CONFUCIAN THEORY AND PRACTICE ON

EDUCATION, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS

EDUCATIONAL THEORY AND PRACTICE

On Human Nature
Confucian theory of human nature in classical times (i.e. prior to the rise of Neo-Confucianism in the 11 th and 12th
centuries, during the Song dynasty period) was most fully developed by Mencius. He claimed that all human beings
were capable of becoming good, that is, we all have moral inclinations (the Four Sprouts mentioned below).
Because of these moral inclinations, all human beings are thought to possess innate dignity, which cannot be
conferred or taken away by the powers that be. It also follows that the noblest sage king and the basest commoner
are of the same kind, the difference lying in the fact that the sage has fully nourished and developed his moral
inclinations.

Mencius said, “No man is devoid of a heart sensitive to the suffering of others. Such a sensitive heart was
possessed by the Former Kings and this manifested itself in compassionate government. With such a
sensitive heart behind compassionate government, it was as easy to rule the Empire as rolling it on your
palm.
“My reason for saying that no man is devoid of a heart sensitive to the suffering of others is this.
Suppose a man were, all of a sudden, to see a young child on the verge of falling into a well. He would
certainly be moved to compassion, not because he wanted to get in the good graces of the parents, nor
because he wished to win the praise of his fellow villagers or friends, nor yet because he disliked the cry
of the child. From this it can be seen that whoever is devoid of the heart of compassion is not human,
whoever is devoid of the heart of courtesy and modesty is not human, and whoever is devoid of the heart
of right and wrong is not human. The heart of compassion is the sprout of humaneness; the heart of
shame, of rightness; the heart of courtesy and modesty, of observance of the rites; the heart of right and
wrong, of wisdom. Man has these four sprouts just as he has four limbs. For a man possessing these four
sprouts to deny his own potentialities is for him to cripple himself; for him to deny the potentialities of his
prince is for him to cripple his prince. If a man is able to develop all these four sprouts that he possesses,
it will be like a fire starting up or a spring coming through. When these are fully developed, he will be
able to care for the whole realm within the Four Seas, but if he fails to develop them, he will not be able
even to serve his parents.” [Mencius 2A:6]

Mencius said, “With those who do violence to themselves, one cannot speak, nor can one interact with
those who throw themselves away. To deny decorum and rightness in one’s speech is what is called
‘doing violence to oneself.’ To say, ‘I am unable to abide in humaneness or follow rightness’ is what is

1
called ‘throwing oneself away.’ For human beings, humaneness is the peaceful dwelling, and rightness is
the correct path. To abandon the peaceful dwelling and not abide in it and to reject the right road and not
follow it—how lamentable!” [Mencius 4A:10]

Gaozi said, “Human nature is like the qi willow. Rightness is like cups and bowls. To make morality out
of human nature is like making cups and bowls out of the willow.”
“Can you,” said Mencius, “make cups and bowls by following the nature of the willow? Or must
you mutilate the willow before you can make it into cups and bowls? If you have to mutilate the willow
to make it into cups and bowls, must you, then, also mutilate a man to make him moral? If anything leads
the people of the world to reject morality as something bad for them, it surely will be your doctrine!”
Gaozi said, “Human nature is like swirling water. Open a passage for it in the east, and it will
flow east; open a passage for it in the west, and it will flow west. Human nature does not distinguish
between good and bad any more than water distinguishes between east and west.”
Mencius said, “It is true that water does not distinguish between east and west, but does it fail to
distinguish between up or down? The goodness of human nature is like the downward course of water.
There is no human being lacking in the tendency to do good, just as there is no water lacking in the
tendency to flow downward. Now by striking water and splashing it, you may cause it to go over your
head, and by damming and channeling it, you can force it to flow uphill. But is this the nature of water?
It is the force that makes this happen. While people can be made to do what is not good, what happens to
their nature is like this.” [Mencius 6A:1-2]

Gongduzi said, “Gaozi says that the nature is neither good nor bad. Others say that the nature can be
made to be good or bad, which is why during the reigns of Kings Wen and Wu the people were inclined to
goodness, whereas under the reigns of You and Li, the people were inclined to violence. Still others say
that the natures of some are good and the natures of others are bad, which is why when Yao was the ruler
there could be Xiang, while with a father like Gusou there could be Shun, and with Zhou as the son of
their elder brother as well as their ruler there could be Qi, the Viscount of Wei, and Prince Bigan. Now
you say that the nature is good. Does this mean that these others are all wrong?”
Mencius said, “As far as what is essential in human beings is concerned, it is possible for one to
do good; this is what I mean by being good. If one does what is not good, that is not the fault of one’s
capacities. The heart of pity and commiseration is possessed by all human beings; the heart of shame and
aversion is possessed by all human beings; the heart of respectfulness and reverence is possessed by all
human beings; and the heart that knows right and wrong is possessed by all human beings. The heart of
pity and commiseration is humaneness; the heart of shame and dislike is rightness; the heart of reverence

2
and respect is decorum; and the heart that knows right and wrong is wisdom. Humaneness, rightness,
decorum, and wisdom are not infused into us from without. We definitely possess them. It is just that we
do not reflect on them, that is all. Therefore it is said, ‘Seek and you will get it; let go and you will lose
it.’ That some differ from others by as much as twice, or five times, or an incalculable order of magnitude,
is because there are those who are unable fully to develop their capacities…. [Mencius 6A:6]

Mencius said, “There was a time when the trees were luxuriant on the Ox Mountain. As it is on the
outskirts of a great metropolis, the trees are constantly lopped by axes. Is it any wonder that they are no
longer fine? With the respite they get in the day and in the night, and the moistening by the rain and dew,
there is certainly no lack of new shoots coming out, but then the cattle and sheep come to graze upon the
mountain. That is why it is as bald as it is. People, seeing only its baldness, tend to think that it never had
any trees. But can this possibly be the nature of a mountain? Can what is in man be completely lacking in
moral inclinations? A man’s letting go of his true heart is like the case of the trees and the axes. When the
trees are lopped day after day, is it any wonder that they are no longer fine? If, in spite of the respite a
man gets in the day and in the night and of the effect of the morning air on him, scarcely any of his likes
and dislikes resemble those of other men, it is because what he does in the course of the day once again
dissipates what he has gained. If this dissipation happens repeatedly, then the influence of the air in the
night will no longer be able to preserve what was originally in him, and when that happens, the man is not
far removed from an animal. Others, seeing his resemblance to an animal, will be led to think that he
never had any native endowment. But can that be what a man is genuinely like? Hence, given the right
nourishment there is nothing that will not grow, and deprived of it there is nothing that will not wither
away. Confucius said, ‘Hold on to it and it will remain; let go of it and it will disappear. One never
knows the time it comes or goes, neither does one know the direction.’ It is perhaps to the heart this
refers.” [Mencius 6A:8]

Mencius said, “There are honors bestowed by Heaven, and there are honors bestowed by man.
Humaneness, rightness, conscientiousness, truthfulness to one’s word, unflagging delight in what is good
—these are honors bestowed by Heaven. The position of a Ducal Minister, a Minister, or a Counsellor is
an honor bestowed by man. Men of antiquity bent their efforts towards acquiring honors bestowed by
Heaven, and honors bestowed by man followed as a matter of course. Men of today bend their efforts
towards acquiring honors bestowed by Heaven in order to win honors bestowed by man, and once the
latter is won they discard the former. Such men are deluded to the extreme, and in the end are sure only to
perish.” [Mencius 6A:16]

3
Mencius said, “All men share the same desire to be exalted. But as a matter of fact, every man has in him
that which is exalted. The fact simply never dawned on him. What man exalts is not truly exalted. Those
Zhao Meng exalts, Zhao Meng can also humble…. [Mencius 6A:17]

Cao Jiao asked, “Is it true that all human beings are capable of becoming a Yao or a Shun?”
Mencius said, “It is true.”
“I have heard that King Wen was ten feet 1 tall, while Tang was nine feet tall. I am nine feet four
inches tall, and yet all I can do is eat millet. What shall I do to become a Yao or a Shun?”
“What is there to do but just to do it? Here we have a man who is not strong enough to lift a
chicken; he is a man who lacks strength. If he now says that he can lift a hundred jun, he is a man of
strength, for by lifting Wu Huo’s burden one becomes Wu Huo. Why should a person make a calamity of
what he has not yet mastered? It is just that he has not done it…. [Mencius 6B:2]

Universal Education
Confucius said, “There has never been anyone who came with as little a present as dried meat [for tuition]
that I have refused to teach him something.” [Analects 7:7]

The Master said, “In education there should be no class distinctions.” [Analects 15:38]

Program of Learning
Doctrine of the Mean
What Heaven [Nature] imparts to man is called human nature. To follow our nature is called the Way.
Cultivating the Way is called education….
Before the feelings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy are aroused it is called equilibrium. When
these feelings are aroused and each and all attain due measure and degree, it is called harmony.
Equilibrium is the great foundation of the world, and harmony its universal path. When equilibrium and
harmony are realized to the highest degree, heaven and earth will attain their proper order and all things
will flourish….
The Way of the superior man may be compared to traveling to a distant place: one must start
from the nearest point. It may be compared to ascending a height: one must start from below…. [W-T
Chan, pp.98, 102]

1
Obviously, the Chinese foot was considerably shorter than the Western.

4
Zhu Xi’s Preface to the Elementary Learning
In the elementary learning of the ancient times, instruction followed the steps of “sprinkling and
sweeping, listening and responding, advancing and retiring [in the presence of others],” as well as the
loving of parents, respecting of elders, honoring of teachers, and being intimate with friends. All of these
constituted the basis for cultivating the self, regulating the family, ordering the state, and bringing peace to
all-under-Heaven. Thus they were sure to be discussed and put into practice during the learner’s younger
years; in this way knowledge and discipline would grow together for the full development and
transformation of the mind-and-heart, so that there would be no danger of conflict between nature and
nurture….2 [SCT, pp.803-804]

The Great Learning

The way of the Great Learning lies in clearly manifesting luminous virtue, renewing the people, and
resting in the utmost good. Knowing where to rest [stop], there is stability; with stability, one can have
composure; with composure one can deliberate [reflect], and with reflection one can get there
[understand]. Things have their roots and branches. Affairs have a beginning and an end. Knowing
[learning] what comes before and what comes after is close to the Way.
The ancients, wishing clearly to manifest luminous virtue to all-under-Heaven, first put in order
their own states. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their own persons. Wishing to
cultivate their persons, they first rectified their minds-and-hearts. Wishing to rectify their minds-and-
hearts, they first made their intentions sincere. Wishing to make their intentions sincere, they first
extended their knowing. The extension of knowing lies in investigating things and affairs.
Things being investigated, knowing can be extended; knowing being extended, the intentions can
be made sincere; the intentions being made sincere, the mind can be rectified; the mind rectified, the
person can be cultivated; with the self cultivated, the family can be regulated; the family regulated, the
state can be governed; the state governed, all-under-Heaven can be at peace. [SCT, pp.725-727]

Learning as Enjoyment
The Master said, “To know it is not as good as to love it, and to love it is not as good as to take delight in
it.” [Analects 6:18]

2
de Bary: The contents [of the Elementary Learning] are divided into three main parts: (1) the “Setting Up
of Instruction” (i.e., the basic importance of a defined, structured sequence of education); (2) the prime
human/moral relations; and (3) the fundamental, as well as ultimate, value of self-respect (“reverencing
the self”), i.e., the need to take responsibility for, to define, and to shape one’s self in the context of the
foregoing environmental factors and relationships.

5
Confucius said, “Let a man be stimulated by poetry, established by ritual propriety, and perfected by
music.” [Analects 8:8]

The Master said, “My young friends, why do you not study the odes? The odes can stimulate your
emotions, broaden your observation, enlarge your fellowship, and express your grievances. They help you
in your immediate service to your parents and in your more remote service to your rulers. They widen
your acquaintance with the names of birds, animals, and plants.” [Analects 17:9]

When the Master was in the state of Qi he heard the shao music, and for several months he did not know
the taste of meat. He said, “I had no idea that music could achieve such heights!” [Analects 7:14]

The Master said of the shao [music] that it was wholly beautiful and good…. [Analects 3:25]

The Master talked to the Grand Music Master of Lu about music, and said: “Much can be realized with
music if one begins to play in unison, and then goes on to improvise with purity of tone and distinctness
and flow, thereby bringing all to completion.” [Analects 3:23]

Mencius said, “The core of humaneness is serving one’s parents; the core of rightness is following one’s
elder brother; the core of wisdom is knowing these two things and not departing from them; the core of
ritual is regulating and adorning these two; the core of music is in taking joy in these two. When there is
joy, they grow; when they grow, how can they be stopped? When they come to the point where they
cannot be stopped, then, without one’s realizing it, the feet begins to dance and the hands to move.”
[Mencius 4A:27]

Cheng Hao: The principles of things are most enjoyable. [W-T Chan, p.534]

On Ritual Propriety
Lin Fang asked about what is fundamental in rites. The Master said, “This is indeed a great question. In
rites, it is better to be sparing than to be excessive. In mourning, it is better to express grief rather than to
emphasize formalities.” [Analects 3:4]

The expression “sacrifice as though present” is taken to mean “sacrifice to the spirits as though the spirits
are present.” But the Master said: “If I myself do not participate in the sacrifice, it is as though I have not

6
sacrificed at all.” [Analects 3:12]

The Meaning of Sacrifices (from the Record of Rites)

Rites should not be frequently repeated. Such frequency is indicative of importunateness, and
importunateness is inconsistent with reverence. Nor should they be at distant intervals. Such infrequency
is indicative of indifference; and indifference leads to forgetting them altogether. Therefore the noble
person, in harmony with the course of Heaven, offers the sacrifices of spring and autumn. When he treads
on the dew that has descended as hoarfrost he cannot help a feeling of sadness, which arises in his mind
and cannot be ascribed to the cold. In the spring when he treads on the ground, wet with the rains and
dews that have fallen heavily, he cannot avoid being moved by a feeling as if he were seeing his departed
friends. We meet the approach of our friends with music and escort them away with sadness. Hence at
the sacrifice in spring we use music, but not at the sacrifice in autumn.
The most complete vigil is carried on inwardly, while a less intense vigil is maintained externally.
During the days of such vigil, the mourner thinks of his departed, how and where they sat, how they
smiled and spoke, what were their aims and views, what they delighted in, and what things they desired
and enjoyed. On the third day of such exercise he will see those for whom it is employed.
On the day of sacrifice, when he enters the apartment [of the temple] he will seem to see [the
deceased] in the place [where his spirit-tablet] is. After he has moved about and is leaving at the door, he
will seem to be arrested by hearing the sound of his movements and will sigh as he seems to hear the
sound of his sighing.
Thus the filial piety taught by the ancient kings required that the eyes of the son should not forget
the looks [of his parents], nor his ears their voices; and he should retain the memory of their aims, likings,
and wishes. As he gave full play to his love, they seemed to live again; and to his reverence, they seemed
to stand out, so unforgotten by him. How could his sacrifices be without the accompaniment of
reverence?
… King Wen, in sacrificing, served the dead as if he were serving the living. He thought of the
dead as if he did not wish to live [any longer himself]. On the recurrence of their death-day, he was sad;
in calling his father by the name elsewhere forbidden, he looked as if he saw him. So sincere was he in
sacrificing that he looked as if he saw the things that his father loved, and the pleased expression on his
face—such was King Wen! The Ode says:
Light dawns without my having slept,
Being so full of thoughts of two people.
This is King Wen’s poem. On the day after the sacrifice his joy and sorrow were blended
together. He could not but rejoice for the opportunity of offering the sacrifice; and when it was over, he

7
could not but be sad. [SCT, pp.339-340]

Extending One’s Moral Sensibility

King Xuan of Qi asked, “… What must one’s virtue be like so that one can become a true King?”
Mencius replied, “He becomes a true King by caring for the people. This is something no one
can stop.”
“Can someone like myself care for the people?”
“Yes”
“How do you know that I can?”
I heard the following from Hu He:
The King was sitting up in his pavilion, and someone led an ox through the lower part. The King
noticed this and said, ‘Where is the ox going’ ‘The blood of the ox is to be used for consecrating
a new bell.’ ‘Spare it. I cannot bear to see it shrinking with fear, like an innocent man going to
the place of execution.’ ‘In that case, should the ceremony be abandoned?’ ‘That is out of the
question. Use a lamb instead.’
“I wonder if this is true?”
“It is.”
“The heart behind your action is sufficient to enable you to become a true King. The people all
thought that you grudged the expense, but, for my part, I have no doubt that you were moved by pity for
the animal.”
“You are right,” said the King. “How could there be such people? Qi may be a small state, but I
am not quite so miserly as to grudge the use of an ox. It was simply because I could not bear to see it
shrink with fear, like an innocent man going to the place of execution, that I used a lamb instead.”
“You must not be surprised that the people thought you miserly. You used a small animal in
place of a big one. How were they to know? If you were pained by the animal going innocently to its
death, what was there to choose between an ox and a lamb?”
The King laughed and said, “What was really in my mind, I wonder? It is not true that I grudged
the expense, but I did use a lamb instead of the ox. I suppose it was only natural that the people should
have thought me miserly.”
“There is no harm in this. It is the way of a humane man. You saw the ox but not the lamb. The
attitude of a gentleman towards animals is this: once having seen them alive, he cannot bear to see them
die, and once having heard their cry, he cannot bear to eat their flesh. That is why the gentleman keeps his
distance from the kitchen.”
The King said, “The Book of Odes says,

8
 The heart is another man’s,
But it is I who have surmised it.
This describes you perfectly. For though the deed was mine, when I looked into myself I failed to
understand my own heart. You described it for me and your words struck a chord in me. In what way
does this heart accord with being a true King?”
“Should someone say to you, ‘I am strong enough to lift a hundred jun but not a feather; I have
eyes that can see the tip of a fine hair but not a cartload of firewood,” would you accept the truth of such a
statement?”
“No.”
“Why should it be different in your own case? Your kindness is sufficient to reach the animals,
yet the benefits of your government fail to reach the people. That a feather is not lifted is because one
fails to make the effort; that a cartload of firewood is not seen is because one fails to use one’s eyes.
Similarly, that peace is not brought to the people is because you fail to practice kindness. Hence, your not
being a true King is due to your not doing and it, not due to an inability to do it.”
“What is the difference in form between not doing and inability to do something?”
“If you say to someone, ‘I am unable to do it,’ when the task is one of striding over the North Sea
with Mount Tai under your arm, then this is a genuine case of inability to act. But if you say, ‘I am unable
to do it,’ when it is one of massaging an elder’s joints for him, then this is a case of not doing, not of
inability. Hence your failure to become a true King is not the same in kind as ‘striding over the North Sea
with Mount Tai under your arm’, but the same as ‘massaging an elder’s joints for him’.
“Treat the aged of your own family in a manner befitting their venerable age and extend this
treatment to the aged of other families; treat your own young in a manner befitting their tender age and
extend this to the young of other families, and you can roll the Empire on your palm.
“The Book of Odes says,
He set an example for his consort
And also for his brothers,
And so ruled over the family and the state.
In other words, all you have to do is take this very heart here and apply it to what is over there. Hence, if
one extends one’s kindness, it will be sufficient to care for all within the Four Seas. If one does not extend
one’s kindness, one will lack the wherewithal to care for one’s wife and children. There is just one thing
in which the ancients greatly surpassed others, and that is the way they extended what they did. Why is it
then that your kindness is sufficient to reach animals and yet the benefits of your government fail to reach
the people?…” [Mencius 1A:7]

9
Mencius said, “For every man there are things he cannot bear. To extend this to what he can bear is
humaneness. For every man there are things he is not willing to do. To extend this to what he is willing to
do is rightness. If a man can extend to the full his natural aversion for harming others, then there will be
an overabundance of humaneness. If a man can extend his dislike for boring holes and climbing over
walls, then there will be an overabundance of rightness. If a man can extend his unwillingness to suffer
the actual humiliation of being addressed as “thou” and “thee”, then wherever he goes he will not do
anything that is not right…. [Mencius 7B:31]

On Humaneness [ren]
Confucius said, “Shen! My teaching contains one principle that runs through it all.” “Yes,” replied Zeng
Zi. When Confucius had left the room the disciples asked: “What did he mean?” Zeng Zi replied: “Our
Master’s teaching is simply this: loyalty and reciprocity.” [Analects 4:15]

…The Master said, “…The humane person, wishing to establish oneself, establishes others, and wishing
to develop oneself, develops others. If one is able to take what is near at hand as an illustrative case [for
what is more distant], this can be referred to as the method [or direction] of humaneness.” [Analects 6:28]

Zixia said, “Learning broadly and making your intentions firm and sincere, inquiring keenly and reflecting
from [concerns] near and dear—humaneness consists in these.” [Analects 19:6]

Question: What is meant by ‘reflecting from the near and dear’?

Response: To extend by taking to be of the (same) kind. [Jinsi lu, ch.3, #14]

Mencius said, “All the ten thousand things are complete in me. To turn within to examine oneself and find
that one is sincere—there is no greater joy than this. To dedicate oneself in all earnestness to reciprocity
—there can be no closer approach to humaneness.” [Mencius 7A:4]

Cheng Hao: A book on medicine describes paralysis of the four limbs as absence of ren [feeling]. This is
an excellent description. The man of ren regards the Heaven and Earth and all things as one body. To him
there is nothing that is not himself. Since he has recognized all things as himself, can there be any limit to
his humaneness? If things are not parts of the self, naturally they have nothing to do with it. As in the
case of the paralysis of the four limbs, the vital force no longer penetrates them, and therefore they are no
longer parts of the self. Therefore, to be charitable and to assist all things is the function of the sage. It is

10
most difficult to describe ren. Hence Confucius merely said that the man of ren, “wishing to establish his
own character, also establishes the character of others, and wishing to be prominent himself, also helps
others to be prominent. To be able to judge others by what is in ourselves may be called the method of
realizing ren.” The hope was that by looking at it this way, we might get at the substance of humaneness.
[W-T Chan, p.530]

Cheng Hao: Zhou Dunyi did not cut the grass growing outside his window. When asked about it, he said
that he felt toward the grass as he felt toward himself. (When Zhang Zai heard the cry of a donkey he said
the same thing). [W-T Chan, p.535]

POLITICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE

Zilu, Zengxi, Ranyou, and Zihua were all sitting in attendance on Confucius. The Master said, “Just
because I am a bit older than you do not hesitate on my account. You keep saying, ‘No one recognizes my
worth!’ but if someone did recognize your worth, how would you be of use to them?”
“As for me,” Zilu hastily replied, “give me a state of a thousand chariots to govern, set me in
among powerful neighbors, harass me with foreign armies, and add to that widespread famine, and at the
end of three years, I will have imbued the people with courage, and moreover, provided them with a sure
direction.”
The Master smiled at him, and said, “Ranyou, what would you do?”
“Give me a small territory of sixty or seventy—or even fifty or sixty—li square, and at the end of
three years, I will have made the people thrive. As for observing ritual propriety and the playing of music,
these must wait upon an exemplary person.”
“And what would you do, Zihua?” asked the Master.
“Not to say that I have the ability to do so, but I am willing to learn: in the events of the Ancestral
Temple and in the forging of diplomatic alliances, donning the appropriate ceremonial robes and cap, I
would like to serve as a minor protocol officer.”
“And what about you, Zengxi?” asked the Master.
Zengzi plucked a final note on his zither to bring the piece to an end, and setting the instrument
aside, he rose to his feet. “I would choose to do something somewhat different from the rest,” he said.
“No harm in that,” said the Master. “Each of you can speak your mind.”
“At the end of spring, with the spring clothes having already been finished, I would like, in the

11
company of five or six young men and six or seven children, to cleanse ourselves in the Yi River, to revel
in the cool breezes at the Altar for Rain, and then return home singing.”
The Master heaved a deep sigh, and said, “I’m with Zengxi!”…. [Analects 11:25]

Leadership by Example and Virtue

The Master said, “A ruler who governs his state by virtue is like the north polestar, which remains in its
place while all the other stars revolve around it.” [Analects 2:1]

The Master said, “As for governing through nonassertion, was not Shun an example of this? What did he
do? All he did was make himself reverent and face south in a correct posture, that is all.” [Analects 15:4]

The Master said, “The exemplary person helps to bring out the best in others, but does not help to bring
out the worst. The petty person does just the opposite.” [Analects 12:16]

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about governing effectively, and Confucius replied to him, “Governing
effectively is doing what is proper. If you, sir, lead by doing what is proper, who would dare do
otherwise?” [Analects 12:17]

Ji Kangzi was troubled by the number of thieves, and asked Confucius for advice. Confucius replied to
him, “If you yourself were not so greedy, the people could not be paid to steal.” [Analects 12:18]

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about government, saying, “How would it be if one killed those who do not
possess the Way in order to benefit those who do possess it?” Confucius replied, “Sir, in conducting your
government, why use killing? If you, sir, want goodness, the people will be good. The virtue of the noble
person is like the wind, and the virtue of the small people is like grass. When the wind blows over the
grass, the grass is sure to bend.” [Analects 12:19]

The Master said, “If one is correct in one’s person, things will be accomplished without one’s issuing
orders. If one is not correct in one’s person, although one gives orders, they will not be followed.”
[Analects 13:6]

Zilu asked about the noble person. The Master said, “He cultivates himself with reverence.” “Is that all
there is to it?” “He cultivates himself in order to bring peace to others.” Is there all there is to it?” The

12
Master said, “He cultivates himself so as to give peace to all the people. Cultivating oneself so as to give
peace to all the people—Yao and Shun were also anxious about this.” [Analects 14:45]

Mencius said, “If others do not respond to your love with affection, look into your own humaneness; if
others fail to respond to your attempts to govern them with order, look into your wisdom; if others do not
return your courtesy, look into your own respect. In other words, look into yourself whenever you fail to
achieve your purpose. When you are correct in your person, the Empire will turn to you…. [ Mencius
4A:4]

Mencius said, “It was through losing the people that Jie and Chou lost the Empire, and through losing the
people’s hearts that they lost the people. There is a way to win the Empire; win the people and you will
win the Empire. There is a way to win the people; win their hearts and you will win the people. There is a
way to win their hearts; as for what you like, amass it along with them; as for what you dislike, do not
impose it on them. That is all. The people turn to the humane as water flows downwards or as animals
head for the wilds…. [Mencius 4A:9]

Mencius said, “If a man in a subordinate position fails to win the confidence of his superiors, he cannot
hope to govern the people. There is a way for him to win the confidence of his superiors. If his friends do
not trust him, he will not win the confidence of his superiors. There is a way for him to win the trust of
his friends. If in serving his parents he fails to please them, he will not win the trust of his friends. There
is a way for him to please his parents. If upon looking within he finds that he has not been sincere, he will
not please his parents. There is a way for him to become sincere. If he does not understand goodness he
cannot be sincere. Hence being sincere is the Way of Heaven; to reflect upon this is the Way of man.
There has never been a man completely sincere who fails to move others. On the other hand, one who is
not sincere can never hope to move others.” [Mencius 4A:12]

Mencius said, “A ruler who uses force to make a pretence at humaneness is a despot. Such a despot
requires a large kingdom. A ruler who practices humaneness with virtue is a true king. To become a true
king does not depend on a large kingdom. Tang became so with only seventy li, and King Wen with only
a hundred. When force is used to overcome people, they do not submit willingly but only because they
have not sufficient strength to resist. But when virtue is used to overcome people, they are pleased in their
hearts and sincerely submit, as the seventy disciples submitted to Confucius…. [Mencius 2A:3]

13
Ritual Propriety over Law
Master You said, “Achieving harmony is the most valuable function of observing ritual propriety. In the
ways of the Former Kings, this achievement of harmony made them elegant, and was a guiding standard
in all things large and small. But when things are not going well, to realize harmony just for its own sake
will not work, without regulating the situation through observing ritual propriety.” [Analects 1:12]

The Master said, “Lead the people with governmental measures and regulate them by law and punishment,
and they will avoid wrongdoing but will have no sense of honor and shame. Lead them with virtue and
regulate them by ritual propriety, and they will have a sense of shame and, moreover, set themselves
right.” [Analects 2:3]

The Master said, “In hearing lawsuits, I am no better than anybody else; what is required is to bring it
about that there are no lawsuits.” [Analects 12:13]

Humane Government
“Now if you should practice humaneness in the government of your state, then all those in the Empire
who seek office would wish to find a place at your court, all tillers of land to till the land in outlying parts
of your realm, all merchants to enjoy the refuge of your market-place, all travelers to go by way of your
roads, and all those who hate their rulers to lay their complaints before you. This being so, who can stop
you from becoming a true King? …
“Only a Gentleman can have a constant heart in spite of a lack of constant means of support. The
people, on the other hand, will not have constant hearts if they are without constant means. Lacking
constant hearts, they will go astray and fall into excesses, stopping at nothing. To punish them after they
have fallen foul of the law is to set a trap for the people. How can a benevolent man in authority allow
himself to set a trap for the people? Hence when determining what means of support the people should
have, a clear-sighted ruler ensures that these are sufficient, on the one hand, for the care of parents, and, on
the other, for the support of wife and children, so that the people always have sufficient food in good years
and escape from starvation in bad; only then does he drive them toward goodness; in this way the people
find it easy to follow him.
“Nowadays, the means laid down for the people are sufficient neither for the care of parents nor
for the support of wife and children. In good years life is always hard, while in bad years there is no way
of escaping death. Thus simply to survive takes more energy than the people have. What time can they
spare for learning about ritual propriety and rightness?

14
 “If you wish to put this into practice, why not go back to fundamentals? If the mulberry is
planted in every homestead of five mu of land, then those who are fifty can wear silk; if chickens, pigs and
dogs do not miss their breeding season, then those who are seventy can eat meat; if each lot of a hundred
mu is not deprived of labor during the busy seasons, then families with several mouths to feed will not go
hungry. Exercise due care over the education provided by the village schools, and discipline the people by
teaching them duties proper to sons and younger brothers, and those whose heads have turned grey will
not be carrying loads on the roads. When the aged wear silk and eat meat and the masses are neither cold
nor hungry, it is impossible for their prince not to be a true King.” [Mencius 1A:7]

Importance of the People

When the Master went to Wei, Ran You served as his driver. The Master said, “How numerous the people
are!” Ran You said, “Since they are already numerous, what more should be done for them?” He said,
“Enrich them.” Ran You said, “And when they have been enriched, what more can be done for them?”
He replied, “Teach them.” [Analects 13:9]

Wan Zhang asked, “Is it true that Yao gave the Empire to Shun?”
“No,” said Mencius. “The Emperor cannot give the Empire to another.”
“In that case who gave the Empire to Shun?”
“Heaven gave it him.”
You say Heaven gave it him. Does this mean that Heaven gave him detailed and minute
instructions?”
“No. Heaven does not speak but reveals itself through acts and deeds.”
“How does Heaven do this?”
“The Emperor can recommend a man to Heaven but he cannot make Heaven give this man the
Empire; just as a feudal lord can recommend a man to the Emperor but he cannot make the Emperor
bestow a fief on him, or as a Counsellor can recommend a man to a feudal lord but cannot make the feudal
lord appoint him a Counsellor. In antiquity, Yao recommended Shun to Heaven and Heaven accepted him;
he presented him to the people and the people accepted him. Hence I said, ‘Heaven does not speak but
reveals itself by acts and deeds.’”
“May I ask how he was accepted by Heaven when recommended to it and how he was accepted
by the people when presented to them?”
“When he was put in charge of sacrifices, the hundred gods enjoyed them. This showed that
Heaven accepted him. When he was put in charge of affairs, they were kept in order and the people were

15
content. This showed that the people accepted him. Heaven gave it to him, and the people gave it to him.
Hence I said, “The Emperor cannot give the Empire to another.” Shun assisted Yao for twenty-eight years.
This is something which could not be brought about by man, but by Heaven alone. Yao died, and after the
mourning period of three years, Shun withdrew to the south of Nan He, leaving Yao’s son in possession of
the field, yet the feudal lords of the Empire coming to pay homage and those who were engaged in
litigation went to Shun, not to Yao’s son, and ballad singers sang the praises of Shun, not of Yao’s son.
Hence I said, “It was brought about by Heaven.” Only then did Shun go to the Central Kingdoms and
ascend the Imperial throne. If he had just moved into Yao’s palace and ousted his son, it would have been
usurpation of the Empire, not receiving it from Heaven. The Tai shi says,
Heaven sees with the eyes of its people. Heaven hears with the ears of its people.
This describes well what I meant.” [Mencius 5A:5]

Mencius said, “The people are of supreme importance; the altars to the gods of earth and grain come next;
last comes the ruler. That is why he who gains the confidence of the multitudinous people will be
Emperor; he who gains the confidence of the Emperor will be a feudal lord; he who gains the confidence
of a feudal lord will be a Counsellor…. [Mencius 5B:14]

ECONOMIC THEORY AND PRACTICE

THE DEBATE ON SALT AND IRON
In the sixth year of the era Shiyuan [81 B.C.E.] , an imperial edict was issued directing the chancellor and
the imperial secretaries to confer with the worthies and literati who had been recommended to the
government and to inquire into the grievances and hardships of the people.
The literati responded: We have heard that the way to govern men is to prevent evil and error at
their source, to broaden the beginnings of morality, to discourage secondary occupations, and open the
way for the exercise of humaneness and rightness. Never should material profit appear as a motive of
government. Only then can moral instruction succeed and the customs of the people be reformed. But
now in the provinces the salt, iron, and liquor monopolies, and the system of equitable marketing have
been established to compete with the people for profit, dispelling rustic generosity and teaching the people
greed. Therefore those who pursue primary occupations [farming] have grown few and those following
secondary occupations [trading] numerous. As artifice increases, basic simplicity declines; and as the
secondary occupations flourish, those that are primary suffer. When the secondary is practiced the people
grow decadent, but when the primary is practiced they are simple and sincere. When the people are

16
sincere then there will be sufficient wealth and goods, but when they become extravagant then famine and
cold will follow. We recommend that the salt, iron, and liquor monopolies and the system of equitable
marketing be abolished so that primary pursuits may be advanced and secondary ones suppressed. This
will have the advantage of increasing the profitableness of agriculture.
His Lordship [the Imperial Secretary Sang Hongyang] replied: The Xiongnu have frequently
revolted against our sovereignty and pillaged our borders. If we are to defend ourselves, then it means the
hardships of war for the soldiers of China, but if we do not defend ourselves properly, then their incursions
cannot be stopped. The former emperor [Wu] took pity on the people of the border areas who for so long
had suffered disaster and hardship and had been carried off as captives. Therefore he set up defense
stations, established a system of warning beacons, and garrisoned the outlying areas to ensure their
protection. But the resources of these areas were insufficient, and so he established the salt, iron, and
liquor monopolies and the system of equitable marketing in order to raise more funds for expenditures at
the borders. Now our critics, who desire that these measures be abolished, would empty the treasuries and
deplete the funds used for defense. They would have the men who are defending our passes and patrolling
our walls suffer hunger and cold. How else can we provide for them? Abolition of these measures is not
expedient!
His Lordship stated: In former times the peers residing in the provinces sent in their respective
products as tribute, but there was much confusion and trouble in transporting them and the goods were
often of such poor quality that they were not worth the cost of transportation. For this reason
transportation offices have been set up in each district to handle delivery and shipping and to facilitate the
presentation of tribute from outlying areas. Therefore the system is called “equitable marketing.”
Warehouses have been opened in the capital for the storing of goods, buying when prices are low and
selling when they are high. Thereby the government suffers no loss and the merchants cannot speculate
for profit. Therefore this is called the “balanced level” [stabilization]. With the balanced level the people
are protected from unemployment, and with equitable marketing the burden of labor service is equalized.
Thus these measures are designed to ensure an equal distribution of goods and to benefit the people and
are not intended to open the way to profit or provide the people with a ladder to crime.
The literati replied: In ancient times taxes and levies took from the people what they were skilled
in producing and did not demand what they were poor at. Thus the husbandsmen sent in their harvests
and the weaving women their goods. Nowadays the government disregards what people have and requires
of them what they have not, so that they are forced to sell their goods at a cheap price in order to meet the
demands from above…. The farmers suffer double hardships and the weaving women are taxed twice.
We have not seen that this kind of marketing is “equitable.” The government officials go about recklessly
opening closed doors and buying everything at will so they can corner all the goods. With goods cornered

17
prices soar, and when prices soar the merchants make their own deals for profit. The officials wink at
powerful racketeers, and the rich merchants hoard commodities and wait for an emergency. With slick
merchants and corrupt officials buying cheap and selling dear we have not seen that your level is
“balanced.” The system of equitable marketing of ancient times was designed to equalize the burden of
labor upon the people and facilitate the transporting of tribute. It did not mean dealing in all kinds of
commodities for the sake of profit.
[The literati attack Legalist philosophy] The literati spoke: He who is good with a chisel can
shape a round hole without difficulty; he who is good at laying foundations can build to a great height
without danger of collapse. The statesman Yi Yin made the ways of Yao and Shun the foundation of the
Yin dynasty, and its heirs succeeded to the throne for a hundred generations without a break. But Shang
Yang made heavy penalties and harsh laws the foundation of the Qin state and with the Second Emperor it
was destroyed. Not satisfied with the severity of the laws, he instituted the system of mutual
responsibility, made it a crime to criticize the government, and increased corporal punishments until the
people were so terrified they did not know where to put their hands and feet. Not content with the
manifold taxes and levies, he prohibited the people from using the resources of forests and rivers and
made a hundredfold profit on the storage of commodities, while the people were given no chance to voice
the slightest objection. Such worship of profit and slight of what is right, such exaltation of power and
achievement, lent, it is true, to expansion of land and acquisition of territory. Yet it was like pouring more
water upon people who are already suffering from flood and only increasing their distress. You see how
Shang Yang opened the way to imperial rule for the Qin, but you fail to see how he also opened for the
Qin the road to ruin! [SCT, pp.360-2]

The Well-Field System

The duke sent Bi Zhan to inquire about the well-field system. Mencius said, “Since your lord intends to
practice humane government, and you have been selected by him for employment, you must put forth
great effort. Now humane government must begin with the setting of boundaries. If the boundaries are
not set correctly, the division of the land into well-fields will not be equal and the grain allowances for
official emoluments will not be equitable. This is why harsh rulers and corrupt officials are prone to
neglect the setting of boundaries. Once the boundaries have been set correctly, the division of the fields
and the determination of emoluments may be settled while sitting down.
…Please allow that in the countryside one square of land out of nine should be used for mutual
aid. In the capital the people should assess themselves with a tax amounting to one part in ten…. Neither
at the occasion of a death nor of a change or residence should people leave the village. When those in a

18
village who hold land in the same well-field befriend one another in their going out and their coming in,
assist one another in their protection and defense, and sustain one another through illness and distress, the
common people will live together in affection and harmony. A square li constitutes a well-field, and the
well-field contains 900 mu. The central plot among them is a public field, and eight families each have
private holdings of a hundred mu. Together they cultivate the public field, and only when the public work
is done do they dare attend to their private work…. This is the general outline; the elaboration of it will be
up to you and the ruler. [Mencius 3A:3]

The philosopher Zhang Zai (1020-1077)… strongly advocated the adoption of the institutions described in the
classical books of rites (especially the Rites of Zhou). Zhang had long cherished the dream of purchasing some land
for himself and his disciples and of dividing it up into well-fields in order to demonstrate the feasibility of restoring
the system that the early sage kings had left to posterity…. Note especially the reasons given by Zhang for the
superiority of the enfeoffment system and the steps by which he would gradually return to this form of social
organization. He is particularly concerned about the problems created by the increasing centralization of
government, a trend that many recent historians have pointed to as having been greatly accelerated and intensified in
the Song dynasty and after….

If the government of the empire is not based on the well-field system, there will never be peace. The way
of Zhou is simply this: equalize….
The well-field system could be put into effect with the greatest ease. The government only needs
to issue an edict and the whole thing can be settled without having to beat a single person. No one would
dare to occupy and hold land as his own. Moreover, it should be done in such a manner as to obtain the
people’s ready compliance and not cause those with much land to lose all their means. In the case, let us
say, of a high official holding lands comprising a thousand hamlets, he should be enfeoffed in a state no
more than fifty li in extent. But for what he possesses in excess of this, he should be assigned jurisdiction
as an official over a proportionate area of land, so that he may have its tax income. [In this way] people
will not lose their former property.
To achieve good government in the empire the only method is to start with this. The land of the
empire should be laid out in squares and apportioned, with each man receiving one square. This is the
basis of the people’s subsistence. In recent times [i.e. since the Zhou] no provision has been made for the
people’s means of subsistence, but only for the commandeering of their labor. Contrary to expectation,
the exalted position of the Son of Heaven has been used for the monopolizing of everything productive of
profit. With the government thinking only of the government, and the people thinking only of themselves,
they have not taken each other into consideration. But “when people have plenty, their prince will not be
left alone in want. If the people are in want, their prince cannot alone enjoy plenty.”
…At first we will merely distribute public land to the people, but after ten or twelve years other
measures will have to be taken. To start with, land officials will be appointed [as explained], but later men

19
should be selected for their personal merits…. Thus the well-fields may be seen to lead to a restoration of
enfeoffment. For this a determination must be made of the merits of those to be enfeoffed, for only if
there are persons of great merit and virtue can we set up the enfeoffment system…. Now, since we cannot
yet propose the adoption of such a system, much the same thing can be accomplished by appointing
lifetime local administrators.
The reason an enfeoffment system must be established is that the administration of the empire
must be simplified through delegation of power before things can be well managed. If administration is
not simplified [through decentralization], then it is impossible to govern well. Therefore the sages were
certain to share the management of the empire with other men. It was thus that everything was well
administered in their times…. [SCT, pp.605-6]

20