Jin Xin II · Passage 10 / 38 · 孟子 7B.10
Mencius 7B.10: stores of gain face bad years
Mencius distinguishes two kinds of reserve: material provision helps one survive a bad year.
孟子曰：「周于利者，兇年不能殺；周於德者，邪世不能亂。」
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 equipment of virtue is complete.'
Priority note
A human-edited reading layer
Central question
Why does Mencius place being well supplied in gain beside being well supplied in virtue?
Direct answer
Because human beings face different kinds of threat. Scarcity attacks bodily survival, while a corrupt age attacks judgment and conduct. Each requires its own kind of preparedness.
First principle
Risk is not only external. One must prepare both what protects the body in hard conditions and what protects the heart in degraded conditions.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around resilience, bad years, corrupt ages, and Mencius on moral reserve, while connecting the site's livelihood and self-cultivation themes.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 10 of 38 in Jin Xin II. The cleanest entry point is "A bad year cannot prove the cause of…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about knowing words, knowing destiny, and the completion of cultivation and can be read alongside Flood-like qi, Human nature.
Broader search routes
If you came here with a wider question, start from the right hub page
Flood-like qi: moral courage formed by repeated right action
If your real query is broader than one citation, start from the theme page and use this passage as proof text.
Open flood-like qiWho is Mencius?
If you first need the person, the aliases, and why he matters, start from the about page.
Open About MenciusMencius quotes and sayings
If you arrived through a famous line, start from the quotes hub and then return to the exact passage.
Open Mencius quotesMencius full text and works of Mencius
If you need the book structure, the works of Mencius, or where to read the text, start from the full-text hub.
Open the full-text hubBook context
Jin Xin II treats knowing words, knowing destiny, and the judgments proper to mature cultivation together.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not simplify it into 'money is enough' or 'virtue is enough.' Mencius is distinguishing two different dangers and the different reserves needed for each.