Mencius 3B.8

Mencius (孟子), Book 3, Part II: Teng Wen Gong II 滕文公下

戴盈之曰：「什一，去關市之征，今茲未能。請輕之，以待來年，然後已，何如？」孟子曰：「今有人日攘其鄰之雞者，或告之曰：『是非君子之道。』曰：『請損之，月攘一雞，以待來年，然後已。』如知其非義，斯速已矣，何待來年。」

Dai Ying Zhi said to Mencius, 'I am not able at present and immediately to do with the levying of a tithe only, and abolishing the duties charged at the passes and in the markets. With your leave I will lighten, however, both the tax and the duties, until next year, and will then make an end of them. What do you think of such a course?'

Mencius said, 'Here is a man, who every day appropriates some of his neighbour's strayed fowls. Some one says to him, "Such is not the way of a good man;" and he replies, "With your leave I will diminish my appropriations, and will take only one fowl a month, until next year, when I will make an end of the practice." If you know that the thing is unrighteous, then use all despatch in putting an end to it - why wait till next year?'

James Legge (1861), The Works of Mencius, The Chinese Classics vol. 2 (1861; 2nd ed. 1895); romanization modernized on Wikisource — public domain.

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Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.