Mencius 4A.11
Mencius (孟子), Book 4, Part I: Li Lou I 離婁上
孟子曰：「道在爾而求諸遠，事在易而求之難。人人親其親、長其長而天下平。」
Mencius said, 'The path of duty lies in what is near, and men seek for it in what is remote. The work of duty lies in what is easy, and men seek for it in what is difficult. If each man would love his parents and show the due respect to his elders, the whole land would enjoy tranquillity.'
James Legge (1861), The Works of Mencius, The Chinese Classics vol. 2 (1861; 2nd ed. 1895); romanization modernized on Wikisource — public domain.
Character glossary
- 孟mèngfirst in a series; great, eminent
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 爾ěryou; that, those; final particle
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 求qiúto seek; to request, to demand; to besee
- 諸zhūall, many, various; surname
- 遠yuǎndistant, remote, far; profound
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 易yìto change; to exchange, to trade; simple
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 難nánhard, difficult, arduous; unable
- 人rénman, person; people
- 親qīnrelatives, parents; intimate; the hazeln
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 長zhǎnglong, lasting; to excel in
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 平píngflat, level, even; peaceful
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- The Great Learning Passage 1
- Art of War 11.60
- Zhuangzi Mountain Trees
- Mencius 1B.12
- Zhuangzi The Secret of Life
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.