Leadership Lessons from Confucius: when the rot sets in
Confucius said, “When the way prevails in the world, ritual, music, and punitive military campaigns are initiated by the son of the heaven. When the way does not prevail in the world, ritual, music, and punitive military campaigns are initiated by the feudal lords. When they are initiated by the feudal lords, the lords are seldom able to maintain their power for ten generations. When they are initiated by ministers, the ministers are seldom able to maintain their power for five generations. When the household retainers of the ministers take control of the fate of the state, they are seldom able to maintain their power for three generations. When the way prevails in the world, governance does not lie in the hands of the ministers. When the way prevails in the world, the common people do not concern themselves with affairs of state.”
孔子曰:「天下有道,則禮樂征伐自天子出;天下無道,則禮樂征伐自諸侯出。自諸侯出,蓋十世希不失矣;自大夫出,五世希不失矣。陪臣執國命,三世希不失矣。天下有道,則政不在大夫。天下有道,則庶人不議。」
As your organization grows, it can be all too easy to lose sight of the core values that were the foundation of its initial success. Once you start to move away from them, the rot will soon set in. To prevent this from happening, your priority as a leader must be to keep the core values at the top of everyone’s mind by embodying them in your actions and words.
Notes
This article features a translation of Chapter 2 of Book 16 of the Analects of Confucius. You can read my full translation of Book 16 here.
(1) This passage is closely linked to 16.1. In it, Confucius is lamenting the fall of the Zhou dynasty from its peak as a unified kingdom under the enlightened rule of a single sovereign (the son of heaven) to a mass of feuding feudal states riven by internal strife. He is also alluding to the tumultuous political situation in his home state of Lu, which became so bad that Yang Hu, the thuggish household retainer of the Ji Family, came very close to taking over complete control of the government.
It is likely that Confucius is articulating a set of general trends he has seen emerge during the decline of the Zhou and perhaps previous dynasties with the generational numbering scheme he employs rather than referring to specific historical instances. However, that has not stopped generations of historians and commentators attempting to draw parallels with actual events. Here is a breakdown:
a.) “When the way prevails in the world, ritual, music, and punitive military campaigns are initiated by the son of the heaven. When the way does not prevail in the world, ritual, music, and punitive military campaigns are initiated by the feudal lords.”
It is traditionally believed that the decline of the Zhou dynasty was precipitated by the decision of King Ping to move the capital east to Luoyang in 771 BCE after his father, King You, was killed in a rebellion that ensued after he swapped his wife for a younger concubine. As the power of successive Zhou kings weakened, the rulers of the fragmented states that comprised the kingdom asserted their individual power and vied with each other for supremacy.
b.) When they are initiated by the feudal lords, the lords are seldom able to maintain their power for ten generations.
This is most likely a reference to Duke Yin of Lu, who is said to have led the way in creating new ritual and music and launching punitive military expeditions during his reign from 722–712 BCE. Ten generations later, his successor Duke Zhao, who reigned from 541–510 BCE, was forced to spend the rest of his life in exile after a failed attempt to control the Three Families.
c.) When they are initiated by ministers, the ministers are seldom able to maintain their power for five generations.
This almost certainly refers to the head of the Ji Family, which asserted control over the state of Lu along with the Meng and Sun clans. Four generations after Ji Wenzi established the Ji Family as the power behind the throne while acting as chief minister between 600 and 568 BCE, his successor Ji Huanzi came close to being assassinated by a household retainer called Yang Hu (also known as Yang Huo).
d.) When household retainers of the ministers take control of the fate of the state, they are seldom able to maintain their power for three generations.
This probably refers to the Ji Family household retainer Yang Huo, who became so powerful that according to some accounts he had complete control of the political affairs of Lu and approached Confucius with an offer to act as his counselor. It was only after Yang was thwarted in his attempt to assassinate Ji Huanzi that his dominance crumbled and he was forced to flee into exile in the state of Qi.
I took this image in the ancient cedar forests on Alishan in central Taiwan. Some of the trees there are over a thousand years old.