Objections, Part Two難二

Duke Jing stopped by Yanzi and said, "Your house is small and close to the market. I ask to move your household to the garden at Yuzhang." Yanzi bowed twice and declined, saying, "My household is poor and depends on the market for its food, and morning and evening we hurry there. We cannot be far from it." Duke Jing laughed and said, "Your household knows the market well. Do you know what is dear and what is cheap?" At this time Duke Jing was heavy with punishments. Yanzi answered, "Artificial feet are dear and shoes are cheap." Duke Jing said, "Why is that?" He answered, "Because the punishments are many." Duke Jing changed his face and said, "Have I been so cruel!" And so he took away five of the punishments.

Someone says: When Yanzi said that artificial feet were dear, it was not his true meaning. He wished by a handy phrase to stop the many punishments. This is the trouble of not looking closely at government. Punishments that are fitting are never too many; punishments that are unfitting are never too few. He did not report that they were unfitting, but argued that they were too many. This is the trouble of having no method. Among a beaten army those put to death are counted by the thousand and the hundred, and still the fleeing does not stop. So with the punishments that put down disorder, one fears they will not prevail, and wickedness is still not spent. Now Yanzi does not look at whether they are fitting or not, but argues that they are too many. Is that not reckless? One who spares the weeds wastes the ears of grain, and one who is kind to robbers harms the good people. To slacken punishment now and practice broad kindness is to profit the wicked and the crooked and to harm good people. It is not the way to make government.

Duke Huan of Qi drank wine and was drunk, and he lost his cap. He was ashamed of it and held no court for three days. Guan Zhong said, "This is a shame for one who holds a state. Why does my lord not wash it away with government?" The duke said, "Good!" So he opened the granaries and gave to the poor and the destitute, and looked into the prisons and let out those with light offenses. When three days had passed the people sang of him, "Why does the duke not lose his cap again!"

Someone says: Guan Zhong washed away Duke Huan's shame before the small men, but bred Duke Huan's shame before the gentlemen. If having Duke Huan open the granaries and give to the poor and the destitute, and look into the prisons and let out those with light offenses, was not right, then it could not wash away shame. If doing so was right, then Duke Huan had left what was right lying idle and waited until he lost his cap to do it. Then is not Duke Huan's doing of what was right done because he lost his cap? So although he washed away the shame of the lost cap before the small men, he also bred the shame of neglected right before the gentlemen. Moreover, to open the granaries and give to the poor and the destitute is to reward those without merit, and to look into the prisons and let out those with light offenses is not to punish faults. Now when those without merit are rewarded, the people snatch at luck and look up to their superior; and when faults are not punished, the people are not chastened and do wrong easily. This is the root of disorder. How can it wash away shame?

Long ago King Wen invaded Yu, overcame Ju, and took Feng. He raised three undertakings, and Zhou hated him for it. King Wen then grew afraid, and asked to hand over the land west of the Luo and the country of red earth, a thousand li square, and asked that the punishment of roasting be undone. All under heaven were glad. Zhongni heard of it and said, "How humane, King Wen! He held a country of a thousand li light and asked that the punishment of roasting be undone. How wise, King Wen! He gave up a thousand li of land and won the heart of all under heaven."

Someone says: For Zhongni to take King Wen for wise, is that not going too far? The wise are those who know the place of calamity and hardship and keep away from it, and so their persons do not come to trouble. If the reason King Wen was hated by Zhou was that he had not won men's hearts, then even to seek men's hearts in order to undo that hatred would be well. But Zhou hated him because he had won men's hearts greatly, and King Wen then held his land light in order to gather men's hearts. This is to be doubted twice over, and it is just why he was put in fetters and shut up at Youli. The Elder of Zheng has a saying, "Make the Way your body. Do nothing and show nothing." This suited King Wen best, for it would keep men from doubting him. Zhongni, in taking King Wen for wise, did not reach this argument.

Duke Ping of Jin asked Shuxiang, "Long ago Duke Huan of Qi gathered the feudal lords nine times and set all under heaven right at a stroke. I do not know whether it was the strength of the ministers or the strength of the ruler." Shuxiang answered, "Guan Zhong was good at cutting the cloth, Bin Xuwu was good at trimming and sewing, and Xi Peng was good at hemming the border. The robe was finished, and the ruler only took it up and put it on. So it was the strength of the ministers. What strength had the ruler in it?" Shi Kuang bent over his zither and laughed at him. The duke said, "Why does the Grand Music Master laugh?" Shi Kuang answered, "Your servant laughs at how Shuxiang answered my lord. Everyone who is a minister to another is like a cook who blends the five flavors and offers them to his ruler. If the ruler does not eat, who would dare force him? Your servant asks leave to make a comparison. The ruler is the soil, and the ministers are the grasses and trees. The soil must be rich, and only then do the grasses and trees grow great. So it was the strength of the ruler. What strength had the ministers in it?"

Someone says: The answers of Shuxiang and Shi Kuang are both one-sided words. To set all under heaven right at a stroke and to gather the feudal lords nine times is a great and fine thing. It was not the ruler's strength alone, nor was it the ministers' strength alone. Long ago Gong Zhiqi was in Yu and Xi Fuji was in Cao. So keen was the wisdom of these two ministers that their words hit the matter and their proposals hit the merit, and yet Yu and Cao both perished. Why? Here were such ministers without such a ruler. Again, Jian Shu dwelt in Gan and Gan perished, and he dwelt in Qin and Qin became hegemon. It was not that Jian Shu was foolish in Gan and wise in Qin. It was having a ruler and having none. So Shuxiang's saying "it was the strength of the ministers" is not so. Long ago Duke Huan had two markets inside his palace and two hundred women's lanes, and he let his hair hang loose and kept women about him. He got Guan Zhong and became first of the five hegemons. He lost Guan Zhong and got Shu Diao, and he died, and the worms flowed out of the door before he was buried. To hold that it was not the strength of the ministers is to hold that it was not by Guan Zhong that he became hegemon; to hold that it was the strength of the ruler is to hold that it was not by Shu Diao that disorder came. Long ago Duke Wen of Jin longed for the woman of Qi and forgot to go home, and Jiufan remonstrated to the end, and so made him return to the state of Jin. Thus Duke Huan gathered the lords by Guan Zhong, and Duke Wen became hegemon by Jiufan. So Shi Kuang's saying "it was the strength of the ruler" is again not so. The reason the five hegemons could make merit and a name in all under heaven is that ruler and ministers both had strength in it. Therefore it is said: the answers of Shuxiang and Shi Kuang are both one-sided words.

In the time of Duke Huan of Qi a guest from Jin arrived, and the officer in charge asked about the rites. Three times Duke Huan said, "Tell Zhongfu." The jester laughed and said, "How easy it is to be a ruler! Once it is Zhongfu, twice it is Zhongfu." Duke Huan said, "I have heard that one who rules men toils at seeking men and is at ease in using men. It was already hard for me to get Zhongfu. Now that I have got Zhongfu, how should it not be easy?"

Someone says: What Duke Huan answered the jester are not the words of one who rules men. Duke Huan held that to rule men is to toil at seeking men. But why should seeking men be a toil? Yi Yin made himself a cook to reach Tang, and Baili Xi made himself a slave to reach Duke Mu. A slave is a disgraced thing and a cook a shameful one, and yet they bore shame and disgrace in order to come before a ruler, because a worthy man's care for the age is urgent. That being so, one who rules men has only to not turn worthy men away, and seeking worthy men is no hard task for a ruler. Moreover, offices and charges are what worthy men are entrusted with, and rank and stipend are what merit is rewarded with. Set up offices and charges and set out rank and stipend, and officers come of themselves. What toil has the ruler of men in it? Nor is the using of men a thing of ease. Though the ruler uses men, he must measure them by rule and standard and match them by form and name. If the business fits the law he lets it go forward, and if it does not fit the law he stops it. If the merit fits the man's words he rewards him, and if it does not fit he puts him to death. He gathers his ministers by form and name and measures those below by rule and standard, and this cannot be laid down. How is the ruler of men at ease?

Seeking men is no toil and using men is no ease, so Duke Huan's saying "toil at seeking men and ease in using men" is not so. Moreover it was not hard for Duke Huan to get Guan Zhong either. Guan Zhong did not die for his own lord but went over to Duke Huan, and Bao Shu held office light and yielded to the abler man and gave the charge to him. That Duke Huan's getting of Guan Zhong was also not hard is clear. And once he had got Guan Zhong, how should it be easy all at once? Guan Zhong was no Dan, the Duke of Zhou. Dan, the Duke of Zhou, stood in for the Son of Heaven for seven years, and when King Cheng grew up he handed him the government. This was no reckoning made for all under heaven. It was his charge. One who does not take from the son and yet governs all under heaven will surely not turn his back on a dead lord and serve his enemy. One who turns his back on a dead lord and serves his enemy will surely not find it hard to take from the son and govern all under heaven. And one who does not find it hard to take from the son and govern all under heaven will surely not find it hard to take his ruler's state. Guan Zhong was a minister of Prince Jiu. He plotted to kill Duke Huan and could not, and when his lord died he served Duke Huan as a minister. From this one may know that Guan Zhong's taking and leaving was not that of Dan, the Duke of Zhou. If Guan Zhong were a greatly worthy man, then he would become a Tang or a Wu. Tang and Wu were ministers of Jie and Zhou. Jie and Zhou made disorder, and Tang and Wu took what was theirs. Now Duke Huan sits above him and calls it easy, and this is to sit above a Tang or a Wu with the conduct of a Jie or a Zhou. Duke Huan is in danger. If Guan Zhong were an unworthy man, then he would become a Tian Chang. Tian Chang was a minister of Duke Jian, and he killed his ruler. Now Duke Huan sits above him and calls it easy, and this is to sit above a Tian Chang with the easiness of Duke Jian. Duke Huan is again in danger. That Guan Zhong was no Dan, the Duke of Zhou, is clear, but whether he would become a Tang or a Wu or become a Tian Chang could not be known. If he became a Tang or a Wu, there is the danger of Jie and Zhou; if he became a Tian Chang, there is the disorder of Duke Jian. Once he had got Zhongfu, how should it be easy for Duke Huan all at once? If Duke Huan's entrusting of Guan Zhong came of knowing for certain that the man would not deceive him, then he knew a minister who does not deceive his ruler. Yet though he knew a minister who does not deceive his ruler, Duke Huan lent himself as wholly to Shu Diao and Yi Ya as he had entrusted Guan Zhong, and the worms flowed out of the door before he was buried. It is already clear that Duke Huan did not know whether a minister deceives his ruler or not, and still he entrusted his ministers as wholly as that. Therefore it is said: Duke Huan was a benighted ruler.

When Li Ke governed Zhongshan, the magistrate of Kuxing brought up his accounts, and the income was large. Li Ke said, "When the talk is clever and pleasing to hear but is not measured by what is right, it is called excessive speech. When there is no profit from mountain and forest or marsh and valley and yet the income is large, it is called excessive goods. A gentleman does not listen to excessive speech and does not take excessive goods. You may withdraw for now."

Someone says: Master Li set out his words thus: "When the talk is clever and pleasing to hear but is not measured by what is right, it is called excessive speech." Cleverness lies in the speaker and pleasure lies in the listener, and the talk is not the listener. What he calls not measured by what is right does not name the listener; it must name what is listened to. The listener is either a small man or a gentleman. A small man has no sense of right, so he surely cannot measure by what is right; a gentleman measures by what is right, so he surely will not be pleased. To say "the talk is clever and pleasing to hear but is not measured by what is right" must be untrue words. To call a large income excessive goods will not carry far. Master Li did not forbid the wrongdoing early, but let it come as far as the accounts, and this is to complete the fault. Having no method for knowing, he speaks of a large income. But a large income is a good harvest, and though the income were doubled, what would he do about it? When undertakings are raised with care for the harmony of yin and yang, when planting is measured to the fitness of the four seasons, and there is no error of early and late and no disaster of cold and heat, then the income is large. When small gains are not allowed to hinder great business and private wishes are not allowed to harm the people's work, when the men spend themselves at the plowing and the women put their strength into the weaving, then the income is large. When the principles of rearing are worked at and the fitness of the soil is looked into, so that the six animals thrive and the five grains multiply, then the income is large. When one is clear in weighing and reckoning and careful about the lay of the land and the use of boats, carts and machines, so that little strength is spent and great work is done, then the income is large. When the passage of markets, barriers and bridges is made easy, so that what there is brings in what there is not, traveling merchants come in and goods from outside stay; and when spending is frugal and clothing and food are measured, when houses and tools go round for the use of all and playthings are not made a business, then the income is large. A large income is in every case the doing of men. As for the work of heaven, when wind and rain come in season and cold and heat are moderate, so that the land grows no larger and yet there is the merit of a good harvest, then the income is large. The work of men and the merit of heaven, these two things, both make the income large, and it is not the profit of mountain and forest or marsh and valley. So to call a large income excessive goods because there is no profit from mountain and forest or marsh and valley is talk without method.

Jian Zi of Zhao surrounded the outer wall of Wei. Behind rhinoceros-hide shields and great shields he stood where arrows and stones could not reach, and he beat the drum, but the soldiers did not rise. Jian Zi threw down the drumstick and said, "Alas! Our soldiers have worn out again and again." The herald Zhu Guo took off his helmet and answered, "Your servant has heard this. There is only a ruler who is not able; there are no soldiers who are worn out. Long ago our former lord Duke Xian annexed seventeen states, brought thirty-eight states to submission, and won twelve times in battle. This was the use of the people. Duke Xian died and Duke Hui ascended the throne. He was loose and cruel and disorderly, and he was fond of fair women, and the men of Qin invaded as they pleased and came within seventeen li of Jiang. This too was the use of these same men. Duke Hui died and Duke Wen took them over. He surrounded Wei and took Ye, and at the battle of Chengpu he broke the men of Chu five times and won a lofty name in all under heaven. This too was the use of these same men. There is only a ruler who is not able; there are no soldiers who are worn out." Jian Zi then put away the shields and the great shields and stood where arrows and stones could reach, and he beat the drum, and the soldiers climbed the wall and fought and won a great victory. Jian Zi said, "Getting a thousand chariots of war would not be worth as much to me as hearing one word from the herald Zhu Guo."

Someone says: The herald had nothing in what he said. He only told how Duke Hui was beaten with these same men and Duke Wen became hegemon with these same men, and he did not show how men are to be used. Jian Zi should not have been so quick to put away his shields and great shields. When a stern parent is inside a siege, to make light of arrows and stones is how a filial son loves his parent. But a filial son who loves his parent is one in a hundred. Now to hold that if one's own person is placed in danger men will still be able to fight is to hold that the sons of the hundred clans will all be toward their superior as a filial son loving his parent. This is the herald's deceit. To love profit and hate harm is what all men have in them. If rewards are thick and trustworthy, men make light of the enemy; if punishments are heavy and certain, no man turns and runs. To make one's conduct long and give one's life for one's superior is not one man in several hundred, but to delight in profit and fear crime is what every man does. One who leads a host does not go outside the number of what every man does, and yet he followed the conduct of what not one man in a hundred does. The herald did not know the way of using a host.