Mencius said:
“If a state respects the virtuous and employs the capable, placing outstanding individuals in office, then scholars throughout the land will rejoice and wish to serve in its court.”
“If the state provides market stalls without imposing commercial taxes, and enforces fair regulations without seizing merchants’ goods or spaces, then traders from all over will be delighted and eager to store their wares in its markets.
If border checkpoints only inspect travelers for security but do not levy tariffs, then travelers and merchants will gladly use its roads.
If farmers work under the ‘mutual-assistance’ system – cultivating communal fields collectively without additional taxes on their private land – then peasants everywhere will be happy to till its soil.
If households are exempt from poll taxes (such as the ‘fu-li cloth tax,’ a burdensome head tax), then people across the realm will joyfully wish to become its citizens.
If a ruler truly implements these five policies, the people of neighboring states will look up to him as they would to their own parents.
Now, has there ever been a case in human history where a ruler could compel his people to attack someone they regard as a parent? Never!
Thus, such a ruler will be invincible under Heaven.
And one who is invincible under Heaven is a ‘Heaven’s Officer’ (Heaven-ordained official) – a ruler acting in accordance with Heaven’s mandate.
That such a ruler would fail to achieve true kingship is simply unheard of.”
孟子曰：「尊賢使能，俊傑在位，則天下之士皆悅而願立於其朝矣。市廛而不征，法而不廛，則天下之商皆悅而願藏於其市矣。關譏而不征，則天下之旅皆悅而願出於其路矣。耕者助而不稅，則天下之農皆悅而願耕於其野矣。廛無夫里之布，則天下之民皆悅而願為之氓矣。信能行此五者，則鄰國之民仰之若父母矣。率其子弟，攻其父母，自生民以來，未有能濟者也。如此，則無敵於天下。無敵於天下者，天吏也。然而不王者，未之有也。」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Gongsun Chou I presents a concrete policy blueprint of Mencius’s vision of benevolent governance, reflecting his people-centered, open, low-tax, and morally attractive model of statecraft.
“Respect the Virtuous, Employ the Capable” – Meritocracy as Governance Core
Mencius opposed hereditary privilege and advocated appointing talent based on merit – a stance aligned with Confucius’s “promote the upright” and Xunzi’s “appoint the worthy without waiting for seniority.” This was a direct critique of Warring States rulers who favored relatives or favorites over qualified officials.
Economic freedom and Light taxation
Policies like “no market taxes,” “no customs duties,” and “no poll taxes” formed an early vision of minimal state interference to encourage trade, agriculture, and population growth. While the “mutual-assistance” farming system idealized the ancient well-field model, its spirit was clear: reduce peasant burdens. This stood in stark contrast to Legalist “emphasize agriculture, suppress commerce” doctrines, such as Shang Yang’s reform in Qin state.
Popular support determines military victory
Mencius boldly argued that war outcomes depend not on weapons but on whose side the people’s hearts lie. If neighboring peoples see a ruler as a parent, no army can force them to attack him – an idea more morally grounded than even Sun Tzu’s “the Dao means the people share the ruler’s purpose.”
The Legitimacy of Kingship
The term “Heaven’s Officer” implies a ruler who governs by moral authority, not coercion. This echoes the Book of Documents: “Heaven sees as the people see; Heaven hears as the people hear.” Here, the Mandate of Heaven is fully grounded in popular will – a hallmark of Confucian “people-as-root” political theology.
Ultimately, this passage is both an idealistic manifesto and a direct appeal to Warring States rulers: true kingship comes not from conquest, but from institutional attractiveness and moral charisma.
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