King Hui of Liang said to Mencius,
“In the world there was not a stronger state than mine, as you, venerable sir, know, but during my reign, we have been defeated by the State of Qi on the east with my eldest son’s life sacrificed there; on the west we have lost seven hundred Ii of territory to the State of Qin, and on the south we have suffered humiliation at the hands of the State of Chu. At this l feel shame, and wish to wipe off all the disgrace for the dead. What is to be done?”
Mencius replied,
“With a territory of only a hundred Ii square any ruler can make alI people satisfied with a benevolent government, not to mention you in such a big state. If Your Majesty runs a government benevolent to the people, sparing of punishments and fines, reducing taxes and levies, having the people plow deeply and weed quickly, inculcating in their spare time on the strong-bodied filial and fraternal duties, honesty, and sincerity so that they may serve, at home, their fathers and elder brothers, and, abroad, their elders and superiors, then you will have a people able to oppose even with the wooden clubs the troops of Qin and Chu armed with strong mail and sharp weapons.”
“The rulers of these states interfere with their people in their farm season so that they can not plow or weed their fields to support their parents. And their parents suffer from hunger and cold; and their brothers, wives, and children are separated and scattered abroad. Those rulers, as it were, drive their people into an abyss and drown them. Who dares to oppose Your Majesty, if Your Majesty starts a punitive military action? As the saying goes, a benevolent ruler never meets his match. I beg Your Majesty not to doubt what I say.”
梁惠王曰：「晉國，天下莫強焉，叟之所知也。及寡人之身，東敗於齊，長子死焉；西喪地於秦七百里；南辱於楚。寡人恥之，願比死者一洒之，如之何則可？」
孟子對曰：「地方百里而可以王。王如施仁政於民，省刑罰，薄稅斂，深耕易耨。壯者以暇日修其孝悌忠信，入以事其父兄，出以事其長上，可使制梃以撻秦楚之堅甲利兵矣。彼奪其民時，使不得耕耨以養其父母，父母凍餓，兄弟妻子離散。彼陷溺其民，王往而征之，夫誰與王敵？故曰：『仁者無敵。』王請勿疑！」
Note
In the mid-4th century BCE, within the palace of Daliang – the relocated capital of the declining state of Wei – King Hui sat in deep shame. Once, his realm had been the mightiest in the land after the partition of Jin state. Inheriting the legacy of his grandfather Marquis Wen and father Marquis Wu, he ruled what many still called “Jin,” the dominant power of its age.
But under his reign, disaster followed disaster:
- To the east, at the Battle of Maling (341 BCE), his army was annihilated by Qi; his crown prince captured, his eldest son slain.
- To the west, Qin – reformed under Shang Yang – seized over 700 li of territory, forcing Wei to abandon its ancestral lands and flee eastward to Daliang.
- To the south, Chu repeatedly humiliated his weakened state with impunity.
Overwhelmed by grief and rage, King Hui turned to the visiting philosopher Mencius and expected strategies of war, alliances, or military reform.
Instead, Mencius offered a vision of peace. Mencius explained: Qin and Chu may boast mighty armies, but they exhaust their people – drafting them into endless labor and war, leaving fields untended, parents starving, families torn apart. Such states are strong in armor but hollow in spirit.
“They drown their people in suffering. If you, with a righteous army rooted in benevolence, march against them – who under heaven would dare oppose you? Thus it is said: ‘The benevolent have no enemies.’ “
This was no naive idealism. It echoed history:
- King Wen of Zhou, ruling a small domain, won the Mandate of Heaven through virtue, not violence.
- Tyrants like Jie of Xia and Zhou of Shang, despite vast armies and riches, fell because they lost the people’s hearts.
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, King Hui did seek wisdom in his later years, welcoming thinkers like Mencius, Zhuangzi, and Hui Shi, even lamenting,
“I am unworthy – I have never heard such clear teaching.”
Yet he could not relinquish his thirst for vengeance. He wanted glory through conquest, not through compassion.
Mencius reminded him:
True invincibility lies not in iron, but in justice. When your people eat well, live with dignity, and believe in your rule, no enemy – however armed – can stand against you.
King Hui listened… but did not change. Wei faded into obscurity, swallowed by Qin decades later. Yet the words “The benevolent have no enemies” endured – not as a dream, but as a warning and a promise to every ruler who would listen.
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