Mencius’s Mother Moves House Three Times
Mencius was born in the state of Tsou during the Warring States Period in 371 bc. When he was very small, he and his mother lived next door to agraveyard. Naturally Mencius and the neighbouring children played at funeral rites. Seeing this, Mencius’s mother thought, ‘The boy mustn’t be allowed to stay here.’ So she moved into the city.
In the city Mencius and the neighbourhood children played at businessand trade. Making misrepresentations and exaggerated claims, theymimicked salesmen doing business with customers. ‘This will never do,’his mother thought. ‘We’ll have to move again.’
The third time, she moved next to a school. There things weredifferent; now Mencius learned etiquette and manner. He and the other children played at being orderly and polite. ‘Now this is the right kind of place for my boy,’ his mother said to herself.
Mencius was born in the state of Tsou during the Warring States Period in 371 bc. When he was very small, he and his mother lived next door to agraveyard. Naturally Mencius and the neighbouring children played at funeral rites. Seeing this, Mencius’s mother thought, ‘The boy mustn’t be allowed to stay here.’ So she moved into the city.
In the city Mencius and the neighbourhood children played at businessand trade. Making misrepresentations and exaggerated claims, theymimicked salesmen doing business with customers. ‘This will never do,’his mother thought. ‘We’ll have to move again.’
The third time, she moved next to a school. There things weredifferent; now Mencius learned etiquette and manner. He and the other children played at being orderly and polite. ‘Now this is the right kind of place for my boy,’ his mother said to herself.