Jing Chun said:
“Aren’t Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi truly great men? When they get angry, feudal lords tremble; when they stay at ease, wars across the world cease.”
Mencius replied:
“How can they be called great men? Haven’t you studied the rites?
When a young man undergoes the capping ceremony, his father instructs him in proper conduct.
When a girl marries, her mother escorts her to the door and admonishes her: ‘When you go to your husband’s home, be respectful and cautious – never disobey your husband!’
To take obedience as one’s guiding principle – that is the way of a concubine or wife!
A true great man:
Dwells in the widest mansion under heaven – benevolence;
Stands in the most upright position under heaven – decorum (ritual propriety);
Walks the grandest path under heaven – the Way of righteousness.When he achieves his ideals, he leads the people along this path;
when he doesn’t, he walks it alone.
Wealth and honor cannot corrupt him; poverty and low status cannot sway him; power and force cannot subdue him.
Only such a person is a true great man.”
景春曰：「公孫衍、張儀豈不誠大丈夫哉？一怒而諸侯懼，安居而天下熄。」
孟子曰：「是焉得為大丈夫乎？子未學禮乎？丈夫之冠也，父命之；女子之嫁也，母命之，往送之門，戒之曰：『往之女家，必敬必戒，無違夫子！』以順為正者，妾婦之道也。居天下之廣居，立天下之正位，行天下之大道。得志與民由之，不得志獨行其道。富貴不能淫，貧賤不能移，威武不能屈。此之謂大丈夫。」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Teng Wen Gong II offers the Confucian archetype of the “great man” (The Unbending Man) and sharply critiques the values of Warring States strategists.
Power vs. Virtue: Rejecting the politics of fear
Figures like Zhang Yi and Gongsun Yan manipulated states through alliances and threats. While admired for their influence, Mencius dismisses them as moral nonentities – mere technicians of fear, not bearers of the Dao.
“The Way of Concubines” vs. Moral autonomy
By comparing strategists to obedient wives, Mencius exposes their lack of ethical independence. True greatness lies not in serving power, but in standing above it through moral self-mastery.
The triad of Confucian cosmology
“Wide dwelling” (benevolence), “upright position” (ritual propriety), and “grand path” (righteousness) form an integrated moral universe – inner virtue, social order, and cosmic justice fused into one ideal.
Walking the path alone: The scholar’s resolve
The willingness to “walk the Way/Dao alone” when unrecognized echoes Confucius’s perseverance. This became the spiritual backbone of Chinese literati through dynastic upheavals.
A code of unyielding integrity
“Not corrupted by wealth, not swayed by poverty, not subdued by force” – this triad became China’s highest ethical benchmark, inspiring martyrs and reformers for millennia.
Revaluing greatness in an age of chaos
Amidst rampant realpolitik, Mencius redefined heroism: true greatness is measured not by how many fear you, but by how firmly you hold to what is right.
In this dialogue, Mencius does more than describe a person – he declares that the mightiest force in the world is an unbreakable conscience.
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