Original text:

Gong Sunchou asked, "Master, how can Guan Zhong and Yan Zi be rewarded for their meritorious service?"

Mencius said: "Zicheng is an upright man, but only Guan Zhong and Yan Zi are known. Or ask Zeng: Who is my son or my son? Zeng Xixi suddenly said, My late son is afraid. Yue: Who is my son and who is Guan Zhong? I was suddenly unhappy and said, "Why do you compare to Guan Zhong? Guan Zhong's monarch is as expert as he is, national politics as long as he is, and merits as bad as he is. What have you compared? " He said, "Guan Zhong, what I did was not what I did, but what I wanted?"

He said: "Guan Zhong is the ruler and Yan Zi is the ruler. Guan Zhong and Yan Zi are not enough? "

Yue said, "With, it's the same backhand."

He said: "If so, the disciples will be very confused. With Wang Wenzhi's virtue, after a hundred years of collapse, he still does not interact with the world; King Wu and Duke Zhou followed suit and then went to the University. If you are in Wang Yiran today, why can't the king of Wen do it? "

He said, "What does a Wen Wang Neng do? From Tang to Wu Ding, the Holy King wrote six or seven works, which have long been yin and hard to change. Wuding dynasty princes, have the world, is still in the palm. Zhou went to Wuding for a short time, but there were still survivors because of his family's legacy, good manners and good governance. Cabbage, Wang Bi, Gan, are all saints. Complement each other, so it's been a long time. Feet, yes; A people, its minister also; But it is difficult for Wen Wang to start from a hundred miles away. "

Qi people have a saying: "although there is wisdom, it is better to follow the trend;" Although there is a base, it is better to wait. Nowadays, it is not difficult to see:, Yin, and those who have not taken the Wan Li Road have their own places to go; The cock crows and the dog barks, but it is almost everywhere, and there are people in the same place. The land does not change, the people do not change, and the benevolent is king. And Wang didn't do it, and there was no negligence at this time; The people's haggard is even worse than at this time. Hungry people eat easily, and thirsty people drink easily. "

Confucius said, "The popularity of virtue is faster than the delivery of mail. At present, Wancheng country is benevolent, and the people enjoy it, but it is still hanging. People with semi-ancient stories will do twice as much, but that's the truth. "

Translation:

Sun Chou asked, "If the princes of Qi are in power, can the achievements of Guan Zhong and Yan Zi be further promoted?"

Mencius said, "You are really neat. You only know Guan Zhong and Yan Zi. Someone once asked: Who is more talented than? Zeng Xi said uneasily, Luz is the person my grandfather is afraid of. How can I compare with him? The man asked again, who is more talented than Guan Zhong?

Zeng immediately became unhappy and said, "How can you compare Guan Zhong with me? Guan Zhong is trusted by Qi Huangong, who has been in charge of state affairs for so long and achieved so little. How can you compare him with me? " Mencius went on to say, "Zeng didn't even want to be like Guan Zhong. Do you think I want that? "

Gong Sunchou said, "Guan Zhong helped Huan Gong dominate the world, and Yan Zi helped Gong Jing become a famous vassal. Isn't Guan Zhong and Yan Zi worth comparing? "

Mencius said, "With the strength of Qi and the way of kingliness, it is easy to unify the whole country."

Gong Sunchou said, "Disciple, now that you mention it, I am even more puzzled. A benevolent man like Zhou Wenwang lived for nearly a hundred years before he died, and he has not been able to unify the world. It was not until Zhou Wuwang and Duke Zhou inherited his career that the world was unified. Now you say it's easy to unify the world with kingcraft. So, isn't even Zhou Wenwang worth learning? "

Mencius said, "How can we compare with Zhou Wenwang? From Shang Tang to Wuding, there were six or seven wise monarchs. The whole world was controlled by the Yin Dynasty for a long time, and it was hard to change for a long time. Wu Ding made the vassals come to Korea and rule the world like the palm of his hand. Zhou Wang is not far from Wuding. Wuding's aristocratic families, good customs, traditional fashions, charity politics and other relics still exist, and it was assisted by a group of wise ministers such as Wei Zizhi, Wang Zi, Bi Gan, and Wang Zi, so it was able to rule for a long time before losing power.

At that time, not an inch of land did not belong to Zhou Wang, and no nation did not belong to the rule of Zhou Wang. In that case, King Wen could only rise from a small place in Fiona Fang, so it was very difficult. Qi people have a saying: "Although there is wisdom, it is better to follow the trend;" Although there are hoes, let's wait for the busy farming season. "The current situation is very conducive to the unification of the world by the king: when Xia, Shang and Zhou flourished, the land did not exceed the dynasty of a thousand miles, and now Qi has surpassed it.

Chickens and dogs heard about each other, and all the way to the four places, it can be seen that Qi has a large population. The land does not need to be newly developed, and the people do not need to reunite. If benevolent policies are implemented to unify the world, no one can stop it. Besides, the sage who unified the world did not appear, never for so long; People have never been so oppressed by tyranny. Hungry people don't choose food, thirsty people don't choose drinks.

Confucius said: "the popularization of morality is faster than the delivery of government orders by post stations." At this time, a big country with 10,000 personnel carriers was benevolent, and the people were happy, just like the hanged man was saved. Therefore, doing half the things of the ancients can double the achievements of the ancients. Only then can you do it. "

Precautions:

Gong Sunchou: A student of Mencius, a native of Qi. Danglu: Danglu, Danglu. Xu: Prosperity and revival. Zeng: Zeng Shen, a native of Shandong, is the grandson of Zeng Shen, a Confucius student. My son: the color and kind of friends are called, which is equivalent to "my brother" and "elder brother"; Suddenly: an anxious look. Ancestor: refers to the deceased elder. This refers to Zeng's grandfather Zeng Shen. Suddenly: an angry expression. Zeng: adverb, unexpected, unexpected. Be: same as predicate, think. By: It's like Jude.

About the author:

Mencius (about 372- 289 BC), named Ke, was born in Zou in the middle of the Warring States Period (that is, a native of southeast Zou County, Shandong Province), not far from Confucius' hometown Qufu. He is a famous thinker, politician, educator, the successor of Confucius' theory and an important representative of Confucianism. According to legend, Mencius is a descendant of Lu nobles. He lost his father when he was a child, and his family was poor. He was a student of Zisi.

After finishing his studies, Mencius lobbied the governors as a scholar in an attempt to promote his own political views, and successively defected to Liang (Wei), Qi, Song, Teng and Lu. At that time, several big countries devoted themselves to enriching their troops and striving for reunification through violent means. He inherited Confucius' thought of "benevolence" and developed it into "benevolent government", which was called "elegant sage".