Wan Zhang I · Passage 08 / 09 · 孟子 5A.8

Mencius 5A.8: Confucius would not trade himself into

Mencius flatly rejects stories that Confucius lodged with low and dubious figures to gain office.

萬章問曰：「或謂『孔子於衛主癰疽，於齊主侍人瘠環』，有諸乎？」孟子曰：「否，不然也，好事者為之也。於衛，主顏讎由。彌子之妻與子路之妻，兄弟也。彌子謂子路曰：『孔子主我，衛卿可得也。』子路以告，孔子曰：『有命。』孔子進以禮，退以義，得之不得曰：『有命』。而主癰疽與侍人瘠環，是無義無命也。孔子不悅於魯衛，遭宋桓司馬，將要而殺之，微服而過宋。是時孔子當厄，主司城貞子，為陳侯周臣。吾聞觀近臣，以其所為主；觀遠臣，以其所主。若孔子主癰疽與侍人瘠環，何以為孔子？」

wàn zhāng wèn yuē：「huò wèi 『kǒng zǐ wū wèi zhǔ yōng jū， wū qí zhǔ shì rén jí huán』， yǒu zhū hū？」 mèng zǐ yuē：「fǒu， bù rán yě， hǎo shì zhě wéi zhī yě。 wū wèi， zhǔ yán chóu yóu。 mí zǐ zhī qī yǔ zǐ lù zhī qī， xiōng dì yě。 mí zǐ wèi zǐ lù yuē：『kǒng zǐ zhǔ wǒ， wèi qīng kě dé yě。』 zǐ lù yǐ gào， kǒng zǐ yuē：『yǒu mìng。』 kǒng zǐ jìn yǐ lǐ， tuì yǐ yì， dé zhī bù dé yuē：『yǒu mìng』。 ér zhǔ yōng jū yǔ shì rén jí huán， shì wú yì wú mìng yě。 kǒng zǐ bú yuè wū lǔ wèi， zāo sòng huán sī mǎ， jiāng yào ér shā zhī， wēi fú ér guò sòng。 shì shí kǒng zǐ dāng è， zhǔ sī chéng zhēn zǐ， wéi chén hóu zhōu chén。 wú wén guān jìn chén， yǐ qí suǒ wéi zhǔ； guān yuǎn chén， yǐ qí suǒ zhǔ。 ruò kǒng zǐ zhǔ yōng jū yǔ shì rén jí huán， hé yǐ wéi kǒng zǐ？」

Wan Zhang asked Mencius, saying, 'Some say that Confucius, when he was in Wei, lived with the ulcer-doctor, and when he was in Qi, with the attendant, Qi Huan; was it so?' Mencius replied, 'No; it was not so. Those are the inventions of men fond of strange things. When he was in Wei, he lived with Yan Chou You. The wives of the officer Mi and Zi Lu were sisters, and Mi told Zi Lu, "If Confucius will lodge with me, he may attain to the dignity of a high noble of Wei." Zi Lu informed Confucius of this, and he said, "That is as ordered by Heaven." Confucius went into office according to propriety, and retired from it according to righteousness. In regard to his obtaining office or not obtaining it, he said, "That is as ordered." But if he had lodged with the attendant Qi Huan, that would neither have been according to righteousness, nor any ordering of Heaven. When Confucius, being dissatisfied in Lu and Wei, had left those States, he met with the attempt of Hwan, the Master of the Horse, of Song, to intercept and kill him. He assumed, however, the dress of a common man, and passed by Song. At that time, though he was in circumstances of distress, he lodged with the city-master Chang, who was then a minister of Zhou, the marquis of Chen. I have heard that the characters of ministers about court may be discerned from those whom they entertain, and those of stranger officers, from those with whom they lodge. If Confucius had lodged with the ulcer-doctor, and with the attendant Qi Huan, how could he have been Confucius?'

Priority note

A human-edited reading layer

Central question

Why does Mencius firmly deny that Confucius lodged with questionable hosts in order to obtain office?

Direct answer

Because if Confucius had advanced by such means, he would have abandoned both righteousness and the sense of Heaven's ordering. Where one lodges is not a trivial detail; it publicly declares what relationships one accepts as a doorway.

First principle

Moral and political alignment appears not only in speeches but in the kinds of people and channels under which one is willing to place oneself.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around Confucius, lodging, and moral alignment in Mencius, while strengthening the site's explanation of worthy distance from compromised entry points.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 8 of 9 in Wan Zhang I. The cleanest entry point is "Some say that Confucius, when he was in…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about ministerial duty, honest counsel, and political commitment and can be read alongside Flood-like qi.

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