Who has a vernacular translation of Wang Anshi's "Book of Confessions of Emperor Shang Renzong"? I beg you on my knees. If you know of any brothers who can give it, I would be very grateful.

[Original text] I was a foolish and unworthy minister, and I was favored to serve as an envoy. Now I have been favored to call you back to the palace. I have been appointed to serve, and I should repay Your Majesty with the envoy. He did not know that he was not qualified for the position, but he dared to take advantage of the situation and speak out about the affairs of the world. His Majesty, Fu Wei, thought carefully and chose one of them. It is very fortunate.

Meng En Bei envoy all the way: It should refer to the former official officer of Jiangnan East Road Tidian Prison (referred to as Tidian Jiangdong Prison). This official position is equivalent to the current provincial judicial director. According to Gong Yanming's "Revised Official Records of the Song Dynasty" on page 443, the original text of "Song History" is quoted: "To take charge of the prison litigation of the department and settle the merits... .and the assassination of officials." We can see that the responsibilities of this official rank are not only to supervise judicial fairness, but also to oversee the integrity of the prosecution.

Lu: The name of the administrative division in the Northern Song Dynasty is roughly equivalent to the current province. In the second year of Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, that is, after becoming a Jinshi in 1041, Wang Anshi successively served as a public official in the Huainan East Road Jiedu magistrate's office (equivalent to staff and secretary), Zhimingzhou Yinxian, Shuzhou Tongpan, Zhichangzhou, and Tidian Jiangdong. Among them, only the last position is a road-level official position.

Now I have been called back to Queting by grace, and I have been appointed: it refers to the October of the third year of Jiayou reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty. Renzong ordered Wang Anshi to be appointed as the judge of the third division branch. According to Professor Deng Guangming's speculation: Wang Anshi was not willing to take office in the capital, and did not officially take office until the spring and summer of the fourth year of Jiayou (see page 28 of "Wang Anshi, Political Reformer of the Northern Song Dynasty").

We should report back to His Majesty with envoys: we should report on the situation of local appointments.

Dare to make things happen: try to adapt to the situations you come into contact with during your tenure.

Bold remarks: arrogant and bold comments.

Choose among them: Choose the appropriate parts.

[Original text] I have observed that Your Majesty is thrifty, intelligent and wise; he works hard and sleeps day and night without slacking off for a day; he has nothing to do with his sensual pleasures and pleasures, and observes and enjoys good things. The desire to be kind to the people and love for things spreads throughout the world; and the people who are wanted by the world are publicly selected to serve as auxiliary ministers, and those who belong to them do things, and do not slander evil and ingenious ministers. Although this was the intention of the two emperors and three kings, it was nothing more than that. It is appropriate for his family to provide enough people and bring great order to the world, but the effect is not that great. When looking at the inside, one must worry about the country, and outside, one must not fear the barbarians. The world's financial resources are becoming increasingly poor, and customs are deteriorating day by day. People with lofty ideals from all over are always afraid that the world will be uneasy for a long time. What is the reason for this? The trouble lies in not knowing the rules.

Wang Anshi first paid the very necessary compliments to the current emperor, including:

1. He is both capable and virtuous; 2. He works tirelessly; 3. He is not a good person;

4. Be frugal and love the people; 5. Appoint talents and avoid sycophants.

We call this kind of compliment very necessary because under the premise of autocracy, the speaker does have the primary obligation to protect his own life. This reminds me of Erasmus's compliments to Charles V in "On the Education of the Christian Monarch": "Charlie, the wisest of all kings", "Your good nature, your honest mind, your genius" Talent, and the education you received under those most noble teachers.” Such compliments create favorable conditions for the flattered person to accept the complimenter's advice.

Wang Anshi completed the turning point of his argument with the sentence "But the effect is not that great." The pragmatic compliment immediately turned into a realistic criticism, and it was very sharp. Including:

1. From an internal perspective, the country’s governance situation is difficult to be optimistic about;

2. From a diplomatic perspective, the military future is worrying. At that time, there was the threat of Liao on the northern border; the challenge of Xixia in the northwest; and the encroachment of Jiaozhi in the southwest (see Wei Zusong's "Interpretation of the Empire's Survival Environment"). It was difficult for the Northern Song Dynasty court to achieve a decisive victory, so it could only take a defensive stance in diplomacy and military affairs;

3. The economic situation was difficult. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, 5/6 of the annual fiscal revenue was used for armament and raising troops (see the preface of Yang Shuo's "Song Shenzong and Wang Anshi's Reform"), and only 1/6 of the fiscal revenue could be used for government expenditure;

4. The social atmosphere is corrupt;

5. People with lofty ideals are deeply worried about the country’s prospects.

From Wang Anshi's words, we can already imagine that the political environment of the Northern Song Dynasty was relatively relaxed.

Such sharp criticism can be described as a "vicious attack" and "deliberate belittling". We should not forget the ending of Peng Dehuai's The Book of Ten Thousand Words. In comparison, Wang Anshi's situation was much more comfortable.

So, what caused the dynasty to be "weak" and "poor"? Wang Anshi believes that the fundamental problem lies in not paying attention to the rule of law and system construction - let me make a statement: this explanation is temporary, and you will know whether it is appropriate after reading on.

If Wang Anshi’s “ignorance of the law” really means that he does not pay attention to the rule of law and system construction, then Wang Anshi is really very brave. Because not paying attention to the rule of law and not paying attention to system construction is a common fault of China's authoritarian political system. This was true before Wang Anshi and it was also true after Wang Anshi. We can even say: This common problem is actually determined by the authoritarian political system itself. Wang Anshi pointed out the shortcomings of this system, which actually shook the foundation of the system to some extent. Of course, Wang Anshi himself did not know that his insights were extremely "revolutionary", let alone that his ideals would be realized thousands of years later.

[Original text] Today's imperial court has strict laws and regulations that are all-encompassing, but why do you think it is impossible to measure them? Most of the current laws are not in line with the policies of the previous kings. Mencius said: "Those who have benevolent hearts and benevolent people, but do not bring benefits to the people, are conducting government according to the laws of the previous kings." According to Mencius's words, the current mistake lies in this.

Wang Anshi continued to write: Nowadays, the court's laws are strict and comprehensive, but I, Wang Anshi, say that there are no laws (not paying attention to the rule of law and the system). Why is this?

Wang Anshi made another turning point probably because he thought of the easiest accusation made by opponents. Wang Anshi's intention in this paragraph is to establish his own banner of administrative reform by countering this accusation: the law precedes the king. He said: The reason why I say there are no laws is because most of these laws are not in line with the governing philosophy of the former kings (note: the former kings refer to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors).

The remarks of Mencius cited by Wang Anshi come from the Li Lou chapter of "Mencius". The original text should be: "Li Lou's wisdom and Gongshu Zi's skill are not based on regular rules and cannot form a square circle; Shi Kuang's wisdom is not based on the six laws and cannot correct the five tones; the way of Yao and Shun is not based on benevolent government and cannot govern the world." Those who have benevolent hearts and benevolent listeners but the people are not benefited by them and cannot follow the laws of future generations cannot follow the way of the previous kings. Therefore, it is said: Only good deeds are not enough to govern, and only the law cannot be used by oneself." Although the words and sentences are different, they are understood in semantics. , based on supporting evidence, Wang Anshi did not make a mistake.

Those who have benevolent hearts and benevolent listeners today but the people are not benefited by them and cannot be punished by future generations cannot practice the way of the previous kings--meaning: there are some princes today who have benevolent wishes or have a reputation for benevolence and righteousness. , but their people did not benefit, and their behavior could not become an example for future generations. This was because the governing principles of the previous kings were not implemented.

Using Mencius's point of view to analyze the politics of later generations, it is of course "not practicing the way of the previous kings", and thus was defined by Wang Anshi as "ignoring the law". So, is Mencius’s view correct? I think it's logically untenable.

Li Lou has good eyesight and Gongshu Pan is highly skilled, but they cannot draw a circle without compasses and rulers; Shi Kuang has good hearing, but he cannot tune the music without using the six rhythms of tuning. Calibrate pitch. From these examples we can see that if you have desires and abilities, you must use tools and respect objective laws before you can realize your abilities and realize your desires. But then Mencius' reasoning went awry, because the way of Yao and Shun, benevolent government and peaceful governance of the world, are actually the same thing, but they are said in different ways. These are the aspirations, the question is where are the tools? Is benevolent government a tool? Of course it is not a tool, because this "benevolence" cannot be measured or standardized, so it cannot be implemented in practice.

Therefore, we need to find tools for benevolent government, such as legal construction. Then, Mencius's words can be changed to: "The way of Yao and Shun, if not controlled by law, cannot rule the world. If there are benevolent hearts and benevolent people today, but the people are not benefited by it and cannot be followed by the law in future generations, it cannot be controlled. Therefore, it is said: It is not enough to govern with kindness, and it is not enough to be benevolent in government." That is to say: administration and legal system construction are complementary to each other and both are indispensable. Mencius' reasoning conclusion is exactly the opposite: a mere method cannot be used on its own. Although it is not enough to have the law, the actual effect caused by such a concept is that we have never paid attention to the role of the law and the construction of the law.

In fact, the reason why "there are benevolent people today who are benevolent and benevolent, but the people are not affected by it and will not be punished by future generations" is very simple: they only talk but don't do anything. Benevolence and benevolence are just tools for the princes to dress themselves up, so how can the common people benefit from it? So doesn’t Mencius know such a simple reason? I think Mencius knew, but he couldn't tell. Mencius' approach is like an adult coaxing a child: Eat quickly, look at the sister over there who is almost done eating. You have to surpass her. If you surpass her, you will be the champion! Confucianism's wishful thinking is to exalt the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and then coax the princes: Look, these ancient saints are praised by people to this day. Do you want to become such a saint? If you think about it, let’s implement benevolent policies.

So, does Wang Anshi know Mencius’ unspeakable secret? I think Wang Anshi also knows. It's just that compared to Mencius, Wang Anshi's political environment has not changed fundamentally - or it's even worse: Mencius can still travel around the world, but Wang Anshi can only serve one emperor - so Wang Anshi can only use Mencius' old methods. Method: coax the child. This cannot but be said to be the sorrow of Wang Anshi, and what is even more sad is that we, the descendants, still cannot understand the sorrow of Meng and Wang.

[Original text] I think that today’s world is far away from the time of the previous kings. It has experienced changes and encountered different trends. However, if you want to repair the politics of the previous kings in one or two ways, even if you are very foolish, you still know it. Difficult. However, I say that the current failure is caused by the lawless government of the previous king, and that it is just a matter of following the law. The husband, two emperors and three kings have been away from each other for more than a thousand years, one is in control and the other is in chaos, and their rise and fall are all there. The changes they encounter and the trends they encounter are also different, and the methods of their facilities are also different. And its meaning is for the world and the country, the beginning and the end are the same, and they are not different. I, therefore, say that it is just a matter of law. According to his intention, the changes and changes I have made will not shock the ears and eyes of the world, or clamor in the mouths of the world, but will definitely be in line with the government of the former king.

Wang Anshi continued to write, and at the same time he continued to turn, as follows: Now we are too far away from the late king, and the changes and developments we encountered are very different. If you want to restore the politics of the late king, no matter how stupid you are, Also know this is impossible. And what I said is that the current flaw is that there is no politics based on the laws of the ancestors, which means that we should adopt the methods and principles of the ancestors.

Thank you Wang Anshi for your candor! He seemed eager to provide evidence for my above speculation, and quickly explained: The so-called Fa Xianwang's government was just Fa Qi's intention. And here I am speculating again: the so-called "faxian king" actually means borrowing the name of the former king. Why do you say this? Because no one can tell clearly what the former king’s intention is, and there is no way to verify or prove it. Therefore, “Fa the former king’s intention” is actually just a slogan and a banner.

Wang Anshi said: From Yao and Shun to Xia Yu, Shang Tang, and Zhou Wen, it lasted more than a thousand years, with alternating periods of rule and chaos, and cycles of prosperity and decline. The national situation is very complex, and governance measures also vary from time to time. But their principles for governing the country and the priority and order of measures are no different, so I say we should follow their principles and intentions. As long as they are based on their principles and intentions, the reforms and changes to be carried out now will not destabilize the country and panic the subjects, because these reforms have already followed the principles and intentions of the previous kings.

Wang Anshi once again proved that my guess was right. Under the protection of the banner of "the will of the late king," reforms will go more smoothly and opposition and criticism will be minimized. Wang Anshi has made a relatively full estimate of the reforms he wants to implement, the social reactions it will trigger, and the resistance and struggles he will encounter. Therefore, Wang Anshi's words here can be said to kill two birds with one stone: first, establish the banner of "the intention of the former king" to protect his reform cause; second, win the support of the top decision-makers, so that "the intention of the former king" becomes If we "obey the present principles", the great cause of reform will go smoothly and unimpeded.

[Original text] Although, given the current situation, even if Your Majesty wants to change the affairs of the world, it will be in line with the wishes of the late king, but he will definitely not be able to do so. Your Majesty has the virtue of courtesy and thrift, is intelligent and wise, has the will to benevolent to the people and loves things, and is sincere, so why can't he accomplish what he wants, and why can't he achieve what he wants? However, I said that although Your Majesty wants to change the affairs of the world, it is in line with the wishes of the late king, but it is inevitable that he will not be able to do so. Why? This is because there are not enough talents in the world today.

Wang Anshi found a banner for the reform: the intention of the former king. However, he believes that even so, reform will still be difficult to succeed. Why? Because he believed that there was not enough talent at the time.

Wang Anshi once again complimented Song Renzong's virtue, to explain that the failure of the reform was not the responsibility of the top decision-maker; and whether there were problems with the political system itself, Wang Anshi did not mention it; so who should be blamed for the failure of the reform? Woolen cloth? Not enough weirdos. The so-called talents here refer to people who have both virtue and talent. In a word, there are not enough gentlemen and not enough saints.

Wang Anshi blamed the lack of talent for the failure of reform. I think there are two reasons:

First, we must find a realistic reason to be responsible for the failure of reform, otherwise there is no way Account to history.

2. Wang Anshi’s thinking logic has not transcended the Confucian moral category of benevolence and righteousness. He still believes that gentlemen are the guarantee of social progress and villains are the fetters that hinder reform.

Is this statement by Wang Anshi - "It is because there are not enough talents in the world today" - right? I think some are right and some are wrong.

What is right is: 1. Professional talents who understand economics, business management, and can manage the country's finances are extremely scarce; 2. Although they do not understand economics, they are capable, talented, and support reform. Talents are extremely scarce. .

What is wrong is that Wang Anshi cannot understand: 1. Compared with actual demand, the supply of talents is always scarce; 2. People who do not benefit the country but only benefit themselves are also talents; 3. , improve the judiciary, establish a market system, and rely on the market to cultivate talents.

[Original text] I have tried to take a sneak peek at the people in power in the world, and there is no shortage of them at this time. If the lady's talents are lacking at the top, there will be heavy waste lurking below that is not known at the time. I looked for it among the grass and fields in the alleys, but I didn't see many of them. Isn't it just the right way to cultivate and cultivate?

The minister said that the talents currently in office are insufficient. This can be seen from the achievements of the minister. Today, thousands of miles along the way, there are very few people who can carry out the decrees of the imperial court, know its priorities, and enable the people to practice their duties. There are countless people who are incompetent, simple and greedy. Those who can interpret the wishes of the former kings in order to adapt to the changes of the time will often fail to do so among the counties. Every time the imperial court issues an order, although the intention is good, the people in power are still unable to implement it so that the blessings can be added to the people; and the officials often fall in love with it to disturb the people. The minister said: There are not enough talents in power, and there are not many of them among the grassy fields and alleys.

If you have insufficient talents, your Majesty may want to change the affairs of the world to conform to the wishes of the late king, and even if your ministers are capable of fulfilling your Majesty’s wishes and want to lead them, the nine states are so big and the four seas are so far away. Who can follow His Majesty's instructions and carry out this in one or two ways, and everyone will be rewarded by it? I therefore said that it was bound to fail. Mencius said, "The Dharma cannot be used by itself." Isn't this what it means?

But the most pressing issue now is talent. Honesty can make the world have many talents, and then the talents in power can choose and take advantage of them. It is very easy for the person in power to obtain his talents and then wait a moment to see if the situation is right or not, and then change the bad laws of the world to conform to the wishes of the previous king due to human suffering. Today's world is also the world of the previous kings. During the time of the previous kings, there were many talented people, so why is it that only one is not enough now? Therefore, it is said: What is cultivated is not the right way.

Wang Anshi said: I have tried to examine the talents for official positions, and there has never been such a shortage as now. Since there are few people who have held official positions, there should be a lot of people in the opposition. However, I have investigated among the people and found that there are very few talents in the field. Maybe it’s because of improper education that talents are so scarce?

I have analyzed above that Wang Anshi’s discussion implicitly defines talents, namely: 1. Having both ability and political integrity; 2. Understanding economics or regulations; 3. Supporting reforms. Those who have these three things are called talents, and those who do not have these three things are not talents. Otherwise, I can also say: The scarcity of talents now is even more serious than in Wang Anshi's era - do we have Wang Anshi? Is there Sima Guang? Are there Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan, and Su Shi?

Therefore, Wang Anshi’s words are very serious, but we cannot forget: it was an era of brilliant stars. And this brilliant star is closely related to the political enlightenment of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Wang Anshi then used his own experience as an example: within an area of ??several thousand miles with "road" as the jurisdiction, officials who can implement the court's laws and clarify the priorities of policies, thereby promoting the people to live and work in peace and contentment are very good. On the contrary, there are countless officials who are incompetent, careless, greedy and immoral. There are almost no officials who can adhere to the governing philosophy of the previous kings and combine them with today's reality.

Although the decrees issued by the imperial court have good intentions, officials fail to implement them effectively, and the people do not get the benefits they deserve; while grassroots officials use these decrees to use their brains to exploit the people.

After reading Wang Anshi’s words, how can we not feel emotional about it? We are now almost a thousand years away from the reign of Song Renzong, but the political situation has not changed much. We also often say: The central government’s policies are good, but local implementation has changed. Another saying is: The highest level is good, the lowest level is also good, and the problem lies in the middle level. Are these statements correct?

Wang Anshi discussed the fact that most officials are unqualified. So what's the problem? Of course, it’s the system of appointing and inspecting officials. Therefore, in order to change this situation, we must first change the system of appointing and inspecting officials. In our history, the emperor inspects the central government, and the central government inspects local governments, while the common people only have the role of being managed and oppressed. Has no one ever thought that ordinary people can inspect local governments?

Our political thinking actually ends with Han Fei’s jurisprudence. As the saying goes, "Things that must be done in the four directions must be in the center; if the sage insists, the four directions will follow suit" (see "Han Feizi" Yang Commentary 8), this basic idea of ??centralization has not changed for thousands of years, and there has never been any idea of ??"decentralization", let alone There is no intention to decentralize power to the people at the bottom. Little did they know that in this system, power and responsibility are so unequal. The power to appoint and inspect officials lies with the people above, but the direct results of officials’ negligence and mistakes are borne by the people below. However, who will advocate for the basic rights of the people at the bottom?

Wang Anshi continued: Even if the central government is competent and can help His Majesty implement reforms, how can it benefit everyone with its vast land and large population? Therefore, Mencius said that "the law cannot be carried out on its own", which means that the implementation of laws requires many talents, otherwise the laws will be empty.

Wang Anshi’s statement is also what many of us think now. They believe that although the legal system is good, the law needs to be promoted by virtuous people and implemented by talents with both ability and political integrity, otherwise the legal system can only fail.

Why do you think this way? I think this is because people don’t understand the origin of the law. According to our country's traditional concept, the sources of law are statutory laws (Constitution, other laws), administrative regulations (policies, documents), local regulations, departmental or industry regulations, international treaties and practices. In other words, a document issued by an administrative department is also a legal text with mandatory meaning. In fact, the power of legislation is fragmented, and the power of law enforcement is also fragmented. Therefore, of course, so many people with legislative and law enforcement powers must It should be someone who has both ability and political integrity. But our tragedy is: the fact is exactly the opposite.

So what to do? Are we waiting for gentlemen with both ability and political integrity to appear in large numbers? Or promote improvements in legislation and law enforcement mechanisms? We can find the answer from Wang Anshi's article: even if you wait a thousand years, you won't be able to wait until the "gentleman" and "sage" mass-produce it! So, what should we do if we don’t have talent? We need to cultivate ourselves into talents (please note: we do not “regard” ourselves as talents!) What should we do if the legislation and law enforcement mechanisms are not perfect? We advance their improvement through study, compliance, and discussion.

Mencius said, "A law cannot be implemented by itself." Just having a law will not be implemented by itself. This is quite right. So how to solve it? It should be solved through legislation. If it is enacted by the highest decision-making level or by the central government, then of course this law cannot be passed on its own initiative, because this kind of law only reflects the intention of the legislator and cannot reflect the interests of the law-abiding people. Legislation needs to reflect the interests of all law-abiding people, so that such legislation can be implemented without orders. Of course, the power of legislation and law enforcement needs to be separated, so as to ensure the fairness of legislation and law enforcement.

Wang Anshi concluded: The most urgent thing now is the shortage of talents. If there is enough talent, then appointing officials will have room to choose. When officials are able to fulfill their duties and the time for reform is relatively mature, it will be easier to reform the old laws with drawbacks based on the feedback from the people and gradually approach the governing philosophy of the late kings. The world now is the same as the world of the former king. There were many talents in the days of the previous kings, but why are there so few now? So I say: This is illegal education.

Wang Anshi’s view is indeed ahead of its time.

Wang Anshi believed that according to the imperial examination and poetry selection methods at that time, it was impossible to recruit practical talents who understood economics and had experience. We know that the imperial examination system was not officially abolished until the end of the late Qing Dynasty. This shows that the relationship between imperial autocracy and the selection of scholars through the imperial examination is closely related. But Wang Anshi saw that the imperial examination for selecting scholars in poetry and poetry actually hindered the highest authorities from absorbing real talents to serve themselves. This cannot but show that Wang Anshi had the calmness and courage to transcend the times.

Although reforming education methods and reforming the imperial examination system cannot change the nature of imperial autocracy, abandoning the dogma of traditional doctrine and advocating the practice of managing the world and benefiting the people will in itself change the intellectuals' attitude towards economic affairs. attitude, thereby changing the narrow understanding of credit, contracts, rules, rights, and interests. What a remarkable change this will be, and at the same time it will greatly promote the progress of society. In other words: the driving force of society does not come from morality and doctrine, but from the market and contracts.