Mencius 7A.40
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「君子之所以教者五：有如時雨化之者，有成德者，有達財者，有答問者，有私淑艾者。此五者，君子之所以教也。」
Mencius said, 'There are five ways in which the superior man effects his teaching. There are some on whom his influence descends like seasonable rain. There are some whose virtue he perfects, and some of whose talents he assists the development. There are some whose inquiries he answers. There are some who privately cultivate and correct themselves. These five ways are the methods in which the superior man effects his teaching.'
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
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 教jiàoschool, education
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 五wǔfive; surname
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 時shítime, season; period, era, age
- 雨yǔrain
- 化huàto change, to convert, to reform; -ize
- 成chéngto accomplish; to become; to complete, t
- 德déethics, morality; compassion, kindness
- 達dáto reach, to arrive at; intelligent
- 財cáiriches, wealth, valuables
- 答dáanswer, reply; to return; to assent to
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 私sīpersonal, private, secret; selfish
- 淑shūgood, pure, virtuous; charming
- 艾àimugwort, Artemisia vulgaris; used in tra
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Mencius 3B.5
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Mencius 2B.2
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.