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Basic writings of mo tzu, hsun tzu, and Han fei tzu in honoring the worthy, against fatalism and the regulations of king.
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Prepared for the Columbia College Program of Translations from the Asian Classics Wm. Theodore de Bary, Editor
Number LXXIV of the RECORDS OF CIVILIZATION: souncES AND STUDIES Edited under the auspices of the Department of History, Columbia University
COLU j\f BIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Honoring the Worthy 19
much more appropriate, therefore, that one should do this for worthy men, who are ardent in the practice of virtue, skilled in discourse, and broad in learning! Men such as these are the treasures of the nation and the keepers of its altars of the soil and grain. They too should be enriched and honored, respected and praised, and when this has been done, they may
Therefore, when the sage kings of ancient times adminis tered their states, they announced: "The unrighteous shall not be enriched, the unrighteous shall not be exalted, the un righteous shall be no kin to us, the unrighteous shall not be our intimates!" When the rich and exalted men of the king dom heard this, they all began to deliberate among themselves, saying, "We have trusted in our wealth and exalted position, but now the lord promotes the righteous without caring whether they are poor or humble. We too, then, must become righteous." Likewise the kin of the ruler began to deliberate, saying, "We have trusted in the bond of kinship, but now the lord promotes the righteous without caring how distant the relationship. We too, then, must become righteous." Those
have trusted in the intimacy we enjoyed, but now the lord promotes the righteous without caring how far removed they may have been from him until now. We too, then, must be come righteous." And when those who were far removed from the ruler heard it, they also deliberated, saying, "We used to believe that, since we were so far removed from the ruler, we had nothing to trust in. But now the lord promotes the right eous without caring how far removed they may be. We too, then, must become righteous." So the vassals of distant and outlying areas, as well as the noblemen's sons serving in the
20 Mo Tzu palace, the multitudes of the capital, and the peasants of the four borders, in time came to hear of this, and all strove to become righteous. Why did the ancient kings do this? Those in a superior posi tion have one thing by ·which to attract men to their service the promise of material benefits; those in a subordinate posi tion have one thing to offer to their superiors-a knowledge of the arts of government. Let us suppose there is a rich man who has built a high wall all around his house. When the wall is finished and plastered with mud, he pierces it with only one
the thief entered and set about searching for him, confident that the thief has no means of escape. \Vhy? Because the rich man, like the ruler, has control of the vital point. Therefore in their administration the sage kings of ancient times ranked the virtuous high and honored the worthy, and although a man might be a farmer or an artisan from the shops, if he had ability they promoted him. Such men vvere honored with titles, treated to generous stipends, en trusted ·with important matters, and empowered to see that their orders \Vere carried out. For it was said that if their stipends \Vere not generous, the people would have no confidence in then1; and if their orders were not carried out, the people would not stand in awe of them. These three benefits were bestowed upon the \vorthy not because the ruler ·wished to reward them for their ·worth but because he hoped thereby to bring about success in the affairs of govern1nent. Therefore at that time ranks \Vere assigned according to virtue, duties allotted according to the office held, and rewards given according to the effort expended; achievements \Vere 'veighed and stipends distributed accord
position for life, nor \Vas any me1nber of the common people
22 Mo Tzu tlemen of worth must be promoted; and when they are not going well, gentlemen of worth must be promoted. If one wishes to emulate and carry on the ways of Yao, Shun, Yi.i, and T'ang, then one must honor the worthy, for honoring the worthy is the foundation of good government.
PART II
(SECTION 9)
Mo Tzu said: In caring for the people, presiding over the altars of the soil and grain, and ordering the state, the rulers and high officials these days strive for stability and seek to avoid any error. But why do they fail to perceive that honoring the worthy is the foundation of government? How do we know that honoring the worthy is the founda tion of government? Because when the eminent and wise rule over the stupid and humble, then there will be order; but when the stupid and humble rule over the eminent and wise, there \vill be chaos. The refore we know that honoring the worthy is the foundation of government. Therefore the sage kings of ancient times took great pains to honor the worthy and employ the capable, showing no special consideration for their own kin, no partiality for the eminent and rich, no favoritism for the good-looking and at tractive. They promoted the worthy to high places, enriched and honored them, and made them heads of government; the unworthy they demoted and rejected, reduced to poverty and humble station, and condemned to penal servitude. Thus the people, encouraged by the hope of reward and awed by the fear of punishment, led each other on to become worthy, so
that worthy men increased in number and unworthy men became few. This is what is called advancing the worthy. And when this had been done, the sage kings listened to the words of the worthy, watched their actions, observed their abilities, and on this basis carefully assigned them to office. This is called employing the capable. Those who were capable of ordering the state were employed to order the state; those who were capable of heading a government bureau were employed as heads of bureaus; and those who were capable of governing an outlying district were employed to govern the outlying districts. Thus the administration of the state, of the govern ment bureaus, and of the outlying districts was in every case in the hands of the most worthy men of the nation. When a worthy man is given the task of ordering the state, he appears at court early and retires late, listens to lawsuits and attends to the affairs of government. As a result the state is well ordered and laws and punishments are justly adminis tered. When a worthy man heads a government bureau, he goes to bed late and gets up early, collecting taxes on the barriers and markets and on the resources of the hills, forests, lakes, and fish weirs, so that the treasury will be full. As a re sult the treasury is full and no source of revenue is neglected. When a worthy man governs an outlying district, he leaves his house early and returns late, plowing and sowing seed, plant ing trees, and gathering vegetables and grain.^3 As a result there will be plenty of vegetables and grain and the people will have enough to eat. When the state is well ordered, the
reward his ministers, but because he hoped thereby to bring about success in the affairs of government.
I admonish you to take thought for the needy; I teach you how to assign the titles; For who can take hold of something hot Without first moistening his hand?^4
This verse shows how important it was for the rulers a·nd lords of antiquity to secure good men to be their ministers and aides, and compares this to the necessity of moistening the hand before grasping anything hot so as to spare the hand from injury. Thus the sage kings of antiquity gave all their thought to finding worthy men and employing them, handing out titles to honor them, apportioning lands to enfeoff them, and never to the end of their days stinting their efforts. Worthy men for their part thought only of finding an enlightened lord and serving him, exhausting the strength of their four limbs in carrying out their lord's business, never to the end of their days growing weary, and if they achieved anything that vvas beautiful or good, they gave c:~~!~ for it to the ruler. Thus all that was beautiful and good came to reside in the ruler, while all grudges and complaints were :directed against his subordinates. Peace and joy was the portion of the ruler, care and sorrow that of his ministers. This was how the sage kings of ancient times administered their rule. Now the rulers and high officials of the present day attempt to imitate the ancients in honoring the worthy .and employing the capable in their governments. But although they honor them with titles, the stipends which they allot to them do
'Ta ya section, "Sang jou" (Mao text no. 257 ).
26 Mo Tzu not follow in proportion. Now if an official has a high-sound ing title but a meager stipend, he can hardly inspire the con fidence of the people. Such an official will say to himself, "The ruler does not really appreciate me, but is only making use of me as a means for his own ends." And how can men who feel that they are being made use of ever have any affec tion for their superiors? Therefore the kings of antiquity used to say: "He who is greedy for power in government can never bring himself to assign responsibility to others, and he who is too fond of wealth can never bring himself to dole out stipends." And if one refuses to delegate responsibility or dole out stipends, though one invites all the worthy men of the world, what inducement will they have to come to the side of the ruler and his officers? If the worthy do not come to the side of the ruler and his officers, it will be the unworthy who will wait at their left and right, and when the unworthy wait upon their left and right, then praise will not be meted out to the worthy and censure to the wicked. If the ruler honors unworthy men such as these and uses them in governing the state, then rewards will not necessarily find their way into the hands of the worthy, and punishments will not necessarily fall upon those who deserve them. If the worthy are not rewarded and the wicked are not punished, then there will be no way to encourage the worthy or put a stop to evil. Unworthy men such as these are not loving or filial to their parents at home nor respectful and friendly to the people of their neighborhood. Their ac tions show no sense of propriety, their, comings and goings no sense of restraint, and their relations with the opposite sex no sense of decorum. Put in charge of a government bureau, they steal and plunder; assigned to guard a city, they betray
28 lvio Tzu given the task of ordering the state, then this is simply to entrust the state to men who are neither \vise nor intelligent, and anyone knows that this \vill lead to ruin. 1V1oreover, the rulers and high officials trust a man's mental ability because they are attracted by. his looks, and treat him with affection without bothering to examine his kno\vledge. As a result a man who is incapable of taking charge of a hun dred persons is assigned to a post in charge of a thousand, and a man who is incapable of taking charge of a thousand persons is assigned to a post in charge of ten thousand. Why do the rulers do this? Because if they assign a man they like to such a post, he will receive an exalted title and a generous stipend. Hence they employ the n1an sin1ply because they are attracted by his looks. Now if a man who is incapable of taking charge of a thou sand persons is given a post in charge of ten thousand, then he is being given a post that requires ten times what he is capable of. Affairs of governn1ent arise every day and must be attended to each day, and yet the day cannot be made ten times longer for the sake of such a man. Furthermore, it takes kno\vledge to attend to such affairs, but if the man's knowl edge cannot be increased tenfold and he is still assigned to a post that requires ten times what he is capable of, then it vvill result in his attending to one matter and neglecting nine others. Though the man \Vorks day and night to attend to the duties ·of his post, it is obvious that they will never be attended to. All of this comes about because the rulers and high officials do not understand how to honor the worthy and employ the capable in their governme~t. Earlier I described the method for honoring the vvorthy and employing the capable in government so as to achieve order, and here I have described how rejecting the worthy
and failing to employ the capable in government leads to chaos. Now if the rulers and high officials truly wish to order the state properly, to achieve stability and avoid error, why do they fail to perceive that honoring the worthy is the foun dation of good government? Moreover, this principle, that honoring the worthy is the
Tzu alone. It is the way of the sage kings, and is found recorded in the books of the former kings and embodied in the sayings which have been handed down from antiquity. Thus one book says: "Seek out sages and Vfise men to protect
out a great sage with whom to unite my strength and join my mind in governing the empire." 6 These quotations show that the sages did not fail to honor the worthy and employ the capable in their governn1ent. Thus the sage kings of .ancient times gave all their attention to this problem alone, and did not allow themselves to become distracted by other affairs, ancl all the world enjoyed the .benefits thereof.
on the banks of the river, and fished at Thunder Lake. ·Yao discovered him on the sunny side of Fu Lake and promote'dl him to the position of Son of Heaven, turning over to him the task of ruling the empire and governing the people. Yi Chih served in the bridal party of the daughter of the Hsin clan when she went to marry T'ang, and by his own wish became a cook in T·'ang's kitchens. There T'ang discovered him and made him his chief minister, turning uver to him the
(^6) The ''Oath of T'ang" is one of the sections .of the Book oJ Documents, but no such passage is found in the present text -of that section. The source of the preceding quotation is unknown.
Who were those that, possessing wealth and eminence, still practiced evil, and were punished for it? The wicked kings of the Three Dynasties of old, Chieh, Chou, Yu, and Li, were such. How do we know that this is so? Because when they ruled the world, they hated all men universally, set about to oppress them, and taught the people of the world to curse Heaven and abuse the spirits. Because they oppressed and tyrannized their subjects, Heaven and the spirits punished them by bringing execution and death to their persons, scat tering their sons and grandsons, destroying their houses, and cutting off their descendants. The people accordingly con demned them, calling them wicked kings, and so they are called even today. These then were the rich and eminent ones who practiced evil and who were punished for it. Who was it that, though closely related to the ruler, failed to do good and was punished for it? Such was Lord Kun, the eldest son of the emperor.^7 He turned his back on the virtuous ways of the emperor and so was banished to the fields of Yii and imprisoned where no warmth nor light could reach him, and the emperor sho\red him no favor. He, then, was one who, though closely related to the ruler, failed to do good and was punished for it. Who were the capable ones who were employed by Heaven? Such were Yii, Chi, and Kao T'ao.^8 How do we know that this is so? Because among the documents of the former kings is the "Penal Code of Lii," which says: "The august emperor carefully inquired among the lower people, and there were (^7) Various accounts are given of this mythical figure. According to the one which Mo Tzu appears to be following, he was the son of a ruler named Chuan Hsii. It is not clear whether Chuan Hsii himself, or one of his successors, banished Lord Kun. 8 These men were all said to have been enlightened ministers under the sage Shun. In the quotation from the Book of Documents which follows, however, Kao T'ao is not mentioned, but instead Po Yi, another eminent minister of Shun.
32 Mo Tzu complaints against the Miao barbarians.. ... The attention of the various lords was extended among the lower people and they brought to light the enlightened, no matter who they were, so that even widowers and widows were not left un recognized. The virtuous might of the sovereign overawed the people; his virtuous enlightenment made them bright. Then he charged three lords to be zealous in doing good for the people. Po Yi handed down the statutes, restraining the people with punishments. Yu regulated the water and the land and presided over the naming of the hills and rivers. Chi descended from his high position to sow seed and teach the people to grow fine grain. \tVhen these three lords had com pleted their work, the people were greatly benefited." 9 The three sages mentioned in this passage were careful in their words, circumspect in their actions, and thorough in their thoughts and plans. They sought to discover every hid den matter in the world, every benefit that had previously been overlooked. They served Heaven above, and Heaven re sponded to their virtue. They acted for the sake of the people belo\v, and the people received benefit their whole life through. Thus the former kings used to say: "This Way! Use it on a grand scale throughout the world and it will never prove too petty; use it on a small scale and it will never prove confining; use it for a long time and the people will benefit their whole lives through." The hymns of Chou speak of it in these words: The virtue of the sage Is high as heaven, (^9) From the Lu hsing, or "Penal Code of Lii," in the Book of Documents. On the whole I have followed the interpretation of Karlgren, though for "they brought to light the enlightened, no matter who they were,'' he reads "clearly elucidated the irregular practices (sc. punishments)." In most cases we can only guess from context how Mo Tzu himself inter preted the passages which he quotes from the Odes and Documents.
h AGAINST FATALISM PART I (SECTION 3 5)
Mo Tzu said: These days the rulers and high officials who govern the nation all desire their states to be rich, their popu lation to be numerous, and their administration to be well ordered. And yet what they achieve is not wealth but poverty, not a numerous population but a meager one, not order but chaos. In actual fact, they fail to get what they seek and
because of the large number of fatalists among the people. The advocates of fatalism say, "If fate decrees that the state will be wealthy, it will be wealthy; if it decrees that it will be poor, it will be poor. If it decrees that the population will be numerous, it will be numerous; if it decrees that it will be in eager, it will be meager. If it decrees that there will be order, there will be order; if it decrees that there will be chaos, there will be chaos. If it decrees that a man will have a long life, he will have a long life; if it decrees that he will die young, he will die young. Though a man tries to combat fate, what can he do?" They expound such doctrines to the rulers and high officials, and keep the people from pursuing their tasks. Hence the fatalists are lacking in benevolence, and their words must therefore be carefullv examined.;. Now ho"v are we to go about examining their doctrines? Mo Tzu said: We must set up a standard of judgment, for to try to speak without a standard of judgment is like trying to
z18 MoTzu
establish the direction of sunrise and sunset with a revolving potter's wheel. It will be impossible to determine the differ ence between what is right and wrong, what is beneficial and what is harmful. Therefore a theory must be judged by three tests. What are these three tests of a theory? Its origin, its validity, and its applicability. How do we judge its_ origin? We judge it by comparing the theory with the deeds of the sage kings of antiquity. How do we judge its validity? We
eyes and ears of the people. And how do we judge its applic ability? We judge it by observing whether, \vhen the theory is put into practice in the administration,. it brings benefit to the state and the people. This is what is meant by the three tests of a theory. Now among the gentlemen of the world there are those who believe in the existence of fate. Let us try examining this belief in the light of what we know of the sage kings. In ancient times chaos prevailed under Chieh, but T'ang fol lowed him and there was order; chaos prevailed under Chou, hut King Wu followed him and there was order. Within a single generation, with the same people, the world was in chaos under Chieh and Chou, and well ordered under T'ang and Wu. How then can we say that order or chaos in the world are decreed by fate? 1 Yet there are still some gentlemen in the world who believe in the existence of fate. Let us try examining this belief in the light of the writings of the former kings. Among the writings of the former kings are those that were issued by the state and promulgated among the people, and these were called "stat
(^1) This argument, needless to say, does not refute the claims of the fatalists, who can just as well assert that the decree of fate changed abruptly when the rule passed from Chieh to T'ang and from Chou to Wu.
