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THE 
 
 CHINESE CLASSICS 
 
 A TRANSLATION BY 
 
 JAMES LEGGE, D.D., 
 
 OP THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETT. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 OOIifFUCIUS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 PUBLISHED BY KURD AND HOUGHTON. 
 
 1870. 
 
/^JuA^J Wmr^ 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by 
 Z. Bakeb. 
 
 the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 
 

 CON^FUOITJS, 
 
 1. ANALECTS. 
 
 2. GEEAT LEARNING. 
 
 3. DOCTEINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 With Complete Indexes of Subjects and Proper Names, 
 
 903061 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The Chinese Classics, as tran^^m ,jand. edited , hy Dr» 
 Legge, will probably make abou^.Ten^lTommeSj-ioJ^al 8vo. 
 Two of these will make one of this j'pjirir{t;of.^l€^^.tpa^?l9?tion, 
 so that it will not exceed five, arid one moi^e for'sttch' special 
 notices of authors and text as may be necessary to a proper 
 understanding of each work. 
 
 The Confucius here printed, and Mencius soon to follow, 
 will make the first volume. It has been judged best to retain 
 the very full indexes, as they not only help to find the subject, 
 but afford explanation also ; especially is this the case with 
 the proper names. 
 
 The reader will inquire. Who was Confucius, and where did 
 he live ? Chambers' Encyclopaedia gives so brief and clear an 
 account, I choose to copy. 
 
 Confucius, a celebrated Chinese sage, was born 19th June 
 551 B. c, at Shang-ping, near the town of Tseuse, in the petty 
 kingdom of Lu. His own name was Kong, but his disciples 
 called him Kong-fu-tse (i. e., *Kong, the Master or Teacher,), 
 which the Jesuit missionaries Latinized into Confucius. His 
 mother used to call him Kieu (' little hillock'), because he had 
 an unusual elevation on the top of his forehead, with which 
 he is often represented. Various prodigies, as in other in- 
 stances, were, we are told, the forenmners of his birth. An 
 illustrious pedigree has also been invented for him by his fond 
 disciples, who derive his origin from Hoang-ti, a mythological 
 monarch of China who flourished more than 2000 years b. c. 
 His father, Shuh-leang-ho, died when Confucius was only three 
 years of age, but he was very carefully brought up by his 
 
 i 
 
vi. Life of Confucius, 
 
 mother, Yan-she, and from his earliest years, displayed an ex- 
 traordinary love of learning and veneration for the ancient 
 laws of his country. The prudence, rectitudo, and philosophic 
 gravity of his conduct while a boy, are also highly extolled by 
 Chinese writers. At the age of 17, he was made an inspector 
 of the corn-marts, and distinguished himself by his industry 
 and energy in repressing fraud, and introducing order and in- 
 tegrity ^into the \wht)le'ctiu$iness. When only 19, Confucius 
 married* but divorced his 'wife four years after marriage,* that 
 he ^%ht,liave ;mo?aftime^for'^ and the performance of 
 
 his public duties. Confucius was next appointed inspector- 
 general of pastures and flocks, and the result of his judicious 
 rieasures, we are told, was a general improvement in the cul- 
 tivation of the country and the condition of the people. The 
 death of his mother, which happened in his 23d year, inter- 
 rupted for a time his administrative functions, and gave occa- 
 sion to the first solemn and important act of Confucius as a 
 moral reformer. According to the ancient, but then almost 
 forgotten laws of China, children were obliged to resign all 
 public employments on the death of either of their parents ; 
 and Confucius, desirous of renewing the observance in his 
 native land of all the practices of venerable antiquity, did not 
 fail to conform to this long neglected enactment. The solem- 
 nity and splendour of the burial ceremony with which he hon- 
 oured the remains of his mother (another old custom which 
 had fallen into disuse), struck his fellow citizens with astonish- 
 ment, and they determined, for the future, to bury their dead 
 with the ancient honours. Their example was followed by the 
 neighboring states, and the whole nation, except the poorest 
 class, has continued the practice to the present day. Confu- 
 cius now came to be looked upon as an authority in regard to 
 the past, and ventured to speak as such. He inculcated the ne- 
 cessity of stated acts of homage and respect towards the dead, 
 either at the grave, or in a part of the dwelling-house conse- 
 
 * This is an unsettled point in the history of Confucius. 
 
Life of Confucius, vii. 
 
 crated for the purpose. Hence, * the hall of ancestors,' and 
 anniversary feasts of the dead, which now distinguish China 
 as a nation. Confucius did not end here. He shut himself 
 lip in his house to pass in solitude the three years of mourn- 
 ing for his mother, the whole of which time he dedicated to 
 philosophical study. We are told that he reflected deeply on 
 the eternal laws of morality, traced them to their source, im- 
 bued his mind with a sense of the duties which they impose 
 indiscriminately on all men, and determined to make them the 
 immutable rules of all his actions. Henceforth, his career is 
 only an illustration of his ethical system. He commenced to 
 instruct his countrymen in the precepts of morality, exhibiting 
 in his own person all the virtues he inculcated on others. 
 Gradually his disciples increased, as the practical character of 
 his pliilosophy became more apparent. After his 'years of 
 mourning' and meditation were over, Confucius travelled 
 through various states, in some of which he was employed as 
 a pubHc reformer. On his return to Lu, his reputation was 
 very great, not less than 500 mandarins being among his follow- 
 ers. In fact, it is to be observed, that generally Confucius' 
 disciples were not the young and enthusiastic, but men of 
 middle age, sober, grave, respectable, and occupying impor- 
 tant public situations. This fact throws light both on the 
 character and design of his philosophy. It was ethical^ not re- 
 ligious^ and aimed exclusively at fitting men for conducting 
 themselves honourably and prudently in this life. Confucius 
 now divided his scholars into four classes; to the first, he 
 taught morals ; to the seccond, rhetoric ; to the third, politics ; 
 and to the fourth, the perfection of their style in written com- 
 positions. While residing at Lu, Confucius worked indus- 
 triously in the revision and abridgment of those works which 
 constituted the principal monuments of that ancient literature 
 about which he was always speaking in the language of un- 
 bounded reverence. 
 
 An unworthy cha»ge of magistrates, however, in the king- 
 
viii. Life of Covfucius, 
 
 dom of Lu induced Confucius to recommence his travels. He 
 first proceeded to Chen, where he was not much appreciated ; 
 and afterwards to Tze, where he became one of the king's 
 ministers, but was dismissed after a short time through the 
 intrigues of cunning courtiers. On his return to Lu, he was 
 appointed * governor of the people.' For a time his inflexible 
 virtue awed them into morality, and the delighted monarch 
 conferred the highest dignities on the philosopher ; but the 
 arrival of a bevy of beautiful syrens from a neighbouring 
 state, which hated the increasing purity of Lu, suddenly over- 
 turned the edifice of morality which Confucius was construct- 
 ing*, and in despair, he again went abroad in search of less 
 vacillating disciples. His later wanderings were very unpro- 
 pitious ; state after state refused to be improved. He was in 
 some instances persecuted ; once he was imprisoned, and near- 
 ly starved ; and finally, seeing no hope of securing the favour- 
 able attention of the mass of his countrymen while alive, he 
 returned in extreme poverty to his native state, and spent his 
 last years in the composition of literary works, by which pos- 
 terity at least might be instructed. He died 479 B. c, in the 
 JOth year of his age. Immediately after his death, and not- 
 withstanding the general demoralization of his contemporaries, 
 Confucius began to be venerated, and succeeding ages adorned 
 his name with golden epithets. His family, which has contin- 
 ued to the present day, through 67 or 68 generations, in the 
 very place where their ancestor lived, is distinguished by va- 
 rious honours and privileges, being the only example of hered- 
 itary aristocracy in China, while in every city down to those of 
 the third order there is a temple to his honour. The 18th day 
 of the second moon is kept sacred by the Chinese as the anni- 
 versary of his death. 
 
 Dr. Legge dates the birth of Confucius 21st of 10th month 
 651 B. c, and his death the 11th day of the 4th month 478 
 B. C. 
 
Doctrines of Confucius, ix 
 
 DOCTRINES OF CONFUCIUS. 
 
 The doctrines of Confucius relate principally to the ethics of 
 political and social life. The attainment of perfect virtue is 
 the true aim of living ; none can live well who do not so re- 
 gard it. 
 
 It has been charged against him that he ignores the personal 
 God, and but slightly recognizes a future life. It would seem 
 a sufficient refutation to the first charge, that Confucius ob- 
 served the religious ceremonies which fully enough recognized 
 the idea. It would not be fair to charge him thus with these 
 words upon his lips, "He who offends against Heaven has 
 none to whom he can pray." (Analects, 3 : 13, and 14 : 13.) 
 " But there is Heaven that knows me." Would any one ques- 
 tion that Heaven as here used is a proper name ? To show his 
 trust and confidence in God, and that his troubles which were 
 many and great came not of his appointment, see the sentence 
 prefacing the last quoted sentence : " I do not murmur against 
 Heaven." 
 
 Dr. Legge argues, from the absence of the name of God in 
 the Analects, that Confucius was " un-religious," if not atheis- 
 tical. It does not appear to be a fair rule of judging a man 
 who has been brought up to virtue and piety, and in the constant 
 practice of the rites of religion, that he must be held un-re- 
 ligious simply because of the infrequency, or even non-use of 
 the name of the Deity he worships. The Jews held the proper 
 name of God in such esteem as to be above utterance by mor- 
 tal speech, substituting modified terms, and the custom has 
 always been named to their praise. Why may not Confucius 
 have equal praise ? 
 
 The worship of God was more nearly universal in China 
 than in the Theocracy of Israel. Confucius said, " I consid- 
 er my not being present at the sacrifice as if I did not sacri- 
 fice." It seems difficult indeed to sustain such a charge 
 against a man with such a record as even Dr. Legge gives 
 
I 
 
 xu. 
 
 Doctrines of Confucius. 
 
 and not for ordinary minds. The seven steps may be all taken 
 by any one, even in the humblest aspects of life. They are 
 " the investigation of things ; the completion of knowledge ; 
 the sincerity of the thoughts ; the rectifying of the heart ; the 
 cultivation of the person ; the regulation of the family ; and 
 the government of the State." 
 
 The sanctions of religion as taught by the so called ortho- 
 dox churches, that is, Heaven and Hell, do not enter the lists 
 of incentives to \^rtue in Confucius' code, and this perhaps 
 more than aught else, has caused the missionaries to object to 
 his system of practising virtue for virtue's sake. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 BOOK I HEO URH. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The Master said, " Is it not pleasant 
 to learn with a constant perseverance and application ? 
 
 2. " Is it not delightful to have friends coming from 
 distant quarters? 
 
 3. " Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no 
 discomposure though men may take no note of him ? " 
 
 II. 1. The philosopher Yew said, "They are few 
 who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending 
 against their superiors. There have been none, who, 
 not liking to offend against their superiors, have been 
 fond of stirring up confusion. 
 
 2. " The superior man bends his attention to what is 
 radical. That being established, all practical courses 
 naturally grow up. Filial piety and fraternal submis- 
 sion ! — are they not the root of all benevolent actions ? " 
 
 III. The Master said, " Fine words and an insinuat- 
 ing appearance are seldom associated with true virtue." 
 
 lY. The philosopher Tsang said, " I daily examine 
 myself on three points : — ^whether, in transacting busi- 
 ness for others, I may have been not faithful ; — whether, 
 in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sin- 
 cere ; — ^whether I may have not mastered and practised 
 the instructions of my teacher." 
 
 Y. The Master said, " To rule a country of a thou- 
 sand chariots, there must be reverent attention to busi- 
 ness, and sincerity ; economy in expenditure, and love 
 1 
 
14 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 for men; and the employment of the people at the 
 proper seasons." 
 
 VI. The Master said, "A youth, when at home, 
 should be filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders. 
 He should be earnest and truthful. He should overflow 
 in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the good. 
 When he has time and opportunity, after the perform- 
 ance of these things, he should employ them in polite 
 studies." 
 
 Vn. Tsze-hea said, " If a man withdraws his mind 
 from the love of beauty, and applies it as sincerely to 
 the love of the virtuous ; if, in serving his parents, he 
 can exert his utmost strength ; if, in serving his prince, 
 he can devote his life ; if, in his intercourse with his 
 friends, his words are sincere : — although men say that 
 he has not learned, I will certainly say that he has." 
 
 Vin. 1. The Master said, '^ If the scholar be not 
 grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his 
 learning will not be solid. 
 
 2. " Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. 
 
 3. " Have no friends not equal to yourself 
 
 4. " When you have faults, do not fear to abandon 
 them." 
 
 IX. The philosopher Tsang said, " Let there be a 
 careful attention to perform the funeral rites to pa- 
 rents, and let them be followed when long gone with 
 the ceremonies of sacrifice; — then the virtue of the 
 people will resume its proper excellence." 
 
 X. 1. Tsze-k'in asked Tsze-kung, saying, "When 
 -^ur master comes to any country, he does not fail to 
 
 learn all about its government. Does he ask his infor- 
 mation ? or is it given to him ? " 
 
 2. " Tsze-kung said, " Our Master is benign, upright, 
 courteous, temperate, and complaisant, and thus he gets 
 his information. The Master's mode of asking infor- 
 mation ! — is it not different from that of other men ? " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 15 
 
 XL The Master said, " While a man's father is alive, 
 look at the bent of his will ; when his father is dead, 
 look at his conduct. If for three years he does not al- 
 ter from the way of his father, he may be called filial." 
 
 Xn. 1. The philosopher Yew said, " In practising 
 the rules of propriety, a natural ease is to be prized. 
 In the ways prescribed by the ancient kings, this is the 
 excellent quality, and in things small and great we fol- 
 low them. 
 
 2. " Yet it is not to be observed in all cases. If one, 
 knowing how such ease should he prized^ manifests it, 
 without regulating it by the rules of propriety, this 
 likewise is not to be done." 
 
 Xni. The philosopher Yew said, "When agree- 
 ments are made according to what is right, what is 
 spoken can be made good. When respect is shown 
 according to what is proper, one keeps far from shame 
 and disgrace. When the parties upon whom a man 
 leans are proper persons to be intimate with, he can 
 make them his guides and masters." 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " He who aims to be a man 
 of complete virtue, in his food does not seek to gratify 
 his appetite, nor in his dwelling-place does he seek the 
 appliances of ease ; he is earnest in what he is doing, 
 and careful in his speech ; he frequents the company of 
 men of- principle that he may be rectified: — such a 
 person may be said indeed to love to learn." 
 
 XY. 1. Tsze-kung said, " What do you pronounce 
 concerning the poor man who yet does not flatter, and 
 the rich man who is not proud ? " The Master replied, 
 " They will do ; but they are not equal to him, who, 
 though poor, is yet cheerful, and to him, who, though 
 rich, loves the rules of propriety." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung replied, "It is said in the Book of 
 Poetry, ' As you cut and then file, as you carve and 
 then polish.' — The meaning is the same, I apprehend, 
 as that which you have just expressed." 
 
16 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 3. The Master said, " With one like Tsze, I can begin 
 to talk about the Odes. I told him one point, and he 
 knew its proper sequence." 
 
 BOOK n. WEI CfflNG. 
 
 Chapter I. The Master said, " He who exercises 
 government by means of his virtue, may be compared 
 to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all 
 the stars turn towards it." 
 
 II. The Master said, " In the Book of Poetry are 
 three hundred pieces, but the design of them all may 
 he embraced in one sentence — ^^ Have no depraved 
 thoughts.' " 
 
 HI. 1. The Master said, " If the people be led by 
 laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by pun- 
 ishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but 
 have no sense of shame. 
 
 2. " If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought 
 to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will 
 have the sense of shame, and moreover will become 
 good." 
 
 IV. 1. The Master said, " At fifteen, I had my mind 
 bent on learning. 
 
 2. " At thirty, I stood firm. 
 
 3. " At forty, I had no doubts. 
 
 4. " At fifty, I knew the decrees of heaven. 
 
 5. " At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the 
 reception of truth. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 17 
 
 6. " At seventy, I could follow what my heart de- 
 sired, without transgressing what was right." 
 
 y. 1. .Mang E asked what filial piety was. The 
 Master said, " It is not being disobedient." 
 
 2. Soon after, as Fan Ch'e was driving him, the Mas- 
 ter told him, saying, ' Mang-sun asked me what filial 
 piety was, and I answered him, — ' not being disobedient." 
 
 3. Fan Ch'e said, "What did you mean?" The 
 Master repHed, " That parents, when alive, should be 
 served according to propriety ; that, when dead, they 
 should be buried according to propriety ; and that they 
 should be sacrificed to according to propriety." 
 
 VI. Mang Woo asked what filial piety was. The 
 Master said, "Parents are anxious lest their children 
 should be sick." 
 
 VII. Tsze-yew asked what filial piety was. The 
 Master said, " The filial piety of now-a-days means the 
 support of one's parents. But dogs and horses likewise 
 are able to do something in the way of support ; — ^with- 
 out reverence, what is there to distinguish the one sup- 
 port given from the other ? " 
 
 VIII. Tsze-hea asked what filial piety was. The 
 Master said, "The difficulty is with the countenance. 
 If, when their elders have any troublesome affairs, the 
 young take the toil of them, and if, when the young 
 have wine and food, they set them before their elders, 
 is THIS to be considered filial piety ? " 
 
 IX. The Master said, " I have talked with Hwuy 
 for a whole day, and he has not made any objection to 
 any thing I said ; — as if he were stupid. He has re- 
 tired, and I have examined his conduct when away 
 from me, and found him able to illustrate my teachings, 
 Hwuy ! — He is not stupid." 
 
 X. 1. The Master said, " See what a man does. 
 
 2. " Mark his motives. 
 
 3. " Examine in what things he rests. . 
 
18 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 4. " How can d man conceal his character ! 
 6. " How can a man conceal his character ! " 
 
 XI. The Master said, " If a man keeps cherishing 
 his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring 
 new, he may be a teacher of others." 
 
 XII. The Master said, " The accomplished scholar 
 is not an utensil." 
 
 XHI. Tsze-kung asked what constituted the superior 
 man. The Master said, " He acts before he speaks, and 
 . afterwards speaks according to his actions." 
 \ XIV. The Master said, " The superior man is cath- 
 olic and no partizan. The mean man is a partizan and 
 not catholic." 
 
 XY. The Master said, " Learning without thought 
 is labour lost ; thought without learning is perilous." 
 
 XVI. The Master said, " The study of strange doc- 
 trines is injurious indeed ! " 
 
 XYH. The Master said, "Yew, shall I teach you 
 what knowledge is ? When you know a thing, to hold 
 that you know it ; and when you do not know a thing, 
 to allow that you do not know it; — this is knowledge." 
 
 XYIII. 1. Tsze-chang was learning with a view to 
 official emolument. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Hear much and put aside the 
 points of which you stand in doubt, while you speak 
 cautiously at the same time of the others : — then you 
 will afford few occasions for blame. See much and put 
 aside the things which seem perilous, while you are 
 cautious at the same time in carrying the others into 
 practice : — then you will have few occasions for repent- 
 ance. When one gives few occasions for blame in his 
 words, and few occasions for repentance in his conduct, 
 he is in the way to get emolument." 
 
 XIX. The duke Gae asked, saying, "What should be 
 done in order to secure the submission of the people ? " 
 Confucius replied, " Advance the upright and set aside 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 39 
 
 the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance 
 the crooked and set aside the upright, then the people 
 will not submit." 
 
 XX. Ke K'ang asked how to cause the people to 
 reverence their ruler, to be faithful to him, and to urge 
 themselves ta virtue. The Master said, " Let him pre- 
 side over them with gravity ; — then they will reverence 
 him. Let him be filial and kind to all ; — then they 
 will be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and 
 teach the incompetent ; — then they will eagerly seek 
 to be virtuous." 
 
 XXI. 1. Some one addressed Confucius, saying, 
 " Sir, why are you not engaged in the government ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " What does the Shoo-king say 
 of filial piety ? — ' You are filial, you discharge your 
 brotherly duties. These qualities are displayed in gov- 
 ernment' This then also constitutes the exercise of 
 government. Why must there be that to make one be 
 in the government." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, "I do not know how a man 
 without truthfulness is to get on. How can a large 
 carriage be made to go without the cross bar for yoking 
 the oxen to, or a small carriage without the arrange- 
 ment for yoking the horses ? " 
 
 XXin. 1. Tsze-chang asked whether the affairs of 
 ten ages after could be known. 
 
 2. Confucius said, " The Yin dynasty followed the 
 regulations of the Hea : wherein it took from or added 
 to them may be known. The Chow dynasty has fol- 
 lowed the regulations of the Yin : wherein it took from 
 or added to them may be known. Some other may 
 follow the Chow, but though it should be at the distance 
 of a hundred ages, its affairs may be known." 
 
 XXIV. 1. The Master said, " For a man to sacrifice 
 to a spirit which does not belong to him is flattery." 
 
 2. To see what is right and not to do it is want of 
 courage." 
 
20 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 BOOK m. PA Ym. 
 
 Chapter I. Confucius said of the head of the Ke 
 family, who had eight rows of pantomimes in his area, 
 " If he can bear to do this, what may he not bear to 
 do?" 
 
 n. The three famiUes used the yung ode, while the 
 vessels were being removed, at the conclusion of the sac- 
 rifice. The Master said, "^Assisting are the princes ; — 
 the emperor looks profound and grave : ' — what appli- 
 cation can these words have in the hall of the three 
 families ? " 
 
 III. The Master said, " If a man be without the vir- 
 tues proper to humanity, what has he to do with the 
 rites of propriety ? If a man be without the virtues 
 proper to humanity, what has he to" do with music ? " 
 
 lY. 1. Lin Fang asked what was the first thing to 
 be attended to in ceremonies. 
 
 2. The Master said, " A great question indeed ! " 
 
 3. In festive ceremonies, it is better to be sparing 
 than extravagant. In the ceremonies of mourning, it 
 is better that there be deep sorrow than a minute at- 
 tention to observances." 
 
 V. The Master said, " The rude tribes of the east 
 and north have their princes, and are not like the States 
 of our great land which are without them." 
 
 VI. The chief of the Ke family was about to sacri- 
 fice to the T'ae mountain. The Master said to Yenyew 
 " Can you not save him from this ? " He answered, 
 " I cannot." Confucius said, " Alas ! will you say that 
 the T'ae mountain is not so discerning as Lin Fang ?" 
 
 VII The Master said, " The student of virtue has 
 no contentions. If it be said he cannot avoid them, 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 21 
 
 shall this be in archery ? But he bows complaisantly 
 to his competitors ; thus he ascends the hall, descends, 
 and exacts the forfeit of drinking. In his contention, 
 he is still the Keun-tsze." 
 
 YIII. 1. Tsze-hea asked, saying, " What is the mean- 
 ing of the passage — ' The pretty dimples of her artful 
 smile ! The well defined black and white of her eye ! 
 The plain ground for the colours ? ' " 
 
 2. The Master said, " The business of laying on the 
 colours follows the preparation of the plain ground." 
 
 3. " Ceremonies then are a subsequent thing." The 
 Master said, "It is Shang who can bring out my mean- 
 ing ! Now I can begin to talk about the odes with him." 
 
 IX. The Master said, "I am able to describe the 
 ceremonies of the Hea dynasty, but Ke cannot sufii- 
 ciently attest my words. I am able to describe the cer- 
 emonies of the Yin dynasty but Sung cannot sufficiently 
 attest my words. They cannot do so because of the 
 insufficiency of their records and wise men. If those 
 were sufficient, I could adduce them in support of my 
 words." 
 
 X. The Master said, " At the great sacrifice, after 
 the pouring out of the libation, I have no wish to look 
 on." 
 
 XI. Some one asked the meaning of the great sac- 
 rifice. The Master said, "I do not know. He who 
 knew its meaning would find it as easy to govern the 
 empire as to look on this ; " — pointing to his palm. 
 
 XII. 1. He sacrificed to the dead, as if they were 
 present. He sacrificed to the spirits, as if the spirits 
 were present. 
 
 2. The Master said, " I consider my not being pres- 
 ent at the sacrifice, as if I did not sacrifice." 
 
 XIII. 1. Wang-sun Kea asked, saying, "What is 
 the meaning of the saying, ' It is better to pay court 
 to the furnace than to the south-west corner? ' " 
 
 2 
 
22 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Not so. He who offends against 
 Heaven has none to whom he can pray." 
 
 XIY. The Master said, " Chow had the advantage 
 of viewing the two past dynasties. How complete and 
 elegant are its regulations ! I follow Chow." 
 
 XY. The Master, when he entered the grand temple, 
 asked about every thing. Some one said, *' Who will 
 say that the son of the man of Tsow knows the rules 
 of propriety. He has entered the grand temple and 
 asks about every thing." The Master heard the re- 
 mark, and said, " This is a rule of propriety." 
 
 XYI. The Master said, " In archery it is not going 
 through the leather which is the principal thing ; — be- 
 cause people's strength is not equal. This was the old 
 way." 
 
 XYH. 1. Tsze-kung wished to do away with the 
 offering of a sheep connected with the inauguration of 
 the first day of each month. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Tsze, you love the sheep ; I love 
 the ceremony." 
 
 XYHI. The Master said, " The full observance of 
 the rules of propriety in serving one's prince is accounted 
 by people to be flattery." 
 
 XIX. The duke Ting asked how a prince should 
 employ his ministers, and how ministers should serve 
 their prince. Confucius replied, " A prince should em- 
 ploy his ministers according to the rules of propriety ; 
 ministers should serve their prince with faithfulness." 
 
 XX. The Master said, " The Kwan Ts'eu is expres- 
 sive of enjoyment without being licentious, and of grief 
 without being hurtfully excessive." 
 
 XXI. The duke Gae asked Tsae Go about the altars 
 of the spirits of the land. Tsae Go replied, " The Hea 
 sovereign used the pine tree ; the man of the Yin used 
 the cypress ; and the man of the Chow used the chest- 
 nut tree, meaning thereby to cause the people to be in 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 23 
 
 2. When the Master heard it, he said, " Things that 
 are done, it is needless to speak about ; things that have 
 had their course, it is needless to remonstrate about ; 
 things that are past, it is needless to blame." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " Small indeed was the ca- 
 pacity of Kwan Chung ! " 
 
 2. Some one said, "Was Kwan Chung parsimonious?" 
 " Kwan," was the reply, " had the San Kwei and his 
 officers performed no double duties; how can he be 
 considered parsimonious ? " 
 
 3. " Then, did Kwan Chung know the rules of pro- 
 priety ? " The Master said, " The princes of states have 
 a screen intercepting the view at their gates. Kwan 
 had likewise a screen at his gate. The princes of states 
 on any friendly meeting between two of them, had a 
 stand on which to place their inverted cups. Kwan 
 had also such a stand. If Kwan knew the rules of pro- 
 priety, who does not know them ? " 
 
 XXIII. The Master instructing the Grand music- 
 master of Loo said, " How to play music may be known. 
 At the commencement of the piece, all the parts should 
 sound together. As it proceeds, they should be in har- 
 mony, severally distinct and flowing without break, and 
 thus on to the conclusion." 
 
 XXIY. The border-warden at E requested to be 
 introduced to the Master, saying, " When men of supe- 
 rior virtue have come to this, I have never been denied 
 the privilege of seeing them." The followers of the 
 sage introduced him, and when he came out from the 
 interview, he said, " My friends, why are you distressed 
 by your master's loss of office ? The empire has long 
 been without the principles of truth and right; Heaven 
 is going to use your master as a bell with its wooden 
 tongue." 
 
 XXV. The Master said of the Shaou that it was 
 perfectly beautiful and also perfectly good. He said 
 
24 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 of the Woo that it was perfectly beautiful but not per- 
 fectly good. 
 
 XXVI. The Master said, " High station filled with- 
 out indulgent generosity ; ceremonies performed with- 
 out reverence ; mourning conducted without sorrow ; — 
 wherewith should I contemplate such ways ? " 
 
 BOOK lY. LE JIN. 
 
 Chapter I. The Master said, " It is virtuous manners 
 which constitute the excellence of a neighbourhood. 
 If a man in selecting a residence, do not fix on one 
 where such prevail, how can he be wise ? " 
 
 II. The Master said, " Those who are without vir- 
 tue, cannot abide long either in a condition of poverty 
 and hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment. The 
 virtuous rest in virtue ; the wise desire virtue." 
 
 III. The Master said, " It is only the truly virtuous 
 man, who can love, or who can hate, others." 
 
 lY. The Master said, " If the will be set on virtue, 
 there will be no practice of wickedness." 
 
 y. 1. The Master said, "Riches and honours are 
 what men desire. If it cannot be obtained in the 
 proper way, they should not be held. Poverty and 
 meanness are what men dislike. If it cannot be ob- 
 tained in the proper way, they should not be avoided. 
 
 2. " If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he 
 fulfil the requirements of that name ? 
 
 3. " The superior man does not, even for the space 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 25 
 
 of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments 
 of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he 
 cleaves to it," 
 
 YI. 1. The Master said, " I have not seen a person 
 who loved virtue, or one who hated what was not vir- 
 tuous. He who loved virtue, would esteem nothing 
 above it. He who hated what is not virtuous, would 
 practise virtue in such a way that he would not allow 
 any thing that is not virtuous to approach his person. 
 
 2. " Is any one able for one day to apply his strength 
 to • virtue ? I have not seen the case in which his 
 strength would be insufficient. 
 
 * 3. " Should there possibly be any such case, I have 
 not seen it." 
 
 YIT. The Master said, " The faults of men are char- 
 acteristic of the class to which they belong. By observ- 
 ing a man's faults, it may be known that he is virtuous." 
 
 YIII. The Master said, " If a man in the morning 
 hear the right way, he may die in the evening without 
 regret." 
 
 IX. The Master said, " A scholar, whose mind is set 
 on truth, and who is ashamed of bad clothes and bad 
 food, is not fit to be discoursed with." 
 
 X. The Master said, "The superior man, in the 
 world, does not set his mind either for any thing, or 
 against any thing ; what is right he will follow." 
 
 XI. The Master said, " The superior man thinks of 
 virtue ; the small man thinks of comfort. The superior 
 man thinks of the sanctions of law ; the small man 
 thinks of favours which he may receive." 
 
 XII. The Master said, " He who acts with a constant 
 view to his own advantage will be much murmured 
 against." 
 
 XIII. The Master said, " Is a prince able to govern 
 his kingdom with the complaisance proper to the rules 
 of propriety, what difiiculty will he have ? If he can- 
 
26 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 not govern it with that complaisance, what has he to 
 do with the rules of propriety ? " 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " A man should say, I am 
 not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how 
 I may fit myself for one. I am not concerned that I 
 am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known." 
 
 XV. 1. The Master said '' Sin, my doctrine is that 
 of an all-pervading unity. The disciple Tsang replied, 
 "Yes." 
 
 2. The Master went out, and the other disciples asked, 
 saying, "What do his words mean?" Tsang said, 
 " The doctrine of our master is to be true to the prin- 
 ciples of our nature and the benevolent exercise of 
 them to others, — this and nothing more." 
 
 XVI. The Master said, " The mind of the superior 
 man is conversant with righteousness ; the mind of the 
 mean man is conversant with gain." 
 
 XVII. The Master said, "When we see men of 
 worth, we should think of equalling them ; when we 
 see men of a contrary character, we should turn in- 
 wards and examine ourselves." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " In serving his parents, a 
 son may remonstrate with them, but gently ; when he 
 sees that they do not incline to follow his advice, he 
 shows an increased degree of reverence, but does not 
 abandon his purpose ; and should they punish him, he 
 does not allow himself to murmur." 
 
 XIX. The Master said, "While his parents are 
 alive, the son may not go abroad to a distance. If he 
 does go abroad, he must have a fixed place to which he 
 goes." 
 
 XX. The Master said, " If the son for three years 
 does not alter from the way of his father, he may be 
 called filial." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " The years of parents may 
 by no means not be kept in the memory, as an occasion 
 at once for joy and for fear." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 27 
 
 XXn. The Master said, " The reason why the an- 
 cients did not readily give utterance to their words, 
 was that they feared lest their actions should not come 
 up to them." 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, " The cautious seldom err." 
 
 XXiy. The Master, said, " The superior man wishes 
 to be slow in his words and earnest in his conduct." 
 
 XXY. The Master said, " Virtue is not left to stand 
 alone. He who practises it will have neighbours." 
 
 XXVI. Tsze-yew said, "In serving a prince, fre- 
 quent remonstrances lead to disgrace. Between friends, 
 frequent reproofs make the friendship distant." 
 
 BOOK Y. KUNG-YAY CH'ANG. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The Master said of Kung-yay Ch'ang 
 that he might be wived ; although he was put in bonds, 
 he had not been guilty of any crime. Accordingly, he 
 gave him his own daughter to wife. 
 
 2. Of Nan Yung he said that if the country were 
 well governed, he would not be out of office, and if it 
 were ill governed, he would escape punishment and 
 disgrace. He gave him the daughter of his own elder 
 brother to wife. 
 
 II. The Master said, of Tsze-tseen, " Of superior vir- 
 tue indeed is such a fnan ! If there were not virtuous 
 men in Loo, how could this man have acquired this 
 character ? " 
 
 in. Tsze-kung asked, "What do you say of me, 
 
28 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 Tsze ? " The Master said, '' You are an utensil." '^ What 
 utensil ? " "A gemmed sacrificial utensil.'' 
 
 IV. 1. Some one said, " Yung is truly virtuous, but 
 he is not ready with his tongue." 
 
 2. The Master said, "What is the good of being 
 ready with the tongue? They who meet men with 
 smartnesses of speech, for the most part procure them- 
 selves hatred. I know not whether he be truly virtuous, 
 but why should he show readiness of the tongue ? " 
 
 Y. The Master was wishing Tseih-teaou K'ae to 
 enter on ofiicial employment. He replied, " I am not 
 yet able to rest in the assurance of this." The Master 
 was pleased. 
 
 YI. The Master said, " My doctrines make no way. 
 I will get upon a raft, and float about on the sea. He 
 that will accompany me will be Yew, I dare to say." 
 Tsze-loo hearing this was glad, upon which the Master 
 said, " Yew is fonder of daring than I am. He does 
 not exercise his judgment upon matters." 
 
 YH. 1. Mang Woo asked about Tsze-loo, whether 
 he was perfectly virtuous. The Master said, " I do not 
 know." 
 
 2. He asked again, when the Master replied, " In a 
 kingdom of a thousand chariots. Yew might be em- 
 ployed to manage the military levies, but I do not know 
 whether he be perfectly virtuous." 
 
 3. " And what do you say of K'ew ?" The Master 
 replied, " In a city of a thousand families, or a house of 
 a himdred chariots, K'ew might be emploj^ed as gov- 
 ernor, but I do not know whether he is perfectly vir- 
 tuous." 
 
 4. "What do you say of Ch'ih?" The Master re- 
 pHed, " With his sash girt and standing in a court, Ch'ih 
 might be employed to converse with the visitors and 
 guests, but I do not know whether he is perfectly vir- 
 tuous." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 29 
 
 Vm. 1. The Master said to Tsze-kung, " Which do 
 you consider superior, yourself or Hwuy ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung replied, " How dare I compare myself 
 with Hwuy ? Hwuy hears one point and knows all 
 about a subject; I hear one point and know a second." 
 
 3. The Master said, " You are not equal to him. I 
 grant you, you are not equal to him." 
 
 IX. 1. Tsae Yu being asleep during the day time, 
 the Master said, " Rotten wood cannot be carved ; a 
 wall of dirty earth will not receive the trowel. This 
 Yu ! — ^what is the use of my reproving him ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " At first, my way with men was 
 to hear their words, and give them credit for their con- 
 duct. Now my way is to hear their words, and look at 
 their conduct. It is from Yu that I have learned to 
 make this change." 
 
 X. The Master said, '^ I have not seen a firm and 
 unbending man." Some one replied, " There is Shin 
 Ch'ang." "Ch'ang," said the Master, "is under the 
 influence of his passions ; how can he be pronounced 
 firm and unbending ? " 
 
 XI. Tsze-kung said, " What I do not wish men to 
 do to me, I also wish not to do to men." The Master 
 said, " Tsze, you have not attained to that." 
 
 XII. Tsze-kung said, " The Master's personal dis- 
 plays of his principles, and ordinary descriptions of 
 them may be heard. His discourses about man's na- 
 ture, and the way of Heaven, cannot be heard." 
 
 XIII. When Tsze-loo heard anything, if he had not 
 yet carried it into practice, he was only afraid lest he 
 should hear something else. 
 
 XIY. Tsze-kung asked saying, " On what ground 
 
 did Kung-wan get that title of wan ? " The Master 
 
 said, "He was of an active nature and yet fond of 
 
 learning, and he was not ashamed to ask and learn of 
 
 3 
 
30 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 his inferiors ! — On these grounds he has been styled 
 
 WAN." 
 
 XY. The Master said of Tsze-ch'an that he had four 
 of the characteristics of a superior man : — in his con- 
 duct of himself, he was humble ; in serving his supe- 
 riors, he was respectful ; in nourishing the people, he 
 was kind ; in ordering the people, he was just." 
 
 XYI The Master said, " Gan Fing knew well how 
 to maintain friendly intercourse. The acquaintance 
 might be long, but he showed the same respect as at 
 firstr 
 
 XVn. The Master said, " Tsang Wan kept a large 
 tortoise in a house, on the capitals of the pillars of which 
 he had hills made, with representations of duckweed on 
 the small pillars above the beams supporting the rafters. 
 Of what sort was his wisdom ? " 
 
 XYIII. 1. Tsze-chang asked, saying, " The minister 
 Tsze-wan, thrice took office, and manifested no joy in 
 his countenance. Thrice he retired from office, and 
 manifested no displeasure. He made it a point to 
 inform the new minister of the way in which he had 
 conducted the government ; — ^what do you say of him ?" 
 The Master replied, "He was loyal." "Was he per- 
 fectly virtuous ? " "I do not know. How can he be 
 pronounced perfectly virtuous ? " 
 
 1. Tsze-chang proceeded, "When the officer Ts^uy kill- 
 ed the prince of Ts'e, Ch'in Wan, though he was the 
 owner of forty horses, abandoned them and left the 
 country. Coming to another state, he said, ' They are 
 here like our great officer, Ts'uy,' and left it. He came 
 to a second state, and with the same observation left it 
 also ; — what do you say of him ? " The Master replied, 
 " He was pure." " Was he perfectly virtuous ? " "I 
 do not know. How can he be pronounced perfectly 
 virtuous ? " 
 
 XIX. Ke Wan thought thrice, and then acted. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 31 
 
 When the Master was informed of it, he said, " Twice 
 may do." 
 
 XX. The Master said, " When good order prevailed 
 in his country, Ning Woo acted the part of a wise man. 
 When his country was in disorder, he acted the part of 
 a stupid man. Others may equal his wisdom, but they 
 cannot equal his stupidity." 
 
 XXL When the Master was in Ch^in, he said, " Let 
 me return ! Let me return ! The little children of my 
 school are ambitious and too hasty. They are accom- 
 plished and complete so far, but they do not know how 
 to restrict and shape themselves." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, "Pih-e and Shuh-ts^e did 
 not keep the former wickednesses of men in mind, and 
 hence the resentments directed towards them were few." 
 
 XXIIL The Master said, " Who says of Wei-shang 
 Kaou that he is upright ? One begged some vinegar 
 of him, and he begged it of -a neighbour and gave it 
 him." 
 
 XXiy. The Master said, " Fine words, an insinuat- 
 ing appearance, and excessive respect ; — Tso-k^ew Ming 
 was ashamed of them. I also am ashamed of them. 
 To conceal resentment against a person, and appear 
 friendly with him; — Tso-k^ew Ming was ashamed of 
 such conduct. I also am ashamed of it." 
 
 XXV. 1. Yen Yuen and Ke Loo being by his side, 
 the Master said to them, " Come, let each of you tell 
 his wishes." 
 
 2. Tsze-loo said, " I should like, having chariots and 
 horses, and light fur dresses, to share them with my 
 friends, and though they should spoil them, I would not 
 be displeased. 
 
 3. Yen Yuen said, " I should like not to boast of my 
 excellence, nor to make a display of my meritorious 
 deeds." 
 
 4. Tsze-loo then said, '' I should like, sir, to hear your 
 
32 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 wishes." The Master said, " They are, in regard to the 
 aged, to give them rest ; in regard to friends, to show 
 them sincerity ; in regard to the young, to treat them 
 tenderly." 
 
 XXVI. The Master said, " It is all over ! I have not 
 yet seen one who could perceive his faults, and inwardly 
 accuse himself" 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, " In a hamlet of ten fam- 
 ilies, there may be found one honourable and sincere as 
 I am, but not so fond of learning." 
 
 BOOK YI. YUNG YAY. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The Master said, " There is Yung ! — 
 He might occupy the place of a prince." 
 
 2. Chung-kung asked about Tsze-sang Pih-tsze. The 
 Master said, "He may pass. He does not mind small 
 matters." 
 
 3. Chung-kung said, " If a man cherish in himself a 
 reverential feeling of the necessity of attention to busi- 
 ness, though he may be easy in small matters, in his 
 government of the people, that may be allowed. But 
 if he cherish in himself that easy feeling, and also 
 carry it out in his practice, is not such an easy mode of 
 procedure excessive ?" 
 
 4. The Master said, " Yung's words are right." 
 
 n. The duke Gae asked which of the disciples 
 loved to learn. Confucius replied to him, " There was 
 Yen Hwuy ; he loved to learn. He did not transfer his 
 
.CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 33 
 
 anger; he did not repeat a fault. Unfortunately, his 
 appointed time was short and he died ; and now there 
 is not such another. I have not yet heard of any one 
 who loves to learn as he did!' 
 
 III. 1. Tsze-hwa being employed on a mission to 
 Ts'e, the disciple Yen requested grain for his mother. 
 The Master said, " Give her a foo." Yen requested 
 more. " Give her an yu" said the Master Yen gave 
 her five ping. 
 
 2. The Master said, " When Ch^ih was proceeding to 
 Ts^e, he had fat horses to his carriage, and wore light 
 furs. I have heard that a superior man helps the dis- 
 tressed, but does not add to the wealth of the rich." 
 
 3. Yuen Sze being made governor of his town by the 
 Master, he gave him nine hundred measures of grain, 
 but Sze declined them. 
 
 4. The Master said, "Do not decline them. May 
 you not give them away in the neighborhoods, hamlets, 
 towns, and villages ?" 
 
 IV. The Master, speaking of Chung-kung, said, " If 
 the calf of a brindled cow be red and horned, although 
 man may not wish to use it, would the spirits of the 
 mountains and rivers put it aside ?" 
 
 V. The Master said, " Such was Hwuy that for three 
 months there would be nothing in his mind contrary to 
 perfect virtue. The others may attain to this on some 
 days or in some months, but nothing more." 
 
 VI. Ke K^ang asked, " Is Chung-yew fit to be em- 
 ployed as an officer of government ?" The Master said, 
 " Yew is a man of decision ; what difficulty would he 
 find in being an officer of government ?" K'ang asked, 
 " Is Tsze fit to be employed as an officer of govern- 
 ment?" and was answered, "Tsze is a man of intelli- 
 gence ; what difficulty would he find in being an officer 
 of government?" And to the same question about 
 K^ew the Master gave the same reply, saying, " K^ew is 
 a man of various ability." 
 
34 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 Vn. The chief of the Ke family sent to ask Min 
 Tsze-k'een to be governor of Pe. Min Tsze-k^een said, 
 " Decline the offer for me politely. If any one come 
 again to me with a second invitation, I shall be obliged 
 to go and live on the banks of the Wan." 
 
 YIII. Pih-new being sick, the Master went to ask 
 for him. He took ho]d of his hand through the win- 
 dow, and said, " It is killing him. It is the appoint- 
 ment of Heaven, alas ! That such a man should have 
 such a sickness ! That such a man should have such a 
 sickness ! " 
 
 IX. The Master said, " Admirable indeed was the 
 virtue of Hwuy ! With a single bamboo dish of rice, a 
 single gourd dish of drink, and living in his mean nar- 
 row lane, while others could not have endured the dis- 
 tress, he did not allow his joy to be affected by it. 
 Admirable indeed was the virtue of Hwuy !" 
 
 X. Yen K^ew said, " It is not that I do not delight 
 in your doctrines, but my strength is insufficient." The 
 Master said, " Those whose strength is insufficient give 
 over in the middle of the way, but now you limit your- 
 self" 
 
 XL The Master said to Tsze-hea, "Do you be a 
 scholar after the style of the superior man, and not 
 after that of the mean man." 
 
 XII. Tsze-yew being governor of Woo-shing, the 
 Master said to him, " Have you got good men there T' 
 He answered, " There is Tan-t^ae Mee-ming, who never 
 in walking takes a short cut, and never comes to my 
 office, excepting on public business." 
 
 XIII. The Master said, "Mang Che-fan does not 
 boast of his merit. Being in the rear on an occasion 
 of flight, when they were about to enter the gate, he 
 whipt up his horse saying, ' It is not that I dare to be 
 last. My horse would not advance.' " 
 
 XIV. The Master said, "Without the specious 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 35 
 
 speech of the litanist T^o, and the beauty of the prince 
 Chaou of Sung, it is difficult to escape in the present 
 age." 
 
 XV. The Master said, " Who can go out but by the 
 door ? How is it that men will not walk according to 
 these ways ?" 
 
 XYI. The Master said, " Where the solid qualities 
 are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity ; 
 where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid 
 qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When the 
 accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, 
 we then have the man of complete virtue." 
 
 XYII. The Master said, " Man is born for upright- 
 ness. If a man lose his uprightness, and yet live, his 
 escape /rom death is the effect of mere good fortune." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " They who know the truth 
 are not equal to those who love it, and they who love 
 it are not equal to those who find pleasure in it." 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " To those whose talents are 
 above mediocrity, the highest subjects may be an- 
 nounced. To those Avho are below mediocrity, the 
 highest subjects may not be announced." 
 
 XX. Fan Ch^e asked what constituted wisdom. The 
 Master said, " To give one's-self earnestly to the duties 
 due to men, and, while respecting spiritual beings, to 
 keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom." He 
 asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "The 
 man of virtue makes the difficulty to he overcome his 
 first business, and success only a subsequent considera- 
 tion; — this may be called perfect virtue." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " The wise find pleasure in 
 water ; the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise 
 are active ; the virtuous are tranquil. The wise are 
 joyful, the virtuous are long-lived." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " Ts'e, by one change, 
 would come to the state of Loo. Loo, by one change, 
 
36 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 would come to a state where true principles predomi- 
 nated." 
 
 XXm. The Master said, " A cornered vessel with- 
 out corners. — A strange cornered vessel ! A strange 
 cornered vessel !" 
 
 XXIY. Tsae Go asked, saying, " A benevolent man, 
 though it be told him, — ' There is a man in the well,' 
 will go in after him I suppose." Confucius said, " Why 
 should he do so ? A superior man may be made to go 
 to the welly but he cannot be made to go down into it. 
 He may be imposed upon, but he cannot be befooled." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, " The superior man, exten- 
 sively studying all learning, and keeping himself under 
 the restraint of the rules of propriety, may thus like- 
 wise not overstep what is right." 
 
 XXYI. The Master having visited Nan-tsze, Tsze- 
 loo was displeased, on which the Master swore, saying, 
 " Wherein I have done improperly, may Heaven reject 
 me ! may Heaven reject me ! " 
 
 XXVn. The Master said, "Perfect is the virtue 
 which is according to the Constant Mean ! Rare for a 
 long time has been its practice among the people." 
 
 XXVni. 1. Tsze-kung said, " Suppose the case of a 
 inan extensively conferring benefits on the people, and 
 able to assist all, what would you say of him ? Might 
 he be called perfectly virtuous?" The Master said 
 " Why speak only of virtue in connection with him ! 
 Must he not have the qualities of a sage ? Even Yaou 
 and Shun were still solicitous about this. 
 
 2. " Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be es- 
 tablished himself, seeks also to establish others ; wish- 
 ing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge 
 others. 
 
 3. " To be. able to judge of others by what is nigh 
 in ourselves ; — this may be called the art of virtue." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 87 
 
 BOOK VII SHUH UKH. 
 
 Chapter I. The Master said, " A transmitter and not 
 a maker, believing in and loving the ancients, I venture 
 to compare myself with our old P^ang." 
 
 II. The Master said, " The silent treasuring up of 
 knowledge ; learning without satiety ; and instructing 
 others without being wearied: — what one of these 
 things belongs to me ? " 
 
 III. The Master said, " The leaving virtue without 
 proper cultivation ; the not thoroughly discussing what 
 is learned ; not being able to move towards righteous- 
 ness of which a knowledge is gained ; and not being 
 able to change what is not good :— rthese are the things 
 which occasion me solicitude." 
 
 IV. When the Master was unoccupied with busi- 
 ness, his manner was easy, and he looked pleased. 
 
 V. The Master said, " Extreme is my decay. For a 
 long time, I have not dreamed, as I was wont to do, 
 that I saw the duke of Chow." 
 
 VI. 1. The Master said, " Let the will be set on the 
 path of duty. 
 
 2. " Let every attainment in what is good be firmly 
 grasped. 
 
 3. " Let perfect virtue be accorded with. 
 
 4. "Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the 
 polite arts." 
 
 VII. The Master said, " From the man bringing his 
 bundle of dried flesh /or my teaching upwards, I have 
 never refused instruction to any one." 
 
 VIII. The Master said, " I do not open up the truth 
 to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out 
 
 4 
 
38 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 any one who is not anxious to explain himself. Wlien 
 I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, 
 and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not 
 repeat my lesson." 
 
 IX. 1. When the Master was eating by the side of 
 a mourner, he never ate to the full. 
 
 2. He did not sing on the same day in which he had 
 been weeping. 
 
 X. 1. The Master said to Yen Yuen, " When called 
 to office to undertake its duties ; when not so called, to 
 lie retired ; — it is only I and you who have attained to 
 this." 
 
 2. Tsze-loo said, " If you had the conduct of the ar- 
 mies of a great state, whom would you have to act with 
 you?" 
 
 3. The Master said, " I would not have him to act 
 with me, who will unarmed attack a tiger, or cross a 
 river without a boat, dying without any regret. My 
 associate must be the man who proceeds to action full 
 of solicitude, who is fond of adjusting his plans, and 
 then carries them into execution." 
 
 XI. The Master said, " If the search for riches is 
 sure to be successful, though I should become a groom 
 with whip in hand to get them, I will do so. As the 
 search may not be successful, I will follow after that 
 which I love." 
 
 XII. The things in reference to which the Master 
 exercised the greatest caution were — fasting, war, and 
 sickness. 
 
 XIII. When the Master was in Ts'e, he heard the 
 Shaou, and for three months did not know the taste of 
 flesh. " I did not think," he said, " that music could 
 have been made so excellent as this." 
 
 XIV. 1. Yen Yew said, " Is our Master for the 
 prince of Wei?" Tsze-kung said, "Oh! I will ask 
 him." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 39 
 
 2. He went in accordingly, and said, " What sort of 
 men were Pih-e and Shuh-ts'e ? " "They were ancient 
 worthies," said the Master. " Did they have any re- 
 pinings because of their course ?" The Master again 
 rephed, "' They sought to act virtuously, and they did 
 so ; and what was there for them to repine about ? " On 
 this, Tsze-kung went out and said, " Our Master is not 
 for him." 
 
 XV. The Master said, " With coarse rice to eat, with 
 water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow ; — I 
 have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and 
 honours acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a 
 floating cloud." 
 
 XYI. The Master said, " If some years were added 
 to my life, I would give fifty to the study of the YiH, 
 and then I might come to be without great faults." 
 
 XYII. The Master's frequent themes of discourse 
 were — the Odes, the History, and the maintenance of 
 the Rules of propriety. On all these he frequently dis- 
 coursed. 
 
 XVm. 1. The duke of She asked Tsze-loo about 
 Confucius, and Tsze-loo did not answer him. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Why did you not say to him, — 
 He is simply a man, who in his eager pursuit of knowl- 
 edge forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment 
 forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive that old 
 age is coming on ? " 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " I am not one who was born 
 in the possession of knowledge ; I am one who is fond 
 of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there" 
 
 XX. The subjects on which the Master did not talk, 
 were — extraordinary things, feats of strength, disorder, 
 and spiritual beings. 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " When I walk along with 
 two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will 
 select their good qualities and follow them, their bad 
 qualities and avoid them." 
 
40 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XXn. The Master said, " Heaven produced the vir- 
 tue that is in me. Hwan T^uy — what can he do to 
 me?" 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, " Do you think, my disci- 
 ples, that I have any concealments ? I conceal nothing 
 from you. There is nothing which I do that is not 
 shown to you, my disciples ; — that is my way." 
 
 XXIV. There were four things which the Master 
 taught, — letters, ethics, devotion of soul, and truthful- 
 ness. 
 
 XXV. 1. The Master said, " A sage it is not mine to 
 see ; could I see a man of real talent and virtue, that 
 would satisfy me." 
 
 2. The Master said, " A good man it is not mine to 
 see ; could I see a man possessed of constancy, that 
 would satisfy me. 
 
 3. " Having not and yet affecting to have, empty and 
 yet affecting to be full, straightened and yet affecting 
 to be at ease: — it is difficult with such characteristics to 
 have constancy." 
 
 XXVI. The Master angled, — but did not use a net. 
 He shot, — but not at birds perching. 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, " There may be those 
 who act without knowing why. I do not do so. Hear- 
 ing much and selecting what is good and following it, 
 seeing much and keeping it in memory ; this is the 
 second style of knowledge." 
 
 XXVIII. 1. It was difficult to talk with people of 
 Hoo-heang, and a lad of that place having had an in- 
 terview with the Master, the disciples doubted. 
 
 2. The Master said, " I admit people's approach to 
 me without committing myself as to what they may do 
 when they have retired. Why must one be so severe ? 
 If a man purify himself to wait upon me, I receive him 
 so purified, without guaranteeing his past conduct." 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, " Is virtue a thing remote ? 
 I wish to be virtuous, and lo ! virtue is at hand." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 41 
 
 XXX. 1. The minister of crime of Ch^in asked 
 whether the duke Ch^aou knew propriety, and Confucius 
 said, '' He knew propriety." 
 
 2. Confucius having retired, the minister bowed to 
 Woo-ma K^e to come forward, and said, " I have heard 
 that the superior man is not a partizan. May the su- 
 perior man be a partizan also ? The prince married a 
 daughter of the house of Woo, of the same surname 
 with himself, and called her, — ' The elder lady Tsze of 
 Woo'. If the prince knew propriety, who does not 
 know it?" 
 
 3. Woo-ma K^e reported these remarks, and the Mas- 
 ter said, " I am fortunate ! If I have any errors, people 
 are sure to know them." 
 
 XXXI. When the Master was in company with a 
 person who was singing, if he sang well, he would make 
 him repeat the song, while he accompanied it with his 
 own voice. 
 
 XXXII. The Master said, " In letters I am perhaps 
 equal to other men, but the character of the superior 
 man, carrying out in his conduct what he professes, is 
 what I have not yet attained to." 
 
 XXXIII. The Master said, " The sage and the man 
 of perfect virtue ; — how dare I rank myself with them ? 
 It may simply be said of me, that I strive to become 
 such without satiety, and teach others without weari- 
 ness." Kung-se Hwa said, " This is just what we, the 
 disciples, cannot imitate you in." 
 
 XXXIY. The Master being very sick, Tsze-loo 
 asked leave to pray for him. He said, " May such a 
 thing be done?" Tsze-loo replied, "It may. In the 
 Prayers it is said, ^ Prayer has been made to the spirits 
 of the upper and lower worlds.'" The Master said, " My 
 praying has been for a long time." 
 
 XXXY. The Master said, " Extravagance leads to 
 insubordination, and parsimony to meanness. It is bet- 
 ter to be mean than to be insubordinate." 
 
42 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XXXYI. The Master said, " The superior man is 
 satisfied and composed ; the mean man is always full of 
 distress." 
 
 XXXVIl. Tue Master was mild, and yet dignified ; 
 majestic, and yet not fierce ; respectful, and yet easy. 
 
 BOOK YWl. T^AE-PIH. 
 
 Chapter I. The Master said, " T^ae-pih may be said 
 to have reached the highest point of virtuous action. 
 Thrice he declined the empire, and the people iii igno- 
 rance of his motives could not express their approba- 
 tion of his conduct." 
 
 II. 1. The Master said, " Respectfulness, without 
 the rules of propriety, becomes laborious bustle ; care- 
 fulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes timidity; 
 boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes in- 
 subordination ; straightforwardness, without the rules of 
 propriety, becomes rudeness. 
 
 2. " When those who are in high stations perform 
 well all their duties to their relations, the people are 
 aroused to virtue. When old friends are not neglected 
 by them, the people are preserved from meanness." 
 
 III. The philosopher Tsang being sick, he called to 
 him the disciples of his school, and said, " Uncover my 
 feet, uncover my hands. It is said in the Book of 
 Poetry, ^ We should be apprehensive and cautious, as if 
 on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice,' 
 and so have I been. Now and hereafter, I know my es- 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. ^3 
 
 cape from all injury to ray person, ye, my little 
 children." 
 
 IV. 1. The philosopher Tsang being sick, Mang 
 King went to ask how he was. 
 
 2. Tsang said to him, " When a bird is about to die, 
 its notes are mournful ; when a man is about to die, his 
 words are good. 
 
 3. " There are three principles of conduct which the 
 man of high rank should consider specially important : 
 — that in his deportment and manner he keep from 
 violence and heedlessness ; that in regulating his coun- 
 tenance he keep near to sincerity; and that in his 
 words and tones he keep far from lowness and impro- 
 priety. As to such matters as attending to the sacri- 
 ficial vessels, there are the proper ofl&cers for them." 
 
 Y. The philosopher Tsang said, *^ Gifted with ability, 
 and yet putting questions to those who were not so ; pos- 
 sessed of much, and yet putting questions to those 
 possessed of little ; having, as though he had not ; full, 
 and yet counting himself as empty ; offended against, 
 and yet entering into no altercation: — formerly I had 
 a friend who pursued this style of conduct." 
 
 VI. The philosopher Tsang said, " Suppose that 
 there is an individual who can be entrusted with the 
 charge of a young orphan prmce, and can be commis- 
 sioned with authority over a state of a hundred Ze, and 
 whom no emergency however great can drive from his 
 principles ; — is such a man a superior man ? He is a su- 
 perior man indeed." 
 
 VII. 1. The philosopher Tsang said, " The scholar 
 may not be without breadth of mind and vigorous en- 
 durance. His burden is heavy and his course is long. 
 
 2. " Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers 
 it is his to sustain ; — is it not heavy ? Only with death 
 does his course stop ; — is it not long ? " 
 
 VIII. 1. The Master said, "It is by the Odes that 
 the mind is aroused. 
 
44 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 2. It is by the Rules of propriety that the character 
 is established. 
 
 3. It is from Music that the finish is received." 
 
 IX. The Master said, " The people may be made to 
 follow a path of action, but they may not be made to 
 understand it." 
 
 X. The Master said, ^^ the man who is fond of daring 
 and is dissatisfied with poverty, will proceed to insub- 
 ordination. So will the man who is not virtuous, when 
 you carry your dislike of him to an extreme." 
 
 XI. The Master said, " Though a man have abilities 
 as admirable as those of the duke of Chow, yet if he 
 be proud and niggardly, those other things are really 
 not worth being looked at." 
 
 XII. The Master said, " It is not easy to find a man 
 who has learned for three years without coming to be 
 good." 
 
 Xin. 1. The Master said, "With sincere faith he 
 unites the love of learning ; holding firm to death, he is 
 perfecting the excellence of his course. 
 
 2. " Such an one will not enter a tottering state, nor 
 dwell in a disorganized one. When right principles 
 of government prevail in the empire, he will show him- 
 self; when they are prostrated, he will keep concealed. 
 
 3. " When a country is well governed, poverty and 
 a mean condition are things to be ashamed of When 
 a country is ill governed, riches and honour are things 
 to be ashamed of " 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " He who is not in any par- 
 ticular office, has nothing to do with plans for the ad- 
 ministration of its duties." 
 
 XV. The Master said, "When the music-master, 
 Che, first entered on his office, the finish with the Kwan 
 Ts'eu was magnificent ; — how it filled the ears ! " 
 
 Xyi. The Master said, " Ardent and yet not upright ; 
 stupid and yet not attentive ; simple and yet not sin- 
 cere :-— such persons I do not understand." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 45 
 
 XVII. The Master said, "Learn as if you could not 
 reach your object, and were always fearing also lest 
 you should lose it." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, "How haajestic was the 
 manner in which Shun and Yu held possession of the 
 empire, as if it were nothing to them ! " 
 
 XIX. 1. The Master said, "Great indeed was Yaou 
 as a sovereign ! How majestic was he ! It is only Heaven 
 that is grand, and only Yaou corresponded to it. How 
 vast was his virtue ! The people could find no name 
 for it. 
 
 2. " How majestic was he in the works which he ac- 
 complished ? How glorious in the elegant regulations 
 which he instituted ! " 
 
 XX. 1. Shun had five ministers, and the empire 
 was well governed. 
 
 2. King Woo said, " I have ten able ministers." 
 
 3. Confucius said, " Is not the saying that talents are 
 difficult to find, true ? Only when the dynasties of 
 T'ang and Yu met, were they more abundant than in 
 this of Chow, yet there was a woman among them. 
 The able ministers were no more than nine men." 
 
 4. " King Wan possessed two of the three parts of 
 the empire, and with those he served the dynasty of Yin. 
 The virtue of the house of Chow may be said to have 
 reached the highest point indeed." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " I can find no flaw in the 
 character of Yu. He used himself coarse food and 
 drink, but displayed the utmost filial piety towards the 
 spirits. His ordinary garments were poor but he dis- 
 played the utmost elegance in his sacrificial cap and 
 apron. He lived in a low mean house, but expended 
 all his strength on the ditches and water-channels. I 
 can find nothing like a flaw in Yu." 
 
46 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 BOOK IX. TSZE HAN. 
 
 Chapter I. The subjects of which the Master sel- 
 dom spoke were — profitableness, and also the appoint- 
 ments of Heaven^ and perfect virtue. 
 
 II. 1. A man of the village of Tarheang said, 
 " Great indeed is the philosopher K^ung ! His learning 
 is extensive, and yet he does not render his name fa- 
 mous by ^ny particular thing." 
 
 2. The Master heard the observation, and said to his 
 disciple's, " What shall I practice ? Shall I practice char- 
 ioteering, or shall I practice archery ? I will practice 
 charioteering." 
 
 III. 1. The Master said, " The linen cap is that pre- 
 scribed by the rules of ceremony, but now a silk one is 
 worn. It is economical, and I follow the common prac- 
 tice. 
 
 2. " The rules of ceremony prescribe the bowing be- 
 low the hall, but now the practice is to bow only after 
 ascending it. That is arrogant. I continue to bow be- 
 low the hall, though I oppose the common practice." 
 
 IV. There were four things from which the Master 
 was entirely free. He had no foregone conclusions, no 
 arbitrary predeterminations, no obstinacy, and no ego- 
 ism. 
 
 Y. 1. The Master was put in fear in K^ang. 
 
 2. He said, " After the death of king Wan, was not 
 the cause of truth lodged here in me f 
 
 3. "If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth 
 perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such 
 a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let 
 the cause of truth perish, what can the people of 
 K^ang do to me ? " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 47 
 
 VI. 1. A high officer asked Tsze-kung saying, " May 
 we not say that your Master is a sage ? How various is 
 his abihty ! " 
 
 2. Tsze Kung said, " Certainly Heaven has endowed 
 him unhmitedly. He is about a sage. And, moreover, 
 his abihty is various." 
 
 3. The Master heard the conversation and said, " Does 
 the high officer know me ? When I was young, my con- 
 dition was low, and therefore I acquired my ability in 
 many things, but they were mean matters. Must the 
 superior man have such variety of ability ? He does 
 not need variety of ability." 
 
 4. Laou said, " The Master said, ^ Having no official 
 employment, I acquired many arts.' " 
 
 Vn. " The Master said, " Am I indeed possessed of 
 knowledge ? I am not knowing. But if a mean per- 
 son who appears quite empty-like, ask anything of me, 
 I set it forth from one end to the other, and exhaust it." 
 
 Vni. The Master said, " The fung bird does not 
 come ; the river sends forth no map : — it is all over with 
 me." 
 
 IX. When the Master saw a person in a mourning 
 dress, or any one with the cap and upper and lower 
 garments of full dress, or a blind person, on observing 
 them approaching, though they were younger than 
 himself, he would rise up, and if he had to pass by 
 them, he would do so hastily. 
 
 X. 1. Yen Yuen, in admiration of the Master's 
 doctrines sighed and said, " I looked up to them, and 
 they seemed to become more high ; I tried to penetrate 
 them, and they seemed to become more firm ; I looked 
 at them before me, and suddenly they seemed to be 
 behind. 
 
 2. " The Master, by orderly method, skilfully leads 
 men on. He enlarged my mind with learning, and 
 taught me the restraints of propriety. 
 
48 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 3. " When I wish to give over the study of his doc- 
 trines, I cannot do so, and having exerted all my ability, 
 there seems something to stand right up before me ; 
 but though I wish to follow and lay hold of it, I really 
 find no way to do so." 
 
 XI. 1. The Master being very ill, Tsze-loo wished 
 the disciples to act as ministers to him. 
 
 2. During a remission of his illness, he said, "Long 
 has the conduct of Yew been deceitful ! By pretending 
 to have ministers w^lien I have them not, whom should 
 I impose upon ? Should I impose upon Heaven ? 
 
 3. " Moreover, than that I should die in the hands of 
 ministers, is it not better that I should die in the hands 
 of you, my disciples ? And though I may not get a 
 great burial, shall I die upon the road ? " 
 
 XII. Tsze-kung said, " There is a beautiful gem here. 
 Should I lay it up in a case and keep it ? or should I 
 seek for a good price and sell it ? " The Master said, " Sell 
 it ! Sell it ! But I would wait till the price was offered." 
 
 XIII. 1. The Master was wishing to go and live 
 among the nine wild tribes of the east. 
 
 2. Some one said, " They are rude. How can you do 
 such a thing ? " The Master said, " If a superior man 
 dwelt among them, what rudeness would there be ? " 
 
 Xiy. The Master said, "I returned from Wei to 
 Loo, and then the music was reformed, and the pieces 
 in the Imperial songs and Praise songs found all their 
 proper place." 
 
 XY. The Master said, " Abroad, to serve the high 
 ministers and officers ; at home, to serve one's father 
 and elder brother ; in all duties to the dead, not to dare 
 not to exert one's-self ; and not to be overcome of wine : 
 — what one of these thmgs do I attain to ? " 
 
 XYI. The Master standing by a stream, said It 
 passes on just like this, not ceasing day or night ! " 
 
 XYII. The Master said, " I have not seen one who 
 loves virtue as he loves beauty." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 49 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " The prosecution of learn- 
 ing may be compared to what may happen in raising a 
 mound. If there want but one basket of earth to com- 
 plete the work, and I stop, the stopping is my own 
 work. It may be compared to throwing down the earth 
 on the level ground. Though hut one basketful is 
 thrown at a time, the advancing with it is my own 
 going forward." 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " Never flagging when I set 
 forth anything to him ; — ah ! that Hwuy." 
 
 XX. The Master said of Yen Yuen, " Alas ! I saw 
 his constant advance. I never saw him stop in his 
 progress." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " There are cases in which 
 the blade springs, but the plant does not go on to flow- 
 er ! There are cases where it flowers, but no fruit is 
 subsequently produced ! " 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " A youth is to be regarded 
 with respect. How do we know that his future will 
 not be equal to our present ? If he reach the age of 
 forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then 
 indeed he will not be worth being regarded with re- 
 spect." 
 
 XXni. The Master said, " Can men refuse to assent 
 to the words of strict admonition ? But it is reforming 
 the conduct because of them which is valuable. Can 
 men refuse to be pleased with words of gentle advice ? 
 But it is unfolding their aim which is valuable. If a 
 man be pleased with these words, but does not unfold 
 their aim, and assents to those, but does not reform his 
 conduct, I can really do nothing with him." 
 
 XXIV. The Master said, "Hold faithfulness and sin- 
 cerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to 
 yourself When you have faults, do not fear to aban- 
 don them." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, " The commander of the 
 
50 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 forces of a large state may be carried off, but the will 
 of even a common man cannot be taken from him." 
 
 XXVI. 1. The Master said, " Dressed himself in a 
 tattered robe quilted with hemp, yet standing by the 
 side of men dressed in furs, and not ashamed ; — ah ! it 
 is Yew who is equal to this. 
 
 2. " ' He dislikes none, he courts nothing ; — what can 
 he do but what is good ? ' " 
 
 3. Tsze-loo kept continually repeating these words of 
 the ode, when the Master said, " Those things are by no 
 means sufficient to constitute perfect excellence." 
 
 XXYII. The Master said, " When the year becomes 
 cold, then we know how the pine and the cypress are 
 the last to lose their leaves." 
 
 XXVIII. The Master said, " The wise are free from 
 perplexities ; the virtuous from anxiety ; and the bold 
 from fear." 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, "There are some with 
 whom we may study in common, but we shall find them 
 unable to go along with us to principles. Perhaps we 
 may go on with them to principles, but we shall find 
 them unable to get established in those along with us. 
 Or if we may get so established along with them, we 
 shall find them unable to weigh occurring events along 
 with us." 
 
 XXX. 1. How the flowers of the aspen-plum flutter 
 and turn ! Do I not think of you ? But your house is 
 distant. 
 
 2. The Master said, " It is the want of thought about 
 it. How is it distant ? " 
 
 J 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 51 
 
 I BOOK X. HEANG TANG. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Confucius^ in his village, looked sim- 
 ple and sincere, and as if he were not able to speak. 
 
 2. When he was in the prince's ancestorial temple, 
 or in the court, he spoke minutely on every point, but 
 cautiously. 
 
 II. 1. When he was waiting at court, in speaking 
 with the officers of the lower grade, he spake freely, 
 but in a straightforward manner ; in speaking with the 
 officers of the higher grade, he did so blandly but pre- 
 cisely. 
 
 2. When the prince was present, his manner dis- 
 played respectful uneasiness; it was grave, but self- 
 possessed. 
 
 III. 1. When the prince called him to employ him 
 in the reception of a visitor, his countenance appeared 
 to change, and his legs to bend beneath him. 
 
 2. He inclined himself to the other officers among 
 whom he stood, moving his left or right arm, as their 
 position required^ but keeping the skirts of his robe be- 
 fore and behind evenly adjusted. 
 
 3. He hastened forward, with his arms like the wings 
 of a bird. 
 
 4. When the guest had retired, he would report to 
 the prince, " The visitor is not turning round any 
 more." 
 
 ly. 1. When he entered the palace gate, he seemed 
 to bend his body, as if it were not sufficient to admit 
 him. 
 
 2. When he was standing, he did not occupy the 
 middle of the gate-way ; when he passed in or out, he 
 did not tread upon the threshold. 
 
52 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 3. When he was passing the vacant place of the 
 prince, his countenance appeared to change, and his legs 
 to bend under him, and his words came as if he hardly 
 had breath to utter them. 
 
 4. He ascended the dais, holding up his robe with 
 both his hands, and his body bent; holding in his 
 breath also, as if he dared not breathe. 
 
 5. When he came oxxi from the audience, as soon as 
 he had descended one step, he began to relax his coun- 
 tenance, and had a satisfied look. When he had got to 
 the bottom of the steps, he advanced rapidly to his 
 place, with his arms like wings, and on occupying it, 
 his manner still showed respectful uneasiness. 
 
 Y. 1. When he was carrying the sceptre of his 
 prince, he seemed to bend his body, as if he were not 
 able to bear its weight. He did not hold it higher than 
 the position of the hands in making a bow, nor lower 
 than their position in giving anything to another. His 
 countenance seemed to change, and look apprehensive, 
 and he dragged his feet along as if they were held by 
 something to the ground. 
 
 2. In presenting the presents with which he was 
 charged, he wore a placid appearance. 
 
 3. At his private audience, he looked highly pleased. 
 YI. 1. The superior man did not use a deep purple, 
 
 or a puce color, in the ornaments of his dress. 
 
 2. Even in his undress, he did not wear anything of 
 a red or reddish color. 
 
 3. In warm weather, he had a single garment either 
 of coarse or fine texture, but he wore it displayed over 
 an inner garment. 
 
 4. Over lamb's fur he wore a garment of black ; over 
 fawn's fur one of white; and over fox's fur one of 
 yellow. 
 
 5. The fur robe of his undress was long, with the 
 right sleeve short. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 53 
 
 6. He required his sleeping dress to be half as long 
 again as his body. 
 
 7. When staying at home, he used thick furs of the 
 fox or the badger. 
 
 8. When he put oif mourning, he wore all the ap- 
 pendages of the girdle. 
 
 9. His under-garment, except when it was required 
 to be of the curtain shape, was made of silk cut narrow 
 above and wide beloAV. 
 
 10. He did not wear lamb's fur, or a black cap, on a 
 visit of condolence. 
 
 11. On the first day of the month, he put on his 
 court robes, and presented himself at court. 
 
 YII. 1. When fasting, he thought it necessary to 
 have his clothes, brightly clean, and made of linen cloth. 
 
 2. When fasting, he thought it necessary to change 
 his food, and also to change the place where he com- 
 monly sat in the apartment. 
 
 VIII. 1. He did not dislike to have his rice finely 
 cleaned, nor to have his minced meat cut quite small. 
 
 2. He did not eat rice which had been injured by 
 heat or damp and turned sour, nor fish or flesh which 
 was gone. He did not eat what was discoloured, or 
 what was of a bad flavour, nor anything which was not 
 in season. 
 
 3. He did hot eat meat which was not cut properly, 
 nor what was served without its proper sauce. 
 
 4. Though there might be a large quantity of meat, 
 he would not allow what he took to exceed the due 
 proportion for the rice. It was only in wine that he 
 laid down no limit for himself, but he did not allow him- 
 self to be confused by it. 
 
 5. He did not partake of wine and dried meat, 
 bought in the market. 
 
 6. He was never without ginger when he ate. 
 
 7. He did not eat much. 
 
 6 
 
54 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 8. When he had been assisting at the prince's sacri- 
 fice, he did not keep the flesh which he received over 
 night. The flesh of his family sacrifice he did not 
 keep over three days. If kept over three days, people 
 could not eat it. 
 
 9. When eating, he did not converse. When in bed, 
 he did not speak. 
 
 10. Although his food might be coarse rice and veg- 
 etable soup, he would ofier a little of it in sacrifice with 
 a grave respectful air. 
 
 IX. If his mat was not straight, he did not sit on it. 
 
 X. 1. When the villagers were drinking together, 
 on those who carried staves going out, he went out im- 
 mediately after. 
 
 2. When the villagers were going through their cer^ 
 emonies to drive away pestilential influences, he put on 
 his court robes and stood on the eastern steps. 
 
 XI. 1. When he was sending complimentary in- 
 quiries to any one in another state, he bowed twice as 
 he escorted the messenger away. 
 
 2. Ke K^ang having sent him a present of physic, he 
 bowed and received it, saying, " I do not know it. I 
 dare not taste it." 
 
 XII. The stable being burned down, when he was 
 at court, on his return he said, "Has any man been 
 hurt ? " He did not ask about the horses. 
 
 XIII. 1. When the prince sent him a gift of cooked 
 meat, he would adjust his mat, ^rs^ taste it, and then' 
 give it away to others. When the prince sent him a 
 gift of undressed meat, he would have it cooked, and 
 offer it to the spirits of his ancestors. When the prince 
 sent him a gift of a living animal, he would keep it 
 alive. 
 
 2. When he was in attendance on the prince and 
 joining in the entertainment, the prince only sacrificed. 
 He first tasted everything. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 55 
 
 3. When he was sick and the prince came to visit 
 him, he had his head to the east, made his court robes 
 be spread over him, and drew his girdle across them. 
 
 4. When the prince's order called him, without wait- 
 ing for his carriage to be yoked, he went at once. 
 
 XIV. When he entered the ancestral temple of the 
 state, he asked about everything. 
 
 XY. 1. When any of his friends died, if he had no 
 relations who could be depended upon for the necessary 
 offices, he would say, " I will bury him." 
 
 2. When a friend sent him a present, though it might 
 be a carriage and horses, he did not bow. 
 
 3. The only present for which he bowed was that of 
 the flesh of sacrifice. 
 
 XVI. 1. In bed, he did not lie like a corpse. At 
 home, he did not put on any formal deportment. 
 
 2. When he saw any one in a mourning dress, 
 though it might be an acquaintance, he would change 
 countenance ; when he saw any one wearing the cap of 
 full dress, or a blind person, though he might be in his 
 undress, he would salute them in a ceremonious man- 
 ner. 
 
 3. To any person in mourning he bowed forward to 
 the cross-bar of his carriage ; he bowed in the same way 
 to any one bearing the tables of population. 
 
 4. When he was at an entertainment where there 
 was an abundance of provisions set before him, he 
 would change countenance and rise up. 
 
 5. On a sudden clap of thunder, or a violent wind, 
 he would change countenance. 
 
 XYII. 1. When he was about to mount his carriage', 
 he would stand straight, holding the cord. 
 
 2. When he was in the carriage, he did not turn his 
 head quite round, he did not talk hastily, he did not 
 point with his hands. 
 
 XVIII. 1. Seeing the countenance, it instantly rises. 
 It flies round, and by and^ bye settles. 
 
56 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 2. The Master said, " There is the hen-pheasant on 
 the hill bridge. At its season ! At its season ! " Tsze- 
 loo made a motion to it. Thrice it smelt him and then 
 rose. 
 
 BOOK XL SEEN TSIN. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The Master said, " The men of former 
 times, in the matters of ceremonies and music, were rus- 
 tics, it is said, while the men of these latter times, in 
 ceremonies and music, are accomplished gentlemen. 
 
 2. ^^ If I have occasion to use those things, I follow 
 the men of former times." 
 
 n. 1. The Master said, " Of those who were with 
 me in Ch^in and Ts^ae, there are none to be found to 
 enter my door." 
 
 2. Distinguished for their virtuous principles and 
 practice, there were Yen Yuen, Min Tsze-k'een, Yen 
 Pih-new, and Chung-kung ; for their ability in speech, 
 Tsae Go and Tsze-kung ; for their administrative tal- 
 ents. Yen Yew and Ke Loo ; for their Hterary acquire- 
 ments, Tsze-yew and Tsze-hea. 
 
 III. The Master said, " Hwuy gives me no assistance. 
 There is nothing that I say in which he does not de- 
 light." 
 
 IV. Tho Master said, " Filial indeed is Min Tsze- 
 k^een ! Other people say nothing of him different from 
 the report of his parents and brothers." 
 
 y. Nan Yung was frequently repeating the Ihies 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 57 
 
 about a white sceptre-stone. Confucius gave him the 
 daughter of his elder brother to wife. 
 
 VI. Ke K^ang asked which of the disciples loved to 
 learn. Confucius replied to him, "There was Yen 
 Hwuy ; he loved to learn. Unfortunately his appointed 
 time w^as short, and he died. Now there is no one who 
 loves to learn as he did.'' 
 
 YII. 1. When Yen Yuen died, Yen Loo begged the 
 carriage of the Master to get an outer shell for his son's 
 coflan." 
 
 2. The Master said, " Every one calls his son his son, 
 whether he has talents or has not talents. There was 
 Le ; when he died, he had a coffin but no outer shell. 
 I would not walk on foot to get a shell for him, because, 
 following after the great officers, it was not proper that 
 I should walk on foot." 
 
 VIII. When Yen Yuen died, the Master said, " Alas ! 
 Heaven is destroying me I Heaven is destroying me !" 
 
 IX. 1. When Yen Yuen died, the Master bewailed 
 him exceedingly, and the disciples who were with him 
 said, " Sir, your grief is excessive ? " 
 
 2. " Is it excessive ? " said he. 
 
 3. " K I am not to mourn bitterly for this man, for 
 whom should I mourn ? " 
 
 X. 1. When Yen Yuen died, the disciples wished to 
 give him a great funeral, and the Master said, " You 
 may not do so." 
 
 2. The disciples did bury him in great style. 
 
 3. The Master said, " Hwuy behaved towards me as 
 his father. I have not been able to treat him as my 
 son. The fault is not mine ; it belongs to you, disci- 
 ciples." 
 
 XI. Ke Loo asked about serving the spirits of the 
 dead. The Master said, "While you are not able to 
 serve men, how can you serve their spirits ? " Ke Loo 
 added, " I venture to ask about death ? " He was an- 
 
58 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 swered, " While you do not know life, how can you 
 know about death ? " 
 
 XII. 1. The disciple Min was standing by his side, 
 looking bland and precise ; Tsze-loo, looking bold and 
 soldierly ; Yen Yew and Tsze-kung, with a free and 
 straightforward manner. The Master was pleased. 
 
 2. He said, " Yew there ! — he will not die a natural 
 death." 
 
 XIII. 1. Some parties in Loo were going to take 
 down and rebuild the Long treasury. 
 
 2. Min Tsze-k^een said, " Suppose it were to be re- 
 paired after its old style ; Why must it be altered, and 
 made anew ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " This man seldom speaks ; when 
 he does, he is sure to hit the point." 
 
 XIY. 1. The Master said, "What has the harpsi- 
 chord of Yew to do in my door ? " 
 
 2. The other disciples began not to respect Tsze-loo. 
 The Master said, " Yew has ascended to the hall, though 
 he has not yet passed into the inner apartments." 
 
 XY. 1. Tse-kung asked which of the two,^ Sze or 
 Shang, was the superior. The Master said, " Sze goes 
 beyond the due meariy and Shang does not come up to 
 it." 
 
 2. " Then," said Tsze-kung, " the superiority is with 
 Sze, I suppose." 
 
 3. The Master said, " To go beyond is as wrong as to 
 fall short." 
 
 XYI. 1. The head of the Ke family was richer than 
 the duke of Chow had been, and yet K^ew collected his 
 imposts for him, and increased his wealth. 
 
 2. The Master said, " He is no disciple of mine. My 
 little children, beat the drum and assail him." ' 
 
 XYIL 1. Ch^ae is simple. 
 
 2. Sin is dull. 
 
 3. Sze is specious. 
 
 4. Yew is coarse. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 59 
 
 XVm. 1. The Master said, « There is Hwuy ! He 
 has nearly attained to perfect virtue. He is often in 
 want." 
 
 2. " Tsze does not acquiesce in the appointments of 
 Heaven^ and his goods are increased by him. Yet his 
 judgments are often correct." 
 
 XIX. Tsze-chang asked what were the characteris- 
 tics of the GOOD man. The Master said, " He does not 
 tread in the footsteps of others, but, moreover, he does 
 not enter the chamber of the sage!' 
 
 XX. The Master said, " If, because a man's discourse 
 appears soHd and sincere, we allow him to he a good 
 man, is he really a superior man ? or is his gravity only 
 in appearance ? " 
 
 XXI. Tsze-loo asked whether he should immediate- 
 ly carry into practice what he heard. The Master said, 
 ^ There are your father and elder brothers to he con- 
 sulted ; — ^why should you act on that principle of im- 
 mediately carrying into practice what you hear ? " Yen 
 Yew asked the same, whether he should immediately 
 carry into practice what he heard, and the Master an- 
 swered, "Immediately carry into practice what you 
 hear." Kung-se Hwa said, "Yew asked whether he 
 should carry immediately into practice what he heard, 
 and you said, ' There are your father and elder brothers 
 to he considted! K^ew asked whether he should imme- 
 diately carry into practice what he heard, and you said, 
 ' Carry it immediately into practice/ I, Ch^ih, am per- 
 plexed, and venture to ask you for an explanation." 
 The Master said, " K^ew is retiring and slow j therefore 
 I urged him forward. Yew has more than his own 
 share of energy ; therefore I kept him back." 
 
 XXII. The Master was put in fear in K^wang and 
 Yen Yuen fell behind. The Master, on his rejoining 
 him, said, "I thought you had died." Hwuy replied, 
 " While you were alive, how should I presume to die ? " 
 
60 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XXIII. 1. Ke Tsze-jen asked whether Chung-yew 
 and Yen K^ew could be called great ministers. 
 
 2. The Master said, " I thought you would ask about 
 some extraordinary individuals, and you only ask about 
 Yew and K^ew ! 
 
 3. " What is called a great minister, is one who serves 
 his prince according to what is right, and when he finds 
 he cannot do so, retires." 
 
 4. " Now, as to Yew and K^ew, they may be called 
 ordinary ministers." 
 
 5. Tsze-jen said, " Then they will always follow their 
 chief;— will they?" 
 
 6. The Master said, " In an act of parricide or regi- 
 cide, they would not follow him." 
 
 XXIY. 1. Tsze-loo got Tsze-kaou appointed gov- 
 ernor of Pe. 
 
 2. The Master said, " You are injuring a man's son." 
 
 3. Tsze-loo said, " There are (there) common people 
 and ofl&cers ; there are the altars of the spirits of the 
 land and grain. Why must one read books before he 
 can be considered to have learned ? " 
 
 4. The Master said, " It is on this account that I hate 
 your glib-tongued people." 
 
 XXY. 1. Tsze-loo, Tsang Sih, Yen Yew, and Kung 
 se Hwa, were sitting by the Master. 
 
 2. He said to them, '' Though I am a day or so older 
 than you, don't think of that. 
 
 3. " From day to day you are saying, ^ We are not 
 known.' If some prince were to know you, what would 
 you do ? " 
 
 4. Tsze-loo hastily and lightly replied, " Suppose the 
 case of a state of ten thousand chariots ; let it be 
 straightened between other large states ; let it be suffer- 
 ing from invading armies; and to this let there be 
 added a famine in corn and in all vegetables ; — If I 
 were intrusted with the government of it, in three 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 61 
 
 years' time I could make the people to be bold, and to 
 recognize the rules of righteous conduct." The Master 
 smiled at him. 
 
 5. Turning to Yen Yew, he said, " K^ew, y/hat are 
 your wishes ? " K'ew replied, " Suppose a state of sixty 
 or seventy le square, or one of fifty or sixty, and let me 
 have the government of it; — in three years' time, I 
 could make plenty to abound among the people. As 
 to teaching them the principles of propriety, and music, 
 I must wait for the rise of a superior man to do that" 
 
 6. " What are your wishes, Ch^h," said the Master 
 next to Kung-se Hwa. CUih replied, " I do not say 
 that my ability extends to these things, but I should 
 wish to learn them. At the services of the ancestral 
 temple, and at the audiences of the Princes with the 
 Emperor, I should like, dressed in the dark squaremade 
 robe and the black linen cap, to act as a small assistant." 
 
 7. Last of all, the Master ashed Tsang Sih, " Teen, 
 what are your wishes ? " Teen, pausing as he was play- 
 ing on his harpsichord, wnne it was yet twanging, laid 
 the instrument aside, and rose. " My wishes," he said, 
 "are different from the cherished purposes of these 
 three gentlemen." " What harm is there in that ? " 
 said the Master; "do you also, as well as they, speak 
 out your wishes." Teen then said, " In this, the last 
 month of spring, with the dress of the season all com- 
 plete, along with five or six young men who have 
 assumed the cap, and six or seven boys, I would wash 
 in the E, enjoy the breeze among the rain-altars, and 
 return home singing." The Master heaved a sigh and 
 said, " I give my approval to Teen." 
 
 8. The three others having gone out, Tsang Sih re- 
 mained behind, and said, " What do you think of the 
 words of these three friends?" The Master replied, 
 " They simply told each one his wishes." 
 
62 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 9. Teen pursued, "Master, why did you smile at 
 Yew?" 
 
 10. He was answered, " The management of a state 
 demands the rules of propriety. His words were not 
 humble ; therefore I smiled at him." 
 
 11. Teen again said, " But was it not a state which 
 K^ew proposed for himself?" The reply was, " Tes ; 
 did you ever see a territory of sixty or seventy le, or- 
 one of fifty or sixty, which was not a state ? " 
 
 12. Once more, Teen inquired, " And was it not a 
 state which Ch^ih proposed for himself?" The Master 
 again replied, " Tes ; who but princes have to do with 
 ancestral temples, and audiences with the Emperor ? If 
 Ch^ih were to be a small assistant in these services, who 
 could be a great one ? " 
 
 BOOK XII. YEN YUEN. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Yen Yuen asked about perfect virtue. 
 The Master said, " To subdue one's-self and return to 
 propriety, is perfect virtue. If a man can for one day 
 subdue himself and return to propriety, all under heaven 
 will ascribe perfect virtue to him. Is the practice of 
 perfect virtue from a man himself, or is it from others ?" 
 
 2. Yen Yuen said, "I beg to ask the steps of that 
 process." The Master replied, "Look not at what is 
 contrary to propriety ; listen not to what is contrary 
 to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; 
 make no movement which is contrary to propriety." 
 Yen Yuen then said, " Though I am deficient in intelli- 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 63 
 
 gence and vigour, I will make it my business to prac- 
 tice this lesson." 
 
 II. Chung-kung asked about perfect virtue. The 
 Master said, " Itis, when you go abroad, to behave to 
 every one as if you were receiving a great guest ; to 
 employ the people as if you were assisting at a great 
 sacrifice ; not to do to others as you would not wish 
 done to yourself; to have no murmuring against you 
 in the country, and none in the family." Chung-kung 
 said, " Though I am deficient in intelligence and vigour, 
 I will make it my business to practice this lesson." 
 
 III. 1. Sze-ma New asked about perfect virtue. 
 
 2. The Master said, " The man of perfect virtue is 
 cautious and slow in his speech." 
 
 3. " Cautious and slow in his speech ! " said New ; — 
 " is this what is meant by perfect virtue ? " The Master 
 said, " When a man feels the difficulty of doing, can he 
 be other than cautious and slow in speaking ? " 
 
 lY. 1. Sze-ma New asked about the superior man. 
 The Master said, " The superior man has neither anxi- 
 ety nor fear." 
 
 2. " Being without anxiety or fear ! " said New ; — 
 does this constitute what we call the superior man ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, "When internal examination dis- 
 covers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about, 
 what is there to fear ? " 
 
 Y. 1. Sze-ma New, full of anxiety, said, " Other men 
 all have their brothers, I only have not." 
 
 2.* Tsze-hea said to him, " There is the following say- 
 ing which I have heard : — 
 
 3. " ' Death and life have their determined appoint- 
 ment ; riches and honours depend upon Heaven.' 
 
 4. " Let the superior man never fail reverentially to 
 order his own conduct, and let him be respectful to 
 others and observant of propriety : — then all within 
 the four seas will be his brothers. What has the supe- 
 
64 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 rior man to do with being distressed because he has no 
 brothers?" 
 
 VI. Tsze-chang asked what constituted intelhgence. 
 The Master said, " He with whom neither slander that 
 gradually soaks into the mind, nor statements that star- 
 tle like a wound in the flesh, are successful, may be 
 called intelligent indeed. Yea, he with whom neither 
 soaking slander, nor startling statements are successful, 
 may be called far-seeing." 
 
 VII. 1. Tsze-kung asked about government. The 
 Master said, " The requisites of government are that 
 there be sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military 
 equipment, and the confidence of the people in their 
 ruler." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " If it cannot be helped, and one 
 of these must be dispensed with, which of the three 
 should be foregone first ? " " The military equipment," 
 said the Master. 
 
 2. Tsze-kung again asked, " If it cannot be helped, 
 and one of the remaining two must be dispensed with, 
 which of them should be foregone?" The Master an- 
 swered, " Part with the food. From of old, death has 
 been the lot of all men; but if the people have no 
 faith in their rulers, there is no standing for the state!' 
 
 VIII. 1. Kih Tsze-shing said, " in a superior man it 
 is only the substantial qualities that are wanted ; — ^why 
 should we seek for ornamental accomplishments ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " Alas ! Your words, sir, show you 
 to be a superior man, but four horses cannot overtake 
 the tongue. 
 
 3. " Ornament is as substance ; substance is as orna- 
 ment. The hide of a tiger or leopard stript of its hair, 
 is like the hide of a dog or goat stript of its hair." 
 
 IX. 1. The duke Gae inquired of Yew Jo, saying, 
 '■' The year is one of scarcity, and the returns for ex- 
 penditure are not sufficient ; — what is to be done ? " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 65 
 
 2. Yew Jo replied to him, " Why not simply tithe 
 the people." 
 
 3. " With two tenths," said the duke, " I find them 
 not enough ; — how could I do with that system of one 
 tenth?" 
 
 4. Yew Jo answered, " If the people have plenty, their 
 prince will not be left to want alone. If the people 
 are in want, their prince cannot enjoy plenty alone." 
 
 X. 1. Tsze-chang having asked how virtue was to 
 be exalted, and delusions to be discovered, the Master 
 said, " Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles, 
 and be moving continually to what is right ; — this is 
 the way to exalt one's virtue. 
 
 2. " You love a man and wish him to live ; you hate 
 him and wish him to die. Having wished him to live, 
 you also wish him to die. This is a case of delusion. 
 
 3. " ' It may not be on account of her being rich, yet 
 you come to make a difference.' " 
 
 XI. 1. The duke King, of Ts^e, asked Confucius 
 about government. 
 
 2. Confucius replied, " There is government, when the 
 prince is prince, and the minister is minister ; when 
 the father is father, aud the son is son." 
 
 3. " Good I " said the duke ; " if, indeed ; the prince 
 be not prince, the minister not minister, the father not 
 father, and the son not son, although I have my reve- 
 nue, can I enjoy it ? " 
 
 XII. 1. The Master said," Ah ! it is Yew, who could 
 with half a word settle litigations ! " 
 
 2. Tsze-loo never slept over a promise. 
 
 XIH. The Master said, " In hearing litigations, I am 
 like any other body. What is necessary, is to cause 
 the people to have no litigations." 
 
 XIV. Tsze-chang asked about government. The 
 Master said, " The art of governing is to keep its affairs 
 before the.mind without weariness, and to practice them 
 with un deviating consistency." 
 
66 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XV. The Master said, " By extensively studying all 
 learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of 
 the rules of propriety, one may thus likewise not err 
 from what is right." 
 
 XVI. The Master said, " The superior man seehs to 
 perfect the admirable qualities of men, and does not 
 seeh to perfect their bad qualities. The mean man does 
 the opposite of this." 
 
 XVII. Ke K^ang asked Confucius about govern- 
 ment. Confucius replied, " To govern means to rectify. 
 If you lead on the people with correctness, who will 
 dare not to be correct ? " 
 
 XVIII. Ke K^ang distressed about the number of 
 thieves in the state, inquired of Confucius about how to 
 do away with them. Confucius said. " If you, sir, were 
 not covetous, although you should reward them to do 
 it, they would not steal." 
 
 XIX. Ke K^ang asked Confucius about government, 
 saying, " What do you say to killing the unprincipled 
 for the good of the principled?" Confucius replied, 
 ^' Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you 
 use killing at all ? Let your evinced desires be for what 
 is good, and the people will be good. The relation be- 
 tween superiors and inferiors, is like that between the 
 wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the 
 wind blows across it." 
 
 XX. 1. Tsze-chang asked, " What must the officer 
 be, who may be said to be distinguished ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " What is it you call being dis- 
 tinguished ? " 
 
 3. Tsze-chang replied, " It is to be heard of through 
 the state, to be heard of through the family." 
 
 4. The Master said, "That is notoriety, not distinction. 
 
 5. " Now, the man of distinction is solid and straight- 
 forward, and loves righteousness. He examines people's 
 words, and looks at their countenances. He is anxious 
 
CONFUCUN ANALECTS. 67 
 
 to humble himself to others. Such a man will be dis- 
 .tinguished in the country ; he will be distinguished in 
 the family. 
 
 6. " As to the man of notoriety, he assumes the ap- 
 pearance of virtue, but his actions are opposed to it, 
 and he rests in this character without any doubts 
 about himself. Such a man will be heard of in the 
 country ; he will be heard of in the family." 
 
 XXI. 1. Fan-ch^e rambling with the Master under 
 the trees about the rain-altars, said, "I venture to ask 
 how to exalt virtue, to correct cherished evil, and to 
 discover delusions." 
 
 2. The Master said, " Truly a good question ! 
 
 3. '^ If doing what is to be done be made the first 
 business, and success a secondary consideration ; — is not 
 this the way to exalt virtue ? To assail one's own wick- 
 edness and not assail that of others ; — is not this the way 
 to correct cherished evil ? For a morning's anger, to dis- 
 regard one's own life, and involve that of his parents ; 
 — is not this a case of delusion ? " 
 
 XXII. 1. Fan-ch^e asked about benevolence. The 
 Master said, " It is to love all men." He asked about 
 knowledge. The Master said, " It is to know all men." 
 
 2. Fan Ch^e did not immediately understand these 
 answers. 
 
 3. The Master said, "Employ the upright and put 
 aside all the crooked ; — in this way, the crooked can be 
 made to be upright." 
 
 4. Fan Clre retired, and seeing Tsze-hea, he said to 
 him, " A little ago, I had an interview with our Master, 
 and asked him about knowledge. He said, ' Employ 
 the upright, and put aside all the crooked ; — in this way, 
 the crooked can be made to be upright.' What did he 
 mean?" 
 
 5. Tsze-hea said, " Truly rich is his saying ! 
 
 6. " Shun, boing in possession of the empire, selected 
 
68 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 from among all the people and employed Kaou-yaou, 
 on which all who were devoid of virtue disappeared. 
 T^ang being in possession of the empire, selected from 
 among all the people, and employed E-yin, and all who 
 were devoid of virtue disappeared." 
 
 XXIII. Tsze-kung asked about friendship. The 
 Master said, "Faithfully admonish your friend^ and 
 kindly try to lead him. If you find him impracticable, 
 stop. Do not disgrace yourself" 
 
 XXI Y. The philosopher Tsang said, " The superior 
 man on literary grounds meets with his friends, and by 
 their friendship helps his virtue." 
 
 BOOK Xm. TSZE-LOO. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Tsze-loo asked about government. 
 The Master said, " Go before the people with your ex- 
 ample, and be laborious in their affairs." 
 
 2. He requested further instruction, and was an- 
 swered, "Be not weary in these things." 
 
 II. 1. Chung-kung, being chief minister to the head 
 of the Ke family, asked about government. The Mas- 
 ter said, "Employ first the services of your various 
 ofl&cers, pardon small faults, and raise to office men of 
 virtue and talents." 
 
 2. Chung-kung said, " How shall I know the men of 
 virtue and talents, so that I may raise them to office ? " 
 He was answered, "Raise to office those whom you 
 know. As to those whom you do not know, will others 
 neglect them ? " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 69 
 
 in. 1. Tsze-loo saidj " The prince of Wei has been 
 waiting for you, in order with you to administer the 
 government. What will you consider the first thing to 
 be done ? " 
 
 2. The Master replied^ " What is necessary is to rec- 
 tify names." 
 
 3. " So, indeed ! " said Tsze-loo. " You are wide of 
 the mark. Why must there be such rectification ? " 
 
 4. The Master said, " How uncultivated you are, 
 Yew ! A superior man, in regard to what he does not 
 know, shows a cautious reserve." 
 
 5. " If names be not correct, language is not in ac- 
 cordance with the truth of things. If language be not 
 in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot 
 be carried on to success. 
 
 6. " When affairs cannot be carried on to success, 
 proprieties and music will not flourish. When proprie- 
 ties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be 
 properly awarded. When punishments are not proper- 
 ly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand 
 or foot. 
 
 7. " Therefore a superior man considers it necessary 
 that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, 
 and also that what he speaks may be carried out ap- 
 propriately. What the superior man requires, is just 
 that in his words there may be nothing incorrect." 
 
 IV. 1. Fan Ch^e requested to be taught husbandry. 
 The Master said, " I am not so good for that as an old 
 husbandman." He requested also to be taught garden- 
 ing, and was answered, " I am not so good for that as 
 an old gardener." 
 
 2. Fan Ch^e having gone out, the Master said, "A 
 small man, indeed, is Fan Sen ! " 
 
 3. " If a superior love propriety, the people will not 
 dare not to be reverent. If he love righteousness, the 
 people will not dare not to submit to his example. If 
 
 8 
 
70 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 he love good faith, the people will not dare not to be 
 sincere. Now, when these things obtain, the people 
 from all quarters will come to him, bearing their chil- 
 dren on their backs. What need has he of a knowledge 
 of husbandry ? " 
 
 y. The Master said, " Though a man may be able 
 to recite the three hundred odes, yet if, when in- 
 trusted with a govermental charge, he knows not how 
 to act, or if, when sent to any quarter on a mission, he 
 cannot give his replies unassisted, notwithstanding the 
 extent of his learning, of what practical use is it ? " 
 
 VI. The Master said, "When a prince's personal 
 conduct is correct, his government is effective without 
 the issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not 
 correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be fol- 
 lowed." 
 
 VII. The Master said, " The governments of Loo and 
 Wei are brothers." 
 
 VIII. The Master said of King, a scion of the ducal 
 family of Wei, that he knew the economy of a family 
 well. When he began to have means, he said, " Ha ! 
 here is a collection ! " when they were a little increased, 
 he said, "Ha ! this is complete ! " when he had become 
 rich, he said, " Ha ! this is admirable ! " 
 
 IX. 1. When the Master went to Wei, Yen Yew 
 acted as driver of his carriage. 
 
 2. The Master observed, "How numerous are the 
 people ! " 
 
 3. Yew said, " Since they are thus numerous, what 
 more shall be done for them ? " " Enrich them," was the 
 reply. 
 
 4. " And when they have been enriched, what more 
 shall be done ? " The Master said, " Teach them." 
 
 X. The Master said, ^' If there were any of the 
 princes who would employ me, in the course of twelve 
 months, I should have done something considerable. 
 In three years, the government would be perfected." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 71 
 
 XI. The Master said, " ' If good men were to govern 
 a country in succession for a hundred years, they would 
 be able to transform the violently bad, and dispense with 
 capital punishments.' True indeed is this saying ! " 
 
 XII. The Master said, " If a truly royal ruler were 
 to arise, it would still require a generation, and then 
 virtue would prevail." 
 
 XIII. The Master said, "If a minister make his own 
 conduct correct, what difficulty will he have in assist- 
 ing in government ? If he cannot rectify himself, what 
 has he to do with rectifying others ? " 
 
 XIV. The disciple Yen returning from the court, 
 the Master said to him, " How are you so late ? " He 
 replied, " We had government business." The Master 
 said, " It must have been family affairs. If there had 
 been government business, though I am not now in 
 office, I should have been consulted about it." 
 
 XY. 1. The duke Ting asked whether there was a 
 single sentence which could make a country prosper- 
 ous. Confucius replied, " Such an effect cannot be ex- 
 pected from one sentence. 
 
 2. " There is a saying, however, which people have — 
 ^ To be a prince is difficult; to be a minister is not easy.' 
 
 3. " If a ruler knows this, — the difficulty of being a 
 prince, — may there not be expected from this one sen- 
 tence the prosperity of his country ? " 
 
 4. The duke then said, " Is there a single sentence 
 which can ruin a country ? " Confucius replied, " Such 
 an effect as that cannot be expected from one sentence. 
 There is, however, the saying which people have — ^ I 
 have no pleasure in being a prince, only in that no one 
 offer any opposition to what I say ! ' 
 
 5. " If a rulefs words be good, is it not also good 
 that no one oppose them ? But if they are not good, 
 and no one opposes them, may there not be expected 
 from this one sentence the ruin of his country ? " 
 
72 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XVI. 1. The duke of She asked about government. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Good government ohtains^when 
 those who are near are made happy, and those who are 
 far off are attracted." 
 
 XYII. Tsze-hea, being governor of Keu-foo, asked 
 about government. The Master said, " Do not be de- 
 sirous to have things done quickly; do not look at 
 small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly 
 prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at 
 small advantages prevents great affairs from being ac- 
 complished." 
 
 XVIII. 1. The duke of She informed Confucius, say- 
 ing, " Among us here there are those who may be styled 
 upright in their conduct. If their father have stolen a 
 sheep, they will bear witness to the fact." 
 
 2. Confucius said, " Among us, in our part of the 
 country, those who are upright are different from this. 
 The father conceals the misconduct of the son, and the 
 son conceals the misconduct of the father. Upright- 
 ness is to be found in this." 
 
 XIX. Fan Ch^e asked about perfect virtue. The 
 Master said, " It is, in retirement, to be sedately grave ; 
 in the management of business, to be reverently atten- 
 tive ; in intercourse with others, to be strictly sincere. 
 Though a man go among rude uncultivated tribes, these 
 qualities may not be neglected." 
 
 XX. 1. Tsze-kung asked, saying, "What qualities 
 must a man possess to entitle him to be called an offi- 
 cer ? " The Master said, " He who in his conduct of 
 himself maintains a sense of shame, and when sent to 
 any quarter will not disgrace his prince's commission, 
 deserves to be called an officer." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung pursued, " I venture to ask who may be 
 placed in the next lower rank ? " and he was told, "He 
 whom the circle of his relatives pronounce to be filial, 
 whom his fellow- villagers and neighbours pronounce to 
 be fraternal." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 73 
 
 3. Again the disciple asked, " I venture to ask about 
 the class still next in order." The Master said, " They 
 are determined to be sincere in what they say, and to 
 carry out what they do. They are obstinate little men. 
 Yet perhaps they may make the next class." 
 
 4. Tsze-kung finally inquired, " Of what sort are 
 those of the present day, who engage in government ? " 
 The Master said, " Pooh ! they are so many pecks and 
 hampers, not worth being taken into account." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " Since I cannot get men 
 pursuing the due medium, to- whom I might communi- 
 cate my instructions, I must find the ardent and the 
 cautiously-decided. The ardent will advance and lay 
 hold of truth; the cautiously-decided will keep them- 
 selves from what is wrong." 
 
 XXII. 1. The Master said, "The people of the 
 south have a saying — ' A man without -constancy can- 
 not be either a wizard or a doctor.' Good ! 
 
 2. " Inconstant in his virtue, he will be visited with 
 disgrace." 
 
 3. The Master said, "This arises simply from not 
 prognosticating." 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, " The superior man is affa- 
 ble, but not adulatory ; the mean is adulatory, but not 
 affable." 
 
 XXIY. Tsze-kung asked saying, " "What do you say 
 of a man who is loved by all the people of his village ? *' 
 The Master replied, " We may not for that accord our 
 approval of him." " And what do you say of him who 
 is hated by all the people his village ? " The Master 
 said, " We may not for that conclude that he is bad. It 
 is better than either of these cases that the good in the 
 village love him, and the bad hate him." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, " The superior man is easy 
 to serve and difficult to please. If you try to please 
 him in any way which is not accordant with right, he 
 
74 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 will not be pleased. But in his employment of men, 
 he uses them according to their capacity. The mean 
 man is difficult to serve, and easy to please. If you 
 try to please him, though it be in a way which is not 
 accordant with right, he may be pleased. But in his 
 employment of men, he wishes them to be equal to 
 everything." 
 
 XXVI. The Master said, " The superior man has a 
 dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride 
 without a dignified ease." 
 
 XXYII. The Master said, " The firm, the enduring, 
 the simple, and the modest, are near to virtue." 
 
 XXVIII. Tsze-loo asked saying, "What qualities 
 must a man possess to entitle him to be called a schol- 
 ar ? " The Master said, " He must be thus, — earnest, 
 urgent, and bland: — among his friends, earnest and 
 urgent ; among his brethren, bland." 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, " Let a good man teach 
 the people seven years, and they may then likewise be 
 employed in war." 
 
 XXX. The Master said, " To lead an uninstructed 
 people to war. is to throw them away." 
 
 BOOK XIV. HEEN-WAN. 
 
 Chapter I. Heen asked what was shameful. The 
 Master said, " When good government prevails in a 
 state, to he thinking only of his salary ; and, when bad 
 government prevails, to he thinking, in the same way^ 
 only of his salary ; — this is shameful." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 75 
 
 II. 1. "When the love of superiority, boasting, re- 
 sentments, and covetousness are repressed, may this be 
 deemed perfect virtue ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " This may be regarded as the 
 achievement of what is difficult. But I do not know 
 that it is to be deemed perfect virtue." 
 
 III. The Master said, " The scholar who cherishes 
 the love of comfort, is not fit to be deemed a scholar." 
 
 IV. The Master said, " When good government pre- 
 vails in a state, language may be lofty and bold, and ac- 
 tions the same. When bad government prevails, the 
 actions may be lofty and bold, but the language may 
 be with some reserve." 
 
 y. The Master said, " The virtuous will be sure to 
 speak correctly, but those whose speech is good may not 
 always be virtuous. Men of principle are sure to be 
 bold, but those who are bold may not always be men of 
 principle." 
 
 VI. Nan-kung Kwoh, submitting an inquiry to Con- 
 fucius, said, " E was skilful at archery, and Ngaou could 
 move a boat along upon the land, but neither of them 
 died a natural death. Yu and Tseih personally wrought 
 at the toils of husbandry, and they became possessors 
 of the empire." The Master made no reply ; but when 
 Nan-kung Kwoh went out, he said, " A superior man in- 
 deed is this ! An esteemer of virtue indeed is this ! " 
 
 VII. The Master said, " Superior men, and yet not 
 always virtuous, there have been, alas ! But there 
 never has been a mean man, and, at the same time, vir- 
 tuous." 
 
 VIII. The Master said, " Can there be love which 
 does not lead to strictness with its object ? Can there 
 be loyalty which does not lead to the instruction of its 
 object?" 
 
 IX. The Master said, "In preparing the govern- 
 mental notifications, P*e Shin first made the rough 
 
76 OIIINBSlJ! CLASS108. 
 
 dmiighi; Sho-Hhuh oxdiriincd and. diHoiiwHed iis con- 
 tontM; 1V/(3-yti, tho manager of Foreign intercourse, 
 then made additionM, or Hubtractionn ; and, finally, Tsze- 
 eh^an of Tung-lo gave it the proper elegance and fin- 
 ish." 
 
 X. 1. Some one awked about THze-cli'an. The Mas- 
 tor said, " fT(; wns a kind man/' 
 
 2. lie uHked about Tsze-se. The Master said, "That 
 man I That man I " # 
 
 l], TIiMiMked nJ)()ut Kwan Chimg. "For birn," said 
 the Master, *^ the city ol' P'een, with tbree hundred liim- 
 ilies, was taken from tlie chief of the Pih family, who 
 <lid not iHlcr a mnnnurlug word, tliougb, till he was 
 toothlesH, be iiiid only coarse rice to eat." 
 
 XL T\w Master said, " To be poor without murmuiv 
 ing is dilllcult. To be rich without being proud is 
 easy." 
 
 XII. T\m Master said, "Mang Kung-ch'o is more 
 than (It to be cbieC olficcr in tlu^ linnines of Chaou and 
 Wei' but lie is not lit to be minister to either of the 
 mtates T'ang or See." 
 
 XI II. 1. Tsze-1 00 asked what constituted a com in.KTK 
 man. Tbe Master sjiid, "Suppose a man with the 
 knowledge of Tsang Woo-chung, the freedom from cov- 
 etousiu»ss of Kimg-(^h*o, tlui bravery of Chwnng of 
 Peen, and tlie varied tidcnis of Yen K*ew; add to 
 these the aecompHshments of the rules of propriety 
 and music : — such an one might bo reckoned a complete 
 man." 
 
 2. He then added, " But what is the necessity for a 
 cotnpl(»te nuin of the present day to have all th(\sc 
 things? Tbe man, who in the view of gain (hinks of 
 righteousness ; who in the view of danger is prepared 
 to give up his life ; and who does not forget an old 
 agreement, however far back it extends: — such a man 
 may bo reckoned a complete man." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 77 
 
 XIV. I. Tlio MiiHlcr askocl Kiing-minp^ Koa al)Oiit 
 Kiinfi;-Hlnili Wnu, Mnyin;';, " Im il, l,ni(^ iJuii your iniiHtur 
 H|)(MikH noi-, Imii'I! im'I .md IhJu^m no^V" 
 
 U. KuM;j;-iniii;.; I\r;i i r plird, " 'I^Ihm Iimh JirinnTi A'OTU tlio 
 r(^|)()r'l-(»rM f.';<)iiiH; JK^yond /ha InUh,. — ^My MiiHlcr h|mmiI(m 
 when il. Ih I Ik* (mim- I«> .'pciik, and ho iruMi do not gri. 
 iir(MJ of liin Hj)<'jd\ni|.',, Ih^ lnii<i,liH when fli<i<» in occur 
 Mion to l)(^ joyrul, and ho men do not •'< I lixd of liin 
 lau|^liin^'. Iln talu^H vvlicn it, is <(mi i (< ni wMJi rjg'lijr 
 (^oiiHn(!HH l-o do HO, and ho men do nol, gel, lord oC liin 
 iakinK." '1'Ik' MiiMJ-c^r nnid, "So! Wwl in it ho willi lilmr 
 
 XV. The MiiMlcr Hjiid, " THang' Woo-clnin I « <|)in^ 
 pOHMCMMJon of I<\mi"-. :i; Icfl of thr (InJcc <tf Ij<m» io np- 
 poiid, a HUcccMMOf («> l.iin /;/ ///,, IdinUy. Alllion^'li it 
 mji\ I" lid iliat li< \\.> iml, uMing Inici- wilh liin «ov- 
 
 crci;-!!, I l>cli(»VC lir WUM. ' 
 
 XVI. The MiiMlcf HMJd, "Til.' diil.r Wan of 'iHin waH 
 v.vnWy iiiid iioT ii|>ii;'li( Tlic duke llvvan of 'IV(^ wjim 
 n|»ri|bi,'hl. mid im»(, rmK.y." 
 
 XVII. I. Tm/c-Ioo Mnid, ^'riic dul.c llvvnn cauHcd 
 
 ll'lH brni Im'I Kc\v (o Im- l.illcd, wlidi ;'Ii:m»ii IIwuIi dic(| 
 vnlJt hlx HiaHlcr, \u\\. \\\\;y\\ ('liiin^- flid nol. (Ii(\ JVIn,y 
 not I Hay I lint he wan waiitin<i' in virtn**V" 
 
 2. ThV .M..:,hT.;iid,-'rh.- duke Ilwan aM.m.M.-d all 
 tli(^ [niiHTM l,oM(.|||rr, mid (h.ii not with weapon.M of war 
 and cIm-riotH : - it wjihjiII throiifdi the InlhicnccM)!* Kwan 
 
 (vhini)^*. Who;r ImiicCi.mm.c w.i:: hk<' his? WhoHO h(i- 
 
 n(^(icenc<i wiis hke hi.s V '" 
 
 XVIII. I. 'rH/(skun^ Hai(], " Kw.in ( 'hiiiin;, I npplMS 
 linnd, wan wanting in virtues, When [Im- finite llwnii 
 (!n.nH(Ml hin hrother K(?w to h(^ killed, Kwnn ('hnn - \v;im 
 not ahl(^ to di(^ with him. JVIor(iovc?r, Ik? Ixic.june piinie 
 miniHlcr lo 1 1 wjin." 
 
 "1. TIk? Muster Haifl, "Kwan Chnn"- nrlcd an ])rim(! 
 miniHter to tlw diik<' llwjiri, nutde him k .idcr of nil th(5 
 pnii<< iiid iiiiir<'d :ind icclirM-d Uir wJiok- rmpjro. 
 
78 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 Down to the present day, the people enjoy the gifts 
 which he conferred. But for Kwan Chung, we should 
 now be wearing our hair dishevelled, and the lappets of 
 our coats buttoning on the left side. 
 
 3. " Will you require from him the small fidelity of 
 common men and common women, who would commit 
 suicide in a stream or ditch, no one knowing any thing 
 about them ? " 
 
 XIX. 1. The officer. Seen, who had been family- 
 minister to Kung-shuh Wan, ascended to the prince's 
 court in company with Wan. 
 
 2. The Master, having heard of it, said, " He deserves 
 to be considered wan." 
 
 XX. 1. The Master was speaking about the unprin- 
 cipled course of the duke Ling of Wei, when Ke K^ang 
 said, " Since he is of such a character, how is it he does 
 not lose his throne ? " 
 
 2. Confucius said, " The Chung-shuh, Yu, has the su- 
 perintendence of his guests and of strangers ; the lit- 
 anist, T^o, has the management of his ancestral temple ; 
 and Wang-sun Kea has the direction of the army and 
 forces : — with such officers as these, how should he lose 
 his throne ? " 
 
 XXI. The Master said, "He who speaks without 
 modesty will find it difficult to make his words good." 
 
 XXII. 1. Ch^in Shing murdered the duke Keen of 
 Ts'e, 
 
 2. Confucius bathed, went to court, and informed the 
 duke Gae, saying, " Ch^in Hang has slain his sovereign. 
 I beg that you will undertake to punish him." 
 
 3. The duke said, "Inform the chiefs of the three 
 families of it." 
 
 4. Confucius retired, and said, " Following in the rear 
 of the great officers, I did not dare not to represent 
 such a matter, and my prince says, ' Inform the chiefs 
 of the three families of it.' " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 79 
 
 5. He went to the chiefs, and informed them, but 
 they would not act. Confucius then said, " Following 
 in the rear of the great officers, I did not dare not to 
 represent such a matter." 
 
 XXIII. Tsze-loo asked how a sovereign should be 
 served. The Master said, " Do not impose on him, and, 
 moreover, withstand him to his face." 
 
 XXIV. The Master said, " The progress of the su- 
 perior man is upwards ; The progress of the mean man 
 is downwards." 
 
 XX Y. The Master said, "In ancient times, men 
 learned with a view to their own improvement. Now- 
 a-days, men learn with a view to the approbation of 
 others." 
 
 XXVI. 1. Keu Pih-yuh sent a messenger with 
 friendly inquiries to Confucius. 
 
 2. Confucius sat with him, and questioned him. 
 " What," said he, " is your master engaged in ? " The 
 messenger replied, " My master is anxious to make his 
 faults few, but he has not yet succeeded." He then 
 went out and the Master said, " A messenger indeed ! 
 A messenger indeed!" 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, "He who is not in any 
 particular office, has nothing to do with plans for the 
 administration of its duties." 
 
 XXVIII. The philosopher Tsang said, "The supe- 
 rior man, in his thoughts, does not go out of his place." 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, "The superior man is 
 modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions." 
 
 XXX. 1. The Master said, "The way of the supe- 
 rior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtu- 
 ous, he is free from anxieties ; wise, he is free from per- 
 plexities ; bold, he is free from fear." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " Master, that is what you yourself 
 say." 
 
 XXXI. Tsze-kung was in the habit of comparing 
 
80 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 men together. The Master said, " Ts^ze must have 
 reached a high pitch of excellence ! Now, I have not 
 leisure /or this" 
 
 XXXII. The Master said, " I will not be concerned 
 at men's not knowing me ; I will be concerned at my 
 own want of ability." 
 
 XXXIII. The Master said, " He who does not anti- 
 cipate attempts to deceive him, nor think beforehand of 
 his not being believed, and yet apprehends these things 
 readily when they occur ; is he not a man of superior 
 worth?" 
 
 XXXiy. 1. We-shang Mow said to Confucius, 
 " K^ew, how is it that you keep roosting about? Is it 
 not that you are an insinuating talker ? " 
 
 2. Confucius said, " I do not dare to play the part of 
 such a talker, but I hate obstinacy." 
 
 XXXY. The Master said, " A horse is called a ¥e, 
 mot because of its strength, but because of its other 
 good qualities." 
 
 XXXYI. 1. Some one said, " What do you say con- 
 cerning the principle that injury should be recom- 
 pensed with kindness ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " With what then will you rec- 
 ompense kindness ? 
 
 3. " Recompense injury with justice, and recompense 
 kindness with kindness." 
 
 XXXVII 1. The Master said, "Alas! there is no 
 one that knows me." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " What do you mean by thus say- 
 ing — that no one knows you ? " The Master replied, 
 '^ I do not murmer against Heaven. I do not grumble 
 against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration 
 rises high. But there is Heaven ; — that knows me ! " 
 
 XXXVIII. 1. The Kung-pih, Leaou, having slan- 
 dered Tsze-loo to Ke-sun, Tsze-fuk King-pih informed 
 Confucius of it, saying, " Our master is certainly being 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 81 
 
 led astray by the Kung-pih, Leaou, but I have still 
 power enough left to cut Leaou off, and expose his 
 corpse in the market and in the court. 
 
 2. The Master said, " If my principles are to advance, 
 it is so ordered. If they are to fall to the ground, it is 
 so ordered. What can the Kung-pih, Leaou, do, where 
 such ordering is concerned ? " 
 
 XXXIX. 1. The Master said, " Some men of worth 
 retire from the world. 
 
 2. " Some retire from particular countries. 
 
 3. " Some retire because of disrespectful looks. 
 
 4. " Some retire because of contradictory language." 
 XL. The Master said, " Those who have done this 
 
 are seven men." 
 
 XLI. Tsze-loo happening to pass the night in Shih- 
 mun, the gate-keeper said to him, '' Whom do you come 
 from ? " Tsze-loo said, " From Mr. K'ung." " It is he, 
 — is it not ? " — said the other, " who knows the imprac- 
 ticable nature of the times, and yet will be doing in 
 them." 
 
 XLII. 1. The Master was playing, one day, on a 
 musical stone in Wei, when a man, carrying a straw 
 basket, passed the door of the house where Confucius 
 was, and said, " His heart is full who so beats the musi- 
 cal stone." 
 
 2. A little while after, he added, " How contemptible 
 is the one-ideaed obstinacy those sounds display ! When 
 one is taken no notice of, he has simply at once to give 
 over his wish for public employment. ' Deep water 
 must be crossed with the clothes on; shallow w^ater 
 may be crossed with the clothes held up.' " 
 
 3. The Master said, " How determined is he in his 
 purpose ! But this is not difficult." 
 
 XLIII. 1. Tsze-chang said, " What is meant when 
 the SHOO says that Kaou-tsung, while observing the 
 usual imperial mourning, was for three years without 
 speaking ? " 
 
82 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Why must Kaou-tsung he re- 
 ferred to as an example of this ? The ancients all did 
 so. When the sovereign died, the officers all attended 
 to their several duties, taking instructions from the 
 prime minister for three years. " 
 
 XLIV. The Master said, " When rulers love to ob- 
 serve the rules of propriety, the people respond readily 
 to the calls on them for service. " 
 
 XLY. Tsze-loo asked what constituted the superior 
 man. The Master said, " The cultivation of himself in 
 reverential carefulness." " And is this all ? " said Tsze- 
 loo. "He cultivates himself so as to give rest to others," 
 was the reply. " And is this all ? " again asked Tsze- 
 loo. The Master said, " He cultivates himself so as to 
 give rest to all the people. He cultivates himself so 
 as to give rest to all the people : — even Yaou and Shun 
 were still solicitous about this." 
 
 XL VI. Yuen Jang was squatting on his heels, and 
 so waited the approach of the Master, who said to him, 
 "In youth, not humble as befits a junior; in manhood, 
 doing nothing worthy of being handed down ; and liv- 
 ing on to old age : — this is to be a pest." With this he 
 hit him on the shank with his staff. 
 
 XLYII. 1. A youth of the village of K^eueh was 
 employed by Confucius to carry the messages between 
 him and his visitors. Some one asked about him, say- 
 ing, " I suppose he has made great progress." 
 
 2. The Master said, " I observe that he is fond of oc- 
 cupying the seat of a full-grown man; I observe that 
 he walks shoulder to shoulder with his elders. He is 
 not one who is seeking to make progress in learning. 
 He wishes quickly to become a man." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 83 
 
 BOOK XV. WET LING KUNG. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The duke Ling of Wei asked Confu- 
 cius about tactics. Confucius replied, " I have heard 
 all about sacrificial vessels, but I have not learned mil- 
 itary matters." On this, he took his departure the 
 next day. 
 
 2. When he was in Ch^in, their provisions were ex- 
 hausted, and his followers became so ill that they were 
 unable to rise. 
 
 3. Tsze-loo, with evident dissatisfaction, said, " Has 
 the superior man likewise to endure in this way ? " 
 The Master said, " The superior man may indeed have 
 to endure want, but the mean man, when he is in want, 
 gives way to unbridled license." 
 
 IL 1. The Master said, " Ts^ze, you think, I suppose, 
 that I am one who learns many things and keeps them 
 in memory ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung replied, "Yes, — but perhaps it is not so ?" 
 
 3. "No," was the answer; "I seek a unity all-per- 
 vading." 
 
 III. The Master said, " Yew, those who know virtue 
 are few." 
 
 IV. The Master said, " May not Shun be instanced 
 as having governed efficiently without exertion ? What 
 did he do ? He did nothing but gravely and reverently 
 occupy his imperial seat." 
 
 V. 1. Tsze-chang asked how a man might conduct 
 himself, so as to he everywhere appreciated. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Let his words be sincere and 
 truthful, and his actions honorable and careful ; — such 
 conduct may be practiced among the rude tribes of the 
 
84 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 South or the North. If his words be not sincere and 
 truthful, and his actions not honorable and careful, will 
 he, with such conduct, be appreciated, even in his neigh- 
 bourhood ? 
 
 3. " "When he is standing, let him see those two 
 things, as it were fronting him. When he is in a car- 
 riage, let him see them attached to the yoke. Then 
 may he subsequently carry them into practice." 
 
 4. Tsze-chang wrote these counsels on the end of 
 his sash. 
 
 VI. 1. The Master said, "Truly straightforward was 
 the historiographer Yu. When good government pre- 
 vailed in his state, he was like an arrow. When bad 
 government prevailed, he was like an arrow. 
 
 2. "A superior man indeed is Keu Pih-yuh ! When 
 good government prevails in his state, he is to be found 
 in office. When bad government prevails, he can roll 
 his principles up, and keeps them in his breast." 
 
 VII. The Master said, " When a man may be spoken 
 with, not to speak to him is to err in reference to the 
 man. When a man may not be spoken with, to speak 
 to him is to err in reference to our words. The wise 
 err neither in regard to their man nor to their words." 
 
 ■ VIII. The Master said, "The determined scholar 
 and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the ex- 
 pense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacri- 
 fice their lives to preserve their virtue complete." 
 
 IX. Tsze-kung asked about the practice of virtue. 
 The Master said, " The mechanic, who wishes to do his 
 work well, must first sharpen his tools. When you are 
 hving in any state, take service with the most worthy 
 among its great officers, and make friends of the most 
 virtuous among its scholars." 
 
 X. 1. Yen Yuen asked how the government of a 
 country should be administered. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Follow the seasons of Hea. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 85 
 
 3. " Ride in the state carriage of Yin. 
 
 4. " Wear the ceremonial cap of Chow. 
 
 5. " Let the music be the Shaou with its pantomimes. 
 
 6. " Banish the songs of Ch^ing, and keep far from 
 specious talkers. The songs of Ch'ing are licentious ; 
 specious talkers are dangerous. " 
 
 XI. The Master said, " If a man take no thought 
 about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand. " 
 
 XII. The Master said, "It is all over! I have not 
 seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty. " 
 
 XIII. The Master said, " Was not Tsang Wan like 
 one who had stolen his situation ? He knew the virtue 
 and the talents of Hwuy of Lew-hea, and yet did not 
 procure that he should stand with him in court. " 
 
 XIY. The Master said, "He who requires much 
 from himself and little from others, will keep himself 
 from heing the object of resentment. " 
 
 XV. The Master said, " When a man is not in the 
 7ia6i^ o/ saying— ^ What shall I think of this? What 
 shall I think of this ? I can indeed do nothing with 
 him ! " 
 
 XYI. The Master said, " When a number of people 
 are together, for a whole day, without their conversa- 
 tion turning on righteousness, and when they are fond 
 of carrying out the suggestions of a small shrewdness ; 
 — theirs is indeed a hard case." 
 
 XVII. The Master said, " The superior man in every- 
 thing considers righteousness to be essential. He per- 
 forms it according to the rules of propriety. He brings 
 it forth in humility. He completes it with sincerity. 
 This is indeed a superior man." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " The superior man is dis- 
 tressed by his want of ability. He is not distressed by 
 men's not knowing him." 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " The superior man dislikes 
 
 10 
 
86 CHINLSE CLASSICS. 
 
 the thought of his name not being mentioned after his 
 death." 
 
 XX. The Master said, "What the superior man 
 seeks, is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in 
 others." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " The superior man is digni- 
 fied, but does not wrangle. He is sociable, but not a 
 partizan." 
 
 XXn. The Master said, " The superior man does 
 not promote a man simply on account of his words, 
 nor does he put aside good words because of the man." 
 
 XXIII. Tsze-kung asked, saying, " Is there one 
 word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's 
 life ? " The Master said, " Is not reciprocity such a 
 word ? What you do not want done to yourself, do 
 not do to others." 
 
 XXIY. 1. The Master said, " In my dealings with 
 men, whose evil do I blame, whose goodness do I praise, 
 beyond what is proper ? If I do sometimes exceed in 
 praise, there must be ground for it in my examination 
 of the individual. 
 
 2. " This people supplied the ground why the three 
 dynasties pursued the path of straightforwardness." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, " Even in my early days, a 
 historiographer would leave a blank in his text, and he 
 who had a horse would lend him to another to ride. 
 Now, alas ! there are no such things." 
 
 XXYI. The Master said, " Specious words confound 
 virtue. Want of forbearance in small matters con- 
 founds great plans." 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, "When the multitude 
 hate a man, it is necessary to examine into the case. 
 When the multitude like a man, it is necessary to ex- 
 amine into the case." 
 
 XXVIII. The Master said, " A man can enlarge the 
 principles which he follows ; those principles do not 
 enlarge the man." 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 87 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, "To have faults and not 
 to reform them, — this, indeed, should be pronounced 
 having faults." 
 
 XXX. The Master said, "I have been the whole 
 day without eating, and the whole night without sleep- 
 ing : — occupied with thinking. It was of no use. The 
 better plan is to learn." 
 
 XXXI. The Master said, " The object of the su- 
 perior man is truth. Food is not his object. There 
 is ploughing; — even in that there is sometimes want. 
 So with learning ; — emolument may be found in it. 
 The superior man is anxious lest he should not get 
 truth ; he is not anxious lest poverty should come upon 
 him." 
 
 XXXII. 1. The Master said, " When a man's knowl- 
 edge is sufficient to attain, and his virtue is not suffi- 
 cient to enable him to hold, whatever he may have 
 gained, he will lose again. 
 
 2. " When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, and 
 he has virtue enough to hold fast, if he cannot gov- 
 ern with dignity, the people will not respect him. 
 
 3. " When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, and 
 he has virtue enough to hold fast ; when he governs 
 also with dignity, yet if he try to move the people con- 
 trary to the rules of propriety : — full excellence is 
 not reached." 
 
 XXXIII. The Master said, " The superior man can- 
 not be known in little matters ; but he may be intrust- 
 ed with great concerns. The small man may not be 
 intrusted with great concerns, but he may be known 
 in little matters." 
 
 XXXIY. The Master said, "Virtue is more to 
 man than either water or fire. I have seen men die 
 from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen 
 a man die from treading the course of virtue." 
 
 XXXY. The Master said, " Let every man consider 
 
88 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 virtue as what devolves on himself. He may not yield 
 the performance of it even to his teacher." 
 
 XXXVI. The Master said, "The superior man is 
 correctly firm, and not firm merely." 
 
 XXXVII. The Master said, " A minister, in serving 
 his prince, reverently discharges his duties, and makes 
 his emolument a secondary consideration." 
 
 XXXVIII. The Master said, " There being instruc- 
 tion, there will be no distinction of classes." 
 
 XXXIX. The Master said, " Those whose courses 
 are different cannot lay plans for one another." 
 
 XL. The Master said, " In language it is simply re- 
 quired that it convey the meaning." 
 
 XLI. 1. The Music-master, Meen, having called 
 upon him, when they came to the steps, the Master 
 said, " Here are the steps." When they came to the 
 mat /or the guest to sit upon, he said, " Here is the mat." 
 When all were seated, the Master informed him, saying, 
 " So and so is here ; so and so is here." 
 
 2. The Music-master, Meen, having gone out, Tsze- 
 chang asked, saying, " Is it the rule to tell those things 
 to the Music-master ?" 
 
 3. The Master said, " Yes. This is certainly the rule 
 for those who lead the blind." 
 
 BOOK XVI KE SHE. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The head of the Ke family was going 
 to attack Chuen-yu. 
 
 2. Yen Yew and Ke Loo had an interview with Con- 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 89 
 
 fucius, and said, " Our chief, Ke, is going to commence 
 operations against Chuen-yu." 
 
 3. Confucius said, -^ K^ew, is it not you who are in 
 fault here ? 
 
 4. " Now, in regard to Chuen-yu, long ago, a former 
 king appointed it to preside over the sacrifices to the 
 eastern Mung ; moreover, it is in the midst of the terri- 
 tory of our state ; and its ruler is a minister in direct 
 connexion with the emperor : — What has your chief 
 to do with attacking it ? " 
 
 5. Yen Yew said, " Our master wishes the thing ; 
 neither of us two ministers wishes it." 
 
 6. Confucius said, "K^ew, there are the words of 
 Chow Jin, — 'When he can put forth his ability, he 
 takes his place in the ranks of office ; when he finds 
 himself unable to do so, he retires from it. How can 
 he be used as a guide to a blind man, who does not sup- 
 port him when tottering, nor raise him up when fallen?' 
 
 7. " And further, you speak wrongly. When a ti- 
 ger or wild bull escapes from his cage ; when a tortoise 
 or gem is injured in its repository : — ^whose is the fault ?" 
 
 8. Yen Yew said, " But at present, Chuen-yu is strong 
 and near to Pe ; if our chief do not now take it, it will 
 hereafter be a sorrow to his descendants." 
 
 9. Confucius said, "K'ew, the superior man hates 
 that declining to say — ' I want such and such a thing,* 
 and framing explanations for the conduct. 
 
 10. "I have heard that rulers of states and chiefs of 
 families are not troubled lest their people should be few, 
 but are troubled lest they should not keep their sev- 
 eral places ; that they are not troubled with fears of 
 poverty, but are troubled with fears of a want of con- 
 tented repose among the people in their several places. 
 For when the people keep their several places, there 
 will be no poverty ; when harmony prevails, there will 
 be no scarcity of people ; and when there is such a 
 contented repose, there will be no rebellious upsetting'*'. 
 
90 CfflNESE CLASSICS. 
 
 11. " So it is. — Therefore, if remoter people are not 
 submissive, all the influences of civil culture and virtue 
 are to be cultivated to attract them to be so ; and when 
 they have been so attracted, they must be made con- 
 tented and tranquil. 
 
 12. " Now, here are you. Yew and K^ew, assisting 
 your chief Remoter people are not submissive, and, 
 with your help, he cannot attract them to him. In his 
 own territory there are divisions and downfalls, leavings 
 and separations, and, with your help, he cannot pre- 
 serve it. 
 
 13. "And yet he is planning these hostile move- 
 ments within our state. — I am afraid that the sorrow 
 of the Ke-sun family will not be on account of Chuen- 
 yu, but will be found within the screen of their own 
 court." 
 
 II. 1. Confucius said, " When good government 
 prevails in the empire, ceremonies, music, and punitive 
 military expeditions, proceed from the emperor. When 
 bad government prevails in the empire, ceremonies, 
 music, and punitive military expeditions proceed from 
 the princes. When these things proceed from the 
 princes, as a rule, the cases will be few in which they 
 do not lose their power in ten generations. When 
 they proceed from the great of&cers of the prhices, as 
 a rule, the cases will be few in which they do not lose 
 their power in five generations. When the subsidiary 
 ministers of the great officers hold in their grasp the 
 orders of the kingdom, as a rule, the cases will be few 
 in which they do not lose their power in three genera- 
 tions. 
 
 2. "When right principles prevail in the empire, 
 government will not be in the hands of the great officers. 
 
 3. " When right principles prevail in the empire, 
 there will be no discussions among the common people." 
 
 III. Confucius said, " The revenue of the state has 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 91 
 
 left the ducal house, now for five generations. The 
 government has been in the hands of the great officers 
 for four generations. On this account, the descendants 
 of the three Hwan are much reduced." 
 
 lY. Confucius said, "There are three friendships 
 which are advantageous, and three which are injurious. 
 Friendship with the upright ; friendship with the sin- 
 cere ; and friendship with the man of much observa- 
 tion : — these are advantageous. Friendship with the 
 man of specious airs ; friendship with the insinuatingly 
 soft ; and friendship with the glib-tongued : — these are 
 injurious." 
 
 Y. Confucius said, " There are three things men 
 find enjoyment in which are advantageous, and three 
 things they find enjoyment in which are injurious. To 
 find enjoyment in the discriminating study of ceremo- 
 nies and music ; to find enjoyment in speaking of the 
 goodness of others ; to find enjoyment in having many 
 worthy friends : — these are advantageous. To find en- 
 joyment in extravagant pleasures ; to find enjoyment 
 in idleness and sauntering ; to find enjoyment in the 
 pleasures of feasting : — these are injurious." 
 
 YI. Confucius said, " There are three errors to which 
 they who stand in the presence of a man of virtue and 
 station are liable. They may speak when it does not 
 come to them to speak ; — this is called rashness. They 
 may not speak when it comes to them to speak ; — this 
 is called concealment. They may speak without look- 
 ing at the countenance of their superior , — this is 
 called blindness." 
 
 YII. Confucius said, " There are three things which 
 the superior man guards against. In youth, when the 
 physical powers are not yet settled, he guards against 
 lust. When he is strong, and the physical powers are 
 full of vigour, he g¥.ards against quarrelsomeness. When 
 he is old, and the animal powers are decayed, he guards 
 against covetousness." 
 
92 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 yni. 1. Confucius said, " There are three things of 
 which the superior man stands in awe. He stands in 
 awe of the ordinances of Heaven. He stands in awe 
 of great men. He stands in awe of the words of sages. 
 
 2. " The mean man does not know the ordinances of 
 Heaven, and consequently does not stand in awe of 
 them. He is disrespectful to great men. He makes 
 sport of the words of sages." 
 
 IX. Confucius said, " Those who are born with the 
 possession of knowledge are the highest class of men. 
 Those who learn, and so, readily, get possession of 
 knowledge, are the next. Those who are dull and 
 stupid, and yet compass the learning are another class 
 next to these. As to those who are dull and stupid 
 and yet do not learn ; — they are the lowest of the 
 people." 
 
 X. Confucius said, "The superior man has nine 
 things which are subjects with him of thoughtful con- 
 sideration. In regard to the use of his eyes, he is 
 anxious to see clearly. In regard to the use of his 
 ears, he is anxious to hear distinctly. In regard to 
 his countenance, he is anxious that it should be benign. 
 In regard to his demeanour, he is anxious that it should 
 be respectful. In regard to his speech, he is anxious 
 that it should be sincere. In regard to his doing of 
 business, he is anxious that it should be reverently 
 careful. In regard to what he doubts about, he is 
 anxious to question others. When he is angry, he 
 thinks of the difficulties his anger may involve him in. 
 When he sees gain to be got, he thinks of righteous- 
 ness." 
 
 XL 1. Confucius said, " Contemplating good, and 
 pursuing it, as if they could not reach it ; contempla- 
 ting evil, and shrinking from it, as they would from 
 thrusting the hand into boiling water: — I have seen 
 such men, as I have heard such words. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 93 
 
 2. "Living in retirement to study their aims, and 
 practising righteousness to carry out their principles : 
 — I have heard these words, but I have not seen such 
 men." 
 
 XII. 1. The duke King of Ts^e had a thousand 
 teams, each of four horses, but on the day of his death, 
 the people did not praise him for a single virtue. P^ih-e 
 and Shuh-ts^e died of hunger at the foot of the Show- 
 yang mountain, and the people, down to the present 
 time, praise them. 
 
 2. " Is not that saying illustrated by this ? " 
 
 Xni. 1. Ch^in K'ang asked Pih-yu, saying, "Have 
 you heard any lessons from your father dijQferent /rom 
 what we have all heard ? " 
 
 2. Pih-yu replied, " No. He was standing alone once, 
 when I passed below the hall with hasty steps, and said 
 to me, ^ Have you learned the Odes ? ' On my replying 
 ' Not yet,' he added^ ' If you do not learn the Odes, you 
 will not be fit to converse with.' I retired and studied 
 the Odes. 
 
 3. " Another day, he was in the same way standing 
 alone, when I passed by below the hall with hasty 
 steps, an-d said to me, ^ Have you learned the rules of 
 Propriety ? ' On my replying ' Not yet,' he added, ' If 
 you do not learn the rules of Propriety, your character 
 cannot be established.' I then retired, and studied the 
 rules of Propriety. 
 
 4. " I have heard only these two things from him." 
 
 5. Ch^in K^ang retired, and, quite delighted, said, " I 
 asked one thing, and I have got three things. I have 
 heard about the Odes. 1 have heard about the rules of 
 Propriety. I have also heard that the superior man 
 maintains a distant reserve towards his son. 
 
 XIY. The wife of the prince of a State is called by 
 him FOG- JIN. She calls herself seaou t^ung. The people 
 of the State call her keun foo-jin, andj to the people of 
 
94 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 other States, they call her k^wa seaou keun. The people 
 of other states also call her e:eun foo-jin. 
 
 BOOK XVII. YANG HO. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Yang Ho wished to see Confucius, 
 but Confucius would not go to see him. On this, he 
 sent a present of a pig to Confucius, who, having 
 chosen a time when Ho was not at home, went to pay 
 his respects for the gift He met him, however, on the 
 way. 
 
 2. Ho said to Confucius, " Come, let me speak with 
 you." He then asked, " Can he be called benevolent, 
 who keeps his jewel in his bosom, and leaves his 
 country to confusion ? " Confucius replied, " No." " Can 
 he be called wise, who is anxious to be engaged in pub- 
 lic employment, and yet is constantly losing the oppor- 
 tunity of being so ? " Confucius again said, " No." 
 "The days and months are passing away; the years do 
 not wait for us." Confucius said, " Right ; I will go 
 into office." 
 
 II. The Master said, " By nature, men are nearly 
 alike ; by practice, they get to be wide apart." 
 
 III. The Master said, " There are only the wise of 
 the highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, 
 who cannot be changed." 
 
 lY. 1. The Master having come to Woo-shing, heard 
 there the sound of stringed instruments and singing. 
 
 2. Well-pleased and smiling, he said, " Why use an 
 ox-knife to kill a fowl ? " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 95 
 
 3. Tsze-yew replied, " Formerly, Master, I heard you 
 say, — ' When the. man of high station is well instructed, 
 he loves men ; when the man of low station is well in- 
 structed, he is easily ruled.' " 
 
 4. The Master said, " My disciples, Yen's words are 
 right. What I said was only in sport." 
 
 V. 1. Kung-shan Fuh-jaou, when he was holding 
 Pe, and in an attitude of rebellion, invited the Master 
 to visit him, who was rather inclined to go. 
 
 2. Tsze-loo was displeased, and said, 'i Indeed you 
 cannot go ! Why must you think of going to see Kung- 
 shan?" 
 
 3. The Master said, " Can it be without some reason 
 that he has invited me ? If any one employ me, may I 
 not make an eastern Chow ? " 
 
 VI. 1. Tsze-chang asked Confucius about perfect 
 virtue. Confucius said, "To be able to practise five 
 things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect vir- 
 tue." He begged to ask what they were, and was told, 
 " Gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and 
 kindness. If you are grave, you will not be treated 
 with disrespect. If you are generous, you will win all. 
 If you are sincere, people will repose trust in you. If 
 you are earnest, you will accomplish much. If you are 
 Idnd, this will enable you to employ the services of 
 others." 
 
 VII. 1. Peih Heih inviting him to visit him, the 
 Master was inclined to go. 
 
 2. Tsze-loo said, " Master, formerly I have heard you 
 say, ' When a man in his own person is guilty of doing 
 evil, a superior man will not associate with him.' Peih 
 Heih is in rebellion, holding possession of Chung-mow; 
 if you go to him, what shall be said ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " Yes, I did use these words. But 
 is it not said, that, if a thing be really hard, it may be 
 ground without being made thin ? Is it not said, that, if 
 
96 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark 
 fluid without being made black ? 
 
 4. " Am I a bitter gourd ! How can I be hung up out 
 of the way of being eaten?" 
 
 yill. 1. The Master said, "Yew, have you heard 
 the six words to which are attached six becloudings?" 
 Yew replied, " I have not." 
 
 2. " Sit down, and I will tell them to you. 
 
 3. " There is the love of being benevolent without 
 the love of learning ; — the beclouding here leads to a 
 foolish simplicity. There is the love of knowing with- 
 out the love of learning ; — the beclouding here leads to 
 dissipation of mind. There is the love of being sincere 
 without the love of learning; — the beclouding here 
 leads to an injurious disregard of consequences. There 
 is the love of straightforwardness without the love of 
 learning; — the beclouding here leads to rudeness. 
 There is the love of boldness without the love of learn- 
 ing ; — the beclouding here leads to insubordination. 
 There is the love of firmness without the love of learn- 
 ing; — the beclouding here leads to extravagant con- 
 duct." 
 
 IX. 1. The Master said, " My children, why do you 
 not study the Book of Poetry ? 
 
 2. " The Odes serve to stimulate the mind. 
 
 3. " They may be used for purposes of self-contem- 
 plation. 
 
 4. " They teach the art of sociability. 
 
 5. " They show how to regulate feelings of resent- 
 ment. 
 
 6. " From them you learn the more immediate duty 
 of serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving 
 one's prince. 
 
 7. " From them we become largely acquainted with 
 the names of birds, beasts, and plants." 
 
 X. The Master said to Pih-yuh, " Do you give your- 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 97 
 
 self to the Chow-nan, and the Chaoii-nan. The man, 
 who has not studied the Chow-nan and the Chaou-nan, 
 is like one who stands with his face right against a wall. 
 Is he not so?" 
 
 XI. The Master said, " ' It is according to the rules 
 of propriety,' they say. — ' It is according to the rules of 
 propriety,' they say. Are gems and silk all that is 
 meant by propriety ? ^ It is Music,' they say. ' It is 
 Music,' they say. Are bells and drums all that is 
 meant by Music ? " 
 
 XII. The Master said, " He who puts on an appear- 
 ance of stern firmness, while inwardly he is weak, is 
 like one of the small, mean, people ; — yea, is he not 
 like the thief who breaks through, or climbs over, a 
 wall ? " 
 
 XIII. The Master said, " Your good careful people 
 of the villages are the thieves of virtue." 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " To tell, as we go along, 
 what we have heard on the way, is to cast away our 
 virtue." 
 
 XY. 1. The Master said, " There are those mean 
 creatures 1 How impossible it is along with them to 
 serve one's prince 1 
 
 2. " While they have not got their aims, their anx- 
 iety is how to get them. When they have got them, 
 their anxiety is lest they should lose them. 
 
 3. " When they are anxious lest such things should 
 be lost, there is nothing to which they will not pro- 
 ceed." 
 
 XVI. 1. The Master said, "Anciently, men had 
 three failings, which now perhaps are not to be found. 
 
 2. " The high-mindedness of antiquity showed itself 
 in a disregard of small things ; the high-mindedness of 
 the present day shows itself in wild license. The stern 
 dignity of antiquity showed itself in grave reserve ; 
 the stern dignity of the present day shows itself in 
 
98 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 quarrelsome perverseness. The stupidity of antiquity 
 showed itself in straightforwardness ; the stupidity of 
 the present day shows itself in sheer deceit." 
 
 XVII. The Master said, " Fine words and an insin- 
 uating appearance are seldom associated with virtue." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, "I hate the manner in 
 which purple takes away the lustre of vermillion. I 
 hate the way in which the songs of Ch'ing confound 
 the music of the Gna. I hate those who with their 
 sharp mouths overthrow fcngdoms and families." 
 
 XIX. 1. The Master said, "I would prefer not 
 speaking." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, "If you. Master, do not speak, 
 what shall we, your disciples, have to record ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " Does Heaven speak ? The four 
 seasons pursue their courses, and all things are continvr 
 ally being produced, hut does Heaven say anything ? " 
 
 XX. Joo Pei wished to see Confucius, but Confucius 
 declined, on the ground of being sick, to see him. 
 When the bearer of this message went out at the door, 
 he took his harpsichord, and sang to it, in order that 
 Pei might hear him. 
 
 XXI. 1. Tsae Go asked about the three years* 
 mowmmg for parents, saying that one year was long 
 enough. 
 
 2. " If the superior man," said he, " abstains for three 
 years from the observances of propriety, those observ- 
 ances will be quite lost. If for three years he abstains 
 from music, music will be ruined. 
 
 3. " Within a year, the old grain is exhausted, and 
 the new grain has sprung up, and, in procuring fire by 
 friction, we go through all the changes of wood for that 
 purpose. After a complete year, the mourning may 
 stop." 
 
 I. The Master said, " If you were, after a year, to 
 eat good rice, and wear embroidered clothes, would you 
 feel at ease ? " "I should," replied Go. 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. VU 
 
 5. The Master said, '^ If you can feel at ease, do it. 
 But a superior man, during the whole period of mourn- 
 ing, does not enjoy pleasant food which he may eat, 
 nor derive pleasure from music which he may hear. 
 He also does not feel at ease, if he is comfortably 
 lodged. Therefore he does not do what you propose. 
 But now you feel at ease and may do it." 
 
 6. Tsae Go then went out, and the Master said, 
 ^^ This shows Yu's want of virtue. It is not till a child 
 is three years old that it is allowed to leave the arms of 
 its parents. And the three years mourning is univer- 
 sally observed throughout the empire. Did Yu enjoy 
 the three years' affection for his parents ? " 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " Hard is the case of him, 
 who will stuff himself with food the whole day, with- 
 out applying his mind to anything good! Are there 
 not gamesters and chessplayers ? To be one of these 
 would still be better than doing nothing at all." 
 
 XXIII. Tsze-loo said, " Does the superior man es- 
 teem valour ? " The Master said, " The superior man 
 holds righteousness to be of highest importance. A 
 man in a superior situation, having valour without 
 righteousness, will be guilty of insubordination ; one of 
 the lower people, having valour without righteousness, 
 will commit robbery." 
 
 XXIY. 1. Tsze-kung said, "Has the superior man 
 his hatreds also ? " The Master said, " He has his hat- 
 reds. He hates those who proclaim the evil of others. 
 He hates the man who, being in a low station, slanders 
 his superiors. He hates those who have valour merely, 
 and are unobservant of propriety. He hates those who 
 are forward and determined, aud, at the same time, of 
 contracted understanding." 
 
 2. The Master then inquired, " Tsze, have you also 
 your hatreds ? " Tsze-kung replied, " I hate those who 
 pry out matters, and ascribe the knowledge to their 
 
100 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 wisdom. I hate those who are only not modest, and 
 think that they are valorous. I hate those who make 
 known secrets, and think that they are straightfor- 
 ward." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, " Of all people, girls and 
 servants are the most difficult to behave to. If you 
 are familiar with them, they lose their humility. If 
 you maintain a reserve towards them, they are discon- 
 tented." 
 
 XXYI. The Master said, " When a man at forty is 
 the object of dislike, he will always continue what he 
 
 BOOK XYHI. WEI TSZE 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The viscount of Wei withdrew from 
 the court The viscount of Ke became a slave to Chow. 
 Pe-kan remonstrated with him and died. 
 
 2. Confucius said, " The Yin dynasty possessed these 
 three men of virtue." 
 
 II. Hwuy of Lew-hea being chief criminal judge, 
 was thrice dismissed from his office. Some one said to 
 him, " Is it not yet time for you. Sir, to leave this ? " 
 He replied, " Serving men in an upright way, where 
 shall I go to, and not experience such a thrice-repeated 
 dismissal ? If I choose to serve men in a crooked way, 
 what necessity is there for me to leave the country of 
 my parents ? " 
 
 III. The duke King of Ts^e, with reference to the 
 manner in which he should treat Confucius, said, " I 
 
CONFUCUN ANALECTS. i()l 
 
 cannot treat him as I would th.e chief of the Ke fam- 
 ily. I will treat him in a matiijeV^^between tkit accord- 
 ed to the chief of the Ke, and that gjven to the chief 
 of the Mang family." HeVj^,<ro\e^i4/'*^I ajrijo^ife^ can- 
 not use his doctrines" Confucius took his departure. 
 
 lY. The people of Ts^e sent to Loo a present of 
 female musicians, which Ke Hwan received, and for 
 three days no court was held. Confucius took his de- 
 parture. 
 
 V. 1. The madman of Ts^oo, Tsee-yu, passed by 
 Confucius, singing and saying, " Oh Fung ! Oh Fung ! 
 How is your virtue degenerated! As to the past, re- 
 proof is useless; but the future may be provided 
 against. Give up your vain pursuit. Give up your 
 vain pursuit. Peril awaits those who now engage in 
 affairs of government." 
 
 2. Confucius alighted and wished to converse with 
 him, but Tsee-yu hastened away, so that he could not 
 talk with him. 
 
 YI. 1. Ch'ang-tseu and Kee-neih were at work in 
 the field together, when Confucius passed by them, and 
 sent Tsze-loo to enquire for the ford. 
 
 2. Ch^ang-tseu said, " Who is he that holds the reins 
 in the carriage there ?" Tsze-loo told him, "It is K^ung 
 K^ew." "Is it not K^ung K^ew of Loo?" asked he. 
 " Yes," was the reply, to which the other rejoined, " He 
 knows the ford." 
 
 3. Tsze-loo then enquired of Kee-neih, who said to 
 him, " Who are you, Sir ? " He answered, " I am Chung 
 Yew." " Are you not the disciple of K ung K^ew of 
 Loo ? " asked the other. " I am," replied he, and then 
 Kee-neih said to him, " Disorder, like a swelling flood, 
 spreads over the whole empire, and who is he that will 
 change it for you ? Than follow one who merely with- 
 draws from this one and that one, had you not better 
 follow those who have withdrawn from the world alto- 
 
 12 
 
102 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 gether?" With this he. fell to covering up the seed, 
 and proc^edfid with JiUl'iqdrkj without stopping. 
 
 4. Ts^Q-l5>o, went, and reported their remarks, when 
 his nxakbe>yufc^rt'edtwitHii sigh, "It is impossible to as- 
 sociate with birds and beasts, as if they were the same 
 with us. If I associate not with these people, — with 
 mankind, — with whom shall I associate ? If right prin- 
 ciples prevailed through the empire, there would be no 
 use for me to change its state." 
 
 YII. 1. Tsze-loo, following the Master, happened to 
 fall behind, when he met an old man, carrying, across 
 his shoulder on a staff, a basket for weeds. Tsze-loo 
 said to him, " Have you seen my master. Sir ! " The 
 old man replied, " Your four limbs are unaccustomed to 
 toil ; you cannot distinguish the five kinds of grain : — 
 who is your master ? " With this, he planted his staff 
 in the ground, aud proceeded to weed. 
 
 2. Tsze-loo joined his hands across his breast, and 
 stood before him, 
 
 3. The old man kept Tsze-loo to pass the night in 
 his house, killed a fowl, prepared millet, and feasted him. 
 He also introduced to him his two sons. 
 
 4. Next day, Tsze-loo went on his way, and reported 
 his adventure. The Master said, "He is a recluse," and 
 sent Tsze-loo back to see him again, but, when he got 
 to the place, the old man was gone. 
 
 5. Tsze-loo then said to the family, " Not to take of- 
 fice is not righteous. If the relations between old and 
 young may not be neglected, how is it that he sets 
 aside the duties that should be observed between sov- 
 ereign and minister ? Wishing to maintain his personal 
 purity, he allows that great relation to come to confu- 
 sion. A superior man takes office, and performs the 
 righteous duties belonging to it. As to the failure of 
 right principles to make progress, he is aware of that." 
 
 yill. 1. The men who have retired to privacy from 
 
COJSrFUClAN ANALECTS. 108 
 
 the world have been Pih-e, Shuh-ts^e, Yu-chung, E-yih, 
 Choo-chang, Hwuy of Lew-hea, and Shaou-leen. 
 
 2. The Master said, ''- Kefusing to surrender their 
 wills, or to submit to any taint in their persons ; such, 
 I think, were Pih-e and Shuh-ts^e. 
 
 3. "It may be said of Hwuy of Lew-hea, and of 
 Shaou-leen, that they surrendered their wills, and sub- 
 mitted to taint in their persons, but their words corres- 
 ponded with reason, and their actions were such as men 
 are anxious to see. This is all that is to be remarked 
 in them. 
 
 4. "It may be said of Yu-chung and E-yih, that, 
 while they hid themselves in their seclusion, they gave 
 a license to their words, but, in their persons, they suc- 
 ceeded in preserving their purity, and, in their retire- 
 ment, they acted according to the exigency of the 
 times. 
 
 5. " I am different from all these. I have no course 
 for which I am predetermined, and no course against 
 which I am predetermined." 
 
 IX. 1. The grand music-master, Che, went to Ts^e. 
 Kan, the master of the hand at the second meal, went 
 to Ts^oo. Leaou, the hand-mfiaster at the third meal, 
 went to Ts^ae. Keueh, the hand-master at the fourth 
 meal, went to Ts4n. 
 
 2 Fang-shuh, the drum-master, withdrew to the north 
 of the river. Woo, the master of the hand-drum, with- 
 drew to the Han. Yang, the assistant music-master, 
 and Seang, master of the musical stone, withdrew to an 
 island in the sea." 
 
 X. The duke of Chow addressed his son, the duke 
 of Loo, saying, " The virtuous prince does not neglect 
 his relations. He does not cause the great ministers to 
 repine at his not employing them. Without some 
 great cause, he does not dismiss from their ofl&ces the 
 members of old families. He does not seek in one man 
 talents for every employment." 
 
104 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XL To Chow belonged the eight officers, Pih-ta, Pih- 
 kwoh, Chung-tuh, Chung-hwuh, Shuh-yay, Shuh-hea, 
 Ke-suy, and Ke-kwa. 
 
 BOOK XIX. TSZE-CHANG. 
 
 Chapter I. Tsze-chang said, "The scholar, trained 
 for public duty, seeing threatening danger, is prepared 
 to sacrifice his life. When the opportunity of gain is 
 presented to him, he thinks of righteousness. In sacri- 
 ficing, his thoughts are reverential. In mourning, his 
 thoughts are about the grief which he should feel. 
 Such a man commands our approbation indeed." 
 
 II. Tsze-chang said, " When a man holds fast virtue, 
 but without seeking to enlarge it, and believes right 
 principles, but without firm sincerity, what account can 
 be made of his existence or non-existence?" 
 
 III. The disciples of Tsze-hea asked Tsze-chang 
 about the principles of intercourse. Tsze-chang asked, 
 " What does Tsze-hea say on the subject? " They re- 
 plied, " Tsze-hea says : — ' Associate with those who can 
 advantage you. Put away from you those who cannot 
 do so' Tsze-chang observed, " This is different from 
 what I have learned. The superior man honours the 
 talented and virtuous, and bears with all. He praises 
 the good, and pities the incompetent. Am I possessed 
 of great talents and virtue ? — who is there among men 
 whom I will vnot bear with ? Am I devoid of talents 
 and virtue ? — ^men will put me away from them. Whdt 
 have we to do with the putting away of others ? " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 105 
 
 ly. Tsze-hea said, " Even in inferior studies and em- 
 ployments there is something worth being looked at, 
 but if it be attempted to carry them out to what is re- 
 mote, there is a danger of their proving inapplicable. 
 Therefore, the superior man does not practice them." 
 
 y. Tsze-hea said, " He, who from day to day recog- 
 nizes what he has not yet, and from month to month 
 does not forget what he has attained to, may be said in- 
 deed to love to learn." 
 
 yi. Tsze-hea said, " There are learning extensively, 
 and having a firm and sincere aim ; inquiring with ear- 
 nestness, and reflecting with self-application : — virtue is 
 in such a course." 
 
 yil. Tsze-hea said, " Mechanics have their shops to 
 dwell in, in order to acomplish their works. The supe- 
 rior man learns, in order to reach to the utmost of his 
 principles." 
 
 yill. Tsze-hea said, " The mean man is sure to gloss 
 his faults." 
 
 IX. Tsze-hea said, "The superior man undergoes 
 three changes. Looked at from a distance, he appears 
 stern ; when approached, he is mild ; when he is heard 
 to speak, his language is firm and decided." 
 
 X. Tsze-hea said, " The superior man, having ob- 
 tained their confidence, may then impose labours on his 
 people. If he have not gained their confidence, they 
 will think that he is oppressing them. Having ob- 
 tained the confidence of his prince, he may then re- 
 monstrate with him. If he have not gained his confi- 
 dence, the prince will think that he is vilifying him." 
 
 XI. Tsze-hea said, " When a person does not trans- 
 gress the boundary-line in the great virtues, he may 
 pass and repass it in the small virtues." 
 
 XII. 1. Tsze-yew said, " The disciples and followers 
 of Tsze-hea, in sprinkling and sweeping the ground, in 
 answering and replying, in advancing and receding, are 
 
106 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 sufficiently accomplished. But these are only the 
 branches of learning, and they are left ignorant of 
 what is essential. — How can they be acknowledged as 
 sufficiently taught ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-hea heard of the remark and said, '' Alas ! 
 Yen Yew is wrong. According to the way of the su- 
 perior man in teaching, what departments are there 
 which he considers of prime importance, and delivers ? 
 what are there which he considers of secondary impor- 
 tance, and allows himself to be idle about ? But as in 
 the case of plants, which are assorted according to their 
 classes, so he deals with his disciples. How can the 
 way of a superior man be such as to make fools of any 
 of them ? Is it not the sage alone, who can unite in 
 one the beginning and the consummation of learning ? " 
 
 XIII. Tsze-hea said, " The officer, hewing discharged 
 all his duties, should devote his leisure to learning. 
 The student, having completed his learning, should ap- 
 ply himself to be an officer." 
 
 XIY. Tsze-hea said. " Mourning, having been carried 
 to the utmost degree of grief, should stop with that." 
 
 XV, Tsze-hea said, " My friend Chang can do things 
 which are hard to be done, but yet he is not perfectly 
 virtuous." 
 
 XYI. The philosopher Tsang said, " How imposing 
 is the manner of Chang ! It is difficult along with him 
 to practise virtue." 
 
 XYII. The philosopher Tsang said, ^'1 heard this 
 from our Master : — ^ Men may not have shown what is 
 in them to the full extent, and yet they will be found 
 to do so, on occasion of mourning for their parents.' " 
 
 X Yin. The philosopher Tsang said, " I have heard 
 this from our Master: — 'The filial piety of Mang 
 Chwang, in other matters, was what other men are 
 competent to, but, as seen in his not changing the min- 
 isters of his father, nor his father's mode of govern- 
 ment, it is difficult to be attained to.' " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 107 
 
 XIX. The chief of the Mang family having ap- 
 pointed Yang Foo to be chief criminal judge, the latter 
 consulted the philosopher Tsang. Tsang said, " The 
 rulers have failed in their duties, and the people conse- 
 quently been disorganized, for a long time. When you 
 have found out the truth of any accusation^ be grieved 
 for and pity them, and do not feel joy at your own 
 ability" 
 
 XX. Tsze-kung said, " Chow's wickedness was not 
 so great as that name implies. Therefore, the superior 
 man hates to dwell in a low-lying situation, where all 
 the evil of the world will flow in upon him." 
 
 XXI. Tsze-kung said, " The faults of the superior 
 man are like the eclipses of the sun and moon. He 
 has his faults, and all men see them ; he changes again, 
 and all men look up to him." 
 
 XXII. 1. Kung-sun Ch^aou of Wei asked Tsze-kung, 
 saying, " From whom did Chung-ne get his learning ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung replied, " The doctrines of Wan and 
 Woo have not yet fallen to the earth. They are to be 
 found among men. Men of talents and virtue remem- 
 ber the greater principles of them, and others, not pos- 
 sessing such talents and virtue, remember the smaller. 
 Thus, all possess the doctrines of Wan and Woo. 
 Where could our Master go that he should not have an 
 opportunity of learning them ? And yet what necessity 
 was there for his having a regular master ? " 
 
 XXIII. 1. Shuh-sun Woo-shuh observed to the 
 great officers in the court, saying, " Tsze-kung is supe- 
 rior to Chung-ne." 
 
 2. Tsze-fuh King-pih reported the observation to 
 Tsze-kung, who said, " Let me use the comparison of a 
 house and its encompassing wall. My wall only reaches 
 to the shoulders. One may peep over it, and see what- 
 ever is valuable in the apartments. 
 
 3. " The wall of my master is several fathoms high. 
 
108 CHINESE CLASSICS, 
 
 If one do not find the door and enter by it, he cannot 
 see the ancestral temple with its beauties, nor all the 
 ojQ&cers in their rich array. 
 
 4. " But I may assume that they are few who find 
 the door. Was not the observation of the chief only 
 what might have been expected ? " 
 
 XXIV. Shuh-sun Woo-shuh having spoken reviling- 
 ly of Chung-ne, Tsze-kung said, " It is of no use doing 
 so. Chung-ne cannot be reviled. The talents and vir- 
 tue of other men are hillocks and mounds, which may 
 be stept over. Chung-ne is the sun or moon, which it 
 is not possible to step over. Although a man may wish 
 to cut himself off/rom the sa^e, what harm can he do 
 to the sun or moon ? He only shows that he does not 
 know his own capacity." 
 
 XXY. 1. Tsze-k'in, addressing Tsze-kung, said, "You 
 are too modest. How can Chung-ne be said to be su- 
 perior to you ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said to him, " For one word a man is 
 often deemed to be wise, and for one word he is often 
 deemed to be foolish. We ought to be careful indeed 
 in what we say. 
 
 3. " Our Master cannot be attained to, just in the 
 same way as the heavens cannot be gone up to by the 
 steps of a stair. 
 
 4. " Were our Master in the position of the prince of 
 a State or the chief of a Family, we should find veri- 
 fied the description which has been given of a sage's 
 rule : — he would plant the people, and forthwith they 
 would be established; he would lead them on, and 
 forthwith they would follow him ; he would make them 
 happy, and forthwith multitudes would resort to his do- 
 minions ; he would stimulate them, and forthwith they 
 would be harmonious. While he lived, he would be glo- 
 rious. When he died, he would be bitterly lamented. 
 How is it possible for him to be attained to ? " 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 109 
 
 BOOK XX. YAOU YUE. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Yaou said, " Oli ! you, Shun, the 
 Heaven-determined order of succession now rests in 
 your person. Sincerely hold fast the Due Mean. If 
 there shall be distress and want within the four seas, 
 your Heavenly revenue will come to a perpetual end." 
 
 2. Shun also used the same language in giving charge 
 to Yu. 
 
 3. 'Pang said, "I, the child Le, presume to use a 
 dark-colored victim, and presume to announce to Thee, 
 most great and sovereign God, that the sinner I dare 
 not pardon, and thy ministers, God, I do not keep in 
 obscurity. The examination of them is by thy mind, 
 God. If, in my person, I commit offences, they are 
 not to be attributed to you, the people of the myriad 
 regions. If you in the myriad regions commit offences, 
 these offences must rest on my person." 
 
 4. Chow conferred great gifts, and the good were 
 enriched, 
 
 5. " Although he has his near relatives, they are not 
 equal to my virtuous men. The people are throwing 
 blame upon me, the one man." 
 
 6. He carefully attended to the weights and meas- 
 ures, examined the body of the laws, restored the dis- 
 carded officers, and the good government of the empire 
 took its course. 
 
 7. He revived states that had been extinguished, re- 
 stored families whose line of succession had been broken, 
 and called to office those who had retired into obscurity, 
 
 13 
 
110 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 SO that throughout the empire the hearts of the people 
 turned towards him. 
 
 8. What he attached chief importance to, were the 
 food of the people, the duties of mourning, and sacri- 
 fices. 
 
 9. By his generosity, he won all. By his sincerity, 
 he made the people repose trust in him. By his ear- 
 nest activity, his achievements were great. By his 
 justice, all were delighted. 
 
 II. 1. Tsze-chang asked Confucius, saying, ^ In what 
 way should a person in authority act in order that he 
 may conduct government properly ? " The Master re- 
 plied, " Let him: honour the five excellent, and banish 
 away the four bad, things; — then may he conduct gov- 
 ernment properly." Tsze-chang said, "What are meant 
 by the five excellent things?" The Master said, "When 
 the person in authority is beneficent without great ex- 
 penditure ; when he lays tasks on the people without 
 their repining ; when he pursues what he desires with- 
 out being covetous ; when he maintains a dignified ease 
 without being proud; when he is majestic without 
 being fierce." 
 
 2. Tsze-chang said, ^^ What is meant by being benefi- 
 cent without great expenditure ? " The Master replied, 
 " When the person in authority makes more beneficial 
 to the people the things from which they naturally de- 
 rive benefit ; — is not this being beneficent without great 
 expenditure ? When he chooses the labours which are 
 proper, and makes them*labour on them, who will re- 
 pine ? When his desires are set on benevolent goverrir 
 ment, and he realizes it, who wiU accuse him of covei^ 
 ousness ? Whether he has to do with many people or 
 few, or with things great or small, he does not dare to 
 indicate any disrespect ; — is not this to maintain a dig- 
 nified ease without any pride ? He adjusts his clothes 
 and cap, and throws a dignity into his looks, so that, 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. Ill 
 
 thus dignified, he is looked at with awe ; — is not this to 
 be majestic without being fierce?" 
 
 3. Tsze-chang then asked, " What are meant by the 
 four bad things ? " The Master said, " To put the people 
 to death without having instructed them ; — this is called 
 cruelty. To require from them, suddenly, the full tale 
 of work, without having given them warning : — this is 
 called oppression. To issue orders as if without ur- 
 gency, at first, and, when the time comes, to insist on 
 them with severity ; — this is called injury. And, gen- 
 erally speaking, to give pay or rewards to men, and yet 
 to do it in a stingy way ; — this is called acting the part 
 of a mere of&cial." 
 
 III. 1. The Master said, " Without recognizing the 
 ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior 
 man. 
 
 2. "Without an acquaintance with the rules of Pro- 
 priety, it is impossible for the character to be estabhshed. 
 
 3. " Without knowing the force of words, it is impos- 
 sible to know men." 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 My master, the philosopher Ch'ing^, says ; — " The Great Learning is a book 
 left by Confucius, and forms the gate by which first learners enter into 
 virtue. That we can now perceive the order in which the ancients 
 pursued their learning, is solely owing to the preservation of this 
 work, the Analects and Mencius coming after it. Learners must com- 
 mence their course with this, and then it may be hoped they will be 
 kept from error." 
 
 THE TEXT OF CONFUCIUS. 
 
 1. What the Great Learning teaches/is — to illustrate 
 illustrious virtue ; to renovate the people ; and to rest 
 in the highest excellence. 
 
 2. The point where to rest being known, the object 
 of pursuit is then determined ; and, that being deter- 
 mined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained. To 
 that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In 
 that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that 
 deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the 
 desired end. 
 
 3. Things have their root and their completion. Af- 
 fairs have their end and their beginning. To know 
 what is first and what is last will lead near to what is 
 taught in the Great Learning. 
 
 4. The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious 
 virtue throughout the empire, first ordered well their 
 own States. Wishing to order well their States, they 
 first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate 
 their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wish- 
 ing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their 
 hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first 
 sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be 
 sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the ut- 
 
 (112) 
 
fr THE GREAT LEARNING. 113 
 
 most their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge 
 lay in the investigation of things. 
 
 5. Things being investigated, knowledge became com- 
 plete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts 
 were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts 
 were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their 
 persons were cultivated. Their persons being culti- 
 vated, their families were regulated. Their families 
 being regulated, their States were rightly governed. 
 Their States being rightly governed, the whole empire 
 was made tranquil and happy. 
 
 6. From the emperor down to the mass uf the people, 
 all must consider the cultivation of the person the root 
 of every thing besides. 
 
 7. It cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what 
 should spring from it will be well ordered. It never 
 has been the case that what was of great importance 
 has been slightly cared for, and, at the same time, that 
 what was of slight importance has been greatly cared 
 for. 
 
 The preceding chapter of classical text is in the words of Confucius, 
 handed down by the philosopher Tsang. The ten chapters of explana- 
 tion which follow contain the views of Tsang, and were recorded by his 
 disciples. In the old copies of the work, there appeared considerable 
 confusion in these, from the disarrangement of the tablets. But now, 
 availing myself of the decisions of the philosopher Ch'ing, and having 
 examined anew the classical text, I have arranged it in order, as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 COMMENTARY OF THE PHILOSOPHER TSANG. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. In the Announcement to K^ang it is 
 said, " He was able to make his virtue illustrious." 
 
 2. In the T'ae Kea, it is said, " He contemplated and 
 studied the illustrious decrees of heaven." 
 
 3. In the Canon of the emperor Yaou,it is said, "He 
 was able to make illustrious his lofty virtue." 
 
 4. These passages all show how those sovereigns 
 made themselves illustrious. 
 
 The above first chapter of commentary explains the illustration of illus- 
 trious virtue. 
 
114 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 II. 1. On the bathing-tub of T^ang, the following 
 words were engraved : — " If you can one day renovate 
 yourself, do so from day to day. Yea, let there be daily 
 renovation." 
 
 2. In the Announcement to K^ang, it is said, " To 
 stir up the new people." 
 
 3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Although Chow 
 was an ancient state, the ordinance which lighted on it 
 was new." 
 
 4. Therefore, the superior man in every thing uses 
 his utmost endeavours. 
 
 The above second chapter of commentary explains the renovating of the 
 people. 
 
 III. 1. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " The im- 
 perial domain of a thousand le is where the people 
 rest." 
 
 2. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " The twittering 
 yellow bird rests on a corner of the mound." The 
 Master said, "When it rests, it knows where to rest. 
 Is it possible that a man should not be equal to this 
 bird?" 
 
 3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Profound was 
 King Wan. With how bright and unceasing a feeling 
 of reverence did he regard his resting places ! " As 
 a sovereign, he rested in benevolence. As a minister, 
 he rested in reverence. As a son, he rested in fiUal 
 piety. As a father, he rested in kindness. In commu- 
 nication with his subjects, he rested in good faith. 
 
 4. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Look at that 
 winding course of the K'e, with the green bamboos so 
 luxuriant! Here is our elegant and accomplished 
 prince ! As we cut and then file • as we chisel and then 
 grind : so has he cultivated himself. How grave is he 
 and dignified ! How majestic and distinguished ! Our 
 elegant and accomplished prince never can be forgot- 
 ten." That expression — " as we cut and then file," in- 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 115 
 
 dicates the work of learning. " As we chisel, and then 
 grind/' indicates that of self culture. " How grave is 
 he and dignified!" indicates the feeling of cautious 
 reverence. " How commanding and distinguished," 
 indicates an awe-inspiring deportment. " Our elegant 
 and accomplished prince never can be forgotten," indi- 
 cates how, when virtue is complete and excellence ex- 
 treme, the people cannot forget them. 
 
 5. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Ah ! the former 
 kings are not forgotten." Future princes deem worthy 
 what they deemed worthy, and love what they loved. 
 The common people delight in what they delighted, 
 and are benefited by their beneficial arrangements. It 
 is on this account that the former kings, after they 
 have quitted the world, are not forgotten. 
 
 The above third chapter of commentary explains resting in the highest 
 excellence. 
 
 lY. The Master said, " In hearing litigations, I am 
 like any other body. What is necessary is to cause the 
 people to have no litigations ? " So, those who are de- 
 void of principle find it impossible to carry out their 
 speeches, and a great awe would be struck into men's 
 minds ; — this is called knowing the root. 
 
 The above fourth chapter of commentary explains the root and the issue. 
 
 V. 1. This is called knowing the root. 
 
 2. This is called the perfecting of knowledge. 
 
 The above fifth chapter of the commentary explained the meaning of 
 " investigating things and carrying knowledge to the utmost extent," 
 but it is now lost. I have ventured to take the views of the scholar 
 Ch'ing to supply it, as follows : — The meaning of the expression, " The 
 perfecting of knowledge depends on the investigation of things, is this : 
 — If we wish to carry our knowledge to the utmost, we must investigate 
 the principles of all things we come into contact with, for the intelli- 
 gent mind of man is certainly formed to know, and there is not a single 
 thing in which its principles do not inhere. But so long as all princi- 
 ples are not investigated, man's knowledge is incomplete. On this 
 account, the Learning for Adults, at the outset of its lessons, instructs 
 the learner, in regard to all things in the world, to proceed from what 
 knowledge he has of their principles, and pursue his investigation of 
 them, till he reaches the extreme point. After exerting himself in this 
 way for a long time, he will suddenlv find himself possessed of a wide 
 
116 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 and far-reaching penetration. Then, the qualities of all things, whether' 
 external or internal, the subtle or the coarse, will all be apprehended, 
 and the mind, in its entire substance and its relations to things, will be 
 perfectly intelligent. This is called the investigation of things. This 
 is called the perfection of knowledge. 
 
 yi. 1. What is meant by "making the thoughts 
 sincere," is the allowing no self-deception, as when we 
 hate a bad smell, and as when we love what is beauti- 
 ful. This is called self-enjoyment. Therefore, the su- 
 perior man must be watchful over himself when he is 
 alone. 
 
 2. There is no evil to which the mean man, dwelling 
 retired, will not proceed, but when he sees a superior 
 man, he instantly tries to disguise himself, concealing 
 his evil, and displaying what is good. The other be- 
 holds him, as if he saw his heart and reins : — of what 
 use is his disguise f This is an instance of the saying — 
 " What truly is within will be manifested without." 
 Therefore, the superior man must be watchful over 
 himself when he is alone. 
 
 3. The disciple Tsang said, " What ten eyes behold, 
 what ten hands point to, is to be regarded with rev- 
 erence ! " 
 
 4. Riches adorn a house, and virtue adorns the peir- 
 son. The mind is expanded, and the body is at ease. 
 Therefore, the superior man must make his thoughts 
 sincere. 
 
 The above sixth chapter of commentary explains making the thoughts 
 sincere. 
 
 YII. 1. What is meant by, " The cultivation of the 
 person depends on rectifying the mind," may he thus il- 
 lustrated : — If a man be under the influence of passion, 
 he will be incorrect in his conduct. He will be the 
 same, if he is under the influence of terror, or under 
 the influence of fond regard, or under that of sorrow 
 and distress. 
 
 2. When the mind is not present, we look and do not 
 see; we hear and do not understand; we eat and do 
 not know the taste of what we eat. 
 
I HE GREAT LEARNING. 117 
 
 3. This is what is meant by saying that the cultiva- 
 tion of the person depends on the rectifying of the 
 mind. 
 
 The above seventh chapter of commentary explains rectifying the mind 
 and cultivating the person. 
 
 YIII. 1. What is meant by " The regulation of one's 
 family depends on the cultivation of his person/' is this : 
 — Men are partial where they feel affection and love ; 
 partial where they despise and dislike ; partial where 
 they stand in awe and reverence ; partial where they 
 feel sorrow and compassion ; partial where they are ar- 
 rogant and rude. Thus it is that there are few men in 
 the world, who love, and at the same time know the bad 
 qualities of the object of their love, or who hate, and 
 yet know the excellences of the object of their hatred. 
 
 2. Hence it is said, in the common adage, '' A man 
 does not know the wickedness of his son ; he does not 
 know the richness of his growing corn." 
 
 3. This is what is meant by saying that if the per- 
 son be not cultivated, a man cannot regulate his fam- 
 ily- 
 
 The above eighth chapter of commentary explains the cultivating the 
 person and regulating the family. 
 
 IX. 1. What is meant by " In order rightly to gov- 
 ern his State, it is necessary first to regulate his family," 
 is this : — It is not possible for one to teach others, while 
 he cannot teach his own family. Therefore, the ruler, 
 without going beyond his family, completes the lessons 
 for the State. There is filial piety : — therewith the sov- 
 ereign should be served. There is fraternal submission : 
 — therewith elders and superiors should be served. 
 There is kindness: — therewith the multitude should be 
 treated. 
 
 2. In the Announcement to K^ang, it is said, " Act as 
 if you were watching over an infant." If a mother is 
 really anxious about it, though she may not hit exactly 
 the wants of her infant, she will not be far from doing 
 
118 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 SO. There never has been a girl who learned to bring 
 up a child/ that she might afterwards marry. 
 
 3. From the loving example of one family, a whole 
 State becomes loving, and from its courtesies, the whole 
 State becomes courteous, while, from the ambition and 
 perverseness of the one man, the whole State may be 
 led to rebellious disorder; — such is the nature of the 
 influence. This verifies the saying, " Affairs may be 
 ruined by a single sentence ; a kingdom may be setr 
 tied by its one man." 
 
 4. Yaou and Shun led on the empire with benevo- 
 lence, and the people followed them. Kee and Chow 
 led on the empire with violence, and the people fol- 
 lowed them. The orders which these issued were con- 
 trary to the practices which they loved, and so the 
 people did not follow them. On this account, the ruler 
 must himself be possessed of the good qualities, and 
 then he may require them in the people. He must 
 not have the had qualities in himself, and then he may 
 require that they shall not be in the people. Never 
 has there been a man, who, not having reference to his 
 own character and wishes in dealing with others, was 
 able effectually to instruct them. 
 
 5. Thus we see how the government of the State 
 depends on the regulation of the family. 
 
 6. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " That peach tree, 
 so delicate and elegant ! How luxuriant is its foliage ! 
 This girl is going to her husband's house. She will 
 rightly order her household." Let the household be 
 rightly ordered, and then the people of the State may 
 be taught. 
 
 7. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " They can dis- 
 charge their duties to their elder brothers. They can 
 discharge their duties to their younger brothers." Let 
 the ruler discharge his duties to his elder and younger 
 brothers, and then he may teach the people of the 
 State. 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 119 
 
 8. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " In his deport- 
 ment there is nothing wrong ; he rectifies all the people 
 of the State." Yes ; when the ruler, as a father, a son, 
 and a brother, is a model, then the people imitate him. 
 
 9. This is what is meant by saying, " The govern- 
 ment of his kingdom depends on his regulation of the~ 
 family." 
 
 The above ninth chapter of commentary explains regulating the family 
 and governing the kingdom. 
 
 X. 1. What is meant by " The making the whole 
 empire peaceful and happy depends on the government 
 of his State," is this : — When the sovereign behaves to 
 his aged, as the aged should be behaved to, the people 
 become filial ; when the sovereign behaves to his elders, 
 as elders should be behaved to, the people learn broth- 
 erly submission ; when the sovereign treats compassion- 
 ately the young and helpless, the people do the same. 
 Thus the ruler has a principle with which, as with a 
 measuring square, he may regulate his conduct. 
 
 2. What a man dislikes in his superiors, let him not 
 display in the treatment of his inferiors, ; what he dis- 
 likes in inferiors, let him not display in the service of 
 his superiors ; what he hates in those who are before 
 him, let him not therewith precede those who are be- 
 hind him ; what he hates in those who are behind him, 
 let him not therewith follow those who are before him ; 
 what he hates to receive on the right, let him not be- 
 stow on the left ; what he hates to receive on the left, 
 let him not bestow on the right : — this is v/hat is called 
 " The principle, with which, as with a measuring square, 
 to regulate one's conduct." 
 
 3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " How much to 
 be rejoiced in are these princes, the parents of the 
 people ! When a prince loves what the people love, 
 and hates what the people hate, then is he what is called 
 the parent of the people. 
 
120 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 4. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Lofty is that 
 southern hill, with its rugged masses of rocks ! Greatly 
 distinguished are you, grandrtesicheY Yin, the people 
 all look up to you." Rulers of kingdoms may not neg- 
 lect to be careful. If they deviate to a mean selfish- 
 ness, they will be a disgrace in the empire. 
 
 5. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Before the sov- 
 ereigns of the Yin dynasty had lost the hearts of the 
 people, they could appear before God. Take warning 
 from the house of Yin. The great decree is not easily 
 preserved" This shows that, by gaining the people, 
 the kingdom is gained, and, by losing the people, the 
 kingdom is lost. 
 
 6. On this account, the ruler will first take pains 
 about his own virtue. Possessing virtue will give him 
 the people. Possessing the people will give him the 
 territory. Possessing the territory will give him its 
 wealth. Possessing the wealth, he will have resources 
 for expenditure. 
 
 7. Virtue is the root ; wealth is the result. 
 
 8. If he make the root his secondary object, and the 
 result his primary, he will only wrangle with his people, 
 and teach them rapine. 
 
 9. Hence, the accumulation of wealth is the way to 
 scatter the people; and the letting it be scattered 
 among them is the way to collect the people. 
 
 10. And hence, the ruler's words going forth contra- 
 ry to right, will come back to him in the same way, 
 and wealth, gotten by improper ways, will take its de- 
 parture by the same. 
 
 11. In the Announcement to K^ang, it is said, " The 
 decree indeed may not always rest on us;'' that is, 
 goodness obtains the decree, and the want of goodness 
 loses it. 
 
 12. In the Book of Ts^oo, it is said, " The kingdom 
 of Ts^oo does not consider that to be valuable. It val- 
 ues, instead, its good men." 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 121 
 
 13. Duhe Wan's uncle, Fan, said," Our fugitive does 
 not account that to be precious. What he considers 
 precious, is the affection due to his parent." 
 
 14. In the Declaration of the duke of Ts^in, it is said, 
 " Let me have but one minister, plain and sincere, not 
 pretending to other abilities, but with a simple, upright,- 
 mind ; and possessed of generosity, regarding the tal- 
 ents of others as though he himself possessed them 
 and, where he finds accomplished and perspicacious 
 men, loving them in his heart more than his mouth ex- 
 presses, and really showing himself able to bear them 
 and employ them : — such a minister will be able to pre- 
 serve my sons and grandsons, and black-haired people, 
 and benefits likewise to the kingdom may well be 
 looked for from him. But if it he his character, when 
 he finds men of ability, to be jealous and hate them ; 
 and when he finds the accomplished and perspicacious 
 men, to oppose them and not allow their advancement, 
 showing himself really not able to bear them : — such a 
 minister will not be able to protect my sons and grand- 
 sons and black-haired people ; and may he not also be 
 pronounced dangerous to the State ? " 
 
 15. It is only the truly virtuous man, who can send 
 away such a man and banish him, driving him out 
 among the barbarous tribes around, determined not to 
 dwell along with him in the Middle kingdom. This is 
 in accordance with the saying, " It is only the truly 
 virtuous man who can love or who can hate others." 
 
 16. To see men of worth and not be able to raise 
 them to office ; to raise them to office, but not to do so 
 quickly : — this is disrespectful. To see bad men, and 
 not be able to remove them ; to remove them, but not 
 to do so to a distance : — this is weakness. 
 
 17. To love those whom men hate, and to hate those 
 whom men love ; — this is to outrage the natural feeling 
 of men. Calamities cannot fail to come down on him 
 who does so. 
 
122 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 , 18. Thus we see that the sovereign has a great course 
 to pursue. He must show entire self-devotion and sin- 
 cerity to attain it, and by pride and extravagance he 
 will fail of it. 
 
 19. There is a great course also for the production 
 of wealth. Let the producers be many and the con- 
 sumers few. Let there be activity in the production, 
 and economy in the expenditure. Then the wealth 
 will always be sufficient. 
 
 20. The virtuous ruler, by means of his wealth, 
 makes himself more distinguished. The vicious ruler 
 accumulates wealth, at the expense of his life. 
 
 21. Never has there been a case of the sovereign 
 loving benevolence, and the people not loving right>- 
 eousness. Never has there been a case where the 
 people have loved righteousness, and the affairs of the 
 sovereign have not been carried to completion. And 
 never has there been a case where the wealth in such 
 a State, collected in the treasuries and arsenals, did not 
 continue in the sovereign's possession. 
 
 22. The officer Mang Heen said, " He who keeps 
 horses and a carriage does not look after fowls and pigs. 
 The family which keeps its stores of ice does not rear 
 cattle or sheep. So, the house which possesses a hun- 
 dred chariots should not keep a minister to look out for 
 imposts that he may lay them on the people. Than to 
 have such a minister, it were better for that house to 
 have one who should rob it of its revenues^ This is in 
 accordance with the saying : — " In a State, pecuniary 
 gain is not to be considered to be prosperity, but its 
 prosperity will be found in righteousness." 
 
 23. When he who presides over a State or a family 
 makes his revenues his chief business, he must be under 
 the influence of some small, mean man. He may con- 
 sider this man to be good ; but when such a person is 
 employed in the administration of a ' State or family, 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 123 
 
 calamities from Heaven, and injuries from men, will be- 
 fal it together, and, though a good man may take his 
 place, he will not be able to remedy the evil. This il- 
 lustrates again the saying, ''In a State, gain is not to 
 be considered prosperity, but its prosperity will be found 
 in righteousness." 
 
 The above tenth chapter of commentary explains the government of the 
 State, and the making the empire peaceful and happy. 
 
 There are thus, in all, ten chapters of commentary, the first four of 
 which discuss, in a general manner, the scope of the principal topic 
 of the Work ; while the other six go particularly into an exhibition of 
 the work required in its subordinate branches. The fifth chapter con- 
 tains the important subject of comprehending true excellence, and the 
 sixth, what is the foundation of the attainment of true sincerity. 
 Those two chapters demand the especial attention of the learner. Let 
 not the reader despise them because of their simplicity. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 My master, the philosopher Ch'ing, says, " Being without inclination to 
 either side is called chung ; admitting of no change is called yung. 
 By CHUNG is denoted the correct course to be pursued by all under 
 heaven ; by yung is denoted the fixed principle regulating all under 
 heaven. This work contains the law of the mind, which was handed 
 
 ' down from one to another, in the Confucian school, till Tsze-sze, fearing 
 lest in the course of time errors should arise about it, committed it to 
 writing, and delivered it to Mencius. The book flrsi speaks of one 
 principle ; it next spreads this out, and embraces all things ; finally, it 
 returns and gathers them all up under the one principle. Unroll it, 
 and it fills the universe ; roll it up, and it retires and lies hid in myste- 
 riousness. The relish of it is inexhaustible. The whole of it is solid 
 learning. When the skilful reader has explored it with delight till he 
 has apprehended it, he may carry it into practice all his life, and will 
 find that it cannot be exhausted. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. What Heaven has conferred is called 
 THE NATURE ; an accordance with this nature is called the 
 PATH of duty ; the regulation of this path is called in- 
 struction. 
 
 2. The path may not be left for an instant. If it 
 could be left, it would not be the path. On this ac- 
 count, the superior man does not wait till he sees 
 things, to be cautious, nor till he hears things, to be ap- 
 prehensive. 
 
 3. There is nothing more visible than what is secret, 
 and nothing more manifest than what is minute. There- 
 fore the superior man is watchful over himself, when he 
 is alone. *^ 
 
 4. While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sor- 
 row, or joy, the mind may be said to be in the state of 
 EQUILIBRIUM. When those feelings have been stirred, 
 and they act in their due degree, there ensues what 
 may be called the state of harmony. This equilibrium 
 is the great joot /rom which grow all the human actings 
 
 (124) 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 125 
 
 in the world, and this harmony is the universal path 
 which they all should pursue, 
 
 5. Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist 
 in perfection, and a happy order will prevail through- 
 out heaven and earth, and all things will be nourished 
 and flourish. 
 
 In the first chapter which is given above, Tsze-szo states the views which 
 had been handed down to him, as the basis of his discourse. First, it 
 shows clearly how the path of duty is to be traced to its origin in 
 Heaven, and is unchangeable, while the substance of it is provided in 
 ourselves, and may not be departed from. Next, it spffaks of the im- 
 portance of preserving and nourishing this, and of exercising a watch- 
 ful self-scrutiny with reference to it. Finally, it speaks of the merito- 
 rious achievements and transforming influence of sage and spiritual 
 men in their highest extent. The wish of Tsze-sze was that hereby 
 the learner should direct his thoughts inwards, and by searching in 
 himself, there find these truths, so that he might put aside all outward 
 temptations appealing to his selfishness, and fill up the measure of the 
 goodness which is natural to him. This chapter is what the writer 
 Yang called it, — " The sum of the whole work." In the ten chapters 
 which follow, Tsze-sze quotes the words of the Master to complete the 
 meaning of this. 
 
 II. 1. Chung-ne said, "The superior man embodies 
 the course of the Mean; the mean man acts contrary 
 to the course of the Mean. 
 
 2. " The superior man's embodying the course of the 
 Mean is because he is a superior man, and so always 
 maintains the Mean. The mean man's acting contrary 
 to the course of the Mean is because he is a mean man, 
 and has no caution." 
 
 III. The Master said, " Perfect is the virtue which " 
 is according to the Mean ! Rare have they long been 
 among the people, who could practise it ! " 
 
 ly. 1. The Master said, "I know how it is that the 
 path of the Mean is not yalked in : — The knowing go 
 beyond it, and the stupid do not come up to it. I know 
 how it is that the path of the Mean is not understood : 
 — The men of talents and virtue go beyond it, and the 
 worthless do not come up to it. 
 
 2. " There is no body but eats and drinks. But they 
 are few who can distinguish flavors." 
 15 
 
126 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 Y. The Master said, " Alas! How is the path of the 
 Mean untrodden ! " 
 
 YI. The Master said, " There was Shun : — He indeed 
 was greatly wise ! Shun loved to question others, and 
 to study their words, though they might be shallow. 
 He concealed what was bad in them, and displayed what 
 was good. He took hold of their two extremes, deter- 
 mined the Mean, and employed it in his government of 
 the people. It was by this that he was Shun ! " 
 
 YII. The Master said, " Men all say, ' We are wise ; ' 
 but being driven forward and taken in a net, a trap, or 
 a pitfall, they know not how to escape. Men all say, 
 ' We are wise ; ' but happening to choose the course of 
 the Mean, they are not able to keep it for a round 
 month." 
 
 Yin. The Master said, " This was the manner of 
 Hwuy : — he made choice of the Mean, and whenever 
 he got hold of what was good, he clasped it firmly, as 
 if wearing it on his breast, and did not lose it." 
 
 IX. The Master said, " The empire, its States, and 
 its families, may be perfectly ruled ; dignities and emol- 
 uments may be declined ; naked weapons may be tram- 
 pled under the feet ; — but the course of the Mean 
 cannot be attained to." 
 
 X. 1. Tsze-loo asked about energy. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Do you mean the energy of the 
 South, the energy of the North, or the energy which 
 you should cultivate yourself? 
 
 3. To show forbearance and gentleness in teaching 
 others; and not to revenge unreasonable conduct: — 
 this is the energy of Southern regions, and the good 
 man makes it his study. 
 
 4. " To lie under arms ; and meet death without re- 
 gret : — this is the energy of Northern regions, and the 
 forceful make it their study. 
 
 5. " Therefore, the superior man cultivates a friendr 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 127 
 
 ly harmony, without being weak. — How firm is he in 
 his energy ! He stands erect in the middle, without in- 
 clining to either side. — How firm is he in his energy ! 
 When good principles prevail in the government of his 
 country, he does not change from what he was in retire- 
 ment. — How firm is he in his energy ! When bad prin- 
 ciples prevail in the country, he maintains his course to 
 death without changing. — How firm is he in his en- 
 ergy!" 
 
 XI. 1. The Master said, "To live in obscurity, and 
 yet practise wonders, in order to be mentioned with 
 honour in future ages ; — this is what I do not do. 
 
 2. " The good man tries to proceed according to the 
 right path, but when he has gone halfway, he abandons 
 it ; — I am not able so to stop. 
 
 3. " The superior man accords with the course of the 
 Mean. Though he may be all unknown, unregarded 
 by the world, he feels no regret. — It is only the sage 
 who is able for this." 
 
 XII. 1. The way which the superior man pursues, 
 reaches wide and far, and yet is secret. 
 
 2. Common men and women, however ignorant, may 
 intermeddle with the knowledge of it ; yet in its ut- 
 most reaches, there is that which even the sage does 
 not know. Common men and women, however much 
 below the ordinary standard of character, can carry 
 it into practice ; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that 
 which even the sage is not able to carry into practice. 
 Great as heaven and earth are, men still find some 
 things in them with which to be dissatisfied. Thus it is, 
 that were the superior man to speak of his way in all 
 its greatness, nothing in the world would be found able 
 to embrace it, and were he to speak of it in its minute- 
 ness, nothing in the world would be found able to split 
 it. 
 
 3. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " The hawk flies 
 
128 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 up to heaven ; the fishes leap in the deep." This ex- 
 presses how this way is seen above and below. 
 
 4. The way of the superior man may be found, in its 
 simple elements, in the intercourse of common men and 
 women; but in its utmost reaches, it shines brightly 
 through heaven and earth. 
 
 The twelfth chapter above contains the words of Tsze-sze, and is de- 
 signed to illiustrate what is said in the first chapter, that " The path 
 may not be left." In the eight chapters which follow, he quotes, in a 
 miscellaneous way, the words of Confucius to illustrate it. 
 
 XIII. 1. The Master said, " The path is not far from 
 man. When men try to pursue a course, which is far 
 from the common indications of consciousness, this 
 course cannot be considered the path. 
 
 2. " In the Book of Poetry, it is said, ' In hewing an 
 axe-handle, in hewing an axe-handle, the pattern is not 
 far off.' We grasp one axe-handle to hew the other, 
 and yet, if we look askance from the one to the other, 
 we may consider them as apart. Therefore, the supe- 
 rior man governs men, according to their nature, with 
 what is proper to them, and as soon as they change 
 what is wrong, he stops, 
 
 3. " When one cultivates to the utmost the principles 
 of his nature, and exercises them on the principle of 
 reciprocity, he is not far from the path. What you do 
 not like, when done to yourself, do not do to others. 
 
 4. " In the way of the superior man there are four 
 things, to not one of which have I as yet attained. — To 
 serve my father, as I would require my son to serve 
 me : to this I have not attained ; to serve my prince, as 
 I would require my minister to serve me : to this I have 
 not attained ; to serve my elder brother, as I would re- 
 quire my younger brother to serve me : to this I have 
 not attained; to set the example in behaving to a friend, 
 as I would require him to behave to me : to this I have 
 not attained. Earnest in practising the ordinary vir- 
 tues and careful in speaking about them, if, in his prac- 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 129 
 
 tice, he has anything defective, the superior man dares 
 not but exert himself; and if, in his words, he has any 
 excess, he dares not allow himself such license. Thus 
 his words have respect to his actions, and his actions 
 have respect to his words ; is it not just an entire sin- 
 cerity which marks the superior man ? " 
 
 XIV. 1. The superior man does what is proper to 
 the station in which he is ; he does not desire to go be- 
 yond this. 
 
 2. In a position of wealth and honour, he does what 
 is proper to a position of wealth and honour. In a 
 poor and low position, he does what is proper to a poor 
 and low position. Situated among barbarous tribes, he 
 does what is proper to a situation among barbarous 
 tribes. In a position of sorrow and difficulty, he does 
 what is proper to a position of sorrow and difficulty. 
 The superior man can find himself in no position in 
 which he is not himself 
 
 3. In a high situation, he does not treat with con- 
 tempt his inferiors. In a low situation, he does not 
 court the favour of his superiors. He rectifies himself, 
 and seeks for nothing from others, so that he has no 
 dissatisfactions. He does not murmur against heaven, 
 nor grumble against men. 
 
 4. Thus it is that the superior man is quiet and calm, 
 waiting for the appointments of Heaven, while the 
 mean man walks in dangerous paths, looking for lucky 
 occurrences. 
 
 5. The Master said, " In archery we have something 
 like the way of the superior man. When the archer 
 misses the centre of the target, he turns round and 
 seeks for the cause of his failure in himself" 
 
 XV. 1. The way of the superior man may be com- 
 pared to what takes place in travelling, when to go to 
 a distance, we must first traverse the space that is near, 
 and in ascending a height, when we must begin from 
 the lower ground. 
 
130 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 2. It is said in the Book of Poetry^ "Happy union 
 with wife and children, is like the music of lutes and 
 harps. When there is concord among brethren, the 
 harmony is delightful and enduring. Thus, may you 
 regulate your family, and enjoy the pleasure of your 
 wife and children." 
 
 3. The Master said, " In such a state of things, pa- 
 rents have entire complacence ! " 
 
 XYI 1. The Master said, "How abundantly do 
 spiritual beings display the powers that belong to them ! 
 
 2. We look for them, but do not see them ; we listen 
 to, but do not hear them ; yet they enter into all things, 
 and there is nothing without them. 
 
 3. " They cause all the people in the empire to fast 
 and purify themselves, and array themselves in their 
 richest dresses, in order to attend at their sacrifices. 
 Then, like overflowing water, they seem to be over the 
 heads, and on the right and left of their worshippers. 
 
 4. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, ' The approaches 
 of the spirits, you cannot surmise • — and can you treat 
 them with indifference ? ' 
 
 5. " Such is the manifestness of what is minute ! 
 Such is the impossibility of repressing the outgoings of 
 sincerity ! " 
 
 XVII. 1. The Master said, " How greatly filial was 
 Shun ! His virtue was that of a sage ; his dignity was 
 the imperial throne ; his riches were all within the four 
 seas. He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, 
 and his descendants preserved the sacrifices to himself 
 
 2. " Therefore having such great virtue, it could not 
 but be that he should obtain the throne, that he should 
 obtain those riches, that he should obtain his fame, that 
 he should attain to his long life. 
 
 3. "Thus it is that Heaven, in the production of 
 things, is surely bountiful to them, according to their 
 qualities. Hence the tree that is flourishing, it nour- 
 ishes, while that which is ready to fall, it overthrows. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 131 
 
 4. " In the Book of Poetry, it is said, ' The admirable, 
 amiable, prince, displayed conspicuously his excelling 
 virtue, adjusting his people and adjusting his officers. 
 Therefore, he received from Heaven the emoluments of 
 dignity. It protected him, assisted him, decreed him 
 the throne ; sending from heaven these favours, as it 
 were repeatedly.' 
 
 5. " We may say therefore that he who is greatly 
 virtuous will be sure to receive the appointment of 
 Heaven." 
 
 XVIII. 1. The Master said, " It is only king Wan 
 of whom it can be said that he had no cause for grief! 
 His father was king Ke, and his son was king Woo. 
 His father laid the foundations of his dignity, and his 
 son transmitted it. 
 
 2. King Woo continued the enterprise of king T^ae, 
 king Ke, and king Wan. He once buckled on his ar- 
 mour, and got possession of the empire. He did not 
 lose the distinguished personal reputation which he had 
 throughout the empire. His dignity was the imperial 
 throne. His riches were the possession of all within 
 the four seas. He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral 
 temple, and his descendants maintained the sacrifices to 
 himself 
 
 3. " It was in his old age that king Woo received the 
 appointment to the throne, and the duke of Chow com- 
 pleted the virtuous course of Wan and Woo. He car- 
 ried up the title of king to T^ae and Ke, and sacrificed 
 tu all the former dukes above them with the imperial 
 ceremonies. And this rule he extended to the princes 
 of the empire, the great officers, the scholars, and the 
 common people. Was the father a great officer and the 
 son a scholar, then the burial was that due to a great 
 officer, and the sacrifice that due to a scholar. Was 
 the father a scholar, and the son a great officer, then 
 the burial was that due to a scholar, and the sacrifice 
 
132 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 that due to a great officer. The one year's mourning 
 was made to extend only to the great officers, but the 
 three years' mourning extended to the emperor. In 
 the mourning for a father or mother, he allowed no dif- 
 ference between the noble and the mean." 
 
 XIX. 1. The Master said, " How far-extending was 
 the filial piety of king Woo and the duke of Chow ! 
 
 2. " Now filial piety is seen in the skilful carrying 
 out of the wishes of our fore-fathers, and the skilful 
 carrying forward of their undertakings. 
 
 3. " In spring and autumn, they repaired and beauti- 
 fied the temple-halls of their fathers, set forth their an- 
 cestral vessels, displayed their various robes, and pre- 
 sented the offerings of the several seasons. 
 
 4. By means of the ceremonies of the ancestral 
 temple, they distinguished the imperial kindred accord- 
 ing to their order of descent. By ordering the parties 
 present according to their rank, they distinguished the 
 more noble and the less. By the arrangement of the 
 services, they made a distinction of talents and worth. 
 In the ceremony of general pledging, the inferiors pre- 
 sented the cup to their superiors, and thus something 
 was given the lowest to do. At the concluding feast, 
 places were given according to the hair, and thus was 
 made the distinction of years. 
 
 5. " They occupied the places of their fore-fathers, 
 practised their ceremonies, and performed their music. 
 They reverenced those whom they honoured, and loved 
 those whom they regarded with affection. Thus they 
 served the dead as they would have served them alive ; 
 they served the departed as they would have served 
 them had they been continued among them. 
 
 6. " By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven 
 and Earth they served God, and by the ceremonies of 
 the ancestral temple they sacrificed to their ancestors. 
 He who understands the ceremonies of the sacrifices to 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 133 
 
 Heaven and Earth, and the meaning of the several sac- 
 rifices to ancestors, would find the government of a 
 kingdom as easy as to look into his palm ! "^ 
 
 XX. 1. The duke Gae asked about government. 
 
 2. The Master said, " The government of Wan and 
 Woo is displayed in the records, — the tablets of wood 
 and bamboo. Let there be the men and the govern- 
 ment will flourish; but without the men, their gov- 
 ernment decays and ceases." 
 
 3. " With the right men the growth of government 
 is rapid, just as vegetation is rapid in the earth ; and 
 moreover their government might he called an easily- 
 growing rush. 
 
 4. " Therefore the administration of government lies 
 in getting proper men. Such men are to be got by 
 means of the rider's own character. That character is 
 to be cultivated by his treading in the ways of duty. 
 And the treading those ways of duty is to be cultivated 
 by the cherishing of benevolence. 
 
 5. " Benevolence is the characteristic element of hu- 
 manity, and the great exercise of it is in loving rela- 
 tives. Righteousness is the accordance of actions with 
 what is right, and the great exercise of it is in honour- 
 ing the worthy. The decreasing measures of the love 
 due to relatives, and the steps in the honour due to the 
 worthy, are produced by the principle of propriety. 
 
 6. " When those in inferior situations do not possess 
 the confidence of their superiors, they cannot retain 
 the government of the people. 
 
 7. " Hence the sovereign may not neglect the culti- 
 vation of his own character. Wishing to cultivate his 
 character, he may not neglect to serve his parents. In 
 order to serve his parents, he may not neglect to ac- 
 quire a knowledge of men. In order to know men, he 
 may not dispense with a knowledge of Heaven. 
 
 8. " The duties of universal obligation are five, and 
 
 16 
 
134 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 the virtues wherewith they are practised are three. 
 The duties are those between sovereign and minister, 
 between father and son, between husband and wife, be- 
 tween elder brother and younger, and those belonging 
 to the intercourse of friends. Those fiye are the duties 
 of universal obligation. Knowledge, magnanimity, and 
 energy, these three are the virtues universally binding. 
 And the means by which they carry the duties into prac- 
 tice is singleness. 
 
 9. " Some are born with the knowledge of those du- 
 ties ; some know them by study ; and some acquire the 
 knowledge after a painful feeling of their ignorance. 
 But the knowledge being possessed, it comes to the 
 same thing. Some practice them with a natural ease ; 
 some from a desire for their advantages ; and some by 
 strenuous effort. But the achievement being made, it 
 comes to the same thing.'* 
 
 10. The Master said, " To be fond of learning is to be 
 near to knowledge. To practice with vigour is to be 
 near to magnanimity. To possess the feeling of shame 
 is to be near to energy. 
 
 11. " He who knows these three things, knows how 
 to cultivate his own character. Knowing how to culti- 
 vate his own character, he knows how to govern other 
 men. Knowing how to govern other men, he knows 
 how to govern the empire with all its States and fami- 
 lies. 
 
 12. "All who have the government of the Empire 
 with its States and families have nine standard rules to 
 follow ; — viz., the cultivation of their own characters ; 
 the honouring of men of virtue and talents; affection 
 towards their relatives ; respect towards the great min- 
 isters ; kind and considerate treatment of the whole 
 body of officers ; dealing with the mass of the people 
 as children ; encouraging the resort of all classes of ar- 
 tizans ; indulgent treatment of men from a distance ; 
 and the kindly cherishing of the princes of the States. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 135 
 
 13. " By the ruler's cultivation of his own character, 
 the duties of universal obligation are set forth. By 
 honouring men of virtue and talents, he is preserved 
 from errors of judgment. By showing affection to his 
 relatives, there is no grumbling nor resentment among^ 
 his uncles and brethren. By respecting the great min- 
 isters, he is kept from errors in the practice of govern- 
 ment. By kind and considerate treatment of the whole 
 body of officers, they are led to make the most grateful 
 return for his courtesies. By dealing with the mass of 
 people as his children, they are led to exhort one an- 
 other to what is good. By encouraging the resort of 
 artizans, his resources for expenditure are rendered am- 
 ple. By indulgent treatment of men from a distance, 
 they are brought to resort to him from all quarters. 
 And by kindly cherishing the princes of the States, the 
 whole empire is brought to revere him. 
 
 14. " Self-adjustment and purification, with careful 
 regulation of his dress, and the not making a movement 
 contrary to the rules of propriety : — this is the way for 
 the ruler to cultivate his person. Discarding slander- 
 ers, and keeping himself from the seductions of beauty ; 
 making light of riches, and giving honour to virtue , — 
 this is the way for him to encourage men of worth and 
 talents. Giving them places of honour and large emol- 
 ument, and sharing with them in their likes and dis- 
 likes : — this is the way for him to encourage his relatives 
 to love him. Giving them numerous officers to dis- 
 charge their orders and commissions : — this is the way 
 for him to encourage the great ministers. According 
 to them a generous confidence, and making their emol- 
 uments large : — this is the way to encourage the body 
 of officers. Employing them only at the proper times, 
 and making the imposts light : — this is the way to en- 
 courage the people. By daily examinations and month- 
 ly trials, and by making their rations in accordance 
 
136 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 with their labours : — this is the way to encourage the 
 classes of artizans. To escort them on their departure 
 and meet them on their coming ; to commend the good 
 among them, and show compassion to the incompetent : 
 — this is the way to treat indulgently men from a dis- 
 tance. To restore families whose line of succession has 
 been broken, and to revive States that have been ex- 
 tinguished; to reduce to order States that are in con- 
 fusion, and support those which are in peril ; to have 
 fixed times for their own reception at court, and the re- 
 ception of their envoys ; to send them away after lib- 
 eral treatment, and welcome their coming with small 
 contributions: — this is the way to cherish the princes 
 of the States. 
 
 15. "All who have the government of the empire 
 with its States and families have the above nine stand- 
 ard rules. And the means by which they are carried 
 into practice is singleness. 
 
 16. " In all things success depends on previous prep- 
 aration, and without such previous preparation, there 
 is sure to be failure. If what is to be spoken be pre- 
 viously determined, there will be no stumbling. If 
 affairs be previously determined, there will be no diffi- 
 culty with them. If one's actions have been previously 
 determined, there will be no sorrow in connection with 
 them. If principles of conduct have been previously 
 determined, the practice of them will be inexhaustible. 
 
 17. " When those in inferior situations do not obtain 
 the confidence of the sovereign, they cannot succeed in 
 governing the people. There is a way to obtain the 
 confidence of the sovereign ; — if one is not trusted by 
 his friends, he will not get the confidence of his sov- 
 ereign. There is a way to being trusted by one's 
 friends ; — if one is not obedient to his parents, he will 
 not be true to friends. There is a way to being obedi- 
 ent to one's parents ; — if one, on turning his thoughts 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 137 
 
 in upon himself, finds a want of sincerity, he will not 
 be obedient to his parents. There is a way to the at- 
 tainment of sincerity in one's-self ; — if a man do not 
 understand what is good, he will not attain sincerity in 
 himself __ 
 
 18. " Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attain- 
 ment of sincerity is the way of men. He who pos- 
 sesses sincerity, is he who, without an effort, hits what is 
 right, and apprehends, without the exercise of thought ; 
 — he is the sage who naturally and easily embodies the 
 right way. He who attains to sincerity, is he who 
 chooses what is good, and firmly holds it fast. 
 
 19. " To this attainment there are requisite the ex- 
 tensive study of what is good, accurate inquiry about it, 
 careful reflection on it, the clear discrimination of it, 
 and the earnest practice of it. 
 
 20. "The superior man, while there is any thing he 
 has not studied, or while in what he has studied there is 
 any thing he cannot understand, will not intermit his 
 labour. While there is any thing he has not inquired 
 about, or any thing in what he has inquired about which 
 he does not know, he will not intermit his labour. While 
 there is any thing which he has not reflected on, or any 
 thing in what he has reflected on which he does not 
 apprehend, he will not intermit his labour. While there 
 is any thing which he has not discriminated, or his dis- 
 crimination is not clear, he will not intermit his labour. 
 If there be anything which he has not practised, or his 
 practice fails in earnestness, he will not intermit his- 
 labour. If another man succeed by one efibrt, he will 
 use a hundred efforts. If another man succeed by ten 
 efforts, he will use a thousand. 
 
 21. " Let a man proceed in this way, and, though dull, 
 he will surely become intelligent ; though weak, he will 
 surely become strong." 
 
 XXI. When we have intelligence resulting from 
 
138 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 sincerity, this condition is to be ascribed to nature; 
 when we have sincerity resulting from inteUigence, this 
 condition is to be ascribed to instruction. But given 
 the sincerity, and there shall be the intelligence ; given 
 the intelligence, and there shall be the sincerity. 
 
 The above is the twenty-first chapter. Tsze-sze takes up in it, and dis- 
 courses from, the subjects of " the way of Heaven" and " the way of 
 men," mentioned in the preceding chapter. The twelve chapters that 
 follow are all from Tsze-sze, repeating and illustrating the meaning of 
 this one. 
 
 XXIL It is only he who is possessed of the most 
 complete sincerity that can exist under heaven, who 
 can give its full development to his nature. Able to 
 give its full development to his own nature, he can do 
 the same to the nature of other men. Able to give 
 its full development to the nature of other men, he can 
 give their full development to the natures of animals 
 and things. Able to give their full development to the 
 natures of creatures and things, he can assist the trans- 
 forming and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth. 
 Able to assist the transforming and nourishing powers 
 of Heaven and Earth, he may with Heaven and Earth 
 form a ternion. 
 
 XXni. Next to the above is he who cultivates to 
 the utmost the shoots of goodness in him. From those 
 he can attain to the possession of sincerity. This sin- 
 cerity becomes apparent. From being apparent, it 
 becomes manifest. From being manifest, it becomes 
 brilliant. Brilliant, it affects others. Affecting others, 
 they are changed by it. Changed by it, they are trans- 
 formed. It is only he who is possessed of the most 
 complete sincerity that can exist under heaven, who 
 can transform. 
 
 XXIV. It is characteristic of the most entire sincer- 
 ity to be able to foreknow. When a nation or family is 
 about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens ; 
 and when it is about to perish, there are sure to be im- 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 139 
 
 lucky omens. Such events are seen in the milfoil and 
 tortoise, and affect the movements of the four limbs. 
 When calamity or happiness is about to come, the good 
 shall certainly be foreknown by him, and the evil also. 
 Therefore the individual possessed of the most complete 
 sincerity is like a spirit. 
 
 XXV. 1. Sincerity is that whereby self-completion 
 is effected, and its way is that by which man must di- 
 rect himself 
 
 2. Sincerity is the end and beginning of things ; 
 without sincerity there would be nothing. On this 
 account, the superior man regards the attainment of 
 sincerity as the most excellent thing. 
 
 3. The possessor of sincerity does not merely accom- 
 plish the self-completion of himself With this quality 
 he completes other men and things also. The complet- 
 ing himself shows his perfect virtue. The completing 
 other men and things shows his knowledge. Both these 
 are virtues belonging to the nature, and this is the way 
 by which a union is effected of the external and inter- 
 nal. Therefore, whenever he — the entirely sincere man 
 — employs them, — that is, these virtues, — their action 
 will he right. 
 
 XXYI. 1. Hence to entire sincerity there belongs 
 ceaselessness. 
 
 2. Not ceasing, it continues long. Continuing long, 
 it evidences itself 
 
 3. Evidencing itself, it reaches far. Reaching far, it 
 becomes large and substantial. Large and substantial, 
 it becomes high and brilliant. 
 
 4. Large and substantial ; — this is how it contains all 
 things. High and brilliant ; — this is how it overspreads 
 all things. Reaching far and continuing long ; — this is 
 how it perfects all things. 
 
 5. So large and substantial, the individual possessing 
 it is the coequal of Earth. So high and brilliant, it 
 
140 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 makes him the coequal of Heaven. So far-reaching 
 and long-continuing, it makes him infinite. 
 
 6. Such being its nature, without any display, it be- 
 comes manifested ; without any movement, it produces 
 changes; and without any effort, it accomplishes its 
 ends. 
 
 7. The way of Heaven and Earth may be completely 
 declared in one sentence. — They are without any double- 
 ness, and so they produce things in a manner that is 
 unfathomable. 
 
 8. The way of Heaven and Earth is large and sub- 
 stantial, high and brilliant, far-reaching and long-endur- 
 
 ing. 
 
 9. The heaven now before us is only this bright 
 shining spot ; but when viewed in its inexhaustible ex- 
 tent, the sun, moon, stars, and constellations of the 
 zodiac, are suspended in it, and all things are over- 
 spread by it. The earth before us is but a handful of 
 soil ; but when regarded in its breadth and thickness, 
 it sustains mountains like the Hwa and the Yoh, with- 
 out feeling their weight, and contains the rivers and 
 seas, without their leaking away. The mountain now 
 before us appears only a stone ; but when contemplated 
 in all the vastness of its size, we see how the grass and 
 trees are produced on it, and birds and beasts dwell on 
 it, and precious things which men treasure up are found 
 on it. The water now before us appears but a ladleful ; 
 yet extending our view to its unfathomable depths, the 
 largest tortoises, iguanas, iguanadons, dragons, fishes 
 and turtles, are produced in them, articles of value and 
 sources of wealth abound in them. 
 
 10. It is said in the Book of Poetry," The ordinances 
 of Heaven, how profound are they and imceasing!" 
 The meaning is, that it is thus that Heaven is Heaven. 
 And again, " How illustrious was it, the singleness of 
 the virtue of king Wan ! " indicating that it was thus 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 141 
 
 that king Wan was what he was. Singleness likewise 
 is unceasing. 
 
 XXVII. 1. How great is the path proper to the 
 
 2. Like overjBiowing water, it sends forth and nour- 
 ishes all things, and rises up to the height of heaven. 
 
 3. All complete is its greatness ! It embraces the three 
 hundred rules of ceremony, and the three thousand 
 rules of demeanour. 
 
 4. It waits for the proper man, and then it is trodden. 
 
 5. Hence it is said, " Only by perfect virtue can the 
 perfect path, in all its courses, be made a fact. 
 
 6. Therefore, the superior man honours his virtuous 
 nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seek- 
 ing to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to 
 omit none of the most exquisite and minute points 
 which it embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height 
 and brilliancy, so as to pursue the course of the Mean. 
 He cherishes his old knowledge, and is continually ac- 
 quiring new. He exerts an honest, generous, earnest- 
 ness, in the esteem and practice of all propriety. 
 
 7. Thus, when occupying a high situation, he is not 
 proud, and in a low situation, he is not insubordinate. 
 When the kingdom is well-governed, he is sure by his 
 words to rise ; and when it is ill-governed, he is sure by 
 his silence to command forbearance to himself Is not 
 this what we find in the Book of Poetry, — " Intelligent 
 is he and prudent, and so preserves his person ? " 
 
 XXVIII. 1. The Master said, "Let a man who is 
 ignorant be fond of using his own judgment ; let a 
 man without rank be fond of assuming a directing 
 power to himself; let a man who is living in the pres- 
 ent age go back to the ways of antiquity ; — on the 
 persons of all who act thus calamities will be sure to 
 come. 
 
 2. To no one but the emperor does it belong to order 
 17 
 
142 . CHINESE CLASSICS 
 
 ceremonies, to fix the measures, and to determine the 
 characters. 
 
 3. Now, over the empire, carriages have all wheels 
 of the same size ; all writing is with the same charac- 
 ters ; and for conduct there are the same rules. 
 
 4. One may occupy the throne, but if he have not 
 the proper virtue, he may not dare to make ceremo- 
 nies or music. One may have the virtue, but if he do 
 not occupy the throne, he may not presume to make 
 ceremonies or music. 
 
 5. The Master said, " I may describe the ceremonies 
 of the Hea dynasty, but Ke cannot sufficiently attest 
 my words. I have learned the ceremonies of the Yin 
 dynasty, and in Sung they still continue. I have 
 learned the ce^iemonies of Chow, which are now used, 
 and I follow Chow." 
 
 XXIX. 1. He who attains to the sovereignty of the 
 empire, having those three important things, shall be 
 able to effect that there shall be few errors under his 
 government. 
 
 2. However excellent may have been the regulations 
 of those of former times, they cannot be attested. 
 Not being attested, they cannot command credence, 
 and not being credited, the people would not follow 
 them. However excellent might be the regulations 
 made by one in an inferior situation, he is not in a po- 
 sition to be honoured. Unhonoured, he cannot com- 
 mand credence, and not being credited, the people 
 would not follow his rules. 
 
 3. Therefore the institutions of the Ruler are rooted 
 in his ' own character and conduct, and sufficient attest- 
 ation of them is given by the masses of the people. 
 He examines them by comparison with those of the 
 three kings, and finds them without mistake. He sets 
 them up before heaven and earth, and finds nothing in 
 them contrary to their mode of operation. He presents 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 143 
 
 himself with them before spiritual beings, and no doubts 
 about them arise. He is prepared to wait for the rise 
 of a sage, a hundred ages after, and has no misgivings. 
 
 4. His presenting himself with his institutions before 
 spiritual beings, without any doubts about them arising,- 
 shows that he knows Heaven. His being prepared, 
 without any misgivings, to wait for the rise of a sage a 
 hundred ages after, shows that he knows men. 
 
 5. Such being the case, the movements of such a 
 ruler, illustrating his institutions, constitute an example 
 to the empire for ages. His acts are for ages a law to 
 the empire. His words are for ages a lesson to the em- 
 pire. Those who are far from him, look longingly for 
 him ; and those who are near him, are never wearied 
 with him. 
 
 6. It is said in the Book of Poetry, — " Not disliked 
 there, not tired of here, from day to day and night to 
 night, will they perpetuate their praise." Never has 
 there been a ruler, who did not realize this description, 
 that obtained an early renown throughout the empire. 
 
 XXX. 1. Chung-ne handed down the doctrines of 
 Yaou and Shun, as if they had been his ancestors, and 
 elegantly displayed the regulations of Wan and Woo, 
 taking them as his model. Above, he harmonized with 
 the times of heaven, and below, he was conformed to 
 the water and land. 
 
 2. He may be compared to heaven and earth, in their 
 supporting and containing, their overshadowing and 
 curtaining, all things. He may be compared to the 
 four seasons in their alternating progress, and to the 
 sun and moon in their successive shining. 
 
 3. All things are nourished together without their 
 injuring one another. The courses of the seasons, and 
 of the Sim and moon, are pursued without any collision 
 among them. The smaller energies are like river ciir- 
 rents; the greater energies are seen in mighty trans- 
 
144 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 formations. It is this which makes heaven and earth 
 so great. 
 
 XXXI. 1. It is only he, possessed of all sagely qual- 
 ities that can exist under heaven, who shows himself 
 quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far- 
 reaching intelligence, and, all-embracing knowledge, 
 fitted to exercise rule ; magnanimous, generous, benign, 
 and mild, fitted to exercise forbearance ; impulsive, en- 
 ergetic, firm, and enduring, fitted to maintain a firm 
 hold; self-adjusted, grave, never swerving from the 
 Mean, and correct, fitted to command reverence ; ac- 
 complished, distinctive, concentrative, and searching, 
 fitted to exercise discrimination. 
 
 2. All-embracing is he and vast, deep and active as 
 a fountain, sending forth in their due seasons his vir- 
 tues. 
 
 3. All-embracing and vast, he is like heaven. Deep 
 and active as a fountain, he is like the abyss. He is 
 seen, and the people all reverence him ; he speaks, and 
 the people all believe him ; he acts, and the people all 
 are pleased with him. Therefore his fame overspreads 
 the Middle kingdom, and extends to all barbarous tribes. 
 Wherever ships and carriages reach; wherever the 
 strength of man penetrates; wherever the heavens 
 overshadow and the earth sustains ; wherever the sun 
 and moon shine ; wherever frosts and dews fall : — all 
 who have blood and breath unfeignedly honour and 
 love him. Hence it is said, — "He is the equal of 
 Heaven." 
 
 XXXII. 1. It is only the individual possessed of 
 the most entire sincerity that can exist under heaven, 
 who can adjust the great invariable relations of man- 
 kind, establish the great fundamental virtues of human- 
 ity, and know the transforming and nurturing opera- 
 tions of Heaven and Earth ; — shall this individual have 
 any being or anything beyond himself on which he de- 
 pends ? 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 145 
 
 2. Call him man in his ideal, how earnest is he ! Call 
 him an abyss, how deep is he ! Call him Heaven, how 
 vast is he ! 
 
 3. Who can know him, but he who is indeed quick in 
 apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching in- 
 telligence, and all-embracing knowledge, possessing all 
 heavenly virtue ? 
 
 XXXIII. 1. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " Over 
 her embroidered robe she puts a plain, single garment," 
 intimating a dislike to the display of the elegance of 
 the former. Just so, it is the way of the superior man 
 to prefer the concealment of his virtue, while it daily 
 becomes more illustrious, and it is the way of the mean 
 man to seek notoriety, while he daily goes more and 
 more to ruin. It is characteristic of the superior man, 
 appearing insipid, yetr never to produce satiety ; while 
 showing a simple negligence, yet to have his accomplish- 
 ments recognized ; while seemingly plain, yet to be dis- 
 criminating. He knows how what is distant lies in 
 what is near. He knows where the wind proceeds from. 
 He knows how what is minute becomes manifested. 
 Such an one, we may be sure, will enter into virtue. 
 
 2. It is said in the Book of Poetry, "Although the 
 fish sink and lie at the bottom, it is still quite clearly 
 
 seen." Therefore the superior man examines his heart, 
 that there may be nothing wrong there, and that he 
 may have no cause for dissatisfaction with himsc^lf 
 That wherein the superior man cannot be equalled is 
 simply this, — his work which other men cannot see. 
 
 3. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " Looked at in 
 your apartment, be there free from shame, where you 
 are exposed to the light of heaven." Therefore, the 
 superior man, even when he is not moving, has a feel- 
 ing of reverence, and while he speaks not, he has the 
 feeling of truthfulness. 
 
 4. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " In silence is the 
 
146 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 offering presentedj and the spirit approaclied to ; there 
 is not the slighest contention." Therefore the superior 
 man does not use rewards, and the people are stimu- 
 lated to virtue. He does not show anger, and the 
 people are awed more than by hatchets and battle- 
 axes. 
 
 5. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " What needs no 
 display is virtue. All the princes imitate it." There- 
 fore, the superior man being sincere and reverential, 
 the whole world is conducted to a state of happy tran- 
 quillity. 
 
 6. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " I regard with 
 pleasure your brilliant virtue, making no great display 
 of itself in sounds and appearances." The Master said, 
 " Among the appliances to transform the people, sounds 
 and appearances are but trivial influences. It is said in 
 another ode, ' His virtue is light as a hair.' Still, a hair 
 will admit of comparison as to its size. ' The doings of 
 the supreme Heaven have neither sound nor smell.' — 
 That is perfect virtue." 
 
 The above is the thirty-third chapter. Tsze-sze having carried his de- 
 scriptions to the extremest point in the preceding chapters, turns back 
 in this, and examines the source of his subject; and then again from 
 the work of the learner, free from all selllshness, and watchful over him- 
 self when he is alone, he carries out his description, till by easy steps 
 he brings it to the consummation ot the whole empire tranquillized by 
 simple and sincere reverentialness. He farther eulogizes its mysteri- 
 ousness, till he speaks of it at last as without sound or smell. He here 
 takes up the sum of his whole Work, and speaks of it in a compendi- 
 ous manner. Most deep and earnest was he in thus going again over 
 his ground, admonishing and instructing men : — shall the learner not 
 do his utmost in the study of the Work ? 
 
INDEXES. 
 
 INDEX I. 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 The figures before the ( :) refer to the Book — after it to the Chapter. 
 
 Ability, various of Conf., Book 9, Chap- 
 ter G. 
 Able officers, eight, of Chow, 18: 11. 
 Abroad, when a son may go, 4: 19. 
 Aecomplishments come after duty, 1 : 
 
 6. — blended with solid excellence, 6 : 
 
 16. 
 Achievement of government, the great, 
 
 13:9. 
 Acknowledgment of Conf. in estima- 
 ting himself, 7 : 32. 
 Acting heedlessly, agninst, 7: 27. 
 Actions should always be right, 14 ; 4. — 
 
 of Conf. were lessons and laws, 17 : 
 
 19. 
 Adaptation lor government of Yen 
 
 Yung, &c., 6: 1.— of Tsze-loo, &c., 
 
 6:6. 
 Admiration. Yen Yuen's of Conf. doc- 
 trines, 9 : 16. 
 Admonition of Conf. to Tsze-loo, 11 : 
 
 14. 
 Advanced years, improvement difficult 
 
 in, 17:26. 
 Adversity, men are known in times of, 
 
 9:27. 
 Advice against useless expenditure, 11 : 
 
 13. 
 Age, the vice to be guarded against in, 
 
 16:7. 
 Aim, the chief, 1 : 16. 
 Aims, of Tsze-loo, Tsang-sih, &c., 11 : 
 
 25. 
 An all-pervading unity, the knowledge 
 
 of, Conf. aim, 15 : 2. 
 Anarchy of Conf. time, 3: 5. 
 Ancient rites, how Conf. cleaved to, 3 : 
 
 17. 
 Ancients, their slowness to speak, 4: 
 
 22. 
 
 Antiquity, Conf. fondness for, 7 : 19. — 
 decay of the monuments of, 3 : 9. 
 
 Anxiety of parents, 2: 6. — of Conf. 
 about the training of his disciples, 5 : 2. 
 
 Appearances, fair, are suspicious, 1 : 3, 
 &17:17. 
 
 Appellations for the wife of a prince, 
 16:14. 
 
 Appreciation, what conduct will insure, 
 15 : 5. 
 
 Approaches of the unlikely, readily 
 met by Conf. 7 : 28. 
 
 Approbation, Conf., of NanYung,ll : 5. 
 
 Aptitude of the Keun-tsze, 2 : 12. 
 
 Archery, contention in, 3 : 7. — a disci- 
 pline of virtue, 3 : 16. 
 
 Ardent and cautious disciples, Conf. 
 obliged to be content with, 13 : 21. 
 
 Ardour of Tsze-loo, 5 : 6. 
 
 Art of governing, 12 : 14. 
 
 Assent without relbrmation, a hopeless 
 ease, 9 : 23. 
 
 Attachment to Conf. of Yen Yuen, 11 : 
 23. 
 
 Attainment, different stages of, 6 ; 18. 
 
 Attainments of Hwuy, like those of 
 Conf, 7 : 10. 
 
 Attributes of the true scholar, 19 : 1. 
 
 Auspicious omens, Conf. gives up hope 
 for want of, 9 : 8. 
 
 Avenge murder, how Conf., wished to, 
 14:22. 
 
 Bad name, the danger of a, 19 : 20. 
 
 Barbarians, how to civilize, 9 : 13. 
 
 Becloudings of the mind, 17 : 8. 
 
 Bed, manner of Conf in, 10 : 16. 
 
 Benefits derived from studying the 
 Odes, 17 : 9. 
 
 Benevolence, to be exercised with pru- 
 dence, 6: 24.— and wisdom, 12: 22. 
 
 (147) 
 
148 
 
 SUBJECTS IN CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 Blind, consideration of Conf. for the, 
 15:41. 
 
 Boldness, excessive of Tsze-loo. 7 : 10. 
 
 Burial, Confucius dissatisfaction with 
 Hwuy's, 11 : 10. 
 
 Business, every man should mind his 
 own,8;14., cfel4:27. 
 
 Calmness of Conf. in danger, 7 : 22. 
 
 Capacity of Mang Kung-ch'o, 14: 12. 
 
 Capacities of the s'jperior and inferior 
 man, 15: 33. 
 
 Careful, about what things Conf. was, 
 7:12. 
 
 Carriage, Conf. at and in his, 10 : 17. — 
 Conf. refuses to sell his, to assist a 
 needless expenditure, 11:7. 
 
 Caution, advantages of, 4: 23. — repent- 
 ance avoided by, 1 : 13. — in speaking, 
 12 : 3, and 15 : 7. 
 
 Ceremonies and music, 11 : 1. — end of, 
 1 : 12. — impropriety in, 3 : 10. — influ- 
 ence of in government, 4 : 13. — regu- 
 lated according to their object, 3 : 4. 
 — secondary and ornamental, 3 : 8. — 
 vain without virtue, 3 : 3. 
 
 Character, (s), admirable, of Tsze-yu, 
 &c., 15 : 6. — differences in, owing to 
 habit, 17 : 2. — different, of two dukes, 
 14: 16. — disliked by Conf., and Tsze- 
 kung, 17 : 24.— how Conf. dealt with 
 different, 11 : 21. — how to determine, 
 2: 10.— lofty, of Shun and Yu, 8: 18. 
 — of four disciples, 11 : 17. — of Kung- 
 Shuh Wan, 14: 14. — of Tan-t'ae 
 Meen-ming, 6 : 12. — various elements 
 of, in Conf., 7: 37. — what may be 
 learnt from, 4 : 17. 
 
 Characteristics, of perfect virtue, 13 : 
 19. — of ten disciples, 11 : 2. 
 
 Claimed, what Conf., 7 : 33. 
 
 Classes of men, in relation to knowl- 
 edge, four, 16:9. — only two whom 
 practice cannot change, 17 : 3. 
 
 Climbing the heavens, equalling Conf 
 like, 19 : 25. 
 
 Common practices, some indifferent 
 and others not, 9 : 3. 
 
 Communications to be proportioned to 
 susceptibility, 6 : 19. 
 
 Comparison of Sze and Shang, 11 : 15. 
 
 Comparisons, against making, 14 : 31. 
 
 Compass and vigour of mind necessary 
 to a scholar, 8 : 7. 
 
 Compassion, how a criminal-judge 
 should cherish, 18 : 19. 
 
 Complete man, of the, 14: 13. — virtue, 
 1:14, and 6: 16. 
 
 Concealment, not practised by Conf. 
 with his disciples, 7 : 23. 
 
 Concubines, difficult to treat, 17 : 25. 
 
 Condemnation of Tsang Woo-chung, 
 14 : 15. — of Conf for seeking employ- 
 ment, 14 : 41. 
 
 Condition, only virtue adapts a man to 
 his, 4: 2. 
 
 Conduct that will be everywhere ap- 
 preciated, 15 : 5. 
 
 Confidence, enjoying, necessary to 
 serving and to ruling, 19 : 10. 
 
 Connate, Conf. knowledge not, 7 : 19. 
 
 Consideration, of Conf. for the blind, 
 15:41. — a generous, of others, rec- 
 ommended, 18 ; 10. 
 
 Consolation to Tsze-new, when anxious 
 about his brother, 12 : 5. 
 
 Constancy of mind, importance of, 13 ; 
 22. 
 
 Constant Mean, the, 6 : 27. 
 
 Contemporaries of Conf. described, 16 : 
 11. 
 
 Contention, the superior man avoids, 
 3:7. 
 
 Contentment in poverty of Tsze-loo,9; 
 26. — of Conf with his condition, 9 : 
 11.— of the officer King, 13 : 8. 
 
 Contrast of Hwuy and Tsze, 11 : 18. 
 
 Conversation, with Chung-kung, 12: 2. 
 —with Tsze-chang, 12: 6, 7; 20: 2.— 
 with Tsze-kung, 14 : 18. — with Tsze- 
 loo, 14: 13, 17.— with Tsze-new, 12: 
 3.— with Yen Yuen, 12 : 1. 
 
 Countenance, the, in filial piety, 1 : 8. 
 
 Courage, not doing right from want of, 
 2:24. 
 
 Criminal judge, should cherish com- 
 passion, 19 : 19. 
 
 Culpabilitv of not reforming known 
 faults, 15 : 29. 
 
 Danger, Conf assured in time of, 9 : 5. 
 
 Dead, offices to the, 1 : 9. 
 
 Death, Conf evades a question about, 
 11 : 11.— how Conf felt Hwuy's, 11 : 
 8, 9. — without regret, 4 : 8. 
 
 Declined, what Conf, to be reckoned, 
 7:33, 
 
 Defects of former times become mod- 
 ern vices 17 : 16. 
 
 Defence, of himself by Conf, 14: 36.— 
 of his own method of teaching, by 
 Tsze-hea, 19:12. — of Tsze-loo, by 
 Conf, 11 : 14. 
 
 Degeneracy, of Conf age, 6 : 14. — in- 
 stance of, 15 : 25. 
 
 Delusions, how to discover, 12 : 10, 21. 
 
SUBJECTS IN CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 149 
 
 Demeanor of Conf., 10 : 1 to 5, 13. 
 
 Departure of Conf., from Loo, 18 : 4. — 
 from Ts'e 18 : 3. 
 
 Depreciation, Conf. above the reach of, 
 19:24. 
 
 Description of himself as a learner, by 
 Conf., 7: 18. 
 
 Desire and ability, required in disciples, 
 7:8. 
 
 Development of knowledge, 2: 11. 
 
 Differences of character, owing to hab- 
 it, 17 : 2. 
 
 Dignity, necessary in a ruler, 15 : 32. 
 
 Disciples, anxiety about training, 5 : 21, 
 
 Discrimination of Conf in rewarding 
 officers, 0: 3. — without suspicious- 
 ness, the merit of, 14 : 33. 
 
 Dispersion of the musicians of Loo, 18 : 
 11. 
 
 Distinction, notoriety not, 12 : 20. 
 
 Distress, the superior man above, 15 : 1. 
 
 Divine mission, Conf assurances of a, 
 7: 22; 9: 5. 
 
 Doctrine of Conf admiration of, 9 : 10. 
 
 Dreams of Conf affected by disappoint- 
 ments, 7 : 5. 
 
 Dress, rules of Conf, in regard to his, 
 10:6. 
 
 Dying counsels to a man in high sta- 
 tion, 8:4. 
 
 Dynasties, Yin, Hea, and Chow, 8:4; 
 3:20.— Yin and Hea, 3:9.— Chow, 
 &c., 3 : 14. — certain rules exemplified 
 in the ancient, — eight able officers of 
 the Chow, 18: 11. — three worthies of 
 the Yin, 18: 1.— the three, 15: 24. 
 
 Earnest student, Hwuy the, 9 : 19. 
 
 Earnestness in teaching, of Conf, 9 : 7. 
 
 Egotism, instance of freedom Irom, 8 
 5. 
 
 Eight able officers of the Chow dynas- 
 ty, 18: 11. 
 
 Emolument, learning for, 2: 18. 
 shameful to care only for, 14 : 1. 
 
 End the, crowns the work, 9: 21. 
 
 Enjoyment, advantageous and injurious 
 sources of, 16 : 5. 
 
 Equalled, Conf cannot be, 19 : 25. 
 
 Error, how acknowledged by Conf, 7 : 
 30. 
 
 Essential, what is, in different services, 
 3:26. 
 
 Estimate, Conf. humble of himself, 7 
 2, 3 ; 9 : 15 ; 14 : 30.— of what he could 
 do if employed, 13 : 10. 
 
 Estimation of others, not a man's con- 
 :32. 
 
 18 
 
 Example, better than force, 2: 20 — 
 government efficient by, &c., 12 : 17, 
 18, 19. — the secret of rulers' success, 
 13: 1. — value of, in those in high 
 stations, 8:2. 
 
 Excess and defect equally wrong, 11 : 
 15. 
 
 Expenditure, against useless, 11 : 13. 
 
 External, the, may be predicated from 
 the internal, 14 : 5. 
 
 Extravagant speech, hard to be made 
 good, 14 : 21. 
 
 Fair appearances are suspicious, 1 : 3, 
 &17:17. 
 
 Fasting, rules observed by Conf when, 
 10:7. 
 
 Father's vices, no discredit to a virtuous 
 son, 6 : 4. 
 
 Faults of men, characteristic of their 
 class, 4:7. 
 
 Feelings, need not always be spoken, 
 14:4. 
 
 Fidelity of his disciples, Conf memory 
 of, 11 : 2, 
 
 Filial piety, 1 : 11 ; 4 : 19, 20, 21.— argu- 
 ment for, 2 : 6. — cheerfulness in, 2 : 8. 
 — the foundation of virtuous practice, 
 1 : 2.— of Meen Tsze-keen, 11 : 4.— of 
 Mang Chwang, 19 : 18. — reverence in, 
 2 : 7. — seen in care of the person, 8 : 
 3. 
 
 Firmness of superior man, based on 
 right, 15 : 36. 
 
 Five excellent things to be honoured, 
 20 : 2. — things which constitute per- 
 fect virtue. 17 : 6. 
 
 Flattery of sacrificing to others' ances- 
 tors, 2 : 24. 
 
 Food, rules of Conf about his, 10 : 8. 
 
 Foreknowledge, how far possible, 2 : 23, 
 
 Forethought, necessity of, 15 : 11. 
 
 Formalism, against, 3 : 4, 
 
 Former times, Conf preference for, 11 : 
 
 Forward youth, Conf employment of 
 a, 14:47. 
 
 Foundation of virtue, 1 : 2. 
 
 Four bad things, to be put away, 20: 2. 
 — classes of men in relation to knowl- 
 edge, 16 : 9. 
 
 Frailties from which Conf. was free, 9 : 
 4. 
 
 Fraternal submission, 1 : 2. 
 
 Friends, rule for choosing, 1 : 8, & 9 : 24, 
 — trait of Conf in relation to, 10 : 15. 
 
 Friendships, what, advantageous and 
 injurious, 16: 4. 
 
150 
 
 SUBJECTS IN CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 Friendship, how to maintain, 5 : 16. — 
 Tsze-chang's virtue too high for, 19 : 
 16. 
 
 Frivolous talkers, against, 15 : 16. 
 
 Funeral rites, Conf. dissatisfaction with 
 Hwuy's, 11 : 10. — to parents, 1 : 9. 
 
 Furnace the, and the S. W. Corner, of 
 a house, 3 : 13. 
 
 Gain, the mean man's concern, 4 : 16. 
 
 Generosity of Pih-e and Shuh-ts'e, 5 : 
 22. 
 
 Glib-ton gued, Conf, not. 14 : 34. 
 
 Glibness of tongue and beauty, es- 
 teemed by the age, 6 : 14. 
 
 Glossing faults^ a proof of the mean 
 man, 19 : 8. 
 
 Gluttony and idleness, case of, hopeless, 
 17:22. 
 
 God, address to, 20 : 1. 
 
 Golden rule, expressed with negatives, 
 5 : 11 ; 15 : 23. 
 
 Good fellowship of Conf, 7 : 31. 
 
 Good, learning leads to, 8: 12. 
 
 Good man, the, 11 : 19. — we must not 
 judge a man to be, from his discourse, 
 11 : 20. 
 
 Governing, the art of, 12 : 14. — ^without 
 personal effort, 15 : 4. 
 
 Government, good, seen from its effects, 
 13 : 16. — good, how only obtained, 12 : 
 11. — may b6 conducted efficiently, 
 how, 20 : 2. — moral in its end, 12 : 17. 
 principles of,l : 5. — requisites of,12 :7. 
 
 Gradual progress of Conf, 2 : 4. — com- 
 munication of his doctrine, 5 : 12. 
 
 Grief, Conf vindicates his for Hwuy, 
 11:9. 
 
 Guiding principle of Conf., 18 : 8. 
 
 Happiness of Conf among his disciples, 
 11 : 12.— of Hwuy in poverty, 6 : 9. 
 
 Haste, not to be desired in government, 
 13:17. 
 
 Heaven, Conf rested in the ordering of, 
 14 : 38. — knew him, Conf thought 
 that, 14: 37. — no remedy for sin 
 against, 3 : 13. 
 
 Hesitating faith, Tsze-chang on, 19: 2. 
 
 High aim proper to a student, 6 : 10. — 
 things, too much minding of, 19 : 15. 
 
 Home, Conf at, 10: 16.— how Conf 
 could be not at, 17 : 20. 
 
 Hope, Conf gives up, for want of aus- 
 picious omens, 9 : 8. 
 
 Hopeles case, of gluttony and idleness. 
 17 : 22. — of those who assent to ad- 
 vice without reforming, 9: 23. — of 
 those who will not think, 15 : 15. 
 
 House and wall, the comparison of a, 
 19:23. 
 
 Humble claim of Conf for himself, 5 : 
 27.— estimate of himself, 7 : 2, 3 ; 9 : 
 15; 14: 30. 
 
 Humility of Conf, 7 : 26. 
 
 Hundred years, what good government 
 could effect in a, 13: 11. 
 
 Idleness of Tsae Yu, 5:9. — case o% 
 hopeless, 17 : 22. 
 
 Ignorant man's remark about Conf, 9 : 
 2. 
 
 Impatience, danger of, 15 : 26. 
 
 Imperial rites, usurpation of, 3:1,2, 6. 
 
 Improvement, self, 2 : 18. — difficult in 
 advanced years, 17 : 26. 
 
 Incompetency, our own, a fit cause of 
 concern, 15 : 18. 
 
 Indifference of the officer King to rich- 
 es, 13 : 8. 
 
 Indignation of Conf at the usurpation 
 of imperial rites, 3 : 1, 2. — at the sup- 
 port of usurpation and extortion by 
 a disciple, 11 : 16. — at the wrong over- 
 coming the right, 17 : 18. 
 
 Inferior pursuits, inapplicable to great 
 objects, 19:4. 
 
 Instruction, how a man may find, 7 : 21. 
 
 Instructions to a son about govern- 
 ment, 18 : 10. 
 
 Insubordination, worse than meanness, 
 7 : 35. — different causes of, 8 : 10. 
 
 Intelligence, whot constitutes, 12: 6. 
 
 Intercourse, character formed by, 5 : 2. 
 — of Conf. with others, traits of, 10: 
 11. — with others, different opinions 
 on, 19 : 3. 
 
 Internal, the, not predicable from the 
 external, 14 : 5. 
 
 Ironical, admonition, 13 : 14. 
 
 Jealousy of others' talents, against, 15 : 
 10,3. 
 
 Joy of Conf independent of outward 
 circumstances, 7 : 15. 
 
 Judgment of Conf concerning Tsze- 
 cli'an,&c., 14: 10. — of retired worthy, 
 on Conf 14:42. 
 
 Keun-tsze, See Superior man. 
 
 Killing, not to be talked of by rulers, 
 12:19. 
 
 Knowing and not knowing, 2 : 17. 
 
 Knowledge, disclaimed by Conf, 9 : 7. 
 — four classes of men in relation to, 
 16 : 9. — not lasting without virtue, 15 : 
 32. — of Conf not connate, 8 : 19. — 
 sources of Conf., 19 : 22. — subserves 
 benevolence, 2 : 22. 
 
SUBJECTS IN CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 151 
 
 Lament over moral error added to nat- 
 ural defect, 8 : 16. — sickness of Pih 
 new, 6 : 8. — ^iDcrsistence in error, 5 : 
 26. — rarity of the love of virtue, 4: 
 6.— the rash reply of Tsae Go, 3 : 21. 
 — the waywardness of men, 6 : 14. — 
 of Conf., that men did not know him, 
 14:37. 
 
 Language, the chief virtue of, 15 : 40. 
 
 Learner the, 1 : 1, 14. — Conf. describes 
 himself as a, 7: 18. 
 
 Learning and propriety combined, 6: 
 25, »fe 12 : 15. — Conf. fondness for, 5 : 
 27. — different motives for, 14: 25. — 
 end of, 2 : 18. — ^how to be pursued, 6 : 
 11, & 8 : 17.— in order to virtue, 19 : 6. 
 — necessity of, to complete virtue, 17 : 
 8. — quickly leads to good, 8: 12. — 
 should not cease or be intermitted, 9 : 
 18. — substance of, 1 : 7. — the indica- 
 tions of a real love of, 19 : 5. — the 
 student's workshop, 19 : 7. 
 
 Lesson of prudence, 14 : 9. — to parents 
 and ministers, 14 : 8. — to rulers, 8 : 10. 
 — to Tsze-loo, 13 : 1. 
 
 Lessons and laws, Conf. actions were, 
 17 : 19. 
 
 Libation, pouring out of, in sacrifice, 3 : 
 10. 
 
 Life, human, valued by Conf., 10 : 12. — 
 without uprightness, not true, 6: 17. 
 
 Likings and dislikings of others, in de- 
 termining a man's character, 13 : 24, 
 & 15 : 27. 
 
 Literary acquirements, useless without 
 practical ability, 33:5. 
 
 Litigation, how Tsze-loo could settle, 
 12 : 12. — it is better to prevent, 12 : 13. 
 
 Love of virtue rare, 4 : 6, & 9 : 17. 
 
 Love to learn, of Conf., 5: 27. — of 
 Hwuy, 11 : 6.— rarity of, 6 : 2. 
 
 Loving and hating aright, 4: 3. 
 
 Madman, the, of Ts'oo, 18: 5. 
 
 Man, in relation to principles of duty, 
 35:28. * 
 
 Manhood, the vice to be guarded 
 against in, 16 : 7. 
 
 Manner of Conf. when unoccupied, 7 :4. 
 
 Marriage-making, Conf. in, 5 : 1. 
 
 Mat, rules of Conf. about his, 10: 9. 
 
 Maturing of character, rules for, 7 : 6. 
 
 Mean man, glosses his faults, 19 : 8. See 
 Superior man. 
 
 Meanness of Wei-shang, 5: 23. — not so 
 bad as insubordination, 7 : 35. 
 
 Mercenary officers, impossible to serve 
 along with, 17 : 15. 
 
 Merit of Kung-shuh Wan, 14: 19.— of 
 Kwan Chung, 14 : 17, 18. — virtue of 
 concealing, 6 : 13. 
 
 Messenger, an admirable, 14 : 26. 
 
 Military affairs, Conf. refuses to talk of, 
 15 : 1. 
 
 Minding too much high things, 19: 15. 
 
 Minister, the faithful, 15 : 37. 
 
 Ministers, great and ordinary, 11 : 23. 
 — importance of good and able, 14 : 
 20. — must be sincere and upright, 14 : 
 23. — should be strict and decided, 
 14:8. 
 
 Mission of Conf., Yen Yuen's confi- 
 dence in, 11: 22. 
 
 Model student, fond recollections of a, 
 9:20. 
 
 Moral appliances to be preferred in 
 government, 2 : 3. 
 
 Mourners, Conf. sympathy with, 7 : 9, 
 &10:16. 
 
 Mourning, three years for parents, 17 : 
 21. — government how carried on in 
 time of, 14 : 43. — the trappings of, 
 may be dispensed with, 19: 14. 
 
 Murder of the duke of Ts'e, 14 : 22. 
 
 Music and ceremonies, vain without 
 virtue, 3 : 3.— effect of, 8 : 8.— effect of 
 on Conf., 7 : 12. — influence of, in gov- 
 ernment, 17 : 4. — of Shun and Woo 
 compared, 3 : 25. — on the playing of, 
 3 : 25. — service rendered to, by Conf. 
 9 : 14. — the sound of instruments does 
 not constitute, 17 : 11. 
 
 Musicians of Loo,the dispersion of,lS:9. 
 
 Music-master, praise of a, 8 : 15. 
 
 Name, danger of a bad, 19 : 20. — with- 
 out reality, 6, 2-3. 
 
 Names, importance of being correct, 
 13:3. 
 
 Nairow-mindedness, Tsze-chang on, 
 19:2. 
 
 Natural-duty, and uprightness in col- 
 lision, 13 : 18. — ease in ceremonies to 
 be prized, 1 : 12. — qualities which are 
 favourable to virtue, 13 : 27. 
 
 Nature of a man, grief brings out the 
 real, 19:17. 
 
 Neighbourhood, what constitutes the 
 excellence of a, 4 : 1. 
 
 Nine subjects of thought to the supe- 
 rior man, 16 : 10. 
 
 Notoriety, not true distinction, 12:20. 
 
 Odes, the study of the Book of, 16: 13, 
 & 17 : 9, 10. — quotations from the, 1 : 
 15; 3: 18; 9: 26; 12: 10.— the pure 
 design of the, 2 : 2. 
 
152 
 
 SUBJECTS IN CONFUCIAN ^VNALECTS. 
 
 Ode, (s),the Chow-nan and Shaou-nan, 
 17 : 10.— the Kwan-ts'eu, 3 : 20.— the 
 Yung, 3: 2.— Pih-kwei, 10: 5. — of 
 Ch'ing, 15: 10.— the Nga, 9: 14; 17: 
 18. 
 
 Ofl&ee, declined by Tsze-k'een, 6 : 7. — 
 desire ior, qualified by self-respect, 9 : 
 12.— Conf., why not in, 2: 21.— when 
 to be accepted, and when to be de- 
 clined, 8 : 13. 
 
 Officers, classes of men who may be 
 styled, 13 : 20. — mercenary, impossi- 
 ble to serve with, 17 : 15. — personal 
 correctness essential to, 13: 13. — 
 should first attend to their proper 
 work, 19 : 13. 
 
 Offi.cial notifications of Ch'ing, why ex- 
 cellent, 14 : 9. 
 
 Old knowledge, to be combined with 
 new acquisitions, 2 : 11. 
 
 Old man, encounter with an, 18 : 7. 
 
 Opposing a father, disapproved of, 7 : 
 14. 
 
 Ordinances of Heaven necessary to be 
 known, 20 : 3. 
 
 Ordinary people, could not understand 
 Conf., 19 : 23. — ordinary rules, Conf. 
 not to be j udged by, 17 : 7. 
 
 Originator, Conf. not an, 7:1. 
 
 Parents, grief for, brings out the real 
 nature of a man, 19 : 17. — how a son 
 may remonstrate with, 4 : 18. — should 
 be strict and decided, 14 : 8. — three 
 years mourning for, 17: 21. — their 
 years to be remembered, 4 : 21. 
 
 People, what may and what may not 
 be attained to with the, 8 : 9. 
 
 Perfect virtue, caution in speaking 
 characteristic of, 12 : 3. — characteris- 
 tics of, 13 : 19. — estimation of, 5 : 18, 
 & 6 : 20. — five things which consti- 
 tute, 17 : 6. — how to attain to, 12 : 1. 
 — not easily attained, 14 : 7. — wherein 
 realized, 12:2. 
 
 Persistence in error, lament over, 5 : 26. 
 
 Perseverance proper, to a student, 6 : 10. 
 
 Personal attainment, a man's chief con- 
 cern, 1: 16, & 14: 32.— conduct all in 
 all to a ruler, 13 : 16. — correctness, es- 
 sential to an officer, 13 : 13. 
 
 Perspicuity the chief virtue of lan- 
 guage, 15 : 40. 
 
 Pervading unity, Conf. doctrine a 4: 
 15. — how Conf. aimed at, 15 : 8. 
 
 Phoenix, the, 9:8, & 18:5. 
 
 Piety, see Filial. 
 
 Pity of Conf. for misfortune, 9: 9. 
 
 Plans, what is necessary to concord in, 
 15:39. 
 
 Poetry, benefits of the study of the 
 Book of, 8 : 8, & 17 : 9, 10.— and mu- 
 sic, service rendered to by Conf., 9 : 
 14. 
 
 Posthumous titles, on what principle 
 conferred, 5 : 14. 
 
 Poverty, happiness in, 6 : 9. — harder to 
 bear aright than riches, 14: 11. — no 
 disgrace to a scholar, 4 : 9. 
 
 Practical ability, importance of, 13: 5. 
 
 Practice, C'onf. zeal to carry his princi- 
 ples into, 17 : 5. 
 
 Praise of the house of Chow, 8 : 20. — 
 of the music master Ch'e, 8 : 15. — of 
 Yaou, 8 : 19.— of Yu, 8 : 21. 
 
 Praising and blaming, Conf. correctness 
 in, 15: 24. 
 
 Prayer, sin against Heaven precludes, 
 3: 13. — Conf. declines, for himself, 7: 
 34. 
 
 Precaution, necessity of, 15: 11. 
 
 Preliminary study, necessity of to gov- 
 erning, 11 : 24. 
 
 Presumption, &c., of the chief of the 
 Ke family, 16 : 1. — and pusillanimity 
 conjoined, 17: 12. 
 
 Pretence, against, 2 : 17. — Conf. dislike 
 of, 9: 11. 
 
 Pretentiousness of Conf. time, 7 : 25. 
 
 Prince, and minister, relation of, 3 : 19. 
 — Conf. demeanor before a, 10 : 2. — 
 Conf. demeanor in relation to, 10 : 13. 
 
 Princes, Conf. influence on, 1 : 10. — how 
 to be served, 3: 18. 
 
 Principles, agreement in, necessary to 
 concord in plans, 15 : 39. — and ways 
 of Yaou, Shun, &c., 20 : 1.— of duty, 
 an instrument in the hand of man, 
 15:28. 
 
 Prompt decision good, 5 : 19. 
 
 Propriety, and music, influence of, 17: 
 4. — combined with learning, 6 : 25, & 
 12 : 15.— effecrt of, 8 : 8.— love of, facil- 
 itates government, 14 : 44. — necessa- 
 ry to a ruler, 15 : 32. — not in external 
 appurtenances, 17: 11. — rules of, 1: 
 12 ; 3 : 15. — rules of, necessary to be 
 known, 20 : 3. — value of the rules of, 
 8:2. 
 
 Prosperity and ruin of a country, on 
 what dependent, 13: 15, & 16: 2. 
 
 Prowess conducting to ruin, 14 : 6. 
 
 Prudence, a lesson of, 14 : 4. 
 
 Pursuit of riches, against, 7: 11. 
 
 Pusillanimity and presumption, 17 : 12. 
 
SUBJECTS IN CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 153 
 
 Qualifications of an officer, 8 : 13. 
 
 Qualities that are favourable to virtue, 
 13 : 27. — that mark the scholar, 13 : 
 28. 
 
 Rash words cannot be recalled, 3 : 21. 
 
 Readiness of Conf. to impart instruc- 
 tion, 7 : 7.— of speech, 5 : 4, & 17 : 14. 
 
 Reading and thought, should be com- 
 bined, 2 : 15, & 15 : 30. 
 
 Rebuke to Yen Yu, &c., 16: 1. 
 
 Receptivity of Hwuy 2 : 9, & 11 : 3. 
 
 Reciprocity, the rule of life, 15 : 23. 
 
 Reciuse, Tsze-loo's encounter with a, 
 18:7. 
 
 Recluses, Conf. and the two, 18 : 6. 
 
 Recollection of Hwuy, Conf. fond, 9 : 
 20. 
 
 Reflection, the necessity of, 9: 30. 
 
 Regretful memory of disciples fidelity, 
 11 : 2. 
 
 Relative duties, necessity of maintain- 
 ing 12: 11. 
 
 Remark of an ignorant man about 
 Conf., 9: 2. 
 
 Remonstrance with parents, 4 : 18. 
 
 Repentance escaped by timely care, 1 : 
 13. 
 
 Reproof to Tsze-loo, 11 : 24. 
 
 Reproofs, frequent, warning against the 
 us« of, 4 : 26. 
 
 Reputation, not a man's concern, 15 : 
 18. 
 
 Resentments, how to ward ofi", 15 : 14. 
 
 Residence, rule for selecting a, 4: 1. 
 
 Respect, a youth should be regarded 
 with^ 9 : 22. — of Conf. for men, 15 : 
 24.— of Conf. for rank, 9: 9. 
 
 Retired worthy's judgment on Conf., 
 14:42. 
 
 Reverence for parents, 2 : 7. 
 
 Riches, pursuit of, uncertain of success, 
 7:11. 
 
 Right way, importance of knowing the, 
 4:8. 
 
 Righteous and public spirit of Conf., 
 14:22. 
 
 Righteousness the Keun-tsze's concern. 
 4 : 16. — is his rule of practice, 4 : 10. 
 
 Root of benevolence, filial and frater- 
 nal duty is the, 1 : 2. 
 
 Royal ruler, a, could, in what time 
 transform the empire, 13 : 12. 
 
 Ruin and prosperity dependent on what, 
 13:15,& 16:2. 
 
 Rule of life, reciprocity the, 16 : 23. 
 
 Ruler, virtue in a, 2 : 1. 
 
 Ruling, best means of, 2 : 3. 
 
 Rulers, a lesson to, 8 : 10. — personal con- 
 duct all in all to, 13 : 16. — should not 
 be occupied witji what is the proper 
 business of the people, 13 : 4. 
 
 Running stream a, Conf. how affected 
 by, 9: 16. 
 
 Sacrifice, Conf sincerity in, 3 : 12. — the 
 great, 3: 10, 11. — wrong subjects of,~ 
 2:24. 
 
 Sagehood, not in various ability, 9 : 6. 
 
 Scholar, attributes of the true, 19 : 1. — 
 his aim must be higher than comfort, 
 14:3. 
 
 Self-cultivation, 1 : 8, & 9 : 24. — a man's 
 concern, 4 : 14. — a characteristic of 
 the, Keun-tsze, 14 : 45. — Conf. anxie- 
 ty about, 7 : 3. — steps in, 1 : 15. 
 
 Self-examination, 1 : 4. 
 
 Selfish conduct causes murmuring, 4: 
 12. 
 
 Self-respect should qualify desire for of- 
 fice, 9: 12. 
 
 Self-willed, Conf. not, 14: 34. 
 
 Sequences, of wisdom, virtue, and brav- 
 ery, 9:28. 
 
 Servants difficult to treat, 17 : 25. 
 
 Shame of caring only for salary, 14 : 1. 
 
 Shaou, a name of certain music, 3 : 25. 
 
 Sheep, the monthly offering of a, 3 : 17. 
 
 Shoo-king, quotation from, 2:21; 14: 
 43. — compilation from, 20 : 1. 
 
 Silent mourning, three years of, 14: 43. 
 
 Simplicity, instance of, 8: 5. 
 
 Sincerity, cultivation of, 1:4. — necessi- 
 ty of, 2 : 22.— praise of, 5 : 24. 
 
 Slanderiog of Tsze-loo, 14: 38. 
 
 Slowness to speak, of the ancients, 4 : 
 22.— of the Keun-tsze, 4 : 24. 
 
 Small advantages not to be desired in 
 government, 13 : 17. 
 
 Social intercouse, qualities of the schol- 
 ar in, 13 : 23. 
 
 Solid excellence blended with orna- 
 ment, 6 : 16. 
 
 Son, a, opposing his father, against, 7 : 
 14. — Conf. instruction of his own, 16 : 
 13. 
 
 Sources of Conf. knowledge, 19 : 22. 
 
 Specious words, danger of, 15 : 26. 
 
 Speech, discretion in, 15 : 7. 
 
 Spirit of the times, against, 3 : 18. 
 
 Spirits, Cont. evades a question about 
 serving, 11 : 11. — of the land, altars, 
 of, 3: 21. 
 
 Stages of attainment, 6 : 18. — of prog- 
 ress, different persons stop at differ- 
 ent, 9:29. 
 
154 
 
 SUBJECTS IN CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 States of Ts'e and Loo, 6: 22. 
 
 Strange doctrines, 2 : 16. 
 
 Strength, not a fit subject of praise, 14: 
 35. 
 
 Student's proper work, 19 : 13. 
 
 Stupidity of Ning Woo, 5: 20. 
 
 Subjects avoided by Conf., 7:20 — of 
 Conf. teaching, 7 : 24. See Topics. 
 
 Submission of subjects, how secured, 
 2:19. 
 
 Substantial qualities, and accomplish- 
 ments, in the Keun-tsze, 12 : 8 
 
 Sun and moon, Conf. like the, 19: 24. 
 
 Superficial speculations, against, 15: 
 16. 
 
 Superior and mean man, 2: 12, 13, 14; 
 4: 11, 16; 6: 11; 7: 36; 16: 8.— dif- 
 ferent air and bearing of, 13 : 26 — dif- 
 ferent in their relation to those em- 
 ployed by them, 13: 25. — difierent 
 manners of, 13: 23. — diffferent ten- 
 dencies of, 14 : 24. — how to know, 15 : 
 33. — opposite influence of, 12 : 16. 
 
 Superior, man above distress, 15: 1 — 
 changing appearances of, to others, 
 19: 9. — cleaves to virtue, 4: 5. — does 
 not conceal, but changes, his errors, 
 19 : 21. — firmness of, based on right, 
 15 : 36. — four characteristics of, 5 : 15. 
 is righteous, courteous, humble, and 
 sincere, 15 : 17. — more in deeds than 
 in words, 14: 29- nine subjects of 
 thought to, 16: 10. — rule about his 
 words and actions, 4: 24. — self-cul- 
 tivation, characteristic of, 14: 45. — 
 talents and virtues of, 8 : 6. — thoughts 
 of in harmony with his position, 14 : 
 28.— truth the object of, 15: 31.— 
 various characteristics of, 15 : 20, 22, 
 23. — wishes to be had in remem- 
 brance, 15 : 19. 
 
 Superiority of Hwuy, 6 : 2, 5. 
 
 (Superstition of Tsang Wan, 5 : 17. 
 
 Supreme authority ought to maintain 
 its power, 16 : 2. 
 
 Susceptivity of learners, teachers to 
 be guided by, 6 : 19. 
 
 Swiftness to speak, incompatible with 
 virtue, 17 : 14. 
 
 Sympathy of Conf. with mourners, 7: 
 9. — with sorrow, 9 : 9. 
 
 Talents, men of, scarce, 8 : 20. — worth- 
 less without virtue, 8 : 11. 
 
 Taxation, light, advantages of, 12: 9. 
 
 Teacher, qualification of a, 2 : 11. 
 
 Temple Conf. in the grand, 13 : 15, & 
 10: 14. 
 
 Teaching, efifect of, 15 : 38.— Conf. ear- 
 nestness in, 9 : 7. — Conf. subjects of, 7: 
 24.— graduated method of, 19 : 12.— 
 necessary to prepare the people for 
 war, 13:29, 30. 
 
 Thieves made by the example of, ru- 
 lers, 12: 18. 
 
 Think, those who will not, the case of, 
 hopeless, 15 : 15. 
 
 Thinking without reading, fruitless, 15 : 
 30. 
 
 Thought and learning, to be combined, 
 2:15. 
 
 Three, errors of speech, in the presence 
 of the great, 16: 6. — families, of Loo, 
 3: 2. — friendships advantageous, and 
 three injurious, 16: 4. — sources of en- 
 joyment, id. id., 16: 5. — things of 
 which the superior man stands in 
 awe, 16 : 8. — years' mourning, 14 : 43 ; 
 17 : 21. — worthies of the Yin dynasty, 
 18: L 
 
 Thunder, Conf. how afifected by, 10 : 16. 
 
 Topics, avoided by Conf, 7: 20.— most 
 common of Conf., 7: 17. — seldom 
 spoken on by Conf, 9 : 1. 
 
 Traditions of the principles of Wan and 
 Woo, 19:22. 
 
 Training of the young, 1 : 6. 
 
 Transmitter, Conf. a, 7 : 1. 
 
 Trappings of mourning may be dis- 
 pensed with, 19 : 14. 
 
 Treatment of a powerful, but unworthy 
 officer by Conf., 17 : 1. 
 
 True men, paucity of in Conf.time,7:25. 
 
 Truthfulness, necessity of, 1 : 22. 
 
 Two classes only whom practice can- 
 not change, 17: 3. — recluses, Conf. 
 and the, 18 : 6. 
 
 Unbending virtue, 5 : 10. 
 
 Unchangeableness of great principles, 
 2: 23. 
 
 Unity of Conf. doctrine, 4: 15, & 15: 2. 
 
 Unmannerly old man, Conf. conduct to 
 an, 14:46. 
 
 Unoccupied, Conf. manner when, 7 : 4. 
 
 Unworthy man, Conf responds to the 
 advances of an, 17 : 7. 
 
 Uprightness, and natural duty in col- 
 lision, 13 : 18. — meanness inconsistent 
 with, 5 : 23. — necessary to true virtue, 
 6:17. 
 
 Usurped rites, against, 3 : 1, 2, 6. 
 
 Usurping tendencies of the Ke family, 
 13:14. 
 
 Utensil, Tsze-kung an, 5 : 3. — the ac- 
 complished scholar not an, 2 : 12. 
 
PROPER NAMES IN ANALECTS. 
 
 155 
 
 Valour subordinate to righteousness 
 
 • 17 : 23. 
 
 Various ability of Conf., 9 : 6. 
 
 Vice, how to correct, 12 : 21. 
 
 Vices, of a father, no discredit to a good 
 son, 6: 4. — which youth, manhood 
 and age have to guard against, 16 : % 
 
 Village, Conf. demeanor in his, 10 : 1, 
 10. 
 
 Vindication, Conf., of himself, 6: 26.— 
 of Conf. by Tsze-loo, 18: 7. 
 
 Virtue, alone adapts a man for his con 
 dition, 4: 2. — and not strength a lit 
 subject of praise, 14 : 35. — ceremonies 
 and music vain without, 3 : 3. — com- 
 plete, 1 : 1 — contentment with what 
 is vulgar injures, 17 : 13. — devotion of 
 the Keun-tsze to, 4 : 5, — exceeding, 
 of T'ae-pih, 8 : 1. — few really know, 
 15 : 3.— how to exalt, 12 : 10, 21.— in 
 concealing one's merit, 6 : 13. — influ- 
 ence of, 2 : 1. — knowledge not lasting 
 without, 15 : 32. — leading to empire, 
 14 : 6. — learning, necessary to the 
 completion of, 17 : 8. — learning lead- 
 ing to, 19 : 6.— love of, rare, 4:6; 9 : 
 17; 15: 12. — natural qualities which 
 favour, 13 : 27,— not far to seek, 7 :29. 
 — the highest, not easily attained, and 
 incompatible with meanness, 14 : 7. — 
 the practice of, aided by intercourse 
 with the good, 15 : 9.~to be valued 
 more than life, 15 : 8.— true nature 
 and art of, 6: 28. — without wealth, 
 &c., 16:12. 
 
 Virtues, the great, demand the chief 
 attention, 19 : 11. 
 
 Virtuous men, not left alone, 4 : 25. — 
 only can love or hate others, 4 : 3. 
 
 Vocation of Conf., a stranger's views 
 of 3:24. 
 
 Vulgar ways and views, against con- 
 tentment with, 17 : 13. 
 
 War, how a good ruler prepares the 
 people for, 13 : 29. 30 - - 
 
 Warning to Tsze-loo, 11 : 12. 
 
 Waywardness, lament over, 6 : 15. 
 
 Wealth without virtue, &c. 16 : 12. 
 
 Wickedness, the virtuous will, pre- 
 serves from, 4 : 4. 
 
 Wife of a prince, appellations for, 16 : 
 14. 
 
 Will, the virtuous, preserves from wick- 
 edness, 4 : 4.— is unsubduable, 9 : 25. 
 
 Wisdom and virtue, chief elements of, 
 6 : 20.— contrasts of, 6 : 21 ; 9 : 28. 
 
 Wishes, different, of Yen Yuen, &c., 5 : 
 25.— of Tsze-loo, &c., 11 : 25. 
 
 Withdrawing from public life, different 
 causes of, 14: 39.— of Conf., 18: 5,6. 
 — of seven men, 14 : 40. 
 
 Withdrawing from the world, Conf. pro- 
 poses, 5: 6. — Conf. judgment on, 18: 
 8. 
 
 Words, the force of, necessary to be 
 known, 20 : 3. 
 
 Work, a man's, is with himself, 14 : 30. 
 
 Workshop, the student's 19 : 7. 
 
 Young, duty of the, 1 : 6.— should be 
 regarded with respect, 9 : 22. 
 
 Youth, the vice to be guarded against 
 in, 16: 7. ^ 
 
 INDEX II. 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN" THE CONFUCIAIS' ANALECTS. 
 
 Ch'ae, surnamed Kaou, and styled Tsze- 
 Kaou, a disciple of Conf, 11 : 17. 
 
 Chang, Tsze-chang, 19 : 15, 16. 
 
 Ch'ang-tseu, a worthy of Ts'oo 18 : 6. 
 
 Chaou, a prince celebrated for his beau- 
 ty of person, 6 : 14. 
 
 Chaou, one of the three families which 
 governed the state of Tsin, 14 : 12. 
 
 Ch'aou, the hon. epithet of Chow, duke 
 of Loo, B. c. 540—509, 7 : 30. 
 
 Che, the Music-master of Loo, 8 : 15 ; 
 18:9. 
 
 Ch'ih, surnamed Kung-se, and styled 
 
 Tsze-hwa, a disciple of Conf., 5:7: 
 
 6: 3; 11: 25. 
 Ch'in, the state of, 5 : 21 ; 7 : 30 ; 11 : 2 : 
 
 15:1. 
 Ch'in Kang, Tsze-k'in, a disciple of 
 
 Conf., 16:13. 
 Ch'in Shing, or Ch'in Hang, an officer 
 
 of Keen, duke of Ts'e, 14: 22. 
 Chin Wan, an officer of Ts'e, 5 : 18. 
 Choo-chang, a person who retired from 
 
 the world, 18:8. 
 
156 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN ANALECTS. 
 
 Ch'ing, the state of, 15 : 10. 
 
 Chow dynasty, 2 : 23 ; 3 : 14, 21 ; 8 : 20 ; 
 
 15:10; 16:5; 18: 11; 20:1. 
 Chow, the last emperor of the Yin dy- 
 nasty, 18:1; 19:20. 
 Chow Jin, an ancient historioo^rapher, 
 
 16:1. 
 Chow-kung, or the duke of Chow, 7:5; 
 
 8:11; 11:16; 18:10. 
 Chuen-yu, a small territory in Loo, 16 : 
 
 1. 
 Chung-hwuh, an oflScer of Chow, 18 : 11. 
 Chung-kung, the designation of Yen 
 
 Yung, a disciple of Conf., 6 : 1, 4 ; 11 : 
 
 2; 12:2; 13:2. 
 Chung-mow, a place in the state of 
 
 Tsin, 17 : 7. 
 Chung-ne, Confucius, 19: 22:— 25. 
 Chung-shuh Yu, the same as K'ung 
 
 Wan, 14:20. 
 Chung Yew, styled Tsze-loo, a disciple 
 
 of Conf., 6: 6; 11:23; 18:6. 
 Chwang of Peen, 14 : 13. 
 E, a small town on the borders of the 
 
 State of Wei, 3 : 24. 
 E, a famous archer, b. c. about 2150, 14 : 
 
 6. 
 E-yih, a person who retired from the 
 
 world, 18:8. 
 E Yin, the minister of T'ang, 12: 22. 
 Fan Ch'e, by name Sou, and designated 
 
 Tsze-ch'e, a disciple of Conf., 2 : 5 
 
 6:20; 12:21,22; 13:4,19. 
 Fan Seu, tlie same as Fan Ch*e, 13 : 4. 
 Fang, a city in Loo, 14: 15. 
 Fang-shuh, a musician of Loo, 18: 9. 
 Gae, the hon. title of Tseang, duke of 
 
 Loo, B. c. 493—467, 2: 19: 3: 21; 6 
 
 2; 12:9. 
 Gan P'ing, posthumous title of Gan 
 
 Ying, principal minister of Ts'e, 5 : 
 
 16. 
 Han, the river, 18 : 9. 
 Hea dynasty, 2 : 23 ; 3 : 9, 21 ; 15 : 10. 
 Heen, the name of Yuen Sze, a disciple 
 
 of Conf., 16:1. 
 Hwan, the three great families of Loo, 
 
 being descended from duke Hwan, 
 
 are called the descendants of the 
 
 three Hwan, 2 : 5 ; 16:3. 
 Hwan, the duke of Ts'e,B. c. 683—642, 
 
 14:16,18. 
 Hw^n T'uy, a high officer of Sung, 7 : 
 
 22. 
 Hwuy, Yen Hwuy, styled Taze-yuen, a 
 
 disciple of Conf., 2: 9; 5: 8; 6: 5, 9; 
 
 9:19; 11:3,10,18,22. 
 
 Hwuy of Lew-hea, posthumous title of 
 Chen Hwo, an officer of Loo, 15 : 13 ; 
 18:2,8. 
 
 Joo Pei, a man of Loo, 17 : 20. 
 
 Kan, the Master of the band at Loo, 
 18:9. 
 
 Kaou-tsung, the hon. epithet of the em- 
 peror Woo-ting, B. c. 1323—1263, 14: 
 43. 
 
 Kaou-yaou, a minister of Shun, 12: 22. 
 
 Ke, a small state in which sacrifices to 
 the emperors of the Hea dynasty 
 were maintained by their descend- 
 ants, 3 : 9. 
 
 Ke, a small state in Shan-se, 18 : 1. 
 
 Ke family, the family of Ke K'ang of 
 Loo,3:l,6;6:7;ll:16; 16:1; 18: 
 3. 
 
 Ke Hwan, or Ke Sze, the head of the 
 Ke family in the latter days of Conf., 
 18:4. 
 
 Ke K'ang, the hon. epithet of Ke-sun 
 Fei, the head of one of the three 
 great families of Loo, 2 : 20 ; 6 : 6 ; 11 : 
 6; 13:17,18,19; 14:20. 
 
 Ke-kwa, an officer of Chow, 18 : 11. 
 
 Ke Loo, the same as Tsze-loo, 5 : 25 ; 
 11:2,11; 13:14; 16:1. 
 
 Ke-sun, the same as Ke K'ang, 14 : 38 ; 
 16:1. 
 
 Ke-suy, an officer of Chow, 18 : 11. 
 
 Ke Tsze-jen, a younger brother of the 
 Ke family, 11 : 23. 
 
 Ke Wan, posthumous title of Ke Hang- 
 foo, an officer of Loo, 5 : 19. 
 
 Kee-neih, a worthy of Ts'oo, 18 : 6. 
 
 Keen, a duke of Ts'e, 14: 22. 
 
 Keu-foo, a small city on the western 
 borders of Loo, 13 : 17. 
 
 Keu Pih-yuh, the designation of Keu 
 Yuen, an officer of the State of Wei, 
 14:26; 15:6. 
 
 K'eueh, the name of a village, 14 : 47. 
 
 Keueh, a musician of Loo, 18: 4. 
 
 Kew, brother of the duke Hwan of 
 Ts'e, 14:17, 18. 
 
 K'ew, Confucius' name, 14 : 34 ; 18 : 6. 
 
 K'ew, the name of Yen Yew, a disci- 
 ple of Conf., 5:7; 6:6; 11: 16, 21, 
 23,25; 16:1. 
 
 Kih Tsze-shing, an officer of the State 
 of Wei, 12:8. 
 
 King, a duke of Ts'e, 12: 11; 16: 12; 
 
 18:3. 
 King, a scion of the ducal family of 
 
 Wei, 13:8. 
 K'ung, Confucius, 9:2; 14 : 12 ; 18 : 6. 
 
PROPER NAMES IN ANALECTS. 
 
 157 
 
 Kung-Ch'o, Mang Kung-ch'o, 14: 13. 
 
 Kung-ming Kea, 14 : 14. 
 
 Kung-pih Leaou, a relative of the duke 
 
 ®f Loo, 14:38. 
 Kung-se Hwa, Tsze-hwa, a disciple of 
 
 Conf., 7:33; 11:21,25. 
 Kung-shan Fuh-jaou, a confederate of 
 
 Yang Ho, 17:5. 
 Kung-shuh Wan, an officer of the State 
 
 of Wei, 14:14,19. 
 Kung-sim Oh'aou, of Wei, 19 : 22. 
 Kung Wan, posthumous title of Tsze- 
 
 yu, an officer of Wei, 5 : 14. 
 Kung-yay Ch'ang, the son-in-law of 
 
 Conf, 5 : 1. 
 Kwan Chung, by name E Woo, chief 
 
 minister to the duke Hwan of Ts'e, 
 
 B. c. 683—640, 3: 22; 14: 10, 17, 18. 
 KVang, the name of a town, 9:5; 11 : 
 
 22. 
 Laou, surnamed K'in, and styled Tsze- 
 
 k'ae or Tsze-chang, a disciple of Con- 
 fucius, 9 : 6. 
 Le, the name of T'ang, founder of the 
 
 Shang dynasty, 20 : 1. 
 Le, a son of Conf., who died early, 11 : 
 
 7. 
 Leaou, a musician of Loo, 18 : 9. 
 Lin Fang, styled Tsze-k'cw, a man of 
 
 Loo, supposed to have been a disci- 
 ple of Conf., 3 : 4, 6. 
 Ling, a duke of Wei, 14: 20; 15: 1. 
 Loo, the native State of Conf., 2:5; 3 : 
 
 23; 5:2; 6: 22; 9:14; 11:13; 13: 
 
 7; 14:15; 18:4,6,10. 
 Mang Che-fan, named Tsih, an officer 
 
 of Loo, 6 : 13. 
 Mang Chwang, the head of the Mang 
 
 family, anterior to Conf. time, 19 : 18, 
 Mang E, the posthumous title of Mang- 
 
 sun, the head of the Mang family, 2 : 
 
 5. 
 Mang family, one of the three great 
 
 families of Loo, 18: 3; 19: 19. 
 Mang King, honorary title of Chung- 
 sun Ts'ee, son of Mang Woo, 8 : 4. 
 Mang Kung-ch'o, the head of the Mang 
 
 or Chung-sun family, in the time of 
 
 Conf., 14:12. 
 Mang-sun, named Ho-ke, the same as 
 
 Mang E, 2 : 5. 
 Mang Woo, hon. title of Che, the son 
 
 of Mang E, 2:6; 5:7. 
 Min, the music-master of Loo, 15 : 41. 
 
 Min, Min Tsze-k*een, 11 : 12. 
 Min, Tsze-k'een, named Sun, a disciple 
 
 of Conf., 6: 7; 11:2,4,13. 
 
 19 
 
 Mung, the eastern, the name of a moun- 
 tain, 16 : 1. 
 Nan-kung K'woh, supposed to be the 
 
 same as Nan Yung, 14 : 6. 
 Nan-tsze, the wife of the duke of Wei, 
 
 and sister of prince Chaou, 6 : 26. 
 Nan-yung, a disciple of Conf., 5 : 1 ; 11 : 
 
 5. 
 Ngaou, the son of Han Tsuh, (b. c. 
 
 2100), 14:6. 
 Ning Woo, hon. ep. of NTing Yu, an of- 
 ficer of Wei, 5 : 20. 
 P'ang, an ancient worthy, 7 : 1. 
 Pe, a place in the state of Loo, 6:7; 
 
 11:24; 16:1; 17:5. 
 Pe-kan, an uncle of the tyrant Chow, 
 
 18:1. 
 P'e Shin, a minister of the state of 
 
 Ch'ing, 14: 9. 
 Peen, the name of a city, 14 : 10. 
 Peen, a city in Loo, 14 : 13. 
 Peih Heih, commandant of Chung 
 
 Mow, in the State of Tsin, 17: 7. 
 Pih family, 14: 10. 
 Pih-e, hon. epithet of a worthy of the 
 
 Shang dynasty, 5 : 22 ; 7 : 14 ; 16 : 12 ; 
 
 18:8. 
 Pih-kwoh, an officer of Chow, 18 : 11. 
 Pih-new, the denomination of Tsae 
 
 Kang, surnamed Yen, a disciple of 
 
 Conf., 6: 8; 11:2. 
 Pih-ta, an officer of Chow, 18: 11. 
 Pih-yu, the eldest son of Conf, 16: 13; 
 
 17:10. 
 Seang, a musician of Loo, 18 : 9. 
 See, the State of, 14: 12. 
 Seen, an officer under Kung-shuh Wan, 
 
 14:19. 
 Shang, name of Tsze-hea, a disciple of 
 
 Conf., 3: 8; 11:15. 
 Shaou, the music of Shun, 3 : 25 ; 7 : 13. 
 Shaou Hwuh, minister of duke Hwan's 
 
 brother, Kew, 14 : 17. 
 Shaou-leen, a person belonging to one 
 
 of the barbarous tribes of the East, 
 
 who retired from the world, 18 : 8. 
 She, a district in the State of Ts'oo, 7 : 
 
 18; 13:16. 
 She-shuh, named Yew-keih, an officer 
 
 of Ch'ing, 14:9. 
 Shih-mun, one of the frontier passes 
 
 between Ts'e and Loo, 14 : 41. 
 Shin Ch'ang, styled Tsze-chow, a disci- 
 ple of Conf., 5 : 10. 
 Show-yang mountain, in Shan-se, 16: 
 
 12. 
 Shuh-hea, an officer of Chow, 18 : 11. 
 
158 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN ANALECTS. 
 
 Shuh-sun, one of the three great fami- 
 lies of Loo, 2 : 5. 
 Shuh-sun Woo-shuh, a chief of the 
 
 Shuh-sun family, 19: 23, 24. 
 Shuh-ts'e, hon. epithet of a wofthy of 
 
 the Shang dynasty, 5 : 22 ; T : 14 ; 16 : 
 
 12; 18:8. 
 Shuh-yay, an officer of Chow, 18: 11. 
 Shun, the emperor, 6: 28; 8: 18, 20; 
 
 12:22; 14:45; 15:4; 20: L 
 Sin, Tsang-sin, a disciple, of Conf , 4 : 
 
 15; 11:17. 
 Sung, a State in which sacrifices to the 
 
 emperors of the Hea dynasty were 
 
 maintained by their descendants, 3 : 
 
 9; 6:14. 
 Sze, the name of Tsze-chang, a disciple 
 
 of Conf., 11 : 15, 17. 
 Sze-ma New, named Kang, a brother 
 
 of Hwan T'uy, and a disciple of Conf., 
 
 12:3,5,5. 
 Ta-heang, the name of a village, 9 : 2. 
 T'ae mountain, on the border between 
 
 Loo and T'se, 3:6. 
 T'ae-pih, the eldest son of king T'ae, 
 
 and grandfather of Wan, the founder 
 
 of the Chow dynasty, 8 : 1. 
 Tan-t'ae Mee-ming, styled Tsze-yu, a 
 
 disciple of Conf, 6 : 12. 
 T'ang, the dynastic name of the em- 
 peror Yaou, 8 : 20. 
 T'ang, the founder of the Shang dynas- 
 ty, 12:22; 20: L 
 T'ang, the State of, 14:12. 
 Teen, the name of Tsang Sih, father of 
 
 Tsang Sin, and a disciple of Conf, 
 
 11:25. 
 Ting, the posthumous epithet of Sung, 
 
 prince of Loo, 3: 19; 13: 15. 
 T'o an officer of the state of Wei, styled 
 
 Tsze-yu, 6. 14; 14:20. 
 Tsae-go, by name Yu, and styled Tsze- 
 
 go, a disciple of Conf., 3: 21; 6: 24; 
 
 11:2; 17:21. 
 Tsae Yu, a disciple of Conf, who slept 
 
 in the day time, the same as the 
 
 prec, 5 : 9. 
 Ts'ae, the State of, 3 1 : 2 ; 18 : 9. 
 Tsang Sih, named Teen, the father of 
 
 Tsang Sin, and a disciple of Conf, 
 
 11:25. 
 Tsang Sin, styled Tsze-yu, a disciple of 
 
 Conf, 1: 4,9; 4:15; 8:3,-7; 12: 
 
 24; 14:28; 19:16,-19. 
 Tsang Wan, the honorary title of 
 
 Tsang-sun Shin, a great officer of 
 
 Loo, 5:17; 15:13. 
 
 Tsang Woo-chung, an officer of Loo, 
 14:13,15. 
 
 Ts'e, the State of, 5: 18; 6: 3, 22; 7: 
 13; 14:22; 16: 3; 18:3,4.9. 
 
 Tsee-yu, the designation of one Luh 
 T'ung, of Ts'oo, who feigned himself 
 mad to escape public service, 18 : 5. 
 
 Tseih, How-tseih, the minister of agri- 
 culture to Yaou and Shun, 14 : 6. 
 
 Tseih-teaou K'ae, styled Tsze-jo, a dis- 
 ciple of Conf, 5 : 5. 
 
 Tsin, the State of, 14: 16; 18: 9. 
 
 Tso-k'ew Ming, an ancient man of rep- 
 utation, 5 : 24. 
 
 Ts'oo, the State of, 18 : 5, 9. 
 
 Ts'uy, a great officer of Ts'e, 5: 18. 
 
 Ts'ze, the name of Tsce-kung, a disci- 
 ple of Conf, 1 : 15 ; 3:17; 5:8,9; 6: 
 6; 14: 31; 15:2; 17:24. 
 
 Tsze-ch'an, named Kung-sun K'eaou, 
 the chief minister of the state of 
 Ch'ing,5:15; 14:9,10. 
 
 Tsze-chang, the designation of Chuen- 
 sun Sze, a disciple of Conf, 2 : 18, 22 ; 
 5:18; 11:19; 12:6,14,20; 14:43: 
 15:5,41; 17:6; 19:1,2,3; 20:2. 
 
 Tsze-fuh King-pih, an officer of Loo, 
 14:38; 19:23. 
 
 Tsze-hea, the designation of Puh 
 Shang, a disciple of Conf, 1:7; 2 : 
 7; 3:8; 6:11; 11:2; 12:5, 22; 13: 
 27,28; 19:3,-15. 
 
 Tsze-hwa, the designation of Kung-se, 
 named Ch'ih, disciple of Conf, 6 : 3. 
 
 Tsze-kaou, the designation of Ch'ae, a 
 disciple of Conf, 11 : 24. 
 
 Tsze-kung, the designation of Twan- 
 muh Ts'ze, a disciple of Conf., 1 : 10, 
 15; 2:13; 3:17; 5:3,8, 11, 12, 14; 
 6:28; 7:14; 9:6,12; 11:2,12,15; 
 12 : 7, 8, 10, 23 ; 13 : 20, 24 ; 14 : 18, 30, 
 31,37; 15:2,5,23; 17:19,24; 19: 
 20,v— 25. 
 
 Tsze-loo, the designation of Chung- 
 yew, often named simply Yew, a dis- 
 ciple of Conf, 2: 17; 5: 6, 7, 13, 25; 
 6:26; 7:10,34; 9: 11,26; 10: 18; 
 11 : 12, 14, 21, 24, 25 ; 12 : 12 ; 13 : 1, 3, 
 28 ; 14 : 13, 17, 23, 28, 41, 45 ; 15 : 1 ; 
 17:5,7,23; 18:6,7. 
 
 Tsze-se, the chief minister of Ts'oo, 14 : 
 10. 
 
 Tsze-ts'een, the designation of Peih 
 Puh-ts'e, a disciple of Conf, 5 : 2. 
 
 Tsze-wan, surnamed Tow, and named 
 Ku-yu-t'oo, chief minister of Ts'oo, 
 5:18. 
 
SUBJECTS IN THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 159 
 
 Tsze-sang Pih-tsze, 6:1; 7 : 18. 
 Tsze-yew, or Yen Yew, the designation 
 
 of Yen Yen, a disciple of Conf., 2:7; 
 
 6:12; 11:2; 17:4; 19:12, 
 Tsze-yu, a minister of the state of 
 
 Ch'ing, 14:9. 
 Tung-le, 14 : 9. 
 
 Wan, the king, 8 : 20 ; 9 : 5 ; 19 : 22. 
 Wan, a duke of Tsin, 14: 16. 
 Wan, a river dividing the states of Ts'e. 
 
 and Loo, 6 : 7. 
 Wang-sun Kea, a great oflScer of Wei, 
 
 3: 18; 14:20. 
 We-shang Mow, 14 : 34. 
 Wei, the State of, 7 : 14 ; 9 : 14 ; 13 : 3, 
 
 7,8,9; 14:20,42; 15:1; 19:22. 
 Wei, one of tlie three families, which 
 
 governed the State of Tsin, 14 : 12. 
 Wei-shang Kaou, 5 : 23. 
 Wei, a small State in Shan-se, 18 : 1. 
 Woo, the State of, 7 : 30. 
 Woo, the founder of the Chow dynasty, 
 
 8:20; 19:22. 
 Woo, the music of king Woo, 3 : 25. 
 Woo, a musician of Loo, 18 : 9. 
 Woo-ma K'e 7 : 30. 
 Woo-shing, the name of a city in Pe, 
 
 6:12; 17:4. 
 Yang, a musician of Loo, 18 : 9. 
 Yang Foo, a disciple of Tsang-sin, 19 : 
 
 19. 
 Yang Ho, or Yang Hoo, the principal 
 
 minister of the Ke family, 17 : 1. 
 Yaou, the emperor, 6: 28; 8: 19; 14: 
 
 45; 20:1. 
 Yellow river, 18 : 9. 
 Yen, Yen Yew, 6:3; 17 : 4. 
 
 Yen Hwuy, styled Tsze-yuen, a disciple 
 
 of Conf., 6:2; 11:6. 
 Yen K'ew, Yen Yew, 6 : 10 ; 11 : 23 ; 14 : 
 
 13. 
 Yen-loo, the father of Hwuy, 11 : 7. 
 Yen Pih-new, named Tsze Kang, a dis- 
 ciple of Conf., 11 : 2. 
 Yen Yew, named K'ew, and designated 
 
 Tsze-yew, a disciple of Conf, 3:6; 
 
 5:7; 6: 3; 7: 14; 11:2,12,21,25; 
 
 13:9,14; 16:1; 19:12. 
 Yen Yuen, named Hwuy, and styled 
 
 Tsze-yuen, a disciple of Conf., 5 : 25; 
 
 7: 10; 9: 10,20; 11: 2, 7, 8, 19, 22; 
 
 12:1; 15:10. 
 Yew, Chung Yew, styled Tsze-loo, a 
 
 disciple of Conf., 2 : 17 ; 5 : 6. 7 ; 6:6; 
 
 9: 11,26; 11: 12, 14, 17, 20', 21, 23; 
 
 12:12; 13:3; 15: 3; 16:1; 17:8. 
 Yew Jo, styled Tsze-jo and Tsze-yew, 
 
 a disciple of Conf., 1:2, 12, 13; 12: 
 
 9. 
 Yin dynasty, 2:23; 3:9,21; 8:20; 15: 
 
 10; 18: L 
 Yu, the emperor, 8: 18, 21; 14: 6; 20: 
 
 1. 
 Yu, the dynastic name of the emperor 
 
 Shun, 8:20. 
 Yu, the historiographer of Wei, 15 : 6. 
 Yu, Tsae Go, 17 : 21. 
 Yu-chung, or Woo-chung, 8:1; 18 : 8. 
 Yuen Jang, a follower of Laou-tsze, 
 
 14:46. 
 Yuen Sze, named Heen, a disciple of 
 
 Conf, 6: 3. 
 Yun-yen Yung, styled Chung-kung, a 
 
 disciple of Conf., 5:4; 6:1. 
 
 INDEX III. 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 Ability and worth, importance of a 
 Ruler appreciating and using, comm. 
 10:14,16. 
 
 Analects, quotations from the, c. 4 ; 10 : 
 15. 
 
 Ancients, the, illustrated illustrious vir- 
 tue how, text, 4. 
 
 Empire, the, rendered peaceful and hap- 
 py, t. 5 ; c. 10. 
 
 Family, regulating the, t. 4, 5 ; c. 8, 9. 
 
 Heart, the rectification of the, t. 4, 5 
 C.7. 
 
 Illustration of illustrious virtue, 1. 1, 4; 
 
 c. 1. 
 Kings, why the former are remembered, 
 
 c. 3 : 4, 5. 
 Knowledge, perfecting of, t. 4, 5 ; c. 5. 
 Tiitigations, it is best to prevent, c. 4. 
 Master, the words of the, quoted, c. 3 : 
 
 2; 4. 
 Measuring square, principle of the, c. 
 
 10. 
 Middle kingdom, the, c. 10 : 15. 
 Mind, rectfying the, t. 4, 5 ; c. 7. 
 
160 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN "HE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 Odes, quotations from the, c. 2:3; 3 ;|Secret watchfulness over himself, char- 
 9 : 6, 7, 8 ; 10 : 3, 4, 5. | acteristic of the superior man, c. 6 : 1. 
 
 Order of steps in illustrating virtue, t, Shoo-king, the, quotations from, c. 1 : 
 
 3, 4. 5. 
 
 Partiality of the affections, c. 
 Passion, influence of, c. 7. 
 People, renovation of the, 1. 1 , 
 
 C.2. 
 
 1,2,3; 2:2; 9:2; 10:11,14. 
 Sincerity of the thoughts, t. 4, 5 ; c. 6. 
 State, the government of the, t. 4, 5 ; c. 
 
 9:10. 
 
 Perfecting of knowledge, the, t. 4, 5 ; Steps by which virtue may be illustrat- 
 
 c. 5. ( ed, t. 4, 5. 
 
 Person, the cultivation of the, t. 4, 5, 6 ;iSuperior man, character of the, c. 2 : 4. 
 
 c. 7, 8. 
 
 Renovation of the people, the, t. 1 ; c 
 2. 
 
 Resting in the highest excellence, 1. 1, 
 2; c. 3. 
 
 Root, the, and branches, t. 3 ; c. 4. — cul- 
 tivation of the person the, t. 6. — vir- 
 tue the, c. 10 : 6, 7, 8. 
 
 Superior and mean man, c. 4. 
 
 Virtue, illustrious, t., c. 2. — the root, c. 
 
 10:6,7,8. 
 Wealth a secondary object with a ruler, 
 
 c. 10:7,«fec. 
 
 INDEX IV. 
 
 PEOPEB NAMES IN THE GKEAT liEARNING. 
 
 Ch'ing, the philosopher. Introductory 
 
 note : cbmm. 5, note. 
 (;how, the State of, c. 2: 3. 
 Chow, the tyrant, c. 9 : 4. 
 Confucius, Concluding note to text. 
 Fan, the uncle of duke Wan, c. 10: 13. 
 K'aiig, hon. epithet of Fung, brother of 
 
 king Woo, c. 1:1; 2:2; 9:2; 10:11. 
 K'e, the name of a river, c. 3 : 4. 
 Kee, the tyrant, c. 9 : 4. 
 Mang Heen, hon. epithet of Chung-sun 
 
 Mee, a worthy minister of Loo, c. 10 : 
 
 22. 
 Mencius, Concluding note to text. 
 
 Shun, the emperor, c. 9: 4. 
 
 T'ae, Kea, the second emperor of the 
 
 Shang dynasty, c. 1 : 2. 
 T'ang, the emperor, c. 2 : 1. 
 Tsang, the philosopher. Concluding 
 
 note to text: c. 6: 3. 
 Ts'in, the State of, c. 10: 14. 
 Ts'oo, the State of, c. 10: 12. 
 Wan, the king, c. 3 : 3. 
 Yaou, the emi^eror, c. 1 : 3 ; 9:4. 
 Yin dynasty, c. 10 : 5. 
 Yin, an ancient officer mentioned in the 
 
 She-king, c. 10:4. 
 
 INDEX V. 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 Analects, quotations from the, 3; 28: 5.. Ceremonies, music, &c., can be ordered 
 
 Ancestors, worship of, 18 : 2, 3 ; 19. 
 
 Antiquity, the regulations of, cannot be 
 attested, 28:5; 29: 1. 
 
 Archery, illustrative of the way of the 
 superior man, 14 : 5. 
 
 Benevolence, to be cherished in tread- 
 ing the path of duty, 20: 4, 5. 
 
 only by the emperor, 18 : 2, 3, 4. 
 
 Common men and women may carry 
 into practice the Mean in its simple 
 elements, 12 : 2, 4. 
 
 Completion of every thing effected by 
 sincerity, 25. 
 
 Emperor, certain exclusive preroga- 
 tives of the, 28:2, 3,4. 
 
SUBJECTS IN THE DOCTRME OF THE MEAN. 
 
 161 
 
 Emperor-sage, the, described, 29. 
 
 Equilibrium, tlie mind in a state of, 1 : 
 4,5. 
 
 Eulogium of Conf., 30; 31; 32. 
 
 Fame of Conf. universal, 31 : 4. 
 
 Filial piety, of Shun, 17. — of king Woo, 
 and the duke of Chow, 19. 
 
 Five duties of universal obligation, 20 ; 
 8. 
 
 Forcefulness, in its relation to the prac- 
 tice of the Mean, 10. 
 
 Four things to which Conf. had not at- 
 tained, 13 : 4. 
 
 Government, easy to him who under- 
 stands sacrificial ceremonies, 19 : 6. — 
 dependant on the character of the 
 officers, and ultimately on that of the 
 sovereign, 20. 
 
 Harmony, the mind in a state of, 1 ; 4, 5. 
 — combined with firmness, in the su- 
 perior man, 10 : 5. 
 
 Heaven, rewarding filial piety in the 
 case of Shun, and virtue in the case 
 of Wan, 17.— Conf. the equal of, 31 : 3. 
 
 Heaven and Earth, order of, dependant 
 on the equilibrium and harmony of 
 the human mind, 1 : 5. — the perfectly 
 sincere man forms a ternion with, 22. 
 — Conf. compared to, 30 : 2. 
 
 Instruction, definition of, 1 : 1. 
 
 Insubordination, the evil of, 28. 
 
 Intelligence, how connected with sin- 
 cerity, 21. 
 
 Knowledge of duties come by in three 
 difierent ways, 20 : 9. 
 
 Lamentation that the path of the Mean 
 was untrodden, 5. 
 
 Law to himself, man a, 13. 
 
 Man has the law of the Mean in liim- 
 self, 13. 
 
 Mean, only the superior man can fol- 
 low the, 2 : 1. — the rarity of the prac- 
 tice of the, 3. — how it was that few 
 were able to practise the, 4. — how 
 Shun practised the, 6. — men's igno- 
 rance of the, shown in their conduct, 
 7. — how Hwuy held fast the course 
 of the, 8. — the difiiculty of attaining 
 to the, 9. — on forcefulness in its rela- 
 tion to the, 10. — only the sage can 
 come up to the requirements of the, 
 11 : 3. — the course of the, reaches far 
 and \vide, but yet is secret, 12. — com- 
 mon men and women may practice 
 the, 12 : 2. — orderly advance in the 
 practice of the, 15. — Conf. never 
 swerved from the, 31 : 1. 
 
 Middle kingdom, Confucius' fame over- 
 spreads tlie, 31 : 4. 
 
 Nature, definition of, 1 : 1. 
 
 Nine standard rules to be followed in 
 the government of the empire, 20 : 12, 
 13, 14, 15. 
 
 Odes, quotations from the, 12:3; 13 : 2 ; 
 
 15: 2; 16: 4; 17: 4; 26; 27: 7; 29: . 
 
 6; 33:1,2,3,4,6,6. 
 
 Passions, harmony of the, 1 : 4. 
 
 Path of duty, definition of, 1 : 1. — may 
 not be left for an instant, 1 : 2. — is not 
 far to seek, 13. 
 
 Praise of Wan and Woo, and the duke 
 of Chow, 18, 19. 
 
 Preparation necessary to success, 20: 
 16. 
 
 Principles of duty, have their root in 
 the evidenced will of Heaven, 1 : 1. — 
 to be found in the nature of man, 13. 
 
 Progress in the practice of the Mean, 
 15. 
 
 Propriety, the principle of, in relation 
 to the patli of duty, 20 : 5. 
 
 Reciprocity, the law of, 13 : 3, 4. 
 
 Righteousness, chiefly exercised in hon- 
 ouring the worthy, 20: 5. 
 
 Sacrifices, to spiritual beings, 16 : 3. — 
 instituted by Woo, and the duke of 
 Chow, 18: 2, 3. — to Heaven and 
 Earth, 19 : 6. — to ancestors, 18, 19. 
 
 Sage, a, only can come up to the re- 
 quirements of the mean, 11 : 3. — nat- 
 urally and easily embodies the right 
 way, 20: 18. — the glorious path of, 
 27.— Conf. a perfect, 31 : 1. 
 
 Seasons, Conf. compared to the four, 
 30:2,3. 
 
 Secret watchfulness over himself char- 
 acteristic of the superior man, 1 : 3. 
 
 Self-examination practised by the supe- 
 rior man, 33 : 2. 
 
 Sincerity the outgoing of, cannot be re- 
 pressed, 16 : 5. — the way of Heaven, 
 20: 17, 18.— how to be attained, 20: 
 19. — how connected with intelligence, 
 21. — the most complete, necessary to 
 the full development of the nature, 
 22. — development of, in those not nat- 
 urally possessed of it, 23. — when en- 
 tire, can foreknow, 24. — the comple- 
 tion of every thing effected by, 25. — 
 the possessor of entire, is the co-equal 
 of Heaven and Earth, and is an infin- 
 ite, and an independent being, — a 
 God, 26: 32:1. 
 
162 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 Singleness, necessary to the practice of 
 the relative duties, 20 : 8, — necessary 
 to the practice of government, 20 : 15, 
 17.— of king Wan's virtue, 26: 10. 
 
 Sovereign, a, must not neglect person- 
 al and relative duties, 20: 7. 
 
 Spirit the perfectly sincere man is like 
 a, 24. 
 
 Spiritual beings, the operation and in- 
 fluence of, 16. — the emperor-sage pre- 
 sents himself before, without any 
 doubts, 29 : 3, 4. 
 
 Steps in the practice of the Mean, 15. 
 
 Superior man is cautious, and watchful 
 over himself, 1 : 2, 5. — only can follow 
 the mean, 2 : 2. — combines harmony 
 with firmness, 10 : 5. — the way of, is 
 far-reaching and yet secret, 12. — dis- 
 tinguished by entire sincerity, 13 : 4. 
 — in every variety of situation pur- 
 sues the Mean, and finds his rule in 
 himself, 14. — pursues his course with 
 determination, 20 : 20, 21. — endeavors 
 to attain to the glorious path of the 
 sage, 27: 6, 7. — prefers concealment 
 of his virtue, while the mean man 
 seeks notoriety, 33 : 1. 
 
 Three kings, the founders of the three 
 
 dynasties, 29 : 3. 
 Three virtues, wherewith the relative 
 
 duties are practised, 20 : 8. 
 Three things important to a sovereign, 
 
 29:1. 
 Three hundred rules of ceremony, and 
 
 three thousand rules of demeanour, 
 
 27:3. 
 Yirtue in its highest degree and influ- 
 ence, 33 : 4, 5, 6. 
 Virtuous-course, the commencement 
 
 and completion of a, 33. 
 
 INDEX VI. 
 
 PBOPER NAMES IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 Ch'ing, the philosopher, Introductory 
 
 note. 
 Chow dynasty, 28 : 5. 
 Chow, the duke of, 18 : 3 ; 19. 
 Chung-ne, designation of Conf., 2 :1 ; 
 
 30:1. 
 Confucian school, Introductory note. 
 Gae, the duke of Loo, 20 : 1. 
 Hea dynasty, 28 : 5. 
 Hwa, the name of a mountain, 26 : 9. 
 Hwuy, a disciple of Conf, 8. 
 Ke, a small State in which sacrifices 
 
 were maintained to the emperors of 
 
 the Hea dynasty, 28 : 5. 
 Ke-leih, the duke, who received from 
 
 Woo the title of king, 18: 2, 3. 
 Mencius, Introductory note. 
 Shun, the emperor, 6 ; 17 : 1 ; 30 : 1. 
 
 Sung, a state in which sacrifices were 
 maintained to the emperors of the 
 Yin dynasty, 28 : 5. 
 
 T'ae, the duke, T'an-foo, who received 
 from Woo the title of king, 18 : 2. 3. 
 
 Tsze-loo, a disciple of Conf., 10: 1. 
 
 Tsze-sze, Introductory note: conclud- 
 ing notes to chapters, 1, 12, 21, 33. 
 
 Wan, the king, 17:4; 18; 20:2; 26: 
 10; 30:1. 
 
 Woo. the king, 18 : 19 ; 20 : 2 ; 30 : 1. 
 
 Yaou, the emperor, 30 : 1. 
 
 Yin dynasty, 28: 5. 
 
 Yoh, the name of a mountain, 26 : 9. 
 
 Yung, a distinguished scholar, a. d. 
 1064 — 1085, Concluding note to chap. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 163 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Introduction> ------------5 
 
 Life of Confucius, -----------6 
 
 Doctrines of Confucius, ----------9 
 
 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 Book I, 13 
 
 « II, 16 
 
 « III, 20 
 
 " lY, - 24 
 
 « Y, 27 
 
 « YI, 32 
 
 « YII, - - _ 37 
 
 « YIII, 42 
 
 "IX, 46 
 
 « X, - - 51 
 
 « XI, 56 
 
 « XII, 62 
 
 « XIII, 68 
 
 « XIY, - . 74 
 
 « XY, 83 
 
 « XYI, 88 
 
 « XYII, 94 
 
 « XYIII, 100 
 
 « XIX, - . - - 104 
 
 « XX, 109 
 
 GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 Text of Confucius, 112 
 
 Commentary of the Philosopher Tsang ----- 113 
 
 DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 124 
 
 INDEXES.— Subjects in the Analects, - - - - l - - 147 
 
 Proper names in the Analects, ------ 155 
 
 Subjects in Great Learning, ------ 159 
 
 Proper names in Great Learning, ----- 160 
 
 Subjectsin the Doctrine of the Mean, - - - - 160 
 
 Proper names in the Doctrine of the Mean, - - - 162 
 
THE CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 PAET II.-MEE"O.TUS. 
 
 i 
 
■WORKS OF METnTCITJS. 
 
 With complete Indexes of Proper Names and Subjects. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The works of Mencius follow in order of specialty those of 
 Confucius. Back to near two centuries before our era they 
 were known and held in high esteem by the learned ; often 
 quotations were made from them. The earliest classical 
 works of the Chinese like those of other nations, did not es- 
 cape the edicts issued for their destruction. 
 
 Dr. Legge says, " Between Mencius and the rise of the 
 Ts'in dynasty flourished the philosopher Seun K4ng, of whose 
 writings enough is still preserved to form a large volume. 
 By many he is regarded as the ablest of all the followers of 
 Confucius. He several times makes mention of Mencius, and 
 one of his most important chapters, — ' That Human Nature 
 is Evil,' seems to have been written expressly against Men- 
 cius' doctrine of goodness. He quotes his arguments, and 
 endeavors to set them aside." 
 
 This doctrine of the " Goodness of Human Nature" had 
 foes in those early times. Mencius seems to have luckily es- 
 caped the fury of the Ts'in dynasty. Chaou K*e, a commen- 
 tator on Mencius says, " When Ts'in sought by its fires to 
 destroy the classical books, and put the scholars to death in 
 pits, there was an end of the school of Mencius. His Works, 
 however, were included under the common name of ' Philo- 
 sophical,' and so the tablets containing them escaped destruc- 
 tion." 
 
 This writer suffered much for his erudition ; born in A. D. 
 108, he passed through similar trials to those of the apostles 
 of Jesus. Early distinguishing himself for intelligence, we 
 can see why he could marry a relative of the great scholar 
 and statesman. Ma Yung. His independent bearing towards 
 
vi. Life of Mencius 
 
 this and others of his wife's relatives cost him all but life. 
 During a seven years' illness that brought him near his grave, 
 he composed his epitaph. " Here lies a recluse of Han, by 
 surname Chaou, and by name Kea. He had the will, but not 
 the opportunity. Such was his fate. Alas ! " He lived to 
 suffer much, and write an important commentary on Mencius, 
 of which he says, " I wished to set my mind on some literary 
 work, by which I might be assisted to the government of my 
 thoughts, and forget the approach of old age. But the six 
 classics had all been explained and carefully elucidated by 
 previous scholars. Of all the orthodox school there was only 
 Mencius, wide and deep, minute and exquisite, yet obscure at 
 times anS hard to see through, who seemed to me to deserve 
 to be properly ordered and digested. Upon this I brought 
 forth whatever I had learned, collected testimonies from the 
 classics and other books, and divided my author into chapters 
 and sentences. My annotations are given along with the 
 original text, and of every chapter I have separately indicated 
 the scope. The Books I have divided into two Parts, the first 
 and second, making in all fourteen sections. 
 
 " On the whole, with regard to my labour, I do not venture 
 to think that it speaks the man of mark, but as a gift to the 
 learner, it may dispel some doubts and resolve perplexities. 
 It is not for me, however, to pronounce on its excellencies or 
 defects. Let men of discernment who come after me observe 
 its errors and omissions and correct them ; — that will be a 
 good service." 
 
 Others have followed him, even down to the present time, 
 which shows Mencius is held in great repute by the learned of 
 China through all ages of our era. 
 
 For the Life of Mencius I am entirely indebted to Dr. 
 Legge. He is scarcely mentioned by any biographical work 
 in the English language. 
 
 Like the accounts of all noted men of the early times of 
 our world's history, Mencius had a most remarkable mother, 
 
Life of Mencius. vii. 
 
 and to this day it is said she is " held up as a model of what 
 a mother should be." The early training of Mencius devolved 
 upon his mother, for his father died when he was quite young. 
 Dr. Legge says, '' The year of Mencius' birth was probably the 
 4th of the emperor Lee, b. c. 371. He lived to the age of- 
 84, dying in the year b. c. 288, the 26th of the emperor Nan, 
 with whom terminated the long sovereignty of the Chow dy- 
 nasty. The first twenty-three years of his life thus syncro- 
 nized with the last twenty-three of Plato's. Aristotle, Zeno, 
 Epicurus, Demosthenes, and other great men of the West, 
 were also his contemporaries. When we place Mencius 
 among them, he can look them in the face. He does not 
 need to hide a diminished head." 
 
 Some interesting anecdotes are given of his early life. His 
 mother moved three times on his account. 
 
 " At first they lived near a cemetery, and Mencius amused 
 himself with acting the various scenes which he witnessed at 
 the tombs. 'This,' said the lady, ' is no place for my son' ; — 
 and she removed to a house in the market-place. But the 
 change was no improvement. The boy took to playing the 
 part of a salesman, vaunting his wares, and chaffering with 
 customers. His mother sought a new house, and found one 
 at last close by a public school. There her child's attention 
 was taken with the various exercises of politeness which the 
 scholars were taught, and he endeavoured to imitate them. 
 The mother was satisfied. 'This,' she said, 'is the proper 
 place for my son.' 
 
 " Han Ying relates another story of this period. Near their 
 house was a pig-butcher's. One day Mencius asked his mother 
 what they were killing the pigs for, and was told that it was 
 to feed him. Her conscience immediately reproved her for 
 the answer. She said to herself, ' While I was carrying this 
 boy in my womb, I would not sit down if the mat was not 
 placed square, and I ate no meat which was not cut properly ; 
 — so I taught him when he was yet unborn. And now when 
 
viii. Life of Mencius, 
 
 his intelligence is opening, I am deceiving him ; — this is to 
 teach him untruthfulness ! ' With this she went and bought 
 a piece of pork in order to make good her words. 
 
 " As Mencius grew up, he was sent to school. When he re- 
 turned home one day, his mother looked up from the web 
 which she was weaving, and asked him how far he had got on. 
 He answered her with an air of indifference that he was doing 
 well enough, on which she took a knife and cut through her 
 web. The idler was alarmed, and eisked what she meant, 
 when she gave him a long lecture, showing that she had done 
 what he was doing, — that her cutting through her web was 
 like his neglecting his learning. The admonition, it is said, had 
 its proper effect ; the lecture did not need to be repeated." 
 
 How far Mencius was indebted to Confucius may be inferred 
 by an expression of his. " Although I could not be a disci- 
 ple of Confucius myself, I have endeavoured to cultivate my 
 character and knowledge by means of others who were^ 
 
 It would seem Mencius had tutors of a class suited to the 
 true ardor and bent of his mind ; self-improvement is the 
 main thing. He does not indicate any special one of his 
 teachers to whom he is indebted ; he takes all possible means 
 to cultivate his mind. Scarcely anything is told of him now 
 till he appears before the public with his disciples. 
 
 His independent bearing towards all classes shows that he 
 did not respect the persons of men. Dr. Legge gives two an- 
 ecdotes illustrative of this. 
 
 " ' When Kang of T^ang made his appearance in your 
 school,' said the disciple Kung-too, * it seemed proper that a 
 polite consideration should be paid to him, and yet you did 
 not answer him ; — why was that ? ' Mencius replied, ' I do 
 not answer him who questions me presuming on his ability, 
 nor him who presumes on his talents, nor him who presumes 
 on his age, nor him who presumes on services performed to 
 me, nor him who presumes on old acquaintance. Two of 
 those things were chargeable on Kang of T'ang.' 
 
Life of Mencius, ix. 
 
 " The other instance is that of Keaou of Ts'aou, who said to 
 Mencius, * I shall be having an interview with the prince of 
 Tsow, and can ask him to let me have a house to lodge in. I 
 wish to remain here, and receive instruction at your gate.' 
 * The way of truth,' replied the philosopher, ' is like a great 
 road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men 
 will not seek it. Do you go home and search for it, and you 
 will have abundance of teachers.' " 
 
 Mencius' great forte was the the instruction of princes, who 
 in his time were in need of good advice. At the age of forty 
 years he claims to have attained " an unperturbed mind." His 
 instructions came to be much sought for by even princes. 
 The king of Ts'e invited him to his dominions or court, but 
 partaking of the common awe at his fame, sent persons *' to 
 spy out whether he was like other men." Mencius could ad- 
 vise the king to have a heart impatient of the people's suffer- 
 ings, and use his will to do it. Agriculture and education 
 were the chief points in Mencius' methods of instruction ; — 
 " nourishment secured both for the body and mind of every 
 subject" was what he wished to see secured by the acts of the 
 sovereigns. " Be strong to do good. That is all your busi- 
 ness." He had told the prince " results are with Heaven." 
 Mencius is so often found with kings and princes, that it would 
 seem he felt it to be his mission to counsel such. Half meas- 
 ures and compromises he seemed utterly to abhor. As he 
 never took a salary, he could hold office and still be free. 
 
 Upon the death of his excellent mother, Mencius held a 
 splendid and costly funeral to show that " * The superior man 
 will not for all the world be niggardly to his parents.' " 
 
 In 309 B. c. Mencius visits the court of Loo, and this is his 
 last visit to kings. He then commends the prince by calling 
 him "A good man," "a real man." "He allows that 'he is 
 not a man of vigour,' nor ' a man wise in council,' nor ' a man 
 of much information,' but he says — ' he is a man that loves 
 what is good,' and ' the love of what is good is more than a 
 
X. Life of Mencius. 
 
 sufficient qualification for the government of the empire ; — 
 how much more is it so for the State of Loo ! ' " 
 
 Of the social life of Mencius little is known. His marriage 
 had its " bitterness." He must have had children, for the 
 nation honours his posterity. 
 
 His opinions or principles have been held in highest esteem. 
 Dr. Legge says, " The scholars of China have never been slow 
 to vindicate the memory of its sages and worthies. Unde- 
 terred by the imperial threat, Ts*een T'ang, a president of the 
 Board of Punishments, presented himself with a remon- 
 strance, saying — ' I will die for Mencius, and my death will be 
 crowned with glory.' 
 
 " The place which Mencius occupies in the estimation of the 
 literati of China may be seen by the following testimonies, 
 selected from those appended by Choo He to the prefatory no- 
 tice of his Life in the ' Collected Comments.' 
 
 " Han Yu says, * If we wish to study the doctrines of the 
 sages, we must begin with Mencius.' He also quotes the 
 opinion of Yang Tsze-yun, ' Yang and Mih were stopping up 
 the way of truths when Mencius refuted them, and scattered 
 their delusions without difficulty ; ' and then remarks upon 
 it : — ' When Yang and Mih walked abroad, the true doctrine 
 had nearly come to nought. Though Mencius possessed tal- 
 ents and virtue, even those of a sage, he did not occupy the 
 throne. He could only speak and not act. With all his ear- 
 nestness, what could he do ? It is owing, however, to his 
 words, that learners now-a-days still know to revere Confu- 
 cius, to honour benevolence and righteousness, to esteem the 
 true sovereign and despise the mere pretender. But the 
 grand rules and laws of the sage and sage-emperors had been 
 lost beyond the power of redemption ; only one in a hundred 
 of them was preserved. Can it be said in those circumstances 
 that Mencius had an easy task ? Yet had it not been for him, 
 we should have been buttoning the lappets of our coats on the 
 left side, and our discourse would have been all-confused and 
 
Life of Mencius. xi. 
 
 indistinct ; — it is on this account that I have honoured Men- 
 cius, and consider his merit not inferior to that of Yu.' 
 
 *' One asked the philosopher Ch'ing whether Mencius might 
 be pronounced to be a sage. He replied, ' I do not dare to 
 say altogether that he was a sage, but his learning had reached 
 the extremest point.' The same great scholar also said:—-" 
 * The merit of Mencius in regard to the doctrine of the sages 
 is more than can be told. Confucius only spoke of benevo- 
 lence^ but as soon as Mencius opens his mouth, we hear of 
 benevolence and righteousness, Confucius only spoke of the 
 will or mind, but Mencius enlarged also on the nourishment 
 of the passion-nature. In these two respects his merit was 
 great. Mencius did great service to the world by his teach- 
 ing the goodness of man's nature.' 
 
 " The great object of Mencius in his writings is to rectify 
 men's hearts, teaching them to preserve their heart and nour- 
 ish their nature, and to recover their lost heart. When he 
 discourses of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowl- 
 edge, he refers to the principles of these in the heart, commis- 
 erating, feeling shame and dislike, afifected with modesty and 
 complaisance, approving and disapproving. When he speaks 
 of the evils springing from perverted speakings, he says — 
 ' Growing first in the mind, they prove injurious to govern- 
 ment.' When he shows how a prince should be served, he 
 says — ' Correct what is wrong in his mind. Once rectify 
 the prince, and the kingdom will be settled.' With him the 
 thousand changes and ten thousand operations of men all 
 come from the mind or heart. If a man once rectify his 
 heart, little else will remain for him to do. In the ' Great 
 Learning,' the cultivation of the person, the regulation of the 
 family, the government of the State, and the tranquillization 
 of the empire, all have their root in the rectifying of the 
 heart and the making the thoughts sincere. If the heart be 
 rectified, we recognize at once the goodness of the nature. 
 On this account, whenever Mencius came into contact with 
 people, he testified that man's nature is good. When Ow- 
 yang Yung-shuh says, that in the lessons of the sages, man's 
 nature does not occupy the first place, he is wrong. There is 
 nothing to be put before this. Yaou and Shun are the mod- 
 els for ten thousand ages simply because they followed their 
 nature. And to follow our nature is just to accord with 
 
xii. Life of Mencius. 
 
 Heavenly principle. To use plans and arts, away from this, 
 tliough they may be successful in great achievement, is the 
 selfishness of human desires, and as far removed from the 
 mode of action of the sage, as earth is from Heaven." I shall 
 close these testimonies with a sentence from Choo He himself. 
 He says : — " Mencius, when compared with Confucius, always 
 appears to speak in too lofty a style ; but when we hear him 
 proclaiming the goodness of man's nature, and celebrating 
 Yaou and Shun, then we likewise perceive the solidity of his 
 discourses." 
 
 Dr. Legge adds, " The judgment concerning our philoso- 
 pher contained in the above quotations will approve itself to 
 every one who has carefully perused his Works." 
 
 Mencius' doctrines were truly Republican. " The people 
 are the most important element in a nation, the sovereign the 
 highest." " If the prince have great faults, they ought to re- 
 monstrate with him, and if he do not listen to them after they 
 have done so again and again, they ought to dethrone him. 
 The king on this looked moved, aid changed countenance. 
 Mencius said, 'Let not your Majesty be ofifended. You asked 
 me, and I dare not answer but according to truth.' " 
 
 The highest style of a prince centers in his personal virtues. 
 Mencius says, " Let the prince be benevolent, and all his acts 
 will be benevolent. Let the prince be righteous, and all his 
 acts will be righteous. Let the prince be correct, and all his 
 acts will be correct. Once rectify the prince, and the king- 
 dom will be firmly settled." 
 
 The doctrine of " Concord," or Universal Love was early 
 a subject of discussion. Mih, a contemporary of Mencius 
 advocated it in the abstract, while Mencius, not in the proper 
 sense denying it, held to strong and particular love as that of 
 kindred and friends. In China as elsewhere, the goodness 
 and paternity of God has ever been held as indicating the 
 divine will, that we should love one another ; some, too. on 
 the certain ground that it " worketh no ill ; " others as a duty 
 owed to Heaven, whose sovereign will is complete and perfect, 
 and men are only complete and perfect as this will is done by 
 them. 
 
THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 BOOK I 
 KING HWUY LEANG. PARTI. 
 
 Chaptlr I. 1. Mencius went to see king Hwuy of 
 Leang. 
 
 2. The king said, " Venerable sir, since you have not 
 counted it far to come here, a distance of a thousand le, 
 may I presume that you are Hkewise provided with 
 counsels to profit my kingdom ? " 
 
 3. Mencius replied, " Why must your Majesty use 
 that word ' profit ? ' What I am likewise' provided with, 
 are counsels to benevolence and righteousness, and these 
 are my only topics. 
 
 4. " If your Majesty say, ' What is to be done to pro- 
 fit my kingdom ?' the great ofiicers will say, ' What is to 
 be done to profit our families ? ' and the inferior officers 
 and the common people will say, ' What is to be done 
 to profit our persons ? ' Superiors and inferiors will try 
 to snatch this profit the one from the other, and the 
 kingdom will be endangered. In the kingdom of ten 
 thousand chariots, the murderer of his sovereign shall 
 be the chief of a family of a thousand chariots. In a 
 kingdom of a thousand chariots, the murderer of his 
 prince shall be the chief of a family of a hundred chari- 
 ots. To have a thousand in ten thousand, and a hun- 
 dred in a thousand, cannot be said not to be a large alloir 
 ment, but if righteousness be put last, and profit be put 
 first, they will not be satisfied without snatching all. 
 
 5. " There never has been a man trained to benevo- 
 lence who neglected his parents. There never has been 
 
 1 
 
14 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 a man trained to righteousness who made his sovereign 
 an after consideration. 
 
 6. "Let your Majesty also say, ^Benevolence and 
 righteousness, and these shall be the only themes.* 
 Why must you use that word — ' profit ? ' " 
 
 II. 1. Mencius, another day, saw king Hwuy of 
 Leang. The king went and stood with him by a pond, 
 and, looking round at the large geese and deer, said, 
 " Do wise and good princes also find pleasure in these 
 things?" 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " Being wise and good, they have 
 pleasure in these things. If they are not wise and 
 good, though they have these things, they do not find 
 pleasure. 
 
 3. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ^ He measured out and commenced his spiriirtower; 
 
 He measured it out and planned it. 
 
 The people addressed themselves to it, 
 
 And in less than a day completed it. 
 
 When he measured and began it, he said to them 
 — Be not so earnest : 
 
 But the multitudes came as if they had been his 
 children. 
 
 The king was in his spirit-park; 
 
 The does reposed about, 
 
 The does so sleek and fat : 
 
 And the white birds shone glistening. 
 
 The king was by his spirit-pond ; 
 
 How full was it of fishes leaping about ! ' 
 ^ King Wan used the strength of the people to make 
 his tower and his pond, and yet the people rejoiced to 
 do the work, calling the tower ' the spirit-tower,' calling 
 the pond ' the spirit-pond,' and rejoicing that he had his 
 large deer, his fishes, and turtles. The ancients caused 
 the people to have pleasure as well as themselves, and 
 therefore they could enjoy it. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 15 
 
 4. ^' In the Declaration of T^ang it is said, ' sun, 
 when wilt thou expire ? We will die together with thee/ 
 The people wished for Kee's death, though they should 
 die with him. Although he had towers, ponds, birds, 
 and animals, how could he have pleasure alone ? " 
 
 III. 1. King Hwuy of Leang said, "Small as my" 
 virtue is, in the government of my kingdom, I do in- 
 deed exert my mind to the utmost. If the year be bad 
 on the inside of the river, I remove as many of the 
 people as I can to the East of the river, and convey 
 grain to the country in the Inside. When the year is 
 bad on the East of the river, I act on the same plan. 
 On examining the government of the neighbouring king- 
 doms, I do not find that there is any prince who em- 
 ploys his mind as I do. And yet the people of the 
 neighbouring kingdoms do not decrease, nor do my 
 people increase. How is this ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " Your Majesty is fond of war ; — 
 let me take an illustration from war. — The soldiers move 
 forward to the sound of the drums ; and after their 
 weapons have been crossed, on one side they throw 
 away their coats of mail, trail their arms behind them, 
 and run. Some run a hundred paces and stop ; some 
 run fifty paces and stop. What would you think if 
 those who run fifty paces were to laugh at those who 
 run a hundred paces ? " The king said, " They may not 
 do so. They only did not run a hundred paces ; but 
 they also ran away." " Since your Majesty knows this," 
 replied Mencius, " you need not hope that your people 
 will become more numerous than those of the neigh- 
 bouring kingdoms. 
 
 3. " If the seasons of husbandry be not interfered 
 with, the grain will be more than can be eaten. If close 
 nets are not allowed to enter the pools and ponds, the 
 fishes and turtles will be more than can be consumed. 
 If the axes and bills enter the hills and forests only at 
 
16 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 the proper time, the wood will be more than can be used. 
 When the grain and fish and turtles are more than can 
 be eaten, and there is more wood than can be used, this 
 enables the people to nourish their living and bury their ' 
 dead, without any feeling against any. This condition, 
 in which the people nourish their living and bury their 
 dead without any feeling against any, is the first step 
 of Eoyal Government. 
 
 4. " Let mulberry trees be planted about the home- 
 steads with their ^ve mow, and persons of fifty years 
 may be clothed with silk. In keeping fowls, pigs, dogs, 
 and swine, let not their times of breeding be neglected, 
 and persons of seventy years may eat flesh. Let there 
 not be taken away the time that is proper for the culti- 
 vation of the farm with its hundred mow, and the fam- 
 ily of several mouths that is supported by it shall not 
 suffer from hunger. Let careful attention be paid to ed- 
 ucation in schools, inculcating in it especially the filial 
 and fraternal duties, and gray-haired men will not be 
 seen upon the roads, carrying burdens on their backs or 
 on their heads. It never has been that the ruler of a 
 State, where such results were seen, — persons of seventy 
 wearing silk and eating flesh, and the black-haired peo- 
 ple suffering neither from hunger nor cold, — did not at- 
 tain to the Imperial dignity. 
 
 5. " Your dogs and swine eat the food of men, and 
 you do not know to make any restrictive arrangements. 
 There are people dying from famine on the roads, and 
 you do not know to issue the stores of your granaries 
 for them. When people die, you say, ' It is not owing 
 to me ; it is owing to the year.' In w^hat does this dif- 
 fer from stabbing a man and killing him, and then say- 
 ing — ' It was not I ; it was the weapon ? ' Let your 
 Majesty cease to lay the blame on the year, and instant- 
 ly from all the empire the people will come to you." 
 
 lY. 1. King Hwuy of Leang said, " I wish quietly 
 to receive your instructions." 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. • 17 
 
 2. Mencius replied, '' Is there any difference between 
 killing a man with a stick and with a sword?" The 
 king said, " There is no difference." 
 
 3. " Is there any difference between doing it with a 
 sword and with the style of government?" "There is^ 
 no difference," was the reply. 
 
 4. Meyicius then said, "In your kitchen there is fat 
 meat ; in your stables there are fat horses. But your 
 people have the look of hunger, and on the wilds there 
 are those who have died of famine. This is leading on 
 beasts to devour men. 
 
 5. " Beasts devour one another, and men hate them 
 for doing so. When a prince, being the parent of his 
 people, administers his government so as to be charge- 
 able with leading on beasts to devour men, where is 
 that parental relation to the people ? " 
 
 6. Chung-ne said,, " Was he not without posterity who 
 first made wooden images to bury with the dead f So he 
 said, because that man made the semblances of men, 
 and used them /or that purpose : — what shall be thought 
 of him who causes his people to die of hunger ? " 
 
 V. 1. King Hwuy of Leang said, " There was not in 
 the empire a stronger State than Tsin, as you, venera- 
 ble Sir, know. But since it descended to me, on the 
 east we have been defeated by Ts^e, and then my eldest 
 son perished ; on the west we have lost seven hundred 
 le of territory to Ts^in ; and on the south we have sus- 
 tained disgrace at the hands of Ts^oo. I have brought 
 shame on my departed predecessors, and wish on their 
 account to wipe it away, once for all. What course is 
 to be pursued to accomplish this ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " With a territory which is only a 
 hundred le square, it is possible to attain the Imperial 
 dignity. 
 
 3. " If your Majesty will indeed dispense a benevo- 
 lent government to the people, being sparing in the use 
 
18 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 of punishments and fines, and making the taxes and 
 levies light, so causing that the fields shall be ploughed 
 deep, and the weeding of them be carefully attended 
 to, and that the strong-bodied, during their days of lei- 
 sure, shall cultivate their filial piety, fraternal respect- 
 fulness, sincerity, and truthfulness, serving thereby, at 
 home, their fathers and elder brothers, and, abroad, their 
 elders and superiors ; — you will then have a people who 
 can be employed, with sticks which they have prepared, 
 to oppose the strong mail and sharp weapons of the 
 troops of Ts^in and Ts^oo. 
 
 4. " The rulers of those States, rob their people of 
 their time, so that they cannot plough and weed their 
 fields, in order to support their parents. Their parents 
 suffer from cold and hunger. Brothers, wives, and chil- 
 dren, are separated and scattered abroad. 
 
 5. " Those rulers, as it were, drive their people into 
 pitrfalls, or drown them. Your Majesty will go to pun- 
 ish them. In such a case, who will oppose your Maj- 
 esty? 
 
 6. " In accordance with this is the saying, — ' The be- 
 nevolent has no enemy.* I beg your Majesty not to 
 doubt what I say" 
 
 VI. 1. Mencius went to see the king Seang of 
 Leang. 
 
 2. On coming out from the interview, he said to some 
 persons, "When I looked at him from a distance, he did 
 not appear like a sovereign ; when I drew near to him, 
 I saw nothing venerable about him. Abruptly he asked 
 me, ^ How can the empire be settled ? ' I replied, ^ It will 
 be settled by being united under one sway.' 
 
 3. ^^^ Who can so unite it?'" 
 
 4. " I replied, ' He who has no pleasure in killing men 
 can so unite it.* 
 
 6. "' Who can give it to him ? ' " 
 
 6. " I replied, ' All the people of the empire will unan- 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 19 
 
 imously give it to him. Does your Majesty understand 
 the way of the growing grain ? During the seventh and 
 eighth months, when drought prevails, the plants be- 
 come dr}^ Then the clouds collect densely in the 
 heavens, they send down torrents of rain, and the grain, 
 erects itself, as if by a shoot. When it does so, who can 
 keep it back? Now among the shepherds of men 
 throughout the empire, there is not one who does not 
 find pleasure in killing men. If there were one who 
 did not find pleasure in killing men, all the people in 
 the empire would look towards him with out-stretched 
 necks. Such being indeed the case, the people would 
 flock to him, as water flows downward with a rush, 
 which no one can repress.' " 
 
 VII. 1. The king Seuen of Ts^e asked, saying, 
 "May I be informed by you of the transactions of 
 Hwan of Ts^e,and Wan of Tsin?" 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " There were none of the disci- 
 ples of Chung-ne who spoke about the affairs of Hwan 
 and Wan, and therefore they have not been transmitted 
 to these after ages ; — your servant has not heard them. 
 If you will have me speak, let it be about Imperial gov- 
 ernment." 
 
 3. The king said, "What virtue must there be in order 
 to the attainment of Imperial sway ? " Mencius an- 
 swered, " The love and protection of the people ; with 
 this there is no power which can prevent a ruler from at- 
 taining it." 
 
 4. The king asked again, " Is such an one as I com- 
 petent to love and protect the people ? " Mencius said, 
 " Yes." " From what do you know that I am competent 
 to that ? " "I heard the following incident from Hoo 
 Heih ; — ' The king,' said he, ' was sitting aloft in the hall, 
 when a man appeared, leading an ox past the lower 
 part of it. The king saw him, and asked, Where is the 
 ox gOLQg ? The man replied, We are going to consecrate 
 
20 CHINESE CLASSICS, 
 
 a bell with its blood. The king said, Let it go. I can- 
 not bear its frightened appearance, as if it were an 
 innocent person going to the place of death. The man 
 answered, Shall we then omit the consecration of the 
 bell ? The king said. How can that be omitted ? Change 
 it for a sheep.' I do not know whether this incident 
 really occurred." 
 
 5. The Icing replied, " It did,,' and then Mencius said, 
 " The heart seen in this is sufficient to carry you to the 
 Imperial sway. The people all supposed that your 
 Majesty grudged the animal, but your servant knows 
 surely, that it was your Majesty's not being able to bear 
 the sight, which made you do as you did." 
 
 6. The king, said, "You are right. And yet there 
 really was an appearance of what the people con- 
 demned. But though Ts^e be a small and narrow state, 
 how should I grudge one ox. Indeed it was because I 
 could not bear its frightened appearance, as if it were 
 an innocent person going to the place of death, that 
 therefore I changed it for a sheep." 
 
 7. Mencius pursued. Let not your Majesty deem it 
 strange that the people should think you were grudging 
 the animal. When you changed the large one for a 
 small, how should they know the true reason. If you 
 felt pained by its being led without guilt to the place of 
 death, what was there to choose between an ox and a 
 sheep ? " The King laughed and said, " What really was 
 my mind in the matter ? I did not grudge the expense 
 of it, and changed it for a sheep ! — There was reason in 
 the people's saying that I grudged it." 
 
 8. " There is no harm in their saying so," said Men- 
 cius. " Your conduct was an artifice of benevolence. 
 You saw the ox, and had not seen the sheep. So is the 
 superior man affected towards animals, that, having seen 
 them alive, he cannot bear to see them die ; having 
 heard their dying cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh. 
 Therefore he keeps away from his cook-room." 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 21 
 
 9. The king was pleased, and said, " It is said in the 
 Book of Poetry, ' The minds of others, I am able by re- 
 flection to measure;' — this is verified, my Master, in 
 your discovery of my motive. I indeed did the thing, 
 but when I turned my thoughts inward, and examined 
 into it, I could not discover my own mind. When you, 
 my Master, spoke those words, the movements of com- 
 passion began to work in my mind. How is it that this 
 heart has in it what is equal to the Imperial sway ? " 
 
 10. Mencius replied, " Suppose a man were to make 
 this statement to your Majesty : — ^ My strength is suffi- 
 cient to lift three thousand catties, but it is not sufficient 
 to lift one feather; — my eye-sight is sharp enough to ex- 
 amine the point of an autumn hair, but I do not see a 
 waggoii-load of faggots;' — would your Majesty allow 
 what he said ? " " No" was the answer, on which Meiv- 
 cius proceeded, " Now here is kindness sufficient to reach 
 to animals, and no benefits are extended from it to the 
 people. — How is this ? Is an exception to be made here? 
 The truth is, the feather's not being lifted, is because 
 the strength is not used ; the waggon-load of firewood's 
 not being seen, is because the vision is not used ; and 
 the people's not being loved and protected, is because 
 the kindness is not employed. Therefore your Majesty's 
 not exercising the Imperial sway, is because you do not 
 do it, not because you are not able to do it." 
 
 11. The king asked, "How may the difference be- 
 tween the not doing a thing, and the not being able to 
 do it, be represented ? " Mencius replied, " In such a 
 thing as taking the T^ae mountain under your arm, and 
 leaping over the north sea with it, if you say to people 
 — ^^I am not able to do it,' that is a real case of not being 
 able. In such a matter as breaking off* a branch from 
 a tree at the order of a superior, if you say to people 
 — ' I am not able to do it,' that is a case of not doing it, 
 it is not a case of not being able to do it. Therefore 
 
 2 
 
22 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 your Majesty's not exercising the Imperial sway, is not 
 such a case as that of taking the T^ae mountain under 
 your arm, and leaping over the north sea with it. Your 
 Majesty's not exercising the Imperial sway is a case like 
 that of breaking off a branch from a tree. 
 
 12. " Treat with the reverence due to age the elders 
 in your own family, so that the elders in the families of 
 others shall be similarly treated ; treat with the kind- 
 ness due to youth the young in your own family, so 
 that the young in the families of others shall be simi- 
 larly treated : — do this, and the empire may be made to 
 go round in your palm. It is said in the Book of Poe- 
 try, ' His example affected his wife. It reached to his 
 brothers, and his family of the State was governed by 
 it.' — The language shows how king Wan simply took 
 this kindly heart, and exercised it towards those parties. 
 Therefore the carrying out his kindly heart hy a prince 
 will suffice for the love and protection of all within the 
 four seas, and if he do not carry it out, he will not be 
 able to protect his wife and children. The way in 
 which the ancients came greatly to surpass other men^ 
 was no other than this : — simply that they knew well 
 how to carry out, so as to affect others, what they them- 
 selves did. Now your kindness is sufficient to reach to 
 animals, and no benefits are extended from it to reach 
 the people. — How is this ? Is an exception to be made 
 here ? 
 
 13. " By weighing, we know what things are light, 
 and what heavy. By measuring, we know what things 
 are long, and what short. The relations of all things 
 may be thus determined, and it is of the greatest im- 
 portance to estimate the motions of the mind. I beg 
 your Majesty to measure it. 
 
 14. " You collect your equipments of war, endanger 
 your soldiers and officers, and excite the resentment of 
 the other princes ; — do these things cause you pleasure 
 in your mind ? " 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. ^ 23 
 
 15. The king replied "No. How should I derive 
 pleasure from these things? My object in them is to 
 seek for what I greatly desire." 
 
 16. Mencius said, "May I hear from you what it is 
 that you greatly desire ? The king laughed and did not 
 speak. Mencius resumed, " Are you led to desire it, be- 
 cause you have not enough of rich and sweet food for 
 your mouth ? Or because you have not enough of light 
 and warm clothiiig for your body ? Or because you have 
 not enow of beautifully coloured objects to delight your 
 eyes ? Or because you have not voices and tones enow 
 to please your ears ? Or because you have not enow of 
 attendants and favourites to stand before you and re- 
 ceive your orders ? Your Majesty's various officers are 
 sufficient to supply you with those things. How can 
 your Majesty be led to entertain such a desire on ac- 
 count of them ? " " No," said the king ; " my desire is 
 not on account of them ? " Mencius added, " Then, what 
 your Majesty greatly desires may be known. You wish 
 to enlarge your territories, to have Ts^in and Ts'oo wait 
 at your court, to rule the Middle kingdom, and to at- 
 tract to you the barbarous tribes that surround it. But 
 to do what you do to seek for what you desire, is like 
 cHmbing a tree to seek for fish." 
 
 17. The king said, " Is it so bad as that ? " " It is even 
 worse," was the reply. " If you climb a tree to seek for 
 fish, although you do not get the fish, you will not suf- 
 fer any subsequent calamity. But if you do what you 
 do to seek for what you desire, doing it moreover with 
 all your heart, you will assuredly afterwards meet with 
 calamities." The king asked, " May I hear /rom you the 
 proof of that ? " Mencius said, " If the people of Tsow 
 should fight with the people of Ts'oo, which of them 
 does your Majesty think would conquer ? " " The peo- 
 ple of Ts^oo would conquer." " Yes; — and so it is cer- 
 tain that a small country cannot contend with a great, 
 
24 • CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 that few cannot contend with many, that the weak can- 
 not contend with the strong. The territory within the 
 four seas embraces nine divisions, each of a thousand 
 le square. All Ts'e together is but one of them. If 
 with one part you try to subdue the other eight, what 
 is the difference between that and Tsow's contending 
 with Ts^oo ? For, with the desire which you have, you 
 must likewise turn back to the radical course for its at- 
 tainment 
 
 18. " Now if your Majesty will institute a govern- 
 ment whose action shall all be benevolent, this will cause 
 all the officers in the empire to wish to stand in your 
 Majesty's court, and the farmers all to wish to plough 
 in your Majesty's fields, and the merchants, both travel- 
 ling and stationary, all to wish to store their goods in 
 your Majesty's market places, and travelling strangers 
 all to wish to make their tours on your Majesty's roads, 
 and all throughout the empire who feel aggrieved by 
 their rulers to wish to come and complain to your Maj- 
 esty. And when they are so bent, who will be able to 
 keep them back ? " 
 
 19. The king said, "I am stupid, and not able to ad- 
 vance to this. I wish you, my Master, to assist my in- 
 tentions. Teach me clearly ; although I am deficient 
 in intelligence and vigour, I will essay and try to carry 
 your instructions into effect." 
 
 20. Mencius replied, " They are only men of educa- 
 tion, who, without a certain livelihood, are able to 
 maintain a fixed heart. As to the people, if they have 
 not a certain livelihood^ it follows that they will not 
 have a fixed heart. And 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 thus have been involved 
 in crime, to follow them up and punish them ; — this is 
 to entrap the people. How can such a thing as entrap- 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 ping the people be done under the rule of a benevolent 
 
 man : 
 
 9" 
 
 21. " Therefore an intelligent ruler will regulate the 
 livelihood of the people, so as to make sure that, above, 
 they shall have sufficient wherewith to serve their pa- 
 rents, and, below, sufficient wherewith to support their 
 wives and children; that in good years they shall 
 always be abundantly satisfied, and that in bad years 
 they shall escape the danger of perishing. After this 
 he may urge them, and they will proceed to what is 
 good, for in this case the people will follow after that 
 with ease. 
 
 22. "Now, the livelihood of the people is so regu- 
 lated, that, above, they have not sufficient wherewith to 
 serve their parents, and, below, they have not sufficient 
 wherewith to support their wives and children. Not- 
 withstanding good years, their lives are continually em- 
 bittered, and, in bad years, they do not escape perishing. 
 In such circumstances they only try to save themselves 
 from death, and are afraid they will not succeed. What 
 leisure have they to cultivate propriety and righteous- 
 ness ? 
 
 23. "If your Majesty wishes to effect this regulation 
 of the livelihood of the people, why not turn to that 
 which is the essential step to it ? 
 
 24. " Let mulberry-trees be planted about the home- 
 steads with their five mow, and persons of fifty years 
 may be clothed with silk. In keeping fowls, pigs, dogs, 
 and swine, let not their times of breeding be neglected, 
 and persons of seventy years may eat flesh. Let there 
 not be taken away the time that is proper for the culti- 
 vation of the farm with its hundred mow, and the fam- 
 ily of eight mouths that is supported by it shall not 
 suffer from hunger. Let careful attention be paid to 
 education in schools, — the inculcation in it especially of 
 the filial and fraternal duties, and gray-haired men will 
 
26 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 not be seen upon the roads, carrying burdens on their 
 backs or on their heads. It never has been that the 
 ruler of a State where such results were seen, — the old 
 wearing silk and eating flesh, and the black-haired peo- 
 ple suffering neither from hunger nor cold, — did not 
 attain to the Imperial dignity." 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 KING HWUY OF LEANG. PAET H. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Chwang Paou, seeing Mencius, said to 
 him, "I had an audience of the king. His Majesty 
 told me that he loved music, and I was not prepared 
 with anything to reply to him. What do you pro- 
 nounce about that love of music ? " Mencius replied, 
 " If the king's love of music were very great, the king- 
 dom of Ts^e would be near to a state of good govern- 
 mentr 
 
 2. Another day, Mencius, having an audience of the 
 king, said, " Your Majesty, I have heard, told the officer 
 Chwang, that you love music ; was it so ? " The king 
 changed colour, and said, " I am unable to love the music 
 of the ancient sovereigns ; I only love the music that 
 suits the manners of the present age." 
 
 3. Mencius said, "If your Majesty's love of music 
 were very great, Ts^e would be near to a state of good 
 government ! The music of the present day is just 
 like the music of antiquity, in regard to effecting that'' 
 
 4. The king said, " May I hear from you the proof of 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. 27 
 
 that ? " Mencius asked, " Which is the more pleasant, 
 — to enjoy music by yourself alone, or to enjoy it along 
 with others ? " " To enjoy it along with others," was 
 the reply. " And which is the more pleasant, — to en-' 
 joy music along with a few, or to enjoy it along with 
 many?" "To enjoy it along with many." 
 
 5. Mencius proceeded, " Your servant begs to explain 
 what I have said about music to your Majesty. 
 
 6. " Now, your Majesty is having music here. — The 
 people hear the noise of your bells and drums, and the 
 notes of your fifes and pipes, and they all, with aching 
 heads, knit their brows, and say to one another, ^That's 
 how our king likes his music ? But why does he re- 
 duce us to this extremity of distress ? — Fathers and 
 sons cannot see one another. Elder brothers and 
 younger brothers, wives and children, are separated 
 and scattered abroad. Now your Majesty is hunting 
 here. — The people hear the noise of your carriages and 
 horses, and see the beauty of your plumes and stream- 
 ers, and they all, with aching heads, knit their brows, 
 and say to one another, ^ That's how our king likes his 
 hunting ! But why does he reduce us to this extremity 
 of distress f — Fathers and sons cannot see one another. 
 Elder brothers and younger brothers, wives and children, 
 are separated and scattered abroad.' Their feeling thus 
 is from no other reason, but that you do not give the 
 people to have pleasure as well as yourself 
 
 7. " Now your Majesty is having music here. The 
 people hear the noise of your bells and drums, and the 
 notes of your fifes and pipes, and they all, delighted, 
 and with joyful looks, say to one another, ' That sounds 
 as if our king were free from all sickness ! If he were 
 not, how could he enjoy this music ? ' Now, your Maj- 
 esty is hunting here. The people hear the noise of 
 your carriages and horses, and see the beauty of your 
 plumes and streamers, and they all, delighted, and with 
 
28 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 joyful looks, say to one another, ' That looks as if our 
 king were free from all sickness ! If he were not, how 
 could he enjoy this hunting?' Their feeling thus is 
 from no other reason but that you cause them to have 
 their pleasure as you have yours. 
 
 8. " If your Majesty now will make pleasure a thing 
 common to the people and yourself, the Imperial sway 
 awaits you." 
 
 II. 1. The king, Seuen, of Ts^e asked, " Was it so, 
 that the park of king Wan contained seventy square 
 le f " Mencius replied, " It is so in the records." 
 
 2. "Was it so large as that?" exclaimed the king. 
 " The people," said Mencius, "still looked on it as small." 
 The king added, " My park contains only forty square 
 le, and the people still look on it as large. How is 
 this ? " " The park of king Wan," was the reply^ " con- 
 tained seventy square le, but the grass-cutters and fuel- 
 gatherers had the privilege of entrance into it ; so also 
 had the catchers of pheasants and hares. He shared it 
 with the people, and was it not with reason that they 
 looked on it as small ? 
 
 3. " When I first arrived at the borders of your State, 
 I enquired about the great prohibitory regulations, be- 
 fore I would venture to enter it ; and I heard, that 
 inside the border-gates there was a park of forty square 
 le, and that he who killed a deer in it, was held guilty 
 of the same crime as if he had killed a man. — Thus 
 those forty square le are a pitfall in the middle of the 
 kingdom. Is it not with reason that the people look 
 upon them as large ? " 
 
 III. 1. The king Seuen of Ts^e, asked saying, "Is 
 there any way to regulate one's maintenance of inter- 
 course with neighbouring kingdoms?" Mencius replied, 
 "There is. But it requires a perfectly virtuous prince 
 to be able, with a great country, to serve a small one, — 
 as, for instance, T^ang served Ko, and king Waji served 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 29 
 
 the Kwan barbarians. And it requires a wise prince^ to 
 be able, with a small country, to serve a large one, — as 
 the king T'ae served the Heun-yuh, and Kow-tseen 
 served Woo. 
 
 2. " He who with a great State serves a small one, de- 
 lights in Heaven. He who with a small State serves a^ 
 large one, stands in awe of Heaven. He who delights 
 in Heaven, will affect with his love and protection the 
 whole empire. He who stands in awe of Heaven, will 
 affect with his love and protection his own kingdom. 
 
 3. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, ' I fear the Maj- 
 esty of Heaven, and will thus preserve its favouring 
 decree.' " 
 
 4. The king said, " A great saying ! But I have an 
 infirmity ; — I love valour." 
 
 5. " I beg your Majesty," was the reply, " not to love 
 small valour. If a man brandishes his sword, looks 
 fiercely, and says, ' How dare he withstand me ? ' — this 
 is the valour of a common man, who can be the oppo- 
 nent only of a single individual. I beg your Majesty 
 to greaten it. 
 
 6. '' It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 ' The king blazed with anger, 
 
 And he marshalled his hosts, 
 To stop the march to Keu, 
 To consolidate the prosperity of Chow, 
 To meet the expectations of the empire.' 
 This was the valour of king Wan. King Wan in one 
 burst of his anger, gave repose to all the people of the 
 Empire. 
 
 7. " In the Book of History it is said, ' Heaven hav- 
 ing produced the inferior people, appointed for them 
 rulers and teachers, with the purpose that they should 
 be assisting to God, and therefore distinguished them 
 throughout the four quarters of the empire. Whoever 
 are offenders, and whoever are innocent, here am I to 
 
 3 
 
80 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 deal with them. How dare any under heaven give in" 
 dulgence to their refractory wills?' There was one 
 man pursuing a violent and disorderly course in the em- 
 pire, and king Woo was ashamed of it. This was the 
 valour of king Woo. He also, by one display of his 
 anger, gave repose to all the people of the empire. 
 
 8. "Let now your Majesty also, in one burst of anger, 
 give repose to all the people of the empire. The peo- 
 ple are only afraid that your Majesty does not love 
 valour." 
 
 IV. 1. The king Seuen of Ts^e had an interview with 
 Mencius in the Snow palace, and said to him, " Do men 
 of talents and worth likewise find pleasure in these 
 things ? " Mencius replied, " They do, and if people 
 generally are not able to enjoy themselves^ they condemn 
 their superiors. 
 
 2. " For them, when they cannot enjoy themselves, 
 to condemn their superiors is wrong, but when the su- 
 periors of the people do not make enjoyment a thing 
 common to the people and themselves, they also do 
 wrong. 
 
 3. " When a ruler rejoices in the joy of his people, 
 they also rejoice " in his joy ; when he grieves at the 
 sorrow of his people, they also grieve at his sorrow. A 
 sympathy of joy will pervade the empire ; a sympathy 
 of sorrow will do the same : — in such a state of things, 
 it cannot be but that the ruler attain to the Imperial 
 dignity. 
 
 4. "Formerly, the duke. King, of Ts^e, asked the 
 minister Ngan, saying, ^I wish to pay a visit of inspection 
 to Chuen-foo, and Ch^aou-woo, and then to bend my 
 course southward along the shore, till I come to Lang- 
 yay. What shall I do that my tour may be fit to be 
 compared with the visits of inspection made by the an- 
 cient emperors ? ' 
 
 5. " The minister Ngan replied, ^ An excellent inqui- 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 31 
 
 ry! When the emperor visited the princes, it was 
 called a tour of inspection, that is, he surveyed the 
 States under their care. When the princes attended at 
 the court of the emperor, it was called a report of of- 
 fice, that is, they reported their administration of theiF 
 offices. Thus, neither of the proceedings was without 
 a purpose. And moreover, in the spring they exam- 
 med the ploughing, and supplied any deficiency of seed; 
 in the autumn they examined the reaping, and supplied 
 any deficiency of yield. There is the saying of the 
 Hea dynasty, — If our king do not take his ramble, what 
 will become of our happiness ? If our king do not 
 make his excursion, what will become of our help? 
 That ramble, and that excursion, were a pattern to the 
 princes. 
 
 6. " ' Now the state of things is different. — A host 
 marches in attendance on the ruler, and stores of pro- 
 visions are consumed. The hungry are deprived of 
 their food, and there is no rest for those who are called 
 to toil. Maledictions are uttered by one to another 
 with eyes askance, and the people proceed to the com- 
 mission of wickedness. Thus the Imperial ordinances 
 are violated, and the people are oppressed, and the sup- 
 p)lies of food and drink flow away like water. The 
 rulers yield themselves to the current, or they urge 
 their way against it; they are wild; they are utterly 
 lost : — these things proceed to the grief of their subor- 
 dinate governors. 
 
 7. " ' Descending along with the current, and forget- 
 ting to return, is what I call yielding to it. Pressing 
 up against it, and forgetting to return, is what I call 
 urging their way against it. Pursuing the chase with- 
 out satiety is what I call being wild. Delighting in 
 wine without satiety is what I call being lost. 
 
 8. " ' The ancient emperors had no pleasures to which 
 they gave themselves as on the flowing stream; no 
 
32 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 doings which might be so characterized as wild and lost. 
 
 9. '- ' It is for you, my prince, to pursue your course.' " 
 
 10. " The duke King was pleased. He issued a proc- 
 lamation throughout his state, and went out and occu- 
 pied a shed in the borders. From that time he began 
 to open his granaries to supply the wants of the people, 
 and calling the Grand music-master, he said to him — 
 ' Make for me music to suit a prince and his minister 
 pleased with each other.' And it was then that the 
 Che-shaou and Keo-shaou were made, in the poetry to 
 which it was said, ^What fault is it to restrain one's 
 prince? ' He who restrains his prince loves his prince." 
 
 V. 1. The king Seuen of T^se said, "People all teU 
 me to pull down and remove the Brilliant palace. Shall 
 I pull it down, or stop the movement for that object f 
 
 2. Mencius replied, '^ The Brilliant Palace is a palace 
 appropriate to the emperors. If your Majesty wishes 
 to practice the true Eoyal government, then do not 
 pull it down." 
 
 3. The king said, " May I hear from you what the 
 true Royal government is ? " " Formerly," was the re- 
 ply, " king Wan's government of K*e was as follows : — 
 The husbandmen cultivated for the government one- 
 ninth of the land ; the descendants of officers were 
 salaried; at the passes and in the markets, strangers 
 were inspected, but goods were not taxed ; there were 
 no prohibitions respecting the ponds and weirs ; the 
 wives and children of criminals were not involved in 
 their guilt. There were the old and wifeless, or widow- 
 ers ; the old and husbandless, or widows ; the old and 
 childless, or solitaries ; the young and fatherless, or or- 
 phans : — these four classes are the most destitute of the 
 people, and have none to whom they can tell their 
 wants, and king Wan, in the institution of his govern- 
 ment with its benevolent action, made them the first 
 objects of his regard, as it is said in the Book of Poe- 
 try, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 33 
 
 ^ The rich may get through. 
 But alas ! for the miserable and solitary ! ' " 
 
 4. The king said, " excellent words ! " Mencius 
 said, " Since your Majesty deems them excellent, why 
 do you not practice them?" "I have an infirmity," 
 said the king ; " I am fond of wealth." The reply was, 
 " Formerly, Kung-lew was fond of wealth. It is said in 
 the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' He reared his ricks, and filled his granaries, 
 He tied up dried provisions and grain. 
 In bottomless bags, and sacks. 
 That he might gather his people together, and 
 
 glorify Ms State, 
 With bows and arrows all-displayed. 
 With shields, and spears, and battle-axes, large 
 
 and small. 
 He commenced his march.' 
 In this way those who remained in their old seat had 
 their ricks and granaries, and those who marched had 
 their bags of provisions. It was not till after this that 
 he thought he could commence his march. If your 
 Majesty loves wealth, let the people be able to gratify 
 the same feeling, and what difficulty will there be in 
 your attaining the Imperial sway ? " 
 
 5. The king said, " I have an infirmity ; I am fond of 
 beauty." The reply was, "Formerly, king T^ae was 
 fond of beauty, and loved his wife. It is said in the 
 Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' Koo-kung T^an-foo 
 
 Came in the morning, galloping his horse, 
 By the banks of the western waters, 
 As far as the foot of K-e hill. 
 Along with the lady of Keang ; 
 They came and together chose the site of set- 
 tlement.' 
 At that time, in the seclusion of the house, there were 
 
34 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 no dissatisfied women, and abroad, there were no im- 
 married men. If your Majesty loves beauty, let the 
 people be able to gratify the same feeling, and what 
 difficulty will there be in your attaining the Imperial 
 sway?" 
 
 YI. 1. Mencius said to the king Seuen of T^se, 
 ^^ Suppose that one of your Majesty's ministers were to 
 entrust his wife and children to the care of his friend, 
 while he himself went into Ts^oo to travel, and that, on 
 his return, he should find that the friend had caused his 
 wife and children to suffer from cold and hunger ; — how 
 ought he to deal with him?" The king said, "He 
 should cast him off." 
 
 2. Mencius proceeded, " Suppose that the chief crim- 
 inal judge could not regulate the officers under him, 
 how would you deal with him ? " The king said, " Dis- 
 miss him." 
 
 3. Mencius again said, "If within the four borders of 
 your Tcingdom there is not good government, what is to 
 be done ? " The king looked to the right and left, and 
 spoke of other matters. 
 
 YII. 1. Mencius, having an interview with the king 
 Seuen of Ts^e, said to him, " When men speak of ^an 
 ancient kingdom,' it is not meant thereby that it has 
 lofty trees in it, but that it has ministers sprung from 
 families which have been noted in it for generations. 
 Your Majesty has no intimate ministers even. Those 
 whom you advanced yesterday are gone to day, and 
 you do not know it." 
 
 2. The king said, " How shall I know that they have 
 not ability, and so avoid employing them at all ? " 
 
 3. The reply was, " The ruler of a State advances to 
 office men of talents and virtue, only as a matter of 
 necessity. Since he will thereby cause the low to over- 
 step the honourable, and strangers to overstep his rela- 
 tives, may he do so but with caution ? 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 35 
 
 4. " When all those about you say, — ' This is a man 
 of talents and worth/ you may not for that believe it. 
 When your great officers all say, — ' This is a man of 
 talents and virtue/ neither may you for that believe it. 
 When all the people say, — ' This is a man of talents and 
 virtue/ then examine into the case, and when you find 
 that the man is such, employ him. When all those 
 about you say, — ' This man won't do/ don't listen to 
 them. When all your great officers say, — ' This man 
 won't do/ don't listen to them. When the people all 
 say, — ' This man won't do/ then examine into the case, 
 and when you find that the man won't do, send him 
 away. 
 
 5. " When all those about you say, — ' This man de- 
 serves death/ don't listen to them. When all your 
 great officers say, — ' This man deserves death/ don't lis- 
 ten to them. When the people all say, — ' This man 
 deserves death/ then inquire into the case, and when 
 you see that the man deserves death, put him to death. 
 In accordance with this we have the saying, ^ The peo- 
 ple killed him.' 
 
 6. " You must act in this way in order to be the pa- 
 rent of the people." 
 
 VIII. 1. The king Seuen of Ts^e asked, saying, 
 "Was it so, that T^ang banished Kee, and that king 
 Woo smote Chow ? " Mencius replied, " It is so in the 
 records." 
 
 2. The Tcing said, " May a minister then put his sov- 
 ereign to death ? " 
 
 3. Mencius said, " He who outrages the benevolence 
 proper to his nature, is called a robber ; he who out- 
 rages righteousness, is called a ruffian. The robber and 
 ruffian we call a mere fellow. I have heard of the cut- 
 ting off* of the fellow Chow, but I have not heard of the 
 putting a sovereign to death, in his case.'* 
 
 IX. 1. Mencius, having an interview with the king 
 
36 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 Seuen of Ts^e, said to him, " If you are going to build 
 a large mansion, you will surely cause the Master of 
 the workmen to look out for large trees, and when he 
 has found such large trees, you will be glad, thinking 
 that they will answer for the intended object. Should 
 the workmen hew them so as to make them too small, 
 then your Majesty will be angry, thinking that they 
 will not answer for the purpose. Now, a man spends 
 his youth in learning the principles of right government, 
 and, being grown up to vigour, he wishes to put them 
 in practice; — if your Majesty says to him, ^For the 
 present put aside what you have learned, and follow 
 me,' what shall we say ? 
 
 2. "Here now you have a gem unwrought, in the 
 stone. Although it may be worth 240,000 taels, you 
 will surely employ a lapidary to cut and polish it. But 
 when you come to the government of the State, then 
 you say, — ^For the present put aside what you have 
 learned, and follow me.' How is it that you herein act 
 so differently from your conduct in calling in the lapi- 
 dary to cut the gem ! " 
 
 X. 1. The people of Ts^e attacked Yen, and con- 
 quered it. 
 
 2. The king Seuen asked, saying, " Some tell me not 
 to take possesion of it for myself, and some tell me to 
 take possession of it. For a kingdom of ten thousand 
 chariots, attacking another of ten thousand chariots, to 
 complete the conquest of it in fifty days, is an achieve- 
 ment beyond mere human strength. If I do not take 
 possession of it, calamities from Heaven will surely 
 come upon me. What do you say to my taking posses- 
 sion of it?" 
 
 3. Mencius replied, "If the people of Yen will be 
 pleased with your taking possession of it, then do so. — 
 Among the ancients there was one who acted on this 
 principle, namely king Woo. If the people of Yen will 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 37 
 
 not be pleased with your taking possession of it, then 
 do not do so. — Among the ancients there was one who 
 acted on this principle, namely king Wan. 
 
 4. '• When, with all the strength of your country of 
 ten thousand chariots, you attacked another country or 
 ten thousand chariots, and the people brought baskets 
 of rice and vessels of congee, to meet your Majesty's 
 host, was there any other reason for this but that they 
 hoped to escape out of fire and water ? If you make 
 the water more deep and the fire more fierce, they will 
 just in like manner make another revolution." 
 
 XI. 1. The people of Ts'e, having smitten Yen, 
 took possession of it, aiid upon this, the princes of the 
 various States deliberated together, and resolved to de- 
 liver Yen from their power. The king Seuen said to 
 Mencius, " The princes have formed many plans to at- 
 tack me: — how shall I prepare myself for them?" 
 Mencius replied, " I have heard of one who with seventy 
 le exercised all the functions of government throughout 
 the empire. That was T'ang. I have never heard of a 
 prince with a thousand le standing in fear of others." 
 
 2. " It is said in the Book of History, ' As soon as 
 T^ang began his work of executing justice, he com- 
 menced with Ko. The whole empire had confidence in 
 him. When he pursued his work in the east, the rude 
 tribes on the west murmured. So did those on the 
 north, when he was engaged in the south. The cry 
 was — Why does he make us last ? Thus, the looking 
 of the people to him, was like the looking in a time of 
 great drought to the clouds and rainbows. The fre- 
 quenters of the markets stopped not. The husband- 
 men made no change in their operations. While he 
 punished their rulers, he consoled the people. His 
 progress was like the falling of opportune rain, and the 
 people were delighted. It is said again in the Book of 
 4 
 
38 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 History, ^We have waited for our prince long; the 
 prince's coming will be our reviving ! " 
 
 3. " Now the ruler of Yen was tyrannizing over his 
 people, and your Majesty went and punished him. The 
 pebple supposed that you were going to deliver them 
 out of the water and the fire, and brought baskets of 
 rice and vessels of congee, to meet your Majesty's host. 
 But you have slain their fathers and elder brothers, and 
 put their sons and younger brothers in chains. You 
 have pulled down the ancestral temple of the State, and 
 are removing to Ts'e its precious vessels. How can 
 such a course be deemed proper ? The rest of the em- 
 pire is indeed jealously afraid of the strength of Ts'e, 
 and now, when with a doubled territory you do not put 
 in practice a benevolent government ; — it is this which 
 sets the arms of the empire in motion. 
 
 4. " If your Majesty will make haste to issue an or- 
 dinance, restoring your captives, old and young, stop- 
 ping the removal of the precious vessels, and saying 
 that, after consulting with the people of Yen, you will 
 appoint them a ruler, and withdraw from the country ; 
 — in this way you may still be able to stop the threat- 
 ened attach" 
 
 Xn. 1. There had been a brush between Tsow and 
 Loo, when the duke of Muh asked Mencius, saying, " Of 
 my ofl&cers there were killed thirty-three men, and none 
 of the people would die in their defence. If I put them 
 to death /or their conduct, it is impossible to put such 
 a multitude to death. If I do not put them to death, 
 then there is the crime unpunished of their looking an- 
 grily on at the death of their officers, and not saving 
 them. How is the exigency of the case to be met ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " In calamitous years and years 
 of famine, the old and weak of your people, who have 
 been found lying in the ditches and water-channels, and 
 the able-bodied who have been scattered about to the 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 39 
 
 four quarters, have amounted to several thousands. All 
 the while, your granaries, prince, have been stored 
 with grain, and your treasuries and arsenals have been 
 full, and not one of your officers has told you of the dis- 
 tress. Thus negligent have the superiors in your State 
 been, and cruel to their inferiors. The philosopher 
 Tsang said, ^Beware, beware. What proceeds from you, 
 will return to you again.' Now at length the people 
 have returned their conduct to the officers. Do not 
 you, prince, blame them. 
 
 3. " If you will put in practice a benevolent govern- 
 ment, this people will love you and all above them, and 
 will die for their officers." 
 
 XIII. 1. The duke Wan of T^ang asked Mencius, 
 saying, " T^ang is a small kingdom, and lies between 
 Ts'e and Ts^oo. Shall I serve Ts^e ? Or shall I serve 
 Ts^oo?" 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " This plan which you propose is 
 beyond me. If you will have me counsel you, there is 
 one thing / can suggest. Dig deeper your moats ; 
 build higher your walls ; guard them along with your 
 people. In case of attach, be prepared to die in your 
 defence, and have the people so that they will not leave 
 you ; — this is a proper course." 
 
 XIV. 1. The duke Wan of T^ang asked Mencius, 
 saying, " The people of Ts^e are going to fortify See. 
 The movement occasions me great alarm. What is the 
 proper course for me to take in the case ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " Formerly, when king T^ae dwelt 
 in Pin, the barbarians of the north were continually 
 making incursions upon it. He therefore left it, went 
 to the foot of mount K^e, and there took up his resi- 
 dence. He did not take that situation, as having se- 
 lected it. It was a matter of necessity with him. 
 
 3. " If you do good, among your descendants, in after 
 generations, there shall be one who will attain to the 
 
40 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 Imperial dignity. A prince lays the foundation of the 
 inheritance, and hands down the beginning which he 
 has madey doing what may be continued hy his sitcces 
 sors. As to the accomplishment of the great result- 
 that is with Heaven. What is that Ts'e to you, 0, 
 prince ? Be strong to do good. That is all your busi- 
 ness. 
 
 XV, 1. The duke Wan of T'ang asked Mencius, 
 saying, " T^ang is a small kingdom. Though I do my 
 utmost to serve those large kingdoms on either side of 
 it, we cannot escape suffering from them. What course 
 shall I take that we may do so?" Mencius replied, 
 " Formerly, when king T^ae dwelt in Pin, the barbarians 
 of the north were constantly making incursions upon it. 
 He served them with skins and silks, and still he suf- 
 fered from them. He served them with dogs and horses, 
 and still he suffered from them. He served them with 
 pearls and gems, and still he suffered from them. See- 
 ing this, he assembled the old men, and announced to 
 them, saying, ^ What the barbarians want is my terri- 
 tory. I have heard this, — that a ruler does not injure 
 his peoj^le with that wherewith he nourishes them. My 
 children, why should you be troubled about having no 
 prince. I will leave this.' Accordingly, he left Pin, 
 crossed the mountain Leang, built a town at the foot of 
 mount K'e, and dwelt there. The people of Pin said, 
 ^He is a benevolent man. We must not lose him.' 
 Those who followed him looked like crowds hastening 
 to market. 
 
 2. " On the other hand, some say, ^ The kingdom is a 
 thing to be kept from generation to generation. One 
 individual cannot undertake to dispose of it in his Own 
 person. Let him be prepared to die for it. Let him 
 not quit it.' 
 
 3. " I ask you, prince, to make your election between 
 these two courses." 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 41 
 
 XVI. 1. The duke P'ing of Loo was about to leave 
 his palace, when his favourite, one Tsang Ts^ang, made 
 a request to him, saying, " On other days, when you 
 have gone out, you have given instructions to the offi- 
 cers as to where you were going. But now, the horses" 
 have been put to the carriage, and the officers do not yet 
 know where you are going. I venture to ask." The 
 duke said, "I am going to see the scholar Mang." "How 
 is this ! " said the other. " That you demean yourself, 
 prince, in paying the honour of the first visit to a com- 
 mon man, is, I apprehend, because you think that he is 
 a man of talents and virtue. By such men the rules of 
 ceremonial proprieties and right are observed. But on 
 the occasion of this Mang's second mourning, his ob- 
 servances exceeded those of the former. Do not go to 
 see him, my prince." The duke said, " I will not." 
 
 2. The officer Yo-ching entered the court, and had an 
 audience. He said, " Prince, why have you not gone to 
 see Mang K^o ? " The duke said, " One told me that on 
 the occasion of the scholar Mang's second mourning, 
 his observances exceeded those of the former. It is on 
 that account that I have not gone to see him." " How 
 is this ! " answered Yo-ching. " By what you call ' ex- 
 ceeding,' you mean, I suppose, that, on the first occasion, 
 he used the rites appropriate to a scholar, and, on the 
 second, those appropriate to a great officer; that he first 
 used three tripods, and afterwards five tripods." The 
 duke said, " No ; I refer to the greater excellence of the 
 coffin, the shell, the grave-clothes, and the shroud." Yo- 
 ching said, ^ That cannot be called ^ exceeding.' That 
 was the difference between being poor and being rich." 
 
 3. After this, Yo-ching saw Mencius, and said to him, 
 ^^ I told the prince about you, and he was consequently 
 coming to see you, when one of his favourites, named 
 Tsang Ts^ang, stopped him, and therefore he did not 
 come according to his purpose." Mencius said, "A 
 
42 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 man's advancement is effected, it may be, by others, 
 and the stopping him is, it may be, from the efforts of 
 others. But to advance a man or to stop his advance 
 is really beyond the power of other men. My not find- 
 ing in the prince of Loo a ruler who would confide in 
 me, and put my counsels into practice, is from Heaven. 
 How could that scion of the Tsang family cause me 
 not to find the ruler that would suit me f " 
 
 BOOK n. 
 
 KUNG-SUN CH^OW. PAET I. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Kung-sun Chow asked Mencius, say- 
 ing, " Master, if you were to obtain the ordering of the 
 government in Ts^e, could you promise yourself to ac- 
 complish anew such results as those realized by Kwan 
 Chung and Gan?" 
 
 2. Mencius said, " You are indeed a true man of Tse. 
 You know about Kwan Chung and Gan, and nothing 
 more. 
 
 3. " Some one asked Tsang Se, saying, ' Sir, to which 
 do you give the superiority, — to yourself or to Tsze- 
 loo ? ' Tsang Se looked uneasy, and said, ' He was an 
 object of veneration to my grandfather.' ' Then,' pur- 
 sued the other, ' Do you give the superiority to yourself 
 or to Kwan Chung?' Tsang Se, flushed with anger 
 and displeased, said, ' How dare you compare me with 
 Kwan Chung ? Considering how entirely Kwan Chung 
 possessed the confidence of his prince, how long he en- 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 43 
 
 joyed the direction of the government of the kingdom, 
 and how low, after all, was what he accomplished, — how 
 is it that you liken me to him ? ' 
 
 4. " Thus," concluded Mencius, " Tsang Se would not 
 play Kwan Chung, and is it what you desire for me, 
 that I should do so?" 
 
 5. Kung-sun Gh'ow said, ^^Kwan Chung raised his 
 prince to be the leader of all the other princes, and Gan 
 made his prince illustrious, and do you still think it 
 would not be enough for you to do what they did ? " 
 
 6. Mencius answered, ^' To raise Ts^e to the Imperial 
 dignity would be as easy as it is to turn round the hand." 
 
 7. "So!" returned the other. "The perplexity of 
 your disciple is hereby very much increased. There 
 was king Wan, with all the virtue which belonged to him; 
 and who did not die till he had reached a hundred years : 
 — and still his influence had not penetrated throughout 
 the empire. It required king Woo and the duke of 
 Chow to continue his course, before that influence 
 greatly prevailed. Now you say that the Imperial dig- 
 nity might be so easily obtained : — is king Wan then 
 not a sufl&cient object for imitation ? " 
 
 8. Mencius said, " How can king Wan be matched ? 
 From T^ang to Woo-ting there had appeared six or sev- 
 en worthy and sage sovereigns. The empire had been 
 attached to Yin for a long time, and this length of time 
 made a change difficult. Woo-ting had all the princes 
 coming to his court, and possessed the empire as if it 
 had been a thing which he moved round in his palm. 
 Then, Chow was removed from Woo-ting by no great 
 interval of time. There were still remaining some of the 
 ancient families and of the old manners, of the influence 
 also which had emanated from the earlier sovereigns, 
 and of their good government. Moreover, there were 
 the viscount of Wei and his second son, their Koyal 
 Highnesses, Pe-kan and the viscount of Ke, and Kaou- 
 
44 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 kih, all, men of ability and virtue, who gave their joint 
 assistance to Chow in his government. In consequence 
 of these things, it took a long time for him to lose the 
 empire. There was not a foot of ground which he did 
 not possess. There was not one of all the people who 
 was not his subject. So it was on his side, and king 
 Wan made his beginning from a territory of only one 
 hundred square le. On all these accounts, it was diffi- 
 cult for him immediately to attain the Imperial dignity, 
 
 9. " The people of Ts^e have a saying — ' A man may 
 have wisdom and discernment, but that is not like em- 
 bracing the favourable opportunity. A man may have 
 instruments of husbandry, but that is not like waiting 
 for the farming seasons.' The present time is one in 
 which the Imperial dignity may be easily attained. 
 
 10. " In the flourishing periods of the Hea, Yin, and 
 Chow djnaasties, the imperial domain did not exceed a 
 thousand le, and Ts^e embraces so much territory. 
 Cocks crow and dogs bark to each other, all the way to 
 the four borders of the state : — so Ts*e possesses the 
 people. No change is needed for the enlarging of its 
 territory : no change is needed for the collecting of a 
 population. If its ruler will put in practice a benevo- 
 lent government, no power will be able to prevent his 
 becoming Emperor. 
 
 11. "Moreover, never was there a time farther re- 
 moved than the present from the appearance of a true 
 sovereign : never was there a time when the sufferings 
 of the people from tyrannical government were more 
 intense than the present. The hungry are easily sup- 
 plied with food, and the thirsty are easily supphed with 
 drink. 
 
 12. " Confucius said, ' The flowing progress of virtue 
 is- more rapid than the transmission of imperial orders 
 by stages and couriers.' 
 
 13. "At the present time, in a country of ten thou- 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 45 
 
 sand chariots, let benevolent government be put in 
 practice, and the people will be delighted with it, as if 
 they were relieved from hanging by the heels. With 
 half the merit of the ancients, double their achieve- 
 ments is sure to be realized. It is only at this time 
 that such could be the case." 
 
 II. 1. Kung-sun Ch^ow asked Mencius^ saying, " Mas- 
 ter, if you were to be appointed a high noble and the 
 prime minister of Ts^e, so as to be able to carry your 
 principles into practice, though you should thereupon 
 raise the prince to the headship of all the other princes, 
 or even to the Imperial dignity, it would not be to be 
 wondered at. — In such a position would your mind be* 
 perturbed or not ? " Mencius replied, " No. At forty, 
 I attained to an unperturbed mind." 
 
 2. CUow said, " Since it is so with you, my Master, 
 you are far beyond Mang Pun." "The mere attain- 
 ment," said Mencius " is not difficult. The scholar Kaou 
 had attained to an unperturbed mind, at an earlier pe- 
 riod of life than I did." 
 
 3. CUow asked. Is there any way to an unperturbed 
 mind ? " The answer was, " Yes. 
 
 4. "Pih-kung Yew had this way of nourishing his 
 valour : — He did not flinch from any strokes at his body. 
 He did not turn his eyes aside from any thrusts at them. 
 He considered that the slighest push from any one was 
 the same as if he were beaten hefore the crowds in the 
 market-place, and that what he would not receive from 
 a common man in his loose large garments of hair, nei- 
 ther should he receive from a prince of ten thousand 
 chariots. He viewed stabbing a prince of ten thousand 
 chariots just as stabbing a fellow dressed in cloth of 
 hair. He feared not any of all the princes. A bad word 
 addressed to him he always returned. 
 
 5. " Mang She-shay had this way of nourishing his 
 valour : — He said, ' I look upon not conquering and con- 
 
 5 
 
46 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 quering in the same way. To measure the enemy and 
 then advance , to calculate the chances of victory and 
 then engage : — this is to stand in awe of the opposing 
 force. How can I make certain of conquering ? I can 
 only rise superior to all fear.' 
 
 6. " Mang She-shay resembled the philosopher Tsang. 
 Pih-kung Yew resembled Tsze-hea. I do not know to 
 the valour of which of the two the superiority should 
 be ascribed^ but yet Mang "She-shay attended to what 
 was of the greater importance. 
 
 7. "Formerly, the philosopher Tsang said to Tsze- 
 seang, ^Do you love valour? I heard an account of 
 'great valour from the Master. It speaks thus: — ^^If, 
 on self-examination, I find that I am not upright, shall 
 I not be in fear even of a poor man in his loose gar- 
 ments of hair cloth ? If, on self-examination, I find 
 that I am upright, I will go forward against thousands 
 and tens of thousands.' 
 
 8. Yet, what Mang She-shay maintained, being his 
 merely physical energy, was after all inferior to what 
 the philosopher Tsang maintained, which was indeed of 
 the most importance." 
 
 9. Kung-sun CUow said, " May I venture to ask an 
 explanation from you. Master, of how you maintain an 
 unperturbed mind, and how the Philosopher Kaou does 
 the same ? " Mencius answered, " Kaou says, — ^ What 
 is not attained in words is not to be sought for in the 
 mind ; what produces dissatisfaction in the mind, is not 
 to be helped by passion-effort.' This last, — ^when there 
 is unrest in the mind, not to seek for relief from passion- 
 effort, may be conceded. But not to seek in the mind 
 for what is not attained in words cannot be conceded. 
 The will is the leader of the passion-nature. The pas- 
 sion-nature pervades and animates the body. The will 
 is Jirst and chief, and the passion-nature is subordinate 
 to it. Therefore / say, — Maintain firm the will, and do 
 no violence to the passion-nature. 
 
 i 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 47 
 
 10. Ch'ow observed, "Since you say — ^^The will is 
 chief, and the passion-natnre is subordinate/ how do you 
 also say, — ^ Maintain firm the will, and do no violence to 
 the passion nature ? ' " Mencius replied, " When it is 
 the will alone which is active, it moves the passion-na-_ 
 ture. When it is the passion-nature alone which is ac- 
 tive, it moves the will. For instance now, in the case 
 of a man falling or running ; — that is from the passion- 
 nature, and yet it moves the mind." 
 
 11. "I venture to ask," said Ch'ow again, "wherein 
 you. Master, surpass Kaou^ Mencius told him, " I un- 
 derstand words. I am skilful in nourishing my vast, 
 flowing passion-nature." 
 
 12. CUow pursued, "I venture to ask what you mean 
 by your vast, flowing passion-nature ! " The reply was, 
 " It is difficult to describe it. 
 
 13. " This is the passion-nature : — It is exceedingly 
 great and exceedingly strong. Being nourished by rec- 
 titude, and sustaining no injury, it fills up all between 
 heaven and earth. 
 
 14. " This is the passion nature : — It is the mate and 
 assistant of righteousness and reason. Without it, man 
 is in a state of starvation. 
 
 15. " It is produced by the accumulation of righteous 
 deeds ; it is not to be obtained by incidental acts of 
 righteousness. If the mind does not feel complacency 
 in the conduct, the nature becomes starved. I therefore 
 said, ' Kaou has never understood righteousness, because 
 he makes it something external.' 
 
 16. "There must be the constant practice of this 
 righteousness, but without the object of thereby nour- 
 ishing the passion-nature. Let not the mind forget its 
 work, but let there be no assisting the growth of that ^ 
 nature. Let us not be like the man of Sung. There 
 was a man of Sung, who was grieved that his growing 
 corn was not longer, and so he pulled it up. Having 
 
48 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 done this, he returned home, looking very stupid, and 
 said to his people, ' I am tired to-day. I have been 
 helping the com to grow long/ His son ran to look at 
 it, and found the corn all withered. There are few in 
 the world, who do not deal with their passion-nature, as 
 if they were assisting the corn to grow long. Some in- 
 indeed consider it of no benefit to them, and let it 
 alone : — they do not weed their corn. They who assist 
 it to grow long, pull out their corn. What they do is 
 not only of no benefit to the nature, but it also injures 
 it." 
 
 17. Kung-sun CUow further asked, "What do you 
 mean by saying that you understand whatever words 
 you hear f " Mencius replied, " When words are one- 
 sided, I know how the mind of the speaker is clouded 
 over. When words are extravagant, I know how the 
 mind is fallen and sunk. When words are all-depraved, 
 I know how the mind has departed from principle. 
 When v^ords are evasive, I know how the mind is at its 
 wits' end. These evils growing in the mind, do injury 
 to government, and, displayed in the government, are 
 hurtful to the conduct of afiairs. When a Sage shall 
 again arise, he will certainly follow my words." 
 
 18. On this CUow observed, "Tseie Go and Tsze-kung 
 were skilful in speaking. Yen New, the disciple Min, 
 and Yen Yuen, while their words were good, were dis- 
 tinguished for their virtuous conduct. Confucius united 
 the qualities of the disciples in himself, hut still he 
 said, ' In the matter of speeches, I am not competent.' 
 — Then, Master, have you attained to be a Sage ? " 
 
 19. Mencius said, "Oh ! what words are these ? For- 
 merly Tsze-kung asked Confucius, saying, ' Master, are 
 you a Sage ?' Confucius answered him, ' A sage is what 
 I cannot rise to. I learn without satiety, and teach 
 without being tired.' Tsze-kung said, ' You learn with- 
 out satiety: — that shows your wisdom. You teach 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 49 
 
 without being tired: — that shows your benevolence, 
 Benevolent and wise : — Master, you are a Sage.' Now, 
 since Confacius would not have himself regarded as a 
 sage, what words were those ? " 
 
 20. CUow said, " Formerly, I once heard this : — Tsze- 
 hea, Tsze-yew, and Tsze-chang, had each one member of 
 the sage. Yen New, the disciple Min, and Yen Yuen, 
 had all the members, but in small proportions. I ven- 
 ture to ask. — With which of these are you pleased to 
 rank yourself? " 
 
 21. Mencius replied, ^^Let us drop speaking about 
 these, if you please." 
 
 22. Ch'ow then asked, ^^ What do you say of Pih-e and 
 E-yun ? " " Their ways were different /rom mine" said 
 Menciits. " Not to serve a prince whom he did not es- 
 teem, nor command a people whom he did not approve ; 
 in a time of good government to take office, and on 
 the occurrence of confusion to retire : — this was the way 
 of Pih-e. To say — ' Whom may I not serve ? My serv- 
 ing him makes him my prince. What people may I 
 not command ? My commanding them makes them my 
 people.' In a time of good government to take office, 
 and when disorder prevailed, also to take office : — that 
 was the way of E-yun. When it was proper to go into 
 office, then to go into it ; when it was proper to keep 
 retired from office, then to keep retired from it ; when 
 it w^as proper to continue in it long, then to continue in 
 it long : when it was proper to withdraw from it quick- 
 ly, then to withdraw quicldy : — this was the way of Con- 
 fucius. These were all sages of antiquity, and I have 
 not attained to do what they did. But what I wish to 
 do is to learn to be like Confucius." 
 
 23. CUow said, " Comparing Pih-e and E-yun with 
 Confucius, are they to be placed in the same rank ? " 
 Mencius replied, "No. Since there were living men 
 until now, there never was another Confucius." 
 
50 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 24. Gh'ow said, " Then, did they have any points of 
 agreement with him f " The reply was, — " Yes. If 
 they had been sovereigns over a hundred le of territo- 
 ry, they would, all of them, have brought all the princes 
 to attend in their court, and have obtained the empire. 
 And none of them, in order to obtain the empire, would 
 have committed one act of unrighteousness, or put to 
 death one innocent person. In those things they 
 agreed with him," 
 
 25. CUow said, " I venture to ask wherein he differed 
 from them." Mencius replied, ^^Tsae Go, Tsze-kung, 
 and Yew Jo had wisdom sufficient to know the sage. 
 Even had they been ranking themselves low, they would 
 not have demeaned themselves to flatter their favourite. 
 
 26. '' JYoWy Tsae Go said, ^According to my view of 
 our Master, he is far superior to Yaou and Shun.' 
 
 27. "Tsze-kung said, 'By viewing the ceremonial or- 
 dinances of a j^rince, we know the character of his gov- 
 ernment. By hearing his music, we know the character 
 of his virtue. From the distance of a hundred ages 
 after, I can arrange, according to their merits, the kings 
 of a hundred ages ; — not one of them can escape me. 
 From the birth of mankind till now, there has never 
 been another like our Master.' 
 
 28. Yew Jo said, ' Is it only among men that it is so? 
 There is the K'e-lin among quadrupeds; the Fung- 
 hwang among birds, the T'ae mountain among mounds 
 and ant-hills, and rivers and seas among rain-pools. 
 Though different in degree, they are the same in kind. 
 So the sages among mankind are also the same in kind. 
 But they stand out from their fellows, and rise above 
 the level, and from the birth of mankind till now, there 
 never has been one so complete as Confucius." 
 
 III. 1. Mencius said, " He who, using force, makes a 
 pretence to benevolence, is the leader of the princes. 
 A leader of the princes requires a large kingdom. He 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 51 
 
 who, using virtue, practises benevolence — is the sover- 
 eign of the empire. To become the sovereign of the 
 empire, a /^n/ice need not wait for a large kingdom. 
 T^ang did it with only seventy le, and king Wan with 
 only a hundred. 
 
 2. When one by force subdues men, they do not sub- 
 mit to him in heart. They submit, because their strength 
 is not adequate to resist. When one subdues men by 
 virtue, in their hearts' core they are pleased, and sin- 
 cerely submit, as was the case with the seventy disciples 
 in their submission to Confucius. What is said in the 
 Book of Poetry, 
 
 ^ From the west, from the east, 
 
 From the south, from the north, 
 
 There was not one who thought of refusing sub- 
 mission,' 
 is an illustration of this." 
 
 lY. 1. Mencius said, " Benevolence brings glory to 
 a prince, and the opposite of it brings disgrace. For 
 the princes of the present day to hate disgrace and yet 
 live complacently doing what is not benevolent, is like 
 hating moisture and yet living in a low situation. 
 
 2. "If a prince hates disgrace, the best course for 
 him to pursue, is to esteem virtue and honour virtuous 
 scholars, giving the worthiest among them places of 
 dignity, and the able offices of trust. When through- 
 out his kingdom there is leisure and rest from external 
 troubles, taking advantage of such a season, let him 
 clearly digest the principles of his government with its 
 legal sanctions, and then even great kingdoms will be 
 constrained to stand in awe of him. 
 
 3. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' Before the heavens were dark with rain, 
 I gathered the bark from the roots of the mul- 
 berry trees. 
 And wove it closely to form the window and 
 door of my nest; 
 
52 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 Now, / thought, ye people below, 
 Perhaps ye will not dare to insult me.' 
 Confucius said, ' Did not he who made this ode imder- 
 stand the way of governing f If a prince is able right- 
 ly to govern his kingdom, who will dare to insult him ? 
 
 4. " But now the princes take advantage of the time 
 when throughout their kingdoms there is leisure and 
 Test from external troubles, to abandon themselves to 
 pleasure and indolent indifference ; — they in fact seek 
 for calamities for themselves. 
 
 5. "Calamity and happiness in all cases are men's 
 own seeking. 
 
 6. " This is illustrated by what is said in the Book of 
 Poetry, — 
 
 ^ Be always studious to be in harmony with the 
 ordinances of God, 
 So you will certainly get for yourself much hap- 
 piness;' 
 and by the passage of the Ta^e Kea, — ' When Heaven 
 sends down calamities, it is still possible to escape from 
 them ; when we occasion the calamities ourselves, it is 
 not possible any longer to live.' " 
 
 Y. Mencius said, " If a ruler give honour to men of 
 talents and virtue and employ the able, so that offices 
 shall all be filled by individuals of distinction and mark; 
 — then all the scholars of the empire wiU be pleased, 
 and wish to stand in his court. 
 
 2. " If, in the market-place of his capital, he levy a 
 ground rent on the shops but do not tax the goods, or 
 enforce the proper regulations without levying a ground 
 rent; — then all the traders of the empire will be pleased, 
 and wish to store their goods in his market-place. 
 
 3. " If, at his frontier-passes, there be an inspection of 
 persons, but no taxes charged on goods or other articles, 
 then all the travellers of the empire will be pleased, and 
 wish to make their tours on his roads. 
 
 4. " If he require that the husbandmen give their 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 53 
 
 mutual aid to ctiltivate the public field, and exact no 
 other taxes from them ; — then all the husbandmen of 
 the empire will be pleased^ and wish to plough in his 
 fields. 
 
 5. " If from the occupiers of the shops in his market-" 
 place he do not exact the fine of the individual idler, or 
 of the hamlet's quota of cloth, then all the people of 
 the empire will be pleased, and wish to come and be his 
 people. 
 
 6. "If a ruler can truly practise these five things, 
 then the people in the neighbouring kingdoms will look 
 up to him as a parent. From the first birth of mankind 
 till now, never has any one led children to attack their 
 parent, and succeeded in his design. Thus, such a ruler 
 will not have an enemy in all the empire, and he who 
 has no enemy in the empire is the minister of Heaven. 
 Never has there been a ruler in such a case who did not 
 attain to the imperial dignity." 
 
 VI. 1. Mencius said, " All men have a mind which 
 cannot bear to see the sufferings of others. 
 
 2. " The ancient kings had this commiserating mind, 
 and they, as a matter of course, had likewise a com- 
 miserating government. When with a commiserating 
 mind was practised a commiserating government, the 
 government of the empire was as easy a matter as the 
 making anything go round in the palm. 
 
 3. " When I say that all men have a mind which can- 
 not bear to see the sufferings of others, my meaning 
 may be illustrated thus : — even now-a-days, if men sud- 
 denly see a child about to fall into a well, they will 
 without exception experience a feeling of alarm and 
 distress. They will feel so, not as a ground on which 
 they may gain the favour of the child's parents, nor as 
 a ground on which they may seek the praise of their 
 neighbours and friends, nor from a dislike to the repu- 
 tation of having been unmoved by such a thing. 
 
 6 
 
54 CmKESE CLASSICS. 
 
 4. " From this case we may perceive that the feeling 
 of commiseration is essential to man, that the feeling of 
 shame and dislike is essential to man, that the feeling 
 of modesty and complaisance is essential to man, and 
 that the feehng of approving and disapproving is essen- 
 tial to man. 
 
 5. " The feeling of commiseration is the principle of 
 benevolence. The feeling of shame and dislike is the 
 principle of righteousness. The feeling of modesty and 
 complaisance is the principle of propriety. The feeling 
 of approving and disapproving is the principle of knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 6. "Men have these four principles just as they have 
 their four limbs. When men, having these four princi- 
 ples, yet say of themselves that they cannot develope 
 them, they play the thief with themselves, and he who 
 says of his prince that he cannot develope them, plays 
 the thief with his prince. 
 
 7. " Since all men have these four principles in them- 
 selves, let them know to give them all their develop- 
 ment and completion, and the issue will be hke that of 
 fire which has begun to bum, or that of a spring which 
 has begun to find vent. Let them have their complete 
 development, and they will suffice to love and protect 
 all within the four seas. Let them be denied that de- 
 velopment, and they will not suffice for a man to serve 
 his parents with." 
 
 VIL 1. Mencius said, " Is the arrow-maker less be- 
 nevolent than the maker of armour of defence ? And 
 yet, the arrow-maker's only fear is lest men should not 
 be hurt, and the armour-maker's only fear is lest men 
 should be hurt. So it is with the priest and the coffin- 
 maker. The choice of a profession, therefore, is a thing 
 in which great caution is required. 
 
 2. " Confucius said, ^ It is virtuous manners which con- 
 stitute the excellence of a neighbourhood. If a man, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 55 
 
 in selecting a residence, do not fix on one where such 
 prevail, how can he be wise ? ' Now, benevolence is the 
 most honourable dignity conferred by Heaven, and the 
 quiet home in which man should dwell. Since no one 
 can hinder us from being so, if yet we are not benevo- 
 lent ; — this is being not wise. 
 
 3. " From the want of benevolence and the want of 
 wisdom will ensue the entire absence of propriety and 
 righteousness ; — he who is in such a case must be the 
 servant of other men. To be the servant of men and 
 yet ashamed of such servitude, is like a bow-maker's 
 being ashamed to make bows, or an arrow-maker's be- 
 ing ashamed to make arrows. 
 
 4. " If he be ashamed of his case, his best coitrse is to 
 practice benevolence. 
 
 5. " The man who would be benevolent is like the 
 archer. The archer adjusts himself and then shoots. 
 If he misses, he does not murmur against those who 
 surpass himself He simply turns round and seeks the 
 cause of his failure in himself" 
 
 VIII. 1. Mencius said, "When. any one told Tsze-loo 
 that he had a fault, he rejoiced. 
 
 2. "When Yu heard good words, he bowed to the 
 speaker. 
 
 3. " The great Shun had a still greater delight in what 
 was good. He regarded virtue as the common property 
 of himself and others, giving up his own way to follow 
 that of others, and delighting to learn from others to 
 practise what was good. 
 
 4. " From the time when he ploughed and sowed, ex- 
 ercised the potter's art, and was a fisherman, to the 
 time when he became emperor, he was continually learn- 
 ing from others. 
 
 5. " To take example from others to practice virtue, 
 is to help them in the same practice. Therefore, there 
 is no attribute of the superior man greater than his help- 
 ing men to practise virtue." 
 
56 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 IX. 1. Mencius said, " Pih-e would not serve a prince 
 whom he did not approve, nor associate with a friend 
 whom he did not esteem. He would not stand in a bad 
 prince's court, nor speak with a bad man. To stand in 
 a bad prince's court, or to speak with a bad man, would 
 have been to him the same as to sit with his court robes 
 and court cap amid mire and ashes. Pursuing the ex- 
 amination of his dislike to what was evil, we find that 
 he thought it necessary , if he happened to be standing 
 with a villager whose cap was not rightly adjusted, to 
 leave him with a high air, as if he were going to be de- 
 filed. Therefore, although some of the princes made 
 application to him with very proper messages, he would 
 not receive their gifts. — He would not receive their gifts, 
 counting it inconsistent with his purity to go to them. 
 
 2. "Hwuy of Lew-hea was not ashamed to serve an 
 impure prince, nor did he think it low to be an inferior 
 officer. When advanced to employment, he did not con- 
 ceal his virtue, but made it a point to carry out his 
 principles. When neglected and left without office, he 
 did not murmur. When straitened by poverty, he did 
 not grieve. Accordingly, he had a saying, ' You are 
 you, and I am I. Although you stand by my side with 
 breast and arms bare, or with your body naked, how 
 can you defile me?' Therefore, self-possessed, he com- 
 panied with men indifferently, at the same time not 
 losing himself When he wished to leave, if pressed to 
 remain in office he would remain. — He would remain in 
 office, when pressed to do so, not counting it required 
 by his purity to go away." 
 
 3. Mencius said, "Pih-e was narrow-minded, and 
 H^Y^y of Lew-hea was wanting in self-respect. The su- 
 perior man will not follow either narrow-mindedness, or 
 the want of self-respect. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 57 
 
 I 
 
 BOOK 11. 
 
 KUNG-SUN CH^OW. PART II. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Mencius said^ " Opportunities of time 
 vouchsafed hy Heaven are not equal to advantages of 
 situation afforded hy the Earth, and advantages of sit- 
 uation are not equal to the union arising from the ac- 
 cord of Mencius. 
 
 2. " There is a city, with an inner wall of three le in 
 circumference, and an outer wall of seven. — The enemy 
 surround and attack it, but they are not able to take it. 
 Now, to surround and attack it, there must have been 
 vouchsafed to them by Heaven the opportunity of time, 
 and in such case their not taking it is because opportu- 
 nities of time vouchsafed by Heaven are not equal to 
 advantages of situation afforded by the Earth. 
 
 3. " There is a city, whose walls are distinguished for 
 their height, and whose moats are distinguished for 
 their depth, where the arms of its defendants, offensive 
 and defensive, are distinguished for their strength and 
 sharpness, and the stores of rice and other grain are 
 very large. Yet it is obliged to be given up and aban- 
 doned. This is because advantages of situation afforded 
 by the Earth are not equal to the union arising from 
 the accord of Men. 
 
 4. "In accordance with these principles it is said, ^A 
 people is bounded in, not by the limits of dykes and 
 borders ; a kingdom is secured, not by the strengths of 
 mpun tains and rivers ; the empire is overawed, not by 
 the sharpness and strength of arms.' He who finds the 
 proper course has many to assist him. He who loses 
 
58 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 the proper course has few to assist him. When this, — 
 the being assisted by few, — reaches its extreme point, 
 his own relations revolt from the prince. When the be- 
 ing assisted by many reaches its highest point, the 
 whole empire becomes obedient to the prince, 
 
 5. " When one to whom the whole empire is prepared 
 to be obedient, attacks those from whom their own re- 
 lations revolt, what must he the result f Therefore, the 
 true ruler will decline to fight ; but if he do fight, he 
 must overcome." 
 
 II. 1. As Mencius was about to go to court to see 
 the king, the king sent a person to him with this mes- 
 sage, — "I was wishing to come and see you. But I 
 have got a cold, and may not expose myself to the 
 wind. In the morning I will hold my court. I do not 
 know whether you will give me the opportunity of see- 
 ing you then" Mencius, replied, " Unfortunately, I am 
 unwell, and not able to go to the court." 
 
 2. Next day, he went out to pay a visit of condolence 
 to some one of the Tung-kwoh family, when Kung-sun 
 Ch^ow said to him, " Yesterday, you declined going to 
 the court on the ground of being unwell, and to-day 
 you are going to pay a visit of condolence. May this 
 not be regarded as improper ? " " Yesterday," said 
 Mencius, "I was unwell; to-day, I am better: — why 
 should I not pay this visit ? " 
 
 3. In the mean time, the king sent a messenger to 
 inquire about his sickness, and also a physician. Mang 
 Chung replied to them, "Yesterday, when the king's 
 order came, he was feeling a little unwell, and could not 
 go to the court. To-day he was a little better, and has- 
 tened to go to court. I do not know whether he can 
 have reached it hy this time or not." Having said this, 
 he sent several men to look for Mencius on the way, 
 and say to him, " I beg that, before you return home, 
 you will go to the court." 
 
I 
 
 WORKS OF MENCIUS. 59 
 
 4. On this, Mencius felt himself compelled to go to 
 King Ch^ow's, and there stop the night. King said to 
 him, " In the family, there is the relation of father and 
 son ; abroad, there is the relation of prince and minis- 
 ter. These are the two great relations among men. 
 Between father and son the ruling principle is kindness. 
 Between prince and minister the ruling principle is 
 respect. I have seen the respect of the king to you. 
 Sir, but I have not seen in what way you show respect 
 to him." Mencius replied, " Oh! what words are these? 
 Among the people of Ts^e there is no one who speaks to 
 the king about benevolence and righteousness. Are 
 they thus silent because they do not think that benev- 
 olence and righteousness are admirable? No, hut in 
 their hearts they say, ' This man is not fit to be spoken 
 with about benevolence and righteousness.' Thus they 
 manifest a disrespect than which there can be none 
 greater. I do not dare to set forth before the king any 
 but the ways of Yaou and Shun. There is therefore 
 no man of Ts^e who respects the king so much as I do." 
 
 5. King said, " Not so. That was not what I meant. 
 In the Book of Rites it is said, ' When a father calls, 
 the answer must be without a moment's hesitation. 
 When the prince's order calls, the carriage must not be 
 waited for.' You were certainly going to the court, 
 but when you heard the king's order, then you did not 
 carry your purpose out. This does seem as if it were 
 not in accordance with that rule of propriety." 
 
 6. Mencius answered him, " How can you give that 
 meaning to my conduct ? The philosopher Tsang said, 
 ^ The wealth of Tsin and Ts^oo cannot be equalled. Let 
 their rulers have their wealth: — I have my benevolence. 
 Let them have their nobility : — I have my righteous- 
 ness. Wherein should I be dissatisfied as inferior to 
 them f ' Now shall we say that these sentiments are 
 not right ? Seeing that the philosopher Tsang spoke 
 
60 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 them, there is in them, I apprehend, a real principle. — 
 In the empire there are three things nniversallj ac- 
 knowledged to be honourable. Nobility is one of 
 them ; age is one of them ; virtue is one of them. In 
 courts, nobility holds the first place of the three ; in 
 villages, age holds the first place ; and for helping one's 
 generation and presiding over the people, the other 
 two are not equal to virtue. How can the possession 
 of only one of these he presumed on to despise one who 
 possesses the other two ? 
 
 7. "Therefore a prince who is to accomplish great 
 deeds will certainly have ministers whom he does not 
 call to go to him. When he wishes to consult with 
 them, he goes to them. The prince who does not hon- 
 our the virtuous, and delight in their ways of doing, to 
 this extent, is not worth having to do with. 
 
 8. " Accordingly, there was the behaviour of T^ang 
 to E-yun : — ^he first learned of him, and then employed 
 him as his minister ; and so without difficulty he be- 
 came emperor. There was the behaviour of the duke 
 Hwan to Kwan Chung : — he first learned of him, and 
 then employed him as his minister ; and so without dif- 
 ficulty he became chief of all the princes. 
 
 9. " Now throughout the empire, the territories of the 
 princes are of equal extent, and in their achievements 
 they are on a level. Not one of them is able to exceed 
 the others. This is from no other reason, but that they 
 love to make ministers of those whom they teach, and 
 do not love to make ministers of those by whom they 
 might be taught. 
 
 10. " So did T^ang behave to E-yun, and the duke 
 Hwan to Kwan Chung, that they would not venture to 
 call them to go to them. If Kwan Chung, might not 
 be called to him by his prince, how much less may he be 
 called, who would not play the part of Kwan Chung!" 
 
 III. 1. Ch'in Tsin asked Mencius, saying, " Former- 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 61 
 
 ly, when you were in Ts^e, the king sent you a present 
 of 2j400 taels of fine silver, and you refused to accept 
 it. When you were in Sung, 1,680 taels were sent to 
 you, which you accepted ; and when you were in See, 
 1,200 taels were sent, which you likewise accepted. If 
 your declining to accept the gift in the first case was 
 right, your accepting it in the latter cases was wrong. 
 If your accepting it in the latter cases was right, your 
 declining to do so in the first case was wrong. You 
 must accept. Master, one of these alternatives." 
 
 2. Mencius said, "I did right in all the cases. 
 
 3 a When I was in Sung, I was about to take a long 
 journey. Travellers must be provided with what is 
 necessary for their expenses. The prince's message was 
 — ^^ A present against travelling-expenses.' Why should 
 I have declined the gift? 
 
 4. " When I was in See, I was apprehensive for my 
 safety, and taking measures for my protection. The 
 message was, ' I have heard that you are taking meas- 
 ures to protect yourself, and send this to help you in 
 procuring arms.' Why should I have declined the gift? 
 
 5. " But when I was in Ts^e, I had no occasion for 
 money. To send a man a gift when he has no occasion 
 for it, is to bribe him. How is it possible that a supe- 
 rior man should be taken with a bribe ? " 
 
 lY. 1. "Mencius having gone to P^ing-luh, addressed 
 the governor of it, saying, " If one of your spearmen 
 should lose his place in the ranks three times in one 
 day, would you. Sir, put him to death or not ? " "I 
 would not wait for three times to do so" was the reply. 
 
 2. Mencius said, " Well then, you. Sir, have likewise 
 lost your place in the ranks many times. In bad calam- 
 itous years, and years of famine, the old and feeble of 
 your people, who have been found lying in the ditches 
 and water-channels, and the able-bodied, who have been 
 scattered about to the four quarters, have amounted to 
 7 
 
62 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 several thousands." The gpvernor replied, '^ That is a 
 state of things in which it does not belong to me Keu- 
 sin to act." 
 
 3. " Here," said Mencius, " is a man who receives 
 charge of the cattle and sheep of another, and under- 
 takes to feed them for him; — of course he must search 
 for pasture-ground and grass for them. . If, after search- 
 ing for those, he cannot find them, will he return his 
 charge to the owner ? or will he stand by and see them 
 die ? " " Herein," said the ofi&cer, " I am guilty." 
 
 4. Another day, Mencius had an audience of the 
 king, and said to him, " Of the governors of your Maj- 
 esty's cities I am acquainted with five, but the only one 
 of them who knows his faults is K^ung Keu-sin." He 
 then repeated the conversation to the king, who said, 
 " In this matter, I am the guilty one." 
 
 Y. 1. Mencius said to Ch^e Wa, ^^ There seemed to 
 be reason in your declining the governorship of Ling- 
 k^ew, and requesting to be appointed chief criminal 
 judge, because the latter office would afibrd you the op- 
 portunity of speaking your views. Now several months 
 have elapsed, and have you yet found nothing of which 
 you might speak ? " 
 
 2. On this, Ch'e "Wa remonstrated on some matter 
 with the king, and, his counsel not being taken, re- 
 signed his office, and went away. 
 
 3. The people of Ts'e said, " In the course which he 
 marked out for Ch^e Wa, he did well, but we do not 
 know as to the course which he pursues for himself" 
 
 4. His disciple Kung-too told him these remarks. 
 
 5. Mencius said, " I have heard that he who is in 
 charge of an office, when he is prevented from fulfilling 
 its duties, ought to take his departure, and that he on 
 whom is the responsibility of giving his opinion, when 
 he finds his words unattended to, ought to do the same. 
 But I am in charge of no office ; on me devolves no 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 63 
 
 duty of speaking out my opinion : — may not I there- 
 fore act freely and without any constraint, either in 
 going forward or in retiring ? " 
 
 VI. 1. Mencius, occupying the position of a high 
 dignitary in Ts^e, went on a mission of condolence to 
 T'^ang. The king also sent Wang Hwan, the governor 
 of Ka, as assistant commissioner. Wang Hwan, morn- 
 ing and evening, waited upon Mencius, who, during all 
 the way to T^ang and back, never spoke to him about 
 the business of their mission. 
 
 2. Kung-sun Ch^ow said to Mencius, ^^The position 
 of a high dignitary of Ts^e is not a small one ; the 
 road from Ts^e to T^ang is not short. How was it that 
 during all the way there and back, you never spake to 
 Hwan about the matters of your mission?" Mencius 
 replied, " There were the proper of&cers who attended 
 to them. What occasion had I to speak to him about 
 them?" 
 
 VII. 1. Mencius went from Ts^e to Loo to bury Ms 
 mother. On his return to Ts^e, he stopped at Ying, 
 where Cheung Yu begged to put a question to him, and 
 said, " Formerly, in ignorance of my incompetency, you 
 employed me to superintend the making of the coffin. 
 As you were then pressed hy the urgency of the hitsi- 
 ness, I did not venture to put any question to you. 
 Now, however, I wish to take the liberty to submit the 
 matter. The wood of the coffin, it appeared to me, was 
 too good." 
 
 2. Mencius replied, '^ Anciently, there was no rule for 
 the size of either the inner or the outer coffin. In mid- 
 dle antiquity, the inner coffin was made seven inches 
 thick, and the outer one the same. This was done hy 
 all, from the emperor to the common people, and not 
 simply for the beauty of the appearance, but because 
 they thus satisfied the natural feelings of their hearts. 
 
 3. " If prevented hjj statutory regulations from male- 
 
64 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 mg their coffins in this way, men cannot have the feeling 
 of pleasure. If they have not the money to make them 
 in this way, they cannot have the feeling of pleasure. 
 When they were not prevented, and had the money, 
 the ancients all used this style. Why should I alone 
 not do so ? 
 
 4. ^^And moreover, is there no satisfaction to the 
 natural feelings of a man, in preventing the earth from 
 getting near to the bodies of his dead ? 
 
 5. " I have heard that the superior man will not for 
 all the world be niggardly to his parents." 
 
 YIII. 1. Shin T^ung, on his own impulse, asked 
 Mendus, saying, " May Yen be smitten ?" Mencius re- 
 plied, " It may. Tsze-k^wae had no right to give Yen 
 to another man, and Tsze-che had no right to receive 
 Yen from Tsze-k^wae. Suppose there were an officer 
 here, with whom you. Sir, were pleased, and that, with- 
 out informing the king, you were privately to give to 
 him your salary and rank ; and suppose that this offi- 
 cer, also without the king's orders, were privately to 
 receive them from you : — would sicch a transaction be 
 allowable? And where is the difference between the 
 case of Yen and this ? " 
 
 2. The people of Ts^e smote Yen. Some one asked 
 Mencius, saying, " Is it really the case that you advised 
 Ts^e to smite Yen?" He replied, "No. Shin T^'ung 
 asked me whether Yen might be smitten, and I an- 
 swered him, ^It may.' They accordingly went and 
 smote it. If he had asked me — ' Who may smite it ? ' 
 I would have answered him, ' He who is the minister 
 of Heaven may smite it.' Suppose the case of a mur- 
 derer, and that one asks me — ' May this man be put to 
 death ? ' I will answer him — ' He may.' If he ask me 
 —^ Who may put him to death?' I will answer him, 
 — ' The chief criminal judge may put him to death.' 
 But now with one Yen to smite , another Yen : — how 
 should I have advised this ? " 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. 65 
 
 IX. 1. The people of Yen having rebelled, the king 
 of Ts'e said, " I feel very much ashamed when I think 
 of Mencius." 
 
 2. Ch^in Kea said to him, " Let not your Majesty be 
 grieved. Whether does your Majesty consider your- 
 self or Chow-kung the more benevolent and wise ? " 
 The king replied, " Oh 1 what words are those ? " " The 
 duke of Chow," said Kea, ^^ appointed Kwan-shuh to 
 oversee the heir of Yin, but Kwan-shuh with the power 
 of the Yin State rebelled. If knowing that this would 
 happen he appointed Kwan-shuh, he was deficient in 
 benevolence. If he appointed him, not knowing that 
 it would happen, he was deficient in knowledge. If 
 the duke of Chow was not completely benevolent and 
 wise, how much less can your Majesty be expected to 
 be so ! I beg to go and see Mencius, and relieve your 
 Majesty from that feeling." 
 
 3. Ch'in Kea accordingly saw Mencius, and asked 
 him, saying, " What kind of a man was the duke of 
 Chow ? " "An ancient sage," was the reply. '^ Is it the 
 fact, that he appointed Kwan-shuh to oversee the heir 
 of Yin, and that Kwan-shuh with the State of Yin re- 
 belled ? " " It is." " Did the duke of Chow know that 
 he would rebel, and purposely appoint him to that of- 
 fice?" Mencius said, "He did not know." "Then, 
 though a sage, he still fell into error ? " " The duke of 
 Chow," answered Mencius, " was the younger brother. 
 Kwan-shuh was his elder brother. Was not the error 
 of Chow-kung in accordance with what is right? 
 
 4. " Moreover, when the superior men of old had er- 
 rors, they reformed them. The superior men of the 
 present time, when they have errors, persist in them. 
 The errors of the superior men of old were like eclipses 
 of the sun and moon. All the people witnessed them, 
 and when they had reformed them, all the people looked 
 up to them with their former admiration. But do the 
 
6Q CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 superior men of the present day only persist in their 
 errors? They go on to raise apologizing discussions 
 about them likewise." 
 
 X. 1. Mencius gave up his office, and made ar- 
 rangements for returning to his native State. 
 
 2. The king came to visit him, and said, " Formerly, 
 I wished to see you, but in vain. Then, I got the op- 
 portunity of being by your side, and all my court joyed 
 exceedingly along with me. Now again you abandon 
 me, and are returning home. I do not know if here- 
 after I may expect to have another opportunity of see- 
 ing you. Mencius replied, " I dare not request permis- 
 sion to visit you at any particular time, but, indeed, it 
 is what I desire." 
 
 3. Another day, the king said to the officer She, 
 ^^I wish to give Mencius a house, somewhere in the 
 middle of the kingdom, and to support his disciples with 
 an allowance of 10,000 chung,ihsit all the officers and 
 the people may have such an example to reverence and 
 imitate. Had you not better tell him this for me ? " 
 
 4. She took advantage to convey this message by 
 means of the disciple Ch'in, who reported his words to 
 Mencius. 
 
 5. Mencius said, " Yes ; but how should the officer 
 She know that the thing may not be ? Suppose that 
 I wanted to be rich, having formerly decHned 100,000 
 chung, would my now accepting 10,000 be the conduct 
 of one desiring riches ? 
 
 6. " Ke-sun said, ^ A strange man was Tsze-shuh E. 
 He pushed himself into the service of the government. 
 His prince declining to employ him, he had to retire 
 indeed, but he again schemed that his son or younger 
 brother should be made a high officer. Who indeed is 
 there of men but wishes for riches and honour ? But 
 he only, among the seekers of these, tried to monopo- 
 lize the conspicuous mound. 
 
WORKS OF MENCITJS. 67 
 
 7. '^ Of old time, the market-dealers exchanged the 
 articles which they had for others which they had not, 
 and simply had certain officers to keep order among 
 them. It happened that there was a mean fellow, who 
 made it a point to look out for a conspicuous mound, 
 and, get up upon it. Thence he looked right and left, 
 to catch in his net the whole gain of the market. The 
 people all thought his conduct mean, and therefore they 
 proceeded to lay a tax upon his wares. The taxing of 
 traders took its rise from this mean fellow." 
 
 XI. 1. Mencius, having taken his leave of Ts^e, was 
 passing the night in Chow. 
 
 2. A person who wished to detain him on behalf of 
 the king, came and sat down, and began to speak to 
 him. Mencius gave him no answer, but leant upon his * 
 stool and slept. 
 
 3. The stranger was displeased, and said, " I passed 
 the night in careful vigil, before I would venture to 
 speak to you, and you. Master, sleep and do not listen 
 to me. Allow me to request that I may not again pre- 
 sume to see you." Mencius replied, " Sit down, and I 
 will explain the case clearly to you. Formerly, if the 
 duke Muh had not kept a person by the side of Tsze- 
 sze, he could not have induced Tsze-sze to remain with 
 him. If See Lew and Shin Ts^eang had not had a re- 
 membrancer by the side of the duke Muh, he would 
 not have been able to mal^e them feel at home and re- 
 main with him. 
 
 4. " You anxiously form plans with reference to me, 
 but you do not treat me as Tsze-sze was treated. Is it 
 you, Sir, who cut me ? Or is it I, who cut you ? " 
 
 XII. 1. When Mencius had left Ts^e, Yin Sze spake 
 about him to others, saying, " If he did not know that 
 the king could not be made a T'ang or a Woo, that 
 showed his want of intelligence. If he knew that he 
 could not be made such, and came notwithstanding, that 
 
68 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 shows he was seeking his own benefit. He came a 
 thousand le to wait on the king ; because he did not 
 find in hini a ruler to suit him, he took his leave, but 
 how dilatory and lingering was his departure, stopping 
 three nights before he quitted Chow ! I am dissatisfied 
 on account of this." 
 
 2. The disciple Kaou informed Mencius of these re- 
 marhs. 
 
 3. Mencius said, " How should Yin Sze know me ! 
 When I came a thousand le to wait on the king, it was 
 what I desired to do. When I went away because I 
 did not find in him a ruler to suit me, was that what I 
 desired to do ? I felt myself constrained to do it. 
 
 4. "When I stopped three nights before I quitted 
 Chow, in my own mind I still considered my departure 
 speedy. I was hoping that the king might change. If 
 the king had chajaged, he would certainly have recalled 
 me. 
 
 5. " When I quitted Chow, and the king had not sent 
 after me, then, and only till then, was my mind reso- 
 lutely bent on returning to Tsow. But, notwithstand- 
 ing that, how can it he said that I give up the king ? 
 The king, after all, is one who may be made to do what 
 is good. If he were to use me, would it be for the hap- 
 piness of the people of Ts^e only ? It would be for the 
 happiness of the people of the whole empire. I am 
 hoping that the king will change. I am daily hoping 
 for this. 
 
 6. "Am I like one of your little-minded people? 
 They will remonstrate with their prince, and on their re- 
 monstrance not being accepted, they get angry, and, 
 with their passion displayed in their countenance, they 
 take their leave, and travel with all their strength for 
 a whole day, before they will stop for the night." 
 
 7. When Yin Sze heard this explanation, he said, " I 
 am indeed a small man." 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 69 
 
 XIII. 1. When Mencius left Ts'e, Cheung Yu ques- 
 tioned him upon the way, saying, "Master, you look 
 like one who carries an air of dissatisfaction in his coun- 
 tenance. But formerly I heard you say — ^The supe- 
 rior man does not murmur against Heaven, nor grudge^ 
 against men.' " 
 
 2. Mencius said, " That was one time, and this is an- 
 other. 
 
 3. " It is a rule that a true Imperial sovereign should 
 arise in the course of five hundred years, and that during 
 that time there should be men illustrious in their gen- 
 eration. 
 
 4. "From the commencement of the Chow dynasty till 
 now, more than 700 years have elapsed. Judging nu- 
 merically, the date is past. Examining the character of 
 the present time, we might expect the rise of such indi- 
 viduals in it. 
 
 5. " But Heaven does not yet wish that the empire 
 should enjoy tranquillity and good order. If it wished 
 this, who is there besides me to bring it about ? How 
 should I be otherwise than dissatisfied ? " 
 
 XIY. 1. When Mencius left Ts^e, he dwelt in Hew. 
 There Kung-sun Ch^ow asked him, saying, " Was it the 
 way of the ancients to hold office without receiving 
 salary?" 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " No ; when I first saw the king 
 in Ts'ung, it was my intention, on retiring from the in- 
 terview, to go away. Because I did not wish to change 
 this intention, I declined to receive any salary. 
 
 3. " Immediately after, came orders for the collection 
 of troops, when it would have been improper for me to 
 beg permission to leave. But to remain so long in 
 Ts^e was not my purpose." 
 
 8 
 
70 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 BOOK m. 
 
 T^ANG WAN RUNG. PAET I. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. When the duke AVan of T^ang was 
 Crown-prince, having to go to Ts^oo, he went by way 
 of Sung, and visited Mencius. 
 
 2. Mencius discoursed to him how the nature of man 
 is good, and, when speaking, always made laudatory 
 reference to Yaou and Shun. 
 
 3. When the Crown-prince was returning from Ts^oo, 
 he again visited Mencius. Mencius said to him, "Prince, 
 do you doubt my words ? The path is one, and only 
 one. 
 
 4. " Shing Kan said to the duke king of Ts^e, ' They 
 were men. I am a man. Why should I stand in awe 
 of them ? ' Yen Yuen said, ' What kind of man was 
 Shun? What kind of man am I? He who exerts him- 
 self will also become such as he was.' Kung-ming E 
 said, ' King Wan is my teacher. How should the duke 
 of Chow deceive me hy those words f ' 
 
 5. "Now, T^ang, taking its length with its breadth, 
 will amount, I suppose, to fifty le. It is small, hut still 
 sufficient to make a good kingdom. It is said in the 
 Book of History, ' If medicine do not raise a commo- 
 tion in the patient, his disease will not be cured by it.' " 
 
 II. 1. When the duke Ting of T^ang died, the 
 Crown-prince said to Yen Yew, "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 vor 
 rious services." 
 
 i 
 
WORKS OF IVIENCIUS. 71 
 
 2. Yen Yew accordingly proceeded to Tsow, and con- 
 sulted 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 ob- 
 served 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 
 three dynasties, and binding on all, from the emperor 
 to the mass of the people." 
 
 3. Yen Yew reported the execution of his commis- 
 sion, and the prince determined that the three years' 
 mourning should be observed. His aged relatives, and 
 the body of the ofl&cers, did not wish that it should be 
 so, and said, " The former princes of Loo, that kingdom 
 which we honour, have, none of them, observed this 
 practice, neither have any of our own former princes ob- 
 served it. For you to act contrary to their example is 
 not proper. Moreover, the History says, — ' In the ob- 
 servances of mourning and sacrifice, ancestors are to be 
 followed,' meaning that they received those things from 
 di proper source to hand them down!' 
 
 4. The prince said again to Yen Yew, " 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, Yen Yew went again to Tsow, and con- 
 sulted Mencius. Mencius said, " It is so, but he may 
 
72 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 liot seek a remedy in others, hut only in himself. Con- 
 fucius 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 exam- 
 ple. What the superior man loves, his inferiors will be 
 found to love exceedingly. The relation between su- 
 periors 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." 
 
 5. Yen Yew returned with this answer to his com- 
 mission, 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*"%) 
 understand the ceremonies^ When the time of inter- 
 ment arrived, from all quarters of the state, they came 
 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. 
 
 HI. 1. The duke Wan of T^ang asked Mencius 
 about the proper way of governing a kingdom. 
 
 2. 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 gjo 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.' 
 
 3. " 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. And if they have not a fixed heart, there is 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 76 
 
 nothing which they will not do in the way of self-aban- 
 donment, 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? 
 
 4. " 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 regu- 
 lated limits. 
 
 5. " Yang Hoo said, ^ He who seeks to be rich will 
 not be benevolent. He who wishes to be benevolent 
 will not be rich.' 
 
 6. " The sovereign of the Hea dynasty enacted the 
 fifty mow allotment, and the payment of a tax. The 
 founder of the Yin enacted the seventy mow allotment, 
 and the system of mutual aid. The founder of the 
 Chow enacted the hundred mow 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. 
 
 7. " 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 re- 
 quires the taking of the full amount. When the pa- 
 rent 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 
 
74 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 and children are found lying in the ditches and water- 
 channels : — ^where, in such a case, is his parental relation 
 to the people ? ' 
 
 8. " As to the system of hereditary salaries, that is 
 already observed in T^ang.' 
 
 9. "It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' May the rain come down on our public field, 
 And then upon our private fields 1 ' 
 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 Chow dynasty this system has been recognized. 
 
 10. " Establish ts^eang, sen, heo, and heaou, — ^all those 
 educational institutions, — for the instruction of the peo- 
 ple. The name ts'eang indicates nourishing as its ob- 
 ject; heaou indicates teaching ; and seu indicates ar- 
 chery ; By the Hea dynasty, the name heaou was used; 
 by the Yin, that of seu ; and by the Chow, that of 
 ts^eang. As to the heo, they belonged to the three dy- 
 nasties, and hy 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. 
 
 11. " 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. 
 
 12. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' Although Chow was an old country, 
 It received a new destiny.' 
 That is said with reference to king Wan. Do you prac- 
 tise those things with vigour, and you also will by them 
 make new your kingdom." 
 
 13. The duJce afterwards sent Peih Chen 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 
 
WORKS OF IVIENCIUS. 75 
 
 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 availahle for salaries will not 
 be evenly distributed. On this account, oppressive ru- 
 lers and impure ministers are sure to neglect this de- 
 fining 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. 
 
 14. "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. 
 
 15. "I would ask you, in the remoter districts, ob- 
 serving 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. 
 
 16. " From the highest officers down to the lowest, 
 each one must have his holy field, consisting of fifty 
 mow. 
 
 17. "Let the supernumerary males have their twenty- 
 five mow. 
 
 18. "On occasions of death, or removal from one 
 dwelling to another, there will be no 'quitting the dis- 
 trict. 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 an- 
 other in keeping watch and ward, and sustain one an- 
 other in sickness. Thus the people are brought to live 
 in afiection and harmony. 
 
76 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 19. "A square le covers nine squares of land, which 
 nine squares contain nine hundred mow. The central 
 square is the pubhc field, and eight families, each hav- 
 ing its private hundred mow, 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 distin- 
 guished from those of a superior grade. 
 
 20. "Those are the great outlines of the system. 
 Happily to modify and adapt it depends on the prince 
 and you." 
 
 ly. 1. There came from Ts^oo to T^ang one Heu 
 Hing, who gave out that he acted according to the 
 words of Shin-nung. Coming right to his gate, he ad- 
 dressed 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. 
 
 2. At the same time, CMn Seang, a disciple of Ch'in 
 Leang, and his younger brother. Sin, 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." 
 
 3. When Ch^in Seang saw Heu Hing, he was greatly 
 pleased with him, and, abandoning entirely whatever 
 he had learned, became his disciple. Having an inter- 
 view with Mencius, he related to him with approbation 
 the words of Heu Hing 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 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 77 
 
 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?" 
 
 4. Mencius said, "I suppose that Heu Hing 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. 
 Heu 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 Heu not 
 weave it himself ? " " That would injure his husband- 
 ry." " Does Heu cook his food in boilers and earthen- 
 ware pans, and does he plough with an iron share ? " 
 " Yes." "Does he make those articles himself? " " No. 
 He gets them in exchange for grain." 
 
 6. Mencius then said, " The getting those various ar- 
 ticles 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 Heu act the potter and founder, supplying 
 himself with the articles which he uses solely from his 
 own establishment ? Why does he go confusedly deal- 
 ing and exchanging with the handicraftsmen ? Why 
 does he not spare himself so much trouble ? " CUin 
 Seang replied, " The business of the handicraftsman can 
 by no means be carried on along with the business of 
 husbandry." 
 
 6. Mencius resumed, " Then, is it the government of 
 the empire which alone can be carried on along with 
 9 
 
78 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 the practice of husbandry? Great men have their 
 proper business, and little men have their proper busi- 
 ness. 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 do- 
 ing would keep the whole empire running about upon 
 the roads. Hence, there is the saying, ^Some labom* 
 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 recognized. 
 
 7. " In the time of Yaou, when the world had not 
 yet been perfectly reduced to order, the vast waters, 
 flowing out of their channels, made a universal inunda- 
 tion. 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 Yaou alone this caused anxious sorrow. He raised 
 Shun to office, and measures to regulate the disorder 
 were set forth. Shun committed to Yih the direction 
 of the fire to be employed, and Yih set fire to, and con- 
 sumed, the forests and vegetation on the mountains and 
 in the marshes^ so that the birds and beasts fled away 
 to hide themselves. Yu separated the nine streams, 
 cleared the courses of the Tse and T^ah, and led them 
 all to the sea. He opened a vent also for the Joo and 
 Han, and regulated the course of the Hwae and Sze, 
 so that they all flowed into the Keang. When this 
 was done, it became possible for the people of the Mid- 
 dle kingdom to cultivate the ground and get food for 
 themselves. During that time, Yu was eight years 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 79 
 
 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 ? 
 
 8. " 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 matur- 
 ity, the people all enjoyed a comfortable subsistence. 
 Now men possess a moral nature ; but if they are well 
 fed, warmly clad, and comfortably lodged, without be- 
 ing 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 See to be the Minis- 
 ter of instruction, to teach the relations of humanity : 
 — how, between father and son, there should be affec- 
 tion ; 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 
 emperor 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 ? 
 
 9. " What Yaou felt giving him anxiety, was the not 
 getting Shun. What Shun felt giving him anxiety 
 was the not getting Yu and Kaou-yaou. But he whose 
 anxiety is about his hundred mow not being properly 
 cultivated, is a mere husbandman. 
 
 10. " The imparting by a man to others of his wealth, 
 is called ^a kindness.' The teaching others what is 
 good, is called ' the exercise of fidelity.' The finding a 
 man who shall benefit the empire, is called ^benevolence.' 
 Hence to give the empire to another man would be 
 easy ; to find a man who shall benefit the empire is 
 difficult. 
 
80 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 11. " Confucius said, ' Great indeed was Yaou as a 
 sovereign. It is only heaven that is great, and only 
 Yaou corresponded to it. How vast was his virtue. 
 The people could find no name for it. Princely indeed 
 was 8hun ! How majestic was he, having possession 
 of the empire, and yet seeming as if it were nothing 
 to him ! * In their governing the empire, were there 
 no subjects on which Yaou and Shun employed their 
 minds ? There were subjects, only they did not em- 
 ploy their minds on the cultivation of the 'ground. 
 
 12. " 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. CMn 
 Leang was a native of Ts'oo. Pleased with the doc- 
 trines of Chow-kung and Chung-ne, he came north- 
 wards to the Middle kingdon and studied them. Among 
 the scholars of the northern regions, there were per- 
 haps none 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 have forthwith turned away 
 from him. 
 
 13. "Formerly, when Confucius died, after three 
 years 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 thev 
 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 Hved alone other 
 three years, before he returned home. On another oc- 
 casion, Tsze-hea, Tsze-chang, and Tsze-yew, thinking 
 that Yew Jo 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. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 81 
 
 What has been washed in the waters of the Keang and 
 Han, and bleached in the autumn sun : — how ghsten- 
 ing is it ! Nothing can be added to it/ 
 
 14. " 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 diJBferent indeed from 
 that of the philosopher Tsang. 
 
 15. "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. 
 
 16. "In the Praise-songs of Loo it is said, 
 
 ' He smote the barbarians of the west and north, 
 He punished King and Sen.' 
 Thus Chow-kung would be sure to smite them, and 
 you become their disciple again ; it appears that your 
 change is not good." 
 
 17. ChHn Seang said, " If Heu's doctrines were fol- 
 lowed, then there would not be two prices in the mar- 
 ket, 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 hanks of grain, being the same in quantity ; 
 and with shoes which were of the same size." 
 
 18. 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 empire into confusion. If large 
 shoes and small shoes were of the same price, who 
 would make them ? For people to follow the doctrines 
 of Heu, would be for them to lead one another on to 
 practise deceit. How can they avail for the govern- 
 ment of a State ? " 
 
82 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 V. 1. The Mihist, E Che, sought, through Seu Peih, 
 to see Mencius. Mencius said, " I indeed wish to see 
 him, but at present I am still unwell. When I am bet- 
 ter, I will myself go and see him. E need not come 
 here again'' 
 
 2. Next day, E Che 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 E is a Mihist. Now Mih considers that in the reg- 
 ulation of funeral matters a spare simplicity should be 
 the rule. E thinks with Mih's doctrines to change the 
 customs of the empire ; — how does he regard them as 
 if they were wrong, and not honour them ? Notwith- 
 standing his views, E buried his parents in a sumptuous 
 manner, and so he served them in the way which his 
 doctrines discountenance." 
 
 3. The disciple Seu informed E of these remarks. E 
 said, " JSven 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 difierence of degree ; but the mani- 
 festation of love must begin with our parents." Seu 
 reported this reply to Mencius, who said, " Now, does 
 E 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 laid hold of in that ex- 
 pression is simply this: — that if an infant crawling 
 about is about 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 E makes them 
 to have two roots. This is the cause of his error, 
 
 4 " 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 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 83 
 
 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, una- 
 ble to bear the sight. It was not on account of other, 
 people that this perspiration flowed. The emotions of 
 their hearts afiected 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." 
 
 5. The disciple Sen informed E of what Mencius had 
 said. E was thoughtful for a short time, and then said, 
 * He has instructed me." 
 
 BOOK III. 
 T^ANG WAN KUNG. PART H. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Ch^in Tae said to Mencius, " In not 
 going to wait upon any of the princes, you seem to me 
 to be standing on a small point. If now you were once 
 to wait upon them, the result might be so great that 
 you would make one of them emperor, or, if smaller, 
 that you would make one of them chief of all the 
 other princes. Moreover, the History says, ' By bend- 
 ing only one cubit, you make eight cubits straight.' It 
 appears to me like a thing which might be done." 
 
 2. Mencius said, " Formerly the duke King of Ts^e, 
 
84 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 once when he was hunting, called his forester to him by 
 a flag. The forester would not come, and the duke was 
 going to kill him. With rejerence to this incident, Con- 
 fueius said, ^The determined ofl&cer never forgets that 
 his end may 6e in a ditch or stream ; the brave officer 
 never forgets that he may lose his head.' What was it 
 in the forester that Confucius thus approved ? He ap- 
 proved his not going to the duke, when summoned by 
 the article which was not appropriate to him. If one 
 go to see the princes without waiting to be invited, what 
 can be thought of him ? 
 
 3. "Moreover, that sentence, 'By bending only one 
 cubit, you make eight cubits straight,' is spoken with 
 reference to the gain that may he got. If gain be the 
 object, then, if it can be got by bending eight cubits to 
 make one cubit straight, may we hkewise do that ? 
 
 4. " Formerly, the officer Chaou Keen made Wang 
 Leang act as charioteer for his favourite He, when, in 
 the course of a whole day, they did not get a single 
 bird. The favourite He reported this result, saying, 
 ^He is the poorest charioteer in the world.' Some one 
 told this to Wang Leang, who said, ' I beg leave to try 
 again.' By dint of pressing, this was accorded to him, 
 when in one morning they got ten birds. The favour- 
 ite, reporting this result, said, ^ He is the best charioteer 
 in the world.' Keen said, ^I will make him always 
 drive your carriage for you.' When he told Wang 
 Leang so, however, Leang refused, saying, ' 1 drove for 
 him, strictly observing the proper rules for driving, and 
 in the whole day he did not get one bird. I drove for 
 him so as deceitfully to intercept the birds, and in one 
 morning he got ten. It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 There is no failure in the management of their 
 
 horses ; 
 The arrows are discharged surely, like the blows 
 
 of an axe. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 85 
 
 I am not accustomed to drive for a mean man. I beg 
 leave to decline the office.' 
 
 6. " Thus this charioteer even was ashamed to bend 
 improperly to the will of such an archer. Though, by 
 bending to it, they would have caught birds and ani-_ 
 mals enow to form a hill, he would not do so. If I 
 were to bend my principles and follow those princes, of 
 what kind would my conduct be ? And you are wrong. 
 Never has a man who has bent himself been able to 
 make others straight." 
 
 II. 1. King Ch'un said to Mendus, " Are not Kung- 
 sun Yen and Chang E really great men ? Let them 
 once be angry, and all the princes are afraid. Let them 
 live quietly, and the flames of trouble are extinguished 
 throughout the empire." 
 
 2. Mencius said, " How can such men be great men ? 
 Have you not read the Ritual Usages f — ^ At the cap- 
 ping of a young man, his father admonishes him. At 
 the marriage of a young woman, her mother admon- 
 ishes her, accompanying her to the door on her leaving, 
 and cautioning her with these words, Tou are going to 
 your home, Tou must he respectful ; you must he care- 
 ful. Do not disohey your hushandJ Thus, to look 
 upon compliance as their correct course is the rule for 
 women. 
 
 3. " To dwell in the wide house of the world, to 
 stand in the correct seat of the world, and to walk in 
 the great path of the world ; when he obtains his de- 
 sire for office, to practise his principles for the good of 
 the people ; and when that desire is disappointed, to 
 practise them alone ; to be above the power of riches 
 and honours to make dissipated, of poverty and mean 
 condition to make swerve from principle, and of power 
 and force to make bend : — these characteristics consti- 
 tute the great man." 
 
 III. 1. Chow Seaou asked Mencius saying, " Did su- 
 
86 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 perior men of old time take ofl&ce ? " Mencius replied, 
 " They did. The Eecord says, ' If Confucius was three 
 months without being' employed hy some sovereign, he 
 looked anxious and unhappy. When he passed from 
 the boundary of a State, he was sure to carry with him 
 his proper gift of introduction.' Kung-ming E said, 
 ' Among the ancients, if an officer was three months 
 unemployed by a sovereign, he was condoled with.' " 
 
 2. Seaou said, " Did not this condoling, on being un- 
 employed by a sovereign, show a too great urgency ? '' 
 
 3. Mencius answered, " The loss of his place to an 
 officer is like the loss of his kingdom to a prince. It is 
 said in the Book of Rites, ' A prince ploughs himself, 
 and is assisted hy the people, to supply the millet for 
 sacrifice. His wife keeps silk-worms, and unwinds their 
 cocoons, to make the garments for sacrifice' If the 
 victims be not perfect, the millet not pure, and the 
 dress not complete, he does not presume to sacrifice. 
 ' And the scholar who, out of office, has no holy field, in 
 the same way, does not sacrifice.' The victims for 
 slaughter, the vessels, and the garments, not being all 
 complete, he does not presume to sacrifice, and then 
 neither may he dare to feel happy.' Is there not here 
 sufficient ground also for condolence ? " 
 
 4. Seaou again asked, "What was the meaning of 
 Confucius' always carrying his proper gift of introduc- 
 tion with him, when he passed over the boundaries of 
 the State where he had been F" 
 
 5. " An officer's being in office," was the reply, " is 
 like the ploughing of a husbandman. Does a husband- 
 man part with his plough, because he goes from one 
 State to another ? " 
 
 6. Seaou pursued, " The kingdom of Tsin is one, as 
 well as others, of official employments, but I have not 
 heard of any being thus earnest about being in office. 
 If there should be this urgency about being in office, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 87 
 
 why does a superior tnan make any difficulty about the 
 taking it ? " Mencius answered, " When a son is born, 
 what is desired for him is that he may have a wife ; 
 when a daughter is born, what is desired for her is that 
 she may have a husband. This feeling of the parents 
 is possessed by all men. If the young people, without 
 waiting for the orders of their parents, and the arrange- 
 ments of the go-between, shall bore holes to steal a 
 sight of each other, or get over the wall to be with 
 each other, then their parents and all other people will 
 despise them. The ancients did indeed always desire 
 to be in office, but they also hated being so by any im- 
 proper way. To go to get office by an improper way 
 is of a class with young people's boring holes." 
 
 lY. 1. P^ang Kang asked Mencius, saying, "Is it 
 not an extravagant procedure to go from one prince to 
 another and live upon them, followed by several tens 
 of carriages, and attended by several hundred men ? " 
 Mencius replied, " If there be not a proper ground for 
 taking it, a single bamboo-cup of rice may not be re- 
 ceived from a man. If there be such a proper ground, 
 then Shun's receiving the empire from Yaou is not to 
 be considered excessive. Do you think it was exces- 
 sive?" 
 
 2. Kang said, " No. But for a scholar performing 
 no service to receive his support notwithstanding, is im- 
 proper." 
 
 3. Mencius answered, " If you do not have an inter- 
 communication of the productions of labour, and an 
 interchange of men's services, so that one from his over- 
 plus may supply the deficiency of another, then hus- 
 bandmen will have a superfluity of grain, and women 
 will have a superfluity of cloth. If you have such an 
 interchange, carpenters and carriage-wrights may all 
 get their food from you. Here now is a man, who, at 
 home, is fihal, and abroad, respectful to his elders -, who 
 
88 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 watches over the principles of the ancient kings, await- 
 ing the rise of future learners : — and yet you will re- 
 fuse to support him. How is it that you give honour 
 to the carpenter and carriage-wright, and slight him 
 who practises benevolence and righteousness ? " 
 
 4. P'ang Kang said, " The aim of the carpenter and 
 carriage-wright, is hy their trades to seek for a living. 
 Is it also the aim of the superior man in his practice of 
 principles thereby to seek for a living ?" " What have 
 you to do," returned Mencius, " with his purpose ? He 
 is of service to you. He deserves to be supported, and 
 should be supported. And let me ash, — Do you remu- 
 nerate a man's intention, or do you remunerate his ser- 
 vice." To this Kang replied, " I remunerate his inten- 
 tion." 
 
 5. Mencius said, '' There is a man here, who breaks 
 your tiles, and draws unsightly figures on your walls ; 
 — his purpose may be thereby to seek for his living, 
 but will you indeed remunerate him?" "No," said 
 Kang ; and Mencius then concluded, " That being the 
 case, it is not the purpose which you remunerate, but 
 the work done." 
 
 V. 1. "Wan Chang asked Mencius, saying, " Sung is 
 a small State. Its ruler is now setting about to prac- 
 tise the true royal government, and Ts^e and Ts^oo hate 
 and attack him. What in this case is to be done ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " When T^ang dwelt in Po, he ad- 
 joined to the state of Ko, the chief of which was living 
 in a dissolute state and neglecting his proper sacrifices. 
 T^ang sent messengers to inquire why he did not sacri- 
 fice. He replied, ' I have no means of supplying the 
 necessary victims.' On this, T^ang caused oxen and 
 sheep to be sent to him, but he ate them, and still con- 
 tinued not to sacrifice. T^ang again sent messengers 
 to ask him the same question as before, when he re- 
 plied, '1 have no means of obtaining the necessary 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 89 
 
 millet/ On this, T^ang sent the mass of the people of 
 Po to go and till the ground for him, while the old and 
 feeble carried their food to them. The chief of Ko led 
 his people to intercept those who were thus charged 
 with wine, cooked rice, millet, and paddy, and took their 
 stores from them, while they killed those who refused 
 to give them up. There was a boy who had some mil- 
 let and flesh for the labourers, who was thus slain and 
 robbed. What is said in the Book of History, ^The 
 chief of Ko behaved as an enemy to the provision- 
 carriers,' has reference to this. 
 
 3. " Because of his murder of this boy. Tang pro- 
 ceeded to punish him. All within the four seas said, 
 ' It is not because he desires the riches of the empire, 
 but to avenge a common man and woman.' 
 
 4. " When T^ang began his work of executing jus- 
 tice, he commenced with Ko, and though he punished 
 eleven princes, he had not an enemy in the empire. 
 When he pursued his work in the east, the rude tribes 
 in the west murmured. So did those on the north, 
 when he was engaged in the south. Their cry was — 
 ' Why does he make us last.' Thus, the people's long- 
 ing for him was like their longing for rain in a time of 
 great drought. The frequenters of the markets stopped 
 not. Those engaged in weeding in the fields made no 
 change in their operations. While he punished their 
 rulers, he consoled the people. His progress was like 
 the falling of opportune rain, and the people were de- 
 lighted. It is said in the Book of History, ' We have 
 waited for our prince. When our prince comes, we 
 may escape from the punishments under which we suf- 
 fer: 
 
 5. "There being some who would not become the 
 subjects of Chow, king Woo proceeded to punish them 
 on the east. He gave tranquillity to their people, who 
 welcomed him with baskets full of their black and yel- 
 
90 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 low silks, saying — ' From henceforth we shall serve the 
 sovereign of our dynasty of Chow, that we may be 
 made happy by him/ So they joined themselves, as 
 subjects, to the great city of Chow. Thus, the men of 
 station of Shang took baskets full of black and yellow 
 silks to meet the men of station of Chow, and the 
 lower classes of the one met those of the other, with 
 baskets of rice and vessels of congee. Woo saved the 
 people from the midst of fire and water, seizing only 
 their oppressors, and destroying them" 
 
 6. " In the Great Declaration it is said, ^ My power 
 shall be put forth, and invading the territories of Shang, 
 I will seize the oppressor. I will put him to death to 
 punish him : — so shall the greatness of my work appear, 
 more glorious than that of T^ang.' 
 
 7. " Sung is not, as you say, practising true royal 
 government, and so forth. If it were practising royal 
 government, all within the four seas would be lifting up 
 their heads, and looking for its prince, wishing to have 
 him for their sovereign. Great as Ts^e and Ts^oo are, 
 what would there be to fear from them ? " 
 
 yi. 1. Mencius said to Tae Puh-shing, " I see that 
 you are desiring your king to be virtuous, and I will 
 plainly tell you how he may he made so. Suppose that 
 there is a great officer of Ts^oo here, who wishes his son 
 to learn the speech of Ts^e. Will he in that case em- 
 ploy a man of Ts^e as his tutor, or a man of Ts'oo ? " 
 "He will employ a man of Ts^e to teach him," said Puh- 
 shing. Mencius went on, " If hut one man of Ts*e be 
 teaching him, and there be a multitude of men of Ts^oo 
 continually shouting out about him, although his father 
 beat him every day, wishing him to learn the speech of 
 Ts'e, it will be impossible for him to do so. But in the 
 same way, if he were to be taken and placed for sev- 
 eral years in Chwang or Yoh, though his father should 
 beat him, wishing him to speak the language of Ts^oo, 
 it would be impossible for him to do so. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 91 
 
 2. " You supposed that See Keu-chow was a scholar 
 of virtue, and you have got him placed in attendance 
 on the king. Suppose that all in attendance on the 
 king, old and young, high and low, were See Keu-chows, 
 whom would the king have to do evil with ? And sup- 
 pose that all in attendance on the king, old and young, 
 high and low, are not See Keu-chows, whom will the 
 king have to do good with ? What can one See Keu- 
 chow do alone for the king of Sung ? " 
 
 YIL 1. Kung-sun Chow asked Mencius, saying, 
 " What is the point of righteousness involved in your 
 not going to see the princes?" Mencius replied, 
 " Among the ancients, if one had not been a minister 
 in a State, he did not go to see the sovereign, 
 
 2. " Twan Kan-muh leaped over his wall to avoid 
 the prince. See Lew shut his door, and would not ad- 
 mit the prince. These two, however, carried their scru- 
 pulosity to excess. When a prince is urgent, it is not 
 improper to see him. 
 
 3. '' Yang Ho wished to get Confucius to go to see 
 him, but disliked doing so by any want of propriety. 
 As it is the rule, therefore, that when a great officer 
 sends a gift to a scholar, if the latter be not at home 
 to receive it, he must go to the officer's to pay his re- 
 spects, Yang Ho watched when Confucius was out, and 
 sent him a roasted pig. Confucius, in his turn, watched 
 when Ho was out, and went to pay his respects to him. 
 At that time, Yang Ho had taken the initiative ; — how 
 could Confucius decline going to see him ? 
 
 4. "The philosopher Tsang said, ^They who shrug 
 up their shoulders, and laugh in a flattering way, toil 
 harder than the summer labourer in the fields.' Tsze- 
 loo said, ' There are those who talk with people with 
 whom they have no great community of feeling. If 
 you look at their countenances, they are full of blushes. 
 I do not desire to know such persons.' By considering 
 
92 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 these remarTcs, the spirit which the superior man nour- 
 ishes may be known." 
 
 yill. 1. Tae Ying-che said to Meneius, " I am not 
 able at present and immediately to do with the levying 
 of a tithe only, and abolishing the duties charged at 
 the passes and in the markets. With your leave I will 
 lighten, however, both the tax and the duties, until 
 next year, and will then make an end of them. What 
 do you think of such a course ? " 
 
 2. Mencius said, " Here is a man, who every day ap- 
 propriates some of his neighbour's strayed fowls. Some 
 one says to him, ^ Such is not the way of a good man;' 
 and he replies, ' With your leave I will diminish my ap- 
 propriations, and will take only one fowl a month, until 
 next year, when I will make an end of the practice. 
 
 3. " If you know that the thing is unrighteous, then 
 use all dispatch in putting an end to it : — ^why wait till 
 next year ? " 
 
 IX. 1. The disciple Kung-too said to Mencius, "Mas- 
 ter, the people beyond our school all speak of you as 
 being fond of disputing. I venture to ask whether it 
 be so." Mencius replied, "Indeed, I am not fond of 
 disputing, but I am compelled to do it. 
 
 2. "A long time has elapsed since this world of men 
 received its being, and there has been along its history 
 now a period of good order, and now a period of con- 
 fusion. 
 
 3. In the time of Yaou, the waters, flowing out of 
 their channels, inundated the Middle kingdom. Snakes 
 and dragons occupied it, and the people had no place 
 where they could settle themselves. In the low grounds 
 they made nests for themselves, and in the high grounds 
 they made caves. It is said in the Book of History, 
 ' The waters in their wild course warned me.' Those 
 ^ waters in their wild course ' were the waters of the 
 great inundation. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 93 
 
 4. " Shun employed Yu to reduce the waters to order. 
 Yu dug open their obstructed channels, and conducted 
 them to the sea. He drove away the snakes and drag- 
 ons, and forced them into the grassy marshes. On this, 
 the waters pursued their course through the country, 
 even the waters of the Keang, the Hwae, the Ho, and 
 the Han, and the dangers and obstructions which they 
 had occasioned were removed. The birds and beasts 
 which had injured the people also disappeared, and after 
 this men found the plains available for them, and occu- 
 pied them. 
 
 5. " After the death of Yaou and Shun, the princi- 
 ples that mark sages fell into decay. Oppressive sov- 
 ereigns arose one after another,.who pulled down houses 
 to make ponds and lakes, so that the people knew not 
 where they could rest in quiet, and threw fields out of 
 cultivation to form gardens and parks, so that the peo- 
 ple could not get clothes and food. Afterwards, cor- 
 rupt speakings and oppressive deeds became more rife ; 
 gardens and parks, ponds and lakes, thickets and 
 marshes, became more numerous, and birds and beasts 
 swarmed. By the time of Chow, the empire was again 
 in a state of great confusion. 
 
 6. " Chow-kung assisted king Woo, and destroyed 
 Chow. He smote Yen, and after three years put its 
 sovereign to death. He drove Fei-leen to a corner by 
 the sea, and slew him. The States which he extin- 
 guished amounted to fifty. He drove far away also 
 the tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants ; — and 
 the empire was greatly delighted. It is said in the 
 Book of History, ' Great and splendid were the plans 
 of king Wan ! Greatly were they carried out by the 
 energy of king Woo ! They are for the assistance and 
 instruction of us who are of an after day. They are 
 all in principle correct, and deficient in nothing.' 
 
 7. " Again the world fell into decay, and principles 
 
 11 
 
94 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 faded away. Perverse speakings and oppressive deeds 
 waxed rife again. There were instances of ministers 
 who murdered their sovereigns, and of sons who mur- 
 dered their fathers. 
 
 8. " Confucius was afraid, and made the ' Spring and 
 Autumn.' What the ^Spring and Autumn' contains 
 are matters proper to the emperor. On this account 
 Confucius said, ' Yes ! It is the Spring and Autumn 
 which will make men know me, and it is the Spring 
 and Autumn which will make men condemn me.' 
 
 9. " Once more, sage emperors cease to arise, and the 
 princes of the States give the reins to their lusts. Un- 
 employed scholars indulge in unreasonable discussions. 
 The words of Yang Choo and Mih Teih fill the empire. 
 If you listen to people's discourses throughout it, you 
 will find that they have adopted the views either of 
 Yang or of Mih. Wow, Yang's principle is — ' each one 
 for himself,' which does not acknowledge the claims of 
 the sovereign. Mih's principle is — ' to love all equally,' 
 which does not acknowledge the peculiar affection due 
 to a father. But to acknowledge neither king nor 
 father is to be in the state of a beast. Kung-ming E 
 said, ' In their kitchens, there is fat meat. In their 
 stables, there are fat horses. But their people have 
 the look of hunger, and on the wilds there are those 
 who have died of famine. This is leading on beasts to 
 devour men.' If the principles of Yang and Mih are 
 not stopped, and the principles of Confucius not set 
 forth, then those perverse speakings will delude the 
 people, and stop up the path of benevolence and right- 
 eousness. When benevolence and righteousness are 
 stopped up, beasts will be led on to devour men, and 
 men will devour one another. 
 
 10. "I am alarmed by these things, and address my- 
 self to the defence of the doctrines of the former sages, 
 and to oppose Yang and Mih. I drive away their li- 
 
 i 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 95 
 
 centious expressions, so that such perverse speakers 
 may not be able to show themselves. Their delusions 
 spring up in men's minds, and do injury to their prac- 
 tice of affairs. Shown in their practice of affairs, they 
 are pernicious to their government. When sages shall 
 rise up again, they will not change my words. 
 
 11. " In former times, Yu repressed the vast waters 
 of the inundation, and the empire was reduced to order. 
 Chow-kung's achievements extended even to the bar- 
 barous tribes of the west and north, and he drove away 
 all ferocious animals, and the people enjoyed repose. 
 Confucius completed the ^Spring and Autumn,' and 
 rebellious ministers and villainous sons were struck with 
 terror. 
 
 12. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' He smote the barbarians of the west and north ; 
 
 He punished King and Sen ; 
 
 And no one dared to resist us.' 
 These father-deniers and king-deniers would have been 
 smitten by Chow-kung. 
 
 13. "I also wish to rectify men's hearts, and to put 
 an end to those perverse doctrines, to oppose their one- 
 sided actions and banish away their licentious expres- 
 sions ; — and thus to carry on the work of the three 
 sages. Do I do so because I am fond of disputing ? I 
 am compelled to do it. 
 
 14. " Whoever is able to oppose Yang and Mih is a 
 disciple of the sages." 
 
 X. 1. K^wang Chang said to Mencius, " Is not Ch^an 
 Chung a man of true self-denying purity? He was 
 living in Woo-ling, and for three days was without food, 
 till he could neither hear nor see. Over a well there 
 grew a plum tree, the fruit of which had been more 
 than half-eaten by worms. He crawled to it, and tried 
 to eat some of the fruity when, after swallowing three 
 mouthfuls, he recovered his sight and hearing." 
 
96 CHINESE CLASSICS, 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " Among the scholars of Ts^e, I 
 must regard Chung as the thumb among the fingers. 
 But still, where is the self-denying purity he pretends to? 
 To carry out the principles which he holds, one must 
 become an earth-worm, for so only can it be done. 
 
 3. " Now, an earthworm eats the dry mould above, 
 and drinks the yellow spring below. Was the house in 
 which Chung dwells built by a Pih-e ? or was it built by 
 a robber like Chih? Was the millet which he eats 
 planted by a Pih-e ? or was it planted by a robber like 
 Chih ? These are things which cannot be known." 
 
 4. "But," said Chang, " what does that matter ? He 
 himself weaves sandals of hemp, and his wife twists 
 hempen thre/ids, to barter them." 
 
 5. Mencius rejoined, " Chung belongs to an ancient 
 and noble family of Ts^e. His elder brother Tae re- 
 ceived from Ko a revenue of 10,000 chung, but he con- 
 sidered his brother's emolument to be unrighteous, and 
 would not eat of it, and in the same way he considered 
 his brother's house to be unrighteous, and would not 
 dwell in it. Avoiding his brother and leaving his 
 mother, he went and dwelt in Woo-ling. One day 
 afterwards, he returned to their house, when it happened 
 that some one sent his brother a present of a live 
 goose. He, knitting his eye-brows, said, ^ What are you 
 going to use that cackling thing for ? ' By-and-by his 
 mother killed the goose, and gave him some of it to 
 eat. Just then his brother came into the house, and 
 said, ^It's the flesh of that cackling thing,' upon which 
 he went out and vomited it. 
 
 6. " Thus, what his mother gave him he would not 
 eat, but what his wife gives him he eats. He will not 
 dwell in his brother's house, but he dwells in Woo-ling. 
 How can he in such circumstances complete the style 
 of life which he professes ? With such principles as 
 Chung holds, a man must be an earth-worm, and then 
 he can carry them out." 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 97 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 LE LOW. PART I. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Mencius said, " The power of vision 
 of Le Low, and skill of hand of Kung-shoo, without the 
 compass and square, could not form squares and circles. 
 The acute ear of the music-master K^wang, without the 
 pitch-tubes, could not determine correctly the five 
 notes. The principles of Yaou and Shun, without a 
 benevolent government, could not secure the tranquil 
 order of the empire. 
 
 2. "There are now princes who have benevolent 
 hearts, and a reputation for benevolence, while yet the 
 people do not receive any benefits from them, nor will 
 they leave any example to future ages ; — all because 
 they do not put into practice the ways of the ancient 
 kings. 
 
 3. " Hence we have the saying : — ' Virtue alone is 
 not sufficient for the exercise of government; laws 
 alone cannot carry themselves into practice.' 
 
 4. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ^ Without transgression, without forgetfulness, 
 
 Following the ancient canons.* 
 Never has any one fallen into error, who followed the 
 laws of the ancient kings. 
 
 5. "When the sages had used the vigour of their 
 eyes, they called in to their aid the compass, the square, 
 the level, and the line, to make things square, round, 
 level, and straight : — the use of the instruments is in- 
 exhaustible. When they had used their power of hear- 
 
98 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 ing to the utmost, they called in the pitch-tubes to their 
 aid to determine the five notes : — the use of those 
 tubes is inexhaustible. When they had exerted to the 
 utmost the thoughts of their hearts, they called in to 
 their aid a government that could not endure to wit- 
 ness the sufferings of men: — and their benevolence 
 overspread the empire. 
 
 6. " Hence we have the saying: — ' To raise a thing 
 high, we must begin from the top of Si. mound or a hill; 
 to dig to a great depth, we must commence in the low 
 ground of a stream or a marsh.' Can he be pronounced 
 wise, who, in the exercise of government, does not pro- 
 ceed according to the ways of the former kings ? 
 
 7. "Therefore only the benevolent ought to be in 
 high stations. When a man destitute of benevolence 
 is in a high station, he thereby disseminates his wicked- 
 ness among all below him. 
 
 8. " When the prince has no principles by which he 
 examines his administration, and his ministers have no 
 laws by which they keep themselves in the discharge of 
 their duties, then in the court obedience is not paid to 
 principle, and in the office obedience is not paid to rule. 
 Superiors violate the laws of righteousness, and infe- 
 riors violate the penal laws. It is only by a fortunate 
 chance that a kingdom in such a case is preserved. 
 
 9. " Therefore it is said, ^ It is not the exterior and 
 interior walls being incomplete, and the supply of 
 weapons offensive and defensive not being large, which 
 constitutes the calamity of a kingdom. It is not the 
 cultivable area not being extended, and stores and 
 wealth not being accumulated, which occasions the ruin 
 of a kingdom.' When superiors do not observe the 
 rules of propriety, and inferiors do not learn, then se- 
 ditious people spring up, and that kingdom will perish 
 in no time. 
 
 10. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 99 
 
 * When such an overthrow of Chow is being pro- 
 duced by Heaven, 
 Be not ye so much at your ease ! 
 
 11. ' At your ease ; ' — that is, dilatory. 
 
 12. " And so dilatory may those officers be deemed, 
 who serve their prince without righteousness, who take 
 office and retire from it without regard to propriety, 
 and who in their words disown the ways of the ancient 
 kings. 
 
 13. " Therefore it is said, ' To urge one's sovereign 
 to difficult achievements may be called showing respect 
 for him. To set before him what is good and repress 
 his perversities, may be called showing reverence for 
 him. He who does not do these things, saying to him- 
 self, — My sovereign is incompetent to this, may be said 
 to play the thief with him.' " 
 
 II. 1. Mencius said, " The compass and square pro- 
 duce perfect circles and squares. By the sages, the 
 human relations are perfectly exhibited. 
 
 2. " He who as a sovereign would perfectly discharge 
 the duties of a sovereign, and he who as a minister 
 would perfectly discharge the duties of a minister, have 
 only to imitate — the one Yaou, and the other Shun. 
 He who does not serve his sovereign as Shun served 
 Yaou, does not respect his sovereign, and he who does 
 not rule his people as Yaou ruled his, injures his people. 
 
 3. " Confucius said, ' There are but two courses, which 
 can he pursued, that of virtue and its opposite.' 
 
 4. " A sovereign who carries the oppression of his 
 people to the highest pitch, will himself be slain, and 
 his kingdom will perish. If one stop short of the high- 
 est pitch, his life will notwithstanding be in danger, and 
 his kingdom will be weakened. He will be styled ^The 
 dark,' or 'The cruel,' and though he may have filial 
 sons and affectionate grandsons, they will not be able 
 in a hundred generations to change the designation. 
 
100 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 5. "This is what is intended in the words of the 
 Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' The beacon of Yin was not remote, 
 It was in the time of the sovereign of Hea.' " 
 III. 1. Mencius said, " It was by benevolence that 
 the three dynasties gained the empire, and by not be- 
 ing benevolent that they lost it. 
 
 2. " It is by the same means that the decaying and 
 flourishing, the preservation and perishing of States are 
 determined. 
 
 3. " If the emperor be not benevolent, he cannot pre- 
 serve the empire from passing from him. If the sov- 
 ereign of a State be not benevolent, he cannot preserve 
 his kingdom. If a high noble or great officer be not 
 benevolent, he cannot preserve his ancestral temple. 
 If a scholar or common man be not benevolent, he can- 
 not 'preserve his four limbs. 
 
 4. " Now they hate death and ruin, and yet delight 
 in being not benevolent; — this is like hating to be 
 drunk, and yet being strong to drink wine." 
 
 lY. 1. Mencius said, " If a man love others, and no 
 responsive attachment is shown to him, let him turn in- 
 wards and examine his own benevolence. If he is try- 
 ing to rule others, and his government is unsuccessful, 
 let him turn inwards and examine his wisdom. If he 
 treats others politely, and they do not return his polite- 
 ness, let him turn inwards and examine his own feeling 
 of respect. 
 
 2. " When we do not, by what we do, realize what 
 we desire, we must turn inwards, and examine ourselves 
 in every point. When a man's person is correct, the 
 whole empire will turn to him with recognition and sub- 
 mission. 
 
 3. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ^ Be always studious to be in harmony with the 
 
 ordinances of God, 
 And you will obtain much happiness.' " 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 101 
 
 V. Mencius said, " People have this common saying, 
 — ^ The empire, the State, the family.' The root of the 
 empire is in the State. The root of the State is in the 
 family. The root of the family is in the person of its 
 head.'' 
 
 yi. Mencius said, " The administration of govern- 
 ment is not difficult ; — it lies in not offending the great 
 families. He whom the great families affect, will be af- 
 fected by the whole State, and he whom any one State 
 affects, will be affected by the whole empire. When this 
 is the case, such an one's virtue and teachings will spread 
 over all within the four seas like the rush of water." 
 
 yjl. 1. Mencius said, "When right government pre- 
 vails in the empire, princes of little virtue are submis- 
 sive to those of great, and those of little worth, to those 
 of great. When bad government prevails in the em- 
 pire, princes of small power are submissive to those of 
 great, and the weak to the strong. Both these cases 
 are the ride of Heaven. They who accord with Heaven 
 are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven per- 
 ish. 
 
 2. "The duke King of Ts^e said, ^ Not to be able to 
 command others, and at the same time to refuse to re- 
 ceive their commands, is to cut one's-self off* from all 
 intercourse with others.' His tears flowed forth while 
 he gave his daughter to be married to the prince of 
 Woo. 
 
 3. " Now the small States imitate the large, and yet 
 are ashamed to receive their commands. This is like a 
 scholar's being ashamed to receive the commands of 
 his master. 
 
 4. " For a prince who is ashamed of this, the best 
 plan is to imitate king Wan. Let one imitate king 
 Wan, and in five years, if his State be large, or in seven 
 years, if it be small, he will be sure to give laws to the 
 empire. 
 
 12 
 
102 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 5. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ^ The descendants of the emperors of the Shang dy- 
 nasty, 
 Are in number more than hundreds of thousands, 
 But, God having passed His decree, 
 They are all submissive to Chow. 
 They are submissive to Chow, 
 Because the decree of Heaven is not unchanging. 
 The officers of Yin, admirable and alert. 
 Pour out the libations, and assist in the capital of 
 Chow: 
 Confucius said, ' As against so benevolent a sovereign, 
 they could not be deemed a multitude.' Thus, if the 
 prince of a State love benevolence, he will have no op- 
 ponent in all the empire. 
 
 6. " Now they wish to have no opponent in all the 
 empire, but they do not seek to attain this by being be- 
 nevolent. This is like a man laying hold of a heated 
 substance, and not having first wetted his hands. It 
 is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ^ Who can take up a heated substance, 
 Without wetting his hands f ' " 
 VHI. 1. Mencius said, " How is it possible to speak 
 with those princes who are not benevolent? Their 
 perils they count safety, their calamities they count 
 profitable, and they have pleasure in the things by 
 which they perish. If it were possible to talk with 
 them who so violate benevolence, how could we have 
 such destruction of kingdoms and ruin of famihes ? 
 
 2. " There was a boy singing, 
 
 ^When the water of the Ts^ang-lang is clear, 
 It does to wash the strings of my cap ; 
 When the water of the feang-lang is muddy. 
 It does to wash my feet.' 
 
 3. " Confucius said, ' Hear what he sings, my chil- 
 dren. When clear, then he 'will wash his cap-strings, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 103 
 
 and when muddy, he will wash his feet with it. This 
 different application is brought hy the water on itself.' 
 
 4. " A man must first despise himself, and then others 
 will despise him. A family must first destroy itself, and 
 
 then others will destroy it. A kingdom must first smite 
 
 itself, and then others will smite it. 
 
 5. " This is illustrated in the passage of the T^ae Kea, 
 ^ When Heaven sends down calamities, it is still possi- 
 ble to escape them. When we occasion the calamities 
 ourselves, it is not possible any longer to live.' " 
 
 IX. 1. Mencius said, " Kee and Chow's losing the 
 empire, arose from their losing the people, and to lose 
 the p.eople means to lose their hearts. There is a way 
 to get the empire : — get the people, and the empire is 
 got. There is a way to get the people : — get their 
 hearts, and the people are got. There is a way to get 
 their hearts : — it is simply to collect for them what they 
 like, and not to lay on them what they dislike. 
 
 2. " The people turn to a benevolent rule as water 
 flows downwards, and as wild beasts fly to the wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 3. "Accordingly, as the otter aids the deep waters, 
 driving the fish into them, and the hawk aids the thick- 
 ets, driving the little birds to them, so Kee and Chow 
 aided T^ang and Woo, driving the people to them. 
 
 4. " If among the present sovereigns of the empire, 
 there were one who loved benevolence, all the other 
 princes would aid him, by driving the people to him. 
 Although he wished not to become emperor, he could 
 not avoid becoming so. 
 
 5. " The case of one o/" the present princes wishing 
 to become emperor, is like the having to seek mugwort 
 for three years old, to cure a seven years' sickness. If 
 it have not been kept in store, the patient may all his 
 life not get it. If the princes do not set their wills on 
 benevolence, all their days will be in sorrow and dis- 
 grace, and they will be involved in death and ruin. 
 
104 CHINESE CLASSICS, 
 
 6. " This is illustrated by what is said in the Book 
 of Poetry, 
 
 ' How otherwise can you improve the empire ? 
 You will only with it go to ruin/ " 
 
 X. 1. Mencius said, " With those who do violence 
 to themselves it is impossible to speak. With those 
 who throw themselves away, it is impossible to do any- 
 thing. To disown in his conversation propriety and 
 righteousness, is what we mean by doing violence to 
 one's-self. To say — ' I am not able to dwell in benevo- 
 lence or pursue the path of righteousness/ is what we 
 mean by throwing one's-self away. 
 
 2. Benevolence is the tranquil habitation of man, 
 and righteousness is his straight path. 
 
 3. " Alas for them, who leave the tranquil dwelling 
 empty, and do not reside in it, and who abandon the 
 right path and do not pursue it ! " 
 
 XI. Mencius said, '^ The path of duty lies in what 
 is near, and men seek for it in what is remote. The 
 work of duty lies in what is easy, and men seek for it 
 in what is difi&cult. If each man would love his par 
 rents and show the due respect to his elders, the whole 
 empire would enjoy tranquillity." 
 
 XII. 1. Mencius said, " When those occupying in- 
 ferior situations do not obtain the confidence of the 
 sovereign, they cannot succeed in governing the peo- 
 ple. There is a way to obtain the confidence of the 
 sovereign : — if one is not trusted by his friends, he will 
 not obtain the confidence of his sovereign. There is a 
 way of being trusted by one's friends : — if one do not 
 serve his parents so as to make them pleased, he will 
 not be trusted by his friends. There is a way to make 
 one's parents pleased ; — if one, on turning his thoughts 
 inwards finds a want of sincerity, he will not give 
 pleasure to his parents. There is a way to the attain- 
 ment of sincerity in one's-self : — if a man do not un- 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 105 
 
 derstand what is good, he will not attain sincerity in 
 himself. 
 
 2. " Therefore, sincerity is the way of Heaven. To 
 think how to be sincere is the way of man. 
 
 3. " Never has there been one possessed of complete^ 
 sincerity, who did not move others. Never has there 
 been one who had not sincerity who was able to move 
 others." 
 
 XIII. 1. Mencius said, " Pih-e, that he might avoid 
 Chow, was dwelling on the coast of the northern sea. 
 When he heard of the rise of king Wan, he roused 
 himself, and said, ' Why should I not go and follow 
 him ? I have heard that the chief of the West knows 
 well how to nourish the old.' T"ae-kung, that he might 
 avoid Chow, was dwelhng on the coast of the eastern 
 sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wan, he 
 roused himself, and said, ' Why should I not go and 
 follow him ? I have heard that the chief of the West 
 knows well how to nourish the old.' 
 
 2. "Those two old men were the greatest old men 
 of the empire. When they came to follow king Wan, 
 it was the fathers of the empire coming to follow him. 
 When the fathers of the empire joined him, how could 
 the sons go to any others f 
 
 3. " Were any of the princes to practise the govern- 
 ment of king Wan, within seven years, he would be 
 sure to be giving laws to the empire." 
 
 XIY. 1. Mencius said, " K^ew acted as chief officer 
 to the head of the Ke family, whose evil ways he was 
 unable to change, while he exacted from the people 
 double the grain formerly paid. Confucius said, ' He 
 is no disciple of mine. Little children, beat the drum 
 and assail him. 
 
 2. " Looking at the subject from this case, we per- 
 ceive that when a prince was not practising benevolent 
 government, all his ministers who enriched him were 
 
106 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 rejected by Confucius: — how much more would he 
 have rejected those who are vehement to fight for their 
 prince ! When contentions about territory are the 
 ground on which they fight, they slaughter men, till 
 the fields are filled with them. When some struggle 
 for a city is the ground on which they fight, they 
 slaughter men till the city is filled with them. This is 
 what is called ^ leading on the land to devour human 
 flesh.' Death is not enough for such a crime. 
 
 3. " Therefore, those who are skilful to fight should 
 suffer the highest punishment. Next to them should 
 he 2^u^^ished those who unite the princes in leagues ; 
 and next to them, those who take in grassy commons, 
 imposing the cultivation of the ground on the people '^ 
 
 XY. 1. Mencius said, " Of all the parts of a man's 
 body there is none more excellent than the pupil of 
 the eye. The pupil cannot he used to hide a man's 
 wickedness. If within the breast all be correct, the 
 pupil is bright. If within the breast all be not correct, 
 the pupil is dull. 
 
 2. " Listen to a man's words and look at the pupil of 
 his eye. How can a man conceal his character ? " 
 
 XVI. Mencius said, " The respectful do not despise 
 others. The economical do not plunder others. The 
 prince who treats men with despite and plunders them, 
 is only afraid that they may not prove obedient to 
 him : — how can he be regarded as respectful or econo- 
 mical ? How can respectfulness and economy be made 
 out of tones of the voice, and a smiling manner ? " 
 
 XYII. 1. Shun-yu K^wan said, " Is it the rule that 
 males and females shall not allow their hands to touch 
 in giving or receiving any thing ? " Mencius replied, 
 " It is the rule." K'wan asked, " If a man's sister-in- 
 law be drowning, shall he rescue her with his hand ? " 
 Mencius said, " He who would not so rescue a drown- 
 ing woman is a wolf For males and females not to 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 107 
 
 allow their hands to touch in giving and receiving is 
 the general rule ; when a sister-in-law is drowning, to 
 rescue her with the hand is a peculiar exigency." 
 
 2. K'wan said " The whole empire is drowning. 
 Ho\y strange it is that you will not rescue it ! " 
 
 3. Mencius answered, " A drowning empire must be 
 rescued with right principles, as a drowning sister-in- 
 law has to be rescued with the hand. Do you wish me 
 to rescue the empire with my hand ? " 
 
 XVIII. 1. Kung-sun Ch^ow said, " Why is it that 
 the superior man does not himself teach his son ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " The circumstances of the case 
 forbid its being done. The teacher must inculcate 
 what is correct. When he inculcates what is correct, 
 and his lessons are not practised he follows them up 
 with being angry. When he follows them up with 
 being angry, then, contrary to what should be, he is 
 offended with his son. At the same time, the pupil 
 says, ' My master inculcates on me what is correct, and 
 he himself does not proceed in a correct path.' The 
 result of this is, that father and son are offended with 
 each other. When father and son come to be offended 
 with each other, the case is evil. 
 
 3. "The ancients exchanged sons, and one taught 
 the son of another. 
 
 4. " Between father and son, there should be no re- 
 proving admonitions to what is good. Such reproofs 
 lead to alienation, and than alienation there is nothing 
 more inauspicious." 
 
 XIX. 1. Mencius said, " Of services which is the 
 greatest ? The service of parents is the greatest. Of 
 charges which is the greatest ? The charge of one's- 
 self is the greatest. That those who do not fail to keep 
 themselves are able to serve their parents is what I 
 have heard. But I have never heard of any, who, hav- 
 ing failed to keep themselves, were able notwithstand- 
 ing to serve their parents. 
 
108 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 2. '' There are many services, but the service of pa- 
 rents is the root of all others. There are many 
 charges, but the charge of one's-self is the root of all 
 others. 
 
 3. "The philosopher Tsang, in nourishing T^ng 
 Seih, was always sure to have wine and flesh provided. 
 And when they were being removed, he would ask re- 
 spectfully to whom he should give what was left If 
 Ms father asked whether there was any thing left, he 
 was sure to say, ' There is.' After the death of Tsang 
 Seih, when Tsang Yuen came to nourish the philoso- 
 pher Tsang, he was always sure to have wine and flesh 
 provided. But when the things were being removed, 
 he did not ask to whom he should give what was left, 
 and if his father asked whether there was anything 
 left, he would answer ^ No ' ; — intending to bring them 
 in again. This was what is called — ' nourishing the 
 mouth and body.* We may call the philosopher Tsang's 
 practice — ^ nourishing the will.' 
 
 4. " To serve one's parents as the philosopher Ts^ang 
 served his, may be accepted as filial piety.'' 
 
 XX. Mencius said, " It is not enough to remonstrate 
 with a sovereign on account of the mal-employment of 
 ministers, nor to blame errors of government. It is 
 only the great man who can rectify what is wrong in 
 the sovereign's mind. Let the prince be benevolent, 
 and all his acts will be benevolent. Let the prince be 
 righteous, and all his acts will be righteous. Let the 
 prince be correct, and everything will be correct. Once 
 rectify the prince, and the kingdom will be firmly set- 
 tled." 
 
 XXI Mencius said, "There are cases of praise 
 which could not be expected, and of reproach when the 
 parties have been seeking to be perfect." 
 
 XXII. Mencius said, " Men's being ready with their 
 tongues arises simply from their not having been re- 
 proved." 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. 109 
 
 XXIII. Mencius said, ^' The evil of men is that they 
 like to be teachers of others." 
 
 XXI Y. 1. The disciple Yo-ching went in the train 
 of Tsze-gaou to Ts^e. 
 
 2. He came to see Mencius, who said to him, " Are^ 
 you also come to see me ? " Yo-ching replied. Master, 
 why do you speak such words ? " " How many days 
 have you been "here ?" asked Mencius. " I came yes- 
 terday." " Yesterday ! Is it not with reason then that 
 I thus speak ? " " My lodging-house was not arranged." 
 " Have you heard that a scholar's lodging-house must 
 be arranged before he visit his elder ? " 
 
 3. To'ching said, '^ I have done wrong." 
 
 XXV. Mencius, addressing the disciple Yo-ching, 
 said to him, " Your coming here in the train of Tsze- 
 gaou was only because of the food and the drink. I 
 could not have thought that you, having learned the 
 doctrine of the ancients, would have acted with a view 
 to eating and drinking." 
 
 XXVI. 1. Mencius said, " There are three things 
 which are uniilial, and to have no posterity is the 
 greatest of them. 
 
 2. " Shun married, without informing his parents, 
 because of this, — lest he should have no posterity. Su- 
 perior men consider that his doing so was the same as 
 if he had informed them." 
 
 XXVII. 1, Mencius said. " The richest fruit of be- 
 nevolence is this, — the service of one's parents. The 
 richest fruit of righteousness is this, — the obeying one's 
 elder brothers. 
 
 2. " The richest fruit of wisdom is this, — the know- 
 ing those two things, and not departing from them. 
 The richest fruit of propriety is this, — the ordering and 
 adorning those two things. The richest fruit of music 
 is this, — the rejoicing in those two things. When they 
 are rejoiced in, they grow. Growing, how can they be 
 * 13 
 
110 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 repressed ? When they come to this state that they 
 cannot be repressed, then unconsciously the feet begin 
 to dance and the hands to move." 
 
 XXVIII. 1. Mencius said, "Suppose the case of 
 the whole empire turning in great delight to an in- 
 dividual to submit to him. — To regard the whole em- 
 pire thus turning to him in great delight but as a bun- 
 dle of grass ; — only Shun was capable of this. He 
 considered that if one could not get the hearts of his 
 parents he could not be considered a man, and that if 
 he could not get to an entire accord with his parents, 
 he could not be considered a son. 
 
 2. "By Shun's completely fulfilling everything by 
 which a parent could be served, Koo-sow was brought 
 to find delight in what was good. When Koo-sow was 
 brought to find that delight, the whole empire was 
 transformed. When Koo-sow was brought to find that 
 delight, all fathers and sons in the empire were estab- 
 lished in their respective duties. This is called great 
 filial piety." 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 LE LOW. PART II. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Mencius said, " Shun was born in 
 Choo-fung, removed to Foo-hea, and died in Ming- 
 t^eaou ; — a man near the wild tribes on the east. 
 
 2. " King Wan was born in Chow by mount K^e, and 
 died in Peih-ying ; — a man near the wild tribes on the 
 west. 
 
 3. "Those regions were distant from one another 
 more than a thousand le, and the age of the one sage 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. Ill 
 
 was posterior to that of the other more than a thousand 
 years. But when they got their wish, and carried their 
 principles into practice throughout the Middle kingdom, 
 it was like uniting the two halves of a seal. 
 
 4. " When we examine the sages, — both the earlier 
 and the later, — their principles are found to be the 
 same." 
 
 II. 1. When Tsze-cVan was chief minister of the 
 State of Ch^ing, he would convey people across the 
 Tsin and Wei in his own carriage. 
 
 2. Mencius said, " It was kind, but showed that he 
 did not understand the practice of government. 
 
 3. "When in the eleventh month of the year 
 the foot-bridges are completed, and the carriage- 
 bridges in the twelfth month, the people have not the 
 trouble of wading. 
 
 4. " Let a governor conduct his rule on principles of 
 equal justice, and when he goes abroad, he may cause 
 people to be removed out of his path. But how can he 
 convey everybody across the rivers ? 
 
 5. " It follows that if a governor will fry to please 
 everybody, he will find the days not sufficient for his 
 work'* 
 
 III. 1. Mencius said to the king Seuen of Ts^e, 
 "When the prince regards his ministers as his hands 
 and feet, his ministers regard their prince as their belly 
 and heart; when he regards them as his dogs and 
 horses, they regard him as any other man ; when he 
 regards them as the ground or as grass, they regard 
 him as a robber and an enemy." 
 
 2. The king said, " According to the rules of propri- 
 ety, a minister wears mourning when he has left the 
 service of a prince. How must a prince behave that 
 his old ministers may thus go into mourning ? " 
 
 3. Mencius rephed, " The admonitions of a minister 
 having been followed, and his advice listened to, so that 
 
112 • CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 blessings have descended on the people, if for some 
 cause he leaves the country, the prince sends an escort 
 to conduct him beyond the boundaries. He also antici- 
 pates with recommendatory intimations his arrival in 
 the country to which he is proceeding. When he has 
 been gone three years and does not return, only then 
 at length does he take back his fields and residence. 
 This treatment is what is called ' a thrice-repeated dis- 
 play of consideration.' When a prince acts thus, 
 mourning will be worn on leaving his service. 
 
 4. " Now-a-days, the remonstrances of a minister are 
 not followed, and his advice is not listened to, so that 
 no blessings descend on the people. When for any 
 cause he leaves the country, the prince tries to seize 
 him and hold him a prisoner. He also pushes him to 
 extremity in the country to which he has gone, and on 
 the very day of his departure, he takes back his fields 
 and residence. This treatment shows him to be what 
 we call ' a robber and an enemy.' What mourning can 
 be worn for a robber and an enemy ? " 
 
 ly. Mencius said, " When scholars are put to death 
 without any crime, the great ofl&cers may leave the 
 country. When the people are slaughtered without 
 any crime, the scholars may remove." 
 
 Y. Mencius said, " If the sovereign be benevolent, 
 all will be benevolent. If the sovereign be righteous, 
 all will be righteous." 
 
 VI. Mencius said, "Acts of propriety which are not 
 really proper, and acts of righteousness, which are not 
 really righteous, the great man does not do." 
 
 VII. Mencius said, "Those who keep the Mean, 
 train up those who do not, and those who have abili- 
 ties, train up those who have not, and hence men re- 
 joice in having fathers and elder brothers who are pos- 
 sessed of virtue and talent. If they who keep the 
 Mean spurn those who do not, and they who have abili- 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. 113 
 
 ties spurn those who have not, then the space between 
 them — those so gifted and the ungifted — will not ad- 
 mit an inch." 
 
 VIII. Mencius said, " Men must be decided on what 
 they will not do, and then they are able to act with 
 vigour in what they ought to do.'" 
 
 IX. Mencius said, "What future misery have they 
 and ought they to endure, who talk of what is not good 
 in others ! " 
 
 X. Mencius said, " Chung-ne did not do extraordi- 
 nary things." 
 
 XI. Mencius said, " The great man does not think 
 beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor 
 of his actions that they may be resolute; — he simply 
 speaks and does what is right." 
 
 XII. Mencius said, " The great man is he who does 
 not lose his child's-heart. 
 
 XIII. Mencius said, " The nourishment of parents 
 when living is not sufficient to be accounted the great 
 thing. It is only in the performing their obsequies 
 when dead, that we have what can be considered the 
 great thing." 
 
 XIV. Mencius said, " The superior man makes his 
 advances in what he is learning with deep earnestness 
 and by the proper course, wishing to get hold of it as 
 in himself Having got hold of it in himself, he abides 
 in it calmly and firmly. Abiding in it calmly and 
 firmly, he reposes a deep reliance on it. Reposing a 
 deep reliance on it, he seizes it on the left and right, 
 meeting everywhere with it as a fountain /rom which 
 things flow. It is on this account that the superior 
 man wishes to get hold of what he is learning as in 
 himself" 
 
 XY. Mencius said, "In learning extensively and 
 discussing minutely what is learned, the object of the 
 superior man is that he may be able to go back and set 
 forth in brief what is essential." 
 
114 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XYI. Mencius said, " Never has he who would by 
 his excellence subdue men been able to subdue them. 
 Let a prince seek by his excellence to nourish men, 
 and he will be able to subdue the whole empire. It is 
 impossible that any one should become ruler of the 
 empire to whom it has not yielded the subjection of 
 the heart." 
 
 XVII. Mencius said, "Words which are not true are 
 inauspicious, and the words which are most truly ob- 
 noxious to the name of inauspicious, are those which 
 throw into the shade men of talents and virtue. 
 
 XYIII. 1. The disciple Seu said, " Chung-ne often 
 praised water, saying, ' water! water ! ' What did 
 he find in water to praise f " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " There is a spring of water ; 
 how it gushes out ! It rests not day nor night. It 
 fiUs up every hole, and then advances, flowing on to the 
 four seas. Such is water having a spring ! It was this 
 which he found in it to praise. 
 
 3. But suppose that the water has no spring. — In the 
 seventh and eighth months when the rain falls abun- 
 dantly, the channels in the fields are all filled, but their 
 being dried up again may be expected in a short time. 
 So a superior man is ashamed of a reputation beyond 
 his merits." 
 
 XIX. 1. Mencius said, " That whereby man differs 
 from the lower animals is but small. The mass of 
 people cast it away, while superior men preserve it. 
 
 2. " Shun clearly understood the multitude of things, 
 and closely observed the relations of humanity. He 
 walked along the path of benevolence and righteous- 
 ness; he did not need to pursue benevolence and 
 righteousness." 
 
 XX. 1. Mencius said, "Yu hated the pleasant 
 wine, and loved good words. 
 
 2. " T^ang held fast the Mean, and employed men of 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 115 
 
 talents and virtue without regard to where they came 
 from. 
 
 3. " King Wan looked on the people as he would on 
 a man who was wounded, and he looked towards the 
 right path as if he could not see it. 
 
 4. . " King Woo did not slight the near, and did not 
 forget the distant 
 
 6. " The duke of Chow desired to unite in himself 
 the virtues of those kings, those founders of the three 
 dynasties, that he might display in his practice the four 
 things which they did. If he saw any thing in them 
 not suited to his time, he looked up and thought about 
 it, from day-time into the night, and when he was for- 
 tunate enough to master the difficulty, he sat waiting 
 for the morning." 
 
 XXI. 1. Mencius said, '' The traces of imperial rule 
 were extinguished, and the imperial odes ceased to be 
 made. When those odes ceased to be made, then the 
 Ch^un-Ts-ew was produced. 
 
 2. " The Shing of Tsin, the Taou-wuh of Ts^oo, and 
 the Ch'un-Ts^ew of Loo, were books of the same char- 
 acter. 
 
 3. " The subject of the Ch^un-wuh was the affairs of 
 Hwan of Ts^e and Wan of Tsin, and its style was 
 the historical. Confucius said, ^ Its righteous decisions 
 I ventured to make.' " 
 
 XXII. 1. Mencius said, " The influence of a sove- 
 reign sage terminates in the fifth generation. The in- 
 fluence of a mere sage does the same. 
 
 2. " Although I could not be a disciple of Confucius 
 himself, I have endeavored to cultivate my virtue by 
 means of others who were." 
 
 XXIII. Mencius said, " When it appears proper to 
 take a thing, and afterwards not proper, to take it is 
 contrary to moderation. When it appears proper to 
 give a thing and afterwards not proper, to give it is 
 
116 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 contrary to kindness. When it appears proper to sac- 
 rifice one's life, and afterwards not proper, to sacrifice 
 it is contrary to bravery." 
 
 XXIV. 1. Pang Mung learned archery of E. 
 When he had acquired completely all the science of E, 
 he thought that in all the empire only E was superior 
 to himself, and so he slew him. Mencius said, " In this 
 case E also was to blame. Kung-ming E indeed^ said 
 ' It would appear as if he were not to be blamed,' but 
 he thereby only meant that his blame was slight. How 
 can he be held without any blame ? " 
 
 2. " The people of Ch^ing sent Tsze-cho Yu to make 
 a stealthy attack on Wei, which sent Yu-kung Sze to 
 pursue him. Tsze-cho Yu said, ' To-day I feel unwell, 
 so that I cannot hold my bow. I am a dead man ! ' 
 At the sojme time he asked his driver, ' Who is it that is 
 pursuing me ? ' The driver said, ' It is Yu-kung Sze,' 
 on which he exclaimed, ' I shall live.' The driver said, 
 ' Yu-kung Sze is the best archer of Wei, what do you 
 mean by saying — I shall live ?' Yu replied, ' Yu-kung 
 Sze learned archery from Yin-kung T^o, who again 
 learned it from me. Now, Yin-kung T^o is an upright 
 man, and the friends of his selection must be upright 
 also! When Yu-kung Sze came up, he said, ' Master, 
 why are you not holding your bow ? ' Tu answered 
 him, ' To-day I am feeling unwell, and cannot hold my 
 bow.' On this Sze said, ' I learned archery from Yin- 
 kung T^o, who again learned it from you. I cannot 
 bear to injure you with your own science. The busi- 
 ness of to-day, however, is the prince's business, which 
 I dare not neglect. He then took his arrows, knocked 
 ofi* their steel-points against the car ria*ge- wheel, dis- 
 charged four of them, and returned." 
 
 XXV. 1. Mencius said, " If the lady Se had been 
 covered with a filthy head-dress, all people would have 
 stopped their noses in passing her. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 117 
 
 2. " Though a man may be wicked^ yet if he adjust 
 his thoughts, fast, and bathe, he may sacrifice to God." 
 
 XXVI. 1. Mencius said, " All who speak about the 
 natures of things, have in fact only their phenomena 
 to reason from, and the value of a phenomenon is in 
 its being natural. 
 
 2. " What I dislike in your wise men is their boring 
 out their conclusions. If those wise men would only 
 act as Yu did when he conveyed away the waters, 
 there would be nothing to dislike in their wisdom. The 
 manner in which Yu conveyed away the waters was by 
 doing what gave him no trouble. If your wise men 
 would also do that which gave them no trouble, their 
 knowledge would also be great. 
 
 3. " There is heaven so high ; there are the stars so 
 distant. If we have investigated their phenomena, we 
 may, while sitting in our places, go back to the solstice 
 of a thousand years ago" 
 
 XXVII. 1. The officer Kung-hang having on hand 
 the funeral of one of his sons, the Master of the Eight 
 went to condole with him. When this nohle entered 
 the door, some called him to them and spoke with him, 
 and spme went to his place and spoke with him. 
 
 2. Mencius did not speak with him, so that he was 
 displeased, and said, " All the gentlemen have spoken 
 with me. There is only Mencius who does not speak 
 to me, thereby slighting me." 
 
 3. Mencius, having heard of this remark, said, " Ac- 
 cording to the prescribed rules, in the court, individuals 
 may not change their places to speak with one another, 
 nor may they pass from their ranks to bow to one an- 
 other. I was wishing to observe this rule, and Tsze- 
 gaou understands it that I was slighting him : — is not 
 this strange ? " 
 
 XXVIII. 1. Mencius said, " That whereby the su- 
 perior man is distinguished from other men is what he 
 
 14 
 
118 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 preserves in his heart ; — namely, benevolence and pro- 
 priety. 
 
 2. " The benevolent man loves others. The man of 
 propriety shows respect to others. 
 
 3. " He who loves others is constantly loved by them. 
 He who respects others is constantly respected by them. 
 
 4. " Here is a man, who treats me in a perverse and 
 unreasonable manner. The superior man in such a 
 case will turn round upon himself — ' I must have been 
 wanting in benevolence ; I must have been wanting in 
 propriety : — how should this have happened to me ? ' 
 
 ,5. "He examines himself, and is specially benevo- 
 lent. He turns round upon himself, and is specially 
 observant of propriety. The perversity and unreason- 
 ableness of the other, however, are still the same. The 
 superior man will again turn round on himself — ^I 
 must have been failing to do my utmost.' 
 
 6. " He turns round upon himself, and proceeds to 
 do his utmost, but still the perversity and unreasonable- 
 ness of the other are repeated. On this the superior 
 man says, ^ This is a man utterly lost indeed 1 Since 
 he conducts himself so, what is there to choose between 
 him and a brute ? Why should I go to contend with a 
 brute ? ' 
 
 7. " Thus it is that the superior man has a life-long 
 anxiety and not one morning's calamity. As to what 
 is matter of anxiety to him, that he has. — He says, 
 ' Shun was a man, and I also am a man. But Shun be- 
 came an example to the empire, and his conduct was 
 worthy to be handed down to after ages, while I am 
 nothing better than a villager.' This indeed is proper 
 matter of anxiety to him. And in what way is he 
 anxious about it ? Just that he may be like Shun : — 
 then only will he stop. As to what the superior man 
 would feel to be a calamity, there is no such thing. He 
 does nothing which is not according to propriety. If 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 119 
 
 there should befal him one morning's calamity, the su- 
 perior man does not account it a calamity." 
 
 XXIX. 1. Yu and Tseih, in an age of tranquilliz- 
 ing government, thrice passed their doors without en- 
 tering them. Confucius praised them. 
 
 2. The disciple Yen, in an age of confusion, dweir 
 in a mean narrow lane, having his single bamboo-cup 
 of rice, and his single gourd-dish of water ; other men 
 could not have endured the distress, but he did not 
 allow his joy to be affected by it. Confucius praised 
 him. 
 
 3. Mencius said, " Yu, Tseih, and Yen Hwuy agreed 
 in the principle of their conduct. 
 
 4. " Yu thought that if any one in the empire were 
 drowned, it was as if he drowned him. Tseih thought 
 that if any one in the empire suffered hunger, it was as 
 if he famished him. It was on this account that they 
 were so earnest. 
 
 5. " If you and Tseih, and the philosopher Yen, had 
 exchanged places, each would have done what the other 
 did. 
 
 6. " Here now in the same apartment with you are 
 people fighting : — you ought to part them. Though 
 you part them with your cap simply tied over your un- 
 bound hair, your conduct will be allowable. 
 
 7. "If the fighting be only in the village or neigh- 
 bourhood, if you go to put an end to it with your cap 
 tied over your hair unbound, you will be in error. Al- 
 though you should shut your door iri such a case, your 
 conduct would be allowable." 
 
 XXX. 1. The disciple Kung-too said, " Throughout 
 the whole kingdom every body pronounces K^wang un- 
 filial. But you, Master, keep company with him, and 
 moreover treat him with politeness. I venture to ask 
 why you do so ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " There are five things which are 
 
120 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 said in the common practice of the age to be unfilial. 
 The first is laziness in the use of one's four limbs, with- 
 out attending to the nourishment of his parents. The 
 second is gambling and chess-playing, and being fond of 
 wine, without attending to the nourishment of his pa- 
 rents. The third is being fond of goods and money, 
 and selfishly attached to his wife and children, without 
 attending to the nourishment of his parents. The 
 fourth is following the desires of one's ears and eyes, 
 so as to bring his parents to disgrace. The fifth is be- 
 ing fond of bravery, fighting and quarrelling so as to 
 endanger his parents. Is Chang guilty of any one of 
 these things ? " 
 
 3. " Now between Chang and his father there arose 
 disagreement, he, the son, reproving his father, to urge 
 him what was good. 
 
 4. "To urge one another to what is good by reproofs 
 is the way of friends. But such urging between father 
 and son is the greatest injury to the kindness, which 
 should prevail between them. 
 
 5. "Moreover, did not Chang wish to have in his 
 family the relationships of husband and wife, child and 
 mother ? But because he had offended his father, and 
 was not permitted to approach him, he sent away his 
 wife, and drove forth his son, and all his life receives 
 no cherishing attention from them. He settled it in 
 his mind that if he did not act in this way, his would 
 be one of the greatest of crimes. — Such and nothing 
 more is the case of Chang." 
 
 XXXI. 1. When the philosopher Tsang dwelt in 
 Wooshing, there came a band from Yue to plunder it. 
 Some one said to him, " The plunderers are coming : — 
 why not leave this ? " Tsang on this left the city, say- 
 ing to the man in charge of the house, " Do not lodge 
 any persons in my house, lest they break and injure 
 the plants and trees." When the plunderers withdrew, 
 
WORKS OF IMENCIUS. 121 
 
 he sent word to hinij saying, '^ Repair the walls of my 
 house. I am about to return." When the plunderers 
 retired, the philsopher Tsang returned accordingly. 
 His disciples said, " Since our master was treated with 
 so much sincerity and respect, for him to be the first 
 to go away on the arrival of the plunderers, so as to be 
 observed by the people, and then to return on their re- 
 tiring, appears to us to be improper." Shinyew Hing 
 said, " You do not understand this matter. Formerly, 
 when Shin-yew was exposed to the outbreak of the 
 grass-carriers, there were seventy disciples in our mas- 
 ter's following, and none of them took part in the mat- 
 ter. 
 
 2. When Tsze-sze was living in Wei, there came a 
 band from Ts^e to plunder. Some one said to him, 
 " The plunderers are coming ; — why not leave this ? " 
 Tsze-sze said, " If I go away, whom will the prince have 
 to guard the State with ? " 
 
 3. Mencius said, " The philosopher Tsang and Tsze- 
 sze agreed in the principle of their conduct. Tsang 
 was a teacher ; — in the place of a father or elder 
 brother. Tsze-sze was a minister ; — in a meaner place. 
 If the philosophers Tsang and Tsze-sze had exchanged 
 places, the one would have done what the other did." 
 
 XXXII. The officer Ch^oo said to Mencius, " Mas- 
 ter, the king sent persons to spy out whether you were 
 really different from other men." Mencius said, " How 
 should I be different from other men ! Yaou and Shun 
 were just the same as other men." 
 
 XXXIII. 1. A man of Ts^e had a wife and a con- 
 cubine, and lived together with them in his house. 
 When their husband went out, he would get himself 
 well filled with wine and flesh, and then return, and, on 
 his wife's asking him with whom he ate and drank, they 
 were sure to be all wealthy and honorable people. The 
 wife informed the concubine, saying, " When our good 
 
122 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 man goes out, he is sure to come back having partaken 
 plentifully of wine and flesh. I asked with whom he 
 ate and drank, and they are all, it seems, wealthy and 
 honourable people. And yet no people of distinction 
 ever come here. I will spy out where our good man 
 goes. Accordingly, she got up early in the morning, 
 and privately followed wherever her husband went. 
 Throughout the whole city, there was no one who stood 
 or talked with him. At last, he came to those who 
 were sacrificing among the tombs beyond the outer 
 wall on the east, and begged what they had over. Not 
 being satisfied, he looked about, and went to another 
 party : — and this was the way in which he got himself 
 satiated. His wife returned, and informed the concu- 
 bine, saying, " It was to our husband that we looked up 
 in hopeful contemplation, with whom our lot is cast for 
 life ; — and now these are his ways ! " On this, along 
 with the concubine she reviled their husband, and they 
 wept together in the middle hall. In the mean time 
 the husband, knowing nothing of all this, came in with 
 a jaunty air, carrying himself proudly to his wife and 
 concubine. 
 
 2. In view of a superior man, as to the ways by 
 which men seek for riches, honours, gain, and advance- 
 ment, there are few of their wives and concubines who 
 would not be ashamed and weep together on account 
 of them. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 123 
 
 BOOK V. 
 WAN CHANG. PART I. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Wan Chang asked Mencius, saying, 
 When " Shun went into the fields, he cried out and 
 wept towards the pitying heavens. Why did he cry 
 out and weep ? " Mencius repHed/ " He was dissatis- 
 fied, and full of earnest desire." 
 
 2. Wan Chang said, " When his parents love him, a 
 son rejoices and forgets them not. When his parents 
 hate him, though they punish him, he does not murmur. 
 Was Shun then murmuring against his parents f " 
 Mencius answered, ^^ Chiang Seih asked Kung-ming 
 Kaou, saying, ^ As to Shun's going into the fields, I have 
 received your instructions, but I do not know about his 
 weeping and crying out to the pitying heavens and to 
 his parents.' Kung-ming Kaou answered him, ^ You do 
 not understand that matter.' Now, Kung-ming Kaou 
 supposed that the heart of the filial son could not be 
 so free of sorrow. Shun would say, ' I exert my 
 strength to cultivate the fields, but I am thereby only 
 discharging my office as a son. What can there be in 
 me that my parents do not love me ? ' 
 
 3. ^' The emperor caused his own children, nine sons 
 and two daughters, the various officers, oxen and sheep, 
 storehouses and granaries, all to be prepared, to serve 
 Shun amid the channeled fields. Of the scholars of the 
 empire there were multitudes who flocked to him. The 
 emperor designed that Shwi should superintend the 
 empire along with him, and then to transfer it to him 
 entirely. But because his parents were not in accord 
 
124 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 with him, he felt like a poor man who has nowhere to 
 turn to. 
 
 4. " To be delighted in by the scholars of the em- 
 pire, is what men desire, but it was not sufficient to re- 
 move the sorrow of Shun, The possession of beauty 
 is what men desire, and Shun had for his wives the two 
 daughters of the emperor, but this was not sufficient 
 to remove his sorrow. Riches are what men desire, and 
 the empire was the rich property of Shun, but this 
 was not sufficient to remove his sorrow. Honours are 
 what men desire, and Shun had the dignity of being 
 emperor, but this was not sufficient to remove his sor- 
 row. The reason why the being the object of men's 
 delight, the possession of beauty, riches, and honours, 
 were not sufficient to remove his sorrow, was that it 
 could be removed only by his getting his parents to be 
 in accord with him. 
 
 5. " The desire of the child is towards his father and 
 mother. When he becomes conscious of the attrac- 
 tions of beauty, his desire is towards young afid beau- 
 tiful women. When he comes to have a wife and 
 children, his desire is towards them. When he obtains 
 office, his desire is towards his sovereign : — if he cannot 
 get the regard of his sovereign, he burns within. But 
 the man of great filial piety, to the end of his life, has 
 his desire towards his parents. In the great Shun I 
 see the case of one whose desire of fifty years was 
 towards them." 
 
 II. 1. Wan Chang asked Mencius, saying, "It is 
 said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' In marrying a wife, how ought a man to proceed ? 
 
 He must inform his parents.' 
 If the rule be indeed as here expressed, no man ought 
 to have illustrated it so well as Shun. How was it that 
 Shun's marriage took place without his informing his 
 parents ? " Mencius replied, " If he had infonned them, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 125 
 
 he would not have been able to marry. That male and 
 female should dwell together, is the greatest of human 
 relations. If Shun had informed his parents, he must 
 have made void this greatest of human relations, thereby 
 incurring their resentment. On this account, he did 
 not inform them." 
 
 2. Wan Chang said, " As to Shun's marrying without 
 informing his parents, I have heard your instructions ; 
 but how was it that the emperor gave him his daugh- 
 ters as wives without informing Shun's parents?'' 
 Mencius said, " The emperor also knew that if he in- 
 formed them, he could not marry his daughters to him." 
 
 3. Wan Chang said, " His parents set Shun to repair 
 a granary, to which, the ladder having been removed, 
 Koo-sow set fire. They also made him dig a well. He 
 got out, but they, 7iot knowing that, proceeded to cover 
 him up. Seang said, ^ Of the scheme to cover up the 
 city-forming prince the merit is all mine. Let my pa- 
 rents have his oxen and sheep. Let them have his 
 storehouses and granaries. His shield and spear shall 
 be mine. His lute shall be mine. His bow shall be 
 mine. His two wives I shall make attend for me to my 
 bed.' Seang then went away into Shun's palace, and 
 there was Shun on his couch playing on his lute. Seang 
 said, ' I am come simply because I was thinking anxi- 
 ously about you. At the same time, he blushed deeply. 
 Shun said to him, ' There are all my officers : — do you 
 undertake the government of them for me.' I do not 
 know whether Shun was ignorant of Seang's wishing 
 to kill him." Mencius answered, " How could he be 
 ignorant of that ? But when Seang was sorrowful, he 
 was also sorrowful ; when Seang was joyful, he was also 
 joyful." 
 
 4. Chang said, " In that case, then, did not Shun re- 
 joice h}^ocritically ? " Mencius replied, "No. For- 
 merly, some one sent a present of a live fish to Tsze- 
 
 15 
 
126 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 ch^an of CMng. Tsze-cVan ordered his pond-keeper 
 to keep it in the pond, but that officer cooked it, and 
 reported the execution of his commission, saying, 
 ' When I first let it go, it appeared embarrassed. In a 
 little, it seemed to be somewhat at ease, and then it 
 swam away joyfully.' Tsze-cVan observed, ' It had got 
 into its element ! ' The pond-keeper then went out and 
 said, ' Who calls Tsze-ch^an a wise man ? After I had 
 cooked and eaten the fish, he says, — It had got into its 
 element ! it had got into its element ! ' Thus a supe- 
 rior man may be imposed on by what seems to be as it 
 ought to be, but he cannot be entrapped by what is 
 contrary to right principle. Seang came in the way in 
 which the love of his elder brother would have made 
 him come ; therefore Shun sincerely believed him, and 
 rejoiced. What hypocrisy was there ? " 
 
 in. Wan Chang said, "Seang made it his daily 
 business to slay Shun. When Shun was made empe- 
 ror, how was it that he only banished him ? " Mencius 
 said, " He raised him to be a prince. Some supposed 
 that it was banishing him." 
 
 2. Wan Chang said, "Shun banished the superin- 
 tendent of works to Yew-chow ; he sent away Hwan- 
 taou to the mountain Ts^ung ; he slew the prince of 
 San Meaou in San-wei; and he imprisoned K'wan on 
 the mountain Yu. When the crimes of those four were 
 thus punished, the whole empire acquiesced : — it was a 
 cutting ofi* of men who were destitute of benevolence. 
 But Seang was of all men the most destitute of benev- 
 lence, and Shun raised him to be the prince of Yew-pe ; 
 — of what crimes had the people of Yew-pe been guilty? 
 Does a benevolent man really act thus ? In the case 
 of other men, he cut them off; in the case of his 
 brother, he raised him to be a prince." Mencius replied, 
 " A benevolent man does not lay up anger, nor cherish 
 resentment against his brother, but only regards him 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 127 
 
 with affection and love. Regarding him with affection, 
 he wishes him to be honourable : regarding him with 
 love, he wishes him to be rich. The appointment of 
 Seany to be the prince of Yew-pe was to enrich and en- 
 noble him. If while Shun himself was emperor, his 
 brother had been a common man, could he have l3een' 
 said to regard him with affection and love ? " 
 
 3. Wan Chang said, "I venture to ask what you 
 mean by saying that some supposed that it was a ban- 
 ishing of Seang ? " Meneius replied, " Seang could do 
 nothing in his State. The emperor appointed an offi- 
 cer to administer its government, and to pay over its 
 revenues to him. This treatment of him led to its be- 
 ing said that he was banished. How indeed could he 
 be allowed the means of oppressing the people ? Nev- 
 ertheless, Shun wished to be continually seeing him, 
 and, by this arrangement, he came incessantly to court, 
 as is signified in that expression — ' He did not wait for 
 the rendering of tribute, or affairs of government, to 
 receive the prince of Yew-pe.' " 
 
 IV. 1. Heen-k^ew Mung asked Meneius, saying, 
 ^ There is the saying, — ^ A scholar of complete virtue 
 may not be employed as a minister by his sovereign, 
 nor treated as a son by his father. Shun stood with 
 his face to the south, and Yaou, at the head of all the 
 princes, appeared before him at court with his face to 
 the north. Koo-sow also did the same. When Shun 
 saw Koo-sow, his countenance became discomposed. 
 Confucius said. At this time, in what a perilous condi- 
 tion was the empire ! Its state was indeed unsettled' — 
 I do not know whether what is here said really took 
 place." Meneius replied, "No. These are not the 
 words of a superior man. They are the sayings of an 
 uncultivated person of the east of Ts^e. When Yaou 
 was old. Shun was associated with him in the govern- 
 ment. It is said in the Canon of Yaou, ' After twenty 
 
128 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 and eight years, the Highly Meritorious one deceased. 
 The people acted as if they were mourning for a father 
 or mother for three years, and up to the borders of the 
 four seas every sound of music was hushed/ Confucius 
 said, ' There are not two suns in the sky, nor two sov- 
 ereigns over the people/ Shun having been emperor, 
 and, moreover, leading on all the princes to observe 
 the three years' mourning for Yaou, there would have 
 been in this case two emperors." 
 
 2. Heen-k^ew Mung said, " On the point of Shun's 
 not treating Yaou as a minister, I have received your 
 instructions. But it is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' Under the whole heaven. 
 Every spot is the sovereign's ground ; 
 To the borders of the land. 
 Every individual is the sovereign's minister ; ' 
 — and Shun had become emperor. I venture to ask 
 how it was that Koo-sow was not one of his ministers." 
 Mencius answered, " That ode is not to be understood 
 in that way : — it speaks of being laboriously engaged 
 in the sovereign's business, so as not to be able to nour- 
 ish one's parents, as if the author said, ' This is all the 
 sovereign's business, and how is it that I alone am sup- 
 posed to have ability, and am made to toil in it?' 
 Therefore, those who explain the odes, may not insist 
 on one term so as to do violence to a sentence, nor on 
 a sentence so as to do violence to the general scope. 
 They must try with their thoughts to meet that scope, 
 and then we shall apprehend it. If we simply take 
 single sentences, there is that in the ode called ' The 
 Milky Way,'— 
 
 ' Of the black haired people of the remnant of Chow, 
 There is not half a one left.' . 
 If it had been really as thus expressed, then not an in- 
 dividual of the people of Chow was left. 
 
 3. " Of all which a filial son can attain to, there is 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 129 
 
 nothing greater than his honouring his parents. And 
 of what can be attained to in the honouring one's par 
 rents, there is nothing greater than the nourishing 
 them with the whole empire. Koo-sow was the father 
 of the emperor ; — this was the height of honour. Shun 
 nourished him with the whole empire ; — this was the 
 height of nourishing. In this was verified the senti- 
 ment in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' Ever cherishing filial thoughts, 
 Those filial thoughts became an example to after 
 ages,^ 
 
 4. "It is said in the Book of History, ^Eeverently 
 performing his duties, he waited on Koo-sow, and was 
 full of veneration and awe. Koo-sow also believed him 
 and conformed to virtue.' — This is the true case of the 
 scholar of complete virtue not being treated as a son by 
 his father." 
 
 y. 1. Wan Chang said, " Was it the case that Yaou 
 gave the empire to Shun ? " Mencius said, " No. The 
 emperor cannot give the empire to another." 
 
 2. " Yes ; — but Shun had the empire. Who gave it 
 to him ? " " Heaven gave it to him," was the answer. 
 
 3. "^Heaven gave it to him': — did Heaven confer 
 its appointment on him with specific injunctions ? " 
 
 4. Mencius replied, "No. Heaven does not speak. 
 It simply showed its will by his personal conduct, and 
 his conduct of affairs." 
 
 5. " ' It showed its will by his personal conduct and 
 his conduct of affairs ' : — how was this ? " Mencius' an- 
 swer was, " The empire can present a man to Heaven, 
 but he cannot make Heaven give that man the empire. 
 A prince can present a man to the emperor, but he can- 
 not cause the emperor to make that man a prince. A 
 great officer can present a man to his prince, but he can- 
 not cause the prince to make that man a great officer. 
 Yaou presented Shim to Heaven, and the people ac- 
 
130 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 cepted him. Therefore I say, ^ Heaven does not speak. 
 It simply indicated its will by his personal conduct and 
 his conduct of affairs.' " 
 
 6. Chang said, " I presume to ask how it was that 
 Taou presented Shun to heaven, and Heaven accepted 
 him ; and that he exhibited him to the people, and the 
 people accepted him." Menciiis replied, " He caused 
 him to preside over the sacrifices, and all the spirits 
 were well pleased with them ; — thus Heaven accepted 
 him. He caused him to preside over the conduct of 
 affairs, and affairs were well administered, so that the 
 people reposed under him ; — thus the people accepted 
 him. Heaven gave the empire to him. The people 
 gave it to him. Therefore I said, ' The emperor cannot 
 give the empire to another.' 
 
 7. " Shun assisted Yaou in the government for twenty 
 and eight years ; — this was more than man could have 
 done, and was from Heaven. After the death of Yaou, 
 when the three years' mourning was completed, Shun 
 withdrew from the son of Yaou to the south of South 
 river. The princes of the empire, however, repairing 
 to court, went not to the son of Yaou, but they went 
 to Shun. Litigants went not to the son of Yaou, but 
 they went to Shun. Singers sang not the son of Yaou, 
 but they sang Shun. Therefore I said, ' Heaven gave 
 him the empire.* It was after these things that he went 
 to the Middle kingdom, and occupied the emperor's 
 seat. If he had, byf^ore these things, taken up his resi- 
 dence in the palace of Yaou, and had applied pressure 
 to the son of Yaou, it would have been an act of usurp- 
 ation, and not the gift of Heaven. 
 
 8. " This sentiment is expressed in the words of The 
 great Declaration, — ' Heaven sees according as my peo- 
 ple see ; Heaven hears according as my people hear.' " 
 
 YL 1. Wan Chang asked Mencius saying, " People 
 say, ' When the disposal of the empire came to Yu, his 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 131 
 
 virtue was inferior to that of Yaou and Shun, and he 
 transmitted it not to the worthiest but to his son/ 
 Was it so ? " Mencius rephed, " No ; it was not so. 
 When Heaven gave the empire to the worthiest, it 
 was given to the worthiest. When Heaven gave it to 
 the son of the preceding emperor, it was given to him. 
 Shun presented Yu to Heaven. Seventeen years 
 elapsed, and Shun died. When the three years' mourn- 
 ing was expired, Yu withdrew from the son of Shun to 
 Yang-shing. The people of the empire followed him 
 just as after the death of Yaou, instead of following his 
 son, they had followed Shun. Yu presented Yih to 
 Heaven. Seven years elapsed, and Yu died. When 
 the three years' mourning was expired, Yih withdrew 
 from the son of Yu to the north of mount Ke. The 
 princes, repairing to court, went not to Yih, but they 
 went to K^e. Litigants did not go to Yih, but they 
 went to K^e, saying, ' He is the son of our sovereign ; ' 
 the singers did not sing Yih, but they sang K^e, saying, 
 ^ He is the son of our sovereign.' 
 
 2. " That Tan-choo was not equal to Ms father, and 
 Shun's son not equal to him ; that Shun assisted Yaou, 
 and Yu assisted Shun, for many years, conferring ben- 
 efits on the people for a long time ; that thus the length 
 of time during which Shun, Yu, and Yih, assisted in 
 the government was so different ; and that the sons of 
 the emperors were — the one a man of talents and vir- 
 tue, and the other two inferior to their fathers : — all 
 this was from Heaven, and what could not be produced 
 by man. That which is done without man's doing it is 
 from Heaven. That which happens without man's caus- 
 ing it to happen is from the ordinance of Heaven. 
 
 3. "In the case of a private individual obtaining the 
 empire, there must be in him virtue equal to that of 
 Shun or Yu, and moreover there must be the present- 
 ing of him to Heaven by the preceding emperor. It 
 
132 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 was on this account that Confucius did not obtain the 
 empire. 
 
 4. " When the empire is possessed by natural succes- 
 sion, the emperor who is displaced by Heaven must be 
 like Kee or Chow. It was on this account that Yih, E 
 Yin, and Chow-kung did not obtain the empire. 
 
 6. " E Yin assisted T^ang so that he became sovereign 
 over the empire. After the demise of T^ang, Tae-ping 
 having died before he could be appointed emperor, 
 Wae-ping reigned two years, and Chung-jin four. T^ae- 
 kea was then turning upside down the statutes of T^ang, 
 when E Yin placed him in T^ung, for three years. There 
 T>ae-kea repented of his errors, was contrite, and re- 
 formed himself In T^ung he came to dwell in benev- 
 olence and moved towards righteousness, during those 
 three years, listening to the lessons given to him by E 
 Yhi. Then E Tin again returned with him to Po. 
 
 6. "Chow-kung's not getting the empire was like 
 the case of Yih and the throne of Hea, or like that of 
 E Yin and the throne of Yin. 
 
 7. " Confucius said, ' T^ang and Yu resigned the 
 throne to their worthy 7ninisters. The sovereign of Hea 
 and those of Yin and Chow transmitted it to their sons. 
 The principle of righteousnesss was the same in all the 
 cases' " 
 
 VII. 1. Wan Chang asked Meneius, saying, " Peo- 
 ple say that E Yin sought an introduction to T^ang by 
 his knowledge of cookery. Was it so ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " No it was not so. E Yin was a 
 farmer in the lands of the prince of Sin, delighting in 
 the principles of Yaou and Shun. In any matter con- 
 trary to the righteousness which they prescribed, or 
 contrary to their principles, though he had been offered 
 the empire, he would not have regarded it; though 
 there had been yoked for him a thousand teams of 
 horses, he would not have looked at them. In any mai>- 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. 133 
 
 ter contrary to the righteousness which they prescribed, 
 or contrary to their principles, he would neither have 
 given nor taken a single straw. 
 
 3. " T^ang sent persons with presents of silk to in- 
 treat him to enter his service. With an air of indiffer: 
 ence and self-satisfaction he said, ' What can I do with 
 those silks with which T^ang invites me? Is it not 
 best for me to abide in the channeled fields, and so de- 
 light myself with the principles of Yaou and Shun ? ' 
 
 4. " T^ang thrice sent messengers to invite him. 
 After this, with the change of resolution displayed in 
 his countenance, he spoke in a different style, — ^ Instead 
 of abiding in the channeled fields and thereby delight- 
 ing myself with the principles of Yaou and Shun, had 
 I not better make this prince a prince like Yaou or 
 Shun, and this people like the people of Yaou or Shun? 
 Had I not better in my own person see these things for 
 myself? 
 
 5. " ' Heaven's plan in the production of mankind is 
 this : — that they who are first informed should instruct 
 those who are later in being informed, and they who 
 first apprehend principles should instruct those who are 
 slower to do so. I am one of Heaven's people who 
 have first apprehended ; — I will take these principles 
 and instruct this people in them. If I do not instruct 
 them, who will do so ? ' 
 
 6. " He thought that among all the people of the 
 empire, even the private men and women, if there were 
 any who did not enjoy such benefits as Yaou and Shun 
 conferred, it was as if he himself pushed them into a 
 ditch. He took upon himself the heavy charge of the 
 empire in this way, and therefore he went to T^ang, and 
 pressed upon him the subject of attacking Hea and sav- 
 ing the people. 
 
 7. " I have not heard of one who bent himself, and 
 at the same time made others straight; — how much 
 
 16 
 
134 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 less could one disgrace himself^ and thereby rectify the 
 whole empire ? The actions of the sages have been 
 different. Some have kept remote from court, and 
 some have drawn near to them ; some have left their 
 offices, and some have not done so: — that to which 
 those different courses all turn is simply the keeping of 
 their persons pure. 
 
 8. " I have heard that E Yin sought an introduction 
 to T^ang by the doctrines of Yaou and Shun. I have 
 not heard that he did so by his knowledge of cookery. 
 
 9. " In the ' Instructions of E/ it is said, ' Heaven de- 
 stroying Kee commenced attacking him in the palace 
 of Muh. I commenced in Po.' " 
 
 yill. 1. Wan Chang asked J/encms, saying, "Some 
 say that Confucius, when he was in Wei, lived with the 
 ulcer-doctor, and when he was in Ts^e, with the attend- 
 ant, Tseih Hwan ; — was it so ? " Mencius replied, "No ; 
 it was not so. Those are the inventions of men fond 
 of strange things. 
 
 2. " When he was in Wei, he lived with Yen Ch^ow- 
 yew. The wives of the officer Me and Tsze-loo were 
 sisters, and Me told Tsze-loo, ' If Confucius will lodge 
 with me, he may attain to the dignity of a high noble 
 of Wei.' Tsze-loo informed Confucius of this, and he 
 said, ' That is as ordered hy Heaveti! Confucius went 
 into office according to propriety, and retired from it 
 according to righteousness. In regard to his obtaining 
 office or not obtaining it, he said, ^ That is as ordered.' 
 But if he had lodged with the attendant Tseih Hwan, 
 that would neither have been according to righteous- 
 ness, nor any ordering of Heaven. 
 
 3. " When Confucius, being dissatisfied in Loo and 
 Wei, had left those States, he met with the attempt of 
 Hwan, the Master of the horse, of Sung, to intercept 
 and kill him. At that time, though he was in circum- 
 stances of distress, he lodged with the city-master 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. 135 
 
 Ching, who was then a minister of Chow, the prince of 
 Ch^in. 
 
 4. "I have heard that the characters of ministers 
 about court may be discerned from those whom they 
 entertain^ and those of stranger officers, from those 
 with whom they lodge. If Confucius had lodged with 
 the ulcer-doctor, and with the attendant Tseih Hwan, 
 how could he have been Confucius ? " 
 
 IX. 1. Wan Chang asked Mencius, " Some say that 
 Pih-le He sold himself to a cattle-keeper of Ts'in, for 
 the skins of five sheep, and fed his oxen, in order to 
 find an introduction to the duke Muh of Ts^in ; — is this 
 the case ? " Mencius said, " No ; it was not so. This 
 story was invented by men fond of strange things. 
 
 2. " Pih-le He was a man of Yu. The people of 
 Tsin, by the inducement of a gem of Chuy-keih, and 
 four horses of the Keue breed, borrowed a passage 
 through Yu to attack Kih. On that occasion, Kung 
 Chi-k^e remonstrated against granting their request, and 
 Pih-le He did not remonstrate. 
 
 3. " When he knew that the duke of Yu was not to 
 be remonstrated with, and, leaving that State, went to 
 Ts^n, he had reached the age of seventy. If by that 
 time he did not know that it would be a mean thing 
 to seek an introduction to the duke Muh of Ts'in by 
 feeding oxen, could he be called wise ? But not remon- 
 strating where it was of no use to remonstrate, could 
 he be said not to be wise ? Knowing that the duke of 
 Yu would be ruined, and leaving him before that event, 
 he cannot be said not to have been wise. Being then 
 advanced in Ts^in, he knew that the duke of Muh was 
 one with whom he would enjoy a field for action, and 
 became minister to him ; — could he, acting thus, be said 
 not to be wise ? Having become chief minister of 
 Ts^in, he made his prince distinguished throughout the 
 empire, and worthy of being handed down to future 
 
136 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 ages ; — could he have done this, if he had not been a 
 man of talents and virtue ? As to selling himself in 
 order to accomplish all the aims of his prince, even a 
 villager who had a regard for himself would not do 
 such a thing, and shall we say that a man of talents 
 and virtue did it ? " 
 
 BOOK V. 
 WAN CHANG. PAET H. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Mencius said, " Pih-e would not al- 
 low his eyes to look on a bad sight, nor his ears to listen 
 to a bad sound. He would not serve a prince whom 
 he did not approve, nor command a people whom he 
 did not esteem. In a time of good government he 
 took office, and on the occurrence of confusion he re- 
 tired. He could not bear to dwell either in a court 
 from which a lawless government emanated, or among 
 lawless people. He considered his being in the same 
 place with a villager, as if he were to sit amid mud and 
 coals with his court robes and court cap. In the time 
 of Chow he dwelt on the shores of the North sea, wait- 
 ing the purification of the empire. Therefore when 
 men now hear the character of Pih-e, the corrupt be- 
 come pure, and the weak acquire determination. 
 
 2. " E Yin said, ' Whom may I not serve ? My serv- 
 ing him makes him my sovereign. What people may 
 I not command ? My commanding them makes them 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 137 
 
 my people/ In a time of good govermnent he took 
 office, and when confusion prevailed, he also took office. 
 He said, ^ Heaven's plan in the production of mankind 
 is this: — that they who are first informed should in- 
 struct those who are later in being informed, and they 
 who first apprehend principles . should instruct those 
 who are slower in doing so. I am the one of Heaven's 
 people who has first apprehended ; — I will take these 
 principles and instruct the people in them.' He thought 
 that among all the people of the empire, even the com- 
 mon men and women, if there were any who did not 
 share in the enjoyment of such benefits as Yaou and 
 Shun conferred, it was as if he himself pushed them 
 into a ditch; — for he took upon himself the heavy 
 charge of the empire. 
 
 3. " Hwuy of Lew-hea was not ashamed to serve au 
 impure prince, nor did he think it low to be an inferior 
 officer. When advanced to employment, he did not 
 conceal his virtue, hut made it a point to carry out his 
 principles. When dismissed and left without office, he 
 yet did not murmur. When straightened by poverty, 
 he yet did not grieve. When thrown into the compa- 
 ny of village people, he was quite at ease and could 
 not bear to leave them. He had a saying, ' You are 
 you, and I am I. Although you stand by my side with 
 breast and arms bare, or with your body naked, how 
 can you defile me ? ' Therefore when men now hear 
 the character of Hwuy of Lew-hea, the mean become 
 generous, and the niggardly become liberal. 
 
 4. "When Confucius was leaving Ts^e, he strained 
 off with his hand the water in which his rice was be- 
 ing rinsed, took the rice, and went away. When he 
 left Loo, he said, ' I will set out by and by : ' — it was 
 right he should leave the country of his parents in this 
 way. When it was proper to go away quickly, he did 
 so ', when it was proper to delay, he did so -, when it 
 
138 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 was proper to keep in retirement, he did so ; when it 
 was proper to go into office, he did so : — this was Con- 
 fucius." 
 
 5. Mencius said, " Pih-e among the sages was the 
 pure one; E Yin was the one most inchned to take of- 
 fice ; Hwuy of Lew-hea was the accommodating one ; 
 and Confucius was the timeous one. 
 
 6. " In Confucius we have what is called a complete 
 concert. A complete concert is when the large bell 
 proclaims the commencement of the music, and the ring- 
 ing stone proclaims its close. The metal sound com- 
 mences the blended harmony of all the instruments, 
 and the winding up with the stone terminates that 
 blended harmony. The commencing that harmony is 
 the work of wisdom. The terminating it is the work 
 of sageness. 
 
 7. " As a comparison for wisdom, we may liken it to 
 skill, and as a comparison for sageness, we may liken it 
 to strength ; — as in the case of shooting at a mark a 
 hundred paces distant. That you reach it is owing to 
 your strength, but that you hit the mark is not owing 
 to your strength." 
 
 II. 1. Pih-kung E asked Mencius, saying, " What 
 was the arrangement of dignities and emoluments de- 
 termined by the house of Chow?" 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " The particulars of that arrange- 
 ment cannot be learned, for the princes, disliking them 
 as injurious to themselves, have all made away with the 
 records of them. Still I have learned the general out> 
 line of them. 
 
 3. " The EMPEROR constituted one dignity ; the kung 
 one ; the how one ; the pih one ; and the tsze and the 
 NAN each one of equal rank : — altogether making five 
 degrees of dignit}^ The sovereign again constituted 
 one dignity ; the chief minister one ; the great officers 
 one ; the scholars of the first class one ; those of the 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 139 
 
 MIDDLE CLASS One ; and those of the lowest class one : — 
 altogether making six degrees of dignity. 
 
 4. " To the emperor there was allotted a territory of 
 a thousand le square. A Kung and a How had each a 
 hundred le square. A Pih had seventy le, and a Tsze- 
 and a Nan had each fifty le. The assignments alto- 
 gether were of four amounts. Where the territory did 
 not amount to fifty le, the chief could not have access 
 himself to the emperor. His land was attached to some 
 How-ship, and was called a Foo-yung. 
 
 5. " The chief ministers of the emperor received an 
 amount of territory equal to that of a How ; a great 
 officer received as much as a Pih ; and a scholar of the 
 first class as much as a Tsze or a Nan. 
 
 6. " In a great State, where the territory was a hun- 
 dred le square, the sovereign had ten times as much in- 
 come as the chief ministers ; a chief minister four times 
 as much as a great officer; a great officer twice as 
 much as scholar of the first class ; a scholar of the first 
 class twice as much as one of the middle ; a scholar of 
 the middle class twice as much as one of the lowest ; 
 the scholars of the lowest class, and such of the com- 
 mon people as were employed about the government 
 offices, had the same emolument ; — as much, namely as 
 was equal to what they would have made by tilling the 
 fields. 
 
 7. " In a State of the next order, where the territory 
 was seventy le square, the sovereign had ten times as 
 much revenue as the chief minister ; a chief minister 
 three times as much as a great officer ; a great officer 
 twice as much as a scholar of the first class ; a scholar 
 of the first class twice as much as one of the middle ; 
 a scholar of the middle class twice as much as one of 
 the lowest; the scholars of the lowest class, and such 
 of the common people as were employed about the gov- 
 ernment offices, had the same emolument ; — as much. 
 
140 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 namely^ as was equal to what they would have made by 
 tilling the fields. 
 
 8. " In a small State, where the territory was fifty le 
 square, the sovereign had ten times as much revenue 
 as the chief minister ; a chief minister had twice as 
 much as a great officer ; a great officer twice as much 
 as a scholar of the highest class ; a scholar of the high- 
 est class twice as much as one of the middle ; a scholar 
 of the middle class twice as much as one of the lowest ; 
 scholars of the lowest class, and such of the common 
 people as were employed about the government offices, 
 had the same emolument ; — as much, namely, as was 
 equal to what they would have made by tilling the 
 fields. 
 
 9. " As to those who tilled the fields, each husband- 
 man received a hundred mow. When those mow were 
 manured, the best husbandmen of the highest class 
 supported nine individuals, and those ranking next to 
 them supported eight. The best husbandmen of the 
 second class supported seven individuals, and those 
 ranking next to them supported six ; while husband- 
 men of the lowest class only supported five. The sal- 
 aries of the common people who were employed about 
 the government offices were regulated according to 
 these differences." 
 
 III. 1. Wan Chang asked Mendus saying, " I ven- 
 ture to ask the principles of friendship." Mencius re- 
 plied, " Friendship should be maintained without any 
 presumption on the ground of one's superior age, or 
 station, or the circumstances of his relatives. Friend- 
 ship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does 
 not admit of assumptions of superiority. 
 
 2. '' There was Mang Heen, chief of a family of a 
 hundred chariots. He had five friends, namely Yo- 
 ching K^ew, Muh Chung, and three others whose names 
 I have forgotten. With those five men Heen main- 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 141 
 
 tained a friendship, because they thought nothing about 
 his family. If they had thought about his family, he 
 would not have maintained his friendship with them. 
 
 3. " Not only has the chief of a family of a hundred 
 chariots acted thus. The same thing was exemplified 
 by the sovereign of a small State. The duke Hwuy of 
 Pe said, ' I treat Tsze-sze as my master, and Yen Pan 
 as my friend. As to Wang Shun and Chiang Seih, they 
 serve me.' 
 
 4. "Not only has the sovereign of a small State 
 acted thus. The same thing has been exemplified by 
 the sovereign of a large State. There was the duke 
 P^ing of Tsin with Hae T^ang : — when Tang told him 
 to come into his house, he came ; when he told him to 
 be seated, he sat ; when he told him to eat, he ate. 
 There might be only coarse rice and soup of vegeta- 
 bles, but he always ate his fill, not daring to do other- 
 wise. Here, however, he stopped, and went no farther. 
 He did not call him to share any of Heaven's places, 
 or to govern any of Heaven's offices, or to partake of 
 any of Heaven's emoluments. His conduct was but a 
 scholar's honouring virtue and talents, not the honour- 
 ing them proper to a king or a duke. 
 
 5. " Shun went up to court and saw the emperor, who 
 lodged him as his son-in-law in the second palace. The 
 emperor also enjoyed there Shun's hospitality. Alter- 
 nately he was host and guest. Here was the emperor 
 maintaining friendship with a private man. 
 
 6. " Respect shown by inferiors to superiors is called 
 giving to the noble the observance due to rank. Re- 
 spect shown by superiors to inferiors is called giving 
 honour to talents and virtue. The righteousness in 
 each case is the same." 
 
 lY. 1. Wan Chang asked Mencius, saying, " I ven- 
 ture to ask what feeling of the mind is expressed in the 
 
142 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 presents of friendship." Mencius replied, " The feeling 
 of respect." 
 
 2. " How is it," pursued Chang, "that the declining 
 a present is accounted disrespectful?" The answer 
 was, " When one of honourable rank presents a gift, to 
 say in the mind, ' Was the way in which he got this 
 righteous or not ? I must know this before I can re- 
 ceive it ; ' — this is deemed disrespectful, and therefore 
 presents are not declined." 
 
 3. Wan Chang asked again, "When one does not 
 take on him in so many express words to refuse the 
 gift, but having declined it in his heart, saying, ' It was 
 taken by him unrighteously from the people,' and then 
 assigns some other reason for not receiving it; — is not 
 this a proper course ? " Mencius said, " When the do- 
 nor offers it on a ground of reason, and his manner of 
 doing so is according to propriety; — in such a case Con- 
 fucius would have received it." 
 
 4. Wan Chang said, " Here now is one who stops and 
 robs people outside the gates of the city. He offers 
 his gift on a ground of reason, and does so in a man- 
 ner according to propriety ; — would the reception of it 
 so acquired by robbery be proper ? " Mencius replied, 
 " It would not be proper. In ' The Announcement to 
 K^ang' it is said, ^ When men kill others, and roll over 
 their bodies to take their property, being reckless and 
 fearless of death, among all the people there are none 
 but detest them : ' — thus, such characters are to be put 
 to death, without waiting to give them warning. Yin 
 received this rule from Hea, and Chow received it from 
 Yin. It cannot be questioned, and to the present day 
 is clearly acknowledged. How can the gift of a robber 
 be received ? " 
 
 5. Chang said, " The princes of the present day take 
 from their people just as a robber despoils his victim. 
 Yet if they put a good face of propriety on their gifts, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 143 
 
 then the superior man receives them. I venture to 
 ask how you explain this." Mencius answered, " Do 
 you think that, if there should arise a truly imperial 
 sovereign, he would collect the princes of the present 
 day, and put them all to death ? Or would he admon-_ 
 ish them, and then, on their not changing their ways, 
 put them to death? Indeed, to call every one who 
 takes what does not properly belong to him a robber, 
 is pushing a point of resemblance to the utmost, and 
 insisting on the most refined idea of righteousness. 
 When Confucius was in of&ce in Loo, the people strug- 
 gled together for the game taken in hunting, and he 
 also did the same. If that struggling for the captured 
 game was proper, how much more may the gifts of the 
 princes be received ! " 
 
 6. Chang urged, " Then, are we to suppose that when 
 Confucius held ofl&ce, it was not with the view to carry 
 his doctrines into practice ? " " It was with that view," 
 Mencius replied, and Chang rejoined, " If the practice 
 of his doctrines was his business, what had he to do with 
 that struggling for the captured game ? " Mencius 
 said, " Confucius first rectified his vessels of sacrifice ac- 
 cording to the registers, and did not fill them so rectified 
 with food gathered from every quarter." " But why 
 did he not go away ? " " He wished to make a trial 0/ 
 carrying his doctrines into practice. When that trial 
 was sufficient to show they could be practised, and they 
 were still not practised, then he went away, and thus 
 it was that he never completed in any State a residence 
 of three years. 
 
 7. " Confucius took office when he saw that the prac- 
 tice of his doctrines was likely ; he took office when 
 his reception was proper ; he took office when he was 
 supported by the State. In the case of his relation to 
 Ke Hwan, he took office, seeing that the practice of his 
 doctrines was likely. With the duke Ling of Wei he 
 
144 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 took office, because his reception was proper. With the 
 duke Heaou of Wei he took office, because he was main- 
 tained by the State." 
 
 Y. 1. Mencius said, " Office is not sought on account 
 of poverty, yet there are times when one seeks office 
 on that account. Marriage is not entered into for the 
 sake of being attended to by the wife, yet there are 
 times when one marries on that account. 
 
 2. " He who takes office on account of his poverty 
 must decline an honourable situation and occupy a low 
 one ; he must decline riches and prefer to be poor. 
 
 3. " What office will be in harmony with this declin- 
 ing an honourable situation, and occupying a low one, 
 this declining riches and preferring to be poor ? Such 
 an one as that of guarding the gates, or beating the 
 watchman's stick. 
 
 4. " Confucius was once a keeper of stores, and he 
 then said, ' My calculations must all be right. That is 
 all I have to care about.' He was once in charge of 
 the public fields, and he then said, ^The oxen and sheep 
 must be fat and strong, and superior. That is all I 
 have to care about.' 
 
 5. " When one is in a low situation, to speak of high 
 matters is a crime. When a scholar stands in a prince's 
 court, and his principles are not carried into practice, it 
 is a shame to him." 
 
 VI. 1. Wan Chang said, " What is the reason that 
 a scholar does not accept a stated support from a 
 prince ? " Mencius replied, " He does not presume to 
 do so. When a prince loses his State, and then accepts 
 a stated support from another prince, this is in accord- 
 ance with propriety. But for a scholar to accept such 
 support from any of the princes is not in accordance 
 with propriety." 
 
 2. Wan Chang said, "If the prince send him a pres- 
 ent of grain for mstance, does he accept it?" "He 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 145 
 
 accepts it," answered Mencius, " On what principle of 
 Tightness does he accept it?" "Why — the prince 
 ought to assist the people in their necessities." 
 
 3. Chang pursued, " Why is it that the scholar will 
 tlms accept the prince's help, but will not accept his 
 pay ? " The answer was, " He does not presume to do 
 so." " I venture to ask why he does not presume to 
 do so." "Even the keepers of the gates, with their 
 watchmen's sticks, have their regular offices for which 
 they can take their support from^ the prince. He who 
 without a regular office should receive the pay of the 
 prince must be deemed disrespectful." 
 
 4. Chang asked, "If the prince sends a scholar a 
 present, he accepts it. I do not know whether this 
 present may be constantly repeated." Mencius an- 
 swered, " There was the conduct of the duke Muh to 
 Tsze-sze — He made frequent inquiries after Tsze-sze's 
 health, and sent him frequent presents of cooked meat. 
 Tsze-sze was displeased, and at last having motioned to 
 the messenger to go outside the great door, he bowed 
 his head to the ground with his face to the north, did 
 obeisance twice, and declined the gift, saying, 'From 
 this time forth I shall know that the prince supports 
 me as a dog or a horse.' And from that time a servant 
 was no more sent with the presents. When a prince 
 professes to be pleased with a man of talents and vir- 
 tue, and can neither promote him to office, nor support 
 him in the proper way, can he be said to be pleased 
 with him?" 
 
 5. Chang said, " I venture to ask how the sovereign 
 of a State, when he wishes to support a superior man, 
 must proceed, that he may be said to do so in the prop- 
 er w^ay ? " Mencius answered, " At first, the present 
 must be offered with the prince's commission, and the 
 scholar making obeisance twice with his head bowed to 
 the ground will receive it. But after this the store- 
 
146 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 « 
 
 keeper will continue to send grain, and the master of 
 the kitchen to send meat, presenting it as if without 
 the prince's express commission. Tsze-sze considered 
 that the meat from the prince's caldron, giving him the 
 annoyance of constantly doing obeisance, was not the 
 way to support a superior man. 
 
 6. " There was Yaou's conduct to Shun : — He caused 
 his nine sons to serve him, and gave him his two 
 daughters in marriage ; he caused the various ofiicers, 
 oxen and sheep, storehouses and granaries, all to be 
 prepared to support Shun amid the channeled fields, 
 and then he raised him to the most exalted situation. 
 From this we have the expression — ' The honouring of 
 virtue and talents proper to a king or a duke.' " 
 
 VII. 1. Wan Chang said, '' I venture to ask what 
 principle of righteousness is involved in a scholar's 
 not going to see the princes." Mencius replied, "A 
 scholar residing in the city, is called ' a minister of the 
 market-place and well,' and one residing in the country 
 is called a ' a minister of the grass and plants.' In both 
 cases he is a common man, and it is the rule of propri- 
 ety that common men, who have not presented the in- 
 troductory present and become ministers, should not 
 presume to have interviews vrith the prince." 
 
 2. Wan Chang said, " If a common man is called to 
 perform any service, he goes and performs it ; — how is 
 it that a scholar, when the prince, wishing to see him, 
 calls him to his presence, refuses to go ? " Mencius re- 
 plied, " It is right to go and perform the service ; it 
 would not be right to go and see the prince." 
 
 3. " And," added Mencius, " on what account is it 
 that the prince wishes to see the scholar f " '' Because 
 of his extensive information, or because of his talents 
 and virtue," was the reply. " If because of his exten- 
 sive information," said Mencius, " such a person is a 
 teacher, and the emperor would not call him; — how 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 147 
 
 much less may any of the princes do so ? If because 
 of his talents and virtue, then I have not heard of any 
 one wishing to see a person with those qualities, and 
 calling him to his presence. 
 
 4. "During the frequent interviews of the duke Muh_ 
 with Tsze-sze, he one day said to him, ' Anciently, 
 princes of a thousand chariots have yet been on terms 
 of friendship with scholars ; — what do you think of 
 such an intercourse?^ Tsze-sze was displeased, and said, 
 ' The ancients have said. The scholar should he served : 
 how should they have merely said that he should he 
 made a friend off ' When Tsze-sze was thus displeased, 
 did he not say within himself — ' With regard to our 
 stations, you are sovereign, and I am subject. How 
 can I presume to be on terms of friendship with my 
 sovereign ? With regard to our virtue, you ought to 
 make me your master. How may you be on terms of 
 friendship with me ? ' Thus, when a prince of a thou- 
 sand chariots sought to be on terms of friendship with 
 a scholar, he could not obtain his wish : — How much less 
 could he call him to his presence ! 
 
 5 " The duke King of Ts^e, once, when he was hunt- 
 ing, called his forester to him by a flag. The forester 
 would not come, and the duke was going to kill him. 
 With reference to this incident, Confucius said, ' The de- 
 termined officer never forgets that his end may 6e in a 
 ditch or a stream ; the brave officer never forgets that 
 he may lose his head.' What was it in the forester that 
 Confucius thus approved ? He approved his not going 
 to the duke, when summoned by the article which was 
 not appropriate to him." 
 
 6. Chang said, " May I ask with what a forester 
 should be summoned?" Mencius replied, "With a 
 skin cap. A common man should he summoned with a 
 plain banner ; a scholar who has taken office, with one 
 having dragons embroidered on it ; and a great officer, 
 
148 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 with one having feathers suspended from the top of the 
 staff. 
 
 7. " When the forester was summoned with the arti- 
 cle appropriate to the summoning of a great officer, he 
 would have died rather than presume to go. If a com- 
 mon man were summoned with the article appropriate 
 to the summoning of a scholar, how could he presume 
 to go ? How much more may we expect this refusal 
 to go, when a man of talents and virtue is summoned 
 in a way which is inappropriate to his character 1 
 
 8. " When a prince wishes to see a man of talents 
 and virtue, and does not take the proper course to get 
 his wish, it is as if he wished him to enter his palace, 
 and shut the door against him. Now, righteousness is 
 the way, and propriety is the door, but it is only the 
 superior man who can follow this way, and go out and 
 in by this door. It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ^ The way to Chow is level like a whetstone, 
 And straight as an arrow. 
 The officers tread it, 
 And the lower people see it.' " 
 
 9. Wan Chang said, " When Confucius received the 
 prince's message calling him, he went without waiting 
 for his carriage. And so — did Confucius do wrong ? " 
 Mencius replied, " Confucius was in office, and had its 
 appropriate duties. And moreover, he was summoned 
 on the business of his office." 
 
 VIII. 1. Mencius said to Wan Chang, " The scholar 
 whose virtue is most distinguished in a village shall 
 make friends of all the virtuous scholars in the village. 
 The scholar whose virtue is most distinguished through- 
 out a State shall make friends of all the virtuous 
 scholars of that State. The scholar whose virtue is 
 most distinguished throughout the empire shall make 
 friends of all the virtuous scholars of the empire. 
 
 2. " When a scholar feels that his friendship with all 
 
WOKKS OF MENCIUS. 149 
 
 the virtuous scholars of the empire is not sufficient to 
 satisfy Mm, he proceeds to ascend to consider the men 
 of antiquity. He repeats their poems, and reads their 
 books, and as he does not know what they were as 
 men, to ascertain this, he considers their history. This 
 is to ascend and make friends of the men of antiquity. 
 
 IX. 1. The king Suen of Ts^e asked about the of- 
 fice of chief ministers. Mencius said, " Which chief 
 ministers is your majesty asking about ? " " Are there 
 any differences among them ? " inquired the king. 
 "There are," was the reply. "There are the chief 
 ministers who are noble and relatives of the prince, and 
 there are those who are of a different surname." The 
 king said, " I beg to ask about the chief ministers who 
 are noble and relatives of the prince." Mencius an- 
 swered, " If the prince have great faults, they ought to 
 remonstrate with him, and if he do not listen to them 
 after they have done so again and again, they ought to 
 dethrone him." 
 
 2. The king on this looked moved, and changed 
 countenance. 
 
 3. Mencius said, " Let not your Majesty be offended. 
 You asked me, and I dare not answer but according to 
 truth." 
 
 4. The king's countenance became composed, and he 
 then begged to ask about chief ministers who were of 
 a different surname fro7n the prince, Mencius said, 
 "When the prince has faults, they ought to remonstrate 
 with him, and if he do not listen to them after they 
 have done this again and again, they ought to leave 
 the Stater 
 
 18 
 
150 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 KAOU TSZE. PART I. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The philosopher Kaou said, ^'Mart's 
 nature is like the Tee willow, and righteousness is like a 
 cup or a bowl. The fashioning benevolence and right- 
 eousness out of man's nature is like the making cups 
 and bowls from the Tee willow." 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " Can you, leaving untouched the 
 nature of the willow, make with it cups and bowls ? 
 You must do violence and injury to the willow, before 
 you can make cups and bowls with it. If you must do 
 violence and injury to the willow in order to make cups 
 and bowls with it, on your principles you must in the 
 same way do violence and injury to humanity in order 
 to fashion from it benevolence and righteousness ! 
 Your words, alas ! would certainly lead all men on to 
 reckon benevolence and righteousness to be calamities." 
 
 II. 1. The philosopher Kaou said, " Man's nature is 
 like water whirling round in a corner. Open a passage 
 for it to the east, and it will flow to the east ; open a 
 passage for it to the west, and it will flow to the west. 
 Man's nature is indifierent to good and evil, just as the 
 water is indifierent to the east and west." 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " Water indeed will flow indiffer- 
 ently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently 
 up or down ? The tendency of man's nature to good 
 is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. 
 There are none but have this tendency to goodiyjustas 
 all water flows downwards. 
 
 3. " Now by striking water and causing it to leap up, 
 
WOU^S OF IklENCIUS. 151 
 
 you may make it go over your forehead, and, by dam- 
 ming and leading it, you muy force it up a hill ; — but 
 are such movements according to the nature of water ? 
 It is the force applied which causes them. When men 
 are made to do what is not good, their nature is dealt 
 with in this way." 
 
 III. 1. The philosopher Kaou said, ^^Life is what is 
 to be understood by nature." 
 
 2. Mencius asked him, " Do you say that by nature 
 you mean life, just as you say that white is white ? " 
 " Yes, I do," was the reply. Mencius added, " Is the 
 whiteness of a white feather like that of white snow, 
 and the whiteness of white snow like that of a white 
 gem ? " Kaou again said " Yes." 
 
 3. "Yery well," pursued Mencius. "Is the nature 
 of a dog like the nature of an ox, and the nature of 
 an ox like the nature of a man ? " 
 
 lY. 1. The philosopher Kaou said, " To enjoy food 
 and delight in colours is nature. Benevolence is inter- 
 nal and not external; righteousness is external and 
 not internal." 
 
 2. Mencius asked him, " What is the ground of your 
 saying that benevolence is internal and righteousness 
 external ? " He replied, " There is a man older than I, 
 and I give honour to his age. It is not that there is 
 Jirst in me a principle of such reverence to age. It is 
 just as when there is a white man, and I consider him 
 white ; — according as he is so externally to me. On 
 this account, I pronounce of righteousness that it is ex- 
 ternal." 
 
 3. Mencius said, " There is no difference between our 
 pronouncing of a white horse to be white and our pro- 
 nouncing a white man to be white. But is there no 
 difference between the regard with which we acknowl- 
 edge the age of an old horse and that with which we 
 acknowledge the age of an old man ? And what is it 
 
152 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 which is called righteousness? — the fact of a man's be- 
 ing old ? or the fact of our giving honour to his age ?'* 
 
 4. Kaou said, "There is my younger brother; — I 
 love him. But the younger brother of a man of Ts^in 
 I do not love : that is, the feeling is determined by my- 
 self, and therefore I say that benevolence is internal. 
 Oil the other hand, I give honour to an old man of 
 Ts^oo, and I also give honour to an old man of my own 
 people ; that is, the feeling is determined by the age, 
 and therefore I say that righteousness is external. 
 
 5. Mencius answered him, " Our enjoyment of meat 
 roasted by a man of Ts^in does not differ from our en- 
 joyment of meat roasted by ourselves. Thus, what you 
 insist on takes place also in the case of such things, and 
 will you say likewise that our enjoyment of a roast is 
 external ? " 
 
 V. 1. The disciple Mang Ke asked Kung-too, say- 
 ing, " On what ground is it said that righteousness is 
 internal ? 
 
 2. Kung-too replied, " We therein act out our feeling 
 of respect, and therefore it is said to be internal." 
 
 3. The other objected, " Suppose the case of a vil- 
 lager older than your elder brother by one year, to 
 which of them would you show the greater respect ? " 
 " To my brother," was the reply. " But for which of 
 them would you first pour out wine at a feasts " " For 
 the villager." Mang Ke argued, " JSfow your feeling of 
 reverence rests on the one, and now the honour due to 
 age is rendered to the other ; — this is certainly deter- 
 mined by what is without, and does not proceed from 
 within." 
 
 4. Kung-too was unable to reply, and told the con- 
 versation to Mencius. Mencius said, " You should ask 
 him, ' Which do you respect most, — your uncle, or your 
 younger brother ? ' He will answer, ' My uncle.' Ask 
 him again, ' If your younger brother be personating a 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 153 
 
 dead ancestor, to which do you show the greater re- 
 spect, — to him or to your uncle f ' He will say, ' To my 
 younger brother.' You can go on, ' But where is the 
 respect due, as you said, to your uncle ? ' He will re- 
 ply to this, ^ / show the respect to my younger brother, 
 because of the position which he occupies,' and you can 
 likewise say, ^ So my respect to the villager is because of 
 the position which he occupies. Ordinarily, my respect 
 is rendered to my elder brother ; for a brief season, on 
 occasion, it is rendered to the villager.' " 
 
 5, 3fang Ke heard this and observed, ^^ When respect 
 is due to my uncle, I respect him, and when respect is 
 due to my younger brother, I respect him ; — the thing 
 is certainly determined by what is without, and does 
 not proceed from within." Kung-too replied, " In win- 
 ter we drink things hot, in summer we drink things 
 cold ; and so, on your principle, eating and drinking 
 also depend on what is external ! " 
 
 yi. 1. The disciple Kung-too said, "The philoso- 
 pher Kaou says, ^ Man's nature is neither good nor bad.' 
 
 2. " Some say, ' Man's nature may be made to prac- 
 tise good, and it may be made to practise evil, and ac- 
 cordingly, under Wan and Woo, the people loved what 
 was good, while under Yew and Le, they loved what 
 was cruel.' 
 
 3. " Some say, ' The nature of some is good, and the 
 nature of others is bad. Hence it was that under such 
 a sovereign as Yaou there yet appeared Seang ; that 
 with such a father as Koo-sow there yet appeared 
 Shun ; and that with Chow for their sovereign, and the 
 son of their elder brother besides, there were found 
 K^e, the viscount of Wei, and the prince Pe-kan. 
 
 4. " And now you say, ' The nature is good.' Then 
 are all those wrong ? " 
 
 5. Mencius said, " From the feelings proper to it, it is 
 constituted for the practice of what is good. This is 
 what I mean in saying that the nature is good. 
 
154 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 6. " If men do what is not good, the blame cannot 
 be imputed to their natural powers." 
 
 7. "The feeling of commiseration belongs to all 
 men ; so does that of shame and dislike ; and that of 
 reverence and respect ; and that of approving and dis- 
 approving. The feeling of commiseration implies the 
 principle of benevolence; that of shame and dislike, 
 the principle of righteousness; that of reverence and 
 respect, the principle of propriety ; and that of approv- 
 ing and disapproving, the principle of knowledge. 
 Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowledge, 
 are not infused into us from without. We are certain- 
 ly furnished with them. And a different view is simply 
 from want of reflection. Hence it is said, ' Seek and 
 you will find them. Neglect and you will lose them.' 
 Men differ from one another in regard to them ; — some 
 as much again as others, some five times as much, and 
 some to an incalculable amount: — it is because they can- 
 not carry out fully their natural powers. 
 
 8. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 ' Heaven in producing mankind. 
 
 Gave them their various faculties and relations 
 with their specific laws. 
 
 These are the invariable rules of nature for all 
 to hold. 
 
 And all love this admirable virtue.' 
 Confucius said, ' The maker of this ode knew indeed 
 the principle of our nature ! ' We may thus see that 
 every faculty and relation must have its law, and since 
 there are invariable rules for all to hold, they conse- 
 quently love this admirable virtue," 
 
 VII. 1. Mencius said, " In good years the children 
 of the people are most of them good, while in bad years 
 the most of them abandon themselves to evil. It is 
 not owing to -their natural powers conferred by Heaven 
 that they are thus difierent. The abandonment is 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 155 
 
 owing to the circumstances through which they allow 
 their minds to be ensnared and drowned in evil. 
 
 2. " There-now is barley. — Let it be sown and cov- 
 ered up; the ground being the same, and the time of 
 sowing likewise the same, it grows rapidly up, and when 
 the full time is come, it is all found to be ripe. Al- 
 though there may be inequalities of produce, that is 
 owing to the difference of the soil, as rich or poor, to the 
 unequal nourishment afforded by the rains and dews, 
 and to the different ways in which man has performed 
 his business in reference to it. 
 
 3. " Thus all things which are the same in kind are 
 like to one another : — why should we doubt in regard 
 to man, as if he were a solitary exception to this ? The 
 sage and we are the same in kind. 
 
 4. " In accordance with this the scholar Lung said, 
 * If a man make hempen sandals without knowing the 
 size of people's feet, yet I know that he will not make 
 them like baskets.' Sandals are all like one another, 
 because all men's feet are like one another. 
 
 5. "/So with the mouth and flavours; — all mouths 
 have the same relishes. Yih-ya only apprehended be- 
 fore me what my mouth relishes. Suppose that his 
 mouth in its relish for flavours differed from that of 
 other men, as is the case with dogs or horses which are 
 not the same in kind with us, why should all men be 
 found following Yih-ya in their relishes ? In the mat- 
 ter of tastes the whole empire models itself after Yih- 
 ya ; that is, the mouths of all men are like one another. 
 
 6. " And so also it is with the ear. In the matter of 
 sounds, the whole empire models itself after the music- 
 master K^wang ; that is, the ears of all men are like 
 one another. 
 
 7. " And so also it is with the eye. In the case of 
 Tsze-too, there is no man but would recognize that he 
 was beautiful. Any one who would not recognize the 
 beauty of Tsze-too must have no eyes. 
 
156 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 8. " Therefore I say, — ' Men's mouths agree in hav- 
 ing the same relishes ; their ears agree in enjoying the 
 same sounds ; their eyes agree in recognizing the same 
 beauty : — shall their minds alone be without that which 
 they similarly approve ? What is it then of which they 
 similarly approve ? It is, I say, the principles of our 
 nature, and the determinations of righteousness. The 
 sages only apprehended before me that of which my 
 mind approves along with other men. Therefore the 
 principles of our nature and the determinations of 
 righteousness are agreeable to my mind, just as the flesh 
 of grass and grain-fed animals is agreeable to my 
 mouth." 
 
 VIII. 1. Mencius said, "The trees of the New 
 mountain were once beautiful. Being situated, how- 
 ever, in the borders of a large State, they were hewn 
 down with axes and bills ; — and could they retain their 
 beauty ? Still through the activity of the vegetative 
 life day and night, and the nourishing influence of the 
 rain and dew, they were not without buds and sprouts 
 springing forth, but then came the cattle and goats and 
 browsed upon them. To these things is owing the bare 
 and stript appearance of the mountain, which when peo- 
 ple see, they think it was never finely wooded. But is 
 this the nature of the mountain? 
 
 2. " And so also of what properly belongs to man ; 
 — shall it be said that the mind of any man was with- 
 out benevolence and righteousness? The way in 
 which a man loses his proper goodness of mind is like 
 the way in which the trees are denuded by axes and 
 bills. Hewn down day after day, can it — the mind — 
 retain its beauty ? But there is a development of its 
 life day and night, and in the calm air of the morning, 
 just between night and day, the mind feels in a degree 
 those desires and aversions which are proper to human- 
 ity, but the feeling is not strong, and it is fettered and 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 157 
 
 destroyed by what takes place during the day. This 
 fettering taking place again and again ; the restorative 
 influence of the night is not sufficient to preserve the 
 proper goodness of the mind ; and when this proves in- 
 sufficient for that purpose^ the nature becomes not 
 much different from that of the irrational animals, 
 which when people see, they think that it never had 
 those powers which I assert But does this condition 
 represent the feelings proper to humanity ? 
 
 3. " Therefore, if it receive its proper nourishment, 
 there is nothing which will not grow. If it lose its 
 proper nourishment, there is nothing which will not de- 
 cay away. 
 
 4. " Confucius said, ^ Hold it fast, and it remains with 
 you. Let it go, and you lose it. Its outgoing and in- 
 coming cannot be defined as to time or place.' It is 
 the mind of which this is said 1 " 
 
 IX. 1. Mencius said, " It is not to be wondered at 
 that the king is not wise ! 
 
 2. "Suppose the case of the most easily growing 
 thing in the w^orld ; — if you let it have one day's genial 
 heat, and then expose it for ten days to cold, it will not 
 be able to grow. It is but seldom that I have an au- 
 dience of the king, and when I retire, there come all 
 those who act upon him like the cold. Though I suc- 
 ceed in bringing out some buds of goodness, of what 
 avail is it! 
 
 3. " Now chess-playing is but a small art, but without 
 his whole mind being given, and his will bent to it, a 
 man cannot succeed at it. Chess Ts^ew is the best 
 chess-player in all the kingdom. Suppose that he is 
 teaching two men to play. — The one gives to the sub- 
 ject his whole mind and bends to it all his will, doing 
 nothing but listening to Chess Ts^ew. The other, al- 
 though he seems to be listening to him, has his whole 
 mind running on a swan which he thinks is approach- 
 
 19 
 
158 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 ing, and wishes to bend his bow, adjust the string to 
 the arrow, and shoot it. Although he is learning along 
 with the other, he does not come up to him. Why? — 
 because his intelligence is not equal ? Not so." 
 
 X. 1. Mencius said, '^ I hke fish and I also like bear's 
 paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the 
 fish go, and take the bear's-paws. So, I like life, and I 
 also like righteousness. If I cannot keep the two to- 
 gether, I will let life go and choose righteousness. 
 
 2. " I like life indeed, but there is that which I like 
 more than life, and therefore, I will not seek to possess 
 it by any improper ways. I dislike death indeed, but 
 there is that which I dislike more than death, and there- 
 fore there are occasions when I will not avoid danger. 
 
 3. " If among the things which man likes there were 
 nothing which he liked more than life, why should he 
 not use every means by which he could preserve it ? 
 If among the things which man dislikes there were 
 nothing which he disliked more than death, why should 
 he not do every thing by which he could avoid dan- 
 ger? 
 
 4. " There are cases when men by a certain course 
 might preserve life, and they do not employ it ; when 
 by certain things they might avoid danger, and they 
 will not do them. 
 
 5. " Therefore, men have that which they like more 
 than life, and that which they dislike more than death. 
 They are not men of distinguished talents and virtue 
 only who have this mental nature. All men have it ; 
 what belongs to such men is simply that they do not 
 lose it. 
 
 6. " Here are a small basket of rice and a platter of 
 soup, and the case is one in which the getting them 
 will preserve life, and the want of them will be death ; 
 — if they are offered with an insulting voice, even a 
 tramper will not receive them, or if you first tread 
 upon them, even a beggar will not stoop to take them. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 159 
 
 7. " And yet a man will accept of ten thousand chung, 
 without any consideration of propriety or righteous- 
 ness. What can the ten thousand chung add to him ? 
 When he takes them, is it not that he may obtain beau- 
 tiful mansions, that he may secure the services of wives 
 and concubines, or that the poor and needy of his ac- 
 quaintance may be helped by him ? 
 
 8. " In the former case the offered bounty was not re- 
 ceived, though it would have saved from death, and 
 now the emolument is taken for the sake of beautiful 
 mansions. The bounty that would have preserved from 
 death was not received, and the emolument is taken to 
 get the service of waives and concubines. The bounty 
 that would have saved from death was not received, 
 and the emolument is taken that one's poor and needy 
 acquaintance may be helped by him. Was it then not 
 possible likewise to decline this? This is a case of 
 what is called — ^Losing the proper nature of one's 
 mind.' " 
 
 XL 1. Mencius said, " Benevolence is man's mind, 
 and righteousness is man's path. 
 
 2. " How lamentable is it to neglect the path and 
 not pursue it, to lose this mind and not know to seek it 
 again ! 
 
 3. " When men's fowls and dogs are lost, they know 
 to seek for them again, but they lose their mind, and 
 do not know to seek for it. 
 
 4. " The great end of learning is nothing else but to 
 seek for the lost mind." 
 
 XII. 1. "Mencius said, "Here is a man whose fourth 
 finger is bent and cannot be stretched out straight. It 
 is not painful, nor does it incommode his business, and 
 yet if there be any one who can make it straight, he 
 will not think the way from Ts^in to Ts^oo far to go to 
 him : — because his finger is not like the finger of other 
 people. 
 
160 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 2. " When a man's finger is not like those of other 
 people, he knows to feel dissatisfied, but if his mind be 
 not like that of other people, he does not know to feel 
 dissatisfaction. This is called — ' Ignorance of the rela- 
 tive importance of things," 
 
 XIII. Mencius said, " Anybody who wishes to culti- 
 vate the ifung or the tsze, which may be grasped with 
 both hands, perhaps with one, knows by what means to 
 nourish them. In the case of their own persons, men 
 do not know by what means to nourish them. Is it to 
 be supposed that their regard of their own persons is 
 inferior to their regard for a Ifung or a tsze f Their 
 want of reflection is extreme." 
 
 XIV. 1. Mencius said, " There is no part of himself 
 which a man does not love, and as he loves all, so he 
 must nourish all. There is not an inch of skin which 
 he does not love, and so there is not an inch of skin 
 which he will not nourish. For examining whether 
 his way of nourishing be good or not, what other rule 
 is there but this, that he determine by reflecting on him- 
 self where it should be applied ? 
 
 2* " Some parts of the body are noble, and some ig- 
 noble ; some great, and some small. The great must 
 not be injured for the small, nor the noble for the igno- 
 ble. He who nourishes the little belonging to him is a 
 little man, and he who nourishes the great is a great 
 man. 
 
 3. "Here is a plantation-keeper, who neglects his 
 woo and hea, and cultivates his sour wild date-trees; — 
 he is a poor plantation-keeper. 
 
 4. " He who nourishes one of his fingers, neglecting 
 his shoulders or his back, without knowing that he is 
 doing so, is a man who resembles a hurried wolf 
 
 5. " A man who only eats and drinks is counted mean 
 by others ; — because he nourishes what is little to the 
 neglect of what is great. 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 161 
 
 6. " If a man, fond of his eating and drinking, were 
 not to neglect what is of more importance, how should 
 his mouth and belly be considered as no more than an 
 inch of skin?" 
 
 XV. 1. " The disciple Kung-too said, " All are equal- 
 ly men, but some are great men, and some are little 
 inen ; — how is this ? " Mencius replied, " Those who 
 follow that part of themselves which is great are great 
 men; those who follow that part which is little are 
 little men." 
 
 2. Kung-too pursued, " All are equally men, but some 
 follow that part of themselves which is great, and some 
 follow that part which is little ; — how is this ?" Men- 
 cius answered, " The senses of hearing and seeing do 
 not think, and are obscured by external things. When 
 one thing comes into contact with another, as a matter 
 of course it leads it away. To the mind belongs the 
 office of thinking. By thinking, it gets the right view 
 of things ; by neglecting to think, it fails to do this. 
 These — the senses and the mind — are what Heaven has 
 given to us. Let a man first stand fast in the suprem- 
 acy of the nobler part of his constitution, and the in- 
 ferior part will not be able to take it from him. It is 
 simply this which makes the great man." 
 
 XVI. 1. Mencius said, "There is a nobility of 
 Heaven, and there is a nobility of man. Benevolence, 
 righteousness, self-consecration, and fidelity, with un- 
 wearied joy in these virtues ; — these constitute the no- 
 bility of Heaven. To be a kung, a k^ing, or a ta-foo ; 
 — this constitutes the nobility of man. 
 
 2. " The men of antiquity cultivated their nobility 
 of Heaven, and the nobility of man came to them in 
 its train. 
 
 3. " The men of the present day cultivate their no- 
 bility of Heaven in order to seek for the nobility of 
 man, and when they have obtained that, they throw 
 
162 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 away the other : — their delusion is extreme. The issue 
 is simply this that they must lose that nohility of man 
 as well." 
 
 XYII. 1. Mencius said, ^^ To desire to be honoured 
 is the common mind of men. And all men have in 
 themselves that which is truly honourable. Only they 
 do not think of it. 
 
 2. " The honour which men confer is not good hon- 
 our. Those whom Chaou the Great ennobles he can 
 make mean again, 
 
 3. '' It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' He has filled us with his wine, 
 He has satiated us with his goodness.* 
 * Satiated us with his goodness' that is, satiated us with 
 benevolence and righteousness, and he who is so, con- 
 sequently, does not wish for the fat meat and fine mil- 
 let of men. A good reputation and far-reaching praise 
 fall to him, and he does not desire the elegant embroi- 
 dered garments of men." 
 
 XVni. 1. Mencius said, " Benevolence subdues its 
 opposite just as water subdues fire. Those, however, 
 who now-a-days practise benevolence do it as if with 
 one cup of water they could save a whole waggon-load 
 of fuel which was on fire, and when the flames were 
 not extinguished, were to say that water cannot subdue 
 fire. This conduct, moreover, greatly encourages those 
 who are not benevolent. 
 
 2. " The final issue will simply be this — the loss of 
 that small amount of benevolence" 
 
 XIX. Mencius said, " Of all seeds the best are the 
 five kinds of grain, yet if they be not ripe, they are 
 not equal to the t'e or the pae. So, the value of be- 
 nevolence depends entirely on its being brought to ma- 
 turity." 
 
 XX. 1. Mencius said, "E, in teaching men to shoot, 
 made it a rule to draw the bow to the full, and his pu- 
 pils also did the same. 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. 163 
 
 2. "A master workman, in teaching others, uses the 
 compass and square, and his pupils do the same. 
 
 BOOK YI 
 KAOU TSZE. PART II. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. A man of Jin asked the disciple Uh- 
 loo, saying, " Is an observance of the rules of propriety 
 in regard to eating, or the eating, the more important?" 
 The answer was, " The observance of the rules of pro- 
 priety is the more important." 
 
 2. " Is the gratifying the appetite of sex, or the doing 
 80 only according to the rules of propriety, the more 
 important ? " The answer again was, " The observance 
 of the rules of propriety in the matter is the more im- 
 portant." 
 
 3. The man pursued, ^^ If the result of eating only 
 according to the rules of propriety will be death by 
 starvation, while by disregarding those rules we may 
 get food, must they still be observed in such a case f 
 If according to the rule that he shall go in person to 
 meet his wife a man cannot get married, while by dis- 
 regarding that rule he may get married, must he stiiil 
 observe the rule in such a case f " 
 
 4. Uh-loo was unable to reply to these questions, and 
 the next day he went to Tsow, and told them to Men- 
 cius. Mencius said, " What difficulty is there in answer- 
 ing these inquiries ? 
 
 5. " If you do not adjust them at their lower ex- 
 
164 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 tremities,, but only put their tops on a level, a piece of 
 wood an inch square may be made to be higher than 
 the pointed peak of a high building. 
 
 6. "Gold is heavier than feathers; — but does that 
 saying have reference, on the one hand, to a single 
 clasp of gold, and, on the other, to a waggon-load of 
 feathers ? 
 
 7. " If you take a case where the eating is of the 
 utmost importance and the observing the rules of pro- 
 priety is of little importance, and compare the things 
 together, why stop with saying merely that the eating 
 is more important? So, taking the case where the 
 gratifying the appetite of sex is of the utmost impor- 
 tance and the observing the rules of propriety is of 
 little importance, why stop with merely saying that the 
 gratifying the appetite is the more important ? * 
 
 8. "Go and answer him thus, ^If, by twisting your 
 elder brother's arm, and snatching from him what he is 
 eating, you can get food for yourself, while, if you do not 
 do so, you will not get anything to eat, will you so 
 twist his arm ? If by getting over your neighbour's 
 wall, and dragging away his virgin daughter, you can 
 get a wife, while if you do not do so, you will not be 
 able to get a wife, will you so drag her away V" 
 
 II. 1. Keaou of Tsaou asked Mencius, saying, " It 
 is said, ' All men may be Yaous and Shuns ; ' — is it so ?" 
 Mencius replied, " It is." 
 
 2. Keaou went on, " I have heard that king Wan was 
 ten cubits high, and T^ang nine. Now I am nine cubits 
 four inches in height. But I can do nothing but eat 
 mi/ millet. What am I to do to realize that saying ? " 
 
 3. Mencius answered him, " What has this — the ques- 
 tion of size — to do with the matter ? It all lies simply 
 in acting as such. Here is a man, whose strength was 
 not equal to lift a duckling : — he was then a man of no 
 strength. But to-day he says, ' I can lift 3,000 catties' 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 165 
 
 weight/ and he is a man of strength. And so, he who 
 can h*ft the weight which Woo Hwo hfted is just an- 
 other Woo Hwo. Why should a man make a want of 
 ability the subject of his grief? It is only that he will 
 not do the thing. 
 
 4. " To walk slowly, keeping behind his elders, is to 
 perform the part of a younger. To walk quickly and 
 precede his elders, is to violate the duty of a younger 
 brother. Now, is it what a man cannot do — to walk 
 slowly ? It is what he does not do. The course of 
 Yaou and Shun was simply that of filial piety and fra- 
 ternal duty. 
 
 5. "Do you wear the clothes of Yaou, repeat the 
 words of Yaou, and do the actions of Yaou, and you 
 will just be a Yaou. And, if you wear the clothes of 
 Kee, repeat the words of Kee, and do the actions of 
 Kee, you will just be a Kee." 
 
 6. Keaou said, " I shall be having an interview with 
 the prince of Tsow, and can ask him to let me have a 
 house to lodge in. I wish to remain here, and receive 
 instruction at your gate." 
 
 7. Mencius replied, " The way of truth is like a great 
 road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only 
 that men will not seek it. Do you go home and search 
 for it, and you will have abundance of teachers." 
 
 ni. 1. Kung-sun Ch^ow asked about an opinion of 
 the scholar Kaou, saying, " Kaou observed, ' The Seaou 
 PVan is the ode of a little man.' " Mencius asked, 
 " Why did he say so ? " " Because of the murmuring 
 which it expresses" was the reply. 
 
 2. Mencius answered, "How stupid was that old Kaou 
 in dealing with the ode ! There is a man here, and a 
 native of Yue bends his bow to shoot him. I will ad- 
 vise him not to do so, but speaking calmly and smiling- 
 ly ; — for no other reason but that he is not related to 
 me. But if my own brother be bending his bow to 
 20 
 
166 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 shoot the man, then I will advise him not to do so, 
 weeping and crying the while ; — for no other reason 
 than that he is related to me. The dissatisfaction ex- 
 pressed in the Seaou P^wan is the working of relative 
 affection, and that affection shows benevolence. Stupid 
 indeed was old Kaou's criticism on the ode." 
 
 3. Chow then said, '' How is it that there is no dis- 
 satisfaction expressed in the K^ae Fung ? " 
 
 4. Mencius replied, " The parent's fault referred to in 
 the K^ae Fung is small ; That referred to in the Seaou 
 PVan is great. Where the parent's fault was great, 
 not to have murmured on account of it would have in- 
 creased the want of natural affection. Where the pa- 
 rent's fault was small, to have murmured on account of 
 it would have been to act like water which frets and 
 foams about a stone that interrupts its course. To in- 
 crease the want of natural affection would have been 
 unfilial, and to fret and foam in such a manner would 
 also have been unfilial. 
 
 5. '' Confucius said, ^ Shun was indeed perfectly filial ! 
 And yet, when he was fifty, he was full of longing de- 
 sire about his parents.' " 
 
 lY. 1. Sung K^ang being about to go to Ts^oo, Men- 
 cius met him in Shih-k^ew. 
 
 2. " Master, where are you going ? " asked Mencius. 
 
 3. K'ang replied, " I have heard that Ts^in and Ts^oo 
 are fighting together, and I am going to see the king 
 of Ts^oo and persuade him to cease hostilities. If he 
 shall not be pleased with my advice, I shall go to see the 
 king of Ts^in, and persuade him in the same way. Of 
 the two kings I shall surely find that I can succeed 
 with one of them." 
 
 4. Mencius said, " I will not venture to ask about the 
 particulars, but I should like to hear the scope of your 
 plan. What course will you take to try to persuade 
 thejn ? " K'ang answered, " I will tell them how un- 
 
WORKS OP MENCIUS. 167 
 
 profitable their course is to them." '' Master/' said Men- 
 cius, "your aim is great, but your argument is not 
 good. 
 
 5. '^ If you, starting from the point of profit, offer 
 your persuasive counsels to the kings of Ts'in and 
 Ts^oo, and if those kings are pleased with the consider- 
 ation of profit so as to stop the movements of their 
 armies, then all belonging to those armies will rejoice 
 in the cessation of war, and find their pleasure in the 
 pursuit of profit. Ministers will serve their sovereign 
 for the profit of which they cherish the thought ; sons 
 will serve their fathers, and younger brothers will serve 
 their elder brothers, from the same consideration : — and 
 the issue will be, that, abandoning benevolence and 
 righteousness, sovereign and minister, father and son, 
 younger brother and elder, will carry on all their inter- 
 course with this thought of profit cherished in their 
 breasts. But never has there been such a state of so- 
 ciety, without ruin being the result of it. 
 
 6. " If you, starting from the ground of benevolence 
 and righteousness, offer your counsels to the kings of 
 Ts^in and Ts^oo, and if those kings are pleased with the 
 consideration of benevolence and righteousness so as 
 to stop the operations of their armies, then all belong- 
 ing to those armies will rejoice in the stopping from 
 war, and find their pleasure in benevolence and right- 
 eousness. Ministers will serve their sovereign, cherish- 
 ing the principles of benevolence and righteousness ; 
 sons will serve their fathers, and younger brothers will 
 serve their elder brothers, in the same way: — and so, 
 sovereign and minister, father and son, elder brother 
 and younger, abandoning the thought of profit, will 
 cherish the principles of benevolence and righteous- 
 ness, and carry on all their intercourse upon them. 
 But never has there been such a state of society, with- 
 out the State where it prevailed rising to imperial sway. 
 Why must you use that word ^ profit.' " 
 
168 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 V. 1. When Mencius was residing in Tsow, the 
 younger brother of the chief of Jin, who was guardian 
 of Jin at the time, paid his respects to him by a present 
 of silks, which Mencius received, not going to acknowl- 
 edge it. When he was sojourning in Ping-luh, Ch^oo, 
 who was prime minister of the State, sent him a simi- 
 lar present, which he received in the same way. 
 
 2. Subsequently, going from Tsow to Jin, he visited 
 the guardian, but when he went from P^ing-luh to the 
 capital of Ts^e, he did not visit the minister Ch^oo. 
 The disciple Uh-loo was glad, and said, " I have got an 
 opportunity to obtain some instruction.'' 
 
 3. He asked accordingly, " Master, when you went to 
 Jin, you visited the chief's brother, and when you went 
 to Ts^e, you did not visit Ch^oo. Was it not because he 
 is only the minister ? " 
 
 4. Mencius replied, " No. It is said in the Book of 
 History, ' In presenting an offering to a superior, most 
 depends on the demonstrations of respect. If those 
 demonstrations are not equal to the things offered, we 
 say there is no offering, that is, there is no act of the 
 will in presenting the offering.' 
 
 5. " This is because the things so offered do not con- 
 stitute an offering to a superior." 
 
 6. Uh-loo was pleased, and when some one asked him* 
 what Mencius meant, he said, " The younger of Jin 
 could not go to Tsow, but the minister of Ch^oo might 
 have gone to P^ing-luh. 
 
 YI. 1. Shun-yu KVan said, " He who makes fame 
 and meritorious services his first objects, acts with a re- 
 gard to others. He who makes them only secondary 
 objects, acts with a regard to himself You, master, 
 were ranked among the three chief ministers of the 
 State, but before your fame and services had reached 
 either to the prince or the people, you have left your 
 place. Is this indeed the way of the benevolent ? " 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 169 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " There was Pili-e ; — he abode in 
 an inferior situation, and would not, with his virtue, 
 serve a degenerate prince. There was E Yin ; — he five 
 times went to T^ang, and five times went to Kee. 
 There was Hwuy of Lew-hea ; — he did not disdain to_ 
 serve a vile prince, nor did he decline a small office. 
 The courses pursued by those three worthies were dif- 
 ferent but their aim was one. And what was their one 
 aim? We must answer — ^ To be perfectly virtuous.' 
 And so it is simply after this that superior men strive. 
 Why must they all pursue the same course f " 
 
 3. K'wan pursued, " In the time of the duke Muh 
 of Loo, the government was in the hands of Kung-e, 
 while Tsze-lew and Tsze-sze were ministers. And yet, 
 the dismemberment of Loo then increased exceedingly. 
 Such was the case, a specimen how your men of virtue 
 are of no advantage to a kingdom ! " 
 
 4. Mencius said, " The prince of Yu did not use Pih- 
 le He, and thereby lost his State. The duke Muh of 
 Ts'in used him, and became chief of all the princes. 
 Ruin is the consequence of not employing men of vir- 
 tue and talents ; — how can it rest with dismemberment 
 merely f " 
 
 5. K'wan urged again, " Formerly, when Wang P^aou 
 dwelt on the K^e, the people on the west of the Yellow 
 River all became skilful at singing in his abrupt man- 
 ner. When Meen K^eu lived in Kaou-t^ang, the people 
 in the parts of Ts^e on the west became skilful at sing- 
 ing in his prolonged manner. The wives of Hwa Chow 
 and Ke Leang bewailed their husbands so skilfully, that 
 they changed the manners of the State. When there 
 is the gift within, it manifests itself without. I have 
 never seen 'the man who could do the deeds of a wor- 
 thy, and did not realize the work of one. Therefore 
 there are now no men of talents and virtue. If there 
 were, I should know them." 
 
170 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 6. Mencius answered, "When Confucius was chief 
 minister of Justice in Loo, the prince came not to fol- 
 low his counsels. Soon after was the solsticial sacrifice, 
 and when a part of the flesh presented in sacrifice was 
 not sent to him, he went away even without taking off 
 his cap of ceremony. Those who did not know him 
 supposed it was on account of the flesh. Those who 
 knew him supposed that it was on account of the neg- 
 lect of the usual ceremony. The fact was, that Confu- 
 cius wanted to go away on occasion of some small 
 offence, not wishing to do so without some apparent 
 cause. All men may not be expected to understand 
 the conduct of a superior man." 
 
 VII. 1. Mencius said, "The five chiefs of the princes 
 were sinners against the three kings. The princes of 
 the present day are sinners against the ^Ye chiefs. 
 The great officers of the present day are sinners against 
 the princes. 
 
 2. " The emperor visited the princes, which was called 
 ^A tour of inspection.' The princes attended at the 
 court of the emperor, which was called ' Giving a re- 
 port of office.' It was a custom in the spring to exam- 
 ine the ploughing, and supply any deficiency of seed, 
 and in autumn to examine the reaping, and assist where 
 there was a deficiency of the crop. When the emperor 
 entered the boundaries of a State, if the new ground 
 was being reclaimed, and the old fields well cultivated ; 
 if the old were nourished and the worthy honoured ; 
 and if men of distingushed talents were placed in 
 office : then the prince was rewarded, — rewarded with 
 an addition to his territory. On the other hand, if, on 
 entering a State, the ground was found left wild or over- 
 run with weeds; if the old were neglected and the 
 worthy imhonoured ; and if the offices were filled with 
 hard tax-gatherers : then the prince was reprimanded. 
 If a prince once omitted his attendance at court, he 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 171 
 
 was punished by degradation of rank ; if he did so a 
 second time, he was deprived of a portion of his terri- 
 tory ; if he did so a third time, the imperial forces were 
 set in motion, and he was removed yrom his government 
 Thus the emperor commanded the punishment, but did^ 
 not himself inflict it, while the princes inflicted the pun- 
 ishment, but did not command it. The five chiefs, how- 
 ever, dragged the princes to punish other princes, and 
 hence I say that they were sinners against the three 
 kings. 
 
 3. " Of the five chiefs the most powerful was the 
 duke Hwan. At the assembly of the princes in KVei- 
 k*^ew, he bound the victim and placed the writing upon 
 it, but did not slay it to smear their mouths with the 
 blood. The first injunction in their agreement was, — 
 ' Slay the unfilial ; change not the son who has been 
 appointed heir ; exalt not a concubine to the rank of 
 wife.' The second was, — ' Honour the worthy, and 
 maintain the talented, to give distinction to the vir- 
 tuous,' The third was, — ' Respect the old, and be kind 
 to the young. Be not forgetful of strangers and trav- 
 ellers.' The fourth was, — ' Let not offices be heredit- 
 ary, nor let officers be pluralists. In the selection of 
 officers let the object be to get the proper men. Let 
 not a ruler take it on himself to put to death a great 
 officer.' The fifth was, — ' Follow no crooked policy in 
 making embankments. Impose no restrictions on the 
 sale of grain. Let there be no promotions without 
 
 first announcing them to the emperor.' It was then 
 said, ' All we who have united in this agreement shall 
 hereafter maintain amicable relations.' The princes of 
 the present day all violate these five prohibitions, and 
 therefore I say that the princes of the present day are 
 sinners against the five chiefs. 
 
 4. " The crime of him who connives at, and aids, the 
 wickedness of his prince is small, but the crime of him 
 
172 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 who anticipates and excites that wickedness is great. 
 The officers of the present day all go to meet their sov- 
 ereigns' wickedness, and therefore I say that the great 
 officers of the present day are sinners against the 
 princes." 
 
 yill. 1. The prince of Loo wanted to make the 
 minister Shin commander of his army. 
 
 2. Mencins said, " To employ an nninstructed people 
 in war may be said to be destroying the people. A de- 
 stroyer of the people would not have been tolerated in 
 the times of Yaou and Shun. 
 
 3. "Though by a single battle you should subdue 
 Ts^e, and get possession of Nan-yang, the thing ought 
 not to be done." 
 
 4. Shin changed countenance, and said in displeasure, 
 " This is what I, Kuh-le, do not understand." 
 
 5. Mencius said, " I will lay the case plainly before 
 you. The territory appropriated to the emperor is 
 1,000 le square. Without a thousand le, he would not 
 have sufficient for his entertainment of the princes. 
 The territory appropriated to a How is 100 le square. 
 Without 100 le, he would not have sufficient wherewith 
 to observe the statutes kept in his ancestral temple. 
 
 6. " When Chow-kung was invested with the princi- 
 pality of Loo, it was a hundred le square. The territo- 
 ry was indeed enough, but it was not more than 100 le. 
 When T^ae-kung was invested with the principality of 
 Ts% it was 100 le square. The territory was indeed 
 enough, but it was not more than 100 le. 
 
 7. " Now Loo is five times 100 le square. If a true 
 imperial ruler were to arise, whether do you think that 
 Loo would be diminished or increased by him ? 
 
 8. " If it were merely taking the place from the one 
 State to give it to the other, a benevolent man would 
 not do it ; — how much less will he do so, when the end 
 is to be sought by the slaughter of men ! 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 173 
 
 9. "The way in which a superior man serves his 
 prince contemplates simply the leading him in the 
 right path, and directing his mind to benevolence." 
 
 IX. 1. Mencius said, " Those who now-ardays serve 
 their sovereigns say, ^ We can for our sovereign enlarge 
 the limits of the cultivated ground, and fill his treasu- 
 ries and arsenals.* Such persons are now-a-days called 
 ^ Good ministers,' but anciently they were called ' Rob- 
 bers of the people.' If a sovereign follows not the 
 right way, nor has his mind bent on benevolence, to 
 seek to enrich him is to enrich a Kee. 
 
 2. " Or they will say, ' We can for our sovereign form 
 alliances with other states, so that our battles must be 
 successful. Such persons are now-a-days called ' Good 
 ministers,' but anciently they were called ' Robbers of 
 the people.' If a sovereign follows not the right way, 
 nor has his mind directed to benevolence, to seek to en- 
 rich him is to enrich a Kee. 
 
 3. ^' Although a prince, pursuing the path of the pres- 
 ent day, and not changing its practices, were to have 
 the empire given to him, he could not retain it for a 
 single morning." 
 
 X. 1. Pih Kwei said, " I want to take a twentieth 
 of the produce only as the tax. What do you think of 
 it?" 
 
 2. Mencius said, " Your way would be that of the 
 Mih. 
 
 3. " In a country of ten thousand families, would it 
 do to have only one potter?" Kwei replied, "No. 
 The vessels would not be enough to use." 
 
 4. Mencius, went on, "In Mih all the five kinds of 
 grain are not grown ; it only produces the millet. There 
 are no fortified cities, no edifices, no ancestral temples, no 
 ceremonies of sacrifice ; there are no princes requiring 
 presents and entertainments ; there is no system of 
 officers with their various subordinates. On these ac- 
 
 21 
 
174 CfflNESE CLASSICS. 
 
 counts a tax of one twentieth of the produce is suffi- 
 cient there. 
 
 5. " But now it is the Middle kingdom that we live 
 in. To banish the relationships of men, and have no 
 superior men; — how can such a state of things be 
 thought of? 
 
 6. "With but few potters a kingdom cannot subsist; 
 — how much less can it subsist without men of a higher 
 rank than others ? 
 
 7. " If we wish to make the taxation lighter than the 
 system of Yaou and Shun, we shall just have a great 
 Mih and a small Mih. If we wish to make it heavier, 
 we shall just have the great Kee and the small Kee." 
 
 XL 1. Pih Kwei said, "My management of the 
 waters is superior to that of Yu." 
 
 2. Mencius replied, '- You are wrong. Sir, Yu's reg- 
 ulation of the waters was according to the laws of 
 water. 
 
 3. " He therefore made the four seas their receptacle, 
 while you make the neighbouring States their recep- 
 tacle. 
 
 4. " Water flowing out of its channels is called an in- 
 undation. Inundating waters are a vast waste of water, 
 and what a benevolent man detests. You are wrong, 
 my good Sir." 
 
 XII. Mencius said, " If a scholar have not faith, 
 how shall he take a firm hold of things f " 
 
 XIII. 1. The prince of Loo wanting to commit the 
 administration of his government to the disciple Yo- 
 ching, Mencius said, " When I heard of it, I was so glad 
 that I could not sleep." 
 
 2. Kung-sun Ch^ow asked, "Is Yo-ching a man of 
 vigour ? " and was answered, " No.'* " Is he wise in 
 council ? " " No." " Is he possessed of much informa- 
 tion?" "No." 
 
 3. " What then made you so glad that you could not 
 sleep?" 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 175 
 
 4. "He is a man who loves what is good." 
 
 5. " Is the love of what is good sufficient ? " 
 
 6. " The love of what is good is more than a suffi- 
 cient qualification for the government of the empire ; 
 — how much more is it so for the State of Loo ! 
 
 7. " If a minister love what is good, all within the^ 
 four seas will count 1,000 le but a small distance, and 
 will come and lay their good thoughts before him. 
 
 8. " If he do not love what is good, men will say, 
 ' How self-conceited he looks ? He is saying to himself, 
 I know it.' The language and looks of that self-con- 
 ceit will keep men off at a distance of 1,000 le. When 
 good men stop 1,000 le off, calumniators, flatterers, and 
 sycophants, will make their appearance. When a min- 
 ister lives among calumniators, flatterers, and syco- 
 phants, though he may wish the State to be well gov- 
 erned, is it possible for it to be so?" 
 
 XI Y. 1. The disciple Ch^in said, "What were the 
 principles on which the superior men of old took of- 
 fice?" Mencius replied, "There were three cases in 
 which they accepted office, and three in which they 
 left it. 
 
 2. " If received with the utmost respect and all polite 
 observances, and they could say to themselves that the 
 prince would carry their words into practice, then they 
 took office with him. Afterwards, although there 
 might be no remission in the polite demeanour of the 
 prince, if their words were not carried into practice, 
 they would leave him. 
 
 3. " The second case was that in which, though the 
 prince could not he expected at once to carry their words 
 into practice, yet being received by him with the ut- 
 most respect, they took office with him. But after- 
 wards, if there was a remission in his polite demeanour, 
 they would leave him. 
 
 4. " The last case was that of the superior man who 
 
176 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 had nothing to eat, either morning or evening, and was 
 so famished that he could not move out of his door. 
 If the prince, on hearing of his state, said, ' I must fail 
 in the great point, — that of carrying his doctrines into 
 practice, neither am I able to follow his words, but I am 
 ashamed to allow him to die of want in my country ; ' 
 — the assistance offered in such a case might be re- 
 ceived, but not beyond what was sufiicient to avert 
 death." 
 
 XY. 1. Mencius said, " Shun rose from among the 
 channeled fields. Foo Yue was called to ofiice from 
 the midst of his building frames ; Kaou-kih from his 
 fish and salt ; Kwan E-woo from the hands of his gaol- 
 er ; Sun-shuh Gaou from his hiding by the sea-shore ; 
 and Pih-le He from the market-place. 
 
 2. " Thus, when Heaven is about to confer a great 
 office on any man, it first exercises his mind with suf- 
 fering, and his sinews and bones with toil. It exposes 
 his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme pov- 
 erty. It confounds his undertakings. By all these 
 methods it stimulates his mind, hardens his nature, and 
 supplies his incompetencies. 
 
 3. '^ Men for the most part err, and are afterwards 
 able to reform. They are distressed in mind and per- 
 plexed in their thoughts, and then they arise to vigor- 
 ous reformation. When things have been evidenced 
 in men's looks,, and set forth in their words, then they 
 understand them. 
 
 4. " If a prince have not about his court families at- 
 tached to the laws and worthy counsellors, and if abroad 
 there are not hostile States or other external calamities, 
 his kingdom will generally come to ruin. 
 
 5. " From these things we see how life springs from 
 sorrow and calamity, and death from ease and pleasure." 
 
 XYI. Mencius said, " There are many arts in teach- 
 ing. I refuse, as inconsistent with my character, to 
 teach a man, but I am only thereby still teaching him." 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 177 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 TSIN SIN. PART I. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Mencius said, "He who has exhausted 
 all his mental constitution knows his nature. Knowing 
 his nature, he knows Heaven. 
 
 2. " To preserve one's mental constitution, and nour- 
 ish one's nature, is the way to serve Heaven. 
 
 3. " When neither a premature death nor long life 
 causes a man any double-mindedness, but he waits in 
 the cultivation of his personal character for whatever 
 issue; — this is the way in which he establishes his 
 Heaven-OTdamed being." 
 
 II. 1. Mencius said, " There is an appointment for 
 every thing. A man should receive submissively what 
 may be correctly ascribed thereto. 
 
 2. " Therefore, he who has the true idea of what is 
 Heaven's appointment wiU not stand beneath a precip- 
 itous wall. 
 
 3. " Death sustained in the discharge of one's duties 
 may correctly be ascribed to the appointment of 
 Heaven. 
 
 4. "Death under handcuffs and fetters cannot cor- 
 rectly be so ascribed." 
 
 III. 1. Mencius said, " When we get by our seeking 
 and lose by our neglecting ; — in that case seeking is of 
 use to getting, and the things sought for are those which 
 are in ourselves. 
 
 2. " When the seeking is according to the proper 
 course, and the getting is only as appointed ; — in that 
 
178 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 case the seeking is of no use to getting, and the things 
 sought are without ourselves." 
 
 IV. 1. Mencius said, " All things are already com- 
 plete in us. 
 
 2. " There is no greater delight than to be conscious 
 of sincerity on self-examination. 
 
 3. " If one acts with a vigorous effort at the law of 
 reciprocity, when he seeks for the realization of perfect 
 virtue, nothing can be closer than his approximation 
 to it." 
 
 V. 1. Mencius said, " To act without understanding, 
 and to do so habitually without examination, pursuing 
 the proper path all the life without knowing its nature ; 
 — this is the way of multitudes." 
 
 YI. Mencius said, "A man may not be without 
 shame. When one is ashamed of having been without 
 shame, he will afterwards not have occasion for shame." 
 
 VII. 1. Mencius said, " The sense of shame is to a 
 man of great importance. 
 
 2. "Those who form contrivances and versatile 
 schemes distinguished for their artfulness, do not allow 
 their sense of shame to come into action. 
 
 3. " When one differs from other men in not having 
 this sense of shame, what will he have in common with 
 them?" 
 
 Vin. 1. Mencius said, " The able and virtuous mon- 
 archs of antiquity loved virtue and forgot power. And 
 shall an exception be made of the able and virtuous 
 scholars of antiquity, that they did not do the same ? 
 They delighted in their own principles, and tv^ere oblivi- 
 ous of the power of princes. Therefore, if kings and 
 dukes did not show the utmost rfespect, and observe all 
 forms of ceremony, they were not permitted to come 
 frequently and visit them. If they thus found it not 
 in their power to pay them frequent visits, how much 
 less could they get to employ them as ministers ? " 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 179 
 
 IX. 1. Mencius said to Sung Kow-ts^een, " Are you 
 fond, Sir, of travelling to the diffierent courts f I will 
 tell you about such travelling. 
 
 2. "If a prince acknowledge you and follow your 
 counsels, be perfectly satisfied. If no one does so, be 
 the same." 
 
 3. Kow'ts'een said, " What is to be done to secure 
 this perfect satisfaction ? " Mencius replied, " Honour 
 virtue and delight in righteousness, and so you may al- 
 ways be perfectly satisfied. 
 
 4. " Therefore, a scholar, though poor, does not let 
 go Ms righteousness ; though prosperous, he does not 
 leave his own path. 
 
 5. "Poor and not letting righteousness go; — it is 
 thus that the scholar holds possession of himself Pros- 
 perous and not leaving the proper path; — it is thus 
 that the expectations of the people are not disappointed. 
 
 6. "When the men of antiquity realized their wishes, 
 benefits were conferred by them on the people. If 
 they did not realize their wishes, they cultivated their 
 personal character, and became illustrious in the world. 
 If poor, they attended to their own virtue in solitude ; 
 if advanced to dignity, they made the whole empire 
 virtuous as well." 
 
 X. Mencius said, " The mass of men wait for a king 
 Wan, and then they will receive a rousing impulse. 
 Scholars distinguished from the mass, without a king 
 Wan, rouse themselves." 
 
 XI. Mencius said, " Add to a man the families of 
 Han and Wei. If he then look upon himself without 
 being elated, he is far beyond the mass of men." 
 
 XII. Mencius said, " Let the people be employed in 
 the way which is intended to secure their ease, and 
 though they be toiled, they will not murmur. Let 
 them be put to death in the way which is intended to 
 preserve their lives, and though they die, they will not 
 murmur at him who puts them to death." 
 
180 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XIII. 1. Mencius said, " Under a chief, leading all 
 the princes, the people look brisk and cheerful. Under 
 a true sovereign, they have an air of deep contentment. 
 
 2. "Though he slay them, they do not murmur. 
 When he benefits them, they do not think of his merit. 
 From day to day they make progress towards what is 
 good, without knowing who makes them do so. 
 
 3. " Wherever the superior man passes through, trans- 
 formation follows ; wherever he abides, his influence is 
 of a spiritual nature. It flows abroad above and be- 
 neath, like that of Heaven and Earth. How can it be 
 said that he mends society but in a small way ! " 
 
 Xiy. 1. Mencius said, " Kindly words do not enter 
 so deeply into men as a reputation for kindness. 
 
 2. " Good government does not lay hold of the peo- 
 ple so much as good instructions. 
 
 3. " Good government is feared by the people, while 
 good instructions are loved by them. Good govern- 
 ment gets the people's wealth, while good instructions 
 get their hearts." 
 
 XV. 1. Mencius said, "The ability possessed by 
 men without having been acquired by learning is in- 
 tuitive abiHty, and the knowledge possessed by them 
 without the exercise of thought is their intuitive knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 2. "Children carried in the arms all know to love 
 their parents, and when they are grown a little^ they all 
 know to respect their elder brothers. 
 
 3. " Filial affection for parents is the working of be- 
 nevolence. Respect for elders is the ivorking of right- 
 eousness. There is no other reason /or those feelings ; 
 — they belong to all under heaven." 
 
 XVI. Mencius said, " When Shun was living amid 
 the deep retired mountains, dwelling with the trees 
 and rocks, and wandering among the deer and swine, 
 the difference between him and the rude inhabitants of 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 181 
 
 those remote hills appeared very small. But when he 
 heard a single good word, or saw a single good action, 
 he was like a stream or a river bursting its banks, and 
 flowing out in an irresistible flood." 
 
 XVII. Mencius said, "Let a man not do what his 
 own sense of righteousness tells him not to do, and let" 
 him not desire what his sense of righteousness tells him 
 not to desire ; — to act thus is all he has to do." 
 
 XVIII. 1. Mencius said, " Men who are possessed of 
 intelligent virtue and prudence in afiairs will generally 
 be found to have been in sickness and troubles. 
 
 2. "They are the friendly minister and concubine's 
 son, who keep their hearts under a sense of peril, and 
 use deep precautions against calamity. On this account 
 they become distinguished for their intelligence." 
 
 XIX. 1. Mencius said, "There are persons who 
 serve the prince; — they serve the prince, that is, for 
 the sake of his countenance and favour. 
 
 2. " There are ministers who seek the tranquillity of 
 the State, and find their pleasure in securing that tran- 
 quillity. 
 
 3. " There are those who are the people of Heaven. 
 They, judging that, if they were in office, they could 
 carry out their principles, throughout the empire, pro- 
 ceed so to carry them out. 
 
 4. " There are those who are great men. They rec- 
 tify themselves and others are rectified." 
 
 XX. 1. Mencius said, " The superior man has three 
 things in which he delights, and to be ruler over the 
 empire is not one of them. 
 
 2. " That his father and mother are both alive, and 
 that the condition of his brothers afibrds no cause for 
 anxiety ; — this is one delight. 
 
 3. " That, when looking up, he has no occasion for 
 shame before Heaven, and, below, he has no occasion 
 to blush before men ; — this is a second delight. 
 
 22 
 
182 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 4. '' That he can get from the whole empire the most 
 talented individuals, and teach and nourish them ; — 
 this is the third delight. 
 
 5. " The superior man has three things in which he 
 delights, and to be ruler over the empire is not one of 
 them." 
 
 XXI. 1. Mencius said, "Wide territory and a nu- 
 merous people are desired by the superior man, but 
 what he delights in is not here. 
 
 2. " To stand in the centre of the empire, and tran- 
 quillize the people within the four seas ; — the superior 
 man delights in this, but the highest enjoyment of his 
 nature is not here. 
 
 3. " What belongs by his nature to the superior man 
 cannot be increased by the largeness of his sphere of 
 action, nor diminished by his dwelling in poverty and 
 retirement; — for this reason that it is determinately 
 apportioned to him hy Heaven. 
 
 4. " What belongs by his nature to the superior man 
 are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowl- 
 edge. These are rooted in his heart ; their growth 
 and manifestation are a mild harmony appearing in the 
 countenance, a rich fulness in the back, and the charac- 
 ter imparted to the four limbs. Those limbs understand 
 to arrange themselves, without being told." 
 
 XXII. Mencius said, "Pih-e, that he might avoid 
 Chow, was dwelling on the coast of the northern sea 
 when he heard of the rise of king Wan. He roused 
 himself and said, "Why should I not go and follow 
 him ? I have heard that the chief of the West knows 
 well how to nourish the old.' T^ae-kung, to avoid 
 Chow, was dwelling on the coast of the eastern sea. 
 When he heard of the rise of king Wan, he said, ^ Why 
 should I not go and follow him ? I have heard that 
 the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the 
 old.' If there were a prince in the empire, who knew 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 183 
 
 well how to nourish the old^ all men of virtue would 
 feel that he was the proper object for them to gather 
 to. 
 
 2. Around the homestead with its five mow, the space 
 beneath the walls was planted with mulberry trees, 
 with which the women nourished silkworms, and thus 
 the old were able to have silk to wear. Each family 
 had ^VQ^ brood hens and two brood sows, which were 
 kept to their breeding seasons, and thus the old were 
 able to have flesh to eat. The husbandmen cultivated 
 their farms of 100 mow, and thus their families of eight 
 mouths were secured against want. 
 
 3. " The expression, ' The chief of the West knows 
 well how to nourish the old,' refers to his regulation of 
 the fields and dwellings, his teaching them to plant the 
 mulberry and nourish those animals, and his instructing 
 the wives and children, so as to make them nourish 
 their aged. At fifty, warmth cannot be maintained 
 without silks, and at seventy flesh is necessary to satisfy 
 the appetite. Persons not kept warm nor supplied with 
 food are said to be starved and famished, but among 
 the people of king Wan, there were no aged who were 
 starved or famished. This is the meaning of the ex- 
 pression in question." 
 
 XXIII. 1. Mencius said, "Let it be seen to that 
 their fields of grain and hemp are well cultivated, and 
 make the taxes on them light ; — so the people may be 
 made rich. 
 
 2. " Let it be seen to that the people use their re- 
 sources of food seasonably, and expend their wealth 
 only on the prescribed ceremonies : — so their wealth 
 will be more than can be consumed. 
 
 3. "The people cannot live without water and fire, 
 yet if you knock at a man's door in the dusk of the 
 evening, and ask for water and fire, there is no man 
 who will not give them, such is the abundance of these 
 
184 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 things. A sage governs the empire so as to cause pulse 
 and grain to be as abundant as water and fire. When 
 pulse and grain are as plenty as water and fire, how 
 shall the people be other than virtuous ? " 
 
 XXIY. 1. Mencius said, "Confucius ascended the 
 eastern hill, and Loo appeared to him small. He as- 
 cended the T^ae mountain, and all beneath the heavens 
 appeared to him small. So, he who has contemplated 
 the sea, finds it difficult to think any thing of other 
 waters, and he who has wandered in the gate of the 
 sage, finds it difficult to think anything of the words of 
 others, 
 
 2. " There is an art in the contemplation of water. — 
 It is necessary to look at it as foaming in waves. The 
 sun and moon being possessed of brilliancy, their light 
 admitted even through an orifice illuminates. 
 
 3. " Flowing water is a thing which does not proceed 
 till it has filled the hollows in its course. The student 
 who has set his mind on the doctrines of the sage, does 
 not advance to them but by completing one lesson af- 
 ter another." 
 
 XXY. 1. Mencius said, " He who rises at cock- 
 crowing, and addresses himself earnestly to the prac- 
 tice of virtue, is a disciple of Shun. 
 
 2. " He who rises at cock-crowing, and addresses him- 
 self earnestly to the pursuit of gain, is a disciple of 
 Chih. 
 
 3. " If you want to know what separates Shun from 
 Chih, it is simply this, — the interval between the thought 
 of gain and the thought of virtue." 
 
 XXVI. 1. Mencius said, " The principle of the phi- 
 losopher Yang was — ^ Each one for himself Though 
 he might have benefitted the whole empire by plucking 
 out a single hair, he would not have done it. 
 
 2. " The philosopher Mih loves all equally. If by 
 rubbing smooth his whole body from the crown to the 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 185 
 
 heel^ he could have benefited the empire, he would 
 have done it. 
 
 3. "Tsze-moh holds a medium between these. By 
 holding that medium, he is nearer the right. But by 
 holding it without leaving room for the exigency of 
 circumstances, it becomes like their holding their one 
 point. 
 
 4. " The reason why I hate that holding to one point 
 is the injury it does to the way of right 2^^inciple. It 
 takes up one point and disregards a hundred others." 
 
 XXVII. 1. Mencius said, " The hungry think any 
 food sweet, and the thirsty think the same of any drink, 
 and thus they do not get the right taste of what they 
 eat and drink. The hunger and thirst, in fact, injure 
 their palate. And is it only the mouth and belly which 
 are injured by hunger and thirst ? Men's minds are 
 also injured by them. 
 
 2. " If a man can prevent the evils of hunger and 
 thirst from being any evils to his mind, he need not 
 have any sorrow about not being up with other men." 
 
 XXVIII. Mencius said, " Hwuy of Lew-hea would 
 not for the three highest ofiices of state have changed 
 his firm purpose of life." 
 
 XXIX. Mencius said, " A man with definite aims to 
 be accomplished may be compared to one digging a 
 well. To dig the well to a depth of seventy-two cubits, 
 a7id stop without reaching the spring, is after all throw- 
 ing away the well." 
 
 XXX. 1. Mencius said, '^ Benevolence and righteous- 
 ness were natural to Yaou and Shun. T^ang and Woo 
 made them their own. The five chiefs of the princes 
 feigned them. 
 
 2. " Having borrowed them long and not returned 
 them, how could it be known they did not own them ?" 
 
 XXXI. 1. Kung-sun Ch^ow said, "E Yin said, a 
 cannot be near and see him so disobedient to reason,' 
 
186 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 and therewith he banished T^ae-kea to T^ung. The peo- 
 ple were much pleased. When T^ae-kea became virtu- 
 ous, he brought him back, and the people were again 
 much pleased. 
 
 2. " When worthies are ministers, may they indeed 
 banish their sovereigns in this way, when they are not 
 virtuous ? " 
 
 3. Mencius replied, " If they have the same purpose 
 as E Yin, they may. If they have not the same pur- 
 pose, it would be usurpation." 
 
 XXXII. 1. Kung-sun Ch^ow said, " It is said, in the 
 Book of Poetry, 
 
 ^ He will not eat the bread of idleness ! ' 
 How is it that we see superior men eating without la- 
 bouring ? " Mencius replied, " When a superior man re- 
 sides in a country, if its sovereign employ his counsels, 
 he comes to tranquillity, wealth, honour, and glory. If 
 the young in it follow his instructions, they become fil- 
 ial, obedient to their elders, true hearted, and faithful. 
 — What greater example can there be than this of not 
 eating the bread of idleness ? " 
 
 XXXin. 1. The king's son. Teen, asked Mencius, 
 saying, " What is the business of the unemployed schol- 
 ar?" 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " To exalt his aim." 
 
 3. Teen asked again, " What do you mean by exalt- 
 ing the aim ? " The answer was, " Setting it simply on 
 benevolence and righteousness. He thinks how to put 
 a single innocent person to death is contrary to benev- 
 olence ; how to take what one has not a right to is con- 
 trary to righteousness ; that one's dwelhng should be 
 benevolence ; and one's path should be righteousness. 
 When benevolence is the dwelling-place of the heart, 
 and righteousness the path of the life, the business of a 
 great man is complete." 
 
 XXXIV. 1. Mencius said, "Supposing that the king- 
 
WORKS OP liIENCIUS. 187 
 
 dom of Ts^e were offered, contrary to righteousness, to 
 CUin Chung, he would not receive it, and all people be- 
 lieve in him, as a man of the highest worth. But this 
 is only the righteousness which declines a dish of rice 
 or a platter of soup. A man can have no greater 
 crimes than to disown his parents and relatives, and the 
 relations of sovereign and minister, superiors and infe- 
 riors. How can it be allowed to give a man credit for 
 the great excellencies because he possessess a small 
 one?" 
 
 XXXY. 1. T^aou Ying asked, saying, " Shun being 
 emperor, and Kaou-yaou chief minister of justice, if 
 Koo-sow had murdered a man, what would have been 
 done in the case ? " 
 
 2. Mencius said, " Kaou-yaou would simply have ap- 
 prehended him." 
 
 3. "But would not Shun have forbidden such a 
 thing?" 
 
 4. "Indeed, how could Shun have forbidden it? 
 Kaou-yaou had received the law from a proper source." 
 
 5. " In that case what would Shun have done ? " 
 
 6. " Shun would have regarded abandoning the em- 
 pire as throwing away a worn out sandal. He would 
 privately have taken his father on his back, and re- 
 tired into concealment, living somewhere along the sea- 
 coast. There he would have been all his life, cheerful 
 and happy, forgetting the empire." 
 
 XXXVI. 1. Mencius, going from Fan to Ts^e, saw 
 the king of Ts^e's son at a distance, and said with a 
 sigh, "One's position alters the ^vc^just as the nurture 
 affects the body. Great is the influence of position ! 
 Are not we all men's sons ? " 
 
 2. Mencius said, "The residence, the carriages and 
 horses, and the dress of the king's son, are mostly the 
 same as those of other men. That he looks so is occa- 
 sioned by his position. How much more should a pecfUr 
 
188 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 liar air distinguish him whose position is in the wide 
 house of the world ! 
 
 3. '' When the prince of Loo went to Sung, he called 
 out at the 'Pee-chih gate, and the keeper said, ^This is 
 not our prince. How is it that his voice is so like that 
 of our prince?' This was occasioned by nothing but 
 the correspondence of their positions." 
 
 XXXYIL 1. Mencius said, " To feed a scholar and 
 not love him, is to treat him as a pig. To love him and 
 not respect him, is to keep him as a domestic animal. 
 
 2. " Honouring and respecting are what exist before 
 any offering of gifts. 
 
 3. "If there be honouring and respecting without 
 the reality of them, a superior man may not be re- 
 tained by such empty demonstrations P 
 
 XXXVin. Mencius said, " The bodily organs with 
 their functions belong to our Heaven-conferred nature. 
 But a man must be a sage before he can satisfy the de- 
 sign of his bodily organization." 
 
 XXXIX. 1. The king Suen of Ts^e wanted to short- 
 en the period of mourning. Kung-sun Ch^ow said, "To 
 have one whole year's mourning is better than doing 
 away with it altogether." 
 
 2. Mencius said, " That is just as if there were one 
 twisting the arm of his elder brother, and you were 
 merely to say to him — ^Gently, gently, if you please.' 
 Your only course should be to teach such an one filial 
 piety and fraternal duty." 
 
 3. At that time, the mother of one of the king's sons 
 had died, and his tutor asked for him that he might be 
 allowed to observe a few month's mourning. Kung- 
 sun Ch^ow asked, " What do you say of this ? " 
 
 4. Mencius replied, " This is a case where the party 
 wishes to complete the whole period, but finds it impos- 
 sible to do so. The addition of even a single day is 
 better than not mourning at all. I spoke of the case 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 189 
 
 where there was no hindrance, and the party neglected 
 the thing himself." 
 
 XL. 1. Mencius said^ " There are five ways in which 
 the superior man effects his teaching. 
 
 2. " There are some on whom his influence descends^ 
 like seasonable rain. 
 
 3. "There are some whose virtue he perfects, and 
 some of whose talents he assists the development. 
 
 4. " There are some whose inquiries he answers. 
 
 5. " There are some who privately cultivate and cor- 
 rect themselves. 
 
 6. " These five ways are the methods in which the 
 superior man efiects his teaching." 
 
 XLI. 1. Kung-sun Ch^ow said, " Lofty are your prin- 
 ciples and admirable, but to learn them may well be 
 likened to ascending the heavens, something which can- 
 not be reached. Why not adapt your teaching so as to 
 cause learners to consider them attainable, and so daily 
 exert themselves." 
 
 2. Mencius said, " A great artificer does not, for the 
 sake of a stupid workman, alter or do away with the 
 marking line. E did not, for the sake of a stupid ar- 
 cher, change his rule for drawing the bow. 
 
 3. " The superior man draws the bow, but does not 
 discharge the arrow. The whole thing seems to leap 
 before the learner. Such is his standing exactly in the 
 middle of the right path. Those who are able, follow 
 him." 
 
 XLII. 1. Mencius said, " When right principles pre- 
 vail throughout the empire, one's principles must ap- 
 pear along with one's person. When right principles 
 disappear from the empire, one's person must vanish 
 along with one's principles. 
 
 2. " I have not heard of one's principles being de- 
 pendent for their manifestation on other men." 
 
 XLIII. 1. The disciple Kung-too said, " When Kang 
 23 
 
190 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 of T^ang made his appearance in your school, it seemed 
 proper that a poUte consideration should be paid to him, 
 and yet you did not answer him. Why was that ? " 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " I do not answer him who ques- 
 tions me presuming on his nobility, nor him who pre- 
 sumes on his talents, nor him who presumes on his age, 
 nor him who presumes on services performed to me, 
 nor him who presumes on old acquaintance. Two of 
 those things were chargeable on Kang of T^ang." 
 
 XLiy. 1. Mencius said, "He who stops short where 
 stopping is not allowable, will stop short in every thing. 
 He who behaves shabbily to those whom he ought to 
 treat well, will behave shabbily to all. 
 
 2. " He who advances with precipitation will retire 
 with speed." 
 
 XLY. Mencius said, "In regard to inferior creatures, 
 the superior man is kind to them, but not loving. In 
 regard to people generally, he is loving to them, but 
 not affectionate. He is affectionate to his parents, and 
 lovingly disposed to people generally. He is lovingly 
 disposed to people generally, and kind to creatures." 
 
 XLYI. 1. Mencius said, "The wi^e embrace all 
 knowledge, but they are most earn.est about what is of 
 the greatest importance. The benevolent embrace all 
 in their love, but what they consider of the greatest 
 importance is to cultivate an earnest affection for the 
 virtuous. Even the wisdom of Yaou and Shun did not 
 extend to everything, but they attended earnestly to 
 what was important. Their benevolence did not show 
 itself in acts of kindness to every man, but they ear- 
 nestly cultivated an affection for the virtuous. 
 
 2. " Not to be able to keep the three years' mourn- 
 ing, and to be very particular about that of three 
 months, or that of five months ; to eat immoderately 
 and swill down the soup, and at the same time to in- 
 quire about the precept not to tear the meat with the 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 191 
 
 teeth ; — such things show what I call an ignorance of 
 what is most important." 
 
 BOOK VII 
 TSIN SIN. PAET H. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Mencius said, "The opposite indeed 
 of benevolent was the king Hwuy of Leang ! The be- 
 nevolent, beginning with what they care for, proceed 
 to what they do not care for. Those who are the op- 
 posite of benevolent, beginning with what they do not 
 care for, proceed to what they care for." 
 
 2. Kung-sun Ch^ow said, "What do you mean?" 
 Mencius answered, " The king Hwuy of Leang, for the 
 matter of territory, tore and destroyed his people, lead- 
 ing them to battle. . Sustaining a great defeat, he would 
 engage again, and afraid lest they should not be able to 
 secure the victory, urged his son whom he loved till he 
 sacrificed him with them. This is what I call — ^ begin- 
 ning with what they do not care for, and proceeding to 
 what they care for.' " 
 
 II. 1. Mencius said, " In the ^ Spring and Autumn' 
 there are no righteous wars. Instances indeed there 
 are of one war better than another. 
 
 2. " ^ Correction ' is when the supreme authority pun- 
 ishes its subjects by force of arms. Hostile States do 
 not correct one another." 
 
 HI. 1. Mencius said, " It would be better to be with- 
 out the Book of History than to give entire credit to it. 
 
192 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 2. " In the ' Completion of the War', I select two or 
 three passages only, which I believe. 
 
 3. "The benevolent man has no enemy under heaven. 
 When the prince the most benevolent was engaged 
 against him who was the most the opposite, how could 
 the blood of the people have flowed till it floated the pes- 
 tles of the mortars ? " 
 
 lY. 1. Mencius said, " There are men who say — ^ I 
 am skilful at marshalling troops, I am skilful at conduct- 
 ing a battle ! * — They are great criminals. 
 
 2. " If the sovereign of a state love benevolence, he 
 will have no enemy in the empire. 
 
 3. " When 'Pang was executing his work of correc- 
 tion in the south, the rude tribes on the north mur- 
 mured. When he was executing it in the east, the rude 
 tribes on the west murmured. Their cry was — ' Why 
 does he make us last ? ' 
 
 4. " When king Woo punished Yin, he had only three 
 hundred chariots of war, and three thousand life-guards. 
 
 5. " The king said, ' Do not fear. Let me give you 
 repose. I am no enemy to the people ! On this, they 
 bowed their heads to the earth, like the horns of ani- 
 mals falling off.' 
 
 6. " ' Imperial correction' is but another word for rec- 
 tifying. Each State wishing itself to be corrected, 
 what need is there for fighting ? " 
 
 Y. Mencius said, " A carpenter or a carriage-maker 
 may give a man the circle and square, but cannot make 
 him skilful in the use of themr 
 
 YI. Mencius said, "Shun's manner of eating his 
 parched grain and herbs was as if he were to be doing 
 so all his life. When he became emperor, and had the 
 embroidered robes to wear, the lute to play, and the 
 two daughters of Taou to wait on him, he was as if 
 those things belonged to him as a matter of course." 
 
 YII. Mencius said, " From this time forth I know 
 
WORKS OF JVIENCIUS. 193 
 
 the heavy consequences of kilHng a man's near rela- 
 tions. When a man kills another's father, that other 
 will kill his father ; when a man kills another's elder 
 brother, that other will kill his elder brother. So he 
 does not himself indeed do the act, but there is only an 
 interval between him and it." 
 
 YIII. 1. Mencius said, "Anciently, the establishment 
 of the frontier-gates was to guard against violence. 
 
 2, " Now-a-days, it is to exercise violence." 
 
 IX. Mencius said, " If a man himself do not walk in 
 the right path, it will not be walked in even by his wife 
 and children. If he do not order men according to 
 the right way, he will not be able to get the obedience 
 of even his wife and children." 
 
 X. Mencius said, "A bad year cannot prove the 
 cause of death to him, whose stores of gain are large ; 
 an age of corruption cannot confound him whose equip- 
 ment of virtue is complete." 
 
 XL Mencius said, " A man who loves fame may be 
 able to decHne a kingdom of a thousand chariots, but 
 if he be not really the man to do such a thiug, it will 
 appear in his countenance, in the matter of a dish of 
 rice or a platter of soup." 
 
 XII. 1. Mencius said, " If men of virtue and ability 
 be not confided in, a State will become empty and void. 
 
 2. " Without the rules of propriety and distinctions 
 of right, the high and the low will be thrown into con- 
 fusion. 
 
 3. " Without the great principles of government and 
 their various business, there will not be wealth sufficient 
 for the expenditure." 
 
 XIII. Mencius said, '' There are instances of indi- 
 viduals without benevolence, who have got possession 
 of a single State, but there has been no instance of the 
 whole empire's being got possession of by one without 
 benevolence." 
 
194 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XIV. 1. Mencius said, "The people are the most 
 important element in a nation ; the spirits of the land 
 and grain are the next ; the sovereign is the lightest. 
 
 2. " Therefore to gain the peasantry is the way to 
 become emperor ; to gain the emperor is the way to be- 
 come a prince of a State ; to gain the prince of a State 
 is the way to become a great officer. 
 
 3. " When a prince endangers the altars of the spirits 
 of the land and grain, he is changed, and another ap- 
 pointed in his place. 
 
 4. " When the sacrificial victims have been perfect, 
 the millet in its vessels all pure, and the sacrifices of- 
 fered at their proper seasons, if yet there ensue drought, 
 or the waters overflow, the spirits of the land and grain 
 are changed, and others appointed in their place." 
 
 XY. Mencius said, " A sage is the teacher of a hun- 
 dred generations : — this is true of Pih-e and Hwuy of 
 Lew-hea. Therefore when men now hear the charac- 
 ter of Pih-e, the corrupt become pure, and the weak ac- 
 quire determination. When they hear the character 
 of Hwuy of Lew-hea, the mean become generous, and 
 the niggardly become liberal. Those two made them- 
 selves distinguished a hundred generations ago, and 
 after a hundred generations, those who hear of them, 
 are all aroused in this manner. Could such effects be 
 produced by them, if they had not been sages ? And 
 how much more did they affect those who were in con- 
 tiguity with them, and were warmed by them ! " 
 
 XVI. Mencius said, " Benevolence is the distinguish- 
 ing characteristic of man. As embodied in man's con- 
 duct, it is called the path of duty" 
 
 XVII. Mencius said, " When Confucius was leaving 
 Loo, he said, ' I will set out by-and-by ; ' — this was the 
 way for him to leave the State of his parents. When 
 he was leaving Ts'e, he strained off with his hand the 
 water in which his rice was being rinsed, took the rice, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 195 
 
 and went away ; — this was the way for him to leave a 
 strange State." 
 
 XVIII. Meneius said, " The reason why the supe- 
 rior man was reduced to straits between Ch'in and Ts'ae 
 was because neither the princes of the time nor their 
 ministers communicated with him." 
 
 XIX. 1. Mih K^e said, " Greatly am I from anything 
 to depend upon from the mouths of men!' 
 
 2. " Meneius observed, " There is no harm in that. 
 Scholars are more exposed than others to suffer from 
 the mouths of men. 
 
 3. " It is said, in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 ' My heart is disquieted and grieved, 
 I am hated by the crowd of mean creatures.* 
 Tills might have been said hy Confucius. And again, 
 ' Though he did not remove their wrath, 
 He did not let fall his own fame/ 
 This might he said of king Wan." 
 
 XX. Meneius said, " Anciently^ men of virtue and 
 talents by means of their own enlightenment made 
 others enlightened. Now-a-days, it is tried, while they 
 are themselves in darkness, and by means of that dark- 
 ness, to make others enlightened." 
 
 XXI. Meneius said to the disciple Kaou, " There are 
 the foot-paths along the hills ; — if suddenly they be 
 used, they become roads ; and if, as suddenly they are 
 not used, the wild grass fills them up. Now, the wild 
 grass fills up your mind." 
 
 XXII. 1. The disciple Kaou said, "The music of 
 Yu was better than that of king Wan." 
 
 2. "Meneius observed, " On what ground do you say 
 so ? " and the other replied, " Because at the pivot the 
 knob of Yu's bells is nearly worn through." 
 
 3. Meneius said, " How can that be a sufficient proof? 
 Are the ruts at the gate of a city made by a single 
 two-horsed chariot ? " 
 
196 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 XXIII. 1. When Ts^e was suffering from famine, 
 Ch'in Tsin said to Menciics, " The people are all think- 
 ing that you. Master, will again ask that the granary 
 of T^ang be opened for them. I apprehend you wHl 
 not do so a second time." 
 
 2. Mencius said, " To do it would be to act like Fung 
 Foo. There was a man of that name in Tsin, famous 
 for his skill in seizing tigers. Afterwards, he became a 
 scholar of reputation, and going once out to the wild 
 country, he found the people all in • pursuit of a tiger. 
 The tiger took refuge in a corner of a hill, where no 
 one dared to attack him, but when they saw Fung Foo, 
 they ran and met him. Fung Foo immediately bared 
 his arms, and descended from the carriage. The mul- 
 titude were pleased with him, but those who were schol- 
 ars laughed at him." 
 
 XXIV. 1. Mencius said, " For the mouth to desire 
 sweet tastes, the eye to desire hedutiful colours, the ear 
 to desire pleasant sounds, the nose to desire fragrant 
 odours, and the four limbs to desire ease and rest ; — 
 these things are natural. But there is the appointment 
 of Heaven in connection with them, and the superior 
 man does not say of his pursuit of them, ' It is my na- 
 ture.' 
 
 2. " The exercise of love between father and son, the 
 observance of righteousness between sovereign and 
 minister, the rules of ceremony between guest and 
 host, the display of knowledge m recognizing the tal- 
 ented, and the ficlfilling the heavenly course by the 
 sage; — these are the- appointment of Heaven. But 
 there is an adaptation of our nature /or them. The su- 
 perior man does not say, in reference to them, ' It is the 
 appointment of Heaven.' " 
 
 XXV. 1. Haou-sang Puh-hae asked, saying, " What 
 sort of man is Yo-ching ? " Mencius replied, " He is a 
 good man, a real man." 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 197 
 
 2. " What do you mean by ' A good man/ ' A real 
 man ? ' " 
 
 3. The reply was, " A man who commands our liking, 
 is what is called a good man. 
 
 4. " He whose goodness is part of himself, is what is 
 called a real man. 
 
 6. " He whose goodness has been filled up, is what is 
 called a beautiful man. 
 
 6. "He whose completed goodness is brightly dis- 
 played, is what is called a great man. 
 
 7. "When this great man exercises a transforming 
 influence, he is what is called a sage. 
 
 8. " When the sage is beyond our knowledge, he is 
 what is called a spirit-man. 
 
 9. " Yo-ching is between the i^o first characters, and 
 below the four last.'* 
 
 XXVI. 1. Mencius said, "Those who are fleeing 
 from the errors of Mih naturally turn to Yang, and 
 those who are fleeing from the errors of Yang naturally 
 turn to orthodoxy. When they so turn, they should 
 at once and simply be received. 
 
 2. " Those who now-a-days dispute with the followers 
 of Yang and Mih, do so as if they were pursuing a 
 stray pig, the leg of which after they have got it to en- 
 ter the pen, they proceed to tie. 
 
 XXVII. Mencius said, " There are the exactions of 
 hempen-cloth and silk, of grain, and of personal service. 
 The prince requires but one of these at once, deferring 
 the other two. If he require two of them at once, 
 then the people die of hunger. If he require the three 
 at once, then fathers and sons are separated." 
 
 XXVIII. Mencius said, " The precious things of a 
 prince are three ; — the territory, the people, the gov- 
 ernment and its business. If one value as most pre- 
 cious pearls and stones, calamity is sure to befall him." 
 
 XXIX. Fun-shing Kwoh having obtained an ofiicial 
 24 
 
198 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 situation in Ts^e, Mencius said, " He is a dead man, — 
 P^un-shing Kwoh!" P^m-shing Kwoh being put to 
 death, the disciples asked, saying. '-' How did you know, 
 Master, that he would meet with death ? " Mencius re- 
 plied, " He was a man, who had a little ability, but had 
 not learned the great doctrines of the superior man. — 
 He was just qualified to bring death upon himself, but 
 for nothing more." 
 
 XXX. 1. When Mencius went to T^ang, he was 
 lodged in the upper palace. A sandal in the process of 
 making had been placed there in a window, and when 
 the keeper of the place came to look for it, he could not 
 find it. 
 
 2. On this, some one asked Mencius, saying, " Is it 
 thus that your followers pilfer ? " Mencius replied, "Do 
 you think that they came here to pilfer the sandal ? " 
 The man said, "I apprehend not. But you. Master, 
 having arranged to give lessons, do not go back to in- 
 quire into the past, and you do not reject those who 
 come to you. If they come with the mind to learn, 
 you receive them without any more ado." 
 
 XXXI. 1. Mencius said, " All men have some things 
 which they cannot bear ; — extend that feeling to what 
 they can bear, and benevolence will be the result. All 
 men have some things which they will not do ; — extend 
 that feeling to the things which they do, and righteous- 
 ness will be the result." 
 
 2. " If a man can give full development to the feel- 
 ing which makes him shrink from injuring others, his 
 benevolence will be more than can be called into prac- 
 tice. If he can give full development to the feeling 
 which refuses to break through, or jump over, a wall, 
 his righteousness will be more than can be called into 
 practice. 
 
 3. " If he can give full development to the real feel- 
 ing of dislike with which he receives the salutation, 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 199 
 
 ' Thou/ ' Thou/ he will act righteously in all places 
 and circumstances. 
 
 4. " When a scholar speaks what he ought not to 
 speak, by guile of speech seeking to gain some end ; 
 and when he does not speak what he ought to speak, 
 by guile of silence seeking to gain some end ; — both 
 these cases are of a piece with breaking through a 
 neighbour's walU 
 
 XXXII. 1. Mencius said, " Words which are simple, 
 while their meaning is far-reaching, are good words. 
 Principles which, as held, are compendious, while their 
 application is extensive, are good principles. The 
 words of the superior man do not go below the girdle, 
 but greiat principles are contained in them. 
 
 2. "The principle which the superior man holds is 
 that of personal cultivation, but the empire is thereby 
 tranquillized." 
 
 3. " The disease of men is this : — that they neglect 
 their own fields, and go to weed the fields of others, 
 and that what they require from others is great, while 
 what they lay upon themselves is light." 
 
 XXXIII. 1. Mencius said, " Yaou and Shun were 
 what they were by nature ; T'ang and Woo were so 
 by returning to natural virtue. 
 
 2. "When all the movements, in the countenance 
 and every turn of the hody, are exactly what is proper, 
 that shows the extreme degree of the complete virtue. 
 Weeping for the dead should be from real sorrow, and 
 not because of the living. The regular path of virtue 
 is to be pursued without any bend, and from no view 
 to emolument. The words should all be necessarily 
 sincere, not with any desire to do what is right. 
 
 3. " The superior man performs the law of right, in 
 order that he may wait simply for what has been ap- 
 pointed." 
 
 XXXIY. 1. Mencius said, " Those who give coun- 
 
200 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 sel to the great should despise them, and not look at 
 their pomp and display. 
 
 2. " Halls several times eight cubits high, with beams 
 projecting several cubits ; — these, if my wishes were to 
 be realized, I would not have. Food spread before me 
 over ten cubits square, and attendant girls to the 
 amount of hundreds ; — these, though my wishes were 
 realized, I would not have. Pleasure and wine, and 
 the dash of hunting, with thousands of chariots follow- 
 ing after me ; — these, though my wishes were realized, 
 I would not have. What they esteem are what I 
 would have nothing to do with ; what I esteem are the 
 rules of the ancients. — Why should I stand in awe of 
 them ? " 
 
 XXXY. Mencius said, " To nourish the heart there 
 is nothing better than to make the desires few. Here 
 is a man whose desires are few : — in some things he 
 may not be able to keep his heart, but they will be few. 
 Here is a man whose desires are many : — in some things 
 he may be able to keep his heart, but they will be few." 
 
 XXXVI. 1. Mencius said, " Tsang Seih was fond of 
 sheep dates, and his son, the philosopher Tsang, could 
 not bear to eat sheep-dates." 
 
 2. Kung-sun Cli^ow asked, saying, " Which is best, — 
 minced meat and roasted meat, or sheep-dates ? " Men- 
 cius said, " Mince and roasted meat, to be sure." Kung- 
 sun Ch^ow went on, "Then why did the philosopher 
 Tsang eat mince and roast-meat, while he would not 
 eat sheep-dates? " Mencius answered, " For mince and 
 roast sheep-meat there is a common liking, while that 
 for sheep-dates was peculiar. We avoid the name, but 
 do not avoid the surname. The surname is common ; 
 the name is peculiar." 
 
 XXX YH. 1. Wan Chang asked, saying, " Confucius, 
 when he was in Ch^in, said, ' Let me return. The schol- 
 ars of my school are ambitious but hasty. They are 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 201 
 
 for advancing and seizing their object, but cannot for- 
 get their early ways/ Why did Confucius, when he 
 was in Ch^in, think of the ambitious scholars of Loo ? '* 
 
 2. Mencius replied, " Confucius not getting men pur- 
 suing the true medium, to whom he might communicate 
 his instructions, determined to take the ardent and the 
 cautiously-decided. The ardent would advance to seize 
 their object ; the cautiously-decided would keep them- 
 selves from certain things. It is not to be thought that 
 Confucius did not wish to get men pursuing the true 
 medium, but being unable to assure himself of finding 
 such, he therefore thought of the next class." 
 
 3. " I venture to ask what sort of men they were who 
 could be styled ' The ambitious ?' " 
 
 4. " Such," replied Mencius, " as K^in Chang, Tsang 
 Seih, and Muh Pei, were those whom Confucius styled 
 ' ambitious. ' " 
 
 5. " Why were they styled ' ambitious ? ' " 
 
 6. The reply was, " Their aim led them to talk mag- 
 niloquently, saying, ' The ancients 1 ' ' The ancients ! ' 
 But their actions, compared with their words, did not 
 come up to them." 
 
 7. " When he found also that he could not get such 
 as were thus ambitious, he wanted to get scholars who 
 would consider anything impure as beneath them. 
 Those were the cautiously-decided, — a class next to 
 the former." 
 
 8. Chang pursued his questioning, " Confucius said, 
 * They are only your good careful people of the villages 
 at whom I feel no indignation, when they pass my door 
 without entering my house. Your good careful people 
 of the villages are the thieves of virtue?' What sort 
 of people were they who could be styled ' Your good 
 careful people of the villages ? ' " 
 
 9. Mencius replied, " They are those who say, ' Why 
 are they so magniloquent ? Their words have not re- 
 
202 CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 spect to their actions, and their actions have not respect 
 to their words, but they say, — The ancients ! The an- 
 cients ! Why do they act so pecuharly, and are so cold 
 and distant ? Born in this age, we should be of this 
 age, to be good is all that is needed.' Eunuch-like, 
 flattering their generation ; — «uch are your good care- 
 ful men of the villages." 
 
 10. Wan Chang said, "Their whole village styles 
 those men good and careful. In all their conduct they 
 are so. How was it that Confucius considered them 
 the thieves of virtue ? " 
 
 11. Mencius replied, "If you would blame them, you 
 find nothing to allege. If you would criticize them, 
 you have nothing to criticize. They agree with the 
 current customs. They consent with an impure age. 
 Their principles have a semblance of right-heartedness 
 and truth. Their conduct has a semblance of disinter- 
 estedness and purity. All men are pleased with them, 
 and they think themselves right, so that it is impossi- 
 ble to proceed with them to the principles of Yaou and 
 Shun. On this account they are called, ' The thieves 
 of virtue.' 
 
 12. "Confucius said, ^I hate a semblance which is 
 not the reality. I hate the darnel, lest it be confounded 
 with the corn. I hate glib-ton guedness, lest it be con- 
 founded with righteousness. I hate sharpness of tongue, 
 lest it be confounded with sincerity. I hate the music 
 of Ch^ing, lest it be confounded with the true music. I 
 hate the reddish blue, lest it be confounded with ver- 
 milion. I hate your good careful men of the villages, 
 lest they be confounded with the truly virtuous.' 
 
 13. " The superior man seeks simply to bring back 
 the unchanging standard, and that being rectified, the 
 masses are roused to virtue. When they are so aroused, 
 forthwith perversities and glossed wickedness disap- 
 pear." 
 
WORKS OF MENCIUS. 203 
 
 XXXVm. 1. Mencius said, " From Yaou and Shun 
 down to T^ang were 500 years and more. As to Yu and 
 Kaou-yaou, they saw those earliest sages, and so knew 
 their doctrines, while T^ang heard their doctrines as 
 transmitted, and so knew them. 
 
 2. " From 'Fang to king Wan were 500 years and 
 more. As to E Yin, and Lae Choo, they saw l^ang 
 and knew his doctrines, while king Wan heard them as 
 transmitted, and so knew them. 
 
 3. "From king Wan to Confucius were 500 years 
 and more. As to T^ae-kung Wang and San E-sang, 
 they saw Wan, and so knew his doctrines, while Con- 
 fucius heard them as transmitted, and so knew them. 
 
 4. ^^ From Confucius downwards until now, there are 
 only 100 years and somewhat more. The distance in 
 time from the sage is so far from being remote, and so 
 very near at hand was the sage's residence. In these 
 circumstances, is there no one to transmit his doctrines f 
 Yea, is there no one to do so f " 
 
IN^DEXES. 
 
 INDEX I. 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 The first figure, followed by a period (1.) is the number of the Book — that 
 followed by a colon (2:) is the Part — that which follows is the Chapter. 
 
 Absurdity of a ruler not following wise 
 counsellors, Book 1, Part 2, Chap. 9. 
 
 Acknowledged favours, how Mencius 
 6.2:5. 
 
 Action, faith necessary to firmness in 
 6. 2:12. 
 
 Adherence to one course, against ob- 
 stinate, 7. 1 : 26. 
 
 Advantages, the greatest, of friendship, 
 5.2:8. 
 
 Advice of Mencius with regard to 
 mourning, 3. 1:2. 
 
 Adviser of the princes might always be 
 perfectly satisfied, how an, 7. 1:9. 
 
 Aflaictions, benefits of, 7. 1 : 18. 
 
 Aged the, were nourished by the gov 
 ernment of king Wan, 7. 1 : 22. 
 
 Ages, diflferent conduct of great men in 
 diffferent, reconcileable, 4. 2 : 29 
 
 Agreement of sages not afifected by 
 place or time, 4. 2:1. 
 
 Agriculture, importance of a ruler at- 
 tending to, 3. 1 : 3. — a ruler should 
 not labour at with his own hands, 3. 
 1:4. 
 
 Air, how one's material position affects 
 his, 7. 1 : 36. 
 
 Ambition, and avarice, evils of, 1. 2: 
 11.— of Hwuy of Leang, 7. 2:1. 
 
 Ambitious, who are the, 7. 2 : 37. 
 
 Ancient(s), the, shared their pleasures 
 with the people, 1. 1 : 2. — surpassed 
 other men in what, 1. 1 : 7. — ^the mu- 
 sic of the, 1. 2 : 1. — emperors, tours 
 of inspection made by, 1. 2:4; 6. 2 : 
 7.— -coffins used by the, 2. 2: 7.— 
 sages, how all men may become 
 equal to the, 3. 1 : 1. — kings prac- 
 tised benevolent government, 3. 2: 
 5. — Mencius appeals to the example 
 
 -kings, 
 the example and principles of, must 
 be studied, 4. 1:1, 2. — the, ex- 
 changed sons, each one teaching the 
 son of the other, 4. 1 : 18. — making 
 friends of the, 5. 2 : 8.— the, culti- 
 vated the nobility that is of Heaven, 
 
 6. 1: 16. — scholars maintained the 
 dignity of their characters, how, 7. 
 1 : 8. — and modern rule contrasted, 
 
 7. 2 : 8. — the, led men by their exam- 
 ple, 7. 2:20. 
 
 Animals, man how much different from, 
 4. 2:19. 
 
 Antiquity, the example of, 7. 1:9. 
 
 Appetites, the superior man subjects 
 his to the will of Heaven, 7. 1 : 24. 
 
 Archer, he who would be benevolent 
 is like an, 2. 1 : 7. 
 
 Archery, learning, 4. 1 : 24 ; 6. 1 : 20. 
 
 Arrangement of dignities and emolu- 
 ments according to the dynasty of 
 Chow, 5. 2:2. 
 
 Association, influence of, 3. 2 : 6 ; 6. 1 : 
 9. — with those of whom one does not 
 approve, unavoidable, 3. 2 : 10. 
 
 Attainment, real must be made by the 
 learner for himself, 7. 2:5. 
 
 Authority, punishment should be in- 
 flicted only by the proper, 2. 2:8. 
 
 Barbarians, influence of the Chinese 
 on, 3. 1:4.; 2 : 9. 
 
 Barley, illustration taken from, 6. 1 : 7. 
 
 Beauty, the love of, compatible with 
 royal government, 1. 2: 5. — only 
 moral is truly excellent, 4. 2 : 25. 
 
 Behaviour of Mencius with an unwor- 
 thy associate, 2. 2:6. 
 
 Benefits of trouble and affliction, 7. 1 : 
 18. 
 
 (204) 
 
SUBJECTS IN WOKKS OP MENCIUS. 
 
 205 
 
 Benevolence and righteousness, 1. 1: 
 1.; 6. 2:4. — belongs naturally to 
 man. 2. 1: 6.; 4. 1: 10.; 6. 1: 1.; 7. 
 1 : 15. ; 2 : 16. — exhortation to, 2. 1 : 
 7. — importance to all of exercising, 
 4. 1: 2. — the only security of a 
 prince, 4. 1 : 7, 8, 9. — filial piety the 
 richest fruit of, 4. 1 : 27. — the supe- 
 rior man preserves, 4. 2: 28. — and 
 righteousness equally internal, 6. 1 : 
 4, 5. — it is necessary to practice with 
 all one's might, 6. 1 : 18. — must be 
 matured, 6. 1: 19. — ^and righteous- 
 ness, the difierence between Yaou 
 and Shun, T'ang and Woo, and the 
 five Chiefs in relation to, 7. 1 : 30. — 
 the empire can be got only by, 7. 2 : 
 13. 
 
 Benevolent government, 1. 1 : 5, 7. ; 3. 
 1 : 3. ; 4. 1 : 1. — safety and prosperi- 
 ty lie in, 1. 2 : 11. — afiections of the 
 people secured by, 1. 2 : 12. — glory 
 the result of, 2. 2 : 4. — the prince who 
 sets about practising has none to 
 fear, 3. 2:5. 
 
 Bodily defects, how men are sensible 
 of, 6. 2: 11. — organization, only 
 sage can satisfy the design of his, 7. 
 1:38. 
 
 Book of Eites, quotations from, 2. 2 : 
 2.; 3. 2: 3.; 4. 1:1. 
 
 Brilliant Palace, the, 1. 2: 5 
 
 Burial, Mencius', ot his father, 2. 2:8.; 
 of Mih's parents, 3. 1:5. 
 
 Calamity and happiness, are men's own 
 seeking, 2. 1 : 4. — the superior man 
 is beyond the reach of, 4. 2 : 28. 
 
 Calumny, comfort under, 7. 2 : 19. 
 
 Careful, the thought of consequences 
 should make men, 7. 2:7. 
 
 Cattle and sheep, illustration taken 
 from feeding, 2. 2:4. 
 
 Character, how men judge wrongly of, 
 7. 1 : 34. — dififerent degrees of attain- 
 ment in, 7. 2:25. 
 
 Charge of one's-self the greatest of 
 charges, 4. 1 : 19. 
 
 Chess-playing, illustration from, 6. 1: 
 9. 
 
 Chief ministers, the duties of, 5. 2:9. 
 
 Chiefs of the princes, the five, 6. 2:7. 
 
 Chieftain of the princes not a sovereign 
 of the Empire, 2. 1 : 3. — influence of 
 a, different from that of a true sov 
 ereign, 7. 1 : 13. 
 
 Child-like, the great man is, 4. 2 : 12. 
 
 Comfort under calumny, 3. 2 : 19. 
 
 25 
 
 Common relations of life, importance 
 of to the prosperity of the empire, 
 4.1:11. 
 
 Compass and square, use of the, 4. 1 : 
 2. 
 
 Condemnation of Hwuy of Leang, 7. 
 ^ : 1. 
 
 Confidence of the Sovereign, how to 
 obtain, 4. 1 : 12. 
 
 Consequences, the thought of should 
 make men careful, 6. 2:7. 
 
 Concert, the character of Confucius a 
 complete, 5. 2:1. 
 
 Conspicuous mound, monopolizing the, 
 2. 2:10. 
 
 Constitution, benevolence and right- 
 eousness part of man's, 7. 1 : 15. 
 
 Conviction, how Mencius brought 
 home, 2. 2:4. 
 
 Cookery, E Yin's knowledge of, 5. 1 : 
 7. 
 
 Corn, assisting, to grow, 2. 1:2. 
 
 Corrupt times are provided against by 
 estabUshed virtue, 7. 2 : 10. 
 
 Counsellors of great men should be 
 morally above them, 7. 2 : 34. 
 
 Counselling princes from the ground of 
 profit, danger of, 6. 2 : 4. 
 
 Counsels for the government of a king- 
 dom, 3. 1 : 3. 
 
 Courses, two, open to a prince pursued 
 by his enemies, 1. 2: 15. — of Yaou 
 and Shun, 6. 2:2. 
 
 Court, Mencius would not pay to a fa- 
 vourite, 4. 2 : 27. 
 
 Cultivation, men's disregard of self-, 6. 
 1 : 13. — men may become Yaoiis and 
 Shuns by the, of their principles and 
 ways, 6. 2 : 2. — of the mind must not 
 be intermitted, 7. 2 : 21. 
 
 Death or flight, whether should be cho- 
 sen, 1. 2 : 15. — there are things which 
 men dislike more than death, 6. 1 : 10. 
 — how Mencius prdicted the, of P'uu 
 Shing-kwoh. 7. 2 : 29. 
 
 Decencies may not be expected, where 
 virtues are wanting, 7. 1 : 44. 
 
 Decrees of Heaven, man's duty as af- 
 fected by the, 7. 1:2. 
 
 Deeds, not words or manners, prove 
 mental qualities, 4. 1:16. 
 
 Defects, men are sensible of bodily, but 
 not of mental or moral, 6. 1 : 12. 
 
 Defence of Shun's conduct, 5. 1:2, 3. 
 — of E Yin, 5. 1 : 7. — of Confucius, 
 5. 1 : 8. — of accepting presents from 
 oppressors of the people, 5. 2:4. 
 
206 
 
 SURJECTS IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 Degeneracy, the progress of, from the 
 three kings to the five chiefs of the 
 princes, 6. 2:7. 
 
 Deluge, the Chinese, 3. 1 : 4. ; 2 : 9. ; 4. 
 2:26.; 6. 2:11. 
 
 Desires, the regulation of, essential, 7. 
 2:35. 
 
 Developing their natural goodness may 
 make men equal the ancient sages, 
 3. 1:1.; 7. 2:31. 
 
 Dignities, arrangement of in the dynas- 
 ty Chow, 5. 2:2. 
 
 Dignity, how the ancient scholars main- 
 tained their, 7. 1 : 8. — how Mencius 
 maintained his with the princes, 7. 2 : 
 23. 
 
 Disappointment of Mencius with the 
 king Seang, 1. 1:6. 
 
 Discrimination of what is right and 
 wrong must precede vigorous right- 
 doing, 4. 2:8. 
 
 Disgraceful means which men take to 
 seek wealth and honour, 4. 2: 33. 
 
 Disposition, a man's true, will often ap- 
 pear in small matters, 7. 2 : 11. 
 
 Disputing, Mencius, not fond of, 3. 2 : 9. 
 
 Dissatisfaction with a parent, not nec- 
 essarily unfllial, 6. 2:3. 
 
 Division of labour, propriety of the, 3. 
 1:4. 
 
 Doctrine, of the Mihists refuted, 3. 1 : 
 5.— heretical, 3. 2:9.— of the Mean, 
 quotation from the, 4. 1 : 12. — of the 
 sages, to be advanced to by succes- 
 sive steps, 7. 1 : 24. — on the transmis- 
 sion of, from Yaou to Mencius' own 
 time, 7. 2 : 38. 
 
 Duties which the virtuous and talented 
 owe to the young and ignorant, 4. 2 : 
 7. — of different classes of chief min- 
 isters, 5. 2:9. 
 
 Duty, man's, how affected by the de- 
 crees of Heaven, 7. 1 : 2. — benevo 
 lence the path of, 7. 2: 16. 
 
 Dynasties, Hea, Yin and Chow, 2. 1 
 1.; 3.1:3.; 5. 2 : 6.— Chow, 2. 2:13.; 
 5. 2 : 2.— the three, 3. 1 : 2. ; 4. 1 : 3. ; 
 2 : 20.— Hea and Yin, 4. 1 : 2.— Shang, 
 Yin and Chow, 4. 1 : 7. 
 
 Earth, advantages of situation afforded 
 by the, 2. 2 : 1. 
 
 Earth-worm, an over-fastidious scholar 
 compared to an, 3. 2 : 10. 
 
 Education, importance of a ruler at 
 tending to, 3. 1:3. 
 
 Elated by riches, not to be, a proof of 
 superiority, 7. 1:11. 
 
 Emoluments, arrangement of in the 
 Chow dynasty, 5. 2:2. 
 
 Emperor, friendship with an, 5. 2 : 4. — 
 equanimity of Shun as an, 7. 2:6. 
 
 Empire, by whom the torn, may be 
 united, 1. 1 : 6. — king Hwuy's com- 
 petence to obtain the, 1. 1 : 7. — em- 
 ployment of Mencius would be for 
 the good of the whole, 2. 2 : 12.— to 
 the State, the Family, 4. 1: 5. — the 
 way to get the, 4. 1 : 9. ; 7. 2 : 13.— 
 tranquillity of dependent on what, 
 4. 1 : 11. — a drowning, 4. 1 : 17. — how 
 Shun got the, 5. 1: 5. — how Shun 
 would have regarded abandoning the, 
 7. 1:35. 
 
 End, the, may justify the means, 7. 1: 
 31. 
 
 Enjoyment, man's nature the source of 
 his true, 7. 1:21. 
 
 Equanimity of Shun in poverty, and as 
 emperor, 7. 2:6. 
 
 Error of a Mihist refuted, 3. 1:5.; 2: 
 9. 
 
 Errors of Yang, Mih, and Tsze-moh, 7. 
 1:26.; 7. 2:26. 
 
 Evil, a warning to the violently, and 
 the weakly, 4. 1 : 10. — speaking,brings 
 with it evil consequences, 4. 2:9. 
 
 Exactions just, should be made with 
 discrimination, 7. 2 : 27. 
 
 Example, influence of, 3. 2 : 6 . — influ- 
 ence of a rulers', 4. 2: 5. — the an- 
 cients led men by, 7. 2 : 20. 
 
 Excellence, how a prince may subdue 
 men by, 4. 2 : 16. 
 
 Excusing of errors, how Mencius beat 
 down the, 2. 2:9. 
 
 Exhortation to benevolence, 2. 1:7. 
 
 Explanation of friendly intercourse 
 with Kwang Chang, 4. 2 : 30.— of the 
 different conduct of Tsang and Tsze- 
 sze, 4. 2: 31. — of Shun's conduct 
 towards his brother, 5. 1 : 3. — id. tow- 
 ards the emperor Yaou, and his father 
 Koo-sow,5. 1:4.— oftheOdesSeaou 
 P'wan and Kae Fang, 6. 2:3. 
 
 Extreme cases must not be pressed to 
 invalidate a principle, 6. 2:1. 
 
 Faith, the necessity of, 6. 2: 12. 
 
 Fame, a love of, may carry a man over 
 great difficulties, 7. 2: 11. 
 
 Father, why a, does not himself teach 
 his own son, 4. 1 : 18. 
 
 Favour to individuals, good govern- 
 ment does not lie in, 4. 2 : 2. — how 
 Mencius acknowledged a, 6. 2 : 5. 
 
SUBJECTS IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 207 
 
 Favourite, Mencius would not pay 
 court to a, 4. 2 : 27. 
 
 Filial piety, to have posterity, a part of, 
 4. 1 : 26. — in relation to benevolence, 
 &c., 4. 1 : 27. — how Shun valued and 
 exemplified, 4. 1: 28. — seen in the 
 obsequies of parents, 4. 2 : IS.—of 
 Kwang Chang, 4. 2 : 30.— great, of 
 Shun, 5. 1 : 1, 4. — of Tsang-tsze seen, 
 7. 2:36. 
 
 Firmness of Hwuy of Lew-hea, 7. 1 : 
 28. 
 
 First judgments, are not always cor- 
 rect, 4. 2:23. 
 
 Five things which are unfllial, 4. 2 : 30. 
 — injunctions of the agreement of 
 the princes, 6. 2 : 7. — ways in which 
 the sage teaches, 7. 1 : 40. 
 
 Force, submission secured by, 2. 1 : 3. 
 
 Forester refusing to come to the king 
 of Ts*e when called by a flag, 5. 2 : 7. 
 
 Four Umbs, principles of the mind com- 
 pared to the, 2. 1: 6. — difi'erent 
 classes of ministers, 7. 1 : 19. 
 
 Fraternal obedience, in relation to 
 righteousness, &c., 4. 1: 27. — aflfec- 
 lion of Shun, 5. 1:3. 
 
 Freedom of Mencius, as unsalaried, to 
 speak out his mind, 2. 2:5. 
 
 Friends, carefulness in making, 4. 2 : 24. 
 
 Friendship, the principles of, 5. 2:3, 7, 
 8. 
 
 Gain, the love of, and the love of good, 
 contrasted, 7. 1 : 24. 
 
 Generosity of Mencius in receiving 
 pupils, 7. 2:30. 
 
 Gifts of princes, how Mencius declined 
 or accepted, 2. 2:3. 
 
 Glory the result of benevolent govern 
 ment, 2. 1:4. 
 
 God, the people assisting to, 1. 2 : 3. — 
 the ordinances of, 2. 1 : 4. ; 4. 1 : 4. — 
 the decree of, 4. 1 : 7. — who may sac- 
 rifice to, 4. 2 : 25. 
 
 Good, sages and worthies delighted in 
 what is, 2. 1: 8. — importance to a 
 government of lovmg what is, 6. 2 : 
 13. — man is fitted for, and happy in 
 doing, 7. 1 : 4. (See Nature) — peo- 
 ple should get their inspiration to in 
 themselves, 7. 1 : 10. — the love of, and 
 the love of gain contrasted, 7. 1 : 25. 
 words and principles, what are, 7. 2 : 
 32. 
 Goodness, different degrees of, 7. 2 : 25 
 Grain, illustration from growing, 1. 1 
 6. 
 
 Government, character of king Hwuy's, 
 1. 1:3, 4. — the love of music subser- 
 vient to good, 1. 2 : 1.— bad, of the 
 king of Ts'e, 1. 2 : 6. — of a kingdom, 
 counsels for the, 3. 1 : 3. — there is an 
 art of, which requires to be studied 
 by rulers and their ministers, 4. 1:1. 
 — the administration of, not difficnlt,_ 
 4. 1 : 6. — the influence of king Wan's, 
 
 4. 1: 13. — good, lies in equal meas- 
 ures for the general good, 4. 2 : 2. — 
 the aged were nourished by king 
 Wan's, 7. 1: 22.— the well-being of 
 the people the first care of a, 7. 1 : 
 23. 
 
 Great, houses, a ruler should secure the 
 esteem of the, 4. 1: 6. — services, 
 Heaven prepares men for, how, 6. 2. 
 15. 
 
 Great man, Mencius conception of the, 
 
 3. 2 : 2. — makes no mistakes in pro- 
 priety and righteousness, 4. 2: 6. — 
 simply pursues what is right, 4. 2: 
 11. — is child-like, 4. 2: 12. — in good 
 men a reconciling principle will be 
 found for the outwardly difi'erent 
 conduct of, 4. 2 : 29.— how some are, 
 6. 1: 15. — he who counsels, should be 
 morally above them, 7. 2 : 34. 
 
 Grief of Mencius at not finding an op- 
 portunity to do good, 2. 2 : 13. 
 
 Half measures of httle use, 1. 1:3. 
 
 Heaven, delighting in,, and fearing, 1. 
 2 : 3. — attaining to the imperial dig- 
 nity rests with, 1. 2: 14. — a man's 
 way in life is ordered by, 1. 2: 16.; 
 
 5. 1 : 8. — he who has no enemy in the 
 empire is the minister of, 2. 1 : 5. — 
 opportunities vouchsafed by, 2. 2:1, 
 — only the minister of, may smite a 
 nation, 2. 2: 8. — the superior man 
 does not murmur against, 2. 2 : 13. — 
 submission of States determined by, 
 
 4. 1 : 7. — Shun got the empire by the 
 gift of, 5. 1 : 5. 's plan in the pro- 
 duction of mankind, 5. 1 : 7. ; 2:1. 
 's places, offices, and emolu- 
 ments, 5. 2 : 3. — has given us, what, 
 
 6. 1 : 15.— the nobility of, 6. 1 : 16.— 
 prepares men by trials and hardships, 
 6. 2 : 15. — by the study of ourselves 
 we come to the knowledge of, 7. 1 : 
 1. — what may be correctly ascribed 
 to the appointment of, 7. 1 : 2. — con- 
 ferred nature, the bodily organs, a 
 part of the, 7. 1 : 38. — how the supe- 
 rior man regards the will of, 7. 2 : 24. 
 
208 
 
 SUBJECTS IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 Hearts, of men importance of getting 
 the, 2. 2 : 1. ; 4. 1 : 9.— the pupil of 
 the eye index of the, 4. 1 ; 15. — how 
 to nourish the, 7. 2 : 35. 
 
 Hire, the labourer is worthy of his, 3. 
 2:4. 
 
 Hereditary monarchy, Mencius' views 
 on, 5. 1:5, 6. 
 
 History, quotations from, 3. 1:2.; 2 : 
 1. 
 
 Heretics, recovered, should not have 
 their old errors cast in their teeth, 7. 
 2:26. 
 
 Honour, the true, which men should 
 desire, 6. 1 : 17. 
 
 Husbandry, importance of, 3. 1:3.; 7. 
 1: 22, 23. — a ruler should not labour 
 at, with his own hands, 3. 1:4. 
 
 Hypocrisy, Shun defended against a 
 charge of, 5. 1 : 2. 
 
 Imperial, government, characteristic of, 
 1. 1: 7. — dignity, attained by true 
 royal government, 1. 2 : 5. ; 2. 1 : 5. 
 — id. by doing what is good and right, 
 1. 2 : 14. — government, Mencius 
 wished to see, and could have real- 
 ised, a true, 2. 1: 1. — sovereign 
 should arise every 500 years, 2. 2 : 13. 
 — sway, not one of the things in 
 which the superior man delights, 7. 
 1:20. 
 
 Impulses must be weighed in the bal- 
 ance of reason, 4. 2 : 23. 
 
 Inability, defined, 1. 1:7. 
 
 Inauspicious words, what are most tru- 
 ly, 4. 2:17. 
 
 Influence of king Wan's government, 
 4. 1 : 13. — a man's, depends on his 
 personal example and conduct, 7. 2 : 
 9.— Pih-e, &c., proved to be sages by 
 the permanence of their, 7. 2 : 15. 
 
 Injunctions, five in the agreement of 
 the princes, 6. 2: 7. 
 
 Insinuations of Shun-yu K'wan, how 
 Mencius repelled the, 6. 2 : 6. 
 
 Inspiration to good, people should get 
 in themselves, 7. 1 : 10. 
 
 Instrumentality of others afifects one's 
 way in life, how far, 1. 2 : 16. 
 
 Intercourse with neighbouring king- 
 doms, 1.2: 3. — of Mencius with the 
 princes of his time, 3. 2:1. 
 
 Internal, the foundation of righteous- 
 ness is, 6. 1:4, 5. 
 
 Judgments, first, not always correct, 4. 
 2 : 23.— of character, how men form 
 wrong, 7. 1:34. 
 
 Judgment concerning Pih-e and Hwuy 
 of Lew-hea, 2. 1:9. 
 
 Killing a sovereign not necessarily 
 murder, 1. 2: 8. — men, a prince 
 should not have pleasure in, 1. 1:6. 
 — the character of, does not depend 
 on the instrument used, 1. 1 : 4. — the 
 innocent, consequences of, 4. 2 : 4. 
 
 Kings, the three, 6. 2 : 7. 
 
 Kingdoms, intercourse with neighbour- 
 ing, 1. 2: 3. — the disposal of, rests 
 with the people, 1. 2 : 10. 
 
 Knowledge ought to be pursued, how, 
 4. 2:26. 
 
 Labour, propriety of the division of, 
 3. 1: 4. — only that, to be pursued, 
 which accomplishes the object. 7. 1 : 
 29. 
 
 Labourer the, is worthy of his hire, 3. 
 2:4. 
 
 Law in himself, a man has but to obey, 
 the, 7. 1 : 17. 
 
 Learner(s), teachers of truth must not 
 lower their lessons to suit, 7. 1 : 41. 
 — himself, real attainment must be 
 made by the, 7. 2 : 5. 
 
 Learning inwrought into the mind, the 
 value of, 4. 2 : 14. — consists in seek- 
 ing the lost mind, 6. 1 : 11. — must 
 not be by halves, 6. 1 : 20. 
 
 Leaving Loo and Ts'e, Confucius', 7. 2: 
 17. 
 
 Lessons the, of the sage, reach to all 
 classes, 7. 1 : 40. 
 
 Lettered class conducting government 
 propriety of a, 3. 1 : 4. 
 
 Life, not nature, 6. 1: 3.— there are 
 things which men like more than, 6. 
 1:10. 
 
 Limbs, the principles of the mind com- 
 pared to the, 2. 1:6. 
 
 Lingering, Mencius, in Ts'e, 2. 2 : 12. 
 
 Little men, how some are, 6. 1 : 15. 
 
 Lords of reason, how some are, 6. 1 : 15. 
 
 Losses, how a ruler may take satisfac- 
 tion for, 1. 1:5. 
 
 Loving what is good, importance of to 
 government, 5. 2 : 13. 
 
 Man, the nobility that is of, 6. 1 : 16. — 
 the honour that is of, 6. 1: 17. — 
 the duty of, as afiected by the decrees 
 of Heaven, 7. 1 : 2.— is fitted for, and 
 happy in doing good, 7. 1: 3. — has 
 but to obey the law in himself, 7. 1 : 
 17. — benevolence in relation to, 7. 2 : 
 16. 
 
 Masters, be not many, 4. 1 : 23. 
 
SUBJECTS IN WOKKS OP MENCIUS. 
 
 209 
 
 Marriage of Shun justified, 4. 1: 26.; 
 5. 2:2. 
 
 Mean, doctrine of the, referred to, 4. 2 : 
 7.— Confucius kept the, 4. 2: 10.— 
 T'ang held fast the, 4. 2 : 20. 
 
 Means, the end may justify the, 7. 1: 
 31. 
 
 Measure, with what, a man metes, it 
 will be measured to him again, 4. 1 : 
 4. 
 
 Medium, Confucius and Mencius called 
 to the pursuit of the right, 7. 2 : 37. 
 
 Men, importance of a prince gaining 
 the hearts of, 2. 2: 1. 
 
 Mental qualities proved by deeds not 
 by words, 4. 1 : 16. 
 
 Messenger, Mencius offended because 
 a prince sent for him by a, 2. 2:2. 
 
 Middle kingdom, the, 1. 1:7.; 3. 1:4.; 
 2:9,; 5. 1:5.; 6. 2:10. 
 
 Mind, all men are the same in, 6. 1:7. 
 —in danger of being injured by pov- 
 erty and a mean condition, 7. 1 : 27. 
 — the cultivation of the, must not be 
 intermitted, 7. 2 : 21. 
 
 Minister(s), care to be exercised in em- 
 ploying, 1. 2 : 7. — the, of Heaven on- 
 ly may smite a nation, 2. 2 : 8.— Men- 
 cius condemns the pursuit of warlike 
 schemes by, 4. 1 : 14.— the truly great, 
 directs his efforts to the sovereign's 
 character, 4. 1 : 20.— will serve their 
 sovereign according as he treats 
 them, 4. 2 : 2.— the duties of chief, 
 5. 2 : 9. — of Mencius' time pandered 
 to their sovereign's thirst for wealth 
 and power, 6. 2: 9. — four different 
 classes of, 7. 1 : 19. 
 
 Moral, beauty alone truly excellent, 4. 
 2 : 25. — excellence, the superior man 
 cultivates, 4. 2 : 28. — influences, the 
 value of to a ruler, 7. 1 : 14. 
 
 Mountain, illustration from the trees of 
 the New, 6. 1:8. 
 
 Mourning for parents, 1. 2 : 16. ; 3. 1 : 
 2.; 5. 1:4,5,6.; 7. 1:39,46. 
 
 Mugwort, illustration taken from, 4. 1 : 
 9. 
 
 Murder, what Shun would have done 
 if his father had committed a, 7. 1 : 
 35. 
 
 Murmur, at the hardest measures, when 
 the people will not, 7. 1 : 12. 
 
 Music, the love of, 1. 2: 1. — the richest 
 fruit of, 4. 1 : 27.— of Yu and king 
 Wan, 7. 2:22. 
 
 Music-master, the grand, 1. 2:4. 
 
 Nature, the, of man good, 3. 1:1.; 6. 
 1 : 1, 2, 6, 7.— not to be confounded 
 with the phenomena of life, 6. 1:3. 
 — appears as if it were not good, how, 
 6. 1: 8, 9. — to love righteousness 
 more than life is proper to man's, 6. 
 1 : 10. — how men should seek the lost 
 qualities of their, 6. 1 : 11. — relative 
 importance of the different parts of 
 the, 6. 1 : 14. — Heaven is served by 
 obeying our, 7, 1 : 1. — man's own, the 
 most important thing to him, &c., 7. 
 1 : 21. — of man, and the appointment 
 of Heaven. 7. 2 : 24. 
 
 Natural benevolence and righteousness 
 of man, only requires development 
 to be more than suflacient, 7. 2 : 31. 
 
 Neighbouring kingdoms, intercourse " 
 with, 1. 2 : 3. 
 
 Nobility that is of Heaven and that is 
 of man, 6. 1 : 16. 
 
 Nourishment, the nature of man seems 
 bad ft'om not receiving its proper, 6. 
 1 : 8.— of the different parts of the 
 nature, 6. 1 : 14. 
 
 Object of Confucius and Mencius, what 
 was the, 7. 2 : 37. 
 
 Obscurity, how what Shun was discov- 
 ered itself in his greatest, 7. 1 : 16. 
 
 Obstinate adherence to a course deemed 
 right, against, 7. 1 : 26. 
 
 Odes, quotations from the, 1. 1 : 2, 7. ; 
 2:3,5.; 2. 1:3,4.; 3. 1:3,4.; 2:1, 
 9.; 4. 1:1,2,4,7,9.; 5. 1:2,4.; 2: 
 7.; 6. 1:6,17.; 7. 1:32.; 2:19. 
 
 OflSce, Mencius giving up his, 2. 2 : 10, 
 11, 12, 13. ; 6. 2 : 6.— to be sought, 
 but only by the proper path, 3. 2 : 3. ; 
 5. 1 : 8. — may be taken on account of 
 poverty, when, 5. 2 : 5. — grounds of 
 taking and leaving, 6. 2 : 14. 
 
 OflSciousness, Mencius repelling, 2. 2: 
 11. « 
 
 Opposition of Mencius to warlike am- 
 bition, 6. 2:8. 
 
 Ox, king Hwuy's compassion for an, 1. 
 1:7. 
 
 Parents, burial of, 3. 1:5. (see Mourn- 
 ing). — the right manner of serving, 
 4. 1:19.; 2:13. 
 
 Parks, and hunting, the love of, &c. 1. 
 2:2. 
 
 Parts of the nature, relative impor- 
 tance of different, 6. 1 : 14. 
 
 Passion-nature, Mencius nourished his, 
 2. 1:2. 
 
 People, rulers must share their pleas- 
 
210 
 
 SUBJECTS IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 ures with the 1. 1 : 2. — love of valour 
 may subserve the good of the, 1. 2 : 
 8.— the disposal of kingdoms rests 
 with the, 1. 2 : 10. — the affections of, 
 only secured by benevolent govern- 
 ment, 1. 2 : 12. ; 4. 1 : 9. 's happi- 
 ness disregarded by the ministers of 
 Mencius' time, 4. 1 : 14. — the part of 
 the, in making an emperor, 5. 1:5. 
 — how to promote the virtue of the, 
 7. 1: 23. — the most important ele- 
 ment in a nation, 7. 2 : 14. 
 
 Pecuniary considerations, Mencius not 
 influenced by, 2. 2 : 10. 
 
 Personal character, importance of, 4. 
 1:5. 
 
 Pictures of Pih-e and Hwuy of Lew- 
 hea, 2. 1 : 9. 
 
 Phenomena, importance of carefully 
 studying, 4. 2 : 26. 
 
 Pleasure, rulers must share with the 
 people, 1. 1:2,; 2: 1,4. 
 
 Position, how one's material, affects his 
 air, 7. 1:36. 
 
 Poverty, when office may be taken on 
 account of, 5. 2 : 5. — importance of 
 not allowing the mind to be injured 
 by, 7. 1 : 27. — equanimity of Shun in, 
 7. 2:6. 
 
 Praise and blame not always according 
 to desert, 4. 1 : 21. 
 
 Precious things, three, of a prince, 7. 
 2:28. 
 
 Precipitate advances will be followed 
 by speedy retreats, 7. 1. 44. 
 
 Prediction of P'un-shing Kwoh's death 
 by Mencius, 7. 2 : 29. 
 
 Prepares himself for the duties to 
 which he aspires, how a scholar, 7. 
 1:33. 
 
 Presents, Mencius defends accepting, 
 from oppressors of the people 5. 2 : 
 4- — of a prince to a scholar, how to 
 be made, and accepted, 5. 2 : 6. — how 
 Mencius acknowledged, 7. 2:6. 
 
 Presumptuous idea of Pih Kwei, that 
 he could regulate the waters better 
 than Yu did, 6. 2: 11. 
 
 Prince, a, should employ ministers, how, 
 1. 2: 7. — should depend on himself, 
 not on other powers, 1. 2 : 13. — threat- 
 ened by neighbours should act how, 
 1. 2 : 14. — two courses open to, when 
 pursued by his enemies, 1. 2: 15. — 
 should get the hearts of men, 2. 2 : 
 1. — slighting Mencius, 2. 2 : 2. — the, 
 who sets about practising benevolent 
 
 government has none to fear, 3. 2:5. 
 benevolence the only security of a, 4. 
 1 : 7. — a vicious, the agent of his own 
 ruin, 6. 1 : 8. — importance of rectify- 
 ing a, 4. 1 : 20.— presents of a, to a 
 scholar, how to be made and accepted, 
 5. 2 : 6. — three precious things of a, 
 7. 2i : ^8. 
 
 Princes, the only topics of Mencius 
 with, 1. 1 : 1. — a chieftain of the, not 
 a sovereign of the empire, 2. 1 : 3. — 
 the, of Mencius' time failing in true 
 royal govemmcLt, 2. 1 : 5. — Mencius 
 declining or accepting gifts of, 2. 2: 
 3.; 5. 2: 4. — Mencius, reserve with 
 the, of his time, 3. 2: 1. — Mencius 
 defends himself for not going to see 
 the, 3:2: 7.— why a scholar should 
 decline going to see, when called by 
 them. 5. 2 : 7.— danger of counselling 
 from the ground of profit, 6. 2 : 4.— 
 influence of a chief among the, dif- 
 ferent from that of a true sovereign, 
 7. 1 : 13. — of his time, Mencius cen- 
 sures the, 7. 1: 46. -how Mencius 
 maintained his own dignity with the, 
 7.2:33. 
 
 Principles, one must live or die with 
 his, «fec., 7. 1 : 42. 
 
 Profit, secondary to benevolence and 
 righteousness, 1. 1:1.; 6. 2:4. 
 
 Progress of degeneracy in successive 
 ages, 6. 2:7. 
 
 Prompt action, necessity of, at the right 
 time, 4. 2 : 4. 
 
 Propriety, belongs naturally to man, 2. 
 1 : 6. — parents should be served, &c., 
 according to, 3. 1 : 2.— help to the 
 world should be given according to, 
 4. 1 : 17.--the richest fruit of, 4. 1 : 
 27. — the great man makes no mis- 
 takes in, 4. 2 : 6.— the superior man 
 preserves, 4. 2 : 28.— importance of 
 observing the rules of, 6. 2: 1. 
 
 Prosperity of a country, on what de- 
 pendent, 1. 1 : 1. 
 
 Pupil of the eye, the index of the heart, 
 4. 1:15. 
 
 Purity, pretended, of Ch'in Chung, 3. 
 2: 10. 
 
 Re ord, quotation from a, 3. 2 : 3. 
 
 Remote, against aiming at Tvhat is, 7. 2: 
 32. 
 
 Repelling officiousness, Mencius ,2. 2 : 11. 
 
 Reproof, the benefit of, 4. 1 : 22.— Men- 
 cius' of Yo-ching, 4. 1 : 24, 25.— of 
 Kung-sun Ch'ow, 7. 1:39. 
 
SUBJECTS IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 211 
 
 Reputation, the value of, to a ruler, 7. 
 1:14. 
 
 Reserve, Mencius. defends his, with the 
 princes of his time, 3. 2 : 1. 
 
 Respected, that a scholar be, is essen- 
 tial to his engaging in a prince's ser 
 vice, 7. 1 : 37. 
 
 Riches, not to be elated by, a proof 
 superiority, 7. 1 : 11. 
 
 Righteousness belongs naturally to man 
 2. 1:6.; 6. 1 : 1.— the straight path, 
 4. 1: 10. — fraternal obedience the 
 richest fruit of, 4. 1 : 27. — the great 
 man makes no mistakes in, 4. 2 : 6. — 
 internal, not external, 6. 1:4, 5. — to 
 be loved more than life, 6. 1 : 10. 
 
 Ripe grain, illustration from, 6. 1 : 19. 
 
 Ritual Usages, quotation from the, 3. 
 2:2. 
 
 Royal government, the great principles 
 of, 1. 1:3, 4. — will assuredly raise to 
 the imperial dignity, 1. 2 : 5.— various 
 points of, neglected in Mencius time, 
 2. 1:5. 
 
 Ruin, a vicious prince the agent of his 
 own, 4. 1:8. 
 
 Rulers, should share their pleasures 
 with the people, 1. 1 : 2. — should fol- 
 low the advice of the wise, 1. 2 : 9. — 
 should sympathize with the people in 
 their joys and sorrows, 1. 2: 4. — 
 should not labour at husbandry with 
 their own hands, 3. 1: 4. — shoula 
 study the example and principles 
 the ancient kings, 4. 1 : 1, 2. — impor- 
 
 example, influence of, 4. 2 : 5. — will 
 not be murmured at when their aim 
 is evidently the people's good, 7. 1 : 
 12. — the value of reputation and mor- 
 al influences to, 7. 1 : 14. . 
 
 Rules, the necessity of governing ac- 
 cording to, 4. 1:1, 2. 
 
 Sacrifice, allusions to, 3. 1:2-; 2 : 3, 5. ; 
 4. 2:25,33.; 6. 2:6.; 7. 2:14. 
 
 Sage, Mencius not a, 2. 1 : 2. — only with 
 a, does the body act according to 
 its design, 7. 1 : 37. — the lessons of 
 the, reach to all classes, 7. 1 : 40. 
 
 Sages, when they arise, will agree with 
 Mencius, 3. 2 : 9. — the human rela- 
 tions perfectly exhibited by, 4. 1:2. 
 — the agreement of, not afl'ected by 
 place or time, 4. 2: 1 — are distin- 
 guished from other men, how, 4. 2 : 2, 
 19, 20, 21, 22.— just like other men, 
 4. 2 : 32. ; 6. 1 : 7.— Confucius supe- 
 
 rior to all other, 5. 2 : 1. — the great 
 doctrines of the, to be advanced to, 
 by successive steps, 7. 1 : 24. — Pih-e, 
 &c., proved to be, by the permanence 
 of their influence, 7. 2: 15. — defini- 
 tion of a, 7. 2 : 25. — the perfect vir- 
 tue of the highest, 7. 2 : 33. 
 of Satisfied, how an adviser of the princes 
 may always be perfectly, 7. 1:9. 
 
 Scholar (s), the, ought to be remuner- 
 ated, 3. 2 : 4. — may accept presents 
 from a prince, on what principles, 5. 
 2 : 6. — should decline going to see the 
 princes y, hen called by them, why, 5, 
 2 : 7. — forming friendships, rules for, 
 5. 2 : 8.— ancient, maintained the dig- 
 nity of their character, <fec., how, 7. 
 1 : 8. — prepares himself for tlie duties 
 to which he aspires, 7. 1 : 33. — must 
 be respected in order to his engaging 
 in the service of a prince, 7. 1 : 33. 
 
 Seh^ the charge of, greatest, 4. 1 : 19. 
 
 Self-cultivation, men's disregard of, 6. 
 1:13. 
 
 Self-examination recommended, 4. 1: 
 4. — the superior man practises, 4. 2 : 
 28. 
 
 Self-restraint necessary to a ruler, 1, 2 : 
 4. 
 
 Selling himself, Pih-le He vindicated 
 from the charge of, 5. 1:9. 
 
 Senses, all men have the same, 6. 1:7. 
 some are the slaves of the, 6. 1 : 15. 
 of Settling the empire, 1. 1:6. 
 
 Shame, the value of the feeling of, 7. 
 1:6,7. 
 
 Sheep-dates, Tsang-tsze could not eat, 
 7. 2:36. 
 
 Shifts, Mencius put to. 2. 2: 2. 
 
 Shoo-king, quotations from the, 1. 1:2.; 
 2:3,11.; 2. 1:4.; 3. 1:1.; 2:5,9.; 
 4. 1 : 8. ; 5. 1 : 5. ; 6. 2 : 5.— with what 
 reservation Mencius read the, 7. 2 : 3. 
 
 Sickness, Mencius pretends, 2. 2:2. 
 
 Sincerity, the great work of men should 
 be to strive after perfect, 4. 1 : 12. 
 
 Slaves of sense, how some are, 6. 1 : 15. 
 
 Sorrow of Shun on account of his pa- 
 rents, 5. 1:1. 
 
 Sovereign, killing a, not necessarily 
 murder, 1. 2 : 8. — of the empire, who 
 is a, 2. 1 : 3. — importance of having 
 
 virtuous men about a, 3. 2 : 6. 's 
 
 example, influence of, 4. 2 : 5. — influ- 
 ence of a true, 7. 1 : 13. — a, the least 
 important element of a nation, 7. 2 : 
 14. 
 
212 
 
 SUBJECTS IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 Sovereigns, will be treated by their Superiority, not to be elated by riches, 
 
 ministers according as they treat 
 them, 4. 2 : 2. — the ministers of Men- 
 cius' time pandered to their, 6. 2:9. 
 
 Spirit-man, who is a, 7. 2 : 25. 
 
 Spirits, tutelary, the importance of to 
 a nation, 7. 2 : 14. 
 
 * Spring-and-Autumn,' referred to, 3. 2 : 
 9.; 4. 2:21.; 7. 2:2. 
 
 State, three things important in the ad- 
 ministration of a, 7. 2 : 12. 
 
 States, intercourse of neighbouring, 1. 
 2 : 3. — rise and fall of, dependent on 
 benevolence, 4. 1: 3. — subjection of, 
 to one another, determined ditferent- 
 ly at different times, 4. 1 : 7. 
 
 Straits, why Confucius was reduced to, 
 7. 2:18. 
 
 Subjection of one State to another, how 
 determined, at different times, 4. 1 :7. 
 
 Successive steps, the doctrines of the 
 sages to be advanced to by, 7. 1 : 24. 
 
 Superior man, the, keeps away from his 
 cook-room, 1. 1: 7. — helps men to 
 practice virtue, 2. 1 : 8. — will not fol- 
 low narrow-mindedness, &c., 2. 1:9. 
 — will not take a bribe, 2. 2 : 3. — will 
 not be niggardly to his parents, 2. 2 : 
 7. — of ancient and of modern times 
 contrasted, 2. 2 : 9. — does not mur 
 mur against Heaven, &c., 2. 2 : 13. — 
 makes difficulty g,bout taking office 
 why, 3. 2 : 3. — the spirit nourished by, 
 may be known, how, 3. 2: 7. — does 
 not himself teach his son, why, 4. 1 
 18. — wishes to get hold of what he 
 learns, as in himself, 4. 2 : 14, 15. — is 
 ashamed of a reputation beyond his 
 merits, 4. 2 : 18. — cultivates moral ex- 
 cellence, &c., 4. 2 : 28. — may be de- 
 cieved, in what respects, 5. 1 : 2. — all 
 do not understand the conduct of, 6. 
 2 : 6. — serves his prince, how, 6. 2:8. 
 — taking and leaving otfice, grounds 
 of, 6. 2: 14. — has three things in 
 which he delights, 7. 1: 20. — finds 
 his true enjoyment in his own nature, 
 
 7. 1 : 21. 's services to a country, 
 
 without his being in office, entitle 
 him to support, 7. 1 : 32. — is kind to 
 creatures, loving to men, and affec- 
 tionate to his relatives, 7. 1 : 45. — 
 speaks of his nature, and of the will 
 of Heaven, how, 6. 2 : 24. — the words 
 and the principles of, 7. 2 : 32. 
 
 Sympathy of a ruler with the people in 
 their joys and sorrows, 1. 2:4, 
 
 a proof of, 7. 1 : 11. 
 
 Talents, and virtue, how to know men 
 of, 1. 2 : 7. — a ruler should be guided 
 by men of, 1. 2 : 9. — duties owing by 
 men of, to those who have not, 4. 2 : 
 7. 
 
 Taxation, 3. 1:3.; 2:8.; 6. 2 : 10. 
 
 Teacher a, in a higher place than a min- 
 ister, 4. 2: 31. — of truth, must not 
 lower his lessons to suit learners, 7. 
 1:41. 
 
 Teaching, refusing to teach, may also 
 be a way of, 6. 2 : 16. 
 
 Territory, emoluments regulated ac- 
 cording to the extent of, in a State, 
 
 5. 2:2. 
 Thought, how many act without, 7. 1 : 
 
 5. 
 Three, things universally acknowledged 
 to be honourable, 2. 2 : 2. — kings, the, 
 
 6. 2 : 7. — things in which the supe- 
 rior man delights, 7. 1 : 20. — things 
 important in the administration of a 
 State, 7. 2 : 12. — ^precious things of a 
 prince, 7. 2 : 28. 
 
 Throne, the, descended to Yu's son, 
 and not to his minister, why, 5. 1 : 6. 
 
 Thumb amongst the fingers, Ch'in 
 Chung compared to the, 3. 2 : 10. 
 
 Topics of Mencius with princes, 1. 1 : 
 1,7.; 2. 2:2. 
 
 Touch, males and females must not al- 
 low their hands to, 4. 1 : 17. 
 
 Tours of inspection of the ancient 
 kings, 1. 2:4.; 6. 2:7. 
 
 Tranquillity of the empire dependent 
 on the discharge of the common du- 
 ties of life, 4. 1:11. 
 
 Transmission of doctrine from Yaou to 
 Mencius, 7. 2 : 38 
 
 Trials and hardships, how Heaven pre- 
 pares men by, 6. 2 : 15. 
 
 Trifles, Mencius censures the princes 
 of his time for occupying themselves 
 with, 7. 1:46. 
 
 Trouble and affliction, the benefits of, 
 
 7. 1:18. 
 Truth, how Mencius required the sim- 
 ple pursuit of, in his pupils, 7. 1 : 42. 
 
 Tyrant, what will be the fate of a, 4. 
 1:2. 
 
 Ulcer-doctor, Confucius charged with 
 lodging with an, 5. 1 : 8. 
 
 Unfilial, five things which are, 4. 2: 30. 
 
 Unperturbed mind, Mencius had at- 
 tained to an, 2. 1:2. 
 
PROPER NAMES IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 213 
 
 Unsalaried, Mencius free to speak his 
 opinion, &c., because, 2. 2:5, 14. 
 
 Unworthy associate, Mencius' behav- 
 iour with an, 2. 2 : 6. 
 
 Valour, the love of, 1. 2 : 3. — how nour- 
 ished, 2. 1:2. 
 
 Villages, the good careful people of the, 
 described, 6. 2 : 37. 
 
 Vindication of E Yin, 5. 1 : 7.— of Con 
 fucius from the charge of lodging 
 with unworthy characters, 6. 1 : 8. 
 of Pih-le He, 5. 1 : 9.— of Mencius 
 from the charge of eating the bread 
 of idleness, 7. 1 : 32. 
 
 Virtue, submission secured by, 2. 1:3. 
 — friendship must have reference to 
 the, of the friend, 5. 2 : 3. — is sure to 
 be gained by seeking it, but external 
 things not, 7. 1 : 3. — man may attain 
 to perfect, 7. 1: 4. — of the people 
 how to promote, 7. 1: 42.— corrupt 
 times are provided against by estab- 
 lished , 7. 2 : 10.— of the highest sages, 
 7.2:33. 
 
 Virtues, where are wanting, decencies 
 may not be expected, 7. 2 : 44. 
 
 Virtuous men, importance of having 
 about a sovereign's person, 3. 2:6. 
 
 Vox populi vox Dei, 5. 1:5. 
 
 Warlike and other schemes of the min- 
 isters of his time condemned by Men- 
 cius, 4. 2:14.; 6. 2:8. 
 
 Warning to the violently evil and the 
 weakly evil, 4. 1 : 10.— to Sung Kang, 
 6. 2: 4.— to the contending States of 
 Mencius' time, 7. 2 : 2. 
 
 Wars, all the, in the Ch'an Tsew were un- 
 righteous, 7. 2 : 2.— counsels against, 
 7.2:4. 
 
 Way, a man's in life, ordered by Heaven, 
 1. 2 : 16.— of truth like a great road, 
 6.2:2. 
 
 Wealth, the love of, compatible with 
 royal government, 1. 2 : 5.— disgrace- 
 ful means which men take to seek, 4. 
 2: 32.— and power, the ministers of 
 Mencius' time pandered to their sov- 
 ereign' thirst for, 6. 2:9. 
 
 Well-being of the people, the first care 
 of a government, in order to their 
 virtue, 7. 1 : 23. 
 
 Well, digging a, 7. 1 : 29. 
 
 Will, the, is the leader of the passion- 
 nature, 2. 1:2. 
 
 Willow, man's nature compared to the 
 ke, 6. 1 : 1. 
 
 Wisdom the richest fruit of, 4. 1 : 17. 
 
 Words, Mencius understood, 2. 1 : 2. — 
 what are most truly inauspicious, 4. 
 2:17. 
 
 World, one cannot avoid all connection 
 with those whom he disapproves, in 
 the, 3. 2:10. 
 
 Wrongs should be put right at once, 3. 
 2: 8. 
 
 INDEX II. 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 Chang E, a celebrated scholar of Wei, 
 3. 2:2. 
 
 Chang, K^wang Chang, a minister of 
 Ts'e,4. 2:30. 
 
 Ch'ang Seih, a disciple of Kung-ming 
 Kaou, 5. 1 : 1. ; 2:3. 
 
 Chaou Keen, a noble of Tsin, 3. 2:1. 
 
 Chaou the great, a title borne by differ- 
 ent ministers of Tsin, 6. 1 : 17. 
 
 Chaou-woo, a hill on the north of Ts'e. 
 1. 2:4. 
 
 Che-shaou the name of a piece of mu- 
 sic, 1. 2:4. 
 
 Ch'e Wa, appointed chief criminal 
 judge of Ts'e, 2. 2:5. 
 
 Chih, a famous robber of Confucius' 
 time, 3. 2:10.: 7. 1:25. 
 
 26 
 
 Ch'in Chung, an ascetic of Ts'e, 3. 2 ; 
 
 10.; 7. 1:34. 
 Ch'in Kea, an officer cf Ts'e, 2. 2: 9. 
 Oh'in Leang, a philosopher, 3. 1:4. 
 Ch'in Seang, a disciple of Ch'in Leang, 
 
 Ch'in Tae, a disciple of Mencius, 3. 2 :1. 
 Ch'in Tsin, a disciple of Mencius, 2. 2 : 
 
 3,10.; 6. 2:14.; 7. 2:23. 
 Ch'in, the State of, 5. 1:8.; 7. 2:18, 
 
 27. 
 Ch'ing the State of, 4. 2: 2, 24.; 5. 1; 
 
 2.; 7. 2:37. 
 Ch'ing, a minister of the State of Ch'in, 
 
 5. 1 : 8. 
 Choo, a minister of Ts'e, 4. 2: 32.; 6. 
 
 2; 5. 
 
214 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN WORKS OP MENCIUS. 
 
 Choo-fung, the birth place of Shun, 4. 
 
 2:1. 
 Chow, the State and dynasty, 1. 2:3.; 
 
 2. 1:1.; 2:13.; 3. 1:3.; 2:5.; 4. 1: 
 
 7.; 2:1.; 5. 1:4,6.; 2:2,4,7. 
 Chow, a city on the southern border of 
 
 Ts*e, 2. 2:11,12. 
 Chow, the last emperor of the Yin dy- 
 nasty, 1. 2:8.; 2. 1:1.; 3. 2:9.; 4. 
 
 1:1,9,13.; 5. 1:6.; 2. 1.; 6. 1:6.; 
 
 7. 1:22. 
 Chow-kung, or the duke of Chow, 2. 1 : 
 
 1.; 2:9.; 3. 1:1,6.; 2:9.; 4.2:20.; 
 
 5. 1:6.; 6. 2:8. 
 Chow, the prince of Ch'in in Confucius* 
 
 time, 5. 1:8. 
 Chow Seaou, a scholar of Wei, 3. 2 : 3. 
 Chuen-foo, a hill on the north of Ts'e, 
 
 1. 2:4. 
 Chung-jin, a son of the emperor T'ang, 
 
 5. 1:6. 
 Chung-ne, Confucius. 1. 1 : 4, 7. ; 3. 1 : 
 
 4.; 4. 2:18. 
 Ch'ung Yu, a disciple of Mencius,2. 2: 
 
 7,13. 
 Chuy-keih, a place in Tsin , famous for 
 
 gems, 5. 1:9. 
 Chwang, a street in the capital of Ts'e 
 
 3.2:6. 
 Chwang Paou, a minister at the court 
 
 of T'se, 1. 2:1. 
 Confucius, 2. 1:1—4.; 3. 1:4.; 2:1, 
 
 3,7,9.; 4. 1:2,7,14.; 2:18,21,22, 
 
 29.; 5. 1: 4,6,8.; 2:1,4,7.; 6. 1: 
 
 6,8.; 2:3,6.; 7.1:24.; 2:17,19,37, 
 
 38. 
 E, a famous archer, b. c. 2150, 4. 2 : 24. ; 
 
 6. 1:20.; 7. 1:41. 
 E Che, a follower of Mih, 3. 1:5. 
 E Yin, a minister of T'ang, 2. 1:2.; 
 
 2:2.; 5. 1:6,7.; 2:1.; 6. 2:6.; 7. 
 1:31.; 2:38. 
 
 Pan, a city of Ts'e, 7. 1 : 36. 
 
 Fei-leen, a favourite minister of the ty- 
 rant Chow, 3. 2:9. 
 
 Foo-hea, a place where Shun dwelt, 4. 
 2:1. 
 
 Foo Yue, the minister of the Emperor 
 Kaou-tsung, 6. 2 : 15. 
 
 Fung-foo, a scholar of Tsin, famous for 
 seizing tigers, 7. 2 : 23. 
 
 Gan, or Ngan, the principal minister 
 Ts'e, 1. 2:4.; 2. 1:1. 
 
 Go-ching or Yo-ching, the double sur- 
 name of K'ih, a disciple of Mencius, 
 1. 2: 16.; 4 1:24,25.; 6. 2: 13.; 7. 
 2:25. 
 
 Hae T'ang, a famous worthy of Tsin, 
 
 5. 2:3. 
 Han, one of the three families which 
 
 governed the State of Tsin, 7. 1 : 11. 
 Han, the name of a stream, 3. 1:4. 
 Haou-sang Puh-hae, a man of Ts'e, 7. 
 
 2:25. 
 He, a favourite of Chaou Keen, 3. 2:1. 
 Hea dynasty, 1. 2: 4.; 2. 1:1.; 3. 1: 
 
 3.; 4. 1:2.; 5. 1:6,7.; 2:4. 
 Heaou, the duke of Wei, 5. 2 : 4. 
 Heen-k'ew Mung, a disciple of Men- 
 cius, 5. 1:4. 
 Heu Hing, a heresiarch, 3. 1:4. 
 Heun-yuh, a tribe of barbarians, 1. 2 : 
 
 3. 
 Hew, a place in the district of T'ang, 
 
 in the department of Yen-chow, 2. 
 
 2:14. 
 Ho, the name of a river, Yellow Biver, 
 
 3. 2:9. 
 Hoo Heih, a n>an, name, 1. 1:7. 
 Hwa Chow, an officer of Ts'e, slain in 
 
 battle, 6. 2 : 6. 
 Hwae, the name of a stream, 3. 1:4.; 
 
 2:9. 
 Hwan, Hwan T'uy, a high officer of 
 
 Sung, 5. 1:8. 
 Hwan, the duke of Ts'e, b. c. 683—642., 
 
 1. 1:7.; 2:2.; 4. 2:21.; 6. 2:7. 
 Hwan-taou, Taou's minister of instruc- 
 tion, 5. 1:3. 
 
 Hwuy, the posthumous epithet of Yung, 
 
 king of Leang, a State in Tsin, 1. 1 : 
 
 1—5.; 7. 2:1. 
 Hwuy, of Lew-hea, posthumous title 
 
 of Chen Hwo, an officer of Loo, 2. 1 : 
 
 9.; 6. 2:1.; 6. 2:6.; 7.1:38.; 2:15. 
 Hwuy, the duke of Pe, 5. 2: 3. 
 Jin, a small State, 6. 2:1, 5. 
 Joo, the name of a stream, 3. 1 : 4. 
 Ka, or Ko, a city in Ts'e, 2. 2:6.; 3. 2 ; 
 
 10. 
 Kang, younger brother of the prince 
 
 of T'ang, 7. 1 : 43. 
 K'ang, hon. epithet of Fung, brother of 
 
 king Woo, 5. 2 : 4. 
 Kaou, the philosopher, named Puh-hae, 
 
 2. 1:2.; 6. 1:1—4,6. 
 Kaou, a disciple of Mencius, 2. 2 : 12. ; 
 
 7. 2:21,22. 
 of|Kaou, a disciple of Tsze-hea, 6. 2:3. 
 Kaou-kih, a distinguished minister of 
 
 the tyrant Chow, 2. 1:1.; 6. 2: 15. 
 Kaou-t'ang, a place in the west of 
 
 Ts'e, 6. 2:6. 
 Ke, a mountain in Ho-nan, 5. 1 : 6. 
 
PEOPEE NAMES IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 215 
 
 Kaou-yaou, a minister of Shun, 3. 1: 
 
 4.; 7. 1:35.; 2:38. 
 Ke, a small State in Shan-se, 2. 1:1. 
 K*e, the viscount of Wei in Shan-se, 6. 
 
 1:6. 
 K'e, the son of the emperor Tu, 5. 1 : 
 
 6. 
 K'e, the name of a mountain, and also 
 
 of the old State of Chow, 1. 2: 5, 14. 
 
 15.; 4. 2:1. 
 K'e, the name of a stream, 6. 2:6. 
 Ke family, the family of Ke K'ang 
 
 Loo, 4. 1 : 14. 
 Ke Hwan, the head of the Ke family 
 
 in the latter days of Confucius, 5. 2 : 
 
 4. 
 Ke Leang, an officer of Ts'e, slain in 
 
 battle, 6. 2 : 6. 
 Keang, the Yang-tsze river, 3. 1:4.; 
 
 2:9. 
 Keang, the lady of, 1. 2:5. 
 Keaou, a brother of the prince of 
 
 T'saou, 6. 2:2. 
 Kee,the tyrant, 1. 1:2.; 2. 8.; 4. 1: 
 
 9.; 5. 1:6,7.; 6. 2:2,6,9,10. 
 Keo-shaou, the name of a piece of mu- 
 sic, 1. 2:4. 
 Keu, the name of an ancient State, 1. 
 
 2:3. 
 Keu-sin, the governor of P'ing-luh, 2 
 
 2:4. 
 Keue,aplace in Tsin, famous for horses, 
 
 5. 1 : 9. 
 K'ew, the name of Yen Yew, a disciple 
 
 of Confucius, 4. 1 : 14. 
 Kih, a small State adjoining to Tsin, 5. 
 
 1:11. 
 K'in Chang, named Laou, a disciple of 
 
 Confucius, 7. 2:37. 
 King, a place punished by the duke He 
 
 of Loo, 3. 1:4.; 2:9. 
 King, the duke of Ts'e, b. c. 546-488, 
 
 1. 2:4.; 3. 1:1.; 2:1.; 4. 1:7.; 5. 
 
 2:7. 
 King Ch'ow, an officer of Ts'e, 2. 2:2. 
 King Ch'un, a man who plumed him- 
 self on his versatility, 3. 2: 2. 
 Ko, the name of a State in Ho-nan, 1. 
 
 2:3,n.; 3. 2:5. 
 Ko, or Ka, a city in Ts'e, 2. 2 : 6. ; 3. 2 : 
 
 10. 
 Koo-sow, Shun's father, 4. 1 : 28. ; 5. 1 : 
 
 2,4.; 6. 1:6.; 7. 1:35. 
 Kow-ts'een, the name of a prince in the 
 
 Lee Kwo, 1. 2:3. 
 Kung Che-ke, an officer of the State 
 
 of Yu,5. 1:9. 
 
 Kung, KeU'Sin, 2. 2 : 4. 
 
 Kung-e, prime minister of Loo, 6. 2: 
 
 6. 
 Kung-hang, an officer of Ts'e, 4. 2 : 27. 
 Kung-lew, the duke of Lew, an ances- 
 tor of the Chow family, 1. 2:5. 
 Kung-ming E, a disciple, first of Tsze- 
 
 chang, and then of Tsang Sin, 3. 1 : 
 
 L; 2:3,9.; 4. 2:24. 
 Kung-ming Kaou, a disciple of Tsang 
 
 Sin, 5. 1 : 1. 
 ofKung-shoo, a celebrated mechanist of 
 
 Loo, named Pan, now the god of car- 
 penters, 4. 1:1. 
 Kung-sun Ch'ow, a disciple of Mencius, 
 
 2. 1:1,2.; 2: 2,6, 14.; 3. 2:7.; 4. 1: 
 
 18. ; 6. 2 : 3, 13. ; 7. 1 : 31, 32, 39, 41. ; 
 
 2:1,36. 
 Kung-sun Yen, a celebrated scholar of 
 
 Wei, 3. 2:2. 
 Kung-too, a disciple of Mencius, 2. 2 : 
 
 5.; 3. 2:9.; 4. 2:30.; 6. 1:5,6,15.; 
 
 7. 1:43. 
 Kwan barbarians, 1. 2 : 3. 
 K'wan, the father of the emperor Yu, 
 
 5. 1 : 3. 
 Kwan Chung, by name E-woo, minister 
 
 of Hwan, duke of Ts'e, 2. 1:1.; 2: 
 
 2.; 6. 2:15. 
 Kwan-shuh, the elder brother 6f the 
 
 duke of Chow, 2. 2:9. 
 K'wang, music-master and wise coun- 
 sellor of Tsin, 4. 1:1.; 6. 1 : 7. 
 K'wang Chang, a minister of Ts'e, 3. 
 
 2:10.; 4. 2:30. 
 K'wei-k'ew, the place where the duke 
 
 Hwan assembled the princes, 6. 2 : 7. 
 Lae Choo, the minister of T'ang, 7. 2 : 
 
 38. 
 Lang-yay, a mountain and city in Ts*e, 
 
 L 2:4. 
 Le, a cruel emperor of the Chow dy- 
 nasty, 6. 1:6. 
 Le Low, a man of Hwang-te's time, of 
 
 very acute vision, 4. 1:1. 
 Leang, the state of Wei in Tsin, so 
 
 called from its capital, 1. 1 : 1—6. ; 7. 
 
 2:1. 
 Ling, the duke of Wei, 5. 2:4. 
 Ling-k'e w, a city on the border of Ts*e, 
 
 2. 2:5. 
 Loo, the native State of Confucius, 1. 
 
 2:12,16.; 2. 2:7.; 3. 1: 2.; 4. 2: 
 
 21.; 5. 1:8.; 2:1,4.; 6. 2:6,8,13.; 
 
 7. 1:24, .36.; 2:17,37. 
 Lung, an ancient worthy, 3. 1:3.; 6. 
 
 1:7. 
 
216 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 Mang, Mang K'o, Mencius, 1. 2 : 16. 
 Mang Chung, a nephew, or perhaps a 
 
 son, of Mencius, 2. 2:2. 
 Mang Heen, a worthy minister of Loo, 
 
 5. 2:3. 
 Mang Ke, a younger brother of Mang 
 
 Chung, 6. 1:5. 
 Mang Pun, a celebrated bravo of Ts'e, 
 
 2. 1:2. 
 Mang She-shay, a man of valour, 2. 1 : 
 
 2 
 Me, an unworthy favourite of the duke 
 
 Ling, 5. 1 : 8 
 Meen K'eu, a man of Tb'e, who taught 
 
 a slow style of singing, 6. 2:6. 
 Mih Teih, a heresiarch, 3. 1:5.: 2 
 
 7. 1 : 26. 
 Mih, barbarous tribes of the North, 6. 
 
 2:10, 
 Mih K'e, a person whose words are 
 
 quoted, 7. 2 : 19. 
 Min Tsze-k'een, a disciple of Confucius, 
 
 2. 1 : 2. 
 Ming-teaou,the place where Shun died, 
 
 4. 2:1. 
 Muh, the residence of the tyrant Kee, 
 
 5. 1:7. 
 Muh, the posthumous epithet of the 
 
 duke of Loo, 1. 2: 12.; 2. 2: IL; 5. 
 
 2:6,7.; 6. 2:6. 
 Muh, the duke of Ts'in, b. c. 659-620, 
 
 5. 1:9.; 6. 2:6. 
 Muh Chung, a friend of Mang Heen, 
 
 5. 2:3. 
 Muh P'ei, an ambitious man, 7. 2 : 37. 
 Nan-yang, the name of a place, 6. 2 : 8. 
 New mountain, the, 6. 1:8. 
 
 Pih-kung E, an officer of Wei, 5. 2:2. 
 Pih-kung Yew, a bravo of Wei, 2, 1:2. 
 Pih-le He, a chief minister of the duke 
 
 Muh of Ts'in, 5. 1 : 9. ; 6. 2 : 6, 15. 
 Pin, a settlement founded by Kung-lew, 
 
 1. 2:14. 
 P'ing, the duke of Loo, 1. 2 : 16. 
 P'ing, the duke of Tsin, B. c. 556-531, 
 
 5. 2:3. 
 
 P'ing-luh, a city on the southern bor- 
 der of Ts'e, 2. 2:4.; 6. 2:5. 
 
 Po, a city in Ho-nan, T'ang's capital, 
 
 3. 2:5.; 5. 1:6,7. 
 P'un-shing Kwoh, an officer of Ts'e, 7. 
 
 2:29. 
 San E-sang, an able minister of King 
 
 Wan, 7. 2:38. 
 San Meaou, the State of, 5. 1:3. 
 San-wei, a region in the West, 5. 1:3. 
 Se, the lady, a celebrated beauty of 
 
 Confucius' time, 4. 2 : 25. 
 Seang, the half brother of Shun, 5. 1 : 
 
 2, 3. ; 6. 1 : 6. 
 Seang, hon. epithet of Hih, king of 
 
 Leang, 1. 1 : 6. 
 
 See, the name of an ancient principali- 
 ty adjoining T'ang, 1. 2:14.; 2. 2:4. 
 
 See, Shun's minister of instruction, 3. 
 1:4. 
 
 See Keu-chow, a minister of Sung, 3. 
 2:6. 
 
 See Lew, Tsze-lew, a disciple of the 
 Confucian school, 2. 2:11.; 3. 2:8. 
 
 Sen, a place punished by the duke He 
 of Loo, 3. 1:4.; 2: 9. 
 
 Seu Peih, a disciple of Mencius, 3. 1 : 5. ; 
 
 4. 2:18. 
 
 Ngan, or Gan, the principle minister of Seuen, the king of Ts'e, b. c. 332, 1. 1 : 
 
 Ts'e, L 2:4.; 2. 1:1 
 North Sea, the, 5. 2:1. 
 P*ang Kang, a disciple of Mencius, 3 
 
 2:4. 
 P'ang Mung, the pupil and murderer 
 
 of the archer E, 4. 2 : 24. 
 Pe, a place in the State of Loo, 5. 2:3. 
 Pe-kan, an uncle of the tyrant Chow, 
 
 2. 1 : 1. ; 6. 1 : 6. 
 
 Peih Chen, a minister of the State of Shin Ts'eang, a son of Tsze-chang, 
 
 P'ang, 3. 1 : 3. 
 Peih-ying, the place where king Wan 
 
 died, 4. 2:1. 
 Pih-e, hon. epithet of a worthy of the 
 
 Shang dynasty, 2. 1 : 2, 9. ; 3. 2 : 10. ; 
 
 4. 1:13.; 5. 2:1.; 6. 2:6.; 7.1:22.: 
 
 2:15. 
 Pih Kwei, styled Tan, an ascetic of 
 
 Chow, 6. 2:10,n. 
 
 7.; 2:1— IL; 4. 2: 3.; 5. 2: 9.; 7. 
 1:39. 
 
 Shang, the dynasty, 3. 2 : 5.; 4. 1:7. 
 
 She, an officer of Ts'e, 2. 2: 10. 
 
 Shih-k'ew, a pJace in Sung, 6. 2:4. 
 
 Shin-ming, the second of the Five em- 
 perors, 3. 1:4. 
 
 Shin Ku-le, minister of the prince of 
 Loo, 6. 2:8. 
 
 Confucius' disciples, 2. 2 : 11. 
 Shin T'ung, a high minister of Ts'e, 2. 
 
 2:8. 
 Shin-yew, a friend of the philosopher 
 
 Tsang, 4. 2 : 31. 
 Shin-yew Hing, a disciple of Tsang, 4. 
 
 2:31. 
 Shin Kan, a person whose words are 
 
 quoted, 3. 1:1. 
 
PROPER NAMES IN WORKS OF MENCroS. 
 
 217 
 
 Shun, the emperor, 2. 1:2,8.; 2:2.; 
 
 3. 1:1,4.; 2:4,9.; 4. 1:1,2,26,28.; 
 
 2: 1,19,28,32.; 5. 1:1—7.; 2:1,3, 
 
 6.; 6. 1:6.; 2:2,3,8,10,15.; 7. 1: 
 
 16,25,30,35,46.; 2:6,33,37. 
 Shun-yu K'wan, a famous sophist of 
 
 Ts'e,4. 1:17.; 6. 2:6. 
 Sin, the native place of E Yin, in Ho- 
 
 nan, 5. 1:7. 
 Sin, younger brother of Ch'in Seang, 
 
 3. 1:4. 
 South river, 5. 1:5. 
 Sun-shuh Gaou, prime minister of 
 
 Ch'waug of Ts'oo, 6 : 15. 
 Sung, the State of, 2. 1:2; 2:4.; 3. 1 : 
 
 1,4.; 2:5.; 5. 1:8.; 7. 1:36. 
 Sung K'ang, a travelling scholar, 6. 2 : 
 
 4. 
 Sung Kow-ts'een, a travelling scholar, 
 
 7. 1:9. 
 Sze, the name of a stream, 3. 1:4. 
 Tae, elder brother of Ch'in Chung, 3. 
 
 2:10. 
 T*ae, an ancestor of the Chow family, 
 
 the duke T'an-foOj who received 
 
 from Woo the title of king, 1. 2:5, 
 
 14,15.; 2:8. 
 T'ae mountain, on the border between 
 
 Loo and Ts*e, 1. 1: 7.; 2. 1: 2.; 7. 1: 
 
 24. 
 T'ae-kea, sou and successor of T'ang, 
 
 2. 1:4.; 4. 1:8.; 5. 1:6.; 7. 1:31. 
 T'ae-kung, a great counsellor of Wan 
 
 and Woo, 4. 1 : 13. ; 7. 1 : 22. ; 2 : 38. 
 Tae Puh-shing, a minister of Sung, 3. 
 
 2:6. 
 Tae-ting, eldest son of the emperor 
 
 T'ang, 5. 1:6. 
 Tae Ying-che, a great officer of Sung, 
 
 3. 2:8. 
 
 T'ah, the name of a stream 3. 1 : 4 
 T'an-foo, Tae^ the duke of Ts'e, 1. 2: 
 
 5. 
 Tan Choo, the son of Yaou, 5. 1:6. 
 T'ang, the founder of the Shang dynas- 
 ty, 1. 1:2.; 2:3,8,11.; 2. 1:1,3.; 
 
 2:2,12.; 3. 2:5.; 4. 1:9.; 2:20.; 5. 
 
 1 : 6, 7.; 6. 2: 2, 6.; 7. 1 : 30.; 2: 4, 33, 
 
 38 
 T'ang, the State of, 1. 2: 13, 14, 15.; 2. 
 
 2:6.; 3. 1:1—4.; 7. 1:43.; 2:30. 
 T'ang, a place where grain was stored 
 
 in Ts'e, 7. 2 : 23. 
 T'aou Ying, a disciple of Mencius, 7. 
 
 1: 35. 
 Teen, the son of the king of Ts'e, 7. 1 : 
 
 33. 
 
 Ting, the duke of T'ang, 3. 1 : 2. 
 
 Ts'ae, the State of, 7. 2: 18. 
 
 Tsae Go, a disciple of Confucius, 3. 1 : 
 2. 
 
 Ts'ang-leang, a stream in Shan-tung, 4. 
 1:8. 
 
 Tsang Seih, Tsang Sin's father, 4. 1 : 
 19.; 7. 2:36,37. 
 
 Tsang Se, the grandson of Tsang Sin, 
 the disciple of Confucius, and philos- 
 opher, 2. 1:1. 
 
 Tsang Sin, the philosopher, 1. 2: 12.; 
 1:2.; 2:2.; 3. 1:2,4.; 2: 7.; 4. 1:19, 
 31.; 7. 2:36. 
 
 Tsang Ts'ang, a favourite of the duke 
 P'ing of Loo, 1. 2: 16. 
 
 Tsang Yuen, the son of the philoso- 
 pher Tsaug,4. 1: 19. 
 
 Ts'aou, the principality of, 6. 2:2. 
 
 Tse, the name of a stream, 3. 1:4. 
 
 Ts'e, the State of, 1. 1: 5,7.; 2: 1—11, 
 13, 14.; 2. 1: 1, 2.; 2: 2—34.; 3. 1 : 1.; 
 2:1,5, 6, 10.; 4. 1 : 7, 24.; 2 : 3, 21, 31, 
 33.; 5. 1:4,8.; 2:1,7,8.; 6. 2:5,6, 
 8.; 7. 1 : 34, 36, 39.; 2. 17, 23, 29. 
 
 Tseih, How-tseih, the minister of agri- 
 culture of Yaou and Shun, 4. 2 : 29. 
 
 Tseih Hwan, a favourite of the prince 
 of Ts'e, 5. 1 : 8. 
 
 Ts'ew, Chess Ts'ew, a famous Chess- 
 player, 6. 1 : 9. 
 
 Tsin, a river in the State of Ch'ing, 4. 
 2: 2. 
 
 Tsin, the State of, 1. 1: 1,5,7.; 3. 2:3.; 
 
 4. 2:21.; 5. 1:9.; 2:3.; 7. 2:23. 
 Ts'in, the State of, 1. 1:5, 7.; 2. 2:2.; 
 
 5. 1:9.; 6. 1:4,12.; 2:4,6. 
 Ts'oo, the State of, 1. 1:5, 7.; 2 : 6, 13.; 
 
 2. 2 : 2.; 3. 1 : 1, 4.; 2 : 5, 6.; 4. 2 : 21.; 
 
 6. 1 : 4, 12.; 2 : 4. 
 
 Tsow, the native State of Mencius, 1. 
 
 2:7.; 2:12.; 2. 2:12.; 3. 1:2.; 6. 2; 
 
 1,2,5. 
 Ts'ung, a place in Ts'e, 2. 2 : 14. 
 Ts'ung, the mountain, 5. 1:3. 
 Tsze-ch'an, named Kung-sun Keaou, 
 
 the chief minister of the State of 
 
 Ch'ing, 4. 2 : 2.; 5. 1 : 2. 
 Tsze-chang, a disciple of Confucius, 2, 
 
 1 : 2, 4. 
 Tsze-che, prime minister of Tsze-k'wae 
 
 of Yen, 2. 2:8. 
 Tsze-cho Yu, an archer of Ching, 4. 2: 
 
 24. 
 Tsze-gaou, Wang Hwan, the governor 
 
 of K*o in Ts'e, 4. 1 : 24, 25.; 2 : 27. 
 Tsze-lew, See LeWf 6. 2 : 6. 
 
218 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 Tsze-hea, a disciple of Confucius, 2. 1 : 
 
 2,4. 
 Tsze-kung, a disciple of Confucius, 2. 
 
 1 : 2.; 3. 1 : 4. 
 Tsze-kVae,a king of Yen, 2. 2:8. 
 Ts2e-loo, the designation of Cliung 
 
 Yew, a disciple of Confucius, 2. 1 : 1, 
 
 8.; 3. 2: 7.; 5. 1:8. 
 Tsze-moh, a philosopher of Loo, 7. 1 : 
 
 26 . 
 Tsze-seang, a disciple of Tsang, 2. 1 : 2. 
 Tsze-Shuh E, a person who pushed him- 
 self into the service of the govern- 
 ment, 2. 2 : 10. 
 Tsze-sze, the grandson of Confucius, 2, 
 
 2:11.; 4. 2:31.; 5. 2:3,6,7.; 6. 2: 
 
 6. 
 Tsze-too, an oflBcer of Ch*ing, b. c. 700, 
 
 distinguished for his beauty, 6. 1:7. 
 Tsze-yew, a disciple of Confucius, 2. 1 : 
 
 2,4. 
 T*ung, the place where the emperor 
 
 T'ang was buried, 5. 1:6.; 7. 1 : 31. 
 Tung-kwoh family, a branch of the 
 
 family of Hwan, duke of Ts'e, 2. 2 : 
 
 2. 
 Twan Kan-muh, a scholar of Wei, 3. 2 : 
 
 7. 
 Uh-loo, a disciple of Mencius, 6. 2:1, 
 
 5. 
 Wae-ping, a son of the Emperor, T'ang, 
 
 5. 1 : 6. 
 
 Wan, the king, 1. 1 : 2, 7., 2 : 2, 3, 5, 10.; 
 
 2. 1:1,3.; 3. 1:1,3.; 2:5,9.; 4. 1: 
 7,13.; 2:1,20.; 6. 1:6.; 2:2; 7. 1: 
 10,22.; 2:19,21,38. 
 
 Wan, the duke of T'ang, 1. 2: 13, 14.; 
 
 3. 1 : 1, 3, 4. 
 
 Wan, the duke of Tsin, b. c. 635—627, 
 
 1. 1:7.; 4. 2:21. 
 Wan Chang, a disciple of Mencius, 3. 
 
 2: 5.; 5. 1: 1, 2, 3. 5—9.; 2:3, 4,6,8.; 
 
 7. 2:37. 
 Wang Hwan, Tsze-gaou^ the governor 
 
 of K'o, in Ts'e, 2. 2:6. 
 Wang Leang, charioteer to Chaou 
 
 Keen, 3. 2:1. 
 Wang P'aou, a man of Wei, teacher of 
 
 an abrupt style of singing, 6. 2:6. 
 Wang Shun, an officer of the duke ot 
 
 Pe,5. 2:3. 
 Wei, the State of, 4. 2 : 24; 5. 1 : 8.; 2 : 
 
 4. 
 Wei, one of the three families which 
 
 governed the State of Tsin, 7. 1 : 11. 
 Wei, a small State in Shan-se, 2. 1 : 1.; 
 
 6. 1:6. 
 
 Wei, a river in the state of Ch'ing, 4 
 
 2:2. 
 Woo, the State of, 1. 2 : 3.; 4. 1 : 7, 31. 
 Woo, the founder of the Chow dynasty, 
 
 1. 2:2,3,8,10.; 2. 1:1.; 2:7.; 3. 2: 
 
 9.; 4. 1:9.; 2:20.; 6. 1:6.; 7. 1:30.; 
 
 2:4,33. 
 Woo Hwo, a man noted for his strength, 
 
 6. 2:2. 
 Woo-ling, a wild place in the depart- 
 ment of Tse-nan, 3. 2 : 10. 
 Woo-shing, a city in Loo, 4. 2: 31. 
 Woo-ting, an emperor of the Shang dy- 
 nasty, B. c. 1323, 2. 1:1. 
 Yang Choo, a heresiarch of the time of 
 
 Confucius, 3. 2: 9.; 7. 1: 26.; 2: 26. 
 Yang Hoo, the principal minister of the 
 
 Ke family, of Loo, 3. 1 : 3.; 2 : 7. 
 Yang-shing, a city in Ho-nan, 5. 1:6. 
 Yaou, the emperor, 2. 1 : 2.; 2 : 2.; 3. 1 : 
 
 1, 4.; 2 : 4, 9.; 4. 1 : 1, 2.; 2 : 32.; 5. 1 : 
 
 3—7.; 2: i,6.; 6. 1: 6.; 2: 6, 8, 10.; 7. 
 
 1:30,46., 2:6,32,37,38. 
 Yellow River, 6. 2:6. 
 Yen, the kingdom of, 3. 2:9. 
 Yen, the State of, 1. 2: 10, 11.; 2. 2:8, 
 
 9. 
 Yen, Yen Hwuy, a disciple of Conf., 4 
 
 2:29. 
 Yen Ch'ow-yew, a worthy officer of 
 
 Wei, 5. 1 : 8. 
 Yen New, a disciple of Confucius, 2. 1 : 
 
 2. 
 Yen Pan, a son of Yen Hwuy, 5. 2:3. 
 Yen Yew, the Grand-tutor of the prince 
 
 of T'ang, 3. 1:2. 
 Yeo Yuen, a disciple of Confucius, 2. 
 
 1:2.; 3. 1:1. 
 Yew, a cruel emperor of the Chow dy- 
 nasty, 6. 1 : 6. 
 Yew Chow, the name of a place on the 
 
 northern border, 5. 1. 3. 
 Yew Jo, a disciple of Confucius, 2. 1 : 
 
 2,4 
 Yih, a minister of Shun, and of Yu, 8. 
 
 1 : 4; 5. 1 : 6. 
 Yih-ya, the cook of the duke Hwan of 
 
 Ts'e, 6. 1 : 7. 
 Yin, State and dynasty, 2. 1: 1.; 2:9.; 
 
 3. 1:3; 4 1:2,7; 5: 2:4; 7.2:4 
 Yin-kung T'o, a famous archer, 4. 2 : 
 
 24. 
 Yin Sze, a man of Ts'e, 2. 2 : 12. 
 Ying, the name of a place between 
 
 Ts'e, and Loo, 2. 2:7 
 Yo-ching, a disciple of Mencius, 1. 2 : 
 
 16.; 4 1: 24,25.; 6. 2: 13.; 7. 2: 26. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 219 
 
 Yo-ching K'ew, a friend of Mang Heen, 
 
 5. 2:2. 
 Toh, a quarter in the capital of Ts*e, 3. 
 
 2:6. 
 Tu, the emperor, 2. 1:8.; 3. 1:4,9.; 
 
 4. 2:20,26,29.; 5. 1:6.; 6. 2:11.; 7. 
 
 2:22,38. 
 
 Yu, a small State adjoining Tsin, 5. 1 : 
 
 9.; 6. 2:6. 
 Yu, the mountain, 5. 1:3. 
 Yu-kung Sze, an archer of Wei, 4. 2 : 
 
 24. 
 Yue, the State of, 4 2: 31.; 6. 2: 3. 
 
 GENEEAL INDEX 
 
 Introduction, ------------6 
 
 Life of Mencius, -.---------6 
 
 WORKS OF MENCIUS. 
 
 Book I. Part 1, 13 
 
 « 2, 26 
 
 « II. " 1, 42 
 
 "2, 57 
 
 « ni. " 1, 70 
 
 « 2, 83 
 
 « IV. " 1, 07 
 
 « 2, 110 
 
 « Y. « 1, 123 
 
 "2, 136 
 
 " VI. " 1, 150 
 
 «2, 163 
 
 « VII. "1, 177 
 
 "2, 191 
 
 INDEXES'— Subjects in Works of Mencius, 204 
 
 Proper names in Works of Menciua - . - - 213 
 
9 57 68 
 
) 
 
 ,n....^.;.?S^f.^.^^ LIBRARIES ' ^ST ^^ 
 
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