Idiom Explanation:
Not to take a thousand miles as far. It refers to not being afraid of the hard work of a long journey.
Pronunciation:
不远千里
bù yuǎn qiān lǐ
Origin:
《孟子·梁惠王上》：叟，不远千里而来，亦将有以利吾国乎？
Story:
Mencius met with King Hui of Liang. The king said, “Old man! If you have come from a thousand miles away, will you also come to benefit my country?” This passage is about King Hui of Liang who met Mencius and said warmly, “Sir, you must have brought benefits to my country by coming to our state of Wei without traveling a thousand miles, right?”
Mencius replied, “Your Majesty, why do you always talk about profit? It is enough to have benevolence and righteousness. If the king says how it will benefit my state, the great ruler says how it will benefit my fief, and the scholar and the common people say how it will benefit themselves, so that all above and below follow self-interest, then it is dangerous.”
Then Mencius said, “In a country that can send out ten thousand chariots, the one who murders their ruler must be the house of a dafu who can send out one thousand chariots; in a second-class country that can send out one thousand chariots, the one who murders their ruler must be the house of a dafu who can send out one hundred chariots. The dafu of a great state can get a thousand chariots from a state with ten thousand chariots, and the dafu of a second-class state can get a hundred chariots from a state with a thousand chariots. It cannot be said that the estates of these daijus are not more than that, but they will never be satisfied. That is why you must no longer proclaim private profit.”
Hearing this, King Hui of Liang was touched and asked anxiously, “Then what do you, sir, think we should do?” Mencius said, “No one who speaks of benevolence and righteousness ever forsakes his two parents, and no one who speaks of benevolence and righteousness ever disrespects his sovereign. Therefore, my lord, it is enough for you to speak of benevolence and righteousness, so why do you need to speak of profit?”
