English Original
One day, King Hui of Liang met Mencius and said, "Look at the mess in our neighboring states! Their rulers never consider the people. But when a flood strikes Nenei, I relocate the victims to Henei and allocate food for relief. I have truly done my best to govern my country."
Mencius nodded in agreement.
The king continued, "Yet my population hasn't increased, nor have my neighbors' decreased. Tell me, why is that?"
Mencius replied, "Your Majesty enjoys warfare. Allow me to use a battle as an analogy. On the battlefield, the fighting is fierce. Two armies are locked in a stalemate, but one must win. The defeated soldiers, throwing away their helmets and armour, flee for their lives. Some stop after fifty paces, others after a hundred. Then, those who fled fifty paces laugh at those who fled a hundred for their cowardice. Your Majesty, is that laugh justified?"
King Hui struck the table and said, "Of course not! Whether they flee fifty paces or a hundred, they are deserters all the same."
中文翻译
一天，梁惠王见到孟子，说：“你看看邻国的政治多么糟糕！他们的君主治国不为百姓着想。而我呢，每当河西遭了水灾，我就把灾民迁到河东，还调拨粮食救济他们。对于治理国家，我真是尽了最大的努力了。”
孟子听了，点头表示赞同。
梁惠王接着说：“可是，我的百姓人数没有增加，邻国的百姓人数也没有减少。你说，这究竟是什么原因？”
孟子想了想，回答说：“大王喜欢打仗，请允许我用打仗来打个比方。战场上，杀声震天，两军对峙，相持不下，但终有胜负。战败的士兵丢盔弃甲，抱头逃命。有的人逃了五十步就停下来，有的人逃了一百步才停。这时，逃了五十步的人嘲笑逃了一百步的人胆小怕死。大王，您说这种嘲笑对吗？”
惠王听了，拍着桌子说：“当然不对！不管是逃五十步还是一百步，一样都是逃兵啊！”