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公問於公孫鞅曰：「法令以當時立之者，明旦欲使天下之吏民，皆明知而用之如一而無私，奈何？」 |
| Fixing of Rights and...: |
The Duke questioned Gong-sun Yang, saying: 'Supposing that one established laws and mandates today, and wished that, tomorrow, all government servants and people, throughout the empire, should understand them clearly and apply them, so that all should be as one, and should have no selfish intentions - how can one bring this about?' |
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公孫鞅曰：為法令置官置吏樸足以知法令之謂，以為天下正者，則奏天子；天子名，則主法令之民，皆降受命發官。各主法令之民，敢忘行主法令之所謂之名，各以其所忘之法令名，罪之。主法令之吏有遷徙物故，輒使學者讀法令所謂，為之程式，使數日而知法令之所謂；不中程，為法令以罪之。有敢剟定法令，損益一字以上，罪死不赦。諸官吏及民有問法令之所謂於主法令之吏，皆各以其故所欲問之法令明告之。各為尺六寸之符，書明年月日時所問法令之名，以告吏民。主法令之吏，不告吏民之所問法令之所謂，皆以吏民之所問法令之罪，各罪主法令之吏。即以左券予吏民之問法令者，主法令之吏，謹藏其右券木柙，以室藏之，封以法令之長印。即後有物故，以券書從事。 |
| Fixing of Rights and...: |
Gong-sun Yang replied: 'There should be instituted, for the laws, government officers who are able to understand the contents of the decrees, and who should be the regulators of the empire. Then they should memorialize the Son of Heaven, whereupon the Son of Heaven would personally preside over the law and promulgate it. All should then issue to their inferiors the mandates they have received, and the law officers should preside personally over the law and promulgate it. When people venture to neglect practising the items named in the promulgations of the officers presiding over the law, then each one is punished according to the item in the law which he has neglected. In the eventuality of these officers, who preside over the law, being transferred or dying, students should be made to read the contents of the law and a standard of knowledge should be fixed for them, so that, within a certain number of days, they should know the contents of the law, and for those students who do not reach the standard, a law is made for punishing them. Should any one dare to tamper with the text of the law, to erase or add one single character, or more, he shall be condemned to death without pardon. Whenever government officials or people have questions about the meaning of the laws or mandates, to ask of the officers presiding over the law, the officers should, in each case, answer clearly according to the laws and mandates about which it was originally desired to ask questions, and they should, in each case, prepare a tablet of the length of 1 foot 6 inches, on which should be distinctly inscribed the year, month, day and hour, as well as the items of law about which questions were asked, for the information of the government officials or of the people. Should the officers who preside over the law not give the desired information, they should be punished according to the contents of the law, that is, they should be punished according to the law about which the government officials or people have asked information. The officers, presiding over the law, should forthwith give to those government officials who ask information about the law, the left half of the document and they themselves should store carefully the wooden bindings with the right half of the document, keep them in a room and seal them with the seal of the chief of the office of laws and mandates. Later, on the death of the officer, affairs should be transacted according to these files. |
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法令皆副置：一副天子之殿中，為法令為禁室，有鍵鑰為禁而以封之，內藏法令，一副禁室中，封以禁印。有擅發禁室印，及入禁室視禁法令，及剟禁一字以上，罪皆死不赦。一歲受法令以禁令。天子置三法官；殿中置一法官，御史置一法官及吏，丞相置一法官，諸侯郡縣皆各為置一法官及吏，皆比秦一法官。郡縣諸侯一受禁室之法令，并學問所謂。吏民欲知法令者，皆問法官，故天下之吏民，無不知法者。吏明知民知法令也，故吏不敢以非法遇民，民不敢犯法以干法官也。吏遇民不循法，則問法官，法官即以法之罪告之，民即以法官之言正告之吏。吏知其如此，故吏不敢以非法遇民，民又不敢犯法。如此，則天下之吏民，雖有賢良辯慧，不敢開一言以枉法；雖有千金，不能以用一銖。故知詐賢能者皆作而為善，皆務自治奉公，民愚則易治也。此皆生於法明白易知而必行。 |
| Fixing of Rights and...: |
All the laws and mandates should be put together as a set, one set being kept in the palace of the Son of Heaven. Forbidden archives should be built for the laws, which are locked with lock and key to prevent admittance, and are sealed up; herein should be stored one set of the laws and mandates. Inside the forbidden archives they should be sealed with a seal forbidding their opening. Whoever ventures unauthorisedly to break the seals of the forbidden archives, or to enter the forbidden archives, to inspect the forbidden laws and mandates, or to tamper with one or more characters of the forbidden laws, shall, in any of these cases, be guilty of death without pardon. Once a year laws and mandates shall be received for prohibitions and orders to be issued. The Son of Heaven shall set up three law officers, one in the palace, one in the office of the Yu-shi, together with a government official, and one in the chancery of the Cheng-Xiang. In the various prefectures and sub-prefectures of the feudal lords, shall be instituted one law officer, together with government officials, all of whom shall be similar to the law officers in Qin. Thus the prefectures and subprefectures and the feudal lords shall all alike receive a knowledge of the laws and mandates in the archives, and moreover the afore-mentioned government officials and people, who are desirous of knowing the law, shall all address their inquiries to these law officers. Thus there shall be no one among the government officials and people of the empire who does not know the law, and as the officials are clearly aware that the people know the laws and mandates, they dare not treat the people contrary to the law, nor dare the people transgress the law, as they would come into conflict with the law officers. If in their treatment of the people the government officials do not act according to the law, the former should inquire of the law officer, who should at once inform them of the punishment (for the illegal action in question) fixed by the law. The people should then at once inform the government officials, formally, of the law officer's statement. Thus the government officials, knowing that such is the course of events, dare not treat the people contrary to the law, nor do the people dare infringe the law. In this way, government officials and the people of the empire, however virtuous or good, however sophistical or sagacious they may be, cannot add one word to twist the law; nor, though they may have a thousand pieces of gold, can they use one twenty-fourth of an ounce of it for such a purpose. Thus the knowing and crafty ones, as well as the virtuous and capable, will all force themselves to behave well and will do their best to restrain themselves and to serve the public weal. When people are stupid, they are easy to govern. All this originates from the fact that the law is clear, easy to know, and strictly applied. |
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法令者，民之命也，為治之本也，所以備民也。為治而去法令，猶欲無饑而去食也，欲無寒而去衣也，欲東西行也，其不幾亦明矣。一兔走，百人逐之，非以兔也。夫賣者滿市，而盜不敢取，由名分已定也。故名分未定，堯舜禹湯且皆如騖焉而逐之；名分已定，貪盜不取。今法令不明，其名不定，天下之人得議之，其議人異而無定。人主為法於上，下民議之於下，是法令不定，以下為上也。此所謂名分之不定也。夫名分不定，堯舜猶將皆折而姦之，而況眾人乎？此令姦惡大起，人主奪威勢，亡國滅社稷之道也。 |
| Fixing of Rights and...: |
Law is the authoritative principle for the people, and is the basis of government; it is what shapes the people. Trying to govern while eliminating the law is like a desire not to be hungry while eliminating food, or a desire not to be cold while eliminating clothes, or a desire to go east while one moves west. It is clear enough that there is no hope of realizing it. That a hundred men will chase after a single hare that runs away, is not for the sake of the hare; for when they are sold everywhere on the market, even a thief does not dare to take one away, because their legal title is definite. Thus if the legal title is not definite, then even men like Yao, Shun, Yu or Tang would all rush to chase after it, but if the legal title is definite even a poor thief would not take it. Now if laws and mandates are not clear, nor their titles definite, the men of the empire have opportunities for discussion; in their discussions they will differ and there will be no definiteness. If above the ruler of men makes laws, but below the inferior people discuss them, the laws will not be definite and inferiors will become superiors. This may be called a condition where rights and duties are indefinite. When rights and duties are indefinite, even men like Yao and Shun will become crooked and commit acts of wickedness, how much more then the mass of the people ! This is the way in which wickedness and wrong-doing will be greatly stimulated, the ruler of men will be despoiled of his authority and power, will ruin his country and bring disaster upon the altar of the soil and grain. |
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今先聖人為書，而傳之後世，必師受之，乃知所謂之名；不師受之，而人以其心意議之，至死不能知其名與其意。故聖人必為法令置官也，置吏也，為天下師，所以定名分也。名分定，則大詐貞信，民皆愿愨，而各自治也。故夫名分定，勢治之道也；名分不定，勢亂之道也。故勢治者不可亂，勢亂者不可治。夫勢亂而治之愈亂，勢治而治之則治。故聖王治治不治亂。 |
| Fixing of Rights and...: |
Now the former sages made writings and transmitted them to later generations, and it is necessary to accept these as authoritative, so that one may know what is conveyed by established terminology. Should they not be accepted as authoritative and should people discuss them according to ideas of their own mind, then until their death they will not succeed in understanding the terminology and its meaning. Therefore did the sages set up officers and officials for the laws and mandates, who should be authoritative in the empire, in order to define everyone's rights and duties, so that these being definite, the very crafty would become faithful and trustworthy, and the people would all become honest and guileless, each one restraining himself. For indeed, the defining of everybody's rights and duties is the road that leads to orderly government, but the not defining of everybody's rights and duties is the road that leads to disorder. So where there is a tendency towards order, there cannot be disorder, and where there is a tendency towards disorder, there cannot be order. Indeed, where there is a tendency towards disorder and one governs it, the disorder will only increase, but where there is a tendency towards order and one governs it, there will be order. Therefore, the sage kings governed order and did not govern disorder. |
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夫微妙意志之言，上智之所難也。夫不待法令繩墨而無不正者，千萬之一也，故聖人以千萬治天下。故夫智者而後能知之，不可以為法，民不盡智。賢者而後知之，不可以為法，民不盡賢。故聖人為法，必使之明白易知。名正，愚智遍能知之。為置法官，置主法之吏，以為天下師，令萬民無陷於險危。故聖人立天下而無刑死者，非不刑殺也，法令明白易知，為置法官吏為之師以道之知。萬民皆知所避就；避禍就福，而皆以自治也。故明主因治而治之，故天下大治也。 |
| Fixing of Rights and...: |
Indeed, subtle and mysterious words, which have to be pondered over, cause difficulty even to men of superior knowledge. There may be one case in ten millions, where the directing guidance of the law is not needed and yet it is correct in everything. Therefore, a sage governs the empire for the ten million cases. For, indeed, one should not make laws so that only the intelligent can understand them, for the people are not all intelligent; and one should not make laws so that only the men of talent can understand them, for the people are not all talented. Therefore did the sages, in creating laws, make them clear and easy to understand, and the terminology correct, so that stupid and wise without exception could understand them; and by setting up law officers, and officers presiding over the law, to be authoritative in the empire, prevented the people from falling into dangerous pitfalls. So the fact that when the sages established the empire there were no victims of capital punishment, was not because capital punishment did not exist, but because the laws which were applied were clear and easy to understand. They set up law officers and government officials to be the authority, in order to guide them; and they knew that if the ten thousands of people all knew what to avoid and what to strive for, they would avoid misfortune and strive for happiness, and so restrain themselves. Therefore, an intelligent prince follows the existing conditions of order and so makes the order complete, with the result that the empire will enjoy great order. |
