Wan Zhang II · Passage 04 / 09 · 孟子 5B.4

Mencius 5B.4: a respectful gift still needs a just source

Mencius refuses to let ritual courtesy erase the question of source: a gift offered politely may still come from injustice and cannot be cleansed by form.

萬章曰：「敢問交際何心也？」孟子曰：「恭也。」曰：「卻之卻之為不恭，何哉？」曰：「尊者賜之，曰：『其所取之者，義乎不義乎？』而後受之，以是為不恭，故弗卻也。」曰：「請無以辭卻之，以心卻之，曰：『其取諸民之不義也。』而以他辭無受，不可乎？」曰：「其交也以道，其接也以禮，斯孔子受之矣。」萬章曰：「今有御人於國門之外者，其交也以道，其饋也以禮，斯可受御與？」曰：「不可。《康誥》曰：『殺越人于貨，閔不畏死，凡民罔不譈』是不待教而誅者也。殷受夏，周受殷，所不辭也，於今為烈，如之何其受之？」曰：「今之諸侯取之於民也，猶御也。『茍善其禮際矣，斯君子受之』，敢問何說也？」曰：「子以為有王者作，將比今之諸侯而誅之乎？其教之不改而後誅之乎？夫謂非其有而取之者盜也，充類至義之盡也。孔子之仕於魯也，魯人獵較，孔子亦獵較。獵較猶可，而況受其賜乎？」曰：「然則孔子之仕也，非事道與？」曰：「事道也。」「事道奚獵較也？」曰：「孔子先簿正祭器，不以四方之食供簿正。」曰：「奚不去也？」曰：「為之兆也，兆足以行矣，而不行，而後去；是以未嘗有所終三年淹也。孔子有見行可之仕，有際可之仕，有公養之仕。於季桓子，見行可之仕也；於衛靈公，際可之仕也；於衛孝公，公養之仕也。」

wàn zhāng yuē：「gǎn wèn jiāo jì hé xīn yě？」 mèng zǐ yuē：「gōng yě。」 yuē：「què zhī què zhī wéi bù gōng， hé zāi？」 yuē：「zūn zhě cì zhī， yuē：『qí suǒ qǔ zhī zhě， yì hū bú yì hū？』 ér hòu shòu zhī， yǐ shì wéi bù gōng， gù fú què yě。」 yuē：「qǐng wú yǐ cí què zhī， yǐ xīn què zhī， yuē：『qí qǔ zhū mín zhī bú yì yě。』 ér yǐ tā cí wú shòu， bù kě hū？」 yuē：「qí jiāo yě yǐ dào， qí jiē yě yǐ lǐ， sī kǒng zǐ shòu zhī yǐ。」 wàn zhāng yuē：「jīn yǒu yù rén wū guó mén zhī wài zhě， qí jiāo yě yǐ dào， qí kuì yě yǐ lǐ， sī kě shòu yù yǔ？」 yuē：「bù kě。《kāng gào》 yuē：『shā yuè rén yú huò， mǐn bú wèi sǐ， fán mín wǎng bú duì』 shì bú dài jiào ér zhū zhě yě。 yīn shòu xià， zhōu shòu yīn， suǒ bù cí yě， wū jīn wéi liè， rú zhī hé qí shòu zhī？」 yuē：「jīn zhī zhū hóu qǔ zhī wū mín yě， yóu yù yě。『jì shàn qí lǐ jì yǐ， sī jūn zǐ shòu zhī』， gǎn wèn hé shuō yě？」 yuē：「zǐ yǐ wéi yǒu wáng zhě zuò， jiāng bǐ jīn zhī zhū hóu ér zhū zhī hū？ qí jiào zhī bù gǎi ér hòu zhū zhī hū？ fū wèi fēi qí yǒu ér qǔ zhī zhě dào yě， chōng lèi zhì yì zhī jìn yě。 kǒng zǐ zhī shì wū lǔ yě， lǔ rén liè jiào， kǒng zǐ yì liè jiào。 liè jiào yóu kě， ér kuàng shòu qí cì hū？」 yuē：「rán zé kǒng zǐ zhī shì yě， fēi shì dào yǔ？」 yuē：「shì dào yě。」「shì dào xī liè jiào yě？」 yuē：「kǒng zǐ xiān bó zhèng jì qì， bù yǐ sì fāng zhī shí gòng bó zhèng。」 yuē：「xī bú qù yě？」 yuē：「wéi zhī zhào yě， zhào zú yǐ xíng yǐ， ér bù xíng， ér hòu qù； shì yǐ wèi cháng yǒu suǒ zhōng sān nián yān yě。 kǒng zǐ yǒu jiàn xíng kě zhī shì， yǒu jì kě zhī shì， yǒu gōng yǎng zhī shì。 wū jì huán zǐ， jiàn xíng kě zhī shì yě； wū wèi líng gōng， jì kě zhī shì yě； wū wèi xiào gōng， gōng yǎng zhī shì yě。」

Wan Zhang asked Mencius, saying, 'I venture to ask what feeling of the mind is expressed in the presents of friendship?' Mencius replied, 'The feeling of respect.' 'How is it,' pursued Zhang, 'that the declining a present is accounted disrespectful?' The answer was, 'When one of honourable rank presents a gift, to say in the mind, "Was the way in which he got this righteous or not? I must know this before I can receive it" - this is deemed disrespectful, and therefore presents are not declined.' Wan Zhang asked again, 'When one does not take on him in so many express words to refuse the gift, but having declined it in his heart, saying, "It was taken by him unrighteously from the people," and then assigns some other reason for not receiving it - is not this a proper course?' Mencius said, 'When the donor offers it on a ground of reason, and his manner of doing so is according to propriety; in such a case Confucius would have received it.' Wan Zhang said, 'Here now is one who stops and robs people outside the gates of the city. He offers his gift on a ground of reason, and does so in a manner according to propriety - would the reception of it so acquired by robbery be proper?' Mencius replied, 'It would not be proper. In "The Announcement to Kang" it is said, "When men kill others, and roll over their bodies to take their property, being reckless and fearless of death, among all the people there are none but detest them" - thus, such characters are to be put to death, without waiting to give them warning. Yin received this rule from Xia and Zhou received it from Yin. It cannot be questioned, and to the present day is clearly acknowledged. How can the grift of a robber be received?' Zhang said, 'The princes of the present day take from their people just as a robber despoils his victim. Yet if they put a good face of propriety on their gifts, then the superior man receives them. I venture to ask how you explain this.' Mencius answered, 'Do you think that, if there should arise a truly royal sovereign, he would collect the princes of the present day, and put them all to death? Or would he admonish them, and then, on their not changing their ways, put them to death? Indeed, to call every one who takes what does not properly belong to him a robber, is pushing a point of resemblance to the utmost, and insisting on the most refined idea of righteousness. When Confucius was in office in Lu, the people struggled together for the game taken in hunting, and he also did the same. If that struggling for the captured game was proper, how much more may the gifts of the princes be received!' Zhang urged, 'Then are we to suppose that when Confucius held office, it was not with the view to carry his doctrines into practice?' 'It was with that view,' Mencius replied, And Zhang rejoined, 'If the practice of his doctrines was his business, what had he to do with that struggling for the captured game?' Mencius said, 'Confucius first rectified his vessels of sacrifice according to the registers, and did not fill them so rectified with food gathered from every quarter.' 'But why did he not go away?' 'He wished to make a trial of carrying his doctrines into practice. When that trial was sufficient to show that they could be practised and they were still not practised, then he went away, and thus it was that he never completed in any State a residence of three years. Confucius took office when he saw that the practice of his doctrines was likely; he took office when his reception was proper; he took office when he was supported by the State. In the case of his relation to Qi Huan, he took office, seeing that the practice of his doctrines was likely. With the duke Ling of Wei he took office, because his reception was proper. With the duke Xiao of Wei he took office, because he was maintained by the State.'