something that one can augment, and praised sage kings who governed through its compelling powers. Confucius claimed that the rulers of ancient China had zhide "perfect/ultimate de" (see above). The two examples below mention the legendary Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun, King Wu, the founder of the Zhou Dynasty, and Tai Bo, who ceded the throne to his nephew King Wen. Confucius said: "T'ai Po can be said to have had a [] perfected level of virtue. He declined the rule of the kingdom three times, without the people knowing about it." (8:1) Shun, with five ministers, was able to successfully govern the empire. King Wu said, "Altogether I have ten ministers." Confucius said, "Their ability is the issue. Don't you think so? When the T'ang [Shang] and Wu [Zhou] dynasties combined, they had as many ministers as you, with a woman and nine men. King Wen (of the Chou) controlled two-thirds of the empire, and with this, served the Yin. Indeed, the [] virtue of Chou can be called the [] epitome of virtue!" (8:20) Good government is a central Analects topic, and the following citations illustrate the importance of de for rulers and officials. Confucius said: "He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it." (2:1) Confucius said: "If you govern the people legalistically and control them by punishment, they will avoid crime, but have no personal sense of shame. If you govern them by means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain their own sense of shame, and thus correct themselves." (2:3) Confucius said: "The Superior Man cares about virtue; the inferior man cares about material things. The Superior Man seeks discipline; the inferior man seeks favors." (4:11) Someone said: "What do you think of the saying: 'Repay harm with virtue'?" Confucius replied, "Then how will you repay virtue? Repay harm with Justice and repay virtue with virtue." (14:36) Chi K'ang Tzu asked Confucius about government saying: "Suppose I were to kill the unjust, in order to advance the just. Would that be all right?" Confucius replied: "In doing government, what is the need of killing? If you desire good, the people will be good. The nature of the Superior Man is like the wind, the nature of the inferior man is like the grass.