King Hui of Liang II · Passage 10 / 16 · 孟子 1B.10

Mencius 1B.10: conquest is just only if Yan welcomes it

Mencius judges the conquest of Yan not by victory first, but by whether the people are relieved or only thrown into deeper water and hotter fire.

齊人伐燕，勝之。宣王問曰：「或謂寡人勿取，或謂寡人取之。以萬乘之國伐萬乘之國，五旬而舉之，人力不至於此。不取必有天殃。取之何如？」孟子對曰：「取之而燕民悅，則取之。古之人有行之者，武王是也。取之而燕民不悅，則勿取，古之人有行之者，文王是也。以萬乘之國伐萬乘之國，簞食壺漿以迎王師，豈有他哉？避水火也。如水益深，如火益熱，亦運而已矣。」

qí rén fá yàn， shèng zhī。 xuān wáng wèn yuē：「huò wèi guǎ rén wù qǔ， huò wèi guǎ rén qǔ zhī。 yǐ wàn chéng zhī guó fá wàn chéng zhī guó， wǔ xún ér jǔ zhī， rén lì bú zhì wū cǐ。 bù qǔ bì yǒu tiān yāng。 qǔ zhī hé rú？」 mèng zǐ duì yuē：「qǔ zhī ér yàn mín yuè， zé qǔ zhī。 gǔ zhī rén yǒu xíng zhī zhě， wǔ wáng shì yě。 qǔ zhī ér yàn mín bú yuè， zé wù qǔ， gǔ zhī rén yǒu xíng zhī zhě， wén wáng shì yě。 yǐ wàn chéng zhī guó fá wàn chéng zhī guó， dān shí hú jiāng yǐ yíng wáng shī， qǐ yǒu tā zāi？ bì shuǐ huǒ yě。 rú shuǐ yì shēn， rú huǒ yì rè， yì yùn ér yǐ yǐ。」

The people of Qi attacked Yan, and conquered it. The king Xuan asked, saying, 'Some tell me not to take possession of it for myself, and some tell me to take possession of it. For a kingdom of ten thousand chariots, attacking another of ten thousand chariots, to complete the conquest of it in fifty days, is an achievement beyond mere human strength. If I do not take possession of it, calamities from Heaven will surely come upon me. What do you say to my taking possession of it?' Mencius replied, 'If the people of Yan will be pleased with your taking possession of it, then do so. Among the ancients there was one who acted on this principle, namely king Wu. If the people of Yan will not be pleased with your taking possession of it, then do not do so. Among the ancients there was one who acted on this principle, namely king Wen. When, with all the strength of your country of ten thousand chariots, you attacked another country of ten thousand chariots, and the people brought baskets of rice and vessels of congee, to meet your Majesty's host, was there any other reason for this but that they hoped to escape out of fire and water? If you make the water more deep and the fire more fierce, they will in like manner make another revolution.'

Priority note

A human-edited reading layer

Central question

Why does Mencius say that taking Yan depends first on whether the people of Yan welcome it?

Direct answer

Because the justice of conquest is not settled by military success. It is settled by whether the campaign actually rescues the people from oppression. If suffering deepens, the conqueror has simply replaced one oppressor with another.

First principle

Judge political action not first by whether it can seize a territory, but by whether it improves the lived condition of the governed.

Why it matters

This passage directly serves searches around the conquest of Yan, just war, popular consent, and the political meaning of humane rule.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 10 of 16 in King Hui of Liang II. The cleanest entry point is "Some tell me not to take possession of…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about shared joy with the people, judgments about war, and political responsibility and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.

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