Boyi and Liuxia Hui

English translation

Mencius said: “Bo Yi would not serve a ruler he did not consider proper, nor befriend a friend he did not consider proper. He would not stand in the court of a bad man, nor speak with a bad man. To stand in the court of a bad man or speak with a bad man would be like sitting in mud and ashes in court dress and court cap. Extending his hatred of evil, if he thought of standing with a fellow villager whose cap was not straight, he would look away and leave, as if he were about to be defiled. Therefore, although some feudal lords came to him with carefully phrased entreaties, he would not receive them; he simply did not deign to approach them. Liu Xiahui was not ashamed to serve an unworthy ruler, nor did he consider a minor office beneath him. When entering office, he did not conceal his worth and acted according to his principles. When passed over, he did not resent it; when in hardship and poverty, he was not distressed. Therefore he said: ‘You are you, and I am I. Even if you bare your arms and strip naked beside me, how can you defile me?’ Thus he went along with others calmly without losing himself; if they pulled him and stopped him, he stopped. His stopping when held back likewise showed that he did not deign to leave.” Mencius said: “Bo Yi was narrow; Liu Xiahui was irreverent. The narrow and the irreverent are not ways a gentleman follows.”