牧民

All who possess territory and shepherd the people must attend to the four seasons and guard the granaries. When the state has abundant wealth, those from afar will come; when land is opened and cultivated, the people will stay and settle. When the granaries are full, the people will understand propriety and moderation; when clothing and food are sufficient, they will understand honor and shame. When the ruler observes proper measure, the six kinship bonds will be firm. When the Four Pillars are upheld, the ruler's commands will be carried out. The key to reducing punishments lies in prohibiting frivolous craftsmanship; the measure of guarding the state lies in cultivating the Four Pillars; the constant way of guiding the people lies in honoring the spirits, revering mountains and rivers, respecting the ancestral temples, and venerating the old ways. If one does not attend to heaven's seasons, wealth will not be produced; if one does not attend to the advantages of the land, the granaries will not be filled. When the fields lie waste, the people grow negligent; when the ruler lacks measure, the people grow reckless. If frivolous craft is not prohibited, the people become dissolute; if the two sources are not regulated, punishments multiply. If the spirits are not honored, the common folk do not awaken; if the mountains and rivers are not revered, authority and commands are not heard; if the ancestral temples are not respected, the people defy their superiors; if the old ways are not venerated, filial piety and fraternal duty are incomplete. When the Four Pillars are not upheld, the state will be destroyed.

The state has Four Pillars. If one is severed, the state tilts; if two are severed, it is imperiled; if three are severed, it is overturned; if all four are severed, it is destroyed. When tilted it can be righted; when imperiled it can be stabilized; when overturned it can be raised again; but when destroyed, it cannot be restored. What are the Four Pillars? The first is propriety, the second is duty, the third is integrity, the fourth is a sense of shame. Propriety means not overstepping proper bounds; duty means not advancing oneself. Integrity means not concealing wrongdoing; shame means not following the crooked. When proper bounds are not overstepped, those in high position are secure; when people do not advance themselves, the people have no cunning schemes; when wrongdoing is not concealed, conduct is naturally complete; when the crooked is not followed, wicked affairs do not arise.

What causes governance to flourish lies in following the people's hearts. What causes governance to decay lies in opposing the people's hearts. The people detest worry and toil — I give them ease and pleasure. The people detest poverty and low station — I give them wealth and honor. The people detest danger — I preserve and secure them. The people detest extinction — I give them life and nurture. If I can give them ease, then the people will endure toil for me. If I can give them wealth, then the people will endure poverty for me. If I can preserve them, then the people will face danger for me. If I can nurture them, then the people will face extinction for me. Punishments alone cannot make their minds fearful; executions alone cannot make their hearts submit. When punishments multiply yet minds feel no fear, commands cannot be carried out. When executions multiply yet hearts do not submit, the ruler's position is in peril. Follow the people's four desires and those who are distant will draw near; impose their four dreads and those who are close will rebel. Thus know this: 'To give in order to take — this is the treasure of governance.'

Place the state on ground that will not tilt; store in granaries that will not run dry; deposit in treasuries that will not be exhausted; issue commands from a source that flows like water; employ the people in offices free of contention; make clear the road to certain death; open the gate of certain gain. Do not attempt what cannot be accomplished; do not seek what cannot be obtained; do not occupy what cannot endure; do not practice what cannot be sustained. To place the state on untiltable ground means conferring authority on the virtuous. To store in inexhaustible granaries means attending to the five grains. To issue commands like flowing water means making commands follow the people's hearts. Strict punishments keep people from wickedness; trustworthy rewards make people brave in hardship; measuring the people's strength means nothing will fail.

If you govern the district as though it were your household, the district cannot be governed. If you govern the state as a district, the state cannot be governed. If you govern the realm as a state, the realm cannot be governed. Govern each level according to its proper scale. Do not say those of different birth need not be heeded. Be like heaven and earth — what partiality? Be like the sun and moon — the ruler's proper measure alone. The reins of guiding the people lie in what those above value. The realm does not lack ministers — it lacks a ruler to employ them. The realm does not lack wealth — it lacks someone to distribute it. One who understands timing may be established as leader; one without self-interest may be appointed to govern.