Shun's Reverence for His Father

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Original Chinese text

English translation

Xianqiu Meng asked, “There is a saying: ‘A person of the highest virtue cannot be made a subject by a ruler, nor a child by a father.’ Shun stood facing south, while Yao led the feudal lords in facing north to pay court; Gu Sou also faced north to pay court. When Shun saw Gu Sou, his expression tightened. Confucius said, ‘At such a time, the realm must have been in grave danger, tottering on the brink!’ Is this account truly so?” Mencius replied, “No. This is not the speech of a gentleman, but a rustic saying from eastern Qi. Yao grew old and Shun served as regent. The Canon of Yao says, ‘After twenty-eight years, Fangxun passed away, and the people mourned as if they had lost their parents. For three years, music was silenced throughout the four seas.’ Confucius said, ‘There are not two suns in the sky, nor two kings among the people.’ Shun was already Son of Heaven; if he then led the lords in mourning Yao for three years, there would have been two Sons of Heaven.”

Original Chinese text

English translation

Xianqiu Meng said, “I understand that Shun did not treat Yao as his subject. But the Songs say, ‘Beneath the wide Heaven, all is the king’s land; to the shores of the earth, all are the king’s subjects.’ Since Shun was Son of Heaven, how could Gu Sou not be his subject?” Mencius replied, “That poem does not mean what you suggest. It speaks of someone laboring in royal service and unable to care for his parents, saying, ‘Is this not all royal work? Yet I alone bear the toil.’ Thus those who interpret the Songs must not let a phrase distort the meaning of a passage, nor let a passage distort the poet’s intention. One must use one’s understanding to seek the intention; that is how to grasp it. If one clings only to the words, the poem ‘Clouds of Han’ says, ‘Of Zhou’s remaining people, not one was left.’ If that were literally true, Zhou would have had no people left at all.”

Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius continued, “The highest expression of filial piety is to honor one’s parents; the highest way to honor them is to provide for them with the resources of the realm. To be the father of the Son of Heaven is the utmost honor; to be supported by the realm is the utmost provision. The Songs say, ‘Ever keep filial devotion in mind; filial devotion is the rule.’ That is what this means. The Documents say, ‘He respectfully attended Gu Sou, reverent and solemn, and Gu Sou in turn accepted and followed him.’ Does this mean a father could not regard Shun as his son?”

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