Fuguo — Enriching the State富國篇
萬物同宇而異體，無宜而有用為人，數也。人倫並處，同求而異道，同欲而異知，生也。皆有可也，知愚同；所可異也，知愚分。埶同而知異，行私而無禍，縱欲而不窮，則民心奮而不可說也。如是，則知者未得治也；知者未得治，則功名未成也；功名未成，則群眾未縣也；群眾未縣，則君臣未立也。無君以制臣，無上以制下，天下害生縱欲。欲惡同物，欲多而物寡，寡則必爭矣。故百技所成，所以養一人也。而能不能兼技，人不能兼官。離居不相待則窮，群居而無分則爭；窮者患也，爭者禍也，救患除禍，則莫若明分使群矣。彊脅弱也，知懼愚也，民下違上，少陵長，不以德為政：如是，則老弱有失養之憂，而壯者有分爭之禍矣。事業所惡也，功利所好也，職業無分：如是，則人有樹事之患，而有爭功之禍矣。男女之合，夫婦之分，婚姻娉內，送逆無禮：如是，則人有失合之憂，而有爭色之禍矣。故知者為之分也。
All things share one universe and yet differ in body. They have no fitness of their own, and yet they have a use that serves man. Such is the reckoning of it.
The kinds of men dwell side by side. They seek the same things and take different ways. They want the same things and know in different ways. Such is life. That all of them hold some things to be right is the same in the wise and the foolish. That what they hold to be right differs is where the wise and the foolish part.
When their circumstances are the same and their knowing differs, when a man acts for himself and meets no harm, when he lets his wants run loose and nothing checks him, then the hearts of the people boil up and cannot be soothed. If it is so, the wise do not get the ordering of things. When the wise do not get the ordering of things, deeds and names are not accomplished. When deeds and names are not accomplished, the multitude is not bound together. When the multitude is not bound together, ruler and minister are not set up.
With no ruler to keep his ministers in order and no one above to keep those below in order, the harm of all under heaven arises from letting wants run loose. What men want and what men hate are the same things. Wants are many and things are few, and when things are few there must be strife.
So what the hundred crafts accomplish is what nourishes a single man. Yet even the able cannot master every craft, and no man can hold every office. If men live apart and do not wait upon one another, they come to a dead end. If they live in a crowd and have no divisions, they fight. The dead end is a trouble and the fighting is a disaster. To rescue men from trouble and rid them of disaster, there is nothing like making the divisions clear and letting men form a group.
If the strong bully the weak and the wise frighten the foolish, if the people below go against those above and the young trample on their elders, and government is not carried on by virtue, then the old and the weak have the trouble of losing their keep, and the strong have the disaster of splitting apart and fighting.
Work is what men hate, and merit and gain are what they love. If the tasks men hold have no divisions, then men have the trouble of setting up work for themselves and the disaster of fighting over merit.
If the joining of man and woman, the division of husband and wife, the betrothing and the bringing home of a bride, the sending off and the meeting, have no rites, then men have the trouble of losing their match and the disaster of fighting over women. This is why the wise made divisions for them.
足國之道：節用裕民，而善臧其餘。節用以禮，裕民以政。彼裕民，故多餘。裕民則民富，民富則田肥以易，田肥以易則出實百倍。上以法取焉，而下以禮節用之，餘若丘山，不時焚燒，無所臧之。夫君子奚患乎無餘？故知節用裕民，則必有仁聖賢良之名，而且有富厚丘山之積矣。此無他故焉，生於節用裕民也。不知節用裕民則民貧，民貧則田瘠以穢，田瘠以穢則出實不半；上雖好取侵奪，猶將寡獲也。而或以無禮節用之，則必有貪利糾譑之名，而且有空虛窮乏之實矣。此無他故焉，不知節用裕民也。康誥曰：「弘覆乎天，若德裕乃身。」此之謂也。
The way to make a state sufficient is this. Spend with measure, make the people well off, and store up well what is left over. Spend with measure by the rites. Make the people well off by government.
Because such a ruler makes the people well off, there is much left over. Make the people well off and the people grow rich. When the people are rich the fields are fat and well worked. When the fields are fat and well worked the yield is a hundredfold. Those above take by law, those below spend with measure by the rites, and what is left over is like a hill or a mountain, so that unless it is burned off from time to time there is nowhere to store it. What has a gentleman to fear from having nothing left over?
So a ruler who knows how to spend with measure and make the people well off will surely have the name of a man benevolent and sagely, worthy and good, and he will also have riches heaped up thick as a hill or a mountain. There is no other cause for it. It is born of spending with measure and making the people well off.
A ruler who does not know how to spend with measure and make the people well off leaves the people poor. When the people are poor the fields are lean and choked with weeds. When the fields are lean and choked with weeds the yield is not half. Though such a ruler loves to take and to seize, he will still gather little. And if he spends with measure but without the rites, he will surely have the name of a man greedy for gain who squeezes and wrings, and he will have emptiness and blocked want for his substance. There is no other cause for it. It is that he does not know how to spend with measure and make the people well off. The Kang gao says, "Spread wide as heaven covers, and virtue will make your own self abundant." This is what is meant.
禮者，貴賤有等；長幼有差，貧富輕重皆有稱者也。故天子袾裷衣冕，諸侯玄裷衣冕，大夫裨冕，士皮弁服。德必稱位，位必稱祿，祿必稱用，由士以上則必以禮樂節之，眾庶百姓則必以法數制之。量地而立國，計利而畜民，度人力而授事，使民必勝事，事必出利，利足以生民，皆使衣食百用出入相揜，必時臧餘，謂之稱數。故自天子通於庶人，事無大小多少，由是推之。故曰：「朝無幸位，民無幸生。」此之謂也。輕田野之賦，平關市之征，省商賈之數，罕興力役，無奪農時，如是則國富矣。夫是之謂以政裕民。
The rites are this. In noble and base there are grades, between elder and younger there are differences, and in poor and rich, light and heavy, all things have their fitting measure.
So the Son of Heaven wears the red dragon robe and the tasselled crown, the feudal lords wear the black dragon robe and the tasselled crown, the great officers wear the bimian (裨冕), and the gentlemen wear the leather cap and its robe.
Virtue must fit the station, the station must fit the stipend, and the stipend must fit the use. From the gentlemen upward men are kept in measure by rites and music, and the common people are ruled by law and reckoning.
Measure the land and set up the state. Reckon the gain and rear the people. Weigh a man's strength and give him his task. Let the people be equal to their tasks, let the tasks bring forth gain, and let the gain be enough to keep the people alive. Let clothing and food and the hundred uses have their going out and their coming in cover one another, and let what is left over be stored from time to time. This is called the fitting reckoning.
So from the Son of Heaven down to the common man, in matters great or small, many or few, everything is worked out from this. Therefore it is said, "In the court there is no place got by luck, and among the people there is no living got by luck." This is what is meant.
Lighten the levy on the fields, make the tolls at the passes and markets even, cut down the number of traders, seldom call men up for labor, and do not take away the farming season. Do this and the state grows rich. This is what is meant by making the people well off through government.
人之生不能無群，群而無分則爭，爭則亂，亂則窮矣。故無分者，人之大害也；有分者，天下之本利也；而人君者，所以管分之樞要也。故美之者，是美天下之本也；安之者，是安天下之本也；貴之者，是貴天下之本也。古者先王分割而等異之也，故使或美，或惡，或厚，或薄，或佚或樂，或劬或勞，非特以為淫泰夸麗之聲，將以明仁之文，通仁之順也。故為之雕琢、刻鏤、黼黻文章，使足以辨貴賤而已，不求其觀；為之鐘鼓、管磬、琴瑟、竽笙，使足以辨吉凶、合歡、定和而已，不求其餘；為之宮室、臺榭，使足以避燥溼、養德、辨輕重而已，不求其外。詩曰：「雕琢其章，金玉其相，亹亹我王，綱紀四方。」此之謂也。
Men in their living cannot be without the group. In a group without divisions they fight, and fighting they fall into disorder, and in disorder they come to a dead end. So having no divisions is the great harm of mankind, and having divisions is the root gain of all under heaven. And the ruler of men is the pivot that holds the divisions.
So to make him fine is to make the root of all under heaven fine. To make him secure is to make the root of all under heaven secure. To honor him is to honor the root of all under heaven.
In old days the former kings cut things apart and set them in grades, and so made some fine and some plain, some thick and some thin, some at ease and at pleasure, some hard at work and toiling. This was not merely to make a show of excess and grandeur and splendid sound. It was to make clear the pattern of benevolence and to let the order of benevolence run through.
So they made carving and polishing, engraving and openwork, and embroidered patterns, enough to tell noble from base and no more, and they did not seek the look of them. They made bells and drums, pipes and chiming stones, zithers and lutes, reed organs and mouth organs, enough to mark the lucky and the unlucky, to join men in gladness and to settle their harmony, and no more, and they did not seek anything beyond. They made palaces and chambers, terraces and pavilions, enough to keep off dryness and damp, to nourish virtue and to tell light from heavy, and no more, and they did not seek the outside of them. The Odes say, "Carved and polished is his pattern, gold and jade are what he is made of. Untiring is our king, and he holds the four quarters in order." This is what is meant.
若夫重色而衣之，重味而食之，重財物而制之，合天下而君之，非特以為淫泰也，固以為主天下，治萬變，材萬物，養萬民，兼制天下者，為莫若仁人之善也夫。故其知慮足以治之，其仁厚足以安之，其德音足以化之，得之則治，失之則亂。百姓誠賴其知也，故相率而為之勞苦以務佚之，以養其知也；誠美其厚也，故為之出死斷亡以覆救之，以養其厚也；誠美其德也，故為之雕琢、刻鏤、黼黻、文章以藩飾之，以養其德也。故仁人在上，百姓貴之如帝，親之如父母，為之出死斷亡而愉者，無它故焉，其所是焉誠美，其所得焉誠大，其所利焉誠多。詩曰：「我任我輦，我車我牛，我行既集，蓋云歸哉！」此之謂也。
As for wearing layered colors and eating layered flavors, ordering layered goods and joining all under heaven and being its ruler, this is not merely for excess and grandeur. It is because for taking charge of all under heaven, for ordering the ten thousand changes, for making use of the ten thousand things, for nourishing the ten thousand people and for governing all under heaven together, there is nothing so good as a benevolent man.
So his knowing and his forethought are enough to order it, his benevolence and his generosity are enough to make it secure, and the sound of his virtue is enough to transform it. Get such a man and there is order. Lose him and there is disorder.
The people truly lean on his knowing, and so they lead one another to toil for him and work to give him ease, and thus they nourish his knowing. They truly find his generosity fine, and so for him they go out to death and cut off their own lives to shield and save him, and thus they nourish his generosity. They truly find his virtue fine, and so for him they carve and polish, engrave and embroider patterns, to fence him about and adorn him, and thus they nourish his virtue.
So when a benevolent man is above, the people honor him as they honor the Lord on High and hold him close as a father and mother. They go out to death for him and cut off their own lives and are glad in it, and there is no other cause. What he holds right is truly fine, what he has got is truly great, and what he brings to others is truly much. The Odes say, "I carry and I haul, my cart and my ox. My journey is done and gathered in. Now surely let me go home." This is what is meant.
故曰：君子以德，小人以力；力者，德之役也。百姓之力，待之而後功；百姓之群，待之而後和；百姓之財，待之而後聚；百姓之埶，待之而後安；百姓之壽，待之而後長；父子不得不親，兄弟不得不順，男女不得不歡。少者以長，老者以養。故曰：「天地生之，聖人成之。」此之謂也。
Therefore it is said: the gentleman works by virtue and the small man by strength, and strength is the servant of virtue.
The strength of the people waits on him and then becomes merit. The crowds of the people wait on him and then are in accord. The goods of the people wait on him and then are gathered. The standing of the people waits on him and then is secure. The lives of the people wait on him and then are long. Father and son cannot but be close, elder and younger brother cannot but be in accord, man and woman cannot but be glad. The young grow up by him and the old are kept by him. Therefore it is said, "Heaven and earth give it birth, and the sage brings it to completion." This is what is meant.
今之世而不然：厚刀布之斂，以奪之財；重田野之賦，以奪之食；苛關市之征，以難其事。不然而已矣：有掎絜伺詐，權謀傾覆，以相顛倒，以靡敝之。百姓曉然皆知其汙漫暴亂，而將大危亡也。是以臣或弒其君，下或殺其上，粥其城，倍其節，而不死其事者，無他故焉，人主自取之。詩曰：「無言不讎，無德不報。」此之謂也。
The world today is not like this. It makes the gathering of coin heavy and so robs the people of their goods. It makes the levy on the fields heavy and so robs them of their food. It makes the tolls at the passes and markets harsh and so makes their work hard. And that is not all. There is seizing and binding, spying and cheating, scheming and overturning, so that men are thrown upside down and worn to rags.
The people see it plainly and all know how foul and loose and violent and disordered it is, and that great danger and ruin are coming. That is why a minister will kill his ruler and a man below will kill the man above him, why men sell their city and turn their backs on their duty and will not die at their post. There is no other cause. The ruler brought it on himself. The Odes say, "There is no word that is not answered, and no virtue that is not repaid." This is what is meant.
兼足天下之道在明分：掩地表畝，刺屮殖穀，多糞肥田，是農夫眾庶之事也。守時力民，進事長功，和齊百姓，使人不偷，是將率之事也。高者不旱，下者不水，寒暑和節，而五穀以時孰，是天之事也。若夫兼而覆之，兼而愛之，兼而制之，歲雖凶敗水旱，使百姓無凍餧之患，則是聖君賢相之事也。
The way to make all under heaven sufficient together lies in making the divisions clear.
To cover the ground and mark out the mu (畝), to cut the weeds and plant the grain, to manure much and fatten the fields, this is the work of the farmers and the common people.
To keep the seasons and put the people to work, to push the work forward and make merit grow, to bring the people into accord and order, and to keep men from shirking, this is the work of those who lead them.
That the high ground is not parched and the low ground is not flooded, that cold and heat keep their measure and the five grains ripen in their season, this is the work of heaven.
But to cover all men together, to love all men together, to govern all men together, and in a bad year of flood or drought to keep the people from the trouble of freezing and starving, this is the work of the sage ruler and the worthy minister.
墨子之言昭昭然為天下憂不足。夫不足非天下之公患也，特墨子之私憂過計也。今是土之生五穀也，人善治之，則畝數盆，一歲而再獲之。然後瓜桃棗李一本數以盆鼓；然後葷菜百疏以澤量；然後六畜禽獸一而剸車；黿、鼉、魚、鱉、鰍、鱣以時別，一而成群；然後飛鳥、鳧、雁若煙海；然後昆蟲萬物生其間，可以相食養者，不可勝數也。夫天地之生萬物也，固有餘，足以食人矣；麻葛繭絲、鳥獸之羽毛齒革也，固有餘，足以衣人矣。夫有餘不足，非天下之公患也，特墨子之私憂過計也。
Mozi's words are bright and clear in worrying for all under heaven that there is not enough. But not having enough is not the common trouble of all under heaven. It is only Mozi's private worry and his mistaken reckoning.
Now when this soil brings forth the five grains and men work it well, each mu yields several tubs and they reap it twice in one year. Then melons and peaches, jujubes and plums yield tubs and measures from a single tree. Then the pungent herbs and the hundred greens are measured by the pondful. Then the six kinds of livestock and the birds and beasts fill a whole cart with one of them. Then turtles and alligators, fish, loach and sturgeon come each in their season, and one of them makes a whole shoal. Then the flying birds, the wild ducks and the geese are like a sea of mist. Then the insects and the ten thousand things are born among them, and those that can feed and nourish one another are beyond counting.
When heaven and earth bring forth the ten thousand things, there is of old more than enough to feed men. Hemp and kudzu, cocoon silk, the feathers and fur and teeth and hides of birds and beasts are of old more than enough to clothe men. Whether there is more than enough or not enough is not the common trouble of all under heaven. It is only Mozi's private worry and his mistaken reckoning.
天下之公患，亂傷之也。胡不嘗試相與求亂之者誰也？我以墨子之「非樂」也，則使天下亂；墨子之「節用」也，則使天下貧，非將墮之也，說不免焉。墨子大有天下，小有一國，將蹙然衣粗食惡，憂戚而非樂。若是則瘠，瘠則不足欲；不足欲則賞不行。墨子大有天下，小有一國，將少人徒，省官職，上功勞苦，與百姓均事業，齊功勞。若是則不威；不威則罰不行。賞不行，則賢者不可得而進也；罰不行，則不肖者不可得而退也。賢者不可得而進也，不肖者不可得而退也，則能不能不可得而官也。若是，則萬物失宜，事變失應，上失天時，下失地利，中失人和，天下敖然，若燒若焦，墨子雖為之衣褐帶索，嚽菽飲水，惡能足之乎？既以伐其本，竭其原，而焦天下矣。
The common trouble of all under heaven is that disorder wounds it. Why not try, and seek together who it is that brings the disorder?
I hold that Mozi's condemning of music throws all under heaven into disorder, and that Mozi's spending with measure makes all under heaven poor. He does not mean to pull it down. His doctrine cannot escape it.
If Mozi had all under heaven at the greatest, or one state at the least, he would draw himself in, wear coarse clothes and eat poor food, and grieve and sorrow and condemn music. If it were so, all would be lean. Being lean, it would not answer what men want. Not answering what men want, rewards would not work.
If Mozi had all under heaven at the greatest, or one state at the least, he would cut down the number of men, do away with offices, exalt merit and hard toil, share the work evenly with the people and make merit and labor all alike. If it were so, there would be no awe. With no awe, punishments would not work.
If rewards do not work, the worthy cannot be brought forward. If punishments do not work, the unworthy cannot be sent away. If the worthy cannot be brought forward and the unworthy cannot be sent away, then office cannot be given by ability or the want of it.
If it were so, the ten thousand things would lose their fitness and the turns of affairs would lose their answer. Above, the seasons of heaven would be lost; below, the gain of the earth; in the middle, the accord of men. All under heaven would seethe as if burning, as if scorched. Though Mozi wore hair cloth and a rope for a belt, and chewed beans and drank water for its sake, how could he make it enough? He has already cut its root and drained its spring, and scorched all under heaven.
故先王聖人為之不然：知夫為人主上者，不美不飾之不足以一民也，不富不厚之不足以管下也，不威不強之不足以禁暴勝悍也，故必將撞大鐘，擊鳴鼓，吹笙竽，彈琴瑟，以塞其耳；必將錭琢刻鏤，黼黻文章，以塞其目；必將芻豢稻粱，五味芬芳，以塞其口。然後眾人徒，備官職，漸慶賞，嚴刑罰，以戒其心。使天下生民之屬，皆知己之所願欲之舉在是于也，故其賞行；皆知己之所畏恐之舉在是于也，故其罰威。賞行罰威，則賢者可得而進也，不肖者可得而退也，能不能可得而官也。若是則萬物得宜，事變得應，上得天時，下得地利，中得人和，則財貨渾渾如泉源，汸汸如河海，暴暴如丘山，不時焚燒，無所臧之。夫天下何患乎不足也？故儒術誠行，則天下大而富，使而功，撞鐘擊鼓而和。詩曰：「鐘鼓喤喤，管磬瑲瑲，降福穰穰，降福簡簡，威儀反反。既醉既飽，福祿來反。」此之謂也。故墨術誠行，則天下尚儉而彌貧，非鬥而日爭，勞苦頓萃，而愈無功，愀然憂戚非樂，而日不和。詩曰：「天方薦瘥，喪亂弘多，民言無嘉，憯莫懲嗟。」此之謂也。
So the former kings and the sages did not do this. They knew that one who is ruler and stands above other men cannot make the people one unless he is fine and adorned, cannot hold those below unless he is rich and generous, and cannot forbid violence and overcome the fierce unless he has awe and strength.
So they were sure to strike the great bell and beat the sounding drum, to blow the mouth organ and the reed organ and to pluck the zither and the lute, and so fill his ears. They were sure to carve and polish, to engrave and embroider patterns, and so fill his eyes. They were sure to set out grain-fed beasts and rice and millet, the five flavors and their fragrance, and so fill his mouth. Then they made the people many, filled the offices, gave praise and reward by degrees, and made punishments strict, and so put the hearts of men on guard.
They made all the living people of the world know that what they wish and want lies here, and so their rewards worked. They made them all know that what they dread and fear lies here, and so their punishments had awe. When rewards work and punishments have awe, the worthy can be brought forward, the unworthy can be sent away, and office can be given by ability or the want of it.
If it is so, the ten thousand things get their fitness and the turns of affairs get their answer. Above, the seasons of heaven are got; below, the gain of the earth; in the middle, the accord of men. Then goods well up like the head of a spring, they pour like the rivers and the sea, they stand up like hills and mountains, and unless they are burned off from time to time there is nowhere to store them. What has all under heaven to fear from not having enough?
So if the art of the scholars is truly carried out, all under heaven is great and rich, men are set to work and there is merit, and bells are struck and drums beaten in harmony. The Odes say, "The bells and drums ring out, the pipes and the chiming stones sing clear. Blessing comes down in plenty, blessing comes down in greatness. Bearing and manner are right again and again. Now drunk and now full fed, blessing and emolument come back to us." This is what is meant.
So if the art of Mozi is truly carried out, all under heaven exalts thrift and grows poorer, condemns fighting and quarrels by the day, toils and wears itself out and has all the less merit, grieves and sorrows and condemns music and falls out of accord by the day. The Odes say, "Heaven is sending down sickness now, and death and disorder are very many. In the words of the people there is nothing good, yet sadly no one repents and sighs." This is what is meant.
垂事養民，拊循之，唲嘔之，冬日則為之饘粥，夏日則為之瓜麮，以偷取少頃之譽焉，是偷道也。可以少頃得姦民之譽，然而非長久之道也；事必不就，功必不立，是姦治者也。傮然要時務民，進事長功，輕非譽而恬失民，事進矣，而百姓疾之，是又偷偏者也。徙壞墮落，必反無功。故垂事養譽，不可；以遂功而忘民，亦不可。皆姦道也。
To let the work hang and say one is nourishing the people, to stroke them and soothe them and coo over them, to make gruel for them in winter and give them melons and parched grain in summer, and so snatch a moment's praise, this is the shirker's way. It can win a moment's praise from crooked people, but it is not a way that lasts long. The work will surely not be finished and merit will surely not be set up. This is crooked governing.
To drive men hard, to press the season and put the people to work, to push the work forward and make merit grow, while making light of blame and praise and taking the loss of the people calmly, the work does go forward, but the people hate him. This too is shirking and one-sided. Shift it and it crumbles and falls, and in the end there is no merit at all.
So to let the work hang and nourish one's own praise will not do, and to finish the work and forget the people will not do either. Both are crooked ways.
故古人為之不然：使民夏不宛喝，冬不凍寒，急不傷力，緩不後時，事成功立，上下俱富；而百姓皆愛其上，人歸之如流水，親之歡如父母，為之出死斷亡而愉者，無它故焉，忠信、調和、均辨之至也。故國君長民者，欲趨時遂功，則和調累解，速乎急疾；忠信均辨，說乎慶賞矣；必先脩正其在我者，然後徐責其在人者，威乎刑罰。三德者誠乎上，則下應之如景嚮，雖欲無明達，得乎哉！書曰：「乃大明服，惟民其力懋，和而有疾。」此之謂也。
So the men of old did not do this. They kept the people from heatstroke in summer and from freezing cold in winter, from straining their strength when things were urgent and from falling behind the season when things were slack, so that the work was finished and merit was set up, and high and low were rich together.
And so the people all loved those above them. Men came home to them like running water and were close to them and glad as with a father and mother. They went out to death for them and cut off their own lives and were glad in it, and there is no other cause. It was that loyalty and good faith, even accord and even division, were at their height.
So when the ruler of a state, the elder of his people, wishes to follow the season and finish the work, then bringing men into accord and loosing their tangles is quicker than urgency and haste. Loyalty and good faith and even division please men more than praise and reward. And to set right first what lies in oneself, and only then slowly to call others to account for what lies in them, has more awe in it than punishments.
When these three virtues are true in the man above, those below answer him as shadow and echo. Though he wished not to be clear and open, could it be? The Documents say, "Then greatly bright, they submitted. It was the people who put out their strength, in accord and yet quick about it." This is what is meant.
故不教而誅，則刑繁而邪不勝；教而不誅，則姦民不懲；誅而不賞，則勤厲之民不勸；誅賞而不類，則下疑俗險而百姓不一。故先王明禮義以壹之，致忠信以愛之，尚賢使能以次之，爵服慶賞以申重之，時其事，輕其任，以調齊之，潢然兼覆之，養長之，如保赤子。若是，故姦邪不作，盜賊不起，而化善者勸勉矣。是何邪？則其道易，其塞固，其政令一，其防表明。故曰：上一則下一矣，上二則下二矣。辟之若屮木枝葉必類本。此之謂也。
So if men are punished without being taught, punishments grow many and crookedness is not overcome. If they are taught and not punished, crooked people do not mend. If they are punished and not rewarded, the people who work hard are not encouraged. If punishment and reward do not match their kinds, those below grow suspicious, custom grows dangerous, and the people are not one.
So the former kings made rites and rightness clear and so made the people one. They carried loyalty and good faith to the full and so loved them. They exalted the worthy and used the able and so set men in their order. They gave rank and robes, praise and reward, and so weighted it again. They timed the work and lightened the burden and so brought men into even accord. Wide as a flood they covered all men together, and nourished them and raised them as one guards a newborn child.
Because it was so, crookedness and wrong did not arise, thieves and robbers did not rise up, and those who were made good were encouraged. Why was this? Their way was easy, their barriers were firm, their government and their orders were one, and their dikes and their markers were clear.
Therefore it is said: if those above are one, those below are one; if those above are two, those below are two. It is like the branches and the leaves of grass and trees, which must take after the root. This is what is meant.
不利而利之，不如利而後利之之利也。不愛而用之，不如愛而後用之之功也。利而後利之，不如利而不利者之利也。愛而後用之，不如愛而不用者之功也。利而不利也，愛而不用也者，取天下者也。利而後利之，愛而後用之者，保社稷者也。不利而利之，不愛而用之者，危國家者也。
To take gain without giving gain is not so profitable as to give gain first and take gain after. To use men without loving them is not so fruitful as to love them first and use them after. To give gain first and take gain after is not so profitable as the gain of one who gives gain and takes none. To love men first and use them after is not so fruitful as the work of one who loves men and does not use them.
He who gives gain and takes none, who loves men and does not use them, is the man who wins all under heaven. He who gives gain first and takes gain after, who loves men first and uses them after, is the man who keeps the altars of his state. He who takes gain without giving gain, who uses men without loving them, is the man who puts his state in danger.
觀國之治亂臧否，至於疆易而端已見矣。其候繳支繚，其竟關之政盡察－－是亂國已。入其境，其田疇穢，都邑露－－是貪主已。觀其朝廷，則其貴者不賢；觀其官職，則其治者不能；觀其便嬖，則其信者不愨－－是闇主已。凡主相臣下百吏之屬，其於貨財取與計數也，順孰盡察；其禮義節奏也，芒軔僈楛－－是辱國已。其耕者樂田，其戰士安難，其百吏好法，其朝廷隆禮，其卿相調議－－是治國已。觀其朝廷，則其貴者賢；觀其官職，則其治者能；觀其便嬖，則其信者愨－－是明主已。凡主相臣下百吏之屬，其於貨財取與計數也，寬饒簡易；其於禮義節奏也，陵謹盡察－－是榮國已。賢齊則其親者先貴，能齊則其故者先官，其臣下百吏，汙者皆化而脩，悍者皆化而愿，躁者皆化而愨－－是明主之功已。
In looking at whether a state is ordered or disordered, good or bad, the first thread shows as soon as you reach the border.
If its watchposts are scattered and tangled, and the government at its border passes does nothing but pry, it is a disordered state. Go inside the border, and if the fields are choked with weeds and the towns lie bare, it is a greedy ruler. Look at its court, and the honored are not worthy; look at its offices, and those who govern are not able; look at its favorites, and those he trusts are not sincere. Then it is a benighted ruler.
When the ruler and the ministers and the men below and the hundred clerks are practiced and thorough in taking and giving and reckoning goods, and yet are muddled and slack and coarse in the measures of rites and rightness, it is a state in disgrace.
When its plowmen are glad in their fields, its fighting men are calm in hardship, its hundred clerks love the law, its court exalts the rites, and its high ministers weigh counsel together, it is an ordered state.
Look at its court, and the honored are worthy; look at its offices, and those who govern are able; look at its favorites, and those he trusts are sincere. Then it is an enlightened ruler.
When the ruler and the ministers and the men below and the hundred clerks are generous and easy and simple in taking and giving and reckoning goods, and careful and thorough in the measures of rites and rightness, it is a state in honor.
When worth is equal his kin are honored first, and when ability is equal his old friends get office first; and among his ministers and the hundred clerks the foul are all transformed and made clean, the fierce are all transformed and made careful, the rash are all transformed and made sincere. This is the work of an enlightened ruler.
觀國之強弱貧富有徵驗：上不隆禮則兵弱，上不愛民則兵弱，已諾不信則兵弱，慶賞不漸則兵弱，將率不能則兵弱。上好功則國貧，上好利則國貧，士大夫眾則國貧，工商眾則國貧，無制數度量則國貧。下貧則上貧，下富則上富。故田野縣鄙者，財之本也；垣窌倉廩者，財之末也。百姓時和，事業得敘者，貨之源也；等賦府庫者，貨之流也。故明主必謹養其和，節其流，開其源，而時斟酌焉。潢然使天下必有餘，而上不憂不足。如是，則上下俱富，交無所藏之。是知國計之極也。故禹十年水，湯七年旱，而天下無菜色者，十年之後，年穀復熟，而陳積有餘。是無它故焉，知本末源流之謂也。故田野荒而倉廩實，百姓虛而府庫滿，夫是之謂國蹶。伐其本，竭其源，而並之其末，然而主相不知惡也，則其傾覆滅亡可立而待也。以國持之，而不足以容其身，夫是之謂至貧，是愚主之極也。將以取富而喪其國，將以取利而危其身，古有萬國，今有十數焉，是無它故焉，其所以失之一也。君人者亦可以覺矣。百里之國，足以獨立矣。
In looking at whether a state is strong or weak, poor or rich, there are signs to test it by.
If those above do not exalt the rites, the army is weak. If those above do not love the people, the army is weak. If what has been promised is not kept, the army is weak. If praise and reward do not come by degrees, the army is weak. If those who lead are not able, the army is weak.
If those above love glory, the state is poor. If those above love gain, the state is poor. If the officers and great officers are many, the state is poor. If artisans and traders are many, the state is poor. If there are no rules and reckonings and measures, the state is poor. When those below are poor, those above are poor. When those below are rich, those above are rich.
So the fields and the country districts are the root of wealth, and the walls and the pits and the granaries are the tip of it. That the people are in accord with the seasons and that work falls into its order is the spring of goods, and the graded levies and the storehouses are the stream of it.
So an enlightened ruler is careful to nourish the accord, to set a measure on the stream, to open the spring, and to ladle it out with the season. Wide as a flood he makes sure that all under heaven has more than enough, and he above does not worry about not having enough. If it is so, high and low are rich together, and neither of them has anywhere to store it. This is the utmost in knowing the reckoning of a state.
So in King Yu's time there were ten years of flood and in King Tang's time seven years of drought, and yet in all under heaven no one had the green look of hunger. Ten years later the grain ripened again and the old stores were more than enough. There is no other cause. It is what is meant by knowing root and tip, spring and stream.
So when the fields lie waste and the granaries are full, when the people are empty and the storehouses are packed, this is called the stumbling of a state. Its root is cut, its spring is drained, and everything is heaped at the tip, and yet the ruler and his minister do not know that it is bad. Then one may stand and wait for the toppling and the ruin.
To hold a whole state and yet not have enough to hold one's own body is called the utmost poverty, and it is the height of a foolish ruler. He would take riches and he loses his state. He would take gain and he puts his own body in danger. In old days there were ten thousand states, and now there are a dozen or so. There is no other cause. What lost them was one and the same. He who rules men may well wake up to it. A state of a hundred li is enough to stand alone.
凡攻人者，非以為名，則案以為利也；不然則忿之也。仁人之用國，將脩志意，正身行，伉隆高，致忠信，期文理。布衣紃屨之士誠是，則雖在窮閻漏屋，而王公不能與之爭名；以國載之，則天下莫之能隱匿也。若是則為名者不攻也。將闢田野，實倉廩，便備用，上下一心，三軍同力，與之遠舉極戰則不可；境內之聚也保固；視可，午其軍，取其將，若撥麷。彼得之，不足以藥傷補敗。彼愛其爪牙，畏其仇敵，若是則為利者不攻也。將脩大小強弱之義，以持慎之，禮節將甚文，珪璧將甚碩，貨賂將甚厚，所以說之者，必將雅文辯慧之君子也。彼苟有人意焉，夫誰能忿之？若是，則忿之者不攻也。為名者否，為利者否，為忿者否，則國安於盤石，壽於旗翼。人皆亂，我獨治；人皆危，我獨安；人皆喪失之，我按起而治之。故仁人之用國，非特將持其有而已也，又將兼人。詩曰：「淑人君子，其儀不忒；其儀不忒，正是四國。」此之謂也。
Whoever attacks another does it for a name, or else for gain, and if not for these, then out of anger.
When a benevolent man uses his state, he will cultivate his purpose, make his conduct straight, match himself with what is highest, carry loyalty and good faith to the full, and hold to pattern and reason. If a gentleman in hemp clothes and hemp sandals is truly like this, then though he live in a back lane in a leaking house, kings and dukes cannot vie with him for a name; and if a state carries him, all under heaven cannot hide him away. If it is so, the man who attacks for a name does not attack.
He will open the fields, fill the granaries and make ready what is needed, so that high and low are of one heart and the three armies put out their strength together. Then to march far against him and fight to the end cannot be done. What is gathered inside his borders is held fast. When he sees his chance, he cuts across their army and takes their general as easily as brushing aside parched barley. What the other side wins is not enough to heal its wounds and make good its losses. It cares for its own claws and fangs and it fears its enemies. If it is so, the man who attacks for gain does not attack.
He will cultivate what is right between great and small, strong and weak, and hold to it carefully. The measures of his rites will be very well patterned, his jade tokens will be very large, and his gifts will be very generous, and those he sends to win them over will be gentlemen of correct pattern, good speech and quick wit. If the other side has anything human in it, who could be angry with him? If it is so, the man who attacks in anger does not attack.
When the man who would attack for a name does not, nor the man for gain, nor the man in anger, then the state is safer than a great boulder and longer lived than the qiyi (旗翼). Others are all in disorder and I alone am in order. Others are all in danger and I alone am safe. Others all lose what they had, and I rise up and set it in order.
So when a benevolent man uses his state, it is not only to keep what he has. He will also take in others. The Odes say, "The good man, the gentleman, his bearing never errs. His bearing never errs, and he sets right the states of the four quarters." This is what is meant.
持國之難易：事強暴之國難，使強暴之國事我易。事之以貨寶，則貨寶單，而交不結；約信盟誓，則約定而畔無日；割國之錙銖以賂之，則割定而欲無厭。事之彌煩，其侵人愈甚，必至於資單國舉然後已。雖左堯而右舜，未有能以此道得免焉者也。譬之是猶使處女嬰寶珠，佩寶玉，負戴黃金，而遇中山之盜也，雖為之逢蒙視，詘要撓膕，君盧屋妾，由將不足以免也。故非有一人之道也，直將巧繁拜請而畏事之，則不足以持國安身。故明君不道也。必將脩禮以齊朝，正法以齊官，平政以齊民；然後節奏齊於朝，百事齊於官，眾庶齊於下。如是，則近者競親，遠方致願，上下一心，三軍同力，名聲足以暴炙之，威強足以捶笞之，拱揖指揮，而強暴之國莫不趨使，譬之是猶烏獲與焦僥搏也。故曰：事強暴之國難，使強暴之國事我易。此之謂也。
Here is what is hard and what is easy in holding a state. To serve a strong and violent state is hard. To make a strong and violent state serve me is easy.
Serve it with goods and treasure, and the goods and treasure run out while the friendship is not tied. Bind it with good faith and oaths, and the pact is settled but the day of its breaking is not far off. Cut off the smallest parcel of the state as a bribe, and the cutting is settled but their wanting is never filled. The more troublesome the serving, the harsher their encroaching, until the means are spent and the state is carried off, and only then does it stop.
Though King Yao stood at one's left and King Shun at one's right, no one has ever escaped by this road. It is like sending a young girl out hung with precious pearls, wearing precious jade, carrying gold on her back and on her head, to meet the robbers of Zhongshan. Though she look at them sidelong for their sake, and bend her waist and crook her knees, and play the servant's concubine, it will still not be enough to escape.
So this is not the way of any one man. Merely to bow and beg with clever and endless ceremony and to serve them in fear is not enough to hold a state or to keep one's own body safe. An enlightened ruler does not take that road.
He will cultivate the rites and so bring his court into order, set the law straight and so bring the offices into order, make government even and so bring the people into order. Then the measures are in order at court, the hundred affairs are in order in the offices, and the multitude is in order below.
If it is so, those near vie to be close to him and the far quarters send their wishes to him, high and low are of one heart and the three armies put out their strength together. His name and his fame are enough to scorch and sear them, his awe and his strength are enough to beat and whip them. He folds his hands and bows and points, and there is no strong and violent state that does not come running to be used. It is like Wu Huo grappling with a Jiaoyao.
Therefore it is said: to serve a strong and violent state is hard, and to make a strong and violent state serve me is easy. This is what is meant.