Gongduzi asked Mencius:
“People outside say you love to argue. May I ask why?”
Mencius replied:
“How could I enjoy arguing? I do it only because I must!
Since the dawn of humanity, the world has cycled between order and chaos.
In Yao’s time, floods reversed their course, inundating the Central States. Snakes and dragons ruled the land; people had no place to settle – those in lowlands built nests in trees, those on high ground dug caves. The Book of Documents (Book of History) says: ‘The deluge warns us!’.
Yu was sent to control it. He dredged the earth, channeling waters into the sea, and drove snakes and dragons into marshes. Rivers then flowed properly – the Yangtze, Huai, Yellow, and Han. With dangers removed and harmful beasts gone, people finally settled on flat land.
After Yao and Shun passed away, the Way of the sages declined. Tyrants arose one after another: they destroyed homes to dig sewage ponds, leaving people no rest; they turned farmland into royal parks, depriving people of food and clothing. Heretical doctrines and violent acts spread; with more parks, swamps, and wetlands, wild beasts returned. By King Zhou’s reign, chaos peaked.
The Duke of Zhou assisted King Wu, executed Zhou, and campaigned against Yan. Within three years, he punished rebellious lords, chased Feilian to the sea’s edge and executed him, destroyed fifty states, and drove away tigers, leopards, rhinos, and elephants. All under heaven rejoiced. The Documents praises: ‘How radiant was King Wen’s wisdom! How mighty was King Wu’s valor! They guide and inspire us descendants to walk the upright path without flaw!’
Later, as the age declined and the Way weakened, heresies and violence resurged – ministers murdered rulers, sons killed fathers.
Confucius, alarmed, composed the Spring and Autumn Annals. This was the work of a Son of Heaven (to rectify names and punish transgressions). Thus Confucius said: ‘Those who understand me will do so through the Annals; those who blame me will do so through the Annals.’
Now, with no sage-kings, feudal lords act recklessly, and recluses like Yang Zhu and Mozi spread radical ideas. All discourse today leans either toward Yang or Mo.
Yang Zhu’s “self-interest” denies the ruler;
Mozi’s “universal love” denies the father.
To deny father and ruler is to become beast-like!
Gongming Yi once said: ‘While kitchens have fatty meat and stables fat horses, the people starve – this is leading beasts to devour men!’
If Yang and Mo’s doctrines are not silenced, Confucius’s Way (Dao) cannot shine. False teachings deceive the people and block the path of benevolence and righteousness.
When benevolence and righteousness are blocked, men lead beasts to eat people – and may even eat each other!
I fear this deeply. Therefore, I defend the Way (Dao) of the ancient sages, oppose Yang and Mo, and refute licentious speech so that heresies cannot arise.
For: wrong thoughts in the mind ruin conduct; ruined conduct ruins governance.
Even if sages returned, they would not reject my words.
Long ago, Yu tamed the floods and brought peace;
the Duke of Zhou pacified barbarians and banished beasts, bringing calm;
Confucius completed the Annals, and traitors trembled.
The Book of Odes (Book of Poetry) says: ‘Strike the Rong and Di, punish Jing and Shu – none dare resist us.’
Doctrines that deny father and ruler are precisely what the Duke of Zhou opposed!
I too wish to rectify people’s hearts, silence heresies, reject deviant conduct, and refute excessive speech, thereby continuing the work of these three sages.
How could I enjoy arguing? I am compelled by necessity!
Anyone who can speak out against Yang and Mo is a true disciple of the sages.”
公都子曰：「外人皆稱夫子好辯，敢問何也？」
孟子曰：「予豈好辯哉？予不得已也。天下之生久矣，一治一亂。當堯之時，水逆行，氾濫於中國。蛇龍居之，民無所定。下者為巢，上者為營窟。《書》曰：『洚水警余。』洚水者，洪水也。使禹治之，禹掘地而注之海，驅蛇龍而放之菹。水由地中行，江、淮、河、漢是也。險阻既遠，鳥獸之害人者消，然後人得平土而居之。
「堯、舜既沒，聖人之道衰。暴君代作，壞宮室以為汙池，民無所安息；棄田以為園囿，使民不得衣食。邪說暴行又作，園囿、汙池、沛澤多而禽獸至。及紂之身，天下又大亂。周公相武王，誅紂伐奄，三年討其君，驅飛廉於海隅而戮之。滅國者五十，驅虎、豹、犀、象而遠之。天下大悅。《書》曰：『丕顯哉，文王謨！丕承哉，武王烈！佑啟我後人，咸以正無缺。』
「世衰道微，邪說暴行有作，臣弒其君者有之，子弒其父者有之。孔子懼，作《春秋》。《春秋》，天子之事也。是故孔子曰：『知我者其惟春秋乎！罪我者其惟春秋乎！』
「聖王不作，諸侯放恣，處士橫議，楊朱、墨翟之言盈天下。天下之言，不歸楊，則歸墨。楊氏為我，是無君也；墨氏兼愛，是無父也。無父無君，是禽獸也。公明儀曰：『庖有肥肉，廄有肥馬，民有飢色，野有餓莩，此率獸而食人也。』楊墨之道不息，孔子之道不著，是邪說誣民，充塞仁義也。仁義充塞，則率獸食人，人將相食。吾為此懼，閑先聖之道，距楊墨，放淫辭，邪說者不得作。作於其心，害於其事；作於其事，害於其政。聖人復起，不易吾言矣。
「昔者禹抑洪水而天下平，周公兼夷狄驅猛獸而百姓寧，孔子成《春秋》而亂臣賊子懼。《詩》云：『戎狄是膺，荊舒是懲，則莫我敢承。』無父無君，是周公所膺也。我亦欲正人心，息邪說，距詖行，放淫辭，以承三聖者；豈好辯哉？予不得已也。能言距楊墨者，聖人之徒也。」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Teng Wen Gong II is both a defense against accusations of contentiousness and a manifesto of Confucian orthodoxy.
The intellectual’s duty
Mencius frames debate not as preference but as moral obligation in times of crisis. In an age “filled with heresies,” silence equals complicity – a stance that inspired later Confucians like Han Yu and Zhu Xi in their campaigns against Buddhism and Daoism.
A cyclical history of salvation
Mencius constructs a grand narrative: Order (Yao/Shun) > Chaos (tyrants) > Salvation (Yu/Zhou/Confucius) > New Chaos (Warring States) > New Salvation (Mencius). He positions himself as the rightful heir in this lineage of civilizational rescuers, legitimizing his polemics as sacred duty.
Condemning Yang and Mo
Yang Zhu’s egoism (“for myself”) and Mozi’s impartial care (“love all equally”) are condemned not for abstract reasons, but because they undermine the Confucian bedrock: graded love rooted in family and loyalty. Without father and ruler, society collapses into animality.
The causal chain: Ideas shape politics
Mencius articulates a powerful logic: “Wrong thoughts > ruined actions > ruined governance.” This early theory of ideological determinism shows Confucian awareness that political order begins in the realm of ideas.
Linking economic justice and moral order
Quoting Gongming Yi, Mencius ties intellectual heresy to material injustice. Yang-Mo doctrines distract from the real crime: elite extravagance amid mass starvation. True benevolent governance requires both correct doctrine and equitable economics.
Self-identification as heir to the Three Sages
By equating his verbal struggle with Yu’s flood control, Zhou’s military campaigns, and Confucius’s historiography, Mencius elevates debate to an act of cosmic significance – a battle for civilization itself. His closing call – “Whoever opposes Yang and Mo is a sage’s disciple” – is a rallying cry for ideological solidarity.
This chapter is not merely personal justification; it is the foundational text of Confucian orthodoxy’s self-understanding as the guardian of humaneness against chaos.
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