King Hui of Liang II · Passage 06 / 16 · 孟子 1B.6
Mencius 1B.6: why corner King Xuan into looking
By moving from a failed friend to a failed judge and finally to a failed kingdom.
孟子謂齊宣王，曰：「王之臣有托其妻子於其友而之楚游者，比其反也，則凍餒其妻子，則如之何？」王曰：「棄之。」曰：「士師不能治士，則如之何？」王曰：「已之。」曰：「四境之內不治，則如之何？」王顧左右而言他。
Mencius said to the king Xuan of Qi, 'Suppose that one of your Majesty's ministers were to entrust his wife and children to the care of his friend, while he himself went into Chu to travel, and that, on his return, he should find that the friend had let his wife and children suffer from cold and hunger - how ought he to deal with him?' The king said, 'He should cast him off.' Mencius proceeded, 'Suppose that the chief criminal judge could not regulate the officers under him, how would you deal with him?' The king said, 'Dismiss him.' Mencius again said, 'If within the four borders of your kingdom there is not good government, what is to be done?' The king looked to the right and left, and spoke of other matters.
Priority note
A human-edited reading layer
Central question
Why does Mencius corner King Xuan into looking away and speaking of something else?
Direct answer
Because he is tracing responsibility step by step to its endpoint. If failure at lower levels deserves dismissal, then failure of governance within the four borders cannot be exempt from highest responsibility.
First principle
The real test of accountability is not finding a scapegoat, but following the chain of responsibility up to the place where final authority sits.
Why it matters
This passage strongly serves search intent around accountability, evasive power, and the famous scene of the king changing the subject.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 6 of 16 in King Hui of Liang II. The cleanest entry point is "Suppose that one of your Majesty's ministers were…". 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.
Broader search routes
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The four beginnings and four sprouts: virtue made visible
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Open four beginnings / four sproutsWho is Mencius?
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Open the full-text hubBook context
King Hui of Liang II places shared joy, war, and the ruler's responsibility inside one political chain of judgment.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not treat it merely as clever rhetoric. Mencius is demonstrating how analogical reasoning can force abstract responsibility back onto sovereign power.