On the importance of loyalty in punishment and reward
Su Shi (Song Dynasty)
How much did Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, Cheng and Kang love the people? He is deeply concerned about the people, and treats the world as a gentleman and an elder. If there is a good deed, then you will appreciate it, and then sing and sigh about it, so you will enjoy the beginning and encourage the end. If there is a bad thing, punish it, and punish it with sorrow, so abandon the old and create a new one. Therefore, his voice of appeal to Yu, joyful, sad and sad, can be found in the books of Yu, Xia, Shang and Zhou. After the death of Cheng and Kang, King Mu was established, and the Zhou Dynasty began to decline. However, he still ordered his minister Luhou to impose auspicious punishment on him. His words are sad but not hurtful, powerful but not angry, loving but able to judge, and compassionate but with a heart of pity for the innocent, so Confucius still has some ideas.
"Biography" says: "Reward the doubts and follow them, so you are generous; punish the doubts and leave them, so you are cautious about punishment. In the time of Yao, Gao Tao was a scholar. When he was about to kill someone, Gao Tao said: " "Kill them" three times, Yao said "forgive them" three times. Therefore, the world is afraid of Gaotao's firmness in enforcing the law, but is happy with Yao's lenient punishment. Siyue said "Gun can use it", Yao said "no, Gun ordered the Yao people", and then Said "Try it". Why did Yao not listen to Gao Tao's murder, but follow the four mountains and use Gun? Light, doubtful but heavy. Rather than killing innocent people, it is better to lose them. "Ugh, it's all done. You can reward or you can not reward, but reward exceeds benevolence; you can punish, you can not punish, but punishment exceeds righteousness. If you exceed benevolence, you will not be a gentleman; if you exceed righteousness, it will flow into forbearance. Human beings. Therefore, benevolence can be exceeded, but righteousness cannot be exceeded. In ancient times, rewards were not given with titles and salaries, and punishments were not punished with swords and swords. The punishment is to use the sword and saw, because the power of punishment is applied to the areas that the sword and saw can reach, but not to the areas that the sword and saw cannot reach. It is not enough to judge. Therefore, when doubts are raised, it is due to benevolence, and the world is treated in the way of a gentleman and an elder, so that the world will follow the way of a gentleman.
< p> "Poetry" said: "A gentleman is like a good man, and the common people are in chaos. A gentleman is angry, and the common people are in chaos and frustrated. "The husband and the gentleman are already in chaos, how can there be any strange skills? At that time, he is happy and angry, but he has nothing to do with benevolence. The meaning of "Spring and Autumn" is that legislation values ????strictness, and responsibilities value lenient. Because of its meaning of praise and blame, it is used to control Rewards and punishments are also loyal and generous.Translation
In the time of Tang Yao, Yu Shun, Xia Yu, Shang Tang, King Wen of Zhou, King Wu of Zhou, King Cheng of Zhou, and King Kang of Zhou, How deeply they love and care about the people, and treat the people of the world like a gentleman and an elder. When someone does a good deed, they reward him and praise him with songs, hoping that he will have a good life. Be happy at the beginning and encourage him to persist to the end; someone has done something bad and punishes him, but also pities and sympathizes with him, hoping that he will abandon his mistakes and start a new life. Feelings of joy and sadness, voices of agreement and disagreement. , found in the history books of Yu, Xia, Shang and Zhou. After the death of King Cheng and King Kang, King Mu succeeded to the throne, and the kingship of the Zhou Dynasty began to decline. However, King Mu still ordered his minister Lu Hou to use "Xiang Punishment". His words are sad but not sad, he is majestic but not angry, he is kind but decisive, and he has a good heart that pities the innocent. Therefore, Confucius selected this "Lü Xing" into the "Shangshu" and said, "When it comes to rewards." Those who are suspicious should remain among those who should be rewarded, in order to promote the favor; when punishing, those who are suspicious should be removed from those who should be punished, "in order to use the criminal law prudently. When Yao was in power, Gaotao was in charge When the official of the criminal law wanted to execute a person, Gao Tao said three times that he should be killed, but Emperor Yao said three times that he should be spared. Therefore, everyone in the world was afraid of Gao Tao's firmness in enforcing the law, and praised Emperor Yao for his leniency in punishment. . Yao said, "No!" Gun disobeyed orders and slandered his own people. After that, he still said, "Let's try it." "Why didn't Yao listen to Gao Tao's suggestion of executing the prisoner, but listened to Siyue's suggestion of appointing Gun? So the sage's intention can be seen from this. "Shangshu" said: "When the seriousness of the crime is doubtful, it is better to deal with it lightly. ; If there is any doubt about the size of the merit, I would rather give him a heavier reward. It would be better to commit a law enforcement error than to kill an innocent person by mistake. "Alas! This sentence completely expresses the meaning of loyalty. When you can reward or not, reward is too kind; when you can punish or not, punishment is beyond justice. Being too kind is not a gentleman; Exceeding justice and law is regarded as cruelty. Therefore, kindness can be exceeded, but justice and law cannot be exceeded. The ancients did not use titles and salaries for rewards, and saws were not used for punishment.
The use of titles and salaries to reward people only affects those who can obtain titles and salaries, and cannot affect those who cannot obtain titles and salaries. Using knives and saws as instruments of torture only works on people who are subjected to this kind of punishment, but not on people who are not subjected to this kind of punishment. The ancient monarchs knew that the world's good deeds could not be fully rewarded, and they could not all be rewarded with titles and salaries; they also knew that the world's sins could not be punished, and they could not all be punished with swords and saws. So when there is any doubt about reward or punishment, treat it with kindness. Treat the people of the world with the generosity and kindness of a gentleman and an elder, so that everyone in the world will return to the way of loyalty and benevolence of a gentleman and an elder one after another. Therefore, this is the ultimate in reward and punishment for loyalty! "The Book of Songs" says: "If a gentleman is happy to accept advice, troubles will quickly stop; if a gentleman angrily denounces slander, troubles will also quickly stop." Is there any magic for a gentleman to stop troubles? He just controlled his emotions and anger in a timely manner and did not deviate from the principle of kindness and tolerance. The main principle of "Spring and Autumn" is that legislation should be strict and responsible people should be lenient. Formulating a system of rewards and punishments based on its principles of praise and blame is also extremely loyal!
Notes
⑴ Xu Yu: Xu, a suspicious sound; Yu, the corresponding word. ⑵Huanxiu: kind. ⑶ miserable: sad. ⑷Lühou: a personal name, one is Fuhou, a minister of King Mu of Zhou, and a Sikou. King Mu of Zhou used his words as criminal law. ⑸Xiang Xing: The punishment is called Xiang Xing, which means that the sentence does not mean punishment, so it is extremely auspicious. ⑹ Reward and follow the doubters: If you have doubts about the reward, then you would rather follow it. ⑺Put away any doubts about punishment: If you have doubts about the punishment, you would rather leave it behind. ⑻Shi: Prison officer. ⑼ Siyue: A minister of Yao in the Tang Dynasty and the fourth son of Xihe, he was in charge of the princes in the four directions. One is said to be a person's name. ⑽ Gun: Legend has it that the father of Dayu is one of the four evil spirits. ⑾Fang Ming: reverse name. ⑿忯 tribe: Still talking about scum. ⒀Tolerant: It refers to a person with a cruel temperament. ⒁Zhi: Still happy. ⒂Tun: Speed. ⒃Ju: stop.
Appreciation
This article was written by the author in response to the Ministry of Rites examination. The article expounds the Confucian thought of benevolent government by using the example of loyalty and quoting examples of ancient benevolent people who implemented punishments and rewards based on loyalty. The full text is concise and easy to understand, with rigorous structure and thorough reasoning. The examiner Ouyang Xiu believed that this article was free from the frivolous and difficult examination style since the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty, and he appreciated it very much. He once said that it is impossible to read Shi's calligraphy without sweating, what a joy! I should avoid this person and leave him alone."
Policy theory is a form in which the country seeks solutions from intellectuals on certain issues. Although this article is an examination paper, it is not written to cope with the exam. , and did not speculate on the examiner's preferences. The question was very profound. Serious and loyal. "Su Shi mistakenly remembered why he rewarded those with doubts and punished them with abandonment." So he focused on this topic and mainly explained that the ancient wise men rewarded the good and punished the evil, all based on the principle of loyalty and generosity, and advocated how to make the world look upon each other. "The way to return to the leader and the elder quickly". There are very few excellent essays for examinations, but this article is outstanding and has its own distinctive characteristics.
Since the title of the article comes from "Shangshu", so first It begins with a chant about the deep love and concern for the people of the past kings, and then closely follows the main theme. Then it explains from the two aspects of rewarding good deeds and punishing bad deeds, what is the word "loyalty". After the decline of Zhou Dao, King Mu still told Marquis Lu about how to be good at using punishment. The so-called "He Xiang punishment" means that one should be good at and cautious in using punishment. Wang Xianqian's "Kong Chuan Can Zheng" believes that He Xiang "should be detailed". According to "Han Shu Ming Emperor Ji": He Xiang should be punished with caution and clear observation. "Ci." Also in "The Biography of Liu Kai": Why is it not the method of punishment given by the former king? "Zheng Xuan's note from "Shangshu" is quoted as saying: "How detailed is to be scrutinized." "How detailed the punishment" actually means how careful the punishment is, so Confucius still affirmed this. This is true in declining times, let alone prosperous times. This is to take a step back and further consolidate the profound foundation of the main idea.
However, it is not easy to fully master the rules of reward and punishment. It is also difficult to weigh the severity accurately. Therefore, the article included the word "what is doubtful" from the scripture. The principle for solving difficult problems is that "what is a crime is less important than doubt", and "what is doubtful" is more important. The so-called "He Guangen" and "He Shen Xing" all embody the meaning of "He Zhonghou". To illustrate this problem, the author cites the example of Tang Yao who did not follow Gao Tao's opinion on law enforcement and killing, but agreed with Siyue's appointment of Gun, which reflects the former king's punishment and rewards. Tao, a book of loyalty. Through the analysis in the narrative, the article also quotes aphorisms from the Book of Books to make judgments, and then chants them, which not only makes the main idea more prominent, but also echoes the beginning, giving people a sense of integration.
At this point in the writing, the main idea seems to have been fully clarified, but the author did not end there. Instead, he gathered momentum and made waves, demonstrating his uncontrollable talent. Regarding the hints about whether to reward or not, whether to punish or not, this naturally comes from the word "He Yi", but it is not a repetition of the former. There is a problem with "He Yi", and this has been basically clear in understanding. The concept is not exactly the same as the former. As for the issue of reward and punishment within this scope, Su Shi believes that if it is too benevolent, it is still the leader; if it is too righteous, it will flow into the tolerant people." Through this layer of excavation, it not only deepens the main idea, but also embodies the author's The ability to understand things in detail. And its assertions about "what can be done and what cannot be done" also show great generalization power and appear to be decisive and powerful.
After analyzing the categories of reward and punishment, we can further discuss the methods of reward and punishment (punishment). The author believes that in ancient times, rewards for meritorious deeds were not necessarily rewarded with titles and salaries, and guilty persons were not necessarily punished with saws. In addition, "what good deeds are worthy of reward" and "what evil deeds are worthy of punishment" have actually expanded the scope and method. If you use it like this, you will be able to achieve everything you want. But you have to be able to let it go, but you have to close it in at the same time. "What is the reason for suspicion, then raise it and attribute it to benevolence", and still enclose the word "why is it doubtful", which makes the literary eye suddenly breathe in the waves of pen and ink, and it can be attributed to the theme of "what is the most loyal and honest thing". The aftermath oscillates , and finally quoted the meaning of "The Book of Songs" and "Spring and Autumn", which clearly stated the title. The title is also the conclusion, which appears to be very tight and complete in structure.
In fact, this essay is just a Confucian example. Adhering to benevolent governance and advocating for kings, Yao, Shun, Zhou and Confucius were clichés at the time, but the author was very skillful in keeping the title and layout in mind, and in combining the sage quotes from the Bible with arguments in a smooth and thorough way of reasoning. The author used these methods to successfully attract the attention of the examiner and was highly praised by the examiner Ouyang Xiu.
Su Shi
(January 1037) 8th - August 24, 1101), courtesy name Zizhan and Hezhong, also known as Tieguan Taoist and Dongpo layman, known as Su Dongpo and Suxian in the world, Han nationality, a native of Meishan, Meizhou (Meishan City, Sichuan Province), ancestral home in Luancheng, Hebei Province , a famous writer, calligrapher, and painter in the Northern Song Dynasty, and a famous figure in historical water management. Su Shi was a leader in the literary world in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty. He made great achievements in poetry, prose, calligraphy, and painting. His poems had broad themes and were fresh and vigorous. He is good at using exaggerated metaphors and has a unique style. He is also known as "Su Huang" together with Huang Tingjian. He is a bold and unrestrained poet, and is a representative of the bold school with Xin Qiji, and is also known as "Su Xin". His prose writings are grand and bold, and he is also known as Ouyang Xiu. "Ou Su" is one of the "Eight Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". Su Shi is good at calligraphy and one of the "Four Masters of the Song Dynasty". He is good at literati painting, especially ink bamboo, strange rocks, dead wood, etc. His works include "Seven Collections of Dongpo". "Dongpo Yi Zhuan", "Dongpo Yuefu", "Xiaoxiang Bamboo and Stone Picture Scroll", "Old Wood and Strange Stone Picture Scroll", etc.