The Nation Belongs to All Citizens (天下為公)
45 X 27cm in Regular Script (楷書)
Remarks
(I)
"The Nation Belongs to All Citizens (天下為公)" can be found in The Book of Rites - Conveyance of Rites (《禮記·禮運》):
子曰: "大道之行也, 天下為公." (1)Confucius said, "When the Great Way prevails, the nation belongs to all citizens."(translated by KS Vincent Poon)
Confucians use these words to describe the ideal Confucian society wherein no clan monopolizes the nation (2). Successions of power are not hereditary, and whoever is able can be chosen for public office with no prejudice (3). Further, since Confucian values prevail, the people trust and love one another, and all can work to the best of their abilities (4). Confucians describe this utopia as the "Great Unity (大同)" (5).
(II)
Dr Sun Yat Sen (孫中山, 1866-1925), Father of the Nation (國父), drew a parallel between his "Principle of Democracy (民權主義)" and the Confucian concept of "The Nation Belongs to All Citizens":
孔子說： "大道之行也, 天下為公", 便是主張民權的大同世界. (6)Confucius once said, "When the Great Way prevails, the nation belongs to all citizens." This was him advocating for a democratic world of Great Unity.(translated by KS Vincent Poon)
Indeed, Sun found "The Nation Belongs to All Citizens" so appealing that he eventually wrote a calligraphy of it (7).
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(1). 鄭玄 注, 孔穎達 疏, 《禮記注疏》, 禮運. Shanghai: 中華書局, 1936, p.2.
(2). Ibid..
(3). Ibid., pp.2-3.
(4). Ibid..
(5). Ibid..
(6). 孫中山, 《三民主義》, 民權主義第一講. Shanghai: 上海春明書店, 1947, pp.48-49.
(7). 劉正成,《中國書法鑒賞大辭典》. Beijing: 大地出版社, 1989, p.1347.
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