Jin Xin II · Passage 18 / 38 · 孟子 7B.18

Mencius 7B.18: the straits at Chen and Cai

Mencius locates Confucius's distress between Chen and Cai in a structural failure: rulers and ministers had no real communication with the worthy.

孟子曰：「君子之戹於陳、蔡之間，無上下之交也。」

mèng zǐ yuē：「jūn zǐ zhī è wū chén、 cài zhī jiàn， wú shàng xià zhī jiāo yě。」

Mencius said, 'The reason why the superior man was reduced to straits between Chen and Cai was because neither the princes of the time nor their ministers sympathized or communicated with him.'

Priority note

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Central question

Why does Mencius say the superior man's distress between Chen and Cai came from no communication above and below?

Direct answer

Because the problem was not simply Confucius's personal luck. When rulers and ministers no longer sustain real contact with the worthy, the right way itself is stranded in the middle.

First principle

Good order requires not only power above and talent below, but a living channel between them. Once that channel breaks, worthy people become isolated islands.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around Chen and Cai, broken political communication, and why worthy counsel becomes stranded.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 18 of 38 in Jin Xin II. The cleanest entry point is "The reason why the superior man was reduced…". 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.

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