A ruler may be tempted by state affairs or blocked by ministers’ words; both must be examined carefully.
Some ministers speak lightly of undertaking affairs, demand few resources, and deceive the ruler with empty plans. If the ruler is tempted without investigation and praises them highly, ministers will control the ruler through state affairs – this is being tempted by affairs. A ruler tempted by affairs will be trapped by disasters.
If ministers make easy promises yet bring heavy costs afterward, they must be punished for untruthful proposals even if projects succeed, and rewarded only for real achievements. Thus no minister dares to use false words to mislead the ruler.
The way to govern ministers: if a minister’s later words contradict his earlier ones, he must be penalized even if his project succeeds. This is called controlling subordinates.
When ministers plan affairs for the ruler and fear criticism, they pre‑emptively claim: “Those who debate this matter are jealous of it.” The ruler accepts this view and ignores other ministers, while all others dare not speak out for fear of accusation. When such two trends prevail, loyal ministers are ignored and flatterers monopolize power – this is being blocked by words. A ruler blocked by words will be controlled by ministers.
The way to govern ministers: they must bear responsibility whether they speak or stay silent. Those whose words lack evidence and verification are guilty of irresponsible speech. Those who evade duty and keep high‑ranking positions through silence are guilty of irresponsible silence.
A ruler must check the logic of ministers’ words and demand practical results from speakers, and question silent ministers about their attitudes to impose accountability. Then no minister dares to speak recklessly or remain mute; both speech and silence carry consequences.
When a ruler wishes to launch projects without understanding their whole context yet reveals his personal desire, followers will act accordingly. Such actions bring no gain but certain harm. Knowing this, one must follow reason and abandon personal desire.
There is a principle for undertaking projects: only those with high returns and low costs are worthwhile. Confused rulers calculate only gains, ignoring costs. Even if costs double gains, they overlook harm, gaining in name yet losing in reality – achieving little merit with great damage.
True merit exists only when returns exceed costs. If huge expenditure incurs no penalty and trivial gains count as merit, ministers will waste massive resources for small achievements, harming the ruler in the end.
Note
This passage presents two critical Legalist principles: rulers must hold ministers accountable for both speech and silence; political projects must be judged by real net benefit rather than superficial small achievements.
Late Warring‑States Legalist political thinker. This text is excerpted from Facing South (Nan Mian), an essay on core monarchical ruling tactics. Han Fei focuses on how rulers avoid manipulation by ministerial rhetoric and empty political projects.
Tempted by Affairs, Blocked by Words
Two fatal political traps for rulers: being lured by grand empty projects and being silenced by manipulative ministerial rhetoric.
Dual Accountability for Ministers
Han Fei’s unique rule: ministers are liable both for false speech and for harmful silence, eliminating both reckless talk and evasive non‑action.
Result‑Oriented Governance
Legalist utilitarianism: evaluate policies strictly by net gains (income minus cost), rejecting nominal merit with heavy losses.
Facing‑South Politics
In ancient China rulers sat facing south, symbolizing supreme authority; the essay outlines practical power‑controlling methods for autocratic rulers.
人主有誘於事者，有壅於言者，二者不可不察也。人臣易言事者，少索資，以事誣主，主誘而不察，因而多之，則是臣反以事制主也，如是者謂之誘，誘於事者困於患。其進言少，其退費多，雖有功其進言不信，不信者有罪，事有功者必賞，則群臣莫敢飾言以惛主。主道者，使人臣前言不復於後，後言不復於前，事雖有功，必伏其罪，謂之任下。人臣為主設事而恐其非也，則先出說設言曰：「議是事者，妒事者也。」人主藏是言不更聽群臣，群臣畏是言不敢議事，二勢者用，則忠臣不聽而譽臣獨任，如是者謂之壅於言，壅於言者制於臣矣。主道者，使人臣必有言之責，又有不言之責。言無端末、辯無所驗者，此言之責也。以不言避責、持重位者，此不言之責也。人主使人臣言者必知其端以責其實，不言者必問其取舍以為之責，則人臣莫敢妄言矣，又不敢默然矣，言默則皆有責也。人主欲為事，不通其端末，而以明其欲，有為之者，其為不得利，必以害反，知此者，任理去欲。舉事有道，計其入多，其出少者，可為也。惑主不然，計其入不計其出，出雖倍其入，不知其害，則是名得而實亡，如是者功小而害大矣。凡功者，其入多、其出少乃可謂功。今大費無罪而少得為功，則人臣出大費而成小功，小功成而主亦有害。
Leave a Reply