Jin Xin II · Passage 12 / 38 · 孟子 7B.12

Mencius 7B.12: without the worthy, the state goes empty

Mencius compresses state failure into three linked losses: no trust in the worthy, no norms of right, and no real administration.

孟子曰：「不信仁賢，則國空虛；無禮義，則上下亂；無政事，則財用不足。」

mèng zǐ yuē：「bú xìn rén xián， zé guó kōng xū； wú lǐ yì， zé shàng xià luàn； wú zhèng shì， zé cái yòng bù zú。」

Mencius said, 'If men of virtue and ability be not confided in, a State will become empty and void. Without the rules of propriety and distinctions of right, the high and the low will be thrown into confusion. Without the great principles of government and their various business, there will not be wealth sufficient for the expenditure.'

Priority note

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Central question

Why does Mencius place trust in the worthy, ritual right, and political administration on one line?

Direct answer

Because a state does not run on revenue alone or slogans alone. Without trusted worthy people, norms that rank relations, and actual administrative capacity, emptiness, disorder, and shortage arrive together.

First principle

Political breakdown is rarely a single-point failure. It is usually the joint collapse of people, order, and execution.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around statecraft, worthy people, ritual order, and administration in Mencius.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 12 of 38 in Jin Xin II. The cleanest entry point is "If men of virtue and ability be not…". 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 Humane government / kingly way, Flood-like qi.

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