修權

There are three things through which the state is governed: first, law; second, trust; third, authority. Law is what ruler and ministers jointly maintain. Trust is what ruler and ministers jointly establish. Authority is what the ruler alone controls — if the ruler loses his grasp of it, he is in peril. If ruler and ministers abandon law and rely on private interests, there will inevitably be disorder. Therefore establish the law and clarify distinctions, and do not let private interests harm the law — then there is order. When authority and decisions rest solely with the ruler, there is awe. When the people trust in rewards, affairs and merits are accomplished; when they trust in punishments, villainy has no opening. Only the enlightened ruler cherishes authority and values trust without letting private interests harm the law. If the ruler frequently makes generous promises but does not fulfill his rewards, then those below will not serve him. If he repeatedly issues stern orders but does not carry through the punishments, the people will become contemptuous of death. Reward is the civil aspect; punishment is the martial aspect. Civil and martial together are the essence of the law. Therefore the enlightened ruler relies on the law. The enlightened ruler is called 'enlightened' because he is not deceived, and 'perceptive' because he is not cheated. Therefore rewards are generous and trustworthy, punishments are heavy and certain; he does not neglect the distant and he does not favor the close — therefore ministers do not deceive the ruler, and those below do not cheat those above.

Those who govern in the world mostly abandon law and rely on private opinion — this is why states fall into disorder. The former kings suspended the scales and balance and established the ruler and the inch — and to this day these are followed as law, because they are unambiguous. To abandon the scales and balance and judge weight by feeling, to discard the ruler and the inch and estimate length by guessing — even if one is perceptive, merchants will not accept it, because it is unreliable. Therefore the law is the state's scales and balance. Those who abandon legal standards and rely on private opinion are all people who do not understand categories. The only one who could evaluate wisdom, ability, worthiness, and unworthiness without law was Yao — but the world is not entirely made up of Yaos. Therefore the former kings knew that self-serving opinion and private praise cannot be relied upon. They established law and clarified distinctions: those who met the standard were rewarded, those who damaged the public interest were punished. When the law of reward and punishment does not miss its mark, the people do not contend. If rank and salary are not used to favor those who are close, then hardworking ministers do not harbor resentment. If punishment is not concealed from those who are distant, then those below are devoted to those above. If office and rank are not granted according to labor, loyal ministers will not advance. If rewards and salaries are not proportionate to merit, warriors will not serve. In all cases, ministers serve their ruler largely according to what the ruler favors. If the ruler favors law, ministers will serve him through law; if the ruler favors talk, ministers will serve him through talk. If the ruler favors law, upright and straightforward scholars will stand before him; if the ruler favors talk, slanderous and flattering ministers will stand at his side.

When the division between public and private is clear, then petty men do not resent the worthy and the unworthy do not envy merit. Therefore when Yao and Shun occupied the position of ruling the world, they did not privately appropriate the world's benefits — they occupied the position of ruling the world for the world's sake. They evaluated the worthy and promoted the able and passed on the throne — not because they were distant from their own sons and close to outsiders, but because they understood the way of order and disorder. Therefore the Three Kings used righteousness to bind their people close, and the Five Hegemons used law to correct the feudal lords — none of them privately appropriated the world's benefits; they governed the world for the world's sake. Thus they monopolized the fame and possessed the merit; the world delighted in their governance and no one could harm them. Now the rulers and ministers of this disordered age all anxiously appropriate the profits of a single state and control the weight of a single office for their own private convenience — this is why the state is in peril.

Therefore the intersection of public and private is the root of survival and destruction.

When legal standards are abandoned and private opinion is favored, then treacherous ministers sell their authority to secure their salaries, and the officials of the ranked bureaucracy conceal what is below to exploit the people. The proverb says: 'When the woodworm is numerous, the timber splits; when the crack is wide, the wall collapses.' When great ministers contend for private gain without regard for their people, those below separate from those above. Those below separating from those above — this is the state's 'crack.' Ranked officials concealing what is below to exploit the common people — this is the people's 'woodworm.' A state that has 'cracks' and 'woodworms' yet does not perish — that is rare indeed in the world. Therefore the enlightened king relies on law and eliminates the private, and the state will have neither 'cracks' nor 'woodworms.'