CHAPTER III
1. The duke Wăn of T＇ăng asked Mencius about theproper way of governing a kingdom.
2. Mencius said, ＇The business of the people may not be remissly attended to. It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"In the day-light go and gather the grass,
And at night twist your ropes;
Then get up quickly on the roofs;—
Soon must we begin sowing again the grain."
3. ＇The way of the people is this:
I have translated as if it were 曰可谓知.—ChûHsi introduces here the following remarks from the commentator Lin (林):—＇In the time of Mencius,although the rites to the dead had fallen into neglect,yet the three years＇ mourning, with the sorrowing heart and afflictive grief, being the expression of what really belongs to man＇s mind, had not quite perished.Only, sunk in the slough of manners becoming more and more corrupt, men were losing all their moral nature without being conscious of it. When duke Wăn saw Mencius, and heard him speak of the goodness of man＇s nature, and of Yâo and Shun, that was the occasion of moving and bringing forth his better heart, and on this occasion—of the death of his father—he felt sincerely all the stirrings of sorrow and grief. Then, moreover, when his older relatives and his officers wished not to act as he desired, he turned inwards to reprove himself, and lamented his former conduct which made him not be believed in his present course, not presuming to blame his officers and relatives:—although we must concede an extraordinary natural excellence and ability to him,yet his energy in learning may not be impeached.Finally, when we consider how with what decision hefinally acted, and how all, near and far, who saw and heard him, were delighted to acknowledge and admire his conduct, we have an instance of how, when that which belongs to all men＇s minds is in the first place exhibited by one, others are brought, without any previous purpose, to the pleased acknowledgment and approval of it:—is not this a proof that it is indeed true that the nature of man is good?
CHAPTER 3. MENCIUS＇S COUNSELS TO THE DUKE OF T＇ĂNG FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF HIS KINGDOM. AGRICULTURE AND EDUCATION ARE THE CHIEF THINGS TO BE ATTENDED TO, AND THE FIRST AS AN ESSENTIAL PREPARATION FOR THE SECOND.
1. 为, in the sense of 治, ＇to govern＇.
2. By 民事, ＇the business of the people＇, is intended husbandry. For the ode, see the Shih-ching, I. xv. Ode.I. st. 7, written, it is said, by Châu-kung, to impress the sovereign Ch＇ăng with a sense of the importance and toils of husbandry.
3. Compare Bk. I. Pt. I. vii. 19. In 民之为道, the 道is to be taken lightly,
—If they have a certain livelihood, they will have a fixed heart; if they have not a certain livelihood,they have not a fixed heart. If they have not a fixed heart, there is nothing which they will not do in the way of self-abandonment, of moral deflection, of depravity, and of wild license. When they have thus been involved in crime, to follow them up and punish them:— this is to entrap the people. How can such a thing as entrapping the people be done under the rule of a benevolent man?
4. ＇Therefore, a ruler who is endowed with talents and virtue will be gravely complaisant and economical, showing a respectful politeness to his ministers, and taking from the people only in accordance with regulated limits.
5. ＇Yang Hû said, "He who seeks to be rich will not be benevolent. He who wishes to be benevolent will not be rich."
6. ＇The sovereign of the Hsiâ dynasty enacted the fifty mâu allotment, and the payment of a tax. The founder of the Yin enacted the seventy mâu allotment,and the system of mutual aid.
as if the expression were 民之为民也,= ＇As to the people＇s being the people,＇ i.e. the character of the people is as follows. One commentator expounds the passage thus:—民之为道, 道字只如云民之所以为民. 此节只言恒产所系之重.
4. 必,—not ＇must be＇, which would be inconsistent with the 贤, but ＇will be＇, i.e. will be sure to be. The last two clauses are exegetical of 恭 and 俭. 下 must be understood of 臣, ＇ministers＇, in contradistinction from the 民, ＇people＇, in the next clause, though all are of course ＇beneath＇ the ruler.
5. This Yang Hû is the Yang Ho of the Analects, XVII. i. To accord with his unworthy character, the observation is taken in a bad sense, as a dissuasive against the practice of benevolence, while Mencius quotes it to show the incompatibility of the two aims. Great stress is laid on the 为. 为富, 为仁,—＇He who makes riches—benevolence—his business.＇ This force of the character would be well brought out by putting it in 3rd tone, but that would give the observation a good meaning.
6. 夏后氏, 殷人, 周人,—see Analects, III. xvi.
The founder of the Châu enacted the hundred mâu allotment, and the share system. In reality, whatwas paid in all these was a tithe. The share system means mutual division. The aid system means mutual dependence.
7. ＇Lung said, "For regulating the lands, there is no better system than that of mutual aid, and none which is not better than that of taxing. By the tax system,the regular amount was fixed by taking the average of several years. In good years, when the grain lies about in abundance, much might be taken without its being oppressive, and the actual exaction would be small.But in bad years, the produce being not sufficient to repay the manuring of the fields, this system still requires the taking of the full amount. When the parent of the people causes the people to wear looks of distress, and, after the whole year＇s toil, yet not to be able to nourish their parents, so that they proceed to borrowing to increase their means,
By the Hsiâ statues, every husbandman—head of a family—received fifty mâu, and paid the produce of five of them to the government. This payment was the贡. By those of Yin, 630 mâu were divided into nine equal allotments of seventy mâu each, the central one being reserved for the government, and eight families on the other allotments uniting in its cultivation. By those of Châu, to one family 100 mâu were assigned, and ten families cultivated, 1000 acres in common, dividing the produce, and paying a tenth to government. Such is the account here given by Mencius, but it is very general, and not to be taken,especially as relates to the system of the Châu dynasty,as an accurate exposition of it. More in accordance with the accounts in the Châu Lî is his own system recommended below to Pî Chan.
7. Of the Lung quoted here, all that Chăo Ch＇î and ChûHsi say, is that he was ＇an ancient worthy＇. 狠戾 is said to be synonymous with 狼藉, meaning ＇abundant＇.That this is the signification in plain enough, but how the characters come to indicate it is not clear.狼 means ＇a wolf＇, and 藉 is given in connexion with that character as meaning ＇the appearance of things scattered about in confusion＇. I cannot find any signification of 戾, ＇crooked, perverse, &c.＇, from which, as joined to 狼, we can well bring out the meaning.
till the old people and children are found lying in the ditches and water-channels:— where, in such a case,is his parental relation to the people?"
8. ＇As to the system of hereditary salaries, that is already observed in T＇ăng.
9. ＇It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"May the rain come down on our public field,
And then upon our private fields!"
It is only in the system of mutual aid that there is a public field, and from this passage we perceive that even in the Châu dynasty this system has been recognised.
10. ＇Establish hsiang, hsü, hsio, and hsiâo,— all those educational institutions,— for the instruction of the people. The name hsiang indicates nourishing asits object; hsiâo, indicates teaching; and hsü indicates archery. By the Hsiâ dynasty the name hsiâo was used; by the Yin, that of hsü; and by the Châu, that of hsiang. As to the hsio, they belonged to the three dynasties, and by that name. The object of them all is to illustrate the human relations.
盼盼然 is taken by Châo Ch＇î as in the translation, and by ChûHsî as=＇an angry-looking appearance＇, which does not suit so well. 称=举, ＇to life up＇,= ＇to proceed to＇. 恶 (the 1st tone) 在其为民父母,—see Bk. I. Pt. I. iv. 5.
8. 夫, 2nd tone. 世禄,—see Bk. I. Pt. II. v. 3.
9. See the Shih-ching, II. vi. Ode VIII. st. 3, a description of husbandry under the Châu dynasty.雨,—the verb, 4th tone. The object of the quotation is to show that the system of mutual aid obtained under the Châu as well as under the Yin dynasty, and the way is prepared for the instructions given to Pî Chan below.
10. After the due regulation of husbandry, and provision for the ＇certain livelihood＇ of the people, must come the business of education. The hsio mentioned were schools of a higher order in the capital of the kingdom and other chief cities of the various States. The others (校, hsiâo, 4th tone) were schools in the villages and smaller towns.
When those are thus illustrated by superiors, kindly feeling will prevail among the inferior people below.
11. ＇Should a real sovereign arise, he will certainly come and take an example from you; and thus you will be the teacher of the true sovereign.
12. ＇It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"Although Châu was an old country,
It received a new destiny."
That is said with reference to king Wăn. Do you practise those things with vigour, and you also will by them make new your kingdom.＇
13. The duke afterwards sent Pî Chan to consult Mencius about the nine-squares system of dividing the land. Mencius said to him, ＇Since your prince, wishing to put in practice a benevolent government, has made choice of you and put you into this employment, you must exert yourself to the utmost. Now, the first thing towards a benevolent government must be to lay down the boundaries. If the boundaries be not defined correctly, the division of the land into squares will not be equal,
In the Lî Chî, III. Sect. v. 10, we find the hsiang mentioned in connextion with the time of Shun;hsü in connexion with the Hsiâ dynasty; hsio in connextion with the Yin; and Chiâo(胶) in connextion with the Châu. There is thus some want of harmony between that passage and the account in the text.Entertainments were given to the aged at different times, and in the schools, as an example to the young of the reverence accorded by the government to age. So the schools were selected for the practice of archery, as a trial of virtue and skill. 人论明于上,—this can hardly mean, ＇when the human relations have been illustrated by the example of superiors＇. but must have reference to the inculcation of those relations by the institution of schools. The pith of Mencius＇s advice is—＇Provide the means of education for all, the poor as well as the rich.＇
12. See the Shih-ching, III. i. Ode I. st. I. 其命, ＇the appointment＇, i.e. which lighted on it from Heaven.
13. To understand the ＇nine-squares division of the land＇, the form of the character 井 needs only to be looked at. If we draw lines to enclose it—thus, 田 —we have a square portion of ground divided into nine equal and smaller squares.
and the produce available for salaries will not be evenly distributed. On this account, oppressive rulers and impure ministers are sure to neglect this defining of the boundaries. When the boundaries have been defined correctly, the division of the fields and the regulation of allowances may be determined by you,sitting at your ease.
14. ＇Although the territory of T＇ăng is narrow and small, yet there must be in it men of a superior grade,and there must be in it country-men. If there were not men of a superior grade, there would be none to rule the country-men. If there were not country-men, there would be none to support the men of superior grade.
15. ＇I would ask you, in the remoter districts,observing the nine-squares division, to reserve one division to be cultivated on the system of mutual aid,and in the more central parts of the kingdom, to make the people pay for themselves a tenth part of their produce.
16. ＇From the highest officers down to the lowest, each one must have his holy field, consisting of fifty mâu.
But can we suppose it possible to divide a territory in this way? The natural irregularities of the surface would be one great obstacle. And we find below the ＇holy field＇, and other assignments, which must continually have been requiring new arrangement of the boundaries.
14. 君子,—here, generally, for officers, men not earning their bread by the sweat of their brow, and the toil of their hands; see next chapter. 野人, ＇countrymen＇,=by their toil self-supporting people generally. 将=殆; 将为=殆必有.
15. Here the systems of all the three dynasties would seem to be employed, as the nature of the country permitted, or made advisable, their application. 野as opposed to 国中 must be understood, as in the translation,= ＇the country＇, ＇the remoter districts＇. The 九 refers to 公田 in par.13, and the 一 to 制禄. The former would be the best way in such positions of supporting the 野人, and the latter of supporting the 君子. Similarly, the other clause.
16. 圭 is explained by Châo Ch＇î by 洁, and ChûHsîfollows him, though we do not find this meaning of the term in the dictionary. The 圭田 then is ＇the cleanfield＇,
17. ＇Let the supernumerary males have their twenty-five mâu.
18. ＇On occasions of death, or removal from one dwelling to another, there will be no quitting the district. In the fields of a district, those who belong to the same nine squares render all friendly offices to one another in their going out and coming in, aid one another in keeping watch and ward, and sustain one another in sickness. Thus the people are brought to live in affection and harmony.
19. ＇A square lî covers nine squares of land, which nine squares contain nine hundred mâu. The central square is the public field, and eight families, each having its private hundred mâu, cultivate in common the public field. And not till the public work is finished, may they presume to attend to their private affairs. This is the way by which the country-men are distinguished from those of a superior grade.
20. ＇Those are the great outlines of the system. Happily to modify and adapt it depends on the prince and you.＇
and as its produce was intended to supply the means of sacrifice, I translate it by ＇the holy field＇. It was in addition to the hereditary salary mentioned in par.8.
17. A family was supposed to embrace the grandfather and grandmother, the husband, wife,and children, the husband being the grandparents＇oldest son. The extra fields were for other sons whom they might have, and were given to them when they were sixteen. When they married and became heads of families themselves, they received the regular allotment for a family. This is ChûHsi＇s account of this paragraph.
18. The social benefits flowing from the ninesquares division of the land. ＇On occasions of death＇,i.e. in burying.
19. Under the Châu dynasty, a hundred pû or ＇paces＇made a mâu＇s length, but the exact amount of the pace can hardly be ascertained. Many contend that the fifty mâu of Hsiâ, the seventy of Yin, and the hundred of Châu, were actually of the same dimensions. 养,—the 4th tone, so spoken always, when the subject is the support of a superior by an inferior.
20. 若夫 (the 2nd tone),=至于. 润泽, ＇the softening and moistening＇, i.e. the modifying and adapting.
