Punitive Campaigns and Righting Wrongs

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孟（mèng）子（zǐ）曰（yuē）：（）“（）有（yǒu）人（rén）曰（yuē）：（）‘（）我（wǒ）善（shàn）为（wéi）陈（zhèn），（）我（wǒ）善（shàn）为（wéi）战（zhàn）’（），（）大（dà）罪（zuì）也（yě）。（）国（guó）君（jūn）好（hào）仁（rén），（）天（tiān）下（xià）无（wú）敌（dí）焉（yān），（）南（nán）面（miàn）而（ér）征（zhēng）北（běi）狄（dí）怨（yuàn），（）东（dōng）面（miàn）而（ér）征（zhēng）西（xī）夷（yí）怨（yuàn），（）曰（yuē）：（）‘（）奚（xī）为（wéi）后（hòu）我（wǒ）？（）’（）武（wǔ）王（wáng）之（zhī）伐（fá）殷（yīn）也（yě），（）革（gé）车（chē）三（sān）百（bǎi）两（liǎng），（）虎（hǔ）贲（bēn）三（sān）千（qiān）人（rén）。（）王（wáng）曰（yuē）：（）‘（）无（wú）畏（wèi）！（）宁（níng）尔（ěr）也（yě），（）非（fēi）敌（dí）百（bǎi）姓（xìng）也（yě）。（）’（）若（ruò）崩（bēng）厥（jué）角（jiǎo）稽（qǐ）首（shǒu）。（）征（zhēng）之（zhī）为（wéi）言（yán）正（zhèng）也（yě），（）各（gè）欲（yù）正（zhèng）己（jǐ）也（yě），（）焉（yān）用（yòng）战（zhàn）？（）”（）

Mencius said that boasting, “I am skilled at formations and warfare,” is a grave offense. If a ruler truly practiced benevolence, no one under Heaven could oppose him. When King Wu marched south, the northern peoples resented that he had not come to them first; when he marched east, the western peoples asked the same. They wanted to be rescued sooner. In the campaign against Yin, King Wu had only three hundred chariots and three thousand brave guards. He reassured the people: “Do not fear. I have come to bring you peace, not to treat the people as enemies.” They bowed until their foreheads touched the ground, as if a mountain were collapsing. “Punitive expedition” means setting things right; each side should seek to correct itself. What need is there for war?

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Punitive Campaigns and Righting Wrongs

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