Book 5B · Wan Zhang, Part Two

10.1 Mencius said, “Bo Yi would not look on an evil sight or listen to an evil sound. He would serve only a worthy ruler and employ only worthy people. When there was order he advanced; when disorder prevailed he withdrew. He could not bear to live where tyrannical government arose or a violent populace gathered. Living among coarse villagers felt to him like sitting in mud and ashes in court cap and court robes. In Zhou's time he lived by the North Sea and waited for the world to become pure. Those who hear of Bo Yi's conduct become upright even if stubborn, and resolve to do good even if weak.“Yi Yin said, ‘What ruler is unfit to serve? What people are unfit to employ?’ He advanced in times of order and disorder alike. He said, ‘When Heaven brought forth the people, it made those who knew first awaken those who came to know later. I am one of Heaven's people who awakened first; I shall awaken the people with this Way.’ If he thought of a single man or woman who had not received the blessings of Yao and Shun, he felt as though he himself had pushed that person into a ditch. Thus he took the weight of the world upon himself.“Liuxia Hui was not ashamed to serve an impure ruler or too proud to hold a small office. When he entered office he did not conceal his abilities, but followed his Way. Passed over, he did not resent it; in hardship, he did not grieve. Living among coarse villagers, he felt at ease and could not bear to leave them. ‘You are you, and I am I. Even if you bare your chest and strip naked beside me, how can you defile me?’ Those who hear of his conduct become generous though mean-spirited, steadfast though shallow.“When Confucius left Qi, he took his rice still draining and set out. When he left Lu, he said, ‘Slowly, slowly I go.’ That was the way to leave the state of one's parents. He left swiftly when swiftness was fitting, stayed when staying was fitting, remained in private life when that was fitting, and held office when that was fitting.”Mencius said, “Bo Yi was the sage of purity; Yi Yin, the sage of responsibility; Liuxia Hui, the sage of harmony; Confucius, the sage of the proper time. Confucius brought all to completion, like a musical performance begun by sounding a bronze bell and ended with the resonance of a jade chime. The bronze bell establishes the opening order; the jade chime completes it. Establishing the order is the work of wisdom; completing it is the work of sagehood. Wisdom resembles skill; sagehood, strength. An archer shooting from a hundred paces reaches the target through strength; hitting its center requires more than strength.”

10.2 Beigong Qi asked, “How did the Zhou court grade rank and stipends?”Mencius said, “Its details cannot be recovered. The lords disliked the rules because they limited their power, so they destroyed the records. But I have heard the outline. There were five grades: Son of Heaven, duke, marquis, earl, and viscount or baron at the same grade. Within a state were six grades: ruler, chief minister, minister, senior man of service, middle-ranking man of service, and junior man of service. The Son of Heaven's domain was a thousand li square; those of dukes and marquises a hundred li square, earls seventy, viscounts and barons fifty: four sizes of domain. A domain under fifty li could not approach the Son of Heaven directly but was attached to a lord, and called a dependent domain. A chief minister of the Son of Heaven received land equivalent to a marquis's; a minister, to an earl's; a senior man of service, to a viscount's or baron's. In a great state, a hundred li square, the ruler's stipend was ten times a chief minister's; a chief minister's four times a minister's; a minister's twice a senior man's; a senior man's twice a middle-ranking man's; a middle-ranking man's twice a junior man's; a junior man's equaled the stipend of a commoner in official service, enough to replace what he could earn by farming. In a middle-sized state, seventy li square, the ruler received ten times the chief minister's stipend, the chief minister three times a minister's, and each successive grade twice the one below, down to the junior man, whose stipend equaled that of an official commoner and replaced his farming income. In a small state, fifty li square, the ruler received ten times a chief minister's stipend, the chief minister twice a minister's, and each successive grade twice the one below, again down to a junior stipend equal to the official commoner's farming income. A farming man held a hundred mu. Properly tended, a superior farmer's field could feed nine people; the next, eight; an average farmer's, seven; the next, six; the lowest, five. Stipends for commoners serving in office were graduated by this scale.”

10.3 Wan Zhang asked, “May I ask about friendship?”Mencius said, “You must not rely on your age, rank, or powerful brothers in making friends. Friendship is friendship with another's virtue; you cannot bring such advantages into it. Meng Xianzi had a house of a hundred chariots and five friends, including Yue Zhengqiu and Mu Zhong; I have forgotten the other three. When Xianzi befriended them, he left his great house out of consideration. Had those five attached importance to his house, he would not have befriended them. This is true not only of a house of a hundred chariots but even of a small state's ruler. Duke Hui of Fei said, ‘I regard Zisi as my teacher and Yan Ban as my friend; Wang Shun and Chang Xi serve me.’ Nor is it true only of small rulers. Duke Ping of Jin, visiting Hai Tang, entered when told to enter, sat when told to sit, and ate when told to eat. Even if served coarse grain and vegetable soup, he always ate his fill, for he dared not do otherwise. Yet that was the limit of his respect: he did not share Heaven's offices with him, let him govern Heaven's duties, or grant him Heaven's stipend. This was how a man of service honors a worthy man, not how a ruler honors him. Before Shun met the emperor, the emperor housed his son-in-law in a side residence and feasted him; they took turns as host and guest. Thus a Son of Heaven befriended an ordinary man. When a lower-ranking person respects a higher, that is honoring rank; when one above respects one below, that is honoring virtue. Both rest on the same principle.”

10.4 Wan Zhang asked, “What is the spirit of an exchange of gifts?”“Respect,” said Mencius.“Why is it called disrespectful to refuse a gift repeatedly?”“If a person of high standing gives you something and you ask before accepting, ‘Did he acquire it rightly or wrongly?’ that would be disrespectful. So you do not refuse.”“Could you refuse in your heart, without saying so, because you know he unjustly took it from the people, and decline under another pretext?”“If he approaches you in accordance with the Way and offers the gift with ritual propriety, even Confucius would accept it.”Wan Zhang said, “Suppose a man robs people outside the city gate, then approaches you properly and offers you a gift with ritual propriety. Could you accept stolen goods?”“No. The Announcement to Kang says, ‘Those who kill people and seize their goods recklessly and without fear of death are detested by all the people.’ Such people can be executed without instruction. Yin inherited this law from Xia, and Zhou from Yin without rejecting it; it applies still more strongly today. How could you accept their goods?”“The lords today take from the people much as robbers do. Yet you say a noble person can accept their gifts if the forms are proper. What do you mean?”“Do you think that if a true king arose he would put all today's lords to death as robbers, or would he teach them and punish only those who refused to change? To call everyone who takes what is not his a robber is to push a category to its limit as a matter of principle. When Confucius served in Lu, the people competed over the spoils of the hunt, and Confucius competed as well. If even that was permissible, how much more accepting their gifts?”“Then Confucius did not take office to pursue the Way?”“He did.”“Why compete over game if he pursued the Way?”“Confucius first put the records and ritual vessels for sacrifice in proper order; he would not use game caught in the four quarters as official sacrificial food.”“Why did he not leave?”“He was making a beginning. If that beginning offered a chance to practice the Way, he remained; only when he could not put it into practice did he depart. Thus he never remained inactive in one place for a full three years. Confucius took office when he could see a possibility of practicing the Way, when he found a proper reception, or when the ruler publicly supported him. Under Ji Huanzi he saw such a possibility; under Duke Ling of Wei he found a proper reception; under Duke Xiao of Wei he had public support.”

10.5 Mencius said, “One does not take office for relief from poverty, though one may sometimes do so; one does not marry in order to be supported, though marriage may sometimes bring support. If you take office because you are poor, refuse a high position and occupy a low one; refuse wealth and accept little. What office is fitting for someone who refuses status and wealth? Guarding a gate or beating the night watch. Confucius once supervised a grain store and said, ‘All I need do is keep the accounts accurate.’ He once supervised livestock and said, ‘All I need do is see that the cattle and sheep grow healthy.’ To speak as though you held high rank while occupying low rank is a fault. To stand in a ruler's court while your Way goes unpracticed is a disgrace.”

10.6 Wan Zhang asked, “Why may a man of service not depend on the support of a lord?”Mencius said, “He dares not. It is proper for a lord who has lost his state to find refuge with another lord; it is not proper for a man of service to depend on a lord.”“If the ruler gives him grain, should he accept?”“Yes.”“On what principle?”“A ruler should provide relief for his common people.”“Why can he accept relief but not a gift?”“He dares not accept a gift.”“Why not?”“Gatekeepers and night watchmen all receive food from their superiors because they hold regular duties. A person with no regular duty would show disrespect by taking a ruler's gift.”“If he accepts grain once, may the ruler continue providing it?”“Duke Mu often asked after Zisi and sent him meat in cooking vessels. Zisi was displeased. Finally he waved the messenger beyond his gate, faced north, bowed low twice, and refused it. ‘Now I know that the ruler feeds me like one of his dogs or horses!’ he said. After that the ruler sent no further gifts. If a ruler delights in a worthy man yet can neither raise him to office nor support him properly, can he truly delight in the worthy?”“How, then, may a ruler support a noble person?”“He sends the first gift under his command, and the recipient bows twice and accepts. Thereafter the keeper of the granary regularly sends grain and the cook regularly sends meat without repeating the ruler's command. Zisi felt that repeatedly sending meat in cooking vessels merely made him hurry out to bow again and again, which is not how to support a noble person. Yao sent nine sons to serve Shun, gave him two daughters as wives, and supplied officials, cattle and sheep, and full granaries to support him in the fields, before raising him to a high station. That is how a king honors the worthy.”

10.7 Wan Zhang asked, “Why do you refuse to visit the lords?”Mencius said, “Those living in a state without office are called commoners of the market and wells; those outside the city, commoners of the grass and wilds. Neither has presented an introductory gift and become a minister. Ritual propriety forbids such commoners to seek an audience with a lord.”“If a lord calls a commoner to labor, he goes. Why not go if the lord summons him for a meeting?”“To go to work is right; to go for the audience is not. Why does the ruler wish to see him?”“For his wide learning or his virtue.”“If for his learning, not even the Son of Heaven summons his own teacher, much less a lord. If for his virtue, I have never heard of a ruler summoning a worthy man he wanted to see. Duke Mu often visited Zisi and asked, ‘In antiquity, a ruler of a thousand chariots befriended a man of service. What do you think?’ Zisi was displeased. ‘The ancients said that a ruler should serve such a man. Did they say he should befriend him?’ What did Zisi mean? ‘By rank, you are ruler and I am subject: how would I dare claim your friendship? By virtue, you should serve me: how could we call ourselves friends?’ A ruler of a thousand chariots could not obtain him even as a friend. How, then, could he summon him? When Duke Jing of Qi was hunting, he summoned a gamekeeper with a banner; when the man did not come, he planned to execute him. Confucius praised a man of principle who did not forget he might end in a ditch, and a courageous man who did not forget he might lose his head. What did Confucius admire? The keeper would not come when summoned by the wrong sign.”“What sign should summon a gamekeeper?”“A leather cap. A commoner is summoned with a pennant, a man of service with a flag, a minister with a banner. If summoned by a minister's banner, the gamekeeper dared not come even on pain of death; if summoned by a man's flag, how would a commoner dare come? Still less should a worthy person obey a summons meant for an unworthy person. To wish to see a worthy man without approaching him properly is like wishing him to enter while closing the door. Rightness is the road; ritual propriety is the gate. Only the noble person can walk that road and pass through that gate. The Odes say, ‘Zhou's road is level as a whetstone, straight as an arrow; the noble person walks it, the common people behold it.’”“Confucius went without waiting for his carriage to be harnessed when his ruler summoned him. Was he wrong?”“Confucius then held office, and the ruler summoned him in his official capacity.”

10.8 Mencius told Wan Zhang, “A good man of a village befriends the good men of his village; a good man of a state, the good men of his state; a good man of the world, the good men of the world. If friendship with the world's good men is not enough, he considers the people of antiquity. Can you recite their poems and read their books without knowing what kind of people they were? Thus you study their age. That is making friends with the ancients.”

10.9 King Xuan of Qi asked about ministers. Mencius said, “What sort of ministers does Your Majesty mean?”“Are there different sorts?”“Yes: ministers of the ruler's own family and ministers of other families.”“Tell me about ministers of my own family.”“If the ruler makes a great mistake, they remonstrate. If, after repeated admonitions, he will not listen, they replace him.”The king's face changed with anger.“Do not be startled, Your Majesty. You asked, and I dared not give anything but a truthful answer.”When the king's face had settled, he asked about ministers of other families.“When the ruler makes a mistake, they remonstrate. If, after repeated admonitions, he will not listen, they leave.”

10.1 Mencius said, “Bo Yi would not look at anything ugly or listen to anything wrong. He would serve only a ruler he approved of and employ only people he approved of. He took office when the country was orderly and withdrew when it was in disorder. He could not bear to live where bad government came from or where unruly people stayed. He felt that spending time among ordinary villagers was like sitting in mud and ashes in court robes and a court cap. In Zhou's time he lived beside the North Sea, waiting for the world to become clean again. So when stubborn people hear of Bo Yi's example, they grow honest; when timid people hear it, they find a firm purpose.“Yi Yin said, ‘What ruler is not worth serving? What people are not worth helping?’ He took office in orderly times and in disorderly times. He said, ‘Heaven brought forth these people so that those who know first might inform those who do not know, and those who understand first might enlighten those who do not. I am among the first of Heaven's people to understand, and I will use this Way to enlighten them.’ If even one man or woman had not benefited from the rule of Yao and Shun, he felt as though he had pushed that person into a ditch. He took responsibility for the whole world.“Liuxia Hui was not ashamed to serve a corrupt ruler and did not refuse a low office. When promoted, he did not hide his ability and always followed his principles. When overlooked, he felt no resentment; when poor, he did not complain. He lived comfortably among the villagers and did not want to leave. ‘You are you, and I am I. Even if you undress and stand naked beside me, how could you make me dirty?’ So when narrow-minded people hear of Liuxia Hui's example, they grow generous; when cold people hear it, they grow warmer.“When Confucius left Qi, he set out while his washed rice was still draining. When he left Lu, he said, ‘I will take my time.’ That was the right way to leave his home state. Confucius left quickly when it was right to leave quickly, stayed longer when it was right to stay, lived quietly when that was right, and took office when that was right.”Mencius said, “Bo Yi was a sage marked by purity; Yi Yin was a sage marked by responsibility; Liuxia Hui was a sage marked by ease among others; and Confucius was a sage who acted at the right time. Confucius brought all their great achievements together. That is like beginning music with a bronze bell and bringing it to a close with a jade chime. The bell sets the pattern at the start, the jade chime completes it at the end. Beginning the pattern is the work of wisdom; completing it is the work of sagehood. Wisdom is like skill, and sagehood like strength. If you shoot at a target a hundred paces away, your strength carries the arrow there, but strength alone does not make it hit the target.”

10.2 Beigong Qi asked, “How did the Zhou royal house distribute ranks and salaries?”Mencius said, “I cannot give you all the details. The lords disliked the system because it limited them, so they destroyed the records. But I have heard the general outline. Among the lords there were five ranks: the Son of Heaven; duke; marquis; earl; and viscount and baron together in the fifth rank. At court there were six ranks: ruler; high minister; senior official; upper man of service; middle man of service; and lower man of service. The Son of Heaven had a territory a thousand li square. Dukes and marquises each had a hundred li square, earls seventy, and viscounts and barons fifty: four sizes altogether. A ruler whose territory was smaller than fifty li could not appear at the Son of Heaven's court; he became a dependent of another lord. A minister to the Son of Heaven had land equal to a marquis, a senior official land equal to an earl, and a leading man of service land equal to a viscount or baron. In a large state a hundred li square, the ruler received ten times a minister's salary, the minister four times a senior official's, the senior official twice an upper man of service's, the upper man twice a middle man's, and the middle man twice a lower man's. The lower man received the same as an ordinary person in government service, enough to make up for not farming. In a middle-sized state seventy li square, the ruler received ten times a minister's salary, the minister three times a senior official's, the senior official twice an upper man of service's, the upper man twice a middle man's, and the middle man twice a lower man's. Again the lower man received the same as an ordinary person in government service, enough to make up for not farming. In a small state fifty li square, the ruler received ten times a minister's salary, the minister twice a senior official's, the senior official twice an upper man of service's, the upper man twice a middle man's, and the middle man twice a lower man's. Again the lower man received the same as an ordinary person in government service, enough to make up for not farming. Each farmer worked a hundred mu. When that land was well fertilized, a farmer in the highest category fed nine people; the next fed eight; the middle category fed seven; the next fed six; and the lowest fed five. The salaries of ordinary people in government service varied on the same scale.”

10.3 Wan Zhang asked, “What is friendship?”Mencius replied, “Do not rely on your age, high position, or family when making friends. You make friends with another person's virtue, so you cannot bring status into it. Meng Xianzi, who headed a household with a hundred chariots, had five friends. Two were Yue Zhengqiu and Mu Zhong; I have forgotten the other three. When Xianzi was with them as friends, he did not act as head of a powerful family. If these five had seen him only as head of that family, they would not have been his friends. This is not limited to a household of a hundred chariots. The ruler of a small state can do the same. Duke Hui of Fei said, ‘I treat Zisi as a teacher, Yan Ban as a friend, and Wang Shun and Chang Xi as my servants.’ Nor is it limited to a small state's ruler. Duke Ping of Jin, when visiting Hai Tang, entered when told to enter, sat when told to sit, and ate when told to eat. Even if offered coarse grain and vegetable soup, he always ate his fill, for he did not dare do otherwise. But that was all: he did not share a position granted by Heaven with Hai Tang, give him a part in Heaven's governing duties, or share Heaven's salary with him. He respected a worthy man as an ordinary man of service might, not as a ruler should. When Shun visited the emperor, the emperor lodged his son-in-law in a second residence and hosted Shun at feasts; they took turns as host and guest. The Son of Heaven was friends with an ordinary man. When a person of lower status respects a superior, that is honoring rank. When a superior respects a person of lower status, that is honoring worth. Both acts follow the same principle.”

10.4 Wan Zhang asked, “What spirit should guide receiving gifts?”“Respect,” Mencius said.“Why is it called disrespectful to refuse a gift again and again?”“If a person of high standing gives you something and you ask, ‘Did he obtain it rightly or wrongly?’ before accepting, that is disrespectful. So you do not refuse it.”“Could you reject it in your heart rather than say so openly? You might think, ‘He took it wrongly from the people,’ and give another reason for refusing.”“If he approaches you in the proper way and presents it according to proper conduct, Confucius would accept it.”Wan Zhang asked, “Suppose a man robs people outside the city gate but approaches you properly and offers you a gift according to the forms. Could you accept what he stole?”“No. The Announcement to Kang says, ‘Those who kill people and take their goods, fearing no death, are hated by everyone.’ Such people are executed without waiting to be taught better. Yin inherited this law from Xia and Zhou inherited it from Yin. No one objected. It is even more strongly enforced today. How could you accept a gift from a robber?”“But the lords today take from their people in a way much like robbery. You say a noble person may accept a gift if it is presented properly. How can that be?”“Do you think a true king, if one arose, would execute all today's lords as robbers, or would he first teach them and execute only those who did not change? To call everyone who takes what does not belong to him a robber is to extend the definition to its strictest possible limit. When Confucius held office in Lu, its people divided the game from their hunts by competing for it, and Confucius participated. If even that was acceptable, surely he could accept their ruler's gifts.”“Then did Confucius not take office to practice the Way?”“He did.”“Then why take part in the competition for game?”“He began by setting the lists of ritual vessels in order, so that food from everywhere was not brought in merely to fill out those lists.”“Why did he not leave?”“He treated this as a sign that his reforms might work. He left only when the sign offered enough hope for him to act but the ruler still would not act. That is why he never stayed anywhere for as long as three years. Confucius took office in three ways: when he saw an opportunity to put his Way into practice; when proper relations allowed it; and when a ruler simply provided for him. Under Ji Huanzi he saw a chance to act. Under Duke Ling of Wei he accepted proper relations. Under Duke Xiao of Wei he accepted the ruler's support.”

10.5 Mencius said, “A person does not take office because he is poor, though sometimes poverty is a reason. A person does not marry to gain support, though sometimes support is a reason. Someone taking office because of poverty should refuse a high rank and choose a low one, refuse a generous salary and choose a small one. What job is suitable if you choose a low post and small pay? Guarding a gate or beating the watchman's clapper. Confucius once supervised storehouses. He said, ‘It is enough to keep the accounts correct.’ He once oversaw livestock. He said, ‘It is enough that the cattle and sheep are strong and grow well.’ It is wrong to speak as though you hold a high position when you hold a low one. It is shameful to stand in a state's main court while the Way you believe in is not put into practice.”

10.6 Wan Zhang asked, “Why does a man of service not seek support from a lord?”“He does not dare to,” said Mencius. “It is proper for a lord who has lost his state to seek shelter with another lord. It is not proper for a man of service to do so.”“If a ruler gives him grain, does he accept it?”“Yes.”“Why?”“A ruler naturally helps people in need among his subjects.”“Why accept help but refuse a personal grant?”“He does not dare take one.”“Why not?”“Gatekeepers and night watchmen have regular jobs in return for food from their ruler. To receive a gift from him without a regular job would be disrespectful.”“He accepts a gift of grain, then. Can the ruler keep giving it regularly?”“Duke Mu repeatedly asked after Zisi and sent him cooked meat in a ceremonial vessel. Eventually Zisi was displeased. He pointed the messenger toward the main gate, faced north, bowed twice with his head to the ground, and refused the gift. He said, ‘Now I know the ruler feeds me like a dog or horse!’ After that the duke did not keep sending food. Can a ruler be said to value worthy people if he likes them but can neither employ them nor support them properly?”“How should a ruler support a noble person properly?”“Let him first send a gift with an official command, which the noble person receives after bowing twice and touching his head to the ground. After that, let the keeper of his grain stores continue to supply grain and his cook continue to supply meat without announcing each gift as a new command. Zisi felt that sending a vessel of meat again and again just to make him bow repeatedly was no way to care for a noble person. Yao sent his nine sons to serve Shun, gave his two daughters in marriage to him, and provided officials, cattle, sheep, and full barns while Shun still lived among the fields. Later he raised him to high office. That is how a king or lord honors a worthy person.”

10.7 Wan Zhang asked, “Why not meet the lords?”Mencius said, “An ordinary person living in town is called an unofficial subject in the market; in the country, an unofficial subject of the fields. Neither has presented credentials to enter a lord's service. Proper conduct does not allow them to request an audience.”“If an ordinary person is summoned for compulsory work, he goes. Why does he not go when summoned because the ruler wants to see him?”“It is right to perform the work; it is not right to go to an audience under those terms. Why does the ruler want to see him?”“For what he knows and for his worth.”“If it is for what he knows, not even the Son of Heaven summons a teacher, much less a lord. If it is for his worth, I have never heard of a ruler who wants to meet a worthy man summoning him. Duke Mu met Zisi many times and asked, ‘In ancient times, a ruler with a thousand war chariots could make a man of service his friend. What do you think?’ Zisi was displeased. ‘People of old spoke of serving such a man,’ he said. ‘Did they speak of being his friend?’ What troubled Zisi was this: ‘By rank, you are a ruler and I am your subject. How would I dare claim friendship with you? By virtue, you ought to serve me. How can you call yourself my friend?’ If a lord of a thousand chariots could not even win his friendship, how could he summon him? When Duke Jing of Qi went hunting, he summoned his park keeper with a banner used for a high official. The keeper did not come, and the duke meant to kill him. Confucius said, ‘A committed man does not forget that he might end up in a ditch; a brave man does not forget that he might lose his head.’ What did Confucius admire? The keeper would not come at a summons made with the wrong signal.”“What should be used to summon the park keeper?”“A leather cap. An ordinary person is summoned with a red banner, a man of service with a flag, and a high official with a decorated banner. A park keeper would rather die than respond to a high official's signal. How could an ordinary person respond to a man of service's signal? Much less should a worthy man respond to a signal intended for someone unworthy. To want to see a worthy man without approaching him properly is like wanting him to enter while closing the door. Rightness is the road, and proper conduct the door. Only noble people follow that road and pass through that door. The Book of Songs says, ‘Zhou's road is as level as a whetstone and as straight as an arrow; noble people walk it while ordinary people watch.’”Wan Zhang said, “But when Confucius was summoned by his ruler, he went before his carriage was ready. Was he wrong?”“Confucius held office then and was summoned on official business.”

10.8 Mencius told Wan Zhang, “A good man in a village makes friends with other good men in the village. A good man in a state makes friends with other good men in the state. A good man in the world makes friends with other good men in the world. If that is not enough, he considers people of ancient times. Can you recite their poems and read their writings without knowing the people themselves? That is why you consider the times in which they lived. This is friendship with people of earlier ages.”

10.9 King Xuan of Qi asked about high ministers. Mencius asked, “Which kind of high minister do you mean?”“Are there different kinds?”“Yes. Some are close relatives of the ruler; others belong to unrelated families.”“Tell me about the close relatives.”“When the ruler makes a serious mistake, they advise him. If they advise him repeatedly and he does not listen, they replace him.”The king's expression changed sharply. Mencius said, “Do not be surprised. You asked me, and I did not dare give you anything but a straight answer.”When the king's face had settled, he asked about ministers from other families. Mencius answered, “When the ruler makes a mistake, they advise him. If they advise him repeatedly and he does not listen, they leave.”