Zhou Xiao asked:
“Did the gentlemen of ancient times take office?”
Mencius replied:
“Yes, they did. It was said that when Confucius went three months without a ruler to serve, he became deeply anxious; whenever he crossed a state’s border, he always carried his formal gift for presenting to a new lord.
Gongming Yi also said: ‘In ancient times, if a man went three months without a post, others would offer him condolences.’”
Zhou Xiao asked in surprise:
“Three months without office – and people consoled him? Isn’t that too eager?”
Mencius explained:
“For a scholar to lose his position is like a feudal lord losing his state.
The Book of Rites states: ‘Lords personally assisted in plowing to provide grain for sacrifices; their consorts raised silkworms to make ritual robes.
If sacrificial animals were incomplete, grain unclean, or robes unprepared, they dared not perform sacrifices.
Similarly, if a scholar had no land (i.e., no official stipend), he could not sacrifice either.’
If one cannot even conduct ancestral rites – let alone hold banquets – isn’t such a state worthy of sympathy?”
Zhou Xiao then asked:
“But why must one carry the gift when leaving a state?”
Mencius said:
“A scholar taking office is like a farmer tilling the field – it’s his duty.
Would a farmer abandon his plow and hoe when traveling abroad? The scholar carries his gift as his tool for service.”
Zhou Xiao pressed further:
“Jin was a state where one could serve – but I’ve never heard scholars were so urgent about it. If they’re so eager, why is it so hard for true gentlemen to actually take office?”
Mencius answered:
“When parents have a son, they desire to find him a wife, and when they have a daughter, they desire to find her a husband. Such a parental wish is common to all human beings.
But if someone climbs walls or peeps through holes to meet secretly, eloping without parental consent or a matchmaker, both parents and neighbors will despise them.
The ancients certainly wished to serve – but they despised doing so through improper means.
Those who seek office without following the right path are no different from wall-climbing lovers!”
周霄問曰：「古之君子仕乎？」
孟子曰：「仕。傳曰：『孔子三月無君，則皇皇如也，出疆必載質。』公明儀曰：『古之人三月無君則弔。』」
「三月無君則弔，不以急乎？」
曰：「士之失位也，猶諸侯之失國家也。禮曰：『諸侯耕助，以供粢盛；夫人蠶繅，以為衣服。犧牲不成，粢盛不潔，衣服不備，不敢以祭。惟士無田，則亦不祭。』牲殺器皿衣服不備，不敢以祭，則不敢以宴，亦不足弔乎？」
「出疆必載質，何也？」
曰：「士之仕也，猶農夫之耕也，農夫豈為出疆舍其耒耜哉？」
曰：「晉國亦仕國也，未嘗聞仕如此其急。仕如此其急也，君子之難仕，何也？」
曰：「丈夫生而願為之有室，女子生而願為之有家。父母之心，人皆有之。不待父母之命、媒妁之言，鑽穴隙相窺，踰牆相從，則父母國人皆賤之。古之人未嘗不欲仕也，又惡不由其道。不由其道而往者，與鑽穴隙之類也。」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Teng Wen Gong II articulates the Confucian view on the scholar’s duty to serve, balancing urgency with ethical boundaries.
Office as Vocation, Not Ambition
Serving in government is the scholar’s social calling – like farming for peasants. Confucius’s anxiety over inactivity reflects concern not for personal gain, but for the unrealized Dao.
The ritual gift as symbol of dignity
Carrying the gift signifies readiness to serve with integrity – not as flattery, but as a formal commitment to righteous governance.
The paradox of “eager yet reluctant” service
Using marriage as metaphor, Mencius resolves the tension: desire for office is natural, but only legitimate through proper channels (i.e., being invited by a ruler). Self-promotion is morally equivalent to illicit romance.
Critique of Warring States opportunism
In an age of wandering strategists selling schemes for power, such as Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Mencius condemns unsolicited lobbying as “wall-climbing” – a betrayal of scholarly honor.
Sacrifice rights and identity
Without office, a scholar cannot perform ancestral rites – a catastrophic loss in a lineage-based society. Thus, unemployment threatens not just livelihood, but moral and familial existence.
Legacy of the “Wait-to-be-Invited” Principle
This ideal shaped Chinese literati culture for millennia: true scholars serve only when summoned by virtue, never by self-advancement – exemplified by figures like Zhuge Liang. You can find more details about the employment of Zhuge Liang – Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage.
Mencius thus affirms: the noble person longs to serve the world – but never at the cost of principle.
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