Shun's Reverence for His Father
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English translation
Original Chinese text
咸丘蒙问曰:“语云:‘盛德之士,君不得而臣,父不得而子。’舜南面而立,尧帅诸侯北面而朝之,瞽瞍亦北面而朝之。舜见瞽瞍,其容有蹙。孔子曰:‘于斯时也,天下殆哉,岌岌乎!’不识此语,诚然乎哉?”孟子曰:“否,此非君子之言,齐东野人之语也。尧老而舜摄也,《尧典》曰:‘二十有八载,放勋乃徂落,百姓如丧考妣。三年,四海遏密八音。’孔子曰:‘天无二日,民无二王。’舜既为天子矣,又帅天下诸侯以为尧三年丧,是二天子矣。”
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
咸丘蒙曰:“舜之不臣尧,则吾既得闻命矣。《诗》云:‘普天之下,莫非王土;率土之滨,莫非王臣。’而舜既为天子矣,敢问瞽瞍之非臣,如何?”曰:“是诗也,非是之谓也,劳于王事而不得养父母也。曰:‘此莫非王事,我独贤劳也。’故说诗者,不以文害辞,不以辞害志;以意逆志,是为得之。如以辞而已矣。《云汉》之诗曰:‘周馀黎民,靡有孑遗。’信斯言也,是周无遗民也。”
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
孝子之至,莫大乎尊亲;尊亲之至,莫大乎以天下养。为天子父,尊之至也;以天下养,养之至也。《诗》曰:‘永言孝思,孝思惟则’,此之谓也。《书》曰:‘祗载见瞽瞍,夔夔斋栗,瞽瞍亦允若’,是为父不得而子也?”
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?”