Explanation 2
When King Zhao of Qin fell ill, the people in the wards bought oxen and prayed for him in their homes. Gongsun Shu went out and saw this, then entered to congratulate the king, saying, “The people have all bought oxen in their wards to pray for Your Majesty.” The king sent men to inquire, and it proved true. The king then ordered: “Fine each of them two sets of armor. To pray on their own initiative, without being commanded, shows that they love me. If, because they love me, I were to alter the law and accommodate their private feeling in return, then the law would not stand; and if the law does not stand, that is the way to disorder and ruin. Better to fine each two sets of armor and thereby return to governing by law.”
Another version says: When King Xiang of Qin was ill, the people prayed for him; when he recovered, they killed oxen to make a thanksgiving offering at the altar of the soil. Langzhong Yan’e and Gongsun Yan went out and saw it, and said, “It is neither the season for the altar sacrifice nor the la sacrifice – why do you kill oxen and offer to the soil god?” They marveled and asked. The people replied, “Our lord was ill, so we prayed for him; now that he has recovered, we kill oxen to give thanks.” Yan’e and Gongsun Yan were pleased, went to see the king, and bowed to congratulate him: “Your virtue surpasses that of Yao and Shun.” The king, startled, asked, “What do you mean?” They answered, “Under Yao and Shun, the people did not go so far as to pray for them. Now that you were ill, the people prayed for you with oxen; when you recovered, they killed oxen in thanksgiving. So we take the liberty of saying you surpass Yao and Shun.” The king then sent men to find out which ward had done it, and fined the ward-head and the squad elder of that ward two sets of armor each. Yan’e and Gongsun Yan were ashamed and dared say nothing. Several months later, when the king was drinking and well pleased, the two said to him, “Earlier we privately compared you to surpassing Yao and Shun – not out of mere flattery. When Yao and Shun were ill, their people did not go so far as to pray for them. Now that you were ill, the people prayed for you with oxen and, on your recovery, killed oxen in thanksgiving. Yet you have now fined their ward-head and squad elder two sets of armor. We find this strange.” The king said, “How should you understand this? The reason the people serve me is not that I love them and so they serve me, but that I hold positional power and so they serve me. If I set aside my power and instead form a bond of mutual favor with the people, then the moment I happen not to show love, the people will cease to serve me. Therefore I cut off the path of personal affection.”
When Qin suffered a great famine, the Marquis of Ying (Ying Hou) urged, “The grasses, vegetables, acorns, jujubes, and chestnuts in the Five Gardens are enough to keep the people alive – please open them.” King Zhaoxiang said, “Our Qin law rewards the people for merit and punishes them for crime. To open the Five Gardens now would reward the meritorious and the unmeritorious alike. To reward merit and non-merit alike is the road to disorder. Rather than open the Five Gardens and bring disorder, it is better to let the jujubes and vegetables go and preserve order.” Another version adds: “To open the melons, vegetables, jujubes, and chestnuts of the Five Gardens, enough to save the people, would be to let the meritorious and unmeritorious scramble for them together. Better to bring order through death than disorder through life – my lord, please abandon the idea.”
Tian Wei instructed his son Tian Zhang, saying, “If you wish to benefit yourself, first benefit your lord; if you wish to enrich your household, first enrich the state.” Another version says: Tian Wei admonished his son Tian Zhang, “The lord sells offices and ranks; the minister sells his wisdom and strength. So rely on yourself, not on others.”
Gongsun Yi served as chancellor of Lu and was fond of fish; the whole state vied to buy fish and present them to him, but Gongsun Yi would not accept. His disciple remonstrated, “You love fish so much and yet refuse them – why?” He replied, “Precisely because I love fish, I refuse them. If I accept fish, I will surely show a manner of yielding to others; showing such a manner, I will bend the law; bending the law, I will be dismissed from the chancellorship. Though I love fish, once dismissed those people will not necessarily supply me with fish, and I myself will be unable to provide for my own fish. But if I refuse their gifts and am not dismissed, then though I love fish, I can long provide for my own fish.” This shows that relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself, and that others acting on your behalf is not as good as acting for yourself.
Note
This Legalist exposition from Han Feizi‑Chapter 35.7 presents four stories. It prioritizes impersonal law and positional power over personal affection, advocating merit‑centered rewards and officials’ prudent self‑reliance.
Han Feizi / Legalism:
Han Fei (d. 233 BCE) was the great synthesizer of Legalist thought in the late Warring States period. He insisted that a state be run by impersonal law, reliable rewards and punishments, and the ruler’s positional power, not by affection or moral example.
“Positional power” (shi 势):
The authority inherent in the ruler’s office itself. Han Fei argues people obey the office, not the person – so a ruler must never trade power for personal popularity.
“The path of affection” (爱道):
A key concept here. Han Fei warns that a ruler who cultivates a bond of mutual love with the people becomes hostage to it: the day he stops being “loving,” their loyalty collapses. Law and power, by contrast, work whether or not anyone is loved.
King Zhao / King Xiang / King Zhaoxiang of Qin:
The passage refers to a Qin king (these names are textually conflated; traditionally identified with King Zhaoxiang, r. 306–251 BCE). The point of the story is that he punishes even well-meant popular prayer to keep law above sentiment.
Two sets of armor (二甲):
A military-equipment fine. Punishing the people who prayed was not cruelty for its own sake but a deliberate refusal to reward unauthorized, emotion-driven conduct.
Yao and Shun:
Yao and Shun were legendary sage-kings, the benchmark of perfect moral rule. The ministers flatter the king as “surpassing Yao and Shun,” but the king’s cold legal response subverts the very sentiment the flattery praised.
Ward-head and squad elder (里正、伍老):
Local administrative units of Qin (the “ward/li” and the five-man “wu” squad), part of the highly organized, collectively liable Qin household-registration system.
The Marquis of Ying (Ying Hou / Fan Ju):
A famous chancellor of King Zhaoxiang, here acting humanely by urging famine relief – and rebuffed on legalist grounds.
The Five Gardens (五苑):
Royal parks with fruit and game, a reserve of the ruler. Opening them to feed the masses would distribute reward without merit, so Zhaoxiang prefers to let food spoil rather than break the merit system.
“Merit and non-merit rewarded alike” (有功与无功俱赏):
The core Legalist objection to indiscriminate charity – it dissolves the incentive structure that makes the law effective.
Tian Wei and Tian Zhang:
Figures illustrating the minister’s logic: service is an exchange (the lord “sells” office, the minister “sells” talent), so one should make the ruler and state prosper first as the path to one’s own benefit.
Gongsun Yi and the fish:
A well-known anecdote (also told of Gongyi Xiu). The chancellor’s refusal of gifts is not asceticism but enlightened self-interest: accepting bribes risks his office, and his office is the only thing that can durably supply the fish he loves. It dramatizes “relying on oneself beats relying on others” (恃人不如自恃).
说二
秦昭王有病，百姓里买牛而家为王祷。公孙述出见之，人贺王曰：“百姓乃皆里买牛为王祷。”王使人问之，果有之。王曰：“訾之人二甲。夫非令而擅祷，是爱寡人也。夫爱寡人，寡人亦且改法而心与之相循者，是法不立；法不立，乱亡之道也。不如人罚二甲而复与为治。”
一曰：秦襄王病，百姓为之祷；病愈，杀牛塞祷。郎中阎遏、公孙衍出见之，曰：“非社腊之时也，奚自杀牛而祠社？”怪而问之。百姓曰：“人主病，为之祷；今病愈，杀牛塞祷。”阎遏、公孙衍说，见王，拜贺曰：“过尧、舜矣。”王惊曰：“何谓也？”对曰：“尧、舜，其民未至为之祷也。今王病而民以牛祷，病愈，杀牛塞祷，故臣窃以王为过治、舜也。”王因使人问之，何里为之，訾其里正与伍老屯二甲。阎遏、公孙衍愧不敢言。居数月，王饮酒酣乐，阎遏、公孙衍谓王曰：“前时臣窃以王为过尧、舜，非直敢谀也。尧、舜病，且其民未至为之祷也；分王病，而民以牛祷，病愈，杀牛塞涛。今乃訾其里正与伍老屯二甲，臣窃怪之。”王曰：“于何故不知于此？彼民之所以为我用者，非以吾爱之为我用者也，以吾势之为我用者也。吾释势与民相收，若是，吾适不爱而民因不为我用也，故遂绝爱道也。”
秦大饥，应侯请曰：“五苑之草著：蔬菜、、橡果、枣栗，足以活民，清发之。“昭襄王曰：“吾秦法，使民有功而受赏，有罪而受诛。今发五苑之蔬草者，使民有功与无功俱赏也。夫使民有功与无功俱赏者，此乱之道也。夫发五苑而乱，不如弃枣蔬而治。”一曰：“令发五苑之蓏、蔬、枣、栗，足以活民，是用民有功与无功争取也。夫生乱，不如死而治，大夫其释之。”
田鲸教其子田章曰：“欲利而身，先利而君；欲富而家，先富而国。”
一曰：田鲔数其子田章曰：“主卖官爵，臣卖智力，故自恃无恃人。”
公孙仪相鲁而嗜鱼，一国尽争买鱼而献之，公议子不受。其弟谏曰：“夫子嗜鱼而不受者，何也？”对日：“夫唯嗜鱼，故不受也。夫即受鱼，必有下人之色；有下人之色，将枉于法；枉于法，则免于相。虽嗜鱼，此不必致我鱼，我又不能自给鱼。即无受鱼而不免于相，虽嗜鱼，我能长自给鱼。”此明夫恃人不如自恃也，明于人之为己者不如己之自为也。
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