Wangzhi — The Regulations of a King王制篇
請問為政？曰：賢能不待次而舉，罷不能不待須而廢，元惡不待教而誅，中庸不待政而化。分未定也，則有昭繆。雖王公士大夫之子孫也，不能屬於禮義，則歸之庶人。雖庶人之子孫也，積文學，正身行，能屬於禮義，則歸之卿相士大夫。故姦言，姦說，姦事，姦能，遁逃反側之民，職而教之，須而待之，勉之以慶賞，懲之以刑罰。安職則畜，不安職則棄。五疾，上收而養之，材而事之，官施而衣食之，兼覆無遺。才行反時者死無赦。夫是之謂天德，是王者之政也。
I ask about government. The answer is: the worthy and able are raised up without waiting for their turn; the unfit and unable are set aside without waiting a moment; the chief among the wicked are cut down without waiting to be taught; the middling sort are transformed of themselves without waiting for government.
While the divisions are not yet settled, there is the order of zhaomu (昭穆). Though a man be the descendant of a king, a duke, a gentleman or a grandee, if he cannot hold to ritual and rightness he is returned to the common people. Though a man be the descendant of the common people, if he heaps up letters and learning, makes his bearing upright, and can hold to ritual and rightness, he is returned to the ministers, the counselors, the gentlemen and the grandees.
Therefore for crooked words, crooked talk, crooked affairs, crooked skills, and for people who run away and turn restlessly, give them a duty and teach them, and wait a while for them; urge them on with praise and reward, and chasten them with punishment. If they rest easy in their duty, keep and nourish them; if they do not rest easy in their duty, cast them out.
Those with the five kinds of affliction are gathered in and nourished by those above, set to work according to their ability, clothed and fed by the offices, covered over all together with none left out. Those whose ability and conduct go against the times are put to death without pardon. This is called the virtue of Heaven, and this is the government of one who is king.
聽政之大分：以善至者待之以禮，以不善至者待之以刑。兩者分別，則賢不肖不雜，是非不亂。賢不肖不雜，則英傑至，是非不亂，則國家治。若是，名聲日聞，天下願，令行禁止，王者之事畢矣。
The great divisions in hearing government are these. Those who come with goodness are met with ritual; those who come without goodness are met with punishment. When the two are kept apart, the worthy and the unworthy are not mixed and right and wrong are not confused. When the worthy and the unworthy are not mixed, the outstanding come; when right and wrong are not confused, the state is well ordered. When it is so, his name and fame are heard day by day, all under heaven longs for him, his orders are carried out and his prohibitions stop what they forbid, and the work of one who is king is complete.
凡聽：威嚴猛厲，而不好假道人，則下畏恐而不親，周閉而不竭。若是，則大事殆乎弛，小事殆乎遂。和解調通，好假道人，而無所凝止之，則姦言並至，嘗試之說鋒起。若是，則聽大事煩，是又傷之也。故法而不議，則法之所不至者必廢。職而不通，則職之所不及者必隊。故法而議，職而通，無隱謀，無遺善，而百事無過，非君子莫能。故公平者，職之衡也；中和者，聽之繩也。其有法者以法行，無法者以類舉，聽之盡也。偏黨而不經，聽之辟也。故有良法而亂者，有之矣，有君子而亂者，自古及今，未嘗聞也。傳曰：「治生乎君子，亂生乎小人。」此之謂也。
In hearing affairs, if a man is awesome and stern and fierce and harsh, and does not like to lend others a road, then those below fear him and are not close to him, and they shut themselves all round and do not pour themselves out. When it is so, great affairs are apt to slacken and small affairs are apt to go wrong.
If he is harmonious and loosens things and tunes them and lets them through, and likes to lend others a road, but has nowhere that he gathers them and halts them, then crooked words come in together and talk that tries him out rises up like peaks. When it is so, great affairs are troublesome in the hearing, and this too does him harm.
Therefore if there is law but no deliberating, what the law does not reach will surely be left undone; and if there are duties but no passing through, what the duties do not extend to will surely fall away. Therefore to have law and to deliberate, to have duties and to let them pass through, so that there is no hidden scheming and no good left out and no fault in all affairs, is what none but the gentleman can do.
Therefore evenness and fairness are the balance of duty, and the middle and the harmonious are the marking line of hearing. What has a law is carried out by the law; what has no law is taken up by its kind. This is the fullness of hearing. To lean to one side and make a faction, with no warp thread, is the crookedness of hearing.
Therefore that there are good laws and yet disorder, this has happened; but that there is a gentleman and yet disorder, from of old until now it has never been heard of. A saying handed down goes, "Order is born from the gentleman, disorder is born from the small man." This is what is meant.
分均則不偏，埶齊則不壹，眾齊則不使。有天有地，而上下有差；明王始立，而處國有制。夫兩貴之不能相事，兩賤之不能相使，是天數也。埶位齊，而欲惡同，物不能澹則必爭；爭則必亂，亂則窮矣。先王惡其亂也，故制禮義以分之，使有貧富貴賤之等，足以相兼臨者，是養天下之本也。書曰：「維齊非齊。」此之謂也。
When divisions are even, there is no leaning; when positions of power are level, there is no being made one; when the multitude are level, they cannot be set to work. There is Heaven and there is Earth, and above and below have their differences; when the enlightened king first stood, there were institutions for dwelling in a state.
When both are honored, they cannot serve each other; when both are lowly, they cannot set each other to work. This is the reckoning of Heaven. When power and station are level, and what men desire and hate is the same, and things are not enough to go round, there is surely strife; strife surely brings disorder, and disorder brings men to a dead end.
The former kings hated that disorder, and so they made ritual and rightness to divide men, and let there be ranks of poor and rich, honored and lowly, enough for the one to stand over the other and hold them together. This is the root of nourishing all under heaven. The Documents say, "What makes things even is that they are not even." This is what is meant.
馬駭輿，則君子不安輿；庶人駭政，則君子不安位。馬駭輿，則莫若靜之；庶人駭政，則莫若惠之。選賢良，舉篤敬，興孝弟，收孤寡，補貧窮。如是，則庶人安政矣。庶人安政，然後君子安位。傳曰：「君者、舟也，庶人者、水也；水則載舟，水則覆舟。」此之謂也。故君人者，欲安、則莫若平政愛民矣；欲榮、則莫若隆禮敬士矣；欲立功名、則莫若尚賢使能矣。－是人君之大節也。三節者當，則其餘莫不當矣。三節者不當，則其餘雖曲當，猶將無益也。孔子曰：「大節是也，小節是也，上君也；大節是也，小節一出焉，一入焉，中君也；大節非也，小節雖是也，吾無觀其餘矣。」
When the horse shies at the carriage, the gentleman is not at ease in the carriage; when the common people shy at the government, the gentleman is not at ease in his station. When the horse shies at the carriage, nothing is so good as to quiet it; when the common people shy at the government, nothing is so good as to be kind to them.
Choose the worthy and the good, raise up the earnest and the reverent, stir up filial love and brotherly deference, gather in the orphaned and the widowed, help the poor and the destitute. When it is so, the common people are at ease in the government; and only after the common people are at ease in the government is the gentleman at ease in his station.
A saying handed down goes, "The ruler is the boat, the common people are the water; the water bears the boat up, and the water overturns the boat." This is what is meant.
Therefore, if one who rules over men wishes to be at ease, nothing is so good as to make the government even and to love the people; if he wishes for glory, nothing is so good as to raise ritual high and to respect the gentlemen; if he wishes to set up merit and a name, nothing is so good as to honor the worthy and to employ the able. These are the great measures of a ruler.
When the three measures are fitting, none of the rest will fail to be fitting; when the three measures are not fitting, then though the rest be fitting at every turn, it will still be of no help. Confucius said, "When the great measures are right and the small measures are right, he is a ruler of the highest sort. When the great measures are right and the small measures go out here and come in there, he is a middling ruler. When the great measures are wrong, then though the small measures be right, I will not look at the rest."
成侯、嗣公聚斂計數之君也，未及取民也。子產取民者也，未及為政也。管仲為政者也，未及修禮也。故修禮者王，為政者彊，取民者安，聚斂者亡。故王者富民，霸者富士，僅存之國富大夫，亡國富筐篋，實府庫。筐篋已富，府庫已實，而百姓貧：夫是之謂上溢而下漏。入不可以守，出不可以戰，則傾覆滅亡可立而待也。故我聚之以亡，敵得之以彊。聚斂者，召寇、肥敵、亡國、危身之道也，故明君不蹈也。
Marquis Cheng and Duke Si were rulers who gathered in levies and reckoned numbers, and did not reach so far as winning the people. Zichan won the people, but did not reach so far as carrying on government. Guan Zhong carried on government, but did not reach so far as cultivating ritual.
Therefore he who cultivates ritual becomes king, he who carries on government becomes strong, he who wins the people is at peace, and he who gathers in levies perishes.
Therefore one who is king makes his people rich, the hegemon makes his gentlemen rich, the state that barely survives makes its grandees rich, and the state that will perish makes its baskets rich and fills its storehouses. When the baskets are already rich and the storehouses already full, and the people are poor, this is called overflowing above and leaking below. Going in, he cannot hold what he has; going out, he cannot fight. He may stand and wait for the toppling and the ruin.
Therefore what I gather brings me to ruin, and what the enemy gets makes him strong. Gathering in levies is the road that calls in robbers, fattens the enemy, ruins the state, and puts one's own body in danger. Therefore the enlightened ruler does not tread it.
王奪之人，霸奪之與，彊奪之地。奪之人者臣諸侯，奪之與者友諸侯，奪之地者敵諸侯。臣諸侯者王，友諸侯者霸，敵諸侯者危。
One who is king takes men away, the hegemon takes away those who would join with him, and the strong take away land. He who takes men away makes the feudal lords his subjects; he who takes away those who would join makes the feudal lords his friends; he who takes away land makes the feudal lords his enemies. He who makes the feudal lords his subjects is king; he who makes the feudal lords his friends is hegemon; he who makes the feudal lords his enemies is in danger.
用彊者：人之城守，人之出戰，而我以力勝之也，則傷人之民必甚矣；傷人之民甚，則人之民必惡我甚矣；人之民惡我甚，則日欲與我鬥。人之城守，人之出戰，而我以力勝之，則傷吾民必甚矣；傷吾民甚，則吾民之惡我必甚矣；吾民之惡我甚，則日不欲為我鬥。人之民日欲與我鬥，吾民日不欲為我鬥，是彊者之所以反弱也。地來而民去，累多而功少，雖守者益，所以守者損，是以大者之所以反削也。諸侯莫不懷交接怨，而不忘其敵，伺彊大之間，承彊大之敝，此彊大之殆時也。
One who uses force is like this. When another holds his walls and another goes out to fight, and I win by strength, the harm to that man's people is surely great; when the harm to that man's people is great, that man's people surely hate me greatly; when that man's people hate me greatly, day by day they wish to fight me.
When another holds his walls and another goes out to fight, and I win by strength, the harm to my own people is surely great; when the harm to my own people is great, my people surely hate me greatly; when my people hate me greatly, day by day they do not wish to fight for me.
That man's people day by day wish to fight me, and my people day by day do not wish to fight for me. This is how the strong turn weak instead. Land comes in and the people go away; the burdens are many and the merit is small. Though there is more to hold, there are fewer to hold it, and this is how the great are pared down instead.
There is no feudal lord who does not harbor his dealings and join in resentment. They do not forget their enemy; they watch for a gap in the strong and great, and take their chance on the wearing down of the strong and great. This is the dangerous time for the strong and great.
知彊大者不務彊也，慮以王命，全其力，凝其德。力全則諸侯不能弱也，德凝則諸侯不能削也，天下無王霸主，則常勝矣：是知彊道者也。
He who understands being strong and great does not work at being strong. He reckons by the king's command, keeps his strength whole, and makes his virtue gather firm. When his strength is whole, the feudal lords cannot weaken him; when his virtue is gathered firm, the feudal lords cannot pare him down. When there is no king or hegemon ruling all under heaven, he always wins. This is a man who understands the way of strength.
彼霸者則不然：辟田野，實倉廩，便備用，案謹募選閱材伎之士，然後漸慶賞以先之，嚴刑罰以糾之。存亡繼絕，衛弱禁暴，而無兼并之心，則諸侯親之矣。修友敵之道，以敬接諸侯，則諸侯說之矣。所以親之者，以不并也；并之見，則諸侯疏矣。所以說之者，以友敵也；臣之見，則諸侯離矣。故明其不并之行，信其友敵之道，天下無王霸主，則常勝矣。是知霸道者也。
That hegemon is not like this. He opens up fields and wild lands, fills the granaries, and makes ready what is used; he carefully gathers and chooses and examines gentlemen of ability and skill, and after that brings on praise and reward little by little to lead them, and makes punishment stern to set them straight.
He keeps in being what would perish and carries on what would be cut off; he guards the weak and forbids the violent, and has no heart to swallow others up. Then the feudal lords hold him dear. He cultivates the way of befriending his rivals and meets the feudal lords with respect. Then the feudal lords are pleased with him.
The reason they hold him dear is that he does not swallow others up, and when swallowing up is seen, the feudal lords grow distant. The reason they are pleased is that he befriends his rivals, and when making them subjects is seen, the feudal lords depart. Therefore he makes clear his conduct of not swallowing up and makes trustworthy his way of befriending his rivals; and then, when there is no king or hegemon ruling all under heaven, he always wins. This is a man who understands the way of the hegemon.
閔王毀於五國，桓公劫於魯莊，無它故焉，非其道而慮之以王也。
That King Min was broken by the five states, and that Duke Huan was coerced by Duke Zhuang of Lu, had no other cause. It was not their way, and yet they reckoned by kingship.
彼王者不然：仁眇天下，義眇天下，威眇天下。仁眇天下，故天下莫不親也；義眇天下，故天下莫不貴也；威眇天下，故天下莫敢敵也。以不敵之威，輔服人之道，故不戰而勝，不攻而得，甲兵不勞而天下服，是知王道者也。知此三具者，欲王而王，欲霸而霸，欲彊而彊矣。
That one who is king is not like this. His benevolence is vast over all under heaven, his rightness is vast over all under heaven, his awesomeness is vast over all under heaven. His benevolence being vast over all under heaven, there is none under heaven who does not hold him dear; his rightness being vast over all under heaven, there is none under heaven who does not honor him; his awesomeness being vast over all under heaven, there is none under heaven who dares to stand against him.
With an awesomeness that none can stand against, he helps on the way that makes men submit, and so he wins without fighting and gets without attacking. Armor and weapons are not wearied, and all under heaven submits. This is a man who understands the way of the king. He who understands these three furnishings is king if he wishes to be king, hegemon if he wishes to be hegemon, strong if he wishes to be strong.
王者之人：飾動以禮義，聽斷以類，明振毫末，舉措應變而不窮，夫是之謂有原。是王者之人也。
The men of one who is king are like this. They adorn their movements with ritual and rightness and they hear and decide by kind; their brightness shakes to the tip of a hair, and their raising up and setting aside answer every change without coming to an end. This is called having a source. These are the men of one who is king.
王者之制：道不過三代，法不二後王；道過三代謂之蕩，法二後王謂之不雅。衣服有制，宮室有度，人徒有數，喪祭械用皆有等宜。聲、則非雅聲者舉廢，色、則凡非舊文者舉息，械用，則凡非舊器者舉毀，夫是之謂復古，是王者之制也。
The institutions of one who is king are like this. The way does not go past three ages, and the law does not make two of the later kings. When the way goes past three ages it is called loose, and when the law makes two of the later kings it is called improper.
Clothing has its institutions, palaces and houses have their measures, the number of men and servants has its reckoning, and mourning and sacrifice and vessels and utensils all have their ranks and what befits them. As for sounds, all that are not proper sounds are done away with; as for colors, all that are not the old patterns are stopped; as for vessels and utensils, all that are not the old wares are broken up. This is called returning to what is old. These are the institutions of one who is king.
王者之論：無德不貴，無能不官，無功不賞，無罪不罰。朝無幸位，民無幸生。尚賢使能，而等位不遺；析愿禁悍，而刑罰不過。百姓曉然皆知夫為善於家，而取賞於朝也；為不善於幽，而蒙刑於顯也。夫是之謂定論。是王者之論也。
The judgments of one who is king are like this. Without virtue none is honored, without ability none is given office, without merit none is rewarded, without guilt none is punished. In the court there is no station got by luck, and among the people there is no living got by luck. He honors the worthy and employs the able, and yet ranks and stations are not left out; he sets apart the careful and forbids the fierce, and yet punishments do not go too far.
The people all know clearly that he who does good at home takes his reward at court, and he who does what is not good in the dark suffers punishment in the open. This is called settled judgment. These are the judgments of one who is king.
王者之法：等賦、政事、財萬物，所以養萬民也。田野什一，關市幾而不征，山林澤梁，以時禁發而不稅。相地而衰政。理道之遠近而致貢。通流財物粟米，無有滯留，使相歸移也，四海之內若一家。故近者不隱其能，遠者不疾其勞，無幽閒隱僻之國，莫不趨使而安樂之。夫是之為人師。是王者之法也。
The laws of one who is king are like this. To grade the levies, to carry on government, and to make the ten thousand things into goods is the way the ten thousand people are nourished.
In field and wild land it is one part in ten. At the passes and markets there is inspection but no toll. In mountain and forest, marsh and weir, there is closing and opening according to the season, but no tax. He looks at the land and lightens the levy accordingly. He reckons the far and the near of the roads and has tribute brought in. He makes goods and grain flow and pass through with nothing blocked or held back, so that they turn and move from one place to another, and within the four seas it is as if it were one household.
Therefore those near do not hide their ability, and those far off do not grudge their toil. There is no state so hidden and out of the way that its people do not hasten to serve him and find ease and joy in it. This is called becoming the teacher of men. These are the laws of one who is king.
北海則有走馬吠犬焉，然而中國得而畜使之。南海則有羽翮、齒革、曾青、丹干焉，然而中國得而財之。東海則有紫紶、魚鹽焉，然而中國得而衣食之。西海則有皮革、文旄焉，然而中國得而用之。故澤人足乎木，山人足乎魚，農夫不斲削、不陶冶而足械用，工賈不耕田而足菽粟。故虎豹為猛矣，然君子剝而用之。故天之所覆，地之所載，莫不盡其美，致其用，上以飾賢良，下以養百姓而安樂之。夫是之謂大神。詩曰：「天作高山，大王荒之；彼作矣，文王康之。」此之謂也。
In the northern sea there are running horses and barking dogs, and the Central States get them and raise them and put them to use. In the southern sea there are feathers and quills, ivory and hides, azurite and cinnabar, and the Central States get them and make goods of them. In the eastern sea there are purple threads, fish and salt, and the Central States get them and wear them and eat them. In the western sea there are hides and leather and patterned banner staffs, and the Central States get them and use them.
Therefore the men of the marshes have wood enough and the men of the mountains have fish enough; the farmer does not cut and carve, does not fire pots or smelt metal, and yet has vessels and utensils enough; the craftsman and the merchant do not plow the fields, and yet have beans and grain enough.
Therefore the tiger and the leopard are fierce, and yet the gentleman flays them and uses them. Therefore of all that heaven covers and earth bears there is nothing that does not give out its beauty to the full and bring its use to pass, so that above it adorns the worthy and the good, and below it nourishes the people and gives them ease and joy. This is called the great spirit power. The Odes say, "Heaven made the high mountain, and King Tai opened its wild ground. He made it, and King Wen gave it rest." This is what is meant.
以類行雜，以一行萬。始則終，終則始，若環之無端也，舍是而天下以衰矣。天地者，生之始也；禮義者，治之始也；君子者，禮義之始也；為之，貫之，積重之，致好之者，君子之始也。故天地生君子，君子理天地；君子者，天地之參也，萬物之摠也，民之父母也。無君子，則天地不理，禮義無統，上無君師，下無父子，夫是之謂至亂。君臣、父子、兄弟、夫婦，始則終，終則始，與天地同理，與萬世同久，夫是之謂大本。故喪祭、朝聘、師旅一也；貴賤、殺生、與奪一也；君君、臣臣、父父、子子、兄兄、弟弟一也；農農、士士、工工、商商一也。
By kind he handles what is mixed; by the one he handles the ten thousand. The beginning is the end and the end is the beginning, like a ring that has no starting point. Let this go, and all under heaven decays by it.
Heaven and earth are the beginning of life, ritual and rightness are the beginning of order, the gentleman is the beginning of ritual and rightness; and to do them, to thread them through, to heap them up and make them weighty, and to love them utterly, is the beginning of the gentleman.
Therefore heaven and earth give birth to the gentleman, and the gentleman brings order to heaven and earth. The gentleman is the third with heaven and earth, the one who gathers the ten thousand things, the father and mother of the people. Without the gentleman, heaven and earth are not brought to order and ritual and rightness have no guiding cord; above there is no ruler and teacher, below there is no father and son. This is called utmost disorder.
Ruler and subject, father and son, elder brother and younger brother, husband and wife: the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning. They share one order with heaven and earth and last as long as ten thousand ages. This is called the great root.
Therefore mourning and sacrifice, court audience and mission, and the army are one. Honored and lowly, killing and letting live, giving and taking away are one. That the ruler is a ruler, the subject a subject, the father a father, the son a son, the elder brother an elder brother, the younger brother a younger brother, is one. That the farmer is a farmer, the gentleman a gentleman, the craftsman a craftsman, the merchant a merchant, is one.
水火有氣而無生，草木有生而無知，禽獸有知而無義，人有氣、有生、有知，亦且有義，故最為天下貴也。力不若牛，走不若馬，而牛馬為用，何也？曰：人能群，彼不能群也。人何以能群？曰：分。分何以能行？曰：義。故義以分則和，和則一，一則多力，多力則彊，彊則勝物；故宮室可得而居也。故序四時，裁萬物，兼利天下，無它故焉，得之分義也。
Water and fire have breath but no life. Grass and trees have life but no knowing. Birds and beasts have knowing but no rightness. Man has breath, has life, has knowing, and has rightness as well, and so he is the most honored thing under heaven.
His strength is not the equal of the ox, his running is not the equal of the horse, and yet ox and horse are put to his use. Why is this? The answer is: man can form a group, and they cannot form a group.
How is man able to form a group? The answer is: by dividing. How can dividing be carried out? The answer is: by rightness. Therefore when men are divided by rightness there is harmony; when there is harmony they are one; when they are one they have much strength; when they have much strength they are firm; when they are firm they overcome other things. And so they can get houses to live in.
Therefore they set the four seasons in order and cut the ten thousand things to measure, and bring benefit to all under heaven together. There is no other cause: they have got dividing and rightness.
故人生不能無群，群而無分則爭，爭則亂，亂則離，離則弱，弱則不能勝物；故宮室不可得而居也，不可少頃舍禮義之謂也。能以事親謂之孝，能以事兄謂之弟，能以事上謂之順，能以使下謂之君。
Therefore men living cannot be without a group, and if they group together with no dividing there is strife; strife brings disorder, disorder makes them part, parting makes them weak, and being weak they cannot overcome other things. And so they cannot get houses to live in. This means that ritual and rightness cannot be set aside for a moment.
To be able to serve one's parents is called filial love. To be able to serve one's elder brother is called brotherly deference. To be able to serve those above is called compliance. To be able to set those below to work is called being a ruler.
君者，善群也。群道當，則萬物皆得其宜，六畜皆得其長，群生皆得其命。故養長時，則六畜育；殺生時，則草木殖；政令時，則百姓一，賢良服。
The ruler is one who is good at forming a group. When the way of forming a group is fitting, the ten thousand things all get what befits them, the six domestic animals all get their growth, and all that live in groups get their span of life. Therefore when nourishing and rearing are in season, the six domestic animals grow; when killing and letting live are in season, grass and trees multiply; when government and orders are in season, the people are one and the worthy and the good submit.
聖王之制也：草木榮華滋碩之時，則斧斤不入山林，不夭其生，不絕其長也。黿鼉魚鱉鰍鱣孕別之時，罔罟毒藥不入澤，不夭其生，不絕其長也。春耕、夏耘、秋收、冬藏，四者不失時，故五穀不絕，而百姓有餘食也。汙池淵沼川澤，謹其時禁，故魚鱉優多，而百姓有餘用也。斬伐養長不失其時，故山林不童，而百姓有餘材也。
The institutions of the sage king are like this. In the season when grass and trees flower and swell and grow big, the axe does not go into mountain and forest, so that their life is not cut short and their growth is not broken. In the season when the turtle, the alligator, the fish, the loach and the sturgeon are with young and hatching their young, nets and poison do not go into the marsh, so that their life is not cut short and their growth is not broken.
Plowing in spring, weeding in summer, reaping in autumn, storing in winter: these four do not lose their season, and so the five grains are never cut off and the people have food to spare. For hollows and ponds, streams and marshes, the closing in season is carefully kept, and so fish and turtles are plentiful and the people have goods to spare. Cutting and felling, nourishing and rearing do not lose their season, and so mountain and forest are not made bare and the people have timber to spare.
聖王之用也：上察於天，下錯於地，塞備天地之間，加施萬物之上，微而明，短而長，狹而廣，神明博大以至約。故曰：一與一是為人者，謂之聖人。
The uses of the sage king are like this. Above he examines heaven, below he sets things in place on earth; he fills up and makes ready the space between heaven and earth, and he lays what he gives upon the ten thousand things. He is small and yet bright, short and yet long, narrow and yet broad; he is spiritlike and wide and great, and yet utterly simple. Therefore it is said: he who takes one and one and makes of it a man is called a sage.
序官：宰爵知賓客、祭祀、響食犧牲之牢數。司徒知百宗、城郭、立器之數。司馬知師旅、甲兵、乘白之數。脩憲命，審詩商，禁淫聲，以時順脩，使夷俗邪音不敢亂雅，大師之事也。脩隄梁，通溝澮，行水潦，安水臧，以時決塞，歲雖凶敗水旱，使民有所耘艾，司空之事也。相高下，視肥墝，序五種，省農功，謹蓄藏，以時順脩，使農夫樸力而寡能，治田之事也。脩火憲，養山林藪澤草木、魚鱉、百索，以時禁發，使國家足用，而財物不屈，虞師之事也。順州里，定廛宅，養六畜，閒樹藝，勸教化，趨孝弟，以時順修，使百姓順命，安樂處鄉，鄉師之事也。論百工，審時事，辨功苦，尚完利，便備用，使雕琢文采不敢專造於家，工師之事也。相陰陽，占祲兆，鑽龜陳卦，主攘擇五卜，知其吉凶妖祥，傴巫跛擊之事也。脩採清，易道路，謹盜賊，平室律，以時順修，使賓旅安而貨財通，治市之事也。抃急禁悍，防淫除邪，戮之以五刑，使暴悍以變，姦邪不作，司寇之事也。本政教，正法則，兼聽而時稽之，度其功勞，論其慶賞，以時慎脩，使百吏免盡，而眾庶不偷，冢宰之事也。論禮樂，正身行，廣教化，美風俗，兼覆而調一之，辟公之事也。全道德，致隆高，綦文理，一天下，振毫末，使天下莫不順比從服，天王之事也。故政事亂，則冢宰之罪也；國家失俗，則辟公之過也；天下不一，諸侯俗反，則天王非其人也。
The offices are set in order.
The zaijue (宰爵) knows the reckoning of the pens of sacrificial beasts for guests, for sacrifices and for feasting. The minister of the masses (司徒) knows the reckoning of all the clans, of the walls and ramparts, and of the setting up of vessels. The minister of war (司馬) knows the reckoning of the armies, of armor and weapons, and of what is ridden.
To cultivate the statutes and commands, to examine the odes and songs, and to forbid lewd sounds, keeping them in order in season, so that barbarian customs and crooked notes do not dare to disturb what is proper: this is the work of the grand music master (大師).
To cultivate the dikes and bridges, to open the ditches, to make standing water flow, and to keep the storing of water safe, cutting and damming in season, so that though the year be bad with flood and drought the people still have somewhere to weed and reap: this is the work of the minister of works (司空).
To look at high ground and low, to see which land is rich and which is barren, to set the five seeds in order, to look into the work of farming, and to be careful in heaping up and storing, keeping things in order in season, so that the farmer works with plain strength and has little cleverness: this is the work of the one who governs the fields.
To cultivate the laws about fire, and to nourish the mountains and forests, the marshes, the grass and trees, the fish and turtles and all the rest, closing and opening in season, so that the state has enough for its use and its wealth is not used up: this is the work of the yushi (虞師).
To bring districts and villages into order, to settle the plots and dwellings, to raise the six domestic animals, to teach the planting of trees, to urge on the teaching that changes men, and to hasten filial love and brotherly deference, keeping things in order in season, so that the people follow his commands and live at ease and in joy in their villages: this is the work of the xiangshi (鄕師).
To judge all the craftsmen, to look into the work of the season, to tell the well made from the rough, to hold the whole and the useful high, and to make it easy to have ready what is used, so that carved and polished patterns are not made at will in private houses: this is the work of the gongshi (工師).
To observe yin and yang, to divine ill-boding signs, to bore the tortoise and lay out the trigrams, to take charge of driving off evil and to choose among the five divinations, and so to know what is lucky and unlucky, ill-boding and well-boding: this is the work of the shaman woman and the shaman man.
To keep the privies clean, to make the roads even, to be watchful about robbers, and to make the rules about houses fair, keeping things in order in season, so that guests and travelers are at ease and goods and wealth pass through: this is the work of the one who governs the market.
To deal with what is urgent and forbid the fierce, to keep off lewdness and get rid of what is crooked, and to put men to death by the five punishments, so that the violent and fierce are changed by it and the crooked and false do not arise: this is the work of the minister of justice (司寇).
To root government and teaching, to set the laws and rules straight, to hear all sides and examine them from time to time, to weigh their merit and toil and to judge their praise and reward, cultivating this carefully in season, so that all the clerks give their strength to the full and the multitude are not slack: this is the work of the chief steward (冢宰).
To judge ritual and music, to set one's bearing straight, to broaden the teaching that changes men, to make the customs beautiful, and to cover all together and tune them into one: this is the work of the bigong (辟公).
To make the way and its virtue whole, to bring loftiness to its height, to fill out pattern and order, to make all under heaven one, and to shake to the tip of a hair, so that there is none under heaven who does not fall in and follow and submit: this is the work of the Heavenly King.
Therefore when government is in disorder, it is the crime of the chief steward; when the state loses its customs, it is the fault of the bigong; when all under heaven is not one and the feudal lords turn against its customs, then the Heavenly King is not the right man.
具具而王，具具而霸，具具而存，具具而亡。用萬乘之國者，威彊之所以立也，名聲之所以美也，敵人之所以屈也，國之所以安危臧否也，制與在此，亡乎人。王、霸、安存、危殆、滅亡，制與在我，亡乎人。夫威彊未足以殆鄰敵也，名聲未足以縣天下也，則是國未能獨立也，豈渠得免夫累乎？天下脅於暴國，而黨為吾所不欲於是者，日與桀同事同行，無害為堯。是非功名之所就也，非存亡安危之所墮也。功名之所就，存亡安危之所墮，必將於愉殷赤心之所。誠以其國為王者之所亦王，以其國為危殆滅亡之所亦危殆滅亡。殷之日，案以中立，無有所偏，而為縱橫之事，偃然案兵無動，以觀夫暴國之相卒也。案平政教，審節奏，砥礪百姓，為是之日，而兵剸天下勁矣。案然修仁義，伉隆高，正法則，選賢良，養百姓，為是之日，而名聲剸天下之美矣。權者重之，兵者勁之，名聲者美之。夫堯舜者一天下也，不能加毫末於是矣。
Furnish what is to be furnished and be king; furnish what is to be furnished and be hegemon; furnish what is to be furnished and survive; furnish what is to be furnished and perish.
One who wields a state of ten thousand chariots is the reason awe and strength stand up, the reason a name and fame grow beautiful, the reason enemies bend, the reason the state is at peace or in danger, good or bad. The cutting of it lies here and not in others. Being king, being hegemon, surviving in peace, being in danger, being destroyed: the cutting of it lies in me and not in others.
If awe and strength are not yet enough to put the neighboring enemy in danger, and name and fame are not yet enough to hang over all under heaven, then the state cannot yet stand alone. How could it escape its entanglements?
When all under heaven is cowed by a violent state, and men band together to do what I do not wish done in this, then a man may share the same work and the same conduct with Jie day after day and take no harm in being a King Yao. This is not where merit and a name are brought to pass, and not where surviving and perishing, peace and danger fall out.
Where merit and a name are brought to pass, and where surviving and perishing, peace and danger fall out, must lie in the place of a glad and flourishing red heart. If a man truly makes his state the place of one who is king, he too is king; if he makes his state a place of danger and ruin, he too comes to danger and ruin.
On a day of flourishing he stands in the middle with no leaning to either side, carries on the business of the vertical and the horizontal, and lies back with his weapons at rest and does not stir, and watches those violent states make an end of one another. He makes government and teaching even, looks into the measures, and grinds and whets his people. On the day he does this, his army becomes the strongest of all under heaven. Calmly he cultivates benevolence and rightness, matches himself with loftiness, sets the laws and rules straight, chooses the worthy and the good, and nourishes his people. On the day he does this, his name and fame become the most beautiful of all under heaven.
He makes his power weighty, his army strong, his name and fame beautiful. Even King Yao and King Shun, who made all under heaven one, could add nothing to this, not so much as the tip of a hair.
權謀傾覆之人退，則賢良知聖之士案自進矣。刑政平，百姓和，國俗節，則兵勁城固，敵國案自詘矣。務本事，積財物，而勿忘棲遲薛越也，是使群臣百姓皆以制度行，則財物積，國家案自富矣。三者體此而天下服，暴國之君案自不能用其兵矣。何則？彼無與至也。彼其所與至者，必其民也。其民之親我，歡若父母，好我芳如芝蘭，反顧其上則若灼黥，若仇讎；彼人之情性也雖桀跖，豈有肯為其所惡，賊其所好者哉！彼以奪矣。故古之人，有以一國取天下者，非往行之也，脩政其所，天下莫不願，如是而可以誅暴禁悍矣。故周公南征而北國怨，曰：「何獨不來也！」東征而西國怨，曰：「何獨後我也！」孰能有與是鬥者與？安以其國為是者王。殷之日，安以靜兵息民，慈愛百姓，辟田野，實倉廩，便備用，安謹募選閱材伎之士，然後漸賞慶以先之，嚴刑罰以防之，擇士之知事者，使相率貫也，是以厭然畜積修飾，而物用之足也。兵革器械者，彼將日日暴露毀折之中原；我將脩飾之，拊循之，掩蓋之於府庫。貨財粟米者，彼將日日棲遲薛越之中野，我今將畜積并聚之於倉廩。材伎股肱健勇爪牙之士，彼將日日挫頓竭之於仇敵，我今將來致之，并閱之，砥礪之於朝廷。如是，則彼日積敝，我日積完；彼日積貧，我日積富；彼日積勞，我日積佚。君臣上下之間者，彼將厲厲焉日日相離疾也，我將頓頓焉日日相親愛也，以是待其敝。安以其國為是者霸。立身則從傭俗，事行則遵傭故，進退貴賤則舉傭士，之所以接下之人百姓者則庸寬惠，如是者則安存。立身則輕楛，事行則蠲疑，進退貴賤則舉佞侻，之所以接下之人百姓者則好取侵奪，如是者危殆。立身則憍暴，事行則傾覆，進退貴賤則舉幽險詐故，之所以接下之人百姓者，則好用其死力矣，而慢其功勞，好用其籍斂矣，而忘其本務，如是者滅亡。－－此五等者，不可不善擇也，王、霸、安存、危殆、滅亡之具也。善擇者制人，不善擇者人制之。善擇之者王，不善擇之者亡。夫王者之與亡者，制人之與人制之也，是其為相縣也亦遠矣。
When men who use power and scheming to topple others withdraw, then gentlemen who are worthy and good, knowing and sagelike, come forward of themselves. When punishment and government are even, the people harmonious, and the customs of the state have measure, then the army is strong and the walls firm, and enemy states bend of themselves. When he works at the root business and heaps up goods and wealth, and does not forget how things are let slip and scattered, so that all his ministers and all his people act by the institutions, then goods and wealth are heaped up and the state grows rich of itself.
When he makes these three his body, all under heaven submits, and the ruler of a violent state cannot use his army of himself. Why is this? Because that man has none to come with him. Those who would come with him must be his own people. His people hold me dear with a gladness like that for a father and a mother, and love me with a fragrance like iris and orchid; and when they turn and look back at their own superior, it is as if they were branded and tattooed, as at an enemy. Such are the feelings and the nature of men that even Jie and Robber Zhi would not be willing to do what they hate and harm what they love. That man has already been robbed of them.
Therefore among the men of old there were those who took all under heaven with a single state. It was not that they went out and did it; they cultivated government in their own place, and there was none under heaven who did not long for them. When it is so, one can cut down the violent and forbid the fierce. So when the Duke of Zhou marched south, the states of the north resented it and said, "Why are we the only ones he does not come to?" When he marched east, the states of the west resented it and said, "Why are we the only ones he puts last?" Who could fight against such a man? He who calmly makes his state like this is king.
On a day of flourishing he calmly quiets his weapons and gives the people rest; he loves his people with kindness, opens the fields and wild lands, fills the granaries, and makes ready what is used; he carefully gathers and chooses and examines gentlemen of ability and skill, and after that brings on reward and praise little by little to lead them and makes punishment stern to hold them back; and he picks out those among the gentlemen who understand affairs, and has them lead one another and thread things through. So he has plenty heaped up and put in order, and things and their uses are enough.
As for weapons and armor and gear, that man will day by day lay them open in the middle of the plain and break and snap them, while I will put them in order and keep them up, stroke them smooth and cover them over in the storehouses. As for goods and wealth and grain, that man will day by day let them slip and scatter in the middle of the wilds, while I will now heap them up and gather them into the granaries. As for gentlemen of ability and skill, sound of limb, quick and brave, who are claws and fangs, that man will day by day blunt them and wear them out against his foes and enemies, while I will now call them in and bring them here, examine them all together, and grind and whet them at court.
When it is so, that man heaps up wear day by day and I heap up wholeness; that man heaps up poverty day by day and I heap up riches; that man heaps up toil day by day and I heap up ease. Between ruler and subject, above and below, that man's people will grow harsh and part from one another and hate one another day by day, while mine will be steady and hold one another dear and love one another day by day; and so I wait for his wearing down. He who calmly makes his state like this is hegemon.
If in setting up his person he follows the middling customs, in carrying on affairs he keeps to the middling old ways, in advancing and setting back and honoring and lowering he raises up the middling gentleman, and in meeting those below him and his people he is middling in generosity and kindness, such a one survives in peace.
If in setting up his person he is light and rough, in carrying on affairs he is muddy and doubting, in advancing and setting back and honoring and lowering he raises up the flattering and the glib, and in meeting those below him and his people he is fond of seizing and encroaching, such a one is in danger.
If in setting up his person he is haughty and violent, in carrying on affairs he topples things over, in advancing and setting back and honoring and lowering he raises up the dark and dangerous and deceitful, and in meeting those below him and his people he is fond of using their strength to the death while making light of their merit and toil, and fond of levying on them while forgetting the root work, such a one is destroyed.
These five degrees must be chosen among with care. They are the furnishings of being king, being hegemon, surviving in peace, being in danger, and being destroyed. He who chooses well cuts others to measure, and he who does not choose well is cut to measure by others. He who chooses well is king, and he who does not choose well perishes. Between one who is king and one who perishes, between him who cuts others to measure and him who is cut to measure by others, the distance is far indeed.