Tao of Heaven Liberalism Discussion Series
Heaven Tea Chat Three: Honoring Virtue (Exceptional Abilities) and Harming Virtue
Liu Jun Ning
Translated By: Selene Cong
Confucius: I feel enlightened after our conversations. Although I cannot always completely agree with your views, I am excited and overjoyed to be able to exchange ideas with you. I have been looking forward to today’s topics of honoring virtue, keeping the citizen ignorant, action and non-action (wu-wei). I am a proponent of honoring virtue and be an active participant, while you are against honoring virtue and instead support wu-wei. Nevertheless, many people believe that we both support “de-educating the citizenry.” Do you think I am correct?
Lao Tzu: Whether to honor virtue, de-educate the citizenry, or whether to be active instead of passive, are three important topics. It might not be easy to analyze these issues thoroughly. Let us take them as far as we can lest we get over-excited and cannot sleep again tonight. Let’s begin with the subject of honoring virtue.
Confucius: You are known for opposing honoring virtuous exceptional abilities, about which I feel deeply perplexed. Does the prosperity of the nation not require the service of exceptional men? What’s wrong with respecting knowledge, respecting excellent men, giving them preferential treatment, or “selecting men based on their abilities?” Look! China is once again back on track toward being a healthy society. It’s not easy to return to valuing virtue from Mao’s time when the purging of the virtuous was encouraged.. Look at these buildings for professors, intellectuals, and specialists! These are signs of prosperity! I am overjoyed! I am not alone in my beliefs! But some people say, “xx are everywhere in the streets, xx are as many as dogs!” I can’t bear to tolerate it!
Lao Tzu: I heard from my American neighbor that there are no such words as “professor’s building, intellectual’s building, specialist’s building, senior official’s building, directors’ building” in their vocabulary. Neither does the government have a special contribution award, nor a director for the national intelligentsia. The U.S. government does not appoint people for some national intellectual institute. I have yet to see a “Ph.D. Director” on any business cards, or hear of the ruling party imposing a policy concerning the treatment of intellectuals. Shouldn’t we deduce then that the intellectuals in the U.S. are living in horrible conditions? According to this neighbor of mine, the United States is not alone in (the lack of) such practices; other Western nations are the same. Not honoring the virtuous was only an idea of mine without any supporting precedence. Now, I feel even stronger in my belief. Notice that what I am against is “honoring exceptional abilities,” not the virtuous people. Aren’t we both men of virtue? Am I against us?
Confucius: I haven’t paid much attention to the situation in the U.S. I know that many of their universities are private institutions; there isn’t a nationalized college entrance exam system and in most instances, there is not even a governmental institution for education; the state does not give preferential treatment for their intellectuals, either. Had you not clarified, I would have thought that you were truly against virtue and intelligence. I was wondering, since you are the most virtuous man in the world, how could you oppose yourself? But if you don’t believe in honoring virtue, how could the virtuous and benevolent stand apart from the mass?
Lao Tzu: Virtue is honored through a selective process based on their respective utility. People are selected based on the preference of the king. Usually, only those who are willing to bow down in their spirit are chosen. The result of honoring the virtues is that those so-called men virtue begin vying for the favor of the king, like beggars on their knees, and fighting amongst themselves for power, succeeding through conspiracies and deceptions. I support an electoral process so that men of all virtues may emerge through fair competition. An electoral process eliminates the biases of the kings and relies on the satisfaction of the people. Let the intellectuals compete in the market of academia; let the politicians compete in the arena of elections. Let the market determine their salary and housing. The best policy regarding the intellectuals is to not establish any policy concerning the intellectuals; show no favoritism nor prejudice toward them; let them be free.
Confucius: I still fail to understand why you despise the idea of honoring the virtues.
Lao Tzu: Honoring virtue is against the Tao of Heaven and it is a central characteristic of authoritarian rule. The downside of honoring virtue is that it treats men as tools for the kings. Using people as tools can be understood as harming people. Human beings are human beings. No matter how good a human being gets, he is not a tool just as the best tool cannot be human. There are two hidden truths behind honoring virtue, which I absolutely cannot accept. One is honoring power above all else and using power as the ultimate measure of virtue; the greater power one possesses, the more virtuous one is. The other is treating men as tools instead of men. Honoring virtue turns men of virtue into tools made of men. For the sages, there is no greater peril than those result from honoring virtue. What country can rival China in worshipping its intelligentsia? But what country can rival China in sacrificing its intelligentsia in the arena for power? Honoring virtue will eventually lead to hurting the virtuous and when the injury of the virtuous reaches a certain degree, it will be forced to return to honoring the virtuous. Not only is honoring the virtuous and harming the virtuous a vicious circle, but in the process of “honoring” certain virtuous, other virtuous people must be “harmed.” Otherwise, how could honoring the minority of virtuous people who are liked by the rulers be a privilege? Even among these “honored” people, many start with being “honored” and end up being “harmed.” Honoring virtue and harming virtue is essentially honor in the beginning and harm in the end! If you truly wish to protect the virtuous and benevolent, you should firmly oppose honoring the virtuous. The emperors and kings of the world claimed to be honoring virtue, and sought out the virtuous everywhere, only to turn the virtuous people into tools of securing their personal powers. Through honor, privilege, management, and rewards, they toy the virtuous with wands of power, leading to a degeneration of integrity and an impotence of the spirit.
Confucius: But, what’s the logical connection between not honoring virtue and “preventing men from competing?”
Lao Tzu: In an authoritarian society, virtue and non-virtue are measured by the benefit of the ruler. Those who will augment the welfare of the rulers are honored as being virtuous and rewarded with high positions and salaries, winning both prestige and profit. The result of honoring virtue is requiring men to become insincere in the face of power. Haven’t you seen men fighting each other over a bureaucratic position, or backstab each other for an honorific title? We shouldn’t encourage men to compete over ridiculous titles and privileges. Not honoring virtue and people will not compete for titles in the bureaucratic system. Instead, they will compete outside the system in a positive and cooperative manner. Honoring virtue is inevitably linked to the corruption of the rulers. Honoring virtue requires these people to prove accomplishment in their fields. Success relies on accomplishing major projects. Accomplishing a major project requires taking wealth from the people. If the supervisory rules are negligent, a major project is a god-given opportunity for corrupting government officials. Therefore, honoring virtue leads officials to honor money, and honoring money leads to valuing precious goods. Honoring virtue is the ideal incubator for brooding corruption and authoritarian power.
Confucius: I can understand you believe that the rulers should not value precious goods, and that governmental officials shouldn’t revel in extravagance. But what’s wrong with collectors enjoying rare calligraphies, paintings, etc.? That’s an indication of their finer taste. Shouldn’t these artifacts of culture be appreciated?
Lao Tzu: Government officials will certainly covet precious artifacts; they’ll collect or even obtain these artifacts through forceful means. Therefore, philosophers, artists, collectors, painters, writers, and poets are not suitable to be in positions of great power. The higher their abilities are in their respective fields, the farther they should stay from power. Look at Emperor Li Hou Zhu (a scholar king of ancient China). They can’t focus their energy or abilities on serving the public! I’ll give you another example. Calligraphy and Chinese paintings not only are national treasures but also tools of promoting corruption and ruining the state. If the rulers enjoy art, they will seek them out. Look at Kang Sheng. When the rulers are expert in arts, they will ruin the country. Look at Emperor Wei of Song Dynasty. Corrupt officials see calligraphy and painting as ways to print money. Don’t forget to look at Hu Chagn Qing. Why are the Chinese willing to spend handsome sums of money to ask willing and happy government officials to write for them? There is much behind what’s on the surface. Calligraphy, calligraphy, how much corruption took place under the pretence of love for you! It’s a pity that the Chinese has developed a culture as such! A government official who writes poorly is not a good official. Do you see such absurdity in Western democratic countries? Is there any politician known for good calligraphy? Recently, there has been an increase in the murder of corrupt officials with huge amounts of income of dubitable origin. Had they not coveted these precious goods, they wouldn’t have been killed. Those who are envious will extort and those who extort will certainly make enemies.
Confucius: I didn’t realize that honoring virtue has that many negative consequences. Now let us talk about “de-educate the citizenry.” To tell the truth, I firmly believe that stability rests in wisdom above and ignorance below. Therefore, why should you let the subordinates know so much? There are many important things that even if you tell them, they wouldn’t understand. Since you agree with me in keeping the subjects ignorant, I feel more secure in my opinions now.
Lao Tzu: Please don’t jump to conclusion too soon. You teachings are directed at the citizens, encouraging them to obey the rulers and not rebel. My teachings are directed at the rulers. I never control the people. My dictionary is different from yours. In my dictionary, ignorance and emptiness are positive. Such usages have also been accepted by many people. They even incorporate these seemingly negative words in their names. I believe that we should dumb down the rulers. They believe that they are the smartest and wisest because they have power in their hands. The rulers should not fool or manipulate the ordinary citizens just because the citizens do not know about the many of the true conditions of the nation. Rulers should not act against the heaven, nor control the world, nor mislead the world with highfalutin ideals, nor ignore the world for so-called great projects, nor enslave the world for so-called great projects. Had my teachings of emptying the hearts and weakening the ambition of the rulers prevailed, there wouldn’t have been travesties after travesties in the twentieth century. Without honoring virtue, there can be no anti-right movement; without being red, there cannot be liberal. Honoring virtue leads to political inequality for the people; it reinforces people’s identification with their political images and status difference to the extreme that one must report his political affiliation on any form he completes. Two millennia have passed since the emergence of honoring virtue. Now people are competing for honorific titles of excellence and securing positions. The result has always been opposite from the intention.
Confucius: May I ask how could we “dumb down” politicians?
Lao Tzu: I believe we should borrow from the way of the Tao of Heaven to empty the hearts of the rulers; let their hearts be empty like the valleys and may they become humble and careful with an open vision that is open to all criticism and opposing views so they would stop believing themselves to be omniscient or omnipotent. Fill his stomach: empty his heart so he could understand and absorb necessary information to be full in the stomach with knowledge; don’t let him become a politician who’s only capable of placating his superiors while bullying this subordinates. Weaken his ambition so he wouldn’t establish great and distant goals lest he tortures the entire society with his pipedream through the use of force to succeed. Let him not be competitive and antagonistic against heaven and men. Strengthen his bones: He must keep the body and soul healthy, be fixed in his beliefs, independent and capable. Only then can he serve the people. Those who are unhealthy physically or psychologically are unsuited for politics. If we do not empty the heart of the rulers, how could they follow the Tao of Heaven? Do you think those megalomaniacal men who claim to be the great saviors or the red sun still have the Tao of Heaven in their hearts? If we do not dumb down the rulers, those red suns and great saviors, who are insubordinate to the Tao of Heaven, will continue to rise. The result is not the salvation for the people but the persecution of the people. Therefore, I believe rulers should be dumb and refrain from action.
Confucius: You support not allowing the state or the rulers to be active. For that, no matter how hard I try, I cannot completely understand.
Lao Tzu: Your view on politics is active while mine is passive. You think that the rulers and the state should be active, while I think the rulers and the state should be passive and not acting. Wu-wei is not no action; it is “not acting senselessly,” but to obey what’s natural without force. “The Tao of Heaven” is wu-wei, letting all things grow naturally without interference or control. The Tao of Heaven requires the rulers to emulate its way, allowing the citizens to develop freely. Ruling by wu-wei is respecting the value of every citizen and protecting the citizens’ fundamental freedom and rights, based on the foundation of treasuring human life. All men are equal before the Tao of Heaven. We must not raise a portion of humanity and despise or oppress another portion. I believe that only when wu-wei is implemented, with everyone enjoying sufficient freedom, can there be stability in the world.
Tao of Heaven Chapter three:
Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to
keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles
which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming
thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is
the way to keep their minds from disorder.
Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties
their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens
their bones.
He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without
desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them
from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from
action, good order is universal. (J. Legge Translation)
The institutions of the state must not use the virtuous based on the preference of the rulers. Don’t let the people be ordered around by the state’s scepter, or fight amongst themselves for fame or power.
Politicians and government officials should not seek or collect precious goods. If becoming a politician is the quickest way to accumulate wealth in society, then many citizens must have suffered to pave the way. If the government and the citizens oppose each other, and injustice and unfairness are widespread, the society becomes unstable. The key is to use institutions to prevent politicians and government officials to abuse their power for personal gains.
Therefore, ruling by following the Tao of Heaven is to use institutions to ensure the politicians and governmental officials are humble and empty in their hearts and full in their spirit, to prevent politicians from acting against heaven or becoming arrogant and superficial, and to require them to be steadfast in their commitment to individual freedom. They must not use their intelligence or greed to control the people.
With these institutional policies in position, those who wish to mislead people or promote instability will fail in their attempts.
Finally, the institutions and the actions of the politicians and officials must obey the Tao of Heaven. When the country is governed by following the Tao of Heaven, letting the Tao of Heaven operate on its own, there can be no way in misgoverning!
