詭使

The sage's instruments of governance are three: first, profit; second, authority; third, reputation. Profit is what secures the people. Authority is what enforces commands. Reputation is the shared currency of above and below. Without these three, nothing else matters. Yet profit exists and still the people do not transform in accordance with the ruler; authority exists and still those below do not obey; offices have laws and still governance does not match its designations. All three exist, yet the world alternates between order and chaos -- why? Because what the ruler honors is the opposite of what produces good governance.

Titles and designations were established to create respect; yet those who disdain titles and treat substance lightly are called 'lofty' by the world. Ranks and positions were established to be the foundation for distinguishing high and low; yet those who slight the ruler and do not seek audience are called 'worthy.' Authority and profit are what enforce commands; yet those who are indifferent to profit and contemptuous of authority are called 'distinguished.' Laws and edicts are what produce governance; yet those who disobey laws and edicts to perform private good deeds are called 'loyal.' Offices and ranks are what motivate the people; yet those who love fine reputation and refuse to enter government service are called 'men of principle.' Punishments and penalties are what maintain authority; yet those who slight the law and do not shrink from execution and death are called 'brave men.'

The people's eagerness for reputation exceeds even their pursuit of profit. This being so, how can starving and destitute scholars avoid dwelling in cliffs and mortifying their bodies to compete for fame throughout All-Under-Heaven? Therefore the reason the world is not well governed is not the fault of those below -- those above have lost the Way. They constantly honor what produces chaos and despise what produces order. Thus what those below desire is always the opposite of what those above need for governance.

Now, when those below obey those above -- this is what the ruler strives for. Yet those who are sincere, honest, straightforward, and trustworthy, who are cautious in thought and timid in speech, are called 'worthless.' Those who firmly uphold the law and carefully obey commands are called 'stupid.' Those who respect superiors and fear punishment are called 'cowardly.' Those who speak at the right time and act with moderation are called 'incompetent.' Those who have no divided loyalties or private learning, who obey officials and follow instruction, are called 'crude.'

Those who are difficult to summon are called 'upright.' Those who are difficult to give to are called 'incorruptible.' Those who are difficult to restrain are called 'principled.' Those who hear commands and do not comply are called 'brave.' Those who provide no benefit to their superiors are called 'prudent.' Those of few desires, broad generosity, and virtuous conduct are called 'humane.' Those who are solemn, substantial, and self-respecting are called 'elders.' Those who form private schools with gathered followers are called 'masters and disciples.' Those who sit idle in quiet seclusion are called 'deep thinkers.' Those who discard benevolence to chase profit are called 'shrewd.' Those who are cunning, restless, frivolous, and inconsistent are called 'clever.' Those who put others before themselves, classify titles and designations, and speak of universal love for All-Under-Heaven are called 'sages.' Those who discourse on grand fundamentals, speak of things that cannot be applied and practice things at odds with the world, are called 'great men.' Those who despise rank and salary and do not yield to superiors are called 'outstanding.'

When those below gradually adopt such conduct, within they corrupt the people and without they create inconvenience. The ruler should prohibit their desires and erase their traces. But instead of stopping this, he goes further and honors them -- this is to teach those below to subvert those above and call it governance.

The instrument of governance is punishment and penalty; yet those who practice private righteousness are honored. The altars of soil and grain stand upon tranquility and stability; yet the restless, cunning, slanderous, and sycophantic are appointed. Within the four borders, what produces obedience is good faith and virtue; yet the devious, the crafty, and the subversive are employed. What makes commands enforceable and authority established is respectful frugality and obedience to superiors; yet those who dwell in cliffs and criticize the age are celebrated. What fills the granaries is the fundamental work of farming; yet those who make fine ribbons, brocade embroidery, and carved decorations as non-essential crafts grow rich. What establishes reputation and expands city walls is the soldier; yet the orphans of fallen warriors starve and beg along the road, while comedians, buffoons, and drunkards ride in carriages and wear silk. Rewards and salaries are meant to exhaust the people's strength and secure their willingness to die; yet soldiers who fight victoriously and take cities toil unrewarded, while diviners, palm readers, and those who offer flattering words in the ruler's presence receive daily gifts.

The ruler grasps measures and standards so as to monopolize the power of life and death; yet those who uphold measures and standards and wish to offer loyal service cannot gain an audience, while those who use clever words and sharp rhetoric to pursue treacherous paths and steal through life are frequently received. Those who uphold the law, speak directly, match designations to punishments, follow the plumb line, and root out treachery -- all for the ruler's good governance -- are increasingly kept at a distance; while sycophants who comply with the ruler's wishes and follow his desires to endanger the age are kept as intimates.

All taxes are collected and the people's strength is monopolized to prepare against emergencies and fill the treasuries; yet soldiers and conscripts who flee service, hide, and attach themselves to powerful households to avoid corvee and taxes number in the tens of thousands and the ruler cannot reach them. Good fields and fine dwellings are displayed as the reward for soldiers; yet those who have their heads severed and bellies split open, whose bones are scattered across the plains, have no dwelling to shelter their bodies, and their families lose their fields. Meanwhile, beautiful women and the ruler's favorites and great ministers who have no merit select dwellings and receive them, select fields and eat from them.

Rewards and profits should all flow from the top to properly control those below; yet armored warriors receive no appointments, while men in sinecure offices are honored and prominent. If the ruler takes this as his teaching, how can his reputation not decline? How can his position not be endangered?

Laws and edicts were established to abolish private interests. When laws and edicts are enforced, private paths are abandoned. Private interests are what corrupt the law. Yet scholars with divided loyalties and private learning dwell in cliffs and roads, hide themselves in deep reflection, and on a large scale criticize the age, or on a small scale confuse those below. If the ruler does not prohibit this but goes further to honor them with titles and transform them with material rewards, this is to make the meritless prominent and the undeserving rich. In that case, how can scholars of divided loyalties and private learning not redouble their deliberations, exert their cunning and deceit, and slander the laws and edicts, seeking what is contrary to the established order? Those who subvert the ruler and overturn the age are always scholars of divided loyalties and private learning.

Therefore the Basic Sayings states: 'What produces order is the law; what produces chaos is private interests. When the law is established, none can pursue private interests.' Therefore it is said: following private interests leads to chaos; following the law leads to order. When the ruler lacks the proper Way, the clever have private rhetoric and the worthy have private intentions. When the ruler grants private favors, those below develop private desires. Sages and intellectuals form crowds, manufacturing words and crafting phrases to oppose the law and impose themselves on the ruler. If the ruler does not block and seal this off but goes on to honor them, he is teaching those below not to obey the ruler and not to follow the law. Thus the 'worthy' achieve fame and dwell in ease, and the treacherous rely on rewards and grow rich. When the 'worthy' achieve fame and dwell in ease, and the treacherous rely on rewards and grow rich -- this is why those above cannot prevail over those below.