公公私私 – Chinese philosophy and culture

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gōng gōng sī sī 公公私私

Public Property Belonging to the Public, Private Property to Individuals

以公为公,以私为私;将公共之物视为公共所有,将私人之物视为私人所有。列子认为,公共之物犹如自然生成的天地万物一样,是有机的整体,不能随意分割成为私物;公是公,私是私,公私分明,才是符合天地自然属性的正道。它是道家“无为”理念的发挥,既是国家治理的原则,也是个人修养的境界。

This term means that public property belongs to the public and private property belongs to individuals. Liezi held that public property, like anything naturally formed between heaven and earth, is an organic whole that cannot be divided and given to individuals at random. A clear separation of the public and private interests is in conformity with the law of nature. This concept grew out of the Daoist philosophy of “non-action governance,” which is a principle that the government should follow in its rule of a country, and also a state of one’s moral cultivation.

引例 Citations:

◎天地万物不相离也。仞而有之,皆惑也。……公公私私,天地之德。(《列子·天瑞》)

(天地万物都是不能相互分离的。把它们认作、占为己有,都是糊涂的。……将公共之物视为公共所有,将私人之物视为私人所有,这符合天地的自然德性。)

All things between heaven and earth cannot be separated from each other. It is wrong for a person to regard things that do not belong to him as his own, or possess them for his own use… It is in conformity with nature and social ethics that public property belongs to the public and private property belongs to individuals. (Liezi)

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