［Original text］
King Hui of Liang said: “I am willing to accept the teaching in peace (jiào).”
Mencius said to him: “Killing people with stiles (tǐng) "Is there any difference between the sword and the sword?" He said: "There is no difference between the sword and the government." Said: "There is no difference between the sword and the government."
There is fat meat, there are fat horses in the stables, the people are hungry, and there are hungry cats in the wild, so the beasts eat people, and people do it badly. As parents of the people, the government is not immune to leading beasts and cannibalizing people. Is it evil that they are parents of the people? How could the people of Si be starved to death? "
King Hui of Liang said: "The Kingdom of Jin is not strong in the world, and I only know it. I am defeated by Qi in the east. (zhǎng) The son died; the land in the west (sàng) was seven hundred miles away from Qin; the south was humiliated by Chu. I am ashamed of him, and I would like to be compared to (bì) the dead man (xǐ). What can I do?"
Mencius said: "A place hundreds of miles away can be a king (wàng). A king is like a benevolent government to the people, saving punishments, thinning (bó) taxes, and cultivating deeply and making it easy to plow (nòu). A strong man can use his free time (xiáá) Day after day, he cultivates his filial piety and loyalty, goes in to serve his father and brother, and goes out to serve his superiors, so that he can use the strong armor and powerful soldiers of Qin and Chu to defeat his people. He cannot farm to support his parents, his parents are frozen and hungry, his brothers and wives are separated, and the king goes to conquer them. Therefore, he said: "The benevolent man is invincible." ”
Mencius met King Xiang of Liang. When he came out, he said (yù): "Looking at him does not look like a human king. How can he go to him without seeing what he is afraid of?" (cù) then asked: "Is the world evil (wū) determined?" I replied: "It is determined. 1. "Who can do it?" He said: "Who can do it if you don't like killing?" If there is a drought, the seedlings will be dry. If the sky suddenly becomes cloudy, if it rains, the seedlings will flourish. Who can control it in this world? There is no one who does not like to kill people. If there is someone who does not like to kill people, then all the people in the world will lead and look forward to it. If the people return to it, they will go down by the water. Who can control it? ? '"
King Xuan of Qi asked: "Can we hear about the affairs of Qi Huán and Jin Wen?"
Mencius said to him: "Zhongni's followers are ignorant. What happened to Huan and Wen will not be passed down in future generations. If I don’t hear about it, then I will be king.” (wàng)? "Said: "If you protect the people and the king (wàng), you can't control it." He said: "If you are a few people, you can protect the people?" He said: "Why do you know? "Is that okay?" He said, "I heard that Hu Huan (hé) said that the king was sitting in the hall, and a cow passed by the hall. The king saw it and said, 'Where is the cow?'" He said, "I will challenge you." (xìn) Zhong. 'The king said: 'Give it up! I can't stand it. If you are innocent, you will die.' 'How about abolishing Zhong and (yú)? How can it be abandoned? "I don't know what it is?" He said: "This is enough for the king. The people all love the king. I know that the king can't bear it." "Yes." The king said, "If the people of Qi are small, why should I love a cow? If it is innocent, it will die." Said: "The king is no different from the people who love the king. How can a small thing be easy to make a big thing? If the king knows about it? If the king hides his innocence and dies, how can the cattle and sheep be chosen?" The king laughed and said, "That's sincerity. What's the point? I don't care about my wealth, so I give it to sheep. It's suitable for people to call me love. Ye. A gentleman cannot bear to see an animal alive; he cannot bear to eat its meat when he hears its sound. "
[Translation]
p>King Hui of Liang said: "I am happy to listen to your advice."
Mencius replied: "Is there any difference between killing someone with a stick and killing someone with a knife?" King Hui of Liang said: "There is no difference." Mencius asked again: "Is there any difference between killing people with a knife and killing people with politics?" King Hui of Liang replied: "There is no difference."
Mencius then said: "There are fat and tender meat in the kitchen, and strong horses in the stable, but the people's faces are hungry, and people are lying dead of starvation in the wild. This is equivalent to people in power leading wild beasts to eat people!" Wild beasts kill each other, but people still hate them; as a parent and official of the people, when carrying out politics, they are inevitably led by wild beasts to eat people, so how can they be a parent and official of the common people? Confucius said: "The first people who used clay puppets to accompany their burials must have had no children or grandchildren." ’ This is just because the clay puppets are too similar to living people and they are buried with them. How can we make people starve to death? ”
King Hui of Liang said: “The state of Wei was once powerful in the world. You know this, old gentleman. But by my time, the east side was defeated by Qi State, and even my eldest son died; the west side lost 700 miles of land to Qin State; and the south side was insulted by Chu State.
I feel very ashamed of these things and wish to avenge all the victims. How can I do this? ”
? Mencius replied: “As long as there is a land of one hundred miles in radius, the world can be subdued.” If your Majesty implements benevolent government towards the people, reduce penalties, collect less taxes, plow deeply and carefully, and weed in time; let the able-bodied people take time to cultivate the character of filial piety, respect, loyalty, and trustworthiness, serve their parents and brothers at home, and respect their elders and superiors when they go out. , even if they make wooden sticks, they can also attack the Qin and Chu troops who have solid armor and sharp swords and guns. "Because the rulers of Qin and Chu deprived their people of their productive time, so that they could not work hard to support their parents. Their parents were cold and hungry, and their brothers and wives were scattered. They plunged the people into an abyss. Your Majesty goes to conquer them, who will resist you? Therefore, he said: "Those who practice benevolent government are invincible in the world." Please don't worry, Your Majesty." After Mencius met with King Xiang of Liang, he came out. , told people: "From a distance, he doesn't look like a king, and when he comes to him, he doesn't look majestic. He suddenly asked me: 'How can the world be stable?'" I replied: 'Unification will bring stability. ’ “He asked again: ‘Who can unify the world?’ “I answered again: ‘A king who does not like killing can unify the world. ’ “He asked again: ‘Who is willing to follow a king who does not like to kill people?’ “I replied again: ‘There is no one in the world who is unwilling to follow him. Does your Majesty know the situation of the seedlings? When there is drought in July and August, the seedlings will wither. Once the sky is covered with dark clouds and it rains heavily, the seedlings will grow vigorously. Who can stop this situation? Nowadays, there is no king in every country who does not like to kill people. If there is a king who doesn't like killing people, then the people all over the world will crane their necks in anticipation of his rescue. If the truth is like this, the people will surrender to him, just like rainwater rushing downwards, who can stop it? "
King Xuan of Qi asked: "Can you tell me about the hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period? ”
Mencius replied: “None of Confucius’ students talked about the hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin, so it has not been passed down to future generations, and I have never heard of it. Your Majesty, if you must tell me, then let me talk about the royal way to unify the world with morality, right? "
King Xuan asked: "How can morality unite the world? Mencius said: "Everything is for the common people to live and work in peace and contentment." If we try to unify the world in this way, no one can stop us. King Xuan said: "Can people like me make the people live and work in peace and contentment?" Mencius said: "Yes." King Xuan said, "How do you know I can do it?" Mencius said: "I once heard Hu Hao tell me something. It was said that one day, your Majesty, you were sitting in the main hall. Someone walked past your Highness leading a cow. When you saw it, you asked: 'Where are you taking the cow?' go? ’ The man holding the cow replied: ‘Prepare to kill the bell for blood sacrifice’. You then say: ‘Let it go! I couldn't bear to see it trembling with fear, as if it had been sentenced to death for no crime. ’ The man holding the cow asked, ‘Then we won’t sacrifice the bell? ’ You said, ‘How can we not worship the bell? Use sheep instead of cows! ’-----I wonder if this is the case? King Xuan said, "It is true." Mencius said: "With your benevolence, Your Majesty, you can unify the world." When the people heard about this, they thought you were stingy, but I know that you are not stingy, but because you cannot bear it. King Xuan said, "Yes, some people do think so." However, although our country of Qi is not big, how can I be so stingy that I can't bear to part with a cow? I really couldn't bear to see it trembling with fear, as if it was sentenced to death for no crime, so I replaced it with a sheep. Mencius said: "Your Majesty, don't blame the people for thinking you are stingy." They only saw that you used small sheep to replace big oxen. How could they know the deeper meaning? What's more, if your Majesty takes pity on it but is slaughtered without any sin, what's the difference between a cow and a sheep? King Xuan smiled and said, "Yes, even I don't know what kind of psychology it is." It is true that I am not stingy with money so I use sheep instead of cows. However, the people do have their reasons for thinking this way. "
Mencius said: "It doesn't matter. Your Majesty's intolerance is a sign of kindness, just because you saw the cows with your own eyes but not the sheep. When it comes to birds and beasts, a gentleman cannot bear to see them dead when he sees them alive; he cannot bear to eat their flesh when he hears their cries. Therefore, a gentleman always stays away from the kitchen.
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