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Mencius said: “Yu the Great detested fine wine but loved wise counsel. Tang held to the Golden Mean and appointed the worthy without regard to their background. King Wen of Zhou looked upon the people as if they were wounded, and though he longed for the Dao, he always felt he had not yet…
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Mencius said: “Shun was born in Zhufeng, moved to Fuxia, and died in Mingtiao – he was a man of the Eastern Yi (eastern frontier peoples).King Wen of Zhou was born in Qizhou and died in Biying – he was a man of the Western Yi (western frontier peoples).” “Their homelands were over a…
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Mencius said: “Can one reason with those unbenevolent men?They feel secure in danger, profit from disasters, and even take pleasure in the very things that will destroy them.If such people could still be reasoned with, how could there ever be ruined states or broken families?”
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Mencius said: “When the world is governed by the Dao, those of lesser virtue serve those of greater virtue, and the less worthy among the virtuous serve the more worthy.But when the world is without the Dao, the small are enslaved by the great, and the weak are dominated by the strong.”
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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.”
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Gongsun Chou asked Mencius, “If you should hold the power of government in Qi, could you achieve great deeds like Guan Zhong and Yanzi?”
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When the state of Qi invaded and defeated Yan, King Xuan asked Mencius: “Some advise me not to annex Yan; others urge me to take it. We, a great state of ten thousand chariots, conquered another great state in just fifty days – surely this is Heaven’s will! If I refuse to take it,…