16 三守第十六 \ 16 Three Precautions 三守. ¹

人主有三守。三守完，則國安身榮；三守不完，則國危身殆。

The lord of men has three precautions to take. If the three precautions are complete, the state will be safe and he will be prosperous; if the three precautions are not complete, the state will fall into danger and his life will become precarious.

何謂三守？

What are meant by the "three precautions"?

人臣有議當途之失，用事之過，舉臣之情，人主不心藏而漏之近習能人， 使人臣之欲有言者，不敢不下適近習能人之心，而乃上以聞人主。然則端言直道之人不得見，而忠直日。

Whenever ministers memorialize the Throne the faults of the authorities in power, the mistakes of the personnel in charge of state affairs, and the actual conditions of the officials, With Wang Hsien-ch`ien 舉臣 implies 眾臣. ² if the lord of men, instead of keeping the secret, divulges it to courtiers and favourite vassals and thereby makes ministers, who want to speak to the Throne, please the courtiers and favourite vassals before they submit any instance to the lord of men, then frank and straightforward speakers will not be able to have an audience of the ruler and loyal and honest men will be kept farther and farther aloof. The first precaution is against divulging secrets. ³

愛人不獨利也，待譽而後利之；憎人不獨害也，待非而後害之。然則人主無威而重在左右矣。

If the ruler does not by himself benefit the men he loves but would benefit them only after the courtiers have praised them, and if he does not by himself hurt the men he hates but would hurt them only after the courtiers have blamed them, then the lord of men will lose his prestige, and his ruling authority will fall into the hands of his attendants. The second precaution is against losing prestige. ⁴

惡自治之勞憚，使群臣輻湊之變，因傳柄移藉，使殺生之機、奪予之要在大臣，如是者侵。

If the ruler dislikes the toil of governing the state by himself and lets the ministers group together and administer state affairs, and if in so doing he passes his handles and shifts his position With Kao Hêng 藉 refers to 勢位. ⁵ to chief vassals and places the power over life and property in their hands, then his prerogative will be infringed. The third precaution is against losing the reins of government. ⁶

此謂三守不完。三守不完，則劫殺之徵也。

These are called "the three precautions unaccomplished". If the three precautions remain incomplete, the situation portends molestation and regicide.

凡劫有三：有明劫，有事劫，有刑劫。

In general, there are three kinds of molestation: Molestation through the formation of juntas, 明劫. I read 明 for 朋 in this chapter. ⁷ molestation through the dictation of state policies, 事劫. ⁸ and molestation through the application of penal laws. 刑劫. ⁹

人臣有大臣之尊，外操國要以資群臣，使外內之事非己不得行。雖有賢良， 逆者必有禍，而順者必有福。然則群臣直莫敢忠主憂國以爭社稷之利害。人主雖賢， 不能獨計，而人臣有不敢忠主，則國為亡國矣。此謂國無臣。國無臣者，豈郎中虛而朝臣少哉？ 群臣持祿養交，行私道而不效公忠，此謂明劫。

If ministers who hold the honour of chief vassals have the key to the state government in their grip for patronizing the officials and make the administration of foreign and home affairs necessarily go through their approval; and, though there are worthy and upright personages, if people disobeying them always have bad luck and those obeying them always have good luck; then no official would dare to be loyal to the sovereign and worry about state welfare and thereby dispute the advantages and disadvantages of the Altar of the Spirits of Land and Grain. If the lord of men, however worthy, cannot devise plans by himself, and if there are ministers who dare not be loyal to the sovereign, then the state must be doomed to ruin. It is then called "a state without ministers". However, a state without ministers does not imply the scarcity of royal guards and the lack of ministers in the court. It really means a state whose ministers hold to their bounties, nourish their friends, practise their private ways of life, and never exert their spirit of loyalty to the public. Such is called "molestation through the formation of juntas".

鬻寵擅權，矯外以勝內，險言禍福得失之形，以阿主之好惡。人主聽之， 卑身輕國以資之，事敗與主分其禍，而功成則臣獨專之。諸用事之人，壹心同辭以語其美， 則主言惡者必不信矣，此謂事劫。

Again, suppose chief vassals distribute private favours, have all powers to themselves, overawe the country by pretending to have influence abroad, follow the like and hate of the sovereign with his forced interpretation of the signs of fortune and misfortune, advantages and disadvantages. And suppose the lord of men listens to them and upholds their policies even by humiliating himself and neglecting state welfare. Then, when the policies fail, the sovereign has to share the consequent disasters with them; when the policies succeed, they take all credit to themselves. Finally, if all the government employees unite their minds and identify their words to speak of their virtues, then though others speak of their vices to the Throne, the sovereign never will believe. Such is called "molestation through the dictation of state policies".

至於守司囹圄，禁制刑罰，人臣擅之，此謂刑劫。

Finally, in matters of court and jail administration as well as prohibition and punishment, if ministers have powers to themselves, their act as such is called "molestation through the application of penal laws".

三守不完，則三劫者起；三守完，則三劫者止。三劫止塞，則王矣。

In short, if the three precautions are not complete, the three molestations will arise; if the three precautions are complete, the three molestations will stop. If the sovereign succeeds in stopping and debarring these three molestations, he will attain supremacy.