Abstract
From Confucius to Mencius, the concept of a parent king evolved from emperors fulfilling moral duties into ones who owed an obligation to their subjects. Mencius' admonishment that a parent king cannot be a commander of man-eating beasts is rooted in a li taboo against human sacrifice as a ceremonial exercise conducted by the parent king. The institution of parent king gradually shifted from emphasizing the legitimacy of the ruler under a patriarchal clan system to tracing the source of the ruler's legitimacy to a proven mandate from heaven. But the humanism inherent in the benign parent king inevitably shook the hierarchical foundation of the li institutions of Confucianism.
Keywords
the parent king、 mandate from heaven、 humanism、 human sacrifice、 li between the state and its individual subjects
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