6A:10. Mencius said, “I like fish and I also like bear’s paw. If I cannot have both of them, I shall give up the fish and choose the bear’s paw. I like life and I also like righteousness. If I cannot have both of them, I shall give up life and choose righteousness. I love life, but there is something I love more than life, and therefore I will not do anything improper to have it. I also hate death, but there is something I hate more than death, and therefore there are occasions when I will not avoid danger. If there is nothing that man loves more than life, then why should he not employ every means to preserve it? And if there is nothing that man hates more than death, then why does he not do anything to avoid danger? There are cases when a man does not take the course even if by taking it he can preserve his life, and he does not do anything even if by doing it he can avoid danger.40 Therefore there is something men love more than life and there is something men hate more than death. It is not only the worthies alone who have this moral sense. All men have it, but only the worthies have been able to preserve it.
Suppose here are a small basket of rice and a platter of soup. With them one will survive and without them one will die. If you offer them in a loud and angry voice, even an ordinary passer-by will not accept them, or if you first tread on them and then offer them, even a beggar will not stoop to take them. What good does a salary of ten thousand bushels do me if I accept them without any consideration of the principles of propriety and righteousness? Shall I take it because it gives me beautiful mansions, the service of a wife and concubines, and the chance gratitude of my needy acquaintances who receive my help? If formerly I refused to accept the offer (of rice and soup) in the face of death and now I accept for the sake of beautiful mansions, if formerly I refused the offer in the face of death and now accept for the sake of the service of a wife and concubines, if formerly I refused the offer and now accept for the sake of the gratitude of my needy acquaintances, is that not the limit? This is called casting the original mind away.”41
6A: 11. Mencius said, “Humanity is man’s mind and righteousness is man’s path. Pity the man who abandons the path and does not follow it, and who has lost his heart and does not know how to recover it. When people’s dogs and fowls are lost, they go to look for them, and yet, when they have lost their hearts, they do not go to look for them. The way of learning is none other than finding the lost mind.
6A:12. Mencius said, “Suppose there is a man whose fourth finger is crooked and cannot stretch out straight. It is not painful and it does not interfere with his work. And yet if there were someone who could straighten out the finger for him, he would not mind going as far as to the states of Ch’in and Ch’u because his finger is not like those of others, yet he does not hate the fact that his mind is not like those of others. This is called ignorance of the relative importance of things.”42
6A:13. Mencius said, “Anybody who wishes to cultivate the t’ung and tzu trees, which may be grasped by one or both hands, knows how to nourish them. In the case of their own persons, men do not know how to nourish them. Do they love their persons less than the t’ung and tzu trees? Their lack of thought is extreme.”
6A:14. Mencius said, “There is not a part of the body that a man does not love. And because there is no part of the body that he does not love, there is not a part of it that he does not nourish. Because there is not an inch of his skin that he does not love, there is not an inch of his skin that he does not nourish. To determine whether his nourishing is good or not, there is no other way except to see the choice he makes for himself. Now, some parts of the body are noble and some are ignoble; some great and some small. We must not allow the ignoble to injure the noble, or the smaller to injure the greater. Those who nourish the smaller parts will become small men. Those who nourish the greater parts will become great men. A gardener who neglects his t’ung and tzu trees and cultivates thorns and bramble becomes a bad gardener. A man who takes good care of his finger and, without knowing it, neglects his back and shoulders, resembles a hurried wolf.43 A man who only eats and drinks is looked down upon by others, because he nourishes the smaller parts of his body to the injury of the greater parts. If he eats and drinks but makes no mistake [of injuring the greater parts of his body], how should his mouth and belly be considered merely as so many inches of his body?”
6A: 15. Kung-tu Tzu asked, “We are all human beings. Why is it that some men become great and others become small?” Mencius said, “Those who follow the greater qualities in their nature become great men and those who follow the smaller qualities in their nature become small men.” “But we are all human beings. Why is it that some follow their greater qualities and others follow their smaller qualities?” Mencius replied, “When our senses of sight and hearing are used without thought and are thereby obscured by material things, the material things act on the material senses and lead them astray. That is all. The function of the mind is to think. If we think, we will get them (the principles of things). If we do not think, we will not get them. This is what Heaven has given to us. If we first build up the nobler part of our nature, then the inferior part cannot overcome it. It is simply this that makes a man great.”
Comment. We shall find that the idea of building up the nobler part of our nature became an important tenet in the moral philosophy of Lu Hsiang-shan (Lu Chiu-yüan, 1139-1193), leader of the idealistic school of Neo-Confucianism.44
6A:16. Mencius said, “There is nobility of Heaven and there is nobility of man. Humanity, righteousness, loyalty, faithfulness, and the love of the good without getting tired of it constitute the nobility of Heaven, and to be a grand official, a great official, and a high official—this constitutes the nobility of man. The ancient people cultivated the nobility of Heaven, and the nobility of man naturally came to them. People today cultivate the nobility of Heaven in order to seek for the nobility of man, and once they have obtained the nobility of man, they forsake the nobility of Heaven. Therefore their delusion is extreme. At the end they will surely lose [the nobility of man] also.”
6A:17. Mencius said, “The desire to be honored is shared by the minds of all men. But all men have in themselves what is really honorable. Only they do not think of it. The honor conferred by men is not true honor. Whoever is made honorable by Chao Meng45 can be made humble by him again. The Book of Odes says, ‘I am drunk with wine, and I am satiated with virtue.’46 It means that a man is satiated with humanity and righteousness, and therefore he does not wish for the flavor of fat meat and fine millet of men. A good reputation and far-reaching praise are heaped on him, and he does not desire the embroidered gowns of men.”
6A: 18. Mencius said, “Humanity subdues inhumanity as water subdues fire. Nowadays those who practice humanity do so as if with one cup of water they could save a whole wagonload of fuel on fire. When the flames were not extinguished, they would say that water cannot subdue fire. This is as bad as those who are inhumane.47 At the end they will surely lose [what little humanity they have].”
6A:19. Mencius said, “The five kinds of grain are considered good plants, but if they are not ripe, they are worse than poor grains. So the value of humanity depends on its being brought to maturity.”
6A:20. Mencius said, “When Master I48 taught people to shoot, he always told them to draw the bow to the full. The man who wants to learn [the way]49 must likewise draw his bow (his will) to the full. When a great carpenter teaches people, he always tells them to use squares and compasses. The man who wants to learn must likewise use squares and compasses (or moral standards).”
ADDITIONAL SELECTIONS
1A:1. Mencius replied [to King Hui at Liang],50 “Why must Your Majesty use the term profit? What I have to offer are nothing but humanity and righteousness. If Your Majesty ask what is profitable to your country, if the great officers ask what is profitable to their families, and if the inferior officers and the common people ask what is profitable to themselves, then both the superiors and the subordinates the title of king by usurpation. will try to sn
atch the profit from one another and the country will crumble.”
1A:5. Mencius answered [King Hui], “Even with a territory of a hundred li,51 it is possible to become the true king of the empire. If Your Majesty can practice a humane government to the people, reduce punishments and fines, lower taxes and levies, make it possible for the fields to be plowed deep and the weeding well done, men of strong body, in their days of leisure may cultivate their filial piety, brotherly respect, loyalty, and faithfulness, thereby serving their fathers and elder brothers at home and their elders and superiors abroad. Then you can have them prepare sticks to oppose the strong armor and sharp weapons of the states of Ch’in and Ch’u.”
1A:7. Mencius said, “Treat with respect the elders in my family, and then extend that respect to include the elders in other families. Treat with tenderness the young in my own family, and then extend that tenderness to include the young in other families. . . . Let mulberry trees be planted about the homesteads with their five mou,52 and men of fifty will be able to be clothed in silk. Let there be timely care for fowls, pigs, dogs, and swine, and men of seventy will be able to have meat to eat. Let there be no neglect in the timely cultivation of the farm with its hundred mou, and the family of eight mouths will suffer no hunger. Let serious attention be paid to education in school, elucidating the principles of filial piety and brotherly respect, and the gray-haired men will not carry burdens on the roads. There has never been a case when men of seventy had silk to wear and meat to eat, when the common people were neither hungry nor cold, and yet the ruler did not become the true king of the empire.”
IB:5. King Hsüan of Ch’i said, “I have a weakness. I love wealth.” Mencius replied, “. . . If Your Majesty love wealth, let your people enjoy the same, and what difficulty will there be for you to become the true king of the empire?” The King said, “I have a weakness, I love sex.” Mencius replied, “. . . If Your Majesty love sex, let your people enjoy the same, and what difficulty will there be for you to become the true king of the empire?”
1B:7. Mencius said [to King Hsüan], “. . . When all your immediate ministers say that a man is worthy, it is not sufficient. When all your great officers say so, it is not sufficient. When all your people say so, look into the case, and if you find him to be worthy, then employ him. When all your immediate ministers say that a man is no good, do not listen to them. When all your great officers say so, do not listen to them. When all your people say so, look into the case, and if you find him to be no good, then dismiss him. When all your immediate ministers say that a man should be executed, do not listen to them. When all your great officers say so, do not listen to them. When all your people say so, look into the case, and if you find that the person should be executed, then execute him. It is therefore said that the people execute him. Only in this way can a ruler become parent of the people.”
Comment. No one in the history of Chinese thought has stressed more vigorously the primary importance of the people for the state.53 Mencius considers the people even more important than the ruler or territory. Echoes of this doctrine were especially strong in the seventeenth and twentieth centuries.
1B:8. King Hsüan of Ch’i asked, “Was it a fact that T’ang54 banished King Chieh55 and that King Wen punished King Chou?” Mencius replied, “Yes, according to records.” The King said, “Is it all right for a minister to murder his king?” Mencius said, “He who injures humanity is a bandit. He who injures righteousness is a destructive person. Such a person is a mere fellow. I have heard of killing a mere fellow Chou, but I have not heard of murdering [him as] the ruler.”
Comment. The doctrine of revolution is here boldly advanced and simply stated. A wicked king has lost the Mandate of Heaven and it should go to someone else. Confucianists have always upheld this doctrine, and it has been used by almost every rebel.56
2A:2. [Kung-sun Ch’ou]57 asked, “May I venture to ask, sir, how you maintain an unperturbed mind and how Kao Tzu maintains an unperturbed mind. May I be told?” Mencius answered, “Kao Tzu said, ‘What is not attained in words is not to be sought in the mind, and what is not attained in the mind is not to be sought in the vital force.’ It is all right to say that what is not attained in the mind is not to be sought in the vital force, but it is not all right to say that what is not attained in words is not to be sought in the mind. The will is the leader of the vital force, and the vital force pervades and animates the body. The will is the highest; the vital force comes next. Therefore I say, ‘Hold the will firm and never do violence to the vital force.’ ”
Ch’ou said, “You said that the will is the highest and that the vital force comes next. But you also say to hold the will firm and never to do violence to the vital force. Why?”
Mencius said, “If the will is concentrated, the vital force [will follow it] and become active. If the vital force is concentrated, the will [will follow it] and become active. For instance, here is a case of a man falling or running. It is his vital force that is active, and yet it causes his mind to be active too.”
Ch’ou asked, “May I venture to ask, sir, in what you are strong?”
Mencius replied, “I understand words.58 And I am skillful in nourishing my strong, moving power.”
“May I ask what is meant by the strong, moving power?”
“It is difficult to describe. As power, it is exceedingly great and exceedingly strong. If nourished by uprightness and not injured, it will fill up all between heaven and earth. As power, it is accompanied by righteousness and the Way. Without them, it will be devoid of nourishment. It is produced by the accumulation of righteous deeds but is not obtained by incidental acts of righteousness. When one’s conduct is not satisfactory to his own mind, then one will be devoid of nourishment. I therefore said that Kao Tzu never understood righteousness because he made it something external.”
Comment. The “strong, moving power” (hao-jan chih ch’i) has been likened to “flood breath” or some kind of yoga59 and mysticism.60 But as most commentators have pointed out, it is merely a great and strong power.61 It is comparable to what Confucius said, i.e., that he had no more perplexities at forty.62
“Always be doing something without expectation.63 Let the mind not forget64 its objective, but let there be no artificial effort to help it grow. Do not be like the man of Sung. There was a man of Sung who was sorry that his corn was not growing, and so he pulled it up. Having been tired out he went home and said to his people, ‘I am all tired. I have helped the corn to grow.’ When his son ran to look at it, the corn had already withered.”
Comment. To Zen Buddhism, the mind must always remain sensitive and sharp. One of their slogans is “Be always alert.” Under its impact, Neo-Confucianists similarly stressed “Always be doing something.” This is especially true of Wang Yang-ming.65 The difference between the Buddhists and the Confucianists is that the former emphasize the state of mind while the latter emphasize activity.
2A:3. Mencius said, “A ruler who uses force to make a pretense at humanity is a despot. Such a despot requires a large kingdom. A ruler who practices humanity with virtue is a true king. To become a true king does not depend on a large kingdom. T’ang became, so with only seventy li, and King Wen with only a hundred. When force is used to overcome people, they do not submit willingly but only because they have not sufficient strength to resist. But when virtue is used to overcome people, they are pleased in their hearts and sincerely submit, as the seventy disciples submitted to Confucius. The Book of Odes says:
From the west, from the east,
From the south, from the north,
None wanted to resist.66
This is what is meant.”
Comment. The foundation of Confucian political philosophy is “humane government,” government of the true king, who rules through moral example.67 His guiding principle is righteousness, whereas that of the despot is profit.68 This contrast between kingliness and despotism has always remained sharp in the minds of Confucian political thinkers.
2A:5. Mencius said, “If a ruler honors the worthy and employs the competent so that offices are occupied by the wisest, then scholars throughout the world will be delighted to stand in his court. If in the city he levies a rent but does not tax the goods, or enforces certain regulations but does not levy a rent, then traders throughout the world will be delighted to store goods in his city. If at his frontier passes there will be inspection but no tax, then travelers throughout the world will be delighted to travel on his highways. If farmers are required to give their mutual aid to cultivate the public field but not required to pay tax, then all farmers throughout the world will be delighted to farm in his land. If there is no fine for the idler or the family that fails to meet a certain quota of cloth products, then all people throughout the world will be delighted to become his subjects. If a ruler can truly practice these five things, then the people in the neighboring states will look up to him as a parent. Ever since there has been mankind, none has succeeded in leading children to attack their parents. Thus such a ruler will have no enemy anywhere in the world, and having no enemy in the world, he will be an official appointed by Heaven. There has never been such a person who did not become the true king of the empire.”
A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy Page 9
