How to Read “There are people who govern, but there is no law that governs”
Chijin aredo chihō nashi
Meaning of “There are people who govern, but there is no law that governs”
“There are people who govern, but there is no law that governs” means that good governance comes from capable people, not from perfect systems or laws.
No matter how carefully you design laws and rules, they alone cannot guarantee success. In the end, the quality and judgment of the people who apply them matter most.
This proverb is used in organizational management and political contexts. While reforming systems and creating laws is important, it emphasizes that developing and appointing talented people is even more crucial.
People also quote it when arguing that focusing on human development matters more than pursuing perfect systems.
Even today, this saying captures the essence of organizational management. You can create endless manuals and rules, but they won’t work without people who can apply them properly.
On the other hand, talented people with good judgment can work flexibly with imperfect systems and still produce excellent results.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb likely comes from the ancient Chinese text “Huainanzi.” The Huainanzi is a philosophical work compiled during the Western Han dynasty.
A passage similar to “There are people who govern, but there is no law that governs” appears in the chapter called “Fanglun Xun.”
This saying emerged from a fundamental question in ancient Chinese political thought. Should a country be governed through perfect laws and systems, or through appointing excellent people?
This question relates to the conflict between two schools of thought: Legalism and Confucianism. Legalists emphasized strict legal control, while Confucianists advocated governance through moral virtue.
“Chijin” means “talented people who can govern a country.” “Chihō” refers to “perfect laws and systems for governing a country.”
The proverb expresses the idea that even the most sophisticated laws are meaningless without people who have good judgment and moral character to apply them.
Conversely, talented people can respond flexibly and achieve good governance even with imperfect systems. This saying has been passed down in Japan since ancient times and has been valued as wisdom for rulers.
Usage Examples
- Rather than creating new regulations, we should first develop excellent managers, as the saying goes: there are people who govern, but there is no law that governs
- Making laws stricter won’t reduce crime. There are people who govern, but there is no law that governs—in the end, we can only solve this by developing people
Universal Wisdom
“There are people who govern, but there is no law that governs” captures an eternal dilemma in human society.
We always want to believe that creating perfect systems will solve our problems. We write down rules, standardize procedures, and try to make things work the same way regardless of who does them. This seems efficient and fair.
But human affairs are not that simple. No perfect law can handle every situation. Reality constantly produces unexpected circumstances, and human behavior has infinite variety.
Situations not covered by legal text will always appear. Cases not found in any manual will inevitably arise.
At such moments, what we need is human wisdom—the ability to judge situations accurately, see through to the essence, and choose the best path.
Talented people fill the gaps in imperfect systems. They give flexibility to rigid rules and realize justice that cannot be expressed in words.
This proverb has been passed down for so long because our ancestors deeply understood something important.
While humans want to rely on systems, some problems can only be solved by humans. The longing for perfect systems and trust in human judgment—balancing these two is the key to creating a good society.
When AI Hears This
Laws are designed with simple cause-and-effect relationships: “if A, then B.” They assume the same conditions will always produce the same results.
But human society is a complex system where countless elements interact. This fundamental assumption simply doesn’t hold.
Consider weather forecasting. We understand the physical laws perfectly, so why can’t we accurately predict the weather a week ahead?
The answer is that tiny errors in initial conditions grow exponentially over time. Chaos theory calls this the “butterfly effect.”
Human society works the same way. Even when applying the same law, countless initial conditions differ slightly—economic circumstances, people’s psychological states, how information spreads.
These variations cause results to diverge unpredictably.
Even more interesting is that humans exhibit “emergence.” Even when individuals try to follow laws, groups suddenly create behavior patterns no one predicted.
Social media firestorms and stock market crashes are typical examples. This is a phenomenon unique to complex systems—you cannot calculate overall behavior even if you know all the elements.
In the end, no matter how precise your laws are, you cannot respond to a chaotically changing society without human judgment—without “people who govern.”
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people “the value of developing people.” When problems arise, we instinctively try to solve them with systems and rules.
But what truly matters is developing people who can properly operate those systems.
If you work in an organization, don’t just follow the manual. Develop your judgment to assess situations.
Make it a habit to understand the purpose behind rules and think about what is fundamentally right. This will help you grow into a “person who governs”—someone others trust.
If you’re in a leadership position, recognize that investing in human development matters more than spending time creating perfect systems.
One person with excellent judgment can make an imperfect system work. Conversely, even the most sophisticated system will become hollow without people who have good judgment to operate it.
In the end, humans move society forward. Systems are merely tools.
Keep this truth in your heart. Focus your energy on improving yourself and developing the people around you.
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