Translation of weeds in Shen Zi

There is infinite light in the sky, so there is no need to worry about the darkness that exists in the world; There is endless wealth on the land, so there is no need to worry about poverty in the world; A saint has beautiful virtues and need not worry about the dangers in the world. Although the sky is not worried about the darkness of the world, people will definitely make themselves bright by opening doors and windows, so the sky will be fine. Although the land is not worried about human poverty, people will definitely make themselves rich by cutting trees and mowing grass, so the land will be fine. Although saints are not worried about the dangers of the world, people will follow the example of the upper class and get close to the lower class, and they will certainly get social stability, so saints will be fine. Therefore, when a saint is in the upper position, he can do no harm to others, but he can't make people do no harm to themselves, so people get rid of their own harm. Saints can rule the world because they accept the trust of the people, not because they steal the trust of the people themselves. People support saints instead of relying on them to support themselves, so saints will be fine.

Harmony is the most beautiful woman in the world. If they put on leather and linen, everyone who sees them will run away at once. If you put them in beautiful linen, passers-by will stop to watch. From this perspective, it is the result of good-looking fine linen clothing funding. It's disgusting for beautiful women to wear ugly clothes instead of beautiful ones. Carrying heavy things for a long journey, walking through the valley and Yuan Ye, and running for more than ten miles, is because there are things tied to your back. You can't walk without tying things on your back. Therefore, Teng snakes parade in the fog and travel in the clouds. If the dark clouds disappear, Tengsnakes, Dragonflies and Earthworms are no different, because they lose their support. Therefore, the reason why the sages gave in to the corrupt people is because the power of the sages is too light; The reason why unscrupulous people can obey saints is because the status of saints is noble. Tang Yao, as an ordinary person, can't order his neighbors; When he sits facing south and becomes king, he will be able to obey orders and stop the ban. From this point of view, virtue can't make the unscrupulous obey, but the position of power can make the wise submit.

Therefore, people who are not famous can decide everything because of their weight; The crossbow is not strong, shooting high is because of the strong wind; It is with the help of all people that orders can be carried out without virtue. Therefore, people who carry heavy objects across high places will never neglect to tie things up; People who love babies will not be slow to treat nannies; People who have traveled long distances through difficulties and obstacles will certainly not despise their ability to control horses and chariots. This is because if you get help, you will succeed, if you lose help, you will fail. In ancient times, the virtue of three uncles in Wang Wu could connect heaven and earth, ghosts and gods, and everything, because of extensive help.

Ancient craftsmen did nothing else, and literati did not hold other official positions. If a craftsman doesn't do other things at the same time, there will be few things, and it will be easy to do well if there are not many things. Scholars do not hold other official positions, so they have less responsibilities and are easy to be competent. Therefore, the status of scholars can be passed down from generation to generation, and the occupation of craftsmen can remain unchanged for a long time. Children of all kinds of craftsmen can work without reading. This is not because they are born with intelligence, but because they often see work. At present, the country has no long-term stable policy, officials have no long-term laws, and national politics is becoming more and more fallacious. Although education is very effective, officials at all levels are lacking and most of them are incompetent; If officials are lacking and incompetent, the law of governing the country will be exhausted; When the methods of governing the country are exhausted, people who are eager for talent and wisdom will be respected; Admire people who are eager for talent and wisdom, then the key to national politics is completely in the hands of one person.

In ancient times, the son of heaven was not the only one who benefited from praising him. This means that without a noble monarch in the world, national laws will not work, and the purpose of making laws work is to govern the world well. Therefore, the purpose of establishing the emperor is to govern the world, not to establish the world only to serve the emperor; The purpose of establishing a monarch is to govern the country well, not to establish a country to serve the monarch alone; The purpose of establishing an official position is to better perform duties, not to establish an official position for the personal enjoyment of the Chief Executive. Although the country's legal system is not perfect, it is better than no legal system, and the legal system can be used to unify people's hearts.

Distributing property by lottery and distributing horses by lottery does not mean that the lottery is the most average, but in this fair way, people who share good things don't know who to thank and those who share bad things don't know who to complain, thus blocking people's various desires. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a fair understanding through divination, a fair standard through weighing objects with scales, a fair reputation through paper contracts, a fair review standard through measuring the length of objects, and a fair morality through laws, regulations and etiquette. All norms of justice are established to abandon selfishness.

A wise monarch must rely on his wisdom to do things; To determine the reward and distribution of property, we must follow the unified laws and regulations formulated by the state; The implementation of moral policy should be just right and conform to etiquette norms. Therefore, the monarch's desire can't miss the opportunity, his hobbies can't violate the legal system, his noble sages can't exceed the seniority of his relatives, and his salary can't exceed the title of official position. Scholars may not concurrently hold other official positions, craftsmen may not concurrently hold other affairs, and assign appropriate jobs according to their abilities; Reward according to the contribution in the work. If this can be done, the monarch and officials will not abuse the reward, and courtiers and people will not be greedy for money.