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The other said: Sage rulers are rare, but mediocre rulers are many. Sticking only to Confucius's dao—this is like lacquering the pegs.
Yangzi said: Have the sage's ways ever been unrelated to [the kingdom's] flourishing and decline? In the past, when Yao ruled all under Heaven, he grasped the guidelines of government and appointed Shun to be ruler, and Shun appointed Yu to be ruler. The Xia, Yin, and Zhou gave it to their sons— they were not glued to the sages' ways, that much is clear! Yao and Shun employed symbolic punishments to make the laws clear. During the Xia, the types of corporeal punishments grew to three thousand—they were not glued to the sages' ways, that much is clear! Yao considered the nine tribes as his own family, and harmonized the ten thousand kingdoms. Tang and Wu were martial, and attacked all within the four directions. From these examples, we may conclude that they were not glued to the sages' ways, that much is clear! The Lunyu says, "Li, music, and military attacks come from the Son of Heaven." But during the Spring and Autumn period, Qi and Jin instigated them. They were not glued to the sages' ways, that much is clear! |
