Chapter Two: Whence Does Ritual Arise -- Human Desire, Contention, and the Institutions of the Former Kings

Section 1: "Human Beings Are Born with Desires" -- Desire as the Logical Starting Point of Ritual

Master Xun's account of the origin of ritual opens with the very first sentence: "Whence does ritual arise$82 I say: human beings are born with desires."

This sentence may appear plain, but it is in fact earth-shattering. It places the logical starting point of ritual upon human desire. This means that, in Master Xun's view, ritual is neither a sacred decree descending from heaven nor an abstract principle conjured from nothing by sages, but arises from the most basic and primordial impulse of life -- desire.

What does "human beings are born with desires" mean$83 The three characters "born with" (sheng er you) are crucial. "Born" (sheng) means innate. "Have" (you) means naturally endowed. Together, "human beings are born with desires" means that desire is human nature, the most basic fact of being human. From the moment of birth, a person has the desire for food and drink, for warmth, for safety; with growth come desires for sensory pleasures, for reputation and gain, for communal life. These desires are not learned, not inculcated -- they appear simultaneously with life itself.

This position is entirely consistent with Master Xun's argument in the chapter "Human Nature Is Evil" (Xing E). That chapter states:

"Human nature is evil; whatever is good in people is the result of deliberate effort (wei). Now human nature is such that people are born with a fondness for profit. If they follow this inclination, contention and plunder arise while deference and yielding vanish. They are born with feelings of envy and hatred. If they follow these, violence and injury arise while loyalty and good faith vanish. They are born with desires of the ears and eyes, with a fondness for beautiful sights and sounds. If they follow these, licentiousness and disorder arise while ritual, rightness, pattern, and order vanish."

This passage clearly states: people are born with a fondness for profit, with feelings of envy and hatred, with desires of the ears and eyes and a fondness for beauty. These are all the "natural state" of human nature. So-called "human nature is evil" does not mean that people are inherently wicked, but rather that if one simply lets human nature run its course without restraint, the inevitable result is contention, violence, and licentiousness -- that is, "evil" consequences.

Yet in the Discourse on Ritual, Master Xun's tone is subtly different. He does not say "human nature is evil," but rather "human beings are born with desires." The word "desire" (yu) itself carries no explicit moral judgment. It is merely a description of fact: people have desires. This description is neutral. Desire itself is neither good nor evil -- it is simply a basic dimension of human life.

This point is of the utmost importance. For if desire itself were evil, then the task of ritual should be to "extinguish desire" -- to eradicate it entirely. But Master Xun clearly does not think so. In what follows, he explicitly says "nourishing human desires, supplying human needs" -- the task of ritual is not to extinguish desire but to nourish and supply it. This means that desire, in Master Xun's theory of ritual, possesses legitimacy. Desires are meant to be satisfied -- only, they must be satisfied within certain "measures and boundaries."

This position has deep roots within the pre-Qin Confucian tradition. Although the Master did not often discuss desire directly, he fully affirmed the legitimacy of basic human needs. The Lunyu, "Li Ren" chapter, says:

"Wealth and high station -- these are what people desire. If one cannot obtain them by the proper way (dao), one should not hold them. Poverty and low station -- these are what people find hateful. If one cannot escape them by the proper way, one should not abandon one's principles to avoid them."

The Master explicitly acknowledges here that wealth and station are objects of desire, and that poverty and lowliness are objects of aversion. He does not say that the desire for wealth is itself wrong; he says only that the means of attaining it must be "by the proper way." This accords perfectly with Master Xun's idea of "nourishing human desires" -- not denying desire itself, but setting proper channels and boundaries for its fulfillment.

The Lunyu, "Yan Yuan" chapter, contains a passage of even greater depth:

Zigong asked about governance. The Master said: "Sufficient food, sufficient arms, and the trust of the people." Zigong said: "If one had no choice but to dispense with one of these three, which should go first$84" The Master said: "Dispense with arms." Zigong said: "If one had no choice but to dispense with one of the remaining two, which should go first$85" The Master said: "Dispense with food. From of old, all people must die. But if the people have no trust, the state cannot stand."

In this dialogue, the Master lists "sufficient food" as one of the three essentials of governance, showing that he fully recognizes the legitimacy of the need for food and drink -- the most basic form of desire. Only in the extreme case of "no choice" does he set aside food and give priority to "trust" -- the very foundation of social order.

Turning to the Mengzi, Master Meng, though he advocates that "human nature is good," likewise acknowledges that people have basic desires and that these desires possess legitimacy. The Mengzi, "King Hui of Liang, Part One," says:

"If Your Majesty is fond of beauty, share that enjoyment with the people -- what difficulty would that pose for Your Majesty$86"

And again:

"If Your Majesty is fond of wealth, share that with the people -- what difficulty would that pose for Your Majesty$87"

Master Meng explicitly says here: fondness for beauty and fondness for wealth are both acceptable -- the key is to "share them with the people." This way of linking the legitimacy of desire to social fairness resonates at a deep level with Master Xun's idea of "nourishing human desires, supplying human needs."

Yet we cannot fail to note the fundamental divergence between Master Xun and Master Meng on the theory of human nature. Master Meng holds that human nature is good, maintaining that the incipient tendencies toward goodness (the Four Beginnings of benevolence, rightness, ritual propriety, and wisdom) are innate. Master Xun holds that human nature is evil, maintaining that the natural human inclination tends toward evil, and that goodness is the result of wei -- deliberate effort. This divergence directly affects their understanding of how ritual originates.

In Master Meng's view, the origin of ritual lies in the innate "heart of deference" (cirang zhi xin) within the human mind. The Mengzi, "Gongsun Chou, Part One," says:

"The heart of deference is the beginning of ritual propriety."

And further:

"The heart of compassion -- all people have it. The heart of shame and dislike -- all people have it. The heart of respect and reverence -- all people have it. The heart of right and wrong -- all people have it. The heart of compassion is benevolence; the heart of shame and dislike is rightness; the heart of respect and reverence is ritual propriety; the heart of right and wrong is wisdom. Benevolence, rightness, ritual propriety, and wisdom are not welded onto us from outside -- we inherently possess them. It is simply that we do not reflect upon them."

For Master Meng, ritual is internal to the human heart, the natural flowering of the "heart of respect and reverence." Therefore, the origin of ritual lies not in external institutional design but in the inner unfolding of the moral mind and nature.

For Master Xun, on the contrary, the origin of ritual lies precisely in external institutional design: "The former kings abhorred this disorder, and so they instituted ritual and rightness to apportion and differentiate." There is no ritual within the natural human constitution; ritual was created by the former kings in response to the chaos caused by human desires.

These two views may appear irreconcilable, but deeper analysis reveals that they address the same problem from different levels. The "ritual" of which Master Meng speaks refers mainly to the spirit of ritual -- the heart of reverence and deference. The "ritual" of which Master Xun speaks refers mainly to the institutions of ritual -- the norms of measure and boundary. Spirit is internal; institution is external. Internal spirit requires external institutions for realization and protection; external institutions require internal spirit for substance and support. From this angle, the teachings of Master Meng and Master Xun are not merely compatible but complementary.

However, our present focus is not on harmonizing the two, but on deeply grasping Master Xun's own logic. In Master Xun's system, "human beings are born with desires" is an unalterable fact. It is the point of departure for his entire theory of ritual. Without desire, there would be no need for ritual; with desire, ritual becomes possible. Desire in Master Xun's theory of ritual is therefore not an enemy to be destroyed, but a force to be guided and given a proper home.

Let us press the inquiry further: what position does the proposition "human beings are born with desires" occupy within the broader landscape of pre-Qin thought$88

From the Daoist perspective, the Most High (Laozi) likewise acknowledges that people have desires, but his attitude is one of "diminishing desire." Laozi, Chapter 19, says:

"Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, diminish selfishness, reduce desires."

And Chapter 46:

"No crime is greater than indulging desires; no disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough; no fault is greater than the craving to acquire. Therefore, to know the sufficiency of sufficiency -- that is always enough."

The Most High (Laozi) holds that desire is the source of calamity. The reason people are unhappy is that they desire too much and do not know when they have enough. Hence he advocates "diminishing selfishness and reducing desires," even advocating "desirelessness." Laozi, Chapter 37, says: "Through desirelessness and stillness, All-under-Heaven will settle of its own accord" -- if one can achieve desirelessness, the world naturally comes to rest.

Master Zhuang goes a step further, not only advocating the diminishment of desire but its transcendence, reaching the state of "the perfected person has no self, the spirit-person has no merit, the sage has no name" (Zhuangzi, "Xiaoyao You"). In Master Zhuang's view, desire is a manifestation of the "established mind" (chengxin), an obstacle that obscures the Way. The Zhuangzi, "Qiwu Lun," says:

"Great knowledge is broad and unhurried; small knowledge is cramped and busy. Great speech blazes; small speech chatters. In sleep, the soul intertwines; awake, the body opens. Entangled in encounters, day after day the mind is at war."

This "day after day the mind is at war" is precisely the ordinary state of the human heart under the drive of desire. Master Zhuang holds that only by transcending this state and reaching the condition of "I have lost myself" (wu sang wo) can one truly apprehend the great Way.

Setting the Daoist stance of "diminishing" or "eliminating" desire alongside Master Xun's stance of "nourishing" desire, we see a fundamental divergence: Master Xun holds that desire cannot and should not be eliminated -- it should be guided and satisfied; the Daoists hold that desire can and should be transcended, and only the state after transcendence is the authentic human condition.

The root of this divergence lies in their differing understandings of "human nature." Master Xun considers desire to be human nature itself -- an unalterable "given"; upon this given, through the wei (deliberate effort) of the post-natal period, social order is constructed. The Daoists, however, hold that desire is not the "authentic" human condition; the authentic condition is "the uncarved block" (pu) -- the pristine wholeness prior to any taint of desire. Therefore, the way of self-cultivation is not to guide desire but to return to the authentic.

Even so, between Master Xun and the Daoists there remains a certain deep-level affinity. Master Xun's phrases "the two sustain each other and grow together" and "return to the Great Unity" imply a vision of dynamic equilibrium and holistic unity that does resonate with certain core Daoist ideas. We shall discuss this at length in later sections.

Moreover, from the vantage of archaic myth and folk custom, the proposition "human beings are born with desires" finds corroboration in the most primitive human experience. One of the central motives of the earliest religious ceremonies and sacrificial activities was "seeking" -- praying for favorable wind and rain, for a good hunt, for abundant offspring, for deliverance from disaster. These acts of "seeking" are grounded in the most basic human desires. The Liji (Liyun) says:

"The beginnings of ritual started with food and drink. They roasted millet and split open a piglet, scooped a hollow in the ground for a wine vessel and drank from cupped hands, fashioned a drumstick of straw and a drum of earth -- and yet with these they could express their reverence to the spirits and gods."

"Started with food and drink" -- the earliest form of ritual began with food. People have the desire for food; hence they seek food; hence they perform rituals to petition heaven, earth, and the spirits for food; and these rituals of petition constitute the most primitive form of ritual. "Roasted millet and split open a piglet" -- grain and a young pig, roasted as offerings to the spirits. "Scooped a hollow in the ground for a wine vessel and drank from cupped hands" -- a pit dug in the earth to hold wine, drunk by scooping with the hands. "Fashioned a drumstick of straw and a drum of earth" -- a straw bundle for a mallet, a mound of earth for a drum. These crudely simple modes of sacrifice are the direct expression of "human beings are born with desires" in the archaic age.

Therefore, Master Xun's adoption of "human beings are born with desires" as the logical starting point of ritual is not only internally consistent in theory but also supported by historical evidence. Human desire is the most primordial motive force behind the emergence of ritual.

Section 2: "When Desires Are Not Satisfied, One Cannot But Seek" -- Parsing Desire and Seeking

After "human beings are born with desires," Master Xun immediately continues: "When desires are not satisfied, one cannot but seek to fulfill them."

The subtlety of this sentence lies in its distinction between two concepts: "desire" (yu) and "seeking" (qiu). "Desire" is an inner psychological state -- the heart wanting something. "Seeking" is an outer behavioral state -- taking action to pursue it. "Desire" does not necessarily lead to "seeking" -- if the desired object is readily at hand, there is no need to pursue it deliberately. It is only when "desire is not satisfied" -- when the heart wants something it cannot naturally obtain -- that the behavior of "seeking" arises.

The two characters "not satisfied" (bu de) are crucial. Why "not satisfied"$89 There are at least two possible explanations:

First explanation: the finitude of material resources. Human desires are limitless, but material resources are finite. One wants food, but food is not infinitely available; one wants clothing, but clothing must be made and procured. Thus "not satisfied" arises because resources are limited and desires cannot be automatically fulfilled. This is an economic explanation and the most direct one.

Master Xun has a passage in the chapter "Enriching the State" (Fuguo) that corroborates this reading:

"All things share the same universe yet have different forms; they have no inherent suitability yet have uses for humankind -- this is the order of things. When people live together, they share the same desires but pursue them by different means; they share the same wants but differ in understanding. To be born is the beginning of a person's existence, and there is no escape from the space between heaven and earth."

Though all things share the same universe, each has a different form and use. People living together seek the same objectives ("same desires") but by different paths ("different means"); they want the same things ("same wants") but have different cognitive capacities ("different understanding"). This means that limited resources are competed for by many people, and "not satisfied" becomes an inevitable result.

Second explanation: the nature of desire itself. Desire is called desire precisely because it points toward what has not yet been obtained. Once obtained, desire vanishes -- or transforms into a new desire. Therefore, "desire not satisfied" is not merely the result of limited external resources, but an intrinsic characteristic of desire itself. Desire always points toward the future, toward what is not yet possessed. As Master Xun says in the "Rectifying Names" (Zhengming) chapter:

"Desire does not wait for the possibility of fulfillment before seeking -- this is what one receives from Heaven."

Desire does not wait until satisfaction is possible before it pursues; this is the nature one receives from Heaven (nature). Desire inherently carries the characteristic of "not yet satisfied" -- it exists perpetually in a state of unfulfillment.

The two explanations can and should coexist. The first emphasizes objective conditions -- the finitude of material resources; the second emphasizes subjective conditions -- the infinitude of desire. Their joint result is "one cannot but seek" -- it is impossible not to pursue.

The syntax of "one cannot but seek" (bu neng wu qiu) also merits attention. Master Xun does not say "one must seek" (bi qiu) but rather "one cannot not seek" -- a double negative to express an affirmative. This formulation emphasizes the inevitability of seeking: it is not that one chooses to seek, but that one cannot not seek. The tone is almost fatalistic -- the act of seeking is determined by the very nature of desire, and one has virtually no choice in the matter.

From other pre-Qin texts, we find resonant ideas. The Guanzi, "Herding the People" (Mumin), says:

"Whoever holds territory and shepherds the people must attend to the four seasons and guard the granaries. When the state has ample resources, those from afar will come; when the land is well cultivated, the people will stay. When the granaries are full, the people know ritual propriety; when they are clothed and fed, they know honor and shame."

Master Guan's words, though primarily from the standpoint of political governance, share the same underlying logic as Master Xun's: basic human desires must first be satisfied ("granaries full," "clothed and fed") before one can speak of ritual propriety and honor. That is to say, "seeking" is the fundamental mode of human behavior; if "seeking" goes unsatisfied, higher-order structures (propriety, honor) cannot be established.

The Zuozhuan, Duke Zhao Year 25, records Zitaishu citing Zichan's discourse on ritual, including this extremely important passage:

"Now ritual is the warp of heaven, the rightness of earth, and the conduct of the people. It is the warp of heaven and earth, and the people truly model themselves upon it. They model on the brightness of heaven and follow the nature of earth; from these arise the six atmospheric forces and the five elemental phases. The forces become the five flavors, manifest as the five colors, and sound forth as the five tones. When these are excessive, there is confusion and disorder, and the people lose their nature. Therefore ritual is made to uphold them."

Zichan links ritual to the warp and rightness of heaven and earth, seeing ritual as the embodiment in human society of the natural order of the cosmos. "The conduct of the people" -- ritual is the basis upon which the people act. Why is ritual necessary$90 Because "when these are excessive, there is confusion and disorder, and the people lose their nature" -- if indulgence goes unchecked, confusion results and the people lose their true nature. The word "excessive" (yin) here is precisely the state of "no measure and no boundary" after "desire not satisfied" in Master Xun's account. "Therefore ritual is made to uphold them" -- and so ritual is created and enacted.

It is worth noting that Zichan traces the origin of ritual to the natural order of heaven and earth, not merely to human desire. This angle differs from Master Xun's approach of deriving ritual solely from human nature. Yet the two are not contradictory: human desire is bestowed by heaven and earth ("received from Heaven"), and ritual is created in response to this heaven-bestowed desire so as to bring it into order. Thus the origin of ritual lies both in human nature and in heaven and earth.

The Yijing, Xugua Zhuan (Sequence of the Hexagrams), says:

"When there are heaven and earth, then there are the myriad things. When there are the myriad things, then there are male and female. When there are male and female, then there are husband and wife. When there are husband and wife, then there are father and son. When there are father and son, then there are ruler and minister. When there are ruler and minister, then there are high and low. When there are high and low, then ritual and rightness have their place."

This places the establishment of ritual and rightness within the grand sequence from heaven and earth to the myriad things to human relationships. Ritual and rightness do not appear from nowhere; they are the inevitable result of the natural evolution of heaven, earth, and the myriad things. Once the distinction of high and low exists, ritual and rightness are necessarily required to give it order. This logic is consonant with Master Xun's: given desire, there is inevitably seeking; given seeking, there is inevitably conflict; given conflict, there is inevitably the need for order -- and that order is ritual.

Section 3: "When Seeking Has No Measure and No Boundary, One Cannot But Contend" -- The Deep Meaning of Measure and Boundary

"When seeking has no measure, no limit, no allotment, and no boundary, one cannot but contend."

This sentence continues from the preceding, further developing the logical chain. People have desires, and therefore seek; if seeking has no "measure, limit, allotment, and boundary" (du liang fen jie), contention inevitably follows.

These four characters -- du liang fen jie -- constitute one of the core concepts of Master Xun's theory of ritual. They can be understood individually or as a whole.

"Measure" (du) -- a standard, a criterion. For everything there is a standard of assessment. How much is enough$91 What degree is fitting$92 This is du.

"Limit" (liang) -- a quantity, a quota. How much each person can obtain, how much of each resource can be distributed -- this is liang. Liang is the concretization of du: du is the abstract standard; liang is the specific amount.

"Allotment" (fen) -- differentiation, apportionment. Different people should receive different shares; different occasions should have different norms. This is fen. Master Xun emphasizes the importance of fen especially in the "Discourse on Kings" (Wangzhi) chapter:

"If allotments are equal, there is no deference; if power is equal, there is no unity; if the masses are equal, no one can be directed. Just as there are heaven above and earth below, so there are high and low distinctions. When a wise king first assumes authority, the ordering of the state has its system. Two of equal honor cannot serve each other; two of equal lowliness cannot direct each other -- this is the order of Heaven. When power and position are equal, and desires and aversions the same, material goods cannot suffice for all, and there must be contention. Contention must lead to disorder, and disorder to impoverishment. The former kings abhorred this disorder, and so they instituted ritual and rightness to apportion and differentiate, creating ranks of rich and poor, noble and base, sufficient for mutual oversight. This is the root of nourishing All-under-Heaven. The Documents say: 'To achieve true equality is not equality.' This is what is meant."

This passage runs almost exactly parallel to the opening of the Discourse on Ritual, but adds a crucially important clarification of fen: it specifically means "creating ranks of rich and poor, noble and base." That is, fen is not mere equal division but graduated differentiation. Different people, according to the height of their virtue and ability, receive different social positions and material provisions. This graduated differentiation is the core function of ritual.

"Boundary" (jie) -- a limit, a border. Every apportionment has a boundary that may not be crossed. Jie safeguards fen: without clear boundaries, fen is an empty letter.

Taken together, du liang fen jie means: standards of measurement, quotas of distribution, graduated differentiation, and inviolable boundaries. These four constitute a complete framework of social order. With this framework, human striving can proceed in an orderly fashion and need not descend into chaos.

Why does the absence of "measure and boundary" make contention unavoidable$93 The reasoning is simple: if there is no standard to determine who should receive how much, no quota to constrain each person's taking, no differentiation to distinguish different people's different shares, and no boundary to prevent encroachment, then everyone will seize as many resources as possible -- and since resources are finite, contention becomes inevitable.

Master Xun further elucidates this principle in the "On Honor and Disgrace" (Rongren) chapter:

"Such is human feeling: in food one wants grain-fed meat, in clothing one wants embroidered silk, in travel one wants carriages and horses, and beyond these one wants an abundance of stored wealth. Yet through all the years and generations one never knows enough -- such is human feeling."

Human feeling -- natural human emotion -- never knows satisfaction. One wants the finest food (grain-fed meat), the finest clothes (embroidered silk), carriages and horses for travel, plus an accumulation of wealth. "Through all the years and generations one never knows enough" -- a whole lifetime of insatiability. This is "the infinitude of desire." When infinite desire meets finite resources with no "measure and boundary" to regulate them, contention is the only result.

At a deeper level, the root of "cannot but contend" lies not only in the finitude of resources but in the human psychology of comparison. People do not merely wish to satisfy their own desires; they wish to obtain more than others. The Xunzi, "Enriching the State," says:

"When desires and aversions are directed at the same things, when desires are many and things are scarce, scarcity must lead to contention."

"Desires and aversions directed at the same things" -- everyone wants good food, fine clothes, a good dwelling. When everyone's desire converges on the same scarce resources, conflict becomes unavoidable.

From the Daoist perspective, the Most High (Laozi) offers a more fundamental reflection. Laozi, Chapter 3, says:

"Do not exalt the worthy, and the people will not contend. Do not prize rare goods, and the people will not steal. Do not display what is desirable, and the people's hearts will not be unsettled."

The strategy of the Most High (Laozi) is to eliminate the causes of contention at their source: if worthiness is not exalted, people will not compete for reputation; if rare goods are not prized, people will not steal; if desirable objects are not displayed, the people's hearts will not be disturbed. This is a strategy of "pulling the firewood from under the pot" -- not regulating contention through "measure and boundary" but directly eliminating the conditions that provoke it.

The divergence between Master Xun and the Most High (Laozi) is here especially stark. Master Xun holds that desire is ineradicable, that contention is its inevitable consequence, and that external institutions (ritual) are needed to regulate it. The Most High (Laozi) holds that contention can be fundamentally avoided -- so long as one does not stimulate desire.

Yet one may well ask: is the strategy of the Most High (Laozi) truly feasible$94 Is "not displaying what is desirable" really possible$95 If human desire is "born with us" and "received from Heaven," can it really be eliminated merely by "not displaying"$96 Will a hungry person stop being hungry simply because no food is in sight$97 From this angle, Master Xun's position is perhaps more realistic and more practical. He does not indulge in the fantasy of eliminating desire but faces its existence squarely and attempts to establish a rational order for it.

On the other hand, the critique of the Most High (Laozi) has its own profundity. The contention produced by "exalting the worthy" and the theft produced by "prizing rare goods" are indeed abundantly documented in historical practice. Excessive competition and comparison do indeed aggravate social turmoil. Daoist reflection can therefore serve as a valuable supplement to the Confucian theory of ritual -- even as one establishes "measure and boundary," one must also guard against excessive stimulation and temptation.

Section 4: "Contention Leads to Disorder, Disorder Leads to Impoverishment" -- The Vicious Cycle from Contention to Impoverishment

"Contention leads to disorder, disorder leads to impoverishment."

These six characters describe a vicious spiral from "contention" to "disorder" to "impoverishment" -- or, more precisely, an accelerating descent.

"Contention" (zheng) -- rivalry and struggle. When people each pursue their own interests without "measure and boundary," conflict is unavoidable.

"Disorder" (luan) -- chaos. The direct consequence of contention is the collapse of social order. When everyone is scrambling for themselves, all existing order is destroyed. The strong prey upon the weak, the many oppress the few, the cunning deceive the foolish -- society descends into a state of all against all.

"Impoverishment" (qiong) -- destitution. The ultimate consequence of disorder is universal destitution. Why$98 Because disorder means the collapse of social cooperation. Human beings survive and develop because they can, through social division of labor and cooperation, create value far exceeding individual capacity. Once society descends into chaos, cooperation becomes impossible; each person must rely on individual strength alone, which is extremely limited. Therefore, the final result of disorder is not that some win and some lose, but that everyone loses -- qiong.

Master Xun develops this point with great acuity in the "Discourse on Kings" chapter:

"In strength, a person is no match for an ox; in speed, no match for a horse. Yet ox and horse serve human use -- why$99 Because human beings can form organized groups (qun), while ox and horse cannot. How can human beings form groups$100 Through apportionment (fen). How can apportionment be carried out$101 Through rightness (yi). Therefore, with rightness to effect apportionment, there is harmony; with harmony, unity; with unity, multiplied strength; with multiplied strength, power; with power, mastery over things. And so people can build dwellings to live in. To sequence the four seasons, to shape the myriad things, to benefit all under heaven -- the reason for all this is none other than apportionment and rightness."

This passage is crucial. Human beings are weaker than oxen and slower than horses, yet they can make ox and horse serve them -- why$102 Because humans can form organized groups (qun). How$103 Through apportionment (fen). How is apportionment put into practice$104 Through rightness (yi). With rightness to effect apportionment, there is harmony (he); harmony yields unity (yi); unity yields multiplied strength (duo li); multiplied strength yields power (qiang); power yields mastery over the natural world (sheng wu). Conversely, without "apportionment and rightness," people cannot organize, and individual strength is negligible. This is the deeper meaning of qiong: not merely material want, but a fundamental inadequacy of the capacity to survive.

The proposition "contention leads to disorder, disorder leads to impoverishment" thus reveals a profound sociological principle: social order is the precondition of human survival.

This principle finds abundant resonance in pre-Qin texts. In the Lunyu, "Ji Shi" chapter, the Master discusses the difference between the world possessing the Way and the world lacking it:

"When All-under-Heaven possesses the Way, ritual, music, and punitive expeditions issue from the Son of Heaven. When All-under-Heaven lacks the Way, these issue from the feudal lords. When they issue from the feudal lords, it is rare that the state survives ten generations."

The Zuozhuan, Duke Yin Year 11, records:

"Ritual governs the state, stabilizes the altars of soil and grain, orders the people, and benefits posterity."

From the standpoint of archaic myth, the pattern "contention leads to disorder, disorder leads to impoverishment" is also reflected in ancient narratives. The Shangshu, "Canon of Yao," records the age of Emperor Yao as one of golden order. Before it, the mythic accounts of Gonggong dashing his head against Mount Buzhou and the rebellion of Chiyou are archetypal narratives of "contention leads to disorder."

Section 5: "The Former Kings Abhorred This Disorder, and So They Instituted Ritual and Rightness" -- The Former Kings and the Creation of Ritual

"The former kings abhorred this disorder, and so they instituted ritual and rightness to apportion and differentiate."

This sentence is the turning point of the entire paragraph. From "human beings are born with desires" to "disorder leads to impoverishment," the description traces a descending path from human nature to chaos; "the former kings abhorred this disorder" marks the turning -- the beginning of the ascending path from chaos to order.

In the discourse of the pre-Qin Confucians, the "former kings" (xian wang) typically refer to the sage-kings of high antiquity -- Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu. But the "former kings" in Master Xun may also be a theoretical concept representing "the wisdom capable of creating ritual and rightness." The Xunzi, "Human Nature Is Evil," says:

"The sage accumulates thought and reflection, practices deliberate effort (wei), and thereby gives birth to ritual and rightness, establishing laws and standards. Thus ritual, rightness, laws, and standards are born of the sage's deliberate effort, not of human nature."

"Institute" (zhi) implies the human-made character of ritual. Yet "institute" does not mean ritual was created entirely from nothing. The creation of ritual must accord with the balance between human desire and material resources. Therefore, the former kings' "instituting ritual" is less "creation" than "discovery" -- discovering the law of balance between desire and resources and institutionalizing it.

"To apportion and differentiate" (fen zhi) carries a double meaning: "differentiate" and "distribute." The Xunzi, "Discourse on Kings," elaborates:

"With apportionment comes harmony; with harmony, unity; with unity, multiplied strength; with multiplied strength, power; with power, mastery over things."

And: "Farmers divide fields and till; merchants divide goods and trade; the hundred artisans divide tasks and encourage one another."

Each person has a place, a role, a share. Each settled in position and fulfilling their duties, society is well ordered. This resonates with the Master's "Let the ruler be a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, the son a son" (Lunyu, "Yan Yuan") and the Master's insistence on "rectifying names" (Lunyu, "Zi Lu").

Section 6: "Nourishing Human Desires, Supplying Human Needs" -- An Affirmative Theory of Ritual

"Thereby nourishing human desires and supplying human needs."

This sentence reveals the most central idea of Master Xun's theory of ritual: the purpose of ritual is not to suppress desire but to satisfy it. "Nourish" (yang) implies an attitude of care and cultivation. "Supply" (ji) indicates that ritual actively provides fulfillment. This stance may be called "affirmative ritual theory."

The Master himself already planted the seed of this idea. "Ritual, ritual -- is it merely jade and silk$105" (Lunyu, "Yang Huo"). And: "In ritual, rather than extravagance, prefer frugality; in mourning, rather than meticulousness, prefer grief" (Lunyu, "Ba Yi").

Master Xun's "nourishing of desire" function has several specific dimensions: providing a proper means of satisfying material needs; providing a proper mode of expressing emotional needs (as in funeral rites: "The funeral rites serve no other purpose than to clarify the meaning of life and death, and to send off the deceased with grief and reverence"); and providing a proper pathway for satisfying social needs.

This stands in sharp contrast to the Daoist strategy of "diminishing desire." The Most High (Laozi): "The sage attends to the belly and not to the eye" (Laozi, Chapter 12). Master Xun's strategy is "addition" -- acknowledging desire, satisfying it, but guiding and regulating it.

Section 7: "Desires Would Never Exhaust Material Resources, Material Resources Would Never Be Overwhelmed by Desires" -- The Dynamic Equilibrium between Desire and Material

"Ensuring that desires would never exhaust material resources and that material resources would never be overwhelmed by desires."

This is one of the core propositions of Master Xun's theory of ritual. These two statements express a dynamic relationship of equilibrium. The Most High (Laozi) describes a similar dynamic mechanism: "The Way of Heaven diminishes surplus and supplements deficiency" (Laozi, Chapter 77). But the Most High attributes it to the natural Way of Heaven; Master Xun attributes it to the institutions of the former kings.

Yet Master Xun's institutions aim at achieving a "nature-like" equilibrium. The Xunzi, "Discourse on Heaven," says: "The course of Heaven is constant -- it does not persist because of Yao, nor does it perish because of Jie. Respond to it with good governance, and there will be fortune."

From the perspective of the Yijing, this proposition is closely akin to the hexagram Tai (Peace): "Heaven and earth interact, and all things communicate" (Tai, Tuanzhuan).

Section 8: "The Two Sustain Each Other and Grow Together -- This Is the Origin of Ritual" -- A Cosmological Vision of Symbiotic Growth

"The two sustain each other and grow together: this is the origin of ritual."

"Sustain each other and grow" (xiang chi er zhang) expresses a vision of the highest order -- not static balance but spiraling upward symbiotic growth. The Yijing, Xici Zhuan, says: "One yin and one yang -- this is called the Way." Laozi, Chapter 42: "The myriad things carry yin on their backs and embrace yang, and through the blending of vital breath they achieve harmony."

The Guoyu, "Discourses of Zheng," records Shi Bo's famous dictum: "It is harmony (he) that actually gives birth to things; sameness (tong) cannot sustain growth." Master Xun's "the two sustain each other and grow together" is "harmony gives birth to things" in the social domain.

This completes the logical chain from "human beings are born with desires" to "this is the origin of ritual" -- from human nature through social analysis to institutional principle to cosmological vision.