Wan Zhang asked Mencius:
“Song is a small state. If it now implements kingly governance (benevolent governance), and Qi and Chu resent it and attack – what should it do?”
Mencius replied:
“In ancient times, Tang dwelled in Bo and was neighbor to Ge. Ge’s ruler, Ge Bo (lord Ge), was reckless and neglected sacrifices.
Tang sent someone to ask, ‘Why don’t you sacrifice?’
He said, ‘I have no animals for offerings.’
So Tang sent him cattle and sheep. But Ge Bo ate them and still didn’t sacrifice.
Tang asked again, ‘Why still no sacrifice?’
‘No grain for ritual food,’ came the reply.
So Tang sent people from Bo to plow fields for Ge, and had the elderly and weak deliver meals to the workers.
But Ge Bo led his men to ambush those carrying wine, food, millet, and rice – robbing them; if anyone refused, he killed them.
Once, a child bringing millet and meat was murdered and robbed.
The Book of Documents says: ‘Ge Bo hated those who brought food’ – this is what it refers to.
Tang launched a punitive expedition – not to enrich himself, but to avenge that child!
All under heaven said:
‘Tang seeks not wealth, but justice for common folk.’
The Book of Documents (The Book of History) records: ‘Tang’s campaigns began with Ge.’
He waged eleven expeditions and met no resistance.
When he marched east, western tribes complained; when south, northern barbarians grumbled: ‘Why are we last?’
The people longed for him as parched earth longs for rain!
His troops passed through markets – trade continued; farmers kept tilling.
He executed only the tyrant and consoled the people – like timely rain descending. All rejoiced.
The Book of Documents (The Book of History) quotes the people:
‘Wait for our lord! When he comes, punishment will cease.’
Another passage says:
‘Some would not submit to Zhou. The king marched east, pacifying men and women.
Nobles welcomed Zhou’s nobles with fine black-and-yellow silks in baskets; commoners greeted soldiers with rice baskets and wine jars –
for the king came to rescue them from fire and water, removing only the cruel.’
The Great Oath declares:
‘Our martial might rises; entering your lands, we remove the cruel.
Through righteous punishment, Tang’s glory shines!’
So why fear? If Song truly practices kingly rule (benevolent government), all under heaven will lift their heads in hope, wishing you were their ruler.
Qi and Chu may be powerful – but what is there to dread?”
萬章問曰：「宋，小國也。今將行王政，齊楚惡而伐之，則如之何？」
孟子曰：「湯居亳，與葛為鄰，葛伯放而不祀。湯使人問之曰：『何為不祀？』曰：『無以供犧牲也。』湯使遺之牛羊。葛伯食之，又不以祀。湯又使人問之曰：『何為不祀？』曰：『無以供粢盛也。』湯使亳眾往為之耕，老弱饋食。葛伯率其民，要其有酒食黍稻者奪之，不授者殺之。有童子以黍肉餉，殺而奪之。《書》曰：『葛伯仇餉。』此之謂也。為其殺是童子而征之，四海之內皆曰：『非富天下也，為匹夫匹婦復讎也。』『湯始征，自葛載』，十一征而無敵於天下。東面而征，西夷怨；南面而征，北狄怨，曰：『奚為後我？』民之望之，若大旱之望雨也。歸市者弗止，芸者不變，誅其君，弔其民，如時雨降。民大悅。《書》曰：『徯我后，后來其無罰。』『有攸不惟臣，東征，綏厥士女，匪厥玄黃，紹我周王見休，惟臣附于大邑周。』其君子實玄黃于匪以迎其君子，其小人簞食壺漿以迎其小人，救民於水火之中，取其殘而已矣。《太誓》曰：『我武惟揚，侵于之疆，則取于殘，殺伐用張，于湯有光。』不行王政云爾，苟行王政，四海之內皆舉首而望之，欲以為君。齊楚雖大，何畏焉？」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Teng Wen Gong II presents Mencius’s vision of invincible moral power through the historical example of Tang’s campaign against Ge.
The legitimacy of just war
Mencius constructs a narrative where Tang exhausts peaceful means before resorting to force. Ge Bo’s crimes – neglecting rites, betraying trust, murdering a child – justify intervention. War becomes an act of righteous retribution, not conquest.
“Punish the Ruler, Console the People”
The distinction between tyrant and populace is key. Armies disrupt neither markets nor farms – violence is surgically precise. This establishes the Confucian principle: revolution targets oppression, not people.
Popular will as ultimate power
“Eastern campaigns spark western complaints” – a poetic image of universal longing for liberation. True strength lies not in armies, but in the people’s voluntary embrace of just rule.
Benevolent rule vs. Hegemonic force
Zhou’s eastern campaign saw nobles offering silks and peasants bringing wine – not out of fear, but gratitude. Legitimacy flows from deliverance, not domination.
Encouragement for small states
Addressing Song’s vulnerability, Mencius argues: moral authority can neutralize military disparity. A small state practicing benevolent governance becomes a beacon – turning weakness into moral magnetism.
Historical Legacy
Though idealized, this vision shaped China’s political imagination for millennia. From Han to Qing, rulers invoked “punishing the cruel to save the people” to legitimize regime change – proving Mencius’s enduring influence.
Mencius thus declares: In the realm of righteousness, the small can dwarf the great – and the people’s hope is mightier than any army.
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