XXIX. "Being Easy to Know, It Wins Closeness": Closeness Comes from Truthfulness and Clarity

The Way of Qian, being easy to know, thereupon "wins closeness." Closeness first of all means drawing near. If the great Way deliberately affects an air of profundity, making people fear and dare not approach it, it cannot transform the people and form good custom. The Way of benevolence and righteousness can be drawn close to precisely because it responds to what a person already possesses -- love of kin, shame at evil, deference, the sense of right and wrong -- and is realized in visible conduct. The young can know how to love their parents, the elder can know how to respect their seniors; though not yet complete, this is already the gate by which one enters the Way.

"Closeness" also carries the sense of trust. A person whose words and deeds are clear and who harbors no hidden scheming is one others are willing to associate with; a government whose decrees are stable and whose public and private dealings can be distinguished is one the people are willing to trust. That Qian is easy to know does not mean exposing every single thought without reserve, but not making deceit one's constant way. Military affairs may employ surprise, diplomacy may require discretion, but if the ordinary governance of daily life relies entirely on deception, society loses the very foundation of closeness.

The Master said, "Without trust, the people cannot stand." Trust matters so much because shared life is full of commitments entrusted to the future. In trade, one must trust the other party to honor the agreement; in friendship, one must trust that the other will not betray it; in farming, the people must trust that governmental decrees will not suddenly change. Only what can be known can be anticipated, and only what can be anticipated allows closeness to form. If one set of words is spoken today and another tomorrow, however convenient in the moment, over time no one will be willing to draw close.

Master Meng, discussing the kingly Way, often spoke of sharing joy with the people, and of how extending one's kindness suffices to secure the four seas. Extending kindness lets the intention of those above be perceived by the people, and lets policy enter into daily life. If one professes to love the people, while fat meat sits in the kitchen and fat horses stand in the stable, while the people wear a hungry look and corpses lie starved in the open fields, then word and reality fail to correspond, and the people naturally do not draw close. Closeness is not achieved through propaganda, but through sustained virtuous governance that lets the people see it for themselves over time.

Nor is closeness unprincipled flattery. Parents love their children, and yet must still teach them; friends grow close to one another, and yet must still correct each other's faults; ministers are loyal to their ruler, and yet must still remonstrate. If winning others' favor becomes the highest goal, righteousness may be sacrificed. True closeness is built upon shared trust in the great Way, and so it can accommodate words unpleasant to the ear. Flattery wins momentary closeness that cannot endure; honest counsel, though it may distance one for a moment, reveals its sincerity over time.

That the Way of Qian, being easy to know, wins closeness also shows that the Way of leadership should reduce mystery. If those above hide all information, standards, rewards, and punishments within their own private intention, forcing those below to survive by guesswork, the group is bound to grow full of flattery and deceit. When rules are clear, direction is correct, and words can be trusted once spoken, people can devote their energy to accomplishing things. Being open and upright is not merely a moral posture; it is also a force that gathers people together.