Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about governance, saying, “What if I execute those who are unprincipled in order to bring people onto the right path? How would that be?”
Confucius replied, “In your governance, why resort to killing? If you yourself desire goodness, the people will become good. The virtue of the noble person is like the wind; the virtue of the common people is like grass. When the wind blows over the grass, it inevitably bends.”
Note
This passage from The Analects of Confucius powerfully articulates his rejection of punitive and coercive rule in favor of moral transformation through exemplary leadership. Ji Kangzi assumes that eliminating “the unprincipled” by force will purify society—a typical realist or legalist approach. But Confucius counters that true governance does not depend on punishment or fear, but on the ruler’s inner commitment to goodness) and virtue. The metaphor of wind and grass illustrates his core belief: ethical influence flows naturally from leaders to the people. When rulers embody benevolence, righteousness, and propriety, the populace responds not out of compulsion, but through spontaneous moral resonance. Killing may remove individuals, but it cannot cultivate virtue; only virtuous leadership can shape a moral culture. This teaching aligns with the broader Confucian view that political order arises from self-cultivation and relational ethics, not external control. It also implies that social problems reflect leadership failures—if the people are “unprincipled,” the ruler must first examine his own conduct.
Further Reading
Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about governance. Confucius said, “Governance means uprightness. If you lead with uprightness, who would dare not be upright?” Analects 12.17 (Yan Yuan)
Both emphasize that the ruler’s personal virtue—not punishment—is the foundation of public morality.
The Master said, “Guide the people by laws and align them through punishments, and they will avoid crime but have no sense of shame. Guide them by virtue and align them through ritual, and they will have shame and become upright.” Analects 2.3 (Wei Zheng)
Contrasts rule by punishment (xing) with rule by virtue (de)—directly supporting Confucius’s rejection of killing as a tool of governance.
The Master said, “When your own conduct is upright, you need give no orders and people will follow; when it is not upright, even orders go unheeded.” Analects 13.6 (Zi Lu)
Reinforces that moral authority stems from personal example, not decrees or violence.
季康子問政於孔子曰：「如殺無道，以就有道，何如？」孔子對曰：「子為政，焉用殺？子欲善，而民善矣。君子之德風，小人之德草。草上之風，必偃。」
Leave a Reply