[2A1] Gongsun Chou asked, “If you, Master, were to hold high office in Qi, could you promise to replicate the achievements of a Guan Zhong or a Yanzi?”
Mencius said, “Truly, you are a man of Qi. You know only of Guan Zhong and Yanzi, nothing more.
“Someone asked Zeng Xi, ‘As between you and Zilu, who is the more worthy?’ Looking discomfited, Zeng Xi said, ‘He was one for whom my father had profound respect.’ ‘As between you and Guan Zhong, who is the more worthy?’ His countenance changing to an expression of displeasure, Zengzi said, ‘How is it that you compare me with Guan Zhong? So completely did Guan Zhong hold the confidence of his ruler, so long was he occupied with affairs of state, and yet so unimpressive were his achievements—how is it that you compare me to him?’
‘Mencius said, “Though Guan Zhong was not someone Zengzi would choose to be, is this nonetheless what you want for me?”
“Guan Zhong made his ruler a hegemon. Yanzi made his ruler illustrious. Are Guan Zhong and Yanzi still not worthy of being followed?”
“To make the ruler of Qi a true king would be like turning over one’s hand.”1
“If that is so, then my confusion is all that much greater. Even the Virtue of King Wen, who lived to be over one hundred years old, had not penetrated all-under-Heaven within his lifetime. King Wu and the Duke of Zhou followed him, and only then did King Wen’s Virtuous influence pervade throughout the world. Now, when you say that to become a true king is easy, does this mean that King Wen is not worthy of being followed?”
“How could King Wen be equaled? From Tang2 down to Wuding there were six or seven worthy and sagely rulers. For a long time all-under-Heaven had belonged to Yin,3 long enough that it was difficult to change. Wuding had the various lords coming to his court and possessed all-under-Heaven as if he were turning it around on his palm. The interlude between Zhou and Wuding was not long,4 and the inherited customs of the old families and the legacy of good government still persisted. Then there were the Viscount of Wei, Wei Zhong, Prince Bigan, the Viscount of Ji, and Jiao Ge, all of them worthy men who, together, assisted Zhou, so that it was a long time before he lost it.5 There was not a foot of ground that he did not possess nor was there a single person who was not his subject. King Wen, on the other hand, started with only a hundred li square—which is why it was difficult.
“The people of Qi have a saying: ‘Though you are intelligent, it is better to take advantage of circumstances. Though you have a hoe, it is better to wait for the proper season.’ In the present time, it would be easy.
“In the flourishing periods of the Xia, Yin, and Zhou, the domain did not exceed a thousand li, and Qi has this much land. The sound of cocks crowing and dogs barking extends to the four borders, so Qi has the people. No extension of the territory and no increase in population are necessary. If he will practice humane government, he will become a true king, and no one will be able to stand in his way. Moreover, there has never been a longer time since a true king appeared, never a time when the people’s sufferings from tyrannical government have been so great. It is easy to provide food for the hungry, easy to provide drink for the thirsty. Confucius said, ‘The transmission of Virtue is faster than the transmission of an order through the post.’
“At the present time, if humane government were established in a state of ten thousand chariots, the people would be as pleased as if they had been freed from hanging upside down. Thus one can with half the effort of the ancients bring about twice their achievements—if only it is done now.”
[2A2] Gongsun Chou asked, “If you, Master, were appointed a high minister of Qi and were able to put the Way into practice, it would not be surprising if the ruler were to become a hegemon or even king. If this were to occur, would your mind be moved or not?”
Mencius said, “No, since the age of forty my mind has been unmoved.”
“In that case you far surpass Meng Ben.”
“That is not difficult. Gaozi attained an unmoved mind before I did.”
“Is there a way to attain an unmoved mind?”
“There is. Bogong You’s way of nourishing his valor was neither to shrink from blows nor to avert his gaze. He thought that merely to be jostled by someone was like being flogged in the marketplace. What he would not accept from a poor fellow clad in coarse clothing he would not accept from a lord with ten thousand chariots, and he would cut down the lord with ten thousand chariots as soon as he would the poor man, coarsely clad. He had no regard for any of the lords, and if an insult came his way, he would invariably return it.
“Meng Shishe’s way of nourishing his valor is expressed in his saying, ‘I regard defeat just as I do victory. To advance only after having assessed the strength of the enemy, to engage only after having calculated the prospects for victory—this is to be intimidated by the opposing force. How can I be certain of victory? I can only be fearless, that is all.’
“Meng Shishe resembled Zengzi, while Bogong You resembled Zixia. I do not know which kind of valor should be considered superior, but Meng Shishe kept hold of what is essential. Formerly, Zengzi said to Zixiang, ‘Do you admire valor? I once heard this account of great valor from the Master:6 “If, on looking inward, I find that I am not upright, I must be in fear of even a poor fellow in coarse clothing. If, on looking inward, I find that I am upright, I may proceed against thousands and tens of thousands.”’ So Meng Shishe’s keeping hold of his physical energy [qi 
] was, after all, not comparable to Zengzi’s keeping hold of what is essential.”
“May I venture to ask you, Master, about your unmoved mind compared to Gaozi’s unmoved mind?”
“Gaozi said, ‘What you do not get in words, do not seek in the mind; what you do not get in the mind, do not seek in the qi.’7 It may be acceptable to say that what one does not get in the mind should not be sought in the qi. But it is unacceptable to say that what one does not get in words should not be sought in the mind. The will is the leader of the qi, and it is qi that fills the body. When the will goes forward, the qi follows it. Therefore I say, maintain the will and do no violence to the qi.”
“Since you say, ‘When the will goes forward, the qi follows it,’ why is it that you also say, ‘maintain the will and do no violence to the qi’?”
“If the will is unified, it moves the qi, whereas if the qi is unified, it moves the will. Now, when a person stumbles or runs, it is the qi that acts, but it also moves the mind.”
“May I presume to ask you, Master, in what do you excel?”
“I understand words. I am good at nourishing my vast, flowing qi.”
“May I presume to ask what is meant by ‘vast, flowing qi’?”
“It is difficult to put into words. This qi is consummately great and consummately strong. If one nourishes it with uprightness and does not injure it, it will fill the space between Heaven and earth. This qi is the companion of rightness and the Way, in the absence of which, it starves. It is born from an accumulation of rightness rather than appropriated through an isolated display. If one’s actions cause the mind to be disquieted, it starves. I therefore said that Gaozi did not understand rightness because he regarded it as external.
“Always be doing something, but without fixation, with a mind inclined neither to forget nor to help things grow. One should not be like the man of Song. There was a man of Song, who, worried that his seedlings were not growing, pulled them up. Having done so, he returned home wearily, telling people, ‘I am tired today—I have been helping the seedlings to grow.’ When his sons rushed out to have a look, they found all the seedlings were withered. There are few in the world who do not try to help the seedlings to grow. Those who believe there is no way to benefit them neglect the seedlings and do not weed them. Those bent on helping them to grow pull them up, which is not only of no benefit but, on the contrary, causes them injury.”8
“What is meant by ‘understanding words’?”
“From distorted words, one knows the obscuration; from licentious words, one knows the corruption; from deviant words, one knows the waywardness; from evasive words, one knows the desperation. What is born in the mind does damage to government, and what arises in government does damage to the conduct of affairs. If a sage were to arise again, he would certainly follow my words.”
“Zai Wo and Zigong were good at speaking. Ran Niu, Min Zi, and Yan Yuan were good with words and with Virtuous action. Though Confucius brought together both of these, he said, ‘I have no great facility with words.’ Then are you, Master, already a sage?”
“What words are these? Formerly Zigong asked Confucius, ‘Is the Master a sage?’ Confucius said, ‘A sage I cannot be. I am, in learning, indefatigable and, in teaching, untiring.’ Zigong said, ‘Your learning indefatigably—this is wisdom. Your teaching untiringly—this is humaneness. Being humane and being wise, the Master is indeed a sage.’ Since Confucius would not assent to being regarded as a sage, what words are these?”
“I once heard that Zixia, Ziyou, and Zizhang each had one of the qualities of the sage, while Ran Niu, Min Zi, and Yan Yuan had all of the qualities, but in slighter degree. I venture to ask with which of these you are willing to be compared?”
“Let us have done with this discussion.”
“What about Boyi and Yi Yin?”
“Our ways are different. Not to serve a ruler who was not his own, nor to lead a people not his own; to advance when there was order and to withdraw when there was disorder—this was Boyi. To serve any ruler, to lead any people; to advance when there was order, and likewise to advance when there was disorder—this was Yi Yin. To serve in office when it was proper to serve, to stop when it was proper to stop; to continue when it was proper to continue and to withdraw when it was proper to withdraw—this was Confucius. They were all sages of antiquity. I have not been able to do what they did, but the one I want to learn from is Confucius.”
“Can Boyi and Yi Yin be compared to Confucius?”
“No. Since the beginning of human life, there has never been another Confucius.”
“Then did they have anything in common with Confucius?”
“They did. If they had ruled over a hundred li of territory, they would all have been able to bring the various lords to their court and to possess all-under-Heaven. None would have performed one act that was not right or killed one innocent person in order to possess allunder-Heaven. These things they shared in common with Confucius.”
“I venture to ask in what ways they differed from Confucius.”
“Zai Wo, Zigong, and Yu Zuo were wise enough to know the sage. Though they had a low opinion of themselves, they would not have come to the point of flattering someone just because they liked him. Zai Wo said, ‘As I see the Master, he was worthier by far than Yao or Shun.’ Zigong said, ‘By observing a ruler’s rituals, he knew his government; by hearing his music, he knew his Virtue. After an interval of a hundred generations he could rank the kings of those hundred generations, without one of them eluding his judgment. Since the beginning of human life there has never been another Confucius.’ You Ruo said, ‘Is it only among human beings that we find this? It is true as well of the unicorn among animals, the phoenix among birds, Mount Tai among hills, and rivers and oceans among flowing waters; they are all of a kind. So, too, is the sage of the same kind as other people. Yet he emerges from among his kind and rises to a higher level. Since the beginning of human life, there has never been one greater than Confucius.’”
[2A3] Mencius said, “One who, supported by force, pretends to being humane is a hegemon, and a hegemon has to have a large state. One who out of Virtue practices humaneness is a true king, and a true king does not need anything large. Tang did it with only seventy li, and King Wen did it with a hundred.
“When one uses force to make people submit, they do not submit in their hearts but only because their strength is insufficient. When one uses Virtue to make people submit, they are pleased to the depths of their hearts, and they sincerely submit. So it was with the seventy disciples who submitted to Confucius. The ode says,
From the west, and from the east,
From the south and from the north,
No one thought of not submitting.9
This is what was meant.”
[2A4] Mencius said, “One who is humane will be distinguished; one who is inhumane will be disgraced. Now, to dislike disgrace yet abide in inhumanity is like disliking dampness yet abiding in a low place. If one dislikes disgrace, there is nothing better than to honor Virtue and to esteem men of service, giving positions to the worthy and offices to the capable. When the state is at peace, one should use the occasion to examine his administration and laws, and even the great states must surely be impressed. The ode says,
Before the heavens darkened with rain,
I gathered bark from the mulberry tree,
Weaving it closely in my window and door.
Now among those people below,
Who will dare to insult me?10
Confucius said, ‘Surely the one who made this poem must have known the Way. If a ruler is able to govern his state well, who will dare to insult him?’ But now in states that are at peace they take the occasion to abandon themselves to pleasure and indulge in idleness, thus seeking calamities for themselves. Whether calamities or happiness—these are always the result of one’s own seeking. The ode says,
Be ever thoughtful, and worthy of the ordinance,
Thus seeking for yourself much happiness.11
This is what is meant by the “Taijia” when it says,
When Heaven makes misfortunes,
It is still possible to escape them.
When the misfortunes are of our own making,
It is no longer possible to live.”12
[2A5] Mencius said, “When a ruler honors those who are exemplary and employs those who are capable, so that outstanding persons hold positions of authority, all the world’s scholars will be pleased and will want to stand in his court. When in his marketplace he levies a ground rent, but without levying a tax on goods, or else enforces the regulations but without levying any ground rent, all the world’s merchants will be pleased and will want to store their goods in his marketplace. When at his frontier passes there is an inspection but no tax is levied, all the world’s travelers will be pleased and will want to travel on his roads. When tillers are required to render their assistance13 but are not taxed, then all the world’s farmers will be pleased and will want to till his fields. When individuals are not fined and no levy of cloth is exacted,14 all the world’s people will be pleased and will want to reside within his state. If one is truly able to do these five things, the people of neighboring states will look to him as a father and mother and follow him like his children. Never, since the birth of humankind, has anyone ever succeeded in causing people to attack their parents. So the ruler will have no enemies in the world, and one who has no enemies in the world is the agent of Heaven. Could he then fail to become a true king?”
[2A6] Mencius said, “All human beings have a mind that cannot bear to see the sufferings of others. The ancient kings had such a commiserating mind and, accordingly, a commiserating government. Having a commiserating mind, and effecting a commiserating government, governing the world was like turning something around on the palm of the hand.
“Here is why I say that all human beings have a mind that commiserates with others. Now, if anyone were suddenly to see a child about to fall into a well, his mind would be filled with alarm, distress, pity, and compassion. That he would react accordingly is not because he would hope to use the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the child’s parents, nor because he would seek commendation from neighbors and friends, nor because he would hate the adverse reputation [that could come from not reacting accordingly]. From this it may be seen that one who lacks a mind that feels pity and compassion would not be human; one who lacks a mind that feels shame and aversion would not be human; one who lacks a mind that feels modesty and compliance would not be human; and one who lacks a mind that knows right and wrong would not be human.
“The mind’s feeling of pity and compassion is the sprout of humaneness [ren 
]; the mind’s feeling of shame and aversion is the sprout of rightness [yi 
]; the mind’s feeling of modesty and compliance is the sprout of propriety [li 
]; and the mind’s sense of right and wrong is the sprout of wisdom [zhi 
].
“Human beings have these four sprouts just as they have four limbs. For one to have these four sprouts and yet to say of oneself that one is unable to fulfill them is to injure oneself, while to say that one’s ruler is unable to fulfill them is to injure one’s ruler. When we know how to enlarge and bring to fulfillment these four sprouts that are within us, it will be like a fire beginning to burn or a spring finding an outlet. If one is able to bring them to fulfillment, they will be sufficient to enable him to protect ‘all within the four seas’; if one is not, they will be insufficient even to enable him to serve his parents.”
[2A7] Mencius said, “Is the maker of arrows less humane than the maker of armor? The maker of arrows fears only that people will not be hurt; the maker of armor fears only that people will be hurt. This is so also in the case of the priest and the coffin maker. Therefore one must be mindful in choosing one’s occupation.
“Confucius said, ‘It is humaneness that makes a neighborhood beautiful. If in deciding on one’s dwelling one does not dwell in humaneness, how can he be wise?’15 Humaneness is the honor conferred by Heaven and is a person’s peaceful abode. No one can cause us not to be humane—rather, this derives from a lack of wisdom. One who is neither humane nor wise, who is devoid of ritual propriety and rightness, will be the servant of others. To be the servant of others yet ashamed of his service is like the maker of bows who is ashamed of making bows or the maker of arrows who is ashamed of making arrows. If one is ashamed of this, there is nothing better than to be humane. One who would be humane is like the archer. The archer corrects his position and then shoots. If he shoots and misses he does not blame those who are more adept than he; rather, he turns within and seeks within himself.”
[2A8] Mencius said, “Zilu, when told that he had made a mistake, was happy. Yu, when he heard good words, bowed. The great Shun was greater still. He regarded goodness as something he shared with the people; he relinquished his own way to follow others; he took pleasure in learning from others how to be good. From the time he was a farmer, a potter, or a fisherman to the time he was emperor, he always learned from others. To learn from others how to be good is to be good together with them. Thus, of the attributes of the noble man there is none greater than his being good together with others.”
[2A9] Boyi, if he did not approve of a ruler, he would not serve him. If he did not approve of a friend, he would not remain friends with him. He would not stand in the court of a bad person, nor would he speak with a bad person. For him to stand in the court of a bad person or to speak with a bad person would have been like sitting in dirt and soot with his court robes and his court cap on. This mentality of disliking anything bad went to the point that if he were standing with a villager whose cap was not on straight he would depart directly, as if he were about to be defiled. Therefore, although some of the lords approached him with excellent messages, he would not receive them; he refused to receive them because it was beneath his dignity to be associated with them.
Liuxia Hui was not ashamed of an impure ruler, nor did he disdain a minor office. When he was advanced, he did not conceal his abilities but resolutely carried out his Way. When he was passed over, he did not complain; when he was afflicted with poverty, he did not grieve. So it was that he said, ‘You are you, and I am I. If you were to stand by my side in a state of complete undress, how could you cause me to be defiled?’ Thus he was completely at ease in the presence of others yet never lost himself. When he was urged to remain, he would remain. The reason that when urged to remain he would remain was that it was beneath his dignity to depart.”
Mencius said, “Boyi was constrained, while Liuxia Hui was undignified. Neither should be followed by the noble person.”
Notes
1. That is, very easy.
2. Founder of the Shang dynasty.
3. Yin was another name for the Shang.
4. Something less than two hundred years.
5. That is, before he lost the rulership as the Shang was displaced by the Zhou.
6. That is, Confucius.
7. The meaning of Gaozi’s statement has been subject to a variety of interpretations, one of which is that human moral standards derive from “words”—that is, from moral teachings, and not from one’s own mind or psychophysical energy. Note that, in addition to the three terms used by Gaozi—words, mind, and qi—Mencius introduces the term “will.” What is clear from Mencius’s disagreement with Gaozi is that Mencius himself believed that words, the mind (or will), and physical energy were all closely interrelated.
8. David S. Nivison suggests that the language of this passage resonates with that in 7A3 (“On Translating Mencius,” in The Ways of Confucianism: Investigations in Chinese Philosophy, ed. Bryan W. Van Norden [La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1996], 182).
9. Ode 244 (Legge, Chinese Classics, 4:460–64).
10. Ode 155. The poem is written in the voice of a little bird that has been molested by the larger kite owl (ibid., 4:233–35).
11. Ode 235 (Legge, The Chinese Classics, 4:427–31).
12. See the “Taijia” section of the Classic of Documents, in ibid., 3:207.
13. This appears to be a reference to the mutual assistance owed under the well-field, discussed in 3A3.
14. The meaning of this passage is unclear. Some commentators refer to the Rites of Zhou (Zhou li 
), which indicates that fines were imposed on those who did not do sufficient work as well as a tax, levied in cloth, on families that failed to plant a required number of mulberry trees.
15. Analects 4:1.