Mencius. Book 2, Part 1, Chapter 1.
Book 2, Kung-Sun Ch'ow. Part I.
1. King-sun Ch'ow asked Mencius, saying, "Master, if you were to obtain the ordering of the government in Ts'e, could you promise yourself to accomplish anew such results as those realized by Kwan Chung and Gan?"
2. Mencius said, "You are indeed a true man of Ts'e. 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 frandfather.' 'Then,' pursued the other, 'Do you give the superiority to yourself or to Kwan Chung?' Tsang Se, flushed with anger and displeased, said, 'How dare you compre me with Kwan Chung? Considering how entirely Kawn Chung possessed the confidence of his prince, how long he enjoyed 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 Ch'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 dignity might be so easily obtained: ‹ is King Wan then not a sufficient object for imitation?"
8. Mencius said, "How can King Wan be matched? From T'ang to Woo-ting there had appeared six or seven 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 was sitll 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 Royal Highnesses Pe-kan and the viscount of Ke, and Kaou-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 li. On all these accounts, it was difficult 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 embracing the favorable 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 dynasties, the imperial domain did not exceed a thousand li, 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 benevolent government, no power will be able to prevent his becoming emperor.
11. "Moreover, never was there a time further removed than the present from the appearance of a true sovereign: never was there a time when the sufferings of the people from tyrannical governm,ent were more intense than the present. The hungry are easily supplied with food, and the thirsty are easily supplied 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 thousand 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 achievements is sure to be realized. It is only at this time that such could be the case."
Book 2, Kung-Sun Ch'ow. Part I.
1. King-sun Ch'ow asked Mencius, saying, "Master, if you were to obtain the ordering of the government in Ts'e, could you promise yourself to accomplish anew such results as those realized by Kwan Chung and Gan?"
2. Mencius said, "You are indeed a true man of Ts'e. 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 frandfather.' 'Then,' pursued the other, 'Do you give the superiority to yourself or to Kwan Chung?' Tsang Se, flushed with anger and displeased, said, 'How dare you compre me with Kwan Chung? Considering how entirely Kawn Chung possessed the confidence of his prince, how long he enjoyed 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 Ch'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 dignity might be so easily obtained: ‹ is King Wan then not a sufficient object for imitation?"
8. Mencius said, "How can King Wan be matched? From T'ang to Woo-ting there had appeared six or seven 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 was sitll 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 Royal Highnesses Pe-kan and the viscount of Ke, and Kaou-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 li. On all these accounts, it was difficult 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 embracing the favorable 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 dynasties, the imperial domain did not exceed a thousand li, 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 benevolent government, no power will be able to prevent his becoming emperor.
11. "Moreover, never was there a time further removed than the present from the appearance of a true sovereign: never was there a time when the sufferings of the people from tyrannical governm,ent were more intense than the present. The hungry are easily supplied with food, and the thirsty are easily supplied 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 thousand 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 achievements is sure to be realized. It is only at this time that such could be the case."
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Text source: The Works of Mencius. Translated by James Legge.
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