Mencius 7B.2
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「《春秋》無義戰。彼善於此，則有之矣。征者上伐下也，敵國不相征也。」
Mencius said, 'In the "Spring and Autumn" there are no righteous wars. Instances indeed there are of one war better than another. "Correction" is when the supreme authority punishes its subjects by force of arms. Hostile States do not correct one another.'
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
- 春chūnspringtime; joyful, lustful, wanton
- 秋qiūautumn, fall; year
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 義yìright conduct, propriety; justice
- 戰zhànwar, fighting, battle
- 彼bǐthat, those, the other
- 善shàngood, virtuous, charitable, kind
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 征zhēngto summon, to recruit; levy, tax; journe
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 上shàngabove, on top, superior; to go up; to at
- 伐fácut down, subjugate, attack
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 也yěalso, too
- 敵díenemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist
- 國guócountry, nation, state; national
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 相xiāngmutual, reciprocal; equal; each other
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.