Jin Xin II · Passage 23 / 38 · 孟子 7B.23
Mencius 7B.23: do not turn emergency help into
Mencius refuses to repeat a dramatic intervention during famine because that would be like Feng Fu returning to tiger-grappling: the crowd cheers.
齊饑。陳臻曰：「國人皆以夫子將復為發棠，殆不可復。」孟子曰：「是為馮婦也。晉人有馮婦者，善搏虎，卒為善士；則之野，有眾逐虎，虎負嵎，莫之敢攖；望見馮婦，趨而迎之；馮婦攘臂下車，眾皆悅之，其為士者笑之。」
When Qi was suffering from famine, Chen Zhen said to Mencius, 'The people are all thinking that you, Master, will again ask that the granary of Tang be opened for them. I apprehend you will not do so a second time.' Mencius said, 'To do it would be to act like Feng Fu. There was a man of that name in Jin, famous for his skill in seizing tigers. Afterwards he became a scholar of reputation, and going once out to the wild country, he found the people all in pursuit of a tiger. The tiger took refuge in a corner of a hill, where no one dared to attack him, but when they saw Feng Fu, they ran and met him. Feng Fu immediately bared his arms, and descended from the carriage. The multitude were pleased with him, but those who were scholars laughed at him.'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius refuse to ask again that the granary be opened during famine in Qi?
Direct answer
Because the same outward act does not keep the same meaning in every context. What was once right in emergency can become role regression if repeated merely to satisfy public expectation.
First principle
A successful emergency action should not automatically harden into a permanent identity. If one repeats it only because the crowd expects it, judgment becomes captive to old applause.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around Feng Fu, performance, regression of role, and how Mencius guards moral proportion in action.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 23 of 38 in Jin Xin II. The cleanest entry point is "The people are all thinking that you, Master,…". 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.
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Related principles
Citation note
Do not mistake Mencius for being cold to famine. He is not rejecting relief as such; he is refusing to become a performer of the same old move for public approval.