A Deep Exploration of the Way of Sovereign and Minister in 'The Analects: Xian Wen' and the Contingency of Benevolence and Righteousness

Section 6: The Hierarchy of Ren – From the Individual to the World

Synthesizing Zilu’s and Zigong’s questions and the Master’s two replies, we can summarize the Master’s hierarchy of Ren:

Lesser Ren: Ren as Personal Virtue. Self-restraint and return to propriety. This is the starting point of Ren, but not its end. Guan Zhong had deficiencies at this level.

Middle Ren: Ren in Interpersonal Relations. Loyalty to the lord, righteousness toward friends, sincerity in interactions. Zhaohu’s suicide embodied this level of Ren. But the Master believed this was not the highest level.

Great Ren: Ren for the People Under Heaven. "Extending bounty to the people and aiding the masses," benefiting all people under Heaven. Guan Zhong’s assistance to Duke Huan in uniting the lords nine times and rectifying the world—this was Great Ren.

The Master’s affirmation "It was like Ren!" is made at this third level. In the Master’s view, when Ren as personal virtue conflicts with Ren for the people under Heaven, the latter takes precedence.

This does not mean the first two levels of Ren are unimportant. In daily life, one should strive to achieve all three levels simultaneously. Only in extreme situations—when different levels of Ren conflict irreconcilably—must a choice be made. Guan Zhong’s predicament was exactly such an extreme case.

This reminds us of Yijing, Da Guo (Excess) hexagram’s judgment: "The main beam is bent; favorable to have a direction to go; success" (栋桡，利有攸往，亨). Da Guo signifies transcending convention. When conventional ethical norms are insufficient to address extreme situations, a judgment that transcends convention is required. Guan Zhong’s "not dying to serve Huan" was precisely such a transgressive ethical choice. And the Master’s "It was like Ren!" is an affirmation of this transcendence.

Yijing, Xici Zhuan I states: "One yin and one yang is the Dao; what follows it is goodness; what completes it is nature. The benevolent see it as Ren; the wise see it as knowledge. The common people use it daily yet do not know it, thus the Dao of the superior man is rare" (一阴一阳之谓道，继之者善也，成之者性也。仁者见之谓之仁，知者见之谓之知，百姓日用而不知，故君子之道鲜矣). Zilu and Zigong saw the outward behavior of "Guan Zhong not dying," while the Master saw the deep motivation of "Master Guan Zhong taking the world as his responsibility." This is the difference between the vision of the benevolent and that of the common person.