Wen Tao: Elevating the Worthy

King Wen asked Tai Gong:"As a ruler, whom should I honor, whom should I suppress, whom should I employ, and whom should I eliminate? What must I strictly prohibit, and what must I restrain?" Tai Gong replied:"A ruler should honor those of virtue and talent, suppress the unvirtuous and incompetent, employ the loyal and trustworthy, and eliminate the deceitful and hypocritical. Prohibit acts of violence and chaos, and restrain extravagance. Thus, a ruler must guard against the Six Pernicious Influences and the Seven Detrimental Forces." King Wen said: "I wish to hear of these principles." Tai Gong answered: The Six Pernicious Influences are: Ministers who build lavish palaces, towers, and gardens for leisure and spectacle—this corrupts the ruler’s virtue. Commoners who abandon farming and sericulture, indulge in lawlessness, defy authority, and reject governance—this undermines the ruler’s teachings. Ministers who form cliques, exclude the wise, and obscure the ruler’s judgment—this erodes the ruler’s authority. Scholars who act arrogantly, flaunt false integrity,......