Plain Treatise on the Governance of the State

Author: (Song) Sima Guang / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-11-01
Features: Zizhi Tongjian is a monumental historical work compiled by the renowned ancient Chinese historian Sima Guang and his assistants Liu Shu, Fan Zuyu, Sima Kang, and others. It is a comprehensive chronological history of unprecedented scale. The entire work consists of 294 volumes and approximately 3 million words. Zizhi Tongjian covers history from the 23rd year of King Weili of Zhou (403 BC) to the 6th year of Xiande of Later Zhou (959 AD). Zizhi Tongjian is a chronological history of China, and historically, no other historical work has been praised as highly as Zizhi Tongjian, except for Shiji. Zizhi Tongjian is not only a great work of history but also a great work of literature. In this monumental work, the authors employ keen observation and unique artistic techniques to vividly depict the grand social life and successfully create lifelike historical figures. Zizhi Tongjian focuses on the successes and failures of governance, selecting historical records of political administration, with a focus on the present over the past, skillfully editing and organizing, making it a systematic and comprehensive work that provides a panoramic view of political and historical events, serving as a warning for future generations. After Emperor Shenzong of Song listened to Sima Guang's reading of part of the book, he believed it was "a mirror to past events, beneficial to governance," and happily renamed it Zizhi Tongjian. Sima Guang once served as a Hanlin Academician and Censor-in-Chief, eventually becoming Prime Minister. He led historians Liu Shu, Fan Zuyu, and others in compiling the book for nineteen years. Beyond official histories, they referenced and studied folk histories, notes, collected works, and miscellaneous histories, totaling 322 types, ultimately achieving the reputation of being "extremely comprehensive, grand in scope and profound in thought, unprecedented in ancient times" (Siku Yiyi, Volume 4). Zizhi Tongjian depicts the rise and fall of dozens of regimes from the Warring States period to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, vividly portraying the governance, interpersonal conduct, and personal destinies of emperors, kings, and ministers. While Sima Guang's historical perspective may not be fully accepted by modern readers, the book's portrayal of figures is spirited and lifelike, as if they could leap off the page. The narrative is rich and unrestrained, expressing the authors' sentiments with elegance and solemnity, singing with passion, and depicting battles with vigor and passion. The literary style is more ornate than that of the Qi and Liang dynasties but as spirited as that of the Han dynasty. Its content and thought are profound and extensive, seeking truth and verification, connecting past and present, embracing all while filling gaps, evaluating the rise and fall of past dynasties, and serving as a mirror for the past and present. Truly a magnificent work.
> The Zhou chronicles start from the year Wuyin (403 BC) and end in the year Wuzi (369 BC), totaling 35 years. In the 23rd year of King Weili of Zhou (Wuyin, 403 BC), the king first enfeoffed Wei Si, Zhao Ji, and Han Qian, the ministers of Jin, as feudal lords. Sima Guang says: I have heard that nothing is more important in the duties of an emperor than ritual, and nothing is more important in ritual than distinguishing between high and low status. And what is more important in status than rank? What is ritual? It is the discipline. What is status? It is the relationship between the ruler and the ruled. What is rank? It is the ranks of duke, marquis, earl, and viscount. With such a vast territory as the land under heaven and so many people as the hundred million, all ruled by one emperor, even if one has superhuman strength and outstanding talent, none would not serve the emperor. Is it not because of ritual that this rule is maintained? Therefore, the emperor governs the Three Ducal Ministers, who in turn lead the feudal lords, who restrain the ministers and viscounts, who govern the scholars and common people. Those in high positions stand above those in low positions, and those in low positions serve those in high positions. Those in high positions command those in low positions as if they were close companions, like the root of a tree controlling its branches. Those in low positions serve those in high positions as if they were limbs protecting the heart, like the branches of a tree sheltering the root. Only then can the upper and lower protect each other, and the state be governed and stable. Therefore, nothing is more important in the duties of an emperor than ritual.
> King Wen of Zhou arranged the Book of Changes by placing the hexagrams Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth) at the beginning. Confucius wrote the Commentary on the Changes saying, "Heaven is high and Earth is low, and thus the Qian and Kun are established. Earth is low and Heaven is high, and thus the positions of superiority and inferiority are determined." This means the positions of the ruler and the ruled are as unchangeable as Heaven being high and Earth being low. In the Spring and Autumn Annals, the feudal lords were restrained, and the royal family was respected. Even though the ruling power of the king had weakened, he was still ranked above the feudal lords. This shows that the sages never forgot the relationship between the ruler and the ruled. Without the tyranny of King Jie of Xia and King Zhou of Shang, and the benevolence of King Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou, people would have flocked to the benevolent Tang and Wu, and Heaven would have arranged for Tang and Wu to replace Jie and Zhou. According to the principle of the ruler being superior and the minister inferior, the ministers should only remain loyal and accept death. Therefore, if Wei Ziqi had replaced King Zhou as the king of Shang, then King Tang would always be the ancestor of the dynasty, worthy of worship. If Ji Zha had become the king of Wu, then Taibao would forever be worshipped in the ancestral temples. However, these two men preferred to perish rather than become kings because they believed that the fundamental principles of ritual could not be disrupted. Therefore, nothing is more important in ritual than the distinction between the ruler and the ruled.
> Ritual can distinguish between high and low ranks, clarify the relationships of kinship, judge all matters, and establish all affairs. Without names, it cannot be shown; without objects, it cannot be expressed. Names are used to call it, and objects are used to distinguish it, so that the superiority and inferiority of the upper and lower are clear and orderly—this is the grand model of ritual. When the principles of names and objects are lost, how can the ritual system exist alone!
> Formerly, Zhongshu Yu Xi of Wei had meritorious service to the state. He declined the fief granted to him and requested instead the ceremonial ribbons. Confucius thought it better to give him more fiefs. Only names and objects cannot be given to people; they are under the control of the ruler. If the power of governance is lost, the state will perish. The ruler of Wei awaited Confucius to govern the state. Confucius wanted to first correct the names, believing that if the names were not correct, people would not know where to place their hands and feet. The ceremonial ribbons are small objects, and Confucius was stingy with them. Correcting the names is a small matter, and Confucius wanted to implement it first: truly because when the norms of names and objects are disrupted, the relationship between the ruler and the ruled cannot be maintained.
> Nothing is not small at first and then becomes significant. The sages consider the long term, so they can govern it cautiously when the matter is still subtle. The common people have shallow understanding, so they must wait until the matter becomes significant before trying to save it. To govern it when it is subtle requires less effort and more results; to save it when it is significant requires all one's strength but cannot succeed.
> In the Book of Changes, it is said, "When white frost is trodden upon the ground, it means the severe cold of ice will soon freeze the earth." In the Book of Documents, it is said, "Every day, subtle matters occur." It refers to this situation. Therefore, nothing is more important in ritual than names.
> Alas! King You and King Li of Zhou lost their great virtue, and the political way of the Zhou dynasty gradually declined. The discipline was scattered and destroyed. Those in low positions encroached upon those in high positions, and those in high positions lost their power. The feudal lords monopolized the power of military campaigns, and the ministers monopolized the state affairs of the feudal lords. The grand principles of ritual were lost by about seventy or eighty percent. However, the ancestral temples of King Wen and King Wu of Zhou still continued unbroken. This was probably because the descendants of the Zhou dynasty still adhered to the principles of rank. Why is this so?
> Formerly, Duke Wen of Jin had great merit toward the Zhou royal family. He requested from King Xiang of Zhou that after his death, he be buried with the ceremonial tunnel as a king. King Xiang refused, saying, "This is the ritual that distinguishes the emperor from the feudal lords. There should not be two emperors who have replaced the Zhou dynasty. This is what your uncle dislikes. Otherwise, since your uncle has territory, you could yourself dig the tunnel, why ask?" Duke Wen was thus frightened and dared not defy him. Therefore, from the perspective of the territory of the Zhou king, it was not larger than that of Cao or; from the perspective of the people of the Zhou king, it was not more numerous than that of Zhu or Ju. Yet after several hundred years, it remained the overlord of the world, and even the powerful Jin, Chu, Qi, and Qin dared not bully it. What was the reason? It was only because the principles of rank still existed.
> As for the Ji family in Lu, the Tian family in Qi, the Bai family in Chu, and the Zhi family in Jin, their power was sufficient to drive out their kings and take the throne. Yet they dared not do so. Was it because they lacked power or could not bear it? It was only because they feared offending the principles of rank and being punished by the whole world.
> Now, the ministers of Jin are encroaching upon and despising their king, carving up Jin. The emperor cannot punish them but instead rewards them with titles, placing them among the feudal lords. This is well known. The principles of rank cannot be preserved and are discarded. The ritual of the former kings has been completely lost. Some may think that at this time, the Zhou dynasty was weak and declining, and the three families of Han, Zhao, and Wei in Jin were already powerful. Even if they wanted to prevent them from becoming feudal lords, could they do so? This view is very wrong. Even if Han, Zhao, and Wei were powerful, if they ignored the condemnation of the world and violated the principles of ritual, they would not ask the emperor for permission but would directly declare themselves feudal lords. To declare oneself a feudal lord without asking the emperor is to be a rebellious and chaotic minister. If the world had a ruler like Duke Huan of Qi or Duke Wen of Jin, they would surely respect the principles of ritual and campaign against them. Now, they have asked the emperor for permission, and the emperor has granted it. They have been enfeoffed as feudal lords by the emperor. Who else could campaign against them!
> Therefore, when Han, Zhao, and Wei became feudal lords, it was not because Han, Zhao, and Wei destroyed the ritual, but because the emperor himself destroyed the ritual.
> Alas! The ritual between the ruler and the ruled has been corrupted, and the people of the world compete in wisdom and strength to become powerful rulers of their time and place. Thus, the descendants of the sages, who had already been enfeoffed as feudal lords, saw their states destroyed and their people scattered and killed with almost none left. Is this not a tragedy!
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