一孔录子曰：道之以政，齐之以刑，民免而无耻；道之以德，齐之以礼，有耻且格。The Master said: Guide them by decrees and keep them in line by punishments, and the people will stay out of trouble but have no sense of shame. Guide them by virtue and keep them in line by ritual, and they will have a sense of shame and, moreover, come right.
常The common reading
Confucius was against laws and punishments.
注Key words in the commentary
“道犹引导，谓先之也” — dao means to lead, to go first; “政谓法制禁令” — zheng means laws, regulations and prohibitions; “苟免刑罚而无所羞愧……为恶之心未尝忘也” — merely escaping punishment without shame, the wish to do wrong is never gone; “格，至也” — ge means to arrive (another reading: to be set right).
家What other commentators say
Zhu Xi: “政者为治之具，刑者辅治之法，德礼则所以出治之本……虽不可以偏废” — decrees are the tools of government, punishments its auxiliary, virtue and ritual the root from which government issues; none can be dropped.
读How Yikonglu reads it
Punishment and decree keep people from crime; virtue and ritual move them toward good. Today: the camera breaks, and the rubbish comes back.
核Check every citation
Every commentary line quoted in the video: the original wording, who said it, and the page in the base edition. “Paraphrase” marks our summary, not the commentator's words.
| Quoted text | Source | Page |
|---|---|---|
| “道，音导，下同；道犹引导，谓先之也；政谓法制禁令也；齐所以一之也” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 24 |
| “道之而不从者，有刑以一之也；免而无耻，谓苟免刑罚而无所羞愧，盖虽不敢为恶，而为恶之心未尝忘也” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 24 |
| paraphrase礼谓制度品节也；格，至也；言躬行以率之，则民固有所观感而兴起矣，而其浅深厚薄之不一者，又有礼以一之，则民耻于不善，而又有以至于善也；一说，格，正也 | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 25 |
| “愚谓政者为治之具，刑者辅治之法，德礼则所以出治之本，而德又礼之本也。此其相为终始，虽不可以偏废，然政刑能使民远罪而已，德礼之效，则有以使民日迁善而不自知” | Zhu Xi's own note | page 25 |
音Pronunciation
| Character | In the line | Read as |
|---|---|---|
| 道 | 道之以政、道之以德 | dǎo |
| 齐 | 齐之以刑 | qí |
页Pages of the base edition
Yikonglu, Analects Wei zheng (Book 2) 2.3 “Guiding them by decrees”, https://yikonglu.com/en/lunyu/wei-zheng/3.html, version 2026-11-03.Last checked: 2026-11-03. Changes are logged on theerrata page.
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