Consistent standards and the response of subjects
Hanfeizi’s measuring-cord analogy stresses the impartial line of a standard. The Analects contrasts the effects of punishments with virtue and ritual. These are different claims about government: consistency of application and the quality of the response it produces.
法不阿貴，繩不撓曲The comparison argues against bending standards toward status.
tls · CC BY-SA 4.0 · KR3c0005_006.txt, lines 388–394道之以政，齊之以刑，民免而無恥The consequence for the governed is part of the judgment.
CHANT · CC BY-SA 4.0 · KR1h0004_002.txt, lines 31–37Make the comparison explicit
Hanfeizi’s measuring-cord analogy stresses the impartial line of a standard. The Analects contrasts the effects of punishments with virtue and ritual. These are different claims about government: consistency of application and the quality of the response it produces.
韓非子: The comparison argues against bending standards toward status.
論語: The consequence for the governed is part of the judgment.
Why does the measuring-cord image not settle the Analects question?
Holding a standard constant does not by itself establish whether people develop the shame and responsiveness described there.
Shared words, images, or constructions do not by themselves establish common meaning, authorship, or origin. An explicit citation is identified only where the wording itself supports it.
zimai · AI-assisted editorial notes · Editorial pilot · not independently reviewed. Original learning material: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source text, scholarly reference, and editorial interpretation remain separately attributed.