君者善群 – Chinese philosophy and culture

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jūn zhě shàn qún 君者善群

A Ruler Should Keep People Together.

“君”的含义就是指善于使人们凝聚成群。“君”本指君主,泛指领导者;“群”指的是由人聚合而成的社会群体。荀子(前313?—前238)认为,群居而生是人的本性,违背了这个本性,人就不能生存;而组织群众使之成为集体或社会,则是领导者的根本职能和本质规定性之所在。此术语不仅揭示了“君”与“群”的关系,而且隐含着社会与国家的构造原理。

A ruler has the duty to keep people together. According to ancient Chinese philosopher Xunzi (313?-238 BC), people by nature want to live in community. People cannot survive if they go against this nature. Keeping people together so that they form a community or a society is the fundamental duty of a ruler. This term defines the relationship between a ruler and the people, and implies the way in which a society or a state should be structured.

引例 Citation:

◎君者,善群也。群道当,则万物皆得其宜。(《荀子·王制》)

(“君”的含义就是善于使人们凝聚成群。组织社会群体的原则恰当,那么万事万物就都能得到适当的安置。)

A ruler is someone whose duty is to bring people together. If he follows this principle in organizing the people into a community, all things will fall into the right place. (Xunzi)

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