Mencius said: “The essence of ren (benevolence) is serving one’s parents;the essence of yi (righteousness) is following one’s elder brothers.The essence of zhi (wisdom) is understanding these two and never abandoning them;the essence of li (ritual propriety) is giving them proper form and refinement;the essence of yue (music/joy) is delighting in these two –and…
Mencius said: “There are three forms of unfilial conduct, and the gravest is having no descendants.Shun married without informing his parents precisely to avoid this greatest unfilial act.Therefore, the noble person considers it as if he had informed them.”
Chunyu Kun asked Mencius: “Is it true that, according to ritual propriety, men and women should not directly hand things to each other?”
Mencius said: “If you love others but they do not respond with closeness, reflect on whether your own benevolence is genuine.If you govern people but fail to bring order, reflect on whether your wisdom is sufficient.If you treat others with ritual propriety but receive no response, reflect on whether your reverence is sincere.”
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.”
Gongsun Chou asked Mencius: “What is the principle behind scholars not seeking audiences with feudal lords?”
Zhou Xiao asked: “Did the gentlemen of ancient times take office?”
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 went from Qi to Lu (to bury his mother). After burying his mother in Lu, Mencius was returning to Qi and stopped at Ying.