"Democratic government" is a popular political term nowadays; so much so that one may say that it has become a household watchword. And yet, that term is by no means a product of modern times. It is no exaggeration to say that ever since the rise of the Hellenic civilization, there have been continuous and enthusiastic discussions on creeds and methods relating to democracy in the Western World.
Just as democratic ideas were familiar to the ancient Greeks, they were real to the ancient Chinese. This fact is, unfortunately, little understood by the Western public. Some westerners may maintain that it was not until the late Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) and his followers staged a revolution some sixty years ago that China began to head for democracy. Seeing that she was for thousands of years a monarchy, it may be assumed also that there had not been a shadow of democracy in China before she was changed into a republic. Nothing could have been more mistaken. It is true that the environment in China has been such as to have rendered it difficult, if not impossible, for democratic thought there to bear fruit earlier. Be that as it may, the fact remains that democratic thought was much in evidence in ancient China and what is more, such thought began to develop almost simultaneously with its counterpart in the Western World.
What do we mean by the term democracy? It seems to me that the popular conception of democracy various from time to time. Generally speaking, when people refer to democracy they have in mind that pattern of government which was favored by the protagonists of democracy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the West. This type of government is characterized by a threefold division of governmental powers, an electoral system, the practice of check and balance and the rule by the majority. Strictly speaking, these characteristics are merely what we call democratic procedures. In practice, however, they have often been erroneously regarded as though they were unmistakable indications of democracy. This is indeed a matter to be regretted. For, if democracy is merely a matter of practicing the majority rule or that of enforcing the universal suffrage or that of adopting the principle of check and balance, why have there been age-long debates concerning the definition of democracy among political theorists and statesmen throughout history since the time of Pericles? In fact, history records that democracy without its true spirit could be very undemocratic. Thus, it is the spirit, not the exterior manifestations alone that counts.
In ancient China, there were no political institutions equivalent to the electoral system, or the similar practice of checks and balances, or the threefold division of governmental powers known to the Western countries. However, speaking of the spirit of democracy, there was certainly much of it. We all know that although the ancient Chinese did not shout openly such slogans as Liberty and Equality in the same way as the Westerners did, they did believe in what they called the "Tien Tao" which means the Way of Heaven or the Law of Nature. The conception of this "Tien Tao" is very important from the standpoint of the political history of the Chinese people. For it was primarily on the basis of this natural-law conception that the ancient Chinese in turn bred various political theories, constituting the main structure of democratic thought in early times.
Among the ancient Chinese schools of thought, the teachings of Confucianism have most profoundly affected Chinese culture and the Chinese traditional way of life.
Confucianism, or the Confucian school, as the very name suggests, was founded by Confucius (552-479 B.C.). He was for some time the Minister of Justice in his native state, the state of Lu (now known as the province of Shantung). A man full of ideas, he was instrumental in solving some significant diplomatic problems which arose between the rulers of Lu and the state of Chi, an important event in the history of Lu. The trouble was that he was too idealistic and his ideas could not be easily accepted by his superior. Disappointed, he resigned. For a period of thirteen years, he wandered from state to state hoping some ruler would appreciate his ideas. But, alas, his hope never materialized. By the time he reached the age of 68, Confucius, too tired to travel any more, turned to writing and editing. It was in the field of education that Confucius distinguished himself. Well-versed in the six arts, i.e., rites, music, archery, driving, writing and mathematics, he attracted a great number of pupils. At one time, he is said to have had as many as three thousand pupils, including the famous "Seventy-two bright boys" who remained with him for a long time.
On the strength of his voluminous writings and his profound lectures, Confucius, in the course of time, founded a school of thought known as "Ju." The word Ju has been used to refer to scholars familiar with the above-mentioned six arts and consequently capable of taking care of their homes, their national affairs and promoting international relations.
The aim of the Confucian school is to provide instructions on how to live like a gentleman. 1 Thus, Confucius, the founder of the school, is said to have urged Tzu-hsia, one of his pupils, "You should endeavor to be a scholar who is a gentleman, not a scholar who is a little man." 2 A typical Confucian scholar, according to the Confucian school, should have cultivated many virtues. Some of the important virtues included benevolence, righteousness, sense of propriety, intelligence, and sincerity. All this was elaborately dealt with in "The Virtues of a Confucian Scholar," a chapter of The Book of Rites. Some of the salient points of the chapter were: That a (Confucian) scholar must keep his promises; that he should not go to extremes in whatever work he takes up; that he should not attach great value to gold or jade but rather much value to the virtues of loyalty and sincerity; that he did not desire land (property) since the sense of righteousness was his land; that, though confronted with the temptation of treasures or of other things he held dear to his heart, he was not to forsake his sense of righteousness; that, although subject to pressures or facing annihilation by armed troops, he valued his principles more than his personal life; that he would rather die than allow himself to be treated with mockery or contempt; that he was as proud of his virtues of loyalty, sincerity, propriety and righteousness as a soldier is proud of his armor and spear; that he always approached problems with a sense of fair play and in a spirit of kindness and benevolence; that he would fight for his convictions rather than bow to despotic rule; that even if his very life was threatened, he would persevere in trying to attain his aspirations and would not for a moment forget the hardships of his fellow men. 3
This stress upon the self-cultivation of the individual points to the very manner in which individuals in a democratic society are expected to behave. If, in a given community, all of the inhabitants place their common interests above their personal interests, they will have qualified themselves as citizens of a perfect democratic community and as a consequence, the spirit of democracy will have permeated their life in natural accord.
In fact, a careful study of the various virtues which the Confucian school stresses will show that most of them have a great bearing upon democracy. Take the virtue of benevolence or Jen as an example. In Lun Yu, it was considered as the virtue of all virtues.
As people familiar with Chinese calligraphy know, the character Jen is composed of two radicals, one indicating a man and the other the numeral 2. Hence, the character may be looked upon as a symbol showing two persons learning to get along together. The art of get ting along with one's fellow man, as may be supposed, calls for the cultivation of many personal qualities such as a peaceful disposition, straight-forwardness, politeness, understanding and self-restraint. According to the teachings of Confucius, anyone who had acquired all of the qualities necessary for getting along with another man could be said to have attained a high, degree of Jen. Needless to say, in any community, but particularly one built upon democratic principles, it is very important for the members to practice the virtue of Jen which is the basis of mutual respect. It is only when all members of a community can discipline themselves and do everything according to the rules of mutual respect that such a community can truly live up to the ideal of democracy.
However, it should be noted that while Confucius advocated self-control and harmonious relationship with others, he did not in any way belittle the individual. The Confucian school respected the personality of the individual; regardless of his social position, the individual was regarded as "part of a trinity of power in nourishing and transforming all things," an attitude which is, in essence, in accord with the meaning of equality. But the school did require the individual to do two things. First, while he was justifiably aware of his own personality and existence, he was urged to have due regard for those of other people whether he is dealing with his wife, son, superiors, brother, or friend. 4
Second, while dealing with people, the individual was asked to refrain from doing to others what he did not wish others to do to himself. 5 From the standpoint of democracy, these are two genuine restrictions. For only when a person respects the personality of another man as well as that of his own, can he rightfully enjoy liberty. Only when a person refrains from doing things that he does not like others to do to himself can he understand the true essence of fraternity.
At this point a brief account of Confucius' attitude toward political and social measures may be in order. Generally speaking, Confucian ideas of the essence of democracy were derived from the Duke of Chou. 6 A special feature of the civil system attributed to the Duke of Chou was local government. Although during that time the feudalistic system was in force, that system was, in away, similar to the federal government of the United States with the various states practicing local government in the same manner as the forty-eight states of America do, and, with the principalities displaying a common allegiance to the "Son of Heaven," just as the forty-eight American States are component parts of the Federal Government at Washington D.C.
An idea of how such local government operated then may be had by making a study of how "Ching Chi" (the metropolitan district of the Empire) were administered Intended as a model self-government district for the various principalities to emulate, Ching Chi were divided into two categories. Some were called Hsiang, others Sui. Under each Hsiang were five Chow; under each Chow five Tang; under each Tang five Tsu; under each Tsu five Lu; under each Lu five Pi; under each Pi five Chia that is, families. Under each Sui were five Hsien; under each Hsien five Pie; under each Pie five Tsan; under each Tsan five Li; under each Li five Lin; under each Lin five Chia that is, families. Each Sui, as was the case with each Hsiang, consisted of 12,500 families.
All the administrative areas of various levels were administered by officials nominated by the people and appointed by the central government represented by the Son of Heaven. In this sense, these officials were actually the representatives of the people, whose task it was to take charge of the various local self-governments. According to Chou Kuan, there were a total of no less than 37,875 such officials serving 150,000 families living in the suburbs of the imperial capital, averaging one official taking care of every five families. An ideal way for the practice of self-government indeed!
What did these officials do? Their functions may be summarized into six categories.
First, they acquainted the people with government regulations with a view to promoting the law-abiding spirit. Every year, the Tai Tsai, a sort of publicity director, would post important government regulations at public places for a period of ten days in the first month of the year. During this period leaders of the various local self-governments were supposed to lead the people in reading and getting familiar with the regulations. Presumably as many as fifteen or sixteen readings usually took place each year. If a democracy is to operate successfully, law must play a dominant part. But how can law play a dominant part if the people are not trained to observe it? By helping the people getting familiar with the government regulations, the various local self-governments in the metropolitan district of the Chou Dynasty were contributing substantially to the promotion of democracy. 7
Second, they educated the people. According to Chou Kuan, there were many Chou Hsu, that is, schools run by the local governments on the Chow level, and Hsiang Hsiang, that is, schools run by the local governments on the Hsiang level at the metropolitan district. Twice a year, the head of Chow was supposed to assemble the people in his area in Chow Hsu where they were taught the art of archery and acquainted with the rites, that is, government regulations as well as rules of conduct. Similar gatherings were sponsored by held of Tang in the schools which were run by the Chow governments. In Hsiang Hsiang, the people had the opportunity to learn even more than what was offered in Chow Hsu. For there, they were not only indoctrinated in a thorough ethical education, learning the meaning of patriotism, piety, benevolence, love, faith, righteousness and love of peace, but what is more, they were taught the six arts, that is, rites, music, archery, driving, writing, and mathematics. As an educational leader, the head of Sui had an equally important responsibility. He had to teach his people farming methods. 8
Third, they conducted census-taking. This process, called Pi, registered everything found in each administrative area ranging from human inhabitants to cattle, from farming implements to weapons; the idea, of course, was to check up the increase or decrease of the population. In the case of Tsu, the census-taking was much more thorough. For it had two additional objectives: one was to find out able-bodied youths eligible for military service and the other to make a survey of the sick and the aged with a view to extending social relief to them. 9
Fourth, they were responsible for the recruiting of soldiers if there were wars, of laborers for public works such as highways, bridges and sewers. Heads of Hsiang and heads of Sui had the authority to decide as to who should go for military service and what labor services people were obliged to render to the government. The usual practice was that all men must render military or labor services provided they had reached the height of seven Chih in the case of city dwellers or that of six Chih in the case of peasants. A city dweller became exempt from military or labor services after he had reached the age of 60 and a peasant the age of 65. Other people who could claim immunity from such services included men of unusual ability and under special conditions, like public servants, the aged and the sick. Besides, the leaders of the various local self-governments constantly checked upon the availability of cattle, vehicles, and weapons in various districts so that in case of need they could easily be commandeered. It is recorded that during the Chou Dynasty, the national treasury did not appropriate funds for the maintenance of a standing army or the construction of public works, whatever man power or resources were needed were primarily supplied by the rural areas under the supervision of self-government officials. 10
Fifth, they saw to it that on public occasions a sufficient quantity of whatever things that were needed, such as funeral garments, wedding garments, ceremonial articles, bows, musical instruments, was supplied. It is interesting to point out that although money was being used in those days, the people generally contributed things rather than money to the local governments. And their contributions were enormous.
Sixth, they frequently solicited public opinions. One learns from Chou Kuan that the Son of Heaven never failed to consult the people whenever important national issues awaited a decision. These issues included the question of how to meet or avert a national crisis, that of choosing a national capital in case the current one was threatened by the enemy, and the question of selecting a successor to the throne. When such consultations took place, the monarch was found sitting facing the south while the prime minister, deputy prime ministers, heads of the various Chow and the people's delegates facing the north, with the central government officials facing the west and heads of the local governments facing the east. After everybody had been seated, tie Hsiao Ssu Ke, a sort of information director, would, according to the order of their respective social positions, approach the people present taking quick notes of what they had to say about the question under discussion. The data thus gathered were ultimately submitted to the Son of Heaven as reference material for making the final decision. Although the people then did not have such a thing as a national assembly, yet, in the sense that they could make their voice heard through their delegates, they were in a way enjoying some advantages of a democracy. 11
Of course, the above-mentioned six types of functions of the local self-government officials explain only part of their responsibilities. Among the other works assigned to them were the equitable distribution of land, the building of highways and bridges, etc. The important thing to remember is that it was the Duke of Chou who laid down and introduced these political innovations. No wonder Confucius was so impressed that he was led to say: "I merely interpret; I don't invent."
But, what Confucius emphasized most was not the political structures, but the qualifications of government workers—an aspect to which lovers of democracy attach, or at least should attach, great importance. In this respect Confucius is known to have said: "If you select and employ the upright and put aside the dishonest, you can eventually make the dishonest upright." Certainly, Confucius was not in want of evidence to support his statement. One example was that of Emperor Shun, who, during his reign, singled out from among his people, Kao Yao, to be his right-hand man and it was not long before all who were devoid of virtue disappeared. During his reign, King T'ang picked out from among his people Yi Yin to be his right-hand man and it was not long before all who were devoid of virtue disappeared. 12
It seemed to Confucius that the success or failure of a government depended not so much how many laws it had passed to punish law breakers, as upon the extent to which the ruler or government workers had developed his personal virtues. Thus he said to Chi K'ang Tzu one day: "In conducting your government, why should you resort to killing at all? Once you have proved by action your own desire to be good, your subject will follow suit. For the relationship between a benevolent administrator and the people is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows across it." 13 In the opinion or the founder of the Confucian school, a ruler who was endowed with virtue was indeed to be congratulated. "He who conducts his government by means of virtue may be compared to the North Polar Star. He is stationary and all the other stars must turn toward him!" 14
What Confucius tried to say was that if a ruler wanted to guide wisely the conduct of his subjects, he himself must first of all set a good example. The Master was certain that if the ruler demonstrated virtue, there was no reason why his subjects should not do the same. Thus he said:
"If the administrator loves propriety, it is doubtful that his people (subjects) will be arrogant. If the administrator loves righteousness, it is doubtful that his people will dare to be disobedient. If the administrate loves sincerity, it is doubtful that his people will dare to be insincere. 15
"To govern means to put things right. If you guide your subjects in a proper manner, who would dare to be improper? 16
"If a minister keeps his own conduct correct, what difficulty will he have in running his government? If he cannot regulate his own behavior, what right does he have to regulate that of 'his subjects? 17
"When a ruler's personal conduct is correct, his government can work efficiently without issuing orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders but the chances are that they will not be carried out." 18
To Confucius, a government, if staffed by men of virtue, could accomplish a great deal. Now, a question is at hand: how are the needed men of virtue to be chosen? To this, Confucius would probably give the same reply as the one he gave to Chung Kung more than two thousand five hundred years ago: "Elect to office those whom you know….." 19 And this is exactly what people in democratic nations are doing. When they organize political parties, their purpose is to elect those whom they know to office.
However, to elect to office "those whom you know" would be meaningless if it were not practiced in the proper spirit. The thing that the people should not do is to elect people who are prejudiced and consequently do not possess a balanced sense of what is right or wrong. The thing that the people should do is to elect those who echo the common views of the people. It will be interesting to note that although Confucius never had any idea as to how political parties under a democratic rule should properly operate, he, nevertheless, was fully aware of the essential principles involved.
Thus, describing those who are prejudiced, Tseng Tzu, a pupil of Confucius said:
"Men are prejudiced about those whom they love; prejudiced about those whom they hate; prejudiced about those whom they revere; prejudiced about those whom they pity; prejudiced about those whom they despise. There are very few people in the world who are awake to the evil in the object of their liking and to the attractiveness in the object of their disliking." 20
Speaking of the qualifications of ideal govern-ment workers, Tseng Tzu again had this to say:
"To love those whom the people love and to hate those whom the people hate—this is the true meaning of being the parents of the people ......" 21
One reason why Confucius was in favor of a government staffed with men of virtue and talent was his belief that if a government was controlled by men of virtue, that government would enjoy the confidence of the people. And, in this respect, "'his view again reflected the spirit of democracy; for how can a government claim that it stands for democracy if it does not enjoy the confidence of the people?
But, how can a government win the confidence of the people? To this question, Confucius' answer is simple enough: Be sincere! In Chung Yung (The Golden Mean), it was pointed out:
"Therefore, the true man (when he is put in charge of the government) being sincere and respectable, the whole world finds itself in a state of happy tranquility." 22
Again, advocates of democracy generally agree that where a democratic system prevails, attention must be given to the promotion of the welfare at the people. This idea was nothing new to Confucius. For, in his lifetime, no one was more concerned with the welfare of his fellow men than he was. One day, he was travelling to the state of Wei in the company of his pupil, Jan Yu, who served as the driver. Noticing the teeming crowds along the way, Jan Yu asked his teacher what could be done of them. "Enrich them!" was the reply. "What should be done after they are enriched?" came another question. "Teach them I" the pupil was told. 23
All in all, it was Confucius' belief that the ultimate aim of democracy is the welfare of the people. The wealth of a nation should not he monopolized by the ruler, but should be shared by the people and the ruler alike. "If the ruler accumulates all of the nation's wealth into his own hand, he is bound to lose the support of his people. If the ruler distributes the nation's wealth among the people, he will win their support." 24
The seed of democracy has already been sown in the Chinese cultural ground since the time of Confucius. Confucius' teachings, especially his political philosophy, is more practical than either Taoism, Mocism or the Legalist School. As any student of Chinese culture undoubtedly knows, Confucianism is not wholly interested in metaphysical discussions as Taoism is. It does not require the follower to lead strictly a life of self-denial as Mocism does. It does not sanctify the monarch at the expense of the people nor advocates a relentless enforcement of law to the detriment of the freedom of the people as the Legalists do. This is the reason why it has outlived all the other philosophies or ideas including Zen Budhism. 25
But the significance of Confucianism is not merely confined to the fact that it has formed the backbone of Chinese culture. To my mind, a much greater contribution that school is capable of making lies in the decisive role it may play in the democratization of China. And this point is, unfortunately, very little understood by the Western public, much less than it deserves to be.
It is a well-known fact in Chinese political history that Confucianism was notably equipped with all the tissues and fibres that went into the formation of democracy and the only trouble with it was that such tissues and fibres were never woven into any tangible political institution. This was clearly in his mind when the late Dr. Sun Yat-sen, father of the Chinese Revolution in 1911, said:
Confucianism and Mencius 26 two thousand years ago spoke for the people's rights. Confucius said: "When the Great Doctrine prevails, all under Heaven will work for the common good." He was pleading for a free and fraternal world in which the people would rule. He was constantly referring to Yao and Shun simply because they did not try to monopolize the Empire. Although their government was autocratic in name, yet in reality they gave the people power and so were highly reverenced by Confucius. Mencius said, "Most precious are the people; next comes the spirit of land and grain; and last the princes." Again, "Heaven sees as the people see, Heaven hears as the people hear," and "I have heard of the punishment of the tyrant but never of the assassination of a sovereign," He, in his age, already saw that kings were not absolutely necessary and would not last forever, so he called those who brought happiness to the people holy monarchs, but those who were cruel and unprincipled he called individualists whom all should oppose. Thus, China more than two millenniums ago had already considered the idea of democracy, but at that time she could not put it into operation. Democracy was then what foreigners called a Utopia, an ideal which could not be immediately realized.
...... As I read history, I find China making progress long before Europe and America and engaging in discussion of democracy thousands of years in the past. The democratic ideas appeared, it is true, only in theoretical discourses and did not develop into reality. Now that Europe and America have founded republics and have applied democracy for one hundred fifty years, we whose ancients dreamed of these things should certainly follow the tide of world events and make use of the people's power if we expect our people to enjoy happiness. 27
If Confucius and Mencius were expounding such high ideals as early as more than two thousand years ago, why is it that China has not made much progress in the direction of democracy?
Space forbids me to supply the answer in detail. Suffice it to say here that the reason why China has not made progress toward the path of democracy was because Confucianism, good as it was, was degenerated in that the ruler often utilized it as a means of exacting obedience of the people with the result that all the individual rights and freedom which democracy values most where reduced to a zero.
However, the seed of democracy is there: it is still a living source in the hearts and minds of the people. If we want to accelerate the democratization of China, we must take Confucianism as the starting point and give it a new light, a new force and a new vitality. The Chinese people have always been ready to accept and assimilate any ideas that are good. The acceptance of Zen Buddhism and the eventual combination of Zen Buddhism and Confucianism into Neo-Confucianism should be a good example of that. If we were willing to accept Zen Buddhism and finally combining it with Confucianism, there is no reason why we will not accept democracy as our way of life by rejuvenating the Chinese culture in the form of Confucianism which basically involves the essence of modern democracy.
Although the Chinese mainland is now under Communist rule and although the Government of the Republic of China is temporarily located in Taiwan, these facts need not make friends of Free China despair. Before a tree can bear fruit, a long period of cultivation is required. It was after nearly a thousand years of efforts on the part of the Chinese at the translation of Buddhist scriptures before Buddhism was able to take root in the soil of China. By the same token, I believe that patience and arduous preparations are needed before we can see the towering tree of democracy firmly planted in the fertile soil of China. It is with a great sense of hope that I note that the democratic practices in Taiwan under the genuine leadership of President Chiang Kai-shek have made marked progress even under the present most difficult circumstances. As Rodney Gilbert wrote in the May 17, 1954 issue of the Freemen: "An inspection of Formosa today reveals that the ….. nine million Chinese now on the island are getting the best government that any part of China has had for many generations—the freest, most efficient and, yes, most honest." However, in order to further the cause of democracy in all the parts of China, there is no surest and fastest way than to put the Three People's Principles in full operation, for, as Mr. Chang Chi-yun, the Minister of Education, puts it very fittingly, "the new culture of the Three People's Principles, succeeding to the orthodoxy of Confucian heritage, fusing the old and the new, merging the best of the East with the best of the West, will be the guardian of Chinese culture and the restorer or world peace. This is the greatest contribution of Confucian thought to the democracy of the West." 29
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) See W.D. Gould, G.B. Arbaugh, & R. F. Moore: Oriental Philosophies, p. 115
(2) Lun Yu, Book VI, Chapter II
(3) The Book of Rites, Book XIX, Chapter 41
(4) Confucius conveniently/trouped human beings into five main relationships; namely, that between husband and wife, that between father and son, that between brothers, that between friends, and that between King and subjects.
(5) Confucius said: 'Do not do to others what thou do not want others to do to thee." To Confucius, everything should be done in a spirit of considerateness (or, in a spirit of Shu, to use Confucius' language.)
(6) For those who are interested in making a detailed study of the political and social measures attributed to Duke of Chou, two sources of reference are available. One is Chou Kuan (the civil system of the Chou Dynasty, also known as Chou Li (rites of the Chou Dynasty), and Li Chi, also known as the Book of Rites.
(7) Liu Yi-cheng, History of Chinese Culture, p. 179
(8) Liu Yi-Cheng, History of Chinese Culture, p. 180
(9) Ibid., p. 178
(10) Ibid., p.181-182
(11) Ibid., p. 182
(12) Lun Yu, Book XII, Chapter 22
(13) Ibid., Book XII, Chapter 19
(14) Ibid., Book II, Chapter 1
(15) Lun Yu, Book XIII, Chapter 4
(16) Ibid., Book XII, Chapter 17
(17) Ibid., Book XIII, Chapter 13
(18) Ibid., Book XIII, Chapter 6
(19) Ibid., Book XIII, Chapter 2
(20) Ta Hsueh (The Great Learning), Commentary Chapter 8
(21) Ibid., Commentary Chapter 10
(22) Chung Yung, Chapter 33
(23) Lun Yu, Book XIII, Chapter 9
(24) Ta Hsueh, Commentary Chapter 10
(25) It was because Zen Buddhism was not far remote from Confucianism ideologically that it managed to prevail in China for a long time although ultimately it was absorbed by Confucianism into what was known as Neo-Confucianism during the Sung Dynasty.
(26) Mencius (371-289 B.C.) was linked with Confucius through his study under a disciple of Tzu-ssu, who was Confucius' grandson. His position in Confucianism may be compared to that of St. Paul in Christianity.
(27) Dr. Sun Yat-sen; San Min Chu I, translated by Frank W. Price. pp. 167-171
(28) The World's Great Thinkers (the political philosophers), p. 210
(29) A Life of Confucius, China Culture Publishing Foundation, Taipei, 1954, p. 113