In Mencius 7A35, Tao Ying poses a dilemma to Mencius: Suppose Shun's father had committed murder—what would Shun have done? Mencius famously answers that Shun would have "cast aside the world (tian-xia 天下) as if discarding a worn shoe. He would have secretly carried the old man on his back and fled to the edge of the Sea, living there happily thereafter and forgetting about the world". This answer has sparked intense debate among Confucian scholars throughout history. Despite the wide range of views on this issue, however, scholars generally construe this case as a classic conflict of values, where the Mencian Shun would have chosen filial piety over justice. In this talk I offer a different reading of this case, one that emphasizes Shun’s transformation as a person — from a widely revered emperor to a fugitive who cut himself off from all but one significant relationship in his life —and asks this question: How is it possible that after undergoing such a change, Shun is still able to live "happily thereafter"? By shifting our focus, I argue that what Shun would have done is far more morally demanding than simply letting his father face his due punishment. In my view, if Shun had chosen the latter, he would have been a just emperor, but fallen short of being a sage king by Mencius' standards.

Qiu Lin is an assistant professor of philosophy at Simon Fraser University. Her research areas are early modern philosophy, history and philosophy of physics and Chinese philosophy. Her journey in philosophy began at St. John's College (Annapolis), where she earned a BA in 2015. She continues to benefit greatly from the liberal arts education she received there.