難三

Duke Mu of Lu asked Zisi: "I have heard that the son of the Pang clan is unfilial. What is his conduct like?" Zisi replied: "The gentleman honors the worthy to elevate virtue, and promotes the good to guide the people. As for misconduct, that is what petty men take note of -- I do not know of it." Zisi withdrew. Zifu Libo then entered for an audience, and when asked about the Pang clan's son, Zifu Libo answered: "He has three faults" -- all things the duke had never heard before. From this time on, the duke esteemed Zisi and looked down upon Zifu Libo.

Someone objects: Is it not fitting that Lu's ducal house was held hostage by the Ji clan for three generations? An enlightened ruler seeks out the good and rewards it, seeks out treachery and punishes it -- acquiring both is equally important. Thus one who reports the good does so because he shares the ruler's love of good; one who reports treachery does so because he shares the ruler's hatred of treachery -- both deserve praise and reward. To fail to report treachery is to differ from the ruler above and conspire with the treacherous below -- this deserves censure and punishment. Yet Zisi did not report misconduct, and Duke Mu esteemed him; Libo did report treachery, and Duke Mu looked down on him. Human nature is to desire esteem and shun contempt, so the Ji clan's usurpation went unreported to the top -- this is how the ruler of Lu was held hostage. Moreover, this is the custom of doomed kings: something the people of Zou and Lu use to flatter themselves. That Duke Mu alone prized it -- is this not perverse?

When Duke Wen was in exile, Duke Xian sent the eunuch Pi to attack him at Pucheng. Pi cut off his sleeve, and Duke Wen fled to the Di people. When Duke Hui ascended the throne, he again sent Pi to attack at Huidou, but Pi failed to capture him. When Duke Wen finally returned to power, Pi sought an audience. The duke said: "In the affair at Pucheng, the ruler's order allowed one night's travel, yet you arrived immediately. In the crisis at Huidou, the ruler's order allowed three nights, yet you arrived in one -- why such haste?" Pi replied: "A ruler's command admits no hesitation. In eliminating the ruler's enemies, I feared only falling short. What did the people of Pu or the Di have to do with me? Now that you have ascended the throne, will there be no Pu or Di for you? Moreover, Duke Huan set aside the arrow-hook incident and made Guan Zhong his chief minister." The duke then received him.

Someone objects: Is it not fitting that Qi and Jin saw their sacrifices cut off? Duke Huan could employ Guan Zhong's talents and forget the arrow-hook grudge; Duke Wen could heed the eunuch's words and set aside the crime of cutting his sleeve. These two dukes were able to tolerate such men. But later rulers lack the discernment of those two dukes, and later ministers lack the worthiness of those two men. When disloyal ministers serve undiscerning rulers -- if the ruler does not perceive it, then there arise traitors like Yan Zhuo, Zihan, and Tian Chang; if the ruler does perceive it, the ministers excuse themselves by citing Guan Zhong and the eunuch. The ruler refuses to execute them and flatters himself that he possesses the virtue of Huan and Wen. Thus he harbors enemies while his discernment cannot penetrate their schemes, lends them ever more resources, considers himself wise yet takes no precautions -- would it not be fitting if he had no descendants? Moreover, the eunuch Pi claimed he adorned himself with the principle of unswerving obedience to the ruler's command. If one serves a lord unto death and does not waver, that is loyalty. But when Duke Hui died in the morning and Pi served Duke Wen that very evening -- what became of his unswerving loyalty?

Someone posed a riddle to Duke Huan: "One difficulty, two difficulties, three difficulties -- what are they?" Duke Huan could not answer, and told Guan Zhong about it. Guan Zhong answered: "The first difficulty is keeping entertainers close while keeping capable scholars at a distance. The second difficulty is leaving one's state and frequently journeying to the sea. The third difficulty is the ruler growing old while delaying the installation of a crown prince." Duke Huan said: "Excellent." Without waiting for an auspicious day, he performed the temple ceremony to install the crown prince.

Someone objects: Guan Zhong missed the mark in solving the riddle. Whether scholars are employed does not depend on their physical proximity, and entertainers and jesters are simply those the ruler relaxes with -- keeping entertainers close and scholars distant is not a true difficulty in governance. As for one who cannot make use of what he has in the world and perversely refuses to leave his state, that is trying to restrain an entire state with one man's strength -- few can succeed at that. But if one's discernment can illuminate distant treachery and perceive hidden subtleties, and one's commands are always enforced, then even though one travels to the sea, there will be no upheaval at home. Leaving the state for the sea without being seized or killed is therefore not a true difficulty either. King Cheng of Chu installed Shang Chen as crown prince, then wanted to replace him with Prince Zhi. Shang Chen launched a rebellion and murdered King Cheng. Prince Zai was the Zhou crown prince, but Prince Gen was favored; Gen rebelled in the eastern provinces and split the state in two. These were not caused by late installation of the crown prince. If positional advantage is not divided, if concubines' sons are kept low, and if favorites have no institutional basis, then even with powerful ministers, late installation of a crown prince is acceptable. So that too is not a true difficulty. What may truly be called the three difficulties are: first, relying on others to build one's positional advantage while preventing them from encroaching on oneself; second, honoring a favored consort without allowing her to rival the queen; third, loving a concubine's son without letting him endanger the legitimate heir, and exclusively heeding one minister without allowing him to overawe the ruler.

Duke Zigao of She asked Confucius about governance. Confucius said: "Governance lies in pleasing those nearby and attracting those far away." Duke Ai asked Confucius about governance. Confucius said: "Governance lies in selecting the worthy." Duke Jing of Qi asked Confucius about governance. Confucius said: "Governance lies in economizing resources." After the three lords departed, Zigong asked: "All three lords asked you the same question about governance, yet you gave different answers. Why?" Confucius said: "She has a large capital but a small state, and the people have rebellious hearts -- therefore I said 'governance lies in pleasing those nearby and attracting those far away.' Duke Ai of Lu has three powerful ministers who externally block visiting scholars from the neighboring states and internally conspire to keep their lord ignorant. Those who ensure the ancestral temples go unswept and the altars of soil and grain receive no blood sacrifices are surely these three ministers -- therefore I said 'governance lies in selecting the worthy.' Duke Jing of Qi built the Yong Gate and constructed the road-chamber, and in a single morning bestowed estates of three hundred chariots on three different men -- therefore I said 'governance lies in economizing resources.'"

Someone objects: Confucius's answers are the words of a doomed state. Fearing the people have rebellious hearts and earnestly advising to 'please those nearby and attract those far away' is teaching the people to expect benevolence. When benevolence becomes policy, the meritless receive rewards and the guilty are pardoned -- this is how the law is destroyed. When the law is destroyed and governance falls into chaos, using chaotic governance to rule a corrupted people is clearly unworkable. Moreover, when people have rebellious hearts, it is because the ruler's discernment does not reach far enough. Rather than strengthening the Duke of She's discernment, Confucius tells him to please those nearby and attract those far away -- this is abandoning what positional advantage can enforce and instead competing for the people through ineffectual benevolence. This is not the way of one who can wield positional advantage. Yao was the most worthy of the six sage-kings, yet Shun followed him once and encompassed all, and Yao no longer possessed All-Under-Heaven. To lack techniques for controlling those below and rely on being a Shun who never loses his people -- is this not a lack of techniques? The enlightened ruler detects minor treachery in its subtlest form, so the people never hatch great plots; he applies minor punishments at the smallest level, so the people never cause great disorder. This is what is meant by 'plan against the difficult while it is still easy; accomplish the great while it is still small.' When those with merit are surely rewarded, those rewarded do not feel indebted to the ruler -- it was their effort that brought it. When the guilty are surely punished, those punished do not resent the ruler -- it was their crime that brought it. When the people know that punishments and rewards all arise from their own actions, they devote themselves eagerly to productive work and do not look for gifts from the ruler. 'Under the best rulers, the people below merely know they exist.' This means the people under the best rulers have no cause for gratification -- where then is the need for people who cherish benevolence? When the people of a superior ruler neither benefit nor suffer from favoritism, the advice to 'please those nearby and attract those far away' can be discarded.

Duke Ai had ministers who externally blocked visitors and internally conspired to keep him ignorant, yet Confucius advised him to 'select the worthy.' This is not a discussion of merit and achievement -- it means selecting those whom one's heart considers worthy. If Duke Ai had known his three ministers were blocking visitors externally and conspiring internally, those three would not have stood for a single day. It was precisely because Duke Ai did not know how to select the worthy, selecting only those his heart deemed worthy, that the three ministers were able to hold office. King Kuai of Yan considered Zizhi worthy and not Sun Qing, and so died in disgrace. King Fuchai of Wu considered Grand Steward Pi wise and Wu Zixu foolish, and so was destroyed by Yue. The ruler of Lu did not truly know worthiness, yet Confucius advised him to select the worthy -- this is to expose Duke Ai to the same disasters as Fuchai and Kuai.

The enlightened ruler does not personally promote ministers -- ministers recommend one another. He does not personally judge worthiness -- merit reveals itself. He evaluates through appointment, tests through tasks, and assesses through results. Therefore all ministers govern impartially without private interests, concealing no worthy men and advancing no unworthy ones. Why should the ruler toil at selecting the worthy?

Duke Jing bestowed estates of a hundred chariots, yet Confucius advised him to 'economize resources.' This means Duke Jing had no techniques to prevent his officers from growing extravagant with their wealth, and was told to economize only at the top -- which would not save him from poverty. A ruler who feeds himself from a thousand li of territory -- even Jie and Zhou of old were not more extravagant. Qi's territory spanned three thousand li, and Duke Huan used half of it for his own sustenance -- more extravagant than Jie and Zhou. Yet he became foremost among the Five Hegemons because he understood where extravagance and frugality truly matter. A ruler who cannot restrain those below but restrains himself is called 'coerced.' One who cannot regulate those below but regulates himself is called 'disordered.' One who does not economize below but economizes for himself alone is called 'impoverished.' The enlightened ruler ensures people have no private interests: those who feed themselves through deceit are prohibited; those who exhaust their strength in service and return the profit to the ruler are surely recognized, and the recognized are surely rewarded; those who engage in corrupt private dealings are surely detected, and the detected are surely punished. Thus loyal ministers devote themselves fully to public duty, scholars and people exhaust their strength in their labors, and all officials excel in service to the ruler. Even if the ruler is twice as extravagant as Duke Jing, it is no danger to the state. Therefore, the advice to 'economize resources' does not address the urgent matter.

To answer all three rulers with a single phrase that eliminates all three problems -- this is what is meant by 'understanding those below.' When understanding of those below is clear, prohibitions are applied at the subtlest level. When prohibitions are applied at the subtlest level, treachery does not accumulate. When treachery does not accumulate, there are no conspiracies. When there are no conspiracies, public and private are distinguished. When public and private are distinguished, factions dissolve. When factions dissolve, there is no problem of external obstruction and internal conspiracy. When understanding of those below is clear, even the finest details are perceived. When the finest details are perceived, punishments and rewards are clear. When punishments and rewards are clear, the state does not grow poor. Therefore it is said: one answer to resolve all three rulers' problems -- this is what is meant by 'understanding those below.'

Zi Chan of Zheng set out early one morning and, passing through the lane of the Eastern Craftsmen, heard a woman weeping. He grasped his charioteer's hand and listened. After a while, he dispatched officials to seize and interrogate the woman -- she had strangled her husband with her own hands. On another day, his charioteer asked: "How did you know, sir?" Zi Chan said: "Her voice betrayed fear. When people lose someone they truly love, at first they worry during the illness, then they feel dread as death approaches, and after death they grieve. This woman was weeping over a death, yet showed not grief but fear -- that is how I knew there was foul play."

Someone objects: Is Zi Chan's governance not excessively laborious? If detecting treachery depends entirely on what one's own ears and eyes can reach, then the treachery caught in Zheng will be very little indeed. Not relying on established officials, not examining through cross-checking and verification, not making measures and standards clear, but depending entirely on one's own perception and exhausting one's mental resources to detect treachery -- is this not a complete lack of techniques? When things are many and one's intelligence is limited, the limited cannot overcome the many; intelligence is not sufficient to know all things. Therefore one uses things to govern things. When those below are many and those above are few, the few cannot overcome the many -- which means the ruler is not sufficient to know all his ministers. Therefore one uses men to know men. In this way the body is not exhausted yet affairs are well governed, and one's mental faculties are not taxed yet treachery is detected. Hence the saying of the people of Song: 'If a single sparrow flies past Yi the Archer and he must hit it, then we make an impossible demand of Yi. But spread a great net across All-Under-Heaven, and no sparrow escapes.' Detecting treachery likewise requires a great net that lets nothing slip through. To neglect proper systems and use one's own personal perception as bow and arrow -- that is making an impossible demand of Zi Chan. Laozi said: 'To govern a state with cleverness is the state's misfortune.' This describes Zi Chan exactly.

King Zhao of Qin asked his attendants: "At the present time, are Han and Wei stronger or weaker than they were originally?" The attendants replied: "Weaker than before." "And how do the present Ru Er and Wei Qi compare with the former Lord Mengchang and Mang Mao?" They replied: "They do not compare." The king said: "Lord Mengchang and Mang Mao led a strong Han and Wei and still could do nothing against me." The attendants said: "Precisely so." Zhongqi pushed aside his qin and responded: "Your Majesty's assessment of All-Under-Heaven is mistaken. In the time of the six noble houses of Jin, the Zhi clan was the strongest. They destroyed the Fan and Zhonghang clans, then led the forces of Han and Wei to attack Zhao, flooding Jinyang until only three courses of wall remained above water. When Zhibo rode out in his chariot, Lord Xuan of Wei was his driver and Lord Kang of Han was his outrider. Zhibo said: 'I never knew before that water could destroy a state. Now I know it. The Fen River could flood Anyi, and the Jiang River could flood Pingyang.' Lord Xuan elbowed Lord Kang, and Lord Kang stepped on Lord Xuan's foot. This exchange of elbow and foot atop the chariot, and the Zhi clan was partitioned below the walls of Jinyang. Today, though Your Majesty is strong, you are not yet as strong as the Zhi clan. Though Han and Wei are weak, they have not yet been reduced to what they were at Jinyang. This is a time when All-Under-Heaven may be using elbows and feet. I beg Your Majesty not to take them lightly."

Someone objects: King Zhao's question was mistaken, and the answers of both the attendants and Zhongqi were flawed. When an enlightened ruler governs his state, he relies on his positional advantage. If that positional advantage cannot be harmed, then even the strongest cannot do anything about it -- let alone Lord Mengchang, Mang Mao, Han, and Wei. If his positional advantage can be harmed, then even the incompetent Ru Er, Wei Qi, Han, and Wei can still harm him. Whether one is harmed or not depends entirely on one's own self-reliance -- why ask about it? If one is self-reliant in what cannot be breached, what does it matter whether the enemy is strong or weak? The error lies in not being self-reliant and instead asking 'what can they do to me?' -- if one is not breached, it is only luck. Shen Buhai said: 'To fail in one's methods yet seek assurance in trust is to invite doubt.' This describes King Zhao exactly.

Zhibo lacked proper standards, and while accompanied by Lord Kang of Han and Lord Xuan of Wei, he schemed to use water to flood and destroy their states -- this is why Zhibo's state was destroyed, his person killed, and his skull made into a drinking cup. Now King Zhao merely asks which is stronger -- does he fear someone will use flood tactics against him? His attendants are not the two lords of Han and Wei -- where would there be an exchange of elbows and feet? Zhongqi's warning not to take them lightly is empty talk. Moreover, Zhongqi's official duty was the qin and se. When strings are untuned or melodies unclear -- that is Zhongqi's responsibility. This is what Zhongqi was appointed to serve King Zhao with. Zhongqi has not yet satisfied King Zhao in his own duties, yet ventures opinions on what he does not understand -- is this not presumptuous? The attendants' answers that they are 'weaker than before' and 'do not compare' were acceptable, but their saying 'precisely so' was flattery. Shen Buhai said: 'In governance, do not overstep your office; even if you know, do not speak.' Now Zhongqi does not know yet still speaks. Therefore I say: King Zhao's question was mistaken, and the answers of both the attendants and Zhongqi were all flawed.

Guanzi said: "When you see something commendable, your approval should have evidence. When you see something reprehensible, your disapproval should have visible form. If rewards and punishments are credible in what is seen, will anyone dare act wrongly in what is unseen? If you see something commendable but your approval has no evidence; if you see something reprehensible but your disapproval has no visible form -- then rewards and punishments lack credibility even in what is seen, and to hope to control what lies outside your sight is impossible."

Someone objects: In the great court and solemn chambers, everyone conducts themselves with propriety. In the private room, alone, even men like Zeng Shen and Shi Qiu grow careless. Observing where people are proper does not reveal their true nature. Moreover, the ruler is precisely the person for whom ministers put on their best performance. When likes and dislikes depend on what is seen, ministers will inevitably adorn their treacherous deeds to deceive their lord. If one's discernment cannot illuminate distant treachery or perceive hidden subtleties, yet one relies on observing outward conduct to determine rewards and punishments -- is this not a fundamental flaw?

Guanzi said: "Speak in the room, and let your words fill the room; speak in the hall, and let your words fill the hall -- this is what it means to be king of All-Under-Heaven."

Someone objects: What Guan Zhong meant by 'words filling the room and filling the hall' does not merely refer to casual talk of games and meals -- it must refer to matters of great importance. The great matters of the ruler are nothing other than the law and techniques. The law is written and recorded in registers, established in government offices, and promulgated among the common people. Techniques are concealed within the ruler's breast, used to match countless contingencies and covertly control the ministers. Therefore the law should be as open as possible, while techniques must never be revealed. The enlightened ruler, when he speaks of the law, ensures that even the lowest and most humble within his borders hear and know of it -- his words do not merely fill the hall. When he employs techniques, even his closest favorites and intimates cannot learn of them -- his words must not fill the room. Yet Guanzi still says 'speak in the room and fill the room, speak in the hall and fill the hall' -- this is not the language of law and techniques.