Mencius and Plato on land repartition: humane space is well-divided space

Abstract

One of the recurrent questions asked of Mencius by rulers who come to visit him, is how to gain the authority over all under Heaven (tianxia, 天下) and to unify the entire China under one sovereign power? How can a small kingdom rule over all under Heaven? According to Mencius, this question relates not to the size of a territory but to the behavior of its ruler. If the ruler behaves like an authentic King and runs a benevolent government then all under Heaven will be willing to follow his leadership. Repartitioning available land and formulating rules for its use affords each individual the opportunity to satisfy his/her needs, while making the world more humane. In Plato’s Laws, the protagonists discuss a similar question, which is how to deal with issues relating to good governance. The goal is not to unify all of Greece but to create a colony in Crete, so as to make it an exemplary city. For that purpose, the city must not be too close to the sea (because ports bring business and business attracts all kinds of morally depraved people). Territorial repartition should be carried out according to the size of the population in order to avoid conflicts among citizens. Therefore, an important aspect of this organization of space is agriculture. In both Mencius and Plato’s Laws, to divide land properly and to be strict on boundary issues is part of “good” government, whether the final objective is to unify China or to establish an exemplary city. For both classics, space is humane when it is politically organized, and this first requires a well-divided space.