Gong Sun Chou II · Passage 10 / 14 · 孟子 2B.10

Mencius 2B.10: high stipends cannot buy the Way

When the king offers rich support, Mencius refuses to let teaching and moral counsel be quietly absorbed into the payment structure of power.

孟子致為臣而歸。王就見孟子曰：「前日愿見而不可得，得侍同朝甚喜。今又棄寡人而歸，不識可以繼此而得見乎？」對曰：「不敢請耳，固所愿也。」他日王謂時子曰：「我欲中國而授孟子室，養弟子以萬鐘，使諸大夫國人皆有所矜式。子盍為我言之？」時子因陳子而以告孟子，陳子以時子之言告孟子。孟子曰：「然。夫時子惡知其不可也？如使予欲富，辭十萬而受萬，是為欲富乎？季孫曰：『異哉子叔疑！使己為政，不用，則亦已矣，又使其子弟為卿。人亦孰不欲富貴？而獨於富貴之中有私龍斷焉。』古之為市也，以其所有易其所無者，有司者治之耳。有賤丈夫焉，必求龍斷而登之，以左右望而罔市利。人皆以為賤，故從而征之。征商自此賤丈夫始矣。」

mèng zǐ zhì wéi chén ér guī。 wáng jiù jiàn mèng zǐ yuē：「qián rì yuàn jiàn ér bù kě dé， dé shì tóng cháo shèn xǐ。 jīn yòu qì guǎ rén ér guī， bù shí kě yǐ jì cǐ ér dé jiàn hū？」 duì yuē：「bù gǎn qǐng ěr， gù suǒ yuàn yě。」 tā rì wáng wèi shí zǐ yuē：「wǒ yù zhōng guó ér shòu mèng zǐ shì， yǎng dì zǐ yǐ wàn zhōng， shǐ zhū dài fu guó rén jiē yǒu suǒ jīn shì。 zǐ hé wéi wǒ yán zhī？」 shí zǐ yīn chén zǐ ér yǐ gào mèng zǐ， chén zǐ yǐ shí zǐ zhī yán gào mèng zǐ。 mèng zǐ yuē：「rán。 fū shí zǐ è zhī qí bù kě yě？ rú shǐ yǔ yù fù， cí shí wàn ér shòu wàn， shì wéi yù fù hū？ jì sūn yuē：『yì zāi zǐ shū yí！ shǐ jǐ wéi zhèng， bú yòng， zé yì yǐ yǐ， yòu shǐ qí zǐ dì wéi qīng。 rén yì shú bú yù fù guì？ ér dú wū fù guì zhī zhōng yǒu sī lóng duàn yān。』 gǔ zhī wéi shì yě， yǐ qí suǒ yǒu yì qí suǒ wú zhě， yǒu sī zhě zhì zhī ěr。 yǒu jiàn zhàng fu yān， bì qiú lóng duàn ér dēng zhī， yǐ zuǒ yòu wàng ér wǎng shì lì。 rén jiē yǐ wéi jiàn， gù cóng ér zhēng zhī。 zhēng shāng zì cǐ jiàn zhàng fu shǐ yǐ。」

Mencius gave up his office, and made arrangements for returning to his native State. The king came to visit him, and said, 'Formerly, I wished to see you, but in vain. Then, I got the opportunity 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 hereafter I may expect to have another opportunity of seeing you.' Mencius replied, 'I dare not request permission to visit you at any particular time, but, indeed, it is what I desire.' Another day, the king said to the officer Shi, '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 zhong, that all the officers and the people may have such an example to reverence and imitate. Had you not better tell him this for me?' Shi took advantage to convey this message by means of the disciple Chen, who reported his words to Mencius. Mencius said, 'Yes; but how should the officer Shi know that the thing could not be? Suppose that I wanted to be rich, having formerly declined 100,000 zhong, would my now accepting 10,000 be the conduct of one desiring riches? Ji Sun said, "A strange man was Zi Shu Yi. He pushed himself into the service of 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 monopolize the conspicuous mound. "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."'