《素书》

Dao (the Way), De (Virtue/Power), benevolence, righteousness, and ritual propriety—these five are originally one. The Dao is the fundamental principle that people ought to follow. It sets the myriad things each on its own course, yet does not let them perceive how it takes effect. De is the character that people obtain from the Dao and embody, so that the myriad things each find their proper place. Benevolence is mutual affection and care among people, a heart of kindness, wisdom, and compassion, by which life is carried on. Righteousness is the standard people regard as fitting; by rewarding good conduct and punishing evil conduct, one establishes merit and accomplishes undertakings. Ritual propriety is the norm of conduct that people ought to observe; only when people rise early, retire late, and act according to ritual can the order of human relations be established. To establish oneself and live as a person, not one of these five can be lacking.

Worthy persons and gentlemen understand the patterns of flourishing and decline, comprehend the trends of success and failure, can examine the conditions of order and disorder, and also grasp the principles of advance, retreat, and choice. If the moment arrives and they act, they can attain the highest office of a minister; if they meet an opportunity and act decisively, they can establish outstanding merit. If in a whole lifetime they never meet the right moment, they merely live out their days. Thus their moral principle is sufficient to command respect, and their reputation can be handed down to later generations.

One whose De is sufficient to pacify people from afar, whose good faith is sufficient to unite those who differ, whose righteousness is sufficient to win the support of the many, whose talent is sufficient to take lessons from history, and whose clear discernment is sufficient to see into conditions below—such a person is an outstanding talent. One whose conduct is sufficient to serve as a model, whose wisdom is sufficient to judge difficult cases, whose trustworthiness is sufficient for others to entrust agreements, and whose integrity is sufficient for others to share property with confidence—such a person is a hero. One who can hold firmly to duty without slackening, who does not shrink from what accords with moral right, who does not slip away when under suspicion, and who does not take profit at will—such a person is a distinguished gentleman.

Curbing one’s tastes and forbidding excessive desire can remove entanglements; checking error and reducing evil conduct can avoid faults; drinking little and abstaining from sensual indulgence can keep one free from defilement. Steering clear of suspicion and keeping away from dubious matters can prevent missteps. Learning broadly and inquiring earnestly can increase knowledge; lofty conduct and careful speech can cultivate the self. Reverence, frugality, humility, and self-restraint can preserve one’s proper station; deep and far-sighted planning can avoid predicament. Drawing near to the benevolent and befriending the upright can bring support in times of hardship; extending to others what one would wish for oneself, and working in a solid, practical way, can make for harmonious relations. Employing the capable and bringing out each person’s strengths can accomplish undertakings and help others. Thoroughly removing evil conduct and rejecting slander can stop disorder. Examining ancient affairs and testing them against the present can avoid confusion; estimating first and judging afterward can meet sudden circumstances; adapting flexibly and employing expedient methods can resolve difficult problems. Carefully restraining words and actions and conforming to the times can avoid disaster. Upright firmness can establish merit; diligence and goodness are what bring a matter from a good beginning to a good end.

A person’s resolve is a standard decided upon alone in the heart and steadfastly carried out. To achieve something lasting, the key lies in broad planning; to be secure, the key lies in enduring humiliation; to go ahead of others, the key lies in cultivating De. Joy arises from delighting in good conduct; fullness of spirit arises from utmost sincerity; clear discernment arises from observing the myriad things; good fortune arises from knowing contentment. Suffering arises from wanting too much; sorrow arises from a scattered spirit; illness arises from a life without regular measure. Short-sightedness arises from seeking only the gain before one’s eyes; obscurity and baseness arise from greed and meanness; isolation arises from relying too much on oneself; danger arises from suspecting others; failure arises from too much selfishness.

To display everything plainly to subordinates is, on the contrary, to appear muddled oneself; to err without knowing it is to be blinded; to lose one’s way and not know how to turn back is to be lost in confusion; speech that invites resentment brings calamity; when commands contradict one’s inner intent, government orders fall into neglect; when new commands contradict old ones, government orders are ruined. To grow angry without majesty is to be affronted; to delight in shaming people in public invites disaster; to kill or humiliate those one has employed puts oneself in danger; to slight those one respects brings misfortune. To be close on the surface and distant within leads to isolation; to draw near flatterers and distance the loyal and worthy brings the state to ruin; to cling to beauty and keep far from the worthy throws judgment into disorder. When women use personal connections to interfere in government, confusion results; when private favorites are appointed to office, the political situation becomes unstable and adrift; to oppress subordinates and prevail by force invites resistance. When reputation exceeds actual ability, there is loss. To be lenient with oneself yet harsh with others makes affairs of government impossible to manage; to treat oneself generously yet others meagerly leads to being abandoned. To cancel merit on account of faults damages the enterprise; when subordinates comply outwardly but turn away within, the organization declines; to employ someone yet not trust him causes him to grow distant; to be stingy in rewards wounds people’s hearts; to promise much and fulfill little invites resentment; to welcome someone and then refuse to receive him estranges the relationship. To give little yet demand a rich return yields no return; to forget, once high in rank, the old companions of one’s poor and humble days means that rank will not last. To dwell only on old merits and neglect new ones brings misfortune; to employ people contrary to the proper Dao leads into danger; to force others to act cannot retain them; to appoint to office without proper standards creates disorder; to lose the strength one relies upon makes one weak; when the inhumane make decisions, the situation becomes perilous; when secretly planned matters leak out, the enterprise fails; to levy heavily yet give little causes government to decay.

When soldiers are poor and wandering persuaders are rich, the state grows weak; when bribery circulates openly, government becomes dark. To hear good counsel yet not value it, and to remember others’ faults without forgetting them, is a mark of tyranny. When those who are employed are not worthy of trust, and those who are trusted are not equal to their tasks, government falls into disorder. To govern the people by De gathers hearts; to restrain people only by punishment scatters them. If small merits are not rewarded, great merit is hard to establish; if small resentments are not forgiven, great resentment arises. When rewards do not convince the heart and punishments are not willingly accepted, people turn away in rebellion. To reward those without merit and to punish those without guilt is a cruel practice. To trust slander and regard it as fine, and to hear remonstrance and harbor hatred, brings the state to ruin. Only one who can hold what one already possesses can be secure; to covet what belongs to others brings harm upon oneself.

Resentment often arises from unwillingness to forgive small faults; disaster often arises from failure to plan in advance. Happiness comes from accumulating good deeds; calamity comes from accumulating evil deeds. To slight agriculture is to go hungry; to neglect weaving is to suffer cold. Stability lies in obtaining suitable talent; danger lies in losing the affairs and order that ought to be maintained. Prosperity lies in seizing opportunity; poverty lies in missing the moment. When those above lack a steady standard of conduct, those below are full of doubt. To slight one’s superiors invites blame; to insult one’s subordinates gains no closeness. If intimate ministers are not valued, ministers at a distance will also look down on the ruler. If one is full of suspicion, one cannot trust others; if one is sincere, one ought not to suspect others without cause. A person of crooked intent has no upright friends; if the ruler is partial and deviant, there will be no upright ministers below. A state in crisis is so because it lacks the worthy; government in disorder is so because it lacks the good. The deeper one’s care for the people, the more urgent one’s search for the worthy; one who delights in obtaining worthy talent also provides for the people more generously. When a state is about to become hegemon, gentlemen all come to submit; when a state is about to perish, the worthy withdraw first.

On barren land, nothing great grows; where the water is shallow, great fish do not come; where the trees are bare, great birds do not roost; where the woods are sparse, great beasts do not dwell. A steep mountain easily collapses; a lake or marsh, once full, overflows. To discard jade and take common stone is unclear judgment; one who is a sheep by nature, though draped in a tiger’s skin, remains weak in the end. If in dressing one does not take up the collar, the garment is put on backwards; if in walking one does not watch one’s feet, one stumbles. When the pillars are weak, the house collapses; when those who assist are weak, the state overturns. Cold in the feet injures the body; the people’s resentment harms the state. When a mountain is about to collapse, its base is ruined first; when a state is about to decline, the people are hard-pressed first. When the roots wither, the branches decay; when the people are in distress, the state is ruined. To tread again the old track of one whose cart overturned is to overturn; to act according to the ways of a ruined state is to perish. Seeing that disaster has already occurred, one must carefully guard against its happening again; disliking a bad outcome, one should avoid the course that leads to it. Only by fearing danger can one be secure; only by being alert to ruin can one survive.

Human conduct, when it accords with the Dao, is auspicious; when it goes against the Dao, it is inauspicious. Auspiciousness is the gathering of many blessings; inauspiciousness is the joint assault of many calamities. This is not something only the sage can bring about; it is the natural result of how things develop. One who strives to plan good strategies does not easily meet with misfortune; one without long-range plans will have worries close at hand.

Those of the same resolve easily find accord with one another; those of the same benevolence care for one another; those who share the same dislikes form a faction; those who share the same likes seek one another out; those whose virtues are close easily envy one another; those whose talents are close easily scheme with one another; those of equal station easily harm one another; those who share the same interests easily suspect one another. Like sounds respond to one another; like Qi (vital energy) stirs like Qi; things of the same kind rely on one another; those of the same sense of right draw close; those who share hardship rescue one another; those on the same path complete one another; those of the same art admonish one another; and those of comparable skill contend with one another. All these are the constant principles by which things develop, and they cannot be contravened.

To indulge oneself yet demand that others accept instruction is to act against principle; to correct oneself and then transform others by one’s actions is to act in accord with principle. When one acts against principle, others find it hard to follow, and disorder easily arises; when one acts in accord with principle, affairs are easily carried out, and order is easily achieved. Therefore, to use these principles to cultivate the self, govern the state, and order the household is in every case feasible.