開塞

Heaven and earth were established and the people were born. At that time, the people knew their mothers but not their fathers; their way was to be close to kin and to love selfishly.

Closeness to kin brought division; selfish love brought danger. When the people were numerous and occupied with division and danger, the people fell into disorder. At that time, the people strove to prevail through force. Striving to prevail brought contention; force brought litigation; litigation without standards meant no one could fulfill their nature. Therefore the worthy established impartiality, instituted selflessness, and the people were pleased with benevolence. At that time, kinship-closeness was abandoned and the elevation of the worthy was established. All benevolent people took love and benefit as their occupation, and the worthy took mutual advancement as their way. When the people were numerous and without regulation, and mutual advancement as a way persisted, disorder arose. Therefore the sage took charge and created the distinctions of land, wealth, and the sexes. When distinctions were fixed but there was no regulation, it would not work — so prohibitions were established. When prohibitions were established but no one enforced them, it would not work — so officials were installed. When officials were installed but they were not unified, it would not work — so the ruler was established. Once the ruler was established, the elevation of the worthy was abandoned and the honoring of the noble was established. Thus in the upper age people were close to kin and loved selfishly; in the middle age people elevated the worthy and were pleased with benevolence; in the lower age people honored the noble and respected officials. The elevation of the worthy used the Way to advance one another, but the establishment of the ruler rendered the worthy useless. Kinship-closeness used selfishness as its way, but impartiality rendered selfishness inoperative. These three are not contradictory — it is that the people's way became exhausted and what they valued changed; worldly affairs transformed and the practiced way became different. Therefore it is said: the Way of the King follows a single thread.

The Way of the King is one thread, and the way of the minister is likewise one thread — what they practice is different, but the standard they follow is one. Therefore it is said: when the people are simple, knowledge can achieve kingship; when the world is knowledgeable, strength can achieve kingship. When the people are simple, strength has a surplus and knowledge is insufficient; when the world is knowledgeable, cleverness has a surplus and strength is insufficient. In the people's lives, when they do not know, they learn; when their strength is exhausted, they submit. Therefore Shennong taught plowing and became king of the world — they submitted to his knowledge. Tang and Wu brought about strength and campaigned against the feudal lords — they submitted to their force. When the people were simple, they did not harbor knowledge but merely asked; when the world was knowledgeable, it had no surplus strength and submitted. Therefore those who became king of the world through knowledge merged it with punishment; those who campaigned against feudal lords through force set aside virtue.

The sage does not imitate antiquity and does not merely maintain the present. Imitating antiquity means falling behind the times; maintaining the present means being blocked by circumstances. Zhou did not imitate Shang; Xia did not imitate Yu. The Three Dynasties had different circumstances yet all achieved kingship. Therefore rising to kingship has a Way, but sustaining it requires different principles. King Wu seized power against the grain yet valued compliance; he contended for the world yet prized yielding. He seized it by force and held it by righteousness. Now strong states pursue annexation and weak states strive to defend by force — above they do not match the age of Yu and Xia, and below they do not match Tang and Wu. The path of Tang and Wu is blocked, so states of ten thousand chariots all must fight and states of a thousand chariots all must defend.

This Way has been blocked for a long time, yet the rulers of the world have been unable to set it aside — therefore the Three Dynasties had no fourth. Only an enlightened ruler could heed this; today I wish to open a path and demonstrate results.

The people of antiquity were simple and honest; the people of today are clever and deceitful. Therefore those who model themselves on antiquity put virtue first and then govern; those who model themselves on today put punishment first and law. This is what custom finds confusing. What the world today calls 'righteousness' would establish what the people enjoy and abolish what they hate. What it calls 'unrighteousness' would establish what the people hate and abolish what they enjoy. These two have names that exchange and realities that swap — one must not fail to examine this.

If you establish what the people enjoy, the people will suffer from what they hate; if you establish what the people hate, the people will be secure in what they enjoy. How do we know this?

When the people are anxious they think, and when they think they produce standards. When the people are happy they become dissolute, and when dissolute they become indolent. Therefore governing through punishment makes the people awe-struck; when awe-struck there is no villainy; when there is no villainy, the people are secure in what they enjoy. Instructing through righteousness makes the people unrestrained; when unrestrained there is disorder; when disordered, the people suffer from what they hate. What I call 'benefit' is the foundation of righteousness; what the world calls 'righteousness' is the path to violence. To correct the people: use what they hate and they will inevitably end up with what they like; use what they like and they will inevitably end up in what they hate.

In governing the state, punishments are many and rewards are few — therefore the king punishes in nine cases and rewards in one; a diminished state rewards in nine and punishes in one. Since offenses have varying severity, punishments have varying weight; since good deeds have varying magnitude, rewards have varying amount. These two principles are the world's common practice. But if punishment is applied only to concluded crimes, villainy will not be eliminated; if reward is given for what the people already consider righteous, transgressions will not be stopped. When punishment cannot eliminate villainy and reward cannot stop transgression, there will inevitably be disorder.

Therefore the king applies punishment before offenses occur, so that great evil does not arise; he grants reward for reporting villainy, so that small transgressions do not go undetected. If the people can be governed so that great evil does not arise and small transgressions do not go undetected, the state is well ordered. A well-ordered state will inevitably be strong. If one state practices this, order will prevail within its borders alone. If two states practice this, warfare will somewhat diminish. If the whole world practices this, the utmost virtue will be restored. This is what I mean by saying that killing and punishment lead back to virtue, and that so-called righteousness leads to violence.

In antiquity, the people lived in clusters and dwelt in groups. There was disorder, and so they sought to have superiors over them. The world's joy in having superiors was directed toward achieving order. Now if there is a ruler but no law, the harm is the same as having no ruler; if there is law but it cannot overcome the disorder, it is the same as having no law. The world is not content without a ruler, yet it delights in overcoming his law — this the whole world considers confusion. Nothing benefits the world's people more than order; nothing achieves order more fully than establishing a ruler; nothing is more comprehensive in the way of establishing a ruler than authoritative law; nothing is more urgent in the task of authoritative law than eliminating villainy; nothing goes deeper to the root of eliminating villainy than severe punishment.

Therefore the king uses reward to prohibit and uses punishment to encourage. He seeks out transgression rather than seeking goodness; he relies on punishment to eliminate punishment.