盈虛

King Wen asked Taigong: 'The world is bustling and restless — now full, now empty, now ordered, now chaotic. Why is this so? Is it because rulers differ in worthiness? Or is it the natural transformation of heaven's cycles?' Taigong said: 'When the ruler is unworthy, the state is endangered and the people fall into disorder. When the ruler is wise and sagely, the state is secure and the people are well governed. Fortune and misfortune lie with the ruler, not with heaven's cycles.'

King Wen asked: 'May I hear about the worthy rulers of antiquity?' Taigong said: 'In ancient times, Emperor Yao ruled the world — he was what the ancients called a worthy ruler.' King Wen asked: 'How did he govern?' Taigong said: 'When Emperor Yao ruled the world, he did not adorn himself with gold, silver, pearls, or jade; he did not wear brocade or embroidered silk; he did not gaze upon rare curiosities; he did not treasure objects of amusement; he did not listen to licentious music; he did not plaster his palace walls; the ridgepoles, rafters, pillars, and beams were left uncarved; the thatch in his courtyard was left untrimmed. He wore deerskin to ward off the cold and plain cloth to cover his body. He ate coarse grain and soup of wild greens. He never let forced labor interfere with the people's seasons for plowing and weaving. He pared down his desires and restrained his ambitions, devoting himself to non-interference. Officials who were loyal, upright, and law-abiding were elevated in rank; those who were incorruptible and loved the people received generous stipends. People who were filial and compassionate were honored and cherished; those who devoted themselves to farming and sericulture were comforted and encouraged. He distinguished the virtuous from the wicked and marked their doorways accordingly. With an impartial heart and upright standards, he used laws and regulations to prohibit wickedness and fraud. Those he disliked, if they had merit, he surely rewarded; those he loved, if they had committed offenses, he surely punished. He cared for all the widowers, widows, orphans, and childless elderly in the world, and gave relief to households struck by calamity. His personal expenditure was extremely frugal, and the taxes and labor levies he imposed were extremely light. Therefore the myriad people were prosperous and happy, with no appearance of hunger or cold. The common people revered their lord like the sun and moon, and felt close to him as to a father and mother.' King Wen said: 'How great is the virtue of a worthy ruler!'