1 Mencius said: “Even with the sharp eyes of Li Lou and the skill of Master Kung-shu, you need a compass and square to render circles and squares true. Even with the penetrating ear of Maestro K’uang, you need the six pitch-pipes to tune the five notes true. And even with the Way of emperors Yao and Shun mastered, you need Humane government to govern all beneath Heaven in justice.
“There may be rulers today renowned for their Humanity, but they’re neither blessings to the people nor beacons to future generations, for they aren’t furthering the Way of ancient emperors. Hence it is said:
Virtue alone isn’t enough for government,
and law cannot alone put itself into action.
And the Songs say:
Never transgress and never forget:
always abide in the ancient rules.
Has anyone ever erred by honoring the laws of ancient emperors?
“Having reached the limits of sight trying to render round and square, level and straight, the sage turns to compass and square. You can depend on them always. Having reached the limits of hearing trying to tune the five notes true, the sage turns to the six pitch-pipes. You can depend on them always. And having reached the limits of mind trying to let Humanity shelter all beneath Heaven, the sage turns to government that never oppresses the people. Hence it is said:
If you want to go high, begin atop hills and mounds.
If you want to go deep, begin among rivers and marshes.
So if you want to govern and don’t begin with the Way of ancient emperors, how can you be called wise?
“That’s why only the Humane are fit for high position: if the Inhumane hold high position, evil is sown among the people. When the Way isn’t in a leader’s thoughts, officials stop fostering the law. When the court doesn’t trust the Way, workers don’t trust principles. And when a ruler ignores Duty, the people ignore regulations. In such times, a nation survives on luck alone.
“Hence it is said:
If city walls are unfinished and weapons scarce, it doesn’t spell disaster for the nation. If people aren’t plowing new fields or piling up wealth, it doesn’t spell ruin for the nation. But if a leader ignores Ritual and officials ignore learning, the people turn to banditry and rebellion, and the nation crumbles in less than a day.
And the Songs say:
Heaven is dark with menace –
stop this idle drift and chatter.
Idle drift and chatter means chitchat doing nothing. To ignore Duty in serving the ruler, to ignore Ritual in taking office and renouncing office, to deny the Way of ancient emperors in your speech – that is chitchat doing nothing.
“Hence it is said:
To expect impossible achievements from a ruler – that is called honoring him. To open up his virtue and seal up his depravity – that is called revering him. But to excuse him as incapable of something – that is called plundering him.”
2 Mencius said: “The final perfection of circle and square is the compass and square. And the final perfection of human community is the sage. If you want to be a ruler, you must enact the Way of a ruler fully. If you want to be a minister, you must enact the Way of a minister fully. In either case, simply take Yao and Shun as your standard and you’ll succeed. Unless a minister serves his sovereign the way Shun served Yao, he’ll fail to revere his sovereign. And unless a ruler governs his people the way Yao governed his people, he’ll do nothing more than plunder them.
“Confucius said:
There are two Ways: Humanity and Inhumanity. It’s that simple. If a ruler tyrannizes his people ruthlessly, he will be killed and his nation destroyed. If he’s less than ruthless in his tyranny, his life will be in danger and his nation pared away. Such rulers are given names like The Dark and The Cruel. And such curses are never changed, not even by a hundred generations of the most devoted sons and caring grandsons.
“This is what the Songs are talking about when they say:
A warning to the Shang isn’t far off:
it’s the last Hsia tyrant’s overthrow.”
3 Mencius said: “When the Three Dynasties1 practiced Humanity, they possessed all beneath Heaven. When they practiced Inhumanity, they lost all beneath Heaven. And when the nations of our time rise and fall, persist and perish – it’s no different.
“When the Son of Heaven practices Inhumanity, he cannot preserve all within the four seas. When the august lords practice Inhumanity, they cannot preserve the gods of soil and grain. When high counselors and ministers practice Inhumanity, they cannot preserve the ancestral temples. When officials and common people practice Inhumanity, they cannot preserve their own four limbs.
“To dread death and yet love Inhumanity – that is like dreading drunkenness and yet insisting on wine.”
4 Mencius said: “If you try to love people but they keep distant, turn back to your Humanity. If you try to govern people but they resist, turn back to your wisdom. If you try to honor people but they don’t reciprocate, turn back to your reverence.
“When you attempt something and fail, always turn back to yourself for the reason. Rectify yourself, and all beneath Heaven will return home to you. The Songs say:
Always worthy of Heaven’s Mandate,
he found great prosperity in himself.”
5 Mencius said: “There is a saying the people keep repeating:
All beneath Heaven: nation: family.
All beneath Heaven is rooted in nation. Nation is rooted in family. And family is rooted in self.”
6 Mencius said: “To govern isn’t difficult: Just don’t offend the great families. Whoever the great families admire, the nation will admire. Whoever the nation admires, all beneath Heaven will admire. And so your Integrity and teaching will flood all within the four seas.”
7 Mencius said: “When all beneath Heaven abides in the Way, small Integrity serves great Integrity, and small wisdom serves great wisdom. When all beneath Heaven ignores the Way, small serves large, and weak serves strong. Either way, Heaven issues it forth – and those who abide by Heaven endure, while those who defy Heaven perish.
“Duke Ching of Ch’i said: We cannot give commands and we refuse to accept them – that is to be cut off from others and doomed. And so in tears he gave his daughter to Wu as a bride.
“Now, even though small countries take large countries as their teachers in ruthlessness, they’re too proud to submit to them. This is like disciples refusing to submit to their teachers. If you’re proud, there’s nothing like taking Emperor Wen as your teacher. Whoever takes Wen as his teacher will soon govern all beneath Heaven: if he begins with a large country, it will take only five years; and if he begins with a small country, it will take only seven.
“The Songs say:
The sons and grandsons of Shang
numbered over a hundred thousand.
But the Celestial Lord mandated it,
so they succumbed to Emperor Wen,
to Emperor Wen they succumbed.
Heaven’s mandate is not forever:
Shang officials sure and bright
now pour libations in our temples.
And of this, Confucius said:
There’s no outnumbering Humanity. If the ruler of a nation loves Humanity, no enemy in all beneath Heaven can stand against him.
Now, even though they want no enemy in all beneath Heaven to stand against them, rulers refuse to practice Humanity. This is like clutching hot metal without dousing it in water.
And who can clutch hot metal
without dousing it in water?
say the Songs.”
8 Mencius said: “You can’t talk sense to the Inhumane. They find repose in risk, profit in disaster, and joy in what will destroy them. If you could talk sense to them, would there be ruined countries and ravaged houses?
“A child once sang:
When the Ts’ang-lang flows clear
I rinse my hat strings clean.
When the Ts’ang-lang flows muddy
I rinse my feet clean.2
And of this, Confucius said:
Listen well, my little ones. When clear it rinses hat strings clean, and when muddy it rinses feet clean. The choice is its own.
And so, only after a person has demeaned himself will others demean him. Only after a great family has destroyed itself will others destroy it. And only after a country has torn itself down will others tear it down. The “T’ai Chia” says:
Ruin from Heaven
we can weather.
we never survive.
That says it exactly.”
9 Mencius said: “The tyrants Chieh and Chou lost the people – that’s why they lost all beneath Heaven. And it was in losing the people’s hearts that they lost the people.
“The way to win over all beneath Heaven is to win over the people. The way to win over the people is to win over the people’s hearts. And the way to win over the people’s hearts is to surround them with what they want and keep them clear of what they hate.
“The people return to Humanity like water flowing downhill or animals heading into the wilds. Driving fish into them, otters serve deep waters; driving sparrows into them, kestrels serve thickets. And driving the people to them, the tyrants Chieh and Chou likewise served T’ang and Wu. If there were today a single ruler in all beneath Heaven who loved Humanity, the august lords would all serve him by driving the people to him. He may not want to be emperor, but how could he avoid it?
“Those who want to be emperor are like people who start searching for three-year-old moxa, hoping to cure a seven-year-old illness. If they haven’t stored it away in advance, they’ll have to suffer without it. It’s like that with Humanity – if you haven’t devoted yourself to it, you’ll be hounded by worry and shame until you’re finally caught in death’s snare. The Songs say:
You’ll never save this world,
just sink into ruin together.
That says it exactly.”
10 Mencius said: “You can’t talk sense to the reckless, and you can’t help the suicidal. To refuse Ritual and Duty when you speak – that is called reckless. To believe you cannot dwell in Humanity or abide in Duty – that is called suicidal. Humanity is our tranquil home, and Duty our sure path. And how could anyone leave a tranquil home empty or a sure path untraveled?”
11 Mencius said: “The Way is close at hand but sought far off. Essentials are easy but sought in the difficult.
“If people all treated family as family and elders as elders, all beneath Heaven would be at peace.”
12 Mencius said: “If a common official cannot inspire a sovereign’s trust, he’ll never win over the people and govern them. But there’s a Way to inspire a sovereign’s trust. If you can’t inspire trust in your friends, you’ll never inspire trust in your sovereign. But there’s a Way to inspire trust in your friends. If in serving your family you can’t bring them joy, you’ll never inspire trust in your friends. There’s a Way to bring joy to your family. If you look within and find you aren’t faithful to yourself, you’ll never please your family. But there’s a Way to be faithful to yourself. If you cannot render benevolence clear in the world, you’ll never be faithful to yourself.
“Hence, the Way of Heaven is in faithful things, and the Way of humankind is in faithful thought. If you’re faithful to yourself, you cannot fail to inspire others. And if you aren’t faithful to yourself, you’ll never inspire others.”
13 Mencius said: “Po Yi fled the tyrant Chou and settled on the shores of the North Sea. On hearing that Emperor Wen had come to power, he said I hear Wen takes good care of the old, so why not go back and serve him? Duke T’ai3 fled the tyrant Chou and settled on the shores of the West Sea. On hearing that Emperor Wen had come to power, he said I hear Wen takes good care of the old, so why not go back and serve him?
“These two were the grandest old men in all beneath Heaven. When they returned to him, they were the fathers of all beneath Heaven returning. And when the fathers of all beneath Heaven return to him, where else would the children go? Now if one of our august lords governed the way Emperor Wen did, it wouldn’t even be seven years before he governed all beneath Heaven.”
14 Mencius said: “When Jan Ch’iu4 was governor for the Chi family, he wasn’t able to raise their Integrity the least bit. Meanwhile, he managed to double the tax people had to pay. So Confucius said: He’s no follower of mine. If you sounded the drums and attacked him, my little ones, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
“It’s clear from this that Confucius deplored anyone enriching a ruler who didn’t practice Humane government. And he deplored even more those who waged war for such a ruler. In wars for land, the dead crowd the countryside. In wars for cities, the dead fill the cities. This is called helping the land feed on human flesh. Death is not punishment enough for such acts.
“Hence, those who excel at war should receive the highest punishment. Next come those who form the august lords into alliances. And finally those who open up wild land hoping to increase profits.”
15 Mencius said: “Nothing reflects the person so well as the eyes. The eyes won’t hide the evil in a person. If a person’s heart is noble, their eyes are bright and clear. If it is not, their eyes are dark and cloudy. To hear a person’s words, look into their eyes – then they can hide nothing.”
16 Mencius said: “The dignified never demean others. The thrifty never rob others. A ruler who demeans and robs others can only worry that the people might turn on him – so how can he be dignified or thrifty? Sweet words and smiling faces – how can that make them dignified or thrifty?”
17 Ch’un-yü K’un5 said: “When men and women give and receive, is it a violation of Ritual for them to touch?”
“It is,” replied Mencius.
“If your sister-in-law was drowning, would you reach out your hand to rescue her?”
“If a sister-in-law was drowning, it would be vicious not to rescue her. When men and women give and receive, it’s a violation of Ritual for them to touch. But reaching out your hand to rescue a drowning sister-in-law – it’s the only choice you have.”
“All beneath Heaven is drowning,” continued Ch’un-yü K’un. “Why don’t you reach out and rescue it?”
“To rescue all beneath Heaven from drowning, you need the Way. To rescue a sister-in-law, you need only a hand. Do you think a hand is enough to rescue all beneath Heaven?”
18 Kung-sun Ch’ou said: “Why is it the noble-minded never teach their own children?”
“The way people are, it’s impossible,” replied Mencius. “A teacher’s task is to perfect the student, and if the student doesn’t improve, the teacher gets angry. When the teacher gets angry, the student in turn feels hurt: You demand perfection, but you’re nowhere near perfect yourself. So father and son would only hurt each other. And it’s a tragedy when fathers and sons hurt each other.
“The ancients taught each other’s children. That way father and son never demand perfect virtue of one another. If they demand perfect virtue of one another, they grow distant. And nothing is more ominous than fathers and sons grown distant from one another.”
19 Mencius said: “Isn’t family the most important thing to serve? And isn’t character the most important thing to preserve? I’ve heard of refusing to squander your character in order to serve your family. But I’ve never heard of squandering your character in order to serve your family.
“There’s no end to what we should serve, but serving family is the basis of all service. And there’s no end to what we should preserve, but preserving character is the basis of all preservation.
“When Master Tseng was caring for his father, he always served wine and meat. When he cleared the table, he always asked who the food should be given to. And when his father asked if there were leftovers, he always said there were. His father died, and eventually Master Tseng was cared for by his son, Tseng Yüan. Tseng Yüan also served wine and meat, but when he cleared the table he never asked who the food should be given to. And when his father asked if there were leftovers, he always said there were none so that he could serve the food again. This is called caring for mouth and body alone. But Master Tseng’s way is called caring for the essence. In serving family, Master Tseng should be your model.”
20 Mencius said: “Admonitions aren’t enough for them, and accusations aren’t enough for their government. It takes a great man indeed to rectify the depravity in a sovereign’s heart.
“When the sovereign is Humane, everyone is Humane. When the sovereign is Dutiful, everyone is Dutiful. And when the sovereign is principled, everyone is principled. Give it a principled sovereign and the nation is secure.”
21 Mencius said: “There is the praise of those who demand little, and the derision of those who demand everything.”
22 Mencius said: “Talk is easy when you don’t have to get the job done.”
23 Mencius said: “The trouble with people is that they fancy themselves great teachers.”
24 Adept Yüeh-cheng went with Governor Wang Huan to Ch’i, and there he went to visit Mencius.
“So you’ve come to see me too?” wondered Mencius.
“Why do you ask that, Master?” replied Yüeh-cheng.
“How long have you been here?”
“I arrived yesterday.”
“So is it surprising that I ask such a question?”
“But I haven’t even found a place to stay yet.”
“Is that what you’ve been taught – that you only visit your elders after finding a place to stay?”
“Yes, it was wrong of me,” admitted Yüeh-cheng.
25 Mencius said to Adept Yüeh-cheng: “You’ve come with Wang Huan just to savor a little food and wine. All your studies of the ancient Way, and for what? A little food and wine?”
26 Mencius said: “There are three ways you can fail to honor your parents, and the worst is to have no heir. Shun married without telling his parents because he was afraid that he might have no heir. For the noble-minded, this is no different than telling them.”
27 Mencius said: “The substance of Humanity is nothing other than serving your family, and the substance of Duty nothing other than obeying your elders. The substance of wisdom is to understand these two things and cleave to them always. The substance of Ritual is to shape and embellish these two things. And the substance of music is to infuse these two things with joy. Once joy wells up, how can it be stopped? And if joy can’t be stopped, hands and feet soon strike up a dance of their own.”
28 Mencius said: “Imagine all beneath Heaven turning to you with great delight. Now imagine seeing that happen and knowing it means nothing more than a wisp of straw: only Shun was capable of that.
“He knew that if you don’t realize your parents you aren’t a person, and that if you don’t lead your parents to share your wisdom you aren’t a child. He fulfilled the Way of serving parents completely until Blind Purblind, his depraved father, finally rejoiced in virtue. Once his father rejoiced in virtue, all beneath Heaven was transformed. Once his father rejoiced in virtue, the model for fathers and sons was set for all beneath Heaven. Such is the greatness of honoring parents.”