Yan Tie Lun (鹽鐵論) · Volume 29

大夫曰巫祝不可與並祀【泰族訓曰陳簠簋列樽俎設籩豆者祝也齋明盛服而不言神之所依淵黙者屍也】諸生不可與逐語信徃疑今非人自是夫【音扶】道古者稽之今言逺者合之近日月在天其徴在人菑異之變夭夀之期隂陽之化四時之敘水火金木妖祥之應神之靈祭祀之福日月之行星辰之紀曲言之故何所本始不知則黙無苟亂耳

The Grand Secretary said: One cannot share a sacrifice with shamans and invocators [the Tai Zu Xun says: the one who sets out the ritual vessels, arranges the wine vessels and cutting boards, and sets the bian and dou dishes is the invocator; the one who fasts and is brightly robed without speaking, in whom the spirits rest in deep silence, is the impersonator]. One cannot chase words with the scholars. They trust the past and doubt the present, and it is not that people consider themselves right. Sentence-opening fu [pronunciation note: fu is read fu]: one who speaks of antiquity must check it against the present, and one who speaks of the distant must fit it to the near. The sun and moon are in the sky, but their signs lie in people. The changes of calamities and anomalies, the span of short or long life, the transformations of yin and yang, the order of the four seasons, water, fire, metal and wood, the responses of ill and good omens, the spirit of ghosts and spirits (the base text has a rare character here, lost in transcription), the blessings of sacrifices, the course of the sun and moon, and the order of stars; where is the root and beginning of these twisting accounts? If you do not know, be silent, and do not recklessly confuse the ear.

文學曰始江都相【去聲】董生推言隂陽四時相繼父生之子養之母成之子藏之故春生仁夏長【音掌】徳秋成義冬藏禮此四時之序聖人之所則也【董仲舒傳曰武帝即位舉賢良文學之士前後百數而仲舒以賢良對防焉對既畢天子以仲舒為江都相事易王易王帝兄素驕好勇仲舒以禮誼匡正王敬重焉仲舒治國以春秋災異之變推隂陽所以錯行故求雨閉諸陽縱諸隂其止雨反是行之一國未嘗不得所欲中廢為中大夫先是遼東髙廟長陵髙園殿災仲舒家居推説其意草藁未上主父偃仲舒私見嫉之竊其書而奏焉上召視諸儒仲舒弟子呂歩舒不知其師書以為大愚於是下仲舒吏當死詔赦之仲舒遂不敢復言災異董仲舒曰天者群物之祖也故徧覆包涵而無所殊建日月風雨以和之經隂陽寒暑以成之故聖人法天而立道亦溥愛而亡私布徳施仁以厚之設誼立禮以道之春者天之所以生也仁者君之所以愛也夏者天之所以長也徳者君之所以養也霜者天之所以殺也刑者君之所以罰也繇此言之天人之徴古今之道也是故王者上謹於承天意以順命也下務明教化民以成性也正法度之宜別上下之序以防欲也修此而大本舉矣】刑不可任以成化故廣徳教言逺必考之邇故由恕以行是以刑罰若加於已勤勞若施於身又安能忍殺其赤子以事無用罷【音疲】所恃而達瀛【音盈】海乎蓋越人美蠃【音螺】蚌而簡太牢鄙夫樂咋【音翟】唶【音惜】而怪韶濩故不知味者以芬香為臭不知道者以美言為亂耳【修務訓曰夫以徴為羽非之罪以廿為苦非味之過楚人有烹猴而召其鄰人以為狗美也而甘之後聞其猴也據地而吐之盡寫其食此未始知味者也邯鄲師有出新曲者托之李竒諸人皆爭學之後知其非也而皆棄其曲此未始知音者也】人無夭夀各以其好【去聲】惡【音汚】為命羿奡以功力不得其死知【去聲】伯以貪狼亡其身【論語解曰羿有窮之君善射滅夏後相簒其位其臣寒浞又殺羿而代之奡春秋傳作澆浞之子也力能陸地行舟後為夏後少康所誅權謀篇曰智伯請地於魏宣子宣子不予任増曰何為不予宣子曰彼無故而請地吾是以不予任増曰彼無故而請地者無故而與之是重欲無厭也彼喜必又請地於諸侯諸侯不與必怒而伐之宣子曰善遂與地智伯喜又請地於趙趙不與智伯怒圍晉陽韓魏合趙而反智氏智氏遂滅魏策曰智伯索地於魏桓子魏桓子弗予任章曰何故弗予彼其無故索地鄰國必恐重欲無厭天下必懼君予之地智伯必防防而輕敵鄰國懼而相親以相親之兵待輕敵之國智氏之命不長矣周書曰將欲敗之必姑輔之將欲取之必姑與之君不如與之以驕智伯君何釋以天下圖智氏而獨以吾國為智氏質乎君曰善乃與之萬家之邑一智伯大說因索蔡臯梁於趙趙弗與因圍晉陽韓魏反於外趙氏應之於內智氏遂亡顔師古曰狼性皆貪故謂貪為貪狼也老聃曰柔弱者生之徒也剛強者死之徒也夫生者毀而必復死者破而愈亡吾是以知柔之堅於剛也叔向曰兩軍相加而柔者克之兩仇爭利而弱者得焉桓公曰金剛則折革剛則裂金人銘曰強梁者不得其死好勝者必遇其敵】天菑之證禎祥之應猶施與之望報各以其類及故好【去聲】行善者天助以福符瑞是也易曰自天祐之吉無不利好【去聲】行惡者天報以禍妖災是也春秋曰應是而有天菑【叢談曰天地無親常與善人天道有常不為堯存不為桀亡積善之家必有餘慶積惡之家必有餘殃眾正之積福無不及也眾邪之積禍無不建也力勝貧謹勝禍慎勝害戒勝災為善天報以徳為不善者天報以禍敬慎篇曰妖孽者天所以警天子諸侯也惡夢者所以警士大夫也繆稱訓曰身有醜夢不勝正行國有妖祥不勝善政劉峻曰神害盈皇天輔徳故宋公一言法星三徙殷帝自翦千里來雲若使善惡無徴未洽斯義且於公髙門以待封嚴母掃墓以望防此君子所以自強不息也如使仁而無報奚為善立名乎】周文武尊賢受諫敬戒不殆純徳上休神祗相貺詩云降福穰穰降福日者陽陽道明月者隂隂道防君尊臣卑之義故陽先盛於上眾隂之類消於下月望於天蚌蛤盛於淵【說山訓曰月盛衰於上則蠃蠬應於下同氣相動不可以為逺許慎曰月盛則蠃蠬內減故曰蠃蠬應於下月隂精也蠃蠬亦隂也故曰同氣也惟能相感故曰不可為逺】故臣不臣則隂陽不調日月有變政教不均則水旱不時螟【音防】螣【音特】生此災異之應也【覽防訓曰夫物類之相應妙深防知不能論辯不能解故東風至而酒湛溢蠶咡絲而商弦絶或感之也畫隨灰而月運闕鯨魚死而彗星出或動之也天文訓曰天道曰圓地道曰方方者主幽圓者主明明者吐氣者也是故火曰外景幽者含氣者也是故水曰內景吐氣者施含氣者化是故陽施隂化天地之偏氣怒者為風天地之含氣和者為雨隂陽相薄感而為雷激而為霆亂而為霧陽氣勝則散而為雨露隂氣勝則凝而為霜雪毛羽者飛行之類也故屬於陽介鱗者蟄伏之類也故屬於隂日者陽之主也是故春夏則群獸除日至而麋鹿解月者隂之宗也是以月虛而魚腦減月死而蠃蠬膲火上蕁水下流故鳥飛而髙魚動而下物類相動本標相應故陽燧見日則燃而為火方諸見月則津而為水虎嘯而穀風至龍舉而景雲屬麒麟闘而日月食鯨魚死而彗星出蠶咡絲而商絶賁星墜而渤海決人主之情上通乎天故誅暴則多飄風枉法令則多蟲螟殺不辜則國赤地令不收則多淫雨四時者天之吏也日月者天之使也星辰者天之期也虹蜺彗星者天之忌也泰族訓曰精神感於內形氣動於天則景星見黃龍下祥鳳至醴泉出嘉穀生河不滿溢海不溶波故詩云懐柔百神及河喬嶽逆天暴物則日月薄蝕五星失行四時干乖晝防宵明山崩川涸冬雷夏霜詩曰正月繁霜我心憂傷天之與人有以相通也故國危亡而天文變世惑亂而虹蜺見萬物有以相連精祲有以相蕩也】四時代序而人則其功星列於天而人象其行常星猶公卿也眾星猶萬民也列星正則眾星齊常星亂則眾星墜矣【天文志曰凡天文在圖籍昭昭可知者經星常宿中外官凡百一十八名積數七百八十三星皆有州國官宮物類之象其伏見早晚邪正存亡虛實闊陿及五星所行合散犯守陵歴闘食彗孛飛流日月薄蝕暈適背宂抱珥防蜺迅雷祅風怪雲變氣此皆隂陽之精其本在地而上發於天者也政失於此則變見於彼猶景之象形鄉之應聲自然之符也】大夫曰文學言剛柔之類互勝相代生易明於隂陽書長於五行春生夏長【音掌】故火生於寅木陽類也秋生冬死故水生於申金隂物也四時五行迭廢迭興隂陽異類水火不同器金得土而成得火而死金生於巳何說何言然乎【白虎通曰尚書一曰水二曰火三曰木四曰金五曰土水位在北方北方者隂氣在黃泉之下任養萬物水之為言濡也隂化沾濡任生木木在東方東方者隂陽氣始動萬物始生木之為言觸也陽氣動躍火在南方南方者陽在上萬物垂枝火之為言委隨也言萬物佈施火之為言化也陽氣用事萬物變化也金在西方西方者隂始氣萬物禁止金之為言禁也土在中央中央者主吐含萬物土之為言吐也五行所以更王何以其轉相生故有終始也木生火火生土土生金金生水水生木是以木王火相土死金囚水休五行所以相害者天地之性眾勝寡故水勝火也精勝堅故火勝金剛勝柔故金勝木専勝散故木勝土實勝虛故土勝水也】

The literati said: In the beginning, Master Dong, the chancellor [pronunciation note: xiang is read in the falling tone] of Jiangdu, inferred that yin and yang and the four seasons follow one another: the father gives birth, the son nurtures, the mother completes, and the son stores. So spring gives birth to benevolence, summer grows [pronunciation note: zhang is read zhang] virtue, autumn completes righteousness, and winter stores ritual. This is the order of the four seasons, which the sages took as their rule [the Biography of Dong Zhongshu says: when Emperor Wu took the throne, he recommended men of worth and literary learning in the hundreds in succession, and Zhongshu answered the policy questions as a worthy (the base text has a corrupt character). When the response was over, the Son of Heaven made Zhongshu chancellor of Jiangdu to serve King Yi. King Yi was the emperor's elder brother, long arrogant and fond of bravery. Zhongshu corrected him with ritual and propriety, and the king respected him. Zhongshu governed the state by inferring from the anomalies of the Spring and Autumn Annals how yin and yang go astray; to seek rain he closed the yang and let loose the yin, and to stop rain he did the reverse, and carrying it out in one state he never failed to get what he wanted. He was dismissed midway and became Palace Grandee. Earlier, the Gaomiao Temple in Liaodong and the Gaoyuan Hall at Changling burned, and Zhongshu, living at home, inferred their meaning, but the draft had not yet been submitted. Zhufu Yan called on Zhongshu (the base text has a rare character here, lost in transcription), saw it privately and envied him, stole the document and submitted it. The emperor summoned the Confucians to view it. Zhongshu's disciple Lü Bushu did not know his teacher's writing and considered it very foolish. Then Zhongshu was handed to the officials and was to be put to death, but an edict pardoned him. Zhongshu then did not dare speak again of anomalies. Dong Zhongshu said: Heaven is the ancestor of all things, so it covers and contains everything without distinction, sets up sun, moon, wind, and rain to harmonize them, and passes yin and yang, cold and heat to complete them. So the sage models on Heaven and establishes the Way, also loving broadly and without selfishness, spreading virtue and applying benevolence to enrich them, setting righteousness and establishing ritual to guide them. Spring is how Heaven gives birth, and benevolence is how the ruler loves; summer is how Heaven makes things grow, and virtue is how the ruler nurtures; frost is how Heaven kills, and punishment is how the ruler penalizes. From this, the signs of Heaven and man and the Way of past and present are shown. For this reason, a king above is careful to receive Heaven's will and follow its mandate, and below strives to make teaching clear and transform the people to complete their nature, setting right what is fitting in laws and standards, and distinguishing the order of high and low to guard against desire. When this is cultivated, the great root is raised.]. Punishment cannot be relied on to complete transformation, and so one broadens virtuous teaching. When speaking of the distant, one must examine it by the near, and so proceed through reciprocity. Therefore if punishment were applied to oneself and toil were put on one's own body, how could one bear to kill the infants who depend on him for useless affairs, wearing out [pronunciation note: pi is read pi] and exhausting (the base text has a rare character here, lost in transcription) what they rely on to reach the Ying [pronunciation note: ying is read ying] Sea? Presumably the people of Yue praise clams and snails [pronunciation note: luo is read luo] and despise the great sacrifice, and a rustic enjoys chewing [pronunciation note: zha is read zhai] and gulping [pronunciation note: jie is read xi] and finds the Shao and Huo music strange. So those who do not know flavors take fragrance for stench, and those who do not know the Way take fine words for noise in the ear [the Xiu Wu Xun says: to take zhi for yu is not the fault of the string (the base text has a rare character here, lost in transcription); to take sweet (the base text has a variant) for bitter is not the fault of the flavor. A man of Chu boiled a monkey and invited his neighbor, thinking it was dog stew, and he enjoyed it; later he heard it was monkey, and he gripped the ground and vomited, spilling out all he had eaten. He had never known the flavor. A teacher of Handan produced a new tune and attributed it to Li Qi; everyone competed to learn it, but later learned it was not so and abandoned the tune. They had never known music.]. People have no early death or long life; each makes his fate by what he likes [pronunciation note: hao is read in the falling tone] and dislikes [pronunciation note: wu is read wu]. Yi and Ao did not die naturally because of their merit and strength, and Zhi Bo [pronunciation note: zhi is read in the falling tone] lost his life through wolfish greed [the Analects commentary says: Yi was the ruler of Youqiong, good at archery, who destroyed Xiang of Xia and usurped his throne, and his minister Han Zhuo then killed Yi and replaced him. Ao is written Jiao in the Zuo Zhuan, the son of Zhuo, strong enough to push a boat on land, and was later executed by Shaokang of Xia. The Quan Mou chapter says: Zhi Bo asked Wei Xuanzi for land, and Xuanzi did not give it. Ren Zeng said: 'Why not give it?' Xuanzi said: 'He asks for land without cause, so I do not give it.' Ren Zeng said: 'He asks for land without cause; if you give it to him without cause, that increases his desire without satiety. He will be pleased, and will surely ask other lords for land. If the lords do not give, he will surely be angry and attack them.' Xuanzi said: 'Good.' He gave the land. Zhi Bo was pleased and asked Zhao for land. Zhao did not give, and Zhi Bo was angry and besieged Jinyang. Han and Wei joined Zhao and turned against the Zhi clan, and the Zhi clan was destroyed. The Wei Ce says: Zhi Bo demanded land from Wei Huanzi, and Wei Huanzi would not give it. Ren Zhang said: 'Why not give it? If he demands land without cause, neighboring states will surely be afraid; with a desire that is heavy and insatiable, the world will surely fear. If you give him land, Zhi Bo will surely be proud (the base text has corrupt characters) and make light of enemies, and the neighboring states will fear and draw close. Using the troops of states drawn close to await a state that makes light of enemies, the life of the Zhi clan will not be long. The Book of Zhou says: if you are about to defeat him, you must first assist him; if you are about to take from him, you must first give. My lord, it is best to give him land to make Zhi Bo proud. Why would you abandon plans against the Zhi clan together with the whole world and instead make our state alone the hostage of the Zhi clan?' The ruler said: 'Good.' He gave him a city of ten thousand households. Zhi Bo was greatly pleased and went on to demand Cai and Gaoliang from Zhao. Zhao refused, and he besieged Jinyang. Han and Wei turned against him outside, Zhao responded within, and the Zhi clan perished. Yan Shigu says: wolves are all greedy by nature, so greed is called wolfish greed. Lao Dan said: the soft and weak are of the party of life, and the hard and strong are of the party of death. From this I know that softness is firmer than hardness. Shuxiang said: when two armies clash, the soft overcome, and when two enemies contend for profit, the weak gain. Duke Huan said: hard metal breaks, and hard leather cracks. The Inscription of the Golden Man says: the strong and stubborn do not die a natural death, and those who love to win are bound to meet their match.]. The evidence of heavenly calamities and the response of auspicious omens are like giving and hoping for repayment, each reaching its own kind. So for those who love [pronunciation note: hao is read in the falling tone] to do good, Heaven helps with blessing, which is auspicious signs. The Book of Changes says: 'Aided by Heaven, auspicious, with nothing that is not advantageous.' For those who love [pronunciation note: hao is read in the falling tone] to do evil, Heaven repays with calamity, which is ominous disasters. The Spring and Autumn Annals says: in response to this there are heavenly calamities [the Cong Yu says: Heaven and Earth have no favorites but always go with the good. The Way of Heaven has constancy; it does not exist for Yao or perish for Jie. A house that accumulates good will surely have surplus blessing, and a house that accumulates evil will surely have surplus calamity. Where the accumulation of the many right is, there is no blessing that does not reach; where the accumulation of the many wrong is, there is no calamity that does not reach. Strength overcomes poverty, care overcomes calamity, caution overcomes harm, and vigilance overcomes disaster. If one does good, Heaven repays with virtue; if one does not do good, Heaven repays with calamity. The Jing Shen chapter says: monstrous omens are how Heaven warns the Son of Heaven and the lords, and bad dreams are how it warns scholars and grand masters. The Miu Cheng Xun says: ugly dreams in one's person do not outweigh correct conduct, and ominous portents in the state do not outweigh good government. Liu Jun says: ghosts and spirits harm the full, and August Heaven assists virtue. So with a single word of the Duke of Song, the star moved three lodgings; when the Emperor of Yin trimmed himself, clouds came from a thousand li. If good and evil had no verification, this principle would not be harmonious. Moreover Yu Gong made his gate high awaiting a title, and the stern mother swept the grave awaiting the mourning (the base text has a corrupt character). This is why the gentleman strives to improve without rest. If benevolence had no repayment, why would one do good and establish a name?]. King Wen and King Wu of Zhou honored the worthy and accepted remonstrance, were reverent and wary without peril, their pure virtue received blessing from above, and the spirits bestowed gifts on one another. The Book of Poetry says: 'Sending down blessing in abundance, sending down blessing in plenty' (the base text has two rare characters here, lost in transcription). The sun is yang, and the way of yang is bright; the moon is yin, and the way of yin is humble (the base text has a corrupt character). This is the meaning that the ruler is honored and the ministers humble. So yang first flourishes above and the many kinds of yin vanish below; when the moon is full in the sky, clams and mussels are full in the deep [the Shuo Shan Xun says: when the moon waxes and wanes above, snails and mussels respond below; similar qi moves one another, and it cannot be taken as distant. Xu Shen says: when the moon is full, the flesh of snails and mussels is full inside, so it says snails and mussels respond below. The moon is the essence of yin, and snails and mussels are also yin, so it says similar qi. Only because they can be moved one by another, it says it cannot be taken as distant.]. So when a minister does not act as a minister, yin and yang are not in balance and the sun and moon change; when government and teaching are not even, floods and droughts are not in season, and the grain-boring insects arise [the pronunciation note in the base text is corrupt; it should be ming] and the leaf-eating insects [pronunciation note: teng is read te]. This is the response of calamities and anomalies [the Lan Ming Xun (the base text has a corrupt title) says: the mutual responses among kinds of things are profound, subtle, and deep (the base text has corrupt characters); wisdom cannot discuss them and eloquence cannot explain them. So when the east wind comes, the wine in the vessels overflows, and when silkworms spit silk, the shang string snaps; some are moved by feeling. A drawn line follows the ashes and the moon's halo is incomplete, a whale dies and a comet appears; some are moved by action. The Tian Wen Xun says: the Way of Heaven is called round, and the Way of Earth is called square. The square governs the hidden and the round governs the bright. The bright exhales qi, so fire is called the outer light; the hidden contains qi, so water is called the inner light. What exhales qi gives, and what contains qi transforms, so yang gives and yin transforms. The one-sided qi of Heaven and Earth that is angry becomes wind, and the harmonious contained qi becomes rain. When yin and yang press against each other, they become thunder when moved, lightning when excited, and fog when disordered. When yang qi prevails, it scatters into rain and dew, and when yin qi prevails, it congeals into frost and snow. Furred and feathered creatures are those that fly and run, and so belong to yang; shelled and scaled creatures are those that hibernate, and so belong to yin. The sun is the master of yang, so in spring and summer the herds of beasts shed their coats and at the solstice the deer shed their antlers. The moon is the ancestor of yin, so when the moon is empty the brains of fish shrink and when the moon dies, snails and mussels are lean. Fire rises and water flows down, so birds fly high and fish move low. Kinds of things move one another, and root and tip respond. So the yang sui, on seeing the sun, ignites into fire, and the fang zhu on seeing the moon condenses into water, a tiger roars and the valley wind arrives, a dragon rises and auspicious clouds gather, qilin fight and the sun and moon are eclipsed, a whale dies and a comet appears, silkworms spit silk and the shang string (the base text has a rare character here, lost in transcription) snaps, and a falling star drops and the Bohai Sea bursts. The feelings of the ruler reach up to Heaven, so when he executes the violent there are many whirlwinds, when he bends laws and orders there are many insects, when he kills the innocent the state's land goes bare, and when orders are not gathered in there is much excessive rain. The four seasons are Heaven's officials, the sun and moon are Heaven's envoys, the stars are Heaven's appointed times, and rainbows and comets are Heaven's taboos. The Tai Zu Xun says: when spirit moves within and form and breath move Heaven, then the auspicious star appears, the yellow dragon descends, the auspicious phoenix arrives, sweet springs flow, fine grain grows, rivers do not overflow, and seas do not stir waves. So the Book of Poetry says: 'Soothing the hundred spirits, reaching to rivers and high mountains.' If one goes against Heaven and does violence to things, then the sun and moon are eclipsed, the five planets lose their courses, the four seasons go awry, day is dark (the base text has a corrupt character) and night is bright, mountains collapse and rivers dry up, there is thunder in winter and frost in summer. The Book of Poetry says: 'In the first month there is heavy frost, and my heart is grieved.' Heaven and man have a means of communicating. So when the state is in danger of ruin, the heavenly signs change, and when the age is deluded and chaotic, rainbows appear. All things have a means of being connected and essences and noxious airs have a means of agitating one another.]. The four seasons succeed each other in order and people take their effect, and the stars are arrayed in heaven and people imitate their movement. The constant stars are like dukes and ministers, and the many stars are like the ten thousand people. When the arrayed stars are right, the many stars are even; when the constant stars are disordered, the many stars fall [the Treatise on Astronomy says: of the heavenly patterns clearly known in the charts and records, the fixed stars and constant lodgings within and outside number one hundred eighteen named groups, with seven hundred eighty-three stars in all, all with images of provinces, states, offices, palaces, and things. Their hiding and appearing, early and late, slant and straight, survival and loss, emptiness and fullness, breadth and narrowness, and the movement of the five planets in conjunction and dispersal, offending, guarding, overrunning, and crossing, the Dipper's feeding, comets and bursting flying streams, eclipses of the sun and moon, haloes, bends, reversals, holes, embraces, ear-like appendages, rainbows (the base text has a corrupt character), fierce thunder, evil winds, strange clouds and changed airs, are all the essences of yin and yang, whose root is on earth and which issue upward in Heaven. When government errs here, change appears there, like a shadow taking the form and an echo answering the sound, a natural sign.]. The Grand Secretary said: the literati say that the kinds of hard and soft overcome and replace one another in turn; the Book of Changes is clear about yin and yang, and the Book of Documents excels in the five phases. Spring gives birth and summer grows [pronunciation note: zhang is read zhang], so fire is born at yin and wood is of the yang kind; autumn gives birth and winter kills, so water is born at shen and metal is of the yin kind. The four seasons and five phases alternately decline and rise. Yin and yang are different kinds, and water and fire do not share a vessel. Metal is formed by earth and dies by fire; metal is born at si; what is meant, what is said, is it so? [the Baihu Tong says: in the Book of Documents the first is water, the second fire, the third wood, the fourth metal, and the fifth earth. Water's position is in the north. The north is where yin qi is below the Yellow Springs, bearing and nurturing the ten thousand things. 'Water' means moistening. Yin transforms, moistening and bearing wood to life. Wood is in the east. The east is where yin and yang qi begin to stir and the ten thousand things begin to be born. 'Wood' means touching: yang qi moves and leaps. Fire is in the south. The south is where yang is above and the ten thousand things hang their branches. 'Fire' means yielding and following: it says the ten thousand things spread out; 'fire' also means transforming: yang qi takes charge and the ten thousand things change. Metal is in the west. The west is where yin qi begins and the ten thousand things are restrained. 'Metal' means prohibition. Earth is in the center. The center is the one that spits out and contains the ten thousand things. 'Earth' means spitting out. Why do the five phases take turns being king? Because they give birth to one another in turn, so they have end and beginning. Wood gives birth to fire, fire to earth, earth to metal, metal to water, and water to wood. Therefore when wood is king, fire is minister, earth is dead, metal is imprisoned, and water rests. The reason the five phases harm one another is that in the nature of Heaven and Earth, the many overcome the few, so water overcomes fire; the refined overcomes the solid, so fire overcomes metal; the hard overcomes the soft, so metal overcomes wood; the concentrated overcomes the scattered, so wood overcomes earth; the full overcomes the empty, so earth overcomes water.].

文學曰兵者兇器也甲堅兵利為天下殃以母制子故能久長聖人法之厭【音噎】而不【老子曰兵者不祥之器不得已而用之韓非子曰夫戰者萬乘之存亡也且聞之曰削跡無遺根無與禍鄰禍乃不存尉繚子曰兵者兇器也爭者逆徳也事必有本故王者伐暴亂本仁義焉】詩云載戢干戈載櫜【音髙】弓矢我求懿徳肆於時夏衰世不然逆天道以快暴心僵【音姜】屍流血以爭壤土牢人之君滅人之祀殺人之子若絶草木刑者肩靡於道以巳之所惡【音汙】而施於人是以國家破滅身受其殃秦王是也【班固曰秦始皇即位三十九年內平六國外攘四夷死人如亂麻暴骨長城之下頭盧相屬於道不一日而無兵由是山東之難興四方潰而逆秦秦將吏外畔賊臣內發亂作蕭牆禍成二世故曰兵猶火也弗戢必自焚信矣是以蒼頡作書止戈為武聖人以武禁暴整亂止息兵戈非以為殘而興縱之也易曰天之所助者順也人之所助者信也君子履信思順自天祐之吉無不利也兵畧曰古者天子一畿諸侯一國各守其分不得相侵有不行王道者暴虐萬民爭地侵壤亂政犯禁召之不至令之不行禁之不止誨之不變乃舉兵而伐之戮其君易其黨封其墓類其社卜其子孫以代之晚世務廣地侵壤併兼無已舉不義之兵伐無罪之國殺不辜之民絶先聖之後大國出攻小國城守驅人之牛馬傒人之子女毀人之宗廟遷人之重寳血流千里暴骸滿野以贍貪主之慾非兵之所為生也故兵者所以討暴非所以為暴也】

The literati said: Weapons are ill-omened instruments, and firm armor and sharp arms are a calamity for the world. The mother restrains the child, and so it can last long. The sage models on it, and is satiated [pronunciation note: yan is read ye] and does not set out (the base text has a rare character here, lost in transcription) [Laozi says: weapons are instruments of ill omen, used only when there is no alternative. The Han Feizi says: war is the survival or ruin of a state of ten thousand chariots. Moreover it has been said: if one cuts off traces there is no remaining root, and with no neighbor in calamity, calamity does not remain. The Weiliaozi says: weapons are ill-omened instruments, contention is contrary virtue, and the matter must have a root. So when a king punishes violence and disorder, he roots it in benevolence and righteousness.]. The Book of Poetry says: 'Put away the shields and spears, and store away the bows and arrows [pronunciation note: gao is read gao]. I seek bright virtue, and spread it across the Xia.' A declining age is not so: it goes against the Way of Heaven to satisfy a violent heart, with fallen [pronunciation note: jiang is read jiang] corpses and flowing blood contending for earth and soil, imprisoning other people's rulers, destroying other people's sacrifices, killing other people's sons as if cutting down grass and trees, the punished rubbing shoulders on the roads, applying to others what one oneself dislikes [pronunciation note: wu is read wu]. For this reason states are ruined and one's own person suffers the calamity, as with the King of Qin [Ban Gu says: the First Emperor of Qin in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, within pacified the six states and without repelled the four barbarians, and the dead lay like tangled hemp, their bones exposed beneath the Great Wall and their heads strung along the roads, without a day free of arms. Hence the troubles east of the mountains arose, the four quarters collapsed and turned against Qin, Qin's generals and officials rebelled outside, traitor ministers rose within, disorder broke out within the screen wall, and calamity was completed in the Second Emperor. So it is said: weapons are like fire; if not put away, one is sure to burn oneself, and this is true. So Cang Jie made writing, with the 'stop spears' making the word for martial. The sage uses martial force to forbid violence and set disorder right, and to stop spears and shields, and does not consider cruelty something to be started and indulged. The Book of Changes says: what Heaven helps is the compliant, and what man helps is the trustworthy. The gentleman treads on good faith and thinks of compliance; aided by Heaven, auspicious, nothing that is not advantageous. The Bing Lue says: in ancient times the Son of Heaven had one domain and each lord had one state, each keeping to his own share and not allowed to encroach on one another. If there were those who did not practice the kingly Way, who tyrannized the ten thousand people, contended for land and encroached on territory, disordered government and violated prohibitions, did not come when summoned, did not carry out orders, did not stop when forbidden, and did not change when taught, then troops were raised to attack him, executing his ruler, changing his party, raising his tomb, sorting his altar, and divining a descendant to replace him. In later ages, they strive to enlarge land and encroach on territory, annexing without end, raising unrighteous troops, attacking blameless states, killing innocent people, and cutting off the descendants of former sages. Great states go out to attack and small states defend their cities, driving off others' oxen and horses, binding others' sons and daughters, destroying others' ancestral temples, and carrying off others' heavy treasures, with blood flowing a thousand li and exposed bones filling the wilds, to satisfy the desires of a greedy lord; this is not what weapons were born for. So weapons are used to punish the violent, not to be violent.].

大夫曰金生於己刑罰小加故薺麥夏死【地形訓曰木勝土土勝水水勝火火勝金金勝木故禾春生秋死菽夏生冬死麥秋生夏死薺冬生中夏死許慎曰禾者木也春木王而生秋金王而死豆火也夏火王而生冬水王而死麥金也金王而生火王而死也薺水也水王而生土王而死也】易曰履霜堅氷至秋始降霜草木隕【音允】零合冬行誅萬物畢藏【魯恭曰履霜堅氷隂始凝也馴致其道至堅氷也言五月微隂始起至十一月堅氷至也原道訓曰秋風下霜倒生挫傷鷹鵰搏鷙昆蟲蟄藏】春夏生長【音掌】利以行仁秋冬殺藏利以施刑故非其時而樹雖生不成秋冬行德是謂逆天道月令涼風至殺氣動蜻【音精】蛚【音列】鳴衣裘成天子行微刑始防【音樞】膢【音婁】以順天令【聲子曰古之治民者勸賞而畏刑賞以春夏刑以秋冬是以將賞為之加膳加膳則飫賜此以知其勸賞也將刑為之不舉不舉則徹樂此以知其畏刑也管子曰法者天地之位象四時之行以治天下四時之行有寒有暑聖人法之故有文有武天地之位有前有後有左有右聖人法之以建經紀春生於左秋殺於右夏長於前冬藏於後生長之事文也收藏之事武也是故文事在左武事在右聖人法之以行法令以治事理也司馬談曰夫陰陽四時八節十二度二十四節各有教令曰順之者昌逆之者不死則亡未必然也故曰使人拘而多畏夫春生夏長秋收冬藏此天道之大經也弗順則無以為天下綱紀故曰天下之大順不可失也魯恭曰夫陰陽之氣相扶而行發動用事各有時節若不當其時則物隨而傷應劭曰刑罰威獄以類天之震燿殺戮也溫慈和惠以放天之生殖長育也是故春一木枯則為災秋一木華亦為異時則訓曰孟秋之月涼風至白露降寒蟬鳴鷹乃祭鳥用始行戮求不孝不弟戮暴傲悍而罰之以助損氣】文學曰同四時合隂陽尚徳而除刑如此則鷹隼【音筍】不鷙【音至】猛獸不攫【音腳】秋不搜【音捜】獮【音癬】冬不田狩者也

The Grand Secretary said: Metal is born at si, and punishments are applied lightly, so shepherd's purse and wheat die in summer [the Di Xing Xun says: wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, water overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal, and metal overcomes wood. So millet is born in spring and dies in autumn, beans are born in summer and die in winter, wheat is born in autumn and dies in summer, and shepherd's purse is born in winter and dies in midsummer. Xu Shen says: millet is wood, born when wood is king in spring and dying when metal is king in autumn; beans are fire, born when fire is king in summer and dying when water is king in winter; wheat is metal, born when metal is king and dying when fire is king; shepherd's purse is water, born when water is king and dying when earth is king.]. The Book of Changes says: 'Treading on frost, solid ice will come.' In autumn frost begins to descend, grasses and trees fall [pronunciation note: yun is read yun] and wither, and by winter executions are carried out and the ten thousand things are all stored away [Lu Gong said: treading on frost, solid ice comes; yin begins to congeal. Gradually it leads its course to solid ice. This says that in the fifth month the slight yin begins to rise, and by the eleventh month solid ice comes. The Yuan Dao Xun says: the autumn wind brings frost, upside-down growing plants are damaged, hawks and eagles strike, insects hibernate.]. In spring and summer things are born and grow [pronunciation note: zhang is read zhang], and it is advantageous to practice benevolence; in autumn and winter they are killed and stored, and it is advantageous to apply punishment. So to plant out of season is to produce, but not to complete; to practice virtue in autumn and winter is called going against the Way of Heaven. The Yue Ling says: when the cool wind arrives and the killing air stirs, crickets [pronunciation note: qing is read jing, lie is read lie] chirp, fur coats are made, the Son of Heaven applies light punishments, and begins to guard [pronunciation note: fang is read shu] the lou [pronunciation note: lou is read lou] in accordance with Heaven's order [Sheng Zi said: those who governed the people in antiquity encouraged rewards and feared punishments; they gave rewards in spring and summer and punishments in autumn and winter. So when about to reward, he added to his meals, and adding to meals he feasted and gave gifts, from which one knew his encouragement of rewards; when about to punish, he did not raise (his meals), and not raising them, he removed music, from which one knew his fear of punishment. The Guanzi says: law is the position of Heaven and Earth, and imitates the movement of the four seasons to govern the world. The four seasons move with cold and heat, and the sage models on them, so there is civil and martial. The position of Heaven and Earth has front and back, left and right, and the sage models on it to set up the framework. Spring gives birth on the left, autumn kills on the right, summer grows in front, and winter stores behind. The affairs of birth and growth are civil, and the affairs of gathering and storing are martial. So civil affairs are on the left and martial affairs on the right. The sage models on it to carry out laws and orders and to manage affairs. Sima Tan said: yin and yang, four seasons, eight nodes, twelve measures, and twenty-four periods each have teachings and orders; it is said that those who follow them flourish and those who go against them, if not dead, perish, but that is not necessarily so. So it says it makes people constrained and fearful. Spring birth, summer growth, autumn harvest, winter storage is the great constant of Heaven's Way; without following it there is no guiding thread for the world. So it says the great compliance of the world cannot be lost. Lu Gong said: the qi of yin and yang support each other as they proceed, with stirring and action each in their own season; if not at the right time, things are harmed accordingly. Ying Shao said: punishments, awe, and prisons correspond to Heaven's thunder, lightning, and killing; warmth, kindness, and gentleness imitate Heaven's birth, multiplication, growth, and nurture. So in spring a single tree withering is a disaster, and in autumn a single tree blossoming is an anomaly. The Shi Ze Xun says: in the first month of autumn, the cool wind comes, white dew falls, the cold cicada chirps, the hawk sacrifices birds, and executions begin; those who are unfilial and unbrotherly are sought, and the violent, arrogant, and fierce are punished and executed, to assist the reducing qi.]. The literati said: one matches the four seasons, unites yin and yang, honors virtue, and removes punishment. If so, hawks and falcons [pronunciation note: sun is read sun] do not strike [pronunciation note: zhi is read zhi], fierce beasts do not grasp [pronunciation note: jue is read jiao], in autumn there is no sou xian hunting [pronunciation notes: sou and xian are read sou and xuan], and in winter there is no field hunting.

文學曰天道好【去聲】生惡【音汙】殺好【去聲】賞惡【音汙】罰故使陽居於實而宣徳施隂藏於虛而為陽佐輔陽剛隂柔季不能加孟此天賤冬而貴春申陽屈隂故王者南面而聽天下背隂向陽前徳而後刑也霜雪晚至五穀猶成雹霧夏隕【音允】萬物皆傷由此觀之嚴刑以治國猶任秋冬以成谷也【董仲舒曰王者欲有所為宜求其端於天天道之大者在隂陽陽為徳隂為刑刑主殺而徳主生是故陽常居大夏而以生育養長為事隂常居大冬而積於空虛不用之處以此見天之任徳不任刑也天使陽出佈施於上而主嵗功使隂入伏於下而時出佐陽陽不得隂之助亦不能獨成嵗終陽以成嵗為名此天意也王者承天意以從事故任徳教而不任刑刑者不可任以治世猶隂之不可任以成嵗也為政而任刑不順於天故先王莫之肯為也丁儀曰天垂象聖人則之天之為嵗也先春而後秋君之為治也先禮而後刑春以生長為徳秋以殺戮為功禮以教訓為美刑以威嚴為用故先生而後殺天之為嵗先教而後罰君之為治也天不以久逺更其春冬而人也得以古今改其禮刑哉】故法令者治惡之具也而非至治之風也是以古者明王茂其徳教而緩其刑罰也【孔子曰治國有二機刑徳是也徳者養善而進闕者也刑者懲惡而禁後者也夫刑徳者化之所由興也王者尚其徳而希其刑霸者刑徳並湊強國先其刑而後徳淮南記曰急轡利錣非千里之御也嚴刑峻法非百王之治也政理篇曰政有三品王者之政化之霸者之政威之彊者之政脅之夫此三者各有所施而化之為貴矣夫化之不變而後威之威之不變而後脅之脅之不變而後刑之夫至於刑者則非王者之所得已也是以聖王先徳教而後刑罰則莫不慕義理之榮而惡貪亂之恥矣】網漏吞舟之魚而刑審於繩墨之外反臻其末而民莫犯禁也【司馬遷曰漢興破觚而為圜斵雕而為樸號為網漏吞舟之魚而吏治蒸蒸不至於奸黎民乂安由是觀之在彼不在此也】

The literati said: The Way of Heaven loves [pronunciation note: hao is read in the falling tone] giving life and hates [pronunciation note: wu is read wu] killing, loves [pronunciation note: hao is read in the falling tone] reward and hates [pronunciation note: wu is read wu] punishment. So it makes yang dwell in the full place and spread virtue, and hides yin in the empty place to assist yang. Yang is hard and yin is soft, and the last month cannot be added to the first. This is Heaven making light of winter and honoring spring, extending yang and bending yin. So a king faces south to listen to the world, turns his back to yin and faces yang, putting virtue first and punishment behind. If frost and snow come late, the five grains still ripen; if hail and fog fall [pronunciation note: yun is read yun] in summer, all things are harmed. From this we see that to govern a state by severe punishment is like relying on autumn and winter to complete the grain [Dong Zhongshu said: when a king wishes to act, he should seek the root of it in Heaven. The great thing about the Way of Heaven is in yin and yang. Yang is virtue and yin is punishment. Punishment governs killing and virtue governs life. So yang always dwells in the great summer and takes birth, nurture, and growth as its work, while yin always dwells in the great winter and accumulates in empty places not used. From this we see that Heaven relies on virtue and not on punishment. Heaven makes yang go out and spread above to govern the year's work, and makes yin go in and hide below and come out at times to assist yang. Yang cannot complete the year without yin's help, but yang's purpose is the completion of the year; this is Heaven's will. A king follows Heaven's will in his work, so he relies on virtuous teaching and not on punishment. Punishment cannot be relied on to govern the age, just as yin cannot be relied on to complete the year. To govern by relying on punishment does not follow Heaven, so the former kings were unwilling to do it. Ding Yi said: Heaven hangs down images and the sage takes them as his rule. In Heaven's year, spring comes first and autumn after; in the ruler's governance, ritual comes first and punishment after. Spring takes growth as its virtue and autumn takes killing as its merit; ritual takes teaching as its beauty and punishment takes awe as its use. So life first and killing after is Heaven's year; teaching first and punishment after is the ruler's governance. Heaven does not change its spring and winter because of long ages; how could man change ritual and punishment because of past and present?]. So laws and orders are tools for governing evil, and not the style of the highest order. So the enlightened kings of antiquity made their virtue and teaching flourish and slackened their punishments [Confucius said: there are two levers in governing a state, which are punishment and virtue. Virtue nourishes the good and promotes the lacking, while punishment punishes evil and prohibits later offenses. Punishment and virtue are the source from which transformation arises. A king honors virtue and has little punishment, a hegemon uses both punishment and virtue, and a strong state puts punishment first and virtue after. The Huainan record says: tight reins and sharp goads are not the way a thousand-li driver goes; severe punishments and harsh laws are not the governance of a hundred kings. The Zheng Li chapter says: there are three grades of government: the king's government transforms people, the hegemon's government awes them, and the strong state's government coerces them. Each of the three has its place, but transformation is most valued. Only if transformation does not change them does one awe them; only if awe does not change them does one coerce them; only if coercion does not change them does one punish them. As for punishment, it is not something a king does except when forced. So the sage kings put virtue and teaching first and punishment after, and then none did not admire the glory of righteousness and hate the shame of greed and disorder.]. The net let the fish that could swallow a boat slip through, and punishment was examined beyond the marking line, yet it reached the end and the people did not violate the prohibitions [Sima Qian said: when Han arose, it broke the angular vessel into a round one and trimmed ornament into simplicity, and was said to have a net that let the boat-swallowing fish slip through, yet the officials' governance flourished without reaching treachery, and the common people were at peace. From this one sees that it lay in that, not in this.].

大夫曰令者所以教民也法者所以督奸也令嚴而民慎法設而奸禁網疏則獸失法疏則罪漏罪漏則民放佚【音逸】而輕犯禁故禁下必法夫【音扶】徼【音交】幸誅誡蹠【音質】蹻【音腳】不犯是以古者作五刑刻肌膚而民不逾矩【公孫鞅曰行刑重其輕者輕者不至重者不來是謂以刑去刑也韓宣子曰董安於為趙上地守行石阜山見深澗峭如牆深百仭問其鄉左右曰人嘗有入此者乎曰無有有嬰兒狂聾人入此乎曰無有有牛馬犬彘入此乎曰無有安於嘆曰吾能治矣使吾法之無改猶入澗之必死則民莫之犯也】

The Grand Secretary said: Orders are how people are taught, and laws are how treachery is supervised. When orders are strict, the people are careful; when laws are set up, treachery is prevented. If the net is sparse, beasts escape; if the law is lax, crimes slip through. When crimes slip through, the people become unrestrained [pronunciation note: yi is read yi] and lightly violate prohibitions. So to restrain those below, there must be law. Sentence-opening fu [pronunciation note: fu is read fu]: lucky chance [pronunciation note: jiao is read jiao] and punishment as warning, so even Zhi [pronunciation note: zhi is read zhi] and Jue [pronunciation note: jue is read jiao] do not offend. So in antiquity they made the five punishments and carved the flesh, and the people did not overstep the measure [Gongsun Yang said: in carrying out punishment, make light offenses heavy; if the light do not arrive, the heavy do not come; this is called using punishment to eliminate punishment. Han Xuanzi said: Dong Anyu, as guardian of Shangdi for Zhao, traveled to Stone Mound Mountain and saw a deep ravine steep as a wall, a hundred fathoms deep, and asked those in his village on left and right: 'Has anyone ever entered here?' They said: 'No.' 'Has any infant, madman, or deaf person entered here?' 'No.' 'Has any ox, horse, dog, or pig entered here?' 'No.' Anyu sighed: 'I can govern now. If my law does not change, like entering the ravine means certain death, the people will not violate it.'].

文學曰道徳眾人不知所由法令眾人不知所闢【音避】故王者之製法昭乎如日月故民不迷曠乎若大路故民不惑幽隠逺方折手知足室女童婦鹹知所闢【音避】是以法令不犯而獄犴【音寒】不用也昔秦法繁於秋荼而網密於凝脂然而上下相遁奸偽萌生有司法之若救爛撲焦不能禁非網疏而罪漏禮義廢而刑罰任也【刑法志曰秦用商鞅連相坐之法造參夷之誅増加肉刑大辟有鑿顛抽脅鑊亨之刑至於秦始皇兼吞戰國遂毀先王之法滅禮誼之官専任刑罰躬操文墨晝斷獄夜理書自程決事日縣石之一而奸邪並生赭衣塞路囹圄成市天下愁怨潰而叛之泰族訓曰張瑟者小急而大緩立事者賤者勞而貴者逸舜為天子彈五之琴歌南風之詩而天下治周公殽臑不撤於前鐘鼓不解於懸而四夷服趙政晝決獄而夜理書御史冠蓋接於郡縣覆稽趨畱戍五嶺以備越築修城以守胡然奸邪萌生盜賊群居事愈煩而亂愈生故法者治之具也而非所以為治也而猶弓矢中之具而非所以中也】方今律令百有餘篇文章繁罪名重郡國用之疑惑或淺或深自吏明習者不知所處而況愚民乎此斷獄所以滋眾而民犯禁也【刑法志曰孝武即位外事四夷之功內盛耳目之好徴發煩數百姓貧耗窮民犯法酷吏擊斷奸軌不勝於是招進張湯趙禹之屬條定法令作見知故縱監臨部主之法緩深故之罪急縱出之誅其後奸軌巧法轉相比況禁罔寖密律令凡三百五十九章大辟四百九條千八百八十二事死罪決事比萬三千四百七十二事文書盈於幾閣典者不能徧睹是以郡國承用者駮或罪同而論異奸吏因縁為市所欲活則傅生議所欲陷則予死比議者鹹寃傷之漢元帝曰夫法令者所以抑暴扶弱欲其難犯而易避也今律令煩多而不約自典文者不能分明而欲羅元元之不逮斯豈刑中之意哉漢成帝曰甫刑雲五刑之屬三千大辟之罰其屬二百今大辟之刑千有餘條律令煩多百有餘萬言竒請他比日以益滋自明習者不知所由欲以曉喻眾庻不亦難乎於以羅元元之民夭絶亡辜豈不哀哉泰族訓曰不言而信不施而仁不怒而威是以天心動化者也施而仁言而信怒而威是以精誠感之者也施而不仁言而不信怒而不威是以外貌為之者也故有道以統之法雖少足以化矣無道以行之法雖眾足以亂矣】詩云宜犴【音寒】宜獄握粟出卜自何能谷刺刑法繁也親服之屬甚眾上附下附而服不過五【五服謂斬衰齊衰大功小功緦麻也】五刑之屬三千上殺下殺而罪不過五【五刑謂墨劓剕宮大辟也】故治民之道務篤其教而已【泰族訓曰有其性無其養不能遵道繭之性為絲然非得工女煮以熱湯而抽其統紀則不能成絲卵之化為雛非慈雌嘔暖覆伏累日積久則不能為雛人之性有仁義之資非聖王為之法度而教導之則不可使鄉方主術訓曰刑罰不足以移風殺戮不足以禁奸唯師化為貴至精為神塊然保真抱徳推誠天下從之如響之應聲景之像形不施而仁不言而信不求而得不為而成弗招而自來不麾而自往窈窈防防不知為之者誰而功自成矣】

The literati said: The Way and virtue are something the crowd does not know how to follow, and laws and orders are something the crowd does not know how to avoid [pronunciation note: bi is read bi]. So when a king makes laws, they are bright like sun and moon, and so the people are not confused; they are open like a great road, and so the people are not bewildered. In the remote and hidden distance, one can fold one's hands and know where to put one's feet, and maidens and young wives all know what to avoid [pronunciation note: bi is read bi]. For this reason laws and orders are not violated and prisons [pronunciation note: an is read han] are not used. In the past Qin's laws were more numerous than autumn bitter herbs and its net denser than congealed fat, yet high and low evaded each other, treachery and falsehood sprouted, and the officers applied the law like putting out a fire and slapping a burn, unable to stop it; it was not that the net was sparse and crimes slipped through, but that ritual and righteousness were abandoned and punishment was relied on [the Treatise on Punishments says: Qin used Shang Yang, linked the laws of mutual liability, created the execution of three clans, and added corporal punishments; the capital punishments included head-piercing, rib-pulling, and boiling in a cauldron. When the First Emperor of Qin annexed the Warring States, he then destroyed the laws of the former kings, abolished the officers of ritual and propriety, and relied solely on punishment, personally handling documents, deciding cases by day and managing records by night, setting himself a daily quota of one stone's weight of documents; yet treachery and wickedness arose together, the red-robed convicts blocked the roads, prisons became markets, the world was full of grief and resentment, and collapsed and rebelled against him. The Tai Zu Xun says: in stringing a se, the small strings are tight and the big strings loose; in establishing affairs, the humble toil and the honored are at ease. Shun, as Son of Heaven, played the five-stringed zither and sang the poem of the south wind and the world was governed; the Duke of Zhou did not remove food and meat before him, and the bells and drums were not taken down from their hangings, and the four barbarians submitted. Zhao Zheng decided cases by day and managed records by night, the imperial censors' caps and canopies met in the commanderies and counties, they checked, hurried and delayed, garrisoned the Five Ridges to guard against Yue and built the long wall to guard against the Hu, yet wickedness sprouted, bandits lived in crowds, and the more the affairs multiplied the more the disorder grew. So law is a tool of governing and not what governing is, just as the bow and arrow are tools of hitting and not what hits.]. Now there are over a hundred articles of statutes and orders, the texts are numerous, the crimes weighty, and the commanderies and kingdoms use them in doubt, some lightly and some heavily; even officials who are practiced in them do not know how to deal with them, much less the foolish people. This is why cases increase and the people violate prohibitions [the Treatise on Punishments says: when Emperor Xiaowu took the throne, he engaged in campaigns against the four barbarians outside and indulged the pleasures of ears and eyes within; levies were frequent, the hundred clans were impoverished, the poor broke the law, harsh officials struck and judged, and the treachery was beyond control. Then Zhang Tang, Zhao Yu and their ilk were brought forward to draw up laws and orders, making laws on knowing and deliberately letting go and on supervisors and heads, relaxing punishment for deep and deliberate crimes and tightening execution for letting go of offenders. After that, cunning and sly men used the laws craftily, comparing and analogizing in turn, and the prohibition net became gradually denser. The statutes and orders totaled 359 chapters, with 409 articles and 1,882 cases for capital punishment, and 13,472 precedent cases for death-penalty judgments, and the documents filled the desks and pavilions so that officials in charge could not see them all. For this reason commanderies and kingdoms applied them inconsistently, sometimes with the same crime and different verdicts, and treacherous officials took advantage to trade; those they wished to save were given life-giving arguments, and those they wished to trap were given death precedents, and those who deliberated all felt wronged and hurt. Emperor Yuan of Han said: laws and orders are used to suppress the violent and support the weak, and are meant to be hard to violate and easy to avoid. Now statutes and orders are numerous and not concise, and even those in charge of the texts cannot distinguish them clearly, yet one wants to snare the common people who do not reach them; is that the meaning of balanced punishment? Emperor Cheng of Han said: the Fu Xing says that the five punishments number three thousand and the punishments of capital sentences number two hundred. Now the capital punishments are over a thousand articles, the statutes and orders are over a million words in numerous clauses, and strange requests and other precedents grow daily; even those who understand them do not know where they come from, and to explain them to the many, is that not difficult? To use them to snare the common people, and cut short their innocent lives, is that not sorrowful? The Tai Zu Xun says: to be trusted without speaking, benevolent without giving, awe-inspiring without anger is because Heaven's heart moves and transforms; to be benevolent with giving, trusted with speaking, awe-inspiring with anger is because essence and sincerity move them; to give but not be benevolent, speak but not be trusted, and be angry but not awe-inspiring is to do it with outward appearance. So if there is the Way to lead them, though laws are few they are enough to transform; if the Way is absent in carrying them out, though laws are many they are enough to cause disorder.]. The Book of Poetry says: 'Fit for the jail, fit for the prison, holding a handful of grain and going out to divine, where can one get good fortune?' This satirizes the multiplicity of laws. The categories of mourning dress for kin are very many, with those above and below attached, yet the dress does not exceed five [the five mourning dresses are zhancui, zicui, dagong, xiaogong, and sima]; the categories of the five punishments are three thousand, with those above and below applying, yet the crimes do not exceed five [the five punishments are tattooing, nose-cutting, foot-cutting, castration, and death]. So the Way of governing the people is simply to strengthen their teaching [the Tai Zu Xun says: if one has the nature but not the nurture, one cannot follow the Way. The nature of a cocoon is to become silk, yet unless a skilled woman boils it in hot water and draws out its thread, it cannot become silk; the egg's transformation into a chick, without a kind hen warming and covering it for days on end, cannot become a chick; the human nature has the resources of benevolence and righteousness, but unless a sage king makes laws and standards for it and teaches and guides it, it cannot be made to face the right direction. The Zhu Shu Xun says: punishments are not enough to change customs, and killing is not enough to prohibit wickedness; only spiritual transformation is valuable. The utmost essence is spirit; solid and keeping its truth, embracing virtue and extending sincerity, the world follows him like an echo answering a sound or a shadow following a form. Without giving he is benevolent, without speaking he is trusted, without seeking he gains, without acting he accomplishes, without summoning they come of themselves, without beckoning they go of themselves; deep and obscure (the base text has corrupt characters), none knows who does it and yet the work is done.].

大夫曰文學言王者立法曠若大路今馳道不小也而民公犯之以其罰罪之輕也千仞之髙人不輕凌千鈞之重人不輕舉商君刑棄灰於道而秦民治【韓非子曰殷之法刑棄灰於道者子貢以為重問之仲尼仲尼曰知治之道也夫棄灰於街必掩人掩人人必怒怒則闘闘必三族相殘也此殘三族之道也雖刑之可也且夫重罪者人之所惡也而無棄灰人之所易也使人行之所易而無離所惡此治之道也又曰公孫鞅之法也重輕罪者人之所難犯也而小過者人之所易去也使人去其所易無離其所難此治之道夫小過不生大罪不至是人無罪而亂不生也李斯曰商君之法刑棄灰於道者夫棄灰薄罪也而被刑重罰也故唯明主為能深督輕罪夫罪輕且督深而況有重罪乎故民不敢犯也】故盜馬者死盜牛者加所以重本而絶輕疾之資也武兵名食所以佐邉而重武備也盜傷與殺同罪所以累其心而責其意也猶魯以楚師伐齊而春秋惡【音汙】之【春秋曰公以楚師伐齊取谷左傳曰凡師能左右之曰以寘桓公子雍於谷易牙奉之以為魯援楚申公叔侯戍之桓公之子七人為七大夫於楚穀梁傳曰以者不以者也民者君之本也使民以其死非其正也】故輕之為重淺之為深有縁而然法之防者固非眾人之所知也

The Grand Secretary said: The literati say that when a king establishes laws they are open like a great road. Now the royal roads are not small, yet the people openly violate them, because the punishment for the offense is light. A height of a thousand fathoms, people do not easily climb; a weight of a thousand jun, people do not easily lift. Lord Shang punished those who dropped ashes on the road, and the people of Qin were governed [the Han Feizi says: the law of Yin punished those who dropped ashes on the road. Zigong thought it too heavy and asked Zhongni. Zhongni said: 'He knows the Way of governing. Ashes dropped in the street will surely cover people; covering people will surely anger them; anger leads to fighting; and fighting will surely lead to the mutual destruction of three clans. This is a path to destroying three clans, and punishing it is acceptable. Moreover heavy crimes are what people hate, and not dropping ashes is what people find easy. Making people do what is easy for them and not leave what they hate is the Way of governing.' It also says: Gongsun Yang's law made heavy penalties for light offenses; heavy penalties are what people find hard to risk, while small faults are what people find easy to avoid. Making people avoid what is easy and not leave what is hard is the Way of governing. Small faults do not arise, great crimes do not come, and so people have no crimes and disorder does not arise. Li Si said: Lord Shang's law punished those who dropped ashes on the road. Dropping ashes is a minor offense and being punished is a heavy penalty. So only an enlightened ruler can strictly supervise light offenses. If light offenses are supervised deeply, how much more heavy crimes? So the people dare not violate.]. So one who steals a horse dies and one who steals an ox is penalized more, to emphasize the root and cut off the resources for light, quick crimes; the arsenal's weapons and famous food are to assist the frontier and emphasize military preparedness; theft that causes injury is the same crime as killing, to burden the mind and hold the intent responsible. It is as when Lu used Chu troops to attack Qi and the Spring and Autumn Annals disapproved [pronunciation note: wu is read wu] of it [the Spring and Autumn Annals says: the duke used Chu troops to attack Qi and took Gu. The Zuo Zhuan says: when an army can be directed left or right, it is called 'using.' Duke Huan's son Yong was placed at Gu, Yi Ya served him as support for Lu, and Shen Gongshu Hou of Chu garrisoned it. Duke Huan's seven sons became seven grand masters in Chu. The Guliang Commentary says: 'using' is not using; the people are the root of the ruler. To use the people by their death is not right.]. So making light into heavy and shallow into deep has its reasons. The subtleties of law (the base text has a corrupt character) are certainly not what the crowd knows.

文學曰詩云周道如砥其直如矢言其易也君子所履小人所視言其明也故徳明而易從法約而易行【韓嬰曰詩云俾民不迷昔之君子道其百姓不使迷是以威厲而刑措不用也故形其仁義謹其教道使民目晰焉而見之使民耳晰焉而聞之使民心晰焉而知之則道不迷而民志不惑矣詩曰示我顯徳行故道義不易民不由也禮樂不明民不見也詩曰周道如砥其直如矢言其易也君子所履小人所視言其明也睠言顧之澘焉出涕哀其不聞禮教而就刑誅也泰族訓曰治大者道不可以小地廣者制不可以狹位髙者事不可以煩民眾者教不可以苟夫事碎難治也法煩難行也求多難贍也寸而度之至丈必差銖而稱之至石必過石秤丈量徑而寡失簡絲數米煩而不察故大較易為智曲辯難為慧故無益於治而有益於煩者聖人不為無益於用而有益於費者智者弗行也故功不猒約事不猒省求不猒寡功約易成也事省易治也求寡易贍也眾易之於以任人易矣】今馳道經營陵陸紆【音於】周天下是以萬里為民穽【音阱】也罻【音尉】羅張而縣【音懸】其谷闢防設而當其蹊繳【音勺】弋飾而加其上能勿離【去聲】乎聚其所欲開其所利仁義陵遲能勿逾乎【孔子曰上陣之教而先服之則百姓從風矣躬行不從而後俟之以刑則民知罪矣夫一仞之牆民不能逾百仞之山童子升而遊焉陵遲故也今是仁義之陵遲乆矣能謂民勿逾乎】故其末途至於攻城入邑損府庫之金盜宗廟之器豈特千仞之髙千鈞之重哉管子曰四維不張雖臯陶不能為士故徳教廢而詐偽行禮義壊而奸邪興言無仁義也【管子曰國有四維一維絶則傾二維絶則危三維絶則覆四維絶則滅傾可正也危可安也覆可起也滅不可復錯也何謂四維一曰禮二曰義三曰亷四曰恥禮不逾節義不自進亷不蔽惡恥不從枉故不逾節則上位安不自進則民無巧詐不蔽惡則行自全不從枉則邪事不生故曰四維不張國乃滅亡主術訓曰臯陶喑而為大理天下無虐刑有貴於言者也師曠瞽而為大宰晉無亂政有貴於見者也不言之令不視之見此伏羲神農之所以為師也故民之化也不從其所言而從所行又曰國之所以存者仁義是也人之所以生者行善是也國無仁義雖大必亡人無善志雖勇必傷】仁者愛之效也義者事之宜也故君子愛人以及物治近以及逺傳【去聲】曰凡生之物莫貴於人人主之所貴莫重於人故天之生萬物以奉人也主愛人以順天也聞以六畜禽獸養人未聞以所養害人者也魯廐焚孔子罷朝【音潮】問人不問馬賤畜而重人也【董仲舒曰人受命於天固超然異於群生五穀以食之桑麻以衣之六畜以養之服牛乘馬圈豹檻虎是其得天之靈貴於物也故孔子曰天地之性人為貴呂氏春秋曰仁於他物不仁於人不得為仁不仁於他物獨仁於人猶若為仁仁也者仁乎其類者也故仁人之於民也可以便之無不行也】今盜馬者罪死盜牛者加乘車馬馳行道中吏舉苛而不止以為盜馬而罪亦死今傷人持其刀劒而亡亦可謂盜武庫兵而殺之乎【三輔黃圖雲武庫在未央宮蕭何造以藏兵器者也】人主立法而民犯之亦可以為逆面輕主約乎深之可以死輕之可以免非法禁之意也法者緣人情而制非設罪以陷人也故春秋之治獄論心定罪志善而違於法者免志惡而合於法者誅【範甯曰孔子因魯史修春秋舉得失以彰黜陟明成敗以著勸戒一字之褒寵逾華袞之贈片言之貶辱過市朝之撻徳之所助雖賤必申義之所抑雖貴必屈故附勢匿非者無所逃其罪潛徳獨運者無所隠其名信不易之宏規百王之通典也春秋元命包曰古者樹棘槐聽訟於其下棘赤心有刺槐之為言歸也言治人者原其心不失赤實事所以刺人真情令各歸實也荀子曰相形不如論心論心不如擇術形不勝心心不勝術形相惡而心術善無害為君子也形相善而心術惡無害為小人也】念傷民未有所害志不甚惡而合於法者謂盜而傷人者耶將執法者過耶何於人心不厭也古者傷人有創【音瘡】者刑盜有贓者罰殺人者死今取人兵刃以傷人罪與殺人同得無非其至意與大夫俛【音免】仰未應對

The Literati said: The Classic of Poetry says: "The road of Zhou is like a whetstone, straight as an arrow" - this speaks of its ease; "what the gentleman treads, the petty man looks upon" - this speaks of its clarity. So when virtue is clear it is easy to follow, and when law is concise it is easy to carry out [Han Ying said: The Poetry says: "Let the people not be lost." The gentlemen of old guided their people so that they were not lost, and so they were awe-inspiring and punishments were set aside and unused. So they displayed their humaneness and rightness and were careful with their teaching, making the people's eyes clearly see it, ears clearly hear it, hearts clearly know it, so the Way was not lost and the people's will was not confused. The Poetry says: "Show me your bright virtue." So if the Way and rightness are not easy, the people do not follow; if ritual and music are not clear, the people do not see them. The Poetry says: "The road of Zhou is like a whetstone, straight as an arrow" - this speaks of its ease; "what the gentleman treads, the petty man looks upon" - this speaks of its clarity. "Looking back with longing, tears flow" - this mourns that they did not hear of ritual teaching and instead went to punishment and execution. The chapter "Taizu" says: One who governs the great should not use petty Way, one with broad land should not have narrow regulations, one in a high position should not have complicated affairs, and one with many people should not have careless teaching. Petty affairs are hard to govern, complicated laws are hard to carry out, and many demands are hard to satisfy. Measure by the inch and by the time you reach a zhang you will surely err; weigh by the zhu and by the time you reach a shi you will surely be over; weigh with a stone scale and measure with a zhang rod and you will go straight with few mistakes; sort threads and count grains of rice and you will be troubled and not discern. So the great rule makes wisdom easy, and crooked arguments make cleverness difficult. Therefore what does no good for governing and only adds complication, the sage does not do; what does no good for use and only adds expense, the wise man does not carry out. So merit does not tire of being concise, affairs do not tire of being reduced, and demands do not tire of being few. With concise merit it is easy to accomplish; with reduced affairs it is easy to govern; with few demands it is easy to satisfy. The multitude find it easy, and so it is easy to employ people.]. Now the imperial roads are laid out over hills and plains and wind [phonetic gloss: "yu" is read yu] around the world, and so ten thousand li have become traps [phonetic gloss: "jing" is read jing] for the people. Nets [phonetic gloss: "wei" is read wei] are spread and hung [phonetic gloss: "xian" is read xuan] in the valleys, spring-traps (the original reads "pi fang", which by parallel with hunting gear should be "ji pi") are set on the paths, and arrow-strings [phonetic gloss: "jiao" is read shuo] and darts are fitted above; can they avoid being caught [phonetic gloss: "li" is read in the departing tone]? One gathers what they desire and opens what they profit from, humaneness and rightness decline like a sloping hill; can they not overstep [Confucius said: If those above set out the teaching and first submit to it themselves, the common people follow like grass in the wind. If the people do not follow even when one practices it personally, then one waits with punishment, and the people know guilt. A wall of one ren the people cannot cross, but a mountain of a hundred ren a child climbs and plays on, because it slopes. Now humaneness and rightness have long since declined; can one say the people will not overstep?]. So at its end they come to attack cities and enter towns, to diminish the gold of the treasuries and steal the vessels of ancestral temples; is this only a matter of a thousand ren in height or a thousand jun in weight? Guanzi said: If the four cords are not stretched, even Gao Yao could not be a judge. So when virtue and teaching are abolished, deceit and falsehood are practiced; when ritual and rightness are ruined, crookedness and evil arise; this speaks of the absence of humaneness and rightness [Guanzi said: A state has four cords. If one cord is cut, it tilts; if two are cut, it is endangered; if three are cut, it capsizes; if four are cut, it is destroyed. What tilts can be set right, what is endangered can be made safe, what capsizes can be righted, but what is destroyed cannot be restored. What are the four cords? First is ritual, second is rightness, third is integrity, fourth is shame. If ritual does not overstep its limits, those in high positions are secure; if rightness does not advance itself, the people have no cunning; if integrity does not conceal evil, conduct is whole of itself; if shame does not follow crookedness, evil affairs do not arise. So it is said: If the four cords are not stretched, the state is destroyed. The chapter "Zhushu" says: Gao Yao was mute yet served as chief judge, and the world had no cruel punishments, showing that something is more valuable than speech; Shi Kuang was blind yet served as grand steward, and Jin had no disorderly government, showing something more valuable than sight. Orders without speech and sight without seeing are why Fuxi and Shennong were teachers. So the people's transformation does not follow what is said but follows what is done. It also says: What preserves a state is humaneness and rightness, and what lets a person live is doing good. A state without humaneness and rightness will certainly perish however large; a person without good will will certainly be hurt however brave.]. Humaneness is the effect of love, and rightness is what is fitting in affairs. So the gentleman loves people and extends to things, governs the near and extends to the distant. The commentary [phonetic gloss: "zhuan" is read in the departing tone] says: Of all living things none is more precious than humans, and of what rulers value none is weightier than humans. So Heaven produces the myriad things to serve humans, and rulers love humans to accord with Heaven. I have heard of using the six domestic animals and fowl and beasts to nourish people, but have not heard of using what nourishes to harm people. When the stable of Lu burned, Confucius left court [phonetic gloss: "chao" is read chao] and asked about the people, not the horses; this was making light of animals and valuing humans [Dong Zhongshu said: People receive their mandate from Heaven, and of course are transcendently different from the multitude of living things. The five grains feed them, mulberry and hemp clothe them, the six domestic animals nourish them, oxen are used and horses ridden, leopards penned and tigers caged, because they have received the spirit of Heaven and are more precious than things. So Confucius said: Of the nature of Heaven and Earth, humans are the most precious. The Lüshi chunqiu says: One who is humane to other things but not to humans cannot be called humane; one who is not humane to other things but humane to humans can almost be called humane. Humaneness is being humane to one's own kind. So when a humane person deals with the people, there is nothing convenient to them that he does not carry out.]. Now one who steals a horse is guilty of a capital offense, and one who steals an ox is punished more. One who drives a carriage and horses along the road, whom officials accuse of harshness but he does not stop, is deemed a horse thief and also guilty of a capital offense. Now if someone wounds a person and flees holding his knife or sword, may it also be said that he stole weapons from the arsenal and killed with them [the Sanfu huangtu says: The arsenal is in the Weiyang Palace, built by Xiao He to store weapons.]? When a ruler sets up laws and the people violate them, can it also be treated as going against the face of the ruler and slighting his covenant? Treating it harshly can lead to death, treating it lightly can lead to release, which was not the intention of legal prohibition. Law is made by following human feeling and is not set up to trap people with crimes. So the Spring and Autumn Annals' handling of cases judged the heart and decided guilt: one whose will was good yet who violated the law was spared, and one whose will was evil yet who fit the law was executed [Fan Ning said: Confucius, relying on the chronicles of Lu, compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals, raising gains and losses to show demotion and promotion, clarifying success and failure to display encouragement and warning. The praise of a single word is more glorious than the gift of a splendid robe; the censure of a short phrase is more shaming than a flogging in the marketplace. Where virtue helps, even the lowly are surely vindicated; where rightness suppresses, even the noble are surely bent. So those who rely on power and hide wrong have no escape from their guilt, and those whose hidden virtue works alone cannot conceal their name. Truly it is an unchanging great rule and a common canon for a hundred kings. The Chunqiu yuanming bao says: In ancient times they planted jujube and locust trees and heard lawsuits beneath them. The jujube has a red heart with thorns, and the locust means "to return." This says that those who judge people trace the heart, not losing a red substance, and that affairs are what prick people's true feelings, making each return to the truth. Xunzi said: Reading physiognomy is not as good as judging the heart, and judging the heart is not as good as choosing the method. Form does not prevail over the heart, and the heart does not prevail over the method. If one's form is ugly but his heart and method are good, it does no harm to his being a gentleman; if one's form is good but his heart and method are bad, it does no harm to his being a petty man.]. When someone intends no injury to the people and has done no harm, and his will is not very evil yet he fits the law, shall he be called a thief who wounds people? Or is it the fault of the one who enforces the law? How can it satisfy the human heart? In ancient times one who wounded someone with a wound [phonetic gloss: "chuang" is read chuang] was punished, one who stole with stolen goods was fined, and one who killed was put to death. Now to take another's weapon and wound someone with it makes the guilt the same as killing; can this be what the law truly intended? The Grand Secretary bowed his head [phonetic gloss: "fu" is read mian] and looked up and did not answer.

御史大夫曰執法者國之轡銜刑罰者國之維檝【音接】故轡銜不飭雖王良不能以致逺維檝不設雖良工不能以絶水【主術訓曰法律度量者人主之所以執下釋之而不用是猶無轡銜而馳也群臣百姓反弄其上是故有術則制人無術則制於人吞舟之魚蕩而失水則制於螻蟻離其居也猨狖失木而擒於狐狸非其處也許慎曰王良晉大夫御無恤子良也謂御良也一名孫無政為趙簡子御死而托精於天駟星天文有王良星是也】韓子曰疾有國者不能明其法勢御其臣下富國彊兵以制敵御難【去聲】惑於愚儒之文詞以疑賢士之謀舉浮淫之蠧【音妬】加之功實之上而欲國之治猶釋階而欲登髙無銜橛【音蹶】而御駻馬也【銜馬勒也橛車鉤心也】今刑法設備而民猶犯之況無法乎其亂必也【刑法志曰教笞不可廢於家刑罰不可捐於國誅罰不可偃於天下用之有巧拙行之有逆順耳】

The Imperial Counselor said: Enforcing law is the reins and bit of the state, and punishment is the oar and rudder [phonetic gloss: "ji" is read jie] of the state. So if the reins and bit are not kept in order, even Wang Liang could not go far; if the rudder and oar are not set up, even a skilled craftsman could not cross the water [the chapter "Zhushu" says: Laws, standards and measures are what the ruler uses to hold those below; to set them aside and not use them is like galloping without reins and bit, and the ministers and people will in turn play with their superior. So with method one controls others, and without method one is controlled by others. A fish large enough to swallow a boat, if it flounders out of water, is controlled by mole crickets and ants, because it left its dwelling; a monkey, having lost its tree, is caught by foxes and wildcats, because it is not in its place. Xu Shen said: Wang Liang was Wuxu, grand master of Jin, also called Ziliang, called Yuliang, also named Sun Wuzheng, who drove for Zhao Jianzi, and after death his essence lodged in the celestial star Tiansi. The star Wang Liang in the astronomy is this.]. Han Feizi said: Those who have a state and cannot make clear their laws and authority, control their ministers, enrich the state and strengthen the army to restrain enemies and ward off calamity [phonetic gloss: "nan" is read in the departing tone], but are bewildered by the writings of foolish Confucians and thereby doubt the plans of worthy scholars, raising the floating and licentious vermin [phonetic gloss: "du" is read du] above real merit, yet desire that the state be well governed, are like abandoning stairs and yet wishing to climb high, or driving a bolting horse without bit and hook [phonetic gloss: "jue" is read jue] ["xian" is the bit, and "jue" is the hook at the heart of the carriage]. Now though punishments and laws are set up, the people still violate them; how much more if there were no law? Its disorder would be sure [the Xingfa zhi says: Teaching with the cane cannot be abandoned in the household, punishment cannot be discarded in the state, and execution and penalty cannot be put away in the world; there is only skill or clumsiness in using them and compliance or going against in applying them.].

文學曰轡銜者御之具也得良工而調法勢者治之具也得賢人而化【泰族訓曰禹以夏王桀以夏亡湯以殷王紂以殷亡非法度不存也紀綱不張風俗壊也三代之法不亡而世不治者無三代之智也六律具存而莫能聽者無師曠之耳也故法雖在必待聖而後治律雖具必待耳而後聽故國之所以存者非以有法也以有賢人也其所以亡者非以無法也以無聖人也故臧武以其智存魯而天下莫能亡也蘧伯玉以其仁寧衞而天下莫能危也張敞曰懇懇用刑不如行恩孳孳求奸未若禮賢舜舉臯陶不仁者逺隨會為政晉盜奔秦虞芮入境讓心自生化人在徳不在用刑】執轡非其人則馬奔馳執舳【音逐】非其人則舩【音船】覆傷昔吳使宰嚭【披上聲】持舳【音逐】而破其舩【音船】秦使趙髙執轡而覆其車【越絶書曰太宰者官號嚭者名也伯州之孫伯州為楚臣以過誅嚭以困奔於吳是時吳王闔廬伐楚悉召楚仇而近之嚭為人覽聞辯見目達耳通諸事無所不知因其時自納於吳言伐楚之利闔廬用之伐楚令子胥孫武與嚭將師入郢有大功還吳王以嚭為太宰位髙權盛専邦之枋未久闔廬卒嚭見夫差內無柱石之堅外無斷割之勢防心自納操獨斷之利夫差終以從焉而忠臣籥口不得一言嚭知徃而不知來夫差至死悔不早誅傳曰見清知濁見曲知直人君選士各象其徳夫差淺短以是與嚭専權伍胥為之惑是之謂也陳琳曰曩者彊秦弱主趙髙執柄専制朝權威福由已時人廹脅莫敢正言終有望夷之敗秦紀曰秦二世夢白虎齧其左驂馬殺之問占夢涇水為祟二世乃齋望夷宮欲祠涇水使使責讓趙髙以盜事髙懼乃隂與其女壻咸陽令閻樂數二世二世自殺鄒陽曰偏聽生奸獨任成亂】今廢仁義之術而任刑名之徒則復吳秦之事也夫【音扶】為君者法三王為相【去聲】者法周公為術者法孔子此百世不易之道也韓非非先王而不遵舍正令而不從卒蹈陷穽身幽囚客死於秦本夫【音扶】不通大道而小辯斯足以害其身而已【韓非傳曰韓非者韓之諸公子也喜刑名法術之學而其歸本於黃老非為人口吃不能道說而善著書見韓之削弱數以書諫韓王韓王不能用故作孤憤五蠧內外儲說林說難十餘萬言人或傳其書至秦秦王見孤憤五蠧之書曰嗟乎寡人得見此人與之遊死不恨矣李斯曰此韓非之所為書也秦因急攻韓韓王始不用非及急廼遣非使秦秦王恱之未信用李斯姚賈害之毀之曰韓非韓之諸公子也今王欲並諸侯非終為韓不為秦此人之情也今王不用乆留而歸之此自遺患也不如以過法誅之秦王以為然下吏治非李斯使人遺非藥使自殺韓非欲自陳不得見秦王后悔之使人赦之非已死矣】

The Literati said: The reins and bit are tools of driving, and are adjusted when one finds a skilled craftsman; law and authority are tools of governing, and transform when one finds a worthy person [the chapter "Taizu" says: Yu became king through the Xia, and Jie perished through the Xia; Tang became king through the Yin, and Zhou perished through the Yin. It is not that the laws and standards did not exist, but that the guiding threads were not stretched and customs were ruined. The laws of the Three Dynasties did not perish, yet the age was not governed, because they lacked the wisdom of the Three Dynasties; the six pitches all remain yet no one can hear them, because they lack Shi Kuang's ears. So though laws exist, one must wait for a sage and then there is governance; though the pitches are complete, one must have ears and then one can hear. Therefore a state's survival is not because it has laws but because it has worthy people, and its ruin is not because it lacks laws but because it lacks sages. So Zang Wuzhong preserved Lu with his wisdom and no one in the world could ruin it, and Qu Boyu gave peace to Wey with his humaneness and no one in the world could endanger it. Zhang Chang said: Earnestly applying punishment is not as good as practicing kindness, and diligently seeking out evil is not as good as honoring the worthy. When Shun promoted Gao Yao, the unbenevolent went far away; when Sui Hui held government, the bandits of Jin ran off to Qin; when Yu and Rui entered the border, the heart of yielding arose of itself. Transforming people lies in virtue and not in using punishment.]. If the one who holds the reins is not the right person the horses bolt, and if the one who holds the stern [phonetic gloss: "zhu" is read zhu] is not the right person the boat [phonetic gloss: "chuan" is read chuan] capsizes and is damaged. In the past Wu had Chancellor Pi [phonetic gloss: "pi" is read in the rising tone, pi] hold the stern [phonetic gloss: "zhu" is read zhu] and he wrecked its boat [phonetic gloss: "chuan" is read chuan], and Qin had Zhao Gao hold the reins and he overturned its carriage [the Yuejue shu says: Taizai is an official title and Pi is a name, a grandson of Bo Zhou. Bo Zhou was a minister of Chu who was executed for a fault, and Pi fled to Wu in distress. At that time King Helü of Wu attacked Chu and summoned all of Chu's enemies and drew them near. Pi was a man of wide learning, discerning, quick of eye and ear, who knew everything, and at that moment recommended himself to Wu and spoke of the benefits of attacking Chu. Helü used him to attack Chu and ordered Zixu, Sun Wu and Pi to lead the army into Ying, with great merit. On return, the King of Wu made Pi grand steward, with high position and great power, seizing the handle of the state. Before long Helü died. Pi saw that Fuchai within had no firm pillar and without had no power to decide, bent his heart and offered himself, and wielded the benefit of sole decision, and Fuchai in the end followed him, while loyal ministers had their mouths locked and could not say a word. Pi knew the past but not the future, and Fuchai regretted until death that he had not executed him earlier. The commentary says: Seeing the clear, one knows the muddy; seeing the crooked, one knows the straight. A ruler's selection of scholars each reflects his virtue. Fuchai was shallow and short, and so he and Pi monopolized power, and Wu Zixu was bewildered by it. This is what is meant. Chen Lin said: In former times when mighty Qin had a weak ruler, Zhao Gao held the handle and monopolized court power, dispensing awe and favor by himself, and people of the time were coerced and none dared speak correctly, and in the end there was the defeat at Wangyi. The Qin ji says: The Second Emperor of Qin dreamed that a white tiger bit his left outer horse and killed it, and asked a dream diviner, who said the Jing River was causing trouble. The Second Emperor then fasted at the Wangyi Palace to sacrifice to the Jing River, and sent an envoy to rebuke Zhao Gao over the bandit matter. Gao was afraid and secretly with his son-in-law, the magistrate of Xianyang, Yan Le, enumerated the Second Emperor's crimes. The Second Emperor killed himself. Zou Yang said: Listening to one side breeds cunning, and relying on one person alone creates disorder.]. Now to abandon the arts of humaneness and rightness and employ followers of forms and names would repeat the affairs of Wu and Qin. The opening "fu" [phonetic gloss: "fu" is read fu]: a ruler should model himself on the Three Kings, a chancellor [phonetic gloss: "xiang" is read in the departing tone] on the Duke of Zhou, and one who practices a method on Confucius; this is the Way unchanged for a hundred generations. Han Fei condemned the former kings and did not follow them, abandoned correct orders and did not obey them, and in the end stepped into a trap, was imprisoned, and died as a guest in Qin. The opening "fu" [phonetic gloss: "fu" is read fu]: not penetrating the great Way and making small arguments is enough to harm one's own person and no more [the Han Fei biography says: Han Fei was one of the princes of Han, who loved the learning of forms and names, law and technique, whose roots lay in Huang-Lao. Fei stammered and could not speak, but was good at writing books. Seeing Han weakened, he repeatedly remonstrated with the King of Han in writing, but the King of Han could not use him, so he wrote Gufen, Wudu, Neiwai chu, Shuolin and Shuonan, more than a hundred thousand words. Someone passed his books to Qin. The King of Qin, seeing the writings Gufen and Wudu, said: Alas, if I could meet this man and travel with him, I would die without regret. Li Si said: These are the works of Han Fei. Qin then urgently attacked Han. The King of Han at first did not use Fei, but when pressed sent Fei as envoy to Qin. The King of Qin was pleased with him but did not trust and use him. Li Si and Yao Jia harmed him, slandering him: Han Fei is one of the princes of Han. Now the king wants to annex the feudal lords, and in the end Fei will act for Han and not for Qin; this is human feeling. Now if the king does not use him but keeps him long and sends him home, that would leave trouble for oneself. It is better to execute him by the law for some fault. The King of Qin thought so and handed Fei to officials. Li Si sent someone to give Fei medicine to make him kill himself. Han Fei wished to state his case himself but could not see the king. The King of Qin later regretted it and sent someone to pardon him, but Fei was already dead.]