Mencius said, “There are three main types of taxation levied by the state: the levy of cloth and hemp, the levy of grain, and the levy of corvee labor. A gentleman (a wise ruler) employs only one of these at a time, while temporarily suspending the other two. If two are employed simultaneously, there will be people starving to death among the populace. If all three are employed simultaneously, it will lead to the separation of fathers and sons (and the destruction of families).”
Note
This passage from the Jin Xin II chapter of the Mencius is a concrete manifestation of Mencius’ “benevolent governance” and “people-oriented” thought in the realm of fiscal taxation. Drawing on historical context and Confucian classics, we can understand its underlying thought through the following dimensions:
- Historical Background and a Microcosm of the Ancient Tax System
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, feudal lords were engaged in continuous warfare. To maintain massive military expenditures and extravagant court consumption, they often imposed exorbitant taxes on the people. Mencius accurately summarized the three major forms of exploitation at the time: “cloth and hemp” representing handicraft and household textile taxes, “grain” representing agricultural land rents, and “corvée labor” representing unpaid public labor and military conscription. These three burdens virtually squeezed dry all surplus value under the ancient small peasant economy. - The Bottom Line of Benevolent Governance and the Quantitative Standard of “Light Taxes and Corvée”
Mencius not only proposed the slogan of “benevolent governance” but also provided specific operational standards: “employ only one, temporarily suspend the other two.” This reflects the Confucian governing concept of “being economical in expenditure and loving the people, and employing the people only at the proper seasons.” Mencius profoundly recognized that the people’s bearing capacity has a limit. If the ruler is insatiably greedy and levies two or three types of taxes simultaneously, it will break through the bottom line of the people’s survival, leading to “people starving to death.” This is the most direct accusation against tyrannical rule. - The Painful Warning of “Separation of Fathers and Sons” and the Sublimation of People-Oriented Thought
“The separation of fathers and sons” is Mencius’ ultimate depiction of the consequences of extreme tyranny. In Confucian ethics, the family is the cornerstone of human relations. When heavy taxation forces the people to the brink of survival, in order to stay alive, they have to abandon their parents, wives, and children, or even sell their offspring, leading to tragedies of human relations. Mencius used this to warn the rulers: the state’s fiscal extraction capacity must never be built on destroying the basic social ethics and the people’s right to survive. This argument, which directly links “taxation” to the “survival of human relations,” profoundly deepened the Confucian political philosophy that “the people are the most important element.”
孟子曰：“有布缕之征，粟米之征，力役之征。君子用其一，缓其二。用其二而民有殍，用其三而父子离。”
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