by An Liu
Using Positional Advantage and Following Natural Propensities
Positional advantage3 is a key element in the ruler’s capacity to transform the people because it allows him to project his Moral Potency along with the innate force of his Quintessential qi. When the ruler is morally potent and maintains his positional advantage, this transformative process is made easier. Moral Potency without positional advantage is ineffective, but positional advantage without Moral Potency leads to coercion and tyranny (9.19). The goal of the self-cultivated ruler is thus to use his positional advantage to transform the people in a positive way. The ruler possesses positional advantage in part because he is able to appropriate to himself the collective talent and strength of the people and officials: thus the ruler “is carried by the capabilities of others as if they were his feathers and wings” (9.25). He does this by following their natural propensities. The people wish to be good, as naturally as “boats floating on water and carts going on land” (9.10), and the ruler’s task is to allow those natural propensities to emerge and flourish.
Laws, Taxes, Officials, and Administration
Chapter 9’s advice to the ruler is not confined to political theory. On the contrary, “The Ruler’s Techniques” contains a great deal of practical information on how to run a successful administration.
The chapter makes clear that successful rule is grounded in fair and impartial laws, and it makes an extraordinary claim about the origin of law: “Law comes from Rightness. Rightness comes from what is appropriate for the people. What is appropriate for the people accords with the human heart. This is the sine qua non of government” (9.23). At the same time, this is not what in the West would be called “natural law.” Instead, law is defined as a purely human invention: “Law is not a gift of Heaven, not a product of the Earth. It was devised by humankind but conversely is used [by humans] to rectify themselves” (9.23). At the same time, once instituted, “Law is the standard of measurement for the world, the level and marking cord of the ruler” (9.23). According to this theory, good law is a reflection of peoples’ capacity for goodness; bad, coercive, biased, tyrannical laws will fail because they violate the people’s inborn sense of what is right.
The ruler must implement his laws (and other aspects of his administration) through his officials. But the ruler also must constantly be on guard against bad officials, those who engage in flattery, deceit, corrupt practices, and oppression of the people: “The ruler of men values uprightness and esteems loyalty. When the loyal and the upright are in high positions and affairs are dealt with by cleaving to rectitude, flattering deceivers and wicked villains will have no place to advance” (9.18). When those whom he employs are appropriate, the administration will be orderly, and the populace will be harmonious. The officials will feel close to the ruler, and the masses of the people will submit (9.18).
Taxation is an essential function of government, and excessive taxation is recognized as one of the chief complaints that people might have about their rulers. The authors of the chapter thus name the ruler’s unrestrained desire for luxury as a key source of excessive taxation: If “the ruler is eager to carry out projects that are of no use, and the people look haggard and worn” (9.21), then the ruler’s government is on the verge of ruin. In contrast, the sagely ruler demonstrates concern for the people by ensuring that their material needs are satisfied; by amassing adequate reserves so the people can withstand natural disasters; and by instructing them in the rudiments of agriculture and animal husbandry so they have the means to feed and clothe themselves.
The point of the ruler’s techniques is to benefit the people, not to exploit or repress them; and if the people benefit from the government, they will support it: the ruler and his people reciprocally support each other.
Moral Potency and Sage-Rulership
Finally, the authors of “The Ruler’s Techniques” insist that exemplary rulers embody Potency (9.4, 9.10, 9.14, 9.20, 9.21, 9.22).4 Commensurate with the syncretic and comprehensive goals of the Huainan masters and illustrative of their efforts to devise a theory of governance that harmonizes the various wisdom traditions of China’s great past, the salient features of non-action—silence and tranquillity—are refashioned here to allow the ruler’s Potency to shine through. Potency (both in its broadest sense and with the specific connotations of “virtue” that we term Moral Potency) is associated with such rich and varied attributes as Humaneness, Wisdom, Rightness, Sincerity, Rectitude, Kindness, Grace, Filial Piety, Uprightness, Moderation, Restraint, and Frugality (9.18, 9.27, 9.30, 9.31). Potency is exemplified by the great sage-kings of the past, who frame the chapter like two bookends, opening with the Divine Farmer (9.3) and concluding with the paradigmatic Confucian sages Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu, and Confucius as the “uncrowned king” (9.29).
Sources
As is the case with so many other chapters in the Huainanzi, the variety of sources from which the authors of “The Ruler’s Techniques” draw is astounding for its breadth. Moreover, as we have seen elsewhere, the Huainanzi draws on its diverse sources through direct and indirect quotations, paraphrases, and allusions. Chapter 12 of the Huainanzi, with its more than fifty references to the Laozi, represents one end of the spectrum of how sources are used, and chapter 9, with only a few citations of named sources, represents the other. The authors usually hide the warp and weft threads of the conceptual tapestry that constitutes chapter 9 of the Huiananzi. Nevertheless, it is clear that the chapter shares ideas and historical references (but less often specific quotations) with the Laozi, Zhuangzi, Lüshi chunqiu, Guanzi, Zuozhuan, Liji, Hanfeizi, and other texts. Many passages in this chapter also have clear parallels with the Wenzi. Readers interested in pursuing further the chapter’s sources should consult Roger Ames’s rigorous and insightful study of this chapter, which identifies and discusses them in more detail.5
The Chapter in the Context of the Huainanzi as a Whole
According to the opening lines of the chapter summary in chapter 21 of the Huainanzi, “‘The Ruler’s Techniques’ [addresses] the affairs [shi ] of the ruler of humankind.” With this seemingly modest claim, however, the Huainanzi turns an important conceptual corner, making a transition from the text’s first eight “root” chapters, which are primarily concerned with elucidating the Way (dao), and beginning the second half of the book with the first of twelve “branch” chapters, which focus on affairs (shi). In keeping with this transition from theoretical underpinnings to the more practical and detailed affairs of government, the first topic addressed in this chapter is the spectrum of specific techniques (shu) that will enable the ruler to establish an efficacious and judicious regime.6 The chapter describes methods for appointing, overseeing, and evaluating officials so that they exert their abilities to the utmost to regulate the multitudes below, thus enabling the ruler to “straighten the bent and correct the crooked, set aside self-interest [si ] and establish the public good [gong ]” (21.2) so that a mutually beneficial and harmonious relationship between ruler and ruled is established throughout the empire. Such, claim the authors, “is the brilliance of the ruler’s techniques” (21/225/8–11).
Sarah A. Queen and John S. Major
1. For an extensive discussion of the subject of resonance as it relates to Utmost Essence (zhijing)—that is, the most refined quintessential qi —see chap. 6. The concept of Quintessential Sincerity (jingcheng) is developed in chap. 10. For both terms, see also app. A.
2. Ames 1994.
3. For a discussion of shi “positional advantage,” see app. A and the introduction to chap. 15.
4. For the full range of meanings and connotations of the difficult term de, see app. A.
5. Ames 1994; sources and parallels are discussed in detail in the endnotes to his translation, 239–55.
6. The Huainanzi returns to the important theme of “techniques” in chap. 12.
Nine
9.1
The ruler’s techniques [consist of]
establishing non-active management
and carrying out wordless instructions.
Quiet and tranquil, he does not move;
by [even] one degree he does not waver;
adaptive and compliant, he relies on his underlings;
dutiful and accomplished, he does not labor.
Therefore,
though his mind knows the norms, his savants transmit the discourses of the Way;
though his mouth can speak, his entourage proclaims his words;
though his feet can advance, his master of ceremonies leads;
though his ears can hear, his officials offer their admonitions.1
Therefore,
his considerations are without mistaken schemes;
his undertakings are without erroneous content.
His words [are taken as] scripture and verse;
his conduct is [taken as] a model and gnomon for the world.
His advancing and withdrawing respond to the seasons;
his movement and rest comply with [proper] patterns.
His likes and dislikes are not based on ugliness or beauty;
his rewards and punishments are not based on happiness or anger.
Each name names itself;
each category categorizes itself.
Affairs emerge from what is natural;
nothing issues from [the ruler] himself.
Thus kings in antiquity wore caps
with strings of pearls in front so as to mask their vision
and silk plugs in their ears so as to obstruct their hearing.
The Son of Heaven surrounded himself with screens so as to isolate himself.
Thus,
what the ruler patterns himself on is far away, but what he grounds himself in is nearby;
what he governs himself with is great, but what he preserves is small.
Now,
if his eyes looked recklessly, there would be profligacy;
if his ear listened recklessly, there would be delusion;
if his mouth spoke recklessly, there would be disorder.
One cannot fail to guard carefully these three gateways.
If you wish to regulate them, that is in fact to distance yourself from them;
if you wish to embellish them, that is in fact to injure them. [9/67/3–11]
9.2
Heavenly qi becomes your ethereal soul;
earthly qi becomes your substantive soul.2
Return them to their mysterious dwelling place, so that each resides in its proper place.
Preserve and do not lose them, so that above you communicate with the Grand One,
for the essence of the Grand One communicates with Heaven,
and the Way of Heaven is mysterious and silent, shapeless and without pattern.
Heaven’s limit cannot be reached;
its depths cannot be plumbed.
Still it transforms together with humans, [though] knowledge cannot grasp it. [9/67/13–15]
9.3
In ancient times, when the Divine Farmer ruled the world,
his spirit did not lunge forth from his chest;
his wisdom did not go beyond the four sides [of his body].
He cherished his humane and sincere heart.
Sweet rains fell in their season;
the five grains multiplied and prospered.
In the spring there was birth, in summer growth;
in the fall, harvest; in the winter, storage.
He inquired monthly and investigated seasonally;
when the harvest ended, he reported the achievements [to the ancestors].
Each season he tasted the grain offerings
and sacrificed [to the ancestors] in the Mingtang.
The construction of the Mingtang was [such that] it had a roof but no sides.
Wind and rain could not assail it;
cold and heat could not harm it.
Slowly and haltingly [the ruler] entered the hall. He nurtured the people with public spiritedness; the people [in turn] were simple and steady, straight and sincere.
They did not engage in angry struggle, but goods were sufficient.
They did not strain their bodies, but they completed their accomplishments.
They availed themselves of the gifts of Heaven and Earth and lived in harmony and unity with them.
Therefore,
his awesome demeanor was stern but not exercised;
his punishments existed but were not used;
his laws were sparing and uncomplicated.
Thus [the Divine Farmer’s] transformation [of the people] was spiritlike. His territory
to the south went as far as Jiaozhi
and in the north to the Youdu Mountains.3
To the east it stretched to Sunrise Valley,
and to the west it reached to Three Dangers Mountain.
There was none who failed to follow him. At that time
the law was generous and punishments were lenient;
prisons and jails were vacant and empty.
Throughout the world, customs were one, and none harbored wickedness in their hearts. [9/67/17–23]
Government in the era of decline was not like that.
Those above loved to seize and knew no limit;
those below were as rapacious as wolves and would not yield.
The people, impoverished and suffering, struggled angrily;
affairs exhausted their energy without achieving anything.
Cleverness and deceit sprouted forth;
theft and plunder flourished openly.
Those above and those below resented each other; laws and commands had no currency.
Officials had authority but did not take responsibility for returning to the Way; instead, they went against the root and embellished the branches.
They diminished and decreased rewards
and strengthened and increased punishments,
hoping in this way to govern well. This is no different from
grasping a crossbow and calling a bird
or wielding a club and approaching a dog4
—the disorder will only increase. [9/68/1–4]
9.4
When waters are muddy, fish gasp for air [near the surface];5
when the government is harsh, the people become disorderly.
Thus those who raise tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants
give them pens and cages,
provide for their desires,
feed them appropriately,
yet the animals still harbor great anger and cannot live out their normal life spans because they live under compulsion. Thus it is that
when those above have many clever schemes, those below have much deceitfulness.
When those above have many matters to deal with, those below have many fabrications.
When those above are troubled and vexed, those below are unsettled.
When those above have many wants, those below struggle harder against one another.
Failing to correct the root
but attending to the branches
is like
spreading dirt to stop a dust storm
or bringing firewood to put out a fire. [9/68/4–8]
Thus with sages,
their undertakings are sparing and thus easily managed;
their desires are few and thus easily satisfied.
They do not give but are humane;
they do not speak but are trustworthy.
They do not seek but they attain;
they do not act but they succeed.
Clodlike,6 they preserve Genuineness, embrace Potency, and project Sincerity. The world follows them as an echo responds to a sound or a shadow imitates the form [that casts it], for what they cultivate is the root.
Punishments and chastisements are not enough to modify habits;
executions and mutilations are not enough to proscribe wickedness.
Only spirit transformation is [to be] prized. Essence a
t its utmost is spirit. [9/68/10–12] A great shout can be heard at most only within a hundred paces, but the human will can project over a thousand li.
Winter’s sunshine,
summer’s shade—
everyone seeks them, but no one makes them so.
Thus the semblance of Utmost Essence
is not called forth but comes of itself;
is not waved off but departs of itself.
It is obscure and dark; we do not know who made it. Its achievements accomplish themselves.
The wise cannot discourse about it;
the analytical cannot describe it. [9/68/14–16]
9.5
Long ago, Sunshu Ao7 slept peacefully, and the men of Ying had no occasion to use their weapons. Yiliao of Shi’nan juggled crossbow pellets, and [although] the two houses [i.e., those of Duke Bo and Zixi] had difficulties, none could take issue with [Yiliao’s] refusal.8
Armor of leather and metal,
belligerent stares and clenched fists—
how inadequate these are as a defense against weapons and swords;
scrolls of treaties, rolls of silk,
mutilating punishments and [executioners’] axes—
how meager these are as ways to get out of difficulties!
To rely on the eyes [alone] to see
or to depend on words [alone] to command—
it is hard to rule that way. [9/68/16–19]
When Qu Boyu was prime minister, Zigong9 went to see him and asked, “How do you govern a country?” He answered, “I govern it by not governing.”
Viscount Jian [of Zhao],10 wanting to attack Wey, sent Scribe An11 to look things over. He came back and reported, saying, “Qu Boyu is prime minister. We cannot send in troops yet.”
How could strong fortifications and precipitous defiles be as effective as [men like] these]?
Thus,
Gao Yao,12 who was mute, served as minister of justice, and there were no cruel punishments in the world. He had [qualities] of greater value than speech.
Music Master Kuang, who was blind, served as grand tutor, and Jin had no disorder in government. He had [qualities] more valuable than sight.
Thus,
the commands that do not [rely on] words,