滕文公下

Chen Dai said: “Not seeing the feudal lords seems like a small matter, yet if you saw them once, you could make the greatest a true king and the least a hegemon. Moreover, the records say: ‘Bend a foot to straighten eight feet’ — this seems worth doing.”

Mencius said: “In the past, when Duke Jing of Qi went hunting, he summoned the gamekeeper with a pennant. The gamekeeper did not come, and the duke was about to have him executed. ‘A man of determination never forgets he may end up in a ditch; a man of courage never forgets he may lose his head.’ What did Confucius praise? That the gamekeeper would not answer a summons given with the wrong signal. How much less should one go without being summoned at all? Moreover, to bend a foot to straighten eight feet speaks only of profit. If profit were the measure, then bending eight feet to straighten a foot would also be acceptable. Once, Zhao Jianzi ordered Wang Liang to drive for his favorite Xi. They caught nothing all day. Xi reported: ‘He is the worst driver in the realm.’ Wang Liang tried again and caught ten birds in a morning. Xi reported: ‘He is the best driver in the realm.’ But Wang Liang refused to continue: ‘I drove properly for him and caught nothing all day; I drove with tricks and caught ten in a morning. The Odes say: He does not miss his course, his arrows fly like breaking.’ I refuse to stoop to the level of a petty man. If you bend yourself, how can you straighten others?”

Jing Chun said: “Are not Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi truly great men? When they are angry, the lords tremble; when they are at rest, the realm is at peace.”

Mencius said: “How can they be called great men? Have you not studied propriety? When a man comes of age, his father gives him instructions. When a woman marries, her mother gives her instructions, seeing her to the door and cautioning: ‘Go to your new home. Be respectful, be careful. Do not disobey your husband.’ To make obedience one’s standard — that is the way of a concubine.

Dwell in the wide house of the realm; stand in the correct position of the realm; walk the great road of the realm. When you achieve your ambition, walk the road together with the people. When you do not achieve it, walk the road alone. Wealth and rank cannot lead him astray; poverty and lowliness cannot make him swerve; power and force cannot make him bend. This is what I call a great man.”

Zhou Xiao asked: “Did the noble persons of antiquity serve in office?” Mencius said: “They did. The tradition says: ‘When Confucius was without a lord for three months, he became anxious. Whenever he crossed a border, he always carried a gift.’ Gongming Yi said: ‘When the ancients went three months without a lord, they received condolences.’”

“Three months without a lord and receiving condolences — is that not too hasty?”

Mencius said: “For a scholar to lose his position is like a feudal lord losing his state. A scholar without an appointment cannot sacrifice. Without sacrificial vessels, vestments, and proper offerings, he cannot sacrifice; and if he cannot sacrifice, he cannot feast. Is that not worthy of condolences?”

“Why did Confucius always carry a gift when crossing a border?”

Mencius said: “A scholar’s service in office is like a farmer’s plowing. Would a farmer abandon his plow when crossing a border?”

Zhou Xiao asked about the difficulty of office-seeking, and Mencius compared it to marriage: ancient people desired office but were unwilling to seek it through improper means, just as they desired marriage but would not achieve it by boring through walls.

Peng Geng asked: “With dozens of carriages behind you and hundreds of followers, eating your way from one feudal lord to the next — is this not excessive?”

Mencius said: “If it is not in accord with the Way, one should not accept even a single basket of food. If it is in accord with the Way, then Shun accepted the whole realm from Yao without considering it excessive. Do you consider it excessive?”

Peng Geng said: “No. But for a scholar to eat without working is not right.”

Mencius said: “If you do not facilitate exchange of goods and skills, supplementing surpluses and shortages, the farmers will have excess grain and the women excess cloth. If you facilitate exchange, then carpenters, wheelwrights, and all craftsmen can eat. Suppose there were someone who was filial at home, respectful abroad, and preserved the Way of the ancient kings to transmit to later learners — yet he cannot eat. Why do you honor carpenters and wheelwrights while demeaning one who practices benevolence and righteous conduct?”

Wan Zhang asked: “Song is a small state. Now it intends to practice kingly government, and Qi and Chu attack it out of hatred. What can be done?”

Mencius replied with the story of Tang and the lord of Ge, showing how Tang’s benevolence toward Ge eventually led to justified war. Tang’s first campaign began with Ge, and eleven campaigns later he had no enemy in the realm. “When he marched east, the western tribes complained; when he marched south, the northern tribes complained, saying: Why does he put us last?” The people looked to him as in a great drought they look for rain. Mencius concluded: “If you do not practice kingly government, that is one thing; but if you do, all within the four seas will look to you as their ruler. What is there to fear from Qi and Chu, however great they may be?”

Mencius said to Dai Busheng: “Do you wish your king to become good? Let me put it plainly. Suppose a great officer of Chu wished his son to speak the Qi dialect. Would he have a man of Qi tutor him, or a man of Chu?” He said: “A man of Qi.” Mencius said: “If one man of Qi tutors him while a crowd of Chu men heckle him all around, even if you beat him daily and demand that he speak Qi, it will be impossible. But if you took him to the Zhuang-Yue district for several years, even if you beat him and demanded he speak Chu, it would be impossible. You say Xue Juzhou is a good man and have placed him near the king. But if everyone around the king, old and young, high and low, were all like Xue Juzhou — with whom would the king do evil? If none around the king is like Xue Juzhou — with whom would the king do good? What can one Xue Juzhou do for the king of Song?”

Gongsun Chou asked: “What is the principle behind not visiting the feudal lords?”

Mencius said: “In antiquity, one who was not a minister did not visit. Duan Ganmu leaped over the wall to avoid the lord; Xie Liu shut his door and would not admit him — these were going too far. If pressed, one may see the lord. Yang Huo wished to see Confucius but disliked appearing rude. He waited until Confucius was out and sent him a steamed pig; Confucius also waited until Yang Huo was out and went to thank him. At that time Yang Huo made the first move — could Confucius have refused to see him? Zengzi said: ‘Shrugging the shoulders and smiling obsequiously is more exhausting than working in a summer field.’ Zilu said: ‘To talk with someone when the relationship is not right, and see his face flush with embarrassment — this is not something I understand.’ From this one can know what the noble person cultivates.”

Dai Yingzhi said: “A tax of one-tenth and abolishing market duties — this cannot yet be done. Let us reduce them for now and wait until next year to abolish them completely. What do you think?”

Mencius said: “Suppose there were a man who stole his neighbor’s chickens every day. Someone told him: ‘This is not the way of a noble person.’ He replied: ‘Let me reduce it — I shall steal one chicken a month, and next year I shall stop completely.’ If you know it is wrong, then stop at once — why wait for next year?”

Gongdu Zi said: “Outsiders all say you, Master, are fond of disputation. May I ask why?”

Mencius said: “Do I love disputation? I cannot help myself. The world has long existed; it alternates between order and chaos. In the time of Yao, floodwaters surged; in the time of the Duke of Zhou, he subdued the barbarians and drove away the wild beasts. After Confucius composed the Spring and Autumn Annals, rebellious ministers and undutiful sons were afraid.

Sage-kings no longer arise; the feudal lords act with abandon; scholars without office indulge in wild theories. The words of Yang Zhu and Mo Di fill the realm — if discourse does not follow Yang, it follows Mo. Yang’s ‘for myself’ means no ruler; Mo’s ‘universal love’ means no father. No father and no ruler — that is to be a beast. I wish to correct people’s hearts, put an end to deviant theories, resist biased conduct, and banish excessive words, to carry on the work of the three sages. Do I love disputation? I cannot help myself. He who can refute Yang and Mo with words is a disciple of the sages.”

Kuang Zhang said: “Is Chen Zhongzi not truly a man of integrity? Living at Yuling, for three days he ate nothing; his ears could not hear, his eyes could not see. Above the well was a plum tree, more than half eaten by worms. He crawled to it and took three bites — only then could his ears hear and his eyes see.”

Mencius said: “Among the scholars of Qi, I would certainly consider Zhongzi the outstanding one. Nevertheless, how can Zhongzi be called a man of integrity? To fulfill his standard, one would have to be an earthworm. Earthworms eat dry soil above and drink yellow springs below. Was the house Zhongzi lived in built by Bo Yi or by Robber Zhi? Was the grain he ate planted by Bo Yi or by Robber Zhi? This cannot be known.”

Mencius then recounted how Zhongzi, from a great family, refused his brother’s salary as unrighteous yet lived on what his wife earned — and once ate goose at his mother’s house, only to vomit it up when told what it was. Mencius concluded: “He rejects from his mother yet accepts from his wife; he rejects from his brother’s house yet lives at Yuling. Is this truly fulfilling his principle? One like Zhongzi could only fulfill his standard by becoming an earthworm.”