English Edition
Philosophy
Mencius
English BooksWhale Edition by Mencius
Original title: 孟子
Public-domain classic by Mencius: Mencius, a Chinese philosophy first published in -300.
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Book introduction
Mencius
Read Mencius by Mencius, a classic Chinese philosophy with enduring literary and historical interest.
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How this edition was prepared
This edition is based on a public domain text and has been prepared for digital reading by BooksWhale.
Public domain basis
Why this edition can be shared
The original Chinese classic is public domain; use the public-domain English translation by James Legge, published in the nineteenth century.
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Mencius
Mencius
Preview chapterBook One · King Hui of Liang, Part IPreview
Book One · King Hui of Liang, Part I
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Mencius went to see King Hui of Liang. The king said, “Venerable sir! You have come a thousand li without thinking the distance too great. Surely you have some way to bring profit to my state?”
Mencius replied, “Your Majesty, why must you speak of profit? Let there simply be benevolence and righteousness. If Your Majesty says, ‘How can my state be profited?’ the great officers will say, ‘How can my fief be profited?’ and the scholars and common people will say, ‘How can I myself be profited?’ When those above and below compete with one another for profit, the state is endangered.
“In a state with ten thousand war chariots, the one who murders its ruler will surely be a great officer with a thousand chariots. In a state with a thousand war chariots, the one who murders its ruler will surely be a great officer with a hundred chariots. To possess a thousand chariots in a state of ten thousand, or a hundred chariots in a state of a thousand, is certainly not a small share. Yet if righteousness is put last and profit first, such people will never be satisfied until they have seized everything.
“There has never been anyone devoted to benevolence who abandoned his parents, nor anyone devoted to righteousness who treated his ruler lightly. Let Your Majesty speak only of benevolence and righteousness. Why speak of profit?”
Table of contents
Inside this edition
- 01Full text
- 02Book One · King Hui of Liang, Part I
- 031
- 042
- 053
- 064
- 075
- 086
- 097
- 10Book Two · King Hui of Liang, Part II
- 111
- 122
- 133
- 144
- 155
- 166
- 177
- 188
- 199
- 2010
- 2111
- 2212
- 2313
- 2414
- 2515
- 2616
- 27Book Three · Gongsun Chou, Part I
- 281
- 292
- 303
- 314
- 325
- 336
- 347
- 358
- 369
- 37Book Four · Gongsun Chou, Part II
- 381
- 392
- 403
- 414
- 425
- 436
- 447
- 458
- 469
- 4710
- 4811
- 4912
- 5013
- 5114
- 52Book Five · Duke Wen of Teng, Part I
- 531
- 542
- 553
- 564
- 575
- 58Book Six · Duke Wen of Teng, Part II
- 591
- 602
- 613
- 624
- 635
- 646
- 657
- 668
- 679
- 6810
- 69Book Seven · Li Lou, Part I
- 701
- 712
- 723
- 734
- 745
- 756
- 767
- 778
- 789
- 7910
- 8011
- 8112
- 8213
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- 98Book Eight · Li Lou, Part II
- 991
- 1002
- 1013
- 1024
- 1035
- 1046
- 1057
- 1068
- 1079
- 10810
- 10911
- 11012
- 11113
- 11214
- 11315
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- 12022
- 12123
- 12224
- 12325
- 12426
- 12527
- 12628
- 12729
- 12830
- 12931
- 13032
- 13133
- 132Book Nine · Wan Zhang, Part I
- 1331
- 1342
- 1353
- 1364
- 1375
- 1386
- 1397
- 1408
- 1419
- 142Book Ten · Wan Zhang, Part II
- 1431
- 1442
- 1453
- 1464
- 1475
- 1486
- 1497
- 1508
- 1519
- 152Book Eleven · Gaozi, Part I
- 1531
- 1542
- 1553
- 1564
- 1575
- 1586
- 1597
- 1608
- 1619
- 16210
- 16311
- 16412
- 16513
- 16614
- 16715
- 16816
- 16917
- 17018
- 17119
- 17220
- 173Book Twelve · Gaozi, Part II
- 1741
- 1752
- 1763
- 1774
- 1785
- 1796
- 1807
- 1818
- 1829
- 18310
- 18411
- 18512
- 18613
- 18714
- 18815
- 18916
- 190Book Thirteen · Exhausting the Heart, Part I
- 1911
- 1922
- 1933
- 1944
- 1955
- 1966
- 1977
- 1988
- 1999
- 20010
- 20111
- 20212
- 20313
- 20414
- 20515
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- 22636
- 22737
- 22838
- 22939
- 23040
- 23141
- 23242
- 23343
- 23444
- 23545
- 23646
- 237Book Fourteen · Exhausting the Heart, Part II
- 2381
- 2392
- 2403
- 2414
- 2425
- 2436
- 2447
- 2458
- 2469
- 24710
- 24811
- 24912
- 25013
- 25114
- 25215
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- 26124
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- 27033
- 27134
- 27235
- 27336
- 27437
- 27538
Language availability
Other languages
Chinese
Chinese Edition
孟子
Mencius · Philosophy
围绕性善、仁政、民本与君子气象展开的儒家思想经典。
French
French Edition
Mencius
Mencius · Philosophy
Un classique confucéen majeur sur la bonté humaine, le gouvernement juste et la formation morale.
Portuguese
Portuguese Edition
Mêncio
Mencius · Philosophy
Um clássico confucionista sobre bondade humana, governo justo, educação e responsabilidade moral.