Resolving Confusion with a Discourse on Righteousness
大義覺迷錄
By the Yongzheng Emperor
Translated by Devin Fitzgerald, Annotated by Maura Dykstra
一 滿清入主中原君臨天下，是否符合正統之道？豈可再以華夷中外而分論？
Question: The Manchu-Qing entered the Central Plains to preside as lords over the realm. Is this in keeping with the way of zhengtong? How can we presume to speak of the division between Chinese (hua) within and the Outlander without?**
** This text – 300 pages in the original print – is organized as a series of questions and answers. The original work was composed without the questions (which seem to have been inserted by a later author for clarity). It is worth remarking that the question above – which was not composed by the original author – is the only appearance of the phrase zhengtong. Instead of invoking this earlier theory, this text refers to the concept of datong (大統) or dayitong (大一統), which may be translated as Greater Unity.
上諭：自古帝王之有天下，莫不由懷保萬民，恩加四海，膺上天之眷命，協億兆之歡心，用能統一寰區，垂庥奕世。蓋生民之道，惟有德者可為天下君。此天下一家，萬物一體，自古迄今，萬世不易之常經。
An imperial proclamation:
Ever since the kings and emperors of antiquity came into possession of All Under Heaven, there was not a single one who did not cherish and protect their myriad subjects below them and extend their compassion to the edges of the earth. Accepting the merciful mandate of heaven, the sage kings joined innumerable hearts in joy. They employed their abilities to unify All Under Heaven and brought peace to generations. In the way of giving life to the people, only one with virtue can serve as the lord of All Under Heaven. [So it is, that] this realm is but one family, and everything within it is of a single body. From antiquity unto the present, this constant truth has not changed for ten thousand generations.
非尋常之類聚群分，鄉曲疆域之私衷淺見所可妄為同異者也。《書》曰：「皇天無親，惟德是輔。」
Yet, many are those who, according to their deep-held feelings about the familiar and the strange, or their superficial observations about the near and the far away, assert difference or similarity where there is no true basis for division. The Book of Documents says: “August Heaven is familiar with none. It bolsters the virtuous.”
蓋德足以君天下，則天錫佑之，以為天下君，未聞不以德為感孚，而第擇其為何地之人而輔之之理。又曰：「撫我則後，虐我則仇。」此民心向背之至情，未聞億兆之歸心，有不論德而但擇地之理。又曰：「順天者昌，逆天者亡。」
If one has sufficient virtue to be lord of All Under Heaven, then Heaven bestows upon them and aids them, making them the lord of the realm. It is an unheard of principle that one should receive such trust without depending on virtue and should instead be chosen because of their location and receive it. As the Book says:
“He who soothes us is our sovereign; he who oppresses us is our enemy.”
As for the highest feeling which turns the people’s hearts toward or against, it is an unheard of principle that innumerable hearts should turn to [him] by choosing their origin rather than discussing their virtue. As the Book says: “Those who follow heaven flourish; those who turn against heaven perish.”
惟有德者乃能順天，天之所與，又豈因何地之人而有所區別乎？我國家肇基東土，列聖相承，保萬邦，天心篤佑，德教弘敷，恩施遐暢，登生民於衽席，遍中外而尊親者，百年於茲矣。
Only the virtuous are able to accord with Heaven. How can it be that what Heaven bestows is differentiated based on place of origin? Our Dynastic State arose in eastern lands. It has been passed down through successive sages, protected the myriad, earnestly upheld Heaven’s will, freely enacted compassion, placed the people in gowns on honored seats, and respected the all of the people inside and outside for over one hundred years.
夫我朝既仰承天命，為中外臣民之主，則所以蒙撫綏愛育者，何得以華夷而有更殊視？而中外臣民，既共奉我朝以為君，則所以歸誠效順，盡臣民之道者，尤不得以華夷而有異心。此揆之天道，驗之人理，海隅日出之鄉，普天率土之眾，莫不知大一統之在我朝。
Our dynasty reverently accepted Heaven’s mandate and became master to the officials and commoners both within and without. Thus, why should we regard as distinct the Chinese (hua) and outlander, whom we both nurture and cherish? Officials and commoners both within and without have accepted Our dynasty as their lord. Thus, those who strive their utmost in the way of the commoner and official by respectfully submitting and following especially cannot be seen as Chinese (hua) and outlander with hearts of different character. Considering the way of Heaven and investigating the principles of mankind, we see that from the remotest coastal villages to all the people living on earth below heaven, that none do not know of the great unification of our dynasty (da yitong).
悉子悉臣，罔敢越志者也。乃逆賊呂留良，凶頑悖惡，好亂樂禍，攏彝倫，私為著述，妄謂「德以後，天地大變，亙古未經，於今複見」。而逆徒嚴鴻逵等，轉相附和，備極猖狂，餘波及於曾靜，幻怪相煽，恣為譭謗，至謂「八十餘年以來，天昏地暗，日月無光」。
Of all the sons and officials, there are some who dare to cross our ambitions. The traitor rebel Lü Liuliang,** with terrible ignorance and malice he delighted in muddling fortune and misfortune. He set aside righteous relations in order to selfishly write his views. He falsely claimed that “After the Deyou [emperor fell to the Mongols]*** a great calamity occurred in the universe, the likes of which had never happened before. Today, [because of the Manchus] we see this again.”
After this, his rebellious follower Yan Honglu and others circulated his works and supplemented them. Their perfected violence washed over Zeng Jing, inciting his grotesque fantasy. He slandered without restraint, going so far as to claim, “For the last eighty years, Heaven has been overcast and the earth dark; neither the sun nor the moon have shone.”
** Lü Liuliang was a Ming loyalist who authored tracts in opposition to the Manchu Qing. The other names that follow are, similarly, authors and intellectuals who spoke out against the Qing.
***Deyou was the reign period of the last emperor of the Southern Song dynasty.
在逆賊等之意，徒謂本朝以滿洲之君，入為中國之主，妄生此疆彼界之私，遂故為訕謗詆譏之說耳。不知本朝之為滿洲，猶中國之有籍貫。舜為東夷之人，文王為西夷之人，曾何損於聖德乎？《詩》言「戎狄是膺，荊舒是懲」者，以其僭王猾夏，不知君臣之大義，故聲其罪而懲艾之，非以其為戎狄而外之也。
In the view of these traitorous thieves, they think that this dynasty is one in which the ruler of the Manchus entered the Central Kingdom (zhongguo) to be lord. They wrongly conjure the selfish idea of “this border” and “that line.” They have made explanations both slanderous and erroneous. They do not know that this dynasty being Manchurian is the same as the Chinese having native places. After all, Shun was a person from the Eastern tribes and Wen Wang was a person from the Western tribes. Was this any detriment to their sagely virtue? When the Odes say, “To deal with the tribes to the South and North; to punish Jing and Shu,” is about their usurping kings being sly towards the Chinese (zhongguo) realm.They do not understand the great righteousness of the relationship between the ruler and the ministers, thus they announce their crime and punish them. It does not say that because they are outlander tribes and therefore outside of [morality.]
若以戎狄而言，則孔子周遊，不當至楚應昭王之聘。而秦穆之霸西戎，孔子刪定之時，不應以其誓列於周書之後矣。
If we speak of the Rong and Di tribes, then when Confucius was traveling he should not have traveled to Chu in response to Zhao Wang’s invitation. As for Duke Mu of Qin’s subjugation of the Western Rong, when Confucius expurgated and fixed the [Book of Documents], then he should not have put Duke Mu’s oath with them after the Documents of Zhou.
蓋從來華夷之說，乃在晉宋六朝偏安之時，彼此地醜德齊，莫能相尚，是以北人詆南為島夷，南人指北為索虜，在當日之人，不務修德行仁，而徒事口舌相譏，已為至卑至陋之見。
The origins of the explanation of the [differences] between “Outlander” and “Chinese” came from the period of disunion during the Jin, Song, and six dynasties. The territories of the princes were of equal extent, and in their achievements they were on a level. So, the northerners began to slander southerners by calling them “isolated outlanders” and southerners began pointing to northerns as “braided savages.” During that time, people did not labor to perfect virtue and practice righteousness. Instead, they served the trivial matter of ridiculing each other, making their perspective only crude and base.
今逆賊等於天下一統，華夷一家之時，而妄判中外，謬生忿戾，豈非逆天悖理，無父無君，蜂蟻不若之異類乎？且以天地之氣數言之，明代自嘉靖以後，君臣失德，盜賊四起，生民塗炭，疆圉靡甯，其時之天地，可不謂之閉塞乎？本朝定鼎以來，掃除群寇，寰宇安，政教興修，文明日盛，萬民樂業，中外恬熙，黃童白叟，一生不見兵革，今日之天地清甯，萬姓沾恩，超越明代者，三尺之童亦皆洞曉，而尚可謂之昏暗乎？
Today, when both the Chinese and the Outlander are of a single family, when the realm is fully unified, this group of traitorous thieves deceive the people with their stubborn anger. Is it not so that they are rebels against the principles of Heaven, deny their fathers and their sovereign, and are no better than wasps and ants? Moreover, if we discuss them according to recent change in the flowing energy (qi) of the world, then consider that after the Jiajing reign, both rulers and ministers lost their virtue. Bandits arose in the four directions, the people drowned in despair, and the the borders were unsettled. Who could say that Heaven and Earth at the time was not full of obstruction?
After Our Dynasty stabilized the state, we swept away the masses of bandits, bringing peace to the universe. Governance and teaching have been rectified to flourish, bring the glory of culture to overflow with each day. All the people take joy in their tasks, and both within the empire and without there is tranquility and plenty. Yellow infants and white elders have seen no militant transitions in their whole lives, and with the peace and purity of Heaven and Earth today, all people receive the nourishing moisture of Our compassion. That this far surpasses that of the Ming is known in-depth even by a three-foot infant. How can they still say that this is an age of darkness?
夫天地以仁愛為心，以覆載無私為量。是為德在內近者，則大統集於內近，德在外遠者，則大統集於外遠。孔子曰：「故大德者必受命。」自有帝王以來，其揆一也。
Heaven and Earth place benevolence and love at their center, doing so with a constant measure which covers people from above and bears them from below without any bias. If the virtuous are near and within [the middle kingdom], then the great unity (datong) gathers near and within. If those with virtue are outside and distant, then the great unity (datong) gathers outside in the distance. Thus, Confucius said, “Those with great virtue must receive the mandate.” Since the time of the ancient emperors and kings until today, we estimate this to have been the same.
今逆賊等以冥頑狂肆之胸，不論天心之取捨，政治之得失，不論民物之安危，疆域之大小，徒以瑣瑣鄉曲為阿私，區區地界為忿嫉，公然指斥，以遂其昧棄彝倫，滅廢人紀之逆意。至於極盡狂吠之音，竟敢指天地為昏暗，豈皇皇上天，鑒觀有赫，轉不如逆賊等之智識乎？且逆賊呂留良等，以夷狄比於禽獸，未知上天厭棄內地無有德者，方眷命我外夷為內地主，若據逆賊等論，是中國之人皆禽獸之不若矣。又何暇內中國而外夷狄也？自詈乎？詈人乎？
Today, these traitorous bandits harbor stupidity and violence in their breasts, following their ignorant benighted ways in selfish bias. The have regard for neither what the heart-mind of Heaven has taken or cast aside, nor for the strengths and weaknesses of our governance. They also have regard neither for the safety and peril of the people and their things, nor for the size of our borders. Each area and border becomes their frustration and jealousy, and they take their traitorous ideas to publicly criticize us. Thus, they stupidly cause the rules of morality to be cast aside and destroy the guides of humanity. They have come to yapping like mad dogs, daring to point to Heaven and Earth as if it were shrouded in darkness. How could it be that august Heaven on high, so awe-inspiring to behold, is not equal to the wisdom of these traitorous thieves? Moreover, that roguish traitor Lü Liuliang and his kith, who take outlanders to be no better than birds and beasts, did not know that high Heaven detested that the inner lands [here a reference to the ‘central plains’ that historically constituted what came to be known as China] had no one with virtue and so in concern ordered we outlanders to be lords of the inlands. If we see this through the theories of these traitorous brigands, then it is the people of the Middle Kingdom (zhongguo) who are no better than birds and beasts. How can they speak of the Middle Kingdom (zhongguo) as inside and the outlanders as outside? Are they cursing at themselves? Cursing at others?
且自古中國一統之世，幅員不能廣遠，其中有不向化者，則斥之為夷狄。如三代以上之有苗、荊楚、狁，即今湖南、湖北、山西之地也。在今日而目為夷狄可乎？至於漢、唐、宋全盛之時，北狄、西戎世為邊患，從未能臣服而有其地。是以有此疆彼界之分。自我朝入主中土，君臨天下，並蒙古極邊諸部落，俱歸版圖，是中國之疆土開拓廣遠，乃中國臣民之大幸，何得尚有華夷中外之分論哉！從來為君上之道，當視民如赤子，為臣下之道，當奉君如父母。如為子之人，其父母即待以不慈，尚不可以疾怨忤逆，況我朝之為君，實盡父母斯民之道，殫誠求保赤之心。而逆賊尚忍肆為訕謗，則為君者，不知何道而後可也。
Furthermore, from antiquity, in those ages when the Middle Kingdom (zhongguo) has been unified (yi tong), the country was not been able to extend to great distances. There were those who did not submit to the [Middle Kingdom’s] ways, and were scorned as outlanders. During the age of the three periods of the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou, these were the Miao, Jing, Chu, and Yun. Now they are the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, and Shanxi. Now, do we look at them today as outlanders? Coming to the flourishing ages of the the Han, Tang, and Song, there Northern Di and the Western Rong were threats to the border. None were able to conquer them as vassals and have their land. So, they came up with the divisions of a border here and a frontier there. But after our dynasty entered to rule the central lands and preside as lord over All Under Heaven, the Mongols and all the tribes of the remote edges all joined our territory. The Central Kingdom (zhongguo) has expanded its borders into distant regions, which is a great blessing for the officials and commoners of the Middle Kingdom (zhongguo). Why must we still discuss the differences between the Chinese (hua) and the outlander?
For all ages, the way one presides as lord above is through seeing the people as their children. The way one serves as an official below is through serving their lord as though he were their mother and father. If one acts as a son and is confronted by parents who do not treat them with compassion, one still cannot be hateful and disobedient. Moreover, with my dynasty serving as lord, we truly complete the way of serving as parents to the people. Entirely and earnestly We seek to protect our children. But these traitorous bandits insist on slandering wantonly. As lords of the land, which path will suffice to lead the way ahead?
從前康熙年間，各處奸徒竊發，動輒以朱三太子為名，如一念和尚、朱一貴者，指不勝屈。近日尚有山東人張玉，假稱朱姓，托於明之後裔，遇星士推算，有帝王之命，以此希冀鼓惑愚民，現被步軍統領衙門拿獲究問。從來異姓先後繼統，前朝之宗姓臣服於後代者甚多。否則，隱匿姓名伏處草野，從未有如本朝奸民假稱朱姓，搖惑人心若此之眾者。似此蔓延不息，則中國人君之子孫，遇繼統之君，必至於無噍類而後已，豈非奸民迫之使然乎？
From the prior Kangxi reign, clever rogues from everywhere became secretly active, claiming to support “the Ming Crown Prince Zhu the Third.” One such was the monk Yinian, who was one of the countless claiming to be Zhu Yigui. Recently, Zhang Yu from Shandong has falsely claimed the Zhu surname, claiming himself a descendent of the Ming. After a master of astrology made a prediction that he had the mandate of an emperor, he used this vague hope to deceive the ignorant people. He has already been apprehended by the foot soldiers of the district commander’s office, where he his being held and interrogated.
It has always been the case that dynasties of different surnames have succeeded each other. There have been many of those with the clan and surname of the previous dynasty serving as officials to the successors. For if otherwise, those hiding their surname while crouching in the wilds would have been many. There have never been as many treacherous people falsely claiming the Zhu surname and disturbing and confusing the people as in our dynasty. If this continues like this without cease, then the sons and grandsons of later lords of China, and those lords who then succeed them, will certainly come to have no subjects in the future. If not for these treacherous people forcing this to happen, how could this misfortune unfold?
況明繼元而有天下，明太祖即元之子民也。以綱常倫紀言之，豈能逃篡竊之罪？至於我朝之於明，則鄰國耳。且明之天下喪於流賊之手，是時邊患肆起，倭寇騷動，流賊之有名目者，不可勝數。而各村邑無賴之徒，乘機劫殺，其不法之將弁兵丁等，又借征剿之名，肆行擾害，殺戮良民請功，以充獲賊之數。中國民人死亡過半，即如四川之人，竟致靡有孓遺之歎。其偶有存者，則肢體不全，耳鼻殘缺，此天下人所共知。康熙四五十年間，猶有目睹當時情形之父老，垂涕泣而道之者。且莫不慶倖我朝統一萬方，削平群寇，出薄海內外之人於湯火之中，而登之衽席之上。是我朝之有造於中國者大矣，至矣！至於厚待明代之典禮，史不勝書。其藩王之後，實系明之子孫，則格外加恩，封以侯爵，此亦前代未有之曠典。而胸懷叛逆之奸民，動則假稱朱姓，以為構逆之媒。而呂留良輩又借明代為言，肆其分別華夷之邪說，冀遂其叛逆之志。此不但為本朝之賊寇，實明代之仇讎也。
Consider the situation of the Ming inheriting All Under Heaven from the Yuan. The great founder of the Ming [Zhu Yuanzhang] was a subject of the Yuan. If we discuss him according to the fixed standards of human morality, how can he escape the crime of having been a usurping thief? Coming to our dynasty and the Ming, we were just a neighboring state. The All Under Heaven of the Ming was perishing at the hands of the roving bandits. At that time, border conflicts were flaring up, the Japanese pirates disturbed the peace, and rootless thugs seized the opportunity to plunder and murder. Their unrestrained officers and armies claimed the name of “pacifiers” and wantonly caused distress by killing commoners and asking for rewards, thereby increasing the number of bandits. More than half of the people of the Middle Kingdom (zhongguo) died. Just consider Sichuan, where not even a mosquito larva was left! Those who did occasionally survive, were missing parts of themselves, with ears and noses cut off. Everyone in All Under Heaven knows this. In the forty-fifth year of the Kangxi reign, there was an old man who had personally seen those events. He wept as he spoke of them. Therefore, no one did not celebrate the universal unification (tongyi) of Our Dynasty. We scraped away the bandits, rescuing all of the people within and without from burning fires. We then ascended to the throne in Chinese robes.
This is the great achievement that Our Dynasty made on behalf of the middle kingdom (zhongguo). It is great! We have even faithfully treated the ritual institutions of the Ming period, which the histories cannot proclaim enough. The descendants of the Ming princes, who are the sons and grandsons of the Ming house, have been treated with special compassion. We have enfeoffed them as marquises, with a vast institution unheard of in previous ages. Yet, the treacherous people who carry rebellion in their hearts act and falsely claim to have the Zhu surname. They do this to construct rebellious plots. Lü Liuliang and his cohort also used the Ming as a pretext to wantonly proclaim their evil theories of the separation between Chinese (hua) and Outlander. They hoped that then there would be some ambition to betray through rebellion. This not only makes them bandits against Our Dynasty, it also makes them the true enemies of the Ming.
且如中國之人，輕待外國之入承大統者，其害不過妄意詆譏，蠱惑一二匪類而已。原無損於是非之公，倫常之大。倘若外國之君入承大統，不以中國之人為赤子，則中國之人，其何所託命乎？況撫之則後，虐之則仇，人情也，若撫之而仍不以為後，殆非順天合理之人情也。假使為君者，以非人情之事加之於下，為下者其能堪乎？為君者尚不可以非人情之事加之人於下，豈為下者轉可以此施之於上乎？
If there are people of the Middle Kingdom (zhongguo) who regard those foreigners who come in and inherit the great unity (datong) lightly, they do no more harm than that harm caused by having wrong opinions and slandering others. They are foolish and confuse one and two, and are merely of a useless sort. They do not harm to open consensus on truth and falsehood or to the greatness of constant morality. If there are foreigners who enter and inherit the great unity (datong) who do not take the people of the central kingdom (zhongguo) to be their children, then to whom can the people of the central kingdom entrust their fate? Moreover, it is natural to human sentiment to follow those who console you and to bear grudges against those who abuse you. If one consoles you and you still do not get behind them, then this is probably a human sentiment that does not accord to the principles in line with those of Heaven. Supposing there is one who is a lord who places upon those below him matters that are against human sentiment, then can those below endure this? If those who are lords cannot place upon those below them matters that are against human sentiment, then can those that are below push these same matters on those above them?
夫以春秋時百里之國，其大夫猶不可非。我朝奉天承運，大一統太平盛世，而君上尚可謗議乎？且聖人之在諸夏，猶謂夷狄為有君，況為我朝之人，親被教澤，食德服疇，而可為無父無君之論乎？韓愈有言：「中國而夷狄也，則夷狄之；夷狄而中國也，則中國之。」孔子曰：「君子居是邦也，不非其大夫。」況其君乎！又曰：「夷狄之有君，不如諸夏之亡也。」
Confucius said, “The gentleman does not deny the local officials of the country in which he lives.” This is even more so for the Lord! Moreover he said, “If outlanders have a lord, they are still not as good as the Xia having been lost.” During the Spring and Autumn Period, the states were only one hundred li, so it was that one could not deny the local officials. When our dynasty received the motion from Heaven, we brought the grand unity (dayitong) and peace in a prosperous age. Can the lord above then still be denigrated? In addition, when the sages were in the Xia, they referred to the outlanders as having lords. The people of our dynasty have been personally taught the ways of culture, with each flourishing in their fixed place, we have learned the blessed skill of farming. How can we discuss them in terms of not having [veneration] for their own fathers and their lord? As Han Yu said, “Those of the Central Kingdom beyond the borders become outlanders. Those of the outlander within the Central Kingdom then become of the Central Kingdom.”
歷代從來，如有元之混一區宇，有國百年，幅員極廣，其政治規模頗多美德，而後世稱述者寥寥。其時之名臣學士，著作頌揚，紀當時之休美者，載在史冊，亦複燦然具備，而後人則故為貶詞，概謂無人物之可紀，無事功之足錄，此特懷挾私心識見卑鄙之人，不歸欲美於外來之君，欲貶抑淹沒之耳。
Since ancient times, there has never been another dynasty like the Yuan, which united (yi) the whole universe, and for one hundred years had a state that extended in exceeding vastness. The standards for their governance had considerable beauty and virtue, and yet later ages seldom described them. The scholars and officials of that age composed praises to memorialize the comfortable beauties, which are recorded in historical records. Their glory was thus complete, but people of later ages have only occupied themselves by censuring them. They generally say that there was no one worth recording, and no successes in matters sufficient for recording. These scholars are people with base knowledge who cling to their private biases, and they do not want to give any praise to a lord who came from outside. Instead, they want to belittle them and drown their records….
This text is actually several chapters long. At some point, I hope to do a complete translation.