Mencius said:
“Bo Yi would not serve a ruler he did not approve of, nor befriend anyone he deemed unworthy.”
“He refused to serve in the court of a bad ruler or even speak with someone of bad character.
To him, doing so would be like wearing formal court robes and a ceremonial cap while sitting in mud and ashes – utterly defiling.
He took this aversion to evil so far that if he stood beside a villager whose hat was crooked (a sign of impropriety), he would immediately turn away in disgust, as if afraid of being contaminated.
Thus, even when feudal lords sent envoys with flattering words to invite him into office, he refused.
His refusal wasn’t out of arrogance – it was because he considered such positions beneath his dignity.
Liuxia Hui (Hui of Liuxia, Zhan Qin), by contrast, was unashamed to serve a morally flawed ruler and didn’t feel degraded by holding a minor post.
When in office, he never hid his talents but always acted according to his principles.
Even when dismissed and forgotten, he bore no resentment; even in poverty and hardship, he felt no self-pity.
He famously said: ‘You are you; I am I. Even if you stood naked beside me, how could you possibly defile me?’
Therefore, he could mingle freely with all kinds of people yet never lose his moral grounding.
If someone asked him to stay, he stayed; if asked to leave, he left.
He complied not out of weakness, but because he didn’t feel the need to flee – he saw no necessity in dramatic withdrawal.”
Finally, Mencius concluded:
“Bo Yi was too narrow-minded; Liuxia Hui was too lax.
Narrowness and laxity – neither is the path of a true noble person.”
Note
This passage from Mencius: Gongsun Chou I contrasts two famed recluses – Bo Yi and Liuxia Hui – to explore Confucian ideals of ethical engagement, ultimately advocating a middle way.
Bo Yi: Moral Purity to the point of isolation
Bo Yi, who starved himself rather than eat grain from the Zhou dynasty he deemed illegitimate, embodied absolute moral integrity. Yet Mencius critiques he was too strait-laced – his rigid rejection of any contact with moral impurity made him ineffective in the real world, bordering on self-righteous isolation.
Liuxia Hui: Flexible integrity without self-respect
Hui of Liuxia (Zhan Qin), a Lu state official praised by Confucius, remained in service despite repeated demotions, maintaining inner virtue amid external chaos. But Mencius faults his “lack of reverence” (self-respect) – his excessive ease risked blurring ethical boundaries and diminishing the dignity of the scholar-official role.
Mencius’s middle path: Principled engagement
Mencius does not reject either figure but warns against extremes. The true gentleman, like Confucius (“I have no preconceptions about what is permissible or impermissible”), balances moral steadfastness with practical adaptability – engaging society without being corrupted, as articulated in the Doctrine of the Mean: “The noble person is harmonious but not conformist.”
Political relevance in the Warring States Era
Amid chaotic power struggles, scholars faced a dilemma: withdraw like Bo Yi or cooperate like Liuxia Hui? Mencius offers a third way: enter public life to implement benevolent governance when possible; retreat to cultivate virtue when not – but always with purpose, not dogma or indifference.
Thus, his critique establishes a Confucian ideal of responsible, flexible, and principled action in a flawed world.
公孙丑章句上·第九节
孟子曰：“伯夷，非其君不事，非其友不友。不立于恶人之朝，不与恶人言。立于恶人之朝，与恶人言，如以朝衣朝冠坐于涂炭。推恶恶之心，思与乡人立，其冠不正，望望然去之，若将浼焉。是故诸侯虽有善其辞命而至者，不受也。不受也者，是亦不屑就已。柳下惠，不羞污君，不卑小官。进不隐贤，必以其道。遗佚而不怨，阨穷而不悯。故曰：‘尔为尔，我为我，虽袒裼裸裎于我侧，尔焉能浼我哉？’故由由然与之偕而不自失焉，援而止之而止。援而止之而止者，是亦不屑去已。”
孟子曰：“伯夷隘，柳下惠不恭。隘与不恭，君子不由也。”
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