Confucius Enters Public Service
After the Yang Hu Incident, the government of the State of Lu invited Confucius to enter public service. In the ninth year of Duke Ding of Lu (501 BCE), Confucius was appointed as the Magistrate of Zhongdu. At this time, he was already fifty-one years old.
After governing Zhongdu for a year with outstanding administrative achievements, Confucius was promoted to the position of Minor Minister of Works. The Minor Minister of Works was the deputy to the Minister of Works, the chief official in charge of the state’s highest construction projects. Soon after, he was further promoted to the position of Grand Minister of Justice. The Grand Minister of Justice was the highest judicial official in the State of Lu, ranking equally with the three other high ministers: the Minister of Education, the Minister of War, and the Minister of Works, holding a position equivalent to a high-ranking noble. During his tenure, Confucius enforced the law against those who committed the most heinous crimes, and more importantly, he educated the people through benevolence and ritual teachings, enabling them to understand what was right and wrong, honorable and shameful. He said: “If you guide the people by governmental decrees and keep them in line with penalties, they will try to avoid the punishment but have no sense of shame. If you guide them by virtue and keep them in line with the rites, they will not only have a sense of shame but also submit willingly.”
From the perspective of the fundamental aspect of governing a state—the human heart—Confucius pointed out the limitations of relying on punishments to govern. As a coercive measure, punishments can only make people avoid crime out of fear of penalty. However, this addresses the symptoms rather than the root cause. It is not as effective as moral education, which excels in making people fundamentally understand the shamefulness of crime, thereby consciously avoiding it. This reflects the importance of morality and its characteristics as a policy different from the rule of law, while also illustrating Confucius’s viewpoint of governing through virtue. Under his governance, lawsuits gradually decreased, and the State of Lu achieved a state of effective administration and social harmony.
Sima Qian described the situation of Confucius’s governance in Lu as follows: “After Confucius participated in state affairs for three months, sellers of lambs and piglets did not arbitrarily raise prices; men and women walked on separate sides of the road; lost items on the road were not picked up; and guests coming from all directions to the city did not need to seek assistance from officials, as they were all received as if returning home.” During Confucius’s tenure as the Minister of Justice in Lu, the actual power was held by Ji Huanzi, one of the three hereditary high ministers. Therefore, Confucius had to obtain his approval to accomplish anything.
On one occasion, Confucius went to see Ji Huanzi to discuss matters related to “the governance of the responsible authorities.” Ji Huanzi was displeased at the time, and the matter was not resolved. A few days later, Confucius went to see Ji Huanzi again to facilitate the matter, but Ji Huanzi still treated him arrogantly. Confucius’s disciples were very dissatisfied with this. Zai Yu said: “Previously, I heard you, Master, say, ‘If the lords do not invite me, I do not act.’ Now, you have only been the Minister of Justice for a few days, yet you have repeatedly humbled yourself before the lords. Can you not stop doing this?”
Confucius explained: “The unstable situation in Lu, where the masses bully each other and violence is used, has persisted for a long time. If the responsible authorities do not govern, great chaos will surely ensue. This situation requires me to address it. Is this not more solemn and urgent than anything else?” He meant that the troubled times in Lu awaited his governance, which constituted the most significant invitation. His repeated humbling of himself to seek an audience with Ji Huanzi was precisely for the sake of the state’s overall situation.
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