孟子荀卿列传

The Grand Historian said: When I read the works of Mencius and come to King Hui of Liang asking 'What advantage can be gained for my state?', I cannot help but set the book aside and sigh. 'Alas,' I say, 'profit is truly the origin of chaos! The Master rarely spoke of profit, for he constantly guarded against its source.' Hence it is said: 'To act solely in pursuit of profit begets much resentment.' From the Son of Heaven down to the common people, how could the corruption of seeking advantage differ among them?

Mencius was a native of Zou. He studied under the followers of Zisi. Having mastered the Way, he traveled to Qi to serve King Xuan, but the king would not employ him. He went to Liang, where King Hui failed to heed his words, considering them impractical and removed from reality. At that time, Qin was employing Lord Shang, enriching the state and strengthening its military; Chu and Wei were using Wu QiWu QiThe reformer who died for his reforms.A brilliant military reformer who created the first standing army and served three states, only to be assassinated by the nobles he dispossessed.View profile →, conquering and weakening their enemies; the Kings Wei and Xuan of Qi employed Sunzi and Tian Ji, and the feudal lords faced east to pay homage to Qi. The realm was bent on forming alliances and oppositions, praising aggression and military prowess as the measure of worth. Yet Mencius expounded only the virtue of Tang, Yu, and the Three Dynasties—so wherever he went, he found no acceptance.

Retiring from public life, he joined disciples like Wan Zhang to compile the Odes and Documents, transmitting Confucius's teachings, and composed the seven chapters of Mencius.

After him came others from Zou. Qi had three men from Zou. Zou Ji came first, who by playing the zither gained an audience with King Wei of Qi and subsequently came to share in the governance of the state, enfeoffed as Marquis of Cheng and granted the prime minister's seal even before Mencius. Next came Zou Yan, who came after Mencius. Observing that those who held power grew ever more extravagant and incapable of honoring virtue, Zou Yan thought that if the great ode's principle of self-cultivation were extended to the common people, it might help. So he deeply studied the patterns of yin and yang and composed wondrous, extraordinary transformations—more than a hundred thousand words in essays on the cycles of rise and fall and on the Great Sage.

After him came others from Zou. Qi had three men from Zou. Zou Ji came first, who by playing the zither gained an audience with King Wei of Qi and subsequently came to share in the governance of the state, enfeoffed as Marquis of Cheng and granted the prime minister's seal even before Mencius. Next came Zou Yan, who came after Mencius. Observing that those who held power grew ever more extravagant and incapable of honoring virtue, Zou Yan thought that if the great ode's principle of self-cultivation were extended to the common people, it might help. So he deeply studied the patterns of yin and yang and composed wondrous, extraordinary transformations—more than a hundred thousand words in essays on the cycles of rise and fall and on the Great Sage.

His discourses were vast and unconventional. He would first verify small matters, then extrapolate outward until reaching the boundless. Beginning with the present and going back to the Yellow Emperor—knowledge shared by all scholars—he would broadly examine the waxing and waning of the ages, then record omens, portents, and systems of governance, pushing further and further until reaching before heaven and earth were formed, into darkness too profound to fathom or trace to its origins.

His discourses were vast and unconventional. He would first verify small matters, then extrapolate outward until reaching the boundless. Beginning with the present and going back to the Yellow Emperor—knowledge shared by all scholars—he would broadly examine the waxing and waning of the ages, then record omens, portents, and systems of governance, pushing further and further until reaching before heaven and earth were formed, into darkness too profound to fathom or trace to its origins.

He would first list the famous mountains and great rivers of the Central Kingdom, its accessible valleys, its birds and beasts, the products of its land and waters, and its treasured objects—then extrapolate outward to what people beyond the seas cannot see. He would invoke the time since heaven and earth were split apart, the transmission of the Five Virtues, how each governance had its appropriate era, and how portents corresponded accordingly. He maintained that what the Confucian scholars called the Central Kingdom occupied only one part of eighty-one. This land he named the Red County and Divine Zhou. Within the Red County and Divine Zhou lay its own nine provinces, the nine provinces ordered by Yu—not that these nine could be counted as separate prefectures. Beyond the Central Kingdom, there were nine regions like the Red County and Divine Zhou—the so-called Nine Provinces. These were encircled by marginal seas, and within each, separated from the others as if in a single district, the people and creatures could not communicate with those of another. Beyond these nine lay the great encircling ocean, bordering the limits of heaven and earth.

Such was the nature of his teachings. Yet their essential purpose always returned to benevolence, righteousness, temperance, and frugality—the practice of the relationships between ruler and subject, superior and inferior, and the six degrees of kinship, even if initially these teachings were but drops in the ocean. When princes and ministers first encountered his doctrines, they would be struck with awe and seek transformation, but afterward they could not practice them. Thus Zou Yan was highly honored in Qi.

Such was the nature of his teachings. Yet their essential purpose always returned to benevolence, righteousness, temperance, and frugality—the practice of the relationships between ruler and subject, superior and inferior, and the six degrees of kinship, even if initially these teachings were but drops in the ocean. When princes and ministers first encountered his doctrines, they would be struck with awe and seek transformation, but afterward they could not practice them. Thus Zou Yan was highly honored in Qi.

When he traveled to Liang, King Hui went out to meet him with guest-of-honor ceremonies. When he went to Zhao, Lord Pingyuan gave way and swept his seat. When he reached Yan, King Zhao welcomed him by holding a broom before him as he walked, personally requesting to become his disciple, built a villa called Jieshi Palace, and went in person to study under him. He composed the work 'The Main Movement.' Such was the honor shown him by the lords that one might ask: how could this compare to Confucius starving in Chen and Cai, or Mencius facing hardship in Qi and Liang?

Among the scholars of the Jixia Academy in Qi, such as Chunyu Kun, Shen Dao, Huan Yuan, Jie Zi, Tian Bian, and Zou Shi, each wrote on affairs of order and chaos to petition the rulers of their time—how countless such works must exist! Chunyu Kun was a native of Qi. He was learned and retentive, but his studies followed no single master. In remonstrance and persuasion, he admired Yan Ying's manner, yet he made it his practice to observe others' intentions and read their expressions. A visitor introduced him to King Hui of Liang, who dismissed his attendants and sat alone to receive him twice, but Kun said nothing throughout. The king was astonished and reproached the visitor: 'You praised Chunyu Kun as surpassing Guan Zhong and Yan Ying, yet when I met him, I got nothing from him. Was I not worthy of his words? What was the reason?' The visitor relayed this to Kun, who replied: 'Indeed. When I first saw the king, his mind was set on chasing and driving away something; when I saw him again, his mind was on music and voices—that is why I remained silent.' The visitor reported this to the king, who was greatly startled: 'Ah, Chunyu Kun is truly a sage! Before his arrival, someone offered me a fine horse, but I had not yet examined it when he came. Later, before another visit, someone offered me songs, but I had not yet tested them when he arrived. Though I dismissed my attendants, my private thoughts were elsewhere, on those gifts.' When Chunyu Kun met the king again, a single conversation lasted three days and three nights without flagging. The king wished to offer him the rank of minister, but Kun declined and left. Thereupon the king sent him home in a comfortable carriage drawn by four horses, with silk bundles and jade, and a hundred pounds of gold. Kun never held office again.

Shen Dao was from Zhao; Tian Bian and Jie Zi were from Qi; Huan Yuan was from Chu. All studied the Huang-Lao teachings of the Way and virtue, developing and articulating their principles. Thus Shen Dao wrote twelve essays, Huan Yuan composed upper and lower chapters, and both Tian Bian and Jie Zi produced their own works. Zou Shi, one of the various Zou scholars in Qi, also borrowed considerably from Zou Yan's methods to refine his writing. The King of Qi honored them all, and from Chunyu Kun downward, each was titled 'court gentleman.' They were given residences on the grand boulevard, with high gates and spacious houses, and treated with great distinction—evidence that Qi could attract the worthy scholars of all the realm.