Wan Zhang, Part Two萬章下
1Confucius, the sage who knew the time — the great gathering
孟子曰：「伯夷目不視惡色，耳不聽惡聲。非其君不事，非其民不使。治則進，亂則退。橫政之所出，橫民之所止，不忍居也。思與鄉人處，如以朝衣朝冠坐於涂炭也。當紂之時，居北海之濱，以待天下之清也。故聞伯夷之風者，頑夫廉，懦夫有立志。」 「伊尹曰：『何事非君？何使非民？』治亦進，亂亦進。曰：『天之生斯民也，使先知覺後知，使先覺覺後覺。予，天民之先覺者也；予將以此道覺此民也。』思天下之民匹夫匹婦有不與被堯舜之澤者，如己推而內之溝中。其自任以天下之重也。」 「柳下惠，不羞污君，不辭小官；進不隱賢，必以其道；遺佚而不怨，厄窮而不憫。與鄉人處，由由然不忍去也。『爾為爾，我為我，雖袒裼裸裎於我側，爾焉能浼我哉？』故聞柳下惠之風者，鄙夫寬，薄夫敦。」 「孔子之去齊，接淅而行；去魯，曰：『遲遲吾行也。』去父母國之道也。可以速而速，可以久而久，可以處而處，可以仕而仕，孔子也。」 孟子曰：「伯夷，聖之清者也；伊尹，聖之任者也；柳下惠，聖之和者也；孔子，聖之時者也。孔子之謂集大成。集大成也者，金聲而玉振之也。金聲也者，始條理也；玉振之也者，終條理也。始條理者，智之事也；終條理者，聖之事也。智，譬則巧也；聖，譬則力也。由射於百步之外也；其至，爾力也；其中，非爾力也。」
Mencius said, "Bo Yi would not look with his eyes on an evil sight, nor listen with his ears to an evil sound. He would not serve a ruler who was not his ruler, nor employ a people who were not his people. When there was order he came forward; when there was disorder he withdrew. Where a violent government came from, where a violent people stayed, he could not bear to live. To be in the company of a villager he counted like sitting in mud and charcoal in court robes and court cap. Meeting the time of Zhou Xin (紂), he lived on the shore of the northern sea and waited for all under heaven to grow clear. So among those who hear of the manner of Bo Yi, the stubborn man becomes honest and the weak man sets up a will."
"Yi Yin said, 'What ruler may not be served? What people may not be employed?' So when there was order he came forward, and when there was disorder he came forward as well. He said, 'When Heaven gave birth to this people, it made those who know first awaken those who know later, and those who are awakened first awaken those who are awakened later. I am one of Heaven's people who was awakened first. I will awaken this people with this way.' He thought that if among the people of all under heaven there was one man or one woman who did not share in the bounty of Yao and Shun, it was as though he himself had pushed them into a ditch. So did he take the weight of all under heaven for his own burden."
"Liuxia Hui was not ashamed of a foul ruler and did not decline a small office. Coming forward, he did not hide his worth and always acted by his own way. Cast aside, he did not complain; in hardship, he did not grieve. In the company of a villager he was easy and could not bear to leave. He said, 'You are you and I am I. Though you should bare your body naked at my side, how could you soil me?' So among those who hear of the manner of Liuxia Hui, the narrow man becomes generous and the mean man becomes warm."
"When Confucius left the state of Qi, he lifted out the rice he was washing and went. When he left Lu, he said, 'Slow, slow is my going.' That is the Way of leaving the land of one's father and mother. To go quickly when it was right to go quickly, to stay long when it was right to stay long, to remain when it was right to remain, to take office when it was right to take office — such was Confucius."
Mencius said, "Bo Yi was the pure one among the sages. Yi Yin was the one among the sages who took the burden on himself. Liuxia Hui was the harmonious one among the sages. Confucius was the one among the sages who knew the time.
Confucius is called the great gathering (集大成). The great gathering is to give out the sound with metal and to gather it in with jade. To give out the sound with metal is to begin the melody; to gather it in with jade is to end the melody. Beginning the melody is the work of wisdom; ending the melody is the work of sageliness.
Wisdom, to put it in a figure, is skill. Sageliness, to put it in a figure, is strength. It is like shooting a bow from a hundred paces away. That the arrow reaches so far is your strength; that it hits the mark is not your strength."
2The grades of rank and salary in Zhou
北宫𨪆問曰：「周室班爵祿也，如之何？」 孟子曰：「其詳不可得聞也，諸侯惡其害己也，而皆去其籍。然而軻也嘗聞其略也。天子一位，公一位，侯一位，伯一位，子、男同一位，凡五等也。君一位，卿一位，大夫一位，上士一位，中士一位，下士一位，凡六等。天子之制，地方千里，公侯皆方百里，伯七十里，子、男五十里，凡四等。不能五十里，不達於天子，附於諸侯，曰附庸。天子之卿受地視侯，大夫受地視伯，元士受地視子、男。大國地方百里，君十卿祿，卿祿四大夫，大夫倍上士，上士倍中士，中士倍下士，下士與庶人在官者同祿，祿足以代其耕也。次國地方七十里，君十卿祿，卿祿三大夫，大夫倍上士，上士倍中士，中士倍下士，下士與庶人在官者同祿，祿足以代其耕也。小國地方五十里，君十卿祿，卿祿二大夫，大夫倍上士，上士倍中士，中士倍下士，下士與庶人在官者同祿，祿足以代其耕也。耕者之所獲，一夫百畝；百畝之糞，上農夫食九人，上次食八人，中食七人，中次食六人，下食五人。庶人在官者，其祿以是為差。
Beigong Qi asked, "How did the royal house of Zhou set out its ranks and salaries?"
Mencius said, "The details of it cannot be heard. The feudal lords hated them as harmful to themselves, and all did away with the records. Yet I, Ke (軻), once heard the outline of it.
The Son of Heaven was one rank, the duke one rank, the marquis one rank, the earl one rank, and the viscount and the baron together one rank — five grades in all. The ruler was one rank, the high minister one rank, the great officer one rank, the upper officer one rank, the middle officer one rank, and the lower officer one rank — six grades in all.
By the system of the Son of Heaven his land was a thousand li square. Dukes and marquises had a hundred li square, earls seventy li, viscounts and barons fifty li — four grades in all. One whose land did not reach fifty li did not come to the Son of Heaven himself but was attached to a feudal lord, and this was called an attached holding (附庸).
The high minister of the Son of Heaven received land on the scale of a marquis, the great officer on the scale of an earl, and the senior officer on the scale of a viscount or a baron.
A great state had land a hundred li square. Its ruler had ten times the salary of a high minister, a high minister four times that of a great officer, a great officer twice that of an upper officer, an upper officer twice that of a middle officer, a middle officer twice that of a lower officer. A lower officer had the same salary as a commoner holding office, and that salary was enough to take the place of his plowing.
The next state had land seventy li square. Its ruler had ten times the salary of a high minister, a high minister three times that of a great officer, a great officer twice that of an upper officer, an upper officer twice that of a middle officer, a middle officer twice that of a lower officer. A lower officer had the same salary as a commoner holding office, and that salary was enough to take the place of his plowing.
A small state had land fifty li square. Its ruler had ten times the salary of a high minister, a high minister twice that of a great officer, a great officer twice that of an upper officer, an upper officer twice that of a middle officer, a middle officer twice that of a lower officer. A lower officer had the same salary as a commoner holding office, and that salary was enough to take the place of his plowing.
What the plowman gets is a hundred mu for one man. When the hundred mu are manured, the best farmer feeds nine people, the one below him eight, the middling farmer seven, the one below him six, and the poorest farmer five. Commoners holding office have their salaries graded by this."
3To be a friend is to befriend his virtue
萬章問曰：「敢問友。」 孟子曰：「不挾長，不挾貴，不挾兄弟而友。友也者，友其德也，不可以有挾也。孟獻子，百乘之家也，有友五人焉：樂正裘、牧仲，其三人則予忘之矣。獻子之與此五人者友也，無獻子之家者也。此五人者亦有獻子之家，則不與之友矣。非惟百乘之家為然也，雖小國之君亦有之。費惠公曰：『吾於子思則師之矣，吾於顏般則友之矣，王順、長息，則事我者也。』非惟小國之君為然也，雖大國之君亦有之。晉平公之於亥唐也，入云則入，坐云則坐，食云則食。雖疏食菜羹，未嘗不飽，蓋不敢不飽也。然終於此而已矣，弗與共天位也，弗與治天職也，弗與食天祿也。士之尊賢者也，非王公之尊賢也。舜尚見帝，帝館甥于貳室，亦饗舜，迭為賓主，是天子而友匹夫也。用下敬上，謂之貴貴；用上敬下，謂之尊賢。貴貴、尊賢，其義一也。」
Wan Zhang asked, "I venture to ask about friendship."
Mencius said, "One makes a friend without putting forward his years, without putting forward his rank, without putting forward his brothers. To make a friend is to befriend his virtue, and there must be nothing put forward.
Meng Xianzi was the head of a house of a hundred chariots, and he had five friends. Two were Yuezheng Qiu and Mu Zhong; the other three I have forgotten. Xianzi was friend to these five men because he was not mindful of his own house. And if these five men had been mindful of Xianzi's house, they would not have been his friends.
It is so not only with a house of a hundred chariots. The ruler of a small state has the same. Duke Hui of Fei said, 'Toward Zisi I hold him as my teacher, toward Yan Ban I hold him as my friend, and Wang Shun and Zhang Xi are the men who serve me.'
It is so not only with the ruler of a small state. The ruler of a great state has the same. Duke Ping of Jin, with Hai Tang, went in when he was told to go in, sat when he was told to sit, ate when he was told to eat. Though it was coarse rice and a soup of herbs, he was never left unfilled, for he did not dare not to eat his fill. Yet it stopped there and no further. He did not share with him the seat given by Heaven, he did not govern with him the office given by Heaven, he did not eat with him the salary given by Heaven. This was a scholar honoring the worthy, not a king or a duke honoring the worthy.
When Shun went up to see the emperor Yao, Yao lodged his son-in-law in the second palace and also feasted Shun, and each was host and guest in turn. This was the Son of Heaven befriending a common man.
For those below to respect those above is called prizing the noble (貴貴). For those above to respect those below is called honoring the worthy (尊賢). Prizing the noble and honoring the worthy are one in their meaning."
4The rite of exchange — why a gift is not refused
萬章曰：「敢問交際何心也？」 孟子曰：「恭也。」 曰：「卻之卻之為不恭，何哉？」 曰：「尊者賜之，曰：『其所取之者，義乎不義乎？』而後受之，以是為不恭，故弗卻也。」 曰：「請無以辭卻之，以心卻之，曰：『其取諸民之不義也。』而以他辭無受，不可乎？」 曰：「其交也以道，其接也以禮，斯孔子受之矣。」 萬章曰：「今有御人於國門之外者，其交也以道，其饋也以禮，斯可受御與？」 曰：「不可。《康誥》曰：『殺越人于貨，閔不畏死，凡民罔不譈』是不待教而誅者也。殷受夏，周受殷，所不辭也，於今為烈，如之何其受之？」 曰：「今之諸侯取之於民也，猶御也。『茍善其禮際矣，斯君子受之』，敢問何說也？」 曰：「子以為有王者作，將比今之諸侯而誅之乎？其教之不改而後誅之乎？夫謂非其有而取之者盜也，充類至義之盡也。孔子之仕於魯也，魯人獵較，孔子亦獵較。獵較猶可，而況受其賜乎？」 曰：「然則孔子之仕也，非事道與？」 曰：「事道也。」 「事道奚獵較也？」 曰：「孔子先簿正祭器，不以四方之食供簿正。」 曰：「奚不去也？」 曰：「為之兆也，兆足以行矣，而不行，而後去；是以未嘗有所終三年淹也。孔子有見行可之仕，有際可之仕，有公養之仕。於季桓子，見行可之仕也；於衛靈公，際可之仕也；於衛孝公，公養之仕也。」
Wan Zhang said, "I venture to ask, in what spirit are gifts exchanged?"
Mencius said, "In respect."
"Why is it said that to refuse and refuse again is a want of respect?"
"When one of high rank makes a gift and the man asks, 'Was what he took to make this gift right or not right?' and only then receives it, that is counted a want of respect. So the gift is not refused."
"May one refuse it not in words but in the heart, saying within, 'What he took from the people was not right,' and then decline it on some other ground?"
"If he makes the exchange by the Way and meets one by the rites, Confucius himself would have received it."
Wan Zhang said, "Suppose there is a man outside the city gate who stops people and takes their goods. If he makes the exchange by the Way and gives by the rites, may one receive what he has taken?"
"One may not. The Kang gao says, 'Those who kill men and take their goods, hard and unafraid of death — among all the people there is none who does not hate them.' These are men who are punished without waiting to be taught. Yin took this from Xia, and Zhou took it from Yin, and it was never set aside. In these days it has grown worse than ever. How then could one receive it?"
"But what the feudal lords of today take from the people is also a taking by force. You say, 'If he only makes the exchange well by the rites, the gentleman receives it.' I venture to ask what this means."
"Do you think that when a true king arises he will line up the feudal lords of today and punish them all? Or that he will teach them, and punish only those who do not mend? To call a man a robber because he takes what is not his own is to stretch the class to the very end of the principle.
When Confucius held office in Lu, the people of Lu scrambled for the game of the hunt, and Confucius scrambled for it too. If the scramble for the game could still be done, how much more the receiving of a gift?"
"Then was Confucius in office not making the Way his work?"
"He was making the Way his work."
"If he was making the Way his work, why did he scramble for the game of the hunt?"
"Confucius first set the sacrificial vessels right by a register, and did not let food brought from the four quarters fill the vessels that the register had set right."
"Why did he not leave?"
"He was making a first trial. When the trial showed that the Way could be carried out, and still it was not carried out, then he left. That is why he never stayed anywhere three full years.
Confucius held office when he saw that the Way could be carried out, held office when he was met with fitting courtesy, and held office when the state supported him. With Ji Huanzi he held office because he saw the Way could be carried out. With Duke Ling of Wei he held office because he was met with fitting courtesy. With Duke Xiao of Wei he held office because the state supported him."
5Office is not for poverty, yet at times for poverty
孟子曰：「仕非為貧也，而有時乎為貧；娶妻非為養也，而有時乎為養。為貧者，辭尊居卑，辭富居貧。辭尊居卑，辭富居貧，惡乎宜乎？抱關擊柝。孔子嘗為委吏矣，曰：『會計當而已矣。』嘗為乘田矣，曰：『牛羊茁壯，長而已矣。』位卑而言高，罪也。立乎人之本朝而道不行，恥也。」
Mencius said, "Office is not taken because of poverty, yet there are times when it is taken because of poverty. A wife is not taken for the sake of support, yet there are times when she is taken for the sake of support.
The man who takes office because of poverty declines the high place and stays low, declines the rich place and stays poor. To decline the high place and stay low, to decline the rich place and stay poor — where is it fitting to be? Gatekeeper and night watchman.
Confucius was once keeper of the stores, and he said, 'It is enough that the accounts are right.' He was once keeper of the pastures, and he said, 'It is enough that the oxen and sheep grow sturdy and tall.'
To hold a low place and speak of high things is a fault. To stand in another man's court and see the Way not carried out is a shame."
6How a ruler keeps a gentleman
萬章曰：「士之不托諸侯，何也？」 孟子曰：「不敢也。諸侯失國而後托於諸侯，禮也。士之托於諸侯，非禮也。」 萬章曰：「君饋之粟，則受之乎？」 曰：「受之。」 「受之何義也？」 曰：「君之於氓也，固周之。」 曰：「周之則受，賜之則不受，何也？」 曰：「不敢也。」 曰：「敢問其不敢何也？」 曰：「抱關擊柝者，皆有常職以食於上。無常職而賜於上者，以為不恭也。」 曰：「君饋之，則受之，不識可常繼乎？」 曰：「繆公之於子思也，亟問，亟饋鼎肉。子思不悅，於卒也標使者出諸大門之外，北面稽首再拜而不受，曰：『今而後知君之犬馬畜汲！』蓋自是臺無饋也。悅賢不能舉，又不能養也，可謂悅賢乎？」 曰：「敢問國君欲養君子，如何斯可謂養矣？」 曰：「以君命將之，再拜稽首而受；其後廩人繼粟，庖人繼肉，不以君命將之。子思以為鼎肉使己僕僕爾亟拜也，非養君子之道也。堯之於舜也，使其子九男事之，二女女焉，百官牛羊倉廩備，以養舜於畎畝之中，後舉而加諸上位。故曰王公之尊賢者也。」
Wan Zhang said, "Why does a scholar not attach himself to a feudal lord?"
Mencius said, "He does not dare. When a feudal lord has lost his state and then attaches himself to another feudal lord, that is by the rites. For a scholar to attach himself to a feudal lord is not by the rites."
Wan Zhang said, "If the ruler sends him grain, does he receive it?"
"He receives it."
"What is the meaning of his receiving it?"
"A ruler, toward a wandering people, relieves them as a matter of course."
"Why does he receive what is given in relief but not what is handed down as a bounty?"
"He does not dare."
"I venture to ask why he does not dare."
"The gatekeeper and the night watchman all have a settled office and so are fed from above. To have no settled office and yet receive what is handed down from above is counted a want of respect."
"When the ruler sends a gift, he receives it, you say. I do not know whether he may go on receiving it always."
"Duke Mu, toward Zisi, sent to ask after him often and often sent boiled meat. Zisi was not pleased, and at last he waved the messenger out beyond the great gate, faced north, bowed his head to the ground twice and did not receive it, saying, 'Now at last I know that the ruler keeps me, Ji (伋), as he keeps a dog or a horse.' From that time, it seems, nothing more was sent. If a man is pleased with a worthy man and yet can neither raise him up nor keep him, can he be said to be pleased with the worthy?"
"I venture to ask, if the ruler of a state wishes to keep a gentleman, how may he be said to keep him?"
"The first gift is brought in the ruler's name, and the gentleman bows his head to the ground twice and receives it. After that the keeper of the granary sends on grain and the keeper of the kitchen sends on meat, and it is not brought in the ruler's name.
Zisi held that the boiled meat made him bow again and again in a troublesome way, and that this was not the Way to keep a gentleman.
Yao, toward Shun, had his nine sons serve him, gave him his two daughters in marriage, and set out the hundred officers and oxen and sheep and granaries to keep Shun in the midst of the fields, and afterward raised him up and set him in the highest place. This is what is called a king or a duke honoring the worthy."
7He does not go unless the summons is his own
萬章曰：「敢問不見諸侯，何義也？」 孟子曰：「在國曰市井之臣，在野曰草莽之臣，皆謂庶人。庶人不傳質為臣，不敢見於諸侯，禮也。」 萬章曰：「庶人，召之役，則往役；君欲見之，召之，則不往見之，何也？」 曰：「往役，義也；往見，不義也。且君之欲見之也，何為也哉？」 曰：「為其多聞也，為其賢也。」 曰：「為其多聞也，則天子不召師，而況諸侯乎？為其賢也，則吾未聞欲見賢而召之也。繆公亟見於子思，曰：『古千乘之國以友士，何如？』子思不悅，曰：『古之人有言曰：「事之云乎」，豈曰友之云乎？』子思之不悅也，豈不曰：『以位，則子，君也，我，臣也，何敢與君友也？以德，則子事我者也，奚可以與我友？』千乘之君求與之友，而不可得也，而況可召與？齊景公田，招虞人以旌；不至，將殺之。『志士不忘在溝壑，勇士不忘喪其元。』孔子奚取焉？取非其招不往也。」 曰：「敢問招虞人何以？」 曰：「以皮冠。庶人以旃，士以旗，大夫以旌。以大夫之招招虞人，虞人死不敢往；以士之招招庶人，庶人豈敢往哉？況乎以不賢人之招招賢人乎？欲見賢人而不以其道，猶欲其入而閉之門也。夫義，路也；禮，門也。惟君子能由是路，出入是門也。《詩》云：『周道如底，其直如矢；君子所履，小人所視。』」 萬章曰：「孔子『君命召，不俟駕而行』。然則孔子非與？」 曰：「孔子當仕有官職，而以其官召之也。」
Wan Zhang said, "I venture to ask what you mean by not going to see the feudal lords."
Mencius said, "One who is in the city is called a minister of the market and the well, and one who is in the country a minister of the grass and the weeds. Both mean a commoner. A commoner who has not sent in his gift and become a minister does not dare to see a feudal lord. That is the rite."
Wan Zhang said, "When a commoner is called out to labor, he goes and labors. Why then, when the ruler wishes to see him and calls him, does he not go and be seen?"
"To go and labor is right; to go and be seen is not right. And why does the ruler wish to see him?"
"Because he has heard much, and because he is worthy."
"If it is because he has heard much, then even the Son of Heaven does not summon his teacher, and how much less a feudal lord. If it is because he is worthy, I have never yet heard of wishing to see a worthy man and summoning him.
Duke Mu saw Zisi often, and said, 'In old times a state of a thousand chariots befriended a scholar. How was that?' Zisi was not pleased, and said, 'The men of old had a saying, "Serve him," and how could they have said, "Befriend him"?' When Zisi was not pleased, was it not for this reason: 'By place, you are the ruler and I am the minister. How should I dare to befriend the ruler? By virtue, you are the one who should serve me. How can you befriend me?'
If the ruler of a thousand chariots sought his friendship and could not get it, how much less could he summon him.
When Duke Jing of Qi was hunting, he summoned the gamekeeper with a plumed flag, and when the man did not come he was going to kill him. 'A scholar of purpose does not forget that he may be left in a ditch or a gully, and a scholar of courage does not forget that he may lose his head.' What did Confucius take from this? He took this, that the man did not go when the summons was not the one fitted to him."
"I venture to ask, with what is a gamekeeper summoned?"
"With a leather cap. A commoner is summoned with a plain red flag, a scholar with a flag of figures, a great officer with a plumed flag.
When a gamekeeper is summoned with the summons of a great officer, the gamekeeper will die rather than dare to go. If a commoner were summoned with the summons of a scholar, how would the commoner dare to go? How much more when a worthy man is summoned with the summons meant for a man who is not worthy.
To wish to see a worthy man and not to go about it by the Way is like wishing him to come in and shutting the door on him. Now rightness is the road and the rites are the door. Only the gentleman can go by this road and pass in and out by this door.
The Shi says, 'The road of Zhou is like a whetstone, and its straightness is like an arrow. It is what the gentleman treads and what the small man looks up to.'"
Wan Zhang said, "Of Confucius it is said, 'When the ruler's command summoned him, he went without waiting for the horses to be yoked.' Was Confucius then in the wrong?"
"Confucius at that time held office and had a post, and it was by that post that he was summoned."
8Befriending the ancients — discussing their age
孟子謂萬章曰：「一鄉之善士，斯友一鄉之善士；一國之善士，斯友一國之善士；天下之善士，斯友天下之善士。以友天下之善士為未足，又尚論古之人。頌其詩，讀其書，不知其人，可乎？是以論其世也。是尚友也。」
Mencius said to Wan Zhang, "Only a good scholar of one village can befriend the good scholars of one village. Only a good scholar of one state can befriend the good scholars of one state. Only a good scholar of all under heaven can befriend the good scholars of all under heaven.
Counting it still not enough to befriend the good scholars of all under heaven, he goes up further and discusses the men of old. He chants their poems and reads their books. Should he then not know the men themselves? So he discusses their age as well. This is befriending upward (尙友)."
9The high minister of royal kin and of another surname
齊宣王問卿。孟子曰：「王何卿之問也？」 王曰：「卿不同乎？」 曰：「不同，有貴戚之卿，有異姓之卿。」 王曰：「請問貴戚之卿。」 曰：「君有大過則諫，反覆之而不聽，則易位。」 王勃然變乎色。 曰：「王勿異也。王問臣，臣不敢不以正對。」 王色定，然後請問異姓之卿。 曰：「君有過則諫，反覆之而不聽，則去。」 上一篇回目录下一篇
King Xuan of Qi asked about the high minister (卿). Mencius said, "Which high minister does the king ask about?"
The king said, "Are high ministers not all alike?"
"They are not alike. There is the high minister of royal kin (貴戚) and the high minister of another surname (異姓)."
The king said, "I ask about the high minister of royal kin."
"If the ruler has a great fault, he remonstrates. If he does so again and again and is not heeded, he puts another in the ruler's place."
The king flushed and his face changed color.
"Let the king not think this strange. The king asked his servant, and his servant did not dare to answer with anything but the straight truth."
When the king's face had settled, he asked about the high minister of another surname.
"If the ruler has a fault, he remonstrates. If he does so again and again and is not heeded, he leaves."