Mencius

MENCIUS – THE WORKS OF MENCIUS

The Works of Mencius. Translated by James Legge. 1895. Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2025 from https://ctext.org/mengzi

LIANG HUI WANG I
1: Mencius went to see king Hui of Liang. The king said, ‘Venerable sir, since you have not counted it far to come here, a distance of a thousand li, may I presume that you are provided with counsels to profit my kingdom?’
Mencius replied, ‘Why must your Majesty use that word “profit?” What I am provided with, are counsels to benevolence and righteousness, and these are my only topics. ‘If your Majesty say, “What is to be done to profit my kingdom?” the great officers will say, “What is to be done to profit our families?” and the inferior officers and the common people will say, “What is to be done to profit our persons?” Superiors and inferiors will try to snatch this profit the one from the other, and the kingdom will be endangered. In the kingdom of ten thousand chariots, the murderer of his sovereign shall be the chief of a family of a thousand chariots. In the kingdom of a thousand chariots, the murderer of his prince shall be the chief of a family of a hundred chariots. To have a thousand in ten thousand, and a hundred in a thousand, cannot be said not to be a large allotment, but if righteousness be put last, and profit be put first, they will not be satisfied without snatching all. There never has been a benevolent man who neglected his parents. There never has been a righteous man who made his sovereign an after consideration. Let your Majesty also say, “Benevolence and righteousness, and let these be your only themes.” Why must you use that word – “profit?”.’
3: …………………………….
Mencius replied, ‘Your majesty is fond of war – let me take an illustration from war. The soldiers move forward to the sound of the drums; and after their weapons have been crossed, on one side they throw away their coats of mail, trail their arms behind them, and run. Some run a hundred paces and stop; some run fifty paces and stop. What would you think if those who run fifty paces were to laugh at those who run a hundred paces?’
The king said, ‘They should not do so. Though they did not run a hundred paces, yet they also ran away.’…
…………………………….
4: King Hui of Liang said, ‘I wish quietly to receive your instructions.’
Mencius replied, ‘Is there any difference between killing a man with a stick and with a sword ?’
The king said, ‘There is no difference!’
‘Is there any difference between doing it with a sword and with the style of government?’
‘There is no difference,’ was the reply.
Mencius then said, ‘In your kitchen there is fat meat; in your stables there are fat horses. But your people have the look of hunger, and on the wilds there are those who have died of famine…
…………………………….
7: The king Xuan of Qi asked, saying, ‘May I be informed by you of the transactions of Huan of Qi, and Wen of Jin?’
Mencius replied, ‘There were none of the disciples of Zhong Ni who spoke about the affairs of Huan and Wen, and therefore they have not been transmitted to these after-ages – your servant has not heard them. If you will have me speak, let it be about royal government.’
The king said, ‘What virtue must there be in order to attain to royal sway?’
Mencius answered, ‘The love and protection of the people; with this there is no power which can prevent a ruler from attaining to it.’
The king asked again, ‘Is such an one as I competent to love and protect the people?’
Mencius said, ‘Yes.’
‘How do you know that I am competent for that?’
‘I heard the following incident from Hu He: “The king,” said he, “was sitting aloft in the hall, when a man appeared, leading an ox past the lower part of it. The king saw him, and asked, Where is the ox going? The man replied, We are going to consecrate a bell with its blood. The king said, Let it go. I cannot bear its frightened appearance, as if it were an innocent person going to the place of death. The man answered, Shall we then omit the consecration of the bell ? The king said, How can that be omitted? Change it for a sheep.” I do not know whether this incident really occurred.’
The king replied, ‘It did,’
and then Mencius said, ‘The heart seen in this is sufficient to carry you to the royal sway. The people all supposed that your Majesty grudged the animal, but your servant knows surely, that it was your Majesty’s not being able to bear the sight, which made you do as you did.’
The king said, ‘You are right. And yet there really was an appearance of what the people condemned. But though Qi be a small and narrow State, how should I grudge one ox? Indeed it was because I could not bear its frightened appearance, as if it were an innocent person going to the place of death, that therefore I changed it for a sheep.’
Mencius pursued, ‘Let not your Majesty deem it strange that the people should think you were grudging the animal. When you changed a large one for a small, how should they know the true reason? If you felt pained by its being led without guilt to the place of death, what was there to choose between an ox and a sheep?
The king laughed and said, ‘What really was my mind in the matter? I did not grudge the expense of it, and changed it for a sheep! There was reason in the people’s saying that I grudged it.’
‘There is no harm in their saying so,’ said Mencius. ‘Your conduct was an artifice of benevolence. You saw the ox, and had not seen the sheep. So is the superior man affected towards animals, that, having seen them alive, he cannot bear to see them die; having heard their dying cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh. Therefore he keeps away from his slaughter-house and cook-room.’
The king was pleased, and said, ‘It is said in the Book of Poetry, “The minds of others, I am able by reflection to measure;” – this is verified, my Master, in your discovery of my motive. I indeed did the thing, but when I turned my thoughts inward, and examined into it, I could not discover my own mind. When you, Master, spoke those words, the movements of compassion began to work in my mind. How is it that this heart has in it what is equal to the royal sway?’
Mencius replied, ‘Suppose a man were to make this statement to your Majesty: “My strength is sufficient to lift three thousand catties, but it is not sufficient to lift one feather; my eyesight is sharp enough to examine the point of an autumn hair, but I do not see a waggon-load of faggots;” would your Majesty allow what he said?’
‘No,’ was the answer,
on which Mencius proceeded, ‘Now here is kindness sufficient to reach to animals, and no benefits are extended from it to the people. How is this? Is an exception to be made here? The truth is, the feather is not lifted , because strength is not used; the waggon-load of firewood is not seen, because the eyesight is not used; and the people are not loved and protected, because kindness is not employed. Therefore your Majesty’s not exercising the royal sway, is because you do not do it, not because you are not able to do it.’
The king asked, ‘How may the difference between the not doing a thing, and the not being able to do it, be represented?
Mencius replied,’In such a thing as taking the Tai mountain under your arm, and leaping over the north sea with it, if you say to people “I am not able to do it,” that is a real case of not being able. In such a matter as breaking off a branch from a tree at the order of a superior, if you say to people “I am not able to do it,” that is a case of not doing it, it is not a case of not being able to do it. Therefore your Majesty’s not exercising the royal sway, is not such a case as that of taking the Tai mountain under your arm, and leaping over the north sea with it. Your Majesty’s not exercising the royal sway is a case like that of breaking off a branch from a tree. Treat with the reverence due to age the elders in your own family, so that the elders in the families of others shall be similarly treated; treat with the kindness due to youth the young in your own family, so that the young in the families of others shall be similarly treated – do this, and the kingdom may be made to go round in your palm. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “His example affected his wife. It reached to his brothers, and his family of the State was governed by it.” The language shows how king Wen simply took his kindly heart, and exercised it towards those parties. Therefore the carrying out his kindness of heart by a prince will suffice for the love and protection of all within the four seas, and if he do not carry it out, he will not be able to protect his wife and children. The way in which the ancients came greatly to surpass other men, was no other but this – simply that they knew well how to carry out, so as to affect others, what they themselves did. Now your kindness is sufficient to reach to animals, and no benefits are extended from it to reach the people. How is this? Is an exception to be made here? By weighing, we know what things are light, and what heavy. By measuring, we know what things are long, and what short. The relations of all things may be thus determined, and it is of the greatest importance to estimate the motions of the mind. I beg your Majesty to measure it. You collect your equipments of war, endanger your soldiers and officers, and excite the resentment of the other princes – do these things cause you pleasure in your mind?’
The king replied, ‘No. How should I derive pleasure from these things? My object in them is to seek for what I greatly desire.’
Mencius said, ‘May I hear from you what it is that you greatly desire?’ The king laughed and did not speak.
Mencius resumed, ‘Are you led to desire it, because you have not enough of rich and sweet food for your mouth? Or because you have not enough of light and warm clothing for your body? Or because you have not enough of beautifully coloured objects to delight your eyes? Or because you have not voices and tones enough to please your ears? Or because you have not enough of attendants and favourites to stand before you and receive your orders? Your Majesty’s various officers are sufficient to supply you with those things. How can your Majesty be led to entertain such a desire on account of them?’
‘No,’ said the king; ‘my desire is not on account of them.’
Mencius added, ‘Then, what your Majesty greatly desires may be known. You wish to enlarge your territories, to have Qin and Chu wait at your court, to rule the Middle Kingdom, and to attract to you the barbarous tribes that surround it. But doing what you do to seek for what you desire is like climbing a tree to seek for fish.’
The king said, ‘Is it so bad as that?’
‘It is even worse,’ was the reply. ‘If you climb a tree to seek for fish, although you do not get the fish, you will not suffer any subsequent calamity. But doing what you do to seek for what you desire, doing it moreover with all your heart, you will assuredly afterwards meet with calamities.’
The king asked, ‘May I hear from you the proof of that?’
Mencius said, ‘If the people of Zou should fight with the people of Chu, which of them does your Majesty think would conquer?’
‘The people of Chu would conquer.’
‘Yes – and so it is certain that a small country cannot contend with a great, that few cannot contend with many, that the weak cannot contend with the strong. The territory within the four seas embraces nine divisions, each of a thousand li square. All Qi together is but one of them. If with one part you try to subdue the other eight, what is the difference between that and Zou’s contending with Chu? For, with such a desire, you must turn back to the proper course for its attainment. Now if your Majesty will institute a government whose action shall be benevolent, this will cause all the officers in the kingdom to wish to stand in your Majesty’s court, and all the farmers to wish to plough in your Majesty’s fields, and all the merchants, both travelling and stationary, to wish to store their goods in your Majesty’s market-places, and all travelling strangers to wish to make their tours on your Majesty’s roads, and all throughout the kingdom who feel aggrieved by their rulers to wish to come and complain to your Majesty. And when they are so bent, who will be able to keep them back?’
The king said, ‘I am stupid, and not able to advance to this. I wish you, my Master, to assist my intentions. Teach me clearly; although I am deficient in intelligence and vigour, I will essay and try to carry your instructions into effect.’
Mencius replied, ‘They are only men of education, who, without a certain livelihood, are able to maintain a fixed heart. As to the people, if they have not a certain livelihood, it follows that they will not have a fixed heart. And if they have not a fixed heart, there is nothing which they will not do, in the way of self-abandonment, of moral deflection, of depravity, and of wild license. When they thus have been involved in crime, to follow them up and punish them – this is to entrap the people. How can such a thing as entrapping the people be done under the rule of a benevolent man? Therefore an intelligent ruler will regulate the livelihood of the people, so as to make sure that, for those above them, they shall have sufficient wherewith to serve their parents, and, for those below them, sufficient wherewith to support their wives and children; that in good years they shall always be abundantly satisfied, and that in bad years they shall escape the danger of perishing. After this he may urge them, and they will proceed to what is good, for in this case the people will follow after it with ease. Now, the livelihood of the people is so regulated, that, above, they have not sufficient wherewith to serve their parents, and, below, they have not sufficient wherewith to support their wives and children. Notwithstanding good years, their lives are continually embittered, and, in bad years, they do not escape perishing. In such circumstances they only try to save themselves from death, and are afraid they will not succeed. What leisure have they to cultivate propriety and righteousness? If your Majesty wishes to effect this regulation of the livelihood of the people, why not turn to that which is the essential step to it? Let mulberry-trees be planted about the homesteads with their five mu, and persons of fifty years may be clothed with silk. In keeping fowls, pigs, dogs, and swine, let not their times of breeding be neglected, and persons of seventy years may eat flesh. Let there not be taken away the time that is proper for the cultivation of the farm with its hundred mu, and the family of eight mouths that is supported by it shall not suffer from hunger. Let careful attention be paid to education in schools, the inculcation in it especially of the filial and fraternal duties, and grey-haired men will not be seen upon the roads, carrying burdens on their backs or on their heads. It never has been that the ruler of a State where such results were seen, the old wearing silk and eating flesh, and the black-haired people suffering neither from hunger nor cold, did not attain to the royal dignity.’

LIANG HUI WANG II
10: …………………………….
The king said, ‘A great saying! But I have an infirmity – I love valour.’
I beg your Majesty,’ was the reply, ‘not to love small valour. If a man brandishes his sword, looks fiercely, and says, “How dare he withstand me?” – this is the valour of a common man, who can be the opponent only of a single individual. I beg your Majesty to greaten it. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “The king blazed with anger, And he marshalled his hosts, To stop the march to Chu, To consolidate the prosperity of Zhou, To meet the expectations of the nation.” This was the valour of king Wen. King Wen, in one burst of his anger, gave repose to all the people of the kingdom. In the Book of History it is said, “Heaven having produced the inferior people, made for them rulers and teachers, with the purpose that they should be assisting to God, and therefore distinguished them throughout the four quarters of the land. Whoever are offenders, and whoever are innocent, here am I to deal with them. How dare any under heaven give indulgence to their refractory wills?” There was one man pursuing a violent and disorderly course in the kingdom, and king Wu was ashamed of it. This was the valour of king Wu. He also, by one display of his anger, gave repose to all the people of the kingdom. Let now your Majesty also, in one burst of anger, give repose to all the people of the kingdom. The people are only afraid that your Majesty does not love valour.’
11 : The king Xuan of Qi had an interview with Mencius in the Snow palace, and said to him, ‘Do men of talents and worth likewise find pleasure in these things?’
Mencius replied, ‘They do; and if people generally are not able to enjoy themselves, they condemn their superiors. For them, when they cannot enjoy themselves, to condemn their superiors is wrong, but when the superiors of the people do not make enjoyment a thing common to the people and themselves, they also do wrong. When a ruler rejoices in the joy of his people, they also rejoice in his joy; when he grieves at the sorrow of his people, they also grieve at his sorrow. A sympathy of joy will pervade the kingdom; a sympathy of sorrow will do the same – in such a state of things, it cannot be but that the ruler attain to the royal dignity.
‘Formerly, the duke Jing of Qi asked the minister Yan, saying, “I wish to pay a visit of inspection to Zhuan Fu, and Chao Wu, and then to bend my course southward along the shore, till I come to Lang Xie. What shall I do that my tour may be fit to be compared with the visits of inspection made by the ancient sovereigns?” The minister Yan replied, “An excellent inquiry! When the Son of Heaven visited the princes, it was called a tour of inspection, that is, be surveyed the States under their care. When the princes attended at the court of the Son of Heaven, it was called a report of office, that is, they reported their administration of their offices. Thus, neither of the proceedings was without a purpose. And moreover, in the spring they examined the ploughing, and supplied any deficiency of seed; in the autumn they examined the reaping, and supplied any deficiency of yield. There is the saying of the Xia dynasty – If our king do not take his ramble, what will become of our happiness? If our king do not make his excursion, what will become of our help? That ramble, and that excursion, were a pattern to the princes. Now, the state of things is different. A host marches in attendance on the ruler, and stores of provisions are consumed. The hungry are deprived of their food, and there is no rest for those who are called to toil. Maledictions are uttered by one to another with eyes askance, and the people proceed to the commission of wickedness. Thus the royal ordinances are violated, and the people are oppressed, and the supplies of food and drink flow away like water. The rulers yield themselves to the current, or they urge their way against it; they are wild; they are utterly lost – these things proceed to the grief of the inferior princes. Descending along with the current, and forgetting to return, is what I call yielding to it. Pressing up against it, and forgetting to return, is what I call urging their way against it. Pursuing the chase without satiety is what I call being wild. Delighting in wine without satiety is what I call being lost. The ancient sovereigns had no pleasures to which they gave themselves as on the flowing stream; no doings which might be so characterized as wild and lost. It is for you, my prince, to pursue your course.” The duke Ching was pleased. He issued a proclamation throughout his State, and went out and occupied a shed in the borders. From that time he began to open his granaries to supply the wants of the people, and calling the Grand music-master, he said to him “Make for me music to suit a prince and his minister pleased with each other.” And it was then that the Zheng Zhao and Jiao Zhao were made, in the words to which it was said, “Is it a fault to restrain one’s prince?” He who restrains his prince loves his prince.’

14: Mencius, having an interview with the king Xuan of Qi, said to him, ‘When men speak of “an ancient kingdom,” it is not meant thereby that it has lofty trees in it, but that it has ministers sprung from families which have been noted in it for generations. Your Majesty has no intimate ministers even. Those whom you advanced yesterday are gone to-day, and you do not know it.’
The king said, ‘How shall I know that they have not ability, and so avoid employing them at all?’
The reply was, ‘The ruler of a State advances to office men of talents and virtue only as a matter of necessity. Since he will thereby cause the low to overstep the honourable, and distant to overstep his near relatives, ought he to do so but with caution? When all those about you say, “This is a man of talents and worth,” you may not therefore believe it. When your great officers all say, “This is a man of talents and virtue,” neither may you for that believe it. When all the people say, “This is a man of talents and virtue,” then examine into the case, and when you find that the man is such, employ him. When all those about you say, “This man won’t do,” don’t listen to them. When all your great officers say, “This man won’t do,” don’t listen to them. When the people all say, “This man won’t do,” then examine into the case, and when you find that the man won’t do, send him away. When all those about you say, “This man deserves death,” don’t listen to them. When all your great officers say, “This man deserves death,” don’t listen to them. When the people all say, “This man deserves death,” then inquire into the case, and when you see that the man deserves death, put him to death. In accordance with this we have the saying, “The people killed him.” You must act in this way in order to be the parent of the people.’

GONG SUN CHOU I
1: Gong Sun Chou asked Mencius, saying, ‘Master, if you were to obtain the ordering of the government in Qi, could you promise yourself to accomplish anew such results as those realized by Guan Zhong and Yan?’
…………………………….
Gong Sun Chou said, ‘Guan Zhong raised his prince to be the leader of all the other princes, and Yan made his prince illustrious, and do you still think it would not be enough for you to do what they did?’
Mencius answered, ‘To raise Qi to the royal dignity would be as easy as it is to turn round the hand.’
‘So!’ returned the other. ‘The perplexity of your disciple is hereby very much increased. There was king Wen, moreover, with all the virtue which belonged to him; and who did not die till he had reached a hundred years – and still his influence had not penetrated throughout the kingdom. It required king Wu and the duke of Zhou to continue his course, before that influence greatly prevailed. Now you say that the royal dignity might be so easily obtained – is king Wen then not a sufficient object for imitation?’
…………………………….
2: Gong Sun Chou asked Mencius, saying, ‘Master, if you were to be appointed a high noble and the prime minister of Qi, so as to be able to carry your principles into practice, though you should thereupon raise the ruler to the headship of all the other princes, or even to the royal dignity, it would not be to be wondered at. In such a position would your mind be perturbed or not?’
Mencius replied, ‘No. At forty, I attained to an unperturbed mind.’
Chou said, ‘Since it is so with you, my Master, you are far beyond Meng Ben.’
‘The mere attainment,’ said Mencius, ‘is not difficult. The scholar Gao had attained to an unperturbed mind at an earlier period of life than I did.’
Chou asked, ‘Is there any way to an unperturbed mind?’
The answer was, ‘Yes. Bei Gong You had this way of nourishing his valour: He did not flinch from any strokes at his body. He did not turn his eyes aside from any thrusts at them. He considered that the slightest push from any one was the same as if he were beaten before the crowds in the market-place, and that what he would not receive from a common man in his loose large garments of hair, neither should he receive from a prince of ten thousand chariots. He viewed stabbing a prince of ten thousand chariots just as stabbing a fellow dressed in cloth of hair. He feared not any of all the princes. A bad word addressed to him be always returned. Meng Shi She had this way of nourishing his valour: He said, “I look upon not conquering and conquering in the same way. To measure the enemy and then advance; to calculate the chances of victory and then engage – this is to stand in awe of the opposing force. How can I make certain of conquering? I can only rise superior to all fear.” Meng Shi She resembled the philosopher Zeng. Bei Gong You resembled Zi Xia. I do not know to the valour of which of the two the superiority should be ascribed, but yet Meng Shi She attended to what was of the greater importance. Formerly, the philosopher Zeng said to Zi Xiang, “Do you love valour? I heard an account of great valour from the Master. It speaks thus: ‘If, on self-examination, I find that I am not upright, shall I not be in fear even of a poor man in his loose garments of hair-cloth? If, on self-examination, I find that I am upright, I will go forward against thousands and tens of thousands.’ Yet, what Meng Shi She maintained, being merely his physical energy, was after all inferior to what the philosopher Zeng maintained, which was indeed of the most importance.’
Gong Sun Chou said, ‘May I venture to ask an explanation from you, Master, of how you maintain an unperturbed mind, and how the philosopher Gao does the same?’
Mencius answered, ‘Gao says, “What is not attained in words is not to be sought for in the mind; what produces dissatisfaction in the mind, is not to be helped by passion-effort.” This last, when there is unrest in the mind, not to seek for relief from passion-effort, may be conceded. But not to seek in the mind for what is not attained in words cannot be conceded. The will is the leader of the passion-nature. The passion-nature pervades and animates the body. The will is first and chief, and the passion-nature is subordinate to it. Therefore I say, Maintain firm the will, and do no violence to the passion-nature.’
Chou observed, ‘Since you say “The will is chief, and the passion-nature is subordinate,” how do you also say, “Maintain firm the will, and do no violence to the passion-nature?”‘
Mencius replied, ‘When it is the will alone which is active, it moves the passion-nature. When it is the passion-nature alone which is active, it moves the will. For instance now, in the case of a man falling or running, that is from the passion-nature, and yet it moves the mind.’
‘I venture to ask,’ said Chou again, ‘wherein you, Master, surpass Gao.’
Mencius told him, ‘I understand words. I am skilful in nourishing my vast, flowing passion-nature.’
Chou pursued, ‘I venture to ask what you mean by your vast, flowing passion-nature!’
The reply was, ‘It is difficult to describe it. This is the passion-nature: It is exceedingly great, and exceedingly strong. Being nourished by rectitude, and sustaining no injury, it fills up all between heaven and earth. This is the passion-nature: It is the mate and assistant of righteousness and reason. Without it, man is in a state of starvation. It is produced by the accumulation of righteous deeds; it is not to be obtained by incidental acts of righteousness. If the mind does not feel complacency in the conduct, the nature becomes starved. I therefore said, “Gao has never understood righteousness, because he makes it something external.” There must be the constant practice of this righteousness, but without the object of thereby nourishing the passion-nature. Let not the mind forget its work, but let there be no assisting the growth of that nature. Let us not be like the man of Song. There was a man of Song, who was grieved that his growing corn was not longer, and so he pulled it up. Having done this, he returned home, looking very stupid, and said to his people, “I am tired to-day. I have been helping the corn to grow long.” His son ran to look at it, and found the corn all withered. There are few in the world, who do not deal with their passion-nature, as if they were assisting the corn to grow long. Some indeed consider it of no benefit to them, and let it alone – they do not weed their corn. They who assist it to grow long, pull out their corn. What they do is not only of no benefit to the nature, but it also injures it.’
Gong Sun Chou further asked, ‘What do you mean by saying that you understand whatever words you hear?’
Mencius replied, ‘When words are one-sided, I know how the mind of the speaker is clouded over. When words are extravagant, I know how the mind is fallen and sunk. When words are all-depraved, I know how the mind has departed from principle. When words are evasive, I know how the mind is at its wit’s end. These evils growing in the mind, do injury to government, and, displayed in the government, are hurtful to the conduct of affairs. When a Sage shall again arise, he will certainly follow my words.’
On this Chou observed, ‘Zai Wo and Zi Gong were skilful in speaking. Ran Niu, the disciple Min, and Yan Yuan, while their words were good, were distinguished for their virtuous conduct. Confucius united the qualities of the disciples in himself, but still he said, “In the matter of speeches, I am not competent.” Then, Master, have you attained to be a Sage?’
Mencius said, ‘Oh! what words are these? Formerly Zi Gong asked Confucius, saying, “Master, are you a Sage?” Confucius answered him, “A Sage is what I cannot rise to. I learn without satiety, and teach without being tired.” Zi Gong said, “You learn without satiety – that shows your wisdom. You teach without being tired – that shows your benevolence. Benevolent and wise – Master, you ARE a Sage.” Now, since Confucius would not allow himself to be regarded as a Sage, what words were those?’
Chou said, ‘Formerly, I once heard this: Zi Xia, Zi You, and Zi Zhang had each one member of the Sage. Ran Niu, the disciple Min, and Yan Yuan had all the members, but in small proportions. I venture to ask, With which of these are you pleased to rank yourself?’
Mencius replied, ‘Let us drop speaking about these, if you please.’
Chou then asked, ‘What do you say of Bo Yi and Yi Yin?’
‘Their ways were different from mine,’ said Mencius. ‘Not to serve a prince whom he did not esteem, nor command a people whom he did not approve; in a time of good government to take office, and on the occurrence of confusion to retire – this was the way of Bo Yi. To say “Whom may I not serve? My serving him makes him my ruler. What people may I not command? My commanding them makes them my people.” In a time of good government to take office, and when disorder prevailed, also to take office – that was the way of Yi Yin. When it was proper to go into office, then to go into it; when it was proper to keep retired from office, then to keep retired from it; when it was proper to continue in it long, then to continue in it long – when it was proper to withdraw from it quickly, then to withdraw quickly – that was the way of Confucius. These were all sages of antiquity, and I have not attained to do what they did. But what I wish to do is to learn to be like Confucius.’
…………………………….
3: Mencius said, ‘He who, using force, makes a pretence to benevolence is the leader of the princes. A leader of the princes requires a large kingdom. He who, using virtue, practises benevolence is the sovereign of the kingdom. To become the sovereign of the kingdom, a prince need not wait for a large kingdom. Tang did it with only seventy li, and king Wen with only a hundred. When one by force subdues men, they do not submit to him in heart. They submit, because their strength is not adequate to resist. When one subdues men by virtue, in their hearts’ core they are pleased, and sincerely submit, as was the case with the seventy disciples in their submission to Confucius. What is said in the Book of Poetry, “From the west, from the east, From the south, from the north, There was not one who thought of refusing submission,” is an illustration of this.’
4: Mencius said, ‘Benevolence brings glory to a prince, and the opposite of it brings disgrace. For the princes of the present day to hate disgrace and yet to live complacently doing what is not benevolent, is like hating moisture and yet living in a low situation. If a prince hates disgrace, the best course for him to pursue, is to esteem virtue…
6: Mencius said, ‘All men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others. ‘The ancient kings had this commiserating mind, and they, as a matter of course, had likewise a commiserating government. When with a commiserating mind was practised a commiserating government, to rule the kingdom was as easy a matter as to make anything go round in the palm. When I say that all men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others, my meaning may be illustrated thus: even now-a-days, if men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well, they will without exception experience a feeling of alarm and distress. They will feel so, not as a ground on which they may gain the favour of the child’s parents, nor as a ground on which they may seek the praise of their neighbours and friends, nor from a dislike to the reputation of having been unmoved by such a thing. From this case we may perceive that the feeling of commiseration is essential to man, that the feeling of shame and dislike is essential to man, that the feeling of modesty and complaisance is essential to man, and that the feeling of approving and disapproving is essential to man. The feeling of commiseration is the principle of benevolence. The feeling of shame and dislike is the principle of righteousness. The feeling of modesty and complaisance is the principle of propriety. The feeling of approving and disapproving is the principle of knowledge. Men have these four principles just as they have their four limbs. When men, having these four principles, yet say of themselves that they cannot develop them, they play the thief with themselves, and he who says of his prince that he cannot develop them plays the thief with his prince. Since all men have these four principles in themselves, let them know to give them all their development and completion, and the issue will be like that of fire which has begun to burn, or that of a spring which has begun to find vent. Let them have their complete development, and they will suffice to love and protect all within the four seas. Let them be denied that development, and they will not suffice for a man to serve his parents with.’
7: Mencius said, ‘Is the arrow-maker less benevolent than the maker of armour of defence? And yet, the arrow-maker’s only fear is lest men should not be hurt, and the armour-maker’s only fear is lest men should be hurt. So it is with the priest and the coffin-maker. The choice of a profession, therefore, is a thing in which great caution is required. Confucius said, “It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a neighbourhood. If a man, in selecting a residence, do not fix on one where such prevail, how can he be wise?” Now, benevolence is the most honourable dignity conferred by Heaven, and the quiet home in which man should awell. Since no one can hinder us from being so, if yet we are not benevolent – this is being not wise. From the want of benevolence and the want of wisdom will ensue the entire absence of propriety and righteousness;– he who is in such a case must be the servant of other men. To be the servant of men and yet ashamed of such servitude, is like a bowmaker’s being ashamed to make bows, or an arrow-maker’s being ashamed to make arrows. If he be ashamed of his case, his best course is to practise benevolence. The man who would be benevolent is like the archer. The archer adjusts himself and then shoots. If he misses, he does not murmur against those who surpass himself. He simply turns round and seeks the cause of his failure in himself.’
8: Mencius said, ‘When any one told Zi Lu that he had a fault, he rejoiced. When Yu heard good words, he bowed to the speaker. The great Shun had a still greater delight in what was good. He regarded virtue as the common property of himself and others, giving up his own way to follow that of others, and delighting to learn from others to practise what was good. From the time when he ploughed and sowed, exercised the potter’s art, and was a fisherman, to the time when he became emperor, he was continually learning from others. To take example from others to practise virtue, is to help them in the same practice. Therefore, there is no attribute of the superior man greater than his helping men to practise virtue.’
9: Mencius said, ‘Bo Yi would not serve a prince whom he did not approve, nor associate with a friend whom he did not esteem. He would not stand in a bad prince’s court, nor speak with a bad man. To stand in a bad prince’s court, or to speak with a bad man, would have been to him the same as to sit with his court robes and court cap amid mire and ashes. Pursuing the examination of his dislike to what was evil, we find that he thought it necessary, if he happened to be standing with a villager whose cap was not rightly adjusted, to leave him with a high air, as if he were going to be defiled. Therefore, although some of the princes made application to him with very proper messages, he would not receive their gifts. He would not receive their gifts, counting it inconsistent with his purity to go to them. Hui of Liu Xia was not ashamed to serve an impure prince, nor did he think it low to be an inferior officer. When advanced to employment, he did not conceal his virtue, but made it a point to carry out his principles. When neglected and left without office, he did not murmur. When straitened by poverty, he did not grieve. Accordingly, he had a saying,”You are you, and I am I. Although you stand by my side with breast and aims bare, or with your body naked, how can you defile me?” Therefore, self-possessed, he companied with men indifferently, at the same time not losing himself. When he wished to leave, if pressed to remain in office, he would remain. He would remain in office, when pressed to do so, not counting it required by his purity to go away.’
Mencius said, ‘Bo Yi was narrow-minded, and Hui of Liu Xia was wanting in self-respect. The superior man will not manifest either narrow-mindedness, or the want of self-respect.’

GONG SUN CHOU II
11: …………………………….
Mencius replied, ‘Oh! what words are these? Among the people of Qi there is no one who speaks to the king about benevolence and righteousness. Are they thus silent because they do not think that benevolence and righteousness are admirable? No, but in their hearts they say, “This man is not fit to be spoken with about benevolence and righteousness.” Thus they manifest a disrespect than which there can be none greater. I do not dare to set forth before the king any but the ways of Yao and Shun. There is therefore no man of Qi who respects the king so much as I do.’
Mr. Jing said, ‘Not so. That was not what I meant. In the Book of Rites it is said, “When a father calls, the answer must be without a moment’s hesitation. When the prince’s order calls, the carriage must not be waited for.” You were certainly going to the court, but when you heard the king’s order, then you did not carry your purpose out. This does seem as if it were not in accordance with that rule of propriety.’
Mencius answered him, ‘How can you give that meaning to my conduct? The philosopher Zeng said, “The wealth of Jin and Chu cannot be equalled. Let their rulers have their wealth – I have my benevolence. Let them have their nobility – I have my righteousness. Wherein should I be dissatisfied as inferior to them?” Now shall we say that these sentiments are not right? Seeing that the philosopher Zeng spoke them, there is in them, I apprehend, a real principle. In the kingdom there are three things universally acknowledged to be honourable. Nobility is one of them; age is one of them; virtue is one of them. In courts, nobility holds the first place of the three; in villages, age holds the first place; and for helping one’s generation and presiding over the people, the other two are not equal to virtue. How can the possession of only one of these be presumed on to despise one who possesses the other two?
…………………………….

TENG WEN GONG I
4: …………………………….
… But men possess a moral nature; and if they are well fed, warmly clad, and comfortably lodged, without being taught at the same time, they become almost like the beasts. This was a subject of anxious solicitude to the sage Shun, and he appointed Xie to be the Minister of Instruction, to teach the relations of humanity: how, between father and son, there should be affection; between sovereign and minister, righteousness; between husband and wife, attention to their separate functions; between old and young, a proper order; and between friends, fidelity. The high meritorious sovereign said to him, “Encourage them; lead them on; rectify them; straighten them; help them; give them wings – thus causing them to become possessors of themselves. Then follow this up by stimulating them, and conferring benefits on them.” When the sages were exercising their solicitude for the people in this way, had they leisure to cultivate the ground?…
…………………………….

TENG WEN GONG II
14: …………………………….
‘Again the world fell into decay, and principles faded away. Perverse speakings and oppressive deeds waxed rife again. There were instances of ministers who murdered their sovereigns, and of sons who murdered their fathers. Confucius was afraid, and made the “Spring and Autumn.” What the “Spring and Autumn” contains are matters proper to the sovereign. On this account Confucius said, “Yes! It is the Spring and Autumn which will make men know me, and it is the Spring and Autumn which will make men condemn me.”
‘Once more, sage sovereigns cease to arise, and the princes of the States give the reins to their lusts. Unemployed scholars indulge in unreasonable discussions. The words of Yang Zhu and Mo Di fill the country. If you listen to people’s discourses throughout it, you will find that they have adopted the views either of Yang or of Mo. Now, Yang’s principle is “each one for himself,” which does not acknowledge the claims of the sovereign. Mo’s principle is “to love all equally,” which does not acknowledge the peculiar affection due to a father. But to acknowledge neither king nor father is to be in the state of a beast. Gong Meng Yi said, “In their kitchens, there is fat meat. In their stables, there are fat horses. But their people have the look of hunger, and on the wilds there are those who have died of famine. This is leading on beasts to devour men.” If the principles of Yang and Mo be not stopped, and the principles of Confucius not set forth, then those perverse speakings will delude the people, and stop up the path of benevolence and righteousness. When benevolence and righteousness are stopped up, beasts will be led on to devour men, and men will devour one another. I am alarmed by these things, and address myself to the defence of the doctrines of the former sages, and to oppose Yang and Mo. I drive away their licentious expressions, so that such perverse speakers may not be able to show themselves. Their delusions spring up in men’s minds, and do injury to their practice of affairs. Shown in their practice of affairs, they are pernicious to their government. When sages shall rise up again, they will not change my words.
…………………………….

LI LOU I
4: Mencius said, ‘If a man love others, and no responsive attachment is shown to him, let him turn inwards and examine his own benevolence. If he is trying to rule others, and his government is unsuccessful, let him turn inwards and examine his wisdom. If he treats others politely, and they do not return his politeness, let him turn inwards and examine his own feeling of respect. When we do not, by what we do, realise what we desire, we must turn inwards, and examine ourselves in every point. When a man’s person is correct, the whole kingdom will turn to him with recognition and submission. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “Be always studious to be in harmony with the ordinances of God, And you will obtain much happiness.”‘
9: Mencius said, ‘Jie and Zhou’s losing the throne, arose from their losing the people, and to lose the people means to lose their hearts. There is a way to get the kingdom: get the people, and the kingdom is got. There is a way to get the people: get their hearts, and the people are got. There is a way to get their hearts: it is simply to collect for them what they like, and not to lay on them what they dislike. The people turn to a benevolent rule as water flows downwards, and as wild beasts fly to the wilderness…
10: Mencius said, ‘With those who do violence to themselves, it is impossible to speak. With those who throw themselves away, it is impossible to do anything. To disown in his conversation propriety and righteousness, is what we mean by doing violence to one’s self. To say “I am not able to dwell in benevolence or pursue the path of righteousness,” is what we mean by throwing one’s self away. Benevolence is the tranquil habitation of man, and righteousness is his straight path. Alas for them, who leave the tranquil dwelling empty and do not reside in it, and who abandon the right path and do not pursue it?’
12: … There is a way to make one’s parents pleased: if one, on turning his thoughts inwards, finds a want of sincerity, he will not give pleasure to his parents. There is a way to the attainment of sincerity in one’s self: if a man do not understand what is good, he will not attain sincerity in himself. Therefore, sincerity is the way of Heaven. To think how to be sincere is the way of man. Never has there been one possessed of complete sincerity, who did not move others. Never has there been one who had not sincerity who was able to move others.’
15: Mencius said, ‘Of all the parts of a man’s body there is none more excellent than the pupil of the eye. The pupil cannot be used to hide a man’s wickedness. If within the breast all be correct, the pupil is bright. If within the breast all be not correct, the pupil is dull. Listen to a man’s words and look at the pupil of his eye. How can a man conceal his character?’
17: Chun Yu Kun said, ‘Is it the rule that males and females shall not allow their hands to touch in giving or receiving anything?’
Mencius replied, ‘It is the rule.’
Kun asked, ‘If a man’s sister-in-law be drowning, shall he rescue her with his hand?’
Mencius said, ‘He who would not so rescue the drowning woman is a wolf. For males and females not to allow their hands to touch in giving and receiving is the general rule; when a sister-in-law is drowning, to rescue her with the hand is a peculiar exigency.’
Kun said, ‘The whole kingdom is drowning. How strange it is that you will not rescue it!’
Mencius answered, ‘A drowning kingdom must be rescued with right principles, as a drowning sister-in-law has to be rescued with the hand. Do you wish me to rescue the kingdom with my hand?’
19: Mencius said, ‘Of services, which is the greatest? The service of parents is the greatest. Of charges, which is the greatest ? The charge of one’s self is the greatest. That those who do not fail to keep themselves are able to serve their parents is what I have heard. But I have never heard of any, who, having failed to keep themselves, were able notwithstanding to serve their parents. There are many services, but the service of parents is the root of all others. There are many charges, but the charge of one’s self is the root of all others…
22: Mencius said, ‘Men’s being ready with their tongues arises simply from their not having been reproved.’
23: Mencius said, ‘The evil of men is that they like to be teachers of others.’

LI LOU II
29: Mencius said, ‘Shun was born in Zhu Feng, removed to Fu Xia, and died in Ming Tiao – a man near the wild tribes on the east. King Wen was born in Zhou by mount Qi, and died in Bi Ying – a man near the wild tribes on the west. Those regions were distant from one another more than a thousand li, and the age of the one sage was posterior to that of the other more than a thousand years. But when they got their wish, and carried their principles into practice throughout the Middle Kingdom, it was like uniting the two halves of a seal. When we examine those sages, both the earlier and the later, their principles are found to be the same.’
30: When Zi Chan was chief minister of the State of Zheng, he would convey people across the Zhen and Wei in his own carriage. Mencius said, ‘It was kind, but showed that he did not understand the practice of government. When in the eleventh month of the year the foot-bridges are completed, and the carriage-bridges in the twelfth month, the people have not the trouble of wading. Let a governor conduct his rule on principles of equal justice, and, when he goes abroad, he may cause people to be removed out of his path. But how can he convey everybody across the rivers? It follows that if a governor will try to please everybody, he will find the days not sufficient for his work.’
31: Mencius said to the king Xuan of Qi, ‘When the prince regards his ministers as his hands and feet, his ministers regard their prince as their belly and heart; when he regards them as his dogs and horses, they regard him as another man; when he regards them as the ground or as grass, they regard him as a robber and an enemy.’…
35: Mencius said, ‘Those who keep the Mean, train up those who do not, and those who have abilities, train up those who have not, and hence men rejoice in having fathers and elder brothers who are possessed of virtue and talent. If they who keep the Mean spurn those who do not, and they who have abilities spurn those who have not, then the space between them – those so gifted and the ungifted – will not admit an inch.’
37: Mencius said, ‘What future misery have they and ought they to endure, who talk of what is not good in others!’
39: Mencius said,’The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute – he simply speaks and does what is right.’
40: Mencius said, ‘The great man is he who does not lose his child’s-heart.’
42: Mencius said, ‘The superior man makes his advances in what he is learning with deep earnestness and by the proper course, wishing to get hold of it as in himself. Having got hold of it in himself, he abides in it calmly and firmly. Abiding in it calmly and firmly, he reposes a deep reliance on it. Reposing a deep reliance on it, he seizes it on the left and right, meeting everywhere with it as a fountain from which things flow. It is on this account that the superior man wishes to get hold of what he is learning as in himself.’
43: Mencius said, ‘In learning extensively and discussing minutely what is learned, the object of the superior man is that he may be able to go back and set forth in brief what is essential.’
44: Mencius said, ‘Never has he who would by his excellence subdue men been able to subdue them. Let a prince seek by his excellence to nourish men, and he will be able to subdue the whole kingdom. It is impossible that any one should become ruler of the people to whom they have not yielded the subjection of the heart.’
46: The disciple Xu said, ‘Zhong Ni often praised water, saying, “0 water! 0 water!” What did he find in water to praise?’
Mencius replied, ‘There is a spring of water; how it gushes out! It rests not day nor night. It fills up every hole, and then advances, flowing onto the four seas. Such is water having a spring! It was this which he found in it to praise. But suppose that the water has no spring. In the seventh and eighth when the rain falls abundantly, the channels in the fields are all filled, but their being dried up again may be expected in a short time. So a superior man is ashamed of a reputation beyond his merits.’
50: Mencius said, ‘The influence of a sovereign sage terminates in the fifth generation. The influence of a mere sage does the same. Although I could not be a disciple of Confucius himself, I have endeavoured to cultivate my virtue by means of others who were.’
54: Mencius said, ‘All who speak about the natures of things, have in fact only their phenomena to reason from, and the value of a phenomenon is in its being natural. What I dislike in your wise men is their boring out their conclusions. If those wise men would only act as Yu did when he conveyed away the waters, there would be nothing to dislike in their wisdom. The manner in which Yu conveyed away the waters was by doing what gave him no trouble. If your wise men would also do that which gave them no trouble, their knowledge would also be great. There is heaven so high; there are the stars so distant. If we have investigated their phenomena, we may, while sitting in our places, go back to the solstice of a thousand years ago.’

WAN ZHANG I
5: Wan Zhang said, ‘Was it the case that Yao gave the throne to Shun?’
Mencius said, ‘No. The sovereign cannot give the throne to another.’
‘Yes – but Shun had the throne. Who gave it to him?’
‘Heaven gave it to him,’ was the answer.
‘” Heaven gave it to him:” – did Heaven confer its appointment on him with specific injunctions?’
Mencius replied, ‘No. Heaven does not speak. It simply showed its will by his personal conduct and his conduct of affairs.’
“It showed its will by his personal conduct and his conduct of affairs” – how was this?’
Mencius’s answer was, ‘The sovereign can present a man to Heaven, but he cannot make Heaven give that man the throne. A prince can present a man to the sovereign, but he cannot cause the sovereign to make that man a prince. A great officer can present a man to his prince, but he cannot cause the prince to make that man a great officer. Yao presented Shun to Heaven, and Heaven accepted him. He presented him to the people, and the people accepted him. Therefore I say, “Heaven does not speak. It simply indicated its will by his personal conduct and his conduct of affairs.”‘
Zhang said, ‘I presume to ask how it was that Yao presented Shun to Heaven, and Heaven accepted him; and that he exhibited him to the people, and the people accepted him.’
Mencius replied, ‘He caused him to preside over the sacrifices, and all the spirits were well pleased with them; thus Heaven accepted him. He caused him to preside over the conduct of affairs, and affairs were well administered, so that the people reposed under him; thus the people accepted him. Heaven gave the throne to him. The people gave it to him. Therefore I said, “The sovereign cannot give the throne to another. Shun assisted Yao in the government for twenty and eight years – this was more than man could have done, and was from Heaven. After the death of Yao, when the three years’ mourning was completed, Shun withdrew from the son of Yao to the south of South river. The princes of the kingdom, however, repairing to court, went not to the son of Yao, but they went to Shun. Litigants went not to the son of Yao, but they went to Shun. Singers sang not the son of Yao, but they sang Shun. Therefore I said, “Heaven gave him the throne.” It was after these things that he went to the Middle Kingdom, and occupied the seat of the Son of Heaven. If he had, before these things, taken up his residence in the palace of Yao, and had applied pressure to the son of Yao, it would have been an act of usurpation, and not the gift of Heaven. This sentiment is expressed in the words of The Great Declaration: “Heaven sees according as my people see; Heaven hears according as my people hear.”‘

WAN ZHANG II
10: Mencius said, ‘Bo Yi would not allow his eyes to look on a bad sight, nor his ears to listen to a bad sound. He would not serve a prince whom he did not approve, nor command a people whom he did not esteem. In a time of good government he took office, and on the occurrence of confusion he retired. He could not bear to dwell either in a court from which a lawless government emanated, or among lawless people. He considered his being in the same place with a villager, as if he were to sit amid mud and coals with his court robes and court cap. In the time of Zhou he dwelt on the shores of the North sea, waiting the purification of the kingdom. Therefore when men now hear the character of Bo Yi, the corrupt become pure, and the weak acquire determination.
‘Yi Yin said, “Whom may I not serve? My serving him makes him my sovereign. What people may I not command? My commanding them makes them my people.” In a time of good government he took office, and when confusion prevailed, he also took office. He said, “Heaven’s plan in the production of mankind is this: that they who are first informed should instruct those who are later in being informed, and they who first apprehend principles should instruct those who are slower in doing so. I am the one of Heaven’s people who has first apprehended; I will take these principles and instruct the people in them.” He thought that among all the people of the kingdom, even the common men and women, if there were any who did not share in the enjoyment of such benefits as Yao and Shun conferred, it was as if he himself pushed them into a ditch – for he took upon himself the heavy charge of the kingdom.
‘Hui of Liu Xia was not ashamed to serve an impure prince, nor did he think it low to be an inferior officer. When advanced to employment, he did not conceal his virtue, but made it a point to carry out his principles. When dismissed and left without office, he did not murmur. When straitened by poverty, he did not grieve. When thrown into the company of village people, he was quite at ease and could not bear to leave them. He had a saying, “You are you, and I am I. Although you stand by my side with breast and arms bare, or with your body naked, how can you defile me?” Therefore when men now hear the character of Hui of Liu Xia, the mean become generous, and the niggardly become liberal.
‘When Confucius was leaving Qi, he strained off with his hand the water in which his rice was being rinsed, took the rice, and went away. When he left Lu, he said, “I will set out by-and-by” – it was right he should leave the country of his parents in this way. When it was proper to go away quickly, he did so; when it was proper to delay, he did so; when it was proper to keep in retirement, he did so; when it was proper to go into office, he did so – this was Confucius.’

GAOZI I
1: The philosopher Gao said, ‘Man’s nature is like the qi-willow , and righteousness is like a cup or a bowl. The fashioning benevolence and righteousness out of man’s nature is like the making cups and bowls from the qi-willow.’
Mencius replied, ‘Can you, leaving untouched the nature of the willow, make with it cups and bowls? You must do violence and injury to the willow, before you can make cups and bowls with it. If you must do violence and injury to the willow in order to make cups and bowls with it, on your principles you must in the same way do violence and injury to humanity in order to fashion from it benevolence and righteousness! Your words, alas! would certainly lead all men on to reckon benevolence and righteousness to be calamities.’
2: The philosopher Gao said, ‘Man’s nature is like water whirling round in a corner. Open a passage for it to the east, and it will flow to the east; open a passage for it to the west, and it will flow to the west. Man’s nature is indifferent to good and evil, just as the water is indifferent to the east and west.’
Mencius replied, ‘Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency of man’s nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. There are none but have this tendency to good, just as all water flows downwards. Now by striking water and causing it to leap up, you may make it go over your forehead, and, by damming and leading it you may force it up a hill – but are such movements according to the nature of water? It is the force applied which causes them. When men are made to do what is not good, their nature is dealt with in this way.’
6: The disciple Gong Du said, ‘The philosopher Gao says, “Man’s nature is neither good nor bad.” Some say, “Man’s nature may be made to practise good, and it may be made to practise evil, and accordingly, under Wen and Wu, the people loved what was good, while under Yu and Li, they loved what was cruel.” Some say, “The nature of some is good, and the nature of others is bad. Hence it was that under such a sovereign as Yao there yet appeared Xiang; that with such a father as Gu Sou there yet appeared Shun; and that with Zhou for their sovereign, and the son of their elder brother besides, there were found Qi, the viscount of Wei, and the prince Bi Gan. And now you say, “The nature is good.” Then are all those wrong?’
Mencius said, ‘From the feelings proper to it, it is constituted for the practice of what is good. This is what I mean in saying that the nature is good. If men do what is not good, the blame cannot be imputed to their natural powers. The feeling of commiseration belongs to all men; so does that of shame and dislike; and that of reverence and respect; and that of approving and disapproving. The feeling of commiseration implies the principle of benevolence; that of shame and dislike, the principle of righteousness; that of reverence and respect, the principle of propriety; and that of approving and disapproving, the principle of knowledge. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowledge are not infused into us from without. We are certainly furnished with them. And a different view is simply owing to want of reflection. Hence it is said, “Seek and you will find them. Neglect and you will lose them.” Men differ from one another in regard to them – some as much again as others, some five times as much, and some to an incalculable amount – it is because they cannot carry out fully their natural powers. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “Heaven in producing mankind, Gave them their various faculties and relations with their specific laws. These are the invariable rules of nature for all to hold, And all love this admirable virtue.” Confucius said, “The maker of this ode knew indeed the principle of our nature!” We may thus see that every faculty and relation must have its law, and since there are invariable rules for all to hold, they consequently love this admirable virtue.’
7: Mencius said, ‘In good years the children of the people are most of them good, while in bad years the most of them abandon themselves to evil. It is not owing to any difference of their natural powers conferred by Heaven that they are thus different. The abandonment is owing to the circumstances through which they allow their minds to be ensnared and drowned in evil. There now is barley. Let it be sown and covered up; the ground being the same, and the time of sowing likewise the same, it grows rapidly up, and, when the full time is come, it is all found to be ripe. Although there may be inequalities of produce, that is owing to the difference of the soil, as rich or poor, to the unequal nourishment afforded by the rains and dews, and to the different ways in which man has performed his business in reference to it. Thus all things which are the same in kind are like to one another; why should we doubt in regard to man, as if he were a solitary exception to this? The sage and we are the same in kind. In accordance with this the scholar Long said, “If a man make hempen sandals without knowing the size of people’s feet, yet I know that he will not make them like baskets.” Sandals are all like one another, because all men’s feet are like one another. So with the mouth and flavours – all mouths have the same relishes. Yi Ya only apprehended before me what my mouth relishes. Suppose that his mouth in its relish for flavours differed from that of other men, as is the case with dogs or horses which are not the same in kind with us, why should all men be found following Yi Ya in their relishes? In the matter of tastes all the people model themselves after Yi Ya; that is, the mouths of all men are like one another. And so also it is with the ear. In the matter of sounds, the whole people model themselves after the music-master Kuang; that is, the ears of all men are like one another. And so also it is with the eye. In the case of Zi Du, there is no man but would recognise that he was beautiful. Any one who would not recognise the beauty of Zi Du must have no eyes. Therefore I say, Men’s mouths agree in having the same relishes; their ears agree in enjoying the same sounds; their eyes agree in recognising the same beauty – shall their minds alone be without that which the similarly approve? What is it then of which they similarly approve? It is, I say, the principles of our nature, and the determinations of righteousness. The sages only apprehended before me that of which my mind approves along with other men. Therefore the principles of our nature and the determinations of righteousness are agreeable to my mind, just as the flesh of grass and grain-fed animals is agreeable to my mouth.’
8: Mencius said, ‘The trees of the Niu mountain were once beautiful. Being situated, however, in the borders of a large State, they were hewn down with axes and bills – and could they retain their beauty? Still through the activity of the vegetative life day and night, and the nourishing influence of the rain and dew, they were not without buds and sprouts springing forth, but then came the cattle and goats and browsed upon them. To these things is owing the bare and stripped appearance of the mountain, and when people now see it, they think it was never finely wooded. But is this the nature of the mountain? And so also of what properly belongs to man; shall it be said that the mind of any man was without benevolence and righteousness? The way in which a man loses his proper goodness of mind is like the way in which the trees are denuded by axes and bills. Hewn down day after day, can it – the mind – retain its beauty? But there is a development of its life day and night, and in the calm air of the morning, just between night and day, the mind feels in a degree those desires and aversions which are proper to humanity, but the feeling is not strong, and it is fettered and destroyed by what takes place during the day. This fettering taking place again and again, the restorative influence of the night is not sufficient to preserve the proper goodness of the mind; and when this proves insufficient for that purpose, the nature becomes not much different from that of the irrational animals, and when people now see it, they think that it never had those powers which I assert. But does this condition represent the feelings proper to humanity? Therefore, if it receive its proper nourishment, there is nothing which will not grow. If it lose its proper nourishment, there is nothing which will not decay away. Confucius said, “Hold it fast, and it remains with you. Let it go, and you lose it. Its outgoing and incoming cannot be defined as to time or place.” It is the mind of which this is said!’
9: Mencius said, ‘It is not to be wondered at that the king is not wise! Suppose the case of the most easily growing thing in the world; if you let it have one day’s genial heat, and then expose it for ten days to cold, it will not be able to grow. It is but seldom that I have an audience of the king, and when I retire, there come all those who act upon him like the cold. Though I succeed in bringing out some buds of goodness, of what avail is it? Now chess-playing is but a small art, but without his whole mind being given, and his will bent, to it, a man cannot succeed at it. Chess Qiu is the best chess-player in all the kingdom. Suppose that he is teaching two men to play. The one gives to the subject his whole mind and bends to it all his will, doing nothing but listening to Chess Qiu. The other, although he seems to be listening to him, has his whole mind running on a swan which he thinks is approaching, and wishes to bend his bow, adjust the string to the arrow, and shoot it. Although he is learning along with the other, he does not come up to him. Why? Because his intelligence is not equal? Not so.’
10: Mencius said, ‘I like fish, and I also like bear’s paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the fish go, and take the bear’s paws. So, I like life, and I also like righteousness. If I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go, and choose righteousness. I like life indeed, but there is that which I like more than life, and therefore, I will not seek to possess it by any improper ways. I dislike death indeed, but there is that which I dislike more than death, and therefore there are occasions when I will not avoid danger. If among the things which man likes there were nothing which he liked more than life, why should he not use every means by which he could preserve it? If among the things which man dislikes there were nothing which he disliked more than death, why should he not do everything by which he could avoid danger? There are cases when men by a certain course might preserve life, and they do not employ it; when by certain things they might avoid danger, and they will not do them. Therefore, men have that which they like more than life, and that which they dislike more than death. They are not men of distinguished talents and virtue only who have this mental nature. All men have it; what belongs to such men is simply that they do not lose it. Here are a small basket of rice and a platter of soup, and the case is one in which the getting them will preserve life, and the want of them will be death; if they are offered with an insulting voice, even a tramper will not receive them, or if you first tread upon them, even a beggar will not stoop to take them. And yet a man will accept of ten thousand zhong, without any consideration of propriety or righteousness. What can the ten thousand chung add to him? When he takes them, is it not that he may obtain beautiful mansions, that he may secure the services of wives and concubines, or that the poor and needy of his acquaintance may be helped by him? In the former case the offered bounty was not received, though it would have saved from death, and now the emolument is taken for the sake of beautiful mansions. The bounty that would have preserved from death was not received, and the emolument is taken to get the service of wives and concubines. The bounty that would have saved from death was not received, and the emolument is taken that one’s poor and needy acquaintance may be helped by him. Was it then not possible likewise to decline this? This is a case of what is called “Losing the proper nature of one’s mind.”‘
11: Mencius said, ‘Benevolence is man’s mind, and righteousness is man’s path. How lamentable is it to neglect the path and not pursue it, to lose this mind and not know to seek it again! When men’s fowls and dogs are lost, they know to seek for them again, but they lose their mind, and do not know to seek for it. The great end of learning is nothing else but to seek for the lost mind.’
12: Mencius said, ‘Here is a man whose fourth finger is bent and cannot be stretched out straight. It is not painful, nor does it incommode his business, and yet if there be any one who can make it straight, he will not think the way from Qin to Chu far to go to him; because his finger is not like the finger of other people. When a man’s finger is not like those of other people, he knows to feel dissatisfied, but if his mind be not like that of other people, he does not know to feel dissatisfaction. This is called “Ignorance of the relative importance of things.”‘
13: Mencius said, ‘Anybody who wishes to cultivate the tong or the zi, which may be grasped with both hands, perhaps with one, knows by what means to nourish them. In the case of their own persons, men do not know by what means to nourish them. Is it to be supposed that their regard of their own persons is inferior to their regard for a tong or zi? Their want of reflection is extreme.’
14: Mencius said, ‘There is no part of himself which a man does not love, and as he loves all, so he must nourish all. There is not an inch of skin which he does not love, and so there is not an inch of skin which he will not nourish. For examining whether his way of nourishing be good or not, what other rule is there but this, that he determine by reflecting on himself where it should be applied? Some parts of the body are noble, and some ignoble; some great, and some small. The great must not be injured for the small, nor the noble for the ignoble. He who nourishes the little belonging to him is a little man, and he who nourishes the great is a great man. Here is a plantation-keeper, who neglects his wu and jia, and cultivates his sour jujube-trees; he is a poor plantation-keeper. He who nourishes one of his fingers, neglecting his shoulders or his back, without knowing that he is doing so, is a man who resembles a hurried wolf. A man who only eats and drinks is counted mean by others; because he nourishes what is little to the neglect of what is great. If a man, fond of his eating and drinking, were not to neglect what is of more importance, how should his mouth and belly be considered as no more than an inch of skin?’
15: The disciple Gong Du said, ‘All are equally men, but some are great men, and some are little men – how is this?’
Mencius replied, ‘Those who follow that part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow that part which is little are little men.’
Gong Du pursued, ‘All are equally men, but some follow that part of themselves which is great, and some follow that part which is little – how is this?’
Mencius answered, ‘The senses of hearing and seeing do not think, and are obscured by external things. When one thing comes into contact with another, as a matter of course it leads it away. To the mind belongs the office of thinking. By thinking, it gets the right view of things; by neglecting to think, it fails to do this. These – the senses and the mind – are what Heaven has given to us. Let a man first stand fast in the supremacy of the nobler part of his constitution, and the inferior part will not be able to take it from him. It is simply this which makes the great man.’
16: Mencius said, ‘There is a nobility of Heaven, and there is a nobility of man. Benevolence, righteousness, self-consecration, and fidelity, with unwearied joy in these virtues; these constitute the nobility of Heaven. To be a gong, a qing, or a da fu; this constitutes the nobility of man. The men of antiquity cultivated their nobility of Heaven, and the nobility of man came to them in its train. The men of the present day cultivate their nobility of Heaven in order to seek for the nobility of man, and when they have obtained that, they throw away the other – their delusion is extreme. The issue is simply this, that they must lose that nobility of man as well.’
17: Mencius said, ‘To desire to be honoured is the common mind of men. And all men have in themselves that which is truly honourable. Only they do not think of it. The honour which men confer is not good honour. Those whom Zhao the Great ennobles he can make mean again…
18: Mencius said, ‘Benevolence subdues its opposite just as water subdues fire. Those, however, who now-a-days practise benevolence do it as if with one cup of water they could save a whole waggon-load of fuel which was on fire, and when the flames were not extinguished, were to say that water cannot subdue fire. This conduct, moreover, greatly encourages those who are not benevolent. The final issue will simply be this: the loss of that small amount of benevolence.’
19: Mencius said, ‘Of all seeds the best are the five kinds of grain, yet if they be not ripe, they are not equal to the ti or the bai. So, the value of benevolence depends entirely on its being brought to maturity.’

GAOZI II
21: A man of Ren asked the disciple Wu Lu, saying, ‘Is an observance of the rules of propriety in regard to eating, or eating merely, the more important?’ The answer was, ‘The observance of the rules of propriety is the more important.’
‘Is the gratifying the appetite of sex, or the doing so only according to the rules of propriety, the more important?’ The answer again was, ‘The observance of the rules of propriety in the matter is the more important.’
The man pursued, ‘If the result of eating only according to the rules of propriety will be death by starvation, while by disregarding those rules we may get food, must they still be observed in such a case? If according to the rule that he shall go in person to meet his wife a man cannot get married, while by disregarding that rule he may get married, must he still observe the rule in such a case?’
Wu Lu was unable to reply to these questions, and the next day he went to Zou, and told them to Mencius. Mencius said, ‘What difficulty is there in answering these inquiries? If you do not adjust them at their lower extremities, but only put their tops on a level, a piece of wood an inch square may be made to be higher than the pointed peak of a high building. Gold is heavier than feathers; but does that saying have reference, on the one hand, to a single clasp of gold, and, on the other, to a waggon-load of feathers? If you take a case where the eating is of the utmost importance and the observing the rules of propriety is of little importance, and compare the things together, why stop with saying merely that the eating is more important? So, taking the case where the gratifying the appetite of sex is of the utmost importance and the observing the rules of propriety is of little importance, why stop with merely saying that the gratifying the appetite is the more important? Go and answer him thus, “If, by twisting your elder brother’s arm, and snatching from him what he is eating, you can get food for yourself, while, if you do not do so, you will not get anything to eat, will you so twist his arm? If by getting over your neighbour’s wall, and dragging away his virgin daughter, you can get a wife, while if you do not do so, you will not be able to get a wife, will you so drag her away?”‘
22: …………………………….
Mencius replied, ‘The way of truth is like a great road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men will not seek it. Do you go home and search for it, and you will have abundance of teachers.’
24: Song Keng being about to go to Chu, Mencius met him in Shi Qiu. ‘Master, where are you going?’ asked Mencius.
Keng replied, ‘I have heard that Qin and Chu are fighting together, and I am going to see the king of Chu and persuade him to cease hostilities. If he shall not be pleased with my advice, I shall go to see the king of Qin, and persuade him in the same way. Of the two kings I shall surely find that I can succeed with one of them.’
Mencius said, ‘I will not venture to ask about the particulars, but I should like to hear the scope of your plan. What course will you take to try to persuade them?’
Keng answered, ‘I will tell them how unprofitable their course is to them.’
‘Master,’ said Mencius, ‘your aim is great, but your argument is not good. If you, starting from the point of profit, offer your persuasive counsels to the kings of Qin and Chu, and if those kings are pleased with the consideration of profit so as to stop the movements of their armies, then all belonging to those armies will rejoice in the cessation of war, and find their pleasure in the pursuit of profit. Ministers will serve their sovereign for the profit of which they cherish the thought; sons will serve their fathers, and younger brothers will serve their elder brothers, from the same consideration – and the issue will be, that, abandoning benevolence and righteousness, sovereign and minister, father and son, younger brother and elder, will carry on all their intercourse with this thought of profit cherished in their breasts. But never has there been such a state of society, without ruin being the result of it. If you, starting from the ground of benevolence and righteousness, offer your counsels to the kings of Qin and Chu, and if those kings are pleased with the consideration of benevolence and righteousness so as to stop the operations of their armies, then all belonging to those armies will rejoice in the stopping from war, and find their pleasure in benevolence and righteousness. Ministers will serve their sovereign, cherishing the principles of benevolence and righteousness; sons will serve their fathers, and younger brothers will serve their elder brothers, in the same way – and so, sovereign and minister, father and son, elder brother and younger, abandoning the thought of profit, will cherish the principles of benevolence and righteousness, and carry on all their intercourse upon them. But never has there been such a state of society, without the State where it prevailed rising to the royal sway. Why must you use that word “profit.”‘
25: When Mencius was residing in Zou, the younger brother of the chief of Ren, who was guardian of Ren at the time, paid his respects to him by a present of silks, which Mencius received, not going to acknowledge it. When he was sojourning in Ping Lu, Chu, who was prime minister of the State, sent him a similar present, which he received in the same way. Subsequently, going from Zou to Ren, he visited the guardian; but when he went from Ping Lu to the capital of Qi, he did not visit the minister Chu. The disciple Wu Lu was glad, and said, ‘I have got an opportunity to obtain some instruction.’ He asked accordingly, ‘Master, when you went to Ren, you visited the chief’s brother; and when you went to Qi, you did not visit Chu. Was it not because he is only the minister?’
Mencius replied, ‘No. It is said in the Book of History, “In presenting an offering to a superior, most depends on the demonstrations of respect. If those demonstrations are not equal to the things offeredred, we say there is no offering, that is, there is no act of the will presenting the offering.” This is because the things so offered do not constitute an offering to a superior.’
Wu Lu was pleased, and when some one asked him what Mencius meant, he said, ‘The younger of Ren could not go to Zou, but the minister Chu might have gone to Ping Lu.’
26: Chun Yu Kun said, ‘He who makes fame and meritorious services his first objects, acts with a regard to others. He who makes them only secondary objects, acts with a regard to himself. You, master, were ranked among the three chief ministers of the State, but before your fame and services had reached either to the prince or the people, you have left your place. Is this indeed the way of the benevolent?’
Mencius replied, ‘There was Bo Yi – he abode in an inferior situation, and would not, with his virtue, serve a degenerate prince. There was Yi Yin – he five times went to Tang, and five times went to Jie. There was Hui of Liu Xia – he did not disdain to serve a vile prince, nor did he decline a small office. The courses pursued by those three worthies were different, but their aim was one. And what was their one aim? We must answer “To be perfectly virtuous.” And so it is simply after this that superior men strive. Why must they all pursue the same course?’…
27:  …………………………….
‘The crime of him who connives at, and aids, the wickedness of his prince is small, but the crime of him who anticipates and excites that wickedness is great. The officers of the present day all go to meet their sovereigns’ wickedness, and therefore I say that the Great officers of the present day are sinners against the princes.’
31: Bai Gui said, ‘My management of the waters is superior to that of Yu.’
Mencius replied, ‘You are wrong, Sir. Yu’s regulation of the waters was according to the laws of water. He therefore made the four seas their receptacle, while you make the neighbouring States their receptacle. Water flowing out of its channels is called an inundation. Inundating waters are a vast waste of water, and what a benevolent man detests. You are wrong, my good Sir.’
32: Mencius said, ‘If a scholar have not faith, how shall he take a firm hold of things?’
33: The prince of Lu wanting to commit the administration of his government to the disciple Yue Zheng,
Mencius said, ‘When I heard of it, I was so glad that I could not sleep.’
Gong Sun Chou asked, ‘Is Yue Zheng a man of vigour?’ and was answered, ‘No.’
‘Is he wise in council?’ ‘No.’
‘Is he possessed of much information?’ ‘No.’
‘What then made you so glad that you could not sleep?’ ‘He is a man who loves what is good.’
‘Is the love of what is good sufficient?’ ‘The love of what is good is more than a sufficient qualification for the government of the kingdom; how much more is it so for the State of Lu! If a minister love what is good, all within the four seas will count 1000 li but a small distance, and will come and lay their good thoughts before him. If he do not love what is good, men will say, “How self-conceited he looks? He is sayinq to himself, I know it.” The language and looks of that self-conceit will keep men off at a distance of 1,000 li. When good men stop 1,000 li off, calumniators, flatterers, and sycophants will make their appearance. When a minister lives among calumniators, flatterers, and sycophants, though he may wish the State to be well governed, is it possible for it to be so?’
35: Mencius said, ‘Shun rose from among the channelled fields. Fu Yue was called to office from the midst of his building frames; Jiao Ge from his fish and salt; Guan Yi Wu from the hands of his gaoler; Sun Shu Ao from his hiding by the sea-shore; and Bai Li Xi from the market-place. Thus, when Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil. It exposes his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme poverty. It confounds his undertakings. By all these methods it stimulates his mind, hardens his nature, and supplies his incompetencies. Men for the most part err, and are afterwards able to reform. They are distressed in mind and perplexed in their thoughts, and then they arise to vigorous reformation. When things have been evidenced in men’s looks, and set forth in their words, then they understand them. If a prince have not about his court families attached to the laws and worthy counsellors, and if abroad there are not hostile States or other external calamities, his kingdom will generally come to ruin. From these things we see how life springs from sorrow and calamity, and death from ease and pleasure.’
36: Mencius said, ‘There are many arts in teaching. I refuse, as inconsistent with my character, to teach a man, but I am only thereby still teaching him.’

JIN XIN I
1: Mencius said, ‘He who has exhausted all his mental constitution knows his nature. Knowing his nature, he knows Heaven. To preserve one’s mental constitution, and nourish one’s nature, is the way to serve Heaven. When neither a premature death nor long life causes a man any double-mindedness, but he waits in the cultivation of his personal character for whatever issue; this is the way in which he establishes his Heaven-ordained being.’
2: Mencius said, ‘There is an appointment for everything. A man should receive submissively what may be correctly ascribed thereto. Therefore, he who has the true idea of what is Heaven’s appointment will not stand beneath a precipitous wall. Death sustained in the discharge of one’s duties may correctly be ascribed to the appointment of Heaven. Death under handcuffs and fetters cannot correctly be so ascribed.’
3: Mencius said, ‘When we get by our seeking and lose by our neglecting – in that case seeking is of use to getting, and the things sought for are those which are in ourselves. When the seeking is according to the proper course, and the getting is only as appointed – in that case the seeking is of no use to getting, and the things sought are without ourselves.’
4: Mencius said, ‘All things are already complete in us. There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination. If one acts with a vigorous effort at the law of reciprocity, when he seeks for the realization of perfect virtue, nothing can be closer than his approximation to it.’
5: Mencius said, ‘To act without understanding, and to do so habitually without examination, pursuing the proper path all the life without knowing its nature – this is the way of multitudes.’
6: Mencius said, ‘A man may not be without shame. When one is ashamed of having been without shame, he will afterwards not have occasion to be ashamed.’
7: Mencius said, ‘The sense of shame is to a man of great importance. Those who form contrivances and versatile schemes distinguished for their artfulness, do not allow their sense of shame to come into action. When one differs from other men in not having this sense of shame, what will he have in common with them?’
9: Mencius said to Song Gou Jian, ‘Are you fond, Sir, of travelling to the different courts? I will tell you about such travelling. If a prince acknowledge you and follow your counsels, be perfectly satisfied. If no one do so, be the same.’
Gou Jian said, ‘What is to be done to secure this perfect satisfaction?’
Mencius replied, ‘Honour virtue and delight in righteousness, and so you may always be perfectly satisfied. Therefore, a scholar, though poor, does not let go his righteousness; though prosperous, he does not leave his own path. Poor and not letting righteousness go – it is thus that the scholar holds possession of himself. Prosperous and not leaving the proper path – it is thus that the expectations of the people from him are not disappointed. When the men of antiquity realized their wishes, benefits were conferred by them on the people. If they did not realize their wishes, they cultivated their personal character, and became illustrious in the world. If poor, they attended to their own virtue in solitude; if advanced to dignity, they made the whole kingdom virtuous as well.’
10: Mencius said, ‘The mass of men wait for a king Wen, and then they will receive a rousing impulse. Scholars distinguished from the mass, without a king Wan, rouse themselves.’
13: Mencius said, ‘Under a chief, leading all the princes, the people look brisk and cheerful. Under a true sovereign, they have an air of deep contentment. Though he slay them, they do not murmur. When he benefits them, they do not think of his merit. From day to day they make progress towards what is good, without knowing who makes them do so. Wherever the superior man passes through, transformation follows; wherever he abides, his influence is of a spiritual nature. It flows abroad, above and beneath, like that of Heaven and Earth. How can it be said that he mends society but in a small way!’
14: Mencius said, ‘Kindly words do not enter so deeply into men as a reputation for kindness. Good government does not lay hold of the people so much as good instructions. Good government is feared by the people, while good instructions are loved by them. Good government gets the people’s wealth, while good instructions get their hearts.’
15: Mencius said, ‘The ability possessed by men without having been acquired by learning is intuitive ability, and the knowledge possessed by them without the exercise of thought is their intuitive knowledge. Children carried in the arms all know to love their parents, and when they are grown a little, they all know to love their elder brothers. Filial affection for parents is the working of benevolence. Respect for elders is the working of righteousness. There is no other reason for those feelings – they belong to all under heaven.’
16: Mencius said, ‘When Shun was living amid the deep retired mountains, dwelling with the trees and rocks, and wandering among the deer and swine, the difference between him and the rude inhabitants of those remote hills appeared very small. But when he heard a single good word, or saw a single good action, he was like a stream or a river bursting its banks, and flowing out in an irresistible flood.’
17: Mencius said, ‘Let a man not do what his own sense of righteousness tells him not to do, and let him not desire what his sense of righteousness tells him not to desire – to act thus is all he has to do.’
18: Mencius said, ‘Men who are possessed of intelligent virtue and prudence in affairs will generally be found to have been in sickness and troubles. They are the friendless minister and concubine’s son, who keep their hearts under a sense of peril, and use deep precautions against calamity. On this account they become distinguished for their intelligence.’
21: Mencius said, ‘Wide territory and a numerous people are desired by the superior man, but what he delights in is not here. To stand in the centre of the kingdom, and tranquillize the people within the four seas – the superior man delights in this, but the highest enjoyment of his nature is not here. What belongs by his nature to the superior man cannot be increased by the largeness of his sphere of action, nor diminished by his dwelling in poverty and retirement – for this reason that it is determinately apportioned to him by Heaven. What belongs by his nature to the superior man are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowledge. These are rooted in his heart; their growth and manifestation are a mild harmony appearing in the countenance, a rich fullness in the back, and the character imparted to the four limbs. Those limbs understand to arrange themselves, without being told.’
25: Mencius said, ‘He who rises at cock-crowing and addresses himself earnestly to the practice of virtue, is a disciple of Shun. He who rises at cock-crowing, and addresses himself earnestly to the pursuit of gain, is a disciple of Zhi. If you want to know what separates Shun from Zhi, it is simply this: the interval between the thought of gain and the thought of virtue.’
26: Mencius said, ‘The principle of the philosopher Yang was “Each one for himself.” Though he might have benefited the whole kingdom by plucking out a single hair, he would not have done it. The philosopher Mo loves all equally. If by rubbing smooth his whole body from the crown to the heel, he could have benefited the kingdom, he would have done it. Zi Mo holds a medium between these. By holding that medium, he is nearer the right. But by holding it without leaving room for the exigency of circumstances, it becomes like their holding their one point. The reason why I hate that holding to one point is the injury it does to the way of right principle. It takes up one point and disregards a hundred others.’
27: Mencius said, ‘The hungry think any food sweet, and the thirsty think the same of any drink, and thus they do not get the right taste of what they eat and drink. The hunger and thirst, in fact, injure their palate. And is it only the mouth and belly which are injured by hunger and thirst? Men’s minds are also injured by them. If a man can prevent the evils of hunger and thirst from being any evils to his mind, he need not have any sorrow about not being equal to other men.’
29: Mencius said, ‘A man with definite aims to be accomplished may be compared to one digging a well. To dig the well to a depth of seventy-two cubits, and stop without reaching the spring, is after all throwing away the well.’
31: Gong Sun Chou said, ‘Yi Yin said, “I cannot be near and see him so disobedient to reason,” and therewith he banished Tai Jia to Tong. The people were much pleased. When Tai Jia became virtuous, he brought him back, and the people were again much pleased. When worthies are ministers, may they indeed banish their sovereigns in this way when they are not virtuous?’
Mencius replied, ‘If they have the same purpose as Yi Yin, they may. If they have not the same purpose, it would be usurpation.’
33: The king’s son, Dian, asked Mencius, saying, ‘What is the business of the unemployed scholar?’
Mencius replied, ‘To exalt his aim.’
Tien asked again, ‘What do you mean by exalting the aim?’
The answer was, ‘Setting it simply on benevolence and righteousness. He thinks how to put a single innocent person to death is contrary to benevolence; how to take what one has not a right to is contrary to righteousness; that one’s dwelling should be benevolence; and one’s path should be righteousness. Where else should he dwell? What other path should he pursue? When benevolence is the dwelling-place of the heart, and righteousness the path of the life, the business of a great man is complete.’
37: Mencius said, ‘To feed a scholar and not love him, is to treat him as a pig. To love him and not respect him, is to keep him as a domestic animal. Honouring and respecting are what exist before any offering of gifts. If there be honouring and respecting without the reality of them, a superior man may not be retained by such empty demonstrations.’
38: Mencius said, ‘The bodily organs with their functions belong to our Heaven-conferred nature. But a man must be a sage before he can satisfy the design of his bodily organization.’
41: Gong Sun Chou said, ‘Lofty are your principles and admirable, but to learn them may well be likened to ascending the heavens – something which cannot be reached. Why not adapt your teaching so as to cause learners to consider them attainable, and so daily exert themselves!’
Mencius said, ‘A great artificer does not, for the sake of a stupid workman, alter or do away with the marking-line. Yi did not, for the sake of a stupid archer, charge his rule for drawing the bow. The superior man draws the bow, but does not discharge the arrow, having seemed to leap with it to the mark; and he there stands exactly in the middle of the path. Those who are able, follow him.’
42: Mencius said, ‘When right principles prevail throughout the kingdom, one’s principles must appear along with one’s person. When right principles disappear from the kingdom, one’s person must vanish along with one’s principles. I have not heard of one’s principles being dependent for their manifestation on other men.’
43: The disciple Gong Du said, ‘When Geng of Tang made his appearance in your school, it seemed proper that a polite consideration should be paid to him, and yet you did not answer him. Why was that?’
Mencius replied, ‘I do not answer him who questions me presuming on his nobility, nor him who presumes on his talents, nor him who presumes on his age, nor him who presumes on services performed to me, nor him who presumes on old acquaintance. Two of those things were chargeable on Geng of Tang.’
44: Mencius said, ‘He who stops short where stopping is acknowledged to be not allowable, will stop short in everything. He who behaves shabbily to those whom he ought to treat well, will behave shabbily to all. He who advances with precipitation will retire with speed.’
46: Mencius said, ‘The wise embrace all knowledge, but they are most earnest about what is of the greatest importance. The benevolent embrace all in their love, but what they consider of the greatest importance is to cultivate an earnest affection for the virtuous. Even the wisdom of Yao and Shun did not extend to everything, but they attended earnestly to what was important. Their benevolence did not show itself in acts of kindness to every man, but they earnestly cultivated an affection for the virtuous. Not to be able to keep the three years’ mourning, and to be very particular about that of three months, or that of five months; to eat immoderately and swill down the soup, and at the same time to inquire about the precept not to tear the meat with the teeth; such things show what I call an ignorance of what is most important.

JIN XIN II
48: Mencius said, ‘In the “Spring and Autumn” there are no righteous wars. Instances indeed there are of one war better than another. “Correction” is when the supreme authority punishes its subjects by force of arms. Hostile States do not correct one another.’
61: Mencius said, ‘A sage is the teacher of a hundred generations – this is true of Bo Yi and Hui of Liu Xia. Therefore when men now bear the character of Bo Yi, the corrupt become pure, and the weak acquire determination. When they hear the character of Hui of Liu Xia, the mean become generous, and the niggardly become liberal. Those two made themselves distinguished a hundred generations ago, and after a hundred generations, those who hear of them, are all aroused in this manner. Could such effects be produced by them, if they had not been sages? And how much more did they affect those who were in contiguity with them, and felt their inspiring influence!’
66: Mencius said, ‘Anciently, men of virtue and talents by means of their own enlightenment made others enlightened. Nowadays, it is tried, while they are themselves in darkness, and by means of that darkness, to make others enlightened.’
67: Mencius said to the disciple Gao, ‘There are the footpaths along the hills; if suddenly they be used, they become roads; and if, as suddenly they are not used, the wild grass fills them up. Now, the wild grass fills up your mind.’
70: Mencius said, ‘For the mouth to desire sweet tastes, the eye to desire beautiful colours, the ear to desire pleasant sounds, the nose to desire fragrant odours, and the four limbs to desire ease and rest – these things are natural. But there is the appointment of Heaven in connexion with them, and the superior man does not say of his pursuit of them, “It is my nature.” The exercise of love between father and son, the observance of righteousness between sovereign and minister, the rules of ceremony between guest and host, the display of knowledge in recognising the talented, and the fulfilling the heavenly course by the sage – these are the appointment of Heaven. But there is an adaptation of our nature for them. The superior man does not say, in reference to them, “It is the appointment of Heaven.”‘
71: Hao Sheng Bu Hai asked, saying, ‘What sort of man is Yue Zheng?’
Mencius replied, ‘He is a good man, a real man.’
‘What do you mean by “A good man,” “A real man?”‘
The reply was, ‘A man who commands our liking is what is called a good man. He whose goodness is part of himself is what is called real man. He whose goodness has been filled up is what is called beautiful man. He whose completed goodness is brightly displayed is what is called a great man. When this great man exercises a transforming influence, he is what is called a sage. When the sage is beyond our knowledge, he is what is called a spirit-man. Yue Zheng is between the two first characters, and below the four last.’
77: Mencius said, ‘All men have some things which they cannot bear; extend that feeling to what they can bear, and benevolence will be the result. All men have some things which they will not do; extend that feeling to the things which they do, and righteousness will be the result. If a man can give full development to the feeling which makes him shrink from injuring others, his benevolence will be more than can be called into practice. If he can give full development to the feeling which refuses to break through, or jump over, a wall, his righteousness will be more than can be called into practice. If he can give full development to the real feeling of dislike with which he receives the salutation, “Thou,” “Thou,” he will act righteously in all places and circumstances. When a scholar speaks what he ought not to speak, by guile of speech seeking to gain some end; and when he does not speak what he ought to speak, by guile of silence seeking to gain some end; both these cases are of a piece with breaking through a neighbour’s wall.’
78: Mencius said, ‘Words which are simple, while their meaning is far-reaching, are good words. Principles which, as held, are compendious, while their application is extensive, are good principles. The words of the superior man do not go below the girdle, but great principles are contained in them. The principle which the superior man holds is that of personal cultivation, but the kingdom is thereby tranquillized. The disease of men is this: that they neglect their own fields, and go to weed the fields of others, and that what they require from others is great, while what they lay upon themselves is light.’
80: Mencius said, ‘Those who give counsel to the great should despise them, and not look at their pomp and display. Halls several times eight cubits high, with beams projecting several cubits; these, if my wishes were to be realized, I would not have. Food spread before me over ten cubits square, and attendants and concubines to the amount of hundreds; these, though my wishes were realized, I would not have. Pleasure and wine, and the dash of hunting, with thousands of chariots following after me; these, though my wishes were realized, I would not have. What they esteem are what I would have nothing to do with; what I esteem are the rules of the ancients. Why should I stand in awe of them?’
81: Mencius said, ‘To nourish the mind there is nothing better than to make the desires few. Here is a man whose desires are few – in some things he may not be able to keep his heart, but they will be few. Here is a man whose desires are many – in some things he may be able to keep his heart, but they will be few.’
83: …………………………….
… Your good careful people of the villages are the thieves of virtue.”‘
‘What sort of people were they who could be styled “Your good careful people of the villages?”‘
Mencius replied, ‘They are those who say, “Why are they so magniloquent? Their words have not respect to their actions and their actions have not respect to their words, but they say, “The ancients! The ancients! Why do they act so peculiarly, and are so cold and distant? Born in this age, we should be of this age, to be good is all that is needed.” Eunuch-like, flattering their generation – such are your good careful men of the villages.’
Wan Zhang said, ‘Their whole village styles those men good and careful. In all their conduct they are so. How was it that Confucius considered them the thieves of virtue?’
Mencius replied, ‘If you would blame them, you find nothing to allege. If you would criticise them, you have nothing to criticise. They agree with the current customs. They consent with an impure age. Their principles have a semblance of right-heartedness and truth. Their conduct has a semblance of disinterestedness and purity. All men are pleased with them, and they think themselves right, so that it is impossible to proceed with them to the principles of Yao and Shun. On this account they are called “The thieves of virtue.” Confucius said, “I hate a semblance which is not the reality. I hate the darnel, lest it be confounded with the corn. I hate glib-tonguedness, lest it be confounded with righteousness. I hate sharpness of tongue, lest it be confounded with sincerity. I hate the music of Chang, lest it be confounded with the true music. I hate the reddish blue, lest it be confounded with vermilion. I hate your good careful men of the villages, lest they be confounded with the truly virtuous.” The superior man seeks simply to bring back the unchanging standard, and, that being correct, the masses are roused to virtue. When they are so aroused, forthwith perversities and glossed wickedness disappear.’
…………………………….

SHANG YANG – THE BOOK OF LORD SHANG

The Book of Lord Shang. Translated by J. J. L. Duyvendak. 1928. Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2025 from https://ctext.org/shang-jun-shu

REFORM OF THE LAW
1: Duke Xiao discussed his policy. The three Great Officers, Gong sun Yang, Gan Long and Du Zhi, were in attendance on the Prince. Their thoughts dwelt on the vicissitudes of the world’s affairs; they discussed the principles of rectifying the law, and they sought for the way of directing the people.
2: The prince said: “Not to forget, at his succession, the tutelary spirits of the soil and of grain, is the way of a prince; to shape the laws and to see to it that an intelligent ruler reigns, are the tasks of a minister. I intend, now, to alter the laws, so as to obtain orderly government, and to reform the rites, so as to teach the people; but I am afraid the empire will criticize me.”
3: Gong sun Yang said: “I have heard it said that he who hesitates in action, does not accomplish anything, and that he who hesitates in affairs, gains no merit. Let Your Highness settle Your thoughts quickly about altering the laws and perhaps not heed the criticism of the empire. Moreover, he who conducts himself as an outstanding man is, as a matter of course, disapproved of by the world; he who has thoughts of independent knowledge is certainly despised by the world. The saying runs: ‘The stupid do not even understand an affair when it has been completed, but the wise see it even before it has sprouted.’ One cannot let the people share in the thoughts about the beginnings of an affair, but they should be allowed to share in the rejoicings over the completion of it. The law of Guo Yan says: ‘He who is concerned about the highest virtue is not in harmony with popular ideas; he who accomplishes a great work, does not take counsel with the multitude.’ The law is an expression of love for the people; rites are a means for making things run smoothly. Therefore a sage, if he is able to strengthen the state thereby, does not model himself on antiquity, and if he is able to benefit the people thereby, does not adhere to the established rites.”
4: Duke Xiao expressed his approval.
5: But Gan Long said: “Not so. I have heard it said: ‘A sage teaches without changing the people, and a wise man obtains good government without altering the laws.’ If one teaches in accordance with the spirit of the people, success will be achieved without effort; if one governs, holding on to the law, officials will be well versed in it and the people will live quietly. Now, if Your Highness alters the laws without adhering to the old customs of the Ch’in state, and reforms the rites in order to teach the people, I am afraid that the empire will criticize Your Highness, and I wish that You would reflect maturely.”
6: Gong sun Yang replied: “What you, sir, hold is the point of view of the man in the street. Indeed, ordinary people abide by old practices, and students are immersed in the study of what is reported from antiquity. These two kinds of men are all right for filling offices and for maintaining the law, but they are not the kind who can take part in a discussion which goes beyond the law. The Three Dynasties have attained supremacy by different rites, and the five Lords Protector have attained their protectorships by different laws. Therefore, a wise man creates laws, but a foolish man is controlled by them; a man of talent reforms rites, but a worthless man is enslaved by them. With a man who is enslaved by rites, it is not worth while to speak about matters; with a man who is controlled by laws, it is not worth while to discuss reform. Let Your Highness not hesitate.”
7: Du Zhi said: “Unless the advantage be a hundredfold, one should not reform the law; unless the benefit be tenfold, one should not alter an instrument. I have heard it said that in taking antiquity as an example, one makes no mistakes, and in following established rites one commits no offence. Let Your Highness aim at that.”
8: Gong sun Yang said: “Former generations did not follow the same doctrines, so what antiquity should one imitate? The emperors and kings did not copy one another, so what rites should one follow? Fu Xi and Shen nong taught but did not punish; Huang di, Yao and Shun punished but were not angry; Wen wang and Wu wang both established laws in accordance with what was opportune and regulated rites according to practical requirements; as rites and laws were fixed in accordance with what was opportune, regulations and orders were all expedient, and weapons, armour, implements and equipment were all practical. Therefore, I say: ‘There is more than one way to govern the world and there is no necessity to imitate antiquity, in order to take appropriate measures for the state.’ Tang and Wu succeeded in attaining supremacy without following antiquity, and as for the downfall of Yin and Xia – they were ruined without rites having been altered. Consequently, those who acted counter to antiquity do not necessarily deserve blame, nor do those who followed established rites merit much praise. Let Your Highness not hesitate.”
9: Duke Xiao said: “Excellent ! I have heard it said that in poor country districts, much is thought strange, and that in village schools there are many debates. What the foolish laugh about, the wise are sad about; the joy of a madman is the sorrow of a man of talent. One should, in one’s plans, be directed by the needs of the times – I have no doubts about it.”
10: Thereupon, in consequence, he issued the order to bring waste lands under cultivation.

OPENING AND DEBARRING
4: A sage does not imitate antiquity, nor does he follow the present time. If he were to imitate antiquity, he would be behind the times; and if he follows the present time, he is obstructed by circumstances. The Zhou dynasty did not imitate the Shang dynasty, nor did the Xia dynasty imitate the period of Yu; the three dynasties encountered different circumstances, but all three succeeded in attaining supremacy. So to rise to supremacy, there is a definite way, but to hold it there are different principles. For example, Wu as a rebel seized the empire, and yet he prized obedience to the law; he disputed the empire, and yet exalted compliancy; by force he seized it, but by righteousness he held it. Nowadays strong countries aim at annexation, while weak countries are concerned for defence by force, which means that compared with early times they are not equal to the times of Yu and Xia, and compared with later times they do not practise the principles of Tang and Wu. Because the principles of Tang and Wu are obstructed, of the countries of ten thousand chariots there is not one that does not wage war, and of the countries of a thousand chariots there is not one that is not on the defence. These principles (of Tang and Wu) have been obstructed a long time, and none of the rulers of the world is able to develop them. Therefore, there is not a fourth added to the three dynasties, and unless there be an intelligent ruler, there is none who succeeds in being obeyed. Now you want to develop the people by imitating the ancient rulers, but the people of old were simple through honesty, while the people of today are clever through artificiality.
7: Of old, people lived densely together and all dwelt in disorder, so they desired that there should be a ruler. However, why the empire was glad to have a ruler was because he would create order. Now, having rulers but no law, the evil is the same as if there were no rulers, and having laws that are not equal to the disorders is the same as if there were no law…

UNIFICATION OF WORDS
3: Indeed, if a people are not orderly, it is because their prince follows inferior ways; and if the laws are not clear, it means that the prince causes disorder to grow. Therefore, an intelligent prince is one, who does not follow an inferior way, nor causes disorder to grow, but he establishes himself, by maintaining his authority and creates order, by giving laws… thus for all officials respectively rewards or penalties are fixed, so that employment will have a fixed standard. Under these circumstances, then, the country’s regulations will be clear and the people’s force will be used to the utmost…
4: The rulers of the present day all desire to govern the people, but their way of helping them is disorderly, not because they take pleasure in disorder, but because they rest on antiquity and do not watch for the needs of the times; that is, the ruler models himself on antiquity, and as a result, is hampered by it; subordinates follow the present and do not change with the times, and when the changes in the customs of the world are not understood, and the conditions for governing the people are not examined, then the multiplication of rewards only leads to punishments, and the lightening of punishments only eliminates rewards. Indeed, the ruler institutes punishments, but the people do not obey; his rewards are exhausted, but crimes continue to increase; for the people in their relation to the ruler, think first of punishments and only afterwards of rewards.
5: The sage’s way, therefore, of organizing a country is not to imitate antiquity, nor to follow the present, but to govern in accordance with the needs of the times, and to make laws which take into account customs. For laws, which are established without examining people’s conditions, do not succeed, but a government which is enacted fittingly for the times, does not offend. Therefore, the government of the sage-kings examined attentively the people’s occupations and concentrated their attention on unifying them and on nothing else.

CULTIVATION OF THE RIGHT STANDARD
2: Those who are engaged in governing, in the world, chiefly dismiss the law and place reliance on private appraisal, and this is what brings disorder in a state. The early kings hung up scales with standard weights, and fixed the length of feet and inches, and to the present day these are followed as models because their divisions were clear. Now dismissing standard scales and yet deciding weight, or abolishing feet and inches and yet forming an opinion about length – even an intelligent merchant would not apply this system, because it would lack definiteness. Now, if the back is turned on models and measures, and reliance is placed on private appraisal, in all those cases there would be a lack of definiteness. Only a Yao would be able to judge knowledge and ability, worth or unworth without a model. But the world does not consist exclusively of Yaos! Therefore, the ancient kings understood that no reliance should be placed on individual opinions or biassed approval, so they set up models and made the distinctions clear. Those who fulfilled the standard were rewarded, those who harmed the public interest were punished. The standards for rewards and punishments were not wrong in their appraisals, and therefore people did not dispute them. But if the bestowal of office and the granting of rank are not carried out according to the labour borne, then loyal ministers have no advancement; and if in awarding rewards and giving emoluments the respective merits are not weighed, then fighting soldiers will not enter his service.
3: Generally, the principle on which ministers serve their prince are dependent, in most cases, on what the ruler likes. If the ruler likes law, then the ministers will make law their principle in serving; if the prince likes words, then the ministers will make words their principle in serving. If the prince likes law, then upright scholars will come to the front, but if he likes words, then ministers full of praise for some and blame for others will be at his side. If public and private interests are clearly distinguished, then even small-minded men do not hate men of worth, nor do worthless men envy those of merit. For when Yao and Shun established their rule over the empire, they did not keep the benefits of the empire for themselves, but it was for the sake of the empire that they established their rule. In making the imperial succession dependent on worth and ability, they did not intend to alienate fathers and sons from one another, and to conciliate distant people, but they did it because they had a true insight into the ways of order and disorder. So, too, the Three Kings conciliated people by righteousness, and the five Lords Protector rectified the feudal lords by law; that is, in all these cases, none took for himself the benefits of the empire. They ruled for the sake of the empire, and thus, when those who held positions had corresponding merit, the empire enjoyed their administration and no one could harm it. But, nowadays, princes and ministers of a disorderly world each, on a small scale, appropriates the profits of his own state, and each exercises the burden of his own office, for his private benefit. This is why the states are in a perilous position. For the relation between public and private interests is what determines existence or ruin.
4: However, if models and measures are abolished and private appraisal is favoured, then bad ministers will let their standards be influenced by money, in order to obtain emoluments, and officials of the various ranks will, in a stealthy and hidden manner, make extortions from the people. The saying runs: ‘Many woodworms and the wood snaps, a large fissure and the wall collapses.’ So if ministers of state vie with one another in selfishness and do not heed the people, then inferiors are estranged from superiors. When this happens, there is a fissure in the state. If the officials of the various ranks make extortions from the people, stealthily and in a hidden manner, they are for the people like woodworms. Therefore is it exceptional in the world that where there are fissures and woodworms, ruin does not follow. That is why intelligent kings placed reliance on the law and removed self-interest, so that the state should have no fissures and no woodworms.

POLICIES
3: If a state is in disorder, it is not because the law is disorderly, but because its law is not applied. All states have laws, but there are no laws that guarantee that the laws are practised. All states have laws that prohibit crime and wickedness, and that punish thieves and robbers, but there are no laws that guarantee that criminals and wicked people, thieves and robbers, are caught. If those who commit crimes and wickedness, theft and robbery, are punished with death, and if, in spite of this, crime and wickedness, theft and robbery do not cease, then it is because they are not always caught. If they are always caught, and if, in spite of this, there still remain criminals, wicked people, thieves and robbers, then it is because punishments are too light. If punishments are light, one cannot exterminate them; but if they are always caught, then those who are punished will be numerous. Therefore, a good ruler punishes the bad people, but does not reward the virtuous ones, so, without being punished, the people will be virtuous, and the reason of this is that punishments are heavy. When punishments are heavy, people dare not transgress, and therefore there will be no punishments; because none of the people will dare to do wrong, everyone in the whole country will be virtuous, so that without rewarding the virtuous, the people will be virtuous. That the rewarding of the virtuous is not permissible is because it is like giving rewards for not stealing. Therefore, a good ruler succeeds in making a man like Zhi trustworthy; how much more, then, a man like Bo Yi; An incapable ruler makes a man like Bo Yi mistrustful, how much more a man like Zhi! If conditions are such that one cannot commit crimes, then even a man like Zhi will be trustworthy; but if conditions are such that it is possible to commit crimes, then even a man like Bo Yi will be mistrustful.
4: A state either encourages orderly government, or it encourages disorder. If an intelligent ruler is on top, then those whom he appoints will be men of talent, and thus the law will be adhered to by the people of talent. If the law is adhered to by people of talent, then there will be law amongst those below, and the worthless will not dare to commit crimes. This is what I call “encouraging orderly government”. But if an unintelligent ruler is on top, then those whom he appoints will certainly be worthless men, so that there will be no clear law in the state and worthless people will dare to commit crimes. This is what I call “encouraging disorder”. An army either encourages strength or it encourages weakness. If the people desire naturally to fight and are not left without fighting, it is called “encouraging strength”, but if the people naturally do not desire to fight and are left without fighting, it is called “encouraging weakness”.

WEAKENING THE PEOPLE
9: Now Li Lou could see the tip of an autumn’s hair, but he could not transfer his sharp vision to others; Wu Huo could lift the weight of 1,000 jun, but he could not transfer his great strength to others. So sages and men of talent are bound to their personality and nature, which cannot be transferred to others.

FIXING OF RIGHTS AND DUTIES
6: Indeed, subtle and mysterious words, which have to be pondered over, cause difficulty even to men of superior knowledge. There may be one case in ten millions, where the directing guidance of the law is not needed and yet it is correct in everything. Therefore, a sage governs the empire for the ten million cases. For, indeed, one should not make laws so that only the intelligent can understand them, for the people are not all intelligent; and one should not make laws so that only the men of talent can understand them, for the people are not all talented. Therefore did the sages, in creating laws, make them clear and easy to understand, and the terminology correct, so that stupid and wise without exception could understand them; and by setting up law officers, and officers presiding over the law, to be authoritative in the empire, prevented the people from falling into dangerous pitfalls. So the fact that when the sages established the empire there were no victims of capital punishment, was not because capital punishment did not exist, but because the laws which were applied were clear and easy to understand. They set up law officers and government officials to be the authority, in order to guide them; and they knew that if the ten thousands of people all knew what to avoid and what to strive for, they would avoid misfortune and strive for happiness, and so restrain themselves. Therefore, an intelligent prince follows the existing conditions of order and so makes the order complete, with the result that the empire will enjoy great order.