During the Warring States period, King Xuan of Qi was eager to dominate the country and sought advice from Mencius on how to become a hegemon. Mencius said, "I heard that there was a sacrificial ceremony where you couldn't bear to kill cows. Is that the case?"
King Qi Xuan replied, "Yes."
Mencius said,"With your compassion, we can unify the world.The question is not whether you can do it,but whether you are willing to do it.If someone says, 'I have the strength to lift three thousand pounds of things,but I can’t lift a feather; I can see the fur on the bodies of birds and beasts in autumn,but I can’t see the firewood all over the cart,' would you believe it?"
King Qi Xuan immediately replied, "Of course not."
Then Mencius said, "If you have such compassion for animals, but you can’t treat the people either.It will hardly for people to believe it.The reason why you can’t lift a feather is because you are unwilling to lift it; you can’t see a cart full of firewood because you are unwilling to look. And people can’t live a good life because you don’t care about them.If you want to dominate the world, you should love the people!"
战国时期，齐宣王很想称霸一方，于是向孟子请教如何才能成为霸主。孟子说：“我听说有一次杀牛祭祀，您不忍心杀牛，有这回事吗？”
齐宣王回答：“有”。
孟子说:“凭您这样的怜悯之心，就可以一统天下了。问题不在于您能不能做，而在于您愿不愿意那样做。如果有人说‘我有力气举起三千斤重的东西，但是举不起一根羽毛；我可以看清楚秋天鸟兽身上的细毛，但是看不到满车的木柴’，您会相信吗”
齐宣王立即答道：“当然不信”。
孟子说：“如果您对动物都有那样的怜悯之心，却不能用怜悯之心对待百姓，这也一样让人难以相信。之所以举不起一根羽毛，是不愿意举；看不见满车的木柴，是因为不愿意去看。而百姓不能过上好日子，是您根本不关心。如果您想称霸天下，就从爱护百姓开始吧！”
