Guidance by virtue, however, cannot be effective unless the ruler sets a moral example for his people. Here, perhaps, we should take note of the fact that the Chinese word cheng (to govern) and cheng (to correct) are cognate. Chi K‘ang Tzu asked Confucius about government. Confucius answered, ‘To govern (cheng) is to correct (cheng). If you set example by being correct, who would dare to remain incorrect?’ (XII.17) There is a positive and a negative point to this. The negative point is that if the ruler fails to be correct himself but insists on punishing his subjects for being incorrect, he
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