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CHIU LING-YEONG
be what her many well-wishers fondly desire her to be unless she will first cast aside all her unjust dealings with her own children and learn to dispense justice with an impartial hand, — to discountenance official corruption in every form and to secure the happiness and unity of her people by a just and liberal policy. In short, before undertaking anything else, she should look after the all-necessary reforms in her internal administration. She must not wait for another more convenient season, but begin at once 'to set her house in order', even before she feels that she can rely on the bolts and bars she is now applying to her doors.' Bad servants are worse than thieves and robbers while a united household is in itself a strong bulwark against any external eruption. Of what avail are bolts and bars where, in terms of danger, no one is found competent or faithful to attend to them.
As for equitable rule and right government, Ho Kai said it was not the emperor but the people who built up the country. It was also the people, not the emperor, who could make a country become prosperous. The duty of an emperor, therefore, was to protect his subjects and direct them to establish the empire. His responsibility was to benefit the people and to direct them to make their country prosperous. The administrators, especially those in the Court, often thought that they had already made their best attempts and put their best efforts into fulfilling their duty. But, whatever they had done, it was only the common people who fully realised, whether it was beneficial or not, whether it was profitable or not, because it was they who actually experienced their ruler's administration. Therefore, even though the emperor was so overburdened with his responsibility of ruling that he could neither sleep nor eat peacefully, the people still could not see any good in his rule. Ho Kai believed that there was no difficulty in governing the people. He continued:
The people may not be very learned and yet they cannot be ill-treated. The people may be ignorant and yet they can be easily enlightened. Therefore, there must be some reasons within. If those who rule the country want to understand such factors, they have to learn the principle of knowledge and adopt the most efficient way of ruling.