BOOK 3B

[3B1]   Chen Dai said, “There is a certain smallness involved in not going to see the lords. If you were to go and see them now, your influence, if great, might cause one of them to become a king, and, even if it were small, it might cause one of them to become a hegemon. The Record speaks of ‘bending the foot to straighten the yard.’1 Surely this is worth trying?”

Mencius said, “Once when Duke Jing of Qi was hunting, he summoned his gamekeeper with a flag. The gamekeeper did not come, and the duke was about to have him killed. ‘The dedicated officer does not forget that he may find himself in a ditch; the courageous officer does not forget that he may sacrifice his head.’ What did Confucius find admirable in the gamekeeper’s conduct? It was his refusal to go in response to an inappropriate summons.² What, then, about those who go without any summons at all? The saying about ‘bending the foot in order to straighten the yard’ has to do with profit, and if one is concerned with profit, wouldn’t it also be possible to bend the yard in order to straighten the foot?

“Once Master Zhao Jian had Wang Liang serve as a charioteer for his favorite, Xi, but, in an entire day, they caught not a single bird. The favorite, Xi, returned and reported this, remarking that Wang Liang was ‘the world’s worst charioteer.’ Someone reported this to Wang Liang, who said, ‘I beg to be allowed to try again,’ and, at his insistence, he was given permission. In a single morning they caught ten birds, whereupon the favorite, Xi, returned and reported that Liang was ‘the world’s best charioteer.’ Master Jian said, ‘I will make him drive your chariot,’ but when he told Wang Liang, Wang Liang refused, saying, ‘I drove for him according to the rules, and in an entire day he caught not a single bird. Then I drove for him in a cunning manner, and in a single morning he caught ten birds. The ode says,

The driving was flawless

The arrows shot forth like blows.³

I do not care to drive for a small person. I beg to be allowed to resign.’

“The charioteer was ashamed to be associated with the archer. Though, by being associated, they could have caught enough birds and animals to make a hill, he would not do it. If I were to bend the Way and follow them, what would I be? You, sir, are in error. No one has ever been able to straighten others by bending himself.”

[3B2]   Jing Chun said, “Truly, Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi were great men, were they not? When they were angry, the lords would tremble in fear; when they dwelled in peace, the fires of conflict throughout the world were extinguished.”

Mencius said, “How can they be considered great men? Have you, sir, not studied the Book of Rituals? When a man is capped, his father gives him orders. When a woman is married, her mother gives her orders, accompanying her to the door and cautioning her, ‘You are going to your home. You must be reverent, you must be cautious. Do not disobey your husband.’4 To consider compliance to be correct is the way of women.

“One who dwells in the wide house of the world, occupies his proper place in the world, and carries out the great Way of the world: when he is able to realize his intentions, carries them out for the sake of the people of the world, and when he cannot realize them, practices the Way alone. He cannot be led astray by riches and honor, moved by poverty and privation, or deflected by power or force. This is what I call a great man.”

[3B3]   Zhou Xiao5 asked, “Did noble persons of antiquity serve in office?”

Mencius replied, “They did. The Record says, ‘If Confucius went for three months without serving in office, he was disquieted. When he passed beyond the borders of a state, he always carried his gift of introduction.’⁶ Gongming Yi said, ‘Among the ancients, if someone went for three months without serving, people would offer their condolences.’”

“To offer condolences to someone who had gone for three months without serving—might this not suggest overzealousness?”

“For a man of service to lose his position is like one of the lords losing his state. It is said in the Rites, ‘The lords plow and are assisted in plowing to produce millet. Their wives keep silkworms and make the silk for clothing. If the sacrificial animals are not perfect, the millet not pure, or the clothing not prepared, they do not dare to sacrifice. A man of service who has no field also does not sacrifice. If the sacrificial victims, the vessels, and the clothing are not prepared, they do not dare to sacrifice, nor do they feel at peace.⁷ Is this not sufficient cause for condolences?”

“‘When he passed beyond the borders of a state, he always carried his gift of introduction’—why was this?”

“Holding office for a man of service is like plowing for a farmer. When a farmer passes beyond the boundaries of a state, does he leave his plow behind?”

“The state of Jin⁸ is also one that employs men of service, but I have never heard that the men of service were so zealous. If there is so much zealousness associated with serving, why do noble persons find it difficult to take office?”

“The birth of a son occasions the wish that he should have a wife; the birth of a daughter occasions the wish that she should have a marital home. As parents, all human beings have this mind. But if, without waiting for the command of parents or the permission of go-betweens, the young people bore holes in a wall in order to catch a glimpse of one another or scale the wall in order to come together, their parents and everyone in the state will hold them in low esteem. Men of antiquity always wanted to serve in office but were averse to doing so in a manner not consonant with the Way. To go forward in a manner not consonant with the Way is in a class with ‘boring holes.’”

[3B4]   Peng Geng9 asked, “To go about followed by a train of several dozen carriages and a retinue of several hundred persons, feeding off of one lord after another in succession—is this not to be considered extravagant?”

Mencius said, “If it is not in accordance with the Way, one cannot receive from someone so much as a basket of rice. If it is in accordance with the Way, then receiving all-under-Heaven, as Shun did from Yao, is not to be considered extravagant. Do you, sir, feel it to be extravagant?”

“No. But it is inappropriate for a man of service who has not been given work to receive support.”

“If you do not have circulation of products or exchange of services, allowing what one person has in excess to compensate for the deficiency of another, the farmers will have a surplus of grain and the women will have a surplus of cloth. If you have this circulation, then the artisans and carriage makers can all get their food from you. Here is a man who, at home, is filial and, in the outside world, deferential to elders. He holds to the Way of the former kings and waits for those who will study it in the future, yet you will not support him. Why is it that you will honor the woodworker and the carriage maker and disparage one who practices humaneness and rightness?”

“The intention of the woodworker and the carriage maker is to seek a living. According to the practice of the Way, is it also the motive of the noble person to seek a living?”

“What have you, sir, got to do with his motive? If someone does work for you, then you should feed him whenever you can. Do you reward the motive, or do you reward the work?”

“I reward the motive.”

“Here is a man who destroys your tiles and smears paint on your walls. Since his motive is to seek a living, do you therefore reward him?”

“No.”

“Then you do not reward motives. You reward work.”

[3B5]   Wan Zhang10 asked, “Song is a small state that is now on the point of practicing kingly government. If Qi and Chu despise and attack it, what is to be done?”

Mencius said, “When Tang dwelled in Bo, his territory was adjacent to Ge. The Lord of Ge was dissolute and did not perform sacrifices. Tang sent a messenger to inquire about this. He said, ‘Why do you not perform sacrifices?’ The Lord of Ge said, ‘I have no way of obtaining sacrificial animals.’ Tang had oxen and sheep sent to him. The Lord of Ge ate them and still he did not perform sacrifices. Tang again sent a messenger to inquire, ‘Why do you not perform sacrifices?’ The Lord of Ge replied, ‘I have no way of obtaining millet.’ Tang sent the people of Bo to help with the plowing and had the elderly and the young bring gifts of food. The Lord of Ge led his people out to intercept those who were bringing the wine and food, millet and rice, seizing the gifts and killing those who did not hand them over. There was a boy who was bearing provisions of millet and meat; he was killed and his present was seized. When the Classic of Documents says, ‘The Lord of Ge was an enemy to the provision-bearers,’¹¹ it refers to this.

“It was because of the murder of this boy that Tang punished the Lord of Ge. All within the four seas said, ‘It was not for the sake of all-under-Heaven but to avenge the loss of a common man and woman.’¹²

“When Tang began the work of punishment, he began with Ge.¹³ In the course of eleven campaigns, he had no enemy under Heaven. When he carried out the work of punishment in the east, the Yi in the west protested, and when he carried out the work of punishment in the south, the Di in the north protested, saying ‘Why does he make us last?’ The people looked forward to his coming as they did to rain in a time of great drought. Those who were going to market did not stop; those who were weeding in the fields did not cease working. While punishing their rulers, he consoled the people. He was like the falling of timely rain, and the people were greatly delighted. The Classic of Documents says, ‘We await our ruler. When our ruler comes, there will be no more punishments.’¹⁴

“The state of You¹⁵ would not be subjected to Zhou. King Wu punished them in the east. He brought tranquillity to their men and women. They filled baskets with black and yellow silk, requested an audience with our Zhou king, and became subjects of the great city of Zhou.¹⁶ Gentlemen filled their baskets with black and yellow silks to welcome the gentlemen of Zhou. Common people brought baskets of food and vessels of drink to welcome the common people of Zhou. The king of Zhou saved the people from flood and fire and took captive only their oppressors.

“It says in the ‘Great Declaration’ [Taishi]:

Let our might be made manifest.

We will advance across the frontiers of You and seize its oppressive ruler.

Our punishments will be displayed.

We shall be more illustrious than Tang.¹⁷

Song is not, after all, practicing true kingly government. If it were practicing kingly government, everyone within the four seas would be raising their heads to watch for its ruler, wanting him to be their ruler, too. Great though Qi and Chu may be, what would there be to fear from them?”

[3B6]   Mencius said to Dai Busheng,18 “You, sir, want your king to be good, do you not? Let me be clear in explaining this to you. Here is a high official from Chu who wishes his son to speak the language of Qi. Will he provide for him to be instructed by a man of Qi or by a man of Chu?”

“He will provide for a man of Qi to instruct him.”

“But if there is one man of Qi instructing him and a whole crowd of Chu people clamoring all around him, then, although he may be beaten daily in an effort to get him to speak Qi, he will not be able to do so. And if he were placed in Zhuang or Yue¹⁹ for several years, though he were beaten daily in an effort to get him to speak the language of Chu, he would also be unable to do so.

“In the belief that Xue Juzhou was a good man of service, you had him placed near the king. If, among those near the king, old and young, humble and exalted, all were Xue Juzhous, with whom would the king do anything that is not good? But if among those near him—old and young, humble and exalted—there is none that is a Xue Juzhou, with whom will the king do what is good? What can one Xue Juzhou alone do for the king of Song?”

[3B7]   Gongsun Chou asked, “What is righteous about not going to see the lords?”20

Mencius replied, “In ancient times, unless one had been a minister, one did not go to see the lord. Duan Ganmu²¹ vaulted a wall in order to avoid meeting his lord. Xie Liu shut his door and would not allow the lord inside. These two were overly scrupulous, however. If the situation is urgent, then one can see him.

“Yang Huo wanted to see Confucius, but he did not want to do so at the expense of ritual propriety. When a great officer sends a gift to a man of service and he is not at home to receive it, then he should go to the officer’s gate and pay his respects. Yang Huo watched to see when Confucius was out and sent him a roasted pig. Confucius in turn watched to see when Yang Huo was out and went to pay his respects. On that occasion, since Yang Huo acted first, why should Confucius not have gone to see him?

“Zengzi said, ‘Those who shrug their shoulders and laugh genially work harder than those who till the fields in summer.’ Zilu said, ‘Observe the flush of embarrassment in the face of one who pretends to agree with someone when he really does not. This is someone I do not care to know.’ Looking at it from this perspective, one may know how the noble person cultivates himself.”

[3B8]   Dai Yingchi22 said, “This year we are not able to adopt a tax of one part in ten and to abolish the duties charged at the borders and in the marketplaces. But tell me, please, what you think about my lightening the tax in the coming year and abolishing it thereafter?”

Mencius said, “Here is a man who each day steals one of his neighbor’s chickens. Someone says to him, ‘This is not the Way of a noble person.’ He replies, ‘If it please you, I shall cut back and steal only one chicken a month until next year, when I will stop.’ If you know that this is not righteous, then just stop it. Why should you wait until next year?”

[3B9]   Gongduzi said, “Outsiders all say that the Master is fond of argument. I venture to ask why?”

Mencius said, “How should I be fond of argument? I am compelled to do it. A long time has passed since the world came into being, and periods of order have alternated with periods of chaos. In the time of Yao, the waters overflowed their channels, inundating the Middle Kingdom; snakes and dragons dwelled in it, depriving the people of a settled life. Those who lived in low-lying places made nests, while those who lived on higher ground made caves. The Classic of Documents says, ‘The flood waters were a warning to us.’23 ‘The overflowing waters’ refers to the waters of the deluge. Shun caused Yu to control them, and Yu dug out the earth so that the water would flow to the sea. He drove the snakes and dragons into the marshes. The waters flowed through the channels, and so it was with the Yangtze, the Huai, the Yellow, and the Han rivers. Once the dangers had been removed, and the birds and beasts that had injured people had disappeared, the people secured the level ground and could dwell upon it.

“Once Yao and Shun were no more, the Way of the sages declined, and oppressive rulers arose one after another. They destroyed houses and dwellings in order to make pools and ponds, and the people had no peaceful refuge. They caused fields to be abandoned to make parks and gardens, and the people could not get clothing and food. As deviant speech and oppressive actions became more prevalent, and as pools and ponds, thickets and marshes proliferated, wild animals returned. When it came down to the time of the tyrant Zhou, the world was once again in great chaos. The Duke of Zhou assisted King Wu and destroyed Zhou. He attacked Yan and, after three years, put its ruler to death. He drove Feilian²⁴ to a corner by the sea and annihilated him. The kingdoms he destroyed were fifty. He drove away tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants, and the people of the world were greatly delighted. The Classic of Documents says,

How great and splendid were the plans of King Wen,

How greatly realized through the energies of King Wu!

They are for the help and guidance of us, their descendants,

Correct in everything, deficient in nothing.²⁵

“Again the world declined, and the Way was concealed. Deviant speech and oppressive actions again became prevalent. There were cases of ministers murdering their rulers and of sons murdering their parents. Confucius was afraid, and so wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals. The Spring and Autumn Annals are concerned with the affairs of the Son of Heaven, and thus Confucius said, ‘It is by the Spring and Autumn Annals alone that I will be known, and for them alone that I will be condemned.’

“Once again sages and kings do not appear, the lords have become arbitrary and intemperate, and unemployed scholars indulge in uninhibited discussions. The words of Yang Zhu and Mo Di flow throughout the world; the teachings circulating in the world today all go back to Yang or Mo. Yang holds for egoism, which involves denial of one’s sovereign; Mo holds for impartial care, which entails denial of one’s parents.²⁶ To deny one’s parents or to deny one’s sovereign is to be an animal. Gongming Yi said, “In their kitchens there is fat meat. In their stables there are fat horses. And yet, the people have a lean and hungry look, and in the wilds there are those who have died of starvation. This is leading beasts to devour people.”²⁷ If the ways of Yang and Mo are not stopped, and the way of Confucius is not made known, the people will be deceived by these deviant views, and the path of humaneness and rightness will be blocked. When the path of humaneness and rightness is blocked, animals are led to devour people, and people will be led to devour one another. I am fearful about this and defend the way of the former Sage by resisting Yang and Mo and banishing their licentious words. Those who espouse deviant views must be prevented from putting them into effect, for what is effected in the mind causes harm in affairs, and what is implemented in affairs causes harm to government. If a sage should arise again, he would not change my words.

“In former times Yu controlled the waters of the deluge, and the world was at peace. The Duke of Zhou controlled the Yi and the Di and drove away the wild animals, and the people enjoyed repose. Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals, and rebellious ministers and violent sons were struck with terror. The ode says,

The Rong and the Di he attacked,

And Jing and Shu he punished,

So that none of them will dare to withstand us.²⁸

As the Duke of Zhou would have chastised those who denied fathers and rulers,²⁹ I, too, want to correct people’s minds, to stop deviant speech, to resist perverse actions, to banish licentious words,³⁰ and so to carry on the work of the three Sages. In what way am I fond of argument? I am compelled to do it. Whoever can resist Yang and Mo with words is a follower of the Sage.”

[3B10] Kuang Zhang31 said, “Surely Chen Zhongzi³² must be acknowledged to be a man of integrity and purity? When he lived in Wuling, he went for three days without eating and could no longer hear or see. Over a well there was a plum tree, its fruit more than half eaten by worms. He crawled to it and ate some of the fruit, and after he had swallowed three bites, hearing was restored to his ears and sight to his eyes.”

Mencius said, “Of the scholars of Qi, I must consider Zhongzi as the thumb among fingers, but how can he be considered pure? Only after having become an earthworm, which eats the dry earth above and drinks from the Yellow Springs below, could one begin to fulfill Zhongzi’s principles. Did a Boyi or a Robber Zhi build the house where Zhongzi dwells? Did a Boyi or a Robber Zhi plant the millet he eats? These are things we cannot know.”

“Of what consequence is this? He himself weaves sandals, and his wife spins hempen thread to exchange.”

“Zhongzi is from a prominent family of Qi. His older brother, Dai, received from Ge a stipend of ten thousand zhong, but he considered his brother’s emolument to be an unrighteous emolument and would not eat from it. He considered his brother’s house to be an unrighteous house and would not live in it. Shunning his brother and parting from his mother, he went to live in Wuling. One day when he returned, someone gave his brother a live goose. Frowning, he said, ‘What will you use that cackler for?’ The next day his mother killed the goose and gave it to him to eat. When his brother came in from outside and said, ‘This is the meat of that cackler,’ he went out and threw it up. What his mother gave him he would not eat, while what his wife gave him he would eat. He would not live in his brother’s house, but he would live in Wuling. Can this be considered fulfilling his principles in a consistent manner? Only if one were to become an earthworm could one begin to fulfill such principles as Zhongzi holds.”

Notes

1. Actually, a chi is one Chinese foot, and a xun is eight feet. The Record referred to here has not been identified.

2. A similar version of this story, recalled in a different context, is found in 5B7.

3. Ode 179 (Legge, Chinese Classics, 4:290).

4. Passages similar in content can be found in the Book of Rituals (Yili ).

5. According to Zhao Qi, he was a native of Wei (or Liang); he apparently lived during the reigns of Kings Hui and Huai.

6. This refers to a gift that had the quality of a ritual object to be presented at an initial interview as a sign of one’s sincerity. The text quoted is unknown.

7. Yang Bojun points out that there are parallels between what is contained in Mencius’s discussion of sacrifices and material found in the “Jitung,” “Quli,” and “Wangzhi” chapters of the Record of Rites and the Guliang zhuan, Duke Huan, fourteenth year, though these texts, which were apparently compiled after the time of Mencius, are unlikely to be the source of his quotations (Yang Bojun, Mengzi yizhu).

8. Here referring to the state of Wei (or Liang).

9. According to Zhao Qi, he was a disciple of Mencius’s.

10. Wan Zhang has been considered to be Mencius’s most outstanding disciple.

11. See “The Announcement of Zhong-hui,” Classic of Documents, in Legge, Chinese Classics, 3:180.

12. That is, the parents of the murdered boy.

13. Probably quoting from a lost chapter of the Classic of Documents.

14. “Taijia,” part 2, Classic of Documents, in Legge, Chinese Classics, 3:208.

15. Commentators and translators disagree about the meaning of You in this context. I take You to be a feudal state in the east during the late Shang period. D. C. Lau also follows this interpretation (trans., Mencius [London: Penguin, 1970], 110). See also David S. Nivison, “On Translating Mencius,” in The Ways of Confucianism: Investigations in Chinese Philosophy, ed. Bryan W. Van Norden (La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1996), 189–90.

16. The language of this passage is close to, though not identical with, language in the “Completion of the War” (Wu cheng) chapter of the Classic of Documents; see Legge, Chinese Classics, 3:313–14. My translation largely follows Yang Bojun. For a different interpretation, see Legge.

17. “The Great Declaration,” part 2, Classic of Documents, in Legge, Chinese Classics, 3:293. The speaker here is King Wu, “the martial king” and founder of the Zhou dynasty.

18. Dai was a minister of the state of Song.

19. Commentators indicate that Zhuang was the name of a street in the Qi capital, while Yue was a neighborhood.

20. Compare with the question raised by Chen Dai at the opening of 3B1.

21. A worthy of the state of Wei, he lived in the time of Lord Wen (ca. 446–397 B.C.E.). His vaulting the wall was apparently intended to spare his lord from displaying excessive deference toward Duan.

22. A high officer of the state of Song.

23. The phrase quoted by Mencius is a slight variant of a statement by the sage-king Shun in the “Counsels of the Great Yu” of the Classic of Documents. See Legge, Chinese Classics, 3:60.

24. Nefarious minister of the tyrant Zhou.

25. From the “Jun-ya” section of the Classic of Documents; translation adapted from Legge, Chinese Classics, 3:581.

26. The term translated as “impartial care” is jian ai . I follow A. C. Graham’s interpretation rather than rendering it as the more familiar “universal love.” Graham argues that Mo Zi’s ai suggests less warmth than the English word “love.” Jian suggests “collaboration” and “inclusiveness” more than universality (Disputers of the Tao [La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1989], 41–43). See also 7A26 and 7B26.

27. See also 1A4, where Mencius himself makes this statement without attribution. For Gongming Yi, see 3A1.

28. Ode 300. Translation adapted from Legge, Chinese Classics, 4:626. See Mencius 3A4

29. Mencius likens the followers of Yang Zhu and Mo Zi to modern-day “barbarians.”

30. Compare with what Mencius says in 2A2 about distorted, licentious, deviant, and evasive words.

31. A Qi general during the reigns of Kings Wei and Xuan.

32. Chen Zhongzi, also known as Tian Zhong, appears in several sources, including the “Nothing Indecorous” and “Contra Twelve Philosophers” chapters of the Xunzi. He was a relative of the king of Qi and apparently a follower of Xu Xing. As Kuang Zhang’s comment suggests, Chen had a reputation for integrity and purity, insisting on growing all his own food and refusing to attend at the courts of rulers he considered corrupt. Mencius seems to have found his fixation on personal purity excessive and perhaps even hypocritical. See also 7A34.