Mencius 7B.20
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「賢者以其昭昭，使人昭昭；今以其昬昬，使人昭昭。」
Mencius said, 'Anciently, men of virtue and talents by means of their own enlightenment made others enlightened. Nowadays, it is tried, while they are themselves in darkness, and by means of that darkness, to make others enlightened.'
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
- 賢xiánvirtuous, worthy; good, able
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 昭zhāobright, luminous; clear, manifest
- 使shǐcause, mission, orders; envoy, messenger
- 人rénman, person; people
- 今jīnmodern, current; today, now
- 昬hūndusk; dark, confused; stupid
Passages with shared wording
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 20
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Zhuangzi Transcendental Bliss
- Mencius 2B.8
- Zhuangzi The Secret of Life
- Analects 14.39
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.