君臣

In antiquity, when there were not yet rulers and ministers, superiors and inferiors, the people were disordered and ungoverned. Therefore the sage arranged the distinctions of noble and base, established ranks and positions, created titles and designations, in order to differentiate the duties between ruler and minister, superior and inferior. The territory was broad, the people numerous, and the myriad things abundant — therefore five official branches were established to manage them. The people were numerous and villainy arose — therefore legal institutions were established and standards and measures were created to prohibit it. Thus the duties between ruler and minister, the divisions of the five official branches, and the prohibitions of legal institutions — these must not be treated carelessly.

When one occupies the ruler's position yet commands are not carried out, there is peril. When the five official branches are divided but have no permanence, there is disorder. When legal institutions are established but private favors operate, the people do not fear punishment. When the ruler is honored, commands are carried out. When officials are properly maintained, there are regular affairs. When legal institutions are clear, the people fear punishment. When legal institutions are not clear and yet you seek that the people obey commands — this cannot be obtained. When the people do not obey commands and yet you seek that the ruler be honored — even with the wisdom of Yao and Shun, governance cannot be achieved.

The enlightened king's governance of the world follows law and rewards according to merit. The reason the people fight fiercely and do not avoid death is to obtain rank and salary. In the enlightened ruler's governance, soldiers who have the merit of taking heads and capturing prisoners must have ranks sufficient to bring them honor and salaries sufficient to feed them. Farmers who do not leave their homesteads must have enough to support both parents and to manage military obligations. Therefore soldiers die faithfully and farmers do not shirk.

The rulers of today are not like this. They abandon law and rely on cleverness; they disregard merit and rely on reputation. Therefore soldiers do not fight and farmers migrate. Your minister has heard: the gate through which the people are directed lies in what those above prioritize. The people can be made to farm and fight, can be made to seek wandering office, can be made to pursue scholarship — it depends on what those above grant. If those above grant according to merit, the people will fight. If those above grant according to the Odes and Documents, the people will pursue scholarship. The people's orientation toward profit is like water flowing downward — it does not choose among the four directions. What the people can obtain profit from and therefore pursue — those above grant it. When those who glare and clench their fists while boasting of bravery obtain rewards; when those who let their robes hang while engaging in persuasive talk obtain rewards; when those who spend days and years accumulating labor through private channels obtain rewards — when these three are honored, merit counts for nothing yet all can obtain advancement. The people abandon agriculture and warfare to pursue these instead — some through debate and argument, some through serving the favorites and petitioning, some through contending with bravado. Therefore the people of agriculture and warfare grow fewer by the day and the idle eaters grow ever more numerous — the state is disordered and territory diminished, the army is weak and the ruler degraded. The reason for all this is the abandonment of legal institutions in favor of reputation.

Therefore the enlightened ruler is careful about legal institutions. Words that do not accord with the law — he does not heed them. Conduct that does not accord with the law — he does not elevate it. Affairs that do not accord with the law — he does not undertake them. Words that accord with the law — he examines them. Conduct that accords with the law — he elevates it. Affairs that accord with the law — he undertakes them. Therefore the state is well governed and territory expands, the army is strong and the ruler is honored — this is the pinnacle of governance. The ruler must not fail to examine this.