Yan’s People Accept Qi
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
燕人畔,王曰:「吾甚惭于孟子。」
English translation
The people of Yan rebelled, and the king said, “I am very ashamed before Mencius.”
Original Chinese text
陈贾曰:「王无患焉,王自以为与周公,孰仁且智?」
English translation
Chen Jia said, “Do not worry about it, Your Majesty. In your own judgment, compared with the Duke of Zhou, who is more benevolent and wise?”
Original Chinese text
王曰:「恶!是何言也!」
English translation
The king said, “Oh! What kind of talk is this!”
Original Chinese text
曰:「周公使管叔监殷,管叔以殷畔。知而使之,是不仁也;不知而使之,是不智也。仁智,周公未之尽也,而况于王乎?贾请见而解之。」
English translation
[Chen Jia] said, “The Duke of Zhou sent Guan Shu to oversee Yin, and Guan Shu rebelled with Yin. If he knew what would happen and still sent him, that was not benevolent; if he did not know and sent him, that was not wise. As for benevolence and wisdom, the Duke of Zhou did not fully attain them—how much less can the king? I, Jia, beg leave to go see Mencius and clear this up.”
Original Chinese text
见孟子问曰:「周公何人也?」
English translation
[Chen Jia] went to see Mencius and asked, “What sort of person was the Duke of Zhou?”
Original Chinese text
曰:「古圣人也。」
English translation
[Mencius] said, “He was a sage of antiquity.”
Original Chinese text
曰:「使管叔监殷,管叔以殷畔也,有诸?」
English translation
[Chen Jia] said, “The Duke of Zhou sent Guan Shu to oversee Yin, and Guan Shu rebelled with Yin—was that so?”
Original Chinese text
曰:「然。」
English translation
Mencius said, 'Yes.'
Original Chinese text
曰:「周公知其将畔而使之与?」
English translation
Chen Jia said, 'Did the Duke of Zhou know that he was going to rebel and still send him?'
Original Chinese text
曰:「不知也。」
English translation
Mencius said, 'The Duke of Zhou did not know.'
Original Chinese text
「然则圣人且有过与?」
English translation
Chen Jia said, 'If so, does a sage still have faults?'
Original Chinese text
曰:「周公,弟也;管叔,兄也。周公之过,不亦宜乎?且古之君子,过则改之;今之君子,过则顺之。古之君子,其过也如日月之食,民皆见之;及其更也,民皆仰之。今之君子,岂徒顺之?又从为之辞。」
English translation
Mencius said, “The Duke of Zhou was the younger brother, and Guan Shu the elder. Was it not justified for the Duke of Zhou to act against Guan Shu? Moreover, when a noble person of antiquity made a mistake, he corrected it; today’s noble person follows the mistake instead. The faults of the ancients were like eclipses of the sun and moon: everyone saw them, and when they corrected them, everyone looked up to them. Do people today merely persist in their faults? They also invent arguments to defend them.”