Chapter 71 Wen Wang Zhi Yuan

When Mencius came to the state of Qi, King Xuan of Qi still cherished talents at that time, and Mencius was able to meet King Xuan. King Xuan of Qi asked Mencius, "I heard that the garden that King Wen of Zhou used to keep animals in captivity and plant flowers and trees was as big as a square of seventy miles. Is this true?" Mencius replied: "It is recorded in ancient books like this." King Xuan hesitated for a moment, then asked again: "Is it really that big?" Mencius smiled slightly and said, "Those common people thought it wasn't big enough."

King Xuan was a little surprised, as if asking himself in puzzlement: "My garden is only forty miles in radius, and the common people still think it is too big, why is that?" Mencius straightened his clothes, and said in a calm voice: "The garden of King Wen of Zhou has a radius of seventy miles. Those who mow grass and collect firewood can come and go freely, and those who hunt are in their own garden. King Wen and the people share the same garden. , to have fun and profit together, can the common people hope that this garden will be bigger?" Mencius paused and said: "I first entered the border of your country of Qi, and I found out about any illegal activities. The guard told me that in the outer suburbs of the capital of Qi, there is a garden with a square of forty miles, and the musk deer there are shot and killed. A deer is a capital crime." Mencius continued with a heavy heart, "Isn't this forty-mile garden a big trap for forty miles? How can the people not think it's too big?"

In Mencius' view, the king of a country is like the trunk of a big tree; the people are the foundation of a country, like the roots of a big tree.If the roots are not deep and the trees are not luxuriant, what can we do?King Wen of Zhou is one of the models of ancient sage kings. How can such a king be unsacred?