Jin Xin I · Passage 20 / 46 · 孟子 7A.20
Mencius 7A.20: the noble person has three joys
Mencius reorders human fulfillment: living parents, no shame before Heaven or others.
孟子曰：「君子有三樂，而王天下不與存焉。父母俱存，兄弟無故，一樂也。仰不愧於天，俯不怍於人，二樂也。得天下英才而教育之，三樂也。君子有三樂，而王天下不與存焉。」
Mencius said, 'The superior man has three things in which he delights, and to be ruler over the kingdom is not one of them. That his father and mother are both alive, and that the condition of his brothers affords no cause for anxiety; this is one delight. 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. That he can get from the whole kingdom the most talented individuals, and teach and nourish them; this is the third delight. The superior man has three things in which he delights, and to be ruler over the kingdom is not one of them.'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius say that ruling the world is not among the noble person's three joys?
Direct answer
Because power is only an external achievement. For Mencius, deeper fulfillment lies in family wholeness, moral blamelessness before Heaven and others, and the joy of cultivating human excellence.
First principle
When value is organized entirely around power and success, the more foundational forms of completion—inner integrity and rightly ordered relationships—are pushed aside.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around the three joys, shame before Heaven, and education as a form of fulfillment, while widening the site's treatment of Mencian personhood.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 20 of 46 in Jin Xin I. The cleanest entry point is "The superior man has three things in which…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about exhausting the heart, sincerity, and preserving the original heart and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.
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Jin Xin I centers on exhausting the heart, sincerity, and preserving the capacities already given in the human heart.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not read the three joys as withdrawal from public responsibility. Mencius is arguing that without sound inner and relational foundations, outward success cannot count as true joy.