Mencius 4A.26
Mencius (孟子), Book 4, Part I: Li Lou I 離婁上
孟子曰：「不孝有三，無後為大。舜不告而娶，為無後也，君子以為猶告也。」
Mencius said, 'There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them. Shun married without informing his parents because of this, lest he should have no posterity. Superior men consider that his doing so was the same as if he had informed them.'
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
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 孝xiàofilial piety, obedience; mourning
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 三sānthree
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 為wèito do, to act; to handle, to govern; to
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 舜shùnlegendary ruler
- 告gàoto tell, to inform, to announce; to accu
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 娶qǔto marry, to take a wife
- 也yěalso, too
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 猶yóusimilar to, just like, as
Passages with shared wording
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.