Gems of Chinese Literature/The Sacred Edict-On Heterodoxy
WE, desiring to improve public morals, must begin by reforming the heart of man; and in order to reform the heart of man, it is necessary first of all to place education upon a sound basis.
When man comes into being between Heaven and Earth, there are certain moral obligations in his daily life, which are for the learned and simple alike; to seek after the mysterious and to practice strange arts is not to follow the example of the wise and the worthy.
The Canon of Changes says, “Teach the young in order to bring them up as they should be; such is the function of the sage.” The Canon of History says, “Without deflection, without unevenness, without perversity, without onesidedness,―such was the Way of the ancient kings.” Both the above have their origin in the true doctrine.
With regard to uninspired books and uncanonical records, such as startle the age and astonish the vulgar herd, bringing confusion in their train and preying upon the substance of the people, all these are heterodox and should be abolished.
You soldiers and people are mostly willing to lead honest lives; but among you there may be some who have been led astray and who fall through ignorance into crime. These We greatly pity.
From of old three sets of doctrines have come down to us, there being, in addition to Confucianism, the systems of Taoism and Buddhism.
Chu Hsi (q.v.) says, “The teaching of Buddha takes no heed of anything between Heaven and Earth and the four points of the compass, beyond cultivation of the heart. The teaching of Lao Tzŭ aims solely at the conservation of vitality.” Such was the unbiased judgment of Chu Hsi, and shows what were the original aims of Buddhism and of Taoism.
But ever since penniless and homeless rascals have secretly usurped these names and degraded these cults,―mostly quoting calamities and blessings, evil fortune and happiness, to aid in circulating their visionary and baseless talk, beginning by wheedling money out of people in order to enrich themselves, and ending by bringing men and women together in meetings for burning incense,―ever since then the agriculturist and the artisan have neglected their callings, and on all sides are to be met men whose mouths are full of marvels. What is even worse, traitorous and evil-disposed persons lie concealed in the midst, organizing brotherhoods and swearing oaths, meeting at night and dispersing at dawn, breaking the law and failing in duty, disturbing society and imposing on the people. The day comes when all is discovered. They are seized with their accomplices; they are thrown into prison; and their wives and children are implicated. The head of the sect is punished most severely of all, and their source of happiness yields only misfortune. As in the case of the White-Lily and Smell-Incense sects, all of which may be warnings to you just as is a cart ahead (which gets overset).
So too those Western doctrines which teach the worship of the Lord of Heaven are also uncanonical. However, because the men understood mathematics, the State employed them.[1] It is important for you people to know this.
Now towards heterodoxy which disturbs the minds of the masses, the law shows no mercy; and for wizards and their evil tricks the State provides fixed punishments, the object of Our Imperial laws being simply to prevent the people from doing evil and to induce them to be good, to abolish heterodoxy and to glorify the true doctrine, to keep from danger and to court repose.
O ye soldiers and people, to take that body which your parents gave you, born in a peaceful and prosperous age, with clothes to wear and food to eat, and without troubles of any kind, and yet nevertheless to befog its ordinary nature and follow evil tendencies, violating the laws and opposing the authorities of your country,―is not this the height of folly?
Our sacred ancestor, the Humane Emperor, refined the people by his goodness and improved them by his sense of duty; he cultivated the (Five) Perfections and exhibited the (Five) Virtues. Glorious are the precepts by which he strove to lead men's hearts aright, yea, most profound.
You soldiers and people should respectfully sympathize with these Imperial wishes and reverently obey the Holy Doctrine. Drive out heterodoxy as though it were robbers, fire, or flood. These last indeed harm only the body, whereas heterodoxy harms the heart. And the heart is naturally upright, and with firmness of purpose will not suffer disturbance.
If in the future your behaviour is correct, all these evil influences will fail to turn you from the right path; and if within your homes you are peaceful and obedient, you may meet adversity in such a way as to change it into a blessing.
Those who serve their parents with piety and their sovereign with loyalty, and generally fulfil their duties as men, will assuredly surround themselves with divine favours; while those who seek not what is beyond their lot, and do not that which is improper to be done, are sure to meet with prosperity from the spirits.
Do you people attend to your agriculture, and you soldiers to your military affairs. Rest in the pursuit of cotton and silk and pulse and corn; follow the great and perfect principles (of Confucianism); there will then be no need to expel heterodoxy; it will die out of itself!