Li Lou I · Passage 20 / 28 · 孟子 4A.20
Mencius 4A.20: rectify the ruler's mind
Mencius drives politics back to the ruler's mind: fixing a few policies is not enough if the very center of judgment in power remains crooked.
孟子曰：「人不足與適也，政不足與間也，惟大人爲能格君心之非。君仁莫不仁，君義莫不義，君正莫不正，一正君而國定矣。」
Mencius said, 'It is not enough to remonstrate with a sovereign on account of the mal-employment of ministers, nor to blame errors of government. It is only the great man who can rectify what is wrong in the sovereign's mind. Let the prince be benevolent, and all his acts will be benevolent. Let the prince be righteous, and all his acts will be righteous. Let the prince be correct, and everything will be correct. Once rectify the ruler, and the kingdom will be firmly settled.'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius say that only a great person can rectify what is wrong in the ruler's mind?
Direct answer
Because ministers may correct offices or policies, but if the ruler's inner scale of right and wrong remains uncorrected, the same disorder will simply regenerate in new forms. The root lies in the ruler's mind, not in technical details alone.
First principle
A system keeps copying the judgment-center of power unless someone can reach that center and correct it.
Why it matters
This passage fits searches around leadership mindset, moral correction at the top, and political culture. It is one of Mencius's sharpest statements about where order really begins.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 20 of 28 in Li Lou I. The cleanest entry point is "It is not enough to remonstrate with a…". 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, Flood-like qi.
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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 read it as leader worship. Mencius is saying precisely that highest power must be morally corrected, not merely assisted with technique.