TERMBASES
Water can carry a boat, but can also overturn it. Here, water is compared to the people, while the boat is compared to the ruler. The phrase, “carry or overturn the boat,” reveals the importance of popular support: people are the critical force that decides the future of a regime and a country. This is consistent with such political doctrines as “the people are the foundation of the state,” and “follow the mandate of heaven and comply with the wishes of the people.” Since ancient times, this term has served as a warning to the ruler, reminding him of the need to respect local conditions and popular will, to govern the country for the people, and to anticipate dangers in times of security.
This term refers to the evaluative judgment or view of the people in a country or region, on an issue, phenomenon or incident which touches on their common interest and which has broad societal meaning. Ancient Chinese often took the “mandate of heaven” to be the basis and highest concept for the legitimacy of political authority and for policymaking, but in fact they often regarded the “will of the people” to be the principal source, content, and manifestation of the “mandate of heaven.” They also considered it to be the fundamental principle of a country’s governance, and thought that having or losing the will of the people determined the rise or fall of a country and political power as well as the development of state affairs. It is the core of the Chinese concept of the people as the foundation of the state. All enlightened Chinese statesmen past and present have regarded the “will of the people” to be the most important factor in governance.
The notion of the people’s will being the foundation, or the “roots,” of government comes from a dialogue between a king of the Shang Dynasty and Houfu (in a text found on bamboo slips of the Warring States Period). Houfu said to the king, “The people’s will is like the roots of a tree: they support the leaves.” By that he meant that public support was the foundation of the state, and without it the state or political power would perish. The ancients believed that a government was legitimate so long as it “followed the mandate of heaven and complied with the wishes of the people.” people’s wishes were a prerequisite of heaven’s will, and only if the state complied with the people’s wishes, would it enjoy lasting stability. This notion is identical to the concept that "people are the foundation of the state".
This term means that the people are the essence of the state or the foundation upon which it stands. Only when people live and work in peace and contentment can the state be peaceful and stable. This saying, which first appeared in the “Old Text” version of The Book of History as an instruction by Yu the Great, can be traced to Mencius’ (372?-289 BC) statement: “The essence of a state is the people, next come the god of land and the god of grain (which stand for state power), and the last the ruler,” and Xunzi’s (313?-238 BC) statement, “Just as water can float a boat, so can water overturn it.” This idea gave rise to the “people first” thought advocated by Confucianism.
The ancient Chinese believed that virtuous men followed the will of heaven in establishing a political regime and becoming its sovereigns; hence their success came from the mandate of heaven. This thought is similar to the Western notion of the divine right of kings; but it also emphasizes the wishes and will of the people, or people-centered thinking. In ancient China, this phrase was often used in praise of the founding of a new dynasty, and the implementation of major social reforms to justify its legitimacy.
If a country has no people harboring resentment against those in power, it is a country that can be called a strong country. This is a Legalist definition of a strong state. The Legalists were pragmatic, emphasizing farming and military fighting, a rich state with a strong army. However, they did not at all measure the strength of states by their hard power alone but also by their soft power. The essence of soft power is the people feeling no hatred of those in power. The prerequisite of no such hatred is justice, fairness and equality in the country and the result is national unity. This term is the Legalist expression of the notion that “people are the foundation of the state.”
The Chinese phrase dedao (得道) or “obtaining Dao” here refers to having “a just cause.” Since ancient times Chinese people have had a high esteem for justice and have thought of justice as a decisive factor determining success or failure in war and other enterprises. Only by upholding justice can one achieve internal unity and popular support, which are essential for the success of a war or a cause； otherwise, popular support is lost and the ruler or leader becomes too isolated and helpless to succeed. This is a specific expression of the Chinese notion of “governance based on virtue” and the spirit of “civilization.”
The term means that those who win the hearts of the people or get the service of the talented will rise while those who lose the hearts of the people or fail to get the talented people will perish. Ren (人) stands for people’s hearts as well as people’s talents. This saying, which comes from Records of the Historian, has two connotations. First, the rise and fall of a country or government depend on winning people’s hearts. Only by winning people’s hearts and responding to their wishes can a country or government continue to thrive. This is in accord with the philosophy that “people’s will is the foundation of the state” and “people are the foundation of the state.” Second, talents are critical to the rise and fall of a country or government. Only by identifying and recruiting the most capable and most upright people, and by suitably employing them can a great cause be completed and a country and its government remain stable and secure. Winning people’s hearts is closely related to attracting the talented. Winning people’s hearts will eventually draw in the talented, and recruiting the talented will eventually help win people’s hearts. All leaders, be they heads of states, groups or teams, should follow this notion of ruling.
Silencing the people and preventing them from expressing their opinions is more damaging than blocking the course of a river and causing a flood. Fang (防) means “a dike” to stop water flowing, and its extended meaning is to “block,” “prevent,” or “stop.” Obstructing the river flow will make the water rise and wash away the dikes, causing uncontrollable flooding. The ancients used this analogy to describe the serious harm that could occur if the public was not allowed to express its opinions. Taken from a positive angle, it means that the public will is powerful and irresistible, and that a ruler should allow its expression, or else expect popular resistance. The idea is in line with such notions as “people are the foundation of the state”, “the people’s will is the foundation of the state”, and “people can float the boat (of state) or sink it”.
Disaster for a state is the collapse of its political power base, not the disintegration of its upper ruling stratum. The foundation of state power is popular allegiance and control of grass-roots society. “Collapse like a landslide” is a metaphor for political authority losing popular support, all of society crumbling precipitously and the people being driven to desperation and revolt. “Roof-tiles coming loose” refers to disintegration and splits in the ruling group, some struggling for power and others breaking the law and even plotting rebellion. Collapse means shaking the social and economic foundations of state power and denying its legitimacy and right to exist. It is thus something much to be feared. Disintegration, on the other hand, can usually be overcome within the existing framework and is not to be feared as much. This kind of political wisdom attaches great importance to the will of the people and governing grass-roots society. It is similar to the idea of “people first.”
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