21
The sage prince in his government is mild, good, and friendly;
generous, tolerant, and loving; upright, pure, and clear-sighted.
He rejoices in rewarding and hates to punish. He reforms customs
and honors good teaching. He lets the living live (?) and does
not kill. He spreads kindness and diffuses grace. He practices
jên and does not show favoritism in his gifts. He does not rob the
people's strength. In the corvée, he does not overstep the [regular]
times. The people are able to do their plowing, and each household
has its harvest and its reserve. The people are without cold
or hunger; food is not allowed to spoil. Craftsmen[1]
do not make
useless articles; carved and decorated things are not sold in the
market. "Axes and bills enter mountains and forests at the proper
time."[2]
In the state there are no neglected gentlemen; in every
case they are of service to their own generation. The black-haired
people's happiness overflows to[3]
the lands outside. People from
distant countries come to submit with many interpreters,[4]
bearing
gifts in their hands. So it comes about that wind and rain are not
violent.
The "Hsiao-ya" says,[5]
The clouds form in dense masses,[6]
And the rain comes down slowly.[7]
From this we may clearly know that in [a time of] the Great Peace
there are no sudden winds or violent rains.
