Li Lou II · Passage 27 / 33 · 孟子 4B.27
Mencius 4B.27: in the court one does not
Mencius shows, through refusing to speak casually with the Master of the Right, that rite protects relational order through position, occasion.
公行子有子之喪，右師往弔。入門，有進而與右師言者，有就右師之位而與右師言者。孟子不與右師言，右師不悅曰：「諸君子皆與驩言，孟子獨不與驩言，是簡驩也。」孟子聞之，曰：「禮：朝庭不歷位而相與言，不逾階而相揖也。我欲行禮，子敖以我為簡，不亦異乎？」
The officer Gong Hang having on hand the funeral of one of his sons, the Master of the Right went to condole with him. When this noble entered the door, some called him to them and spoke with him, and some went to his place and spoke with him. Mencius did not speak with him, so that he was displeased, and said, 'All the gentlemen have spoken with me. There is only Mencius who does not speak to me, thereby slighting me.' Mencius having heard of this remark, said, 'According to the prescribed rules, in the court, individuals may not change their places to speak with one another, nor may they pass from their ranks to bow to one another. I was wishing to observe this rule, and Zi Ao understands it that I was slighting him - is not this strange?'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius still refuse to speak with the Master of the Right even when the latter feels slighted?
Direct answer
Because in court and ritual space, the manner of speaking itself carries positional order. To cross positions casually may look friendly, but it dissolves the discipline by which public relations are held. Mencius would rather be misread as cold than purchase surface niceness by breaking rite.
First principle
Order exists not only in content but also in boundary and procedure. Once boundary is confused, relation is hard to settle for the long term.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around ritual boundary, public procedure, and Mencius on positional order. It helps explain why he values occasion and role so strongly.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 27 of 33 in Li Lou II. The cleanest entry point is "All the gentlemen have spoken with me". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about seeing people clearly, ritual restraint, and governing relationships and can be read alongside Human nature.
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Related principles
Citation note
Do not read it as rigid formalism. Mencius is not posturing; he is warning that larger disorders accumulate when procedural boundaries are casually crossed in small matters.