The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface.
• Prolegomena.
• Chapter I.: Of the Works of Mencius.
• Section I.: Their Recognition Under the Han Dynasty, and Before It.
• Section II.: Chaou K‘e and His Labours Upon Mencius.
• Section III.: Other Commentators.
• Section IV.: Integrity; Authorship; and Reception Among the Classical Books.
• Chapter II.: Mencius and His Opinions.
• Section I.: Life of Mencius.
• Section II.: His Influence and Opinions.
• Appendix.
• I.: That the Nature Is Evil.
• II.: An Examination of the Nature of Man.
• Chapter III.: Of Yang Choo and Mih Teih.
• Section I.: The Opinions of Yang Choo.
• Section II.: The Opinions of Mih Teih.
• Universal Love. Part I.
• Universal Love. Part II.
• Universal Love. Part III.
• The Works of Mencius. *
• Book I. **
• King Hwuy of LËang. Part I.
• King Hwuy of Leang. Part II.
• Book II. *
• Kung-sun Ch‘ow. Part I.
• Kung-sun Ch‘ow. Part II.
• Book III. *
• T‘Ăng WĂn Kung. Part I.
• T‘Ăng WĂn Kung. Part II.
• Book IV.
• Le Low. Part I.
• Le Low. Part II.
• Book V. *
• Wan Chang. Part I.
• Wan Chang. Part II.
• Book VI. *
• Kaou-tsze. Part I.
• Kaou-tsze. Part II.
• Book VII. *
• Tsin Sin. Part I.
• Tsin Sin. Part II.

BOOK I.**

KING HWUY OF LËANG. PART I.

ChapterI.1. Mencius [went to] see king Hwuy of Leang.

2. The king said, “Venerable Sir, since you have not counted it far to come here, a distance of a thousand le, may I presume that you are likewise provided with [counsels] to profit my kingdom?”

3. Mencius replied, “Why must your Majesty use that word ‘profit’? What I am likewise provided with are [counsels to] benevolence and righteousness; and these are my only topics.

4. “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 take the profit the one from the other, and the kingdom will be endangered. In the kingdom of ten thousand chariots, the murderer of his ruler will be [the chief of] a family of a thousand chariots. In the State of a thousand chariots, the murderer of his ruler will 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 regarded as not a large allowance; but if righteousness be put last and profit first, they will not be satisfied without snatching all.

5. “There never was a man trained to benevolence who neglected his parents. There never was a man trained to righteousness who made his ruler an after-consideration.

6. “Let your Majesty likewise make benevolence and righteousness your only themes;—why must you speak of profit?”

II.1. When Mencius [another day] was seeing king Hwuy of Lëang, the king [went and] stood [with him] by a pond, and, looking round on the wild geese and deer, large and small, said, “Do wise and good [princes] also take pleasure in these things?”

2. Mencius replied, “Being wise and good, they then have pleasure in these things. If they are not wise and good, though they have these things, they do not find pleasure.

3. “It is said in the Book of Poetry:—

• ‘When he planned the commencement of the Marvellous tower,
• He planned it, and defined it,
• And the people in crowds undertook the work,
• And in no time completed it.
• When he planned the commencement, [he said], “Be not in a hurry;”
• But the people came as if they were his children.
• The king was in the Marvellous park,
• Where the does were lying down,—
• The does so sleek and fat;
• With the white birds glistening.
• The king was by the Marvellous pond;—
• How full was it of fishes leaping about!’

King Wăn used the strength of the people to make his tower and pond, and the people rejoiced [to do the work], calling the tower ‘the Marvellous tower,’ and the pond ‘the Marvellous pond,’ and being glad that he had his deer, his fishes, and turtles. The ancients caused their people to have pleasure as well as themselves, and therefore they could enjoy it.

4. “In the Declaration of T‘ang it is said, ‘O sun, when wilt thou expire? We will die together with thee.’ The people wished [for Këeh’s death, though] they should die with him. Although he had his tower, his pond, birds and animals, how could he have pleasure alone?”

III.1. King Hwuy of Lëang said, “Small as my virtue is, in [the government of] my kingdom, I do indeed exert my mind to the utmost. If the year be bad inside the Ho, I remove [as many of] the people [as] I can to the east of it, and convey grain to the country inside. If the year be bad on the east of the river, I act on the same plan. On examining the governmental methods of the neighbouring kingdoms, I do not find there is any [ruler] who exerts his mind as I do. And yet the people of the neighbouring kings do not decrease, nor do my people increase;—how is this?”

2. Mencius replied, “Your Majesty loves war; allow me to take an illustration from war. [The soldiers move forward at] the sound of the drum; and when the edges of their weapons have been crossed, [on one side] they throw away their buff-coats, trail their weapons behind them, and run. Some run a hundred paces and then stop; some run fifty paces and stop. What would you think if these, because [they had run but] fifty paces, should laugh at [those who ran] a hundred paces?” The king said, “They cannot do so. They only did not run a hundred paces; but they also ran.” [Mencius] said, “Since your Majesty knows this, you have no ground to expect that your people will become more numerous than those of the neighbouring kingdoms.

3. “If the seasons of husbandry be not interfered with, the grain will be more than can be eaten. If close nets are not allowed to enter the pools and ponds, the fish and turtles will be more than can be consumed. If the axes and bills enter the hill-forests [only] at the proper times, the wood will be more than can be used. When the grain and fish and turtles are more than can be eaten, and there is more wood than can be used, this enables the people to nourish their living and do all offices for their dead, without any feeling against any. [But] this condition, in which [the people] nourish their living, and do all offices to their dead without having any feeling against any, is the first step in the Royal way.

4. “Let mulberry-trees be planted about the homesteads with their five acres, and persons of fifty years will be able to wear silk. In keeping fowls, pigs, dogs, and swine, let not their times of breeding be neglected, and persons of seventy years will be able to eat flesh. Let there not be taken away the time that is proper for the cultivation of the field-allotment of a hundred acres, and the family of several mouths will not suffer from hunger. Let careful attention be paid to the teaching in the various schools, with repeated inculcation of the filial and fraternal duties, and gray-haired men will not be seen upon the roads, carrying burdens on their backs or on their heads. It has never been that [the ruler of a State] where these results were seen, persons of seventy wearing silk and eating flesh, and the black-haired people suffering neither from hunger nor cold, did not attain to the Royal dignity.

5. “Your dogs and swine eat the food of men, and you do not know to store up [of the abundance]. There are people dying from famine on the roads, and you do not know to issue [your stores for their relief]. When men die, you say, ‘It is not owing to me; it is owing to the year.’ In what does this differ from stabbing a man and killing him, and then saying, ‘It was not I; it was the weapon’? Let your Majesty cease to lay the blame on the year, and instantly the people, all under the sky, will come to you.”

IV.1. King Hwuy of Lëang said, “I wish quietly to receive your instructions.”

2. Mencius replied, “Is there any difference between killing a man with a stick and with a sword?” “There is no difference,” was the answer.

3. [Mencius continued,] “Is there any difference between doing it with a sword and with governmental measures?” “There is not,” was the answer [again].

4. [Mencius then] said, “In [your] stalls there are fat beasts; in [your] stables there are fat horses. [But] your people have the look of hunger, and in the fields there are those who have died of famine. This is leading on beasts to devour men.

5. “Beasts devour one another, and men hate them [for doing so]. When he who is [called] the parent of the people conducts his government so as to be chargeable with leading on beasts to devour men, where is that parental relation to the people?

6. “Chung-ne said, ‘Was he not without posterity who first made wooden images [to bury with the dead]?’ [So he said,] because that man made the semblances of men and used them [for that purpose];—what shall be thought of him who causes his people to die of hunger?”

V.1. King Hwuy of Lëang said, “There was not in the kingdom a stronger State than Ts‘in, as you, venerable Sir, know. But since it descended to me, on the east we were defeated by Ts‘e, and then my eldest son perished; on the west we lost seven hundred le of territory to Ts‘in; and on the south we have sustained disgrace at the hands of Ts‘oo. I have brought shame on my departed predecessors, and wish on their account to wipe it away once for all. What course is to be pursued to accomplish this?”

2. Mencius replied, “With a territory [only] a hundred le square it has been possible to obtain the Royal dignity.

3. “If your Majesty will [indeed] dispense a benevolent government to the people, being sparing in the use of punishments and fines, and making the taxes and levies of produce light, [so causing that] the fields shall be ploughed deep, and the weeding well attended to, and that the able-bodied, during their days of leisure, shall cultivate their filial piety, fraternal duty, faithfulness, and truth, serving thereby, at home, their fathers and elder brothers, and, abroad, their elders and superiors; you will then have a people who can be employed with sticks which they have prepared to oppose the strong buff-coats and sharp weapons of [the troops of] Ts‘in and Ts‘oo.

4. “[The rulers of] those [States] rob their people of their time, so that they cannot plough and weed their fields in order to support their parents. Parents suffer from cold and hunger; elder and younger brothers, wives and children, are separated and scattered abroad.

5. “Those [rulers] drive their people into pitfalls or into the water; and your Majesty will go to punish them. In such a case, who will oppose your Majesty?

6. “In accordance with this is the saying,—‘The benevolent has no enemy!’ I beg your Majesty not to doubt [what I said].”

VI.1. Mencius had an interview with king Sëang of Lëang.

2. When he came out, he said to some persons, “When I looked at him from a distance, he did not appear like a ruler; when I drew near to him, I saw nothing venerable about him. Abruptly he asked me, ‘How can the kingdom, all under the sky, be settled?’

2. “I replied, ‘It will be settled by being united under one [sway].’

3. “ ‘Who can so unite it?’ [he asked].

4. “I replied, ‘He who has no pleasure in killing men can so unite it.’

5. “ ‘Who can give it to him?’ [he asked].

6. “I replied, ‘All under heaven will give it to him. Does your Majesty know the way of the growing grain? During the seventh and eighth months, when drought prevails, the plants become dry. Then the clouds collect densely in the heavens, and send down torrents of rain, so that the grain erects itself as if by a shoot. When it does so, who can keep it back? Now among those who are shepherds of men throughout the kingdom, there is not one who does not find pleasure in killing men. If there were one who did not find pleasure in killing men, all the people under the sky would be looking towards him with outstretched necks. Such being indeed the case, the people would go to him as water flows downwards with a rush, which no one can repress.”

VII.1. King Seuen of Ts‘e asked, saying, “May I be informed by you of the transactions of Hwan of Ts‘e and Wăn of Tsin?”

2. Mencius replied, “There were none of the disciples of Chung-ne who spoke about the affairs of Hwan and Wăn, and therefore they have not been transmitted to [these] after-ages; your servant has not heard of them. If you will have me speak, let it be about [the principles of attaining to] the Royal sway.”

3. [The king] said, “Of what kind must his virtue be who can [attain to] the Royal sway?” [Mencius] said, “If he loves and protects the people, it is impossible to prevent him from attaining it.”

4. [The king] said, “Is such an one as poor I competent to love and protect the people?” “Yes,” was the reply. “From what do you know that I am competent to that?” “I have heard,” said [Mencius], “from Hoo Heih the following incident:—‘The king,’ said he, ‘was sitting aloft in the hall, when some people appeared leading a bull past below it. The king saw it, and asked where the bull was going, and being answered that they were going to consecrate a bell with its blood, he said, “Let it go, I cannot bear its frightened appearance as if it were an innocent person going to the place of death.” They asked in reply whether, if they did so, they should omit the consecration of the bell; but [the king] said, “How can that be omitted? Change it for a sheep.” ’ I do not know whether this incident occurred.”

5. “It did,” said [the king], and [Mencius] replied, “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 of the creature’s distress which made you do as you did].”

6. The king said, “You are right; and yet there really was [an appearance of] what the people imagined. [But] though Ts‘e be narrow and small, how should I grudge a bull? 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.”

7. Mencius said, “Let not your Majesty deem it strange that the people should think you grudged 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 any guilt to the place of death, what was there to choose between a bull and a sheep?” The king laughed and said, “What really was my mind in the matter? I did not grudge the value of the bull, and yet I changed it for a sheep! There was reason in the people’s saying that I grudged [the creature].”

8. [Mencius] said, “There is no harm [in their saying so]. It was an artifice of benevolence. You saw the bull, 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, and, having heard their [dying] cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh. On this account he keeps away from his stalls and kitchen.”

9. The king was pleased and said, “The Ode says,

• ‘What other men have in their minds,
• I can measure by reflection.’

This might be spoken of you, my Master. I indeed did the thing, but when I turned my thoughts inward and sought for it, I could not discover my own mind. When you, Master, spoke those words, the movements of compassion began to work in my mind. [But] how is it that this heart has in it what is equal to the attainment of the Royal sway?”

10. [Mencius] said, “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 [king’s] remark, [and Mencius proceeded], “Now here is kindness sufficient to reach to animals, and yet no benefits are extended from it to the people;—how is this? is an exception to be made here? The truth is, the feather’s not being lifted is because the strength was not used; the waggon-load of firewood’s not being seen is because the eyesight was not used; and the people’s not being loved and protected is because the kindness is not used. Therefore your Majesty’s not attaining to the Royal sway is because you do not do it, and not because you are not able to do it.”

11. [The king] asked, “How may the difference between him who does not do [a thing] and him who is not able to do it be graphically set forth?” [Mencius] replied, “In such a thing as taking the T‘ae mountain under your arm, and leaping with it over the North sea, 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,’ it is not a case of not being able to do it. And so your Majesty’s not attaining to the Royal sway is not such a case as that of taking the T‘ae mountain under your arm and leaping over the North sea with it; but it is a case like that of breaking off a branch from a tree.

12. “Treat with the reverence due to age the elders in your own family, so that those in the families of others shall be similarly treated; treat with the kindness due to youth the young in your own family, so that those 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 acted on his wife,
• Extended to his brethren,
• And was felt by all the clans and States;’

telling us how [King Wăn] simply took this [kindly] heart, and exercised it towards those parties. Therefore the carrying out the [feeling of] kindness [by a ruler] 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 than this, that they carried out well what they did, so as to affect others. Now your kindness is sufficient to reach to animals, and yet no benefits are extended from it to the people. How is this? Is an exception to be made here?

13. “By weighing we know what things are light, and what heavy. By measuring we know what things are long, and what short. All things are so dealt with, and the mind requires specially to be so. I beg your Majesty to measure it.

14. “Your Majesty collects your equipments of war, endangers your soldiers and officers, and excites the resentment of the various princes:—do these things cause you pleasure in your mind?”

15. The king said, “No. How should I derive pleasure from these things? My object in them is to seek for what I greatly desire.”

16. [Mencius] said, “May I hear from you what it is that your Majesty greatly desires?” 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 enow of beautifully coloured objects to satisfy your eyes? or because there are not voices and sounds cnow to fill your ears? or because you have not enow of attendants and favourites to stand before you and receive your orders? Your Majesty’s various officers are sufficient to supply you with all these things. How can your Majesty have such a desire on account of them?” “No,” said the king, “my desire is not on account of them.” [Mencius] observed, “Then, what your Majesty greatly desires can be known. You desire to enlarge your territories, to have Ts‘in and Ts‘oo coming to your court, to rule the Middle States, and to attract to you the barbarous tribes that surround them. But to do what you do in order to seek for what you desire is like climbing a tree to seek for fish.”

17. “Is it so bad as that?” said [the king]. “I apprehend it is worse,” was the reply. “If you climb a tree to seek for fish, although you do not get the fish, you have no subsequent calamity. But if you do what you do in order to seek for what you desire, doing it even with all your heart, you will assuredly afterwards meet with calamities.” The king said, “May I hear [what they will be]?” [Mencius] replied, “If the people of Tsow were fighting with the people of Ts‘oo, which of them does your Majesty think would conquer?” “The people of Ts‘oo would conquer,” was the answer, and [Mencius] pursued, “So then, a small State cannot contend with a great, few cannot contend with many, nor can the weak contend with the strong. The territory within the seas would embrace nine divisions, each of a thousand le square. All Ts‘e together is one of them. If with one part you try to subdue the other eight, what is the difference between that and Tsow’s contending with Ts‘oo? [With the desire which you have], you must turn back to the proper course [for its attainment].

18. “Now if your Majesty will institute a government whose action shall all be benevolent, this will cause all the officers in the kingdom to wish to stand in your Majesty’s court, the farmers all to wish to plough in your Majesty’s fields, the merchants, both travelling and stationary, all to wish to store their goods in your Majesty’s market-places, travellers and visitors all to wish to travel on your Majesty’s roads, and all under heaven who feel aggrieved by their rulers to wish to come and complain to your Majesty When they are so bent, who will be able to keep them back?”

19. The king said, “I am stupid, and cannot advance to this. [But] I wish you, my Master, to assist my intentions. Teach me clearly, and although I am deficient in intelligence and vigour, I should like to try at least [to institute such a government].”

20. [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, they will be found not to 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 have thus been involved in crime, to follow them up and punish them, is to entrap the people. How can such a thing as entrapping the people be done under the rule of a benevolent man?

21. “Therefore an intelligent ruler will regulate the livelihood of the people, so as to make sure that, above, they shall have sufficient wherewith to serve their parents, and, below, 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 not be in 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 that with readiness.

22. “But 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 where-with to support their wives and children; [even] in good years their lives are always embittered, and in bad years they are in danger of perishing. In such circumstances their only object is to escape from death, and they are afraid they will not succeed in doing so;—what leisure have they to cultivate propriety and righteousness?

23. “If your Majesty wishes to carry out [a benevolent government], why not turn back to what is the essential step [to its attainment]?

24. “Let mulberry-trees be planted about the homesteads with their five acres, and persons of fifty years will be able to wear silk. In keeping fowls, pigs, dogs, and swine, let not their times of breeding be neglected, and persons of seventy years will be able to eat flesh. Let there not be taken away the time that is proper for the cultivation of the field-allotment of a hundred acres, and the family of eight mouths will not suffer from hunger. Let careful attention be paid to the teaching in the various schools, with repeated inculcation of the filial and fraternal duties, and gray-haired men will not be seen upon the roads, carrying burdens on their backs or on their heads. It has never been that [the ruler of a State] where these 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.”

KING HWUY OF LEANG. PART II.

ChapterI.1.Chwang Paou, [having gone to] see Mencius, said to him, “I had an audience of the king. His Majesty told me about his loving music, and I was not prepared with anything to reply to him. What do you pronounce concerning [that] love of music?” Mencius said, “If the king’s love of music were very great, the kingdom of Ts‘e would be near to [being well governed].”

2. Another day, Mencius had an audience of the king, and said, “Your Majesty, [I have heard,] told the officer Chwang about your love of music;—was it so?” The king changed colour, and said, “I am unable to love the music of the ancient kings; I only love the music that suits the manners of the [present] age.”

3. [Mencius] said, “If your Majesty’s love of music were very great, Ts‘e, I apprehend, would be near to [being well governed]. The music of the present day is just like the music of antiquity [for effecting that].”

4. [The king] said, “May I hear [the proof of what you say]?” “Which is the more pleasant,” was the reply,—“to enjoy music by yourself alone, or to enjoy it along with others?” “To enjoy it along with others,” said [the king]. “And which is the more pleasant,” pursued [Mencius],—“to enjoy music along with a few, or to enjoy it along with many?” “To enjoy it along with many,” replied [the king].

5. [Mencius went on], “Will you allow your servant to speak to your Majesty about music?

6. “Your Majesty is having music here.—The people hear the sound of your bells and drums, and the notes of your reeds and flutes, and they all, with aching heads, knit their brows, and say to one another, ‘That’s how our king loves music! But why does he reduce us to this extremity [of distress]? Fathers and sons do not see one another; elder brothers and younger brothers, wives and children, are separated and scattered abroad.’ Again, your Majesty is hunting here. The people hear the noise of your carriages and horses, and see the beauty of your plumes and pennons, and they all, with aching heads, knit their brows, and say to one another, ‘That’s how our king loves hunting! But why does he reduce us to this extremity of distress? Fathers and sons do not see one another; elder brothers and younger brothers, wives and children, are separated and scattered abroad.’ This is from no other cause, but that you do not give the people to have pleasure as well as yourself.

7. “Your Majesty is having music here.—The people hear the sound of your bells and drums, and the notes of your reeds and flutes, and they all, delighted and with joyful looks, say to one another, ‘That sounds as if our king were free from all sickness! What fine music he is able to have!’ Again, your Majesty is hunting here.—The people hear the noise of your carriages and horses, and see the beauty of your plumes and pennons, and they all, delighted and with joyful looks, say to one another, ‘That looks as if our king were free from all sickness! How he is able to hunt!’ This is from no other reason but that you cause the people to have pleasure as well as yourself.

8. “If your Majesty now will make pleasure a thing common to the people and yourself, the Royal sway awaits you.”

II.1. King Seuen of Ts‘e asked, “Was it so that the park of king Wăn contained seventy square le?” Mencius replied, “It is so in the Records.”

2. “Was it so large as that?” said [the king]. “The people,” said [Mencius], “still considered it small.” “My park,” responded [the king], “contains [only] forty square le, and the people still consider it large. How is this?” “The park of king Wăn,”—said [Mencius], “contained seventy square le, but the grass-cutters and fuel-gatherers [had the privilege of] resorting to it, and so also had the catchers of pheasants and hares. He shared it with the people, and was it not with reason that they looked on it as small?

3. “When I first arrived at your frontiers, I enquired about the great prohibitory regulations before I would venture to enter [the country]; and I heard that inside the border-gates there was a park of forty square le, and that he who killed a deer in it, whether large or small, was held guilty of the same crime as if he had killed a man. In this way those forty square le are a pit-fall in the middle of the kingdom. Is it not with reason that the people look upon [your park] as large?”

III.1. King Seuen of Ts‘e asked, saying, “Is there any way [to regulate one’s maintenance] of intercourse with neighbouring States?” Mencius replied, “There is. But it requires a benevolent [ruler] to be able with a great State to serve a small;—as, for instance, T‘ang served Koh, and king Wăn served the hordes of the Keun. And it requires a wise [ruler] to be able with a small State to serve a great,—as, for instance, king T‘ae served the Heun-yuh, and Kow-tseen served Woo.

2. “He who with a great [State] serves a small is one who delights in Heaven; and he who with a small [State] serves a great is one who fears Heaven. He who delights in Heaven will affect with his love and protection all under the sky; and he who fears Heaven will so affect his own State.

3. “It is said in the Book of Poetry,

• ‘I revere the majesty of Heaven,
• And thus preserve its [favour].’ ”

4. The king said, “A great saying! [But] I have an infirmity,—I love valour.”

5. [Mencius] replied, “I beg your Majesty not to love small valour. If a man brandishes his sword, looks fierce, and says, ‘How dare he withstand me?’ this is the valour of a common man, and can only be used against one individual. I beg your Majesty to change it into great valour.

6. “It is said in the Book of Poetry,

• ‘The king rose majestic in his wrath.
• He marshalled his troops,
• To stop the march to Keu;
• To consolidate the prosperity of Chow;
• To meet the expectations of all under heaven.’

This was the valour of king Wăn. King Wăn, by one burst of his anger, gave repose to all the people under heaven.

7. “It is said in the Book of History, ‘Heaven, having produced the inferior people, made for them rulers, and made for them instructors, with the purpose that they should be aiding to God, and gave them distinction 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?’ One man was pursuing a violent and disorderly course in the kingdom, and king Woo was ashamed of it. This was the valour of king Woo, and he also, by one burst of his anger, gave repose to all the people under heaven.

8. “Let now your Majesty, in one burst of anger, give repose to all the people under heaven. The people are only afraid that your Majesty does not love valour.”

IV.1. King Seuen of Ts‘e [went to] see Mencius in the Snow palace, and said to him, “Do men of talents and virtue likewise find pleasure in [such a place as] this?” Mencius replied, “They do. And if people [generally] do not get [similar pleasure], they condemn their superiors.

2. “For them, when they do not get that, to condemn their superiors is wrong; but when the superiors of the people do not make [such] pleasure a thing common to the people and themselves, they also do wrong.

3. “When [a ruler] rejoices in the joy of his people, they also rejoice in his joy; when he sorrows for the sorrow of his people, they also sorrow for his sorrow. When his joy extends to all under heaven, and his sorrow does the same, it never was that in such a case [the ruler] did not attain to the Royal sway.

4. “Formerly, duke King of Ts‘e asked the minister Gan, saying, ‘I wish to make a tour to Chuen-foo and Chaou-woo, and then to bend my way southward, along the shore, till I come to Lang-yay. What shall I do specially, that my tour may be fit to be compared with those made by the former kings?’

5. “The minister Gan replied, ‘An excellent inquiry! When the son of Heaven visited the feudal princes, it was called “a tour of inspection;” that is, he surveyed the States under their care. When the princes attended at his court, it was called “a report of office;” that is, they reported [their administration of] their offices. [Thus] neither of those proceedings was without its proper object. [And moreover], in the spring they examined the ploughing, and supplied any deficiency [of seed]; in the autumn they examined the reaping, and assisted where there was any deficiency [of yield]. There is the saying of the Hea dynasty,

• “If our king go not from home,
• Whence to us will comfort come?
• If our king make not his round,
• Whence to us will help be found?”

That excursion and that round were a pattern for the princes.

6. “ ‘Now the state of things is different. A host marches [in attendance on the ruler], and the 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. The [Royal] orders are violated and the people are oppressed; 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 lost:—[these things proceed] to the grief of the [smaller] princes.

7. “ ‘Descending along with the current, and forgetting to return,’ is what I call yielding to it. ‘Going against it, and forgetting to return,’ is what I called urging their way against it. ‘Pursuing the chase without satiety’ is what I call being wild. ‘Delighting in spirits without satiety’ is what I call being lost.

8. “ ‘The former kings had no pleasures to which they gave themselves as on the flowing stream, no doings which might be so characterized as wild and lost.

9. “ ‘It is for you, my ruler, to take your course.’

10. “Duke King was pleased. He issued a grand proclamation through the State, and went out [himself] and occupied a shed in the suburbs. From that time he began to open [his granaries] for the relief of the wants [of the people], and, calling the grand music master, said to him, ‘Make for me music to suit a prince and his minister well pleased with each other.’ It was then that the Che Shaou and Kë‘oh Shaou was made, in the poetry to which it was said,

He who restrains his ruler loves him.”

V.1. King Seuen of Ts‘e asked saying, “People all tell me to pull down the Brilliant hall and remove it;—shall I pull it down, or stop [the movement for that object]?”

2. Mencius replied, “The Brilliant hall is the hall appropriate to the kings. If your Majesty wishes to practise Royal government, do not pull it down.”

3. The king said, “May I hear from you what Royal government is?” “Formerly,” was the reply, “king Wăn’s government of K‘e was the following:—From the husbandman [there was required the produce of] one ninth [of the land]; the descendants of officers were salaried; at the passes and in the markets, [strangers] were inspected, but goods were not taxed; there were no prohibitions respecting the ponds and weirs; the wives and children of criminals were not involved in their guilt. There were the old and wifeless, or widowers, the old and husbandless, or widows; the old and childless, or solitaries; and the young and fatherless, or orphans:—these four classes are the most destitute under heaven, and have none to whom they can tell [their wants], and king Wăn, in the institution of his government with its benevolent action, made them the first objects of his regard. It is said in the Book of Poetry,

• ‘The rich may get through,
• But alas for the helpless and solitary!’ ”

4. The king said, “Excellent words!” [Mencius] said, “Since your Majesty deems them excellent, why do you not put them into practice?” “I have an infirmity,” said the king; “I am fond of substance.” “Formerly,” replied [Mencius], “duke Lëw was fond of substance. It is said in the Book of Poetry,

• ‘He stored up [the produce] in the fields and in barns;
• He tied up dried meat and grain
• In bottomless bags and sacks;
• That he might hold [his people] together, and glorify [his tribe].
• Then with bows and arrows all ready,
• With shields and spears, and axes, large and small,
• He commenced his march.’

In this way those who remained in their old seat had their stores in the fields and in barns, and those who marched had their bags of grain. It was not till after this that he commenced his march. If your Majesty is fond of substance, let the people have the opportunity to gratify the same feeling, and what difficulty will there be in your attaining to the Royal sway?”

5. The king said, “I have an infirmity; I am fond of beauty.” The reply was, “Formerly king T‘ae was fond of beauty, and loved his wife. It is said in the Book of Poetry,

• ‘The ancient duke T‘an-foo
• Came in the morning, galloping his horses,
• Along the banks of the western rivers,
• To the foot of Mount K‘e;
• And there he and the lady Këang
• Came, and together looked out for a site on which to settle.’

At that time, in the seclusion of the house, there were no dissatisfied women, and, abroad, there were no unmarried men. If your Majesty is fond of beauty, let the people be able to gratify the same feeling, and what difficulty will there be in your attaining to the Royal sway?”

VI.1. Mencius said to king Seuen of Ts‘e, “[Suppose that] one of your Majesty’s servants were to entrust his wife and children to the care of his friend, while he went [himself] into Ts‘oo to travel, and that, on his return, [he should find] that [the friend] had caused his wife and children to suffer from cold and hunger,—how ought he to deal with him?” The king said, “He should cast him off.”

2. [Mencius] proceeded, “[Suppose that] the chief criminal judge could not regulate the officers of justice under him, how should he be dealt with?” The king said, “He should be dismissed.”

3. [Mencius again] said, “When within the four borders [of your kingdom] there is not good government, what is to be done?” The king looked to the right and left, and spoke of other matters.

VII.1. Mencius, having [gone to] see king Seuen of Ts‘e, 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 that have been noted in it] for generations. Your Majesty has no ministers with whom you are personally intimate. Those whom you advanced yesterday are gone to-day, and you do not know it.”

2. The king said, “How shall I know that they have no ability, and avoid employing them at all?”

3. The reply was, “A ruler advances to office [new] men of talents and virtue [only] as a matter of necessity. As he thereby causes the low to overstep the honourable and strangers to overstep his relatives, ought he to do so but with caution?

4. “When all those about you say [of a man], ‘He is a man of talents and virtue,’ do not immediately [believe them]. When your great officers all say, ‘He is a man of talents and virtue,’ do not immediately [believe them]. When your people all say, ‘He is a man of talents and virtue,’ then examine into his character; and, when you find that he is such indeed, then afterwards employ him. When all those about you say, ‘He will not do,’ do not listen to them. When your great officers all say, ‘He will not do,’ do not listen to them. When your people all say, ‘He will not do,’ then examine into his character; and when you find that he will not do, then afterwards send him away.

5. “When those about you all say [of a man], ‘He deserves death,’ do not listen to them. When your great officers all say, ‘He deserves death,’ do not listen to them. When your people all say, ‘He deserves death,’ then examine into his case; and when you find that he deserves death, then afterwards put him to death. In accordance with this we have the saying, ‘The people put him to death.’

6. “Act in this way and you will be the parent of the people.”

VIII.1. King Seuen of Ts‘e asked, saying, “Was it so that T‘ang banished Këeh, and king Woo smote Chow?” Mencius replied, “It is so in the Records.”

2. [The king] said, “May a subject put his ruler to death?”

3. The reply was, “He who outrages benevolence is called a ruffian; he who outrages righteousness is called a villain. The ruffian and villain we call a mere fellow. I have heard of the cutting off of the fellow Chow; I have not heard of the putting a ruler to death [in his case].”

IX.1. Mencius, [having gone to] see king Seuen of Ts‘e, said, “If you are going to build a large mansion, you will surely cause the Master of the workmen to look out for large trees; and when he has found them, your Majesty will be glad, thinking they will be fit for the object. Should the workmen hew them so as to make them too small, then you will be angry, thinking that they will not answer for the purpose. Now a man spends his youth in learning [the principles of right government], and, when grown up to vigour, he wishes to put them in practice:—if your Majesty say to him, ‘For the present put aside what you have learned, and follow me,’ what shall we say?

2. “Here now you have a gem in the stone. Although it be worth 240,000 [taels], you will surely employ your chief lapidary to cut and polish it. But when you come to the government of your kingdom, you say, ‘For the present put aside what you have learned and follow me;’—how is it that you herein act differently from your calling in the lapidary to cut and polish the gem?”

X.1. The people of Ts‘e attacked Yen, and conquered it.

2. King Seuen asked, saying, “Some tell me not to take possession of it, and some tell me to take possession of it. For a kingdom of ten thousand chariots to attack another of the same strength, and to complete the conquest of it in fifty days, is an achievement beyond [mere] human strength. If I do not take it, calamities from Heaven will surely come upon me:—what do you say to my taking possession of it?”

3. Mencius replied, “If the people of Yen will be pleased with your taking possession of it, do so.—Among the ancients there was [one] who acted in this way, namely king Woo. If the people of Yen will not be pleased with your taking possession of it, do not. Among the ancients there was one who acted in this way, namely king Wăn.

4. “When with [the strength of] your kingdom of ten thousand chariots you attacked another of the same strength, and they met your Majesty’s army with baskets of rice and vessels of congee, was there any other reason for this but that they [hoped to] escape out of fire and water? If [you make] the water more deep and the fire more fierce, they will just in like manner make another revolution.”

XI.1. The people of Ts‘e having attacked Yen and taken possession of it, the [other] princes proposed to take measures to deliver Yen. King Seuen said, “As the princes are many of them consulting to attack me, how shall I prepare myself for them?” Mencius replied, “I have heard of one who with seventy le gave law to the whole kingdom, but I have not heard of [a ruler] who with a thousand le was afraid of others.

2. “The Book of History says, ‘When T‘ang began his work of punishment, he commenced with Koh. All under heaven had confidence in him. When the work went on in the east, the wild tribes of the west murmured. When it went on in the south, those of the north murmured. They said, “Why does he make us the last?” The looking of the people for him was like the looking in a time of great drought for clouds and rainbows. The frequenters of the markets stopped not; the husbandmen made no change [in their operations]. While he took off their rulers, he consoled the people. [His progress] was like the falling of seasonable rain, and the people were delighted.’ It is said [again] in the Book of History, ‘We have waited for our prince [long]; the prince’s coming is our reviving.’

3. “Now [the ruler of] Yen was tyrannizing over his people, and your Majesty went and punished him. The people supposed that you were going to deliver them out of the water and the fire, and with baskets of rice and vessels of congee they met your Majesty’s host. But you have slain their fathers and elder brothers, and put their sons and younger brothers in chains; you have pulled down the ancestral temple [of the rulers], and are carrying away its precious vessels:—how can such a course be admitted? [The other States of] the kingdom were afraid of the strength of Ts‘e before; and now when with a doubled territory you do not exercise a benevolent government, this puts the arms of the kingdom in motion [against you].

4. “If your Majesty will make haste to issue an order, restoring [your captives] old and young, and stopping [the removal of] the precious vessels; [and if then] you will consult with the people of Yen, appoint [for them] a [new] ruler, and afterwards withdraw from the country:—in this way you may still be able to stop [the threatened attack].”

XII.1. There had been a skirmish between [some troops of] Tsow and Loo, [in reference to which,] duke Mih asked, saying, “Of my officers there were killed thirty-three men and none of the people would die in their defence. If I would put them to death, it is impossible to deal so with so many; if I do not put them to death, then there is [the crime unpunished of] their looking on with evil eyes at the death of their officers, and not saving them:—how is the exigency of the case to be met?”

2. Mencius replied, “In calamitous years and years of famine, the old and weak of your people who have been found lying in ditches and water-channels, and the able-bodied who have been scattered about to the four quarters, have amounted to thousands. All the while, your granaries, O prince, have been stored with rice and other grain, and your treasuries and arsenals have been full, and not one of your officers has told you [of the distress];—so negligent have the superiors [in your State] been, and cruel to their inferiors. The philosopher Tsăng said, ‘Beware, beware. What proceeds from you will return to you.’ Now at last the people have had an opportunity to return [their conduct]; do not you, O prince, blame them.

3. “If you will practise a benevolent government, then the people will love all above them, and will die for their officers.”

XIII.1. Duke Wăn of T‘ăng asked, saying, “T‘ăng is a small State, and lies between Ts‘e and Ts‘oo. Shall I serve Ts‘e? or shall I serve Ts‘oo?”

2. Mencius replied, “This is a matter in which I cannot counsel you. If you will have me speak, there is but one thing [I can suggest]. Dig [deep] your moats; build [strong] your walls; then guard them along with the people; be prepared to die [in their defence], and [have] the people [so that] they will not leave you:—this is a course which may be put in practice.”

XIV.1. Duke Wăn of T‘ăng asked, saying, “The people of Ts‘e are going to fortify Sĕeh, and [the movement] occasions me great alarm; what is the proper course for me to take in the case?”

2. Mencius replied, “Formerly, when king T‘ae dwelt in Pin, the Teih were [continually] making incursions upon it. He [therefore] left it, and went to the foot of Mount K‘e, and there took up his residence. He did not take that situation as having selected it;—it was a matter of necessity.

3. “If you do good, among your descendants in future generations there shall be one who will attain to the Royal sway. The superior man lays the foundation of the inheritance, and hands down the beginning [which he has made], doing what can be continued [by his successors]. As to the accomplishment of the great result, that is with Heaven. What is that [Ts‘e] to you, O prince? you have simply to make yourself strong to do good.”

XV.1. Duke Wăn of T‘ăng asked, saying, “T‘ăng is a small State. I do my utmost to serve the great kingdoms [on either side of it], but I cannot escape [suffering from them]. What is the proper course for me to pursue in the case?” Mencius replied, “Formerly, when king T‘ae dwelt in Pin, the Teih were continually making incursions upon it. He served them with skins and silks, and still he suffered from them. He served them with dogs and horses, and still he suffered from them. He served them with pearls and pieces of jade, and still he suffered from them. On this he assembled his old men, and announced to them, saying, ‘What the Teih want is my territory. I have heard this,—that the superior man does not injure his people for that which he nourishes them with. My children, why should you be troubled about having no ruler. I will leave this.’ [Accordingly] he left Pin, crossed over Mount Lëang, [built] a town at the foot of Mount K‘e, and dwelt there. The people of Pin said, ‘He is a benevolent man;—we must not lose him.’ Those who followed him [looked] like crowds going to market.

4. “On the other hand [a prince] may say, ‘[The country] has been held [by my ancestors] for generations, and is not what I can undertake to dispose of in my person. I will go to the death for it, and will not leave it.’

5. “I beg you, O prince, to make your election between these two courses.”

XVI.1. Duke P‘ing of Loo was about to go out [one day], when his favourite Tsang Ts‘ang begged [to ask] him, saying, “On other days, when your lordship has gone out, you have given instructions to the officers as to where you were going. But now the horses have been put to your carriage, and the officers do not yet know where you are going. I venture to request your orders.” The duke said, “I am going to see the philosopher Măng.” “What!” said the other. “That you demean yourself, O prince, by what you are doing, to pay the first visit to a common man, is, I apprehend, because you think that he is a man of talents and virtue. [Our rules of] propriety and righteousness must have come from such men; but on the occasion of this Măng’s second mourning, his observances exceeded those of the former. Do not go to see him, O prince.” The duke said, “I will not.”

2. The officer Yoh-ching entered [the court], and had an audience. “Prince,” said he, “why have you not gone to see Măng K‘o?” “One told me,” was the reply, “that on the occasion of Mr Mang’s second mourning, his observances exceeded those of the former, and therefore I did not go to see him.” [Yoh-ching] said, “How is this? By what your lordship calls ‘exceeding,’ you mean, I suppose, that on the former occasion he used the ceremonies appropriate to an inferior officer, and on the latter those appropriate to a great officer; that he first used three tripods, and afterwards five.” “No,” said the duke, “I refer to the greater excellence of the coffin, the shell, the grave-clothes, and the shroud.’ [Yoh-ching] replied, “That cannot be called ‘exceeding.’ That was the difference between being poor and being rich.”

3. [After this] the officer Yoh-ching [went to] see Mencius, and said, “I told the ruler about you, and he was consequently coming to see you, when his favourite Tsang Ts‘ang stopped him, and he did not carry his purpose into effect.” [Mencius] said, “A man’s advance is effected, it may be, by others, and the stopping him is, it may be, from the efforts of others. But to advance a man or to stop his advance is [really] beyond the power of other men. My not finding [the right prince] in the marquis of Loo, is from Heaven. How could that scion of the Tsang family cause me not to find [the ruler that would suit me]?”

[** ] The title of this Book in Chinese is—“King Hwuy of Lëang: in chapters and sentences. Parts I. and II.” Like the Books of the Confucian Analects, those of this work are headed by two or three words at or near the commencement of them. Each Book is divided into two parts. This arrangement was made by Chaou K‘e, who has been spoken of in the Prolegomena, and to him are due also the divisions into chapters, and sentences or paragraphs contaming, it may be, many sentences.

[Ch. I. ]Benevolence and Righteousness Mencius’ only topics with the princes of his time; and the only principles which can make a country prosperous.

[Par. 1. ] “King Hwuy of Leang.”—In the time of Confucius, Tsin was one of the great States, perhaps the greatest State, of the kingdom,—but the power of it was usurped by six great families or clans. By bc 452, three of these were absorbed by the other three, the clans, namely, of Wei, Chaou, and Han, which continued to encroach on the small remaining authority of their princes, till at last they divided the whole territory among themselves. King Wei-leeh, in bc 402, granted to the chief of each family the title of Marquis. Wei, called also, from the name of its capital, Lëang, occupied what had been the south-eastern part of Tsin, Han and Chaou lying to the west and north-west of it. The Lëang, where Mencius visited king Hwuy, is said to have been in the present district of Ts‘eang-foo, department K‘ae-fung. Hwuy—“of soft disposition and kind to the people,”—was the posthumous or sacrificial epithet of the king, whose name was Yung. He had usurped the title of king, as the princes of many other States did about the same time, before Mencius visited him, which it is said was in the 35th year of his government, bc 335. The philosopher, it is supposed, visited him on invitation.

[Par. 2. ] Mencius, we have seen, was a native of Tsow in Loo, the name of which still remains in the Tsow district of the department Yen-chow, in Shan-tung. The king in complimentary style calls the distance from Tsow to Lëang a thousand le, though in reality it was not half so much. The “venerable Sir,” with which he salutes the philosopher, should also be taken as complimentary, and we cannot draw any inference from it as to the age of Mencius at this time. The “likewise” has led to much speculation to bring out its meaning. Some think that the king is referring to the many scholars of that age, who made it their business to wander from State to State to counsel the princes, so that his meaning was:—“You also, like other scholars,” &c. Then when Mencius in reply uses the same term, they think that he is referring to the ancient sages as his models:—“I also, like them,” &c. This is too farfetched. I suppose that the king’s “likewise follows the clause “You have come a thousand le,” and means, “That is one favour, but you probably have others to confer also.” Then Mencius’ “likewise” refers to the king’s, and = “You say I likewise have counsels to profit you. What I likewise have is benevolence,” &c.

[Par. 3. ] Benevolence is defined by Choo He as “the virtue of the mind, the principle of love,” and righteousness as “the regulation of the mind, the fitness of things.” Mencius had in mind the benevolent government of which he speaks at length in many places. See especially the 7th chapter of this Part.

[Par. 4. ] By “the kingdom of ten thousand chariots” is meant the royal domain, which, according to the theory of the kingdom, could send into the field 10,000 chariots; and by “the chief of a family of a thousand chariots,” one of the king’s principal ministers, whose territory, which was in the roval domain, was supposed to be able to send forth a thousand chariots. “A State of a thousand chariots” was one of the largest of the feudal States, and “the chief of a family of a hundred chariots” was one of its principal ministers, the head of a powerful clan.

[Par. 5. ] In the “likewise” here Mencius turns the tables on the king. Let him follow the example of the philosopher, confident in the truth of the positions which he had stated.

[Ch. II. ]Rulers must share their pleasures with the people. They can only be happy when they rule over happy subjects.

[Parr. 1, 2. ]Par. 1. must be supplemented as I have done. Mencius would go to the court; and then the king would go with him, or have left orders for him to be brought to the park. Observe the “also” in the king’s question, and the “then” in Mencius’ reply.

[Par. 3. ] Here is an instance of a wise and good prince happy with his happy subjects in his park and tower and pond. See the Book of Poetry, III. i. VIII. The last sentence shows what we are to understand by a prince’s sharing his pleasure with his subjects.

[Par. 4. ] Here is an instance of an oppressive prince, and of his discontented subjects. They were weary of their lives, and would die with him, rather than live on as they were; how could he be happy in such circumstances? See the Shoo, IV. i. 3.

[Ch. III. ]Half measures are of little use. If a prince carry out faithfully the great principles of Royal government, the people will make him king.

[Par. 1. ] A prince was wont to speak of himself as “the small or deficient man,” and so king Hwuy calls himself here. I have translated it by “small as my virtue is, I;” but hereafter I will generally translate the phrase simply by I. “Inside the Ho” and “East of the Ho” were the names of two tracts in Wei. The former remains in the district of Ho-nuy (meaning inside the Ho), in the department of Hwae-k‘ing, Ho-nan. The latter, according to the geographers, should be found in the present Hëae Chow, Shan-se; but this seems too far away from the other.

[Par. 3. ] contains the first principles of Royal government, in contrast with the king’s expedients as detailed by him in par. 1. The seasons of husbandry were spring, summer, and autumn. The government should undertake no military expeditions or public works in them. Close nets would take the small fish, whereas these, if left untouched, would grow and increase. Generally the time to take firewood from the forests was when the growth for the year was over; but there were many regulations on this point.

[Par. 4. ] continues the description of the measures of Royal government to secure plenty for the people. What I translate by “acre” was anciently a space of 100 paces square,—very large paces apparently, of six cubits each, but the cubit was not so long as it is now. The land was marked off in squares of 900 acres, of which we shall read more at length by and by, the middle square containing what was called “the public field,” belonging to the government. The other eight squares were allotted to eight families, each one having 100 acres, which it cultivated for itself, and all uniting in the cultivation of the central or government square. But from this 20 acres were cut off, and assigned in portions of 2½ acres to the farmers, to build their huts on, and cultivate vegetables, &c. The same amount of 2½ acres was assigned to each family in their villages, where they lived in winter when their labours were not required in the fields. Thus each family had five acres where they might build their dwellings and field-huts, and cultivate their kitchen-vegetables: and on this space also they reared their mulberry-trees round their houses and huts. In this way the large portion of the ground was left for grain produce, while they could nourish enow of silk-worms to produce the silk which they required for the use of those who were 50 years of age and over. The saying that persons of 70 years might eat flesh means that they might always have it at their meals, and in no stinted supply. On the schools, see III. Pt I. iii. 10. Education thus completes Mencius’ theory of Royal government, the elements in which were, provision for the maintenance of all, the comfort of the aged, and a moral education and training for the young.

[Par. 5. ] Application to king Hwuy of the above principles. The two first sentences refer to the bad years of his opening remarks. If he took proper advantage of the good years, he would not be obliged to resort to such extreme expedients in bad ones.

[Ch. IV. ]A continuation of the former chapter, and further exposure of the character of king Hwuy’s government.

[Par. 2. ] The “stick” may be a staff or a club, and “the sword” any sharp-edged weapon.

[Par. 4. ] The first sentence is literally—“The stalls have fat flesh,” and by stalls we are to understand the house or houses where cattle were fed for the king’s table. “The fields” are literally—“the wilds;” meaning here the open country, away from the capital, and generally away from cities and towns. The “leading on beasts to devour men” is merely a forcible way of describing the king’s measures, careful for the good condition of his cattle and horses, and so negligent of the well-being of his people.

[Par. 6. ] In high antiquity, it is said, bundles of straw were formed to represent men imperfectly, and then buried with the dead, as attendants upon them. After the rise of the Chow dynasty, wooden figures, with springs in them by which they could move, were used for those bundles; and this, as Confucius thought, led to the practice of burying living persons with the dead, and he branded the inventor of the images as in the text. Mencius thought his words suited his purpose, and used them accordingly. We know that the practice of burying living persons with the dead existed in China in the time of Confucius, and has been practised even in the present dynasty; and the true explanation of it is very different from that suggested by the sage’s words. Chung-ne;—see the Life of Confucius in Volume I.

[Ch. V. ]How a ruler might best make himself strong, and regard with indifference any efforts of his enemies to attack or injure him.

[Par. 1. ] In the note on par. 1, ch. i. I have spoken of the breaking up of the old State of Tsin into the three States of Wei or Lëang, Chaou, and Han. They were often called “the three Tsin;” and here king Hwuy appears to call Wei alone by the name of Tsin. Ts‘e was the most powerful State, at this time styled kingdom, lying north and east from Wei; Ts‘in was on the west of it; and Ts‘oo on the south.

[Par. 2. ] The case which Mencius, probably, had in view here was that of king Wăn, the founder of the Chow dynasty.

[Par. 3. ] Here among the elements of a benevolent government, there appear a gentle rule and light taxation. These being exercised, the people would feel free to give their strength to agriculture, and have leisure to attend to their social and moral duties, and would moreover be ruled by a most powerful gratitude to their ruler. Mencius’ doctrine of the goodness of human nature, though it is not expressed, underlies all this.

[Par. 6. ] The remarkable saying about “the benevolent” has a special reference to a benevolent ruler such as Mencius had sketched; but I have preferred to retain it in the translation without any limitation. The concluding remark was designed to caution the king against regarding the philosopher’s remarks as merely transcendental.

[Ch. VI. ]Disappointment of Mencius with king Sëang of Wei. By what ruler the whole kingdom might be united under one sway.

[Par. 1. ] Sëang was the son of king Hwuy. The first year of his reign is commonly assigned to bc 317; but this cannot be regarded as certain. Seang’s name was Hih. As a posthumous epithet, Seang has various meanings:—“Land-enlarger and Virtuous;” “Successful in arms;” “Successful in the conduct of affairs.” The interview here recorded seems to have taken place immediately after Hih’s accession, and Mencius, it is said, was so disappointed by it that he soon after left the country.

[Par. 5. ] “Who can give it to him?” is by the Chinese critics understood as = “Who can go to him?” I prefer my own meaning, which accords equally well with the scope of the chapter, and is supported by the usage of the original term in V. i. V.

[Ch. VII. ]Loving and protecting the people is the grand characteristic of Royal government; and the sure path to the Royal dignity. How this principle would be manifested.

This long and interesting chapter has been arranged in five parts. In the first part, parr. 1—5, Mencius unfolds the principle of Royal government, and tells the king of Ts‘e that he possessed it. In the second, parr. 6—8, he leads the king on to understand his own mind, and how he might exercise the Royal government. In the third, parr. 9—12, he unfolds how the king might and ought to carry out the kindly heart which was natural to him. In the fourth, parr. 13—18, he shows the absurdity of the king’s expecting to gain his end by the course he was pursuing, and how rapid would be the response to an opposite one. In the last part he shows the government that loves and protects the people in full development, and crowned with Royal sway.

[Par. 1. ] Seuen was the second of the T‘een family who ruled in Ts‘e with the title of king. The date of his accession is not fully ascertained, but it is generally placed in bc 332. His name was P‘eih-këang. The epithet Seuen means—“A skilful questioner and universally informed,” or “Sage, good, and universally informed.” Hwan of Ts‘e and Wăn of Tsin were the greatest of the five presiding princes, who played so conspicuous a part in the Ch‘un Ts‘ëw period, which Confucius has chronicled. From king Seuen’s question, it would appear that he wished to distinguish himself as Hwan had done.

[Par. 2. ] Mencius, no doubt, could have discoursed sufficiently about the affairs of Hwan and Wăn, but he did not wish to do so, and therefore gave this evasive reply. To have a real king was the necessity of his time; but there was more of loyalty in the idea of a presiding prince than in the counsels which our philosopher gave.

[Par. 3. ] “To love and protect the people” lay at the foundation of the “benevolent government” of which Mencius always spoke.

[Par. 4. ] Hoo Heih must have been an officer of the court of Ts‘e. The hall here mentioned was probably that where the king was giving audience to his ministers. In the court below the hall, the parties would appear leading the bull past. When a bell was cast they killed an animal, and with its blood smeared over the crevices. But the act was a religious one, and a consecration of the bell for religious or other important use. Almost all things connected with their worship were among the ancient Chinese purified with blood,—their temples and the vessels used in them.

[Par. 5. ] Mencius would thus bring home to the king the conviction that benevolence was natural to him. He often reasons on the constitution of human nature as he does here. He pursues the subject in the parr. of the second part of the chapter.

[Par. 7. ] The king here is nonplussed, and hardly knows what was his own mind in the matter; but in par. 8 Mencius relieves him from his perplexity.

[Par. 9. ] See the She, II. v. Ode IV. 4.

[Parr. 10, 11, ] contain the famous distinction of physical and moral ability; and I like Mencius’ way of putting it. The case of a thing that might easily be done, and yet is not done, is very differently understood. I have followed Choo He in taking the terms in what is their natural meaning,—“breaking off the branch of a tree.” Ch‘aou Ke understood them as meaning “the rubbing or manipulating the elbow or any other joint of the arm;”—a service which was often required from servants by their masters. Maou K‘e-ling and others cry out against Choo’s interpretation, showing thereby, it seems to me, only their own want of the critical faculty.

[Par. 12. ] Compare with the opening sentence what is said in “The Great Learning,” Comm., Chapters ix, and x. The Ode quoted is the She, III. 1. VI.

[14. ] In Parr. 14—18, Mencius measures or weighs the king’s mind for him, and shows the object he is bent on, with the absurdity of seeking for it by the course which he pursued, and also how rapid would be the response to a different course. All the people in the kingdom, high and low, would wish to be his subjects.

[Par. 20, ] brings in the subjects of “a fixed heart,” or a mind always firm to do what is good, and of “a certain livehood,” or a sure provision of the necessaries of life, and of the necessity of the latter to the former. We shall meet with these topics in Mencius again and again.

[Par. 23. ] “The essential step to a benevolent government” is the sure provision of the necessaries of life, and the elements of moral instruction.

[Par. 24. ] Compare par. 4 of ch. iii. The two are nearly identical.

[Ch. I. ]How the love of music may be made subservient to good government, and when shared with the people lead on to the Royal sway. The chapter is a good specimen of Mencius’ manner. The moral of it is the same as that of chapter ii. Part I. Mencius slips cleverly from the point in hand to introduce his own notions, and tries to win king Seuen over to benevolent government by his vice itself. It is on this account that Chinese thinkers say that Mencius was wanting in the consistency of a moral teacher, and refuse to rank him with Confucius.

[Par. 1. ] The king here was, it is understood, king Seuen of last chapter. Chwang Paou must have been a minister or officer about his court. He was evidently on good terms with Mencius, but his name does not occur in the list of his disciples. The king must have been notorious for his love of music, and Mencius’ remark that, if his love for it were very great, Ts‘e would be in a happy state, only commends itself when we find what the philosopher included in his idea of greatly loving music.

[Par. 2. ] The king changed colour, being conscious of the charges to which he was open in connexion with his love of music.

[Par. 8. ] This and other similar passages, it is argued, are to be understood with reference to the great distress of the times, which made Mencius express himself as he did. There was, no doubt, a great difference between the music of antiquity, and that in which king Seuen delighted; but if Seuen and other princes could only be led on to make the comfort and happiness of the people their principal object, everything that was wrong would rectify itself.

[Ch. II. ]That a ruler must not indulge his love for parks and hunting to the discomfort of the people. The moral of this chapter is the same as that of the preceding,—that a ruler must share his pleasures with the people, or see to it that they have pleasures of a similar kind.

[Par. 1. ] This is understood to have been the park of king Wăn after two-thirds of the States of the kingdom had given in their adhesion to him.

[Par. 3. ] Mencius seems to distinguish here between what I have called “the frontiers” of Ts‘e, and the kaou, or the country at the distance of a hundred le from the capital. Both at the frontiers and at the point where the kaou commenced, there were, I believe, barrier gates through which travellers had to pass. He seems to say that the park was inside the circle of the kaou. These forest laws of Ts‘e were hardly worse than those enacted by the first Norman sovereigns of England, when whoever killed a deer, a boar, or even a hare, was punished with the loss of his eyes, and with death if the statute was repeatedly violated.

[Ch. III. ]How intercourse with neighbouring States may be maintained, and the love of valour made subservient to the good of the people and the glory of the prince.

[Par. 1. ] “A benevolent ruler” here is one who is very slow to shed blood. and will bear and forbear much before he will adopt violent measures of war to endanger the lives of his people. On the case of T‘ang and Koh, see III. ii. V; on that of Wăn and the hordes of the Keun we have not much information;—see the She, III. i. III. 8, and VII. 2. On king T‘ae and the Heun-yuh, see ch. xv below; for Kow-tseen and Woo, see Tso’s Chuen, after XII. i. 2, et al., and the “History of the various States,” Bk lxxx.

[Par. 2. ] Choo He says on the word “Heaven” here, “Heaven is just principle, i. e., the reason of things, and nothing more.” The instance is a good one of the way in which he and others try to expunge the idea of a governing power and a personal God from their classics. Heaven is here evidently the loving and directing Power of the universe, or the will of that Power as indicated in the course of its Providence.

[Par. 3. ] See the She, IV. i. [i] VII.

[Par. 4. ] From this par. Mencius deals with Seuen’s love of valour just as in ch. i. he deals with his love of music.

[Par. 6. ] See the She, III. i. VII. 5. Mencius gives the third line differently from the common reading in the She.

[Par. 7. ] See the Shoo, V. i. Pt I. 7, but the quotation here is still more different from the classical text. The sentiment that rulers and instructors are intended to be aiding to God is the same as that of Paul, in Romans, xiii. 1—4, that “the powers ordained of God are the ministers of God.”

[Ch. IV. ]A ruler’s prosperity depends on his exercising a restraint on his own love of pleasure, and sympathizing with his people in their joys and sorrows,—illustrated by the example of duke King of Ts‘e.

[Par. 1. ] The Snow palace was a pleasure palace of the princes of Ts‘e, and is said to have been in the present district of Lin-tsze, department Ts‘ing-chow. Most of the critics say that the king had lodged Mencius there and went to see him in it, and this is the most natural inference from the language The king’s question was in the same words as that of king Hwuy of Leang in ch. II. of Part I; but there it had to be understood of rulers, while here its application is to Mencius himself, and there is in it an undertone of self-congratulation by the king on his handsome treatment of the philosopher. Mencius, however, starts off from it in his usual way to introduce his great theme of benevolent government, and benevolent feeling towards the people in the prince’s heart; and this is developed in parr. 2 and 3.

[Par. 4. ] On duke King of Ts‘e and his minister Gan, see the Ana XII. xi.; V. xvi.; et al. King was marquis of Ts‘e for 58 years, from bc 546 to 489. Mencius here presents his character in a more favourable light than Confucius does. Chuen-foo and Chaou-woo were two hills which must have been in the north-east of Ts‘e, and looking on the waters now called the Gulf of Pih-chih-le. Lang-yay was the name both of a hill and an adjacent city, in the present district of Choo-shing, department Ts‘ing-chow. The duke was bent evidently on pleasure, and his last words were simply intended to gloss that over.

[Par. 5. ] On the royal tours of inspection see the Shoo, II. i. 8, 9. Under the Chow dynasty the kings were understood to make such tours once in 12 years, and the feudal princes had to present themselves in their court once in six years. The spring and autumn movements were common to the king in his domain, and to the feudal princes in their States; but they are mentioned here, as appears from the conclusion of the paragraph, with special reference to the king.

[Par. 6. ] What is here called “a host” was a body of 2,500 men, by which the ruler of a State was accompanied when he went abroad; but the term is often used generally of a body of followers or an army. It is the picture of a wretched State which appears in this and the next paragraph. The “smaller princes” in the end of this paragraph denote the lords of the small, “attached” principalities in the larger States, and perhaps also the governors of the cities, on whom requisitions would be made to supply the wants of the ruler and his followers.

[Par. 9. ] means that his minister would have duke King choose between the ways of the ancient kings and those of the princes of his time. Other meanings have been assigned to it, but incorrectly.

[Par. 10. ] I believe the proper rendering of “issued a grand proclamation” would be “proclaimed a grand fast;” but I have not ventured to give the original words a meaning which none of the crities have adopted;—though it is quite allowable. The duke’s own occupancy of the shed was the way he took to “afflict his soul.” Shaou was the name given to a piece of music said to be transmitted from the ancient Shun, and is used here to signify that made to celebrate the good understanding between King and his minister. It appears to have consisted of two parts, one beginning with the note che, and the other with the note keoh. I do not know enough of music myself to explain these.

[Ch. V. ]On the purpose to pull down the Brilliant hall in Ts‘e. Certain principles of Royal government; and that neither greed of substance nor love of beauty need interfere with the practice of it. There can be no doubt that in this chapter Mencius suggests, if he does not directly incite to, rebellion. It is a graver charge against him that, after his usual fashion, he here overlooks the selfish vices of the rulers of his day, and thinks that, while still practising them, they could be transformed into true kings.

[Par. 1. ] The “Brilliant hall” was a name given to the principal apartment of the palaces where the kings in their tours of inspection, spoken of in the last chapter, received the feudal princes of the different quarters of the kingdom. See the Le Ke, XIV. The one in the text was near the foot of mount T‘ae, and had originally been within the limits of the State of Loo. Now the territory where it was belonged to Ts‘e, and as the Royal tours of inspection had fallen into disuse, it was proposed to king Seuen to remove the Brilliant hall.

[Par. 2. ] Here certainly Mencius suggests to king Seuen the idea of his superseding the kings of Chow.

[Par. 3. ] K‘e was a double-peaked hill, giving its name to the adjacent country which formed the old State of Chow, after the removal of the tribe, under T‘an-foo afterwards styled king T‘ae, from its older seat in Pin. The mountain gives its name to the present district of K‘e-shan, department Fung-ts‘eang, in the south-west of Shen-se. It was in K‘e that king Wăn succeeded to his father, and laid the foundations of the Royal sway, to which his son Woo attained. On the 1st point of Wăn’s government of K‘e see under Pt II. iii. 4. According to the 2nd, descendants of meritorious officers, if men of ability, received office, and even, if they were not so, they had pensions in acknowledgment of the services of their fathers. The ponds and weirs were free to the people, with the restriction as to the size of their nets referred to in Pt I. iii. 3. It is not said what measures were adopted by king Wăn for the relief of the four destitute classes who are mentioned. They must have been mainly provisions for their maintenance.

The concluding lines are from the She, II. iv. VIII. 13.

[Par. 4. ] See the She, III. ii. VI. i.

[Par 5. ] See the She, III. i. III. 2. We may admire the ingenuity of Mencius in the illustrations in these two paragraphs; but they would have little power with a sensual, self-indulgent man like king Seuen.

[Ch. VI. ]Bbinging home his bad government to the king of Ts‘e. This is a good specimen of the bold manner in which Mencius was not afraid to tell the truth to the kings and princes of his time.

[Par. 2. ] For the office of “chief criminal judge” see under the Analects, XVIII. ii.

[Ch. VII. ]What is meant by an ancient kingdom: and the caution to be exercised by a ruler in raising men to office. His great care must be to have the sympathy and approval of the people.

[Par. 1. ] If the king had no intimate ministers, men who had his familiar confidence and affection, he could not have men of old families in his service.

[Par. 3. ] The “low” are new men who had not previously been in office. “Strangers” means literally “distant in relationship” It appears from the Ch‘un Ts‘ew and Tso Chuen that the ministers in the different feudal States were nearly all of families which were offshoots from the ruling Houses.

[Par. 6. ] See the Great Learning, Commentary, x. 3.

[Ch. VIII. ]Killing a sovereign is not necessarily rebellion nor murder. We have here one of Mencius’ boldest utterances.

[Par. 1. ] T‘ang was the founder of the dynasty of Shang, and Këeh was the last of the sovereigns of Hea, a tyrant, whom T‘ang defeated and banished to Nan-ts‘aou, where he died. Chow was the last of the sovereigns of Shang, also a tyrant who burned himself to death, after his defeat by king Woo in the wild of Muh.

[Par. 3. ] In calling Chow “a mere fellow” Mencius probably borrowed from king Woo, who in the Shoo, V. i. Part iii. 4, calls Chow, while still alive, “this solitary fellow Show.”

[Ch. IX. ]The absurdity of a ruler’s not acting according to the counsel of the men of talents and virtue whom he calls to aid in his government, but requiring them to follow his own ways. In one point the illustrations of Mencius here fail. A prince is not supposed to understand either house-building or gem-cutting;—he must delegate these to other men who do. But government he ought to understand, and he may not delegate the responsibility of it to any scholars or officers. No doubt, however, there was that about king Seuen’s procedures which made our philosopher’s lesson to him quite appropriate.

[Ch. X. ]The disposal of kingdoms rests with the minds of the people. No conquest and subsequent annexation can be vindicated as according to the will of Heaven, unless the people of the conquered kingdom are content and satisfied.

[Par. 1. ] Yen lay north-west from Ts‘e, forming part of the present province of Chih-le. Its princes had in former times been marquises or earls, but in the age of Mencius they, like those of many other States, had assumed the title of king. At the time to which this chapter refers, though the question of the chronology is much disputed, its king, a poor weakling, had resigned the throne to his chief minister, and great confusion ensued, so that the people welcomed the appearance of the troops of Ts‘e and made no resistance to them.

[Par. 2. ] King Seuen by calling both Ts‘e and Yen “States of 10,000 chariots” plainly intimates that their rulers had taken the royal title, and wished to establish their sway over all the land.

[Par. 3. ] The common saying is that “King Wăn had possession of two of the three parts of the kingdom.” But he did not think that the people were prepared for the extinction of the dynasty of Shang or Yin, and left the completion of the fortunes of his house to his son Woo.

[Par. 4. ] Mencius disabuses the king, and gives a natural explanation of the success he had met with.

[Ch. XI. ]Ambition and greed only raise enemies and bring disasters. Safety and prosperity lie in benevolent government. King Seuen, it appears, was unwilling to give up his appropriation of Yen, on which, however, Mencius insists.

[Par. 1. ] When T‘ang commenced his operations against Këeh of Shang, he was the occupant of a small principality, being part of the present department of Kwei-tih, Ho-nan.

[Par. 2. ] See the Shoo, IV. ii. 6. But the Book of the Shoo, which gave a full account of T‘ang’s dealings with the chief of Koh, has been lost. See the Preface to the Shoo, Par. 10.

[Ch. XII. ]The affections of the people can only be secured by benevolent government; as they are dealt with by their rulers, so will they deal by them. Illustrated by a case in the State of Tsow.

[Par. 1. ] Tsow was the principality of which Mencius was a native:—see in the Prolegomena, at the beginning of his Life. Its power was much inferior to that of Loo, and therefore the engagement between their troops is not called a “battle,” but merely “a skirmish,” or “a noisy brush.” Its ruler’s precise rank at this time I have not been able to ascertain. He is called here by his honorary or sacrificial epithet of “duke Muh,” Muh in such application meaning, “Dispenser of virtue and maintainer of righteousness, outwardly showing inward feeling.”

[Par. 2. ] “Calamitous years” are years of pestilence, inundations, fires, &c. The “ditches and water-channels” were numerous, being much used in connexion with the system of agriculture. The former are characterized as “long and small,” the latter as “deep and large.” “The philosopher Tsăng” we became familiar with in the Analects as one of the principal disciples of Confucius.

[Ch. XIII. ]It is better for a prince, even though his State be small, to rely on himself than to depend on, or try to propitiate, greater Powers.

[Par. 1. ] T‘ăng was a small State, whose lords were Kes, marquises, in early times, but now only viscounts,—in the present district of T‘ăng, department Yen-chow. North of it was the kingdom of Ts‘e, and, in the time of Mencius, Ts‘oo had so far extended its power northwards as to threaten it from the south. Wăn is the posthumous epithet of the viscount of this time, meaning “Loyally truthful and courteous.”

[Par. 2. ] Mencius could have given counsel on the questions proposed by the prince, but he thought he could give him better advice. He says that the course he suggested might be put in practice, not that it would be successful.

[Ch. XIV. ]A prince, threatened by a powerful neighbour, will find his best defence and consolation in doing what is good and right. Mencius was at his wit’s end, I suppose, to give duke Wăn an answer. It was all very well to tell him to do good, but the promise of a royal descendant would hardly afford him much comfort.

[Par. 1. ] Seeh was a small principality, adjoining T‘ăng, and like it referred to the same present district in department Yen-chow. It had long been incorporated with Ts‘e, which now proposed to fortify its principal town, as a basis of operations, probably, against T‘ăng.

[Par. 2. ] See par. 2 of next chapter on king T‘ae’s removal from Pin to K‘e.

[Par. 3. ] In his first sentence here, Mencius, no doubt, was thinking, and would have duke Wăn think, of the kings Wăn and Woo, the descendants of king T‘ae.

[Ch. XV. ]Two honourable courses open to a prince threatened by enemies whom he cannot resists,—removal or abdication, and death in a gallant defence.

Par. 2. Some of the particulars which Mencius gives here of king T‘ae’s dealings with the Teih are also found in Fuh-săng’s Introduction to the Shoo. They were no doubt from traditional accounts still floating among the people towards the end of the Chow dynasty.

[Ch. XVI. ]Disappointment of Mencius’ prospects of usefulness in Loo, and his remarks upon it. A man’s way in life is ordered by Heaven, the instrumentality of other men in forwarding or obstructing his objects is only subordinate. Mencius’ presence in Loo at this time is referred to bc 309, and he is supposed to have henceforth given up the idea of doing anything for his age by his labours with its kings and princes. His prospects of doing anything with duke P‘ing could not have been great, for Loo had for a considerable time lost its independence, and the descendants of the duke of Chow were suffered to drag out an unhonoured existence only by the contemptuous forbearance of Ts‘oo.

[Par. 1. ] Yoh-ching, mentioned in par. 2, was a disciple of Mencius, with whom we shall meet again. He had found employment at the court of P‘ing, and had spoken to him of his master, so that now the duke was about to proceed in his carriage to invite Mencius to his court, as his counsellor and guide. Wishing to do him honour, he would in the first place visit him at his lodging. His favourite Tsang Ts‘ang knew all this, and took measures accordingly to prevent the meeting of the duke and the philosopher. The first occasion of Mencius’ mourning was, it is said, on the death of his father. But according to the received accounts Mencius’ father died when he was only three years old. We must suppose that the favourite invented the account that he gave.

[Par. 2. ] The tripods here mentioned contained the offerings of meat used in the funeral, sacrificial rites. The king used nine, a feudal prince seven, a great officer five, and a scholar or inferior officer three. To each tripod belonged its appropriate kind of flesh.