Gifts from Qi, Song, and Xue

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Text

English translation

Original Chinese text

English translation

Chen Zhen asked: “Earlier in Qi, the king offered you one hundred yi of fine gold, and you did not accept it; in Song, he offered seventy yi, and you accepted them; in Xue, he offered fifty yi, and you accepted them. If refusing then was right, accepting now must be wrong; if accepting now is right, refusing then must have been wrong. Master, one of these judgments must be yours.”

Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius said: “They were all right. When I was in Song, I was about to make a long journey. A traveler must be given a parting gift; the stated reason was ‘a gift for the journey.’ Why should I not have accepted it? When I was in Xue, I had a mind to take precautions; the stated reason was ‘Having heard that you are taking precautions, we are giving this for arms.’ Why should I not have accepted it? As for Qi, there was no occasion. To give without an occasion is to treat me as merchandise; how could a gentleman be obtained with merchandise?”

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