To explain the idea of benevolence in leaders when talking to King Xuan, Mengzi told him about an experience that occurred to King Xuan:

               “The King was sitting up in his hall. There was an ox being led past below. The King saw it and said, ‘Where is the Ox going?’

               Someone responded, ‘We are about to consecrate a bell with its blood.’

The King said, ‘Spare it. I cannot bear its frightened appearance, like an innocent going to the execution ground.’

Someone responded, ‘So should we abandon the consecration of the bell?’

The King said, “How can that be abandoned? Exchange it for a sheep.’”(Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, Ivanhoe p.j. Van Norden b. 2001).

 The king is then accused of being stingy by his people. Mengzi tells the King he was not being stingy, but acted benevolently. He explains that acts of benevolence are acts to individuals. While all men should strive to be benevolent all the time, the acts of benevolence are for individuals acting with other individuals.

 Thus King Xuan did the right thing by sparing the Ox, for he did so out of benevolence for the individual Ox. Mengzi states:

               “Let Your Majesty not be surprised at the Commoners taking you to be stingy. You took a small thing, and replaced it by a big thing. How could they understand?”(Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, Ivanhoe p.j. Van Norden b. 2001).

 Mengzi goes on further to explain benevolence:

               “There is no harm, that is just the way benevolence works. You saw the ox, but had not seen the sheep.”(Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, Ivanhoe p.j. Van Norden b. 2001).



 Thus Mengzi proves that to be benevolent, it must be a personal relation. One cannot be benevolent in nature only, one must act benevolently, much like Aristotle, Mengzi is stating one must act, not just understand.

Summing up:

 Mengzi shows King Xuan that by sparing an Ox from sacrifice and replacing it with a Sheep is a gesture of benevolence, because the King had seen the Ox, and not the Sheep. Thus using this example he explains to the King that benevolence is shown in individual acts. Mengzi, like Aristotle, shows that just thinking about benevolence is not enough, one must act benevolently with individuals, even if the multitude of those individuals does not understand the act of benevolence itself.

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