Wan Zhang II · Passage 05 / 09 · 孟子 5B.5
Mencius 5B.5: office is for the Way, not merely poverty
Mencius offers a precise account of motive: office should not be sought merely as livelihood.
孟子曰：「仕非為貧也，而有時乎為貧；娶妻非為養也，而有時乎為養。為貧者，辭尊居卑，辭富居貧。辭尊居卑，辭富居貧，惡乎宜乎？抱關擊柝。孔子嘗為委吏矣，曰：『會計當而已矣。』嘗為乘田矣，曰：『牛羊茁壯，長而已矣。』位卑而言高，罪也。立乎人之本朝而道不行，恥也。」
Mencius said, 'Office is not sought on account of poverty, yet there are times when one seeks office on that account. Marriage is not entered into for the sake of being attended to by the wife, yet there are times when one marries on that account. He who takes office on account of his poverty must decline an honourable situation and occupy a low one; he must decline riches and prefer to be poor. What office will be in harmony with this declining an honourable situation and occupying a low one, this declining riches and preferring to be poor? Such an one as that of guarding the gates, or beating the watchman's stick. Confucius was once keeper of stores, and he then said, "My calculations must be all right. That is all I have to care about." He was once in charge of the public fields, and he then said, "The oxen and sheep must be fat and strong, and superior. That is all I have to care about." When one is in a low situation, to speak of high matters is a crime. When a scholar stands in a prince's court, and his principles are not carried into practice, it is a shame to him.'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius say that office is not for poverty, though there are times when it is entered because of poverty?
Direct answer
Because ideally office is for carrying the way, not merely for obtaining food. Yet Mencius also acknowledges real material pressure. He allows that entry may be occasioned by poverty, while insisting that poverty must not be allowed to sell away the way.
First principle
A sound judgment of motive neither pretends material pressure is unreal nor allows material pressure to erase principled boundaries.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around office, poverty, and Mencius on motive. It helps explain how principle and reality meet without simple denial of either.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 5 of 9 in Wan Zhang II. The cleanest entry point is "Office is not sought on account of poverty,…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about recognizing worth, learning, and the relation between name and reality and can be read alongside Human nature.
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Wan Zhang II leans toward questions of recognizing worth, learning, and whether names match realities.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not read it as a blanket endorsement of career realism. Mencius is setting boundary conditions: reality may be acknowledged, but it may not become sovereign over principle.