University of Virginia Library

Annotations to Canon II:—

Tung An [17] -yü, Magistrate of the Upper Land in the Chao
State, once toured the mountains in the Stony Country.
Seeing there a deep gorge with steep sides like high walls,
one hundred fathoms deep at least, he asked the villagers in
the surrounding vicinities, "Has anybody ever walked into
this gorge?" "Nobody," replied they. "Then has any
child or baby or any blind or deaf man or any insane or
unconscious person ever walked into it?" "No," they
replied similarly. "Then has any ox or horse or dog or
pig ever walked into it?" "No," was again the reply.
Thereat Tung An-yü heaved a deep sigh, saying: "Lo!
I have acquired the ability to govern the people. Only if
I make my law grant no pardon just like the walk into the
gorge always leading to death, then nobody dare to violate
it. And everything will be well governed."

Tzŭ-ch`an, Premier of Chêng, when ill and about to die,
said to Yu Chi: "After my death you will certainly be
appointed Premier of Chêng. Then be sure to handle the
people with severity. Indeed, fire appears severe, wherefore
men rarely get burned; water appears tender, wherefore
men often get drowned. You must not forget to make
your penalties severe and do not immerse yourself in
tenderness." After Tzŭ-ch`an's[18] death, however, Yu Chi
could not bear applying severe penalties. Meanwhile, young
men in Chêng followed one another in becoming robbers
and established themselves on the Bushy Tail Swamp ready
to menace Chêng at any time. Thereupon Yu Chi led

chariots and cavalrymen and fought with them. After a
combat lasting a whole day and a whole night, he finally
was barely able to overcome them. Taking a heavy breath,
Yu Chi sighed and said: "Could I have practised my
master's instruction early, I would not have come to regret
to this point!"

Duke Ai of Lu once asked Chung-ni: "There is the
record in the Spring and Autumn Annals that in winter
during the month of January[19] frost does not kill grass.[20]
Why was there made such a record?" In reply Chung-ni
said: "This is to say that what ought to be killed was not
killed. Indeed, frost should kill grass but never kills it.
Peach- and plum-trees bear fruits in winter. If heaven loses
its proper course, even grass and trees will violate and
transgress it. How much more would the people do so if
the ruler of men loses his true path?"

The Law of Yin would punish anybody throwing ashes
into the streets. This Tzŭ-kung regarded as too severe and
so asked Chung-ni about it. "They knew the right way of
government," replied Chung-ni. "Indeed, ashes thrown
into the streets would blow into the eyes of the passers-by
and obscure their sight. And if anybody obscures the
sight of others, he would irritate them. When irritated,
they start quarrelling. On quarrelling, each side would
mobilize their three clans[21] to slaughter the other. It means
that throwing ashes into the streets leads to the mutual
onslaught between the three clans of both sides. Therefore

it is right to punish any offender. Indeed, heavy punishment
is disliked by the people, but throwing no ashes is easy to
them. To make the people do easy things and not ignore
their dislike is the right way of government."

According to a different source: According to the Law
of Yin, whoever threw ashes on the public road should
have his hands cut off. Tzŭ-kung said: "The crime of
ash-throwing is light but the punishment of hand-cutting
is heavy. Why were the ancients so cruel?" In reply
Confucius said: "Not to throw ashes is easy but to have
hands cut off is disliked. The ancients considered it easy
to enforce the easy and prevent the disliked. Therefore
they enacted the law."

Yo Ch`ih, Premier of Central Hills, when appointed envoy
to Chao, took one hundred chariots along and selected the
wise and able men among his guests to be his highway
guards. On the way they became disorderly. "Gentlemen,"
said Yo Ch`ih, "I regarded you as wise and appointed you
highway guards. Now that you are creating a commotion
on the way, what is the reason?" The guests, accordingly,
resigned from their posts and went away, saying: "Your
Excellency does not know the right way of government.
Indeed, it needs prestige to keep people[22] obedient and it
needs profit to encourage them.[23] Therefore good government
is possible. Now, thy servants are Your Excellency's junior
guests. Indeed, to employ the junior in disciplining the
senior and the low in governing the high and thereby
become unable to exercise the authorities of reward and
punishment to control the subordinates, is the cause of

confusion. Suppose you employ your subordinates on
trial, appoint the good ones ministers, and behead those
not good. Then how could there be disorder?"

The Law of Kung-sun Yang took minor offences seriously.
Major offences are hard for men to commit while small
faults are easy for men to remove. To make men get rid of
easy faults and not ignore difficult offences is the right way
of government. Indeed, when small faults never appear,
big offences will not come into existence. For this reason,
men committed no crime and disorder did not appear.

According to a different source: Kung-sun Yang said,
"In applying penalties, take light ones seriously because if
light penalties are not applied, heavy ones will not come at
all. This is said to be getting rid of penalties by means of
penalties."[24]

In the southern part of Ching the bottom of the Clear
Water produced gold-dust. Many men in secret dug out
gold-dust. In accordance with the prohibition law, a number
of gold-diggers were caught and stoned to death in the
market-place. Then the authorities built walls to bar the
water from the people. Still people never stopped stealing
gold-dust. Indeed, no chastisement is severer than stoning
to death in the market-place. That people never stopped
stealing gold-dust was because the culprits were not always
caught. In this connection, supposing someone said, "I
will give you the reign over All-under-Heaven and put you
to death," then even a mediocre man would not accept the
offer. Indeed, the reign over All-under-Heaven is a great
advantage, but he would not accept it as he knew he

would be put to death. Therefore, if not always caught,
people never stop stealing gold-dust despite the danger of
being stoned to death. But if they are certain of being put
to death, then they dare not accept even the reign over
All-under-Heaven.

The Lus once set fire to the Product Swamp. As the
northern winds appeared, the fire spread southward. Fearing
lest the state capital might be burned, Duke Ai trembled
and personally directed the masses in suppressing the fire.
Meanwhile, he found nobody around, all having gone to
hunt animals and leaving the fire unsuppressed. Thereupon
he summoned Chung-ni and asked him about it. "Indeed,
hunting animals," said Chung-ni, "is a pleasure and incurs
no punishment. But putting out the fire is a hardship and
promises no reward. That is the reason why the fire is not
put out." "Right," remarked Duke Ai. "It is untimely,
however, to offer rewards just in time of emergency like
this," added Chung-ni. "If Your Highness has to reward
all the participants in the suppression of the fire, then even
the whole state wealth is not enough for rewarding them.
Suppose we enforce the policy of punishment for the time
being." "Good," said Duke Ai. Thereupon Chung-ni
issued the order that absence in the suppression of the fire
should be sentenced to the same punishment as surrender to or
escape from enemies and hunting animals should be sentenced
to the same punishment as trespass upon the inner court
of the palace. In consequence, the fire was put out before
the order spread all over.

Ch`êng Huan[25] said to the King of Ch`i, "Your Majesty
is too benevolent but too lenient to bear censuring people."

"Isn't it a good name to be too benevolent and too lenient
to bear censuring people?" asked the King. In reply Ch`êng
Huan said: "It is good to ministers but not what the lord
of men ought to do. Indeed, ministers must be benevolent
in order to be trustworthy, and must be lenient to people
in order to be accessible. If not benevolent, he is not trustworthy;
if not lenient to people, he is not accessible."
"If so, to whom am I too benevolent and to whom[26] am
I too lenient?" asked the King. In reply Ch`êng Huan
said: "Your Majesty is too benevolent to the Duke of
Hsüeh and too lenient to the various T`iens.[27] If Your
Majesty is too benevolent to the Duke of Hsüeh, then chief
vassals will show no respect for order. If Your Majesty
is too lenient to the T`iens, then uncles and brothers
will violate the law. If chief vassals show no respect for
order, the army will become weak abroad. If uncles and
brothers violate the law, then at home the government will
fall into disorder. To have the army weakened abroad and
the government disordered at home, this is the fundamental
factor ruining the state."

King Hui of Wey said to Pu P`i, "When you hear His
Majesty's voice, how does it sound to you?" "Thy servant
hears the compassion and beneficence of Your Majesty,"
was the reply. "Then to what extent will my achievement
progress?" asked the King in great delight. "To the
extent of ruin," was the reply. "To be compassionate and
beneficent is to practise good deeds. Why should such a
practice lead to ruin?" wondered the King. In reply Pu
P`i said: "To be sure, compassion means leniency;

beneficence, fondness of giving favours. If lenient, Your
Majesty will not censure those who have faults; if fond
of giving favours, Your Majesty will bestow rewards without
waiting for merits to appear. If men guilty of faults are not
punished and those of no merit are rewarded, isn't ruin the
possible outcome?"

The people of the Ch`i State would hold expensive
funeral rites, till cloth and silk fabrics were exhausted by
clothes and covers, and wood and lumber by inner and
outer coffin-walls. Worried over this, Duke Huan said to
Kuan Chung: "If the people exhaust cloth this way, nothing
will be left for national wealth. If they exhaust wood this
way, nothing will be left for military defence. And yet the
people will hold expensive funeral rites and never stop
How can prohibition be effected?" In reply Kuan Chung
said, "If people do anything at all, it is done for profit if
not for repute." Thereupon he issued the order that if the
thickness of both inner and outer coffin-walls were to go
beyond legal limits, the corpse should be cut into pieces
and the mourning relatives should be held guilty. Indeed,
to cut the corpse into pieces would create no repute; to
hold guilty the mourning relatives would produce no profit.
Why should the people continue holding expensive funeral
rites then?

At the time of Duke[28] Ssŭ of Wei, once a labour convict
escaped to the Wey State and there took care of the illness
of the queen of King Hsiang. When Duke Ssŭ of Wei
heard about this, he sent men out and offered fifty taels of
gold for the purchase money of the fugitive. The men
went back and forth five times, but the King of Wey refused

to surrender the convict. Thereupon Duke Ssŭ decided
to exchange the City of Tso-shih for the man. Against
this decision all the officials and attendants remonstrated
with the King, asking whether it should be practicable to
exchange a city for a labour fugitive. "You, gentlemen,
do not understand my reason," explained the Ruler.[29]
"Indeed, government must be concerned even with small
affairs so that no serious disturbance can take place. If the
law does not stand firm and censure is not definite, there is
no use in keeping ten Tso-shihs. If the law stands firm and
censure is definite, there is no harm even by losing ten
Tso-shihs." Hearing about this, the King of Wey said,
"When one sovereign wants to govern well, if another
does not listen to him, it is sinister." Accordingly, he sent
off the fugitive in a cart and surrendered him free of charge.