Junzi — The Gentleman君子篇
天子無妻，告人無匹也。四海之內無客禮，告無適也。足能行，待相者然後進；口能言，待官人然後詔。不視而見，不聽而聰，不言而信，不慮而知，不動而功，告至備也。天子也者，埶至重，形至佚，心至愈，志無所詘，形無所勞，尊無上矣。《詩》曰：「普天之下，莫非王土；率土之濱，莫非王臣。」此之謂也。聖王在上，分義行乎下，則士大夫無流淫之行，百吏官人無怠慢之事，衆庶百姓無姦怪之俗，無盜賊之罪，莫敢犯上之大禁。天下曉然皆知夫盜竊之不可以爲富也，皆知夫賊害之不可以爲壽也，皆知夫犯上之禁不可以爲安也。由其道，則人得其所好焉；不由其道，則必遇其所惡焉：是故刑罰綦省而威行如流。世曉然皆知夫爲姦則雖隱竄逃亡之由不足以免也，故莫不服罪而請。《書》云：「凡人自得罪。」此之謂也。故刑當罪則威，不當罪則侮；爵當賢則貴，不當賢則賤。古者刑不過罪，爵不踰德，故殺其父而臣其子，殺其兄而臣其弟。刑罰不怒罪，爵賞不踰德，分然各以其誠通。是以爲善者勸，爲不善者沮，刑罰綦省而威行如流，政令致明而化易如神。傳曰：「一人有慶，兆民賴之。」此之謂也。亂世則不然：刑罰怒罪，爵賞踰德，以族論罪，以世舉賢。故一人有罪而三族皆夷，德雖如舜，不免刑均，是以族論罪也。先祖當賢，後子孫必顯，行雖如桀、紂，列從必尊，此以世舉賢也。以族論罪，以世舉賢，雖欲無亂，得乎哉！《詩》曰：「百川沸騰，山冢崒崩；高岸爲谷，深谷爲陵。哀今之人，胡憯莫懲！」此之謂也。論法聖王，則知所貴矣；以義制事，則知所利矣。論知所貴，則知所養矣；事知所利，則動知所出矣。二者，是非之本，得失之原也。故成王之於周公也，無所往而不聽，知所貴也。桓公之於管仲也，國事無所往而不用，知所利也。吳有伍子胥而不能用，國至於亡，倍道失賢也。故尊聖者王，貴賢者霸，敬賢者存，慢賢者亡，古今一也。故尚賢使能，等貴賤，分親疏，序長幼，此先王之道也。故尚賢使能，則主尊下安；貴賤有等，則令行而不流；親疏有分，則施行而不悖；長幼有序，則事業捷成而有所休。故仁者，仁此者也；義者，分此者也；節者，死生此者也；忠者，惇慎此者也。兼此而能之，備矣。備而不矜，一自善也，謂之聖。不矜矣，夫故天下不與争能而致善用其功。有而不有也，夫故爲天下貴矣。《詩》曰：「淑人君子，其儀不忒，其儀不忒，正是四國。」此之謂也。
That the Son of Heaven has no wife means that he has no match. That within the four seas there is no ritual of the guest means that there is no one who stands equal to him.
His feet are able to walk, yet he waits for those who support him and then goes forward. His mouth is able to speak, yet he waits for the officers and then gives the command. He does not look, yet he sees. He does not listen, yet he hears clearly. He does not speak, yet he is trusted. He does not consider, yet he knows. He does not move, yet there is merit. This means that he is furnished to the utmost.
The Son of Heaven is one whose power is heaviest, whose body is most at ease, whose heart is most content. His will has nothing that bends it and his body has nothing that wearies it. In honor there is nothing above him. The Odes say, "Under the wide heaven there is no land that is not the king's; to the shores of the land there is no man who is not the king's servant." This is what is meant.
When a sage king is above and the divisions and rightness are carried out below, then the officers and great men have no loose and wanton conduct, the hundred clerks and officers have no idle business, and the many common people have no crooked and strange ways. There is no crime of theft and robbery, and no one dares to break the great prohibitions of those above.
All under heaven know clearly that by stealing a man cannot become rich, all know that by harming others a man cannot live long, all know that by breaking the prohibitions of those above a man cannot be at peace. Follow that way and a man gets what he loves. Do not follow that way and he is sure to meet what he hates. For this reason punishments are of the fewest and awe is carried out as water flows.
The age knows clearly that one who does crooked things cannot escape, though he hide and flee and run away. So there is no one who does not bow to his guilt and beg. The Documents say, "Every man gets his guilt by himself." This is what is meant.
So when punishment fits the crime there is awe, and when it does not fit the crime there is contempt. When rank fits the worth there is honor, and when it does not fit the worth there is scorn.
In old times punishment did not go beyond the crime and rank did not go beyond the virtue. So they killed the father and made a servant of the son, and killed the elder brother and made a servant of the younger. Punishment did not rage beyond the crime and rank and reward did not go beyond the virtue, and each thing, set apart, came through by its own truth. For this reason those who did good were urged on and those who did what was not good were stopped, punishments were of the fewest and awe was carried out as water flows, rule and command were clear to the utmost and transforming was as easy as the work of a spirit. The word handed down goes, "When one man has a blessing, the millions of the people lean upon it." This is what is meant.
A disordered age is not like this. Punishment rages beyond the crime and rank and reward go beyond the virtue. Guilt is judged by the clan and the worthy are raised by descent. So when one man has a crime, all three of his clans are cut down, and though his virtue be like Shun's he does not escape the same punishment. This is judging guilt by the clan. If the forefather was worthy, the sons and grandsons after him are sure to stand out, and though their conduct be like Jie's and Zhou's their place in the line is sure to be high. This is raising the worthy by descent. To judge guilt by the clan and raise the worthy by descent, and still to wish for no disorder, can it be had?
The Odes say, "The hundred streams boil and rise, the mountain tops crumble down. The high bank becomes a valley, the deep valley becomes a hill. Alas for the men of today, why do they not take warning?" This is what is meant.
Weigh the sage kings and take them as the law, and one knows what to prize. Cut affairs to shape by rightness, and one knows what is of profit. Knowing in the weighing what to prize, one knows what to nourish. Knowing in affairs what is of profit, one knows where his moves should come from. These two are the root of right and wrong and the spring of gain and loss.
So King Cheng, with the Duke of Zhou, went nowhere without listening to him, and this was knowing what to prize. Duke Huan, with Guan Zhong, in the business of the state went nowhere without using him, and this was knowing what is of profit. Wu had Wu Zixu and could not use him, and the state came to ruin. This was turning its back on the way and losing the worthy.
So he who honors the sage becomes king, he who prizes the worthy becomes hegemon, he who respects the worthy survives, and he who slights the worthy perishes. It is one in old times and now.
So to raise up the worthy and employ the able, to grade the honored and the low, to divide the near and the far, to order elder and younger, this is the way of the former kings. So raise up the worthy and employ the able, and the ruler is honored and those below are at peace. Let honored and low have their grades, and commands are carried out and do not drift. Let near and far have their divisions, and what is given out is carried out and does not go awry. Let elder and younger have their order, and work is quickly finished and there is a place to rest.
So benevolence is being benevolent in this. Rightness is dividing by this. Constancy is living and dying by this. Loyalty is being wholehearted and careful in this. To have all of these together and be able in them is to be furnished. To be furnished and not boast of it, to be one and good of oneself, is called sagehood.
Because he does not boast, the world does not struggle with him over ability and lets him use his own work well. He has it and does not act as though he had it, and so he becomes prized under heaven. The Odes say, "The good man, the gentleman, his bearing does not err. His bearing does not err, and he sets right these four countries." This is what is meant.