Reward and Punishment
279. The purpose of giving rewards is to encourage the people to be kind and to lead a better life, whereas the purpose of punishment is to deter people from committing crimes. Thus, governing the people with a combination of rewards and punishments will transform people to become better persons.
Scroll 31: Liu Tao
280. A well-run government will open up ways to encourage people to walk on the righteous path and award good people based on the human propensity for kindness. As a result, people are thankful for the government’s thoughtfulness. At the same time, a good government will stop all evil means that can mislead people to commit crimes and impose punishments based on the human dislike for wickedness. As a result, civilians will be fearful of its authority and abide by the law.
Scroll 49: Fu Zi
281. Reward a person and make him an example for others to follow; punish a person and make him an example for others not to emulate. Clarify what is allowed and what is prohibited so as to make sure that people know the directions they should take. In this way, the virtuous will have no worries, the intelligent will have no fear, and no aspiring officials will risk walking on the path of corruption.
Scroll 50: Yuan Zi Zheng Shu
282. Rewards should be evidently sufficient to make people feel honored whereas punishments should be evidently effective to make people dread justice. Intelligent people know that honor comes from good deeds and punishment comes from bad deeds. Therefore, efforts to perform good deeds will increase whereas intentions to do bad deeds will cease.
Scroll 50: Yuan Zi Zheng Shu
283. A person who is experienced in giving rewards needs only to spend a little to convince many people to perform good deeds. A person who is experienced in imposing punishment needs only few penalties to stop acts of evil from happening.
Scroll 35: Wen Zi
284. Award noble titles, official positions, rewards or punishments according to one’s performance. One wrongly given reward or punishment will mark the beginning of chaos. When one’s virtue does not correspond to the requirement of a noble title, or one’s ability does not match the requirement of an official position, or if a reward does not match the contribution made and a punishment does not fit the crime, nothing can be more menacing than this situation.
Scroll 14: Han Shu, Vol. 2
285. If praises and rewards were given to an unworthy person, the whole kingdom would deem this as an excuse for lying. If punishments were imposed upon an innocent person, this would create distrust on the government’s part. Thus a good official is most careful in giving out rewards, and he will be equally careful when imposing punishments. He will not carry out both matters indiscriminately.
Scroll 49: Fu Zi
286. Abolish one good conduct and the public will be discouraged from doing good deeds. Award one bad deed and criminal activities will increase considerably. If kind people receive blessings and wicked people receive fair punishments from the state, the country will enjoy peace and order, and the practice of doing kind deeds will flourish.
Scroll 40: San Lüe
287. If a reward system is unable to encourage people to do kind deeds, it is regarded as “hindering virtues.” If a penalty system is unable to deter people from doing unlawful acts, it is regarded as “inducing wickedness.”
Scroll 46: Shen Jian
288. A good ruler will not give out rewards excessively, and neither will he impose punishments indiscriminately. He makes sure that excessive rewards are not given to undeserving persons and unjust punishments are not imposed on innocent people. In the event that rewards and punishments are not impartially given, it would be better to offer more rewards than to abuse punishments.
Scroll 5: Chun Qiu Zuo Shi Zhuan, Vol. 2
289. Distantly related people will not be ignored in the provision of rewards, and close relatives will not be spared from the imposing of penalties. Those without contributions cannot be granted the rank of nobility, and those who have violated the laws must be sentenced although they belong to the noble class. When such practices are carried out, all officials, whether they are virtuous or unaccomplished, would serve the country selflessly.
Scroll 27: Shu Zhi