A wise ruler establishes rewards that can be attained, and sets punishments that can be avoided. Therefore, the worthy are encouraged by rewards and do not suffer the disaster of Wu Zixu; the unworthy commit few crimes and do not suffer the punishment of having a hunchback’s back split open; the blind, dwelling on level ground, do not encounter deep ravines; and the foolish, keeping still, do not fall into danger. When this is so, the bond of trust between ruler and subjects is formed.
The ancients said: “The human heart is hard to know; joy and anger are hard to fathom.” Therefore, markers are used to guide the eyes, drums are used to speak to the ears, and laws are used to instruct the heart. If a ruler abandons these three easy methods and acts according to a single heart that is hard to fathom, then anger will accumulate above and resentment will accumulate below. To govern accumulated resentment with accumulated anger is to place both sides in peril.
The markers of a wise ruler are easy to see, and so covenants are established; his teachings are easy to understand, and so words are heeded; his laws are easy to follow, and so decrees are carried out. When these three are established and the ruler has no private heart, then the subjects can be governed by following the law. They move by looking at the markers, cut by following the guideline, and sew by following the stitches. When this is so, the ruler above suffers no poison of private authority, and the subjects below suffer no punishment for foolishness or clumsiness. Therefore, the ruler above is enlightened and rarely angry, and the subjects below are loyal and rarely commit crimes.
Note
This excerpt is from Han Feizi · Employing People, a key chapter on how an enlightened ruler builds an objective, predictable legal system. Citing the fates of Wu Zixu and the hunch‑back victim as cautionary tales and using markers, drums and laws as metaphors, Han Fei states a core political‑philosophical view: sound institutions must be clear, attainable and avoidable. Independent of a ruler’s whims, objective standards let all people, wise or foolish, occupy their proper places safely.
Wu Zixu:
A brilliant statesman and military strategist who served the State of Wu. Wu Zixu helped King Helü transform Wu into a major power, but his successor King Fuchai, swayed by slander, forced him to commit suicide. Wu Zixu became the ultimate symbol of the loyal minister who is unjustly destroyed by a ruler’s arbitrary wrath. Han Fei uses him as the prime example of what happens when a state lacks predictable legal protections.
The Hunchback’s Split Back (傴剖背):
This refers to a historical anecdote about a hunchbacked man who was unjustly executed or tortured (his back was split open) simply because of his physical deformity, without having committed any crime. Han Fei uses this as the ultimate example of arbitrary punishment – when the law is not “avoidable,” even the innocent and the disabled are not safe.
Rewards that can be attained; punishments that can be avoided:
This is Han Fei’s foundational principle of legal predictability. A legal system is only just if people can understand what is required to earn rewards and what is required to avoid punishment. If rewards are impossible to reach or punishments are inescapable, the system loses all legitimacy and people lose all motivation to comply.
Markers guide the eyes, drums speak to the ears, laws instruct the heart:
This is one of Han Fei’s most elegant metaphors for objective communication. In ancient warfare and ceremonies, visual markers and auditory signals (drums) were used to convey commands unambiguously, without relying on the speaker’s tone or the listener’s interpretation. Han Fei argues that law should function exactly like these signals – as a clear, impersonal, and unambiguous system of communication that replaces the chaos of subjective human judgment.
The Three Easy Methods:
Refers to the three objective standards: visible markers, audible drums, and written laws. Han Fei calls them “easy” because they are external, observable, and unambiguous. He contrasts them with the “one hard thing” – the ruler’s private, subjective mind, which is inherently unpredictable and destructive when used as a governing tool.
Move by looking at markers, cut by following the guideline, sew by following the stitches:
This is Han Fei’s master metaphor for a well-functioning bureaucracy. Just as a carpenter or tailor relies on objective tools rather than subjective estimation, officials should rely on clear laws rather than the ruler’s whims. The “guideline” is the carpenter’s ink line – the ultimate symbol of objective standards in Chinese political philosophy.
The ruler suffers no poison of private authority; the subjects suffer no punishment for foolishness:
This captures Han Fei’s vision of mutual safety through law. When the ruler governs by law rather than personal power, he is protected from the backlash of arbitrary cruelty. When subjects are judged by clear standards rather than subjective whims, even the incompetent are protected from unjust punishment. Law is the shield that protects both ruler and ruled.
明主立可为之赏，设可避之罚。故贤者劝赏而不见子胥之祸，不肖者少罪而不见伛剖背，盲者处平而不遇深谷，愚者守静而不陷险危。如此，则上下之恩结矣。古之人曰：“其心难知，喜怒难中也。”故以表示目，以鼓语耳，以法教心。君人者释三易之数而行一难知之心，如此，则怒积于上而怨积于下。以积怒而御积怨，则两危矣。明主之表易见，故约立；其教易知，故言用；其法易为，故令行。三者立而上无私心，则下得循法而治，望表而动，随绳而断，因攒而缝。如此，则上无私威之毒，而下无愚拙之诛。故上居明而少怒，下尽忠而少罪。
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