1 Mencius said: “Emperor Shun was a barbarian from the east: he was born in Chu Feng, moved to Fu Hsia, and finally died in Ming T’iao. Emperor Wen was a barbarian from the west: he was born in Ch’i Chou and died in Pi Ying. They lived more than a thousand miles and a thousand years apart – but putting their principles into practice throughout the Middle Kingdom, they were like the matching halves of a jade seal. The first was a sage, and the second was a sage: their thoughts were identical.”
2 Even though he was prime minister in Cheng, Lord Ch’an1 ferried people across the Chen and Wei himself.
“He was certainly kind,” said Mencius, “but he didn’t know how to govern. If he’d built footbridges every year in the tenth month and cart bridges every year in the eleventh month, the people could have avoided the ordeal of fording rivers. In governing, the noble-minded clear their way of people. How can they help people across rivers one by one? It’s impossible to govern by making people happy one at a time: there aren’t enough hours in the day.”
3 Mencius said to Emperor Hsüan of Ch’i: “If a sovereign treats the people like his hands and feet, they’ll treat him like their stomach and heart. If a sovereign treats the people like his dogs and horses, they’ll treat him like a commoner. If a sovereign treats the people like weeds and dirt, they’ll treat him like an enemy bandit.”
“According to Ritual,” said the emperor, “ministers wear mourning clothes when they leave the service of a sovereign. What must an emperor do so that his officials feel that way?”
“Act on their admonitions and listen to their words,” replied Mencius, “so blessings rain down on the people. When a minister must travel, send people to escort him across the border and send emissaries ahead wherever he goes to prepare the way. Then give him three years to return before you seize his house and fields. These are called the three Ritual courtesies. If you follow them, your ministers will wear mourning clothes when they leave your service.
“These days a sovereign never acts on a minister’s admonitions or listens to his words, and so blessings don’t rain down on the people. If a minister must travel, the sovereign arrests him or makes things difficult for him wherever he goes. And the day the minister leaves, the sovereign takes back his house and fields. This is called being an enemy bandit. And why would anyone wear mourning clothes when leaving an enemy bandit?”
4 Mencius said: “When scholars are put to death for no reason, high ministers should resign their office and leave. When the people are slaughtered for no reason, scholars should resign their office and move away.”
5 Mencius said: “When the sovereign is Humane, everyone is Humane. When the sovereign is Dutiful, everyone is Dutiful.”
6 Mencius said: “Ritual empty of Ritual, Duty empty of Duty – great people never practice such things.”
7 Mencius said: “Let the realized nurture the unrealized and the talented nurture the untalented, then people will rejoice in having worthy fathers and elders. If the realized abandon the unrealized and the talented abandon the untalented, there won’t be the least difference between the worthy and the debased.”
8 Mencius said: “Once there are things you refuse to do, you have things to do.”
9 Mencius said: “When you speak of the virtues another lacks, think of the trials you may yet endure.”
10 Mencius said: “Confucius was not a man of extremes.”
11 Mencius said: “Great people’s words need not be sincere, nor their actions fruitful. They need only abide in Duty.”
12 Mencius said: “Great people never lose their child’s heart.”
13 Mencius said: “To nurture the living is not such a great thing. But to nurture them dead and gone – that is a great thing.”
14 Mencius said: “To fathom great depths, the noble-minded realize themselves in the Way. Once they realize themselves in the Way, they dwell at ease in it. Once they dwell at ease in it, they trust themselves to it deeply. And once they trust themselves to it deeply, they find its origins all around them. This is why the noble-minded realize themselves in the Way.”
15 Mencius said: “Make your learning abundant and speak of it with precision, then you will speak of essentials.”
16 Mencius said: “If you use virtue to subdue others, you’ll never subdue anyone. But if you use virtue to nurture others, you’ll soon nurture all beneath Heaven. No one is emperor over all beneath Heaven unless it submits with subdued heart.”
17 Mencius said: “Words that defy reality are ominous. And it’s ominous reality that confronts those who would obscure the wise and worthy.”
18 Master Hsü said: “Confucius often praised water, chanting O water! O water! Why was it water that he praised?”
“Springs well up into streams,” replied Mencius, “and cascade steadily down night and day, filling every hollow before flowing on to the four seas. Those rooted in a source are like this. That’s why Confucius praised water.
“Those not rooted in a source are like water gathering during the autumn rains: ditches and gutters are quickly flooded, but they’re always dry again in no time. So it is that renown beyond what they deserve makes the noble-minded uneasy.”
19 Mencius said: “The difference between people and animals is slight indeed. Most people blur that difference: it’s the noble-minded that preserve it.
“Shun understood the commonplace and looked deeply into human community. He never put Humanity and Duty into action, for Humanity and Duty were always there in his actions.”
20 Mencius said: “Yü hated fine wine but loved good advice. T’ang kept to the middle way and didn’t need rules when appointing worthy officials. Emperor Wen cared for the people as if they were invalids and gazed toward the Way as if he’d never seen it. Emperor Wu never slighted intimates and never forgot those far away.
“Duke Chou hoped to combine the methods of these dynastic founders in his rule. When he encountered some difficulty or contradiction, he turned to them and sat through the night deep in thought. If he was lucky enough to resolve the question, he would sit and await the dawn.”
21 Mencius said: “When all trace of the sage emperors had vanished, the Songs were no longer gathered from the people.2 After they stopped gathering the Songs, the Spring and Autumn was written.
“Such chronicles are all the same: for Chin the Annals, for Ch’u the Wooden Tiger and for Lu there is the Spring and Autumn Annals. It tells of such figures as Duke Huan of Ch’i and Duke Wen of Chin, and it’s written in the historical style. Of it, Confucius said: I’ve stolen all its lofty principles.”
22 Mencius said: “The influence of someone noble-minded lasts five generations, and the influence of someone small-minded also lasts five generations. I was never a disciple of Confucius: I’m schooled in the clarity he passed on to others.”
23 Mencius said: “When you can choose to take or not take, taking offends humility. When you can choose to give or not give, giving offends generosity. When you can choose to die or not die, dying offends courage.”
24 P’eng Meng studied archery under Yi. Once he had mastered Yi’s Way, he thought Yi was the only archer in all beneath Heaven better than he. So he killed Yi.
“Yi was himself to blame for this,” commented Mencius. “Kung-ming Yi said that Yi seemed blameless, but meant only that his blame was slight. How could he be completely blameless?
“Cheng once sent Master Cho Ju to invade Wei, and Wei sent Yü-kung Szu in pursuit. Master Cho Ju said: I’m too sick: I can’t pick up my bow. Today I’ll die. Then he asked his driver: Who’s coming in pursuit?
“Yü-kung Szu, replied the driver.
“Then today I’ll live.
“But Yü-kung Szu is Wei’s finest archer. Why do you say you’ll live? asked the driver.
“Yü-kung Szu studied archery under Yin-kung T’o, replied Master Cho Ju, and Yin-kung T’o studied under me. Yin-kung T’o is a man of great dignity, and so only chooses friends of great dignity.
“Yü-kung Szu arrived and said Why isn’t your bow at the ready, Master?
“I’m too sick: I can’t pick up my bow.
“I studied archery under Yin-kung T’o, and Yin-kung T’o studied under you. How could I turn your own Way against you, Master? Still, I am here on my sovereign’s business and dare not forsake it.
“Drawing four arrows, he struck them against the wheel of his chariot, breaking off their tips, then shot them into the air. Whereupon he turned and left.”
25 Mencius said: “If the beautiful Lady Hsi wore filthy clothes, people would have held their noses and hurried past her. So it is that a man deformed by his depravity can fast and bathe himself so pure he’s fit to perform sacrifices to the Celestial Lord.”
26 Mencius said: “It’s simple: To say anything about the nature of things, you must attend to the facts, facts in their original form. The trouble with knowledge is that it keeps chiseling things away. If intellectuals were like Yü draining floodwater into the sea, there’d be nothing wrong with knowing. Yü succeeded by letting water have its way, and if intellectuals just let things have their way, knowing would be great indeed.
“Heaven is high and the stars distant – but if you attend to the facts, you can calculate solstice for a thousand years without ever leaving your seat.”
27 Lord Kung-hang’s son had died. When Wang Huan arrived to offer his condolences, people hurried over to speak with him. And when he took his place as Counselor on the Right, others hurried over to speak with him. Seeing that Mencius made no attempt to speak with him, Wang Huan felt insulted and said: “Everyone here has had some words for me. Only Mencius has failed to do me that courtesy.”
When Mencius heard about this, he said: “According to Ritual, you don’t leave your position at court to speak with others, and you don’t break ranks to bow to others. I was only observing Ritual. Isn’t it strange Wang would consider that an insult?”
28 Mencius said: “What makes the noble-minded different is that they keep their hearts whole. And to do that, they depend on Humanity and Ritual. Those who practice Humanity love people, and those who observe Ritual honor people. If you love people that way, people will always love you faithfully. And if you honor people that way, people will always honor you faithfully.
“Now suppose someone is treating me poorly. If I’m noble-minded I’ll turn to myself, thinking I must be neglecting Humanity. I must be ignoring Ritual. Otherwise, how could such a thing happen? If I turn to myself and find that I am acting Humane and observing Ritual, but the poor treatment continues, I turn to myself again, thinking I must be lacking in devotion. If I turn to myself and find that I am indeed devoted, but the poor treatment still continues, I say: This person is savage, absolutely savage: no different from an animal! Why should I keep troubling myself over such a creature?
“This is how the noble-minded worry their whole lives through, and so never know unexpected disaster. They may have worries, but only worries like this: Shun was a person, and I too am a person. Shun was an exemplar for all beneath Heaven, worthy to guide future generations, but I’m still nothing more than a common villager. And that’s a worthwhile worry, for what can you do about such worries? It’s simple: be like Shun.
“The noble-minded never know disaster. If it isn’t Humane, they don’t do it. If it isn’t according to Ritual, they don’t do it. Therefore, an unexpected disaster is no disaster for the noble-minded.”
29 In times of sage rule, Yü and Hou Chi passed by their own gates three times without entering.3 Confucius called them wise and worthy. In evil times, Yen Hui lived in a meager lane with nothing but some rice in a split-bamboo bowl and some water in a gourd cup. No one else could bear such misery. But it didn’t even bother Hui. His joy never wavered. Confucius also called him wise and worthy.4
Mencius said: “Yü, Hou Chi, Yen Hui – they all practiced the same Way. If anyone in all beneath Heaven drowned, Yü felt as if he himself had drowned them. If anyone in all beneath Heaven starved, Hou Chi felt as if he himself had starved them. And so they worked with fierce devotion. If the three of them had traded places, they would each have done as the other did.
“These days, if someone in your house gets in a fight, it’s fine to rush out and rescue them with your hair hanging loose and your cap untied. But if it’s someone from your village that’s fighting, then it’s wrong. In fact, it’s perfectly fine if you just bolt your door and ignore it.”
30 Adept Kung-tu said: “People all through the country talk about how poor a son K’uang Chang was. But you not only befriend him, Master, you treat him with gracious respect. How can that be?”
“It’s common now for people to say there are five ways to be unfilial,” replied Mencius. “Neglecting the care of parents because you’re lazy – that is the first. Neglecting the care of parents because you love wine and go – that is the second. Neglecting the care of parents because you love wealth and adore wife and children – that is the third. Disgracing parents because you can’t resist beautiful sights and sounds – that is the fourth. Endangering parents because you love valor and conflict – that is the fifth. Does Chang do any of these things?
“Chang and his father had a falling out because they tried to reform each other. Between friends, reform is fine. But between fathers and sons, it’s a great destroyer of love. Don’t you think Chang longed for the affections of husband and wife, child and mother? Once his father was offended, he wouldn’t let Chang come near him. That’s why Chang sent his wife away, banished his children, and lived his whole life without their loving care. He was convinced that his offense would be even greater if he didn’t do that. That’s the kind of man K’uang Chang is.”
31 Master Tseng was living in Wu Ch’eng when some bandits from Yüeh invaded. Someone cried out: “Bandits are coming! Run!”
“Don’t let anyone stay in my house or harm the gardens,” Tseng commanded his housekeeper. Then, when the bandits left, he sent word: “Get the house ready. I’ll be back soon.”
Once the bandits had left and Tseng returned, his disciples said: “The Master has been treated with such sincerity and honor here. But when the bandits came, he ran first for all the people to see, and then returned only after the bandits had left. Doesn’t that seem wrong?”
“Understanding such things is beyond you,” said Shen-yu Hsing. “I once had trouble with people stealing hay, but it didn’t involve any of the master’s seventy followers.”
Master Szu was living in Wei when some bandits from Ch’i invaded. Someone cried out: “Bandits are coming! Run!”
“If I run,” replied Master Szu, “who’ll help our sovereign defend the country?”
Of these things, Mencius said: “Master Tseng and Master Szu – they both practiced the same Way. Master Tseng was a teacher and elder; Master Szu was a common citizen of no importance. If the two of them had traded places, they would each have done as the other did.”
32 Lord Ch’u said: “The emperor sent spies to see if you’re really different from other people.”
“How would I be different from other people?” exclaimed Mencius. “Even Yao and Shun were just like everyone else.”
33 There was a man in Ch’i who lived with his wife and mistress. When he went out, he always came home stuffed with wine and meat. One day his wife asked who his companions were, and he told her they were all men of wealth and renown. So she said to the mistress: “When he goes out, he always comes home stuffed with wine and meat. I ask who his companions are, and he says they’re all men of wealth and renown. But we’ve never had such illustrious guests here in our house. I’m going to follow him and see where he goes.”
She rose early the next morning and followed him everywhere he went. But no one in all the city even stopped to talk with him. Finally he went out to the graveyard east of the city, and there begged leftovers from someone performing sacrifices. He didn’t get enough, so he went to beg from someone at another grave. That’s how he stuffed himself full.
The wife returned home and told the mistress what she’d seen, then said: “A woman looks to her husband for direction and hope throughout life, and this is what ours is like.” Together they railed against their husband and wept in the courtyard. Later, knowing nothing of this, the husband came swaggering in to impress his women.
In the eyes of the noble-minded, when a man chases after wealth and renown, profit and position, it is rare that his women aren’t disgraced and driven to tears.