Conforming with the Superior, Part Two尚同中

Mozi said, "Go back now to the time of old when the people first came into being and there were as yet no upright chiefs. It was said then that the people of the world differ in what they hold to be right. So with one person there was one right, with ten people ten rights, with a hundred people a hundred rights. The more people there were, the more so-called rights there were.

Thus each person held his own right to be right and held the right of others to be wrong, and so they condemned one another. Within the home fathers and sons, elder and younger brothers made resentment and enmity, and all of them had minds set on parting, and they could not live in harmony. It came to this, that they let their strength go to waste rather than work for one another, that they hid the good ways and would not teach one another, that they let surplus goods rot and stink rather than share them. The disorder of the world was like that of birds and beasts. There were no distinctions between ruler and subject, between high and low, between old and young, and no rites between father and son or between elder and younger brother, and so the world was in disorder."

It was made clear that the people had no upright chiefs to make the rightness of the world one and the same, and that the world was therefore in disorder. So the worthy, the good, the sagely, the wise, and the clear in argument among the people of the world were chosen and set up as Son of Heaven, and were charged with the work of making the rightness of the world one and the same.

When the Son of Heaven had been set up, it was held that with his own ears and eyes alone he could not make the rightness of the world one and the same. So men who were worthy, good, sagely, wise, and clear in argument were sought out and chosen across the world and placed as the Three Dukes, to join in the work of making the rightness of the world one and the same.

When the Son of Heaven and the Three Dukes had been set up, it was held that the world was wide and great and that the people of the mountains and forests and the far lands could not be made one. So the world was divided and ten thousand feudal lords and rulers of states were set up, and were charged with the work of making the rightness of their states one and the same.

When the rulers of the states had been set up, it was again held that with their own ears and eyes alone they could not make the rightness of their states one and the same. So the worthy men of their states were chosen and placed as generals of the left and right and as great officers, and so on out to the heads of districts and villages, to join in the work of making the rightness of their states one and the same.

When the Son of Heaven, the rulers among the feudal lords, and the upright chiefs of the people had all been settled, the Son of Heaven sent out his government and spread his teaching, saying, "Whenever you hear or see what is good, you must report it to your superior, and whenever you hear or see what is not good, you must also report it to your superior. What the superior holds right you must also hold right; what the superior holds wrong you must also hold wrong. If you yourself have some goodness, bring it forward and recommend it; if the superior has a fault, admonish him straightly. The man who conforms upward in rightness with his superior and keeps no mind for cliques below is rewarded when the superior learns of him and praised when the ten thousand people hear of him.

But suppose a man hears or sees what is good and does not report it to his superior, and hears or sees what is not good and does not report it to his superior either; cannot hold right what the superior holds right, and cannot hold wrong what the superior holds wrong; has some goodness of his own and cannot bring it forward, and cannot admonish the superior when the superior has a fault; and forms cliques below and holds his superior to be wrong. Such a man is cut down and punished when the superior learns of him, and is condemned and reviled when the ten thousand people hear of him."

So the sage kings of old, in their punishments and government and their rewards and praise, looked into things with great clearness and weighed them with care and good faith, and so every person in the world wished to gain the reward and praise of the superior and feared his blame and punishment.

So the village head followed the government of the Son of Heaven and made the rightness of his village one and the same. When the village head had made the rightness of his village one, he led the ten thousand people of his village to conform upward to the district head, saying, "Let all the ten thousand people of the village conform upward to the district head and not dare to form cliques below. What the district head holds right you must also hold right; what the district head holds wrong you must also hold wrong. Put away your bad words and learn the good words of the district head. Put away your bad conduct and learn the good conduct of the district head."

The district head is of course the worthy man of the district. When all the people of the district are made to take the district head as their model, for what reason would the district not be well ordered? Look into how the district head governs his district so that the district is well ordered. What is the reason for it? It is said: only because he was able to make the rightness of his district one and the same, and so the district was well ordered.

The district head governed his district, and the district was now well ordered. He then led the ten thousand people of his district to conform upward to the ruler of the state, saying, "Let all the ten thousand people of the district conform upward to the ruler of the state and not dare to form cliques below. What the ruler of the state holds right you must also hold right; what the ruler of the state holds wrong you must also hold wrong. Put away your bad words and learn the good words of the ruler of the state. Put away your bad conduct and learn the good conduct of the ruler of the state."

The ruler of the state is of course the worthy man of the state. When all the people of the state are made to take the ruler of the state as their model, for what reason would the state not be well ordered? Look into how the ruler of the state governs his state so that the state is well ordered. What is the reason for it? It is said: only because he was able to make the rightness of his state one and the same, and so the state was well ordered.

The ruler of the state governed his state, and the state was now well ordered. He then led the ten thousand people of his state to conform upward to the Son of Heaven, saying, "Let all the ten thousand people of the state conform upward to the Son of Heaven and not dare to form cliques below. What the Son of Heaven holds right you must also hold right; what the Son of Heaven holds wrong you must also hold wrong. Put away your bad words and learn the good words of the Son of Heaven. Put away your bad conduct and learn the good conduct of the Son of Heaven."

The Son of Heaven is of course the benevolent man of the world. When all the ten thousand people of the world are made to take the Son of Heaven as their model, for what reason would the world not be well ordered? Look into how the Son of Heaven governs the world so that the world is well ordered. What is the reason for it? It is said: only because he was able to make the rightness of the world one and the same, and so the world was well ordered.

If the world conforms upward to the Son of Heaven but does not yet conform upward to Heaven, then the calamities of Heaven will still not cease. So when Heaven sends down cold and heat out of season, and snow and frost and rain and dew at the wrong time, when the five grains do not ripen and the six domestic animals do not thrive, and sickness and calamity and harsh plague and whirlwinds and bitter rains come one after another, this is Heaven sending down punishment, and it is about to punish those below who do not conform upward to Heaven.

So the sage kings of old made clear what Heaven and the spirits desire and kept away from what Heaven and the spirits hate, and sought thereby to raise up what benefits the world and to remove what harms it.

With this they led the ten thousand people of the world to fast and bathe and to prepare pure wine and grain offerings, and with them they sacrificed to Heaven and the spirits. In serving the spirits they did not dare to leave the wine and the grain offerings unclean, nor the sacrificial victims less than fat and sleek. They did not dare to let the jade tokens and the offerings of silk fall short of the measure. They did not dare to miss the season for the sacrifices of spring and autumn. They did not dare to hear a lawsuit unfairly, nor to divide goods unevenly, nor to be idle and careless in their dwelling.

It is said: their being upright chiefs was such as this, and so above, Heaven and the spirits held their rule as chiefs to be generous, and below, the ten thousand people found their rule as chiefs easy and beneficial. If one works hard at what Heaven and the spirits hold deep and generous, then the blessing of Heaven and the spirits can be gained. If one is able to work hard at what the ten thousand people find easy and beneficial, then the love of the ten thousand people can be gained.

Their government was such as this, and so when they planned a thing they gained it, when they undertook a thing they brought it about, when they went in to hold a place it was firm, and when they went out to attack they won. It is said: what is the reason for it? It is said: only because they governed by conforming upward. So the government of the sage kings of old was such as this.

Now the people of the world say, "At this present time the upright chiefs of the world have not been done away with, and yet the world is in disorder. What is the reason for it?"

Mozi said, "The way upright chiefs are set up at this present time differs at the root from the way of old. It is like the You Miao and their use of the five punishments. In ancient times the sage kings made the five punishments and governed the world with them, but when it came to the You Miao making the five punishments, they threw the world into disorder. Was this because punishment is not good? It was the use of punishment that was not good.

So the way of the Lü xing, a book of the former kings, says, 'The people of Miao did not use training but broke men and punished them, and they made only the five punishments of killing and called them law.' This says that the one who uses punishment well governs the people with it, and the one who does not use punishment well makes of it five ways of killing. Was this because punishment is not good? The use of punishment was not good, and so it came at last to be five ways of killing.

So the way of the Shu ling (術令), a book of the former kings, says, 'It is the mouth that brings forth good and raises up war.' This says that the one who uses his mouth well brings forth good, and the one who does not use his mouth well makes of it slander and injury and robbery and war. Was this because the mouth is not good? The use of the mouth was not good, and so it came at last to be slander and injury and robbery and war."

So the setting up of upright chiefs in ancient times was in order to govern the people. It is like threads having a main cord, or a net having its head rope: it was in order to drive and put to work those in the world who were excessive and violent, and to make their rightness one and the same.

So the way of the Xiang nian (相年), a book of the former kings, says, "In founding states and laying out capitals and making kings and dukes, it was not to make them great; in setting up ministers and great officers and teachers and elders, it was not to make them at ease; it was only to divide the work among them and have them govern the evenness of Heaven."

This says that when the Lord on High and the spirits in ancient times founded states and capitals and set up upright chiefs, it was not to raise their rank and make their pay generous and leave them rich and honored and at ease. It was in order to raise up benefit and remove harm for the ten thousand people, to make the poor rich and the few many, to make the endangered safe and the disordered well governed. So the government of the sage kings of old was such as this.

Now the way kings and dukes and great men carry out punishment and government is the opposite of this. In governing they set up their favorites and flatterers, their kinsmen, their fathers and elder brothers, and their old friends as their right hand and left, and place them as upright chiefs.

The people know that the upright chiefs the superior has placed were not placed rightly in order to govern the people, and so they all form cliques and hide things, and none is willing to conform upward to his superior. Therefore above and below do not share the same rightness.

If above and below do not share the same rightness, then reward and praise are not enough to encourage goodness, and punishment is not enough to stop violence.

How do we know this is so? It is said: suppose the superior takes his place and governs the state and is the upright chief of the people, and says, "This man deserves reward, and I shall reward him." If above and below do not share the same rightness, then the man the superior rewards is the man the multitude hold to be wrong, and they say, "That man lives among the multitude, and the multitude hold him to be wrong." Then even if he is made to receive the superior's reward, it is not enough to encourage him.

Suppose the superior takes his place and governs the state and is the upright chief of the people, and says, "This man deserves punishment, and I shall punish him." If above and below do not share the same rightness, then the man the superior punishes is the man the multitude praise, and they say, "That man lives among the multitude, and the multitude praise him." Then even if he is made to receive the superior's punishment, it is not enough to stop him.

If a man takes his place and governs the state and is the upright chief of the people, and reward and praise are not enough to encourage goodness and punishment is not enough to stop violence, is this not the same as the time I spoke of at the start, when the people first came into being and there were as yet no upright chiefs? If having upright chiefs is the same as the time when there were no upright chiefs, then this is not the way to govern the people and make the multitude one.

So the sage kings of old took only conforming upward as the way to be upright chiefs, and therefore the feelings of high and low were open to one another. If there were hidden matters and neglected benefits above, those below got them and made them useful; if there were stored resentments and gathered harms below, those above got them and removed them.

So when there was a man doing good several thousand or ten thousand li away, before the people of his own house knew of it and before his district and village had heard of it, the Son of Heaven got word and rewarded him; and when there was a man doing what is not good several thousand or ten thousand li away, before the people of his own house knew of it and before his district and village had heard of it, the Son of Heaven got word and punished him.

So every person in the world was afraid and shaken and trembling, and did not dare to be excessive and violent, and they said, "The seeing and hearing of the Son of Heaven are divine."

The words of the former kings say, "It is not divine. It is only that he is able to make the ears and eyes of others help his own seeing and hearing, the mouths of others help his own speaking, the minds of others help his own thinking, and the arms and legs of others help his own acting."

When many help him see and hear, then what he hears and sees reaches far. When many help him speak, then the sound of his virtue soothes a wide field. When many help him think, then his talk and his planning and his reckoning come quickly. When many help him act, then the affairs he undertakes are quickly brought about.

So the reason the sages of old carried their affairs through and brought their work to completion and left their names to later ages was no other reason and no other thing. It is said: only because they were able to govern by conforming upward.

So the way of the Zhou song, a book of the former kings, says, "He came at last to see that king, and sought his statutes." This says that in ancient times the rulers of states and the feudal lords came in spring and autumn to the court of the Son of Heaven to pay their respects and their visits, and received the stern teaching of the Son of Heaven, and withdrew and governed their states, and wherever that government reached none dared to refuse to be a guest of it. At that time there was simply no one who dared to confuse the teaching of the Son of Heaven.

The Odes say, "My horses are luo horses (駱馬), and the six reins are soft. I gallop and I drive, and everywhere I ask and weigh." And again, "My horses are qi horses (騏馬), and the six reins are like silk. I gallop and I drive, and everywhere I ask and plan." This says that in ancient times, when the rulers of states and the feudal lords heard or saw what was good and what was not good, they all galloped and drove to report it to the Son of Heaven. So reward fitted the worthy and punishment fitted the violent, the guiltless were not killed and the guilty were not let slip. This is the work of conforming upward.

So Mozi said, "If the kings and dukes and great men and the officers and gentlemen of the world truly wish to make their states rich, to make their people many, to bring order to their punishments and government, and to make their altars of land and grain secure, then they cannot fail to look into conforming upward. This is the root of it."