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The Master said:“I can speak of the rites of the Xia dynasty, but the state of Qi provides insufficient evidence.I studied the rites of the Yin dynasty; remnants still exist in the state of Song.I studied the rites of the Zhou dynasty – they are in use today – so I follow the Zhou.”
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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: “The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties gained the empire through benevolence, and they lost it when benevolence was abandoned.The rise, fall, survival, or collapse of any state follows the same principle.”
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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?”