Mencius 7B.12
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「不信仁賢，則國空虛。無禮義，則上下亂。無政事，則財用不足。」
Mencius said, 'If men of virtue and ability be not confided in, a State will become empty and void. Without the rules of propriety and distinctions of right, the high and the low will be thrown into confusion. Without the great principles of government and their various business, there will not be wealth sufficient for the expenditure.'
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
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 信xìnto trust, to believe; letter, sign
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 賢xiánvirtuous, worthy; good, able
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 國guócountry, nation, state; national
- 空kōnghollow, empty, deserted, bare
- 虛xūfalse; worthless, hollow, empty; vain
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 禮lǐcourtesy, manners, social customs
- 義yìright conduct, propriety; justice
- 上shàngabove, on top, superior; to go up; to at
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 亂luànanarchy, chaos; revolt
- 政zhènggovernment, politics
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 財cáiriches, wealth, valuables
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 足zúfoot; to attain, to satisfy; enough
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 21
- Art of War 2.3
- Art of War 1.9
- Zhuangzi Exercise of Faculties
- Art of War 11.56
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.