鐔津文集 4.3

4.3

That which all under Heaven hold in common is called great impartiality. The central correctness of all under Heaven is called the August Ultimate. Central correctness is that by which the minds of the myriad things are unified. What is not central and correct is that by which the minds of the myriad things are alienated. If they are alienated, all under Heaven will be in disorder; if they are unified, all under Heaven will be well-ordered. Those who are good at governing all under Heaven must first uphold the August Ultimate to achieve great impartiality. Those who are not good at governing all under Heaven must first cast aside the August Ultimate and abandon great impartiality. For this reason, when the ancient sages promoted the August Ultimate to rulers of men, it was for no other reason than wanting them to govern all under Heaven. When they taught the August Ultimate to the common people, it was for no other reason than wanting all under Heaven to be well-ordered. The court and the state are the great body of all under Heaven. Wealth, honor, and exalted status are the great momentum of all under Heaven. If one upholds them according to the Dao, then the body and momentum are strong; if one upholds them losing the Dao, then the body and momentum are weak. As for the Dao, it is no other Dao than the Dao of the August Ultimate. King Wen and King Wu of Zhou quelled and eliminated calamity and turmoil, broadly expanded the royal enterprise, possessed wealth, honor, and exalted status, and passed them from father to son in succession. In the divinations of their generations, they were numerous; in the divinations of their years, they were long-lasting. Even through past and present, none have surpassed them. Their meritorious virtues and fame were luminous and magnificent, their light spreading without limit. This is what is called upholding them and obtaining the Dao. When it came to King Yi, King Ping, King Zhuang, and King Jing, they stepped down from the hall to pay court to the feudal lords, moved east to timidly avoid the Rong and Di barbarians, were unable to restrain the tyrannical vassal states, and were unable to command respect for wealth, honor, and exalted status. Precariously, they were on the verge of letting fall the magnificent enterprise of their former kings. This is what is called upholding them and losing the Dao. Alas! A family of several mouths, with an estate of five mu, presided over by an ordinary man and woman—their character is of the utmost simplicity, and their governance is of the most minute scale. Yet when they maintain central correctness in overseeing it, their family members love them and their neighbors admire them. The prosperity of their family way can still be transmitted to their descendants for successive generations. How much more so when one is endowed with the great body of all under Heaven and rides upon the great momentum of all under Heaven, possessing the resources to achieve it and the momentum that makes it easy to carry out! If one uses the August Ultimate to promote it, who would not follow and submit? Would they not rub shoulders and tread upon heels in turning toward it? The Book of Odes says: "The benign and noble person / rectifies the people of the state. / Rectifying the people of the state, / why should he not endure for ten thousand years?" This is what it refers to. Someone said: "What kind of Dao is the August Ultimate?" I reply: "It is the Dao of Heaven, the Dao of Earth, and the Dao of humanity—unifying the Three Powers into one." He asked: "What does that mean?" I replied: "If the Dao of Heaven is not central and correct, then the sun, moon, stars, and constellations will not be bright, wind, rain, frost, and snow will not be seasonal, the Five Phases will become disordered, and the myriad things will not grow. If the Dao of Earth is not central and correct, then mountains and hills will collapse, rivers and waterways will congeal, the grasses, trees, and hundred fruits will not mature, and city walls and houses will all topple over. If the Dao of humanity is not central and correct, then natures and emotions will be thrown into confusion, internally giving rise to madness and falsehood, externally creating calamities and harm, personally injuring one's own life and outwardly harming other people. Therefore, though Heaven is lofty, luminous, broad, and vast, without the August Ultimate, what would make it Heaven? Though Earth is wide, thick, and boundless, without the August Ultimate, what would make it Earth? Though human beings receive refined qi and are more intelligent than the myriad things, without the August Ultimate, what would make them human? Therefore, the August Ultimate is not something made by the sages; it is the inherent principle of Heaven and Earth. Hence, when human beings lose the August Ultimate, the anomalies of Heaven and Earth follow upon it. Sages are those who attain the August Ultimate before our people; therefore, they accordingly extend it to teach their people. Yi Yin said: 'I am one among Heaven's people who is the first to awaken; I will use this Dao to awaken these people.' Sages are called those who awaken first. Therefore, the reason sages were cautious regarding the August Ultimate was their urgency in helping people and the depth of their concern for all under Heaven—why was this? After Shun and Yu, their eras grew increasingly degenerate. Disputatious and anxious, who among people is without fault? Minor ones err in their families; major ones err in their states; still greater ones err in all under Heaven. The August Ultimate was then raised up to stimulate them, and thus began to be implemented in the Nine Categories. King Wu attained it and created the realm of Zhou; the realm was both vast and enduring. Therefore, the five blessings and the six extremes are bound to the August Ultimate of an individual; favorable omens and calamitous omens are bound to the August Ultimate of a state and of all under Heaven. Can the August Ultimate ever be abandoned? Alas! None among people fail to lift weights and scales to correct the lightness or heaviness of gold, or pull the inked line to correct the crookedness or straightness of wood. Yet when it comes to cultivating oneself or governing the state and all under Heaven, they do not know to raise up the August Ultimate to correct it. In this way, the wisdom of sages, worthies, and heroes turns out to fall below that of master carpenters and craftsmen. Mencius said: 'This is not doing it; it is not being unable to do it.' When ancient rulers (one text reads: noble persons) took action, they raised up the August Ultimate and put it into practice. Therefore they did not hesitate or waver, did not inquire of spirits, and did not make arbitrary decisions based on personal whim. Even though Yao gave all under Heaven to another person, the people under Heaven did not resent Yao for not giving it to his own kin. Even though Yu passed all under Heaven to his son, the people under Heaven did not resent Yu for favoring his own kin. Tang's punitive expeditions began with the state of Ge, and all under Heaven trusted him. When he campaigned toward the east, the western Yi barbarians felt resentment; when he campaigned toward the south, the northern Di barbarians felt resentment, saying: 'Why leave us for last?' The people looked toward him as if looking for clouds and rainbows during a great drought. Yet all under Heaven also did not resent Tang for wearying them with his campaigns. This was because he shared all under Heaven with the common people. Shun received all under Heaven from another as an ordinary man; the Duke of Zhou enfeoffed more than fifty states to those of his own clan; yet Shun and the Duke of Zhou never doubted all under Heaven out of self-interest, and all under Heaven also regarded Shun and the Duke of Zhou as impartial toward all under Heaven. Zhou had ten capable ministers to bring order, and its state was well-governed; King Zhou of Shang had millions of ordinary people, yet his state perished—why was this? Employing people with central correctness, they did not need to be numerous; employing people without central correctness, what benefit is there even if they are numerous? Someone asked: 'What is called employing people with central correctness?' I replied: 'Great talents are assigned great affairs; small talents are assigned small affairs. Those who can bear great affairs must not be cast aside on account of small faults; those suitable for small affairs must not be entrusted with great accomplishments. The Book of Odes says: "On the mountain are hazel trees, in the marshland are water chestnuts. / Whom am I thinking of? / The beautiful person in the west. / That beautiful person / is someone of the west." This is thinking of Zhou's employment of people, where both great and small were given their proper place. Rewarding and punishing, demoting and promoting, are the sovereign's great powers. Issuing decrees and administering penal laws are the sovereign's great teachings. If teachings lack central correctness, then the people will doubt; if power lacks central correctness, then authority will deceive. It is asked: 'What is central correctness in power and teaching?' I reply: 'Rewards are that by which impartiality is advanced; one must not increase them lavishly out of arbitrary affection. Punishments are that by which selfishness is suppressed; one must not make them heavier out of arbitrary hatred. Demotions are that by which errors are chastised; one must not make the laws inconsistent based on noble or base status. Promotions are that by which the Dao is elevated; one must not evaluate a person based on slander or praise. Decrees are that by which the people are settled; they must not be issued lightly or altered repeatedly. Penal laws are that by which the people are restrained; they must not be excessively enacted or overly fastidious. If they are excessively enacted and overly fastidious, then the people become vexed and perceive no benevolence; if decrees are issued lightly and altered repeatedly, then the people are confused and have no standard. If evaluating a person based on slander or praise, then those who love or hate them will be able to indulge their words. If making laws inconsistent based on noble or base status, then the prominent will be able to rely on their influence. If making punishments heavier out of arbitrary hatred, the fault lies in unbenevolence; if increasing rewards lavishly out of arbitrary affection, the fault lies in non-propriety. Ritual is the appearance of the August Ultimate; music is the voice of the August Ultimate; institutional systems are the implements of the August Ultimate. If its implements are not raised up, then the well-field system will fall into disorder, taxation will become chaotic, and carriages, clothing, palaces, and chambers will see superiors usurped and inferiors encroached upon. If its voice is not sounded, then humans and spirits will not be in harmony, and customs will drift into dissolution. If its appearance is not made manifest, then there will be no distinction between noble and base, and superiors and inferiors will become confused. As for the August Ultimate, it does not exist merely because of antiquity, nor is it absent because of the present. It does not grow because of Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang, nor does it diminish because of Jie, Zhou, You, and Li. It lies solely in those who put it into practice. Putting it into practice to the utmost is how one becomes an emperor or a king. Putting it into practice imperfectly is how one becomes the Five Hegemons or feudal lords. Severing it and not practicing it is how states perish. Those who attain it become sages; those who walk in it become worthies; those who abandon it and do not learn it—are they not petty people?' Someone asked: 'Did Qin and Han attain the August Ultimate to the utmost?' I replied: 'Although Qin perished and its state is not worth discussing, the August Ultimate can certainly be discerned. As for Han and the August Ultimate, examining its historical records, it can be distinguished in detail; speaking generally, it also did not attain it to the utmost. It resided between the kingly way and the hegemonic way.' The interlocutor agreed."