Shu Ching. The Canon of Yao/The Canon of Shun, Chapter 7.
7. He deliberated with (the President of) the Four Mountains how to throw open the doors (of communication between himself and the) four (quarters of the land), and how could he see with the eyes, and hear with the ears of all.
He consulted with the twelve Pastors, and said to them, 'The food! it depends on observing the seasons. Be kind to the distant, and cultivate the ability of the near. Give honour to the virtuous, and your confidence to the good, while you discountenance the artful; so shall the barbarous tribes lead one one another to make their submission.'
Shun said, 'Ho! (President of) the Four Mountains, is there any one who can with vigorous service attend to all the affairs of the Ti, whom I may appoint to be General Regulator, to assist me in (all) affairs, managing each department according to its nature? All (in the court) replied, 'There is Po-yü, the Minister of Works.' The Ti said, 'Yes. Ho! Yü, you have regulated the water and the land. In this (new office) exert yourself.' Yü did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of the Minister of Agriculture, or Hsieh, or Kao-yao. The Ti said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties.)'
The Ti said, 'Ch'i, the black-haired people are (still) suffering from famine. Do you, O prince, as Minister of Agriculture, (continue to) sow (for them) the various kinds of grain.'
The Ti said, 'Hsieh, the people are (still) wanting in affection for one another, and do not docilely observe the five orders of relationship. It is yours, as the Minister of Instruction, reverently to set forth the lessons of duty belonging to those five orders. Do so with gentleness.'
The Ti said, 'Kao-yao, the barbarous tribes trouble our great land. There are (also) robbers, murderers, insurgents, and traitors. It is yours, as the Minister of Crime, to use the five punishments to deal with their offences. For the infliction of these there are the three appointed places. There are the five cases in which banishment in the appropriate places is to be resorted to, to which places, though five, three localities are assigned. Perform your duties with intelligence, and you will secure a sincere (submission).'
The Ti said, 'Who can superintend my works, as they severally require?' All (in the court) replied, 'Is there not Shui?' The Ti said, 'Yes. Ho! Shui, you must be Minister of Works.' Shui did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of Shu, Ch'iang, or Po-yü. The Ti said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties). Effect a harmony (in all the departments).'
The Ti said, 'Who can superintend, as the nature of the charge requires, the grass and trees, with the birds and beasts on my hills and in my marshes?' All (in the court) replied, 'Is there not Yi?' The Ti said, 'Yes. Ho! Yi, do you be my Forester.' Yi did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of Chu, Hu, Hsiung, or Pi. The Ti said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties). You must manage them harmoniusly.'
The Ti said, 'Ho! (President of the ) Four Mountains, is there any one able to direct my three (religious) ceremonies?' All (in the court) answered, 'Is there not Po-i?' The Ti said, 'Yes. Ho! Po, you must be the Arranger in the Ancestral Temple. Morning and night be reverent. Be upright, be pure.' Po did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of K'uei or Lung. The Ti said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties). Be reverential!'
The Ti said, 'K'uei, I appoint you to be Director of Music, and to teach our sons, so that the straightforward shall yet be mild; the gentle, dignified; the strong, not tyrannical; and the impetuous, not arrogant. Poetry is the expression of earnest thought; singing is the prolonged utterance of that expression; the notes accompany that utterance, and they are harmonized themselves by the standard-tubes. (In this way) the eight different kinds of musical isntruments can be adjusted so that one shall not take from or interfere with another; and spirits and men are brought into harmony.' K'uei said, 'I smite the (sounding-) stone, I gently strike it, and the various animals lead on one another to dance.'
The Ti said, 'Lung, I abominate slanderous speakers and destroyers of the (right) ways, who agitate and alarm my people. I appoint you to be the Minister of Communication. Early and late give forth my orders and report to me, seeing that everything is true.'
The Ti said, 'Ho! you, twenty and two men, be reverent; so shall you be helpful to the business (entrusted to me by ) Heaven.'
Every three years there was an examination of merits, and after three examinations the undeserving were degraded, and the deserving advanced. (By this arrangement) the duties of all the departments were fully discharged; the (people of ) San-miao (also) were discriminated and separated.
7. He deliberated with (the President of) the Four Mountains how to throw open the doors (of communication between himself and the) four (quarters of the land), and how could he see with the eyes, and hear with the ears of all.
He consulted with the twelve Pastors, and said to them, 'The food! it depends on observing the seasons. Be kind to the distant, and cultivate the ability of the near. Give honour to the virtuous, and your confidence to the good, while you discountenance the artful; so shall the barbarous tribes lead one one another to make their submission.'
Shun said, 'Ho! (President of) the Four Mountains, is there any one who can with vigorous service attend to all the affairs of the Ti, whom I may appoint to be General Regulator, to assist me in (all) affairs, managing each department according to its nature? All (in the court) replied, 'There is Po-yü, the Minister of Works.' The Ti said, 'Yes. Ho! Yü, you have regulated the water and the land. In this (new office) exert yourself.' Yü did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of the Minister of Agriculture, or Hsieh, or Kao-yao. The Ti said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties.)'
The Ti said, 'Ch'i, the black-haired people are (still) suffering from famine. Do you, O prince, as Minister of Agriculture, (continue to) sow (for them) the various kinds of grain.'
The Ti said, 'Hsieh, the people are (still) wanting in affection for one another, and do not docilely observe the five orders of relationship. It is yours, as the Minister of Instruction, reverently to set forth the lessons of duty belonging to those five orders. Do so with gentleness.'
The Ti said, 'Kao-yao, the barbarous tribes trouble our great land. There are (also) robbers, murderers, insurgents, and traitors. It is yours, as the Minister of Crime, to use the five punishments to deal with their offences. For the infliction of these there are the three appointed places. There are the five cases in which banishment in the appropriate places is to be resorted to, to which places, though five, three localities are assigned. Perform your duties with intelligence, and you will secure a sincere (submission).'
The Ti said, 'Who can superintend my works, as they severally require?' All (in the court) replied, 'Is there not Shui?' The Ti said, 'Yes. Ho! Shui, you must be Minister of Works.' Shui did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of Shu, Ch'iang, or Po-yü. The Ti said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties). Effect a harmony (in all the departments).'
The Ti said, 'Who can superintend, as the nature of the charge requires, the grass and trees, with the birds and beasts on my hills and in my marshes?' All (in the court) replied, 'Is there not Yi?' The Ti said, 'Yes. Ho! Yi, do you be my Forester.' Yi did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of Chu, Hu, Hsiung, or Pi. The Ti said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties). You must manage them harmoniusly.'
The Ti said, 'Ho! (President of the ) Four Mountains, is there any one able to direct my three (religious) ceremonies?' All (in the court) answered, 'Is there not Po-i?' The Ti said, 'Yes. Ho! Po, you must be the Arranger in the Ancestral Temple. Morning and night be reverent. Be upright, be pure.' Po did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of K'uei or Lung. The Ti said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties). Be reverential!'
The Ti said, 'K'uei, I appoint you to be Director of Music, and to teach our sons, so that the straightforward shall yet be mild; the gentle, dignified; the strong, not tyrannical; and the impetuous, not arrogant. Poetry is the expression of earnest thought; singing is the prolonged utterance of that expression; the notes accompany that utterance, and they are harmonized themselves by the standard-tubes. (In this way) the eight different kinds of musical isntruments can be adjusted so that one shall not take from or interfere with another; and spirits and men are brought into harmony.' K'uei said, 'I smite the (sounding-) stone, I gently strike it, and the various animals lead on one another to dance.'
The Ti said, 'Lung, I abominate slanderous speakers and destroyers of the (right) ways, who agitate and alarm my people. I appoint you to be the Minister of Communication. Early and late give forth my orders and report to me, seeing that everything is true.'
The Ti said, 'Ho! you, twenty and two men, be reverent; so shall you be helpful to the business (entrusted to me by ) Heaven.'
Every three years there was an examination of merits, and after three examinations the undeserving were degraded, and the deserving advanced. (By this arrangement) the duties of all the departments were fully discharged; the (people of ) San-miao (also) were discriminated and separated.
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Text source: Shu Ching, The Book of History. Translated by James Legge
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