Confucianism is sometimes understood as an ethical system that consciously opposes the pursuit of material interest. The opening page of the Mengzi is most telling in this regard: upon King Hui of Liang’s question of how to make his state profitable, the quintessential political question that no sensible political leader can afford to avoid, Mencius responds, “Why must you mention the word ‘profit’ (he bi yue li* 何必曰利)? All that matters is that there should be ren and yi.”