"To release the weeds and guard the plant, I hope to find the rabbit again." "The rabbit cannot be recovered, but I am a laughing stock in the Song Dynasty." Translated into modern Chinese

"To release the weeds and guard the tree, hoping to get another rabbit" Translation: So the farmer put down his farm tools and stayed by the tree stump day and night, hoping to get another rabbit.

"The rabbit cannot be recovered, but the people of Song Dynasty laugh at it." Translation: However, it is impossible to get the hare again, and he himself was laughed at by the people of Song Dynasty.

From: "Han Feizi·Five Beetles" by Han Feizi during the Warring States Period

Excerpts from the original text:

People in the Song Dynasty had cultivators. There was a plant in the field. A rabbit walked along and touched the plant. It broke its neck and died. Because he released his weeds and guarded the plant, he hoped to get the rabbit again. The rabbit cannot be recovered, but it is the song of Song Dynasty that laughs. Today, if we want to use the government of the previous kings to govern the people of the current world, they will all be like Zhuzhu.

Translation:

There was a farmer in the Song Dynasty who had a tree stump in his field. One day, a hare that was running very fast hit a tree stump, broke its neck and died. So the farmer put down his farm tools and stood by the tree stump day and night, hoping to get another rabbit. But it was impossible to get the hare again, and he himself was laughed at by the people of Song. Now, if you want to use the strategies of governing the country in the past to govern the people of today, you are making the same mistake of waiting for something to happen!

Extended information

Enlightenment:

Don’t stick to a simple dead principle, an established goal or people and things, and never change your original idea throughout your life. , delusion that from now on, you can get the results that you first succeeded or imagined without working or taking action. You must know that things are constantly changing and developing.

Han Feizi believes that the times are developing, and people's lives, psychology, social customs and many other aspects are also changing. In ancient times, King Wen's benevolent government made the ancient Rong surrender, and King Xu Yan's benevolent and righteous rule was destroyed by the Chu State. Shun sent people with shields and axes to dance at the Miao people to make them surrender, but they danced against the Japanese Gong family. Failed miserably.

It can be seen that the same policy is implemented under different circumstances, but the results are very different. The practices of our ancestors achieved excellent results at the time, but they may not be applicable to today's society. Rulers should formulate different political policies based on the characteristics and requirements of different eras to govern the world.

Han Fei inherited Xunzi’s materialist thoughts in philosophy. In terms of politics, he summarized the thoughts of early Legalists such as Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, and Shen Dao, and put forward a complete set of The core of the doctrine of establishing feudal autocratic rule is the combination of "law", "skill" and "power".

"Fa" refers to publicly promulgated laws and decrees, "shu" refers to a set of methods used by princesses to secretly control their ministers, and "power" refers to the power used by monarchs to implement laws and control ministers. He believed that the monarch must combine these three, so that the political power can be firmly controlled and the country can be governed well.

He believed that educating the people with so-called benevolence and righteousness ideas could only influence a small number of people and could not achieve the political goal of making the entire people submit. As a ruler, simple kindness and understanding are far from enough. Instead, we should put the law first, govern the people in accordance with the law, and implement power politics.