Debating Division of Labor with Xu Xing
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
有为神农之言者许行,自楚之滕,踵门而告文公,曰:“远方之人,闻君行仁政,愿受一廛而为氓。”文公与之处。其徒数十人,皆衣褐、捆屦、织席以为食。
English translation
Xu Xing, a proponent of teachings attributed to Shennong, came from Chu to Teng and called at Duke Wen’s gate. He said, “I am a newcomer from afar. Hearing that you practice benevolent government, I hope to receive a plot of residence and settle as one of your common people.” Duke Wen gave him a place to live. His several dozen followers wore coarse cloth and made straw sandals and woven mats for a living.
Original Chinese text
陈良之徒陈相与其弟辛,负耒耜而自宋之滕。曰:“闻君行圣人之政,是亦圣人也,愿为圣人氓。”
English translation
Chen Liang’s disciple Chen Xiang and his younger brother Xin carried ploughs from Song to Teng. They said, “We have heard that you practice the government of the sages; you too must be a sage. We wish to settle as common people under your rule.”
Original Chinese text
陈相见许行而大悦,尽弃其学而学焉。
English translation
Chen Xiang saw Xu Xing and was greatly pleased; he completely abandoned what he had previously studied and learned from him.
Original Chinese text
陈相见孟子,道许行之言曰:“滕君则诚贤君也;虽然,未闻道也。贤者与民并耕而食,饔飧而治。今也滕有仓廪府库,则是厉民而以自养也,恶得贤?”
English translation
Chen Xiang saw Mencius and relayed Xu Xing's words, saying, 'The lord of Teng is indeed a worthy lord; nevertheless, he has not heard the Way. A worthy person ploughs alongside the people and eats, prepares morning and evening meals, and governs. Now Teng has granaries and treasuries; this is to harm the people and use them to support himself. How could he be considered worthy?'
Original Chinese text
孟子曰:“许子必种粟而后食乎?”
English translation
Mencius said, 'Must Master Xu plant grain and only then eat?'
Original Chinese text
曰:“然。”
English translation
He replied, "Yes."
Original Chinese text
“许子必织布而后衣乎?”
English translation
Must Xu Xing weave cloth before he wears clothes?
Original Chinese text
曰:“否,许子衣褐。”
English translation
He replied, "No; Xu Xing wears coarse garments."
Original Chinese text
“许子冠乎?”
English translation
Does Master Xu wear a cap?
Original Chinese text
曰:“冠。”
English translation
He replied, “He wears one.”
Original Chinese text
曰:“奚冠?”
English translation
He asked, “What cap does he wear?”
Original Chinese text
曰:“冠素。”
English translation
He said, "He wears a plain white cap."
Original Chinese text
曰:“自织之与?”
English translation
He said, "Does he weave it himself?"
Original Chinese text
曰:“否,以粟易之。”
English translation
He said, "No, he exchanges grain for it."
Original Chinese text
曰:“许子奚为不自织?”
English translation
Mencius asked, 'Why does Master Xu not do the weaving himself?'
Original Chinese text
曰:“害于耕。”
English translation
Chen Xiang replied, 'Because it would harm farming.'
Original Chinese text
曰:“许子以釜甑爨、以铁耕乎?”
English translation
Mencius asked, 'Does Master Xu cook with pots and steamers and plow with iron?'
Original Chinese text
曰:“然。”
English translation
He said, “Yes.”
Original Chinese text
“自为之与?”
English translation
“Does he make them himself?”
Original Chinese text
曰:“否,以粟易之。”
English translation
He said, “No; he exchanges grain for them.”
Original Chinese text
“以粟易械器者,不为厉陶冶;陶冶亦以其械器易粟者,岂为厉农夫哉?且许子何不为陶冶,舍皆取诸其宫中而用之?何为纷纷然与百工交易?何许子之不惮烦?”
English translation
Those who exchange grain for tools and vessels do not harm the potters and smiths; and when the potters and smiths in turn exchange their tools and vessels for grain, would that harm the farmers? Moreover, why does Xu Zi not make pottery and ironwork himself, so that all is taken from his own house and used? Why does he go bustling about trading with the various artisans? Why is Xu Zi not afraid of the trouble?
Original Chinese text
曰:“百工之事,固不可耕且为也。”
English translation
He said, 'The work of the various artisans is, to be sure, impossible to do while also farming.'
Original Chinese text
“然则治天下独可耕且为与?有大人之事,有小人之事。且一人之身,而百工之所为备。如必自为而后用之,是率天下而路也。故曰:或劳心,或劳力。劳心者治人,劳力者治于人。治于人者食人,治人者食于人──天下之通义也。”
English translation
“If that is so, can governing the world be done while also farming? There are the responsibilities of those who govern and those who work with their hands. No single person can meet all his needs without the work of many craftspeople. If everyone had to make everything before using it, the whole world would be driven to exhaustion. Thus some labor with their minds and some with their strength. Those who labor with their minds govern others; those who labor with their strength are governed. The governed provide for those who govern, and those who govern are supported by the governed—this was a generally accepted principle of social division in that world.”
Original Chinese text
“当尧之时,天下犹未平,洪水横流,泛滥于天下;草木畅茂,禽兽繁殖;五谷不登,禽兽偪人;兽蹄鸟迹之道,交于中国。尧独忧之,举舜而敷治焉。舜使益掌火;益烈山泽而焚之,禽兽逃匿。禹疏九河,瀹济、漯而注诸海;决汝、汉,排淮、泗,而注之江,然后中国可得而食也。当是时也,禹八年于外,三过其门而不入,虽欲耕,得乎?”
English translation
At the time of Yao, the world was still not at peace. The floodwaters ran wild and overflowed throughout the world. Grass and trees grew thick and luxuriant; birds and beasts multiplied. The five grains did not ripen; birds and beasts pressed upon the people. The tracks of beast hooves and bird feet crisscrossed the Central States. Yao alone grieved over this, and he raised up Shun to spread governance. Shun put Yi in charge of fire; Yi set the mountains and marshes ablaze and burned them, and birds and beasts fled and hid. Yu dredged the nine rivers, guided the Ji and Ta waters and poured them into the sea; he opened the Ru and Han, cleared the Huai and Si, and poured them into the Jiang; only then could the Central States obtain food. At that time, Yu was outside for eight years; three times he passed his gate but did not enter. Even if he had wished to farm, could he have?
Original Chinese text
“后稷教民稼穑,树艺五谷,五谷熟而民人育。人之有道也,饱食暖衣,逸居而无教,则近于禽兽。圣人有忧之,使契为司徒,教以人伦:父子有亲,君臣有义,夫妇有别,长幼有序,朋友有信。放勋曰:‘劳之来之、匡之直之、辅之翼之,使自得之;又从而振德之。’圣人之忧民如此,而暇耕乎?”
English translation
Hou Ji taught the people farming and the cultivation of the five grains; when the crops ripened, the people could be nourished. People have a proper way of life: if they are well fed, warmly clothed, and live at ease without education, they approach the condition of beasts. The sages worried about this, so they appointed Xie (契, traditionally pronounced Xiè) as situ, the minister responsible for instruction, to teach human relationships: affection between father and son, righteousness between ruler and minister, distinction between husband and wife, order between elders and juniors, and trust among friends. Emperor Yao, known as Fang Xun, said, “Comfort them and draw them near; correct them and set them straight; assist and guide them so they can fulfill themselves, then further encourage their virtue.” The sages were so concerned for the people—how could they have leisure to farm?
Original Chinese text
“尧以不得舜为己忧;舜以不得禹、皋陶为己忧。夫以百亩之不易为己忧者,农夫也。分人以财谓之惠,教人以善谓之忠,为天下得人者谓之仁。是故以天下与人易,为天下得人难。孔子曰:‘大哉,尧之为君!惟天为大,惟尧则之。荡荡乎民无能名焉!君哉舜也!巍巍乎有天下而不与焉!’尧舜之治天下,岂无所用其心哉?亦不用于耕耳。”
English translation
Yao made it his own worry that he had not obtained Shun; Shun made it his own worry that he had not obtained Yu and Gao Yao. As for one who makes it his own worry that a hundred mu of land are not well cultivated—that is the farmer. To share wealth with others is called generosity; to teach others goodness is called loyalty; to obtain the right people for the world is called benevolence. Therefore it is easy to give the world to another, but difficult to obtain the right people for the world. Confucius said: ‘Great indeed was Yao as a ruler! Only Heaven is great, and only Yao modeled himself on it. Vast indeed—the people could not find a name for him! A true ruler indeed was Shun! Lofty indeed—he possessed all under Heaven, yet did not regard the throne as a source of pleasure!’ Did Yao and Shun, in governing the world, have no place where they used their minds? They simply did not use them on farming.
Original Chinese text
“吾闻用夏变夷者,未闻变于夷者也。陈良,楚产也;悦周公、仲尼之道,北学于中国,北方之学者,未能或之先也。彼所谓豪杰之士也。子之兄弟事之数十年,师死而遂倍之。昔者孔子没,三年之外,门人治任将归,入揖于子贡,相向而哭,皆失声,然后归。子贡反,筑室于场,独居三年,然后归。他日子夏、子张、子游以有若似圣人,欲以所事孔子事之,强曾子。曾子曰:‘不可,江汉以濯之,秋阳以暴之,皓皓乎不可尚已。’今也南蛮𫛞舌之人,非先王之道,子倍子之师而学之,亦异于曾子矣。吾闻出于幽谷、迁于乔木者,未闻下乔木而入于幽谷者。鲁颂曰:‘戎狄是膺,荆舒是惩。’周公方且膺之,子是之学,亦为不善变矣。”
English translation
“I have heard of using Xia to transform the Yi, but I have not heard of being transformed by the Yi. Chen Liang was a native of Chu; he delighted in the Way of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius and went north to study in the Central States. Among the scholars of the north, none could get ahead of him. He was what one calls a hero among men. You brothers served him for several decades, and when your teacher died, you at once turned your backs on him. In former times, when Confucius died, after three years had passed, his disciples packed their baggage and were about to return home. They went in and bowed to Zigong, faced one another and wept, all losing their voices; then they returned home. Zigong returned, built a hut on the burial ground, lived there alone for three years, and then returned. On another day, Zixia, Zizhang, and Ziyou, because You Ruo resembled the sage, wished to serve him as they had served Confucius, and pressed Zengzi to agree. Zengzi said: ‘That will not do. Washed by the Jiang and Han rivers and exposed to the autumn sun, it was so bright and pure that it cannot be surpassed.’ Now this man of the southern barbarians with a shrike’s tongue condemns the way of the former kings, and you turn your backs on your teacher to study with him—this too is different from Zengzi. I have heard of leaving a dark valley and moving to a tall tree, but I have not heard of descending from a tall tree and entering a dark valley. The Lu Song says: ‘Strike the Rong and Di; punish Jing and Shu.’ The Duke of Zhou was about to strike them, yet you study this man—this too is being bad at changing.”
Original Chinese text
“从许子之道,则市贾不贰,国中无伪;虽使五尺之童适市,莫之或欺。布帛长短同,则贾相若;麻缕丝絮轻重同,则贾相若;五谷多寡同,则贾相若;屦大小同,则贾相若。”
English translation
“If one follows Master Xu’s way, the market would have a single price for goods and there would be no fraud in the city. No one would cheat even a young child sent to the market. Cloth and silk of the same length would have comparable prices; hemp thread, silk, and floss of the same weight would have comparable prices; equal quantities of grain would have comparable prices; and shoes of the same size would have comparable prices.”
Original Chinese text
曰:“夫物之不齐,物之情也。或相倍蓰,或相什百,或相千万;子比而同之,是乱天下也。巨屦小屦同贾,人岂为之哉?从许子之道,相率而为伪者也,恶能治国家?”
English translation
He said, “That things differ is simply their nature. Some are worth twice or five times as much as others; some ten or a hundred times as much; others a thousand or ten thousand times. To compare them and force them to one price would throw the world into disorder. If coarse and fine shoes sold for the same price, who would make them? Following Master Xu’s way would lead people to encourage one another to cheat—how could that govern a state?”