by An Liu
These are examples of elevating worthies in order to establish merit.
Fuchai of Wu employed Great Steward Pi and was destroyed.
Qin employed Li Si65 and Zhao Gao66 and perished.
These are cases of promoting those whose views are the same as his own.
Thus,
by observing who is being promoted, order and disorder can be observed;
by examining with whom one forms a faction, the worthy and unworthy can be assessed. [20/217/24–28]
20.25
When a sage coils, it is because he seeks to extend.
When he bends, it is because he seeks to straighten.
Thus,
though he travels along a crooked road
and journeys along a dark path,
it is because he wishes to elevate the Great Way and achieve great merit.
Similarly,
if you emerge from [the depths of] a forest, you will not be able to follow a straight course;
if you rescue a drowning person, you will not be able to avoid wetting your feet.
Yi Yin was anxious that the world was not well governed, so blending and harmonizing the five flavors, with cauldron and cutting board on his back, he journeyed
five times to Jie,
five times to Tang,
hoping to
make the turbid clear
and the endangered secure.
The Duke of Zhou was the arms and legs of the house of Zhou and the props and shelter of King Cheng. Guan Shu and Cai Shu supported Prince Lufu,67 wanting to carry out a rebellion, but the Duke of Zhou executed them to stabilize the world. Fate left him no alternative.
Guanzi was anxious over the decline of the house of Zhou and the forceful aggressions of the Lords of the Land. The Yi and Di [tribes] attacked the Central States. The people could not secure a peaceful place to live. Thus he bore shame and insult to remain alive because, anxious about the Yi and Di calamities, he hoped to pacify the chaos of the Yi and Di.
Confucius hoped to implement the Way of the True Kings. East and west, south and north, despite [making] seventy persuasions, there was no place where he could find [a ruler] to match [his teachings]. Thus he went along with the lady of Wey68 and Mi Zixia69 in the hopes that [by their intervention] he could carry through the Way. These all are cases of [sages] desiring to bring peace and eradicate decadence. [They tried] from deep darkness to proceed to brilliant light, to act through expediency to bring about goodness. [20/218/1–8]
20.26
Evaluate those who pursue by what they bring back;
evaluate those who flee by where they end up.
Thus
Shun banished his younger brother;
the Duke of Zhou executed his older brothers,
but they both alike were considered humane.
Duke Wen [of Jin] planted rice,
Zengzi yoked a goat,
but they both alike were considered wise.
In the present age,
evil inevitably poses as goodness in order to explain itself;
depravity inevitably cloaks itself in uprightness to make excuses for itself.
When wandering [i.e., serving as a freelance political adviser], to not assess [your host] state;
when serving, to not choose [your own] office;
when acting, to not avoid defilement:
[people] call this the “Way of Yi Yin.”
When there is division, differentiation, and competition for resources;
when relatives and brothers hold grudges against one another;
when bone and flesh rob each other,
[people] call this the “Rightness of the Duke of Zhou.”
When actions are devoid of integrity or shame,
when disgrace does not result in death,70
[people] call this the “Subservience of Guanzi.”
[When there is]
circulation of gifts and bribes,
hastening to the gates of the powerful,
establishment of the private and abandonment of the public,
forming of cabals to solicit [the ruler’s] favor,
[people] call this the “Techniques of Confucius.”
Such practices cause the distinction between the Superior Man and the petty man to become confused, so that no one knows whether something is right or wrong.
Thus,
a hundred streams may flow at once, but those that do not flow to the sea are not considered “river valleys.”
[Some people] hasten, [some] amble, but those that do not turn their steps toward goodness will not become Superior Men.
Thus,
good speech comes down to what can be carried out;
good action comes down to Humaneness and Rightness.
Tian Zifang and Duangan Mu scorned rank and salary and valued their persons.
They did not allow desire to harm their lives;
they did not allow profit to ensnare their bodies.
Li Ke exhausted the strength of his arms and legs in order to direct and arrange the hundred officials and to be on good terms with the myriad people, enabling his ruler
in life to be free of wasteful endeavors,
in death to be free of a legacy of anxiety.
These were men whose actions differed but who [alike] turned their steps toward goodness.
Zhang Yi and Su Qin
had no permanent homes in which to dwell
and personally did not serve any particular ruler,
but they
negotiated the Vertical and Horizontal Alliances
and made plans that overturned and toppled the states,
confusing and disordering the world, disturbing and deceiving the Lords of the Land, causing the one hundred surnames to have no leisure to report their whereabouts.71
Sometimes following the Vertical Alliance;
sometimes following the Horizontal Alliance;
sometimes uniting the numerous and weak;
sometimes supporting the wealthy and powerful;
these were men who differed in their conduct but who [alike] turned their steps toward depravity.
Thus the errors of the Superior Man are like solar or lunar eclipses.72 What harm do they do to their brilliance? The approbations of the petty man are like a dog barking at the sunrise or an owl appearing at sunset. In what way do they augment their excellence? [20/218/10–21]
20.27
Now,
the wise man does not behave recklessly;
the brave man does not act rashly.
He selects what is good and does it;
he calculates what is right and practices it.
Thus
when his endeavors end, his merit suffices to be relied on;
when his body expires, his reputation suffices to be praised.
Though you possess wisdom and ability, you must take Humaneness and Rightness as their basis; only then is it possible to establish [your rule]. Wise and capable, hasty or slow, when a hundred situations arise simultaneously, the sage uniformly uses Humaneness and Rightness as his level and his marking cord.
One who takes this to be central is called a Superior Man;
one who does not take this to be central is called a petty man.
Though the Superior Man dies, his reputation does not perish.
Though the petty man attains power, his transgressions do not dissipate.
To get someone with his left hand to take a writ for the world and with his right hand to cut his own throat—this is something even a fool would not do, because his person is more precious than the world.73
If he should die in a disaster affecting his ruler or his loved ones, the Superior Man would look upon death merely as a return, because Rightness is weightier than his person. [Obtaining the whole] world is a great benefit, but compared to your person, it is trifling. Yet the weightiness of your person, compared to Rightness, is insubstantial. Rightness is what [must be kept] intact.
The Odes
states,
“Kind and gracious is the Superior Man,
in seeking prosperity he has no regrets.”74
This refers to taking Humaneness75 and Rightness as his level and his marking cord. [20/218/23–29]
20.28
Those who have the ability to accomplish the work of hegemon or king are invariably those who gain victory;
those who have the ability to gain victory are invariably those who are powerful;
those who have the ability to be powerful are invariably those who employ the people’s strength;
those who have the ability to employ the people’s strength are invariably those who gain the people’s hearts;
those who have the ability to gain the people’s hearts are invariably those who gain mastery over the self.
Thus,
the heart is the root of the self;
the self is the root of the state.
There has never been a person who gained “the self” and lost the people;
there has never been a person who lost “the self” and gained the people.
Thus, to establish the basis of order, you must exert yourself to secure the people.
The root of securing the people lies in sufficiency of use;
the root of sufficiency of use lies in not taking them from their seasonal [work];
the root of not taking them from their seasonal [work] lies in reducing endeavors;
the root of reducing endeavors lies in regulating desires;
the root of regulating desires lies in reverting back to nature.
It has never been possible
to agitate the root yet calm the branches;
to pollute the source yet purify the flow. [20/219/1–6]
Thus,
those who know the essential qualities of nature do not endeavor to make nature do what it cannot do.
Those who know the essential qualities of fate are not anxious about what fate cannot control.
Thus,
those who do not [erect] lofty palaces and terraces do not do so because they cherish trees;
those who do not [cast] massive bells and tripods do not do so because they cherish metal.
They straightforwardly put into practice the essential qualities of nature and fate so that their regulations and measures can be taken to constitute a standard for the myriad people.
Now when
the eyes delight in the five colors,
the mouth relishes enticing flavors,
the ears are enraptured by the five sounds,
the seven orifices struggle with one another and harm [your] nature, daily attracting wicked desires and disturbing its heavenly harmony. If you cannot govern “the self,” how can you govern the world? Thus if in nurturing the self you achieve regulation, then in nurturing the people you will win their hearts. [20/219/8–11]
The expression “taking possession of the world” does not refer to holding power and position, accepting hereditary rank, or being referred to by a respectful title. It means
linking up with the strength of the world
and winning the hearts of the world.
The territory of [the tyrant] Djou to the left reached the Eastern Sea and to the right reached to the Sea of Sands. Before him lay Jiaozhi and behind him lay Youdu.76 His armies climbed Rong Pass and reached the Pu River. Their warriors numbered in the tens and hundreds of thousands, but they all shot their arrows backward and fought with their halberds turned [toward the tyrant]. King Wu of Zhou with his left hand held a yellow battle-ax and with his right grasped a white banner77 to direct his armies, and the enemy were shattered like broken tiles and fled, collapsing like a pile of earth.
[The tyrant] Djou had the title of “the one who faces south” [i.e., the ruler] but lacked the praise of even a single man. This is how he lost the world. Thus Jie and Djou cannot be considered [to have been true] kings, and [Kings] Tang and Wu cannot be considered to have banished them.
The Zhou people dwelled in the lands of Feng and Hao. Their territory did not exceed a hundred li, yet they swore an oath against [the tyrant] Djou at Mulberry Field and attacked and occupied the Yin state. They
held a memorial service at the ancestral temple of Tang the Victorious,
conferred a plaque at the gates of the village where Shang Rong lived,
built up the tomb of Bi Gan,
and released the imprisoned Jizi.
Only then did they
snap the drumsticks and destroy the drums of war,78
retire the five kinds of weapons,79
release the oxen and the horses,
gather up the jade insignia tablets,80
and accept the fealty of the world.
The people [lit. the “hundred surnames”] sang ballads to celebrate them while the Lords of the Land, grasping gifts of exotic birds, came calling at their court, for the hearts of the people had been won. [20/219/13–20]
20.29
[King] Helü [of Wu]81 attacked Chu and, after five battles, entered [the capital] Ying. He
burned the grain in the tall granaries,
destroyed the Nine Dragon [Array of] Bells,
flogged King Ping’s tomb,
and occupied King Zhao’s82 palace.
King Zhao escaped to Sui. With fathers and elder brothers carrying the young and supporting the old, the one hundred surnames followed him.
They roused one another to courage and directed it at the enemy;
committing their lives, they raised their [bare] arms and fought with them.
At this time, without a general to lead them, they still fell into formation, each man risking his life, and forced the Wu armies to retreat, regaining their Chu territory.
King Ling [of Chu]
built the Zhanghua tower
and initiated the Ganqi expedition.
Inside and outside the state, [everyone] was disturbed and agitated. The common people were wearied and exhausted. Qiji, availing himself of popular resentment, set up Prince Bi [as king],83 [but] the common people cast him aside and abandoned him so that, suffering starvation in Ganqi, with only weeds to eat and water to drink, he pillowed [his head] on a mound of earth and died.
The mountains and rivers of the state of Chu had not altered;
the land and its territory had not changed;
the people and their nature were no different.
[but]
with King Zhao, the people led one another and sacrificed for him;
with King Ling, the people turned their backs in rebellion and abandoned him.
[This is the difference between] winning the people and losing them.
Thus when the Son of Heaven attains the Way, he is secure [even] among the four Yi [tribes of “barbarians”];
when the Son of Heaven loses the Way, he is secure [only] among the Lords of the Land.
When the Lords of the Land attain the Way, they are secure [even] among the four neighboring states.
When the Lords of the Land lose the Way, they are secure [only] within the four boundaries [of their own states].
Thus Tang began with the seventy-li area of Bo, and King Wen originally governed the hundred li of Feng, but they both could have their decrees enforced, and what they forbade was eradicated all over the world. When the Zhou [dynasty] fell into decay, the Rong attacked Earl Fan84 at Chuchou, seized him, and carried him off.
Thus,
he who attains the Way can command the Lords of the Land, though he may have only a hundred li of territory.
He who loses the Way, though he may rule the world, is still greatly frightened within his core domain.
Thus it is said, “Do not rely on the fact that others do not seize you, but rely on the fact that you cannot be seized.” If you implement the Way of someone who could be seized, even if you do not conduct yourself like someone who might be usurped or murdered, it would be of no use in gaining control of the world. [20/219/22–20/220/3]
20.30
As a
general rule, people survive by means of clothing and food. Now if you lock them in a dark room,
though you nourish them with fine delicacies,
though you clothe them with embroidered garments,
they will be incapable of joy because
their eyes have nothing to look upon,
and their ears having nothing to listen to.
If they were to peek through a narrow crack and see [even] rain or fog, they would laugh happily. How much more so if they were to open the door and fling apart the shutters so that from total darkness they could see bright light.
If from total darkness they were to see bright light so that they were extremely happy, how much more so if they were to leave the room and take a seat in the hall where they could see the light of the sun and moon.
Seeing the light of the sun and moon, they would be boundlessly joyful! How much more so if they were to ascend Mount Tai, stride the stony peak, and gaze toward the Eight Extremities, observing [the constellation] Tiandu85 as if it were their canopy and the Yangzi and Yellow rivers as if they were their belts, with the myriad things between them. Would not their joy be indescribably great? [20/220/5–9]
Moreover,
with a deaf person, the form of the ears is complete, but he is incapable of hearing.
With a blind person, the form of the eyes exists, but he is incapable of sight.
Now,
with speech, we communicate ourselves to others;
with hearing, others communicate themselves to us.
A dumb person cannot speak;
a deaf person cannot hear.
If one is deaf and dumb, the human Way cannot be communicated. Thus those who are afflicted with both deafness and dumbness, though they may impoverish their families seeking a cure, will not begrudge the cost. Do only the form and body suffer from deafness and dumbness? The heart and mind also suffer such ailments. Now if a finger is crooked, no one would fail to try to straighten it, [but] if the heart is obstructed, no one knows [enough] to strive to unblock it. This is to be confused about the [relative] categories of things.
[Suppose you were]
to comprehend the breadth and loftiness of the Six Arts,
to penetrate the depth and profundity of the Way and its Potency,
to reach where there is nothing above,
to go where there is nothing below,
to join with what has no limit,