Establishing Teaching立教篇

Confucius said, "In establishing oneself there is rightness, and filial duty is the root. In mourning and sacrifice there is ritual, and grief is the root. On the field of battle there are ranks, and courage is the root. In governing there is order, and farming is the root. In holding a state there is a way, and an heir is the root. In producing wealth there is a season, and effort is the root."

The Jingxing lu says, "The essentials of government are fairness and honesty. The essentials of building up a house are thrift and diligence."

Reading books is the root of raising a house. Following reason is the root of keeping a house. Diligence and thrift are the root of ordering a house. Harmony and obedience are the root of setting a house straight.

Diligence is the root of wealth. Thrift is the source of wealth.

The Kongzi sanji tu says, "The plan of a lifetime lies in diligence. The plan of a year lies in spring. The plan of a day lies in the dawn hour. Learn nothing while young, and you will know nothing when old. Plow not in spring, and you will have nothing to hope for in autumn. Rise not at dawn, and there will be nothing you can settle that day."

The Xingli shu says, "The items of the five teachings are these. Between father and son there is affection. Between ruler and subject there is rightness. Between husband and wife there is distinction. Between elder and younger there is order. Between friends there is trust."

Master Chen of Guling became magistrate of Xianju, and he taught the people there. "You who are my people, let the father be righteous and the mother kind. Let the elder brother be loving and the younger brother respectful. Let the son be filial and the wife obedient. Let husband and wife have kindness between them, and men and women keep their distinction. Let the young have learning, and the village have ritual. In poverty and hardship, let kinsmen save one another. In marriage and in mourning, let neighbors help one another. Do not be idle in the work of farming. Do not turn thief. Do not learn gambling. Do not love quarrels and lawsuits. Do not press the weak with your strength. Do not press the good with your evil. Do not swallow the poor with your wealth. Let the traveler yield the road and the plowman yield the boundary, and let no one with graying hair carry a load on the road. Then this will be a country of ritual and right."

The Xingli shu says, "One who teaches others nourishes their good heart, and evil vanishes of itself. One who governs the people leads them with respect and yielding, and strife ceases of itself."

The Liji says, "As a ruler, rest in benevolence. As a father, rest in kindness. As a son, rest in filial duty. As a friend, rest in trust. As a younger brother, rest in respect. In dealings with the people of the state, rest in trust. Follow this way, and government can be well ordered."

Wang Zhu said, "A loyal subject does not serve two rulers. A faithful woman does not take a second husband."

Wenzhongzi said, "In managing office there is nothing like fairness. Before wealth there is nothing like honesty."

The Shuo yuan says, "Governing a state is like playing a zither. Governing a house is like holding the reins."

Filial duty should exhaust one's strength. Loyalty should give up one's life.

Let a woman long for what is upright and pure. Let a man take talent and goodness for his model.

The motto beside Zhang Sishu's seat says, "Let every word be loyal and true. Let every act be earnest and respectful. Let food and drink be careful and measured. Let the strokes of your writing be square and correct. Let your face and bearing be upright and dignified. Let your clothes and cap be neat and solemn. Let your steps be calm and unhurried. Let your dwelling be proper and quiet. Begin a task only after planning it. Speak a word only after looking to whether you can act on it. Hold fast to constant virtue. Give your promise with weight. See good as though it came out of yourself. See evil as though it were your own illness. These fourteen things I too have not yet examined deeply. I write them out and keep them at the corner of my seat, and I look at them morning and evening for a warning."

This is the motto beside Fan Yiqian's seat. "First, do not speak of gain and loss at court, of news from the frontier, or of appointments to office. Second, do not speak of the strengths and weaknesses of the officials of provinces and districts, or of their successes and failures. Third, do not speak of the faults and evil deeds that other people have done. Fourth, do not speak of climbing into office, or of following the times to attach yourself to power. Fifth, do not speak of how much wealth there is, or of hating poverty and seeking riches. Sixth, do not speak in lewd and unruly jest, or judge the beauty of women. Seventh, do not speak of begging things from others, or of pressing them for wine and food."

He also said, "When someone entrusts you with a letter, do not open it and do not hold it back. When you sit beside another, do not peer at his private writing. When you enter another's house, do not read what he has written. When you borrow another's things, do not damage them and do not fail to return them. When you eat, do not pick over the food and choose. When you live among others, do not choose only what is easy for yourself. When another has wealth and rank, do not sigh with envy and do not slander him. If anyone breaks these few rules, it is enough to show that his mind is unworthy, and it does great harm to keeping the heart and cultivating the self. So I write them out to warn myself."

King Wu asked Taigong, "People live in this world, and yet they are not alike in rank and in wealth. Why is this? I wish to hear you speak of it." Taigong said, "Wealth and rank are like the virtue of a sage. They all come from the mandate of Heaven. The rich use what they have with measure. Those who are not rich have ten thieves in the house."

King Wu said, "What are the ten thieves?" Taigong said, "The grain ripens and is not gathered. That is the first thief. The gathering and storing are not finished. That is the second thief. A lamp is left burning with no work to do, and he falls asleep. That is the third thief. He is idle and does not plow. That is the fourth thief. He puts out no labor. That is the fifth thief. He does nothing but sly and harmful deeds. That is the sixth thief. He keeps far too many animals. That is the seventh thief. He sleeps by day and rises late in the morning. That is the eighth thief. He craves wine and delights in pleasure. That is the ninth thief. He envies others bitterly. That is the tenth thief."

King Wu said, "A house has none of the ten thieves and still is not rich. How is that?" Taigong said, "In such a house there are surely three wastes (三耗)." King Wu said, "What are the three wastes?" Taigong said, "The storehouse leaks and grows damp and is not covered, and rats and birds eat at it freely. That is the first waste. The gathering and the sowing miss their season. That is the second waste. Grain is scattered about and handled as a foul and worthless thing. That is the third waste."

King Wu said, "A house has none of the three wastes and still is not rich. How is that?" Taigong said, "In such a house there are surely the first mistake (一錯), the second error (二誤), the third folly (三痴), the fourth fault (四失), the fifth defiance (五逆), the sixth ill omen (六不祥), the seventh servility (七奴), the eighth baseness (八賤), the ninth stupidity (九愚), and the tenth shamelessness (十強). Such a man calls down his own misfortune. Heaven does not send the calamity."

King Wu said, "I wish to hear all of it." Taigong said, "He raises a son and does not teach him. That is the first mistake. He does not correct the little child. That is the second error. He takes in a new wife for his son and does not teach her strictly from the start. That is the third folly. He laughs before he speaks. That is the fourth fault. He does not support his father and mother. That is the fifth defiance. He rises at night with his body bare. That is the sixth ill omen. He loves to draw another man's bow. That is the seventh servility. He delights in riding another man's horse. That is the eighth baseness. He drinks another man's wine and presses it on others. That is the ninth stupidity. He eats another man's food and tells his friends to eat as well. That is the tenth shamelessness."

King Wu said, "How deep! True indeed are these words."