二柄

The means by which an enlightened ruler controls his ministers are nothing more than the Two Handles. The Two Handles are punishment and reward. What do we mean by punishment and reward? To kill and execute is called punishment; to celebrate and bestow is called reward. Those who serve as ministers fear execution and punishment and find profit in celebration and reward. Therefore, if the ruler himself wields punishment and reward, the ministers will fear his authority and flock to his benefits.

But the treacherous ministers of this age do otherwise: whatever they hate, they can obtain condemnation for from the ruler; whatever they love, they can obtain rewards for from the ruler. Now if the ruler does not ensure that the authority and profit of reward and punishment issue from himself, but instead listens to his ministers and lets them administer rewards and punishments, then everyone in the state will fear the ministers and take the ruler lightly, will flock to the ministers and abandon the ruler. This is the calamity of a ruler who has lost the handles of punishment and reward.

The reason a tiger can overpower a dog is its claws and fangs. If the tiger were to surrender its claws and fangs and let the dog use them, the tiger would instead be overpowered by the dog. The ruler controls his ministers through punishment and reward. If the ruler now surrenders his punishment and reward and lets his ministers wield them, the ruler will instead be controlled by his ministers.

Thus Tian Chang petitioned for ranks and stipends from above and distributed them among the ministers, and enlarged the measures of grain below and bestowed them upon the common people. This was Duke Jian losing reward while Tian Chang wielded it — and so Duke Jian was assassinated. Zi Han said to the Lord of Song: "Celebrations, rewards, gifts, and grants are what the people love — let my lord administer them himself. Killing, execution, and punishment are what the people hate — allow your minister to take charge of them." Thereupon the Lord of Song lost punishment while Zi Han wielded it — and so the Lord of Song was coerced. Tian Chang merely wielded reward and Duke Jian was assassinated; Zi Han merely wielded punishment and the Lord of Song was coerced. If ministers of this present age were to wield both punishment and reward together, then the danger to today's rulers would be far greater than that of Duke Jian or the Lord of Song. Therefore, among rulers who have been coerced, assassinated, blocked, or kept in darkness, there has never been one who did not lose the handles of punishment and reward and let his ministers wield them, yet still escaped danger and destruction.

When a ruler wishes to prohibit treachery, he must carefully verify the match of performance and title — that is, he must compare words against deeds. When a minister puts forward a proposal, the ruler assigns him a task based on those words, and holds him exclusively accountable for the results of that task. If the results match the task and the task matches the words, then reward him. If the results do not match the task and the task does not match the words, then punish him.

Therefore, if a minister's claims are grand but his results are meager, he is punished — not for the meagerness of his results, but because his results did not match his claims. If a minister's claims are modest but his results are great, he too is punished — not because the ruler is displeased with great results, but because the harm of a mismatch between performance and title is greater than the benefit of great results. Hence the punishment.

In former times, Marquis Zhao of Han fell asleep while drunk, and the Keeper of the Hat, seeing that his lord was cold, placed a garment over him. When the marquis awoke, he was pleased and asked his attendants: "Who placed the garment on me?" They replied: "The Keeper of the Hat." The marquis thereupon punished both the Keeper of Garments and the Keeper of the Hat. He punished the Keeper of Garments for neglecting his duty, and he punished the Keeper of the Hat for overstepping his office. It was not that the marquis did not dislike the cold, but that he considered the harm of officials encroaching on one another's duties to be greater than the cold.

Thus when an enlightened ruler manages his ministers, no minister may overstep his office to claim merit, nor may he put forward proposals that prove inaccurate. Overstepping one's office means death; inaccuracy means punishment. If each minister keeps strictly to his assigned office and his words prove reliable, then the ministers will be unable to form factions and cover for one another.

A ruler faces two dangers: if he appoints the worthy, then ministers will exploit the pretense of worthiness to coerce him; if he promotes recklessly, then affairs will falter and fail. Therefore, if the ruler shows a fondness for worthiness, the ministers will all embellish their conduct to court his desires — and thus the true dispositions of the ministers will never be revealed. If the true dispositions of the ministers are never revealed, the ruler will have no way to distinguish among them.

Thus the King of Yue admired courage, and his people grew willing to die lightly. King Ling of Chu admired slender waists, and the people of his state starved themselves. Duke Huan of Qi was jealous of others outside the palace but fond of those within, and so Shu Diao castrated himself to manage the inner quarters. Duke Huan loved fine flavors, and so Yi Ya steamed the head of his own son and served it to him. King Kuai of Yan admired the worthy, and so Zi Zhi made an ostentatious show of refusing the state.

Thus when the ruler reveals what he dislikes, the ministers conceal their true intentions. When the ruler reveals what he likes, the ministers feign the corresponding abilities. If the ruler lets himself be seen through, then the ministers' schemes and postures will have found their opening.

Zi Zhi relied upon the pretense of worthiness to usurp his lord. Shu Diao and Yi Ya exploited the ruler's desires to encroach upon their lord. In the end, King Kuai died in the resulting chaos, and Duke Huan's corpse lay unburied until the maggots crawled out his door. What was the reason for this? It was the calamity of a ruler lending his true feelings to his ministers.

The true disposition of a minister is not necessarily one of love for his lord — it is driven by the pull of heavy profit. If the ruler today does not conceal his feelings and does not hide his inclinations, but instead gives ministers an opening to encroach upon their lord, then for the ministers to become Zi Zhi or Tian Chang will not be difficult.

Therefore it is said: "Eliminate your likes, eliminate your dislikes, and the ministers will show their unadorned selves." Once the ministers show their unadorned selves, the great ruler will be greatly shielded from deception.