Mencius said:
“Even with Li Lou’s sharp eyes and Gongshu Ban’s (Lu Ban’s) superb craftsmanship, without compass and square, one cannot draw perfect circles or squares.
Even with Shi Kuang’s acute hearing, without the six pitch standards, one cannot tune the five notes correctly.”
“Likewise, even Yao and Shun’s sage virtue could not bring peace to the world without benevolent governance.
Today, some rulers possess a compassionate heart and a reputation for benevolence, yet the people receive no benefit from them, and their rule cannot serve as a model for future generations – because they fail to follow the Way of the ancient kings.
Thus it is said: Good intentions alone are insufficient for governance; laws alone cannot enforce themselves.
The Book of Poetry (Book of Songs) states:
‘Commit no errors, forget nothing – always follow the old statutes.’
Never has anyone failed who governed by adhering to the ancient kings’ laws.
The sages exhausted their eyesight, then established compass, square, plumb line, and ink line – so that squares, circles, levelness, and straightness became endlessly producible.
They exhausted their hearing, then instituted the six pitch standards to correct the five notes – so music became inexhaustible.
Similarly, they exhausted their moral reflection, then implemented the ‘governance of compassion’, and thus benevolence covered all under heaven.
Hence it is said: To build high, one must use hills; to dig low, one must use rivers and marshes.
Can one be called wise who governs without following the Way of the ancient kings?
Therefore, only the benevolent should hold high office.
If the unbenevolent occupy high positions, they spread their evil among the people.
When those above lack moral principles, those below have no laws to uphold;
the court distrusts the Way, artisans disregard measurements;
gentlemen violate righteousness, commoners break laws –
that such a state still exists is mere luck!
Thus it is said:
Weak walls and few weapons are not a nation’s disaster;
uncultivated fields and scattered wealth are not a nation’s fatal harm.
True peril lies when rulers lack ritual propriety, the people lack education, and wicked men thrive – then national collapse is imminent!
The Book of Poetry (Book of Songs) says:
‘Heaven is about to topple – do not act frivolously!’
‘Frivolously’ here means careless indifference.
To serve one’s ruler without righteousness, to act without ritual decorum, and to speak against the ancient kings’ Way – this is what called ‘Frivolously’.
Therefore:
To hold one’s ruler to high standards is called ‘respectful deference’;
To present good counsel and block evil speech is called ‘reverent loyalty’;
But to say ‘My ruler cannot practice benevolence’ – that is treasonous!”
孟子曰：「離婁之明，公輸子之巧，不以規矩，不能成方員：師曠之聰，不以六律，不能正五音；堯舜之道，不以仁政，不能平治天下。今有仁心仁聞而民不被其澤，不可法於後世者，不行先王之道也。
「故曰，徒善不足以為政，徒法不能以自行。《詩》云：『不愆不忘，率由舊章。』遵先王之法而過者，未之有也。聖人既竭目力焉，繼之以規矩準繩，以為方員平直，不可勝用也；既竭耳力焉，繼之以六律，正五音，不可勝用也；既竭心思焉，繼之以不忍人之政，而仁覆天下矣。
「故曰，為高必因丘陵，為下必因川澤。為政不因先王之道，可謂智乎？是以惟仁者宜在高位。不仁而在高位，是播其惡於眾也。上無道揆也。下無法守也，朝不信道，工不信度，君子犯義，小人犯刑，國之所存者幸也。
「故曰，城郭不完，兵甲不多，非國之災也；田野不辟，貨財不聚，非國之害也。上無禮，下無學，賊民興，喪無日矣。《詩》曰：『天之方蹶，無然泄泄。』泄泄，猶沓沓也。事君無義，進退無禮，言則非先王之道者，猶沓沓也。故曰：責難於君謂之恭，陳善閉邪謂之敬，吾君不能謂之賊。」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Li Lou I articulates the core of Confucian political philosophy: the integration of moral intention and institutional practice.
“Good intentions alone are not enough”
Mencius rejects both moral idealism (“just be kind”) and legal formalism (“just follow rules”). True governance requires benevolent intent embodied in time-tested institutions – symbolized by compass, square, and pitch pipes. This bridges Confucius’s virtue ethics with practical statecraft.
The “Way of the Ancient Kings” as political blueprint
The “ancient kings” (Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu) represent a tradition of humane governance: land reform, light taxes, moral education. For Mencius, this is not nostalgia but a proven framework for sustainable order – a counter to the Warring States’ experimental despotisms.
Moral qualification for rulership
Power must reside only in the benevolent; otherwise, it becomes a vector for corruption. This implies a right of resistance: unjust rulers forfeit legitimacy – a radical notion in antiquity.
Civilizational foundations over Military-Economic metrics
Mencius provocatively declares that weak defenses or poor harvests are survivable, but the collapse of ritual (order) and learning (moral and education) is fatal. A state without shared values is a society of beasts – a theme echoing his “leading beasts to devour men” critique.
The scholar’s duty: Critical loyalty
The closing triad redefines loyalty: true service means demanding excellence from rulers, not passive obedience. To claim “my ruler can’t do it” is betrayal. This ethical courage became the bedrock of China’s remonstrant-official tradition.
Historical Context: Countering realpolitik
Amidst Qin’s Legalist rise and Qi’s militarism, Mencius insists: might without morality is self-defeating. Hegemony built on force collapses; only kingly way rooted in benevolence endures.
Mencius thus offers a holistic vision: Governance thrives when compassionate hearts, inherited wisdom, institutional discipline, and courageous counsel converge – a civilization sustained not by power, but by virtue made structural.
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