Analects: Book 2Book 2. Wei Chang 為政第二: The Practice of Government
[2:1] The Master said, "He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it."
Book 2. Wéi Zhèng 為政: The Practice of Government
[2:1] The Master said, Conduct government in accordance with virtue, and it will be like the North Star standing in its place, with all the other stars paying court to it.
Footnotes
[F1] Quoting a phrase from poem no. 297 and interpreting it out of context, Confucius stresses his view of the didactic import of the Book of Odes. In the poem, the words refer to carriage drivers and mean something like “Ah, never swerving!”
Book 2
[2:1] The Master said, He that rules by mind is like the north star, steady in his seat, whilst the stars all bend to him.
Footnotes
[F9] Lit., obedient.
Book 2. Wei zheng 爲政: The Practice of Government
[2:1] The Master said: “If you govern with the power of your virtue, you will be like the North Star. It just stays in its place while all the other stars position themselves around it.” [C1]
Commentary
[C1] This is the Analects' first statement on government. Scholars of Chinese thought have commonly placed great emphasis on a supposed radical distinction between Confucian “authoritative” government and Daoist “laissez-faire” government. But numerous Confucian passages such as this which suggest of the ruler's governance by a mere attunement with an inner principle of goodness, without unnecessary external action, quite like the Daoist wu-wei are far more numerous than has been noted. This is one good reason for us to be careful when making the commonplace Confucian/Daoist generalizations without qualification.
為政第二
【第一章】子曰、爲政以德、譬如北辰、居其所、而眾星共之。
Confucius (Kǒng Fūzǐ (孔夫子; Kong Qui) traveled the country in an ox cart observing and teaching his numerous disciples on the subjects of civics, ethics, literature, music and science. Of course, he claimed no divine inspiration and so naturally the writings attributed to him, recorded by his disciples, also make no such claim. |