign succeeds in stopping and debarring these three molestations, he will attain supremacy.
The difficulty of the lord of men lies in his
confidence in men. Confiding in men, he is restrained by men.
Ministers, in relation to the ruler, have no kinship, but, solely because constrained by force of circumstances, serve him. Therefore, those who minister to a ruler, always watch the mental condition of their master without stopping even for a moment; whereas the lord of men remains idle and arrogant over them. This is the reason why the world sees cases of ruler-molestation and regicide.
If the lord of men has much confidence in his son, then wicked ministers will utilize his son to accomplish their selfish purposes. For illustration, Li Tai, while assisting the King of Chao, starved the Father Sovereign.
If the lord of men has much confidence in his
spouse, then wicked ministers will utilize his spouse to accomplish their
selfish purposes. For illustration, Actor Shih, while assisting Princess Li,
b.c.
Indeed, even the spouse who is so near and the son who is so dear to the sovereign are not trustworthy, much less can anybody else be trustworthy.
Besides, whether he be a ruler of ten thousand chariots or a ruler of one thousand chariots, the queen, the concubine, or the crown prince, even though he be the legitimate son, might hope for his early death.
How do I know it is so? Indeed, man and wife,
having no kinship between them, are intimate when mutually in love and distant
when not in love. Hence the saying: "If the mother is loved, the son is held in
the arms." If so, the contrary must run like this: "If the mother is unloved,
the son is cast aside." Men fifty years old are as fond of women as usual, but
women only thirty years old are falling off in beauty. If women falling off in
beauty have to serve men still fond of the fair sex, then they will be
neglected
It is only when the mother is the queen dowager and the son is the sovereign that decrees never fail to prevail and prohibitions never fail to function. Then she finds as much pleasure between man and woman as at the time when the late ruler was still alive, and under no suspicion can she have all the powers of the ruler of ten thousand chariots to herself. For such a reason, poisoning with wine and hanging in secret are practised.
Hence it is said in T`ao-wu's
Episodes of Ch`u has #### in place of ####.Spring and Autumn Annals: "Of the lords of men, those
who died of illness were not
Thus, Wang Liang liked horses, and Kou-chien, King of Yüeh, liked able-bodied men, merely for driving and fighting purposes. The physician sucks patients' cuts and holds their blood in his mouth, not because he is intimate with them like a blood relation, but because he expects profits from them. Likewise, when the cartwright finishes making carriages, he wants people to be rich and noble; when the carpenter finishes making coffins, he wants people to die early. Not that the cartwright is benevolent and the carpenter is cruel, but that unless people are noble, the carriages will not sell, and unless people die, the coffins will not be bought. Thus, the carpenter's motive is not a hatred for anybody but his profits are due to people's death. For the same reason, when the clique of the queen, the princess, the concubine, or the crown prince, is formed, they want the ruler to die early. For, unless the ruler die, their positions will not be powerful. Their motive is not a hatred for the ruler, but their profits are dependent on the ruler's death. Therefore the lord of men must specially mind those who will profit by his death.
For illustration, though the sun and the moon are surrounded by haloes, the causes of their eclipses are inside themselves. Similarly, though the ruler guards against what he hates, the causes of his calamity consist in what he loves.
For this reason, the intelligent sovereign
Taoist Thesaurus edition has #### in place of
####.
If compulsory labour service is frequent, the
people will feel afflicted; if the people are afflicted, powerful and
influential men will appear to the fore; if powerful and influential men make
their appearance, exemptions will multiply; and if exemptions multiply, the
nobles will, by accepting bribes from the people exempted from labour service,
become wealthy. To afflict the people and thereby enrich the nobles and to
vacate the august position and let ministers utilize it, is not a permanent
advantage to the world. Hence the saying: "If compulsory labour service is
rare, the people will feel safe; if the people are safe, the ministers will
gain no extra power; if the ministers have
Now, take for illustration the truism that water
According to the sayings handed down from remote
antiquity, as recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals,
whoever violates the law, launches an insurrection, and thereby commits high
treason, comes from among the high and noble ministers. Yet what laws and
orders guard against and penalties censure is always among the low and humble.
That being so, the people give up all hope of salvation and find nobody to
petition for relief. The chief vassals form juntas, obscure the ruler
en bloc, and maintain their intimate relationship in
secret but pretend in the open to mutual hatred in order to prove their
unselfishness, and work as the ears and eyes of one another in order to watch
for the sovereign's unguarded moments. Thus, surrounded and deluded, the lord
of men has no way to get news from outside and retains the sovereign's title
but not the reality while ministers have all laws to themselves and carry them
into effect at their discretion. Of such a ruler the Sons of Heaven of Chou
were good examples. In short, if the power
The fault of the lord of
men is: After having entrusted
Taoist Thesaurus edition has #### in place of ####.
If the lord of men casts the law aside and guards
against ministers with ministers, then those who love one another will
associate for wicked purposes and speak well of one
Those who minister to a ruler, unless they have good reputations and make frequent requests, cannot advance their careers; unless they act contrary to the law and take all powers to themselves, they cannot uplift their prestige; and, unless they pretend to loyalty and faithfulness, they cannot rid themselves of prohibitions. These three ways are means of deluding the sovereign and destroying the law.
The lord of men, when employing ministers, should not allow them, however wise and able they may be, to act contrary to the law and take all powers to themselves; should not allow them, however worthy and virtuous they may be, to claim any priority among the men of merit and take precedence of the hard-working people; and should not discard the law and refrain from restricting them, however loyal and faithful they may be. Such a ruler is called an illustrator of the law.
The lord of men is sometimes tempted to tasks and sometimes deluded by words; wherefore both tasks and words need due consideration.
Ministers who imprudently propose tasks, usually
If the proposition purports a small task but the
actual expenses are enormous, then, though meritorious services are performed,
the proposition is not one of faith. If the ministers whose propositions are of
no faith are found guilty, and if the tasks, though they provide results, get
no reward,
The minister, when he devises a project for his
master and fears disapproval, will make out a case and declare such a warning
as, "Whoever criticizes the project of this task is jealous of the projector."
Suppose the lord of men, keeping it in secret, never consults any other
minister. The rest of the ministers, frightened by the premonition, dare not
criticize the project. If these two sets of circumstances
The right way to be the sovereign is to make all
ministers understand the reasons why they are blamed for giving opinions and
why they are blamed for not giving opinions. If they utter words that have
neither beginning nor ending
The lord of men in keeping ministers in service
ought to know the motive and purpose
When the lord of men wants to accomplish a task, if
he does not understand its beginning and ending so as to clarify the object of
his desire, and then if he attempts to accomplish it, his work will gain no
advantage but will incur disadvantage instead. If he understands this
principle, he will trust to reason and get rid of avarice. The
Such is not the case with the deluded sovereign. For he estimates the income but never estimates the outgo. As a result, even though the outgo is twice as much as the income, he never notices the harm. Thus in name he gains but in fact he loses. If such is the case, the achievement will be little while the harm is great.
In general, an achievement implies a big income and
a small outgo. Only in such a case can it be called an
Those who do not know the right way to political
order, always say, "Never change ancient traditions, never remove existing
institutions." Change or no change, the sage does not mind. For he aims only at
the rectification of
If Yi Yin had made no reform on behalf of Yin and
Generally speaking, men hesitate to change ancient traditions because they are diffident about affecting the peace of the people. Indeed, not to change ancient traditions is to inherit the traces of disorder; to accord with the mind of the people is to tolerate villainous deeds. If the people are stupid and ignorant of disorder and the superior is weak-spirited and unable to reform traditions and institutions, it is a failure in the process of government.
The lord of men must be intelligent enough to know
the
The basis of this argument is found in the
"External and Internal Affairs" by Lord Shang, who had iron spears and heavy
shields around him whenever going out to provide against accidents. Likewise,
when Kuo Yen began to assume the reins of government, Duke Wên had an official
For the same reason, in dealing
It was Chao that, after boring the tortoise-shell,
counting the bamboo slips, and finding the omen saying, "Great luck," attacked
Yen.
b.c.
Chao once again bored the tortoise-shell, counted
the bamboo slips, and invaded Yen in the north with a view to resisting Ch`in
by molesting Yen.
b.c., when Ch`in and Yen were allies.b.c., when Ch`in and Yen were allies.
Thy servant, therefore, says: Chao's
tortoise-shell, even though not able to foresee the outcome of her campaign in
Yen, should have been able to foretell the victory of Ch`in's invasion at hand.
Ch`in, believing in the great luck of the expedition, expanded her territory in
fact and rescued Yen in the good cause.
At the outset of the founding of the state, Wey
faced the east for several years and completely conquered both T`ao and Wei.
Then she turned westward for several years to cope with Ch`in and, as a result,
lost land to Ch`in. This was not because such lucky stars as Fêng-lung,
Records of the Heavens that the appearance of Yung-hui
or planet Mars forecasts serious warfare, and that the ruler in whose direction
it appears is bound to incur territorial losses.
In ancient times, the early kings exerted their
forces to renovate the people and doubled their efforts to clarify the law. As
the law was made clear, loyal subjects were encouraged. As punishment was made
definite, wicked subjects were suppressed. It was Ch`in whose loyal subjects
were encouraged and wicked ones were suppressed and whose territory was
expanded and sovereign was glorified.
Kou-chien, King of Yüeh, believed in the Ta-p`êng
Tortoise and waged a war with Wu, but did not win, till finally he had to
surrender himself as vassal and went personally to serve the King of Wu.
b.c.b.c.
Similarly, whoever relies on other feudal lords,
endangers his native soil. For instance, Ts`ao, relying on Ch`i, turned a deaf
ear to Sung, so that when Ch`i attacked Ching, Sung destroyed Ts`ao. Hsing,
To-day, Han, being a small state, is relying upon
big powers. Her sovereign, paying little attention to the law, takes every word
from Ch`in. The above-mentioned small
Thy servant, therefore, says: If measures for
political order are clarified, the state, though small in size, will become
rich. If reward and punishment are dignified and of faith, the people, though
small in number, will become strong. If reward and punishment follow no
regulations, the state, however large in size, will have weak soldiers. For the
soil is no longer its territory, the people no longer its subjects. Without
territory and people, even Yao and Shun never could reign supreme nor could the
three dynasties
Moreover, when the sovereign gives
indiscriminately, ministers take inconsiderately. Those who discard legal
Hence the saying: "Who knows few things, should not be allowed to scheme for enterprises; who practises loyalty in small ways, should not be allowed to take charge of judicial administration."
Once King Kung of Ching and Duke Li of Chin fought
at Yen-ling. The Ching troops suffered a defeat. King Kung was wounded. During
the bloody battle, Tzŭ-fan, High Commissioner of the Army, was thirsty
and wanted some drink. His attendant,
Historical
Records has #### in place of #### (vide supra, p.
70, n. 3).
At the time when Wey was clarifying and
establishing laws and upholding mandates
There is an ancient proverb saying: "The family
that has a definite occupation, does not have to starve in time of famine; the
state that has definite laws, does not go to ruin in case of emergency."
Indeed, if the ruler discards definite laws and follows private opinions, then
ministers will pretend to wisdom and ability; if ministers pretend to wisdom
and ability, then laws and prohibitions will not
Of yore, Shun ordered officials to drain the Great Deluge. One official set himself to work before the order came, and accomplished merit. However, Shun executed him. Once Yü received the feudal lords in audience in the vicinity of Kuei-chi. As the Ruler of Fang-fêng arrived late, Yü beheaded him. From this viewpoint it is clear that if those who went ahead of orders were executed and those who lagged behind orders were beheaded, the ancients must have held conformity to orders in high esteem.
For illustration, if the mirror keeps clean and has
no obstacle, then the beautiful and the ugly can be compared; if the balance
keeps right and has no obstacle, then the light and the heavy can be weighed.
Indeed, when you shake the mirror, the mirror cannot keep clear; when you shake
the balance, the balance cannot keep even. The same is true of the law.
Therefore, the early kings took Tao as the constant standard, and the law as
the basis of government. For, if the basis is orderly, the name is exalted; if
the basis is confused, the name is extinguished. In general, wisdom, ability,
cleverness, and erudition, if properly employed, take effect; otherwise, all
come to nought. Therefore, though wisdom and ability are exerted,
The intelligent sovereign makes the people conform
to the law
The law-breakers, on the whole, always set
fabrications and make excuses in order thereby to seek
It is the duty of the sovereign
Every minister cherishes both selfish motive and
public justice. To refine his personality, improve his integrity, practise
public creeds, and behave unselfish in office,
The ruler keeps the minister in service with a calculating mind. So does the minister with a calculating mind serve the ruler. As both ruler and minister are equally calculating, each for himself, the minister never cares to injure his body and benefit the state, nor does the ruler want to injure the state and benefit the minister. By nature the minister would regard the injury of himself as unprofitable. By nature the ruler would think the injury of the state as merciless. In short, ruler and minister work together, each with a calculating mind.
In the face of a crisis, the minister may sacrifice his life, exert his wisdom, and apply his strength. He would do so only on account of the law.
Therefore, the early kings, in order to encourage ministers, made rewards clear, and, in order to overawe them, made penalties severe. For, when rewards and penalties were clarified, the people would risk their lives in the cause of their native soil; when the people were resolved to risk their lives, the army would become strong and the sovereign would be honoured. When reward and penalty were not clearly enacted, men of no merit would expect undue rewards; when men found guilty were pardoned by grace, the army would become weak and the sovereign would become ignoble. Therefore, the early kings and their worthy counsellors applied their strength and exerted their wisdom to make laws clear and penalties severe. Hence the saying: "That public and private interests must be clearly distinguished and laws and prohibitions must be carefully enacted, the early kings already understood."
Chapter XXXVIII. Discourse
on Virtue
Superior virtue is
unvirtue. Therefore it has virtue. Inferior virtue never loses sight of virtue.
Therefore it has no virtue.
Superior virtue is
non-assertion and without pretension. Inferior virtue asserts and makes
pretensions.
Superior benevolence acts
but makes no pretensions. Superior righteousness acts and makes
pretensions.
Superior propriety acts and
when no one responds to it, it stretches its arm and enforces its
rules.
Thus one leaves Tao and
then Teh appears. One leaves Virtue and then Benevolence appears. One leaves
Benevolence and then Righteousness appears. One leaves Righteousness and then
Propriety appears. The rules of Propriety are the semblance of loyalty and
faith, and the beginning of disorder.
Foreknowledge is the flower
of Tao, but of ignorance the beginning.
Therefore a great sportsman
abides by the solid and dwells not in the superficial. He abides in the fruit
and dwells not in the flower.
Therefore he discards the
latter and chooses the former.
Virtue is internal.
Acquirement is external. "Superior virtue is unvirtue" means that the mind does
not indulge in external things. If the mind does not indulge in external
things, the personality will become perfect. The personality that is perfect is
called "acquirement". In other words, acquirement is the acquirement of the
personality. In general, virtue begins with non-assertion, develops with
non-wanting, rests secure with non-thinking, and solidifies with non-using. If
it acts and wants, it becomes restless; if restless, it is not perfect. If put
into use and thought about, it does not solidify; if it does not solidify, it
cannot work successfully. If it is not perfect
The reason why men value non-assertion and
ipso
facto not emptiness. When he who rests empty does not assert, he does not
regard non-assertion as having a constant way. If he does not regard
non-assertion as having a constant way, he is
By "benevolence" is meant the love of men in a pleasant mood in one's innermost heart. It is to rejoice in the good luck of others and to lament on their bad luck. It is born of the sense of sheer necessity, but not of the want of reward. Hence the saying: "Superior benevolence acts but makes no pretensions."
"Righteousness" covers the manners
"Propriety" refers to the mode in which one's
feelings are expressed. It is concerned with the cultural
In general, when a man responds to external things, he does not know that the response reveals the propriety of his personality. The masses of the people practise propriety only to show respect for others, wherefore propriety is now cordial and again simple. The superior man practises propriety on purpose to cultivate his personality. Since it is practised on purpose to cultivate his personality, it is intrinsic in mind and forms superior propriety. Since superior propriety is intrinsic in mind and popular propriety changes from time to time, they do not respond to each other. Since they do not respond to each other, hence the saying: "Superior propriety acts and no one responds to it."
Though the masses of the people change propriety from time to time, yet the saintly man is always courteous and respectful, practising the rules of propriety which bind him hand and foot. In so doing he never slackens. Hence the saying: "Superior virtue stretches its arm and enforces its rules."
Tao accumulates; accumulation
Propriety is the mode expressive of feelings.
Imperial Library Edition has #### in place of
####.
In general, things that do not flourish together
are Yin
To act before affairs take place and move before principles are clear, is called foreknowledge. The foreknower makes arbitrary guesses with no special cause. How can I prove this? Once upon a time, Chan Ho was seated and his disciples were waiting upon him. When an ox mooed outside the gate, the disciples said, "It is a black ox but white is on its forehead." In response to this, Chan Ho said, "True, it is a black ox but the white is on its horns." Accordingly, they sent men out to investigate it and found the ox was black and its horns were wrapped with white cloth. To bewilder the minds of the masses with the accomplished tact of Chan Tzŭ is almost as brilliant as any gay flower. Hence the saying: "Foreknowledge is the flower of Reason."
Supposing by way of trial we discarded the
foresight of Chan Tzŭ and sent out an ignorant boy less than five feet
tall to investigate it, then he would know the ox was black
"A great sportsman"
Chapter LVIII. Adaptation
to Change
Whose government is
unostentatious, quite unostentatious, his people will be prosperous, quite
prosperous. Whose government is prying, quite prying, his people will be needy,
quite needy.
Misery, alas! is what
happiness rests upon. Happiness, alas! is what
misery is hidden in. But who foresees the catastrophe? It will not be
prevented.
What is ordinary becomes
again extraordinary. What is good becomes again unpropitious. This bewilders
people, and it happens constantly since times immemorial.
Therefore the saintly man
is square but not sharp, strict but not obnoxious, upright but not restraining,
bright but not dazzling.
Man encountered by misery feels afraid in mind. If he feels afraid in mind, his motives of conduct will become straight. If his motives of conduct are straight, his thinking processes will become careful. If his thinking processes are careful, he will attain principles of affairs. If his motives of conduct are straight, he will meet no misery. If he meets no misery, he will live a life as decreed by heaven. If he attains principles of affairs, he will accomplish meritorious works. If he can live a life as decreed by heaven, his life will be perfect and long. If he accomplishes meritorious works, he will be wealthy and noble. Who is perfect, long-lived, wealthy, and noble, is called happy. Thus, happiness originates in the possession of misery. Hence the saying: "Misery, alas! is what happiness rests upon" for accomplishing its merit.
When one has happiness, wealth and nobility come to
him. As soon as wealth and nobility come to him, his clothes and food become
good. As soon as his clothes and food become good, an arrogant attitude
appears. When an arrogant attitude appears, his conduct will become wicked and
his action unreasonable. If his conduct is wicked, he will come to an untimely
end. If his action is unreasonable, he will accomplish nothing. Indeed, to meet
the disaster of
Indeed, those who administer affairs by following
reason and principle never fail to accomplish tasks. Those who never fail to
accomplish tasks, can attain the honour and influence of the Son of Heaven for
their best or at least easily secure the rewards and bounties of ministers and
generals. Indeed, those who discard reason and principle and make arbitrary
motions, though they have the honour and influence of the Son of Heaven and the
feudal lords on the one hand and possess ten times
Everybody wants wealth, nobility, health, and longevity. Yet none can evade the disaster of poverty, lowliness, death, or untimely end. To have the want in mind for wealth, nobility, health, and longevity, and meet poverty, lowliness, death, or untimely end, in the long run, means the inability to reach what one wants to reach. In general, who misses the way he seeks and walks at random, is said to be bewildered. If bewildered, he cannot reach the place he wants to reach. Now the masses of the people cannot reach the place they want to reach. Hence the saying of "bewilderment".
That the masses of the people cannot reach the
place they want to reach, has been true since the opening of heaven and earth
till the present. Hence the saying: "The people have been bewildered from time
immemorial."
By "square" is implied the correspondence of the
internal with the external, the agreement of word with deed. By "strictness" is
implied the determination to die in the cause of fidelity, to take matters of
property and money easy. By "uprightness" is implied the sense of duty to stand
by
Chapter LIX. The Way to
Maintain Order in the State
For governing the people
and obeying heaven nothing is better than frugality.
Now consider that frugality
is said to come from early practice.
By early practice it is
said that we can accumulate an abundance of virtue. If one accumulates an
abundance of virtue, then there is nothing that cannot be overcome.
If nothing cannot be
overcome, then no one knows his limit. If no one knows his limit, one can have
possession of the state.
Who has possession of the
state's mother, may last and abide.
This is called the
possession of deep roots and of a staunch stem. To long life and to everlasting
activity, this is the way.
Sharpness and brightness, intuition and wisdom, are
The masses of the people, when using their mental energy, are in a great hurry. If in a great hurry, they waste too much of their energy. To waste too much energy is said to be extravagant. The saintly man, when using his mental energy, is reposed. Reposed, he consumes little energy. To consume a small amount of energy is said to be frugal. Frugality, called a tact, originates in reason and principle. The ability to be frugal, indeed, is due to obedience to reason and conformity to principle. The masses of the people, though caught by troubles and overtaken by disasters, are still not aware of the need of retirement and would not follow reason and principle. The saintly man even before he sees the signs of misery and disaster is already humble-minded and follows reason and principle. This is said to be early practice. Hence the saying: "Now consider that frugality is said to come from early practice."
Who knows how to govern the people, thinks and
worries in repose. Who knows how to obey heaven, keeps his sense-organs humble.
If one thinks and worries in repose,
Indeed, who can make the old virtue not go out and the spirit of peace come in every day, is a man of early practice. Hence the saying: "By early practice it is said that we can accumulate an abundance of virtue."
After one accumulates virtue, one's mind becomes
tranquil.
To find nothing invulnerable results from the accumulation of an abundance of virtue. Hence the saying: "If one accumulates an abundance of virtue, then there is nothing that cannot be overcome."
If one can easily overcome his enemies in warfare,
he will be able to annex All-under-Heaven. If his reputation spreads all over
the world, the people will obey him. Thus, when going forward, he can annex
All-under-Heaven; when turning backward, he finds the people obedient to him.
If his tact is profound, the masses of the people
In general, who first has the state and then loses
it, and who first has the body and then drives it to misery, cannot be called
able to have possession of the state and keep the safety of the body. Indeed,
who can have possession of the state, must be able to keep the Altar of the
Spirits of Land and Grain in security; who can keep the safety of the body,
must be able to live through the period of life as
As to the so-called "possession of the state's
mother", the mother is Tao. Tao appears in the craft whereby the state is
possessed. As one has possession of the craft whereby the state is possessed,
he is said to have possession of the state's mother. Indeed, Tao moves along
with the world, so that it lasts long in building life and abides forever in
keeping bounty. Hence the saying: "Who has possession of the state's mother may
last and abide." Trees have both widespread roots and straight roots. The
straight
Chapter LX. How to Be in
Office
Govern a big country as you
would fry small fish: (neither gut nor scale them).
If with Tao
All-under-Heaven is managed, even its ghosts will not haunt. Not only will its
ghosts not haunt, but its gods will not harm the people. Not only will its gods
not harm the people, but neither will its sages harm the people. Since neither
will do harm, therefore their virtues will be combined.
The craftsman, if he frequently changes his work,
will lose his accomplishment. The workman, if he frequently shifts his
occupation, will lose his accomplishment, too. If one man loses half-a-day's
accomplishment every day, in ten days he will lose five men's accomplishment.
If ten thousand men each lose half-a-day's accomplishment every day, in ten
days they will lose fifty thousand men's accomplishment. If so, the more
numerous those who frequently change their works are, the greater losses they
will incur. Likewise, if laws and decrees are altered,
People when ill hold physicians in esteem, and,
when miserable, hold ghosts in awe. When the sage is on the throne, the people
will have fewer desires. When the people have fewer desires, their blood and
spirit will become orderly and their behaviour and conduct reasonable. If blood
and spirit are orderly
The people of an orderly age and ghosts and gods do
not
If ghosts fall upon sick persons,
The sovereign and the people do not ruin each other while men and ghosts do not harm each other. Hence the saying: "Neither will do harm."
If the people dare not violate the law, then the
sovereign does not have to apply penalties on the one hand nor does he have to
work to the advantage of his own investments on the other. If the sovereign
neither has to apply penalties nor has to work to the advantage of his own
investments, the people will multiply and prosper. When the people are
multiplying and prospering, their savings and hoardings will flourish. To have
a people who multiply and prosper and whose savings and hoardings flourish, is
called to have possession of virtue. The so-called cursed person is one whose
soul is gone and whose mind is perturbed. If his mind is perturbed, he has no
virtue. If ghosts did not fall
Chapter XLVI. Moderation of Desire
When All-under-Heaven follows Tao, race-horses are reserved for hauling dung. When All-under-Heaven does not follow Tao, war horses are bred in the suburbs.
No greater crime than submitting to desire. No greater misery than not knowing sufficiency. No greater fault than avarice.
Therefore, who knows sufficiency's sufficiency is always sufficient.
The ruler who upholds Tao incurs no hatred from the
neighbouring enemies outside and bestows beneficence upon the people at home.
Verily, who incurs no hatred from the neighbouring enemies, observes the rules
of etiquette
On the contrary, if the ruler of men does not
uphold Tao, at home he will misgovern the people and abroad he will offend the
neighbouring states. If he misgoverns the people, the people will lose their
property; if he offend the neighbouring states, warfare will frequently take
place. If the people lose their property, the cattle will decrease; if warfare
takes place frequently, officers and soldiers will be exhausted. If cattle
decrease, war horses will become few; if officers and soldiers are exhausted,
the army will be jeopardized. If war horses are few, then even mares
When a man has wild desires, his inferences become
confused. When
Therefore the saintly men are never attracted to
the five colours
Therefore, if avarice is intense,
Chapter XIV. Praising the Mysterious
What we look at and is not seen is named Colourless. What we listen to and is not heard is named Soundless. What we grope for and is not grasped is named Bodiless.
These three things cannot further be analysed. Thus they are combined and conceived as a unity which on its surface is not clear and in its depth not obscure.
Forever and aye it remains unnamable, and again and again it returns home to non-existence.
This is called the form of the formless, the image of the imageless. This is called the transcendentally abstruse.
In front its beginning is not seen. In the rear its end is not seen.
By holding fast to the way of the antiquity control the present. And thereby understand the origin of the antiquity. This is called the rule of Tao.
Tao is the way of everything, the form of every
principle. Principles are the lines that complete things. Tao is the cause of
the completion of everything. Hence the saying: "It is Tao that rules
Things have their respective principles and
therefore b.c. that
Confucius passed by him, when he sang a song satirically blaming his not
retiring from the world (vide Confucian Analects, Bk.
XVIII, Ch. V).
Men rarely see living elephants. As they come by
the skeleton of a dead elephant, they imagine its living according to its
features. Therefore it comes to pass that whatever people use for imagining the
real is called "image".
Chapter I. Understanding
Tao
The Tao that can be traced
as a way is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be defined as a name is not
the eternal name. What has no name is the beginning of heaven and earth. What
has a name is the mother of the myriad things. Therefore it is said:
"He who desireless is foundThe spiritual of the world will
sound.But he who by desire is boundSees the mere shell of things
around."
These two things are the
same in source but different in name. Their sameness is called a mystery.
Indeed, it is the mystery of mysteries. Of all subtleties it is the
gate.
In general, principles are what distinguish the
square from the round, the short from the long, the coarse from the fine, and
the hard from the brittle. Accordingly, it is only after principles become
definite that things can attain Tao. Thus, definite principles include those of
existence and extinction, of life and death, and of rise and fall. Indeed,
anything that first exists and next goes to ruin, now lives and then dies, and
prospers at the beginning and declines afterward, cannot be said to be eternal.
Only that which begins with the creation of heaven and earth and neither dies
nor declines till heaven and earth disappear can be said
Chapter L. The Estimation
of Life
Appear in birth, disappear
in death.
There are thirteen
dependencies of life; there are thirteen dependencies of death. On thirteen
avenues men that live pass into the realm of death.
Now, what is the reason? It
is because they live life's intensity.
Yea, I understand that one
who takes good care of life, when travelling on land, will not fall a prey to
the bison or the tiger. When going among soldiers, he need not fear arms and
weapons. The bison finds no place wherein to insert its horns. The tiger finds
no place wherein to put his claws. Weapons find no place wherein to thrust
their blades. What is the reason? It is because he does not belong to the realm
of death.
Man begins in birth and ends in death. To begin is called to appear; to end, to disappear. Hence the saying: "Appear in birth, disappear in death."
The human body is composed of three hundred and
sixty joints with four limbs and nine passages as its important equipment. Four
limbs plus nine passages are thirteen in
As regards death, the thirteen equipments revert to their original status, and all depend upon death. Therefore, the dependencies of death are also thirteen. Hence the saying: "There are thirteen dependencies of life; there are thirteen dependencies of death."
On the whole, people who live by living life's
intensity, move all the time. When motion is exerted, they incur losses. If
motion does not stop, losses will occur
Therefore, the saintly man saves mental energy and
esteems the status of repose. Otherwise, conditions would become much worse
than the harm of bisons and tigers. True, bisons and tigers have lairs and
their motion and repose come on certain occasions. If you keep away from their
lairs and avoid the occasions of their activities, then you will be able to
evade their harm. However, as people know bisons and tigers have horns and
claws but do not know everything else has horns and claws, they cannot
In general, weapons and armour are for providing
against harm. Who clings firmly to life, though serving in the ranks, has no
mind of grudge and dispute. Without the mind of grudge and dispute, he finds no
place wherein to use the provisions against harm. This not only refers to the
troops in the wilderness. But it is also concerned with the saintly man who has
no mind to harm anybody when making his way through the world. If he has no
mind to harm anybody, he will find no harm from anybody. If he finds no harm
from anybody, he need not guard against anybody. Hence the saying: "When
travelling on land, he will not fall a prey to the bison or the tiger."
Likewise, he does not have to depend on the provisions against harm when
walking
It is the rational principle of heaven and earth that man takes no precaution against any kind of harm and never is harmed. As he merges in the course of heaven and earth, hence the saying: "He does not belong to the realm of death." Inasmuch as he moves and does not belong to the realm of death, he is said to be taking good care of life.
Chapter LXVII. The Three
Treasures
All-under-Heaven call me
great; but I resemble the unlikely. Now a man is great only because he
resembles the unlikely. Did he resemble the likely, how lasting, indeed, would
his mediocrity be!
Indeed, I have three
treasures which I cherish and treasure. The first is called compassion. The
second is called frugality. The third is called not daring to come to the front
of All-under-Heaven.
The compassionate can be
brave; the frugal can be magnificent; those who dare not come to the front of
All-under-Heaven can become perfect as chief vessels.
Now, if people discard
compassion and are brave; if they discard frugality and are magnificent; if
they discard modesty and are ambitious, they will surely die.
Indeed, the compassionate
will in attack be victorious, and in defence firm. Heaven when about to save
one will with compassion protect him.
Who loves his child, is compassionate to the child. Who clings firmly to life, is compassionate to himself. Who values successful accomplishment, is compassionate to tasks. The compassionate mother, regarding her infant child, always strives to establish the child's well-being. If she strives to establish the child's well-being, she will endeavour to rid the child of calamities. If she endeavours to rid the child of calamities, her reflection and consideration become thorough. If her reflection and consideration are thorough, she will attain the principles of affairs. If she attains the principles of affairs, she will certainly accomplish her purposes. If she is certain of accomplishing her purposes, she will not hesitate in her action. To make no hesitation is called "bravery". Now, the saintly man deals with the myriad affairs exactly in the same way as the compassionate mother considers the well-being of her child. Therefore, he finds reason for determined action. If he has reason for determined action, he will not hesitate in transacting affairs either. Thus, to make no hesitation is called "bravery"; unhesitating action is due to compassion. Hence the saying: "The compassionate can be brave."
The Duke of Chou said: "If it does not freeze hard
in winter days, grass and trees will not flourish in spring and summer." Thus,
even heaven and earth can neither always be extravagant nor always be frugal.
How much less can mankind be so? Therefore, the myriad things must have
prosperity and decline, the myriad affairs must have their rise and fall, the
state must have civil and military institutions, and government must have
reward and punishment. For this reason, if wise men frugally spend their money,
their families will become rich; if the saintly man treasures his
In general, anything that has a form can be easily
cut and easily trimmed. How can I prove this? Well, if the thing has form, it
has length; if it has length, it has size; if it has size, it has a shape; if
it has a shape, it has solidity; if it has solidity, it has weight; and if it
has weight, it has colour. Now, length, size, shape, solidity, weight, and
colour are called principles. As these are fixed, the thing can be easily cut.
Therefore, if you present discussions first in the government and draw your
conclusion from them later, then
Thus, if one dare not come to the front of
Who is compassionate to his children, dare not stop
giving them clothes and food. Who is compassionate to himself, dare not go
astray from laws and regulations. Who is compassionate to squares and circles,
dare not discard the compasses and squares. For the same reason, if one in the
face of warfare is compassionate to the rank and file, he will overcome his
enemies in attack; if compassionate to war implements, he will make the
Indeed, who can perfect himself and thoroughly
follow the principles of the myriad things, will eventually live a heavenly
life. A heavenly life refers to the right way of human nature.
Chapter LIII. Gaining
Insight
If I have ever so little
knowledge, I shall walk in the Grand Course. It is but expansion that I must
fear.
The Grand Course is very
plain, but people are fond of by-paths.
When the palace is very
splendid, the fields are very weedy and the granaries very empty.
To wear ornaments and gay
clothes, to carry sharp swords, to be excessive in drinking and eating, to have
a redundance of costly articles, this is the pride of robbers.
Surely, this is
non-Course.
The so-called Grand Course in the text is the
orthodox way. The so-called hypocrisy
If litigations are numerous, granaries and
storehouses are empty, and certain people practise frivolity and extravagance
as folkways, then the state will be injured
Indeed, the Yü
Chapter LIV.
Wang's note has #### in
place of ####. I disagree with him. Cultivating the Observing
Ability
"What is well planted is not
uprooted;What is well preserved cannot be
looted!"
By sons and grandsons the
sacrificial celebrations shall not cease.
Who cultivates it in his
person, his virtue is genuine.
Who cultivates it in his
family, his virtue is overflowing.
Who cultivates it in his
village, his virtue is lasting.
Who cultivates it in his
country, his virtue is abundant.
Who cultivates it in
All-under-Heaven, his virtue is universal.
Therefore,
By one's person one looks
at persons.
By one's family one looks
at families.
By one's village one looks
at villages.
By one's country one looks
at countries.
By one's All-under-Heaven
one looks at All-underHeaven.
How do I know that
All-under-Heaven is such? Through IT.
Men, whether stupid or intelligent, either accept
or reject things. If reposed and secure, they would know the causes of
misfortune and good luck. Excited by likes and dislikes and beguiled by obscene
objects, they become different and perturbed. The reason for this is that they
are attracted to external things and perturbed by likes and tastes. In fact,
repose involves the meaning of accepting likes and rejecting dislikes; security
purports the estimation of misfortune and good luck. Now, they are changed by
likes and tastes and attracted to external things. Since they are attracted to
external things and thereby led astray, hence the saying of "being uprooted".
Such is not the case with the saintly man, however. Once he sets up his
principle of acceptance and rejection, then though he sees things he likes, he
is never attracted to them. Not to be attracted to them is said to "be not
uprooted". Once he sets up the basis of devotion, then though there may be
things that he likes,
Sons and grandsons act upon this Tao and thereby maintain the ancestral halls. The indestructibility of the ancestral halls means "the everlasting duration of the sacrificial celebrations".
To accumulate energy is virtue to oneself. To
accumulate property is virtue to one's family. To tranquillize the people is
virtue to the village, to the state, and to All-under-Heaven. Since one refines
his personality and external things cannot perturb his mind, hence the saying:
"Who cultivates it in his person, his virtue is genuine." By "genuineness" is
meant "firmness of prudence".
Who manages his family affairs, his decision is never moved by useless things. If this is so, his resources will be overflowing. Hence the saying: "Who cultivates it in his family, his virtue is overflowing."
If the squire of the village acts upon this principle, then homes that have abundance will multiply. Hence the saying: "Who cultivates it in his village, his virtue lasts long and spreads wide."
If the governor of the country acts upon this
principle, then villages that have virtue will multiply. Hence the saying: "Who
cultivates it in his country,
kuo (####) in place of pang (####),
both having practically the same meaning. Han Fei Tzŭ's commentary having
#### instead of #### is correct.
If the ruler of All-under-Heaven acts upon this principle, then the livelihood of the people will always receive his beneficence. Hence the saying: "Who cultivates it in All-under-Heaven, his virtue is universal."
If the self-cultivator differentiates the superior
man from the small man by means of this principle, and if the squire of the
village, the governor of the country, and the ruler of All-under-Heaven, all
follow this principle in making a comprehensive survey of their respective
gains and losses, there can be no single mistake in a myriad cases. Hence the
saying: "By one's person one looks at persons. By one's family one looks at
families. By one's village one looks at villages. By one's country one looks at
countries. By one's All-under-Heaven one looks at All-under-Heaven. How
Chapter XLVI. Moderation of
Desire
Vide
supra, p. 187. Italics my addition, and so throughout this chapter.
When All-under-Heaven
follows Tao, there is no emergency, tranquillity increases daily,
When All-under-Heaven does not follow Tao, there is constant warfare, and self-defence against each other lasts for years without stopping, till the troops cannot return home, even though armour and helmets bring about lice and moths and swallows and sparrows nest in the tents of the generals. Hence the saying: "War horses are bred in the suburb."
Once a man of Ti presented to Duke Wên of Chin fox
furs with thin haired tails and leopard fur with black spots. Accepting the
guest's presents, Duke Wên heaved a sigh, b.c.) of Chou ordered Ch`u to punish Hsü. King Yen,
as he loved the people, refused to offer resistance, till his forces were
completely routed by Ch`u.
Earl Chih, having annexed the fiefs of Fan and
The Ruler of Yü wanted the team of the Ch`ü breed and the Jade from Ch`ui-chi and took no advice from Kung Chi-Ch`i. In consequence his state went to ruin and he himself to death. Hence the saying: "No greater fault than avarice."
Any country, if able to preserve itself, is fair,
and, if able to attain hegemony, is excellent. Anybody, if able to live on, is
fair, and, if wealthy and noble, is excellent. Therefore, if not
self-destructive, the state will not go to ruin and the self will not be
killed. Hence the saying: "Who knows sufficiency's sufficiency
Chapter LIV.
Wang Hsien-shen's note has
#### in place of ####. I disagree with him. Cultivating of the Observing
Ability
Vide
supra, pp. 203-4.
King Chuang of Ch`u, after winning the war with
Chin,
b.c.
Chapter XXVI. The Virtue of
Gravity
The heavy is of the light
the root, and rest is motion's master.
Therefore the superior
man
in his daily walk does not depart from gravity. Although he
may have magnificent sights, he calmly sits with liberated mind.
But how is it when the
ruler of ten thousand chariots in his personal conduct is too light for
All-under-Heaven? If he is too light, he will lose his vassals. If he is too
restless, he will lose the throne.
If the ruler has the reins of government in his grip, he is said to be "heavy". If the ruler does not depart from his seat, he is said to be "resting". If heavy, he can control the light. If resting, he can subdue the moving. Hence the saying: "The heavy is of the light the root, and rest is motion's master. Therefore the superior man in his daily work does not depart from gravity."
The state is the gravity of the ruler of men. The
Father Sovereign while still alive alienated the state. In other words, he
departed from gravity. Therefore, though he enjoyed himself at Tai and
Yün-chung, he had already slipped the Chao State off his grip. Thus, the Father
Sovereign, having been a sovereign of ten thousand chariots, became in his
personal conduct too light for vide infra, Chap. XL).
Chapter XXXVI. The
Revelation of Secrets
When you are about to
contract anything, you would first expand it. When you are about to weaken
anything, you would first strengthen it. When you are about to set
down anything, you would first set it up. When
you are about to take, you would give.
This is a revelation of the
secrets whereby the soft conquer the hard and the weak the strong.
As the fish should not
escape from the deep, so should the state's sharp tools not be shown to
anybody.
The position that is influential is the deep to the
ruler of men. Who rules men, his position must be more
True, reward and punishment are the state's sharp tools. If held in the hands of the ruler, they control the ministers. If held in the hands of the ministers, they control the ruler. If the ruler shows the tool of reward, the ministers will minimize it and thereby distribute private favours. If the ruler shows the tool of punishment, the ministers will aggravate it and thereby overawe the people. Since if the ruler of men shows the tool of reward, the ministers will abuse his position, and if he shows the tool of punishment, they will utilize his authority, hence the saying: "The state's sharp tools should not be shown to anybody."
The King of Yüeh, after surrendering himself to Wu,
b.c.b.c.b.c. Lake Five was the present T`ai Lake near
Soochow.
When Duke Hsien of Chin was about to raid Yü, he
presented to them a jade and a team of horses. When Earl Chih was about
To carry out a plan before it takes shape and
thereby accomplish a great achievement in All-under-Heaven, is "a revelation of
secrets". To be small and weak but willing to keep humble, is the way "the weak
conquer the strong".
Chapter LXIII. Considering
Beginnings
Assert
non-assertion.
Practise
non-practice.
Taste the
tasteless.
Make great the
small.
Make much the
little.
Requite hatred with
virtue.
Contemplate a difficulty
when it is easy. Manage a great thing when it is small.
The most difficult
undertakings in All-under-Heaven necessarily originate while easy, and the greatest
undertakings in All-under-Heaven necessarily
originate while small.
Therefore, the saintly man
to the end does not venture to play the great, and thus he can accomplish his
greatness.
Rash promises surely lack
faith, and many easy things surely involve in many difficulties.
Therefore, the saintly man
regards everything as difficult, and thus to the end encounters no
difficulties.
What has a form, always begins its greatness from
smallness. What endures a long time, always begins its abundance from scarcity.
Hence the saying: "The most difficult undertakings in All-under-Heaven
necessarily originate while easy, and the greatest undertakings in
All-under-Heaven necessarily originate while small."
A dike ten thousand feet long begins its crumbling
with holes made by ants; a room one hundred feet square begins its burning with
sparks of fire
Book of Shih Tzŭ, it is said: "He who is old in
age plasters cracks and takes precautions against chimneys, wherefore
throughout his life he meets no fire disaster. This, however, he never knows to
regard as virtue."
Pien Ch`iao once had an interview with Duke Huan of
Ch`i.
Historical
Records has #### in place of ####.
Ten days later, Pien Ch`iao again had an interview and said: "The disease of Your Highness is in the flesh and skin. If not treated now, it will go still deeper." To this advice Marquis Huan made no reply. Pien Ch`iao went out. Marquis Huan was again displeased.
After ten more days, Pien Ch`iao had another interview and said: "The disease of Your Highness is in the stomach and intestines. If not treated now, it will go still deeper." Again Marquis Huan made no reply to the advice. Pien Ch`iao went out. Marquis Huan was again displeased.
After ten more days, Pien Ch`iao, looking at
Marquis Huan, turned back and ran away. The Marquis sent men out to ask him.
"Diseases that are in the capillary tubes," said Pien Ch`iao, "can be reached
by hot water or flat irons. Those in the flesh and skin can be reached by metal
or stone needles. Those in the stomach and intestines can be reached by
well-boiled drugs. But after they penetrate the bones and marrow, the patients
are at the mercy of the Commissioner
In the course of five more days, Marquis Huan began to feel pain in his body, and so sent men out to look for Pien Ch`iao, who, however, had already gone to the Ch`in State. Thus ended the life of Marquis Huan.
For this reason, good physicians, when treating
diseases, attack them when they are still in the capillary tubes. This means
that they manage things when they are small. Hence,
Chapter LXIV. Mind the
Minute
What is still at rest is
easily kept quiet. What has not as yet appeared is easily prevented. What is
still feeble is easily broken. What is still minute is easily
dispersed.
Treat things before they
come into existence. Regulate things before disorder begins. The stout tree has
originated from a tiny rootlet. A tower of nine stories is raised by heaping up
bricks of clay. A thousand li's journey begins with a foot.
He that makes mars. He that
grasps loses.
The saintly man does not
make; therefore he loses not. The people on undertaking an enterprise are
always near completion, and yet they fail.
Remain careful to the end
as in the beginning and you will not fail in your enterprise.
Therefore the saintly man
desires to be desireless, and does not prize articles difficult to obtain. He
learns to be not learned, and reverts to what
multitudes of people pass by.
He assists the myriad
things in their natural development, but he does not venture to
interfere.
Of yore, when Prince of Chin, Ch`ung-erh, was
living in exile, once he passed through the Chêng
When Duke Hsien of Chin with the Jade from Ch'ui-chi as present was going to borrow the way through Yü, to attack Kuo, High Officer Kung Chi-ch`i admonished the Ruler of Yü, saying: "The request should not be granted. When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold. Yü and Kuo ought to rescue each other, not because they want to place each other under any obligation, but because if Chin destroys Kuo to-day, to-morrow Yü will follow on its heels to ruin." The Ruler of Yü, taking no advice from him, accepted the jade and lent them the way. After taking Kuo, Chin withdrew and destroyed Yü in turn.
Thus, these two ministers both strove to suppress troubles when they were still in capillary tubes, but both their rulers failed to adopt their counsels. Thus, Shu Chan and Kung Chi-ch`i were the Pien Ch`iao of Chêng and Yü, to whose words both their rulers paid no heed. As a result, Chêng was routed and Yü destroyed. Hence the saying: "What is still at rest is easily kept quiet. What has not as yet appeared is easily prevented."
Chapter LII. Returning to
the Origin
When All-under-Heaven takes
its beginning, Tao becomes the mother of All-under-Heaven.
As one knows his mother, so
she in turn knows her child; as she quickens her child, so he in turn keeps to
his mother, and to the end of life he is not in danger. Who closes his mouth,
and shuts his sense-gates, in the end of life he will encounter no trouble; but
who opens his mouth and meddles with affairs, in the end of life he cannot be
saved.
Who beholds smallness is
called enlightened. Who preserves tenderness is called strong. Who uses Tao's
light and return home to its enlightenment does not surrender his person to
perdition. This is called practising the eternal.
Of old, Chow made chop-sticks of ivory. Thereby was
the Viscount of Chi frightened. He thought: "Ivory chop-sticks would not be
used with earthen-wares but with cups made of jade or of rhinoceros horns.
Further, ivory chop-sticks and jade cups would not go with the soup made of
beans and coarse greens but with the meat of
In the course of five years, Chow made piles of meat in the form of flower-beds, raised roasting pillars, walked upon mounds of distiller's grains, and looked over pools of wine. In consequence ended the life of Chow. Thus, by beholding the ivory chop-sticks, the Viscount of Chi foreknew the impending catastrophe of All-under-Heaven. Hence the saying: "Who beholds smallness is called enlightened."
Kou-chien, after surrendering himself to Wu, held
shield and spear and became a front guard of the horses
Chapter LXXI. The Disease
of Knowledge
To know the unknowable,
that is elevating. Not to know the knowable, that is sickness.
Only by becoming sick of
sickness can we be without sickness.
The saintly man is not
sick. Because he is sick of sickness, therefore he is not sick.
The King of Yüeh could become hegemonic because he
was not sick of surrender. King Wu could become
Chapter LXIV. Mind the
Minute
Vide
supra, pp. 215-16.
Once a countryman of Sung came by a jade stone,
which he presented to Tzŭ-han.
Once Wang Shou carried books on his back when
travelling, and met Hsü Fêng in Chou. To him Hsü
Indeed, everything has a definite shape. It should accordingly be put to use. Accordingly, one should follow its shape. Therefore, if reposed, one should stand on Teh; if moving, he should act on Tao.
Once a man of Sung made for the ruler mulberry
leaves of ivory.
Book of
Lieh Tzŭ reads #### for ####.
When Lieh Tzŭ heard this, he said: "Supposing
heaven and earth made a leaf in three years, then things that have leaves would
be few." Therefore, if you do not count on the natural resources of heaven and
earth but look to one man for everything, or if you do not follow the course of
reason and principle but learn from the wisdom of one man, it is the same as to
make a single leaf in three years. For this reason, farming in winter, even the
Master of Grains
Chapter XLVII. Viewing the
Distant
"Without passing out of the doorThe Course of All-under-Heaven I
prognosticate.Without peeping through the
windowThe Way of Heaven I contemplate.The farther one goes,The less one knows."
Therefore the saintly man
does not travel, and yet he has knowledge. He does not see things, and yet he
defines them. He does not labour, and yet he completes.
Holes are the doors and windows of the spirit. The
ears and the eyes are exhausted by sounds and colours. Mental energy is
exhausted by outer attractions. As a result, there is no master inside the
body. If there is no master inside the body, then though all kinds of good and
bad luck pile like hills and mountains, there is no way to know them. Hence the
saying: "Without passing out of the door the Course of All-under-Heaven I
prognosticate.
Once upon a time Viscount
When Prince Pai Shêng
b.c., Tzŭ-hsi, a
half-brother of King P`ing, called Shêng back to Ch`u and enfeoffed him with
the district of Yen and the title of Duke of White. Thenceforth Prince Shêng
always planned to avenge his father on the Chêngs, but his plan was hampered
twice by Tzŭ-hsi, till he was forced to assassinate Tzŭ-hsi and
cause a rebellion against King Hui.
Chapter XLI. Sameness in
Difference
When a superior scholar
hears of Tao, he endeavours to practise it.
When an average scholar
hears of Tao, he will sometimes practise it and sometimes lose it.
When an inferior scholar
hears of Tao, he will greatly ridicule it. Were it not thus ridiculed, it would
as Tao be insufficient.
Therefore the poet
says:
The Tao-enlightened seem dark and
black,The Tao-advanced seem going back,The Tao-straight-levelled seem rugged and
slack.
The high in virtue resembles a
vale,The pure