20. Yao Yue

Translation: Yao said, “Ah, Shun! Heaven’s ordained succession has come to rest upon you. Hold faithfully to the balanced way. If all within the seas fall into hardship and want, Heaven’s enduring favor will come to an end.” Shun likewise charged Yu with these words. Another declaration says: “I, Lü, your junior servant, venture to offer a black bull and to make this clear announcement to the august Lord on high: I dare not pardon the guilty on my own authority, nor conceal your servants from you; their selection rests in your judgment. If I myself am guilty, let the people of the myriad regions not be implicated; if the people of the myriad regions are guilty, let the guilt rest on me.” Zhou bestowed rewards on a great scale and enriched the good. “Even close kin are not as valuable as humane people. If the common people commit faults, the responsibility lies with me alone.” Weights and measures were carefully standardized, rules and institutions examined, and disused offices restored; thus government was carried out throughout the four quarters. Extinct states were revived, broken lines of succession continued, and overlooked men of worth raised to office; thus the people of the world gave their allegiance. Matters of chief importance were the people, food, mourning, and sacrifice. Generosity wins the multitude; trustworthiness earns the people’s confidence; diligence brings achievement; impartiality brings willing support.

Reading note: The passage assembles admonitions, declarations, and principles traditionally associated with ancient sage-rulers. Its central thread is a ruler’s willingness to bear responsibility. “Heaven’s succession” concerns legitimate rule, while the “balanced way” names a course free from partiality or excess; the closing lines condense good government into care for livelihood, ritual order, worthy appointments, and moral conduct.

Translation: Zizhang asked Confucius, “What must one do to take part in government?” The Master said, “Honor five admirable practices and reject four harmful ones; then one can take part in government.” Zizhang asked, “What are the five admirable practices?” The Master said, “A gentleman benefits the people without wasteful expenditure; calls on them to labor without provoking resentment; has aims without being greedy; is composed without being arrogant; and commands respect without being fierce.” Zizhang asked, “What does it mean to benefit the people without wasteful expenditure?” The Master said, “Help the people gain from what already serves their interests—is that not benefiting them without wasteful expenditure? Choose suitable tasks and suitable times before calling on them to labor; then who will resent it? If one seeks humaneness and attains humaneness, what room is there for greed? Whether the company is large or small, and whether a person’s position is high or low, a gentleman never dares to be disrespectful—is that not composure without arrogance? A gentleman sets his cap and clothing in order, keeps his gaze dignified, and bears himself with such gravity that others look upon him with respect—is that not authority without fierceness?” Zizhang asked, “What are the four harmful practices?” The Master said, “To execute people without first instructing them is cruelty. To demand results without prior warning is brutality. To issue orders late but insist on a strict deadline is oppression. When something must in any case be given to people, to be grudging and obstructive in handing it out is petty officialdom.”

Reading note: The “five admirable practices” join concern for the people’s interests with self-discipline, humaneness, respect, and dignity. The “four harmful practices” condemn punishment without education, demands without notice, delayed orders paired with urgent deadlines, and needless obstruction when distributing what is due. Here “petty officialdom” conveys criticism of a narrow, grudging bureaucratic manner.

Translation: The Master said, “Without understanding one’s mandate, one cannot become a gentleman. Without understanding ritual, one cannot establish oneself. Without understanding words, one cannot understand people.”

Reading note: The chapter closes with three dimensions of cultivated judgment: recognizing one’s circumstances and responsibilities, grounding one’s conduct in ritual, and discerning character and intention through speech. “Mandate” here points to both the limits one cannot freely control and the responsibilities one must accept.