A wise master must be able to carry out the art of supervising and responsibly. Supervise and rebuke him, then the minister will not dare to continue to favor his master. If the division of ministers and masters is determined and the righteousness of superiors and subordinates is clear, then no virtuous or dishonest person in the world will dare to do his best to favor his king. Therefore, the Lord alone controls the world and has no control over it. It is extremely difficult to be poor and happy, and a wise master must not notice it!
Therefore, Shenzi said, "There is a world, but there is no wanton, and the order is to use the world as a shackle." There is no other person who cannot supervise and blame, but only cares about using his own body to serve the people of the world. For example, Yao, Yu Ran, so it is called "shackles". If you cannot practice the art of Shen and Han, practice the way of supervising and responsibly, and focus on adapting yourself to the world, but only work hard and work hard, and use your body to favor the people, this is the service of the head of Guizhou, and you are not a beast of the world, so how valuable is it! If you favor others against yourself, you will be noble and others will be noble; if you favor yourself against others, you will be noble and others will be noble. Therefore, those who favor others are despicable, while those whom others favor are noble. From ancient times to the present, this has never been the case. In ancient times, those who respected the virtuous were regarded as noble; and those who were evil and dishonest were regarded as despicable. And Yao and Yu were those who favored the world with their bodies, and because they followed them and respected them, they also lost their sense of respecting the virtuous. This can be said to be a great mistake. Isn't it appropriate to call it "shackles"? You can't blame someone for your mistakes.
So Han Zi said: "A loving mother has a spoiled son, but the Yan family has no prisoners." Why? Then how can the punishment be increased? Therefore, the law of Shang Jun punishes those who abandon ashes in the Tao. The husband abandons the ashes, which is a small crime, but being punished is a heavy punishment. He only knows that the Lord is able to supervise misdemeanors. My husband's crime was light and his supervision was serious, but what's more, is there a serious crime? Therefore, the people do not dare to offend. This is why Han Zi said, "The cloth is ordinary, but the mediocre people cannot release it, and the gold is overflowing, and the thieves and planters do not fight." It is not the mediocre people who have a heavy heart, and the ordinary people's sharpness is deep, but the desire of the thieves and planters is shallow; nor does it mean to steal the planters. This trip is the weight of a hundred yi. If you fight and punish at will, then the thieves will not fight for a hundred yi; but if you do not need to punish, then the mediocre people will not be free from the ordinary. The old city is five feet high, but the buildings are not lightly violated; Mount Tai is a hundred feet high, and lame sheep are herded on it. The height of a husband's building is only five feet, but how can a lame sheep be as high as a hundred feet? The steep moat is different. The reason why the Holy King of the Ming Dynasty was able to maintain a high position for a long time, hold on to great power, and excel in the interests of the world is because he has a different way. If he can make arbitrary decisions and judge and supervise the blame, he will be severely punished, so the world will not dare to offend. Now, if you don’t do anything, you won’t do it, but if you do, the loving mother will lose her son, and you don’t understand the sage’s theory. If you can't practice the art of a saint, then what's the point of giving up to serve the world? Don’t be sad!
If a thrifty, benevolent and righteous man stands in the court, then the joy of extravagance will cease; if ministers who admonish and reason are on the side, then the unruly ambition will end; the conduct of a martyr's death will be evident in In this world, the dangers of obscenity and health will be abolished. Therefore, the master of Ming can exclude these three, and only use the master's skills to control the obedient ministers, and cultivate his Ming method, so he is respected and powerful. Any virtuous person will be able to rid the world of customs, abolish what he does evilly, and establish what he desires. Therefore, he will be respected when he is alive, and he will have the posthumous title of virtuous person when he dies. Therefore, the Mingjun is arbitrary, so the power does not lie with the ministers. Then it can destroy the path of benevolence and righteousness, cover up the mouth of Chi Chi, and trap the deeds of martyrs, block cleverness and cover up understanding, and only see and hear from within. Therefore, the deeds of benevolence and righteousness can not be used externally, and the deeds of martyrs can not be used to admonish and argue internally. Therefore, you can act alone and do what you want without daring to rebel. If you do this, you can then be said to be able to understand the techniques of Shen and Han, and practice the methods of Lord Shang. If the method of cultivating the law is clear but the world is in chaos, it will not be heard of. Therefore, it is said that "the king's way is easy to operate". Only the Lord knows how to do it. If this is true, then it is called sincerity in supervising and responsibilities. If the ministers are innocent, then the world will be safe. If the world is safe, the Lord will be dignified. If the Lord is dignified, then the supervisor will be responsible. If the supervise is sure, what he seeks will be obtained. What he seeks will be the prosperity of the country. , if the country is rich, then the king will be prosperous. Therefore, if you set up the technique of supervision and responsibility, you can achieve whatever you want. The ministers and the people were unable to save him, so why did he dare to change his mind? If this is the case, then the emperor is well prepared and can be said to be able to understand the art of the king and his ministers. Although Shen and Han were reborn, they could not be added.
A wise monarch must be one who can fully grasp the way to be a monarch and exercise the skills to govern his subordinates. If the subordinates are strictly supervised and supervised, the ministers will not dare not do their best to serve the monarch. In this way, once the duties of the monarch and his ministers are determined, and the rules for the relationship between superiors and subordinates are also clear, then no one in the world, whether talented or virtuous, will dare not not do their best to serve the monarch. Therefore, the monarch can dominate the world without any restrictions and enjoy the ultimate pleasure. Wise monarch, how can you not see this clearly!
That’s why Mr. Shen Buhe said: “If you possess the world but don’t know how to indulge your sexual desires, then it’s like treating the world as your own shackles.” Such words have no other meaning. They just mean that you don’t supervise your subordinates. But he worked hard for the people of the world, just like Yao and Yu, so he was called "shackles".
If you cannot learn from Shen Buhai and Han Fei's brilliant skills, implement supervision measures, and focus on making yourself comfortable and happy with the world, but only worry about it in vain and work hard for the people, then you are the slaves of the people, not the emperor who rules the world. What is so noble about this! If you let others devote themselves to you, you will be noble and others will be humble; if you let yourself devote yourself to others, you will be humble and others will be noble. Therefore, those who devote themselves are humble, while those who accept sacrifice are noble. This has always been the case from ancient times to the present. Since ancient times, the reason why virtuous people are respected is because the respected people are noble; the reason why unworthy people are hated is because the unworthy people are humble. Yao and Yu were people who devoted themselves to the world. They respected them based on the world's evaluation, which also lost the intention of respecting the virtuous. This can be said to be a huge mistake. Isn't it also appropriate to say that Yao and Yu regarded the world as their "shackles"? This is a fault that cannot be blamed.
So Mr. Han Fei said, "A loving mother will raise a prodigal son, but a strict master will not have strong slaves in his family." What is the reason? This is the inevitable result of being able to impose severe punishments. Therefore, Shang Yang's new law stipulates that anyone who spreads ashes on the road will be sentenced. Sprinkling ashes on the road is a minor offense, but adding punishment to it is a severe penalty. Only a wise monarch can severely punish misdemeanors. If you are severely punished for a misdemeanor, how much more serious crimes? Therefore, people dare not break the law. Therefore, Mr. Han Fei also said: "A few feet of silk will be taken away by ordinary people when they see it. A hundred yi of beautiful gold will not be taken away by thieves." It is not because ordinary people are greedy, but a few feet of silk are extremely valuable. , the thieves have an indifferent desire for profit; nor is it because the thieves behave noblely and despise the huge profits of a hundred yi gold. The reason is that once they are seized, they will be punished casually, so the thieves dare not seize the white gold; if the punishment is not resolutely imposed, then ordinary people will not give up a few feet of silk. Therefore, Lou Ji dare not offend the city wall that is five feet high; Mount Tai is a hundred feet high, but a lame shepherd dares to graze on it. Could it be that Lou Ji thought it was difficult to climb the five-foot-high city wall, while the lame shepherd thought it was easy to climb the hundred-foot-high Mount Tai? This is because steepness and gentleness are different situations. The reason why sage monarchs can hold high positions for a long time, hold great power, and monopolize the interests of the world alone is not because they have any special methods, but because they can monopolize power, are good at supervising and punishing, and must be strict with those who break the law. Increase punishment, so people in the world dare not violate it. If we do not formulate measures to prevent crime now and follow the example of a loving mother raising a prodigal son, we would be completely ignorant of the opinions of the sages of previous generations. If you cannot implement the method of a sage to govern the world, what else can you do except serve as a slave to the world? Isn't this so sad?
What's more, if a frugal and benevolent person serves in the court, the absurd and unbridled fun will have to be suspended; if the ministers who exhort and talk about reason are around to intervene, the unscrupulous thoughts will be restrained; if the martyrs The behavior of the dead is respected by the world, and indulgent entertainment must be given up. Therefore, a sage monarch can exclude these three types of people, and only has the power to rule, control his obedient ministers, and establish a strict legal system, so he is noble and powerful. All wise monarchs can go against the world's trends, change folk customs, abandon what they hate, and establish what they like. Therefore, they only have noble power when they are alive, and they have the posthumous title of wise after their death. Because of this, a wise monarch can centralize power and be authoritarian to prevent power from falling into the hands of his subordinates. Then he can cut off the path of benevolence and righteousness, block the mouth of lobbying, embarrass the martyrs' deadly behavior, close their eyes and ears, and allow themselves to act arbitrarily. In this way You will not be swayed by the deeds of benevolent, righteous, honest and martyrs externally, and you will not be confused by advice and arguments internally. Therefore, Zhuo Nao can do whatever he wants without anyone daring to resist. Like this, only then can we say that we have understood the ruling techniques of Shen Buhai and Han Fei, and learned the legal system of Shang Yang. If the legal system and the art of governance are learned and understood well, the world will still be in chaos. I have never heard of such a thing. Therefore, some people say: "The emperor's rule is simple and easy to implement." Only a wise monarch can do this. Only in this way can it be said that supervision and responsibilities are truly implemented, and the ministers will not have any thoughts of divorce, and the world will be stable. Only when the world is stable can the monarch have the dignity. Only when the monarch has dignity can the supervision and responsibilities be strictly implemented. After the supervision and responsibilities are strictly implemented, the monarch's Only when desires are satisfied can the country be prosperous and strong, and only when the country is prosperous can the monarch enjoy more. Therefore, once the art of supervision and accountability is established, any desire of the monarch can be satisfied. It is too late for the ministers and the people to remedy their own mistakes, so how can they dare to plot rebellion? In this way, it can be said that you have mastered the emperor's ruling skills, and you can also say that you understand the method of controlling the ministers.
Even if Shen Buhai and Han Fei are resurrected, they cannot go beyond that.
About the author
Li Si (about 284 BC - 208 BC), whose surname was Li, whose name was Si, and whose courtesy name was Tonggu. At the end of the Warring States Period, he was a native of Shangcai (now Shangcai, Henan), State of Chu. A famous politician, writer and calligrapher in the Qin Dynasty.
Li Si was a county official in his early years. Later, he learned the art of emperors from Xunzi and entered the Qin Dynasty. He was first appointed as a man by Lu Buwei. Later, he persuaded the King of Qin to destroy the princes and become an emperor, and was appointed as the long history. The King of Qin adopted his strategy and sent counselors to lobby the six kingdoms of Guandong with gold and jade, alienating the kings and ministers of each country, and appointed him as a guest minister. In the tenth year of the Qin Dynasty (237 BC), due to the Korean spy Zheng Guo entering Qin, the King of Qin ordered the expulsion of the guest officials from the six countries. Li Si's "Remonstrance and Expulsion Book" stopped him, and he was accepted by the King of Qin. Soon he was promoted to Tingwei. He played a major role in King Qin's campaign to destroy the six kingdoms. After Qin unified the world, he agreed with Wang Wan and Feng Jie to respect Qin Wangzheng as the emperor and formulated relevant etiquette systems. Was appointed prime minister. He suggested demolishing county walls and destroying civilian weapons; he opposed the enfeoffment system and insisted on the system of counties and counties; he also advocated burning private collections of "Poetry", "Books" and other hundreds of languages, and prohibiting private study in order to strengthen centralized rule. He also participated in the formulation of laws to unify the track, writing, and weights and measures systems. The implementation of Li Si's political ideas had a profound impact on China and the world, and established the basic pattern of China's political system for more than two thousand years.
After the death of Qin Shihuang, he conspired with Zhao Gao to forge a posthumous edict, forcing the first emperor's eldest son Fusu and general Meng Tian to commit suicide, and established his youngest son Hu Hai as the second emperor. Later, he was tabooed by Zhao Gao. In the second year of Qin II (208 BC), he was cut in half in the bustling city of Xianyang and merged with the Yi tribe.