Selecting Officials擇官第七
貞觀元年，太宗謂房玄齡等曰：「致治之本，惟在於審。量才授職，務省官員。故《書》稱：『任官惟賢才。』又云：『官不必備，惟其人。』若得其善者，雖少亦足矣。其不善者，縱多亦奚為？古人亦以官不得其才，比於畫地作餅，不可食也。《詩》曰：『謀夫孔多，是用不就。』又孔子曰：『官事不攝，焉得儉？』且『千羊之皮，不如一狐之腋。』此皆載在經典，不能具道。當須更並省官員，使得各當所任，則無為而治矣。卿宜詳思此理，量定庶官員位。」玄齡等由是所置文武總六百四十員。太宗從之，因謂玄齡曰：「自此儻有樂工雜類，假使術逾儕輩者，只可特賜錢帛以賞其能，必不可超授官爵，與夫朝賢君子比肩而立，同坐而食，遺諸衣冠以為恥累。」
In the first year of Zhenguan, Taizong said to Fang Xuanling and the others:
"The root of reaching good rule lies only in careful examination. Measure a man's talent and give him his office, and work to cut down the number of officials. So the Book of Documents says, 'In appointing officials, take only the worthy and able.' It also says, 'Offices need not all be filled; take only the right man.' If good men are got, then even a few are enough. If they are not good, what use are many? The ancients too said that an office whose holder lacks the talent for it is like a cake drawn on the ground, which cannot be eaten.
"The Odes says, 'The planners are very many, and for this reason nothing is brought to pass.' Confucius also said, 'If the business of office is not held together in one hand, how can there be frugality?' And it is said, 'The skins of a thousand sheep are not worth the armpit fur of one fox.' All this is set down in the classics, and I cannot speak of it all. The number of officials must again be combined and cut down, so that each man is matched to what he is charged with. Then there will be rule without action. You should think this principle through in detail, and weigh and settle the number of posts for the many offices."
Xuanling and the others therefore set the civil and military posts together at six hundred and forty. Taizong followed this, and then said to Xuanling:
"From now on, if there are musicians or men of miscellaneous sort, even should their skill surpass that of their fellows, they may only be given special gifts of money and silk to reward their ability. On no account may they be raised beyond their place with office and rank, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the worthy gentlemen of the court and sit and eat with them, bringing shame and disgrace upon the officials."
貞觀二年，太宗謂房玄齡、杜如晦曰：「公為僕射，當助朕憂勞，廣聞耳目，求訪賢哲。比聞公等聽受辭訟，日有數百。此則讀符牒不暇，安能助朕求賢哉？」因敕尚書省，細碎務皆付左右丞，惟冤滯大事合聞奏者，關於僕射。
In the second year of Zhenguan, Taizong said to Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui:
"You gentlemen are vice directors of the Department of State Affairs. You should help me in my cares and labors, widen my ears and eyes, and seek out the worthy and the wise. Of late I hear that you hear and receive lawsuits, several hundred a day. At that rate you have no leisure even to read the documents. How then can you help me seek worthy men?"
He then ordered the Department of State Affairs that all small and trivial business be given over to the assistant directors of the left and right, and that only great matters of wrong and delay which ought to be reported to the throne should come to the vice directors.
貞觀二年，太宗謂侍臣曰：「朕每夜恒思百姓間事，或至夜半不寐。惟恐都督、刺史堪養百姓以否。故於屏風上錄其姓名，坐臥恒看，在官如有善事，亦具列於名下。朕居深宮之中，視聽不能及遠，所委者惟都督、刺史，此輩實治亂所系，尤須得人。」
In the second year of Zhenguan, Taizong said to his attendant officials:
"Every night I think constantly of matters among the people, and sometimes I do not sleep until midnight. My one fear is whether the area commanders and the prefects are fit to nourish the people. So I have written their names on my folding screen, and sitting or lying down I look at them constantly; and when one of them does something good in office, I set that down beneath his name as well. I dwell deep within the palace, and my seeing and hearing cannot reach far. Those I entrust are only the area commanders and the prefects. On these men truly hang order and disorder, and above all the right men must be got."
貞觀二年，太宗謂右僕射封德彜曰：「致安之本，惟在得人。比來命卿舉賢，未嘗有所推薦。天下事重，卿宜分朕憂勞，卿既不言，朕將安寄？」對曰：「臣愚豈敢不盡情，但今未見有奇才異能。」太宗曰：「前代明王使人如器，皆取士於當時，不借才於異代。豈得待夢傅說，逢呂尚，然後為政乎？且何代無賢，但患遺而不知耳！」德彜慚赧而退。
In the second year of Zhenguan, Taizong said to Feng Deyi, the vice director of the right:
"The root of reaching peace lies only in getting the right men. Of late I told you to put worthy men forward, and you have recommended no one. The business of the world is heavy, and you should share my cares and labors. Since you say nothing, where am I to turn?"
He answered:
"I am dull, but how should I dare not give my whole heart to it? Only, I have not yet seen a man of rare talent and uncommon ability."
Taizong said:
"The enlightened kings of former ages used men as one uses vessels, and all of them took their officers from their own time; they did not borrow talent from another age. Must one wait to dream of Fu Yue, or to meet Lu Shang, and only then govern? And what age has been without worthy men? The only fear is that they are passed over and not known."
Deyi withdrew, red with shame.
貞觀三年，太宗謂吏部尚書杜如晦曰：「比見吏部擇人，惟取其言詞刀筆，不悉其景行。數年之後，惡跡始彰，雖加刑戮，而百姓已受其弊。如何可獲善人？」如晦對曰：「兩漢取人，皆行著鄉閭，州郡貢之，然後入用，故當時號為多士。今每年選集，向數千人，厚貌飾詞，不可知悉，選司但配其階品而已。銓簡之理，實所未精，所以不能得才。」太宗乃將依漢時法令，本州辟召，會功臣等將行世封事，遂止。
In the third year of Zhenguan, Taizong said to Du Ruhui, the minister of personnel:
"Of late I see that when the ministry of personnel chooses men, it takes only their way with words and their skill with the brush, and knows nothing of their everyday conduct. Only after some years does the evil in them come out, and though punishment and execution are added, the people have already suffered the harm. How can good men be got?"
Ruhui answered:
"Under the two Han dynasties men were taken when their conduct was known in their own villages. The prefectures and commanderies presented them, and only then were they brought in and employed. For this reason that age was said to be rich in officers. Now the yearly selection gathers close to several thousand men. They put on a thick face and dress up their words, so that they cannot all be known, and the selecting office only fits them to their grades and ranks. The principle of sifting and choosing is truly not fine enough, and that is why talent is not got."
Taizong then wished to follow the laws of the Han, letting a man's own prefecture summon and appoint him; but as it fell at the time when hereditary fiefs were to be granted to the men of merit, the matter was dropped.
貞觀六年，太宗謂魏徵曰：「古人云，王者須為官擇人，不可造次即用。朕今行一事，則為天下所觀；出一言，則為天下所聽。用得正人，為善者皆勸；誤用惡人，不善者競進。賞當其勞，無功者自退；罰當其罪，為惡者戒懼。故知賞罰不可輕行，用人彌須慎擇。」徵對曰：「知人之事，自古為難，故考績黜陟，察其善惡。今欲求人，必須審訪其行。若知其善，然後用之。設令此人不能濟事，只是才力不及，不為大害。誤用惡人，假令強幹，為害極多。但亂世惟求其才，不顧其行。太平之時，必須才行俱兼，始可任用。」
In the sixth year of Zhenguan, Taizong said to Wei Zheng:
"The ancients said that a king must choose the man for the office, and must not employ him in haste. If I now do one thing, it is watched by the whole world; if I utter one word, it is heard by the whole world. When upright men are employed, all who do good take heart; when evil men are employed by mistake, those who are not good press forward in rivalry. When the reward matches the labor, the man without merit withdraws of himself; when the punishment matches the crime, the man who does evil takes warning and is afraid. So I know that reward and punishment may not be used lightly, and that in employing men one must choose with still greater care."
Wei Zheng answered:
"Knowing men has been hard from ancient times. That is why merit was examined, men were demoted and promoted, and their good and their evil observed. If Your Majesty would now seek men, you must inquire carefully into their conduct. If you know a man to be good, then employ him. Even if such a man cannot carry the business through, it is only that his talent and strength fall short, and it does no great harm. But if an evil man is employed by mistake, then even should he be strong and capable, the harm is very great. In a disordered age men seek only talent and do not look to conduct; but in a time of great peace, talent and conduct must go together before a man can be given office."
貞觀十一年，侍御史馬周上疏曰：「治天下者以人為本。欲令百姓安樂，惟在刺史、縣令。縣令既眾，不能皆賢，若每州得良刺史，則合境蘇息。天下刺史悉稱聖意，則陛下可端拱巖廊之上，百姓不慮不安。自古郡守、縣令，皆妙選賢德，欲有遷擢為將相，必先試以臨人，或從二千石入為丞相及司徒、太尉者。朝廷必不可獨重內臣，外刺史、縣令，遂輕其選。所以百姓未安，殆由於此。」太宗因謂侍臣曰：「刺史朕當自簡擇；縣令詔京官五品已上，各舉一人。」
In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Ma Zhou, the attending censor, sent up a memorial:
"One who rules the world takes the people as his root. To make the people secure and happy rests only on the prefects and the county magistrates. The county magistrates are already many and cannot all be worthy; but if every prefecture gets a good prefect, the whole territory revives. If the prefects of the world all answer to your sage intent, Your Majesty may sit with folded hands high in the hall, and there will be no cause to fear that the people are not at peace.
"From ancient times commandery governors and county magistrates were chosen with the greatest care from among the worthy and virtuous; and when a man was to be moved up to be a general or a chancellor, he was first tested in governing people. Some came in from the rank of two thousand piculs to become chancellor, minister of education, or grand commandant. The court must never weigh the ministers within alone and then make light of the choice of the prefects and county magistrates outside. That the people are not at peace comes, I think, from this."
Taizong then said to his attendant officials:
"The prefects I shall choose myself. As for the county magistrates, let an edict order the officials of the capital of the fifth rank and above each to recommend one man."
貞觀十一年，治書侍御史劉洎以為左右丞宜特加精簡，上疏曰：「臣聞尚書萬機，實為政本，伏尋此選，授任誠難。是以八座比於文昌，二丞方於管轄，爰至曹郎，上應列宿，茍非稱職，竊位興譏。伏見比來尚書省詔敕稽停，文案壅滯，臣誠庸劣，請述其源。貞觀之初，未有令、僕，於時省務繁雜，倍多於今。而左丞戴胄，右丞魏徵，並曉達吏方，質性平直，事應彈舉，無所回避，陛下又假以恩慈，自然肅物。百司匪懈，抑此之由。及杜正倫續任右丞，頗亦厲下。比者綱維不舉，並為勛親在位，器非其任，功勢相傾。凡在官寮，未循公道，雖欲自強，先懼囂謗。所以郎中予奪，惟事諮稟；尚書依違，不能斷決。或紏彈聞奏，故事稽延，案雖理窮，仍更盤下。去無程限，來不責遲，一經出手，便涉年載。或希旨失情，或避嫌抑理。勾司以案成為事了，不究是非；尚書用便僻為奉公，莫論當否。互相姑息，惟事彌縫。且選眾授能，非才莫舉，天工人代，焉可妄加？至於懿戚元勛，但宜優其禮秩，或年高及耄，或積病智昏，既無益於時宜，當置之以閑逸。久妨賢路，殊為不可。將救茲弊，且宜精簡尚書左右丞及左右郎中。如並得人，自然綱維備舉，亦當矯正趨競，豈惟息其稽滯哉！」疏奏。尋以洎為尚書左丞。
In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Liu Ji, the attending censor for documents, held that the assistant directors of the left and right should be chosen with special care, and sent up a memorial:
"I have heard that the ten thousand affairs of the Department of State Affairs are truly the root of government. Bowing low, I have looked into this selection, and the giving out of these charges is truly hard. Therefore the eight seats are likened to the Wenchang stars, and the two assistant directors to the linchpin of a wheel; and even the section directors are said to answer above to the ranked constellations. If a man is not equal to his office, he raises the mockery of one who has stolen his place.
"Bowing low, I see that of late the edicts are held up in the Department of State Affairs and the documents are blocked. I am truly dull and poor in ability, but I beg to speak of the source of it. At the beginning of Zhenguan there was neither a director nor a vice director of the Department, and the business of the Department at that time was twice as tangled as it is now. Yet Dai Zhou, the assistant director of the left, and Wei Zheng, the assistant director of the right, both understood the ways of officials and were even and straight in nature; when a matter deserved impeachment they shrank from nothing, and Your Majesty lent them your kindness and favor, so that of itself everything was made orderly. It was for this reason that the many offices were not slack. When Du Zhenglun followed as assistant director of the right, he too kept those below him in hand.
"That the guiding ropes are not taken up now is because men of merit and men of the royal kin hold the posts, men whose capacity is not equal to the charge, who lean upon one another with merit and with power. Among the officials none follows the public way; and though a man would be firm of himself, he first fears the clamor of slander. So the section directors grant and withhold only by asking above, and the ministers waver and cannot decide. Even when a matter is raised and reported, it is deliberately drawn out; and though a case has been reasoned to the end, it is still sent back down again. There is no set term for what goes out and no reproach for what comes in late, so that once a thing has left a man's hand a year may pass. Some watch for what the throne wishes and lose the truth of the matter; some avoid suspicion and press down what is right. The checking offices call a case finished when the papers are complete and do not look into right and wrong; the ministers call convenience and compliance the service of the public and do not discuss whether a thing is fitting. They indulge one another and think only of patching over.
"Moreover, one should choose from the many and charge the able, and put no one forward who has not the talent. The work of Heaven is carried on by men; how can it be given out at random? As for honored kinsmen and men of the first merit, they should only be treated generously in rites and emolument. Some are heavy with years and worn with age, some have sickness upon sickness and their wits have grown dim; since they are of no profit to the needs of the time, they should be placed in leisured posts. To block the road of the worthy for long is wholly wrong.
"To save us from this evil, the assistant directors of the left and right of the Department and the directors of the left and right sections should be chosen with care. If the right men are got for all of these, then of themselves the guiding ropes will be taken up in full, and the scramble for advancement will be set right as well. How should it only stop the delays?"
The memorial was sent up. Before long Liu Ji was made assistant director of the left in the Department of State Affairs.
貞觀十三年，太宗謂侍臣曰：「朕聞太平後必有大亂，大亂後必有太平。大亂之後，即是太平之運也。能安天下者，惟在用得賢才。公等既不知賢，朕又不可遍識。日復一日，無得人之理。今欲令人自舉，於事何如？」魏徵對曰：「知人者智，自知者明。知人既以為難，自知誠亦不易。且愚暗之人，皆矜能伐善，恐長澆競之風，不可令其自舉。」
In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, Taizong said to his attendant officials:
"I have heard that after great peace there must be great disorder, and after great disorder there must be great peace. What follows great disorder is the turn of great peace. What can bring peace to the world lies only in getting worthy and able men and employing them. You gentlemen do not know the worthy, and I cannot know them all. Day follows day, and there is no way of getting men. I now wish to let men put themselves forward. How would that answer?"
Wei Zheng answered:
"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is clear-sighted. If knowing others is already hard, knowing oneself is truly not easy either. Moreover, foolish and benighted men all boast of their ability and vaunt their goodness, and I fear it would foster a shallow and contentious spirit. They must not be allowed to put themselves forward."
貞觀十四年，特進魏徵上疏曰：
In the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, Wei Zheng, who held the rank of specially advanced, sent up a memorial:
臣聞知臣莫若君，知子莫若父。父不能知其子，則無以睦一家；君不能知其臣，則無以齊萬國。萬國咸寧，一人有慶，必藉忠良作弼，俊乂在官，則庶績其凝，無為而化矣。故堯、舜、文、武見稱前載，咸以知人則哲，多士盈朝，元、凱翼巍巍之功，周、召光煥乎之美。然則四嶽、九官、五臣、十亂，豈惟生之於曩代，而獨無於當今者哉？在乎求與不求，好與不好耳！何以言之？夫美玉明珠，孔翠犀象，大宛之馬，西旅之獒，或無足也，或無情也，生於八荒之表，塗遙萬里之外，重譯入貢，道路不絕者，何哉？蓋由乎中國之所好也。況從仕者懷君之榮，食君之祿，率之以義，將何往而不至哉？臣以為與之為孝，則可使同乎會參、子騫矣。與之為忠，則可使同乎龍逄、比幹矣。與之為信，則可使同乎尾生、展禽矣。與之為廉，則可使同乎伯夷、叔齊矣。
I have heard that none knows a minister like his ruler, and none knows a son like his father. If a father cannot know his son, he has no way to bring one household into harmony; if a ruler cannot know his ministers, he has no way to bring ten thousand states into order. For the ten thousand states to be at rest and for one man to have blessing, he must lean on the loyal and the good as his helpers. When men of high worth hold office, the many works take firm shape, and the world is transformed without action.
So Yao and Shun, King Wen and King Wu are praised in the records of old, and all of them because they knew men and so were wise. Many officers filled their courts: the Eight Yuan and the Eight Kai supported their lofty achievement, and the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao made bright their shining excellence. That being so, how should the Four Mountains, the nine officials, the five ministers, and the ten who brought order have been born in ages past alone, and be wanting in our own day? It rests only on whether they are sought or not sought, liked or not liked.
By what do I say this? Fine jade and bright pearls, peacocks and kingfishers, rhinoceros and elephant, the horses of Dayuan and the mastiff of the western lands: some have no feet, some have no feeling, and they are born beyond the eight wastes, a long road ten thousand li away. Yet they come in as tribute through interpreter after interpreter, and never cease upon the road. Why is this? Because they are what the Middle Kingdom likes. How much more with those who serve in office, who cherish their ruler's glory and eat their ruler's emolument. Lead them with what is right, and where will they not arrive?
I hold that if you join with a man in filial duty, he may be made the equal of Zeng Shen and Zi Qian. If you join with him in loyalty, he may be made the equal of Guan Longfeng and Bigan. If you join with him in good faith, he may be made the equal of Wei Sheng and Zhan Qin. If you join with him in honesty, he may be made the equal of Bo Yi and Shu Qi.
然而今之群臣，罕能貞白卓異者，蓋求之不切，勵之未精故也。若勖之以公忠，期之以遠大，各有職分，得行其道。貴則觀其所舉，富則觀其所養，居則觀其所好，習則觀其所言，窮則觀其所不受，賤則觀其所不為。因其材以取之，審其能以任之，用其所長，揜其所短。進之以六正，戒之以六邪，則不嚴而自勵，不勸而自勉矣。故《說苑》曰：「人臣之行，有六正六邪。行六正則榮，犯六邪則辱。何謂六正？一曰，萌芽未動，形兆未見，昭然獨見存亡之機，得失之要，預禁乎未然之前，使主超然立乎顯榮之處，如此者，聖臣也。二曰，虛心盡意，日進善道，勉主以禮義，諭主以長策，將順其美，匡救其惡，如此者，良臣也。三曰，夙興夜寐，進賢不懈，數稱往古之行事，以厲主意，如此者，忠臣也。四曰，明察成敗，早防而救之，塞其間，絕其源，轉禍以為福，使君終以無憂，如此者，智臣也。五曰，守文奉法，任官職事，不受贈遺，辭祿讓賜，飲食節儉，如此者，貞臣也。六曰，家國昏亂，所為不諛，敢犯主之嚴顏，面言主之過失，如此者，直臣也。是謂六正。何謂六邪？一曰，安官食祿，不務公事，與代浮沈，左右觀望，如此者，具臣也。二曰，主所言皆曰善，主所為皆曰可，隱而求主之所好而進之，以快主之耳目，偷合茍容，與主為樂，不顧其後害，如此者，諛臣也。三曰，內實險诐，外貌小謹，巧言令色，妒善嫉賢，所欲進，則明其美、隱其惡，所欲退，則明其過、匿其美，使主賞罰不當，號令不行，如此者，奸臣也。四曰，智足以飾非，辯足以行說，內離骨肉之親，外構朝廷之亂，如此者，讒臣也。五曰，專權擅勢，以輕為重，私門成黨，以富其家，擅矯主命，以自貴顯，如此者，賊臣也。六曰，諂主以佞邪，陷主於不義，朋黨比周，以蔽主明，使白黑無別，是非無間，使主惡布於境內，聞於四鄰，如此者，亡國之臣也。是謂六邪。賢臣處六正之道，不行六邪之術，故上安而下治。生則見樂，死則見思，此人臣之術也。」《禮記》曰：「權衡誠懸，不可欺以輕重。繩墨誠陳，不可欺以曲直。規矩誠設，不可欺以方圓。君子審禮，不可誣以奸詐。」然則臣之情偽，知之不難矣。又設禮以待之，執法以御之，為善者蒙賞，為惡者受罰，安敢不企及乎？安敢不盡力乎？
Yet among the ministers of today few are pure and upright and outstanding, and this is because they are not sought earnestly and not spurred with care. If they are urged on with fairness and loyalty and held to what is far and great, each with his own charge and able to walk in his own way, it will be done.
When a man is honored, observe whom he puts forward; when he is rich, observe whom he supports; when he is at leisure, observe what he likes; when he has grown familiar, observe what he says; when he is in straits, observe what he will not accept; when he is low, observe what he will not do. Take him according to his stuff, look into his ability and charge him with it, use what he is long in and cover what he is short in. Draw him on with the six kinds of right and warn him with the six kinds of wrong, and then he will spur himself without severity and exert himself without urging.
So the Shuo yuan says: "In the conduct of a minister there are six kinds of right and six kinds of wrong. He who practices the six kinds of right has honor; he who commits the six kinds of wrong has disgrace.
"What are the six kinds of right? First: before the sprout has stirred and before the sign has appeared, to see alone and clearly the turning point of survival and ruin and the crux of gain and loss, and to forestall it before it comes to be, so that the ruler stands high in a place of honor and glory. Such a one is a sage minister. Second: to empty the heart and give the whole mind, to advance the good way day by day, to urge the ruler with rites and right conduct and instruct him with far-reaching plans, to go along with what is fine in him and to mend and save what is evil in him. Such a one is a good minister. Third: to rise early and sleep late, never slackening in bringing worthy men forward, and often to cite the deeds of antiquity to brace the ruler's will. Such a one is a loyal minister. Fourth: to see clearly what will succeed and what will fail, to guard against it early and save it, to stop the gap and cut off the source, and to turn calamity into good fortune, so that the ruler is left in the end without care. Such a one is a wise minister. Fifth: to keep to the written rule and uphold the law, to hold office and do its business, to take no gifts, to decline emolument and refuse what is bestowed, and to be sparing and frugal in food and drink. Such a one is a true minister. Sixth: when house and state are dark and disordered, not to flatter what is being done, but to dare to face the ruler's stern look and speak of his faults to his face. Such a one is an upright minister. These are called the six kinds of right.
"What are the six kinds of wrong? First: to rest easy in office and eat emolument without working at public business, to float and sink with the age and look to left and right for the way the wind blows. Such a one is a minister who merely fills a place. Second: to call all the ruler says good and all the ruler does right, to seek out in secret what the ruler likes and offer it, pleasing his ears and eyes, to fall in with him and curry favor and take his pleasure with him, without looking to the harm that follows. Such a one is a flattering minister. Third: to be truly dark and dangerous within while outwardly a little careful, with clever words and a fair face, envying the good and hating the worthy; when he wishes a man advanced, to make his merits plain and hide his faults; when he wishes a man put out, to make his faults plain and conceal his merits, so that the ruler's rewards and punishments do not fit and his commands are not carried out. Such a one is a treacherous minister. Fourth: with wit enough to dress up what is wrong and a tongue ready enough to press his persuasions, to part flesh and blood within and weave disorder in the court without. Such a one is a slandering minister. Fifth: to monopolize authority and seize power, to make the light heavy, to build a faction of his own house and enrich his family, and to counterfeit the ruler's commands at will to make himself honored and eminent. Such a one is a robber minister. Sixth: to flatter the ruler with cunning and depravity and sink him in what is not right, to band together in cliques and darken the ruler's clarity, so that white and black are not told apart and right and wrong have no boundary, and the ruler's evil name is spread within the borders and heard among the neighbors on four sides. Such a one is a minister who ruins the state. These are called the six kinds of wrong.
"A worthy minister keeps to the way of the six kinds of right and does not practice the arts of the six kinds of wrong. Therefore those above are at peace and those below are well governed. While he lives he is a joy to see, and when he dies he is longed for. This is the art of a minister."
The Book of Rites says: "If the scales are truly hung, one cannot be deceived about light and heavy. If the marking line is truly stretched, one cannot be deceived about crooked and straight. If compass and square are truly set out, one cannot be deceived about round and square. When a gentleman looks carefully into the rites, he cannot be imposed upon by cunning and deceit." That being so, it is not hard to know whether a minister is true or false. Set out the rites to receive them, hold the law to govern them, and let those who do good receive reward and those who do evil receive punishment. How then should they not strive to come up to the mark? How should they not use all their strength?
國家思欲進忠良，退不肖，十有餘載矣，徒聞其語，不見其人，何哉？蓋言之是也，行之非也。言之是，則出乎公道，行之非，則涉乎邪徑。是非相亂，好惡相攻。所愛雖有罪，不及於刑。所惡雖無辜，不免於罰。此所謂愛之欲其生，惡之欲其死者也。或以小惡棄大善，或以小過忘大功。此所謂「君之賞不可以無功求，君之罰不可以有罪免」者也。賞不以勸善，罰不以懲惡，而望邪正不惑，其可得乎？若賞不遺疏遠，罰不阿親貴，以公平為規矩，以仁義為準繩，考事以正其名，循名以求其實，則邪正莫隱，善惡自分。然後取其實，不尚其華，處其厚，不居其薄，則不言而化，期月而可知矣！若徒愛美錦，而不為民擇官。有至公之言，無至公之實，愛而不知其惡，憎而遂忘其善。徇私情以近邪佞，背公道而遠忠良，則雖夙夜不怠，勞神苦思，將求至理，不可得也。
For ten years and more the state has wished to bring the loyal and good forward and to put the unworthy out; yet only the words are heard, and the men are not seen. Why is this? Because the words are right and the doing is wrong. When the words are right, they come out of the public way; when the doing is wrong, it strays into crooked bypaths. Right and wrong throw each other into confusion; liking and disliking attack each other. The man who is loved, though he has done wrong, is not reached by punishment; the man who is disliked, though he is guiltless, does not escape penalty. This is what is called wishing a man to live because you love him, and wishing him to die because you hate him.
Sometimes a small evil makes a great good be cast away; sometimes a small fault makes a great merit be forgotten. This is what is meant by the saying, "The ruler's reward may not be sought without merit, and the ruler's punishment may not be escaped when there is guilt." If reward does not encourage the good and punishment does not check the evil, can one hope not to be confused about the crooked and the straight?
If reward does not pass over the distant and the estranged, and punishment does not fawn upon the near and the honored; if fairness is made the compass and square, and benevolence and right the marking line; if deeds are examined to set names right, and names are followed to seek the reality, then the crooked and the straight cannot hide, and good and evil divide of themselves. Take then the substance and do not prize the flower, dwell in what is thick and not in what is thin, and the transformation will come without words, and within a month it may be seen.
But if you only love fine brocade and do not choose officials for the people; if there are words of perfect fairness and no reality of perfect fairness; if you love a man and do not know his evil, and hate a man and so forget his good; if you follow private feeling and draw near the crooked and the fawning, and turn your back on the public way and keep the loyal and good far off, then though you are never idle from dawn to night, though you weary your spirit and think until it aches, you will seek perfect rule and will not get it.
書奏，甚嘉納之。
When the writing was sent up, he thought it very fine and accepted it.
貞觀二十一年，太宗在翠微宮，授司農卿李緯戶部尚書。房玄齡是時留守京城。會有自京師來者，太宗問曰：「玄齡聞李緯拜尚書，如何？」對曰：「但云『李緯大好髭須』，更無他語。」由是改授洛州刺史。
In the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, Taizong was at the Cuiwei Palace, and he made Li Wei, the chamberlain of agriculture, minister of revenue. Fang Xuanling at that time was left in charge of the capital. There happened to be a man who had come from the capital, and Taizong asked him:
"When Xuanling heard that Li Wei had been appointed minister, what did he say?"
He answered:
"He only said, 'Li Wei has a very fine moustache and beard,' and nothing more."
Because of this Li Wei was given instead the post of prefect of Luozhou.