Mencius 7A.37
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「食而弗愛，豕交之也；愛而不敬，獸畜之也。恭敬者，幣之未將者也。恭敬而無實，君子不可虛拘。」
Mencius said, 'To feed a scholar and not love him, is to treat him as a pig. To love him and not respect him, is to keep him as a domestic animal. Honouring and respecting are what exist before any offering of gifts. If there be honouring and respecting without the reality of them, a superior man may not be retained by such empty demonstrations.'
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
- 食shífood; to eat
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 弗fúnot, negative
- 愛àito love, to like, to be fond of; love, a
- 豕shǐpig, boar
- 交jiāoto connect; to deliver, to exchange; to
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 也yěalso, too
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 敬jìngto respect, to honor; respectfully
- 獸shòubeast, animal; bestial
- 畜chùlivestock, domestic animals
- 恭gōngpolite, respectful, reverent
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 幣bìcurrency, coins, legal tender
- 未wèinot yet; 8th terrestrial branch
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 實shíreal, true; honest, sincere
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 虛xūfalse; worthless, hollow, empty; vain
- 拘jūto detain, to restrain, to seize
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.