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Mencius – Chapter 8.21 From Odes to Annals: the fall of poetic governance
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Mencius said: “When the traces of the sage-kings faded, the civilization of rites and music represented by The Book of Songs (Book of Poetry) thus came to an end; and after that, the Spring and Autumn Annals emerged. The Cheng of Jin, the Taowu of Chu, and the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu…
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Mencius – Chapter 8.20 The Five Virtues of Sage-Kings
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Mencius said: “Yu the Great detested fine wine but loved wise counsel. Tang held to the Golden Mean and appointed the worthy without regard to their background. King Wen of Zhou looked upon the people as if they were wounded, and though he longed for the Dao, he always felt he had not yet…
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Mencius – Chapter 8.19 Acting from, not performing, virtue
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Mencius said: “The difference between humans and birds or beasts is extremely slight – just a tiny bit. Ordinary people tend to lose this small distinction, while noble persons preserve it. Shun understood the principles of all things and clearly discerned human relationships. He acted from benevolence and righteousness, not merely performing benevolence and…
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Mencius – Chapter 8.18 Rooted like a Spring, Not a Storm
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Xu Zi asked: “Confucius often praised water, exclaiming, ‘Ah, water! Ah, water!’ What did he admire about it?”
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Mencius – Chapter 8.17 Moral cost of empty speech and Peril of suppressing the worthy
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Mencius said: “Speech without factual basis brings misfortune. And the one who bears the consequences of this misfortune is the person who blocks or suppresses the worthy.”
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Crossing the Lingding Ocean
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– Wen Tianxiang By virtue of the classics, painstakingly I rose to serve my state;Four years of war have passed, with our banners desolate.Our land, torn asunder, drifts like catkins in the gale;My life, adrift and battered, like duckweed in the rain’s assail.At Huangkong Shoal, I sighed for the fears that once prevailed;On Lingding…