“Mencius Addressing Dai Busheng” is a dialogue between Mencius and Dai Busheng, a minister of the state of Song during the Warring States period.
Mencius said to Dai Busheng:
“You wish your king to become virtuous, don’t you? Let me explain clearly.
Suppose a minister from Chu wants his son to learn the Qi dialect.
Should he hire a Qi native to teach him, or a Chu native?”
Dai replied:
“He should hire a Qi native.”
Mencius continued:
“But if only one Qi person teaches him, while dozens of Chu people chatter around him in Chu dialect all day – even if you beat him daily to force him to speak Qi, he won’t succeed.
Conversely, if you take him to live for several years in Zhuangyue – the busiest marketplace of Qi – even if you beat him daily to make him speak Chu, he couldn’t do it.
Now, you say Xue Juzhou is a good man.
If you place only him beside the king, but everyone else around the king – young and old, high and low – are unvirtuous,
who will the king follow in doing wrong? Clearly, the majority!
But if everyone around the king – regardless of age or rank – were like Xue Juzhou, who would lead the king astray? No one!
So how can one Xue Juzhou alone transform the king of Song?”
孟子謂戴不勝曰：「子欲子之王之善與？我明告子。有楚大夫於此，欲其子之齊語也，則使齊人傅諸？使楚人傅諸？」
曰：「使齊人傅之。」
曰：「一齊人傅之，眾楚人咻之，雖日撻而求其齊也，不可得矣；引而置之莊嶽之間數年，雖日撻而求其楚，亦不可得矣。子謂薛居州，善士也。使之居於王所。在於王所者，長幼卑尊，皆薛居州也，王誰與為不善？在王所者，長幼卑尊，皆非薛居州也，王誰與為善？一薛居州，獨如宋王何？」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Teng Wen Gong II uses the metaphor of language acquisition to argue that moral character is shaped overwhelmingly by environment, not individual will alone.
The power of social contagion
Mencius, despite believing in innate goodness, acknowledges that virtue withers in corrupt surroundings. One virtuous voice drowns in a chorus of vice – just as one Qi teacher cannot overcome a crowd of Chu speakers.
This reflects Confucian concern for moral environment – echoing Confucius’s “Dwell among the humane” and Xunzi’s view that character is shaped by surroundings. That is just the reason why Mencius’ mother moved three times when he was a child.
Rejecting the “Lone Sage” illusion
Against the common hope that appointing a single virtuous advisor (like Xue Juzhou) can reform a ruler, Mencius insists: systemic change requires systemic virtue. A king immersed in flattery and greed cannot be saved by one honest man.
Zhuangyue as moral ecosystem
The bustling streets of Zhuangyue symbolize an immersive ethical environment. True reform means placing the ruler within a whole community of the good – through institutional design, not personal recommendation.
Historical Context: The tragedy of Song
King Kang of Song (nicknamed “Jie of Song” for his tyranny) was surrounded by sycophants. Xue Juzhou, likely a rare upright minister, stood no chance. Mencius thus warns: saving a state demands purifying the entire court, not just adding one virtuous face.
Education as political strategy
Learning “Qi speech” allegorizes embracing the kingly way; “Chu speech” represents selfish ambition. The ruler’s policies reflect the discourse he hears daily. Hence, Confucians prioritized selecting the king’s companions, tutors, and attendants – knowing that power is shaped by proximity.
Mencius thus delivers a timeless political truth: To change a leader, first change the world he lives in.
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