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

Mencius 2B.14: once departure is settled, salary should stop

Mencius says refusing salary is not a timeless rule, but a consequence of having already withdrawn his intention to keep bearing the office.

孟子去齊，居休。公孫丑問曰：「仕而不受祿，古之道乎？」曰：「非也。於崇，吾得見王；退而有去志，不欲變，故不受也。繼而有師命，不可以請。久於齊，非我志也。」

mèng zǐ qù qí， jū xiū。 gōng sūn chǒu wèn yuē：「shì ér bú shòu lù， gǔ zhī dào hū？」 yuē：「fēi yě。 wū chóng， wú dé jiàn wáng； tuì ér yǒu qù zhì， bú yù biàn， gù bú shòu yě。 jì ér yǒu shī mìng， bù kě yǐ qǐng。 jiǔ wū qí， fēi wǒ zhì yě。」

When Mencius left Qi, he dwelt in Xiu. There Gong Sun Chou asked him, saying, 'Was it the way of the ancients to hold office without receiving salary?' Mencius replied, 'No; when I first saw the king in Chong, it was my intention, on retiring from the interview, to go away. Because I did not wish to change this intention, I declined to receive any salary. Immediately after, there 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 Qi was not my purpose.'

Priority note

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Central question

Why does Mencius say that holding office without salary is not the ancient norm, yet he himself did it?

Direct answer

Because once the intention to continue has been withdrawn, accepting salary would separate support from responsibility. He is not making a universal ban, but protecting honest alignment.

First principle

The right to receive support depends on whether the relevant responsibility is still being truly borne. Once that link is broken, payment becomes misleading.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around salary, withdrawal, office, and the ethics of receiving support in Mencius.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 14 of 14 in Gong Sun Chou II. The cleanest entry point is "Was it the way of the ancients to…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about flood-like qi, moral judgment, and public responsibility and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.

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