Li Lou II · Passage 31 / 33 · 孟子 4B.31

Mencius 4B.31: Zengzi, Zisi, and one Way

Zengzi fled and Zisi stayed, yet Mencius says they shared one Way because their roles and responsibilities were different.

曾子居武城，有越寇。或曰：「寇至，盍去諸？」曰：「無寓人於我室，毀傷其薪木。」寇退，則曰：「修我墻屋，我將反。」寇退，曾子反。左右曰：「待先生如此其忠且敬也，寇至則先去以為民望，寇退則反，殆於不可。」沈猶行曰：「是非汝所知也。昔沈猶有負芻之禍，從先生者七十人，未有與焉。」子思居於衛，有齊寇。或曰：「寇至，盍去諸？」子思曰：「如汲去，君誰與守？」孟子曰：「曾子、子思同道。曾子師也，父兄也；子思臣也，微也。曾子、子思易地則皆然。」

céng zǐ jū wǔ chéng， yǒu yuè kòu。 huò yuē：「kòu zhì， hé qù zhū？」 yuē：「wú yù rén wū wǒ shì， huǐ shāng qí xīn mù。」 kòu tuì， zé yuē：「xiū wǒ qiáng wū， wǒ jiāng fǎn。」 kòu tuì， céng zǐ fǎn。 zuǒ yòu yuē：「dài xiān shēng rú cǐ qí zhōng qiě jìng yě， kòu zhì zé xiān qù yǐ wéi mín wàng， kòu tuì zé fǎn， dài wū bù kě。」 shěn yóu xíng yuē：「shì fēi rǔ suǒ zhī yě。 xī shěn yóu yǒu fù chú zhī huò， cóng xiān shēng zhě qī shí rén， wèi yǒu yǔ yān。」 zǐ sī jū wū wèi， yǒu qí kòu。 huò yuē：「kòu zhì， hé qù zhū？」 zǐ sī yuē：「rú jí qù， jūn shuí yǔ shǒu？」 mèng zǐ yuē：「céng zǐ、 zǐ sī tóng dào。 céng zǐ shī yě， fù xiōng yě； zǐ sī chén yě， wēi yě。 céng zǐ、 zǐ sī yì dì zé jiē rán。」

When the philosopher Zeng dwelt in Wu Cheng, there came a band from Yue to plunder it. Someone said to him, 'The plunderers are coming - why not leave this?' Zeng on this left the city, saying to the man in charge of the house, 'Do not lodge any persons in my house, lest they break and injure the plants and trees.' When the plunderers withdrew, he sent word to him, saying, 'Repair the walls of my house. I am about to return.' When the plunderers retired, the philosopher Zeng returned accordingly. His disciples said, 'Since our master was treated with so much sincerity and respect, for him to be the first to go away on the arrival of the plunderers, so as to be observed by the people, and then to return on their retiring, appears to us to be improper.' Shen You Xing said, 'You do not understand this matter. Formerly, when Shen You was exposed to the outbreak of the grass-carriers, there were seventy disciples in our master's following, and none of them took part in the matter.' When Zi Si was living in Wei, there came a band from Qi to plunder. Some one said to him, 'The plunderers are coming - why not leave this?' Zi Si said, 'If I go away, whom will the prince have to guard the State with?' Mencius said, 'The philosophers Zeng and Zi Si agreed in the principle of their conduct. Zeng was a teacher - in the place of a father or elder brother. Zi Si was a minister - in a meaner place. If the philosophers Zeng and Zi Si had exchanged places the one would have done what the other did.'

Priority note

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Central question

Why does Mencius say Zengzi and Zisi follow one Way though one fled and the other stayed?

Direct answer

Because Zengzi stood like a teacher and elder with disciples to protect, while Zisi stood as a minister whose departure would leave the ruler without support.

First principle

One Way does not require identical actions from everyone. It requires each person to answer the responsibility proper to his place.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around role ethics, circumstance, Zengzi, Zisi, and why Mencius rejects one rigid moral script.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 31 of 33 in Li Lou II. The cleanest entry point is "The plunderers are coming - why not leave…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about seeing people clearly, ritual restraint, and governing relationships and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.

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