The Scripture of the Fo...

Dictionary

The Scripture of the Founding Master

Chapter Four: The Way of Humanity

58

One day the Founding Master remarked on the case of King Wu of Zhou, who dethroned Zhou of Shang, the Son of Heaven of his time, and after subjugating all under heaven, himself became the Son of Heaven: “If I were faced with the same situation as King Wu, I would reluctantly follow the will of the people and dethrone the Son of Heaven, but would concede the throne to some benevolent person. However, if there were no benevolent person, or if all the people under heaven would not hear of my conceding the throne, then I would have no choice but to accept.”