韩 非 子
Translated by W. K. Liao
BOOK TWO
Chapter VI.
Having Regulations: A Memorial
{有度. Its English rendering by L. T. Chên is "The Existence of Standards" (Liang Ch`i-ch`ao, History of Chinese Political Thought during the Early Tsin Period, trans. by L. T. Chên, p. 116, n. 2), which is incorrect. This chapter has been regarded by many critics such as Hu Shih and Yung Chao-tsu as spurious merely on the ground that the ruin of the states as adduced by Han Fei Tzŭ took place long after his death. Inasmuch as 亡 means "decay" and "decline" as well as "ruin" and "destruction", I regard the evidence alleged by the critics as insufficient.}
No country is permanently strong. Nor is any country permanently weak. If conformers to law are strong, the country is strong; if conformers to law are weak, the country is weak.
King Chuang of Ching annexed as many states as twenty-six and extended his territory as far as three thousand li. As soon as King Chuang passed away from the Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain {meaning to die}, Ching decayed accordingly.
Duke Huan of Ch`i annexed as many states as thirty and extended his territory as far as three thousand li. As soon as Duke Huan passed away from the Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain, Ch`i decayed accordingly.
King Hsiang {In fact it was not King Hsiang but King Chao who sent General Yo I to invade the Ch`i State in 284} of Yen took the Yellow River as state-boundary on the south, established the capital at Chi, doubled the defence works at Cho and Fang-ch`êng, smashed the Ch`i State, and subdued the Central Hills State, in such wise that whoever was a friend of Yen was respected and whoever was not a friend of Yen was despised. As soon as King Hsiang passed away from the Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain, Yen decayed accordingly.
King An-li of Wey attacked Yen, rescued Chao, { In 272 b.c. Wey with Ch`in and Ch`u attacked Yen. In 257 b.c. Lord Hsin-ling of Wey smashed the forces of Ch`in at Han-tan and thereby rescued Chao.} took the land to the east of the Yellow River, and completely conquered both T`ao and Wei. Then he mobilized his troops into Ch`i and took the city of P`ing-lu to be his holiday resort. Then he attacked Han, took Kuan, won the battle by the Ch`i River. Then in the engagement at Chü-yang he drove the worn-out troops of Ching into retreat. Finally in the engagement at Shang-ts`ai and Chao-ling he routed the Ching troops. In this manner he sent out his expeditionary forces in the four directions throughout All-under-Heaven and spread his influence all over the countries of crowns and girdles. { referring to the civilized countries in the then known world. The barbarians roaming around the Middle Land bobbed their hair and went without hats. Their garments had the lapels on the left and no girdles. On the contrary, the Chinese would grow their hair, crown every male from twenty years of age, have the lapels of their coats on the right. The countries of crowns and girdles were thus distinguished from the rest of the world.} Following the death of King An-li, Wey decayed accordingly.
Thus, as long as King Chuang of Ching and Duke Huan of Ch`i were alive, Ching and Ch`i could remain hegemonic; as long as King Hsiang of Yen and King An-li of Wey were alive, Yen and Wey remained strong. Now their countries all fell into decay, because their ministers and magistrates all followed the path to chaos and never sought for the way to order. Though their countries were chaotic, they cast aside the state laws and schemed for nothing but their own outside interests. This was the same as to suppress a fire by carrying firewood on the back. Consequently confusion and weakness turned from bad to worse. Therefore, at present, any ruler able to expel private crookedness and uphold public law, finds the people safe and the state in order; and any ruler able to expunge private action and act on public law, finds his army strong and his enemy weak. So, find out men following the discipline of laws and regulations, and place them above the body of officials. Then the sovereign cannot be deceived by anybody with fraud and falsehood. Find out men able to weigh different situations, and put them in charge of distant affairs. Then the sovereign cannot be deceived by anybody in matters of world politics.
Now supposing promotions were made because of mere reputations, then ministers would be estranged from the sovereign and all officials would associate for treasonable purposes. Supposing officials were appointed on account of their partisanship, then the people would strive to cultivate friendships and never seek employment in accordance with the law. Thus, if the government lack able men, the state will fall into confusion. If rewards are bestowed according to mere reputation, and punishments are inflicted according to mere defamation, then men who love rewards and hate punishments will discard the law of the public and practise self-seeking tricks and associate for wicked purposes. If ministers forget the interest of the sovereign, make friends with outside people, and thereby promote their adherents, then their inferiors will be in low spirits to serve the sovereign. Their friends are many; their adherents, numerous.
When they form juntas in and out, then though they have great faults, their ways of disguise will be innumerable. For such reasons, loyal ministers, innocent as they are, are always facing danger and the death penalty, whereas wicked ministers, though of no merit, always enjoy security and prosperity. Should loyal ministers meet danger and death without committing any crime, good ministers would withdraw. Should wicked ministers enjoy security and prosperity without rendering any meritorious service, villainous ministers would advance. This is the beginning of decay. Were such the case, all officials would discard legalism, practising favouritism and despising public law. They would frequent the gates of the residences of cunning men, but never once would they visit the court of the sovereign. For one hundred times they would ponder the interests of private families, but never once would they scheme for the state welfare of the sovereign. Thus, their subordinates, however numerous, are not for glorifying the ruler; the officials, however well selected, are not for serving the country. If so, the sovereign would have the mere name of the lord of men but in reality he simply commits himself to the care of the houses of the various ministers. Hence thy servant says: "The court of a decaying state has no man." {With Wang this whole paragraph is largely based on Kuan Tzŭ’s "Making the Law Clear".}
That the court has no man does not imply the emptiness of the court. It means that private families strive to benefit one another but never seek to enhance the state welfare; that high officials strive to honour one another but never seek to honour the ruler; and that petty officials spend their salaries in cultivating personal friendships but never attend to their official duties. The reason therefore is: The sovereign never makes his decisions in accordance with the law but always trusts in his subordinates for whatever they do. Therefore, the intelligent sovereign makes the law select men and makes no arbitrary promotion himself. He makes the law measure merits and makes no arbitrary regulation himself. In consequence, able men cannot be obscured, bad characters cannot be disguised; falsely praised fellows cannot be advanced, wrongly defamed people cannot be degraded.
Accordingly, between ruler and minister distinction becomes clear and order is attained. Thus it suffices only if the sovereign can scrutinize laws. The wise man, on ministering to a ruler, faces the north {meaning "to have an audience with His Majesty", who, while seated on the throne, always faces the south.} and swears an oath of his office, pledging "not to have two minds, {meaning "not to break his word ever presented to the throne".} never to reject any low commission in the court, and never to reject any hard job in the military camp, but to follow the instructions of his superior, to obey the law of the sovereign and empty his mind so as to wait for the royal decrees to come, and to have no dispute about them". Therefore, though he has a mouth of his own, he never speaks for his own advantage; though he has eyes of his own, he never sees for his private interest. Both his mouth and eyes are kept under his superior’s control. In other words, who ministers to a ruler may be likened to the hand that is able to care for the head upward and for the feet downward, never fails to relieve them from extremes of cold and heat, and never fails to strike away even the Mo-yeh {One of the two precious swords made by the order of King Fu-ch`a of the Wu State, the other being called Kan-chiang.} Sword when it is near the body. Similarly, the intelligent ruler never employs worthy and clever ministers or wise and able men for any selfish purpose.
Therefore, the people do not cross the village border to make friends and have no relatives living one hundred li away; high and low do not trespass against each other; the fool and the wise, each being content with his own lot, keep the scale and stand in perfect balance. Such is the crowning phase of order, indeed! Such was the Utopia dreamt and pictured by Han Fei Tzŭ from the legalistic standpoint, which, diametrically opposed to the Confucian spirit, stands out clearly relieved against the Great Community of Confucius:
—When the Grand Way was pursued, a public and common spirit ruled All-under-Heaven; they chose worthy and able men; their words were sincere, and what they cultivated was harmony. Thus men did not love their parents only, nor treat as children only their sons. A competent provision was secured for the aged till their death, employment for the able-bodied, and the means of growing up to the young. They showed kindness and compassion to widows, orphans, childless men, and those who were disabled by disease, so that they were all sufficiently maintained. Males had their proper work, and females had their homes. They accumulated articles of value, disliking that they should be thrown away upon the ground, but not wishing to keep them for their own gratification. They laboured with their strength, disliking that it should not be exerted, but not exerting it only with a view to their own advantage. In this way selfish schemings were repressed and found no development. Robbers, filchers, and rebellious traitors did not show themselves, and hence the outer doors remained open, and were not shut. This was the period of what we call the Great Community. (Cf. Legge’s translation of The Li Ki, Bk. VII, Sect. i, 2.)
Han Fei Tzŭ’s Utopia, however, runs in parallel to the ideal state of nature described by Lao Tzŭ:
—In a small country with few people let there be aldermen and mayors who are possessed of power over men but would not use it, and who induce people to grieve at death but do not cause them to move at a distance. Although they have ships and carts, they find no occasion to employ them.
The people are induced to return to the pre-literate age of knotted cords and to use them in place of writing, to delight in their food, to be proud of their clothes, to be content with their homes, and to rejoice in their customs. Then, neighbouring states will be mutually happy within sight; the voices of cocks and dogs will echo each other; and the peoples will not have to call on each other while growing old and dead. (Cf. Carus’s translation of Lao Tzŭ’s Tao Teh King, lxxx.)
Now, those who make light of rank and bounties, resign from their offices and desert their posts with ease, and thereby choose their masters, thy servant does not call upright. Those who falsify theories, disobey laws, defy the sovereign, and make forcible remonstrances, thy servant does not call loyal. Those who bestow favours, distribute profits, win the hearts of inferiors, and thereby make names, thy servant does not call benevolent. Those who leave the world, retire from active life, and thereby reprove the sovereign, thy servant does not call righteous. Those who serve abroad as envoys to other feudal lords, exhaust the strength of the native country, and wait for the moment of crisis to molest the sovereign, saying, "the inter-state friendship, unless thy servant be in charge of it, cannot become intimate; the inter-state enmity, unless thy servant be in charge of it, cannot be appeased," and thereby aim to win the sovereign’s confidence, to be trusted with state affairs, and to increase their influence by lowering the name of the sovereign and benefit their own families by hampering the resources of the country, thy servant does not call wise.
These examples are common practices prevailing in the dangerous age, which the law of the early kings would weed out. The law of the early kings said: "Every minister shall not exercise his authority nor shall he scheme for his own advantage but shall follow His Majesty’s instructions. He shall not do evil but shall follow His Majesty’s path." {As remarked by Ku Kuang-ts`ê, the Great Plan contains a passage somewhat different from this citation.} Thus, in antiquity the people of an orderly age abode by the public law, discarded all self-seeking tricks, devoted their attention and united their actions to wait for employment by their superiors. Indeed, the lord of men, if he has to inspect all officials himself, finds the day not long enough and his energy not great enough. Moreover, if the superior uses his eyes, the inferior ornaments his looks; if the superior uses his ears, the inferior ornaments his voice; and, if the superior uses his mind, the inferior twists his sentences. Regarding these three faculties as insufficient, the early kings left aside their own talents and relied on laws and numbers and acted carefully on the principles of reward and punishment. Thus, what the early kings did was to the purpose of political order. Their laws, however simplified, were not violated.
Despite the autocratic rule within the four seas, the cunning could not apply their fabrications; the deceitful could not practise their plausibilities; and the wicked found no means to resort to, so that, though as far away from His Majesty as beyond a thousand li, they dared not change their words, and though as near by His Majesty as the courtiers, they dared not cover the good and disguise the wrong. The officials in the court, high and low, never trespassed against each other nor did they ever override their posts. Accordingly the sovereign’s administrative routine did not take up all his time while each day afforded enough leisure. Such was due to the way the ruler trusted to his position. Indeed, the minister trespasses against the sovereign in the court as in the lie of the land. Leading forward step by step, he makes the lord of men forget the starting-point until he turns from east to west and is not conscious of the change.
To guard against such misleadings, the early kings set up the south-pointing needle {The compass needle.} to ascertain the directions of sun-rise and sun-set. Thus, every intelligent ruler ordered his ministers never to realize their wishes outside the realm of law and never to bestow their favours inside the realm of law—in short, never to commit any unlawful act. As strict laws are means to forbid extra-judicial action and exterminate selfishness and severe penalties are means to execute decrees and censure inferiors, legal authority should not be deputed to anybody and legal control should not be held behind the same gate. Should legal authority and control be kept in common by both ruler and minister, all varieties of wickedness would come into existence. If law is of no faith, its enforcement by the ruler is absurd. If penalty is not definite, culprits cannot be overcome. Hence the saying: "The skilful carpenter, though able to mark the inked string with his surveying eyes and calculating mind, always takes compasses and squares as measures before his marking; the great genius, though able to accomplish his task with swift move, always takes the law of the early kings as the ruler before his accomplishment."
Thus, if the inked string is straight, crooked timbers will be shaved; if the water-level is even, high gnarls will be planed down. Similarly, if weights and balances are well hung up, what is too heavy will be decreased and what is too light will be increased; once pecks and bushels are established, what is too much will be decreased and what is too little will be increased. Hence to govern the state by law is to praise the right and blame the wrong. The law does not fawn on the noble; the string does not yield to the crooked.
Whatever the law applies to, the wise cannot reject nor can the brave defy. Punishment for fault never skips ministers, reward for good never misses commoners. Therefore, to correct the faults of the high, to rebuke the vices of the low, to suppress disorders, to decide against mistakes, to subdue the arrogant, to straighten the crooked, and to unify the folkways of the masses, nothing could match the law. To warn the officials and overawe the people, to rebuke obscenity and danger, and to forbid falsehood and deceit, nothing could match penalty. If penalty is severe, the noble cannot discriminate against the humble. If law is definite, the superiors are esteemed and not violated. If the superiors are not violated, the sovereign will become strong and able to maintain the proper course of government. Such was the reason why the early kings esteemed legalism and handed it down to posterity. Should the lord of men discard law and practise selfishness, high and low would have no distinction.
(All Chinese characters in the notes are blank in the source text and, so, those notes containing such blanks have been either deleted or re-worded in the posting here. -- The New Legalist editor.)
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