| | 天道: |
夫帝王之德，以天地為宗，以道德為主，以無為為常，無為也。則用天下而有餘，有為也。則為天下用而不足，故古之人貴夫無為也。上無為也。下亦無為也。是下與上同德也。下與上同德則不臣，下有為也。上亦有為也。是上與下同道也。上與下同道則不主，上必無為而用天下，下必有為為天下用，此不易之道也。 |
| | The virtue of emperors and kings takes Heaven and Earth as its foundation, morality as its principle, and non-action (wuwei) as its norm; this is called wuwei. Thus, governing the world with ease, This is called action (youwei). Then, being used by the world and insufficient, Therefore, ancient people valued non-action (wuwei). The ruler has no action. The subjects also have no action. This is the virtue of the lower and upper being the same. When the lower shares the same virtue as the upper, then they are not subjects; when the lower acts (youwei), the upper also acts. This is when the upper and lower share the same way (dao). When the upper and lower share the same dao, then there is no ruler; The ruler must have no action but use the world, while the subjects must act so as to be used by the world; this is an unchangeable principle.
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| | 天道: |
故古之王天下者，智雖落天地，不自慮也。辯雖雕萬物，而不自說也。能雖窮海內，不自為也。天不産而萬物化，地不長而萬物育，帝王無為而天下功成。 |
| | Therefore, ancient rulers of the world, though their wisdom might surpass Heaven and Earth, did not personally deliberate. Though their eloquence could elaborate on myriad things, they did not personally explain themselves. Though their abilities might exhaust the realm, they did not act for themselves. Heaven does not produce yet myriad things transform, Earth does not grow yet myriad things flourish; Emperors and kings have no action (wuwei), and the world's achievements are accomplished.
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| | 天道: |
故曰：莫神於天，莫富於地，莫大於帝王。故曰：帝王之德配天地，此乘天地，馳萬物，而用人羣之道也。本在於上，末在於下，要在於主，詳在於臣，三軍五兵之運，德之末也。賞罰利害，五刑之辟，教之末也。禮法數度，刑名比詳，治之末也。鐘鼓之音，羽旄之容，樂之末也。哭泣衰絰降殺之服，哀之末也。此五末者，須精神之運，心術之動，然後從者也。 |
| | Therefore it is said: Nothing is more spiritual than Heaven, nothing richer than Earth, and nothing greater than the emperor or king. Therefore it is said: The virtue of emperors matches Heaven and Earth; This is the way of riding Heaven and Earth, galloping over myriad things, and employing the people. The root lies in the upper, the branch in the lower; the key lies in the ruler, and the details lie in the subjects. The deployment of three armies and five weapons is but the outermost aspect of virtue. Rewards, punishments, benefits, harms, and the five penal codes are merely the outermost aspects of education. Rituals, laws, numerical standards, legal names, and detailed comparisons are but the outermost aspects of governance. The sounds of bells and drums, the appearance of feathers and banners are merely the outermost aspect of music. Mourning clothes with hemp bands and reduced mourning rites are but the outermost expressions of grief. These five outer aspects must be guided by the operation of spirit and mind, and only after inner principles are activated will they follow accordingly.
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| | 天道: |
末學者，古之人有之，而非所以先也。君先而臣從，長先而少從，男先而女從，夫尊卑先後，天地之行也。故聖人取象焉。天尊地卑，神明之位也。春夏秋冬，四時之序也。萬物化作，盛衰之殺，變化之流也。夫天地至神也。而有尊卑先後之序，而况人道乎。宗廟尚親，朝廷尚尊，鄉黨尚齒，行事尚賢，大道之序也。愚智處宜，貴賤履位，必分其能，必由其名，以此事上，以此畜下，以此治物，以此修身，智謀不用，必歸其天，此之謂太平，治之至也。禮法數度，刑名比詳，古之人有之，此下之所以事上，非上之所以畜下也。 |
| | Outward learning has existed since ancient times, but it is not what should be prioritized first. The ruler leads and the subject follows, the elder leads and the younger follows, the male leads and the female follows. This hierarchy of respect and precedence is the way Heaven and Earth operate. Therefore, sage rulers take this as a model. Heaven is exalted and Earth is humble; this is the position of spirits and clarity. Spring, summer, autumn, winter—this is the order of the four seasons. Myriad things transform and arise; their flourishing and decline are part of the flow of change. Heaven and Earth are supremely spiritual. And yet they have an order of respect, humility, precedence, and sequence; how much more so for the way of humanity! Ancestral temples value closeness of kinship, courts value respect, hometown communities value seniority in age, and actions value virtue—this is the sequence of the great Dao. The foolish and the wise are placed appropriately, the noble and lowly occupy their proper positions; Their abilities must be clearly divided; They must follow their titles; Using this to serve superiors, using this to nurture subordinates, using this to govern things, and using this to cultivate oneself—without employing wisdom or strategy, everything necessarily returns to Heaven. This is called great peace (Taiping), the highest state of governance. Rituals, legal codes, numerical standards, and detailed legal names—these have existed since ancient times. These are what the lower use to serve the upper; they are not what the upper uses to nurture the lower.
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| | 天道: |
昔者。舜問於堯曰：天王之用心何如。堯曰：吾不傲無告，不廢窮民，苦死者，嘉孺子，而哀婦人，此吾所以用心已。舜曰：美則美矣。而未大也。堯曰：然則何如。舜曰：天德而出寧，日月照而四時行，若晝夜之有經，雲行雨施矣。堯曰：子天之合也。我人之合也。夫天地者，古之所大也。而黄帝、堯、舜之所共美也。故古之王天下者奚為哉。天地而已矣。 |
| | In ancient times, Shun asked Yao: "How does the Heavenly King use his mind?" Yao said: "I do not look down upon those with no one to turn to," "I do not abandon the poor and destitute," "I grieve for those who die in hardship, commend young children, and mourn women; this is how I have used my mind." Shun said: "That is beautiful indeed. Yet it is not yet great." Yao said: "Then how should it be?" Shun said: "The virtue of Heaven brings forth tranquility," The sun and moon shine while the four seasons proceed; like day and night following a pattern, clouds drift and rain is bestowed. Yao said: "You harmonize with Heaven." "I harmonize with humanity." Heaven and Earth—these are what the ancients considered great. And they were all admired by Huangdi, Yao, and Shun. Therefore, what did ancient rulers of the world do? They merely harmonized with Heaven and Earth.
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