Explanation of the power-repairing poem in Volume 14 of "Shang Jun Shu" 1. Legislation clearly decentralizes power and trusts it to be non-private
Inscription poem:
The country is governed by Japanese law Believe in power. The ruler and ministers who believe in the law are the only ones who control it;
The ruler and ministers who believe in the law are the only ones who should establish it; the one who believes in power is the only one who controls it.
People are the masters. If it fails, the country will be in danger. If the monarch and his ministers interpret the law and allow private interests, chaos will inevitably occur.
Legislation is clearly divided, and governance is not based on private interests. The power system is arbitrary, and the monarch is authoritative.
People trust If you give rewards, then things will be successful; if the people believe in their punishments, then the crimes will be unjustified.
Only those who understand the master's ability, love power and trust, and do not use selfish interests to harm the law of the country.
More than above If the reward is not enough, then the subordinates will not use it; if the punishment is not punished, the people will die of pride. Those who reward are civilized; those who punish are military.
Civil and military Yes, it is a covenant of the law. The master of the law is clear. The Holy Lord does not conceal it.
It is said to be clear and not to be deceived. It is said to be discerning. To reward generously but to be trustworthy and not to be alienated;
The punishment must be severe but must not violate closeness, the minister should not hide the master, and the subordinates should not bully the superiors.
Those who rule in the world interpret the law too much and leave it to private discussion, so the country is in chaos.
< p> When the previous kings were upright, the counties were based on weights and measures, and they are still the same today.It is clear. I explain the weights, judge the weights, and abolish the measures.
Long and short, although they are clearly discerned, merchants do not use them because they do not need them.
The old law is also the balance of the country. People who violate the law and allow private discussions
do not know the analogy. Do not use it. In terms of legal theory, the wise and the virtuous are not worthy of honor, but Yao is the only one;
The world is not as good as Yao. Therefore, the kings before him knew that self-discipline of honoring private interests was unacceptable.
Legislation is clear and in the middle. Those who destroy the public will be rewarded, and those who undermine the public will be punished. The method of reward and punishment is to not lose the etiquette, so the people will not fight. Do not use titles and salaries to facilitate close relatives.
The ministers who have worked hard will not complain; Punishment, concealment and alienation will lead to closeness to the superior.
Original text
There are three reasons why a country is governed: one day is law, the other day is faith, and the third day is power. The law is what the monarch and his ministers are responsible for; the believer is what the monarch and his ministers are responsible for establishing; the power is what the monarch alone controls; if the ruler fails to observe it, he will be in danger. If the king and his ministers interpret the law and leave it to their own interests, there will be chaos. Therefore, legislation should be clearly defined, and the law should be governed without harming it for personal gain. The authoritarian system is authoritative to the king. If the people believe in their rewards, things will be successful; if they believe in their punishments, their crimes will be unjustified. It is only clear that the Lord loves power and respects trust, and will not harm the law for personal gain. Therefore, if the superiors give many kind words but do not deny the rewards, the subordinates will not use them; if the superiors add many strict orders but do not punish them, the people will die of pride. Those who reward are literary; those who punish are martial. Civil and military people are bound by law. Therefore, it is the director of the Ming Dynasty. It is called understanding when it is understood and not concealed, and it is called discerning when it is not deceived. Therefore, rewards should be generous but trustworthy, and punishments should be severe but certain; do not lose distance, do not violate closeness, so ministers do not hide the master, and subordinates do not deceive superiors.
The rulers of this world interpret the law too much and leave it to private discussion. This is the reason why this country is in chaos. The previous kings and counties weighed and established the measures, and the law is still clear. The husband interprets the weight and determines the weight, discards the size and thinks of the length. Although he checks it, the merchants don't use it, because they don't need it. Therefore, the law is the balance of the country. The husband doubles the law and leaves it to private discussion, and no one knows what is right. Those who do not judge knowledge, ability, virtuousness, and dishonesty according to the Dharma are only Yao; and the world is not full of Yao. Therefore, the previous kings knew that those who respected private interests could not be left to their own devices. Therefore, the legislation was clearly divided, those who were in the middle of the road were rewarded, and those who undermined the public affairs were punished. The method of reward and punishment should not lose its opinions, so the people will not fight. If you don't use honors and salary to get close to relatives, then your subordinates will not complain; if you don't use punishment to keep them apart, then your subordinates will be close to your superiors.
Translation
? There are three factors for the stability of a country: first, law, second, trust, and third, power. Laws and regulations are jointly controlled by the monarch and his ministers; credibility is jointly established by the monarch and his ministers; power is controlled by the monarch alone. If the monarch loses his power, the country will fall into crisis. If the monarch and his ministers abandon the law and only care about their own interests, the country will inevitably be in chaos. Therefore, if laws are established to clearly define the boundaries between public and private affairs, and if the laws are not compromised for personal gain, the country will be stable. The monarch establishes prestige by wielding sole power to control the people. If the people believe in the monarch's rewards, they will succeed, and if they believe in the monarch's punishments, crimes will not happen. Only a wise monarch cherishes power and values ??credibility, and will not harm the law for personal gain. Therefore, if the monarch makes many empty promises of favors but fails to realize them, his subjects will not be willing to serve; if he repeatedly promulgates severe laws but never implements them, the people will despise the death penalty. All rewards are civilized, and punishments are martial. Rewards and punishments are the outline of laws, so a wise monarch values ??the legal system. A wise monarch is wise if he is not deceived, and he is discerning if he is not deceived. Therefore, trust is established with heavy rewards, and heavy penalties are inevitable. (Heavy reward) Don’t forget those who are distant from you, (Heavy punishment) Don’t avoid those who are close to you. In this way, the ministers will not deceive the monarch, and the people will not deceive the ruler.
? Most of the rulers in the world have abandoned laws and allowed private opinions to rule the country. This is the reason why the country is in chaos. The previous kings formulated weights and beams to establish standards for size, which are still used as standards today because the boundaries of the various measurement systems established are clear. If weighing is abandoned and weight is judged, and size is abandoned and length is estimated, businessmen will not use this method even if the estimate is accurate, because the result is not completely certain. Therefore, laws and regulations are also the balance of governing the country. Those who violate the law and rely on personal opinions are ignorant of analogies. Yao was the only one who could judge whether a person was wise or stupid, wise or incompetent without using testimonials, but not everyone in the world was like Yao.
Therefore, the late king knew that the country should not be governed by private opinions and praise of individuals. It was necessary to set clear legal standards. Those who complied with the law would be rewarded, and those who harmed the country would be punished.
If the laws of reward and punishment are within the standards, the people will not have any disputes