To Cultivate the Self First, Then the Household, and Finally the Country Is the Universal Principle of the World. He Who Wants to Rule a District Should First Rule His Household Well.
Ruling a district is like ruling a country. Without ruling his household well, how can the magistrate rule a district? There are several essential points on ruling a household well. First, he must observe the law about the limit on household members whom he is allowed to take with him; second, he must make sure that his carriage is humble and modest; third, he must be frugal in consuming food; fourth, the quarters of his spouse must be stern and dignified; fifth, solicitations and requests for favors must not be allowed; sixth, he must maintain integrity in purchasing goods. Unless he succeeds in establishing control with regard to these six requirements, the failure of his administration is predictable.
According to the Supplement to the National Code, “He among the magistrates who takes with him a number of household members that exceeds the limit stipulated by the law, and he who secretly commits adultery with female slaves belonging to the government, must be searched out and stripped of his office.” If we reflect on this matter, our national law prohibits taking an excessive number of household members; nevertheless, it does not provide any specific number. Therefore, it is necessary to make provisions on the appropriate number of household members to be taken. The family members allowed to accompany the magistrate should consist of his parents and spouse, and only one son among his children. Unmarried children, however, should be allowed to follow their father, regardless of their number. As for slaves, no more than one male and two female slaves should be allowed.
Parents, spouse and children, and brothers are generally called “six close relatives” [yukch’in]. If the magistrate takes to his post all his family members, as well as guests and slaves, carrying his ancestral tablets, his official duties will be obstructed because of the entanglement of his personal affairs and state affairs. There was a good reason that wise magistrates in the old days did not allow their family to follow them to their posts. If his parents are advanced in age, the magistrate should exert himself to serve them. As to other matters, he should practice simplicity.
According to the National Law, If the Magistrate Takes His Mother to His Post to Serve Her, the Government Pays the Expenses; However, in the Case of His Father, It Does Not Pay. There Is a Good Reason for This.
If the magistrate’s father resides at the place where his son serves, the friends of his son will call him Ch’unbu,205 and subfunctionaries and servants will call him Taegam.206 If he is over sixty years old and depends on the support of his son, he has little choice but to follow his son; otherwise, it is not appropriate for him to follow his son lightly even if his son begs him to.
If he indeed has little choice but to follow his son, he should make an arrangement that he will stay in one of the warm rooms of the inner quarters, and it is appropriate that he spend his days quietly, avoiding contact with the people outside. I have observed, however, that there is often an individual who, being ignorant of propriety, comes out to the office of his son in the outside. Taking his seat on the floor, he reproaches yamen clerks and government slaves [kwanno]. He teases entertaining girls, invites his guests, and even tries his hand at settling lawsuits and legal cases related to prison administration for money, creating disorder in state affairs. Thus he arouses complaints and resentment, and the whole district is filled with people who curse and swear. If such a situation happens to develop, the magistrate should keep in mind that both parental affection and filial piety will be entirely lost, and also both public and private affairs will deteriorate together to the level of sickness.
Both Bi Zhongjing207 and his son served as prefect of Yanzhou in successive generations, and the fact that they did so was regarded as a great honor in their time. Every time his son, Yuan Bin, conducted state affairs, Zhongjing went to the quarters of his son by wooden carriage. He sent his attendant to his son in advance with an instruction that he should neither try to recognize him nor stand up in order to pay respect, and his face began to glow with gladness as he watched his son performing an outstanding job in delivering a good judgment. Such a case as this is admirable. The father who has followed his son to the place of his appointment can even enhance the name of his son.
It Is Said That a Man of Integrity Does Not Take His Household with Him When He Goes Out to Serve as Magistrate, and the “Household” [Jialei]208 Was Meant to Be “Wife and Children.”
Officials of repute of the Ming dynasty, such as Yang Jizong, Xie Zixiang, Wang Shu, and Tang Kan, did not take their households to the provinces and districts to which they were appointed. These are honorable examples in the early modern age, although such examples abounded in the Han and Tang dynasties.
When Yang Xu was prefect of Nanyang, his wife and son Bi came to see him at his yamen, but he closed the gate and did not allow them in. His wife returned home with her son, and their outfit consisted of only a blanket made of hemp cloth, a set of shabby-looking unlined clothes, some salt, and several pails of barley. This act is too extreme and against humanity; it is not worth imitating.
When little children want to follow the magistrate, it is hard to refuse their request because of human nature. However, children who have already come of age and married should be told to come to see him later one by one; it is not right to allow them to accompany him at once.
A man in antiquity said: “He who goes out to serve as magistrate is to abandon three things. First, he abandons his house. When he leaves his house empty, it is bound to collapse. Second, he abandons his slaves and servants. If the slaves and servants, having nothing to do, are allowed to be idle, they will certainly become arrogant. Third, he abandons his children. When the children are once used to a life of luxury, they easily give themselves up to dissipation.” I cannot agree more.
If Brothers Miss Each Other, They Can Pay a Visit Now and Then; However, It Is Not Appropriate to Stay Together for Long.
The magistrate should live apart from his brother for some time, no matter how deep his brotherly love is. To live with a younger brother is understandable; however, to live with an older brother is more embarrassing. I have observed that when an older brother of the magistrate stays at his brother’s yamen office, clerks and slaves call him kwanbaek.209 This is in fact a joke because kwanbaek is the equivalent of the Japanese kanpaku who takes care of state affairs on behalf of the emperor. Thus it insinuates the anomaly that the older brother of the magistrate actually conducts official business, while his younger brother only keeps his title without doing anything. Therefore, the older brother should leave the place of his younger brother, shaking his head in refusal, even if his younger brother begs him with tears not to leave. If he decides to stay on, he cannot avoid being called kwanbaek derisively.
If kinswomen, such as aunts, sisters-in-law, and sisters, who are either poor or widows want to follow the magistrate, he will feel truly sorry for them. Nevertheless, he must not allow their request since the law strictly prohibits it.
Although There Are Many among His Guests Who Want to Follow Him, the Magistrate Should Bid Farewell to Them with Comforting Words. Although He Has Many Slaves and Servants, He Should Select Only the Gentle Ones without Being Swayed by His Personal Feelings.
The magistrate should live in harmony with his kinsmen, but that does not mean that he should take them to the place of his appointment. He should treat his guests with hospitality, but he should not invite them to stay with him. Although he may have servants who have served him well, he should not allow them to follow him. In such circumstances he should dissuade them with comforting words, promising to send them presents in the future. They will not be resentful when he convinces them that it is not appropriate to have a crowd of kinsmen in the government office.
The following happened when Second State Councilor Chŏng Hongsun210 was appointed governor of P’yŏngan Province. He had a loyal steward who had served him for many years. Believing that the governor certainly would take him to P’yŏngyang [the provincial capital], this man privately made preparations and waited. However, he soon found that the governor would not allow him to follow. Because he was very disappointed and resentful, he fell sick. After half a year passed, he went up to P’yŏngyang, disregarding propriety. The governor allowed him to stay for three days and made him return home right away, providing only a horse and nothing else. The man again became very disappointed and resentful. When the term of his office was over, the governor returned home, but from that moment his steward stopped visiting him. After a couple of weeks Councilor Chŏng sent for the man and sharply reproached him for his behavior. Then he gave him a bundle of documents. The man returned home, now even more resentful, and threw away the bundle of papers in front of his mother. When she looked at it carefully, she found that it consisted of two official licenses issued to the tribute middlemen who supply the government with goods like charcoal and torches [kiin kongmul].211
Since it often happens that servants can easily make mistakes, it is inappropriate to take more than one male and two female servants who are honest. If the household is not large, it is enough to take only one female servant. The wife of Di Wulun212 personally worked in the kitchen, and Wang Shu did not take his servants with him. There must be some reason that they did so.
When Lord Fan Wenzheng went out to serve as magistrate, he took three female servants with him. He served in two prefectures until his death but neither increased nor replaced a single person.
When the Women Travel, Their Carriage and Outfit Should Be Made Simple and Modest.
A carriage drawn by a pair of horses called ssangmagyo [Ch. shuangmajiao] is not an admirable institution. (It is less desirable than t’aep’yŏnggŏ.)213 However, since it is every woman’s lifelong desire to ride in one, he who serves his mother has little choice but to employ it. However, does he need to do the same for his wife? If this is indeed the lifelong wish of ignorant womenfolk, it is possible to rent the ssangmagyo carriage and let them travel a distance of only one post station (the distance of a post station is up to Kwach’ŏn in the south, Koyang in the west, and P’yŏnggu in the east)214 or a one-day trip (generally the distance of two post stations) so that they can at least have a taste of it. Would it not be honorable if they arrive at the district in a one-horse carriage with a winglike blue canopy, letting down a blind woven from strings of beads? To ride a ssanmagyo carriage for just one day is enough to fulfill their lifelong wish. Why do they have to ride it for ten days to satisfy themselves?
Except the carriages used by his mother and wife, no men or horses belonging to the government should be a part of the magistrate’s entourage. It is appropriate that the magistrate use his own servants and horses or find ones for rent.
Ignorant Talk of a Country Man [Yain udam]215 states: “It is said that when Du Huangshang216 was prefect of Xiangzhou, his wife used only a bamboo sedan chair supported on a carrier’s back. Why should people feel dishonored unless they go out in a ssangmagyo carriage? Before the early days of the middle of our dynasty, even the wives of state councilors used horses when they went out, covering their faces with veils. Since then, our custom has become so extravagant that nowadays there is no limit in mobilizing men and horses. In order to operate a single ssangmagyo carriage, one needs many people on both sides of the carriage to escort it. Sometimes one recruits many people to travel hundreds of miles, making them carry the carriage on their shoulders. The ssangmagyo carriage was originally for the use of the king, but even the king himself does not use the ones carried on men’s shoulders. How presumptuous for the magistrate to hire such a carriage for his wife! In the old days even the wife of the governor rode in a carriage drawn by a single horse; nowadays even a low-class woman rides in a carriage drawn by two horses once her husband becomes a district magistrate. How insolent she is!”
The magistrate who is sensible and discreet, in my view, escorts his mother in a t’aep’yŏnggŏ carriage, a regular official transportation vehicle, imitating Chinese officials in the old days. This not only will be regarded as honorable but also will bring about no complaints.
When Han Yi217 became transportation commissioner of the Hebei region, he arranged that his mother be seated on an ordinary t’aep’yŏnggŏ sedan chair with a blind made of reeds, and that his father, Lord Xiansu [Han Yuan], ride on a donkey and follow the vehicle of his wife. Their modesty was like this.
Han Yi and Li Ruogu218 were very poor before they passed their state examinations. When they went up together to the capital city to take the examination, they took the role of a servant by taking turns when they had interviews [with high officials]. Li Ruogu passed the state examination first and was appointed assistant magistrate of Changshe District. When Li traveled to his post, he personally held the reins of the donkey that his wife rode, and Han Yi carried a piece of the baggage on his shoulder for his friend. When they arrived at a place that was only a few miles away from the district, Li Ruogu said to his friend Han Yi, “I am afraid that the people of the district may come out and see us.” Then he gave Han Yi half the money that he had in a box, which was only 600 maces. Dividing the money, they cried and bade farewell to each other. Later Han Yi also passed the state examination, and both of them rose to the rank of vice grand councilor.
When Yun Sŏkbo219 was appointed magistrate of P’unggi, he took only one male and one female servant to his post. (He did not bring his wife and children.) Later, when he became magistrate of Sŏngju, his wife, Lady Pak, was eight months pregnant. Nevertheless, he had his wife ride a horse because he was unable to afford the expense of a carriage. Pak Chunggan, the brother of Lady Pak, paid a visit to them after he became magistrate of Sangju. He found them in an impoverished condition, surviving on meager provisions supplied by the government, so he sent them some salt to help them. Yun immediately returned it as if he had encountered something disgusting.
If we think over the matter, in the early period of our dynasty the wives of scholar-officials must have ridden horses, covering their faces with a veil.
Every time Lord Hyohŏn, Song Hŭm,220 was appointed district magistrate, he limited his traveling horses to three: one for himself, and the others for his mother and wife, respectively. Thus the people in his time called him “Three Horses Magistrate” [Samma t’aesu].
Little children should be allowed to ride in a sedan chair without a canopy [ch’ogyo]; however, it is against propriety to make government slaves escort them on both sides. Every young man should be able to learn to ride a horse with a saddle. He who has not yet learned to do so, however, can use a horse with a packsaddle.
On the day before her departure, the wife of the magistrate should treat the yamen clerks and government slaves who are scheduled to accompany her with food, including wine and cake. It is not necessary to treat them with food if there is no other traveler than the magistrate himself, because the magistrate is supposed to be strict, and besides, his travel is a part of his official duties. On the other hand, the wife of the magistrate needs to be kind and affectionate; furthermore, her traveling is personal. That is the reason that she has to treat the people accompanying her. Three days after the arrival of his wife, the magistrate should invite the people who escorted his wife and show his appreciation for their hard work with food and drink.
Since Luxurious Dresses Are Shunned by Many People and Hated by Ghosts, to Seek Them Is to Diminish One’s Own Blessings.
It is extremely rare that one who is the wife of a magistrate understands propriety. The way she thinks is so base that she believes that an armful of wealth and prosperity will descend right away from the heavens when she hears the news that her husband is going to go out as a district magistrate. Anxious to have beautiful ornaments and accessories, she recklessly withdraws money from the district’s capital agent. She calls in peddlers and buys precious silk, fine ramie cloth, exquisite flax, ornamental hairpins engraved with dragons, accessories in the shape of butterflies, and so forth.
With these goods she dresses her children, making them look like uncanny creatures, and decorates her female servants as if they were prostitutes. This is her idea of making her family appear very distinguished in the district. If men of intelligence happen to observe this, they will see right away that her husband is not upright. If she wastes her fortunes, diminishes her blessings, and makes her husband lose face, what kind of joy should she expect?
When Zhou Xin served as governor of Zhejiang Province, one day one of his subordinates brought a roasted duck as a present. He hung it in his house, and whenever a man wanted to offer him a gift, he used to point at the roasted duck. When there was a banquet for the wives of provincial officials who worked for him, all the ladies showed up in their best dresses except the wife of Governor Zhou Xin, who wore a dress made of coarse cloth and a wooden hairpin. She looked like the wife of a farmer. The ladies who were well dressed were now ashamed of themselves, and thereafter they also dressed in plain clothes.
When Lord Heng Yue221 was in charge of Qingyang, it happened that the wives of his colleagues had a social gathering of their own. The ladies who attended the meeting looked splendid in their golden ornaments and silk dresses. Only the wife of Lord Heng was dressed in clothes made of hemp. After the banquet was over, she appeared to be displeased. Lord Heng asked her, “Where were you seated?” She replied that she was seated at the top. Then he said to her, “You already enjoyed a seat of honor at the top; nevertheless, you wish to distinguish yourself in your dress, too. How can you expect to have both wealth and honor?” This admirable anecdote is still handed down to us.
When Xu Tingzhong222 served as assistant magistrate of Wucheng District, he allowed not a speck of dirt on his performance as a public servant. When he went to work, he wore worn-out clothes and carried a shabby-looking umbrella. One day his kinsmen accidentally made some mild complaints about his appearance. He replied with a laugh, “Tomorrow morning you will certainly see a present arriving in my yard. Have patience and wait.” When the morning came, a security officer from Guian District was waiting for him, prostrate in the yard of his office. Charged with corruption, he had been arrested and sent to the Censorate for investigation. Knowing that Xu Tingzhong was upright and wise, the Censorate in turn asked him to interrogate the man by sending a special official dispatch. People reported the incident to one another, and it became a laudable anecdote.
To Indulge in Luxurious Food Is to Court Calamity by Wasting Wealth and Squandering Resources.
When Kong Fen223 of the Later Han dynasty became magistrate of Guzang, he served his old mother nice food, but for his wife and children he allowed only green onions and mustard as side dishes. Someone laughed at him and said, “Although he sits on the greasy seat, he does not know how to make himself shine.”
When Cho Ŏ224 was magistrate of Hapch’ŏn, his integrity was incomparable. When his sons, sons-in-law, and servants had to visit the district office, he made them bring their own provisions. His district produced a great deal of silverfish, but he did not allow his wife and children to taste them even if there were too many of them. He would rather have them rot during the summer.
Liu Bi,225 the father of Liu Zan,226 of the Later Tang dynasty, became a district magistrate. At that time Liu Zan had just started school. His father dressed him in bluish hemp cloth and made him eat only vegetable dishes at a separate table, while he ate meat dishes. He said, “Meat dishes are derived from the stipend granted by the emperor. If you want to eat them, study hard and make sure that you are qualified for the stipend. The food I take, therefore, is not for you.” Prodded by his father, he exerted himself in his studies and passed the literary licentiate examination.
When Hu Shouan227 was magistrate of Xinfan in the years of the Yongle Emperor, he did not eat meat at all. His son Zihui visited to pay his respects and stayed with him for a month. During that period he boiled and ate two chickens. Finding that out, Hu Shouan said in anger: “People look down on a man who overindulges in food. Although I have been in the employment of the government for over twenty years, I have always cautioned myself against luxury; yet I am fearful that I may not be able to bring my career to a successful conclusion. Indulging in food like that, would you not be troublesome to me?”
Unless a Woman’s Quarters Are Dignified, a Family Tradition Can Be Thrown into Disorder. If This Is True for a Private Family, What Can You Say about the Government Office? One Must Establish a Law That Is as Strict and Forbidding as Thunder or Frost.
In the old days the gate of the inner quarters of the yamen was called “the screen gate” [lianximen]. In the old days a screen was set up so that household slaves and official ones could be separated and not face one another. The purpose of this measure was to draw a strict line between the two groups of people who belonged to the inside and the outside. However, these days, this law is hardly kept. Since household slaves go out through this gate as they please, and government slaves also enter the same gate without observing order, the screen is raised, and seats are removed from their proper place. Moreover, they transmit orders by whispering into the ears of others, and as a result, orders are given from various sources, and because of this, all kinds of abuses take place. This is really a shame.
Installing a marking stone outside the screen gate, the magistrate should make an announcement of the rules as follows: “Every morning a kitchen slave [chuno] and a garden slave [wŏnno] must lay the offerings on the stone. Standing at a distance of thirty paces from the stone (a waiting line should be marked on the ground), they will ring the bell to let their counterpart know it. (The bell is the one belonging to the inner quarters.) Hearing the sound of the bell, a household slave goes to the gate to bring in the offerings laid outside. After emptying the container of the offerings, he will put it back on the marking stone, its original place. Some time after the household slave is gone, the government slaves228 should retrieve their containers. If anyone among these two groups of slaves dares to talk to another, he will be severely punished regardless of his affiliation.”
If the food that is brought in is too bad to be eaten, the magistrate should go inside and personally look at it on the day it arrives. If he finds that it deserves forgiveness, he will forgive it. If it is hard to forgive, he will inform the chief clerk so that the latter can take care of the problem from the outside. The household slaves of the magistrate should never be allowed to speak a word on this matter.229 The wife of the magistrate also should not be allowed to give orders, nor should houseguests (including children and kinsmen) interfere at all.
If there is an urgent need for certain goods and their supply is delayed, the magistrate should send a memorandum to the administration hall through his attendant. The administration hall should then call the chief clerk and have him take care of the matter quickly. Nonofficials should never be allowed to address yamen underlings directly. No matter how trivial a matter may be, orders must not be issued from several directions.
If the magistrate establishes the rules in this manner, the chief clerk, being ill at ease, will become stricter in urging and cautioning his subordinates, and in a few days the magistrate will certainly see signs of improvement.
When Kwŏn Il230 was appointed a district magistrate, his mother, Lady An, admonished him: “I want you to treat the people with generosity so that your old mother may not be ashamed of receiving your service. Neglecting supervision of the trafficking between your personal slaves and official ones will lead to the road of bribery. Therefore, you must be extremely careful.”
Official entertaining women and female servants should not be allowed to frequent the inner quarters of the magistrate. All petty and trifling talk originates from the mouths of such groups of people.
If there is needlework to be done by a female servant [ch’imbi], it should be arranged that the administration hall gives an order to the head slave to take the work to her. The female servant in charge of supplying water [kŭpsubi] must pour the water into a water pipe that is installed next to the screen gate by making a hole in the fence in order that the water can be brought in to the inside.
The wife of the chief clerk should not be allowed to enter the inner quarters. A man like the chief clerk often tries to make a favorable impression on the wife of the magistrate by offering tasty food or fine gifts like fabric, silk, utensils, and so forth during the absence of the magistrate. Because of this, the magistrate feels constrained and treats him as if he were his personal servant, and as a result, serious damage is done to state affairs.
When the magistrate holds a memorial service for his ancestors, he should always distribute the food evenly to everyone. In the old days benefits were bestowed equally even on lowborn people like the makers of leather outfits, members of music bands, and gate guards. Therefore, Book of Rites says, “If the benefits are distributed equally, governing the state runs smoothly.” The benefits must be dispensed evenly not only to the yamen clerks of the six offices but also to personal slaves, attendants, and all those who worked for the memorial service.
Hu Dachu said: “The magistrate’s sons and guests should not be allowed to associate with yamen runners, and the yamen clerks and womenfolk of civilians must not frequent the magistrate’s private quarters, buying and selling goods. When this kind of traffic takes place, and if those people league together and pledge to cooperate in secret, calamities will arise from no other place than his house. How, then, can he stop them? If the problem has to do with the inner quarters, it is not even easy to explain.”
Family Precepts of Osŏng [Osŏng kagye]231 said: “The sons, kinsmen, and guests of the magistrate should stay in their quarters quietly; they should not meet with or speak to the yamen runners, the heads of villages, and government slaves. (Previously my father also admonished me in the same way when he ruled the districts.) His sons should rise up early in the morning, wash their faces, comb their hair, and visit the quarters of their father to pay their respects. However, when the time comes for the officials to pay their courtesies to the magistrate, they should withdraw to their rooms; they should not watch the ceremony while they stand beside their father. It is allowable, once in a while, that they visit their father in the administration hall and have some pleasant conversation when no one is around; however, they should quickly leave the place when commoners come in to present their lawsuits or when offenders are punished with sticks. They should not watch their father pronouncing a verdict and handling the culprits while they stand beside him.”
When the magistrate’s sons travel to Seoul to return to their home or take a pleasure trip to neighboring districts, they should use their own servants and horses. It often happens that when they go out, they make use of official horses and enjoy the escort of government slaves on their left and right as if they themselves were government officials, making spectators embarrassed.
When the magistrate’s sons are in their study room, they always have a little boy to attend them. Unless they have one, they feel helpless; hence providing a young servant to them is unavoidable. However, the boy should be young enough to smell milk in his mouth. The magistrate should admonish his sons to love and care for the errand boy, teaching him how to read, and not to reproach him with a loud voice even if he makes mistakes at times.
When the magistrate’s sons go out to a mountain temple for pleasure, it is advisable for them to walk quietly, taking an errand boy with them. They should pay generously for the food they eat at the Buddhist temple. They should inquire about the hardships that the temple might have and, if they find any, report to their father when they come home. They may meet with monks who are learned in poetry or classics, but they should not invite them to the yamen.
If the youths in the district ask for a meeting with the magistrate’s sons, the sons should decline their request. If the youths make a visit abruptly without notice and try to address them, they should decline politely with a mild expression: “Because the precept of our family is very strict, we cannot dare to welcome you. Please understand and forgive us.” With this remark they should rise and leave the place right away.
If Requests for Favors Are Not Made and Bribes Are Blocked from Entering, the Ruling of the Household Is Accomplished.
When I rise in rank and status, it can happen that I become a man whom even my wife and children try to mislead and abandon. There is no wife who does not respect her husband, and there is no son who does not love his father. Why does a wife then mislead and abandon her husband, and a son his father? The reason is that there are very few who know the proper way of conduct. Hence, either swayed by acquaintance or tempted by wealth, they allow requests for personal favors. This is so-called women’s benevolence. Thus it happens that the magistrate’s wife requests that a certain yamen clerk be dismissed, making a false but poignant accusation, or she tries to recommend a man whose credentials are dubious. She also appeals the magistrate’s decision on individual A, citing sympathetic public opinion, or complains that the magistrate’s sentence in the criminal case concerning individual B is unfair. Since the underlings, well experienced in cunning and trickery, are engaged in all kinds of manipulations for their purposes, the innocent wife and children of the magistrate easily fall into their trap. They may believe that they are speaking the truth, but, in fact, they work only for the interests of those who deceive them. This is mostly what I have witnessed.
When the magistrate listens to the words of others, he should first think them over before he trusts them. If the words are well intentioned, he should just take appropriate measures quietly without revealing his thoughts on his face. If the words are suspicious, originating from the trickery of cunning people, he should launch a thorough investigation of the matters implicated in those words, which also include the offense of making wrongful requests. He should establish a clear example and let the people know that such matters will not be passed over without the scrutiny of the law. If he trusts the words of his wife simply because he believes that she is the one who loves him, he is quite mistaken. If he cannot trust the words of his wife for this reason, he can determine how he has to take the words of other people.
When Yang Jizong governed Jiaxing, a keeper of horses brought a pig’s head as a gift, and his wife accepted it. Returning home, Yang Jizong ate it, and after the meal he asked his wife where she had found the pig’s head. When she told him, he lamented what he had done and, beating a drum, immediately summoned all the yamen clerks and runners. He made a confession: “I failed to rule my household properly by allowing my wife to accept a bribe and let my body fall into injustice.” After this remark he took a medicine232 to make him vomit the food that he had eaten and made his wife return home.
If we reflect on this incident, the measure taken by Magistrate Yang seems a little too extreme. It would have been more appropriate that he pay for the pig’s head generously and at the same time quietly admonish his household members against taking bribes. If they continued to disregard his instructions, he then should have sent them home quietly and gradually. Humility is one of the highest virtues, but when it is displayed to the outside, it loses its moral goodness. Likewise, although integrity is an honorable behavior, it can become hypocrisy if it is advertised. Examining the records of virtuous scholars, one finds that many of their actions are far from humane; they look suspicious because they appear to have been motivated by the desire to make a name. Therefore, they cannot serve as examples for the superior man.
Yu Ŭnggyu233 of the Koryŏ dynasty was upright and steadfast in his conduct. When he was assistant magistrate of Namgyŏng (modern Yangju), he respected integrity and uprightness in conducting state affairs. After delivering a baby, his wife suffered from serious mastitis and was not able to eat anything except some vegetable soup. A yamen clerk secretly brought her a pheasant for her use. She said to him, “My lord always makes it his rule not to accept gifts from others. How can I dare to tarnish the clean virtue of my lord for the sake of my mouth and stomach?” Deeply ashamed, the yamen clerk withdrew.
Kim Sanghŏn234 was clean and upright in his public life. When he found an official who was worried about his wife, who was criticized for taking bribes, he advised the man: “The criticism will stop if you stop listening to her requests.” Deeply impressed, the official followed his advice. So his wife always complained and cursed Kim Sanghŏn: “Why does that oldster make my life miserable by making others follow his example? Is it not good enough for him to be a pure official?” (Ingyerok by Chŏng Chaeryun).235
The following happened when Yi Annul was governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. His ancestral burial mountain was located in Myŏnch’ŏn, and his son Yu died in that district. He heard that his wife was on the way to mourn the death of her son. He sent a man to his wife and persuaded her to return home. He remarked, “Since I am in charge of governing a province, the womenfolk in my family should not violate the border of this province.” The degree of his integrity was this severe.
The Inner Quarters of the Magistrate Will Be Held in Respect If They Purchase Merchandise without Arguing the Price and Handle the People without Coercion.
Record of Koksan states: “The magistrate’s household that lacks the rule of conduct, as I have observed, always allows people like the chief clerk, the kitchen director (churi; also called kwanch’ŏngsaek), the head slave [suno], and the storage slave (kongno; also called konggojik) to stand outside the screen gate and send in the packs and bundles of merchandise, including linen, hemp cloth, cotton, unbleached cambric, and so forth, so that the magistrate’s wife can choose the items she likes. Then tough slaves, taking orders from their mistress and communicating with her, find fault with the quality of the fabric and argue the price, forcing the merchants to sell their finest products at lower prices. (They try to buy the goods of finest quality for a cheap price.) Thus the sound of noisy haggling is leaked through the wind, and their shallow intentions become exposed to the eyes of many spectators. As a result, the merchants leave the place, taking the fabric in their arms, and spread their grievances and evil slander wherever they go, and this is a great shame. The magistrate should make a pledge that the right to purchase fabric and silk is entrusted to the head slave. (Since the chief clerk is also high in rank, it is not appropriate to have him deal with such a trivial job.) The head slave should stamp his seal on the invoice and present it to the bookkeeper [ch’aekbang], and the bookkeeper in turn should send it to the inner quarters of the magistrate without taking a look at it. If the inner quarters accept it without a word of complaint, even if the strands of fabric are too sparse and its price is twice as expensive as it should be, the rule of the household will be kept, and no scandalous words will spread to the outside.”
Record of Koksan also states: “Womenfolk who lack discernment treat official female servants as if they were their own, either physically abusing them by whipping or oppressing them with their power. They allow them little time to finish their job and often severely punish them, making themselves a target of resentment and a center of slanderous rumor. Should this be allowed to happen? Not a single word should be allowed to go out from the inside.”
The clothes for the household of the magistrate should not be made by official female slaves and entertainers. If it is necessary to have the help of others to prepare them, the inner quarters should call a needlewoman to take the work to a dress shop and should pay for the cost of having the clothes made. (Every district has reputable dress shops.)
Some wives of magistrates, as I have observed, often give a bundle of fabric to a needlewoman to make their dresses, and then the needlewoman must sell her own hairpins, bracelets, cooking kettles, and so on in order to pay the cost of making those dresses. This will cause the sound of complaints to reach the sky, because things like hairpins, bracelets, and cooking kettles were gained at the expense of selling her body. If the magistrate makes official uniforms and sacrificial robes in that way and covers the body inherited from his parents, how can he say that he serves the king, respects his ancestors, and preserves the body that he received from his parents? This is too shameful even to mention.
In the case of the dresses that are given to poor guests in the yamen, however, it is advisable to have a needlewoman handle the job without using the labor of other people, even if the quality of her work may not be refined.
If the Magistrate Keeps a Concubine in His House, This Will Naturally Make His Wife Jealous, and If a Wrongful Mistake Is Once Made, It Will Cause Rumors to Spread Wide. To Restrain Evil Desires Is to Prevent Regrets in the Future.
It is very rare to find a woman without jealousy. If the magistrate fails to restrain his conduct and falls in love with an entertaining girl, he will awake a roaring lion in Hedong;236 he will make a man in Jiangzuo rush home wielding a duster in his hand;237 it will happen that a woman will not be cured of her jealousy even with a medicine made of heron’s meat;238 and a mistress will suffer the shame of her eyebrows being shaved.239 The magistrate’s misconduct, in a small range, brings about turmoil in his household and, in a larger range, raises a scandal that is loud enough to be heard from the outside. If the governor happens to hear about it, he will write in his evaluation report: “Although he intended to discharge his duty honorably, he instead produced weird rumors about himself.” Is there any disgrace in the world worse than this? Thinking over this matter, the magistrate should be careful not to bring disgrace on himself. His misconduct is not just a misfortune related to his family; it is a matter prohibited by national law.
When Xie Miao240 of the Jin dynasty was magistrate of Wuxing District, he took a concubine because the jealousy of his wife Lady Qie was too extreme. Because she was very bitter and resentful, Lady Qie sent her husband a letter informing him that she was severing her relations with him. Suspecting his student Chou Xuanda of drafting the letter on behalf of his wife, Xie Miao drove out Chou Xuanda. The latter ran to Sun En for help and eventually ruined Xie Miao.
If the Magistrate’s Mother Has Discernment, and His Wife and Children Observe His Instructions, a House like His Can Be Called the House with the Law. The People Will Try to Imitate Him.
Cao Zan241 was the son of Cao Bin. When Cao Zan became governor, one day his mother discovered several thousand bundles of coins on strings in his warehouse. She summoned her son and, pointing to the coins, said, “Your late father served the government both in the capital and in the provinces for many years, but I have never seen so much money piled as this. I can see that you are far inferior to your father.”
When Yang Dongshan242 served as magistrate in the state of Wu, his mother, Lady Luoda, planted ramie in the field and wove her own garments. Dongshan served her with his stipend, but she unexpectedly fell sick. After she recovered from her illness, she handed back all the stipend money that she had received from her son. She said, “I was not happy while I was accumulating the money you gave me, and that is why I became sick. I will be all right if I send the money to the doctor for his services.”
The following happened when Zheng Shanguo243 was governor of Jingzhou. His mother, Lady Cui, who was well acquainted with state affairs, used to sit on a chair behind a screen and sneak a look at her son when he dealt with litigation. If the decisions made by her son were reasonable, she allowed him to sit with her, enjoying talk and laughter. If he made wrongful decisions or unreasonably displayed his anger and uttered reproaches, she went directly back to her room. She cried all day long, covering her face with her sleeves, and never touched her meals. Because of her, her son Zheng Shanguo was able to earn the title of pure official.