Wan Zhang I · Passage 03 / 09 · 孟子 5A.3

Mencius 5A.3: why Shun still enfeoffed Xiang

Mencius handles the case of Shun and Xiang not by denying evil, but by asking how one may respond to evil without creating wider collateral injury.

萬章問曰：「象日以殺舜為事，立為天子，則放之，何也？」孟子曰：「封之也。或曰放焉。」萬章曰：「舜流共工于幽州，放驩兜于崇山，殺三苗于三危，殛鯀于羽山，四罪而天下咸服。誅不仁也。象至不仁，封之有庳。有庳之人奚罪焉？仁人固如是乎？在他人則誅之，在弟則封之。」曰：「仁人之於弟也，不藏怒焉，不宿怨焉，親愛之而已矣。親之，欲其貴也；愛之，欲其富也。封之有庳，富貴之也。身為天子，弟為匹夫，可謂親愛之乎？」「敢問『或曰放』者何謂也？」曰：「象不得有為於其國，天子使吏治其國，而納其貢稅焉，故謂之放。豈得暴彼民哉？雖然，欲常常而見之，故源源而來。『不及貢，以政接于有庳』，此之謂也。」

wàn zhāng wèn yuē：「xiàng rì yǐ shā shùn wéi shì， lì wéi tiān zǐ， zé fàng zhī， hé yě？」 mèng zǐ yuē：「fēng zhī yě。 huò yuē fàng yān。」 wàn zhāng yuē：「shùn liú gòng gōng yú yōu zhōu， fàng huān dōu yú chóng shān， shā sān miáo yú sān wēi， jí gǔn yú yǔ shān， sì zuì ér tiān xià xián fú。 zhū bù rén yě。 xiàng zhì bù rén， fēng zhī yǒu bì。 yǒu bì zhī rén xī zuì yān？ rén rén gù rú shì hū？ zài tā rén zé zhū zhī， zài dì zé fēng zhī。」 yuē：「rén rén zhī wū dì yě， bù cáng nù yān， bú sù yuàn yān， qīn ài zhī ér yǐ yǐ。 qīn zhī， yù qí guì yě； ài zhī， yù qí fù yě。 fēng zhī yǒu bì， fù guì zhī yě。 shēn wéi tiān zǐ， dì wéi pǐ fū， kě wèi qīn ài zhī hū？」「gǎn wèn 『huò yuē fàng』 zhě hé wèi yě？」 yuē：「xiàng bù dé yǒu wéi wū qí guó， tiān zǐ shǐ lì zhì qí guó， ér nà qí gòng shuì yān， gù wèi zhī fàng。 qǐ dé bào bǐ mín zāi？ suī rán， yù cháng cháng ér jiàn zhī， gù yuán yuán ér lái。『bù jí gòng， yǐ zhèng jiē yú yǒu bì』， cǐ zhī wèi yě。」

Wan Zhang said, 'Xiang made it his daily business to slay Shun. When Shun was made sovereign, how was it that he only banished him?' Mencius said, 'He raised him to be a prince. Some supposed that it was banishing him?' Wan Zhang said, 'Shun banished the superintendent of works to You Zhou; he sent away Huan Dou to the mountain Chong; he slew the prince of San Miao in San Wei; and he imprisoned Gun on the mountain Yu. When the crimes of those four were thus punished, the whole kingdom acquiesced - it was a cutting off of men who were destitute of benevolence. But Xiang was of all men the most destitute of benevolence, and Shun raised him to be the prince of You Bei - of what crimes had the people of You Bei been guilty? Does a benevolent man really act thus? In the case of other men, he cut them off; in the case of his brother, he raised him to be a prince.' Mencius replied, 'A benevolent man does not lay up anger, nor cherish resentment against his brother, but only regards him with affection and love. Regarding him with affection, he wishes him to be honourable: regarding him with love, he wishes him to be rich. The appointment of Xiang to be the prince of You Bei was to enrich and ennoble him. If while Shun himself was sovereign, his brother had been a common man, could he have been said to regard him with affection and love?' Wan Zhang said, 'I venture to ask what you mean by saying that some supposed that it was a banishing of Xiang?' Mencius replied, 'Xiang could do nothing in his State. The Son of Heaven appointed an officer to administer its government, and to pay over its revenues to him. This treatment of him led to its being said that he was banished. How indeed could he be allowed the means of oppressing the people? Nevertheless, Shun wished to be continually seeing him, and by this arrangement, he came incessantly to court, as is signified in that expression: "He did not wait for the rendering of tribute, or affairs of government, to receive the prince of You Bei.