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

Mencius 1B.16: later mourning is not excess

Yue Zheng clears Mencius of excess in mourning by showing that the later funeral was fuller not because rite was broken.

魯平公將出，嬖人臧倉者請曰：「他日君出，則必命有司所之。今乘輿已駕矣，有司未知所之，敢請。」公曰：「將見孟子。」曰：「何哉，君所為輕身以先於匹夫者？以為賢乎？禮義由賢者出；而孟子之後喪逾前喪。君無見焉！」公曰：「諾。」樂正子入見，曰：「君奚為不見孟軻也？」曰：「或告寡人曰，『孟子之後喪逾前喪』，是以不往見也。」曰：「何哉，君所謂逾者？前以士，後以大夫；前以三鼎，而後以五鼎與？」曰：「否，謂棺槨衣衾之美也。」曰：「非所謂逾也，貧富不同也。」樂正子見孟子，曰：「克告於君，君為來見也。嬖人有臧倉者沮君，君是以不果來也。」曰：「行或使之；止或尼之。行、止，非人所能也。吾之不遇魯侯，天也。臧氏之子，焉能使予不遇哉？」

lǔ píng gōng jiāng chū， bì rén zāng cāng zhě qǐng yuē：「tā rì jūn chū， zé bì mìng yǒu sī suǒ zhī。 jīn chéng yú yǐ jià yǐ， yǒu sī wèi zhī suǒ zhī， gǎn qǐng。」 gōng yuē：「jiāng jiàn mèng zǐ。」 yuē：「hé zāi， jūn suǒ wéi qīng shēn yǐ xiān wū pǐ fū zhě？ yǐ wéi xián hū？ lǐ yì yóu xián zhě chū； ér mèng zǐ zhī hòu sāng yú qián sāng。 jūn wú jiàn yān！」 gōng yuē：「nuò。」 lè zhèng zǐ rù jiàn， yuē：「jūn xī wéi bú jiàn mèng kē yě？」 yuē：「huò gào guǎ rén yuē，『mèng zǐ zhī hòu sāng yú qián sāng』， shì yǐ bù wǎng jiàn yě。」 yuē：「hé zāi， jūn suǒ wèi yú zhě？ qián yǐ shì， hòu yǐ dài fu； qián yǐ sān dǐng， ér hòu yǐ wǔ dǐng yǔ？」 yuē：「fǒu， wèi guān guǒ yī qīn zhī měi yě。」 yuē：「fēi suǒ wèi yú yě， pín fù bù tóng yě。」 lè zhèng zǐ jiàn mèng zǐ， yuē：「kè gào wū jūn， jūn wéi lái jiàn yě。 bì rén yǒu zāng cāng zhě jǔ jūn， jūn shì yǐ bù guǒ lái yě。」 yuē：「xíng huò shǐ zhī； zhǐ huò ní zhī。 xíng、 zhǐ， fēi rén suǒ néng yě。 wú zhī bú yù lǔ hóu， tiān yě。 zāng shì zhī zǐ， yān néng shǐ yǔ bú yù zāi？」

The duke Ping of Lu was about to leave his palace, when his favourite, one Zang Cang, made a request to him, saying, 'On other days, when you have gone out, you have given instructions to the officers as to where you were going. But now, the horses have been put to the carriage, and the officers do not yet know where you are going. I venture to ask.' The duke said, 'I am going to see the scholar Meng.' 'How is this?' said the other. 'That you demean yourself, prince, in paying the honour of the first visit to a common man, is, I suppose, because you think that he is a man of talents and virtue. By such men the rules of ceremonial proprieties and right are observed. But on the occasion of this Meng's second mourning, his observances exceeded those of the former. Do not go to see him, my prince.' The duke said, 'I will not.' The officer Yue Zheng entered the court, and had an audience. He said, 'Prince, why have you not gone to see Meng Ke?' the duke said, 'One told me that, on the occasion of the scholar Meng's second mourning, his observances exceeded those of the former. It is on that account that I have not gone to see him.' 'How is this!' answered Yue Zheng. 'By what you call "exceeding," you mean, I suppose, that, on the first occasion, he used the rites appropriate to a scholar, and, on the second, those appropriate to a great officer; that he first used three tripods, and afterwards five tripods.' The duke said, 'No; I refer to the greater excellence of the coffin, the shell, the grave-clothes, and the shroud.' Yo-chAng said, 'That cannot be called "exceeding." That was the difference between being poor and being rich.' After this, Yue Zheng saw Mencius, and said to him, 'I told the prince about you, and he was consequently coming to see you, when one of his favourites, named Zang Cang, stopped him, and therefore he did not come according to his purpose.' Mencius said, 'A man's advancement is effected, it may be, by others, and the stopping him is, it may be, from the efforts of others. But to advance a man or to stop his advance is really beyond the power of other men. My not finding in the prince of Lu a ruler who would confide in me, and put my counsels into practice, is from Heaven. How could that scion of the Zang family cause me not to find the ruler that would suit me?'