Mencius said, “The Five Hegemons were the criminals of the Three Kings; the current feudal lords are the criminals of the Five Hegemons; and the current grand masters are the criminals of today’s feudal lords.
When the Son of Heaven visited the feudal lords, it was called ‘inspecting the borders’; when the feudal lords paid respects to the Son of Heaven, it was called ‘reporting on their duties.’ In spring, the Son of Heaven would inspect the plowing and supplement those in need; in autumn, he would inspect the harvest and assist those lacking provisions. Upon entering a state’s territory, if the land was reclaimed, the fields well-managed, the elderly cared for, the worthy honored, and talented individuals held office, the Son of Heaven would reward them with land. If the land was barren, the elderly neglected, the worthy forgotten, and extortionate officials held office, he would reprimand them. If a feudal lord failed to pay respects once, his rank would be demoted; if he failed twice, his land would be reduced; if he failed three times, the royal army would be dispatched to punish him. Therefore, the Son of Heaven punished the guilty without personally attacking them, while the feudal lords attacked the disobedient without the authority to punish. The Five Hegemons, however, dragged feudal lords to attack other feudal lords; thus, they were the criminals of the Three Kings.
Among the Five Hegemons, Duke Huan of Qi was the most prominent. At the alliance of Kuiqiu, he bound the sacrificial animal and placed the covenant upon it without smearing blood from a sacrificed animal. The first commandment was: ‘Execute the unfilial; do not arbitrarily replace an established heir; do not elevate a concubine to the status of wife.’ The second: ‘Honor the worthy and cultivate talent to glorify virtue.’ The third: ‘Respect the elderly and be kind to the young; do not neglect guests and travelers.’ The fourth: ‘Do not allow hereditary offices for scholars; do not let officials hold multiple posts; ensure the right men are selected for office; do not execute grand masters arbitrarily.’ The fifth: ‘Do not build dikes that divert water harmfully; do not embargo grain sales; do not grant titles without reporting to the Son of Heaven.’ It was declared: ‘All who are in this alliance, after swearing the oath, shall return to amity.’
Yet today’s feudal lords all violate these five prohibitions; thus, they are the criminals of the Five Hegemons. Merely acquiescing to a ruler’s evil is a minor offense; actively encouraging and catering to a ruler’s evil is a grave offense. Today’s grand masters all actively encourage their rulers’ evil; thus, they are the criminals of today’s feudal lords.”
Note
This passage from the Gaozi II chapter of the Mencius represents a severe “dimensional reduction attack” on the political ecology of his time. By tracing the historical regression from the “Three Kings” to the “Five Hegemons,” then to “current feudal lords,” and finally to “current grand masters,” Mencius demonstrated the Confucian profound concern for political order and moral baselines. Drawing on historical context and traditional commentaries, we can understand its philosophy through the following dimensions:
- The Theory of Political Regression: From “Kingly Way” to “Hegemonic Way” to “Chaotic Rule”
Mencius constructed a clear ladder of political regression. The era of the Three Kings (early Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties) was the Kingly Way, characterized by clear etiquette and laws between the Son of Heaven and feudal lords (inspecting borders, reporting duties, rewarding, and punishing), with politics aimed at protecting and nurturing the people. During the Spring and Autumn period of the Five Hegemons, although the Son of Heaven’s authority waned, the hegemons (like Duke Huan of Qi) still maintained a certain international order and moral baseline under the banner of “respecting the king and repelling barbarians” (e.g., the five commandments of the Kuiqiu alliance). By the Warring States period, feudal lords tore up covenants entirely, and grand masters usurped authority. Mencius used this to harshly condemn the political chaos and utter lack of moral bottom line of his time. - A Dialectical Evaluation of the “Hegemonic Way”: Affirming the Baseline, Denying Usurpation
Although Mencius strongly advocated the Kingly Way, his attitude toward the Hegemonic Way was dialectical. He called the Five Hegemons “criminals of the Three Kings” because they usurped the Son of Heaven’s power (dragging lords to attack other lords). However, he also detailed the five commandments of Duke Huan of Qi’s “Kuiqiu Alliance,” which was essentially an affirmation of the Hegemons’ historical merits in maintaining basic human relations, protecting people’s livelihoods, and respecting talent amidst chaos. Mencius believed that although the Five Hegemons fell short of the Three Kings, they still had a moral baseline compared to the Warring States feudal lords who disregarded even basic human relations and rules. - “Acquiescing to Evil” vs. “Encouraging Evil”: A Cross-Examination of the Moral Responsibility of Intellectuals and Ministers
At the end of the passage, Mencius introduced a profoundly significant political ethics concept: “Merely acquiescing to a ruler’s evil is a minor offense; actively encouraging and catering to a ruler’s evil is a grave offense.” “Acquiescing” means complying without dissuading; when a ruler does wrong and the minister fails to advise against it, it is a dereliction of duty. “Encouraging” means pandering and inducing; when a minister, for personal gain, actively anticipates the ruler’s intentions and even devises strategies to induce the ruler to do evil, it is a tremendous sin. Mencius pointed his spear directly at the powerful ministers of his time, arguing that it was precisely these unscrupulous, profit-driven ministers who pushed the feudal lords into the abyss, making them the chief culprits of the world’s chaos. This reflects Mencius’s exceedingly high moral demands on the scholar-official class to “follow the Way, not the ruler.”
孟子曰：“五霸者，三王之罪人也；今之诸侯，五霸之罪人也；今之大夫，今之诸侯之罪人也。天子适诸侯曰巡狩，诸侯朝于天子曰述职。春省耕而补不足，秋省敛而助不给。入其疆，土地辟，田野治，养老尊贤，俊杰在位，则有庆，庆以地。入其疆，土地荒芜，遗老失贤，掊克在位，则有让。一不朝，则贬其爵；再不朝，则削其地；三不朝，则六师移之。是故天子讨而不伐，诸侯伐而不讨。五霸者，搂诸侯以伐诸侯者也，故曰：五霸者，三王之罪人也。五霸，桓公为盛。葵丘之会诸侯，束牲、载书而不歃血。初命曰：‘诛不孝，无易树子，无以妾为妻。’再命曰：‘尊贤育才，以彰有德。’三命曰：‘敬老慈幼，无忘宾旅。’四命曰：‘士无世官，官事无摄，取士必得，无专杀大夫。’五命曰：‘无曲防，无遏籴，无有封而不告。’曰：‘凡我同盟之人，既盟之后，言归于好。’今之诸侯，皆犯此五禁，故曰：今之诸侯，五霸之罪人也。长君之恶其罪小，逢君之恶其罪大。今之大夫，皆逢君之恶，故曰：今之大夫，今之诸侯之罪人也。”
Leave a Reply