19 Dec Wei Zheng advises the emperor (CHINGHUA TANG)
1.SYCOPHANTS
“Flatterers and sycophants are pests. To pursue power and profit, they try to find favor with the ruler through their pleasing talk and ingratiating manner.
“When the ruler is surrounded by such people, his ears and eyes will be blocked. He cannot see his own faults, and loyal officials will not dare to speak out. It is dangerous.
“Wholesome advice often grates on the ear, but it can benefit you. Flattery is often pleasing to the mind, but it can do you harm. The enlightened ruler follows wholesome advice. Even though it may taste bitter, it can cure his sickness. The ignorant ruler likes flattery. Even though it may taste sweet, it can destroy him.”
2. REAL ELOQUENCE
In the beginning of his reign, Taizong listened to remonstrances patiently. But gradually his confidence grew into the arrogance of success, and his self-control slipped, especially after the death of Wei Zheng in 643. He would argue with those who criticized him and debate those who disagreed with him. Minister Liu Ji wrote Taizong a memorandum about his behavior.
“Even if Your Majesty is humble enough to ask advice from your subordinates, you may not receive it. But now when they do voice their opinion, you often get into an argument with them, eager to prevail. Who would dare to speak out? Eloquence is not such a virtue as you think. Lao Tzu said real eloquence means talking little, and Chuang TzuII said truth does not need a lot of argument. Neither of them favors excessive talking. You may win an argument but you’ll lose the goodwill of your ministers. We achieved peace and prosperity not because we were eloquent talkers but because we were down-to-earth doers. Too much talking is also tiring. I hope Your Majesty will devote
your energy to work and be as humble as you used to be.”
Taizong admitted his mistake. “Yes, I talked too much. I was proud of my debating skill. It made me look down upon others. Thank you for pointing that out.”
3. MIRROR TO THE EMPEROR
Taizong was grief-stricken when Wei Zheng died in the seventeenth year of his reign. He closed the court for an unprecedented five-day mourning period and made the following famous remark.
“Use brass as a mirror, and one can straighten one’s clothes; use history as a mirror, and one can discern the causes of the rise and fall of a state; use other people as a mirror, and one can understand one’s own strengths and weaknesses. Now, as Wei Zheng is dead, I’ve lost a precious mirror.”
Wei Zheng’s reputation is as high today as it was in his own day. Among the traditional scholar-officials, he is celebrated as an exemplary Confucian minister; in folklore, he has become a door god who protects people against evils.
The ruler’s guide
CHINGHUA TANG
