Mencius 4A.5
Mencius (孟子), Book 4, Part I: Li Lou I 離婁上
孟子曰：「人有恆言，皆曰『天下國家』。天下之本在國，國之本在家，家之本在身。」
Mencius said, 'People have this common saying, "The kingdom, the State, the family." The root of the kingdom is in the State. The root of the State is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its Head.'
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
- 人rénman, person; people
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 恆héngconstant, persistent, regular
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 皆jiēall, every, everybody
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 國guócountry, nation, state; national
- 家jiāhouse, home, residence; family
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 本běnroot, origin, source; basis
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 身shēnbody, torso; person; pregnancy
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Zhuangzi Perfect Happiness
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 65
- Mencius 5B.7
- Zhuangzi Exercise of Faculties
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.