Debating Division of Labor with Xu Xing

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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.

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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.”

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Chen Xiang saw Xu Xing and was greatly pleased; he completely abandoned what he had previously studied and learned from him.

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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?'

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Mencius said, 'Must Master Xu plant grain and only then eat?'

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He replied, "Yes."

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Must Xu Xing weave cloth before he wears clothes?

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He replied, "No; Xu Xing wears coarse garments."

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Does Master Xu wear a cap?

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He replied, “He wears one.”

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He asked, “What cap does he wear?”

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He said, "He wears a plain white cap."

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He said, "Does he weave it himself?"

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He said, "No, he exchanges grain for it."

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Mencius asked, 'Why does Master Xu not do the weaving himself?'

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Chen Xiang replied, 'Because it would harm farming.'

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Mencius asked, 'Does Master Xu cook with pots and steamers and plow with iron?'

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He said, “Yes.”

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“Does he make them himself?”

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He said, “No; he exchanges grain for them.”

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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?

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He said, 'The work of the various artisans is, to be sure, impossible to do while also farming.'

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“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.”

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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?

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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?

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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.

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“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.”

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“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.”

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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?”

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