Li-Yun-Da-Tong (Li-Yun-Dah-Torng) Section, the Record of Rites, Book 9, by Confucius (BC551~479)
When the Great Dao (Tao, perfect order) prevails, the world is like a Commonwealth State shared by all, not a dictatorship. Virtuous, worthy, wise and capable people are chosen as leaders. Honesty and trust are promoted, and good neighborliness cultivated. All people respect and love their own parents and children, as well as the parents and children of others. The aged are cared for until death; adults are employed in jobs that make full use of their abilities; and children are nourished, educated, and fostered. Widows and widowers, orphans and the old without children, the disabled and the diseased are all well taken care of. Every man and woman has an appropriate role to play in society and in the family. They hate to see resources lying idle or cast away, yet they do not necessarily keep them for themselves. They hate not to make use of their abilities, yet they do not necessarily work for their own self-interest. Thus intrigues and conspiracies do not arise, and thievery and robbery do not occur; therefore doors need never be locked. This is the ideal world – a perfect world of equality, fraternity, harmony, welfare, and justice. This is the world called “Da-Tong (Dah-Torng)”.
* This is the state “of the people, by the people, and for the people”.
Translation Compiled By: Shih-Ming Hwang 黃世明
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