韩 非 子
Translated by W. K. Liao
Book Sixteen
Chapter XXXVIII
Criticism of the Ancients, Series Three
DukeMu of Lu once asked Tzŭ-ssŭ, saying, "I have heard that the son of the Chien family in the village of P`ang is not dutiful. How is his conduct?" In reply Tzŭ-ssŭ said, "The superior man esteems the worthy and thereby exalts the virtuous. He promotes the good and thereby encourages the people. In the case of misconduct, it is recognized by small men. Thy servant does not know anything about his conduct at all." After Tzŭ-ssŭ had gone out, Tzŭ-fu and Li-pai went in to interview the Duke. Then Duke Mu again asked about the conduct of the son of the Chien family in the village of P`ang. In reply Tzŭ-fu and Li-pai said, "He has three defects, all of which your Highness has never heard about." Thenceforth, the ruler respected Tzŭ-ssŭ but despised Tzŭ-fu and Li-pai.
Some critic says: Was it unreasonable that the ruling family of Lu was menaced by the Chi Clan successively for three generations? The enlightened ruler searches for good men and rewards them. He searches for wicked men and punishes them. He search is one. Therefore, who reports of good men agrees with the superior on the approval of good deeds; who reports of wicked men agrees with the superior on the dislike of bad deeds. Both equally deserve reward and
honour. Who does not report of wicked men, is an opponent of the superior and a partisan of the wicked men. He deserves disgrace and punishment. Now, Tzŭ-ssŭ did not report of any defect of the son, whereas Duke Mu respected him. Li-pai reported of the wickedness of the son, whereas Duke Mu despised him. It is human nature, however, that everybody loves respect and dislikes being despised. Naturally, even when the rebellious plot of the Chi Clan was mature, nobody reported of it to the superior. This was the reason for which the Ruler of Lu was eventually molested. Verily, it is the beaten track of the sovereigns of declining states, which was appreciated by the men of Tsou and Lu. {By the men of Tsou and Lu the author evidently meant Confucius and his immediate descendants and followers who were natives of the two countries.} Was it absurd that Duke Mu esteemed it in particular?
When Duke Wên fled into exile, Duke Hsien sent eunuch, P`i, to assault him at Rush City. P`i only succeeded in cutting a sleeve off his coat. Then Duke Wên escaped to Chieh. When Duke Hui ascended the throne, he also sent P`i to assault Duke Wên by the side of the Wei River. But he could not get at the Duke. After the return of Duke Wên to his native country, P`i petitioned for an audience with the Duke. Thereupon, the Duke said, "Before the assault at Rush City, His Highness had ordered you to stay one night on the way, but you went straight there. Before the catastrophe by the side of the Wei River, His Highness had ordered you to stay three nights on the way, but you spent one night only. Why were you so quick?" In reply P`i said, "The ruler’s order must not be disobeyed. To eliminate the ruler’s enemy I was afraid of my inability. At that time Your Highness was merely a man of Rush or a man of Chieh, with whom I had no relationship whatever. Now that Your Highness has ascended the throne, would there be no memory of the events at Rush and in Chieh? Indeed, Duke Huan even forgot the shooting of the ribbon-hook of his crown and appointed Kuan Chung premier." Hearing this, the Duke granted him an audience.
Some critic says: That festivals to the memory of the ancestors of the Ch`is and the Chins were finally stopped, was perfectly reasonable. Duke Huan could make use of Kuan Chung’s meritorious services and forgot the grudge against the shooting of the ribbon-hook. Duke Wên could listen to the eunuch’s saying and ignored the crime of cutting off his sleeve. Thus, Dukes Huan and Wên could tolerate the two men. Rulers of subsequent generations, however, were not as enlightened as these two Dukes while ministers of subsequent generations were not as worthy as these two men. When disloyal ministers were serving unintelligent rulers, if the rulers did not notice their disloyalty, then there would appear such traitors as Ts`ao {Namely, Kung-sum Ts`ao, Tzŭ-chih being his pen-name.} of Yen, Tzŭ-han, and T`ien Ch`ang; if they noticed their disloyalty, then the ministers would justify their misconduct with the actions of Kuan Chung and the eunuch as precedents, so that the rulers would not censure them and assumed themselves to be as virtuous as Dukes Huan and Wên. In this manner, the ministers owed the rulers more powers while pretending to worthiness themselves and taking no precaution against any eventuality, was it not reasonable that their posterity was exterminated? Moreover, the saying of the eunuch was too ostentatious. Who does not disobey the ruler’s order, is said to be faithful to the ruler. However, unless the minister never feels ashamed of his conduct even when the dead ruler comes to life again, he is not truly faithful. Now that Duke Hui died at dawn, the eunuch turned to serve Duke Wên at dusk, how about his principle of nondisobedience?
Once somebody put a riddle to Duke Huan, saying, "The first difficulty, the second difficulty, and the third difficulty. What are they?" Unable to solve the riddle, Duke Huan asked Kuan Chung to do it. In reply Kuan Chung said, "The first difficulty is due to the ruler’s intimacy with actors and remoteness from scholars and warriors; the second, due to his absence from the state capital and frequent visit to the seaside; and the third, due to the choice of the Crown Prince late in the ruler’s old age." "Right," remarked Duke Huan. Without choosing a lucky day, he celebrated in the ancestral shrine the installation of the Crown Prince.
Some critic says: Kuan Chung’s solution of the riddle was not to the point. The serviceability of the scholars and warriors does not rest with their distance from the ruler. Actors and clowns are from the beginning supposed to accompany the lord of men at every feast. If so, then to keep actors near and the scholars and warriors far and thereby maintain political order would not be any difficulty at all. Again, who is in the position and not able to make the best use of his authorities but counts on his constant presence at the state capital, means to suppress wickedness throughout the whole country with one person’s strength. If the ruler attempts to suppress wickedness throughout the whole country with his own strength only, then he can hardly succeed. If his intelligence is able to illuminate distant crooks and disclose vicious secrets, and if he is certain to apply decrees to such cases, then though he travels far away to the seaside, there will be no disorder at home. If so, then to leave the state capital for the seaside and thereby invite neither menace nor murder, would constitute no difficulty at all.
As regards the third difficulty, King Ch`êng of Ch`u first made Shang-ch`êng Crown Prince, and later thought of making Prince Chih Crown Prince, wherefore Shang-ch`êng caused a disturbance and finally murdered King Ch`êng. Similarly, Prince Tsai was the Crown Prince of Chou, but Prince Kên won the ruler’s favour, caused a rebellion in the eastern part of Chou, and split the country into two. In these cases the calamity was not due to the late installation of the crown prince. If the ruler is not double-dealing in matters of distinction and position, keeps bastards in low status, and grants his favourites no special request, then though he waits till an old age, the late installation of the crown prince is practicable. If so, then to install the crown prince late and thereby incur no turmoil from bastards, would constitute no difficulty at all. The so-called difficulties are: to let people accumulate their influences and not to let them trespass against the ruler, which constitutes the first difficulty; to favour concubines but not let them rival the wife, which constitutes the second difficulty; and, to love bastards but not to let them jeopardize the heir apparent, and to trust one minister exclusively and see that he dare not rank with the ruler himself, which can be called the third difficulty.
When the Duke of Sheh, Tzŭ-kao, asked Chung-ni about government, Chung-ni said, "The way of good government is to content the near and attract the distant." {Cf. Confucian Analects, Bk. XIII, Ch. XVI, 2, Legge’s trans.}When Duke Ai asked Chung-ni about government, Chung-ni said, "The way of good government is to select worthies for office." When Duke Ching of Ch`i asked Chung-ni about government, Chung-ni said, "The way of good government is to economize expenditure." After the three Dukes had gone out, Tzŭ-kung asked, "The question raised to Master by the three Dukes about government was the same one, but why did Master reply to them differently?" Chung-ni said, "In Sheh the capital is too big for the country while the people have the rebellious mind. Therefore, I said, `The way of good government is to content the near and attract the distant’. Duke Ai of Lu has three chief vassals, who spurn envoys from other feudal lords and the neighbouring countries and join one another in befooling their master. It must be these three ministers who will stop the festivals of the ancestral shrine and remove the sacrifices from the Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain. Therefore I said, `The way of good government is to select worthy men for office.’ Duke Ching of Ch`i constructed the Yung Gate, built the Roadbed Tower, and in one morning rewarded three officials each with a fief of one hundred chariots. Therefore, I said, `The way of good government is to economize expenditure.’ "
Some critic says: The reply of Chung-ni was a state-ruining saying. Notwithstanding that the Sheh people had the rebellious mind, he advised the ruler to content the near and attract the distant, whereby he encouraged the people to cherish gratitude to the ruler for his favours. To be sure, the government by favour rewards men of no merit and absolves criminals of guilt. This is the reason why the law is broken. If the law is broken, government will fall into confusion. To govern a spoilt people with confused regulations is never practicable. Moreover, if the people have the rebellious mind, it is because the ruler’s insight has fallen short of certain objects. Now, instead of persuading the Duke of Sheh to extend his insight, Chung-ni advised him to content the near and attract the distant. In this way he advised the ruler to discard what his position is able to prohibit and struggle with his subordinates to win the hearts of the people by conferringfavours. Thereby he will not be able to maintain his influence.
Indeed, in worthiness Yao was the first one of the six rulers, {Namely, Yao, Shun, Yü, T`ang, Wên, and Wu.} but wherever Shun went, people flocked around him, till Yao had no more influence in All-under-Heaven. Suppose there is a ruler who has no way of preventing his subordinates from misbehaving but counts on their imitation of Shun and expects not to lose the hearts of the people. Is he not tactless? The enlightened ruler sees an evil in the bud, wherefore the people cannot plot any large-scale rebellion. As he inflicts small punishments for minor offences, the people cannot cause any serious disturbance. This means "to contemplate a difficulty when it is easy and manage a great thing when it is small." {v. Lao Tzŭ’s Tao-Teh-Ching, Ch. LXIII, 3, trans. by Carus.} Now, if men of merit are always rewarded, the rewarded do not feel grateful to the ruler, because the reward is due to their effort. If men guilty of offences are always punished, the punished bear no grudge against the authorities, because the punishment is due to their misconduct. As the people understand that both punishment and rewardare due to their own deeds, they will strive to harvest merits and profits in their daily work and will not hope for undue gifts from the ruler. "Of the greatest ruler, the people simply know the existence." {v. Lao Tzŭ’s Tao-Teh-Ching, Ch. XVII, 1, trans. by Carus.} This means that under the greatest ruler the people have no undue joy. Then where can be found people bearing gratitude to the ruler? The subjects of the greatest ruler receive neither undue profit nor undue injury. Therefore, the persuasion to content the near and attract the distant should be set at nought.
As Duke Ai had ministers who spurned visitors from outside and formed juntas at home in deceiving the ruler, Chung-ni persuaded him to select worthies for office. By worthies he meant not men who would exert their strength and render meritorious services, but those whom the ruler judged to be worthy. Now, supposing Duke Ai knew that the three ministers spurned visitors from outside and formed juntas at home, then the three men could not continue misbehaving one day longer. It was because Duke Ai did not know how to select worthies for office but simply selected those men he judged to be worthy that the three men could have charge of state affairs.
However, Tzŭ-k`uai of Yen considered Tzŭ-chih worthy and disapproved the character of Sun Ch`ing with the result that he was murdered and became a laughing-stock of the world. Likewise, Fu-ch`a regarded Chancellor P`i as wise and Tzŭ-hsü as stupid with the result that he was extinguished by Yüeh. Thus, the Ruler of Lu did not necessarily know worthy men, but Chung-ni persuaded him to select worthy men, whereby he would drive him to the disaster of Fu-ch`a and K`uai of Yen. Verily, the enlightened ruler does not have to promote ministers himself, for they advance according to their meritorious services. He does not have to select worthies himself, for they make their appearances according to their meritorious services. He appoints them to various posts, examines them in their works, and judges them according to their results. Therefore, all officials have to be fair and just and never self-seeking. Neither obscuring the worthy nor promoting the unworthy, what worry does the lord of men have about the selection of worthy men?
As Duke Ching rewarded officials each with a fief of one hundred chariots, Chung-ni persuaded him to economize expenditure, whereby he advised him to have no way of enjoying pleasures and luxuries but remain personally frugal. In consequence, the country would fall into poverty. Suppose there is a ruler who supports himself with the income from the area of one thousand li square. Then even Chieh and Chow could not be more extravagant than he. Now, the Ch`i State covers an area of three thousand li square. With half of its income Duke Huan supported himself. In this manner he was more extravagant than Chieh and Chow. Yet he could become the first one of the Five Hegemonic Rulers because he knew the respective spheres of frugality and extravagance.
To be a ruler of men who cannotrestrain his subjects but has to restrain himself instead, is called "suffering"; to be unable to reform his subjects and have to reform himself instead, is called "confusion"; and, not to economize in the expenditure of his subjects but to economize in his own expenditure, is called "poverty". The enlightened ruler makes people public-spirited, stops men who earn their livelihood by means of deception, and always hears about those who exert their strength in public enterprises and contribute profits to the authorities. Whenever heard about, the men of merit are rewarded. Likewise, he always knows those who are corrupt and self-seeking. Whenever known, the wicked men are punished. If so, then loyal ministers will exert their spirits of loyalty for public causes, gentry and commoners will apply their strength to the welfare of their families, and all officials will be assiduous and deny themselves in serving the superior. Therefore, the extravagance of the enlightened ruler, be it twice as much as that of Duke Ching, will constitute no menace to the state. If so, the persuasion to economize expenditure was not an urgent need of Duke Ching.
Indeed, a single reply to the three Dukes that would enable them to get rid of all worries should be "Know your inferiors". If the ruler knows the inferiors well, then he can nip an evil in the bud. If evils are nipped in the bud, no villainy will be accumulated. If no villainy is accumulated, no junta will be formed. If no junta is formed, public welfare and private interest will be distinguished from each other. If public welfare and private interest are distinguished from each other, all partisans will disperse. If the partisans disperse, there will be no trouble-makers spurning visitors from and forming wicked juntas inside. Moreover, when the ruler knows his inferiors well, he will discover all their minute details. When all their minute details are disclosed, censure and reward will be clarified. When censure and reward are clarified, the country will not be poor. Hence the saying: "A single reply that would enable the three Dukes to get rid of all worries should be `Know your inferiors’."
One morning when Tzŭ-ch`an of Chêng went out and passed through the quarters of eastern craftsmen, he heard a woman crying. Therefore, he held the coachman’s hand still and listened to the crying. Meanwhile, he sent out an official to arrest her. After examining her, he found out that she had strangled her husband with her own hands. Another day the coachman asked, "Master, how could you tell that she had killed her husband?" "Her voice was fearful," said Tzŭ-ch`an. "As a rule, people react to their beloved in the following ways: When the beloved has just fallen ill, they are worried about the illness; when he or she is dying, they feel fearful; after the death, they feel sad. Now that the woman crying over her dead husband was not sad but fearful, I could tell there was villainy behind it."
Some critic says: Was Tzŭ-ch`an’s way of government not burdensome? The culprit was found out only after she had fallen within the reaches of the premier’s ears and eyes. If so, very few culprits could be found out in the Chêng State. Not employing judicial officials, not carefully observing the system of three units and basic fives, {v. supra, p. 265.} and not clarifying rules and measures, but solely depending on the exertion of his auditory and visual sagacity and the exhaustion of his wisdom and reason for detecting culprits, was he not tactless? Verily, things are many; wise men, few. As the few are no match for the many, the wise are not sufficient to know all the things. Therefore, regulate things with things. The inferior are many; the superior, few. As the few are no match for the many, the ruler alone is not sufficient to know all the officials.
Therefore, govern men with men. In this way, without damaging his features and his body, the ruler administers state affairs successfully; without making use of his wisdom and reason, he can find out culprits. Hence follows the proberb of the Sungs, saying "Yi would be unreasonable if he claimed his ability to shoot down every sparrow passing by him. Supposing All-under-Heaven became a net, then no sparrow would be missed". To comb the culprits, the ruler must have a large net, so that none of them will be missed. Not studying these principles but using his own guess-work as bows and arrows, Tzŭ-ch`an was unreasonable. Thus, Lao Tzŭ said, "Who attempts to govern the state with wisdom, will eventually betray the country." {Cf. Tao-Teh-Ching, Ch. LXV, 2, trans. by Carus.} How applicable this was to Tzŭ-ch`an’s case!
King Chao of Ch`in asked the chamberlains, saying, "How is the present strength of Han and Wey compared with their former strength?" In reply they said, "They are now weaker than before." "How are Ju êrh and Wey Ch`i at present compared with Mêng Ch`ang and Mang Mao in the past?" "The former are not as great as the latter," replied the chamberlains. Then the King said, "Mêng Ch`ang and Mang Mao led the strong forces of Han and Wey, but could do nothing against me. Now, they put such unable men as Ju êrh and Wey Ch`i in command of the weak forces of Han and Wey to attack Ch’in. Clearly enough, they will not be able to do anything against me." In response they said, "That is very true."
However, Musician Chung Ch`i put his lute aside and said in reply: "Your Majesty is mistaken in estimating the situation of All-under-Heaven. Indeed, at the time of the Six Chins, the Chih Clan was the strongest among all. After destroying the Fan and the Chung-hang Clans, they took the troops of Han and Wey along to attack Chao. They inundated the capital of Chao with the water from the Chin River, till only six feet square of land inside the city was not flooded. One day, Earl Chih went out with Viscount Hsüan of Wey as the charioteer and Viscount K`ang of Han in charge of the extra team. On the way, Earl Chih said, `Never before have I known that water can destroy enemies’ states. I have just come to know it. The water of the Fêng River can inundate the city of An-I {The then capital of Wey.}; and the water of the Chiang River can inundate the city ofP’ing-yang {The then capital of Han.}
Hearing this remark, Viscount Hsüan of Wey pushed the elbow of Viscount K`ang of Han while Viscount K`ang stepped on Viscount Hsüan’s foot. Soon after the elbow was pushed and the foot was stepped on in the carriage, the possessions of the Chih Clan were divided beneath the walls of Chin-yang. Now, Your Majesty, though strong, is not yet as powerful as the Chih Clan. Han and Wey, though weak, are not yet as helpless as the people besieged at Chin-yang. To-day is the very moment when All-under-Heaven push their elbows and step on their feet. May Your Majesty, therefore, not look down upon them!"
Some critic says: King Chao’s question was mistaken; the replies by the chamberlains and Chung-ch`i were wrong. As a rule, the enlightened sovereign in governing the state holds fast to his position. As long as his position is not injured, even though the forces of All-under-Heaven combine against him, they could do nothing against him. Then how much less could Mêng Ch`ang, Mang Mao, Han, and Wey do against Ch`in? However, if the position can be injured, then even unworthy men like Ju êrh and Wey Ch`i and the weak forces of Han and Wey can be detrimental to it. Such being the case, violability and inviolability both rest on nothing but the reliability of one’s own position. Why did he raise the question then? If the sovereign relies on the inviolability of his own position, he minds no enemy whether strong or weak. If he cannot rely on his own position but keeps asking about the strength of his enemies, suffering no invasion will be a godsend to him. Shên Tzŭ said, "Who loses sight of calculations and looks to people’s words for bases of belief, will for ever be in doubt," which was applicable to King Chao’s case.
Earl Chih had no rules of self-restraint. Thus, while taking Viscounts K`ang of Han and Hsüan of Wey along, he thought of flooding and ruining their countries with water. This was the reason why Earl Chih had his country destroyed, himself killed, and his skull made into a drinking cup. Now, when King Chao asked if enemies were stronger than they had been before, there was no worry about his flooding lands. Though he had the chamberlains around, they were not the same as the Viscounts of Han and Wey. Then how could there be any elbow-pushing and foot-stepping intrigues? Nevertheless, Chung-ch`i said, "Do not look down upon them!" This was an empty saying.
Moreover, what Chung-ch`i took charge of was harps and lutes. Were the strings not harmonious and the notes not clear, it would be his duty to fix them. In this post Chung-ch`i served King Chao. He was willing to enter upon the duties of that post. Yet before he as yet proved satisfactory in his official capacity to King Chao, he spoke on what he did not know. Was he not thoughtless? The chamberlains’ replies, "Both are weaker now than before," and, "The former are not as great as the latter," were fair, but their last reply, "That is very true," was certainly flattery. Shên Tzŭ said, "The way to order is not to overstep the duties of one’s post and not to speak about people’s business though aware of it." Now, Chung-ch`i did not know politics but spoke on it. Hence the saying: "King Chao’s question was mistaken: the replies by the chamberlains and Chung-ch`i were wrong."
Kuan Tzŭ said, "When the ruler approves the minister’s conduct, he manifests evidences of liking him; when he disapproves the minister’s conduct, he produces facts of disliking him. If reward and punishment accord with what is seen, the minister will dare do no wrong even in unseen places. Suppose when the ruler sees the minister’s conduct approvable, of liking him he manifests no evidence; when he sees the minister’s conduct not approvable, of disliking him he produces no fact. Then if reward and punishment do not accord with what is seen, it is impossible to expect the minister to do good at unseen places."
Some critic says: Public grounds and sublime shrines are places where all behave with respect; dark rooms and solitary quarters are places where even Tsêng Shan and Shih Ch`in become undisciplined. To observe people when they behave respectfully is not to be able to get at the realities of them. Moreover, in the presence of the ruler and superior every minister and inferior is forced to polish his manners. If both approval and disapproval rest on what is seen, it is certain that ministers and inferiors will disguise wicked things and thereby befool their masters. If the ruler’s own insight cannot illuminate distant crooks and discern hidden secrets and thereby guard against them, to fix reward and punishment by observing disguised deeds is certainly harmful.
Kuan Tzŭ said, "Whose words said inside the private room prevail upon everybody in the room, and whose words said inside the public hall prevail upon everybody in the hall, he can be called ruler of All-under-Heaven." {Kuan Tzŭ, "On the Shepherd of the People."}
Some critic says: What Kuan Chung meant by the so-called words which were said inside the room and prevailed upon everybody in the room and those which were said inside the hall and prevailed upon everybody in the hall, was not restricted to talks given in sport and play or after drinking and eating, but inclusive of serious discussions of important business. The important business of the lord of men is either law or tact. The law is codified in books, kept in governmental offices, and promulgated among the hundred surnames. The tact is hidden in the bosom and useful in comparing diverse motivating factors of human conduct and in manipulating the body of officials secretly.
Therefore, law wants nothing more than publicity; tact abhors visibility. For this reason, when the enlightened sovereign speaks on law, high and low within the boundaries will hear and know it. Thus, the speech prevails not only upon everybody in the hall. When he applies his tact, none of his favourites and courtiers will notice it at all. Thus, it cannot display itself all over the room. Nevertheless, Kuan Tzŭ insisted on saying, "The words said in the private room prevail upon everybody in the room; the words said in the public hall prevail upon everybody in the hall," which is not an utterance of the spirit of law and tact at all.
(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.) |
