"The duties of universal obligation are five and the virtues
wherewith they are practiced are three. The duties are those between
sovereign and minister, between father and son, between husband and
wife, between elder brother and younger, and those belonging to the
intercourse of friends. Those five are the duties of universal
obligation. Knowledge, magnanimity, and energy, these three, are the
virtues universally binding. And the means by which they carry the
duties into practice is singleness.
"Some are born with the knowledge of those duties; some know them by
study; and some acquire the knowledge after a painful feeling of their
ignorance. But the knowledge being possessed, it comes to the same
thing. Some practice them with a natural ease; some from a desire
for their advantages; and some by strenuous effort. But the
achievement being made, it comes to the same thing."
segunda-feira, 28 de setembro de 2009
The Scholar
There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men. Only one who can honor his lord and love the people, who can respond to things whenever they come and manage situations as they turn up, is properly called a "successful scholar."
Only one who does not form cliques with his inferiors to deceive his superiors, who does not conform to the opinions of his superiors out of envy of those in lower positions, who settles disputes with fairness and does not bring harm to others by acting out of considerations of private ends, is properly called a "public-spirited scholar."
Only one who does not harbor resentments against his lord when superiors do not recognize his good personal qualities and who does not accept rewards when superiors are unaware of his shortcomings, who neither shows off his good qualities nor glosses over his faults but uses the true circumstances to recommend himself, is properly termed an "upright scholar."
Only one who is certain to be honest in ordinary speech and prudent in ordinary behavior, who is awe-inspired by the model and goes along with popular customs, and does not presume to consider what is unique to himself as correct, is properly termed a "cautious scholar."
Only one who is inconstantly honest in his speech and inconstantly correct in his conduct, who is partial to whatever involves profit to himself to the exclusion of all else, is properly considered a "petty man."
Only one who does not form cliques with his inferiors to deceive his superiors, who does not conform to the opinions of his superiors out of envy of those in lower positions, who settles disputes with fairness and does not bring harm to others by acting out of considerations of private ends, is properly called a "public-spirited scholar."
Only one who does not harbor resentments against his lord when superiors do not recognize his good personal qualities and who does not accept rewards when superiors are unaware of his shortcomings, who neither shows off his good qualities nor glosses over his faults but uses the true circumstances to recommend himself, is properly termed an "upright scholar."
Only one who is certain to be honest in ordinary speech and prudent in ordinary behavior, who is awe-inspired by the model and goes along with popular customs, and does not presume to consider what is unique to himself as correct, is properly termed a "cautious scholar."
Only one who is inconstantly honest in his speech and inconstantly correct in his conduct, who is partial to whatever involves profit to himself to the exclusion of all else, is properly considered a "petty man."
Investigating Things
The Great Learning says: "Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended their knowledge to the utmost. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things."
This saying is merely giving in detail the order of the task from the 'manifesting of illustrious virtue' on to 'resting in the highest excellence.' The person, the mind, thought, knowledge, and things constitute the logical order of the task. Though each has its particular place, they are in reality one thing. Investigating, extending, being sincere, rectifying, and cultivating are the task in its logical sequence. Though each has its name, in reality it is only one affair. What is it that is called the person? The form and body in its various exercises. What is it that is called mind? The intelligence of the person, which is called lord or master. What is meant by cultivating the person? That which is described by saying, 'Do good and expel evil.' That my person is able to do good and abhor evil is due to the fact that its master— the will— desires to do good and abhor evil. After that the body in its various exercises is able to do good and abhor evil. Therefore he who desires to cultivate his person must first rectify his heart.
The common people say that in investigating things one should follow Hsi (the philosopher Chu), but where is there anyone who has been able to carry out his teachings in practice? I myself have tried to do so. In former years I discussed this with my friend Ch'ien saying, '"If to be a sage or a virtuous man one must investigate everything under heaven, how can at present anyone acquire such tremendous strength?" Pointing to some bamboos in front of the pavilion, I asked him to investigate them and see. Both day and night Ch'ien entered into an investigation of the principles of the bamboo. For three days he exhausted his mind and thought, until his mental energy was tired out and he took sick. At first I said that it was because his energy and strength were insufficient. Therefore I myself undertook to carry on the investigation. Day and night I was unable to understand the principles of the bamboo, until after seven days I also became ill because of having wearied and burdened my thoughts. In consequence we mutually sighed and said, "We cannot be either philosophers or virtuous men, for we lack the great strength required to carry on the investigation of things." While living among the savage tribes for three years, I clearly saw through this idea. I knew that there was really no one who could investigate material things under heaven. The task of investigating things can only be carried out in and with reference to one's body and mind.
What is called investigating does not consist in seeking within the realm of so-called external things. This excellency should be sought in extensive study of what is good, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection upon it, clear discrimination of it, and earnest practice of it. This excellency is sincerity. In this way, these things may be considered as things.
The controlling power of the body is the mind. The mind originates the idea, and the nature of the idea is knowledge. Wherever the idea is, we have a thing. For instance, when the idea rests on serving one's parents, then serving one's parents is a 'thing'; when it is on serving one's prince, then serving one's prince is a 'thing'; when it is occupied with being benevolent to the people and kind to creatures, then benevolence to the people and kindness to creatures are 'things'; when it is occupied with seeing, hearing, speaking, moving, then each of these becomes a 'thing.' I say there are no principles but those of the mind, and nothing exists apart from the mind.
A subordinate official having for a long time heard the expositions of the Teacher regarding learning said, "This is very good, but unfortunately I am not able to devote myself to learning, because of its difficulty and the number of my duties connected with accounts, letters, and litigation."
Wang Ming-yang said, "When did I teach you to drop these things and devote yourself only to the exposition of learning? Since you are engaged in trying law eases, you should devote yourself to learning in connection with these law cases, for thereby you will really be engaged in the investigation of things. For instance, when you judge an accused person, you should not become angry because his replies are disorderly, nor should you be glad because his arguments are well arranged; you should not despise those to whom he has entrusted his ease, and impose your own will in administering sentence; you should not, because of his pleading, bend your will and be influenced in favor of him; you should not, because of your own annoying and scattered affairs, judge him arbitrarily and carelessly; you should not, because of the praise, slander, and scheming of others, manage the case in accordance with the ideas of others. All these ideas are selfish. You need only know yourself. You should most carefully examine yourself and control yourself, lest your mind be prejudiced and misjudge the right or wrong of anyone. Then you will be investigating things for the purpose of extending your intuitive knowledge to the utmost. Though it is done while the duties of registering, writing, and litigation are pressing, it is real learning. If you leave your daily affairs in order to devote yourself to study, it will be in vain.
This saying is merely giving in detail the order of the task from the 'manifesting of illustrious virtue' on to 'resting in the highest excellence.' The person, the mind, thought, knowledge, and things constitute the logical order of the task. Though each has its particular place, they are in reality one thing. Investigating, extending, being sincere, rectifying, and cultivating are the task in its logical sequence. Though each has its name, in reality it is only one affair. What is it that is called the person? The form and body in its various exercises. What is it that is called mind? The intelligence of the person, which is called lord or master. What is meant by cultivating the person? That which is described by saying, 'Do good and expel evil.' That my person is able to do good and abhor evil is due to the fact that its master— the will— desires to do good and abhor evil. After that the body in its various exercises is able to do good and abhor evil. Therefore he who desires to cultivate his person must first rectify his heart.
The common people say that in investigating things one should follow Hsi (the philosopher Chu), but where is there anyone who has been able to carry out his teachings in practice? I myself have tried to do so. In former years I discussed this with my friend Ch'ien saying, '"If to be a sage or a virtuous man one must investigate everything under heaven, how can at present anyone acquire such tremendous strength?" Pointing to some bamboos in front of the pavilion, I asked him to investigate them and see. Both day and night Ch'ien entered into an investigation of the principles of the bamboo. For three days he exhausted his mind and thought, until his mental energy was tired out and he took sick. At first I said that it was because his energy and strength were insufficient. Therefore I myself undertook to carry on the investigation. Day and night I was unable to understand the principles of the bamboo, until after seven days I also became ill because of having wearied and burdened my thoughts. In consequence we mutually sighed and said, "We cannot be either philosophers or virtuous men, for we lack the great strength required to carry on the investigation of things." While living among the savage tribes for three years, I clearly saw through this idea. I knew that there was really no one who could investigate material things under heaven. The task of investigating things can only be carried out in and with reference to one's body and mind.
What is called investigating does not consist in seeking within the realm of so-called external things. This excellency should be sought in extensive study of what is good, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection upon it, clear discrimination of it, and earnest practice of it. This excellency is sincerity. In this way, these things may be considered as things.
The controlling power of the body is the mind. The mind originates the idea, and the nature of the idea is knowledge. Wherever the idea is, we have a thing. For instance, when the idea rests on serving one's parents, then serving one's parents is a 'thing'; when it is on serving one's prince, then serving one's prince is a 'thing'; when it is occupied with being benevolent to the people and kind to creatures, then benevolence to the people and kindness to creatures are 'things'; when it is occupied with seeing, hearing, speaking, moving, then each of these becomes a 'thing.' I say there are no principles but those of the mind, and nothing exists apart from the mind.
A subordinate official having for a long time heard the expositions of the Teacher regarding learning said, "This is very good, but unfortunately I am not able to devote myself to learning, because of its difficulty and the number of my duties connected with accounts, letters, and litigation."
Wang Ming-yang said, "When did I teach you to drop these things and devote yourself only to the exposition of learning? Since you are engaged in trying law eases, you should devote yourself to learning in connection with these law cases, for thereby you will really be engaged in the investigation of things. For instance, when you judge an accused person, you should not become angry because his replies are disorderly, nor should you be glad because his arguments are well arranged; you should not despise those to whom he has entrusted his ease, and impose your own will in administering sentence; you should not, because of his pleading, bend your will and be influenced in favor of him; you should not, because of your own annoying and scattered affairs, judge him arbitrarily and carelessly; you should not, because of the praise, slander, and scheming of others, manage the case in accordance with the ideas of others. All these ideas are selfish. You need only know yourself. You should most carefully examine yourself and control yourself, lest your mind be prejudiced and misjudge the right or wrong of anyone. Then you will be investigating things for the purpose of extending your intuitive knowledge to the utmost. Though it is done while the duties of registering, writing, and litigation are pressing, it is real learning. If you leave your daily affairs in order to devote yourself to study, it will be in vain.
On Divination
The world believes in divination with shells and weeds. The first class of diviners assert they question heaven; the second, earth—that the weed milfoil has something spiritual, that tortoises are divine, and that omens and signs respond, when asked. Therefore people disregard the advice of their friends, and take to divination: they neglect what is right and wrong, and trust solely to lucky and unlucky portents. They believe heaven and earth really make their wishes known, and that weeds and tortoises truly possess spiritual powers.
In point of fact, diviners do not communicated with heaven and earth, nor do weeds or tortoises have spiritual powers. That they have, and that heaven and earth are being interrogated, is an idea of common scribblers. How can we prove that?
Tse Lu asked Confucius, "A pig's shoulder and a sheep's leg can serve as omens, and from creepers, rushes, straws, and duckweed we can foreknow destiny. What need is there then for milfoil and tortoises?"
"That is not correct," said Confucius, "for their names are essential. The milfoil's name means old, and the tortoise's, aged. In order to elucidate doubtful things, one must ask the old and the aged." According to this reply, milfoil is not spiritual, and the tortoise is not divine. From the fact that importance is attached to their names, it does not follow that they really possess such qualities. Since they do not possess those qualities, we know that they are not gifted with supernatural powers, and, as they do not possess these, it is plain that heaven and earth cannot be asked through their medium. . .
We are living between Heaven and Earth, as lice do on the human body. If those lice, desirous of learning man's opinion, were emitting sounds near his ear, he would not hear them. Why? Because there is such an enormous difference of size, that their utterances would remain inaudible. Now, let us suppose that a pigmy like a man puts questions to Heaven and Earth, which are so immense; how could they understand his words, and how become acquainted with his wishes? . . .
When King Wu of Chou destroyed Chou, the interpreters put a bad construction upon the omens, and spoke of a great calamity. T'ai Kung flung the stalks away, and trampled upon the tortoise saying, "How can dried bones and dead herbs know fate?"
In point of fact, diviners do not communicated with heaven and earth, nor do weeds or tortoises have spiritual powers. That they have, and that heaven and earth are being interrogated, is an idea of common scribblers. How can we prove that?
Tse Lu asked Confucius, "A pig's shoulder and a sheep's leg can serve as omens, and from creepers, rushes, straws, and duckweed we can foreknow destiny. What need is there then for milfoil and tortoises?"
"That is not correct," said Confucius, "for their names are essential. The milfoil's name means old, and the tortoise's, aged. In order to elucidate doubtful things, one must ask the old and the aged." According to this reply, milfoil is not spiritual, and the tortoise is not divine. From the fact that importance is attached to their names, it does not follow that they really possess such qualities. Since they do not possess those qualities, we know that they are not gifted with supernatural powers, and, as they do not possess these, it is plain that heaven and earth cannot be asked through their medium. . .
We are living between Heaven and Earth, as lice do on the human body. If those lice, desirous of learning man's opinion, were emitting sounds near his ear, he would not hear them. Why? Because there is such an enormous difference of size, that their utterances would remain inaudible. Now, let us suppose that a pigmy like a man puts questions to Heaven and Earth, which are so immense; how could they understand his words, and how become acquainted with his wishes? . . .
When King Wu of Chou destroyed Chou, the interpreters put a bad construction upon the omens, and spoke of a great calamity. T'ai Kung flung the stalks away, and trampled upon the tortoise saying, "How can dried bones and dead herbs know fate?"
Ghosts
People say that the dead become spirit beings, or ghosts, that they are conscious, and can hurt men. Let us examine this by comparing men with other beings.
The dead do not become ghosts, have no consciousness, and cannot injure others. How do we know this? We know it from other beings. Man is a being, and other creatures are likewise beings. When a creature dies, it does not become a ghost, for what reason then must man alone become a ghost when he expires? In this world you can separate man from other creatures, but not on the ground that he becomes a ghost. The faculty to become a ghost cannot be a distinctive mark. If, on the other hand, there is no difference between man and other creatures, we have no reason either to suppose that man may become a ghost.
Man lives by virtue of his vital force. When he dies, this vital force is exhausted. It resides in the arteries. At death the pulse stops, and the vital force ceases to work; then the body decays, and turns into earth and clay. By what could it become a ghost?
Without ears or eyes men have no perceptions. In this respect the deaf and the blind resemble plants and trees. But are men, whose vital force is gone, merely as if they had no eyes, or no ears? No, their decay means complete dissolution.
When men see ghosts, they appear like living men. Just from the fact that they have the shape of living men we can infer that they cannot be the spirits of the dead, as will be seen from the following.
Fill a bag with rice, and a sack with millet. The rice in the bag is like the millet in the sack. Full, they look strong, stand upright, and can be seen. Looking at them from afar, people know that they are a bag of rice, and a sack of millet, because their forms correspond to their contents, and thus become perceptible. If the bag has a hole, the rice runs out, and if the sack is damaged, the millet is spilt. Then the bag and the sack collapse, and are no more visible, when looked at from afar.
Man's vital force resides in the body, as the millet and rice do in the bag and the sack. At death the body decays, and the vital force disperses, just as the millet and the rice escape from the pierced or damaged bag, or sack. When the millet or the rice are gone, the bag and the sack do not take a form again. How then could there be a visible body again, after the vital force has been scattered and lost?
The nature of heaven and earth is such, that a new fire can be lighted, but a burnt-out fire cannot be set ablaze again. A new man can be born, but a dead one cannot be resurrected. If burnt-out ashes could be kindled again into a blazing fire, I would be very much of opinion that the dead might take a bodily form again. Since, however, a burnt-out fire cannot burn again, we are led to the conclusion that the dead cannot become ghosts. [...]
The dead do not become ghosts, have no consciousness, and cannot injure others. How do we know this? We know it from other beings. Man is a being, and other creatures are likewise beings. When a creature dies, it does not become a ghost, for what reason then must man alone become a ghost when he expires? In this world you can separate man from other creatures, but not on the ground that he becomes a ghost. The faculty to become a ghost cannot be a distinctive mark. If, on the other hand, there is no difference between man and other creatures, we have no reason either to suppose that man may become a ghost.
Man lives by virtue of his vital force. When he dies, this vital force is exhausted. It resides in the arteries. At death the pulse stops, and the vital force ceases to work; then the body decays, and turns into earth and clay. By what could it become a ghost?
Without ears or eyes men have no perceptions. In this respect the deaf and the blind resemble plants and trees. But are men, whose vital force is gone, merely as if they had no eyes, or no ears? No, their decay means complete dissolution.
When men see ghosts, they appear like living men. Just from the fact that they have the shape of living men we can infer that they cannot be the spirits of the dead, as will be seen from the following.
Fill a bag with rice, and a sack with millet. The rice in the bag is like the millet in the sack. Full, they look strong, stand upright, and can be seen. Looking at them from afar, people know that they are a bag of rice, and a sack of millet, because their forms correspond to their contents, and thus become perceptible. If the bag has a hole, the rice runs out, and if the sack is damaged, the millet is spilt. Then the bag and the sack collapse, and are no more visible, when looked at from afar.
Man's vital force resides in the body, as the millet and rice do in the bag and the sack. At death the body decays, and the vital force disperses, just as the millet and the rice escape from the pierced or damaged bag, or sack. When the millet or the rice are gone, the bag and the sack do not take a form again. How then could there be a visible body again, after the vital force has been scattered and lost?
The nature of heaven and earth is such, that a new fire can be lighted, but a burnt-out fire cannot be set ablaze again. A new man can be born, but a dead one cannot be resurrected. If burnt-out ashes could be kindled again into a blazing fire, I would be very much of opinion that the dead might take a bodily form again. Since, however, a burnt-out fire cannot burn again, we are led to the conclusion that the dead cannot become ghosts. [...]
Creating Five Branches of Government
What is a constitution? Briefly speaking, by constitution we mean the division of the political power of the state into different departments, each of which has a specialized function and is independent of the other departments. In the constitution of other nations the power of the state is divided into three departments, so we call this kind of constitution a three-power constitution.
One day I picked up a book entitled Liberty, written by a professor in Columbia University. In this book, the author points out the defects of the existing three-power constitution in America, and proposes a four-power constitution, which shall take away the power of impeachment from the legislature and vest it in a separate department independent of the legislative department. The author contends that when the legislature has the power to impeach, unscrupulous legislators misuse this power to intimidate the executive department. In this way the government has no freedom to do anything, and becomes extremely inefficient.
We Chinese have an ancient institution, known as the civil service examination, which is a very good way to get qualified people for government positions. In ancient China the only regular channel into government offices was examination. Anyone who came to office by other ways than examination was considered dishonest. The ancient system was extensively used in the feudal period.
After the monarchical system was established, the importance of the examination system gradually decreased, for the emperor had unlimited time, money, and energy to search for talent and expert knowledge in candidates to public offices. Since he was all-powerful in official appointments, he could appoint anyone whom he saw fit to any office. So he replaced the objective method of examination by the simpler method of personal selection.
Under the republican form of government, the people are the masters of the nation and they are to choose their public employees. But the people are busy with their own affairs and do not have unlimited opportunities to pick desirable persons for the various offices. The examination system, therefore, is absolutely necessary in the republican experiment. For this reason, I propose to add an examining power to the present three-power system. The independence of the examining power is a proposition of my own and is not copied from anyone else. I firmly believe that if China adopts the examination system, her constitutional machinery will work perfectly.
...China has had a constitution of three powers, namely, the imperial power, the examining power, and the power to impeach. The imperial power comprised the legislative, the judicial, and the executive powers. The examining power is China's most significant contribution to the theory of government. In olden times, examination was regarded as something extremely important and secret. While it was taking place, the examination halls were locked, so those who took the examination could not communicate with the outside. The readers of examination papers were held strictly to their duty, and favoritism was severely punished. As time went on, however, corruption appeared and the examination system correspondingly lost its significance.
In ancient China the power to impeach was vested in a specially appointed commission of censors. Some of these have become famous, for example, Chien Yi Ta Fu in the T'ang dynasty and the Yii Shih in the Manchu dynasty. These officials could admonish the emperor for his misdeeds, and they were very strict.
When we organized the T'ung-meng-hui (a Chinese revolutionary party) in Tokyo, we used the San Min Doctrine and the Five-Power Constitution [legislative, judicial, executive, examining, and impeachment powers] as our political program. We hoped that when our Revolution [1911] was successful we should be able to put these two into practice. Unfortunately there was misunderstanding among the revolutionists. The thought of the majority was that when the Manchu regime was overthrown, our revolutionary task was finished; so no more attention was paid to the work of reconstruction based upon the San Min Doctrine and the Five-Power Constitution. Consequently for ten years, since the founding of the republic, not only has nothing been done toward building a new nation, but our government has become more and more corrupt. I need not point out today in detail the causes of corruption. But before I pass on, I want to say that if we are to eradicate corruption and if we are to begin a new revolution, we must use the Five-Power Constitution as the basis of our national reconstruction. We must have a good constitution before we can build a true republic.
One day I picked up a book entitled Liberty, written by a professor in Columbia University. In this book, the author points out the defects of the existing three-power constitution in America, and proposes a four-power constitution, which shall take away the power of impeachment from the legislature and vest it in a separate department independent of the legislative department. The author contends that when the legislature has the power to impeach, unscrupulous legislators misuse this power to intimidate the executive department. In this way the government has no freedom to do anything, and becomes extremely inefficient.
We Chinese have an ancient institution, known as the civil service examination, which is a very good way to get qualified people for government positions. In ancient China the only regular channel into government offices was examination. Anyone who came to office by other ways than examination was considered dishonest. The ancient system was extensively used in the feudal period.
After the monarchical system was established, the importance of the examination system gradually decreased, for the emperor had unlimited time, money, and energy to search for talent and expert knowledge in candidates to public offices. Since he was all-powerful in official appointments, he could appoint anyone whom he saw fit to any office. So he replaced the objective method of examination by the simpler method of personal selection.
Under the republican form of government, the people are the masters of the nation and they are to choose their public employees. But the people are busy with their own affairs and do not have unlimited opportunities to pick desirable persons for the various offices. The examination system, therefore, is absolutely necessary in the republican experiment. For this reason, I propose to add an examining power to the present three-power system. The independence of the examining power is a proposition of my own and is not copied from anyone else. I firmly believe that if China adopts the examination system, her constitutional machinery will work perfectly.
...China has had a constitution of three powers, namely, the imperial power, the examining power, and the power to impeach. The imperial power comprised the legislative, the judicial, and the executive powers. The examining power is China's most significant contribution to the theory of government. In olden times, examination was regarded as something extremely important and secret. While it was taking place, the examination halls were locked, so those who took the examination could not communicate with the outside. The readers of examination papers were held strictly to their duty, and favoritism was severely punished. As time went on, however, corruption appeared and the examination system correspondingly lost its significance.
In ancient China the power to impeach was vested in a specially appointed commission of censors. Some of these have become famous, for example, Chien Yi Ta Fu in the T'ang dynasty and the Yii Shih in the Manchu dynasty. These officials could admonish the emperor for his misdeeds, and they were very strict.
When we organized the T'ung-meng-hui (a Chinese revolutionary party) in Tokyo, we used the San Min Doctrine and the Five-Power Constitution [legislative, judicial, executive, examining, and impeachment powers] as our political program. We hoped that when our Revolution [1911] was successful we should be able to put these two into practice. Unfortunately there was misunderstanding among the revolutionists. The thought of the majority was that when the Manchu regime was overthrown, our revolutionary task was finished; so no more attention was paid to the work of reconstruction based upon the San Min Doctrine and the Five-Power Constitution. Consequently for ten years, since the founding of the republic, not only has nothing been done toward building a new nation, but our government has become more and more corrupt. I need not point out today in detail the causes of corruption. But before I pass on, I want to say that if we are to eradicate corruption and if we are to begin a new revolution, we must use the Five-Power Constitution as the basis of our national reconstruction. We must have a good constitution before we can build a true republic.
San Min Doctrine
A political constitution is machinery for controlling human affairs. It is machinery contrived to harmonize liberty with autocracy. Ever since we began our revolution, the San Min Doctrine has been our motto. The San Min Doctrine includes the Min Ts'u Doctrine or the Doctrine of Nationalism, Min Ch'uan Doctrine or the Doctrine of Democracy, and Min Sheng Doctrine or the Doctrine of Livelihood.
The San Min Doctrine corresponds with the doctrine stated by President Lincoln "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people." I translated this into min yu or "people to have," min chih or "people to govern," and min hsiang or "people to enjoy." The people must be able to govern themselves before they can enjoy the blessings of government. If they cannot govern themselves, they will not enjoy. If it is impossible to have "people to enjoy," it is also impossible to have "people to have."
The People's Government will reconstruct the Republic of China in accordance with the San Min Doctrine and the Five-Power Constitution.
The first step in reconstruction is to promote the economic well-being of the people [Min Sheng] by providing for their four greatest necessities of life: namely, food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. For this purpose, the Government will, with the people's co-operation, develop agriculture to give the people an adequate food supply, promote textile industries to solve their clothing problem, institute gigantic housing schemes to provide for them decent living quarters, and build roads and canals so that they may have convenient means of travel.
Next is the promotion of democracy [Min Ch’uan]. The Government will educate the people and give them the necessary political training for the exercise of their rights of suffrage, initiative, referendum, and recall.
The third step is the development of nationalism [Min Ts’u]. The Government will give assistance to the weaker classes of people and make them capable of self-government and self-determination. At the same time, the Government will resist foreign aggression and revise our treaties with foreign powers so as to re-establish our national independence and international equality.
The San Min Doctrine corresponds with the doctrine stated by President Lincoln "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people." I translated this into min yu or "people to have," min chih or "people to govern," and min hsiang or "people to enjoy." The people must be able to govern themselves before they can enjoy the blessings of government. If they cannot govern themselves, they will not enjoy. If it is impossible to have "people to enjoy," it is also impossible to have "people to have."
The People's Government will reconstruct the Republic of China in accordance with the San Min Doctrine and the Five-Power Constitution.
The first step in reconstruction is to promote the economic well-being of the people [Min Sheng] by providing for their four greatest necessities of life: namely, food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. For this purpose, the Government will, with the people's co-operation, develop agriculture to give the people an adequate food supply, promote textile industries to solve their clothing problem, institute gigantic housing schemes to provide for them decent living quarters, and build roads and canals so that they may have convenient means of travel.
Next is the promotion of democracy [Min Ch’uan]. The Government will educate the people and give them the necessary political training for the exercise of their rights of suffrage, initiative, referendum, and recall.
The third step is the development of nationalism [Min Ts’u]. The Government will give assistance to the weaker classes of people and make them capable of self-government and self-determination. At the same time, the Government will resist foreign aggression and revise our treaties with foreign powers so as to re-establish our national independence and international equality.
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