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《君臣 - Prince and Minister》

English translation: J. J. L. Duyvendak [?]
Books referencing 《君臣》 Library Resources
1 君臣:
古者未有君臣上下之时,民乱而不治。是以圣人别贵贱,制爵位,立名号,以别君臣上下之义。地广,民众,万物多,故分五官而守之。民众而奸邪生,故立法制为度量以禁之。是故有君臣之义,五官之分,法制之禁,不可不慎也。处君位而令不行,则危;五官分而无常,则乱;法制设而私善行,则民不畏刑。君尊则令行,官修则有常事,法制明则民畏刑。法制不明,而求民之从令也,不可得也。民不从令,而求君之尊也,虽尧舜之知,不能以治。明王之治天下也,缘法而治,按功而赏。凡民之所疾战不避死者,以求爵禄也。明君之治国也,士有斩首捕虏之功,必其爵足荣也,禄足食也。农不离廛者,足以养二亲,给军事。故军士死节,而农民不偷也。
Prince and Minister:
In the days of antiquity, before the time when there were princes and ministers, superiors and inferiors, the people were disorderly and were not well administered, and so the sages made a division between the noble and the humble; they regulated rank and position, and established names and appellations, in order to distinguish the ideas of prince and minister, of superior and inferior. As the territory was extensive, the people numerous and all things many, they made a division of five kinds of officials, and maintained it; as the people were numerous, wickedness and depravity originated, so they established laws and regulations and created weights and measures, in order to prohibit them, and in consequence there were the idea of prince and minister, the distinctions between the five kinds of officials, and the interdicts of the laws and regulations, to which it was necessary to pay heed. If, when occupying the position of prince, one's mandates are not carried out, one is in peril; when there is no constancy in the distinctions between the five kinds of officials, there is disorder; when laws and regulations have been set up and yet private notions of virtue are practised, then people do not stand in fear of punishment. When the prince is respected, his mandates are carried out; when officials have been well-trained, there is constancy; and when laws and regulations are clear, people stand in fear of punishment. If laws and regulations are not clear, then it is impossible to obtain from the people the observance of mandates. If the people do not observe the mandates, but you want the prince to be respected, even a man with the wisdom of Yao and Shun would not be able to govern well. The way in which an intelligent prince administers the empire is to do so according to the law, and to reward according to merit. It is the hankering for rank and emoluments that prompts people to fight energetically and not to shun death. The way in which an intelligent prince administers a state is to award soldiers, who have had the merit of making decapitations or of capturing prisoners, with such rank as will really give honour, and to grant them such emoluments as will be sufficient for them to live on and to farmers, who do not leave their ground, sufficient to nourish both their parents and to keep their family affairs in order. Thus soldiers in the army will fulfil their duty even to death, and farmers will not be negligent.

2 君臣:
今世君不然。释法而以知,背功而以誉。故军士不战,而农民流徙。臣闻道民之门,在上所先。故民可令农战,可令游宦,可令学问,在上所与。上以功劳与,则民战;上以诗书与,则民学问。民之于利也,若水于下也,四旁无择也。民徒可以得利而为之者,上与之也。瞋目扼腕而语勇者得,垂衣裳而谈说者得,迟日旷久积劳私门者得,尊向三者,无功而皆可以得,民去农战而为之,或谈议而索之,或事便辟而请之,或以勇争之。故农战之民日寡,而游食者愈众,则国乱而地削,兵弱而主卑。此其所以然者,释法制而任名誉也。
Prince and Minister:
But the princes of the present time do not act thus. They relax the law and keep to knowledge; they turn their backs on merit and keep to people of reputation. Therefore, soldiers do not fight and farmers are migratory. I have heard that the gate through which the people are guided depends on where their superiors lead. Therefore, whether one succeeds in making people farm or fight, or in making them into travelling politicians, or in making them into scholars, depends on what their superiors encourage. If their superiors encourage merit and labour, people will fight; if they encourage the Odes and Book of History, people will become scholars. For people's attitude towards profit is just like the tendency of water to flow downwards, without preference for any of the four sides. The people are only interested in obtaining profit, and it depends on what their superiors encourage, what they will do. If men with angry eyes, who clench their fists and call themselves brave, are successful; if men in flowing robes, who idly talk, are successful; if men who waste their time and spend their days in idleness, and save their efforts for obtaining benefit through private channels, are successful - if these three kinds of people, though they have no merit, all obtain respectful treatment, then people will leave off farming and fighting and will do this: either they will extort it by discussions and suggestions, or they will ask for it by practising flattery, or they will struggle for it by acts of bravery. Thus farmers and fighters will dwindle daily, and itinerant office-seekers will increase more and more, with the result that the country will fall into disorder, the land will be dismembered, the army will be weak and the ruler debased. This would be the result of relaxing laws and regulations and placing reliance on men of fame and reputation.

3 君臣:
故明主慎法制。言不中法者,不听也;行不中法者,不高也;事不中法者,不为也。言中法,则听之;行中法,则高之;事中法,则为之。故国治而地广,兵强而主尊。此治之至也,君人者不可不察也。
Prince and Minister:
Therefore is an intelligent ruler cautious with regard to laws and regulations; he does not hearken to words which are not in accordance with the law; he does not exalt actions which are not in accordance with the law; he does not perform deeds which are not in accordance with the law. But he hearkens to words which are in accordance with the law; he exalts actions which are in accordance with the law; he performs deeds which are in accordance with the law. Thus the state will enjoy order, the land will be wide, the army will be strong, and the ruler will be honoured. This is the climax of good government, and it is imperative for a ruler of men to examine it.

URN: ctp:shang-jun-shu/prince-and-minister