In the chapter on royal government, the Xunzi quotes a traditional saying: “The ruler is the boat. The common people are the water. Water carries the boat, and water overturns the boat.” The same passage gives the lesson: “A ruler who wants security can do nothing better than govern fairly and love the people.”
In the Tang dynasty, the minister Wei Zheng quoted the saying to Emperor Taizong as an old proverb: “The ruler is the boat, and the people are the water. Water can carry the boat, and it can also overturn it.”