Fifty Paces Laughing at a Hundred

“At least I'm better than him.” Have you said that lately?

Original

梁惠王曰：「寡人之於國也，盡心焉耳矣。河內凶，則移其民於河東，移其粟於河內；河東凶亦然。察鄰國之政，無如寡人之用心者。鄰國之民不加少，寡人之民不加多，何也？」孟子對曰：「王好戰，請以戰喻。填然鼓之，兵刃既接，棄甲曳兵而走。或百步而後止，或五十步而後止。以五十步笑百步，則何如？」曰：「不可，直不百步耳，是亦走也。」曰：「王如知此，則無望民之多於鄰國也。」

In plain words

King Hui of Liang said, “In governing my state I have truly done my best. When the harvest fails in Henei, I move people to Hedong and send grain to Henei; when it fails in Hedong, I do the same. Look at my neighbours' governments: none takes such care as I do. Yet their people don't grow fewer and mine don't grow more. Why is that?” Mencius replied, “Your Majesty loves war, so let me use war as an example. The drums roll, the blades meet, and some soldiers throw down their armour and run, dragging their weapons. One stops after a hundred paces, another after fifty. What if the one who ran fifty paces laughs at the one who ran a hundred?” The king said, “He can't. He just didn't run a hundred paces. He ran all the same.” “If Your Majesty understands that,” said Mencius, “then don't expect to have more people than your neighbours.”

Key words

填然tián ránThe boom of war drums.
棄甲曳兵qì jiǎ yè bīngThrowing off armour and dragging weapons as you flee.
王道之始wáng dào zhī shǐWhere true kingship begins: people can live and bury their dead without regret.

Reading it step by step

Today's main character is King Hui of Liang, also known as King Hui of Wei. He is rather pleased with himself. When famine strikes one region, he says, I move people and grain around to help. None of my neighbours is half as conscientious. So why doesn't my population grow? In those days there were no passports and few border checks; people simply moved to wherever life was better, and more people meant a stronger state. The king is really asking: why aren't people voting for me with their feet?

First: take your image from the other person's world. “Your Majesty loves war,” says Mencius, “so let me use war.” The drums boom, the blades meet, and some soldiers throw off their armour and run, dragging their weapons. One stops after a hundred paces, another after fifty. Can the fifty-pace man laugh at the hundred-pace man? The king answers at once: “Of course not. He just didn't run as far. He still ran.” The beauty of it is that the king delivers the verdict himself. Mencius never has to say “you're wrong.” He simply turns the mirror around: “If you see that, don't expect more people than your neighbours.”

Second: “a bit better than the others” is not a standard. Shifting people and grain is emergency relief, like running a few paces less. What about ordinary times? The king still drafts men for war and takes farmers from their fields at planting time. A neighbour doing worse does not prove you are doing right. Fifty paces or a hundred, both men face the same way: away from the battle, and away from what the people actually need.

fifty paces

stopped a bit sooner

so he laughs

a hundred paces

ran a bit further

so he's laughed at

in fact

both of them ran

both turned away from what people need

The standard is ahead, not beside you: lives lived and ended without regret.

Third: the real standard lies ahead of you, not beside you. Mencius goes on to name his starting point. Don't take farmers away in the growing season, and there will be more grain than people can eat. Keep fine nets out of the ponds, and the fish will never run out. Cut timber only in the right season, and there will always be wood. When people can feed their families and bury their parents without regret, that is where true kingship begins. The question is not “Am I better than my neighbour?” but “How are the people living?”

We laugh from fifty paces too. “I work late a lot, but at least I'm home at weekends.” “Yes, we had layoffs, but fewer than the firm next door.” “I peeked at a neighbour's paper once; he peeked twice.” Comparing ourselves with someone worse feels good, and fixes nothing.

There's a quieter trap as well. While the fifty-pace man is busy laughing, he never thinks of turning back.

So the next time you want to say “at least I'm better than them,” ask a different question: where am I trying to go, and am I walking toward it, or just running a little less than everyone else?

One line to carry

Don't measure yourself by who's behind you. Look at the road ahead.

Today's question

Where have you recently comforted yourself with “at least I'm better than someone”? If you stopped comparing, what would the real standard be?

Quick check

Who actually delivers the verdict “he ran all the same”?

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