What an enlightened ruler uses to guide and control his ministers consists of only two handles: punishment and reward. What are punishment and reward? Killing and penalizing mean punishment; praise and granting mean reward.
Ministers fear punishment and seek reward. Therefore, if the ruler alone controls punishment and reward, all ministers will fear his authority and pursue the benefits he bestows.
Treacherous ministers of the world act differently. For those they dislike, they obtain the ruler’s power to punish them; for those they favor, they obtain the ruler’s power to reward them.
If a ruler does not let the authority of reward and punishment come from himself, but allows his ministers to enforce them, all people in the state will fear the ministers, slight the ruler, attach themselves to ministers and abandon the ruler. This is the disaster when a ruler loses the two handles.
A tiger subdues dogs by its claws and fangs. If a tiger abandons its claws and fangs and lets dogs use them, the tiger will instead be subdued by dogs.
A ruler controls ministers through punishment and reward. If a ruler abandons these two handles and lets ministers use them, the ruler will instead be controlled by ministers.
Tian Chang requested ranks and salaries from Duke Jian of Qi to grant to ministers above, and distributed grain generously to common people below using larger measuring tools. Duke Jian lost the handle of reward while Tian Chang seized it, so Duke Jian was killed.
Zi Han said to the Duke of Song: “Rewards and gifts please the people. Your Majesty may bestow them personally. Killings and punishments displease the people; please let me take charge of them.”
Thus the Duke of Song lost the handle of punishment while Zi Han seized it, so the Duke of Song was kidnapped and imprisoned.
Tian Chang only held reward, yet Duke Jian was killed; Zi Han only held punishment, yet the Duke of Song was kidnapped.
If modern ministers control both punishment and reward, present‑day rulers face greater danger than Duke Jian and the Duke of Song.
No ruler who was kidnapped, killed or deceived survived without peril after losing the two handles and letting ministers wield them.
Note
This passage lays out the fundamental Legalist principle: reward and punishment are the ruler’s exclusive weapons. Never delegate them, or ministers will usurp power and overthrow the sovereign.
Han Fei
Core Legalist thinker of the late Warring States Period. This passage is from The Two Handles, his famous essay on monarchical power‑controlling techniques.
Duke Jian of Qi & Tian Chang
Tian Chang, a powerful minister of Qi, seized reward power by winning popular support. He assassinated Duke Jian of Qi and seized state power, a classic case of ministerial usurpation.
Zi Han & Duke of Song
Zi Han tricked the Duke of Song into giving him all punitive power. He later seized control of the state and held the ruler hostage.
The Two Handles (Xing‑De)
The most famous Legalist statecraft: punishment (xing) and reward (de) are the two absolute powers a ruler must monopolize. Losing either leads to loss of sovereignty.
Tiger‑Claw Metaphor
Tiger’s claws symbolize the ruler’s exclusive power of reward and punishment. Giving them away means self‑subjugation.
Ministerial Usurpation
Han Fei uses two well‑known Spring and Autumn Period cases to warn rulers: partial loss of reward or punishment power leads to regicide or kidnapping.
Absolute Monopoly of Power
Legalism insists all decisive political power must rest solely with the ruler; no minister may share reward‑punishment authority.
二柄第七
明主之所导制其臣者，二柄而已矣。二柄者，刑德也。何谓刑德？曰：杀戮之谓刑，庆赏之谓德。为人臣者畏诛罚而利庆赏，故人主自用其刑德，则群臣畏其威而归其利矣。故世之奸臣则不然，所恶，则能得之其主而罪之；所爱，则能得之其主而赏之；今人主非使赏罚之威利出于己也，听其臣而行其赏罚，则一国之人皆畏其臣而易其君，归其臣而去其君矣。此人主失刑德之患也。夫虎之所以能服狗者，爪牙也。使虎释其爪牙而使狗用之，则虎反服于狗矣。人主者，以刑德制臣者也。今君人者释其刑德而使臣用之，则君反制于臣矣。故田常上请爵禄而行之群臣，下大斗斛而施于百姓，此简公失德而田常用之也，故简公见弑。子罕谓宋君曰：“夫庆赏赐予者，民之所喜也，君自行之；杀戮刑罚者，民之所恶也，臣请当之。”于是宋君失刑而子罕用之，故宋君见劫。田常徒用德而简公弑，子罕徒用刑而宋君劫。故今世为人臣者兼刑德而用之，则是世主之危甚于简公、宋君也。故劫杀拥蔽之主非失刑德，而使臣用之而不危亡者，则未尝有也。
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