Xin Shu (新書) · Volume 7

然後，卜王太子名，上毋取於天，下毋取於地，毋取於名山通谷，毋悖於鄉俗。是故君子名難知而易諱也，此所以養恩之道也。

Then the name of the royal crown prince was divined, and it should not be taken from heaven above or earth below, should not be taken from famous mountains or through valleys, and should not go against local custom. So a superior person’s name is hard to know and easy to avoid speaking, which is a way to nurture kindness.

正之禮者，王太子無羞臣領臣之子也，故謂領臣之子也？身朝王者，妻朝後，之子朝王太子，是謂臣之子也，此正禮胎教也。周妃後妊成王於身，立而不跛，坐而不差，笑而不諠，獨處不倨，雖怒不罵，胎教之謂也。成王生，仁者養之，孝者襁之，四賢傍之。成王有知，而選太公為師，周公為傅，前有與計，而後有與慮也。是以封於泰山而禪於梁父，朝諸侯，一天下。由此觀之，主左右不可不練也。

In the correct ritual, the royal crown prince feels no shame at being called the son of a minister; is that why he is called the son of one who leads ministers? One who attends court personally before the king, whose wife attends the queen, and whose son attends the crown prince, is called a son of a minister, and this is correct ritual and prenatal instruction. When the Zhou queen was with King Cheng, she stood without leaning, sat without sprawling, laughed without clamor, was not arrogant when alone, and even when angry did not curse; this was prenatal instruction. When King Cheng was born, the benevolent nursed him, the filial swaddled him, and four worthies were at his side. King Cheng had knowledge, and chose Taigong as teacher and the Duke of Zhou as tutor, with people before him to plan together and people behind him to ponder together. Thereby he performed the feng sacrifice at Mount Tai and the shan sacrifice at Liangfu, received the feudal lords at court, and unified the world. Seen from this, those on the left and right of a ruler must be chosen.

昔禹以夏王，而桀以夏亡：湯以殷王，而紂以殷亡：闔閭以吳戰勝無敵，而夫差以之見禽于越：文公以晉伯，而厲公以見殺於匠麗之宮：威王以齊強於天下，而簡公以殺於檀臺：穆公以秦顯名尊號，而二世以劫於望夷之宮。其所以君王同，而功跡不等者，所任異也。

In the past Yu became king through Xia, and Jie perished through Xia; Tang became king through Yin, and Zhou perished through Yin; Helu through Wu won invincible victories, and Fuchai was thereby captured by Yue; Duke Wen became hegemon through Jin, and Duke Li was thereby killed in the Jiangli Palace; King Wei through Qi was strong in the world, and Duke Jian was thereby killed at Tan Terrace; Duke Mu through Qin was famed and honored, and the Second Emperor was thereby seized at the Wangyi Palace. The reason they were all rulers and yet their achievements and traces were unequal is that those they employed were different.

故成王處襁褓之中，朝諸侯，周公用事也。武靈王五十而弒於沙丘，任李兌也。齊桓公得管仲，九合諸侯，一匡天下，稱為義主：失管仲，任豎刀，而身死不葬，為天下笑。一人之身，榮辱具施焉者，在所任也。故魏有公子無忌，而削地復：趙任藺相如，而秦兵不敢出：安陵任周瞻，而國獨立：楚有申包胥，而昭王復反：齊有陳單，襄王得其國。由此觀之，無賢佐俊士，能成功立名，安危繼絕者，未之有也。是以國不務大而務得民心，佐不務多而務得賢者。得民心而民往之，得賢者而賢者歸之。

So King Cheng, in swaddling clothes, held court for the feudal lords because the Duke of Zhou managed affairs. King Wuling at fifty was killed at Shaqiu because he employed Li Dui. Duke Huan of Qi, having Guan Zhong, convened the feudal lords nine times and set the whole world right at once, and was called a righteous lord; having lost Guan Zhong and employed Shu Diao, he died unburied and was laughed at by the world. In one person’s body, honor and disgrace are both applied, depending on whom he employs. So Wei had Prince Wuji, and its lost land was recovered; Zhao employed Lin Xiangru, and the troops of Qin dared not come out; Anling employed Zhou Zhan, and the state stood alone; Chu had Shen Baoxu, and King Zhao was able to return; Qi had Tian Dan, and King Xiang obtained his state. Seen from this, there has never been a case without worthy assistants and outstanding scholars where one could succeed and establish a name, secure the endangered, and continue what had been cut off. So a state does not strive to be large but strives to gain the people’s hearts, and assistants do not strive to be many but strive to be worthy. Gain the people’s hearts and the people turn toward you; gain the worthy and the worthy come to you.

文王請除炮烙之刑，而殷民從：湯去張網者之三面，而二垂至：越王不頹舊冢，而吳人服。以其所為順於人也。故同聲則處異而相應，意合則未見而相親。賢者立於本朝，而天下之士相率而趨之，何以知其然也？管仲者，桓公之讎也。鮑叔以為賢於己，而進之桓公。七十言說，乃聽。遂使桓公除仇讎之心，而委之國政焉。桓公垂拱無事而朝諸侯，鮑叔之力也。管仲之所以趨桓公，而無自危之心者，同聲於鮑叔也。

When King Wen asked to abolish the punishment of the burning pillar, the Yin people followed him; when Tang removed three sides of the net of the one who spread it, the creatures from both sides came to him; when the King of Yue did not destroy the old grave mounds, the people of Wu submitted. It was because what they did went along with people. So those of like voice respond though they are in different places, and those of like mind are close before they have even met. When the worthy stand in the original court, the scholars of the world follow one another and rush to him; how does one know this? Guan Zhong was Duke Huan’s enemy. Bao Shu thought he was more worthy than himself, and recommended him to Duke Huan. After seventy times of advising and persuading, he was finally heard. Thereupon Duke Huan put aside the heart of an enemy and entrusted the state’s government to him. That Duke Huan folded his hands without effort and held court for the feudal lords was Bao Shu’s strength. That Guan Zhong rushed to Duke Huan without a heart of self-protective fear was because he shared the same voice with Bao Shu.

衛靈公之時，蘧伯玉賢而不用，彌子瑕不肖而任事。史？患之，數言蘧伯玉賢而不聽。病且死，謂其子曰："我即死，治喪於北堂。吾生不能進蘧伯玉而退彌子瑕，是不能正君也。生不能正君者，死不當成禮。死而置屍於北堂，於我足矣。"靈公往吊，問其故，其子以父言聞。靈公戚然易容而寤曰："吾失矣。"立召蘧伯玉而進之，召彌子瑕而退之。徙喪於堂，成禮而後去。衛國以治，史？之力也。夫生進賢而退不肖，死且未止，又以尸諫，可謂忠不衰矣。

In the time of Duke Ling of Wei, Qu Boyu was worthy but not employed, and Mi Zixia was unworthy and put in charge of affairs. Shi Yu (the received text has a missing word) was troubled by this and repeatedly said that Qu Boyu was worthy, but was not heeded. When about to die, he told his son: “When I die, hold the funeral in the north hall. In life I could not get Qu Boyu advanced and Mi Zixia dismissed, which means I could not set the ruler right. One who in life could not set the ruler right should not have rites completed at death. It is enough for me that my corpse be laid in the north hall.” Duke Ling went to offer condolences and asked the reason, and his son reported his father’s words. Duke Ling was moved, changed his expression, and realized: “I was wrong.” At once he summoned Qu Boyu and advanced him, and summoned Mi Zixia and dismissed him. He moved the funeral to the main hall, completed the rites, and then left. The state of Wei was thereby governed, through the strength of Shi Yu. In life he advanced the worthy and removed the unworthy, and in death he still did not stop but remonstrated with his corpse, which may be called loyalty that never fades.

紂殺王子比干，而箕子被髮而佯狂。陳靈公殺洩冶，而鄧元去陳以族徙。自是之後，殷幷於周，陳亡於楚，以其殺比干與洩冶而失箕子與鄧元也。燕昭王得郭隗，而鄒衍。樂毅自齊。魏至，於是舉兵而攻齊，棲閔王於莒。燕度地計眾，不與齊均也，然而所以能信意至於此者，由得士故也。故無常安之國，無宜治之民，得賢者顯昌，失賢者危亡。自古及今，未有不然者也。

Zhou killed Prince Bigan, and Jizi let down his hair and feigned madness. Duke Ling of Chen killed Xie Ye, and Deng Yuan left Chen and moved away with his clan. After this, Yin was absorbed by Zhou and Chen was destroyed by Chu, because by killing Bigan and Xie Ye they lost Jizi and Deng Yuan. When King Zhao of Yan obtained Guo Wei, Zou Yan and Yue Yi came from Qi and Wei, and then he raised troops and attacked Qi, and made King Min lodge at Ju. Yan measured its land and counted its people, and was not equal to Qi, yet it was able to extend its will so far because it had won scholars. So there is no state that is constantly at peace and no people who are surely well governed; those who gain the worthy flourish and shine, and those who lose the worthy are endangered and perish. From ancient times to the present, there has been none that was not like this.

明鑑所以照形也，往古所以知今也。夫知惡古之所以危亡，不務襲跡於其所安存，則未有異於卻走而求及前人也。太公知之，故國微子之後，而封比干之墓。夫聖人之於聖者之死，尚如此其厚也，況當世存者乎！其弗失可知矣。

A bright mirror is used to reflect form, and the ancient past is used to know the present. To know to loathe the reasons ancient states were endangered and perished, yet not to strive to follow the traces of those that stayed safe and survived, is no different from walking backward while seeking to catch up with those ahead. Taigong knew this, so he founded a state for the descendants of Weizi and gave Bigan’s tomb an enfeoffment. A sage regarded the death of a sage so generously; how much more should one regard those still living in his own time! That he would not lose them can be known.

古之聖帝，將立世子，則帝自朝服，升自阼階上，西鄉於妃。妃抱世子自房出，東鄉。太史奉書西上堂，當兩階之閒，北面立，曰世子名曰某者參。帝執禮稱辭命世子曰度太祖。太宗與社稷於子者參。其命也妃曰不敢者再。於三命曰謹受命，拜而退。太史以告太祝，太祝以告太祖。太宗與社稷。太史出，以告太宰，太宰以告州伯，州伯命藏之州府。凡諸貴已下，至於百姓，男女無敢與世子同名者。以此防民，百姓猶有爭為君者。

In ancient times, when a sage emperor was about to establish an heir, the emperor himself put on court dress, climbed up by the east steps, and faced west toward the consort. The consort carried the heir out of the chamber, facing east. The Grand Historian, holding the document, went up into the hall from the west, stood facing north exactly between the two flights of steps, and said the heir’s name, such-and-such, three times. The emperor held to ritual and addressed the heir with a charge, saying he entrusted the Great Ancestor, the Great Ancestral Rite, and the altars of earth and grain to him (the received text has “measure,” suspected to be “entrust”) three times. At the time of the charge, the consort said she dared not repeat it twice. At the third charge, he said he respectfully received the charge, bowed and withdrew. The Grand Historian told the Grand Invocator, and the Grand Invocator informed the Great Ancestor, the Great Ancestral Rite, and the altars. The Grand Historian went out and told the Grand Steward, and the Grand Steward told the Provincial Earl, and the Provincial Earl ordered it stored in the provincial archive. From all the nobles downward to the common people, men and women dared not share the heir’s name. Using this to guard the people, there were still commoners who contended to be rulers.

夫勢明，則民定，而出於一道，故人皆爭為宰相，而不奸為世子。非宰相尊而世子卑也，不可以智求，不可以力爭也。今以為知子莫如父，故疾死置後者，恣父之所以，比使親戚不相親，兄弟不相愛，亂天下之紀，使天下之俗失，明尊敬而不讓，其道莫經於此。疾死置後，以嫡長子，如此則親戚相愛而兄弟不爭，此天下之至義也。民之不爭，亦惟學王宮國君室也。

When the situation is clearly divided, the people are settled, and everything comes from one Way, so everyone contends to be a chancellor but does not scheme to be an heir. It is not that the chancellor is honored and the heir lowly, but that it cannot be sought by cleverness or fought for by strength. Now to hold that nothing equals the father’s knowledge of his sons, and so to establish an heir in haste in case of sudden illness and death, indulging the father’s own will, is to make kin not close to one another and brothers not love one another, to disorder the world’s norms and cause the world’s customs to be lost, and to make honor and respect plain without yielding; no way is more constant than this. To establish an heir in case of sudden illness by using the eldest son of the principal wife, so that kin love one another and brothers do not contend, is the utmost righteousness of the world. When the people do not contend, they are only learning from the household of the royal palace and the ruler.

殷湯放桀，武王弒紂，此天下之所同聞也。為人臣而放其君，為人下而弒其上，天下之至逆也。而所以有天下者，以為天下開利除害，以義繼之也，故聲名稱於天下而傳於後世。隱其惡而揚其德美，立其功烈而傳之於久遠，故天下皆稱聖帝。至治其道之下，當天下之散亂，以強凌弱，眾暴寡，智欺愚，士卒罷弊，死於甲兵，老弱騷動，不得治產業，以天下之無天子也。

Tang of Yin banished Jie, and King Wu killed Zhou, which the whole world has heard. For a minister to banish his ruler and for one below to kill his superior is the utmost rebellion in the world. Yet that they came to hold the world was because they were taken to have opened benefit and removed harm for the world, and carried on by righteousness, so their reputation was praised throughout the world and passed on to later ages. They hid that evil and made their virtue and goodness shine, set up achievements and passed them on far into the future, so the whole world calls them sage emperors. When that Way was below, just when the world was scattered in disorder, the strong bullied the weak, the many were violent to the few, the clever deceived the foolish, soldiers were worn out, died by armor and weapons, the old and weak were in turmoil and could not manage their livelihoods; this was because the world had no Son of Heaven.

高皇帝起於布衣，而兼有天下，臣萬方諸侯，為天下闢興利除害，寢天下之兵，天下之至德也，而天下莫能明高皇帝之德美，定功烈而施之於後世也，故天下猶行弊世德與其功烈風俗也。夫帝王者，莫不相時而立儀，度務而制事，以馴其時也。欲變古易常者，不死必亡，此聖人之所制也。惡民更之，故拘為書使結之也，所以聞於後世也。

The August Emperor Gao rose from commoner status and came to hold the whole world, subduing the feudal lords of the ten thousand regions, and as ruler of the world he opened benefit and removed harm and stopped the world’s wars, which is the utmost virtue in the world; yet no one in the world was able to make plain the August Emperor Gao’s virtue and goodness, fix his achievements, and bestow them on later ages, so the world still follows the virtue of the worn-out age and the customs of his achievements. Emperors and kings all set up ceremonies according to the times and measure affairs to make regulations, in order to tame their own time. Those who want to change the ancient and alter the constants, if they do not die, will surely perish, and this is what the sages restrained. Fearing that the people would alter things, they bound them and wrote them in books to be tied in memory, in order to pass them on to later ages.