During the Warring States period, the philosopher Mencius traveled extensively to persuade various feudal lords of his political ideals. Mencius argued that governing a state required benevolence and righteousness, insisting that rulers must consider the people's hardships and share in their joys to earn their support.
Once, Mencius visited the state of Wei and was granted an audience with King Hui of Liang.
King Hui of Liang took many measures to settle his people during famine years, such as relocating them and transporting grain. He believed he had exhausted his efforts for the state and its people, yet wondered why he could not attract more citizens to his kingdom. Mencius hit the nail on the head, pointing out:
"This is because you haven't fundamentally solved the people's problems. Look around Wei—you ignore their suffering. Starving bodies lie on the roads, yet you don't open the granaries to help. When people die of hunger, you blame the harvest. How can you expect the people to support you like this?"
King Hui of Liang expressed keen interest in Mencius's views, saying, "I would be glad to hear your instruction." Mencius replied, "Let me illustrate with a simple analogy. Is there any difference between killing a man with a club and killing him with a knife?" The king answered, "There is no difference." Mencius pressed further, "Then is there any difference between killing a man with a knife and causing his death through misrule?" King Hui responded, "There is no difference either."
Mencius then pressed further, "Now in your kitchen there is tender, fatty meat, and in your stables there are strong horses, yet your people wear hungry expressions and the dead lie unburied in the wilds—this is like leading beasts to devour men. People detest even animals preying on one another, so how can you, as the parent of the people, presiding over governance and ruling the state, allow such conduct that brings beasts to feast on men? How then can you truly serve as the people's parent and govern the realm well?"
Mencius continued, "Confucius once said that the first person to make wooden or clay figurines for burial would surely have no descendants. Why did Confucius hate using figurines for burial so much? Because these figurines were made in the likeness of humans. Even using human-shaped objects for burial is detestable—how much more so, then, for a ruler to let his people starve to death?"
The idiom "Leading Beasts to Devour Men" is used to describe tyrannical rule that oppresses the people.
Source: *Mencius*, Chapter "King Hui of Liang I"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "率兽食人" came to describe tyrannical rule that oppresses the people.