Mencius 7B.6
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「舜之飯糗茹草也，若將終身焉；及其為天子也，被袗衣，鼓琴，二女果，若固有之。」
Mencius said, 'Shun's manner of eating his parched grain and herbs was as if he were to be doing so all his life. When he became sovereign, and had the embroidered robes to wear, the lute to play, and the two daughters of Yao to wait on him, he was as if those things belonged to him as a matter of course.'
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
- 舜shùnlegendary ruler
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 飯fànmeal, food; cooked rice
- 糗qiǔdry rations; mushy, overcooked; embarras
- 茹rúroots, vegetables
- 草cǎograss, herbs; straw, thatch
- 也yěalso, too
- 若ruòif, supposing, assuming; similar
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 終zhōngend; finally, in the end
- 身shēnbody, torso; person; pregnancy
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 及jíto extend; to reach; and; in time
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 為wèito do, to act; to handle, to govern; to
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 被bèibedding; a passive particle meaning "by"
- 袗zhěnunlined garments; hem of garment
- 衣yīcloth; clothes, apparel; dress, coat
- 鼓gǔdrum; to beat, to strike; to rouse
- 琴qínChinese lute or guitar, string instrumen
- 二èrtwo; twice
- 女nǚwoman, girl; female
- 果guǒfruit, nut; result
- 固gùto solidify; strength
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Language
- Mencius 3A.3
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 12
- Mencius 3A.2
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
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.