Viewpoints 7.1

Chinese and Japanese Principles of Good Government

1. The Body of the Sovereign: The people are the origin of the state. The state is the foundation of the sovereign. The body of the lord of men should be like the great holy peaks, lofty and towering and unmovable. It should be like sun and moon, constant in their brilliance, and illuminating all alike. He is the one to whom the myriad people look up, to whom the entire empire turns. His will should be broad and magnanimous, sufficient to bind them together. His heart should be impartial and just, sufficient for him to make forceful decisions. Without awesome power, he will have no means to affect the most distant regions: without benign liberality he will have no means to cherish his people. He must comfort the nine grades of his kinsfolk by humanity. He must bind his great ministers to him by the rites. In serving his ancestors, he must bear in mind his filial obligations: in occupying his position [as ruler] he must remember to be reverent. He must repress his own [personal interests] and toil diligently, so as to put into practice virtue and righteousness. Such then is the body of the sovereign.
2. Establishing One’s Kinsmen. . . .
3. Seeking Sage-Worthies. . . .
4. Carefully Examine Candidates for Offices. . . .
5. Accepting Remonstrance. . . .
6. Ridding Yourself of Flatterers. . . .
7. Guarding Against Excess. . . .
8. Esteem Frugality. . . .
9. Rewards and Punishments. . . .
10. Giving Due Attention to Agriculture. . . .
11. Reviewing Preparations for War. . . .
12. Honoring Learning. . . .

1. Harmony is to be valued, and contentiousness avoided. All men are inclined to partisanship and few are truly discerning. Hence there are some who disobey their lords and fathers or who maintain feuds with the neighboring villages. But when those above are harmonious and those below are conciliatory and there is concord in the discussion of all matters, the disposition of affairs comes about naturally. Then what is there that cannot be accomplished?
2. Sincerely reverence the Three Treasures [The Buddha, the Law, and the Sangha]. . . .
3. When you receive the imperial commands, fail not scrupulously to obey them. . . .
4. The ministers and functionaries should make ritual decorum their leading principle, for the leading principle in governing the people consists in ritual decorum. . . .
5. Ceasing from gluttony and abandoning covetous desires, deal impartially with the suits which are submitted to you. . . .
6. Chastise that which is evil and encourage that which is good. . . .
7. Let every man have his own charge, and let not the spheres of duty be confused. . . .
8. Let the ministers and functionaries attend the court early in the morning, and retire late. . . .
9. Trustworthiness is the foundation of right. . . .
10. Let us cease from wrath and refrain from angry looks. . . .
11. Give clear appreciation to merit and demerit, and deal out to each its sure reward or punishment. . . .
12. Let not the provincial authorities or the local nobles levy exaction on the people. . . .
13. Let all persons entrusted with office attend equally to their functions. . . .
14. Ye ministers and functionaries! Be not envious. . . .
15. To turn away from that which is private and to set our faces toward that which is public — this is the path of a minister. . . .
16. Let the people be called up for labor service only at seasonable times. . . .
17. Matters should not be decided by one person alone. . . .

1. What similarities do you see in these two documents? In what sense can both be considered Confucian?
2. What differences in these documents can you attribute to the differences between China and Japan in the seventh century?