He who rules the world with his master is an official. There are nine ministers and hundreds of officials in the imperial court (that is, the central government), and there are secretariat officials (state officials) and county orders outside, followed by assistants (state and county officials), history (officials in charge of documents) and professional disciples (professional is a family member who keeps books simple, but only a servant in the official department). People like this have different levels, but they all belong to officials.
In ancient times, the monarch and the people lived in peace, so there was no shortage of officials and people. The official system established by Yu (an ancient tribe with Yao as its leader) can be tested because it is close to the people. Choose talented people, but wise people don't want to be officials. Ancient people with lofty ideals lived far away from the world and lived in seclusion in the mountains and valleys. The monarch asked to visit them and treat them sincerely. I'm afraid they won't come out as officials. Therefore, officials are often forced to be officials, so people all over the world are secretly blessed by them.
Later generations ruled the people by harming others. Because of fear of chaos, we had to prepare strict preventive measures, formulate detailed bans and legal systems, and then officials of all sizes spread all over the world. More and more people are being squeezed, and the harm is getting deeper and deeper. Talented people are increasingly reluctant to be officials, and the world is becoming more and more unbearable. Now an official, as big as tens of thousands of fiefs, makes a living by (working in the yamen) without the support of fiefs, rather than farming. Dozens of farmers' labor is not enough to feed them, which leads to lawless people and idlers mixing into the ranks of officials. How can you let tigers and wolves graze pigs and sheep and hope that they will reproduce? The world is not so stupid, how can it hate stability and hope for chaos, worry about happiness and long for danger? It seems that it should be a long-term stability, but it is still confused and dangerous. Why? Take their food and have to make them angry; Exhausting their strength can't help but disgust them. The people's uprising was because they took their food; The people's suffering is due to the exhaustion of their strength. And those who claim to govern the people, do their best to make it dangerous, seize its food and make it chaotic. Is this how the two emperors and three kings (Yao Shun, Yu Xia, Shang Tang and Zhou Wenwang) govern the world?
God gave birth to these people. They are engaged in different occupations and can support themselves. Now the people who rule the people can't stand on their own feet, stealing people's property day and night and searching for people's cream. Is it different from a thief? Thieves harm the people, as soon as there is a thief, they will be eliminated (as soon as they stand up, they will fall down). (So the thief) Because of fear and scruples, it has not reached a very serious level. Officials are fearless and reckless, and they run wild day and night, making people all over the world dare to be angry but dare not speak, and dare to be angry and dare not kill. Is it that God is unkind, encouraging and encouraging greedy and treacherous people, so that they can harm the people together with tigers, leopards, snakes and gnats (a kind of poisonous snake)?
But what should I do with it? Say: let talented and noble people use them; If it can't be done (temporarily), wouldn't it be better to abolish the special agency and go to the county magistrate to let the world manage the chaos on its own?
Deng Mu (1247— 1306) was born in Qiantang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang). As a writer, his achievements are not high, leaving a small number of poems; However, as a famous "heretical" thinker who opposes Neo-Confucianism and Buddhism and Taoism, it is of great significance to understand him for understanding the ideological trend of literati in the early Yuan Dynasty.
After the death of the Song Dynasty, Deng Mu claimed to be a adherent and returned to China with Xie Ao and others. These "adherents" often reflect on the cultural defects of the Song Dynasty, while Deng Mu went further and thought deeply about some essential problems of the feudal system and traditional culture.
He said in the article "Jundao": "The monarch born by the people is not for the monarch; Why do you say that the four seas are wide enough to use evil? " Pointed out that the world is not the private property of "husband". The article also sternly criticized the monarchs since the Qin Dynasty for "grabbing people's good places and gathering people to fight", so "don't blame thieves for competing for the world". In the article Li Dao, he also pointed out that the expansion and corruption of feudal bureaucrats were the direct causes of harming the people and making the world restless. Deng Mu's rescue plan is to "abolish the company, go to the county magistrate, and listen to the world to control chaos", which can only be a utopian ideal, but his criticism of monarchical power and bureaucracy is still powerful.
Deng Mu also wrote Living on the Wall of a House and Walking by the Wall, which are two meaningful essays. For example, "Four Treasures of the Study Summary" said: "There is a sense of glory and relaxation, and there is no words of rise and fall; The real sorrow can't be explained by itself, so it is a kind of talk about heaven and earth, and it is a theory far away in ancient times. " In fact, it expresses the sadness and nihility of the literati in the early Yuan Dynasty.