Chapter 5: The Seven Causes for Concern
Master Mozi said: “There are seven causes for concern in a state. What are these seven causes? First, when the city walls and moats cannot be defended, yet palaces and halls are built; this is the first cause for concern. Second, when enemy states approach the borders, yet none of the neighboring states come to the rescue; this is the second. Third, when the strength of the people is exhausted on useless endeavors, and rewards are given to the incompetent, so that the people’s strength is spent on futility and the state’s wealth is squandered on entertaining guests; this is the third. Fourth, when officials hold their positions merely to retain their salaries, and scholars worry only about making connections; when the ruler establishes laws to punish ministers, but the ministers are so intimidated that they dare not oppose him; this is the fourth. Fifth, when the ruler considers himself sage and wise and therefore neglects state affairs, considers himself secure and strong and therefore lacks defenses, and remains unaware of the plots of neighboring states; this is the fifth. Sixth, when those who are trusted are not loyal, and those who are loyal are not trusted; this is the sixth. Seventh, when the stored grains are insufficient to feed the people, the high ministers are incompetent in their duties, rewards fail to bring joy, and punishments fail to inspire awe; this is the seventh.
If a ruler governs a state with these seven causes for concern, he will surely lose his altars of state and soil. If he defends a city with these seven causes for concern, the state will collapse as soon as the enemy arrives. Wherever these seven causes for concern manifest, the state will inevitably face disaster.
Grains are what the people rely upon and what the ruler uses to sustain himself. If the people have nothing to rely on, the ruler has nothing to sustain him; if the people have no food, they cannot serve the state. Therefore, food production must be diligently pursued, land must be properly cultivated, and expenditures must be strictly regulated. If all five grains are fully harvested, all five flavors can be served to the ruler; if they are not fully harvested, they cannot be fully served. The failure of one grain to ripen is called a minor famine (Jin); the failure of two is called drought (Han); the failure of three is called a severe famine (Xiong); the failure of four is called a great famine (Kui); and the failure of all five is called a catastrophic famine (Ji). In a year of minor famine, officials from the rank of Daifu downward must reduce their salaries by one-fifth. In a year of drought, they reduce by two-fifths; in a severe famine, by three-fifths; in a great famine, by four-fifths; and in a catastrophic famine, they receive no salary at all, but only a ration of grain.
Therefore, when a state faces severe or catastrophic famines, the ruler reduces his own lavish meals by three-fifths, the Daifu suspend their musical instruments, scholars cease attending school, the ruler does not change the style of his court robes, and the meals for visiting feudal lords and neighboring envoys are served plainly without extravagance. The ruler removes his secondary chariot horses, the roads are not weeded, horses are not fed grain, and maids and concubines do not wear silk. These measures are taken to announce the ultimate scarcity of resources to the world.
Now, if someone carrying a child on their back to draw water drops the child into a well, the mother will surely rush to save it. Today, when there is a severe famine and the people starve, leaving famine victims on the roads, this grief is heavier than a child falling into a well. How can this go unexamined! When the harvest is good, the people are benevolent and good; when the harvest is bad, the people are stingy and wicked. What constant nature do the people have? When producers are few and consumers are many, there will be no abundant harvests.
Therefore, it is said: If wealth is insufficient, one must look back to the seasons (agriculture); if food is insufficient, one must look back to expenditures. The ancients generated wealth according to the seasons, consolidated the agricultural foundation, and used wealth frugally; thus, their wealth was sufficient. Even the sage kings of antiquity could not ensure that the five grains would always be harvested and that droughts and floods would never arrive. Yet they had no people suffering from cold and starvation. Why? Because they worked urgently according to the seasons and lived frugally themselves. Thus, the Book of Xia says, ‘Yu faced seven years of floods,’ and the Book of Yin says, ‘Tang faced five years of drought.’ They suffered from severe famines and starvation, yet their people did not freeze or starve. Why? Because their production of wealth was diligent, and their use of it was economical.
Therefore, if the granaries have no reserve grain, one cannot prepare for famines. If the armories have no reserve weapons, even if one is righteous, one cannot conquer the unrighteous. If the city walls are not fully fortified, one cannot defend oneself. If the mind has no preemptive considerations, one cannot respond to sudden emergencies. This is like Qing Ji, who, lacking a defensive mindset, could not safely go out.
Because Jie lacked preparations against Tang, he was exiled; because Zhou lacked preparations against King Wu, he was killed. Jie and Zhou were noble as Sons of Heaven and rich in possessing the whole world, yet both were destroyed by lords of merely a hundred li of territory. Why? Because they had wealth and nobility but made no preparations. Therefore, preparation is the most critical matter for a state. Food is the treasure of a state; weapons are the claws of a state; and city walls are what a state uses to defend itself. These three are the essential tools of a state.
Thus, it is said: To give the highest rewards to those without merit, to empty the treasuries to prepare carriages, horses, furs, and exotic curiosities, to exhaust the laborers to build palaces and entertainment venues, and upon death to provide thick coffins and numerous burial garments; to build terraces and pavilions in life and grand tombs in death – this causes the people to suffer externally and the treasuries to be depleted internally. When superiors are never satisfied with their pleasures, subordinates cannot bear the hardship. Thus, when the state faces enemies, it is wounded; when the people face famines, they perish. These are all sins of inadequate preparation. Moreover, food is what the sages treasure. Therefore, the Book of Zhou says, ‘A state without three years’ reserve of food is not truly a state; a family without three years’ reserve of food is not truly a family.’ This is what is meant by national preparedness.”
Note
Mozi’s Chapter Five expounds seven fatal state perils. It stresses food reserves, weapons and city defenses as core national safeguards, advocates frugality in famines, and cites sage kings and tyrants to prove adequate preparation determines a regime’s survival.
The Seven Causes for Concern:
A systematic checklist of state failures, ranging from misallocated resources and sycophancy to lack of strategic foresight and broken trust. It serves as a diagnostic tool for rulers.
Yu and Tang:
Yu the Great (founder of the Xia dynasty) and Tang (founder of the Shang dynasty). They are cited as positive examples of sage kings who successfully navigated extreme natural disasters (seven years of floods and five years of drought, respectively) through diligent agricultural policies and frugal governance.
Jie and Zhou:
The tyrannical last rulers of the Xia and Shang dynasties. They serve as negative examples of rulers who possessed immense wealth but failed to prepare for military threats, leading to their overthrow by lesser regional lords (Tang and King Wu).
Qing Ji (庆忌):
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Prince Ji Guang of Wu sent the assassin Zhuan Zhu to kill King Liao of Wu and seized the throne, becoming King Helü. Qing Ji, son of King Liao, fled to the State of Wei, recruited troops and vowed to avenge his father. Endowed with extraordinary bravery, Qing Ji emerged as the primary threat to Helü’s rule, troubling the king day and night. Following Wu Zixu’s counsel, Helü dispatched the assassin Yao Li (要离) to carry out the assassination.
Yao Li was short and frail, while Qing Ji stood eight chi tall and possessed formidable martial prowess. To gain access to Qing Ji, Yao Li devised a ruse of self-sacrifice: he cut off his own right arm and asked Helü to execute his wife and children. Creating the illusion of being persecuted, he fled to serve Qing Ji. Moved by Yao Li’s plight and trusting the intelligence about Wu he provided, Qing Ji accepted him.
Three months later, as Qing Ji led troops to invade Wu and crossed the river, Yao Li stabbed him with a short halberd mid-voyage. As he lay dying, Qing Ji stopped his followers from killing Yao Li and ordered them to set him free. Upon returning to Wu, Yao Li declined all rewards. Consumed by remorse for his unjust and immoral deeds, he ended his life by the sword.
Mozi uses Qing Ji as an analogy for the danger of lacking preemptive mental preparation.
National Preparedness:
The central theme of the chapter. Mozi argues that a state’s survival relies on three tangible pillars: sufficient food reserves, adequate military armaments, and fortified city walls, alongside the psychological readiness of the ruler.
Frugality in Times of Famine:
The text details a highly structured, tiered system of austerity measures during agricultural crises. The ruler and officials must visibly reduce their consumption (e.g., cutting meals, suspending music, wearing plain clothes) to signal national emergency, conserve resources, and share the people’s suffering.
Economic Determinism of Morality:
Mozi presents a pragmatic view of human nature, asserting that people’s moral behavior is directly tied to their material conditions (“When the harvest is good, the people are benevolent… when the harvest is bad, the people are stingy”). This contrasts with idealistic views that morality is entirely independent of material wealth.
The Book of Xia / The Book of Yin / The Book of Zhou:
Mozi frequently cites these ancient historical records (which are now largely lost or exist only in fragments) to lend historical authority and empirical evidence to his pragmatic arguments regarding statecraft and disaster management.
子墨子曰：国有七患。七患者何？城郭沟池不可守而治宫室，一患也；边国至境，四邻莫救，二患也；先尽民力无用之功，赏赐无能之人，民力尽于无用，财宝虚于待客，三患也；仕者持禄，游者忧交，君修法讨臣，臣慑而不敢拂，四患也；君自以为圣智而不问事，自以为安强而无守备，四邻谋之不知戒，五患也；所信不忠，所忠不信，六患也；畜种菽粟不足以食之，大臣不足以事之，赏赐不能喜，诛罚不能威，七患也。以七患居国，必无社稷；以七患守城，敌至国倾。七患之所当，国必有殃。
凡五谷者，民之所仰也，君之所以为养也。故民无仰，则君无养；民无食，则不可事。故食不可不务也，地不可不立也，用不可不节也。五谷尽收，则五味尽御于主；不尽收，则不尽御。一谷不收谓之馑，二谷不收谓之旱，三谷不收谓之凶，四谷不收谓之馈，五谷不收谓之饥。岁馑，则仕者大夫以下皆损禄五分之一；旱，则损五分之二；凶，则损五分之三；馈，则损五分之四；饥，则尽无禄，禀食而已矣。故凶饥存乎国，人君彻鼎食五分之三，大夫彻县，士不入学，君朝之衣不革制，诸侯之客，四邻之使，雍食而不盛；彻骖騑，涂不芸，马不食粟，婢妾不衣帛，此告不足之至也。
今有负其子而汲者，队其子于井中，其母必从而道之。今岁凶，民饥，道馑，此疚重于队其子，其可无察邪！故时年岁善，则民仁且良；时年岁凶，则民吝且恶。夫民何常此之有！为者寡，食者众，则岁无丰。
故曰：财不足则反之时，食不足则反之用。故先民以时生财，固本而用财，则财足。故虽上世之圣王，岂能使五谷常收而旱水不至哉！然而无冻饿之民者，何也？其力时急而自养俭也。故《夏书》曰：“禹七年水”，《殷书》曰：“汤五年旱。”此其离凶饿甚矣。然而民不冻饿者，何也？其生财密，其用之节也。
故仓无备粟，不可以待凶饥；库无备兵，虽有义，不能征无义；城郭不备完，不可以自守；心无备虑，不可以应卒，是若庆忌无去之心，不能轻出。
夫桀无待汤之备，故放；纣无待武王之备，故杀。桀纣贵为天子，富有天下，然而皆灭亡于百里之君者，何也？有富贵而不为备也。故备者，国之重也。食者，国之宝也；兵者，国之爪也；城者，所以自守也；此三者，国之具也。
故曰：以其极赏，以赐无功；虚其府库，以备车马衣裘奇怪；苦其役徒，以治宫室观乐；死又厚为棺椁，多为衣裘。生时治台榭，死又修坟墓，故民苦于外，府库单于内，上不厌其乐，下不堪其苦。故国离寇敌则伤，民见凶饥则亡，此皆备不具之罪也。且夫食者，圣人之所宝也。故《周书》曰：“国无三年之食者，国非其国也；家无三年之食者，子非其子也。”此之谓国备。
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