King Xuan of Qi asked Mencius,
“Would you please tell me something about King Huan of Qi and King Wen of Jin?”
Mencius replied,
“None of the disciples of Zhongni (Confucius’ courtesy name) said anything about them, about whom nothing, therefore, has been transmitted to the later generations, and I have not heard of anything about them. If you will have me speak, let me say something about unifying the world.”
The king said,
“What virtue must there be to win the unification of the world?”
Mencius replied,
“It is the protection of the people; with this a ruler can not be prevented from winning the unification of the world.”
The king asked again,
“Can a ruler like me protect the people?”
“Yes.”
“‘How do you know that?”
“Hu He told me the following story about Your Majesty: Your Majesty was sitting aloft in the hall, when a man appeared, leading an ox past the lower part of it. Your Majesty asked him where the ox was going. The man answered that they were going to consecrate a bell with its blood. Your Majesty said, ‘Let it go. I can not bear to see it trembling, as if it were an innocent man going to the execution ground.’ The man said, ‘Shall we omit the consecration of the bell?’ Your Majesty said, ‘How can it be omitted? Change it for a sheep.’ I wonder whether there was such an incident?”
“Yes, there was,” was the king’s reply.
Then Mencius said,
“Since you have such a heart, you can win the unification of the world. All your people think that Your Majesty grudged the ox, but I know it was because Your Majesty could not bear the sight.”
The king said,
“You are right. There are indeed people who think that I grudged the ox. But how should I grudge an ox though the State of Qi is small. It was because I could not bear to see it trembling as if it were an innocent man going to the execution ground that I changed it for a sheep.”
Mencius said,
“Do not deem it strange that the people should think you were grudging the ox. How should they know the reason why you changed a large animal for a small one? And what was there to choose between an ox and a sheep if you felt pained by its being led to death as if it were an innocent man going to the execution ground?”
The king laughed and said,
“What was really in my mind then? I did not grudge the expense, but I did use a sheep instead of the ox. No wonder that the people should have said I grudged the expense!”
“There is no harm in their saying so,” said Mencius. “What you did was a benevolent act. You saw the ox at that time, but not the sheep. Such is a gentleman’s attitude toward animals that, having seen them alive, he can not bear to see them die; having heard their dying cries, he can not bear to eat their meat. That is why he keeps away from his kitchen.”
The king was pleased, saying,
“The Book of Poetry says: ‘What’s on another’s mind, I’m able to surmise,’ This may be said of you, my Master. I did the thing, but when I asked myself why I had done it, I could not discover my motive. What you say has touched my heart. But how is it that this heart has to do with the unification of the world?”
Mencius replied,
“Suppose a man were to say to Your Majesty: ‘I am strong enough to lift three thousand catties, but I can not lift one feather; I can see clearly the tip of a tiny hair, but I can not see a cartload of fagots.’ Would Your Majesty believe him?”
“No.”
“Now you are kind to animals, but what is the reason why you have not benefited the people? The truth is, one’s failure to lift a feather is because one will not use one’s strength; one’s failure to see a cartload of fagots is because one will not use one’s eyesight; your failure to protect the people is because you will not extend your kindness. Therefore, your failure to win the unification of the world is that you will not do it, not that you are not able to.”
The king asked,
“What is the difference in outward appearance between not being willing to do a thing and not being able to do it?”
Mencius replied,
“If you were asked to jump over the North Sea with Mount Tai under your arm, you say to people, ‘I am not able to do it.’ That is a real case of not being able to. If asked to break a twig for an elder, you say to people, ‘I am not able to do it.’ That is a case of not being willing to do it, rather than a case of not being able to. Therefore, Your Majesty’s failure to win the unification of the world is not a case of jumping over the North Sea with Mount Tai under your arm, but a case of breaking a twig. Do reverence to the elders in your own family and extend it to those in others’; show loving care to the young in your own family and extend it to those in others’ – do this and you would find it as easy to rule the world as to roll something on the palm of your hand. The Book of Poetry says:
‘He set an example to his consort,
Then extended it to his brothers,
And to his fief and the whole kingdom.’This shows how King Wen of Zhou Dynasty extended his kindness to others. Therefore, if one extends one’s kindness, one will be able to protect the whole world; if not, one will not be able to protect one’s wife and children. The reason why the ancient sages surpassed others was that they knew well how to extend what they did. How is it then that you are kind to animals, but no benefits are extended to the people? Only by weighing a thing, can you know its weight; and only by measuring it, can you know its length. It is so with all things, and especially so with your heart. I beg Your Majesty to measure your own heart.
Do you find satisfaction in waging wars, imperiling your subjects and arousing the enmity of other states?”
“No. Why should I find satisfaction in such things? I only want to realize my great ambition.”
“May I hear what your ambition is?”
The king smiled, making no reply.
“Is it because your delicious food is not good enough for your palate, and your clothing not good enough for your body? Or because your colorful things are not good enough for your eyes, and your music not good enough for your ears, and your favorite attendants not good enough for your orders? All your officials are able to fill up these deficiencies. Is your ambition connected with these things?”
“No, it is not connected with these things.”
“In that case I can see what your great ambition is. You want to expand your territory, collect tributes from the States of Qin and Chu, rule over the world, and pacify the various barbarous tribes. Trying to fulfill your ambition by such means as you use is just like trying to find fish by climbing a tree.”
“Is it as bad as that?” asked the king.
“It may be even worse. If you try to find fish by climbing a tree, though in vain, there will be no disaster. But if you try to fulfill your ambition by such means as you use with all your might and main, it will surely bring disaster in its wake.”
“May I hear about it?”
“If the people of Zou and the people of Chu went to war, which of them do you think would win?”
“The people of Chu.”
“This serves to show that the small can not cope with the big, the few can not cope with the many, and the weak can not cope with the strong. Now the world covers nine thousand li square, and the whole territory of Qi is only one thousand Li square. If one tries to conquer the other eight, what is the difference between this and Zou’s fighting with Chu? Why not turn to what is of fundamental importance? Now if you practice benevolence in your government, then all the officials in the world will want to find a place in your court, all tillers to plow in your fields, and all merchants to store their goods in your marketplaces, all travelers to journey on your roads, and all those who hate their rulers to lay their complaints before you. Such being the case, who can stop you from achieving the end?”
The king said,
“I am muddle-headed, and can not afford a better understanding of what you say. I hope you will help me toward the attainment of my ideal, and instruct me plainly. I will try to carry out your instructions, though I am slow-witted.”
“Only an intellectual can have a constant heart with an insecure means of support. As for the common people, they will not have constant hearts if they have no constant means of support. Without constant hearts they will act wildly and illegally, and stop at nothing. To punish them after they have committed crimes is to entrap them. How can a benevolent ruler entrap the common people? So a wise ruler will decide on such a plan for the people’s means of support as to make sure that they can support their parents as well as their wives and children, and that they have enough food in good years, and are saved from starvation in bad. Then he will urge them to do good, and in these circumstances the people will find it easy to follow him.
But now the means of support decided on for the people are not sufficient for the support of their parents or for the support of their wives and children. In good years they live a bitter life while in bad years they can not escape death. In such circumstances they can not even survive, and what time can they spare for the cultivation of decorum and righteousness?
If Your Majesty wants to run a benevolent government, why not turn to what is of fundamental importance? Let mulberry trees be planted about each homestead to five mu of land, and those who are fifty will have floss silk garments to wear. Let fowls, pigs and dogs be raised without neglecting their breeding seasons, and those who are seventy will have meat to eat. Let farm work be done without interference in a hundred mu of land, and a family of eight mouths will not go hungry. Let careful attention be paid to education in local schools, where the significance of filial and fraternal duties is stressed repeatedly, and grey-haired people will not be carrying loads on the roads. In a state where old people are clothed in floss silk garments and have meat to eat, and the masses do not suffer from hunger or cold, what prince can fail to unify the whole world?”
齊宣王問曰：「齊桓、晉文之事可得聞乎？」
孟子對曰：「仲尼之徒無道桓、文之事者，是以後世無傳焉。臣未之聞也。無以，則王乎？」
曰：「德何如，則可以王矣？」
曰：「保民而王，莫之能禦也。」
曰：「若寡人者，可以保民乎哉？」
曰：「可。」
曰：「何由知吾可也？」
曰：「臣聞之胡齕曰，王坐於堂上，有牽牛而過堂下者，王見之，曰：『牛何之？』對曰：『將以釁鐘。』王曰：『舍之！吾不忍其觳觫，若無罪而就死地。』對曰：『然則廢釁鐘與？』曰：『何可廢也？以羊易之！』不識有諸？」
曰：「有之。」
曰：「是心足以王矣。百姓皆以王為愛也，臣固知王之不忍也。」
王曰：「然。誠有百姓者。齊國雖褊小，吾何愛一牛？即不忍其觳觫，若無罪而就死地，故以羊易之也。」
曰：「王無異於百姓之以王為愛也。以小易大，彼惡知之？王若隱其無罪而就死地，則牛羊何擇焉？」
王笑曰：「是誠何心哉？我非愛其財。而易之以羊也，宜乎百姓之謂我愛也。」
曰：「無傷也，是乃仁術也，見牛未見羊也。君子之於禽獸也，見其生，不忍見其死；聞其聲，不忍食其肉。是以君子遠庖廚也。」
王說曰：「《詩》云：『他人有心，予忖度之。』夫子之謂也。夫我乃行之，反而求之，不得吾心。夫子言之，於我心有戚戚焉。此心之所以合於王者，何也？」
曰：「有復於王者曰：『吾力足以舉百鈞』，而不足以舉一羽；『明足以察秋毫之末』，而不見輿薪，則王許之乎？」
曰：「否。」
「今恩足以及禽獸，而功不至於百姓者，獨何與？然則一羽之不舉，為不用力焉；輿薪之不見，為不用明焉，百姓之不見保，為不用恩焉。故王之不王，不為也，非不能也。」
曰：「不為者與不能者之形何以異？」
曰：「挾太山以超北海，語人曰『我不能』，是誠不能也。為長者折枝，語人曰『我不能』，是不為也，非不能也。故王之不王，非挾太山以超北海之類也；王之不王，是折枝之類也。老吾老，以及人之老；幼吾幼，以及人之幼。天下可運於掌。《詩》云：『刑于寡妻，至于兄弟，以御于家邦。』言舉斯心加諸彼而已。故推恩足以保四海，不推恩無以保妻子。古之人所以大過人者無他焉，善推其所為而已矣。今恩足以及禽獸，而功不至於百姓者，獨何與？權，然後知輕重；度，然後知長短。物皆然，心為甚。王請度之！抑王興甲兵，危士臣，構怨於諸侯，然後快於心與？」
王曰：「否。吾何快於是？將以求吾所大欲也。」
曰：「王之所大欲可得聞與？」王笑而不言。
曰：「為肥甘不足於口與？輕煖不足於體與？抑為采色不足視於目與？聲音不足聽於耳與？便嬖不足使令於前與？王之諸臣皆足以供之，而王豈為是哉？」
曰：「否。吾不為是也。」
曰：「然則王之所大欲可知已。欲辟土地，朝秦楚，莅中國而撫四夷也。以若所為求若所欲，猶緣木而求魚也。」
王曰：「若是其甚與？」
曰：「殆有甚焉。緣木求魚，雖不得魚，無後災。以若所為，求若所欲，盡心力而為之，後必有災。」
曰：「可得聞與？」
曰：「鄒人與楚人戰，則王以為孰勝？」
曰：「楚人勝。」
曰：「然則小固不可以敵大，寡固不可以敵眾，弱固不可以敵彊。海內之地方千里者九，齊集有其一。以一服八，何以異於鄒敵楚哉？蓋亦反其本矣。今王發政施仁，使天下仕者皆欲立於王之朝，耕者皆欲耕於王之野，商賈皆欲藏於王之市，行旅皆欲出於王之塗，天下之欲疾其君者皆欲赴愬於王。其若是，孰能禦之？」
王曰：「吾惛，不能進於是矣。願夫子輔吾志，明以教我。我雖不敏，請嘗試之。」
曰：「無恆產而有恆心者，惟士為能。若民，則無恆產，因無恆心。苟無恆心，放辟，邪侈，無不為已。及陷於罪，然後從而刑之，是罔民也。焉有仁人在位，罔民而可為也？是故明君制民之產，必使仰足以事父母，俯足以畜妻子，樂歲終身飽，凶年免於死亡。然後驅而之善，故民之從之也輕。今也制民之產，仰不足以事父母，俯不足以畜妻子，樂歲終身苦，凶年不免於死亡。此惟救死而恐不贍，奚暇治禮義哉？王欲行之，則盍反其本矣。五畝之宅，樹之以桑，五十者可以衣帛矣；雞豚狗彘之畜，無失其時，七十者可以食肉矣；百畝之田，勿奪其時，八口之家可以無飢矣；謹庠序之教，申之以孝悌之義，頒白者不負戴於道路矣。老者衣帛食肉，黎民不飢不寒，然而不王者，未之有也。」
Note
Introducing King Xuan of Qi
King Xuan of Qi was the fifth ruler of Qi state during the Warring States period, son of King Wei of Qi, reigning from 319 to 301 BCE. Under his rule, Qi reached its peak power, though his historical presence is relatively overshadowed by his father’s achievements and his son’s reign.
In 314 BC, during Yan’s civil war, he sent Kuang Zhang to attack Yan, nearly annihilating it. In 301 BC, allied with Han and Wei, he dealt a crushing blow to Chu state. Following his father’s footsteps, King Xuan invited scholars from all over to the Jixia Academy, which made Qi a center of intellectual activity. Thinkers like Mencius and Xunzi once lectured there. This is why the philosopher Mencius advised him on benevolent governance above.
There’s an amusing anecdote about him: it’s said he enjoyed archery and loved to be praised for his strength, boasting about his powerful bow. His courtiers, flattering him, all claimed his bow was too strong for them to draw. See the story of King Xuan’s archery delusion for details.
This passage above from Mencius: King Hui of Liang I encapsulates Mencius’s core political philosophy.
Benevolent Governance as the Foundation
Mencius deliberately avoids discussing hegemonic rulers like Duke Huan of Qi, who achieved Hegemony in 679 BCE, or Duke Wen of Jin, who was recognized as the Hegemon after the Battle of Chengpu (632 BCE) against Chu state. Instead Mencius advocate “protecting the people to become king” (the foundation of kingship) – true unification comes not through force, but through moral virtue.
The Seed of Benevolence
When King Xuan of Qi spares a trembling ox destined for sacrifice and substitutes a sheep, Mencius identifies this spontaneous compassion (“Heart That Cannot Bear Suffering”) as the very root of royal virtue: “This heart is sufficient to rule the world.”
“Cannot vs Will Not”
The people’s suffering stems not from the ruler’s incapacity, but from his unwillingness to extend the same compassion he shows animals to his own subjects. Mencius contrasts “carrying Mount Tai over the North Sea” (truly impossible) with “bending a branch for an elder” (easily done but neglected) – highlighting that benevolent rule requires will, not ability. “It Is Not That You Cannot, But That You Will Not”.
The Principle of Extending Kindness
“Care for your own elders, and extend that care to others’ elders; care for your own young, and extend it to others’ young.” Moral concern must radiate outward from the personal to the universal. If practiced, “the whole world can be turned in the palm of your hand.”
Critique of Hegemonic Ambition
The king dreams of territorial expansion and forcing Qin and Chu to submit. Mencius warns that pursuing such goals through war and exploitation is futile – and dangerous – like “Climbing a Tree to Catch Fish”: not only ineffective, but inviting disaster.
The Doctrine of “Stable Livelihood, Stable Morality”
Unlike scholars, ordinary people need secure livelihoods (“constant property”) to develop moral character (“constant heart”). A wise ruler ensures citizens can support their parents, raise families, survive lean years, and then guides them toward virtue. Without material security, moral education is impossible.
A Concrete Blueprint provided
Mencius was not just theorizing; he provided an actionable blueprint, a concrete blueprint for the Way of the Humane Sovereign. Plant mulberry trees on five-mu homesteads so the elderly wear silk; raise poultry and pigs seasonally so the aged eat meat; protect farming time on hundred-mu plots so families never starve; establish schools to teach filial piety and fraternal respect so the gray-haired carry no burdens. When “the old wear silk and eat meat, and the common people suffer neither hunger nor cold,” kingship is assured.
In sum, Mencius presents a complete vision of humane governance: rooted in innate compassion, expanded through deliberate empathy, grounded in economic security, and perfected through moral education – rejecting all forms of violent ambition in favor of rule by virtue and popular consent.
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