Introduction
Mengzi was a philosopher who lived in the fourth century B.C.E. He has long been regarded in China (and throughout East Asia) as second only to Kongzi [Confucius] himself in importance as a Confucian thinker...
The collection of Mengzi’s sayings, dialogues, and debates with others is known simply as the Mengzi (or, following the Jesuit Latinization of his name, the Mencius). It is divided into seven “books,” each of which is subdivided into two parts (called the “A” and “B” parts), which are then further divided into “chapters.” [So, for example, Mengzi 1A7 is book 1, first part, chapter 7.]
Mengzi argues... that there are incipient virtuous inclinations in human nature (Mengzi 6A6). He frequently describes these inclinations using a metaphor of “sprouts,” and compares ethical cultivation to tending these sprouts. Mengzi presents various kinds of evidence for the existence of ethical “sprouts” in humans, including the “giveaway” actions of adults who spontaneously manifest these inclinations (such as King Xuan, whose sympathy for an ox being led to slaughter shows his nascent compassion [Mengzi 1A7]), and “thought experiments” (such as asking us what our intuitions are about how a normal human would react to the sight of a child about to fall into a well [Mengzi 2A6]...).
It is important to understand that, although the presence of the sprouts guarantees the goodness of human nature, this does not entail that most humans are actually good. Mengzi stresses that a bad environment (and failure to cultivate oneself) can almost destroy one’s original nature (Mengzi 6A8)... Thus the task of moral cultivation is to “extend” or “fill out” the reactions from the paradigmatic cases where we already have them to the relevantly similar cases where we do not yet have them, but ought to...
Mengzi thinks that most people will be unable to develop their nature without having their basic needs for things such as food met... Once their fundamental needs are met, basic—but universal—ethical education is crucial. However, Mengzi recognizes that, while everyone has the capacity to become a sage, not everyone will realize that ability.
Mengzi 1A7
King Xuan of Qi asked, “May I hear from you of the actions of the Lord Protectors Huan of Qi and Wen of Jin?”
Mengzi said in response, “The disciples of Zhongni [i.e., Kongzi] did not give accounts of the actions of Huan and Wen. Because of this, they were not passed on to later generations, and I, your servant, have not heard of them. But, if you insist, then may we talk about being a genuine king?”
Xuan said, “What must one’s Virtue be like so that one can become a king?”
Mengzi said, “One cares for the people and becomes a king. This is something no one can stop.”
Xuan said, “Can one such as I care for the peopIe?.”
Mengzi said, “He can.”
Xuan said, “How do you know that I can?”
Mengzi said, “I heard Your attendant Hu He say,
The King was sitting up in his hall. There was an ox being led past below. The King saw it and said, “Where is the ox going?” Someone responded, “We are about to consecrate a bell with its blood.” The King said, “Spare it. I cannot bear its frightened appearance, like an innocent going to the execution ground.” Someone responded, “So should we abandon the consecrating of the bell?” The King said, “How can that be abandoned? Exchange it for a sheep.”
Mengzi continued, “I do not know if this happened.”
Xuan said, “It happened.”
Mengzi said, “This feeling is sufficient to be a king.“ The commoners all thought Your Majesty was being stingy. But I knew that Your Majesty could not bear the frightened appearance of the ox.”
The King said, “That is so. There really were commoners like that. Although Qi is a small state, how could I be stingy about one ox? It was just that I could not bear its frightened appearance, like an innocent going to the execution ground. Hence, I exchanged it for a sheep.”
Mengzi said, “Let Your Majesty not be surprised at the commoners’ taking you to be stingy. You took a small thing and exchanged it for a big thing. How could they understand? If Your Majesty were pained at its being innocent and going to the execution ground, then what is there to choose between an ox and a sheep?”
The King laughed, saying, “What was this feeling really?! It’s not the case that I grudged its value and exchanged it for a sheep. But it makes sense that the commoners would say I was stingy.”
Mengzi said, “There is no harm. This is just the way benevolence works. You saw the ox but had not seen the sheep. As for the relation of gentlemen to birds and beasts, if they see them living, they cannot bear to see them die. If they hear their cries, they cannot bear to eat their flesh. Hence, gentlemen keep their distance from the kitchen.”
The King was pleased and said, “The Odes say, Another person had the heart, But I measured it. This describes you. I was the one who did it. I reflected and sought it out, but did not understand my heart. You spoke, and in my heart there was a feeling of compassion. In what way does this heart accord with being a king?”
Mengzi said, “Suppose there were someone who reported to Your Majesty, saying, ‘My strength is sufficient to lift five hundred pounds, but not sufficient to lift one feather. My eyesight is sufficient to examine the tip of an autumn hair,“ but I cannot see a wagon of firewood.’ Would Your Majesty accept that?”
Xuan said, “No.”
Mengzi said, “In the Present case Your kindness is sufficient to reach birds and beasts, but the benefits do not reach the commoners. Why is this case alone different? Hence, not lifting one feather is due to not using one’s strength. Not seeing a wagon of firewood is due to not using one’s eyesight. The commoners not receiving care is due to not using one’s kindness. Hence, Your Majesty’s not being a genuine king is due to not acting; it is not due to not being able.”
Xuan said, “What is the difference between concrete cases of not doing and not being able?”
Mengzi said, “‘Pick up Mount Tai and leap over the North Sea.’ If you say, ‘I cannot,’ this is truly not being able. ‘Massage the stiff joints of an elderly person.’ If you say, ‘I cannot,’ this is not acting; it is not a case of not being able. So Your Majesty’s not being a king is not in the category of picking up Mount Tai and leaping over the North Sea. Your Majesty’s not being a king is in the category of massaging the stiff joints of an elderly person...
Mengzi 2A6
Mengzi said, “Humans all have hearts that are not unfeeling toward others. The former kings had hearts that were not unfeeling toward others, so they had governments that were not unfeeling toward others. If one puts into practice a government that is not unfeeling toward others by means of a heart that is not unfeeling toward others, bringing order to the whole world is in the palm of your hand.
“The reason why I say that humans all have hearts that are not unfeeling toward others is this. Suppose someone suddenly saw a child about to fall into a well: everyone in such a situation would have a feeling of alarm and compassion—not because one sought to get in good with the child’s parents, not because one wanted fame among their neighbors and friends, and not because one would dislike the sound of the child’s cries.
“From this we can see that if one is without the heart of compassion, one is not a human. If one is without the heart of disdain, one is not a human. If one is without the heart of deference, one is not a human. If one is without the heart of approval and disapproval, one is not a human.
“The heart of compassion is the sprout of benevolence. The heart of disdain is the sprout of righteousness. The heart of deference is the sprout of propriety. The heart of approval and disapproval is the sprout of wisdom. “People having these four sprouts is like their having four limbs. To have these four sprouts but to say of oneself that one is unable to be virtuous is to steal from oneself. To say that one’s ruler is unable to be virtuous is to steal from one’s ruler. In general, having these four sprouts within oneself, if one knows to fill them all out, it will be like a fire starting up, a spring breaking through! If one can merely fill them out, they will be sufficient to care for all within the Four Seas. If one merely fails to fill them out, they will be insufficient to serve one’s parents.”
Mengzi 6A6
Gongduzi said, "Gaozi says, 'Human nature is neither good nor not good.' Some say, 'Human nature can become good, and it can become not good.' Therefore, when Wen and Wu arose, the people were fond of goodness. When You and Li arose, the people were fond of destructiveness. Some say, 'There are natures that are good, and there are natures that are not good.' Therefore, with Yao as ruler, there was Xiang. With the Blind Man as a father, there was Shun. And with Zhou as their nephew, and as their ruler besides, there were Viscount Qi of Wei and Prince Bi Gan. Now, you say that human nature is good. Are all those others, then, wrong?"
Mengzi said, "As for their essence, they can become good. This is what I mean by calling their natures good. As for their becoming not good, this is not the fault of their potential. Humans all have the heart of compassion. Humans all have the heart of disdain. Humans all have the heart of respect. Humans all have the heart of approval and disapproval. The heart of compassion is benevolence. The heart of disdain is righteousness. The heart of respect is propriety. The heart of approval and disapproval is wisdom. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are not welded to us externally. We inherently have them. It is simply that we do not reflect upon them. Hence, it is said, “Seek it and you will get it. Abandon it and you will lose it.’...
Mengzi 6A7
Mengzi said, “In years of plenty, most young men are gentle; in years of poverty, most young men are cruel. It is not that the potential that Heaven confers on them varies like this. They are like this because of that by which their hearts are sunk and drowned.
“Consider barley. Sow the seeds and cover them. The soil is the same and the time of planting is also the same. They grow rapidly, and by the time of the summer solstice they have all ripened. Although there are some differences, these are due to the richness of the soil, and to unevenness in the rain and in human effort. Hence, in general, things of the same kind are all similar. Why would one have any doubt about this when it comes to humans alone? We and the sage are of the same kind. Hence, Longzi said, ‘When one makes a shoe for a foot one has not seen, we know that one will not make a basket.’ The similarity of all the shoes in the world is due to the fact that the feet of the world are the same.
“Mouths have the same preferences in flavors. Yi Ya was the first to discover that which our mouths prefer. If it were the case that the natures of mouths regarding flavors varied among people—just as dogs and horses are different species from us—then why is it that throughout the world all preferences follow Yi Ya in flavors? The fact that, when it comes to flavors, the whole world looks to Yi Ya is due to the fact that mouths throughout the world are similar.
“Ears are like this too. When it comes to sounds, the whole world looks to Shi Kuang. This is due to the fact that ears throughout the world are similar. Eyes are like this too. When it comes to a handsome man like Zidu, no one in the world does not appreciate his beauty. Anyone who does not appreciate the beauty of Zidu has no eyes. Hence, I say that mouths have the same preferences in flavors, ears have the same preferences in sounds, eyes have the same preferences in attractiveness. When it comes to hearts, are they alone without preferences in common?”
“What is it that hearts prefer in common? I say that it is fine patterns and righteousness. The sages first discovered what our hearts prefer in common. Hence, fine patterns and righteousness delight our hearts like meat delights our mouths.”
Mengzi 6A8
Mengzi said, “The trees of Ox Mountain were once beautiful. But because it bordered on a large state, hatchets and axes besieged it. Could it remain verdant? Due to the rest it got during the day or night, and the moisture of rain and dew, it was not that there were no sprouts or shoots growing there. But oxen and sheep then came and grazed on them. Hence, it was as if it were barren. People, seeing it barren, believed that there had never been any timber there. Could this be the nature of the mountain?!
“When we consider what is present in people, could they truly lack the hearts of benevolence and righteousness?!“ That by which they discard their good heart is simply like the hatchets and axes in relation to the trees. With them besieging it day by day, can it remain beautiful? With the rest it gets during the day or night, and the restorative effects of the morning qi 氣 [vital energy], their likes and dislikes are sometimes close to those of others. But then what they do during the day again fetters and destroys it. If the fettering is repeated, then the evening qi is insufficient to preserve it. If the evening qi is insufficient to preserve it, then one is not far from a bird or beast. Others see that he is a bird or beast, and think that there was never any capacity there. Is this what a human truly is?!
“Hence, if it merely gets nourishment, there is nothing that will not grow. If it merely loses its nourishment, there is nothing that will not vanish. Kongzi said, ‘Grasped then preserved; abandoned then lost. Its goings and comings have no fixed time. No one knows its home.’ Was it not the heart of which he spoke?”
SOURCE: Van Norden, B. W. (2005). Mengzi. In P. J. Ivanhoe & B. W. Van Norden (Eds.), Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (2nd ed., pp. 115–159). Hackett Publishing.