Mencius said: “Even with Li Lou’s sharp eyes and Gongshu Ban’s (Lu Ban’s) superb craftsmanship, without compass and square, one cannot draw perfect circles or squares. Even with Shi Kuang’s acute hearing, without the six pitch standards, one cannot tune the five notes correctly.”
Jing Chun said: “Aren’t Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi truly great men? When they get angry, feudal lords tremble; when they stay at ease, wars across the world cease.”
Mencius said: “He who uses force under the guise of benevolence achieves hegemony. Hegemony requires a great state. But he who practices benevolence through virtue achieves true kingship – and kingship does not depend on size. King Tang ruled with only seventy li of territory; King Wen with only a hundred li.”
Gongsun Chou asked Mencius, “If you should hold the power of government in Qi, could you achieve great deeds like Guan Zhong and Yanzi?”
King Xuan of Qi asked, “ls it true that the hunting ground of King Wen of Zhou was seventy Ii square?”