Mencius 7B.27
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「有布縷之征，粟米之征，力役之征。君子用其一，緩其二。用其二而民有殍，用其三而父子離。」
Mencius said, 'There are the exactions of hempen-cloth and silk, of grain, and of personal service. The prince requires but one of these at once, deferring the other two. If he require two of them at once, then the people die of hunger. If he require the three at once, then fathers and sons are separated.'
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
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 布bùcotton, linen, textiles; to announce, to
- 縷lǚstrand, thread; detailed, precise
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 征zhēngto summon, to recruit; levy, tax; journe
- 粟sùoats, millet, barley
- 米mǐrice, millet, grain
- 力lìstrength, power; capability, influence
- 役yìservant, laborer; service; to serve
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 一yīone; a, an; alone
- 緩huǎnslow, gradual; to postpone, to delay
- 二èrtwo; twice
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 殍piǎoto starve to death
- 三sānthree
- 父fùfather, dad
- 離lírare beast; strange; elegant
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Secret of Life
- Zhuangzi Opening Trunks
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- Mencius 5B.3
- Mencius 1B.1
- 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.