Li Lou I · Passage 13 / 28 · 孟子 4A.13
Mencius 4A.13: when a ruler cares well
Mencius uses the attraction of Bo Yi and Tai Gong to argue that the most persuasive political magnet is not force first.
孟子曰：「伯夷辟紂，居北海之濱，聞文王作興，曰：『盍歸乎來！吾聞西伯善養老者。』太公辟紂，居東海之濱，聞文王作興，曰：『盍歸乎來！吾聞西伯善養老者。』二老者，天下之大老也而歸之，是天下之父歸之也。天下之父歸之，其子焉往？諸侯有行文王之政者，七年之内，必爲政於天下矣。」
Mencius said, 'Bo Yi, that he might avoid Zhou, was dwelling on the coast of the northern sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wen, he roused himself, and said, "Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old." Tai Gong, that he might avoid Zhou, was dwelling on the coast of the eastern sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wen, he roused himself, and said, "Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old." Those two old men were the greatest old men of the kingdom. When they came to follow king Wen, it was the fathers of the kingdom coming to follow him. When the fathers of the kingdom joined him, how could the sons go to any other? Were any of the princes to practise the government of king Wen, within seven years he would be sure to be giving laws to the kingdom.'
Priority note
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Central question
Why did Bo Yi and Tai Gong, hearing that King Wen cared well for the aged, decide to return to Zhou?
Direct answer
Because if a polity settles the aged well, it shows that human order there is not slogan but reality at its most vulnerable point. Once the fathers of the world return, their sons will follow.
First principle
The most convincing political attraction does not begin with intimidation, but with visible proof that a regime has fulfilled its most basic human responsibilities.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around care for the aged, political attraction, and Mencius on why humane order draws allegiance. It is a central classical formulation of humane government's magnetism.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 13 of 28 in Li Lou I. The cleanest entry point is "Bo Yi, that he might avoid Zhou, was…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about self-examination, disorder, and keeping the way and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.
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Li Lou I often approaches disorder through self-examination and the standards for keeping the way.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not reduce it to a single welfare metric. Caring for the aged here is a signal of the entire order's human credibility, not an isolated program.