King Hui of Liang II · Passage 15 / 16 · 孟子 1B.15

Mencius 1B.15: why answer the survival of a

Answering a small state's fear, Mencius argues that a ruler cannot preserve the shell of a state by destroying the land and life that sustain the people.

滕文公問曰：「滕，小國也；竭力以事大國，則不得免焉，如之何則可？」孟子對曰：「昔者大王居邠，狄人侵之。事之以皮幣，不得免焉；事之以犬馬，不得免焉；事之以珠玉，不得免焉。乃屬其耆老而告之曰：『狄人之所欲者，吾土地也。吾聞之也：君子不以其所以養人者害人。二三子何患乎無君？我將去之。』去邠，逾梁山，邑於岐山之下居焉。邠人曰：『仁人也，不可失也。』從之者如歸市。或曰：『世守也，非身之所能為也。效死勿去。』君請擇於斯二者。」

téng wén gōng wèn yuē：「téng， xiǎo guó yě； jié lì yǐ shì dà guó， zé bù dé miǎn yān， rú zhī hé zé kě？」 mèng zǐ duì yuē：「xī zhě dà wáng jū bīn， dí rén qīn zhī。 shì zhī yǐ pí bì， bù dé miǎn yān； shì zhī yǐ quǎn mǎ， bù dé miǎn yān； shì zhī yǐ zhū yù， bù dé miǎn yān。 nǎi shǔ qí qí lǎo ér gào zhī yuē：『dí rén zhī suǒ yù zhě， wú tǔ dì yě。 wú wén zhī yě： jūn zǐ bù yǐ qí suǒ yǐ yǎng rén zhě hài rén。 èr sān zǐ hé huàn hū wú jūn？ wǒ jiāng qù zhī。』 qù bīn， yú liáng shān， yì wū qí shān zhī xià jū yān。 bīn rén yuē：『rén rén yě， bù kě shī yě。』 cóng zhī zhě rú guī shì。 huò yuē：『shì shǒu yě， fēi shēn zhī suǒ néng wéi yě。 xiào sǐ wù qù。』 jūn qǐng zé wū sī èr zhě。」

The duke Wen of Teng asked Mencius, saying, 'Teng is a small State. Though I do my utmost to serve those large kingdoms on either side of it, we cannot escape suffering from them. What course shall I take that we may do so?' Mencius replied, 'Formerly, when king Tai dwelt in Bin, the barbarians of the north were constantly making incursions upon it. He served them with skins and silks, and still he suffered from them. He served them with dogs and horses, and still he suffered from them. He served them with pearls and gems, and still he suffered from them. Seeing this, he assembled the old men, and announced to them, saying, "What the barbarians want is my territory. I have heard this - that a ruler does not injure his people with that wherewith he nourishes them. My children, why should you be troubled about having no prince? I will leave this." Accordingly, he left Bin, crossed the mountain Liang, built a town at the foot of mount Qi, and dwelt there. The people of Pin said, "He is a benevolent man. We must not lose him." Those who followed him looked like crowds hastening to market. On the other hand, some say, "The kingdom is a thing to be kept from generation to generation. One individual cannot undertake to dispose of it in his own person. Let him be prepared to die for it. Let him not quit it." I ask you, prince, to make your election between these two courses.'

Priority note

A human-edited reading layer

Central question

Why does Mencius answer the survival of a small state with the example of fleeing Bin?

Direct answer

Because the point of political order is to preserve the people's way of living. If saving the state first requires wrecking the ground that nourishes them, the state has already betrayed its purpose.

First principle

A political community exists not to preserve its label at any cost, but to preserve the conditions under which people can live, gather, and remain human together.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around small-state survival, strategic withdrawal, and why humane government is not blind attachment to territory.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 15 of 16 in King Hui of Liang II. The cleanest entry point is "Teng is a small State". 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 Four beginnings / four sprouts, Humane government / kingly way.

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