by An Liu
Thus when [the ruler] has perfected Potency,
his words are identical with his plans;
his actions are identical with his intentions.
Above and below are of one mind. [10/82/20–21]
10.4
Those who have no divergent paths or distorted views
erect barriers to falling into depravity;
open the path to following goodness.
Thus the people will turn toward the foursquare.
Thus the Changes says,
“Unite the people in the fields.
It is advantageous to cross the Great River.”5 [10/82/21–22]
10.5
The Way is what guides things;
Potency is what supports nature.
Humaneness is visible proof of accumulated kindness.6 Rightness is what comports with the human heart and conforms to what is appropriate for the majority of humankind.7
Thus
when the Way was extinguished, Potency was employed.
When Potency declined, Humaneness and Rightness were born.8
Thus
the earliest era embodied the Way but did not have Potency.
The middle period had Potency but did not cherish it.9
The latter-day era was anxious and fearful lest even Humaneness and Rightness be lost. [10/82/24–26]
10.6
If not for Humaneness and Rightness, the Superior Man would have nothing to live for.
If he loses Humaneness and Rightness, he will lose the reason for his existence.
If not for cravings and desires, the petty man would have nothing to live for.
If he loses his cravings and desires, he will lose his reason for living.
Thus
the Superior Man fears losing Rightness.
The petty man fears losing what is valuable to him.10
When we look at what people fear, we understand how different they are. [10/82/24–28]
The Changes says,
“Chasing a deer without a guide.
It goes into the forest.
For the Superior Man to follow it would not be so good as to abandon it.
Should he follow it, he would encounter difficulty.”11 [10/82/30]
10.7
If your generosity is ample, your reward will be great;
if your hatred is great, your misfortune will be profound.
To give meagerly yet hope extravagantly, to nurture hatred yet be free of suffering— such has never been the case from ancient times until the present.
This is why the sage
looks into things that have gone before
and so understands what is to come. [10/82/30–10/83/2]
10.8
Might not one say that the sagely Way is like a wine jar set up in the middle of an intersection? People passing by will pour some out. [Some will take] more, some less, in unequal amounts; but all will get what they think is appropriate.12
For this reason, the way to obtain [the allegiance of] one person is the same as the way to obtain [the allegiance of] a hundred. [10/83/2–3]
10.9
If people take as the standard what they desire from their superiors and apply it to the way they treat their subordinates, who would not support them?
If they take what they desire from their subordinates as a standard for treating their superiors, who would not like them?
The Odes says,
“Beloved is the One Man [the king].
In his responses to the Lords of the Land, he follows Potency.13
The careful exercise of Potency is great.
The One Man is small.
If you do good in the small,
you can do good in the great.” [10/83/3–5]
10.10
When the Superior Man sees [the ruler’s] transgressions, he forgets about punishment [for pointing it out]. Thus he is able to remonstrate.
When he sees a worthy, he forgets about [the worthy’s low] rank. Thus he is able to yield modestly.
When he sees others who do not have enough, he forgets [his own] poverty. Thus he is able to give charitably.14 [10/83/7]
10.11
Feelings are attached to one’s center [i.e., the heart];
conduct is manifested on one’s outside.
Whenever conduct stems from feelings, though [it is] excessive, [it will cause] no resentment.
Whenever it does not stem from feelings, though one’s conduct is loyal, it will bring bad consequences. [10/83/7–8]
10.12
Lord Millet brought wide-ranging benefits to the world, but still he did not brag about it. Yu neither wasted his efforts nor wasted his resources, but he still regarded himself as deficient.
Those to whom
fullness is like a sinkhole,
and substance is like emptiness
get the most out of them. [10/83/10–11]
10.13
All people
find worthy what pleases them
and are pleased by what makes them happy.
There is no age that does not promote “worthies.” [But] some [rulers] thereby bring order, some bring chaos. It is not that [rulers] deceive themselves; it is just that they seek out “worthies” who are the same as themselves. But if the ruler is not necessarily a worthy himself and he looks for someone just like himself hoping in that way to obtain a worthy, it certainly is not going to work. To let Yao evaluate Shun is permissible, but to let Jie evaluate Yao is like using a sheng to measure a dan [i.e., they are incommensurable].15 [10/83/13–15]
10.14
Now if you call a fox a raccoon dog,16 it is certain that you do not know what a fox is, nor do you know what a raccoon dog is. If it is not that you have never seen a fox, then surely you have never seen a raccoon dog. [In one sense,] a fox and a raccoon dog do not differ, as they belong to the same class of animals. But if you call a fox a raccoon dog, you do not know either the fox or the raccoon dog.17
For this reason,
if you call a worthless person a worthy, it is certain you do not know what a worthy is.
If you call a worthy a worthless person, it is certain you do not know what a worthless person is. [10/83/15–17]
10.15
When a sage is above [i.e., in power],
then the people rejoice in his governance;
when he is below [out of power],
then the people admire his steadfastness.
When a petty man is in high position, it is like bedding down on a gate or keeping cocoons in the sunshine.18 One would not get a moment’s peace.
Thus the Changes says,
“Mounting the horse, it turns about;
weeping blood, it flows torrentially.”19
This means that when a petty man is in a position beyond his station, he will not last long in it. [10/83/19–21]
10.16
There is nothing that does not have some use.
Tianxiong and wuhui20 are the [most] virulently poisonous of herbs, but a good physician uses them to save people’s lives.
Dwarves and blind musicians are the troubled invalids of humankind, but the ruler of men uses them to perform music.
For this reason, the sage prepares even the shavings from the timber.21 There is nothing that he does not use. [10/83/23–24]
10.17
With one shout, a brave warrior can cause the Three Armies to retreat. What disperses them is his complete sincerity.22
Thus
if you command, but [the troops] do not [comply] harmoniously;
if you have intentions, but [the troops] do not support you,
it surely is the case that something is not in accord with your inner heart.23
Thus the reason that Shun, without descending from his mat, [was able to] preserve the world was because he sought it within himself.24 Thus if the ruler makes more and more excuses, the people will practice more and more deceit. To have a body that is crooked and a shadow that is straight—such a thing has never
been heard of. [10/83/26–10/84/2]
10.18
What persuasive speech cannot get at, appearance and demeanor can get at.
What appearance and demeanor cannot get at, a flash of emotion can express.
What is stimulated in the mind then becomes clear in the intelligence; finally it issues forth and takes form. The essence,25 at its utmost, can shape the dynamics of an encounter, but it cannot give clear warning. [10/84/4–5]
10.19
The horses of the Rong and Dee people all can run and gallop. Some go short distances, some go far, but only Zaofu could get the most out of the horses’ strength.
The peoples of the Three Miao tribes all can be made loyal and trustworthy. Some are worthy, some are worthless, but only Tang26 and Yu27 could integrate their good points.
They must have possessed something that cannot be transmitted.
Earl Mu of Zhonghang seized a tiger with his bare hands, but he could not capture it alive. No doubt his physical strength was outstanding, but his ability did not extend that far.28 [10/84/7–9]
10.20
If you use what a hundred people can do, you will obtain the strength of a hundred people.
If you promote what a thousand people love, you will gain the hearts of a thousand people.
By analogy, it is like chopping down a tree and pulling out its roots. Of the thousand branches and the ten thousand leaves, none can fail to follow. [10/84/9–10]
10.21
The kindly father’s love for his son is not in order to be repaid29 but because [the love] cannot be removed from his heart.
The sage-king’s nurturance of his people is not because he seeks to use them but because his nature cannot do otherwise.
It is like
fire, which is naturally hot,
and ice, which is naturally cold,
what cultivation is necessary for that?
When it comes to relying on the strengths of others or trusting to the merits of others, it is like a fire on a boat.30 Thus the Superior Man sees the beginning and knows the end. [10/84/12–14]
10.22
Matchmakers praise people, but not because they esteem them.
[People] hire laborers and force-feed them, but not because they love them.
One’s own loving father and kind mother could do no more than this. But when something is done for a purpose, kindness does not enter into it.
Thus you do not see off guests in the same way you greet them.31
What you give to the dead is not what you set aside for the living.
Sincerity comes from the self, but what is moved by it is far-off. [10/84/14–16]
10.23
To dress in brocades and embroidery and ascend the ancestral temple is to value [outer] refinement.
To hold gui and zhang tablets32 in front of yourself is to esteem [inner] substance.
If your [outer] refinement does not overwhelm your [inner] substance, you may be called a Superior Man.33
Therefore,
it takes a year to build a chariot, but if it lacks a three-inch long linchpin, you cannot gallop off in it.34
It takes a carpenter to frame up a door, but without a foot-long door latch, you cannot close it securely.
Therefore when the Superior Man acts, he thinks about the results. [10/84/18–20]
10.24
The essence of the heart can transform [others] like a spirit, but it cannot point out things to them.
The essence of the eye can cut through obscurities, but it cannot give clear warning.
What lies within the dark and obscure cannot be verbalized to others.
Thus,
Shun did not descend from his mat, and the world was ordered.
[The tyrant] Jie did not leave his throne, and the world was disordered.35
Certainly, feelings are deeper than spoken commands. To seek from others what one lacks in oneself—such has never been heard of from ancient times to the present. [10/84/22–24]
10.25
If the speech is identical but the people trust it [in some cases], it is because trust preceded the speech.
If the command is identical but the people are transformed by it [in some cases], it is because sincerity lay beyond the command.36
When sages rule above and the people are moved and transformed, it is because their feelings have paved the way for them. When there is movement above and no response below, it is because feelings and orders are at variance with one another.
Thus the Changes says,
“The overbearing dragon will have [reason to] regret.”37 [10/84/24–26]
10.26
A three-month-old infant does not yet understand the distinction between benefit and harm, but the love of a kind mother is conveyed to the infant because of her feelings.
Thus the usefulness of what is spoken—how manifestly tiny it is!
The usefulness of what is not spoken—how vastly great it is! [10/84/26–27]
10.27
To personify the words of a Superior Man is trustworthiness.
To internalize the resolve of a Superior Man is loyalty.38
When loyalty and trust form internally,
the stimulus impels a response externally.
Thus
[when] Yu grasped a shield and a battle-axe and danced on the double staircase, the Three Miao tribes submitted [to his rule].39
When an eagle hovers above the river, fish and turtles plunge and flying birds scatter.
By necessity they distance themselves from harm. [10/84/27–10/85/1]
10.28
A son dying for his father or a minister dying for his ruler is something that has happened throughout the ages. It is not that they died for the sake of fame but that they harbored within themselves a kindly heart, and so they could not walk away from the troubles [of the father or ruler].
Thus people’s delight in what they find agreeable does not exactly create a path for them; the path is [simply] there and they follow it.
The Superior Man’s sorrowful despondency does not exactly take definite form, but it is conveyed to the hearts of others.
It is not something that comes in from outside but something that emerges from within [one’s own] center [i.e., the human heart]. [10/85/1–3]
10.29
Rightness is more exalted than a ruler.
Humaneness is more intimate than a father.
Thus
the ruler in relation to his ministers [has the power to] kill them or let them live, but he cannot force them to do their jobs with negligent unconcern.
A father in relation to his children [has the power to] reject them or raise them, but he cannot force them to be without anxious concern.40
Thus
when Rightness transcends the ruler himself,
and Humaneness transcends the father himself,
the ruler is exalted and his ministers are loyal;
the father is compassionate and his children are filial. [10/85/5–6]
10.30
When sages rule, they transform and nurture [the people] in a spiritlike way.
[If the ruler was of] the highest type, [the people] said, “I [do this because] it is my nature!”
[If the ruler was of] the next rank, [the people] said, “How subtle he is to be that way!”
Thus the Odes says,
“He manages the reins [of government]
as if they were the silk ribbons [of a dancer].”41
The Changes says,
“Concealing his elegance, he is able to persevere.”42 [10/85/8–9]
10.31
Actions undertaken near at hand cause a civilizing influence to spread far away. Now when he examined his evening gait, the Duke of Zhou was embarrassed by his shadow.
Thus the Superior Man scrutinizes [himself] in solitude.43 To abandon what is close at hand in expectation of what is far-off is to obstruct [one’s path]. [10/85/9–10]
10.32
To hear of goodness is
easy. To use it to correct oneself is difficult.
Now when the Master saw the three alterations of grain [i.e., seed, sprout, and ripened form], he sighed deeply and said, “The fox turns its head toward its burrow and dies. But my head [droops like] grain.”44 Thus when the Superior Man sees goodness, he takes pains with respect to himself. If your own self is rectified, then transforming the far-off [by example] will be easy.
Thus the Odes says,
“You do not [act] personally; you do not [show] affection;
and the common people do not trust you.”45 [10/85/12–14]
10.33
In his pursuit of affairs,
the petty man says, “If only I could get what I want.”
The Superior Man says, “If only I could [practice] Rightness.”
In seeking something they are the same;
what they are expecting is different.
If you strike [the planks of] a boat in the middle of the water,
fish plunge and birds scatter.
They hear the same thing; they behave differently.
Their feelings are one.46 [10/85/16–17]
10.34
For setting out a pot of food, Xi Fuji47 received a commendatory inscription at his village gate.
For giving a packet of dried meat [to Ling Zhe],48 Zhao Xuanmeng49 saved his own life.
As acts of propriety, these were not outstanding, but they overflowed with Moral Potency.
Thus when a humane heart’s responsive kindness connects [with another], sympathetic sorrow is born. Thus it enters deeply [into the hearts of] others. [10/85/17–18]
10.35
With a piercing cry,
the family elder arouses kindness and generosity,
whereas the creditor elicits competition and strife.
Therefore it is said,