Section 20.1
When the people do not have something they love, the lord will lack the means to make use of authority.
When the people do not have something they hate, the lord will lack the means to make use of dread.
Without the means to make use of authority
and without the means to make use of dread,
the lord will lack the means to prohibit and to regulate. [If the lord] lacks the means to prohibit and to regulate, both [lords and common people] will have comparable weight and equal positional advantage. Thus [the lord] will lack the means to be honored. Therefore when a sage governs a state, he follows the nature and disposition of Heaven and Earth, from which derive the benefits pertaining to the orifices and apertures [of the human body]. He thereby
establishes regulations concerning the lofty and the base,
makes distinctions between the noble and the mean.
He establishes official ranks and emoluments, [so that they]
benefit from the five flavors,
prosper from the five colors,
and are aroused by the five notes,
thus gratifying their eyes and ears.
He personally leads
the pure and the impure to shine forth in distinguishing their substances,
the glorious and disgraceful to excel in exposing each other,
and thereby moves their hearts.
[The lord] strives to cause the people to be ordered by what they love. Only after the people have something they love will the lord be able to win them over and encourage them. Therefore he establishes rewards to encourage them. When the people have something they love, there inevitably will [also] be something they hate. Only after there is something they hate will the lord be able to instill dread in them. Therefore he establishes punishments to instill dread in them. When the lord possesses the means to encourage the people and to instill dread in them, he will be able to regulate them. Regulating them means
[he] regulates what they love;
for this reason, he encourages them with rewards that are not excessive.
[he] regulates what they hate;
for this reason, he instills dread in them with punishments that are not excessive.
If what they love is abundant, [the lord] will have created [too much] happiness;
if what they hate is excessive, [the lord] will have created [too much] fear.
If he creates [too much] fear, the ruler will lose his authority, and there will be mutual resentment throughout the world.
If he creates [too much] happiness, the ruler will lose his power, and there will be mutual harm throughout the world.
1Therefore when a sage regulates the people, he
enables them to have desires but does not exceed the proper limits;
he enables them to be honest and simple but does not eliminate their desires.
When [both] not having desires and having desires reach a sufficiency, the Way of the Lord has been attained. [20/27/5–15]
Section 20.2
That by which a state comes to be a state is power;
that by which a lord comes to be a lord is fearsomeness.
Therefore
power must not be shared;
fearsomeness must not be delegated.
If power is shared, [the lord] will lose his grace;
if fearsomeness is delegated, [the lord] will lose his authority.
If he loses authority, the lord will be demeaned;
if he loses grace, the people will scatter.
If the people scatter, the state will become chaotic;
if the lord is demeaned, his ministers will rebel.
For this reason, one who would rule others
must resolutely preserve his power to subjugate his people;
must resolutely maintain his authority to rectify his ministers.
Sounds may be compliant or contrary, but they must be either clear or turbid;
2forms may be pleasing or hateful, but they must be either crooked or straight.
Therefore
when the sage listens to sounds, he distinguishes the clear from the turbid;
when he observes forms, he differentiates the crooked from the straight.
He must know the clear in the turbid;
he must know the turbid in the clear.
He must see the crooked in the straight;
he must see the straight in the crooked.
There is no sound too small for him to detect;
there is no form too small for him to appraise.
He does not let what is obvious becloud what is hidden;
he does not let what is abundant obscure what is scarce.
In each instance, he responds to affairs and arrives at the appropriate response. When black and white are distinguished clearly, the people will know what to reject and what to follow. When they know what to reject and what to follow, it is possible to achieve order. This [should] be taken as the standard. [20/27/15–22]
Section 20.3
One who would be lord over others
establishes his position in non-action;
effects his instruction by non-speech.
Silent and voiceless,
quiescent and formless,
he clings to the sourceless One and is the wellspring of the state.
He
accords with the state as if it were his own body;
accords with the ministers as if they were his own mind.
He takes
the ministers’ speech as his voice;
the ministers’ tasks as his form.
Where there is a voice, there inevitably is an echo;
where there is a form, there inevitably is a shadow.
When
the voice emerges from within,
the echo responds from without.
When
the form is established above,
the shadow reflects from below.
Echoes may be clear or turbid;
shadows may be crooked or straight.
The response of an echo is not a singular voice;
the reflection of a shadow is not a singular form.
Therefore, one who would rule with an empty mind and in a quiescent state
astutely listens to their echoes,
brilliantly observes their shadows,
and thereby practices the standards of rewards and punishments. When practicing rewards and punishments,
if the echo is clear, the one who has engendered this clarity is honored;
if the echo is turbid, the one who has engendered this turbidity is demeaned;
if the shadow is straight, the one who has engendered the straightness is promoted;
if the shadow is crooked, the one who has engendered the crookedness is demoted.
The lord clings to their titles and investigates their true substance in order to assess their actual performance.
Rewards are not bestowed groundlessly;
punishments are not inflicted heedlessly.
For this reason, the numerous ministers are governed according to the distinctions in their duties. Each serves with respect and vies to advance his meritorious deeds to manifest and extend his reputation, whereas he who rules others can be carried along in their midst. This is the technique to spontaneously extend [the ruler’s] strength. The sage relies on this method. Therefore
the accomplishments emanate from the ministers;
the reputation reverts to the lord. [20/27/22–29]