Cóng Zhèng 從政
On Conducting Governance (modern editorial title; the editio princeps distinguishes 從政 甲 and 從政 乙 as two textual sections)
(anonymous; excavated bamboo manuscript, no attributable author)
About the work
Cóng Zhèng 從政 is one of six texts in 馬承源 Mǎ Chéngyuán ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 2, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè 上海古籍出版社, 2002, comprising over 20 bamboo strips across 16 sections. The text is an aphoristic governance treatise, structured around the formula wén zhī yuē 聞之曰 (“I have heard it said”) introducing maxims on effective rule. Its primary organising categories are: the “Five Virtues” (Wǔ Dé 五德) of wideness, respect, beneficence, benevolence, and reverence; the “Three Regulations” (Sān Zhì 三制); and the “Ten Grievances” (Shí Yuàn 十怨) to be eliminated. It is a practical handbook for officials rather than a philosophical treatise.
Abstract
The text opens with reflections on the legitimacy of the Three Dynasties’ kings: they won the world not because it was given to them but because they “took it” — that is, won the people’s allegiance through faith, rightness, and ritual (shǒu zhī yǐ xìn, jiào zhī yǐ yì, xíng zhī yǐ lǐ 守之以信，教之以義，行之以禮). When kings are in decline, they give away states and territories, but the people do not regard this as rightful.
The core of the text (§§4–9) specifies the Five Virtues required of an official conducting governance:
- Wideness (kuān 寬): “without wideness you cannot contain the hundred families”
- Respect (gōng 恭): “without respect you cannot ward off shame”
- Beneficence (huì 惠): “without beneficence you cannot gather the people”
- Benevolence (rén 仁): “without benevolence you cannot conduct governance”
- Reverence (jìng 敬): “without reverence no affair will succeed”
The text then lists seven dangers of governance (cóng zhèng yǒu qī jī 從政有七幾): coerciveness, severity (so the people do not follow), carelessness (losing the multitude), recklessness (losing intimates), punishment (so the people flee), love of punishment (so the people revolt), and all seven together constituting “the dangers of governance.” This is followed by a three-part formula for political success: respect (jìng 敬), trustworthiness (xìn 信), and honesty (sū 誂 or similar).
The latter sections (§§10–16) shift to a more personal register: the gentleman when preceding others guides the way; when following others, he assists them — “hence it is said that the gentleman is hard to find but easy to employ; the petty person is easy to find but hard to employ.” The text ends with: “conduct dangerous things, face your fate, starve rather than act against conscience, conduct your affairs without litigation: the gentleman does not injure others with hearsay” (xíng xiǎn zhì mìng, jī cāng ér wú huì, cóng shì ér wú sòng 行險致命，飢滄而毋會，從事而毋訟).
Genre. Cóng Zhèng belongs to the genre of official conduct handbooks (guān zhen 官箴), a genre represented in the received tradition by the Lǐjì chapter Yùzǎo 玉藻, the Zhōulǐ 周禮, and various Hàn administrative documents. The wén zhī yuē 聞之曰 framing formula (citing received wisdom without attributing it to a specific speaker) is distinctive and suggests the text was compiled from a body of administrative lore rather than composed by a single author.
Translations and research
- 馬承源 ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 2, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè, 2002 — editio princeps.
- Pines, Yuri. Envisioning Eternal Empire: Chinese Political Thought of the Warring States Era. University of Hawai’i Press, 2009 — the broader context for Warring States practical governance texts.
- No substantial English-language secondary literature dedicated specifically to 從政.
Links
- Wikipedia (Shanghai Museum bamboo texts): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Museum_bamboo_texts