Clases de Inglés y Chino

Clases de Inglés y Chino

Confucianism 儒家

Religion and philosophy in China

From a religious point of view, Chinese civilization has always been characterized by its eclecticism, that is, Chinese people have been accumulating different philosophical and religious concepts throughout the centuries without any need to abandon the ones that existed previously. Hence, this eclecticism has led to an amalgam of different philosophical and religious concepts from different sources (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese cosmology, etc.), which in China is known as popular religion.

Historical Context

The main schools of thought that have influenced China so profoundly such as Confucianism or Taoism, they first appeared and developed during the second half part of the long-lasting Zhou dynasty. Historians usually split this period into two other periods: Spring and Autumn period (chunqiu 春秋 722-481 BC)  and Warring States period (zhanguo 战国 481-221 BC). 

For many centuries the Zhou dynasty kings had achieved to maintain order, peace and harmony in their government that was composed of different feudal states which were loyal to the central power of the Zhou family. Zhou family, who had overcome the Shang dynasty and seized power, created a new concept which justified the usurpation of power, the concept of the Mandate of Heaven (Tianming 天命 ). According to the Mandate of Heaven, a despotic dynasty which hadn’t run the State properly and had been cruel to people, could lose the favour of Heaven and be overthrown. This loss of power could be preceded by certain signs that announced a change of dynasty such as natural disasters (droughts, floods, earthquakes), unproductive harvest seasons that followed periods of hunger, which in turn led to popular rebellions which finally overthrew the reigning dynasty.

The Hundred Schools of Thought or Zhuzi baijia 诸子百家 appeared at the end of the Spring and Autumn period as a response to the political crisis that was suffering China in that period. The alliances that ancient sage Zhou kings had once forged had brought centuries of prosperity, peace and harmony in society. However, in the Spring and Autumn period this ancient loyalties and alliances began to crumble progressively until it led to a permanent state of war between neighbouring states which fought for the sake of usurping the territories and resources of the other states (Warring States period).

Among all the schools of thought that appeared in the Spring and Autumn period, only a tiny portion of them survived (Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Mohism…). The fact that the Hundred Schools of Thought appeared was due to the fact that new answers and solutions were needed to deal this the problems of that period, specially stressing the relation between men and the Cosmos (Taoism); the relation of men, family, monarch and ancestral traditions (Confucianism) or men and their relation with the State and its laws (Legalism).

Confucianism

Confucianism, which in China is called rujia 儒家, was the main ideology of imperial China since the instauration of the Han dynasty in 206 BC. Confucius and his disciples strongly supported the model of government created by the founder kings of the Zhou dynasty. The Mandate of Heaven (Tianming天命) was the main core of this model of government which was structured like a big family, that is, it was a hierarchical pyramid structure of family lineages on the top of which there was the monarch or Son of Heaven (Tianzi天子). In this kind of social and political organization, the cult of ancestors was really important because it was thanks to the ancestors power had been transmitting generation after generation throughout the centuries. The monarch had to worship his royal ancestors in the same way as the male members of each family had to worship their respective ancestors. The cult of ancestors is an ancient tradition that probably dates back from the origins of the Chinese civilization which nowadays is still practiced, especially in rural areas. Hence, we could assert that the cult of ancestors is the true and original religion of Chinese people, though many elements from different sources (Taoism, Buddhism, etc) have also been incorporated to this cult throughout the centuries.

Confucius

Confucius 孔子

Confucius or Kong Zi 孔子 (as known by Chinese people) was a man who lived between the 6^th and 5^th Centuries BC. He was probably contemporary with Siddharta Gautama (Buddha) and Socrates. Confucius was born in the small kingdom of Lu, situated in the present day province of Shandong. When he was very young, Confucius already had a great knowledge of Chinese Classic Books and he had a growing interest in Chinese ancient rites.

Confucius, who lived in the Spring and Autumn period, was deeply upset because of the political crisis of his country and hence he believed that it was necessary to regain the morality and traditions of the past. Confucius compiled all the precepts and rituals of the past because he considered that Chinese remote antiquity was a golden age in which its sage kings had governed properly. Confucius thought that it was necessary to emulate the example of the ancient kings’ rule.

Confucius never invented any philosophical or political theory but he recompiled and spread the traditions of ancient Chinese times which he considered to be magnificent. In fact Confucius said about himself that he had never invented anything, his only wish was to transmit the ancient traditions that were written on the Chinese Classical Books.

VII-1 Confucius said, “I transmit but do not innovate randomly. I am so faithful to and so fond of ancient culture that privately, I compare myself to Lao Zi and Peng Zu.”

(Analects of Confucius)

Confucius said that the kings of his time acted out of self-interest and didn’t care about the welfare of society as the ancient kings did. According to what Confucius said, these ancient sage  kings had benevolence 仁 (pronounced ren). This term is the core value of Confucianism and this is precisely what Confucius urged everyone to pay attention to. The word ren expresses the virtue of fulfil one’s moral duties with the rest of society. In fact, if we analyze the character 仁 (radical : person 亻and number two 二) it expresses quite clearly the meaning of this word, that men are not alone in society and hence the importance of people behaving properly. According to Confucius’ teachings, the proper behaviour was that people’s conducts fitted the ancient rituals (good conducts for life in society) which were written in the ancient Chinese Canons. When people are benevolent, life in society is harmonious, people feel empathy for each other and they respect each other.

VI-30 Zi Gong asked, “What do you think of one who can bring bountiful benefits and better life to all the people? Is he benevolent?”

Confucius answered, “Far more than benevolent, he would be a sage for whom Yao and Shun (two ancient sages) would be no match. A benevolent man is one who helps others establish what he himself wishes to establish, helps others achieve something he wishes to achieve. To be capable of treating others as one would be treated oneself is the best way to be benevolent.”

XII-2 Zhong Gong asked what benevolence was. Confucius said, “Deal with your work as earnestly and conscientiously as you receive a distinguished guest; call up the common people for corvée labour as cautiously as if you were at a sacrificial ceremony; never impose upon others what you dislike yourself. By so doing, you will cause no resentment anywhere you go.” Zhong Gong said, “I will follow what you have said even though I am not gifted.”

(Analects of Confucius)

Because of the fact that Confucius lived in a time of profound lack of unity and military confrontation between the different Chinese states, he decided to go from court to court struggling to teach monarchs and influential people, urging them on the good conducts of people and good government. However, Confucius never succeeded in his dream of pacifying his country and convincing the rulers of his time to govern according to the rule of the ancient sage kings. Hence, he decided to offer his services as a teacher of anyone who wished to learn from him. Among his disciples there were rich and noble men as well as poor and humble men, but Confucius never made any distinctions because he was in favour of an education without any distinction of social classes. In fact, Confucius firmly believed that belonging to nobility wasn’t any guarantee of being a gentleman or a junzi 君子. According to Confucius, a junzi was a man who didn’t act out of self-interest, but someone whose life was guided by a determined moral and ethic rectitude. A junzi was a virtuous and benevolent man and this condition wasn’t inborn, people who wanted to achieve it had to work hard at it, and had to study the Chinese Classic Books and put into practice the teachings that were written in there, because those books accumulated all the wisdom of the ancient kings.

IV-10 Confucius said, “In dealing with the world, there are no definite rules as to how things should be done. A gentleman simply does things according to the actual situation.”

IV-11 Confucius said, “While the gentleman cherishes virtue, the petty man cherishes his native place; while the gentleman cherishes the law, the petty man cherishes his self interests.”

IV-12 Confucius said, “One will incur ill will if one does things to one’s own interest.”

IV-16 Confucius said, “The gentleman sees righteousness; the petty man sees profit.”

VII-37 Confucius said, “A gentleman is always broad-minded while a petty man is always full of anxiety.”

XIII-26 Confucius said, “A gentleman always keeps even-tempered without being arrogant while a petty man is arrogant without being even-tempered”.

(Analects of Confucius)

According to Confucius, family was the most important thing in society and was the perfect form of government.  In the same way a father loves his son, and the son loves, respects and obeys his father (filial piety); a ruler and his subjects should behave in the same way, that is, if a ruler was benevolent to his subjects and provided them welfare, his subjects would benerate him and obey him. In short, Confucius believed that the state was just an extension of the family and, therefore, if all families practiced the filial piety, its resulting benefits would also reach the Govern.

II-20 Ji kangzi (Jisun Fei, then a minister of Lu) asked, “What can I do to make the people respect and be loyal to their superiors and try their best in service?” Confucius said, “Be upright in their presence, and they will hold you in respect; be filial and benevolent, and they will be loyal to you; use the righteous and instruct the unqualified, and they will try their best in service.”

II-21 Someone asked Confucius, “Why don’t you participate in government?” Confucius answered, “In The Book of Historical Documents, we read, `Be filial to your parents and love your brothers.´ If I am able to influence government by spreading this idea, then I am actually involved in government. What is meant by participating in government if you think what I am doing has nothing to do with government?”

(Analects of Confucius)

Confucius thought that a good government could only be achieved if everyone accepted his social rank within society acting and behaving in accordance with his social position.

XII- 12 The Duke Jing [Ching] of Qi {Chi], asked Confucius about government.

Confucius replied, 'There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son.'

'Good!' said the duke; 'if, indeed; the prince be not prince, the minister not minister, the father not father, and the son not son, although I have my revenue, can I enjoy it?'

(Analects of Confucius)

What Confucius said in this last paragraph is that if nobody fulfilled his function within society and government in a proper way, no matter if there was plenty of resources in the state, many people wouldn’t have access to them because of the greed of others who would take away what doesn’t belong to them.

Confucius never focused much attention on the metaphysical problems of life. His only wish was that men’s lives reached a high degree of perfection within family, society and government. In fact, in one of the chapters of the Analects, Confucis is asked about death and spirtits by one of his disciples, but Confucius says: 

XI-12- Ji Lu asked about serving the spirits of the dead. The Master said, “While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve their spirits?” Chi Lu added, “I venture to ask about death?” He was answered, “While you do not know life, how can you know about death?”

(Analects of Confucius)

Confucius didn’t focus his attention on the good or evil nature of men either, that is to say, if men tended to be good or evil in an inborn or natural way. However, two of his most brilliant disciples, Mencius (Meng Zi) and Xun Zi, focused their attention on these kind of matters and they had two opposed opinions. Mencius who was very optimist about the nature of mankind thought that men were good by nature. Xun Zi, on the other hand, was very pessimist or realistic and believed that men were evil by nature, hence the importance to educate them in order to lead them in the right direction. 

Documentary About Confucius

 

Excellent Lecture About Confucius

 

 Excellent Lecture About Confucian Society

 

 Movie About The Life Of Confucius

 

Taoism 道家

Philosophical Taoism or Daoism (transcribed according to the rules of the Chinese phonetic transcription system of pinyin) was a school of thought contemporary to Confucianism. This school of thought was represented by three men whose works have become the trilogy of Taoism.  The first one was Lao Zi 老子, a semi legendary character who was supposed to write down the book of Tao or Dao de jing 道德经. The second one was Zhuang Zi 庄子 who wrote a book which bears his name, and Lie Zi  列子, author of the Classic of the Perfect Emptiness.

Lao Zi 老子

The most important concept in philosophical Taoism is the concept of Tao or Dao 道 which literally means “way” or “path”. This term is also used in Confucianism, Buddhism and other Chinese schools of thought though it has different meanings in each one of these schools of thought. According to Taoism, Dao is an entity that was not created because it already existed before there was time and space. Therefore, Dao is infinite and no one can define it nor describe it because it has no physical features. According to Taoists everything in life is constantly flowing and changing except the Dao, hence everything in the Universe stems from the Dao and will ultimately return to it in an eternal flow.

Vacuity is a very important concept for Taoists who associate it with Dao. Vacuity is something which few people pay attention to, yet it is really important because it gives sense to life, not-being gives sense to being.

11.  The Utility of Not-Being 

Thirty spokes unite around the nave;  
   From their not-being (loss of their individuality)  
      Arises the utility of the wheel.  
Mold clay into a vessel;  
   From its not-being (in the vessel's hollow)  
      Arises the utility of the vessel.  
Cut out doors and windows in the house (-wall),  
   From their not-being (empty space) arises the utility of the house.  
Therefore by the existence of things we profit.  
And by the non-existence of things we are served.  
 

(Book of Tao)

However, according to Taoism, the Dao cannot be named, cannot be delimited because the Dao we are talking about is not the real Dao, the real Dao is something infinite and unattainable to human rational knowledge.

1. On the Absolute Tao  

The Tao the can be told of  
Is not the Absolute Tao;  
The Names that can be given  
Are not Absolute Names. 

The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;  
The Named is the Mother of All Things. 

Therefore:  
Oftentimes, one strips oneself of passion  
In order to see the Secret of Life;  
Oftentimes, one regards life with passion,  
In order to see its manifest forms. 

These two (the Secret and its manifestations)  
Are (in their nature) the same;  
They are given different names  
When they become manifest. 

They may both be called the Cosmic Mystery:  
Reaching from the Mystery into the Deeper Mystery  
Is the Gate to the Secret of All Life.  

(Book of Tao)

Taoism versus Confucianism

Firstly, the concept of Dao in both Taoism and Confucianism is completely different. According to Confucians, the Dao is the way that followed the ancient sage kings. It is their moral and ethics, the perfection they reach in government. Therefore, the Confucian Dao is something created by men, mankind is the centre of all things. According to Taoists, however, Dao already existed before the earth and heaven were created. It is timeless because it has always existed. It is indefinable, limitless, immutable and empty. Everything in heaven and earth has stemmed from the Dao and will return to it time and again.

Confucians valued educations above all, without a proper education (study of Chinese Classics) men couldn’t perfect themselves. However, Taoists rejected conventional education and all rational knowledge because they believed that rational knowledge moved men away from the real knowledge of nature (the Dao). People who have education want to define and enclose the world, they want to possess it, but the only thing they get is the external appearance of things and not the real nature of things. They only noticed the external features but they are unable to notice and understand the “whole”. For instance, Confucians believed that in order to run government and society properly was necessary a rectification of names, that is, things should be named properly, using names that really described the real nature of things, and therefore misunderstandings would be avoided. Taoists, on the other hand, preferred a knowledge that derived from experience. Knowledge should be free from prejudices. Taoist sages like observing things as they are, they don’t have any desire to define them nor possess them because they don’t want to change the natural course of things. 

Confucians stressed the importance of rites li 礼. These rites did not only refer to religious ceremonies and offerings to ancestors, they also referred to human relationships such as protocol, etiquette and suited behaviour within society. Nevertheless, Taoists believed that rites are only a convention agreed by men and therefore they have no value. In fact, they thought that rites corrupt society and move men away from the real nature of the Dao.

Confucians believe that family and life within society was the most important. A  Confucian gentleman or junzi was a person who professed benevolence ren 仁.  His moral and his acts suited what it was prescribed in the Chinese Canons, that is, his acts were exemplary like the Chinese ancient sage kings. Taoist sage, on the other hand, preferred to live in a modest and austere way, he wanted to move away from society in order to be in perfect harmony with nature and thus to be closer to the Dao. Taoist sage maxim is wuwei 无为 which means “non-doing” or “non-action”. However, wuwei should not be understood as “not working” or “not doing anything at all”, wuwei simply means “not interfering” in the natural becoming of the Universe. 

Documentary about Taoism

 

Dao De Jing 道德经

 

Excellent Lecture about Taoism

 

Other videos about Taoism

 

Legalism 法家

Although Confucianism and Taoism have been the most representative schools of thought in China and the ones that have been spread overseas, we cannot underestimate the importance of a third school of thought that appeared and developed in the same historical period as Confucianism and Taoism: the legalist school, which in Chinese is called fajia 法家.

The founders of this school of thought were Shang Yang 商鞅 (390-338 a.C), Shen Buhai 申不害 (-- 337 BC) and Shen Dao 慎到 (395-315 BC). Shang Yang was one of the most important figures in Legalism because he was the first who introduced legalist reforms in the state of Qin. Thanks to those reforms, the state of Qin achieved to defeat the rest of states and, its king, Qin Shi Huang, was able to proclaim himself the first emperor of the unified China in 221 BC.

Han Fei Zi 韩非子

Nevertheless, the most representative and important legalist philosopher was Han Fei Zi韩非子 (280-234 BC). Han Fei Zi and Li Si 李斯 (280-208 a.C), who was the prime minister of the emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, were disciples of the Confucian philosopher Xun Zi 荀子, from whom they learned that all men are born evil and greedy. This aspect would enormously influence their opinion about men in relation to State and laws.

Han Fei Zi wrote a book which bears his name and where he stated his legalist ideas. In one of the chapters of this book, Han Fei Zi wrote a textual analysis of the book of Lao Zi which is particularly interesting from the point of view of having a better understanding of the Book of Tao and its influences on the legalist school, especially on Han Fei Zi.

The Chinese character fa 法, which means “law”, perfectly describes the essence of this school of thought. For legalists, the most important of all things was law, and all citizens of a state had to be subject to the laws except the monarch. Despite the fact that law codes already existed in China since ancient times, in ancient times, particularly during the first centuries of the Zhou dynasty, the sage kings had governed by the power of rites, which was the type of government supported by Confucius. Governing by the power of rites meant that there were certain pre-established behaviour codes of conduct which had their origins in the ancient Chinese tradition. These behaviour codes or codes of conduct were like a tacit agreement between the monarch and his subjects, each person had his role within society, his moral duties which had to carry out in order to maintain social order, peace and harmony within society. The most important moral duties were:

1.        The cult of ancestors. This was the core of all Chinese tradition. All men had the moral duty to worship their ancestors and make offerings in order to pacify their ancestors’ souls. Thus, the living people would be helped by their ancestors.

2.        Practice filial piety. All sons had the moral duty to obey, respect and worship their parents, and never question them even though when parents might be wrong.

3.        Profess benevolence ren仁 to all the people.

4.     Respect the ancient rites which defined the relationships of people from different social classes (etiquette, behaviour codes, offerings and ceremonies, etc). Each individual had to accept his position and his role within society and carry it out diligently.

In this kind of government, family and State was the same thing, and in the same way a son obeyed and worshiped his parents (filial piety), the subjects accepted the monarch as their ruler, they obeyed him, respected him and worshiped him as if it was a father. The monarch, in turn, had the moral duty to be benevolent with his subjects who were loyal to him, he had to make offerings to his royal ancestors in order to pacify their souls so that they brought good fortune to the kingdom (to have good crops, to avoid natural disasters and uprisings which might make the ruler lose the Mandate of Heaven).

In this kind of government, the law codes had a secondary importance, because the most important was the moral duty of respecting the protocol codes which were established between the different social strata which had an almost religious or holy nuance.

Despite the fact that in China punishments xing 型 had always existed for punishing bad conducts, in this kind of government by the rites, the most important wasn’t severe punishments, the most important was to instruct the ignorant people and offenders and lead them to the right way by giving them example of what a right conduct should be. According to Confucius, when the government punished their subjects harshly (death penalty, tortures, etc) it was because something wasn’t working properly within society and government. If the monarch wasn’t behaving properly, his subjects wouldn’t behave properly either, and people wouldn’t know what’s good from bad, what’s moral and what’s immoral.

However, legalist didn’t believe in this kind of Confucian ideal government because they thought that all men were born evil, and so to avoid social disorder, a code of laws had to be established. Everyone in the State had the duty to know this legal code which was published in every town and village, and was read in public by government officials for those people who were illiterate in order to deter them from breaking the law. This legal code had to be explicitly written and obeyed by all the citizens of the State except the monarch. Otherwise, punishments had to be inescapable and extremely harsh and cruel.

When the legalist reforms were first introduced to the Qin State and afterward to all the territory of the Qin dynasty, society and government were organized in a way that laws had to be strictly obeyed and thus nobody could conspire against the emperor. Among all the reforms that were carried out in the Qin state and dynasty were the reorganization of families and the suppression of the aristocratic privileges of noble classes who were, from then on, subject to the laws as the rest of the common citizens. This measure was a radical change for Confucians who had always advocated the privileges of the noble descent.

All households were reduced in number of members, putting an end to the traditional large Chinese family advocated by Confucians. All households were demarcated and registered in small groups of families who were designated as a “mutual responsibility” unit. This meant that if a person from that group of families broke the law, the rest of the members who knew what had happened, had the duty to report him to the authorities. Otherwise, all the members of the group would receive the same punishment as the offender.

[…] If so, how to get rid of delicate villainy? By making the people watch ⁶ one another in their hidden affairs. Then how to make them watch one another? By implicating the people of the same hamlet in one another's crime. When everyone knows that the penalty or reward will directly affect him, if the people of the same hamlet ⁷ fail to watch one another, they will fear they may not be able to escape the implication, and those who are evil-minded, will not be allowed to forget so many people watching them. Were such the law, everybody would mind his own doings, watch everybody else, and disclose the secrets of any culprit. For, whosoever denounces a criminal offence, is not held guilty but is given a reward; whosoever misses any culprit, is definitely censured and given the same penalty as the culprit. Were such the law, all types of culprits would be detected. If the minutest villainy is not tolerated, it is due to the system of personal denunciation and mutual implication […].

(Han Fei Zi. Chapter 55: Regulations and Distinctions)

By means of this despotic and authoritarian system, people had to be on the alert all the time for fear that anybody would report them to the authorities, so they rarely dared to break the law or conspire against the State or the monarch.  

The essence of legalism can be summarized in three key words:

The first one is fa 法, which means “law”. All states should have a legal code where it is explicitly written which are the crimes and which are punishments for those crimes.

The sage in governing the people considers their springs of action, never tolerates their wicked desires, but seeks only for the people's benefit. Therefore, the penalty he inflicts is not due to any hatred for the people but to his motive of loving the people. If penalty triumphs, the people are quiet; if reward over-flows, culprits appear. Therefore the triumph of penalty is the beginning of order; the overflow of reward, the origin of chaos.

Indeed, it is the people's nature to delight in disorder and detach themselves from legal restraints. Therefore, when the intelligent sovereign governs the state, if he makes rewards clear, the people will be encouraged to render meritorious services; if he makes penalties severe, the people will attach themselves to the law. If they are encouraged to render meritorious services, public affairs will not be obstructed; if they attach themselves to the law, culprits will not appear. Therefore, he who governs the people should nip the evil in the bud; he who commands troops, should inculcate warfare in the people's mind. If prohibitions can uproot causes of villainy, there will always be order; if soldiers can imagine warfare in mind, there will always be victory. When the sage is governing the people, he attains order first, wherefore he is strong; he prepares for war first, wherefore he wins.

(Han Fei Zi. Chapter 55: Regulations and Distinctions)

Legalist didn’t see the law as something unchangeable like the Confucian rites. On the contrary, laws were subject to changes according to the circumstances of a particular moment. In this point, we can see some influences of Taoism, particularly the Taoist concept that everything is constantly changing and that men have to adapt to that natural changing state of things.

Indeed, it is the people's nature to abhor toil and enjoy ease. However, if they pursue ease, the land will waste; if the land wastes, the state will not be in order. If the state is not orderly, it will become chaotic. If reward and penalty take no effect among the inferiors, government will come to a deadlock. Therefore, he who wants to accomplish a great achievement but hesitates to apply his full strength, cannot hope for the accomplishment of the achievement; he who wants to settle the people's disorder  but hesitates to change their traditions, cannot hope to banish the people's disorder. Hence there is no constant method for the government of men. The law alone leads to political order.  If laws are adjusted to the time, there is good government. If government fits the age, there will be great accomplishment. Therefore, when the people are naïve, if you regulate them with fame, there will be good government; when everybody in the world is intelligent,  if you discipline them with penalties, they will obey. While time is moving on, if laws do not shift  accordingly, there will be misrule; while abilities are diverse,  if prohibitions are not changed, the state will be dismembered. Therefore, the sage in governing the people makes laws move with time and prohibitions change with abilities. Who can exert his forces to land-utilization, will become rich; who can rush his forces at enemies, will become strong. The strong man not obstructed in his way will attain supremacy.

(Han Fei Zi. Chapter 54: Surmising the Mentality of the People: A Psychological Analysis of Politics)

The second key word is shu 术 which literally means “technique” or “art”, and it refers to the monarch’s skills to manipulate his ministers and counsellors in order to achieve his secret purposes which have to assure the stability of the State.  The monarch never had to show his feelings, his preferences or opinions. Otherwise, his ministers, knowing what the monarch likes and dislikes, they would know how to please him, and they could secretly conspire against him at the same time.

The lord of men has the duty of devoting his attention to secrecy. For this reason, when his delight is revealed, his conduct will be slighted; when his anger is revealed, his prestige will fall to the ground. The words of the intelligent sovereign, therefore, are blockaded in such wise that they are not communicable outwards and are kept in such secrecy that they are unknowable. Therefore, to find ten culprits with the wisdom of one person is an inferior way, to find one culprit through the mutual watch of ten persons is a superior way. As the intelligent sovereign takes both the superior and the inferior ways, no culprit is ever missed. Members of the same group of five families, of the same village, and of the same county, all live like close neighbours. Who denounces anybody else's fault, is rewarded; who misses anybody else's fault, is censured. The same is true of the superior towards the inferior and of the inferior towards the superior. Accordingly, superior and inferior, high and low, warn each other to obey the law, and teach each other to secure profits. By nature everybody wants to live in fact and in reputation. So does the ruler want both the name of being worthy and intelligent and the fact of rewarding and punishing people. When fame and fact are equally complete, he will certainly be known as lucky and good.

(Han Fei Zi. Chapter 48: Eight Canons)

According to legalists, monarchs only had to let their ministers make proposals and decisions for them. If ministers didn’t know which were the real motivations of the monarch they didn’t know if their proposals and decisions would please the monarch or not, so they would be cautious. Thus, according to the proposals and the results obtained, if the ministers’ actions were good or not for the stability of the State, the monarch would choose whether to punish them or reward them.

Who knows ruler and minister differ in interest, will become supreme. Who regards the difference as identity, will be intimidated. Who administers the state affairs in common with his ministers, will be killed. Therefore, the intelligent sovereign will scrutinize the distinctions between public and private interests and the relative positions of benefit and harm, so that wicked men will find no chance to act.

The inferior ruler exerts his own ability; the average ruler exerts people's physical strength; and the superior ruler exerts people's wisdom. For this reason, in case of emergency he gathers the wise men, listens to each one, and calls a conference. If he does not listen to each one, consequent results will be contrary to antecedent words. If consequent results are contrary to antecedent words, there will be no distinction between the stupid and the wise. If the ruler does not call a conference, there will be hesitation and no decision. Without decision, everything will come to a standstill. If the ruler adopts one of the counsels himself, he will have no fear of falling into the trap of rapacious people. Therefore, he should let everybody utter his opinions. After opinions are settled, he should hold them responsible  for equivalent results. For this purpose, on the day that opinions are uttered, he should make written memoranda. Thus, the organizer of wise men verifies their words after starting the tasks; the organizer of able men estimates their merits after seeing their works. Success and failure leave evidence, which reward and punishment follow respectively. If tasks are successfully accomplished, the ruler harvests their fruits; if they fail, the ministers face criminal charges.

Compare different words and thereby know the true one. Change the perspectives and thereby detect the choice abode. Stick to your own view and thereby hold your extraordinary standpoint. Unify the system of personnel administration and thereby warn the courtiers.  Dignify your words and thereby scare distant officials. Cite the past facts and thereby check the antecedent words. Keep detectives near by the officials and thereby know their inner conditions. Send detectives afar and thereby know outer affairs. Hold to your clear knowledge and thereby inquire into obscure objects. Give ministers false encouragements and thereby extirpate their attempts to infringe on the ruler's rights. Invert your words and thereby try out the suspects. Use contradictory arguments and thereby find out the invisible culprits. Establish the system of espionage and thereby rectify the fraudulent people. Make appointments and dismissals and thereby observe the reactions of wicked officials. Speak explicitly and thereby persuade people to avoid faults. Humbly follow others' speeches and thereby discriminate between earnest men and flatterers. Get information from everybody and know things you have not yet seen. Create quarrels among adherents and partisans and thereby disperse them. Explore the depths of one culprit and thereby warn the mind of the many. Divulge false ideas and thereby make the inferiors think matters over.

The lord of men has the duty of devoting his attention to secrecy. For this reason, when his delight is revealed, his conduct will be slighted; when his anger is revealed, his prestige will fall to the ground. The words of the intelligent sovereign, therefore, are blockaded in such wise that they are not communicable outwards and are kept in such secrecy that they are unknowable. Therefore, to find ten culprits with the wisdom of one person is an inferior way, to find one culprit through the mutual watch of ten persons is a superior way. As the intelligent sovereign takes both the superior and the inferior ways, no culprit is ever missed. Members of the same group of five families, of the same village, and of the same county, all live like close neighbours. Who denounces anybody else's fault, is rewarded; who misses anybody else's fault, is censured. The same is true of the superior towards the inferior and of the inferior towards the superior. Accordingly, superior and inferior, high and low, warn each other to obey the law, and teach each other to secure profits. By nature everybody wants to live in fact and in reputation. So does the ruler want both the name of being worthy and intelligent and the fact of rewarding and punishing people. When fame and fact are equally complete, he will certainly be known as lucky and good.

(Han Fei Zi. Chapter 48: Eight Canons)

This way of governing is clearly influenced by the Taoist maxim of the “non action” or wuwei 无为.

Hence the saying: "The ruler must not reveal his wants. For, if he reveals his wants, the ministers will polish their manners accordingly. The ruler must not reveal his views. For, if he reveals his views, the ministers will display their hues differently." Hence another saying: "If the like and hate of the ruler be concealed, the true hearts of the ministers will be revealed. If the experience and wisdom of the ruler be discarded, the ministers will take precautions." Accordingly, the ruler, wise as he is, should not bother but let everything find its proper place; worthy as he is, should not be self-assumed but observe closely the ministers' motivating factors of conduct; and, courageous as he is, should not be enraged but let every minister display his prowess. So, leave the ruler's wisdom, then you will find the ministers' intelligence; leave the ruler's worthiness, then you will find the ministers' merits; and leave the ruler's courage, then you will find the ministers' strength. In such cases, ministers will attend to their duties, magistrates will have definite work routine, and everybody will be employed according to his special ability. Such a course of government is called "constant and immutable".

Hence the saying: "So quiet, it rests without footing; so vacant, it cannot be located." Thus, the intelligent ruler does nothing, but his ministers tremble all the more. It is the Tao of the intelligent ruler that he makes the wise men exhaust their mental energy and makes his decisions thereby without being himself at his wits' end; that he makes the worthy men exert their talents and appoints them to office accordingly without being himself at the end of his ability; and that in case of merits the ruler gains the renown and in case of demerit the ministers face the blame so that the ruler is never at the end of his reputation. Therefore, the ruler, even though not worthy, becomes the master of the worthies; and, even though not wise, becomes the corrector of the wise men. It is the ministers who do the toil; it is the ruler who gets the spoil. This is the everlasting principle of the worthy sovereign. 

(Han Fei Zi. Chapter 5: The Tao of the Sovereign)

Finally, the word shi 势, which it means “power” or “authority”, is referring to the authority of the monarch. If a monarch wanted to maintain his power and authority he never had to delegate powers to his ministers. The monarch had to keep all his authority for himself and it was only him who had to be in charge of deciding who had to be rewarded and who had to be punished. Otherwise, his subjects wouldn’t respect him, his authority could be questioned and, finally, his ministers would end up seizing the power of the State.

If dismissal and appointment have no constant rule, the sovereign's prerogative will be profaned; if matters of reward and punishment are administered in common by the sovereign and the inferiors, the sovereign's authority will be shaken. For this reason, the intelligent sovereign does not listen with the attitude of love nor does he scheme with the sense of delight. For, if he does not compare the words he heeds, his prerogative will be shaken by rapacious ministers; if he does not make use of the ministers' wisdom and strength, he will be harassed by the ministers. Therefore, the sovereign, when enforcing regulations, is as magnificent as heaven, and, when using men, is as mysterious as the spirit. For heaven cannot be confuted and the spirit cannot be harassed by human beings. When the position functions and the training is strict, though the ruler acts contrary to the world, nobody dares to disobey. Once blame and praise prevail under a unified system, nobody dares to dispute. Therefore, to reward the wise and punish the violent is the best way to exalt good people; to reward the outrageous and punish the wise is the extremity to exalt bad people, which is said to be rewarding participants in wickedness and punishing opponents to it.

Now, rewards should not be otherwise than liberal, so that the people will consider them profitable; honours should not be otherwise than attractive, so that the people will consider them glorious; censures should not be otherwise than strict, so that the people will consider them severe; and blame should not be otherwise than odious, so that the people will consider it disgraceful. Thereafter, the ruler will universally enforce his laws. When prohibitions and censures of private families mean no harm to the people, and when men of merit deserving reward and culprits deserving punishment are always known, the system of intelligent service is accomplished.

(Han Fei Zi. Chapter 48: Eight Canons)

Excellent Lecture about Legalism

 

Feng Shui 风水

Feng Shui: Living In Harmony