賞刑

The sage's governance of the state employs unified reward, unified punishment, and unified instruction. Unified reward means the army has no rival; unified punishment means orders are carried out; unified instruction means those below obey those above. When reward is clear, it costs nothing; when punishment is clear, no one is executed; when instruction is clear, nothing changes — yet the people understand their duties and the state has no divergent customs.

When reward is perfectly clear, it reaches the point of no reward being needed. When punishment is perfectly clear, it reaches the point of no punishment being needed. When instruction is perfectly clear, it reaches the point of no instruction being needed.

What is called 'unified reward' means that profit, salary, office, and rank all issue solely from military service, with no other channel of bestowal. Thus whether wise or foolish, noble or base, brave or timid, worthy or unworthy, all exhaust the knowledge in their minds and drain the strength of their limbs, going forth to die in the ruler's service. The heroes and worthies of the world follow like flowing water. Therefore the army has no rival and commands are obeyed throughout the world. A state of ten thousand chariots dares not deploy its army in the central plains; a state of a thousand chariots dares not defend its walls. If a state of ten thousand chariots dares to deploy its army in the central plains, battle will overturn its forces. If a state of a thousand chariots dares to defend its walls, assault will overwhelm them. When battle invariably overturns enemy forces and assault invariably overwhelms enemy walls — when you take every city you seize and capture every submission you receive — then even with generous rewards, what expense or shortfall could there be? Long ago, Tang was enfeoffed at Zanmao and King Wen at Qizhou, each a territory of merely a hundred li.

Tang fought Jie at the fields of Mingtiao; King Wu fought Zhou of Shang at the fields of Muye. They utterly destroyed the nine armies and ultimately carved up the land to enfeoff the feudal lords. Soldiers who had sat in formation received a village with registered families. War chariots were rested and not ridden; horses were released on the sunny slopes of Mount Hua; cattle were released on the farming marshes — released to grow old without being recaptured. This was the reward of Tang and Wu. Therefore it is said: if you took the grain of Zanmao and Qizhou to reward every person in the world, not one person would receive a single sheng. If you took their coins to reward every person in the world, not one person would receive a single coin. Yet: a lord of a hundred li enfeoffed his ministers as marquises, enlarging their former holdings; from common soldiers who sat in formation, each village received registered families; the scope of reward was more generous even than for cattle and horses — why? Because he skillfully used the world's wealth to reward the world's people. Therefore it is said: 'Clear reward costs nothing.' After Tang and Wu defeated Jie and Zhou, the realm was free from harm and all under heaven was greatly settled. They built five storehouses, stored the five weapons, ceased military affairs, practiced civil instruction, loaded shields and halberds blade-down, tucked tablets of office in their belts, and composed music to display their virtue. At that time, reward and salary were no longer distributed, yet the people were orderly and disciplined. Therefore it is said: 'When reward is perfectly clear, it reaches the point of no reward being needed.'

What is called 'unified punishment' means punishment recognizes no rank. From chief ministers and generals down to grand officers and commoners — anyone who disobeys the king's orders, violates the state's prohibitions, or disrupts the ruler's institutions shall be sentenced to death without pardon. If one has merit in the past but failure afterward, the punishment is not reduced. If one has done good in the past but committed an offense afterward, the law is not compromised. Even if loyal ministers and filial sons commit offenses, they must be judged according to the established standards. Law-abiding and duty-keeping officials who fail to enforce the king's law shall be sentenced to death without pardon, and punishment shall extend to their three kinship groups. Those among the Zhou officials who detect violations and report them to their superiors shall be exempt from guilt, regardless of their rank, and shall inherit the office, rank, fields, and salary of their superior. Therefore it is said: when punishment is heavy and guilt is shared, the people dare not test the law. When the people dare not test it, there is no punishment. The former kings' prohibitions — stabbing, amputating feet, branding faces — were not intended to injure the people but to prohibit villainy and stop transgressions. Nothing prohibits villainy and stops transgression like heavy punishment. When punishment is heavy and offenders are certainly caught, the people dare not test the law, and thus the state has no punished people. When the state has no punished people, it is said: 'Clear punishment needs no executions.' Duke Wen of Jin wished to make punishment clear in order to win the people's devotion. He assembled all the ministers and grand officers at the Shiqian Palace. Dian Jie arrived late. The official requested his punishment. The lord said: 'Carry out the sentence.' The official thereupon severed Dian Jie's spine and displayed his body. Every notable in Jin was struck with fear, saying: 'Dian Jie was a favorite, yet he was executed and displayed — what about us!' Duke Wen raised armies to attack Cao and Wulu, reversed the walls of Zheng, marched east to the farming fields, and defeated the Jing people at Chengpu. The soldiers of the three armies, when halted, stopped as though their feet had been cut off; when marched, flowed like water. Not a soldier dared violate the prohibitions. Thus by once using the weight of punishment on Dian Jie's spine, the state of Jin was brought to order.

In the past, the Duke of Zhou Dan killed Guan Shu and banished Huo Shu, saying: 'They violated the prohibitions.' Everyone under heaven said: 'Even his own brothers were not spared when they transgressed — how much less would the distant and unrelated be spared!' Thus the world knew that blades and saws were employed at the Zhou court, and the realm was brought to order. Therefore it is said: 'When punishment is perfectly clear, it reaches the point of no punishment being needed.'

What is called 'unified instruction' means this: broad learning and eloquent wisdom, trustworthiness and integrity, rites and music, self-cultivation and conduct, factions and cliques, reliance on reputation, and discriminating moral talk — none of these may be used to obtain wealth and honor, none may be used to influence judgments of punishment, and none may independently offer private opinions to their superiors. The stubborn are broken; the sharp are blunted. Even those who claim to be sages, the clever and flattering, the honest and simple — none can use anything other than merit to secure the ruler's benefits. The gate to wealth and honor lies solely in warfare. Those who can fight enter the gate of wealth and honor. Those who are recalcitrant receive the standard punishment without pardon. Therefore fathers and brothers, elder and younger siblings, acquaintances, marriage connections, and contractual partners all say: 'What effort is directed toward lies solely in warfare.' Thus the able-bodied devote themselves to warfare, the old and weak devote themselves to defense, the dead have no regrets, and the living strive earnestly. This is what your minister calls unified instruction. The people desire wealth and honor until the coffin lid closes, and the gate to wealth and honor must issue from military service — therefore when the people hear of war they congratulate each other. In all their daily activities, eating and drinking, what they sing about is warfare.

This is what your minister means by saying that when instruction is perfectly clear, it reaches the point of no instruction being needed.

This is what your minister calls the threefold instruction. The sage does not comprehend everything — he knows the essentials of the myriad things. Therefore in governing the state, he grasps the essentials to command all things — thus instruction is minimal yet achievements are many. The sage's governance of the state is easy to understand yet difficult to practice. Therefore the sage need not add anything special, and the ordinary ruler need not be discarded. Killing without being considered cruel and rewarding without being considered benevolent — this is because the state's law is clear. The sage grants office and bestows rank according to merit, therefore the worthy do not worry. The sage does not forgive transgressions and does not pardon punishments, therefore villainy does not arise. The sage's governance of the state consists of careful unity — that is all.