Gaozi, Part Two告子下

A man of Ren (任) asked Wulüzi, "Which is weightier, ritual or food?"

"Ritual is weightier."

"Which is weightier, the love of women or ritual?"

"Ritual is weightier."

"If eating by ritual means starving to death, and eating without ritual means getting food, must one still keep to ritual? If fetching a bride in person means getting no wife, and not fetching her in person means getting a wife, must one still fetch her in person?"

Wulüzi could not answer. The next day he went to Zou and told Mencius.

Mencius said, "What is hard about answering this?

If you do not measure the base and only level the tips, a piece of wood an inch long can be made to stand higher than a tall tower. When it is said that metal is heavier than feathers, does that mean one clasp of metal against a cartload of feathers?

Take the weighty side of eating and the light side of ritual and compare them, and how is it only eating that is weighty? Take the weighty side of the love of women and the light side of ritual and compare them, and how is it only the love of women that is weighty?

Go and answer him like this. 'If twisting your elder brother's arm and snatching his food gets you food, and not twisting it gets you none, will you twist it? If climbing the wall of the house to the east and dragging off their maiden gets you a wife, and not dragging her off gets you none, will you drag her off?'"

Cao Jiao asked, "Is it true that anyone can become a Yao or a Shun?"

Mencius said, "It is."

"I have heard that King Wen was ten feet tall and Tang nine feet, and now I am nine feet four inches. Yet I do nothing but eat grain. What should I do?"

"What has that to do with it? One has only to do it. Suppose there were a man here who could not lift a single chick. Then he would be a man without strength. Now let him lift three thousand catties, and he is a man with strength. So if he lifts the load that Wu Huo lifted, he too is a Wu Huo and nothing more.

Why should a man worry that he cannot bear it? He simply does not do it. To walk slowly and keep behind an elder is called being respectful. To walk fast and get ahead of an elder is called being disrespectful. Is walking slowly something a man cannot do? It is something he does not do.

The Way of Yao and Shun is filial duty and respect for elders, nothing more. If you wear Yao's clothes, recite Yao's words, and do Yao's deeds, then you are Yao and nothing more. If you wear Jie's clothes, recite Jie's words, and do Jie's deeds, then you are Jie and nothing more."

"If I can see the ruler of Zou, I may borrow a lodging. I wish to stay at your gate and receive instruction."

"The Way is like a great road. How can it be hard to know? People's trouble is only that they do not seek it. Go home and seek it, and you will have teachers to spare."

Gongsun Chou asked, "Gaozi says, 'The Xiaopan (小弁) is the poem of a small man.'"

Mencius said, "What makes him say so?"

"Because it complains."

"How stiff old Gao is in his reading of the Shi! Suppose there were a man here, and a man of Yue drew a bow to shoot him. He would talk him out of it laughing, for no other reason than that they are distant. If his own elder brother drew a bow to shoot him, he would talk him out of it weeping, for no other reason than that they are close.

The complaint of the Xiaopan is treating a parent as a parent. Treating a parent as a parent is benevolence. How stiff old Gao is in his reading of the Shi!"

"Then why does the Kaifeng (凱風) not complain?"

"In the Kaifeng the parent's fault is small. In the Xiaopan the parent's fault is great. To make no complaint when a parent's fault is great is to grow more distant. To complain when a parent's fault is small is to be one who cannot be touched at all. To grow more distant is unfilial, and to be one who cannot be touched at all is also unfilial.

Confucius said, 'Shun was a son of utmost filial duty. At fifty he still longed for his parents.'"

Song Keng was about to go to Chu. Mencius met him at Shiqiu and said, "Where are you going, sir?"

"I hear that Qin and Chu have raised armies. I will see the king of Chu and persuade him to stop. If the king of Chu is not pleased, I will see the king of Qin and persuade him to stop. Of the two kings, there will be one I reach."

"I, Ke (軻), will not ask the details. I wish to hear your aim. How will you persuade them?"

"I will speak of how it does not profit them."

"Your intent is great, sir, but the name you give it will not do.

If you persuade the kings of Qin and Chu by profit, and the two kings, pleased with profit, halt the armies of the three hosts, then the soldiers of the three hosts rejoice in the halt and are pleased with profit. When a man who is a minister holds profit in his heart and serves his ruler, when a man who is a son holds profit in his heart and serves his father, when a man who is a younger brother holds profit in his heart and serves his elder brother, then ruler and minister, father and son, elder and younger brother in the end cast away benevolence and rightness and meet one another holding profit in their hearts. There has never yet been a case where that did not end in ruin.

If you persuade the kings of Qin and Chu by benevolence and rightness, and the two kings, pleased with benevolence and rightness, halt the armies of the three hosts, then the soldiers of the three hosts rejoice in the halt and are pleased with benevolence and rightness. When a man who is a minister holds benevolence and rightness in his heart and serves his ruler, when a man who is a son holds benevolence and rightness in his heart and serves his father, when a man who is a younger brother holds benevolence and rightness in his heart and serves his elder brother, then ruler and minister, father and son, elder and younger brother cast away profit and meet one another holding benevolence and rightness in their hearts. There has never yet been a case where that did not lead to kingship.

Why must you speak of profit?"

While Mencius was in Zou, Ji Ren was acting guardian (留守) of Ren and sought his friendship with gifts. Mencius received them and did not return the call. While he was at Pinglu, Chuzi (儲子) was prime minister and sought his friendship with gifts. Mencius received them and did not return the call.

Later, going from Zou to Ren, he called on Jizi. Going from Pinglu to Qi, he did not call on Chuzi.

Wulüzi was delighted and said, "I have found an opening." Then he asked, "Master, when you went to Ren you called on Jizi, and when you went to Qi you did not call on Chuzi. Was it because he is prime minister?"

"No. The Shu says, 'In presenting gifts there should be much observance. If the observance does not match the goods, it is called not presenting, because the will was not put into the presenting.' It was because his presenting was not complete."

Wulüzi was pleased. Someone asked him what it meant, and Wulüzi said, "Jizi could not go to Zou, but Chuzi could go to Pinglu."

Chunyu Kun said, "One who puts name and substance first works for others. One who puts name and substance second works for himself. You were among the three chief ministers (三卿), and you left before your name and substance had reached those above and those below. Is this how a benevolent man acts?"

Mencius said, "To stay in a low place and refuse to serve an unworthy ruler with his worth, that was Bo Yi. To go five times to Tang and five times to Jie, that was Yi Yin. Not to hate a foul ruler and not to decline a small office, that was Liuxia Hui. The three did not take the same road, but what they made for was one. What is that one? It is benevolence. The gentleman too is benevolent, that is all. Why must they be the same?"

"In the time of Duke Mu of Lu, Gongyizi handled the government and Ziliu and Zisi were ministers, and yet Lu was cut down all the more. So much for the worthy being of use to a state!"

"Yu did not use Baili Xi and perished. Duke Mu of Qin used him and became hegemon. A state that does not use the worthy perishes. How could it even get off with being cut down?"

"Long ago Wang Bao lived by the Qi, and the people of Hexi became good at singing. Mian Ju lived at Gaotang, and the people of western Qi became good at song. The wives of Hua Zhou and Qi Liang wailed well for their husbands, and the custom of the state was changed. What is within must show without. I, Kun (髡), have never yet seen a man do the work and have nothing to show for it. So there are no worthy men. If there were, I would surely know them."

"Confucius was Minister of Justice in Lu and was not employed. He went along to a sacrifice, and when the sacrificial meat did not arrive, he left without even taking off his ceremonial cap. Those who did not understand thought it was over the meat. Those who understood thought it was because there had been a breach of ritual. But Confucius wished to leave on the pretext of a small fault, and did not wish to leave carelessly. What a gentleman does, the crowd naturally does not understand."

Mencius said, "The Five Hegemons (五霸) are offenders against the Three Kings. The lords of today are offenders against the Five Hegemons. The great officers of today are offenders against the lords of today.

When the Son of Heaven goes to the lords it is called a tour of inspection. When a lord attends the Son of Heaven it is called a report of duty. In spring the plowing is inspected and what is lacking is supplied. In autumn the harvest is inspected and what falls short is helped.

If on entering his borders the land is opened, the fields are in order, the old are cared for, the worthy are honored, and able men are in office, then there is a reward, and the reward is in land. If on entering his borders the land is wild and weedy, the old are neglected, the worthy are lost, and harsh collectors are in office, then there is a reproof.

For failing to attend once, his rank is lowered. For failing twice, his land is cut. For failing three times, the six armies (六師) are moved against him. So the Son of Heaven denounces but does not strike, and the lords strike but do not denounce.

The Five Hegemons dragged lords along to strike at lords. So it is said, the Five Hegemons are offenders against the Three Kings.

Among the Five Hegemons, Duke Huan was the greatest. At the meeting of Kuiqiu the lords bound the victim and laid the writing upon it, but did not drink the blood.

The first command said, 'Punish the unfilial. Do not change the son you have set up. Do not make a concubine your wife.' The second said, 'Honor the worthy, rear men of talent, and make plain those who have virtue.' The third said, 'Respect the old, love the young, and do not forget guests and travelers.' The fourth said, 'Do not give officers hereditary office. Do not let one man hold offices together. In taking officers, be sure to get the right man. Do not kill a great officer at your own will.' The fifth said, 'Do not build crooked dikes. Do not block the buying of grain. Let there be no enfeoffment without report.' And it said, 'All of us who are allied here, after the oath let us return to good will.'

The lords of today all break these five prohibitions. So it is said, the lords of today are offenders against the Five Hegemons.

To let a ruler's evil grow is a small fault. To go out to meet a ruler's evil and urge it on is a great fault. The great officers of today all go out to meet a ruler's evil and urge it on. So it is said, the great officers of today are offenders against the lords of today."

Lu wished to make Shenzi its general. Mencius said, "To use the people without teaching them is called bringing disaster on the people, and one who brings disaster on the people would not be suffered in the age of Yao and Shun. Even if one battle beat Qi and Nanyang were won at last, it still would not do."

Shenzi flushed with displeasure and said, "This is beyond what I, Huali (滑釐), understand."

"I will tell you plainly. The land of the Son of Heaven is a thousand li square. Without a thousand li he has not enough to meet the lords. The land of a lord is a hundred li square. Without a hundred li he has not enough to guard the records of the ancestral temple.

When the Duke of Zhou was enfeoffed in Lu it was a hundred li square. It was not that land was lacking, but he kept it modestly to a hundred li. When Tai Gong was enfeoffed in Qi it too was a hundred li square. It was not that land was lacking, but he kept it modestly to a hundred li.

Now Lu has five times a hundred li square. Do you think that if a true king arose Lu would be on the side of taking away, or on the side of adding?

A benevolent man will not even take from there and give here for nothing. How much less will he kill men to get it. A gentleman serving his ruler works to lead his ruler to the Way and to set his will on benevolence, nothing more."

Mencius said, "Those who serve rulers today all say, 'I can open up land for my ruler and fill his treasuries.' What is called a good minister today is what was called a robber of the people in old times. The ruler does not turn toward the Way and does not set his will on benevolence, and they seek to make him rich. This is making Jie rich.

They say, 'I can bind allied states for my ruler, and when we fight we are sure to win.' What is called a good minister today is what was called a robber of the people in old times. The ruler does not turn toward the Way and does not set his will on benevolence, and they seek to force war for him. This is helping Jie.

Follow the Way of today and do not change the customs of today, and though all under heaven were given to him, he could not hold it for a single morning."

Bai Gui said, "I wish to take one part in twenty. How would that be?"

Mencius said, "Your Way is the Way of Mo (貉). In a state of ten thousand households, would it do for one man to make the pottery?"

"It would not. There would not be vessels enough to use."

"In Mo the five grains do not grow. Only millet grows there. There are no walls and no palaces, no ancestral temples and no rites of sacrifice, no gifts of silk and no feasts for the lords, no hundred officers and no functionaries. So one part in twenty is enough.

Now if a man lives in the central states and does away with human relations and has no gentlemen, how can that do? If a state cannot stand with too few potters, how much less without gentlemen.

Those who would make it lighter than the Way of Yao and Shun are a great Mo and a small Mo. Those who would make it heavier than the Way of Yao and Shun are a great Jie and a small Jie."

Bai Gui said, "My ordering of the waters is better than Yu's."

Mencius said, "You are wrong. When Yu ordered the waters he followed the way of water. So Yu made the four seas his ditch. Now you make the neighboring states your ditch.

Water flowing backward is called the overflowing waters (洚水). The overflowing waters are flood water, and they are what a benevolent man hates. You are wrong."

Mencius said, "If a gentleman is not trustworthy, what will he hold to?"

Lu wished to put Yuezhengzi in charge of the government. Mencius said, "When I heard it, I was so glad I could not sleep."

Gongsun Chou said, "Is Yuezhengzi strong?"

"No."

"Has he wisdom and forethought?"

"No."

"Has he heard much and does he know much?"

"No."

"Then why were you so glad you could not sleep?"

"As a man he loves the good."

"Is loving the good enough?"

"Loving the good is enough for all under heaven, how much more for the state of Lu.

If a man truly loves the good, then within the four seas all will count a thousand li a light thing and come to tell him of good. If a man truly does not love the good, then people will say, 'How pleased with himself he is. I knew it all already.' The voice and the face of a man pleased with himself keep others a thousand li away. When officers stop a thousand li away, then slanderers and flatterers and men who fawn to the face arrive. Living with slanderers and flatterers and men who fawn to the face, can a man hope his state will be well governed?"

Chenzi said, "Under what conditions did the gentlemen of old take office?"

Mencius said, "There are three grounds for going forward and three for leaving.

If he is received with full respect and with ritual, and they say they will carry out his words, he goes forward. If the courtesy has not yet faded but his words are not carried out, he leaves.

Next, if they do not carry out his words but receive him with full respect and with ritual, he goes forward. When the courtesy fades, he leaves.

Lowest, when he cannot eat in the morning and cannot eat in the evening, and is so starved that he cannot go out of his door, and the ruler hears of it and says, 'In the great matter I cannot carry out his Way, and I cannot follow his words either, and yet I let him starve in my land. I am ashamed of it,' and so relieves him, then it may be accepted. It only keeps him from death."

Mencius said, "Shun rose from the midst of the fields. Fu Yue was raised up from among the wall builders. Jiao Ge was raised up from among the fish and salt. Guan Yiwu was raised up from the hands of the jailer. Sun Shu'ao was raised up from the seacoast. Baili Xi was raised up from the market.

So when Heaven is about to lay a great charge on a man, it first makes bitter his heart and his will, wears out his sinews and bones, starves his body and his skin, leaves his person in want, and throws into confusion whatever he does. In this way it stirs his heart, makes his nature patient, and adds to him what he was not able to do.

A man always errs before he can mend. He is blocked in his heart and crossed in his thoughts before he rises. It shows in his face and breaks out in his voice before he understands.

When within there is no family that keeps the law and no officer to correct him, and without there is no rival state and no trouble from abroad, a state is always lost. Only then does one know that life comes from sorrow and care, and death from ease and pleasure."

Mencius said, "There are many ways of teaching. My refusing to teach a man because I do not think him worth it, this too is teaching him and nothing more."