Original text of Mencius

The First Chapter of King Hui of Liang

Mencius met King Hui of Liang. The king said, "Sir, if you have come even a thousand miles away, will you be able to benefit our country?" Mencius said to him, "Why does the king need to say benefit? It's just benevolence and righteousness." "The king said, "How can it benefit my country?" The doctor asked: "How can I benefit my family?" The common people said: "How can I benefit my body?" The country is in danger if a country of thousands of vehicles kills its ruler. Those who kill their king will surely have a family with hundreds of chariots. If you take a thousand chariots, you won’t have too many. If you want to benefit first for the sake of later righteousness, you will not be benevolent but leave your relatives behind. , He is the king without righteousness. The king just calls him benevolence and righteousness, why should he call it benefit?"

The First Chapter of King Hui of Liang Chapter 2

Mencius met King Hui of Liang. . The king stood on the swamp, looking at the wild geese and elk, and said: "Do wise men also enjoy this?"

Mencius said to him: "The wise will enjoy this, but the unworthy will not enjoy it." The poem goes "After passing through the Lingtai, we will build it; the common people will attack it, and it will be completed in a short time. When the beginning is passed, the common people's sons will come. The king is in the spiritual confinement, the deer are crouching, the white birds and cranes are in the marsh, and the fish are leaping." King Wen used the power of the people as a platform and a marsh, and the people were happy. He called the platform Lingtai and the marsh Lingmarsh. People in ancient times enjoyed themselves with the people, so they were able to enjoy it. "The times are ruinous, and the sons and daughters will die together!" The people want to die with them, but how can they be happy alone even if there are birds and beasts in the pond? "

Chapter 3 of King Hui of Liang Chapter

King Hui of Liang said: "I only care about my country with all my heart and ears! If there is trouble in the river, move the people to the east of the river and move the grain to the east of the river. The same goes for the trouble in the east of the river. Look at the neighboring countries. Government is not as good as the intentions of a few people. The people of the neighboring countries should not be reduced, and the people of the poor people should not be increased. Why? "Mencius said to him: "The king is warlike, please use the metaphor of war. Fill up the drums, and the weapons will be used. Then, abandon the armor and drag the soldiers away, maybe stop after a hundred steps, or stop after fifty steps; what if you take fifty steps and laugh at a hundred steps? Said: "If the king knows this, there is no hope that the people will be more numerous than those of neighboring countries. If the farming season is not violated, the grain will not be enough to eat; if the grains are not put into the pond, the fish will not be enough to eat; if the ax weighs a pound in the forest, the wood will not be able to be used." Also, grain and fish cannot be eaten, and wood cannot be used. This is to enable the people to maintain their health and die without regrets. This is the beginning of the king's way. A five-acre house is filled with mulberry trees, and those who are fifty can clothe them. Silk: If chickens, dolphins, dogs, and pigs are not lost in time, those who are seventy can eat meat; if a hundred acres of land are not taken away in time, a family of several people can be free from hunger. I will take Xiangxu's teachings seriously and apply them. The righteousness of filial piety and brotherhood is worthy of being honored on the road; if a person is seventy years old and wears silk and eats meat, the people will not be hungry or cold; however, there is no such thing as a king! I don't know how to tell. When a person dies, he says: "It's not me, it's Sui." How is it different from stabbing someone and killing him, saying: "It's not me, it's a soldier!" ”

Chapter 1 of King Hui of Liang·Chapter 4

King Hui of Liang said: “I am willing to accept the teachings.” Mencius said to him: “Killing people with stiles and swords, there is a way. "Is it different?" He said: "There is no difference." "Is there any difference between using a sword and government?" He said: "There is no difference." He said: "There are fat meat in the kitchen, fat horses in the stables, and the hunger of the people. If there is a hungry beast, it will lead the beast to eat people. The beasts eat each other, and people are disgusted with it. If you are the parents of the people, you will inevitably lead the beasts to eat people. Zhongni said: "The first to make figurines, they are the parents of the people." No consequences! "It is used like a human being, so it makes the people starve to death." King Hui of Liang Chapter 1

King Hui of Liang said: "Pu Guo." , There is nothing strong in the world, as the old man knows. If I am defeated by Qi in the east, my eldest son will die; I will be lost to Qin for seven hundred miles in the west; I will be humiliated by Chu in the south. I am ashamed of myself, and I would like to be compared to the dead. "What can I do?" Mencius said to him, "You can be king in a place hundreds of miles away. The king treats the people benevolently, saves punishments, collects taxes lightly, and cultivates deep and easy farming. The strong man spends his free time cultivating his filial piety and loyalty, and then he enters the country." Serve his father and brother, and go out to serve his superiors, so that you can control the stilts and attack the strong armor and powerful soldiers of Qin and Chu! When he captured his people, he was unable to cultivate the land to support their parents. Their parents were frozen and hungry, and their brothers and wives were separated. He is drowning his people, and the king goes to conquer them. Who can be the enemy of the king? Therefore it is said: "The benevolent are invincible." "King, please don't doubt me. ”

The First Chapter of King Hui of Liang·Chapter 6

Mencius met King Xiang of Liang.

The speaker said: "Looking at him, he is not like a human king, and he does not see what he is afraid of. He suddenly asked: "Is the evil in the world determined?" I replied: "It is determined in one." "'Who can do it in one? ?'" "He said to him: "He who is not fond of killing can be killed." "Who can do it?" "He said to him: "There is no one in the world who cannot help me. Wang Zhifu Miao? If there is a drought between July and August, then The sky is full of clouds and the rain is coming, and the seedlings are flourishing. Who can control it? There is no one in the world who does not like to kill people. , then all the people in the world will lead and look forward to it. If the people return, they will go down by the water. Who can control it? 』

Chapter 7 of King Hui of Liang!

King Xuan of Qi asked: "Can I hear about Qi Huan's affairs?"

Mencius said to him: "Zhongni's disciples are ignorant of the affairs of Huan Wen. It will be passed down to future generations, and the ministers will not hear about it. If there is no way, then you will be a king."

He said: "How can you be a king if you are virtuous?" He said: "If you protect the people, there is no way that the king can control it. Yes."

Said: "If you are a few people, can you protect the people?"

Said: "Yes."

Said: "How do you know? "Can I?"

Said: "The minister heard that Hu said: "The king was sitting in the hall, and a cow passed by the hall. When the king saw it, he asked: "Where is the cow?" He said: "I will challenge the bell." The king said, "Give it up. I can't bear to see it. If it is innocent, I will die." He said to him, "Then how can we abolish the bell?" He said, "How can we abolish it? Yielding sheep. "Don't you know there are all kinds of things?" "

Said: "Yes."

Said: "This heart is enough for a king. The people all love the king, and I know that the king cannot bear it."

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The king said: "However, if there are real people, even though the state of Qi is small, why should I love an ox? Even if I can't bear it to squint, it will die if it is innocent, so I exchange it with a sheep."

said: "The king is no different from the people who love the king. If a small thing is easy to make a big thing, the other party will know it? If the king hides his innocence and dies, how can the cattle and sheep be chosen!"

The king laughed and said, "Why are you so sincere? I don't love his wealth, so I would exchange it for sheep. It is suitable for the people to call me love."

He said, "It's not hurt, it's true. The art of benevolence means that when you see an ox, you don’t see a sheep. When a gentleman sees an animal, he cannot bear to see it die; when he hears its sound, he cannot bear to eat its meat. This is why a gentleman is far away from the kitchen.”

The king said: "The poem goes: "Others have intentions, and I think about them." That's what Master said. I do it, but I seek it instead, and it doesn't get my heart. Master's words are for me. The heart is full of sorrows; why is this heart suitable for the king?"

Said: "There is a king who said: "My strength is enough to lift a hundred jun, but not enough to lift a feather; Ming is enough." "If you look at the end of the hair, you won't see any traces of it. 'Does the king agree with this?"

Said: "No."

"Because of the foot and the beast, the merit will not reach the people." However, if a feather is not lifted, it is because there is no use of force; if the public support is not seen, it is because there is no need to understand; if the people are not protected, it is because there is no use of kindness. Therefore, if the king is not a king, it is not impossible. Ye."

Said: "What is the difference between those who do not do it and those who cannot do it?"

Said: "Take Taishan to cross the North Sea, and the speaker said: "I can't." "It's true that you can't do it. You break a branch for the elders and say to others: "I can't do it." It's because you can't do it. It's not impossible to be a king. It's not like holding the Taishan Mountain to cross the North Sea. A king is not a king. It's like breaking branches. The old are like the old, and the young are like the young. The world can be carried in the palm of the hand. It's just a matter of adding kindness to others. Therefore, extending kindness is enough to protect the world, but not being able to protect your wife. The reason why people in ancient times were greater than others is just to extend kindness to animals. If the merit does not reach the common people, how can you give it to the people? If you have power, then you will know the importance; if you save it, you will know the length and the shortcoming. Faster than the heart and mind?"

The king said: "No. How can I do it quickly! I will pursue my great desire."

Said: "The king's great desire is, Can I hear it?" Wang smiled but said nothing.

Said: "Is it that the fat and sweetness are not enough for the mouth? The lightness and warmth are not enough for the body? Or the color is not enough for the eyes to see? The sound is not enough for the ears to hear? The taste is not enough to make the order in front of you. ? All the king's ministers are enough to provide for it. But the king said: "No. I don't think so."

Said: "Then the king You can see the reason for your great desire. If you want to conquer the Qin and Chu states, you can do whatever you want and seek for fish. >The king said: "What if it's really worth it?"

He said: "It's almost nothing. If you ask for a fish by chance, even if you don't get a fish, there will be no consequences. Do what you want, ask for what you want, and do it with all your heart. Then there will be disaster later."

Said: "Can we hear about it?" He said: "If the people of Zou fight with the people of Chu, who does the king think will win?"

Said: "The people of Chu are victorious."

said: "However, a small solid cannot defeat a large one, a small solid cannot defeat a large number, and a weak solid cannot defeat a strong one. The land within the sea is nine thousand miles away, and if you gather together, you will have it." One; how can it be different from Zou to attack Chu? Now the king is promoting benevolence, so that all the officials in the world want to establish themselves in the king's dynasty, all the farmers want to work in the king's fields, and all the merchants want to hide. In the king's city, all travelers want to go out of the king's control; anyone in the world who wants to harm the king wants to sue the king."

The king said: "I , so I can't make progress. I hope you can help me with my ambition and teach me clearly. Although I am not sensitive, please try it."

He said: "Those who have no permanent property but have perseverance can only do it. The people have no permanent property, because they have no perseverance, and they only do it for their own sake. If they fall into sin and then punish them, how can they ignore the people if they are in charge? Therefore, a wise ruler will control the people's property so that they can serve their parents and feed their wives; they will be full in good years and avoid death in bad years. If you look up to your parents, you will not be able to support your wife. In good years, you will suffer all your life, and in bad years, you will not be immune to death. This is just to save death, but you may not be able to support it. If the king wants to practice it, he will go against his nature. A five-acre house with mulberry trees can be used to clothe it. Chickens, dolphins, dogs, and pigs can be eaten without losing its time. A field with a hundred acres can be eaten by eight people. There can be no hunger in the family. If you follow the teachings of Xiangxu and apply the principles of filial piety and brotherhood, you will live up to your expectations. The old man will wear silk and eat meat, and the people will not be hungry or cold. However, there is no such thing as a king!"

This is a work that records Meng Ke’s words and deeds, and is also one of the important classics of Confucianism. The chapters include: (1) "King Hui of Liang" (Part 1 and Part 2); (2) "Gongsun Chou" (Part 1 and Part 2); (3) "Teng Wengong" (Part 1 and Part 2); (4) "Li Lou" (Part 1 and Part 2); (V) ) "Wan Zhang" (top and bottom); (6) "Gao Zi" (top and bottom); (7) "Jin Xin" (top and bottom).

"Historical Records. "The Biography of Mencius and Xun": "Meng Ke was not in agreement with what he said, so he retreated to Wan Zhang's disciples and prefaced "Poems" and "Books" to describe Zhongni's meaning and wrote seven chapters of "Mencius"." It is said that the seven chapters of "Mencius" were written by Meng Ke. Self-written, Zhao Qi's "Mencius Inscription" said: "This book is written by Mencius, so it is generally called "Mencius"." He also said: "So he retreated to discuss the collection, and gave it to his younger brother Gongsun Chou and Wan Zhang's disciples. When answering difficult questions, he also wrote his own instructions and wrote seven chapters. "This is also written by Mencius himself. Yan Ruoyu of the Qing Dynasty also wrote the Chronicles of Mencius's Life and Death in his "Analects of Confucius" written by Mencius himself. "However, according to "Mencius", Mencius saw that the kings of his time, such as King Hui of Liang, King Xiang of Liang, King Xuan of Qi, Duke Zou Mugong, Duke Wen of Teng, Duke Ping of Lu, etc., were all given posthumous titles. It is probably not Mencius's own creation; and It is recorded that Mencius's disciples Yue Zhengzi, Gongduzi and Wuluzi are all called "Zi", which is definitely not the work of Mencius. The compiler is most likely a disciple of Mencius. The book was written around the middle of the Warring States Period.

The main annotated editions of "Mencius" include "Mencius Commentary", "Four Parts Preparation" in 14 volumes; "Mencius Annotations", "Four Parts Preparation" in 7 volumes; "Mencius' Justice", "Four Parts Preparation" in 7 volumes; "Yao" has 30 volumes. There is also the contemporary Yang Bojun's "Translation and Annotation of Mencius" (Zhonghua Book Company Edition).