Mencius 7B.28
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「諸侯之寶三：土地，人民，政事。寶珠玉者，殃必及身。」
Mencius said, 'The precious things of a prince are three: the territory, the people, the government and its business. If one value as most precious pearls and jade, calamity is sure to befall him.'
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
- 諸zhūall, many, various; surname
- 侯hóumarquis, lord; target in archery
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 寶bǎotreasure, jewel; rare, precious
- 三sānthree
- 土tǔsoil, earth; items made of earth
- 地deearth, ground, soil; land, region; struc
- 人rénman, person; people
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 政zhènggovernment, politics
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 珠zhūgem, jewel, pearl, precious stone
- 玉yùjade, gem, precious stone
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 殃yāngmisfortune, disaster, calamity
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 及jíto extend; to reach; and; in time
- 身shēnbody, torso; person; pregnancy
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Mencius 1B.15
- Analects 11.2
- Mencius 7B.12
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 62
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.