Mencius 7A.14
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「仁言，不如仁聲之入人深也。善政，不如善教之得民也。善政民畏之，善教民愛之；善政得民財，善教得民心。」
Mencius said, 'Kindly words do not enter so deeply into men as a reputation for kindness. Good government does not lay hold of the people so much as good instructions. Good government is feared by the people, while good instructions are loved by them. Good government gets the people's wealth, while good instructions get their hearts.'
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
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 聲shēngsound, noise; voice, tone, music
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 入rùto enter, to come in; to join
- 人rénman, person; people
- 深shēndeep, profound; depth
- 也yěalso, too
- 善shàngood, virtuous, charitable, kind
- 政zhènggovernment, politics
- 教jiàoschool, education
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 畏wèifear, dread, awe, reverence
- 愛àito love, to like, to be fond of; love, a
- 財cáiriches, wealth, valuables
- 心xīnheart; mind; soul
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.