King Hui of Liang, Part Two梁惠王下

Zhang Bao came to see Mencius and said, "I saw the king, and the king told me that he loves music, but I had nothing to say in reply." Then he asked, "What is it to love music?"

Mencius said, "If the king loves music greatly, then the state of Qi is nearly there!"

Another day Mencius saw the king and said, "You once told Master Zhang that you love music. Is that so?"

The king flushed and said, "I am not one who can love the music of the former kings. I only love the music of the common world."

"If you love music greatly, then Qi is nearly there. The music of today is the same as the music of old."

"May I hear about this?"

"Which is more joyful, to enjoy music alone, or to enjoy it together with others?"

"Not so good as with others."

"Which is more joyful, to enjoy it with a few, or to enjoy it with many?"

"Not so good as with many."

"Let me speak to you about music. Suppose you make music here, and the people hear the sound of your bells and drums, the notes of your pipes and flutes, and they all ache in the head and knit their brows and say to one another, 'Our king loves his bells and drums. Why then does he bring us to this extremity? Father and son do not see each other. Brothers and wives and children are scattered.' Suppose you hunt here, and the people hear the sound of your carriages and horses and see the beauty of your plumed banners, and they all ache in the head and knit their brows and say to one another, 'Our king loves his hunting. Why then does he bring us to this extremity? Father and son do not see each other. Brothers and wives and children are scattered.' This is for no other reason than that you do not take joy together with the people.

Suppose you make music here, and the people hear the sound of your bells and drums, the notes of your pipes and flutes, and they all look glad and say to one another, 'Our king must be free of illness. How else could he make music?' Suppose you hunt here, and the people hear the sound of your carriages and horses and see the beauty of your plumed banners, and they all look glad and say to one another, 'Our king must be free of illness. How else could he hunt?' This is for no other reason than that you take joy together with the people.

If you now take joy together with the people, you will reign as a true king."

King Xuan of Qi asked, "Was King Wen's park seventy li square? Is that so?"

Mencius answered, "It is in the records handed down."

"Was it as large as that?"

"The people still thought it small."

"My own park is forty li square, and the people still think it large. Why is that?"

"King Wen's park was seventy li square, but those who cut grass and gathered wood went there, and those who took pheasants and hares went there. He shared it with the people. Was it not fitting that they thought it small?

When I first came to your border, I asked about the great prohibitions of the state before I dared to enter. I heard that inside the outer gate there is a park forty li square, and that whoever kills a deer in it is punished as one who kills a man. Then this is a pit forty li square dug in the middle of the state. Is it not fitting that the people think it large?"

King Xuan of Qi asked, "Is there a way of dealing with neighboring states?"

Mencius answered, "There is. Only the benevolent can use a great state to serve a small one, and so Tang served Ge and King Wen served the Kunyi. Only the wise can use a small state to serve a great one, and so King Tai served the Xunyu and Goujian served Wu.

He who serves the small with the great delights in heaven. He who serves the great with the small fears heaven. He who delights in heaven keeps all under heaven. He who fears heaven keeps his own state. The Shi says, 'Fear the majesty of heaven, and so keep it.'"

The king said, "Great are your words! But I have a failing. I love courage."

Mencius answered, "Do not love small courage. To stroke one's sword and glare and say, 'How dare that fellow face me' — this is the courage of a common man, who matches himself against one person. Make your courage great.

The Shi says, 'The king blazed out in anger, and he set his troops in order, and he stopped the invading host, and he made the blessing of Zhou thick, and he answered all under heaven.' This is the courage of King Wen. King Wen was angry once and gave peace to the people of all under heaven.

The Shu says, 'Heaven sent down the people below and made for them a ruler and made for them a teacher, only that they might help the Lord on High and cherish the four quarters. Guilty or not guilty, it rests with me. Who under heaven dares go beyond his will?' One man walked in violence through all under heaven, and King Wu was ashamed of it. This is the courage of King Wu. King Wu too was angry once and gave peace to the people of all under heaven.

Now if you too are angry once and give peace to the people of all under heaven, the people will fear only that you do not love courage."

King Xuan of Qi met Mencius at the Snow Palace. The king said, "Do worthy men also have this joy?"

Mencius answered, "They do. When people do not get it, they blame those above them. To blame those above because one does not get it is wrong, and to stand above the people and not take joy together with them is also wrong.

He who delights in the delight of the people, the people also delight in his delight. He who grieves at the grief of the people, the people also grieve at his grief. To delight with all under heaven and to grieve with all under heaven, and yet not to reign as king — that has never been.

Long ago Duke Jing of Qi asked Master Yan, 'I wish to see Zhuanfu and Chaowu, to follow the sea southward and reach Langye. What should I cultivate to match the tours of the former kings?'

Master Yan answered, 'A good question! When the Son of Heaven goes to the feudal lords, it is called a tour of inspection (巡狩). A tour of inspection means to look over what they keep. When a feudal lord attends the Son of Heaven, it is called a report of office (述職). A report of office means to report what one is charged with. Nothing in it is not business. In spring the ruler looks at the plowing and makes up what is short. In autumn he looks at the harvest and helps what is not enough.

A saying of Xia goes, "If our king does not travel, how shall we rest? If our king does not take his ease, how shall we be helped? One journey and one rest make the measure for the feudal lords."

Now it is not so. They march with troops and take the grain, so the hungry do not eat and the worn do not rest. They glare and slander one another, and the people at last turn wicked. The ruler's command is defied and the people are ill used, and drinking and eating flow like water. Liu (流) and lian (連), huang (荒) and wang (亡) become the grief of the feudal lords.

To go down with the current and forget to return is called liu (流). To go up against the current and forget to return is called lian (連). To chase beasts and never have enough is called huang (荒). To delight in wine and never have enough is called wang (亡). The former kings had neither the joy of liu and lian nor the conduct of huang and wang. It rests only on what my lord will do.'

Duke Jing was pleased. He proclaimed a great warning throughout the state and went out to lodge in the countryside. Then he first opened the granaries and made up what was short. He called the grand music master and said, 'Make me music in which ruler and minister delight in each other.' These are the Zhishao (徴招) and the Jueshao (角招). Their words say, 'What fault is there in holding the ruler back?' To hold the ruler back is to love the ruler."

King Xuan of Qi asked, "Everyone tells me to pull down the Bright Hall. Shall I pull it down, or shall I let it be?"

Mencius answered, "The Bright Hall is the hall of a true king. If you wish to carry out the government of a true king, do not pull it down."

The king said, "May I hear about the government of a true king?"

Mencius answered, "Long ago, when King Wen governed the land of Mount Qi (岐), he took one part in nine from those who plowed and gave hereditary stipends to those who served in office. At the passes and the markets he inspected but laid no tax. There was no ban on the ponds and the fish weirs. The guilt of a criminal did not reach his wife and children.

A man old and without a wife is called a widower (鰥). A woman old and without a husband is called a widow (寡). One old and without children is called solitary (獨). A child without a father is called an orphan (孤). These four are the most destitute of the people under heaven, and they have no one to appeal to. When King Wen set out his government and spread his benevolence, he always put these four first. The Shi says, 'The rich may do well enough. Pity these lonely and forlorn ones.'"

The king said, "Good are your words!"

"If you think them good, why do you not carry them out?"

The king said, "I have a failing. I love wealth."

Mencius answered, "Long ago Gong Liu also loved wealth. The Shi says, 'He stacked the sheaves and filled the granaries, he wrapped the dry provisions in bags and in sacks. He would gather the people and make them shine. Bows and arrows were drawn, shields and spears and axes taken up, and then the march began.' So those who stayed had grain stacked in the granaries and those who went had provisions wrapped, and only then could the march begin. If you love wealth and share it with the people, what difficulty will there be in your reigning as king?"

The king said, "I have a failing. I love women."

Mencius answered, "Long ago King Tai also loved women, and he loved his consort. The Shi says, 'Gugong Danfu came in the morning, galloping his horse. He followed the western bank of the river and came below Mount Qi, and there with the lady Jiang he came to look for a place to live.' At that time there was no woman resentful within and no man without a wife outside. If you love women and share it with the people, what difficulty will there be in your reigning as king?"

Mencius said to King Xuan of Qi, "Suppose one of your ministers entrusted his wife and children to a friend and traveled to Chu, and when he came back he found that the friend had let his wife and children freeze and starve. What then?"

The king said, "I would cast the friend off."

"If the judge (士師) cannot govern his officers, what then?"

The king said, "I would dismiss him."

"If all within the four borders is not governed, what then?"

The king looked to his left and right and spoke of other things.

Mencius saw King Xuan of Qi and said, "What is called an old state does not mean a state that has tall trees. It means a state that has ministers of many generations. You have no close ministers. You do not even know that those you raised up in days past are gone today."

The king said, "How am I to know that a man has no ability and let him go?"

"A ruler raises up the worthy as if he had no choice. He is about to let the low pass over the high and the distant pass over his own kin. Can he be anything but careful?

When those around you all say a man is worthy, that is not yet enough. When the great officers all say he is worthy, that is not yet enough. When the people of the state all say he is worthy, then look into him, and when you see that he is worthy, then use him.

When those around you all say he will not do, do not listen. When the great officers all say he will not do, do not listen. When the people of the state all say he will not do, then look into him, and when you see that he will not do, then put him away.

When those around you all say he should be put to death, do not listen. When the great officers all say he should be put to death, do not listen. When the people of the state all say he should be put to death, then look into him, and when you see that he deserves death, then put him to death. So it is said, 'The people of the state put him to death.'

Only when it is done in this way can you be father and mother to the people."

King Xuan of Qi asked, "Tang drove out Jie, and King Wu struck Zhou Xin (紂). Is that so?"

Mencius answered, "It is in the records handed down."

"May a minister kill his ruler?"

"He who harms benevolence (仁) is called a robber (賊). He who harms rightness (義) is called a ruiner (殘). A man who ruins and robs is called a mere fellow (一夫). I have heard that a mere fellow named Zhou Xin was cut down. I have not heard that a ruler was killed."

Mencius saw King Xuan of Qi and said, "If you are going to build a great house, you must have the master builder look for large timber. When the master builder gets large timber, you are pleased, for you think it equal to its task. When the workmen cut it down small, you are angry, for you think it not equal to its task.

Now a man learns when he is young and wishes to put it into practice when he is grown. If you say to him, 'For the moment put aside what you have learned and follow me,' what of that?

Here is a piece of uncut jade. Though it be worth ten thousand yi (鎰), you will surely have the jade cutter carve and polish it. But when it comes to governing the state, you say, 'For the moment put aside what you have learned and follow me.' How does that differ from teaching the jade cutter how to cut jade?"

The men of Qi struck Yan and defeated it. King Xuan asked, "Some tell me not to take it, and some tell me to take it. A state of ten thousand chariots struck a state of ten thousand chariots, and in fifty days it fell. The strength of men does not reach this far. If I do not take it, there will surely be a calamity from heaven. What of taking it?"

Mencius answered, "If you take it and the people of Yan are glad, then take it. Among the men of old there was one who did so, and that was King Wu. If you take it and the people of Yan are not glad, then do not take it. Among the men of old there was one who did so, and that was King Wen.

When a state of ten thousand chariots strikes a state of ten thousand chariots, and the people come to meet your army with food in bamboo baskets and drink in jars, can it be for any other reason? They are fleeing from water and fire. If the water grows deeper and the fire grows hotter, they will only turn elsewhere."

The men of Qi struck Yan and took it. The feudal lords were planning to rescue Yan. King Xuan said, "Many of the feudal lords are planning to strike me. How shall I meet them?"

Mencius answered, "I have heard of one who governed all under heaven from seventy li, and that was Tang. I have never heard of one who held a thousand li and feared others.

The Shu says, 'Tang began his first campaign with Ge.' All under heaven trusted him. When he campaigned to the east, the tribes of the west complained. When he campaigned to the south, the tribes of the north complained and said, 'Why does he put us last?' The people looked for him as men look for clouds and rainbows in a great drought. Those going to market did not stop and those plowing were not disturbed. He cut down their ruler and comforted their people, like rain falling in season, and the people rejoiced greatly. The Shu says, 'We await our lord. When our lord comes we shall live again.'

Now Yan was ill using its people, and you went and campaigned against it. The people thought you would pull them out of water and fire, and they came to meet your army with food in bamboo baskets and drink in jars. But if you kill their fathers and elder brothers, bind their sons and younger brothers, pull down their ancestral shrines and carry off their precious vessels, how can that be right?

All under heaven already feared the strength of Qi, and now you have doubled your land and still do not carry out benevolent government. This is to set the armies of all under heaven in motion. Let my lord quickly give the order. Send back the old and the young, stop the carrying off of the precious vessels, take counsel with the people of Yan, set up a ruler for them and then withdraw. It can still be stopped in time."

Zou fought with Lu. Duke Mu asked, "Thirty-three of my officers died, and not one of the people died for them. If I put the people to death, I cannot put them all to death. If I do not put them to death, I must let it pass that they looked on the death of their elders with hatred and did not save them. What should I do?"

Mencius answered, "In years of famine and hunger, the old and the weak among your people rolled into the ditches and the gullies, and the able-bodied scattered to the four quarters, some thousands of them. Yet your granaries were full and your storehouses were stocked, and not one of your officers reported it. This was those above being idle and doing harm to those below.

Zengzi said, 'Take care, take care. What comes out of you returns to you.' The people have only now been able to return it. Do not blame them, my lord. If my lord carries out benevolent government, these people will hold those above them dear and will die for their elders."

Duke Wen of Teng asked, "Teng is a small state, caught between Qi and Chu. Shall I serve Qi? Shall I serve Chu?"

Mencius answered, "This plan is beyond what I can reach. If you must have an answer, there is one thing. Dig this moat, raise this wall, and hold it together with the people. If they face death and still do not leave you, then it is worth doing."

Duke Wen of Teng asked, "The men of Qi are going to wall Xue (薛). I am greatly afraid. What should I do?"

Mencius answered, "Long ago, when King Tai lived in Bin (邠) and the Di invaded, he left that place and went to live below Mount Qi. He did not choose it and take it. He had no choice.

If you truly do good, among your descendants in later ages there will surely be one who reigns as king. A gentleman opens the work and hands down the line so that it can be carried on. As for success, that rests with heaven. What can my lord do about that other thing? Only strive to do good."

Duke Wen of Teng asked, "Teng is a small state. Though I use all my strength to serve the great states, I cannot escape them. What should I do?"

Mencius answered, "Long ago, when King Tai lived in Bin, the Di invaded. He served them with hides and silks and did not escape. He served them with dogs and horses and did not escape. He served them with pearls and jade and did not escape.

So he gathered the elders and told them, 'What the Di want is our land. I have heard that a gentleman does not harm people with that by which he feeds them. Why should you grieve at having no ruler? I am going to leave.'

He left Bin, crossed Mount Liang, and made a town below Mount Qi and lived there. The people of Bin said, 'He is a benevolent man. We must not lose him.' Those who followed him were like a crowd going home to market.

Others say this. 'It is land kept for generations. It is not mine to do with as I please. Face death and do not leave it.'

Let my lord choose between these two."

Duke Ping of Lu was about to go out when a favorite named Zang Cang asked, "On other days, when my lord went out, he always told the officers where he was going. Now the carriage is already yoked and the officers do not know where you are going. I venture to ask."

The duke said, "I am going to see Mencius."

"How is this, that my lord should make himself light and go first to a common man? Do you think him worthy? Ritual and rightness come from the worthy, yet Mencius made the later mourning exceed the earlier. Do not see him, my lord."

The duke said, "Very well."

Yuezhengzi came in to see him and said, "Why did my lord not see Meng Ke?"

"Someone told me, 'Mencius made the later mourning exceed the earlier.' That is why I did not go to see him."

"How is this? What my lord calls exceeding — does it mean that the earlier was done with the rites of a scholar and the later with the rites of a great officer, that the earlier used three cauldrons and the later five?"

"No. I meant the beauty of the coffin and the outer coffin, the clothes and the coverlets."

"That is not what is called exceeding. It is that poverty and plenty were not the same."

Yuezhengzi saw Mencius and said, "I told my lord, and my lord meant to come and see you. There is a favorite named Zang Cang who stopped my lord, and so my lord did not come after all."

Mencius said, "When a man goes, something seems to send him. When he stops, something seems to hold him back. Going and stopping are not what a man can do. That I did not meet the lord of Lu is heaven. How could the son of the Zang family make me fail to meet him?"