Mencius 7B.1
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「不仁哉，梁惠王也！仁者以其所愛及其所不愛，不仁者以其所不愛及其所愛。」公孫丑問曰：「何謂也？」「梁惠王以土地之故，糜爛其民而戰之，大敗，將復之，恐不能勝，故驅其所愛子弟以殉之，是之謂以其所不愛及其所愛也。」
Mencius said, 'The opposite indeed of benevolent was the king Hui of Liang! The benevolent, beginning with what they care for, proceed to what they do not care for. Those who are the opposite of benevolent, beginning with what they do not care for, proceed to what they care for.'
Gong Sun Chou said, 'What do you mean?'
Mencius answered, 'The king Hui of Liang, for the matter of territory, tore and destroyed his people, leading them to battle. Sustaining a great defeat, he would engage again, and afraid lest they should not be able to secure the victory, urged his son whom he loved till he sacrificed him with them. This is what I call "beginning with what they do not care for, and proceeding to what they care for."'
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
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 哉zāifinal exclamatory particle
- 梁liángbridge; beam, rafter; surname
- 惠huìfavor, benefit, blessing, kindness
- 王wángking, ruler; royal; surname
- 也yěalso, too
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 愛àito love, to like, to be fond of; love, a
- 及jíto extend; to reach; and; in time
- 公gōngfair, equitable; public; duke
- 孫sūngrandchild, descendent; surname
- 丑chǒuugly; shameful; comedian, clown
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 土tǔsoil, earth; items made of earth
- 地deearth, ground, soil; land, region; struc
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 糜mírice gruel, congee; mashed
- 爛lànovercooked, overripe; rotten, spoiled
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 戰zhànwar, fighting, battle
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 敗bàifailure; to decline, to fail, to suffer
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 復fùagain, repeatedly; copy, duplicate; to r
- 恐kǒngfearful, apprehensive; to fear, to dread
- 能néngcan, may; capable, full of energy
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 驅qūto spur a horse on; to expel, to drive a
- 弟dìyoung brother, junior
- 殉xùnmartyr; to die for a cause
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
Passages with shared wording
- Mencius 1A.7
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
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.