| | 修權: |
國之所以治者三：一曰法，二曰信，三曰權。法者，君臣之所共操也；信者，君臣之所共立也；權者，君之所獨制也。人主失守，則危；君臣釋法任私，必亂。故立法明分，而不以私害法，則治；權制獨斷於君，則威；民信其賞則事功成，信其刑則姦無端。惟明主愛權重信，而不以私害法。故上多惠言而剋其賞，則下不用；數加嚴令而不致其刑，則民傲罪。凡賞者，文也；利者，武也。文武者，法之約也。故明主慎法。明主不蔽之謂明，不欺之謂察。故賞厚而利，刑重而必，不失疏遠，不私親近。故臣不蔽主，下不欺上。 |
| Cultivation of the Right...: |
Orderly government is brought about in a state by three things. The first is law, the second good faith, and the third right standards. Law is exercised in common by the prince and his ministers. Good faith is established in common by the prince and his ministers. The right standard is fixed by the prince alone. If a ruler of men fails to observe it, there is danger; if prince and ministers neglect the law and act according to their own self-interest, disorder is the inevitable result. Therefore if law is established, rights and duties are made clear, and self-interest does not harm the law, then there is orderly government. If the fixing of the right standard is decided by the prince alone, there is prestige. If the people have faith in his rewards, then their activities will achieve results, and if they have faith in his penalties, then wickedness will have no starting point. Only an intelligent ruler loves right standards and values good faith, and will not, for the sake of self-interest, harm the law. For if he speaks many liberal words but cuts down his rewards, then his subjects will not be of service; and if he issues one severe order after another, but does not apply the penalties, people will despise the death-penalty. In general, rewards are a civil measure and penalties a military. Civil and military measures are the summary of the law. Therefore an intelligent ruler places reliance on the law; (an intelligent ruler), if things are not kept hidden from him, is called intelligent, and if he is not deceived, is called perspicacious. Therefore he benefits by giving liberal rewards, and by making penalties severe, he ensures that he is feared. He does not neglect those that are distant, nor does he run counter to those that are near. Thus ministers will not hide things from their ruler, nor will inferiors deceive their superiors. |
| | 修權: |
世之為治者，多釋法而任私議，此國之所以亂也。先王縣權衡，立尺寸，而至今法之，其分明也。夫釋權衡而斷輕重，廢尺寸而意長短，雖察，商賈不用，為其不必也。故法者，國之權衡也，夫倍法度而任私議，皆不知類者也。不以法論知能賢不肖者，惟堯，而世不盡為堯，是故先王知自議譽私之不可任也，故立法明分，中程者賞之，毀公者誅之。賞誅之法，不失其義，故民不爭。授官予爵，不以其勞，則忠臣不進。行賞賦祿，不稱其功，則戰士不用。 |
| Cultivation of the Right...: |
Those who are engaged in governing, in the world, chiefly dismiss the law and place reliance on private appraisal, and this is what brings disorder in a state. The early kings hung up scales with standard weights, and fixed the length of feet and inches, and to the present day these are followed as models because their divisions were clear. Now dismissing standard scales and yet deciding weight, or abolishing feet and inches and yet forming an opinion about length - even an intelligent merchant would not apply this system, because it would lack definiteness. Now, if the back is turned on models and measures, and reliance is placed on private appraisal, in all those cases there would be a lack of definiteness. Only a Yao would be able to judge knowledge and ability, worth or unworth without a model. But the world does not consist exclusively of Yaos! Therefore, the ancient kings understood that no reliance should be placed on individual opinions or biassed approval, so they set up models and made the distinctions clear. Those who fulfilled the standard were rewarded, those who harmed the public interest were punished. The standards for rewards and punishments were not wrong in their appraisals, and therefore people did not dispute them. But if the bestowal of office and the granting of rank are not carried out according to the labour borne, then loyal ministers have no advancement; and if in awarding rewards and giving emoluments the respective merits are not weighed, then fighting soldiers will not enter his service. |
| | 來民: |
意民之情，其所欲者，田宅也；而晉之無有也信，秦之有餘也必，如此而民不西者，秦士戚而民苦也。臣竊以王吏之明為過見，此其所以弱。不奪三晉民者，愛爵而重復也。其說曰：「三晉之所以弱者，其民務樂而復爵輕也。秦之所以強者，其民務苦而復爵重也。今多爵而久復，是釋秦之所以強，而為三晉之所以弱也。」此王吏重爵愛復之說也，而臣竊以為不然。夫所以為苦民而強兵者，將以攻敵而成所欲也。兵法曰：「敵弱而兵強。」此言不失吾所以攻，而敵失其所守也。今三晉不勝秦四世矣，自魏襄以來，野戰不勝，守城必拔，小大之戰，三晉之所亡於秦者，不可勝數也。若此而不服，秦能取其地，而不能奪其民也。 |
| Encouragement of Immigration:...: |
In reflecting upon the nature of the people, what they desire are fields and houses. Now, whereas it is probable that these are what Jin does not have, it is beyond doubt that Qin has them in surplus. If, this being so, people do not, nevertheless, come west, it is because the soldiers of Qin are in sad plight and the people suffer hardships. I venture to think that the intelligence of Your Majesty's officials takes a mistaken view: that is, the reason why we remain weak and do not succeed in enticing the people of the three Jin states, is that we are sparing in granting titles and regard the exemption from taxes as a serious matter. They argue as follows: 'The three Jin states are weak because their people are concerned with pleasure and because exemptions and rank are treated lightly. Qin, on the other hand, is strong because its people are concerned with hard work, and exemptions and the conferment of rank are treated seriously; should we now confer many titles and grant exemptions from taxation for long periods, then we should be letting go of the principle by which Qin has become strong and should be doing exactly that which has made the Jin states weak.' This is the argument that causes Your Majesty's officials to regard the conferring of titles as a serious matter, and to be sparing in the granting of exemptions from taxation. I venture, however, to think that this is wrong. The object in causing the people hardship and in strengthening the army is to attack the enemy and to realize one's desires. The "Art of War" says: "If the enemy is weak, the army is strong." This expression means that one does not fail in attack, but the enemy fails in defence. Now for four generations the Jin states have gained no victory over Qin. Since the time of King Xiang of Wei, the times that the three Jin states have been defeated by Qin, in small or big battles, in open battle or in storming defended cities, have been innumerable. The reason that in spite of this they do not submit to Qin is that Qin has been able to conquer their territory, but unable to captivate their people. |
| | 君臣: |
今世君不然。釋法而以知，背功而以譽。故軍士不戰，而農民流徙。臣聞道民之門，在上所先。故民可令農戰，可令游宦，可令學問，在上所與。上以功勞與，則民戰；上以詩書與，則民學問。民之於利也，若水於下也，四旁無擇也。民徒可以得利而為之者，上與之也。瞋目扼腕而語勇者得，垂衣裳而談說者得，遲日曠久積勞私門者得，尊向三者，無功而皆可以得，民去農戰而為之，或談議而索之，或事便辟而請之，或以勇爭之。故農戰之民日寡，而游食者愈眾，則國亂而地削，兵弱而主卑。此其所以然者，釋法制而任名譽也。 |
| Prince and Minister: |
But the princes of the present time do not act thus. They relax the law and keep to knowledge; they turn their backs on merit and keep to people of reputation. Therefore, soldiers do not fight and farmers are migratory. I have heard that the gate through which the people are guided depends on where their superiors lead. Therefore, whether one succeeds in making people farm or fight, or in making them into travelling politicians, or in making them into scholars, depends on what their superiors encourage. If their superiors encourage merit and labour, people will fight; if they encourage the Odes and Book of History, people will become scholars. For people's attitude towards profit is just like the tendency of water to flow downwards, without preference for any of the four sides. The people are only interested in obtaining profit, and it depends on what their superiors encourage, what they will do. If men with angry eyes, who clench their fists and call themselves brave, are successful; if men in flowing robes, who idly talk, are successful; if men who waste their time and spend their days in idleness, and save their efforts for obtaining benefit through private channels, are successful - if these three kinds of people, though they have no merit, all obtain respectful treatment, then people will leave off farming and fighting and will do this: either they will extort it by discussions and suggestions, or they will ask for it by practising flattery, or they will struggle for it by acts of bravery. Thus farmers and fighters will dwindle daily, and itinerant office-seekers will increase more and more, with the result that the country will fall into disorder, the land will be dismembered, the army will be weak and the ruler debased. This would be the result of relaxing laws and regulations and placing reliance on men of fame and reputation. |
| | 慎法: |
彼而黨與人者，不待我而有成事者也。上舉一與民，民倍主位而嚮私交。民倍主位而嚮私交，則君弱而臣強。君人者不察也，非侵於諸侯，必劫於百姓。彼言說之勢，愚智同學之。士學於言說之人，則民釋實事而誦虛詞。民釋實事而誦虛詞，則力少而非多。君人者不察也，以戰必損其將，以守必賣其城。 |
| Attention to Law: |
Those people who form parties with others do not need Us for obtaining success, and if superiors pull one way with the people, then the latter will turn their backs on the ruler's position and will turn towards private connections. When this is the case, the prince will be weak and his ministers strong, and if the ruler does not understand this, then if the country is not annexed by the feudal lords, it will be robbed by the people. Both stupid and wise will, alike, try to acquire that power of eloquence, and if scholars study with those eloquent speakers, then people will lose touch with reality and will recite empty phrases. Should this be the case, then their strength will decrease and wrong-doing will increase; and if the prince does not understand it, in battle he will lose his generals, and in defence his cities will certainly be sold. |
| | 慎法: |
而今夫世俗治者，莫不釋法度而任辯慧，後功力而進仁義，民故不務耕戰。彼民不歸其力於農，即食屈於內；不歸其節於戰，則兵弱於外。入而食屈於內，出而兵弱於外，雖有地萬里，帶甲百萬，與獨立平原一也。且先王能令其民蹈白刃，被矢石，其民之欲為之，非好學之，所以避害。故吾教令民之欲利者，非耕不得；避害者，非戰不免。境內之民，莫不先務耕戰而得其所樂。故地少粟多，民少兵強。能行二者於境內，則霸王之道畢矣。 |
| Attention to Law: |
But nowadays, the ordinary types of ruler all neglect laws and measures, and rely on sophistry and cleverness; they push back men of merit and force, and advance those of benevolence and righteousness, with the result that people do not devote themselves to agriculture and warfare. If such people do not turn their energies to agriculture, at home their food-supply will be exhausted, and if they do not turn to their duty in warfare, abroad the army will be weak; then, though one may have a territory of ten thousand li, and a million armed men, it will be the same as a plain that has to depend on its own resources. Furthermore, the early kings were able to command their people to walk on bare swords and to suffer arrows and stones, and the people were willing to do so, not because they liked learning such things, but because they escaped harm thereby. Therefore my teaching is to issue such orders that people, if they are desirous of profit, can attain their aim only by agriculture, and if they want to avoid harm, can only escape it by war. There will be no one within the borders who will not devote himself at first to ploughing and fighting, in order thereby later to obtain that which gives him pleasure. Therefore, though the territory may be small, the produce will be plentiful, and though the population may be sparse, the army will be strong. If one can achieve these two things within the territory, then the road to becoming a lord-protector or king of the whole empire is fully prepared. |
