Wan Zhang I · Passage 04 / 09 · 孟子 5A.4

Mencius 5A.4: the height of filiality is honoring

Through Shun and Gu Sou, Mencius argues that filial piety reaches its height not merely by feeding parents, but by placing them in their due position of honor.

咸丘蒙問曰：「語云：『盛德之士，君不得而臣，父不得而子。』舜南面而立，堯帥諸侯北面而朝之，瞽瞍亦北面而朝之。舜見瞽瞍，其容有蹙。孔子曰：『於斯時也，天下殆哉，岌岌乎！』不識此語，誠然乎哉？」孟子曰：「否，此非君子之言，齊東野人之語也。堯老而舜攝也，《堯典》曰：『二十有八載，放勛乃徂落，百姓如喪考妣。三年，四海遏密八音。』孔子曰：『天無二日，民無二王。』舜既為天子矣，又帥天下諸侯以為堯三年喪，是二天子矣。」咸丘蒙曰：「舜之不臣堯，則吾既得聞命矣。《詩》云：『普天之下，莫非王土；率土之濱，莫非王臣。』而舜既為天子矣，敢問瞽瞍之非臣，如何？」曰：「是詩也，非是之謂也，勞於王事而不得養父母也。曰：『此莫非王事，我獨賢勞也。』故說詩者，不以文害辭，不以辭害志；以意逆志，是為得之。如以辭而已矣。《雲漢》之詩曰：『周餘黎民，靡有孑遺。』信斯言也，是周無遺民也。孝子之至，莫大乎尊親；尊親之至，莫大乎以天下養。為天子父，尊之至也；以天下養，養之至也。《詩》曰：『永言孝思，孝思惟則』，此之謂也。《書》曰：『祗載見瞽瞍，夔夔齋栗，瞽瞍亦允若』，是為父不得而子也？」

xián qiū méng wèn yuē：「yǔ yún：『shèng dé zhī shì， jūn bù dé ér chén， fù bù dé ér zǐ。』 shùn nán miàn ér lì， yáo shuài zhū hóu běi miàn ér cháo zhī， gǔ sǒu yì běi miàn ér cháo zhī。 shùn jiàn gǔ sǒu， qí róng yǒu cù。 kǒng zǐ yuē：『wū sī shí yě， tiān xià dài zāi， jí jí hū！』 bù shí cǐ yǔ， chéng rán hū zāi？」 mèng zǐ yuē：「fǒu， cǐ fēi jūn zǐ zhī yán， qí dōng yě rén zhī yǔ yě。 yáo lǎo ér shùn shè yě，《yáo diǎn》 yuē：『èr shí yǒu bā zài， fàng xūn nǎi cú luò， bǎi xìng rú sāng kǎo bǐ。 sān nián， sì hǎi è mì bā yīn。』 kǒng zǐ yuē：『tiān wú èr rì， mín wú èr wáng。』 shùn jì wéi tiān zǐ yǐ， yòu shuài tiān xià zhū hóu yǐ wéi yáo sān nián sāng， shì èr tiān zǐ yǐ。」 xián qiū méng yuē：「shùn zhī bù chén yáo， zé wú jì dé wén mìng yǐ。《shī》 yún：『pǔ tiān zhī xià， mò fēi wáng tǔ； lǜ tǔ zhī bīn， mò fēi wáng chén。』 ér shùn jì wéi tiān zǐ yǐ， gǎn wèn gǔ sǒu zhī fēi chén， rú hé？」 yuē：「shì shī yě， fēi shì zhī wèi yě， láo wū wáng shì ér bù dé yǎng fù mǔ yě。 yuē：『cǐ mò fēi wáng shì， wǒ dú xián láo yě。』 gù shuō shī zhě， bù yǐ wén hài cí， bù yǐ cí hài zhì； yǐ yì nì zhì， shì wéi dé zhī。 rú yǐ cí ér yǐ yǐ。《yún hàn》 zhī shī yuē：『zhōu yú lí mín， mí yǒu jié yí。』 xìn sī yán yě， shì zhōu wú yí mín yě。 xiào zǐ zhī zhì， mò dà hū zūn qīn； zūn qīn zhī zhì， mò dà hū yǐ tiān xià yǎng。 wéi tiān zǐ fù， zūn zhī zhì yě； yǐ tiān xià yǎng， yǎng zhī zhì yě。《shī》 yuē：『yǒng yán xiào sī， xiào sī wéi zé』， cǐ zhī wèi yě。《shū》 yuē：『zhī zài jiàn gǔ sǒu， kuí kuí zhāi lì， gǔ sǒu yì yǔn ruò』， shì wéi fù bù dé ér zǐ yě？」

Xian Qiu Meng asked Mencius, saying, 'There is the saying, "A scholar of complete virtue may not be employed as a minister by his sovereign, nor treated as a son by his father. Shun stood with his face to the south, and Yao, at the head of all the princes, appeared before him at court with his face to the north. Gu Sou also did the same. When Shun saw Gu Sou, his countenance became discomposed. Confucius said, At this time, in what a perilous condition was the kingdom! Its state was indeed unsettled." - I do not know whether what is here said really took place.' Mencius replied, 'No. These are not the words of a superior man. They are the sayings of an uncultivated person of the east of Qi. When Yao was old, Shun was associated with him in the government. It is said in the Canon of Yao, "After twenty and eight years, the Highly Meritorious one deceased. The people acted as if they were mourning for a father or mother for three years, and up to the borders of the four seas every sound of music was hushed." Confucius said, "There are not two suns in the sky, nor two sovereigns over the people." Shun having been sovereign, and, moreover, leading on all the princes to observe the three years' mourning for Yao, there would have been in this case two sovereigns.' Xian Qiu Meng said, 'On the point of Shun's not treating Yao as a minister, I have received your instructions. But it is said in the Book of Poetry, Under the whole heaven, Every spot is the sovereign's ground; To the borders of the land, Every individual is the sovereign's minister;" - and Shun had become sovereign. I venture to ask how it was that Gu Sou was not one of his ministers.' Mencius answered, 'That ode is not to be understood in that way - it speaks of being laboriously engaged in the sovereign's business, so as not to be able to nourish one's parents, as if the author said, "This is all the sovereign's business, and how is it that I alone am supposed to have ability, and am made to toil in it?" Therefore, those who explain the odes, may not insist on one term so as to do violence to a sentence, nor on a sentence so as to do violence to the general scope. They must try with their thoughts to meet that scope, and then we shall apprehend it. If we simply take single sentences, there is that in the ode called "The Milky Way," - "Of the black-haired people of the remnant of Zhou, There is not half a one left." If it had been really as thus expressed, then not an individual of the people of Zhou was left. Of all which a filial son can attain to, there is nothing greater than his honouring his parents. And of what can be attained to in the honouring one's parents, there is nothing greater than the nourishing them with the whole kingdom. Gu Sou was the father of the sovereign - this was the height of honour. Shun nourished him with the whole kingdom - this was the height of nourishing. In this was verified the sentiment in the Book of Poetry, "Ever cherishing filial thoughts, Those filial thoughts became an example to after ages." It is said in the Book of History, "Reverently performing his duties, he waited on Gu Sou, and was full of veneration and awe. Gu Sou also believed him and conformed to virtue." This is the true case of the scholar of complete virtue not being treated as a son by his father.'