King Hui of Liang II · Passage 08 / 16 · 孟子 1B.8
Mencius 1B.8: why cutting off Zhou was not regicide
Mencius distinguishes a rightful ruler from 'a mere fellow': when a sovereign persistently destroys benevolence and righteousness.
齊宣王問曰：「湯放桀，武王伐紂，有諸？」孟子對曰：「於傳有之。」曰：「臣弒其君可乎？」曰：「賊仁者謂之『賊』，賊義者謂之『殘』。殘賊之人謂之『一夫』。聞誅一夫紂矣，未聞弒君也。」
The king Xuan of Qi asked, saying, 'Was it so, that Tang banished Jie, and that king Wu smote Zhou?' Mencius replied, 'It is so in the records.' The king said, 'May a minister then put his sovereign to death?' Mencius said, 'He who outrages the benevolence proper to his nature, is called a robber; he who outrages righteousness, is called a ruffian. The robber and ruffian we call a mere fellow. I have heard of the cutting off of the fellow Zhou, but I have not heard of the putting a sovereign to death, in his case.'
Priority note
A human-edited reading layer
Central question
Why does Mencius say that killing Zhou was not regicide but the cutting off of a mere fellow?
Direct answer
Because in Mencius's view, a ruler is not defined by seat alone. When a person systematically destroys benevolence and righteousness, he has already forfeited the moral standing the title requires.
First principle
Political titles are not bare facts of possession. They depend on whether office still serves the end that justifies it.
Why it matters
This is a central page for understanding legitimacy, tyranny, and political responsibility in Mencius, with strong relevance to searches about Zhou, rebellion, and moral authority.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 8 of 16 in King Hui of Liang II. The cleanest entry point is "Was it so, that Tang banished Jie, and…". 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, Flood-like qi.
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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 turn this passage into a blank check for violence. Mencius is analyzing the collapse of legitimacy, not endorsing private vengeance as a political standard.