|
III.A. 滕文公章句上 III.A.1.
滕文公為世子,將之楚,過宋而見孟子。
孟子道性善,言必稱堯舜。
世子自楚反,復見孟子。孟子曰:「世子疑吾言乎?夫道一而已矣。
成??謂齊景公曰:『彼丈夫也,我丈夫也,吾何畏彼哉?』顏淵曰:『舜何人也?予何人也?有為者亦若是。』公明儀曰:『文王我師也,周公豈欺我哉?』
今滕絕長補短,將五十里也,猶可以為善國。《書》曰:『若藥不瞑眩,厥疾不瘳。』」 III.A.2.
滕定公薨,世子謂然友曰:「昔者孟子嘗與我言於宋,於心終不忘。今也不幸至於大故,吾欲使子問於孟子,然後行事。」
然友之鄒,問於孟子。孟子曰:「不亦善乎!親喪固所自盡也。曾子曰:『生,事之以禮;死,葬之以禮,祭之以禮,可謂孝矣。』諸侯之禮,吾未之學也。雖然,吾嘗聞之矣:三年之喪,齋疏之服,饘粥之食,自天子達於庶人,三代共之。」
然友反命,定為三年之喪。父兄百官皆不欲也,故曰:「吾宗國魯先君莫之行,吾先君亦莫之行也;至於子之身而反之,不可。且《志》曰:『喪祭從先祖。』」曰:「吾有所受之也。」
謂然友曰:「吾他日未嘗學問,好馳馬試劍。今也父兄百官不我足也;恐其不能盡於大事。子為我問孟子。」
然友復之鄒,問孟子。孟子曰:「然,不可以他求者也。孔子曰:『君薨,聽於冢宰,歠粥,面深墨,即位而哭。百官有司,莫敢不哀,先之也。上有好者,下必有甚焉者矣。君子之德,風也;小人之德,草也。草尚之風必偃。』。是在世子。」
然友反命。世子曰:「然,是誠在我。」五月居廬,未有命戒。百官族人,可謂曰知。及至葬,四方來觀之。顏色之戚,哭泣之哀,吊者大悅。 III.A.3.
滕文公問爲國。
孟子曰:「民事不可緩也。《詩》云:『晝爾于茅,宵爾索??。亟其乘屋,其始播百里。』
民之為道也,有恒產者有恒心,無恒產者無恒心。茍無恒心,放僻邪侈,無不為已。及陷乎罪然後從而刑之,是罔民也。焉有仁人在位罔民而可為也?
是故賢君必恭儉禮下,取於民有制。
陽虎曰:『為富不仁矣;為仁不富矣。』
夏後氏五十而貢,殷人七十而助,周人百畝而徹。其實皆什一也。徹者徹也,助者藉也。
龍子曰:『治地莫善於助,莫不善於貢。貢者校數歲之中以為常。樂歲粒米狼戾,多取之而不為虐,則寡取之;兇年糞其田而不足,則必取盈焉。為民父母,使民盻盻然,將終歲勤動,不得以養其父母,又稱貸而益之,使老稚轉乎溝壑,惡在其為民父母也?』
夫世祿滕固行之矣。
《詩》云:『雨我公田,遂及我私。』惟助為有公田。由此觀之,雖周亦助也。
設為庠序學校以教之。庠者養也,校者教也,序者射也。夏曰校,殷曰序,周曰庠,學則三代共之,皆所以明人倫也。人倫明於上,小民親於下。
有王者起,必來取法,是為王者師也。
《詩》云:『周雖舊邦,其命維新。』文王之謂也。子力行之,亦以新子之國。」
使畢戰問井地。孟子曰:「子之君將行仁政,選擇而使子,子必勉之。
夫仁政必自經界始。經界不正,井地不均,穀祿不平。是故暴君污吏必慢其經界。經界既正,分田制祿,可坐而定也。
夫滕壤地褊小,將為君子焉,將為野人焉。無君子莫治野人,無野人莫養君子。
請野九一而助,國中什一使自賦。
卿以下必有圭田。圭田五十畝,
餘夫二十五畝。
死徙無出鄉,鄉田同井,出入相友,守望相助,疾病相扶持,則百姓親睦。
方里而井;井九百畝,其中為公田。八家皆私百畝,同養公田。公事畢,然後敢治私事,所以別野人也。
此其大略也。若夫潤澤之,則在君與子矣。」 III.A.4.
有爲神農之言者許行,自楚之滕,踵門而告文公,曰:「遠方之人,聞君行仁政,愿受一廛而為氓。」文公與之處。其徒數十人,皆衣褐,捆屨、織席以為食。
陳良之徒陳相與其弟辛,負耒耜而自宋之滕。曰:「聞君行聖人之政,是亦聖人也,愿為聖人氓。」陳相見許行而大悅,盡棄其學而學焉。
陳相見孟子,道許行之言曰:「滕君則誠賢君也;雖然,未聞道也。賢者與民并耕而食,饔飧而治。今也滕有倉廩府庫,則是厲民而以自養也,惡得賢?」
孟子曰:「許子必種粟而後食乎?」曰:「然。」「許子必織布而後衣乎?」曰:「否,許子衣褐。」「許子冠乎?」曰:「冠。」曰:「奚冠?」曰:「冠素。」曰:「自織之與?」曰:「否,以粟易之。」曰:「許子奚為不自織?」曰:「害於耕。」曰:「許子以釜甑爨、以鐵耕乎?」曰:「然。」「自為之與?」曰:「否,以粟易之。」「
以粟易械器者,不為厲陶冶;陶冶亦以械器易粟者,豈為厲農夫哉?且許子何不為陶冶,舍皆取諸其宮中而用之?何為紛紛然與百工交易?何許子之不憚煩?」曰:「百工之事,固不可耕且為也。」
「然則治天下獨可耕且為與?有大人之事,有小人之事。且一人之身,而百工之所為備。如必自為而後用之,是率天下而路也。故曰:或勞心,或勞力。勞心者治人,勞力者治於人。治於人者食人,治人者食於人--天下之通義也。
「當堯之時,天下猶未平,洪水橫流,泛濫於天下;草木暢茂,禽獸繁殖;五穀不登,禽獸逼人;獸蹄鳥跡之道,交於中國。堯獨憂之,舉舜而敷治焉。舜使益掌火;益烈山澤而焚之,禽獸逃匿。禹疏九河,瀹濟、漯而注諸海;決汝、漢,排淮、泗,而注之江,然後中國可得而食也。當是時也,禹八年於外,三過其門而不入,雖欲耕,得乎?
后稷教民稼穡,樹藝五穀,五穀熟而民人育。人之有道也,飽食暖衣,逸居而無教,則近於禽獸。聖人有憂之,使契為司徒,教以人倫:父子有親,君臣有義,夫婦有別,長幼有序,朋友有信。放勛曰:『勞之來之、匡之直之、輔之翼之,使自得之;又從而振德之。』聖人之憂民如此,而暇耕乎?
堯以不得舜為己憂;舜以不得禹、皋陶為己憂。夫以百畝之不易為己憂者,農夫也。
分人以財謂之惠,教人以善謂之忠,為天下得人者謂之仁。是故以天下與人易,為天下得人難。
孔子曰:『大哉,堯之為君!惟天為大,惟堯則之。蕩蕩乎民無能名焉!君哉舜也!巍巍乎有天下而不與焉!』堯舜之治天下,豈無所用其心哉?亦不用於耕耳。
「吾聞用夏變夷者,未聞變於夷者也。陳良,楚產也;悅周公、仲尼之道,北學於中國,北方之學者,未能或之先也。彼所謂豪杰之士也。子之兄弟事之數十年,師死而遂倍之。
昔者孔子沒,三年之外,門人治任將歸,入揖於子貢,相嚮而哭,皆失聲,然後歸。子貢反,筑室於場,獨居三年,然後歸。他日子夏、子張、子游以有若似聖人,欲以所事孔子事之,強曾子。曾子曰:『不可,江漢以濯之,秋陽以暴之,皜皜乎不可尚已。』
今也南蠻鴃舌之人,非先王之道,子倍子之師而學之,亦異於曾子矣。
吾聞出於幽穀、遷于喬木者,未聞下喬木而入於幽穀者。
魯頌曰:『戎狄是膺,荊舒是懲。』周公方且膺之,子是之學,亦為不善變矣。」
「從許子之道,則市賈不貳,國中無偽;雖使五尺之童適市,莫之或欺。布帛長短同,則賈相若;麻縷絲絮輕重同,則賈相若;五穀多寡同,則賈相若;屨大小同,則賈相若。」
曰:「夫物之不齊,物之情也。或相倍蓰,或相什百,或相千萬;子比而同之,是亂天下也。巨屨小屨同賈,人豈為之哉?從許子之道,相率而為偽者也,惡能治國家?」 III.A.5.
墨者夷之,因徐辟而求見孟子。孟子曰:「吾固愿見,今吾尚病,病愈,我且往見。」夷子不來。
他日又求見孟子。孟子曰:「吾今則可以見矣。不直則道不見,我且直之。吾聞夷子墨者,墨之治喪也,以薄為其道也。夷子思以易天下,豈以為非是而不貴也?然而夷子葬其親厚,則是以所賤事親也。」
徐子以告夷子。夷子曰:「儒者之道,古之人『若保赤子』,此言何謂也?之則以為愛無差等,施由親始。」徐子以告孟子。孟子曰:「夫夷子信以為人之親其兄之子為若親其鄰之赤子乎?彼有取爾也。赤子匍匐將入井,非赤子之罪也。且天之生物也使之一本,而夷子二本故也。
蓋上世嘗有不葬其親者,其親死則舉而委之於壑。他日過之,狐貍食之,蠅蚋姑嘬之。其顙有泚,睨而不視。夫泚也,非為人泚,中心達於面目。蓋歸反虆梩而掩之,掩之誠是也。則孝子仁人之掩其親,亦必有道矣。」
徐子以告夷子。夷子憮然為間曰:「命之矣。」
|
|
BOOK III. PART A. III.A.1.
When the prince, afterwards duke Wan of
T'ang, had to go to Ch'û, he went by way of Sung, and visited Mencius.
Mencius discoursed to him how the nature of
man is good, and when speaking, always made laudatory reference to Yâo and
Shun.
When the prince was returning from Ch'û, he
again visited Mencius. Mencius said to him, 'Prince, do you doubt my words? The
path is one, and only one.
'Ch'ang Chi'en said to duke King of Ch'î,
"They were men. I am a man. Why should I stand in awe of them?" Yen Yûan said,
"What kind of man was Shun? What kind of man am I? He who exerts himself will
also become such as he was." Kung-Ming Î said, "King Wan is my teacher. How
should the duke of Châu deceive me by those words?"
'Now, T'ang, taking its length with its
breadth, will amount, I suppose, to fifty lî. It is small, but still sufficient
to make a good State. It is said in the Book of History, "If medicine do not
raise a commotion in the patient, his disease will not be cured by it."' III.A.2.
When the duke Ting of T'ang died, the
prince said to Yen Yû, 'Formerly, Mencius spoke with me in Sung, and in my mind
I have never forgotten his words. Now, alas! this great duty to my father
devolves upon me; I wish to send you to ask the advice of Mencius, and then to
proceed to its various services'
Zan Yû accordingly proceeded to Tsâu, and
consulted Mencius. Mencius said, 'Is this not good? In discharging the funeral
duties to parents, men indeed feel constrained to do their utmost. The
philosopher Tsang said, "When parents are alive, they should be served
according to propriety; when they are dead, they should be buried according to
propriety; and they should be sacrificed to according to propriety:--this may
be called filial piety." The ceremonies to be observed by the princes I have
not learned, but I have heard these points:--that the three years' mourning,
the garment of coarse cloth with its lower edge even, and the eating of congee,
were equally prescribed by the three dynasties, and binding on all, from the
sovereign to the mass of the people.'
Zan Yû reported the execution of his
commission, and the prince determined that the three years' mourning should be
observed. His aged relatives, and the body of the officers, did not wish that
it should be so, and said, 'The former princes of Lû, that kingdom which we
honour, have, none of them, observed this practice, neither have any of our own
former princes observed it. For you to act contrary to their example is not
proper. Moreover, the History says,--"In the observances of mourning and
sacrifice, ancestors are to be followed," meaning that they received those
things from a proper source to hand them down.'
The prince said again to Zan Yû, 'Hitherto,
I have not given myself to the pursuit of learning, but have found my pleasure
in horsemanship and sword-exercise, and now I don't come up to the wishes of my
aged relatives and the officers. I am afraid I may not be able to discharge my
duty in the great business that I have entered on; do you again consult Mencius
for me.' On this, Zan Yû went again to Tsâu, and consulted Mencius. Mencius
said, 'It is so, but he may not seek a remedy in others, but only in himself.
Confucius said, "When a prince dies, his successor entrusts the administration
to the prime minister. He sips the congee. His face is of a deep black. He
approaches the place of mourning, and weeps. Of all the officers and inferior
ministers there is not one who will presume not to join in the lamentation, he
setting them this example. What the superior loves, his inferiors will be found
to love exceedingly. The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that
between the wind and grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows upon it."
The business depends on the prince.'
Zan Yû returned with this answer to his
commission, and the prince said, 'It is so. The matter does indeed depend on
me.' So for five months he dwelt in the shed, without issuing an order or a
caution. All the officers and his relatives said, 'He may be said to understand
the ceremonies.' When the time of interment arrived, they came from all
quarters of the State to witness it. Those who had come from other States to
condole with him, were greatly pleased with the deep dejection of his
countenance and the mournfulness of his wailing and weeping. III.A.3.
The duke Wan of T'ang asked Mencius about
the proper way of governing a kingdom.
Mencius said, 'The business of the people may not be
remissly attended to. It is said in the Book of Poetry,
|
"In the day-light go and gather the grass, |
|
And at night twist your ropes; |
|
Then get up quickly on the roofs; |
|
-- Soon must we begin sowing again the grain." |
'The way of the people is this:--If they
have a certain livelihood, they will have a fixed heart; if they have not a
certain livelihood, they have not a fixed heart. If they have not a fixed
heart, there is nothing which they will not do in the way of self-abandonment,
of moral deflection, of depravity, and of wild license. When they have thus
been involved in crime, to follow them up and punish them:--this is to entrap
the people. How can such a thing as entrapping the people be done under the
rule of a benevolent man?
'Therefore, a ruler who is endowed with
talents and virtue will be gravely complaisant and economical, showing a
respectful politeness to his ministers, and taking from the people only in
accordance with regulated limits.
'Yang Hû said, "He who seeks to be rich
will not be benevolent. He who wishes to be benevolent will not be rich."
'The sovereign of the Hsiâ dynasty enacted
the fifty mâu allotment, and the payment of a tax. The founder of the Yin
enacted the seventy mâu allotment, and the system of mutual aid. The founder of
the Châu enacted the hundred mâu allotment, and the share system. In reality,
what was paid in all these was a tithe. The share system means mutual division.
The aid system means mutual dependence.
'Lung said, "For regulating the lands,
there is no better system than that of mutual aid, and none which is not better
than that of taxing. By the tax system, the regular amount was fixed by taking
the average of several years. In good years, when the grain lies about in
abundance, much might be taken without its being oppressive, and the actual
exaction would be small. But in bad years, the produce being not sufficient to
repay the manuring of the fields, this system still requires the taking of the
full amount. When the parent of the people causes the people to wear looks of
distress, and, after the whole year's toil, yet not to be able to nourish their
parents, so that they proceed to borrowing to increase their means, till the
old people and children are found lying in the ditches and
water-channels:--where, in such a case, is his parental relation to the
people?"
'As to the system of hereditary salaries,
that is already observed in T'ang.
'It is said in the Book of Poetry,"May the rain come down on our public field, And then upon
our private fields!" It is only in the system of mutual aid that there is a
public field, and from this passage we perceive that even in the Châu dynasty
this system has been recognised.
'Establish hsiang, hsû, hsio, and
hsiâo,--all those educational institutions,--for the instruction of the people.
The name hsiang indicates nourishing as its object; hsiâo, indicates teaching;
and hsû indicates archery. By the Hsiâ dynasty the name hsiâo was used; by the
Yin, that of hsû; and by the Châu, that of hsiang. As to the hsio, they
belonged to the three dynasties, and by that name. The object of them all is to
illustrate the human relations. When those are thus illustrated by superiors,
kindly feeling will prevail among the inferior people below.
'Should a real sovereign arise, he will
certainly come and take an example from you; and thus you will be the teacher
of the true sovereign.
'It is said in the Book of Poetry,
|
"Although Châu was an old country, |
|
It received a new destiny." |
That is said with reference to king Wan. Do you practise
those things with vigour, and you also will by them make new your
kingdom.'
The duke afterwards sent Pî Chan to
consult Mencius about the nine-squares system of dividing the land. Mencius
said to him, 'Since your prince, wishing to put in practice a benevolent
government, has made choice of you and put you into this employment, you must
exert yourself to the utmost. Now, the first thing towards a benevolent
government must be to lay down the boundaries. If the boundaries be not defined
correctly, the division of the land into squares will not be equal, and the
produce available for salaries will not be evenly distributed. On this account,
oppressive rulers and impure ministers are sure to neglect this defining of the
boundaries. When the boundaries have been defined correctly, the division of
the fields and the regulation of allowances may be determined by you, sitting
at your ease.
'Although the territory of T'ang is narrow
and small, yet there must be in it men of a superior grade, and there must be
in it country-men. If there were not men of a superior grade, there would be
none to rule the country-men. If there were not country-men, there would be
none to support the men of superior grade.
'I would ask you, in the remoter
districts, observing the nine-squares division, to reserve one division to be
cultivated on the system of mutual aid, and in the more central parts of the
kingdom, to make the people pay for themselves a tenth part of their
produce.
'From the highest officers down to the
lowest, each one must have his holy field, consisting of fifty mâu.
'Let the supernumerary males have their
twenty-five mâu.
'On occasions of death, or removal from
one dwelling to another, there will be no quitting the district. In the fields
of a district, those who belong to the same nine squares render all friendly
offices to one another in their going out and coming in, aid one another in
keeping watch and ward, and sustain one another in sickness. Thus the people
are brought to live in affection and harmony.
'A square lî covers nine squares of land,
which nine squares contain nine hundred mâu. The central square is the public
field, and eight families, each having its private hundred mâu, cultivate in
common the public field. And not till the public work is finished, may they
presume to attend to their private affairs. This is the way by which the
country-men are distinguished from those of a superior grade.
'Those are the great outlines of the
system. Happily to modify and adapt it depends on the prince and you.' III.A.4.
There came from Ch'û to T'ang one Hsû
Hsing, who gave out that he acted according to the words of Shan-nang. Coming
right to his gate, he addressed the duke Wan, saying, 'A man of a distant
region, I have heard that you, Prince, are practising a benevolent government,
and I wish to receive a site for a house, and to become one of your people.'
The duke Wan gave him a dwelling-place. His disciples, amounting to several
tens, all wore clothes of haircloth, and made sandals of hemp and wove mats for
a living.
At the same time, Ch'an Hsiang, a disciple
of Ch'an Liang, and his younger brother, Hsin, with their plough-handles and
shares on their backs, came from Sung to T'ang, saying, 'We have heard that
you, Prince, are putting into practice the government of the ancient sages,
showing that you are likewise a sage. We wish to become the subjects of a
sage.'
When Ch'an Hsiang saw Hsû Hsing, he was
greatly pleased with him, and, abandoning entirely whatever he had learned,
became his disciple. Having an interview with Mencius, he related to him with
approbation the words of Hsû Hsing to the following effect:--'The prince of
T'ang is indeed a worthy prince. He has not yet heard, however, the real
doctrines of antiquity. Now, wise and able princes should cultivate the ground
equally and along with their people, and eat the fruit of their labour. They
should prepare their own meals, morning and evening, while at the same time
they carry on their government. But now, the prince of T'ang has his granaries,
treasuries, and arsenals, which is an oppressing of the people to nourish
himself. How can he be deemed a real worthy prince?'
Mencius said,'I suppose that Hsû Hsing sows
grain and eats the produce. Is it not so?' 'It is so,' was the answer. 'I
suppose also he weaves cloth, and wears his own manufacture. Is it not so?'
'No. Hsû wears clothes of haircloth.' 'Does he wear a cap?' 'He wears a cap.'
'What kind of cap?' 'A plain cap.' 'Is it woven by himself?' 'No. He gets it in
exchange for grain.' 'Why does Hsû not weave it himself?' 'That would injure
his husbandry.' 'Does Hsû cook his food in boilers and earthenware pans, and
does he plough with an iron share?' 'Yes.' 'Does he make those articles
himself?' 'No. He gets them in exchange for grain.'
Mencius then said, 'The getting those
various articles in exchange for grain, is not oppressive to the potter and the
founder, and the potter and the founder in their turn, in exchanging their
various articles for grain, are not oppressive to the husbandman. How should
such a thing be supposed? And moreover, why does not Hsû act the potter and
founder, supplying himself with the articles which he uses solely from his own
establishment? Why does he go confusedly dealing and exchanging with the
handicraftsmen? Why does he not spare himself so much trouble?' Ch'an Hsiang
replied, 'The business of the handicraftsman can by no means be carried on
along with the business of husbandry.'
Mencius resumed, 'Then, is it the
government of the kingdom which alone can be carried on along with the practice
of husbandry? Great men have their proper business, and little men have their
proper business. Moreover, in the case of any single individual, whatever
articles he can require are ready to his hand, being produced by the various
handicraftsmen:--if he must first make them for his own use, this way of doing
would keep all the people running about upon the roads. Hence, there is the
saying, "Some labour with their minds, and some labour with their strength.
Those who labour with their minds govern others; those who labour with their
strength are governed by others. Those who are governed by others support them;
those who govern others are supported by them." This is a principle universally
recognised.
'In the time of Yâo, when the world had not
yet been perfectly reduced to order, the vast waters, flowing out of their
channels, made a universal inundation. Vegetation was luxuriant, and birds and
beasts swarmed. The various kinds of grain could not be grown. The birds and
beasts pressed upon men. The paths marked by the feet of beasts and prints of
birds crossed one another throughout the Middle Kingdom. To Yâo alone this
caused anxious sorrow. He raised Shun to office, and measures to regulate the
disorder were set forth. Shun committed to Yî the direction of the fire to be
employed, and Yî set fire to, and consumed, the forests and vegetation on the
mountains and in the marshes, so that the birds and beasts fled away to hide
themselves. Yû separated the nine streams, cleared the courses of the Tsî and
T'â, and led them all to the sea. He opened a vent also for the Zû and Han, and
regulated the course of the Hwâi and Sze, so that they all flowed into the
Chiang. When this was done, it became possible for the people of the Middle
Kingdom to cultivate the ground and get food for themselves. During that time,
Yû was eight years away from his home, and though he thrice passed the door of
it, he did not enter. Although he had wished to cultivate the ground, could he
have done so?'
'The Minister of Agriculture taught the
people to sow and reap, cultivating the five kinds of grain. When the five
kinds of grain were brought to maturity, the people all obtained a subsistence.
But men possess a moral nature; and if they are well fed, warmly clad, and
comfortably lodged, without being taught at the same time, they become almost
like the beasts. This was a subject of anxious solicitude to the sage Shun, and
he appointed Hsieh to be the Minister of Instruction, to teach the relations of
humanity:--how, between father and son, there should be affection; between
sovereign and minister, righteousness; between husband and wife, attention to
their separate functions; between old and young, a proper order; and between
friends, fidelity. The highly meritorious sovereign said to him, "Encourage
them; lead them on; rectify them; straighten them; help them; give them
wings:--thus causing them to become possessors of themselves. Then follow this
up by stimulating them, and conferring benefits on them." When the sages were
exercising their solicitude for the people in this way, had they leisure to
cultivate the ground?
'What Yâo felt giving him anxiety was the
not getting Shun. What Shun felt giving him anxiety was the not getting Yû and
Kâo Yâo. But he whose anxiety is about his hundred mâu not being properly
cultivated, is a mere husbandman.
'The imparting by a man to others of his
wealth, is called "kindness." The teaching others what is good, is called "the
exercise of fidelity." The finding a man who shall benefit the kingdom, is
called "benevolence." Hence to give the throne to another man would be easy; to
find a man who shall benefit the kingdom is difficult.
'Confucius said, "Great indeed was Yâo as
a sovereign. It is only Heaven that is great, and only Yâo corresponded to it.
How vast was his virtue! The people could find no name for it. Princely indeed
was Shun! How majestic was he, having possession of the kingdom, and yet
seeming as if it were nothing to him!" In their governing the kingdom, were
there no subjects on which Yâo and Shun employed their minds? There were
subjects, only they did not employ their minds on the cultivation of the
ground.
'I have heard of men using the doctrines
of our great land to change barbarians, but I have never yet heard of any being
changed by barbarians. Ch'an Liang was a native of Ch'û. Pleased with the
doctrines of Châu-kung and Chung-ni, he came northwards to the Middle Kingdom
and studied them. Among the scholars of the northern regions, there was perhaps
no one who excelled him. He was what you call a scholar of high and
distinguished qualities. You and your brother followed him some tens of years,
and when your master died, you forthwith turned away from him.
'Formerly, when Confucius died, after
three vears had elapsed, his disciples collected their baggage, and prepared to
return to their several homes. But on entering to take their leave of
Tsze-kung, as they looked towards one another, they wailed, till they all lost
their voices. After this they returned to their homes, but Tsze-kung went back,
and built a house for himself on the altar-ground, where he lived alone other
three years, before he returned home. On another occasion, Tsze-hsiâ,
Tsze-chang, and Tsze-yû, thinking that Yû Zo resembled the sage, wished to
render to him the same observances which they had rendered to Confucius. They
tried to force the disciple Tsang to join with them, but he said, "This may not
be done. What has been washed in the waters of the Chiang and Han, and bleached
in the autumn sun:--how glistening is it! Nothing can be added to it."
'Now here is this shrike-tongued barbarian
of the south, whose doctrines are not those of the ancient kings. You turn away
from your master and become his disciple. Your conduct is different indeed from
that of the philosopher Tsang.
'I have heard of birds leaving dark
valleys to remove to lofty trees, but I have not heard of their descending from
lofty trees to enter into dark valleys.
'In the Praise-songs of Lû it is said,
|
"He smote the barbarians of the west and the north, |
|
He punished Ching and Shû." |
Thus Châu-kung would be sure to smite them, and you become
their disciple again; it appears that your change is not good.'
Ch'an Hsiang said, 'If Hsû's doctrines
were followed, then there would not be two prices in the market, nor any deceit
in the kingdom. If a boy of five cubits were sent to the market, no one would
impose on him; linen and silk of the same length would be of the same price. So
it would be with bundles of hemp and silk, being of the same weight; with the
different kinds of grain, being the same in quantity; and with shoes which were
of the same size.'
Mencius replied, 'It is the nature of
things to be of unequal quality. Some are twice, some five times, some ten
times, some a hundred times, some a thousand times, some ten thousand times as
valuable as others. If you reduce them all to the same standard, that must
throw the kingdom into confusion. If large shoes and small shoes were of the
same price, who would make them? For people to follow the doctrines of Hsû,
would be for them to lead one another on to practise deceit. How can they avail
for the government of a State?' III.A.5.
The Mohist, Î Chih,sought, through Hsû Pî,
to see Mencius. Mencius said, 'I indeed wish to see him, but at present I am
still unwell. When I am better, I will myself go and see him. He need not come
here again.'
Next day, Î Chih again sought to see
Mencius. Mencius said, 'To-day I am able to see him. But if I do not correct
his errors, the true principles will not be fully evident. Let me first correct
him. I have heard that this Î is a Mohist. Now Mo considers that in the
regulation of funeral matters a spare simplicity should be the rule. Î thinks
with Mo's doctrines to change the customs of the kingdom;--how does he regard
them as if they were wrong, and not honour them? Notwithstanding his views, Î
buried his parents in a sumptuous manner, and so he served them in the way
which his doctrines discountenance.'
The disciple Hsû informed Î of these
remarks. Î said, 'Even according to the principles of the learned, we find that
the ancients acted towards the people "as if they were watching over an
infant." What does this expression mean? To me it sounds that we are to love
all without difference of degree; but the manifestation of love must begin with
our parents.' Hsû reported this reply to Mencius, who said, 'Now, does Î really
think that a man's affection for the child of his brother is merely like his
affection for the infant of a neighbour? What is to be approved in that
expression is simply this:--that if an infant crawling about is likely to fall
into a well, it is no crime in the infant. Moreover, Heaven gives birth to
creatures in such a way that they have one root, and Î makes them to have two
roots. This is the cause of his error.
'And, in the most ancient times, there were
some who did not inter their parents. When their parents died, they took them
up and threw them into some water-channel. Afterwards, when passing by them,
they saw foxes and wild-cats devouring them, and flies and gnats biting at
them. The perspiration started out upon their foreheads, and they looked away,
unable to bear the sight. It was not on account of other people that this
perspiration flowed. The emotions of their hearts affected their faces and
eyes, and instantly they went home, and came back with baskets and spades and
covered the bodies. If the covering them thus was indeed right, you may see
that the filial son and virtuous man, in interring in a handsome manner their
parents, act according to a proper rule.'
The disciple Hsû informed Î of what Mencius
had said. Î was thoughtful for a short time, and then said, 'He has instructed
me.'
|