Mencius said, “Bo Yi, to avoid the tyranny of King Zhou of Shang, lived on the coast of the North Sea. When he heard that King Wen of Zhou had risen and was implementing good governance, he said, ‘Why not go to him? I have heard that the Earl of the West (King Wen) is a ruler who is good at providing for the elderly.’ Jiang Taigong, to avoid the tyranny of King Zhou of Shang, lived on the coast of the East Sea. When he heard that King Wen of Zhou had risen and was implementing good governance, he also said, ‘Why not go to him? I have heard that the Earl of the West is a ruler who is good at providing for the elderly.’
If there is a ruler in the world who is good at providing for the elderly, then benevolent people will consider his state as their destination.
(How is this achieved practically?) Around a homestead of five mu, mulberry trees are planted beneath the walls, and the women of the household raise silkworms and weave; thus, the elderly have enough silk garments to wear. If a household keeps five hens and two sows, and their breeding seasons are not missed, the elderly have enough meat to eat. When a hundred mu of land is assigned to a man to cultivate, a family of eight has enough to be free from hunger.
What is meant by ‘the Earl of the West is good at providing for the elderly’ is this: the state establishes a fair system of land and housing, teaches the people to plant mulberries and raise livestock, and guides their wives and children so that they fulfill their duty of caring for the elderly. At fifty, one feels cold without silk; at seventy, one feels unsatisfied without meat. To be cold and hungry is called suffering from freezing and starvation. Among the people of King Wen, there were no elderly who suffered from freezing and starvation; this is what is meant.”
Note
This passage from the Jin Xin I chapter of the Mencius is a classic discourse where Mencius translates the concept of “benevolent governance” into a concrete “system for providing for the elderly.” Drawing on traditional commentaries and historical context, we can understand its underlying thought through the following dimensions:
- The Core of Political Attraction: “Providing for the Elderly” as the Benchmark for Winning the World
Mencius describes a highly symbolic historical scene here: Bo Yi and Jiang Taigong, two great sages of their time, when deciding their political destination, valued King Wen’s “goodness at providing for the elderly” over his military might or wealth. In the Confucian view, the “elderly” represent both the vulnerable groups in society and the root of traditional ethics. If a ruler can treat the elderly well, it shows that the foundation of his politics is benevolence and generosity. Mencius uses this to point out to the rulers of the Warring States period that true political appeal comes not from strong armor and sharp weapons, but from care and institutional guarantees for vulnerable groups. - The Material Foundation of Benevolent Governance: The Economic Blueprint of “Establishing Land and Teaching Cultivation”
Mencius did not leave “providing for the elderly” as an empty moral appeal; instead, he provided an extremely pragmatic “blueprint for people’s livelihood.” From the “five mu of homestead,” “planting mulberries,” and “raising silkworms” to the “five hens, two sows,” and “a hundred mu of land,” Mencius meticulously planned a self-sufficient smallholder economic model. This reflects the Confucian thought of “enriching the people before educating them”: the implementation of morality must be built on a solid material foundation. Only when the basic needs of food and clothing (“freedom from freezing and starvation”) are institutionally resolved can the ethical order of society be stabilized. - The Synergy of State and Family: The Elderly Care Model of “Guiding Wives and Children to Care for the Elderly”
The elderly care model proposed by Mencius is a hybrid of “state safety net plus family responsibility.” The role of the state is not to distribute money directly to the elderly, but to create wealth through “establishing land and teaching cultivation,” and then to “guide wives and children,” urging the younger generation to fulfill their care obligations. This profoundly aligns with the ancient Chinese social structure of “the family and the state sharing the same structure.” Mencius astutely pointed out that needing silk at fifty and meat at seventy are natural physiological laws; accommodating and fulfilling these natural laws is the ultimate expression of “benevolent governance.” ”
孟子曰：“伯夷辟纣，居北海之滨，闻文王作兴，曰：‘盍归乎来！吾闻西伯善养老者。’太公辟纣，居东海之滨，闻文王作兴，曰：‘盍归乎来！吾闻西伯善养老者。’天下有善养老，则仁人以为己归矣。五亩之宅，树墙下以桑，匹妇蚕之，则老者足以衣帛矣。五母鸡，二母彘，无失其时，老者足以无失肉矣。百亩之田，匹夫耕之，八口之家足以无饥矣。所谓西伯善养老者，制其田里，教之树畜，导其妻子，使养其老。五十非帛不暖，七十非肉不饱。不暖不饱，谓之冻馁。文王之民，无冻馁之老者，此之谓也。
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