"Xue Le Guo Xue Classic" D397
Mencius in the ugly sunshine
three
original text
[1] Q: "The day before yesterday, Wang Fu and Jin [2] were not there; In the song dynasty, I collected 70 yuan. At Xue [4], he received fifty pounds of feedback. What was wrong the day before yesterday is wrong today; I suffered today, but I won't be wronged the day before. The host will live here. "
Mencius said, "It's all true. When you are in Song Dynasty, you will travel far, and travelers will take it [5]; It says, "Feedback." What can't be given? Be vigilant when learning; Said,' I heard the commandments, so I gave them to the soldiers.' What can't be given? If you are in the same place, there is no place. Feed and goods are everywhere [6]. How does a gentleman get the goods? "
To annotate ...
Marco: A disciple of Mencius.
[2] concurrently gold: good gold. The price is twice that of ordinary gold, so it is called "concurrently gold".
[3] One hundred: that is, one hundred. I: An ancient unit of weight. One Iraqi is equal to 220 taels.
[4] Xue: Qi Guoping's fief is in the southeast of Teng County, Shandong Province.
[5] Chang (Jin): Give gifts or travel expenses to people who travel far away.
[6] Commodities: verbs, buying, bribing.
translate
Chen Zhen asked (Mencius): "In the State of Qi, the King of Qi refused to give you 100 ounces of gold; In Song State, Song Guojun gave seventy Yi, but you accepted it. In the snow, Tian Ying gave you 50 Yi, and you took it. If the rejection not long ago was correct, then the acceptance now is incorrect; If the acceptance now is correct, then the rejection some time ago is wrong. Mr. Wang must be one of these two people. "
Mencius said: "It is correct to accept or not to accept. When I was in Song State, I planned to travel far away. Of course, I have to send some money to the travelers. Song Guojun said he would give me some travel expenses. Why should I refuse? In the snow, Tian Ying knew I was standing guard and sent me money to buy weapons. Why should I refuse? As for Qi, there is no reason. Giving money for no reason is buying. How can a gentleman be bought? " ?
analyse
It is not difficult to see from this conversation that Mencius believes that whether to accept a gift depends on whether the other party gives a reasonable reason. No amount of gifts, if unreasonable, can be accepted. If this reason is reasonable, then even if the gift is meager, it should be accepted. If you give money and gifts for no reason, you are buying. A gentleman cannot be bought with money.
four
original text
Mencius returned as a minister [1]. The King of Qi met Mencius and said, "I wanted to see him the day before yesterday, but I couldn't get it. I am very happy to be with him. " Now that you have abandoned me, I wonder if you can continue to see me? "
He said, "I dare not have an ear, but I do what I want."
Another day, the King of Qi said that Shizi [2] said, "I want China [3] to give Mencius a room and raise my disciples with 10,000 bells [4], which will make all doctors and people in China feel proud [5]. My son said it for me! "
Historical Records sued Mencius because of Chen Zi's statement, and Chen Zi sued Mencius in the words of Historical Records.
Mencius said, "Of course. When a husband is evil, he knows what he can't do. Want to get rich, quit 100 thousand and get 10 thousand, because you want to get rich? Ji Sun [6] said:' Uncle Yi Zi is suspicious [7]! You don't need to run your own government, that's enough. Just let your children clean up. Who doesn't want to be rich? And there is no such thing as a private dragon breaking the money alone. "Since ancient times, it has been a city. Although it has many advantages, it has a manager's ear. If you have a mean husband, you must ask the dragon to break it, so that you can look around and ignore the market. Everyone thinks it's cheap, so they levy it. Since then, the recruitment of businessmen has been a bitch. "
To annotate ...
[1] Taking retreat as a minister: Mencius resigned from the guests in Qi Xuanwang and returned to his hometown. "ambition" means "return"
[2] Prince: the courtiers of the King of Qi.
[3] China: In Beijing, it refers to Linzi City. "Zhong" is a preposition and "Guo" is a national capital.
[4]: Clock, an ancient measuring instrument. Qi has four kinds of measuring instruments: beans, pots, kettles and bells. Four liters per bean, four barrels per zone, four zones per pot, and ten pots per minute. Ten thousand minutes is sixty-four thousand stones.
[5] pity: respect, imitation.
[6]: Note that he is a disciple of Mencius, while Zhu thinks "I don't know when".
[7] Zi Shuyi: Names, like Ji Sun, cannot be tested.
[8] Longduan: that is, "monopoly". Originally a noun, it refers to a high but unconnected mound, and later it gradually extended to control and monopoly.
[9] Husband: a general title for adult men.
translate
Mencius resigned from his official position and prepared to return to China. Qi Xuanwang made a special trip to see him and said, "I thought it was almost impossible to see you before, but I am glad that we are finally together." . (Unexpectedly) Now you are going to abandon me again. I wonder if we can meet again? "
Mencius replied, "I dare not expect anything. This is my wish. "
A few days later, the king of Qi said to his courtiers, "I want to give Mencius a house in the capital, and then support his students with 10 thousand grain, so that our officials and people can be effective." Can you tell Mencius about this for me? "
The Prince immediately asked Marco to convey these words to Mencius.
Mencius said, "Then, how did you know what not to do?" If I am a greedy person, I don't do it, but resign and accept the reward of 10 thousand minutes. Do I want to be richer? Ji Sun once said: "It is strange that my uncle is so suspicious. He wants to be an official and not be reused, but he insists that his children should be big doctors. Who doesn't want to be an official and get rich? But he wants to have a monopoly on being an official and getting rich. "It's like the ancient market transactions. Originally, something was obtained for nothing, and there was a special organization to manage it. However, there is a despicable person who insists on finding an independent highland and looks around, hoping to take away all the profitable businesses in the city. Some people think this man is too stingy and ask him for taxes. The collection of business tax began with this despicable person. "
analyse
Mencius, who received courtesy from Qi Xuanwang, resigned and went home because Qi Xuanwang was always unwilling to implement benevolent policies.
When Qi Xuanwang conveyed his intention to keep Mencius through his courtiers, Mencius made it clear that he was an official not to seek personal wealth, but to realize his political ambitions and save civilians. Then Mencius told a series of fables, pointing out that people in officialdom and shopping malls want to seek benefits through monopoly. Mencius pointed out that people like Zi Shu are not officials themselves, but let their children be officials. But it is worth noting that the hereditary system at that time was also a monopoly system. Therefore, the monopoly of officialdom put forward by Mencius is profound and far-reaching.
In addition, the phenomenon of market monopoly put forward by Mencius is also ahead of schedule. He has seen the essence of monopoly for more than two thousand years, and his advanced ideas are admirable.