In general
Author: Zhao Rui
I heard that Laozi said: "Rectify the country with justice, use military force with magic, and conquer the world with nothing." Xun Qing said. "The master of a man takes officials as the capable ones; the common man takes himself as the capable one." Fu Zi said: "The scholar-bureaucrats divide their duties and listen to them, the princes divide the land and guard it, and the three princes discuss matters together. Then the emperor will support himself and become right. "How can we understand this? In the time of Yao, Shun was the Situ, Qi was the Sima, Yu was the Sikong, Houji was the Tianchou, Kui was the Lezheng, Jue was the engineer, and Boyi was the Zhi. In the Zong Dynasty, Gao Tao was the governor, and he used Yi Zhang to drive away birds. Yao couldn't be one, Xi thought he was the king, and his nine sons were ministers. Why? Yao knew the affairs of the Nine Fus, so he assigned each of his nine sons his duties, and they were all qualified for their tasks and achieved the nine achievements. Yao then took advantage of his success and ruled the world.
Emperor Gao of the Han Dynasty said: "I am not as good as Zifang in making plans among the curtains and winning the battle thousands of miles away; in controlling the country, pacifying the people, providing salaries and food, and never cutting off the food supply, I am not as good as Xiao He. "With an army of millions, we will win in battle and capture in attack. I am not as good as Han Xin. All three of them are outstanding. I can use them. This is why I have the world."
("Characters") "Zhi" said: "The appointment of an official is based on one taste and the five tastes; the government of a country is based on the tastelessness and the five tastes. Therefore, ministers regard themselves as capable, and the emperor regards them as able to employ people; ministers regard themselves as capable of speaking, and kings as able to listen. It is because of ability; the minister is capable of doing things, and the king is capable of rewarding and punishing. Therefore, it is different, so the king can be capable.")
Therefore, it is said: Those who know people are the king's way; those who know things are the minister's way. . The invisible is the king of things; the unprovoked is the foundation of things. The drum does not predict the five tones, but is the master of the five tones; a wise man does not care about the five senses, but is the master of management. The king abides by his own way, and the officials know what is going on, and it will come naturally.
The former king knew that he was like this, so he used it as if it was not his own, and it was in line with the king's way.
(Discussion: "Huainanzi" says: "When a craftsman builds a palace, he must use rules to make circles, squares to make squares, and yardsticks to make straight. The work is done, but he does not know the rules and guidelines. , and reward the skillful craftsman. The palace has been completed, but the skillful craftsman is not known, so it is called the palace of a certain king."
Sun Qing said: "Madam, if you want to be good at shooting, you should not use Yi; If you want to be good at governing and far away, you can't be like Wang Liang; if you want to control the world, you can't be like a clever gentleman. His wisdom is very simple, his work is effortless, and his fame is great. "This ability is not his, just like oneself." There are.)
It is not the case if the master does not understand the way of the Lord. If you do it yourself, you will not be able to appoint virtuous people; if you cannot appoint virtuous people, then the virtuous people will be evil. The reason why this reputation is damaged is that the country is in danger.
(Discussion: ""Shenzi" says: "The king knows his way, and his ministers know his affairs. Those who say ten words are ten times right, and a hundred words a hundred words are right, are the things of human beings and ministers, and are not human beings. "The Way of the King." "The Corpse" says: "Those who are ministers take merit from promoting talents; those who are kings take merit from using talents." Jia Yi said: "When ministers hear the words of the sage, they will ask their ministers. He creates his own troubles, so he must be loyal to others, but your majesty is lucky." From this point of view, if the husband cannot fulfill the contract and is jealous of the good and evil, this is the way to defeat.)
Tang and Wu had all the wealth of the Xia and Shang Dynasties, and they granted them land, and no one in the world dared to be dissatisfied with it; they rewarded them with their wealth, and everyone in the world tried to persuade them to use it.
(Discussion: Sun Qingyun said: "Those who cultivate rituals are kings, and those who are powerful in politics; those who take people are safe; those who gather people are destroyed. Therefore, the king will be rich, and the tyrant will be rich. The only remaining country will be rich and powerful, and the country will be destroyed. It is said that the top is overflowing and the bottom is leaking. "It is also said: "The emperor does not say much, the princes do not talk about the benefits and losses, and the officials do not talk about the gains and losses."
In the past, King Li of Zhou was interested in profit, and he was admonished by Duke Rong. Said: "How humble is the royal family? Duke Rong loves patents and does not know the great difficulties. Benefit is the birth of all things, and it is also contained in heaven and earth. But if there is specialization, it will do a lot of harm. All things in heaven and earth will be taken away. "Yan, how can you be so dedicated! You can gain so much without being prepared for disasters, so how long can you teach the king?" King Hou Li was defeated.
Marquis Wen of Wei, in order to avoid the disaster, avoided the main hall in plain clothes, and the crowd The ministers all cried. When the young master became a father, he came to congratulate him and said: "I heard that the emperor is hiding in the four seas, and the princes are hiding in the territory. If it is not hidden, there will be no fire, and there must be people. Fortunately, no one is in trouble. Isn't that good?" Confucius It is said: "The people are enough, but who is not enough?" There is a saying in Zhou proverb: "The bag leaks and the treasure is stored in the middle." From this point of view, the husband-sage king uses his land to seal and rewards with his wealth, and does not compete with others for profit. It is connected with the king's way, and it is something that is not his own)
Therefore, it is said: setting up officials and dividing duties is the essence of the king; appointing responsibilities is also the essence of the king; being eager to plan and never being tired is also the essence of the king. "Being generous to win people is the king's body; being dirty and hiding diseases is the king's body." The king has the body of a king, and his ministers fear and love him. This is how the emperor becomes successful.
Translation
I know that Laozi said: "Ruling the country with righteousness, using military force with wonder and correctness, and conquering the world with inaction. This is the highest law that those who achieve great things must understand." Xunzi said: "Being an emperor "Only those who are good at managing others are considered talented; ordinary people regard themselves as capable." Fu Xuan, a philosopher of the Western Jin Dynasty, said: "Let the scholar-bureaucrats be loyal to their duties and obey orders; let the monarchs of the vassal states allocate land and guard it; The three princes of the imperial court take charge of the affairs of the world and participate in and discuss government affairs, so the emperor can sit there leisurely and rule the world. "How do you know this secret? Just look at how Yao and Shun governed the world.
In the era of Yao, Shun was the Situ, Qi was the Sima, and Yu was the Sikong. Houji was in charge of agriculture, Fei was in charge of rituals and music, Chui was in charge of craftsmen, Boyi was in charge of sacrifices, Gaotao was in charge of judging cases, and Yi was specifically responsible for it. Tame beasts for war. Yao didn't do any of these specific things and just acted as his emperor leisurely. How could these nine people be willing to be ministers? This is because Yao knew what talents each of these nine people had, and then used them according to his talents. And each of them has achieved great success. Yao ruled the world by virtue of their achievements.
The Emperor of the Han Dynasty said: "I am not as good as Zhang Liang in strategizing and winning a decisive victory thousands of miles away; I am not as good as Xiao He in stabilizing the country, pacifying the people, supplying military supplies, and ensuring smooth food roads; and I am not as good as Xiao He in commanding a hundred people. With an army of ten thousand, we will win every battle and conquer every attack. I am not as good as Han Xin. But I can use them. This is my capital to conquer the world."
[Three Kingdoms. Liu Shao, a philosopher at that time, said in his "Characters": "The responsibility of an official is to coordinate the five tastes with one taste, and the ruler of a country is to harmonize the five tastes with tastelessness. Ministers regard themselves as qualified for certain tasks. Talent; the emperor considers talents to be able to employ people. Ministers are considered to be capable of making suggestions and being eloquent; Talented. It is precisely because the supreme ruler does not have to be proficient in everything that he can coordinate many talented people."
So, knowing people is the way of a king; knowing things is the way of a minister. Intangible things are the masters of all visible things; things whose source cannot be seen are the foundation of human affairs. The drum does not interfere with the five tones, but it can serve as the commander of the five tones. Only those who have mastered the true meaning of kingship and do not do the specific things that civil and military officials are responsible for can become the supreme ruler of the country. The emperor strictly abides by this code of his, and government officials know what they should do. This has been the case since ancient times.
Precisely because the emperor understands this principle, he will use things that are not his own as if they were his own. Only those who are good at doing this can truly understand the way of kingship.
["Huainanzi" written by Liu An of the Western Han Dynasty made this analogy: "When craftsmen build palaces, they must use compasses to make round things, and rulers to make square things. , you must use a yardstick to make straight things. After the things are made, people will no longer care about these tools, but only reward the craftsman's skill.
After the palace is built, people will no longer care about them. He is a craftsman, but he just said that this is the palace of a certain king. "Xunzi said: "If an emperor wants to shoot an arrow with perfect accuracy, it is better to use Houyi; "If you want to rule the country and unify the world, it is better to appoint wise and upright capable people. This saves trouble and effort, but achieves great success." This means to use things that do not belong to you as if you own them. . ]
The above is what the supreme rulers who know how to govern the country and employ people do, but those rulers who do not understand this principle do not do this. They tend to worry about everything in detail and have to do it themselves, so they do not trust or reuse talented and virtuous people. If you don't use capable people, capable people will hate him. The ultimate result can only be damage to one's reputation and career, and a crisis for the country and society.
[Here you can also quote the words of Shen Buhai and Shiji, the Legalists of the Warring States Period, in their "Shenzi" and "Xizi". "Shenzi" said: "A ruler should know the highest principles for governing his country, and his ministers should know their responsibilities. It is the business of officials at all levels to keep their words and implement them after they are said. It is not a principle that the emperor must follow." "Zi Zi" said: "Recommending talents is the merit of officials at all levels; making good use of talents is the merit of emperors.
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This is true when it comes to recruiting talents, and it is also true when it comes to dealing with wealth. In the past, Shang Tang and Zhou Wu eliminated the disasters of Xia Jie and King Zhou. Once they had all the Xia and Shang If the state owns property, land and treasures will be awarded to meritorious ministers. Everyone in the country will be happy and convinced. If the property of the subjugated country is used to reward meritorious ministers, the subjects of the whole country will rush to serve. This is to know how to use things that do not belong to them.
Xunzi said: "Those who can cultivate ethics can become emperors; those who can consolidate their rule will have a strong country; those who are good at winning people's hearts will have a stable society. Those who only know how to plunder people's wealth will inevitably perish." Therefore, a country that implements kingly laws will make its people rich, a country that implements tyranny will make talented people rich, a country that is surviving will only make officials rich, and a country that is about to perish, the rulers know that a disaster is coming, so they start Desperately trying to keep all the wealth for themselves, private warehouses and boxes will be filled with gold and silver treasures. This situation is called the officials who are "too fat to leak" and the common people who are "too fat to leak".
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In the past, King Li of Zhou loved money, so he got close to Duke Rongyi who suggested that he implement patents. The doctor Rui Liangfu advised him: "Is the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty about to overthrow? People like Duke Rongyi, The desire for profit fills your heart, and you don’t know that a disaster is coming. Why do you want to get closer to him? Benefits are naturally produced by all things in the world, and they are public property that the earth and the universe contain, just like air and sunlight. But if there are people in the world who try to monopolize it, there will be endless troubles. All things in the world are the common wealth of all living beings in the world. Everyone has to obtain what they need for survival from it. How can they possess it alone? If anyone insists on doing this, there will be many people in the world who resent him! Human resentment There are too many people and they are not prepared for the catastrophe. Duke Rongyi uses this method to guide the king. Can it last long?" Later, King Zhou Li was indeed exiled.
The warehouse of Wei Wenhou during the Warring States Period When the fire broke out, Wei Wenhou, dressed in white, left the main hall to express his sorrow. The ministers all started to cry. But the young master came in and congratulated him: "I heard that the emperor used the entire country as a storehouse of wealth, and the princes used their own. Territory serves as a storehouse of wealth. You are now storing all the country's wealth in the treasury, which is obviously not the right place to hide it. This kind of hiding method will cause disasters even if there is no fire. Fortunately, there has been no human trouble. Isn't it good?" Confucius said: "When the common people are rich, can the king not be rich with them?"
Therefore, it is said that a wise king uses his land. Enfeoffing feudal lords, using his property to reward meritorious officials, and not competing for interests with the common people, "can be regarded as understanding the principle of being a supreme ruler - that is, treating things that are not owned by oneself as one's own to control and use." ]
Therefore, it is said that establishing official positions and allocating duties; appointing officials and supervising them to complete tasks; liking to plan strategies and not being tired; being tolerant and magnanimous and able to win the support of the public; resolving various conflicts , eliminate various hidden dangers, these are the avenues of governing the country that the supreme ruler of the country must master. If he can do this, all civil and military officials will fear and love him. This is the foundation for the emperor to achieve the great cause of unification.