Zizhang asked Confucius, “What must one be like to be fit for government?”
Confucius said, “By honoring the five excellent qualities and screening out the four evils, one may be fit for government.”
Zizhang asked, “What are the five excellent qualities?”
Confucius said, “The gentleman is beneficent without great expenditure; he lays tasks on the people without their repining; he is desirous without being covetous; he is dignified without being proud; he is majestic without being fierce.”
Zizhang asked, “What is meant by ‘beneficent without great expenditure’?”
Confucius said, “When the ruler directs the people to pursue the very things from which they naturally derive benefit, is this not being beneficent without great expenditure? When he chooses proper tasks and employs the people in them, who will repine? When he desires benevolence and obtains it, how can he be covetous? Whether the gentleman deals with many or few, with great or small matters, he dares not show disrespect. Is this not being dignified without being proud? The gentleman adjusts his clothes and cap, and makes his gaze and appearance majestic, so that people look at him and feel a reverent awe. Is this not being majestic without being fierce?”
Zizhang asked, “What are the four evils?”
Confucius said, “To put people to death without having instructed them is called cruelty; to require success suddenly, without having given warning, is called tyranny; to give orders as if in haste at first, but afterwards insist on a strict deadline, is called injury; to be stingy in dispensing rewards to men, just as a petty official would be in paying out money, is called being a mere clerk.”
Note
This dialogue is a customized “guide to governance” that Confucius provided for Zizhang, systematically expounding the specific operational norms of the Confucian “virtuous governance” and “benevolent governance”:
- The Dialectical Wisdom of the “Five Excellences”:
The five virtues proposed by Confucius are full of the dialectics of the Doctrine of the Mean. For example, “beneficent without great expenditure” emphasizes guiding the people according to their natural inclinations rather than blindly distributing money; “majestic without being fierce” emphasizes inner moral dignity rather than intimidating people through harsh laws or a ferocious appearance. This shows that true political authority is built on conforming to nature and moral appeal. - The Bottom Line of the “Four Evils”:
Confucius’ critique of the four evils directly targets the chronic problems of the ancient bureaucratic system. “Putting to death without instruction” is a lack of education; “requiring success without warning” is ignoring reality; “insisting on a strict deadline after slow orders” is changing orders frequently and harassing the people; “stinginess in dispensing rewards” is a lack of the generosity a ruler should possess. The core of these four evils is that the rulers lack empathy, shirk responsibilities, and abuse power. - The Core Logic of Governing by Virtue:
The entire dialogue shows that Confucianism believes politics is not a game of tactics, but an extension of morality. Rulers must first cultivate the “five excellent qualities” within themselves and eliminate the “four evils” from their hearts before they can transform this moral power into the effectiveness of governing the state.
The core of this thought lies in “conforming to the hearts of the people” and “combining leniency with strictness.” It warns rulers that good politics should be a subtle, silent guidance rather than simple and brutal oppression; true majesty comes from one’s own uprightness, not from the abuse of power.
Further Reading
The Master said, “If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good.”
Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, “To govern means to be correct. If you lead the people with correctness, who will dare not to be correct?”
The Master said, “If a good man were to instruct the people for seven years, they might then be employed in war.”
These chapters collectively construct the complete Confucian political logic regarding “virtuous governance” and “education.” Whether it is Confucius’ emphasis on “leading them by virtue and giving them uniformity by the rules of propriety” (guiding the people with morality and etiquette, opposing mere punishments), “instructing the people for seven years” (emphasizing that education requires long-term patience, opposing “putting to death without instruction”), or “to govern means to be correct” (emphasizing the uprightness of the rulers themselves), their core logic is highly consistent: Confucianism strongly opposes tyrannical government, harsh government, and executing people without education. It advocates that rulers must set an example by themselves and govern the state through long-term moral education and policies that conform to the hearts of the people. They jointly prove that the Confucian political ideal is “benevolent governance,” which is to guide the people as beings with moral perception, rather than driving them as mere tools.
子張問於孔子曰：「何如斯可以從政矣？」子曰：「尊五美，屏四惡，斯可以從政矣。」子張曰：「何謂五美？」子曰：「君子惠而不費，勞而不怨，欲而不貪，泰而不驕，威而不猛。」子張曰：「何謂惠而不費？」子曰：「因民之所利而利之，斯不亦惠而不費乎？擇可勞而勞之，又誰怨？欲仁而得仁，又焉貪？君子無眾寡，無小大，無敢慢，斯不亦泰而不驕乎？君子正其衣冠，尊其瞻視，儼然人望而畏之，斯不亦威而不猛乎？」子張曰：「何謂四惡？」子曰：「不教而殺謂之虐；不戒視成謂之暴；慢令致期謂之賊；猶之與人也，出納之吝，謂之有司。」
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