1. Zichan: "Fire is fierce, and people look at it and fear it, so few people die; water is weak, and people play with it, so many people die." (See "Zuo Zhuan·Zhao Gong II" "Ten Years")
Translation: Zi Chan: "For example, when people see fire, they are afraid of it, so few people die (in it). Water is soft, and people get close to it and play with it, so many people die. (among them)
2. When the son gave birth to Xiang Zheng and was about to die, he said to You Ji: "After I die, the son will use Zheng and treat people with strictness. If the fire is severe, the old people will be burned; if the water is cowardly, many people will be drowned. The son must be strict with himself and not be cowardly. ""Han Feizi·Nei Chu Shuo""
Translation: Zichan was the prime minister of Zheng and was very ill and was about to die. He said to You Ji: "After I die, you will definitely get Zheng." To reuse the country, you must implement a strict system. Fire looks terrible, so people rarely get burned. Water looks weak, but many people drown in the water. You must strictly implement your rules. Criminal law, don't let people see your cowardice and violate the criminal law. ”
Extended information:
Introduction to Zichan: Zichan (? ~ 522 BC) is also known as Gongsun Qiao, Zheng’s surname is Ji, his given name is Qiao, and his courtesy name is Zichan. During the Spring and Autumn Period, he was a native of the Zheng State (Xinzheng, Henan Province), a nobleman of the Zheng State, the grandson of Zheng Mugong, and the son of Zheng Gongzifa (named Ziguo). He was the first person to publish the criminal law to the public. He once cast a punishment book on a tripod. Known historically as "The Book of Punishment," he was a pioneer of Legalism and was praised by Wang Yuan of the Qing Dynasty as "the first person in the Spring and Autumn Period." .
His reform of internal affairs began with the rectification of the land system. First, he redefined land boundaries and determined the land ownership of each family to prevent the nobles from wantonly occupying and competing for land; Organized into groups of five families, a strict household registration system was established to strengthen control over farmers. At the beginning of Zichan's reign, the reform measures were widely criticized, but he remained unmoved and resolutely implemented subsequent reforms. The results were remarkable, and people generally praised his political achievements, and even worried about the lack of successors.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Wu and Duke Zhuang of Zheng were both talented and strategic figures, especially Duke Zhuang of Zheng who defeated the mountains in the north. Rong became the backbone of the vassal states in the Central Plains, and was called the "Early Overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period" by later generations. Zhuang Gong governed the Zheng State for 43 years, bringing the Zheng State to its peak, with its territory reaching Yueyi (now Yuzhou City) in the south and Jianjian in the east. Kaifeng (today's Kaifeng) crossed the Yellow River to the north and crossed the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and controlled Hulao Pass to the west. However, after the death of Duke Zhuang, the Zheng State quickly fell into civil strife. First, the powerful minister Ji Zhong drove away the prince Hu and established the prince Tu as the king. For Zheng Li Gong.
However, Li Gong was unwilling to be a puppet and fought hard. After the failure, he fled abroad and sought help from foreign forces to use troops against Zheng for many years. After that, Ji Zhong helped Prince Hu regain the throne. Years later, the prince was suddenly killed by another powerful minister. Ji Zhong established two more kings, and the exiled Zheng Ligong finally came back and killed the king. In this way, Zheng Guoliu was restored successfully. After the change of its owner, the country's power inevitably declined. After that, the power of Zheng was still controlled by some big families.
At this time, the states of Qi, Jin, Qin, and Chu gradually became stronger. The Zheng State is at the intersection of firepower among various countries, causing Zheng Guo's army to suffer many disasters.
In such precarious days, the Zheng State's big families fought for power and profit. The mutual strife intensified, making Zheng Guo restless. It was in this context that the "Finger Finger Move" incident occurred. This incident also marked that Zheng Guo had fallen into the abyss of civil strife and it was difficult to extricate itself from the situation. "After the Zheng Kingdom experienced more than 150 years of stagnation and decline, Zichan came into being to support the crisis.
Character experience:
Zichan showed farsightedness in his youth In the first year of Zheng Jian's reign (565 BC), his father and son led an army to attack Cai and won a great victory. However, everyone in Zheng pointed out that this would lead to Chu's attack and Jin's counterattack, leaving Zheng in the middle. Suffering from the war. Two years later, Gongzifa was killed in a coup caused by internal strife among the nobles, and Zheng Jiangong was also kidnapped to the Beigong.
Zichan was calm and resourceful, and after careful deployment, he led his troops to attack Beigong, and with the support of the countrymen, the rebellion was quelled. The new ruling prince Jia drafted a letter of alliance, emphasizing the protection of personal privileges, which aroused opposition from noble ministers. Gongzijia planned to implement it by force, but Zichan urged him to burn the alliance letter to calm the public anger and stabilize the political situation.
In the twelfth year of Duke Jian of Zheng's reign, Gongzi Jia was eventually killed because of his arbitrary power, and Zichan was appointed as minister and appointed as Shaozheng. In a series of negotiations with the overlord Jin, he argued hard, neither humble nor overbearing, and tried his best to protect Zheng's rights and interests. In the eighteenth year of Duke Jian's reign, he followed the ruling Gongsun Shezhi to attack the state of Chen. He was also able to pay attention to military discipline and abide by traditional etiquette. Later, when he presented his victory to the Jin State, he rejected the Jin people's accusations with reasonable grounds and forced them to recognize Zheng's achievements. For this reason, Zheng Jiangong gave Zichan a heavy reward, but he only accepted the part commensurate with his status.
The following year, King Kang of Chu led an army to attack Zheng in order to appease Xu Guo. Zichan advocated holding on and not fighting, allowing the Chu army to gain small profits and return satisfied in exchange for longer-term peace. The Zheng people followed this plan and indeed promoted the "Anti-Brigade Alliance". In the twenty-third year of Duke Jian's reign, Zheng's ministers had internal strife, and the governor Boyou was killed. Zichan strictly adhered to neutrality and was respected by most people for his outstanding talents. With the support of the distinguished leader Han Hu, Zichan became the governor.
Zi Chan paid special attention to strategy in governing the country. On the one hand, he took care of the interests of the great nobles and relied on the majority for unity; on the other hand, he decisively punished individual nobles who were excessively corrupt and violent to maintain the prestige of the government. He did not destroy rural schools, allowed people to discuss political affairs, and was willing to draw useful suggestions from them. However, reforms that they thought were beneficial to the country were implemented forcefully despite public opposition. Regarding the two hegemons of Jin and Chu, he not only served the two hegemons prudently in accordance with traditional etiquette and did not give the other party an excuse to provoke, but he also boldly resisted when conditions allowed and refuted their unreasonable demands.
He declared that "Heaven is far away and humanity is far away. How can we know it if it is beyond our reach?" He opposed the superstitious belief in ghosts, gods and astrology, but he also admitted that the violent death of nobles could lead to serious ghosts, and wanted to make their descendants high officials to appease them. He was called a benevolent and beneficial person by Confucius. He was a figure admired by the conservative scholar-bureaucrats. However, he also "cast a book of punishment", promulgated a written code, implemented a "violent government" that strictly controlled the people, and created "Tian Zhu" and "Tian Zhu" to aggravate exploitation. "Qiu Fu" and other new systems were used to "save the world". This shows that Zichan was a pragmatic politician. Although he tried to maintain the traditional old system, he had to adapt to the changes in the situation and carry out necessary reforms.
Zi Chan once pointed out: "It is difficult to offend when people are angry, and it is difficult to achieve single-minded desires." That is to say, governing the country must take into account the wishes and demands of the majority of the people, and failure to do so alone will not lead to success. He also said: "Government is like farm work. You think about it day and night. Thinking about its beginning will lead to its end. Do it day and night, and do it without thinking about it. Just like farming, if there is a bank, it will be fresh." That is to say, you should be confident when encountering things. During execution, we must stick to the established plan and not easily deviate. He also pays attention to searching for talents and making use of their strengths. He can listen to suggestions widely and follow the good ones.
When Zichan took office, his reform measures were widely criticized, but he remained unmoved and resolutely implemented them. Afterwards, the reform achieved remarkable results, and people generally praised his political achievements, and even worried about the lack of successors.