Book I 111security. When the Zhou dynasty declined in antiquity, feudal lords rose
from everywhere to challenge it recklessly. However, the dynasty managed
to endure many more generations because order and discipline were main-
tained. We would like to ask Your Majesty to take the rise and fall of past
kingdoms as your model and establish discipline and order that can be
handed down to your posterity for ten thousand generations.
“Second is to clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. To
mete out reward and punishment is a great prerogative of the king. If the
king fails to reward those who have rendered service to the country or fails
to punish those who have committed crimes, the state cannot be ruled prop-
erly even if he is a sage ruler such as Yao or Shun. In administering reward
and punishment, the king must not allow his personal feelings to intervene,
just as Heaven and Earth both give life to and destroy all things impartially.
“Third is to keep good people close by and distance oneself from petty
people. These two groups of people indeed need to be distinguished. The
ones you must associate with are those who act according to their convic-
tions, using the right words and being rational. Being loyal to the king, they
serve the king with devotion, and even when they are dismissed they think
about ways to correct the king’s shortcomings. Being just and fair, they tend
to forget their self-interest and only consider the public good. The ones you
must shun are those who use cunning and flattery to seize power or abuse
power. They steal the contributions made by others or try to endear them-
selves to anyone if they can benefit from it, regardless of what others say. It is
difficult to find men of worth, but it is easy to alienate them; it requires little
effort to be friendly with petty people, but it is hard to separate from them.
“Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty brought prosperity in the
Kaiyuan period^13 by employing wise retainers such as Yao Chong and Song
Jing^14 but brought about the Tianbao Rebellion^15 when he called in Yang
Guozhong^16 and Li Linfu.^17 This shows that the rise and fall of the state
- The reign name of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty (713–741).
- Both Yao Chong (650–721) and Song Jing (663–737) served as chancellors during the
reign of Xuanzong. - Tianbao Rebellion refers to the An Lushan Rebellion (also called Ansi Rebellion),
which took place in the reign of Xuanzong, from 755 to 763. - Being the cousin of Yang Yuhan (better known as Yang Guifei), the beloved consort of
Emperor Xuanzong, he served as chancellor in the later years of Xuanzong. - Serving as chancellor for eighteen long years, he misled Xuanzong by flattery and cut-
ting off the access of other officials to the emperor for his self-interest.