Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance
By Sima Guang
Translated By Yiming Yang
Annals of Han Book 25 Scroll 33 (continued)
The 2nd year of Emperor Cheng’s Suihe Era (7 B.C. continued)
On September 25, an earthquake struck more than thirty locations, from the capital to the northern regions, destroying city walls and killing over four hundred people when buildings collapsed on them. The Emperor, seeking an explanation for this calamity, consulted the attendant-in-waiting Li Xun, who replied:
“The sun is the lord of all things belonging to yang and the emblem of the male sovereign. When the sovereign fails to cultivate virtue, the sun loses its proper force, becoming dim and deprived of its radiance. Recently, the sun has been especially unsettled: its halo has been invaded and diminished, and its corona has repeatedly been encroached upon. This humble servant does not know the inner affairs of the court, yet from observing the sun, I privately infer that Your Majesty’s character and conduct have declined from what they were at the beginning of your reign. Your Majesty should uphold the virtues of firmness and perseverance, maintain the proper standard with steadfast resolve, and not be swayed by the flattery of women in the inner court, by deceitful ministers, or by the false lamentations of favored maids and wet nurses. Such entreaties must be firmly rejected. Uphold the great principles of righteousness with strength and constancy, and do not trouble yourself over petty matters. If there are indeed some whom you cannot bear to do without, you may bestow goods and wealth upon them; but you must not, out of personal favor, grant them office or rank. This is truly the prohibition laid down by August Heaven.
“I have heard that the moon is the ruler of all things belonging to yin, representing the empress and consorts, the ministers, and the feudal lords. Recently, the moon too has undergone disturbing changes. This suggests disorder within the imperial court, arising from the Empress Dowager’s interference in government and the havoc thereby wrought at court, so that both yin and yang are thrown out of balance, and neither is properly regulated. I am but an outsider to court affairs and do not understand them fully; I know only a little of astrology. Yet the observation of celestial phenomena indicates that even those ministers closest to Your Majesty are not to be relied upon. Your Majesty should personally seek out virtuous scholars, prevent evil men from gaining influence, and thereby exalt the glory of the state and strengthen the dynasty.
“I have heard that the Five Elements take water as their basis, for water is the measure of balance and fairness. When the kingly way is upright, public order is maintained; when the rivers generally follow their proper courses, the circulation of the realm remains unhindered. But when the court departs from principle and strays from the normal course, the rivers overflow, and disaster follows. Now the floods of the Rushui River and the Ying River, joined with the rains, have inundated the people. This is what the Book of Songs describes as ‘all the rivers in tumult,’ a fault attributed to the Huangfu clan, the affinal relatives of the Zhou house. Your Majesty should therefore place some restraint upon affinal relatives who hold the highest offices.
“I have heard that the earth is by nature gentle and tranquil, and thus represents the constant condition of yin. Recently, the eastern regions have suffered repeated earthquakes. It would be advisable to exalt yang and restrain yin in order to correct these faults, to strengthen authority, close off hidden avenues of influence, promote the capable, and dismiss the unfit, thereby consolidating the present dynasty. When the foundation is strong, the vital spirit is fortified and able to overcome evil; when the foundation is weak, it invites calamity and danger, and wicked schemes prevail. In the past, when the Prince of Huainan, Liu An, plotted rebellion, the man he feared most was Ji An, while men such as Gongsun Hong were not even worth mentioning. Gongsun Hong was a famous statesman of the Han dynasty, yet even he would still stand unrivaled in the present court. If even Gongsun Hong was held of so little account, what then of those who fall far below him? Thus, when the court lacks capable men, it naturally becomes vulnerable to rebellion and disorder.”
The Cavalry Commandant Ping Dang, who was in charge of the river embankments, advised: “The Nine Rivers are now all silted up and no longer flow. If one examines the meaning of the Classics, the methods for controlling the waters speak of opening the rivers and deepening the channels, but contain no injunction about building embankments and blocking breaches. From Weijun Commandery northeastward, the Yellow River has often overflowed and broken through its banks; the watercourses are difficult to distinguish clearly, and one cannot deceive the multitudes within the Four Seas. It would be fitting to seek widely for experts able to dredge the channels and open the course of the River.”
The Emperor approved this suggestion.
The attendant-in-waiting Jia Rang presented his views: “There are three strategies for managing the river: the superior, the middle, and the inferior. In ancient times, when founding settlements and establishing the people, it was essential to keep away from places where rivers and marshes converged and to choose land beyond the reach of floodwaters. Along great rivers, men did not build dikes, but allowed the smaller streams to flow into them; dams and low embankments were constructed to form marshes where the autumn waters might accumulate, allowing the surrounding currents to move slowly and not become too violent. The need of the land for a river is like the need of a man for a mouth. To heap up earth to restrain a river is like stopping a child’s crying by plugging its mouth: the measure takes effect at once, but the child’s death comes all the sooner. Hence there is a saying: ‘A good manager of rivers opens channels to let the waters flow; a good ruler allows the people to voice their feelings and grants freedom of speech.’”
“The building of embankments began in the Warring States period, when the various states constructed dikes for their own advantage. Qi, Zhao, and Wei each used the Yellow River as a boundary. Zhao and Wei, being closer to the mountains, and Qi, whose land was lower, each built embankments twenty-five li from the Yellow River. When the waters of the Yellow River reached the embankments of Qi, they overflowed westward into Zhao and Wei. Zhao and Wei in turn also built embankments twenty-five li from the River. Though these were not perfectly aligned, the waters still wandered. Over time, these lands filled with silt and became fertile for cultivation. When the waters receded, people settled there, and the settlements gradually became villages. Then, when the waters rose again and submerged the villages, newer and higher embankments were built for protection. Thus towns and villages gradually shifted their locations, while marshes were drained away, and inundation and drowning continued to occur from time to time.
“Today the embankments stand much closer to the river, some in the narrowest places reaching to within only a few hundred paces of the water, while others extend for several li. Within the old embankments there are multiple layers, and people live between them, following practices handed down from earlier generations. From Liyang in Henei Commandery to Zhaoyang in Weijun Commandery, stone embankments have been built on both the eastern and western sides. These redirect the floodwaters, forcing the river, over the course of a hundred li, twice westward and then three times eastward, so that it remains continually constricted and unstable.”
“The superior option is to relocate the people of Jizhou who live within the flood zone, then breach the barriers at Zhehai Pavilion in Liyang, allowing the Yellow River to flow northward into the sea. To the west of the Yellow River lies a great mountain, and to the east lies the Golden Embankment, so that extensive flooding can be prevented. Within a month, the overflow should be brought under control. Critics may argue that such a measure would destroy thousands of cities, fields, and tombs, thereby arousing widespread resentment among the people. Yet when Yu the Great controlled the floods, he cut through mountains that stood in his way, opened the Dragon Gate, cleared Mount Yique, cut through Mount Dizhu, and split rocks all the way to Mount Jieshi. Such labors reshaped Heaven and Earth themselves. Compared with that, a few man-made structures are of no account, and such objections are not worth heeding.
“At present, the annual cost of maintaining embankments in the ten commanderies along the river amounts to millions, and when great breaches occur, the damage cannot be calculated. If several years’ worth of river-management expenses were instead devoted to relocating the affected people, following the methods of the ancient sages, restoring the mountains and rivers to their proper courses, and ensuring that human habitation and the natural world each remain in their rightful places without encroaching upon one another, then the matter would be resolved. The Han dynasty possesses a realm stretching ten thousand li; why should it haggle with the Yellow River over mere feet and inches? If this strategy were successfully carried out, it would pacify the river and protect the people for a thousand years. This is why it is called the superior option.
“The middle option is to construct additional canals in Jizhou for irrigation, regulate the distribution of the waters, and thereby ease the fury of the Yellow River. Though this is not the method of the sages, it is a practical means of limiting the damage. Beginning from the mouth of Qi River eastward, stone embankments and numerous sluice gates should be established to control the Yellow River. Some may doubt that such a great river can be managed by channels and gates, yet the transport canal at Xingyang has already proved that water can be harnessed for conveyance. The irrigation canals of Jizhou must likewise rely upon sluice gates to distribute water into their branch channels. When the water is high, the eastern gates should be opened to irrigate Jizhou; when the water is low, the western gates should be opened to divert the river’s flow, thus ensuring proper irrigation of the fields while also preserving the embankments. This method is practical, and could enrich the state and secure the people’s welfare for several centuries. That is why it is called the middle strategy.
“The inferior option is to repair and extend the old embankments. This is laborious and costly, invites recurring disasters, and remains the least effective of all.”