).14 In other words, to be Genuine is to realize fully one’s own good potential. Once one has done this, one will hate what is bad and love what is good “like hating a hateful smell or loving a lovely sight” (Greater Learning, Commentary 6).]Much of this book consists of short passages discussing the connection between benevolence and government, but there are also several chapters concerning personal ethical cultivation. Among the most interesting and often-discussed passages in the book are 4A10, 4A17, and 4A27.
[1.1] Mengzi said, “Even the clear vision of Li Lou and the skillfulness of artisan Gongshuzi will not be able to draw a perfect square or circle if they are not used along with a compass and carpenter’s square. Even the hearing of Music Teacher Kuang will not be able to set the five notes if it is not used along with the six pitch pipes. Even the Way of Yao and Shun will not be able to pacify and rule the world if it is not used along with benevolent government. [Personal virtue is necessary for good government but not sufficient. One must combine it with the right institutions and policies. Mengzi discusses these in a number of passages, including 3A3.]
[1.2] “Suppose there are some who have benevolent hearts and benevolent reputations, but the people do not receive their kindness, and they cannot be a model for later generations. This is because they do not put into effect the Way of the Former Kings. [Fan Zuyu noted that King Xuan of Qi showed a benevolent heart in sparing an ox being led to slaughter (1A7.4–5), yet his state was not well-ruled, because he did not put into effect the specific policy recommendations that Mengzi gave [1.3] him (1A7.20–24).] Hence it is said, ‘Mere goodness is insufficient to govern; mere laws do not put themselves into effect.’ [Zhu Xi observes, “To have the heart but to lack the government, this is called ‘mere goodness.’ To have the government but to lack the heart, this is called [1.4] ‘mere laws.’”] As the Odes say,
No excess, no forgetfulness;
Following the old regulations.1
{89} No one has ever gone wrong by honoring the laws of the Former Kings.
[1.5] “The sages had already done their utmost with their eyes, so they went on to use the compass, carpenter’s square, balance, and ink-line, so that squares, circles, level surfaces, and straight edges could be used endlessly. They had already done their utmost with their ears, so they went on to use the six pitch-pipes, so that the five notes could be set endlessly. They had already done their utmost with the reflection of their hearts, so they went on to use governments that were not [1.6] unfeeling toward others, and benevolence covered the world.2 Hence it is said, ‘To go high, one must climb the hills and mountains; to go low, one must follow the rivers and marshes.’ If one governs but does [1.7] not follow the Way of the Former Kings, can one be called wise? Consequently, it is fitting only for the benevolent to occupy high positions. If those who are not benevolent occupy high positions, they will [1.8] disseminate their evil upon the multitude. If those above lack a Way to assess by, those below will lack laws to abide by. If those at court do not have faith in the Way, those in office will not have faith in their rules. When ‘gentlemen’ violate righteousness, petty people will flaunt [1.9] punishments. If a state like this survives, it is just luck. Hence, it is said, ‘It is not a disaster for a state if its city walls are not complete, or if its soldiers are not numerous. It doesn’t hurt a country if fields have not been cleared for cultivation, or if there is not much wealth. But if those above lack propriety, and those below have not learned, then thieves will arise, [1.10] on the eve of the state’s demise.’ The Odes say,
When Heaven is about to overturn something,
One should not be behindhand.3
[1.11] ‘To be behindhand’ is to be lax. [Mengzi cites the ode to illustrate the fact that the situation in his era is dire and requires resolute action.] [1.12] Serving one’s ruler without righteousness, taking and leaving office without propriety, and slandering the Way of the Former Kings in [1.13] discussion—this is being lax. Hence, it is said, ‘To be demanding of one’s ruler is what is called being respectful. To display what is good and inhibit what is bad is what is called being reverent. To say My ruler is incapable is what is called being a thief.’” [Fan Zuyu said, “The highest {90} honor ministers can give a ruler is to demand challenging things of him, to make their ruler become like Yao or Shun. The height of reverence for one’s ruler is to display the Way of goodness in order to inhibit the ruler’s bad heart, only fearing lest one’s ruler sink into excess. The ultimate of stealing from and harming one’s ruler is to fail to inform him about the Way of goodness because one says that he is unable to put it into effect.”]
[2.1] Mengzi said, “The compass and the carpenter’s square are the ultimate for circles and squares. Likewise, the sages are the ultimate for human [2.2] roles.4 If one desires to be a ruler, fathom the Way of a ruler. If one desires to be a minister, fathom the Way of a minister. In both cases, one should simply model oneself on Yao and Shun. One who does not serve one’s ruler in the manner that Shun served Yao does not revere one’s ruler. One who does not rule the people in the manner that Yao ruled [2.3] the people steals from his people. Kongzi said, ‘There are two Ways: [2.4] benevolence and nonbenevolence. That is all.’ If the cruelty to one’s people is extreme, then one will be assassinated and one’s state will be destroyed. If it is not extreme, then one will be endangered and one’s state will suffer losses. One will be named like the ‘Dark’ Tyrant You and the ‘Ferocious’ Tyrant Li. Although they may have filial sons and kind grandsons, their reputations cannot be changed even after a hundred [2.5] generations. The Odes say,
Shang need not observe far,
Just to the descendants of the Xia.5
This expresses it.” [Although Yu (founder of the Xia dynasty) was a sage, his descendants (like Tyrant Jie) became evil, serving as a warning to the Shang and later dynasties of what to avoid.]
[3.1] Mengzi said, “The Three Dynasties got the world through being benevolent. They lost the world through not being benevolent. [The virtuous founders of the “Three Dynasties” (the Xia, Shang, and Zhou) got the rulership of the world through being benevolent, while the evil last [3.2] rulers of each dynasty lost it through not being benevolent.] The states of the various lords decay or thrive, survive or perish in the same manner. [3.3] If the Son of Heaven is not benevolent, he does not care for all {91} within the Four Seas. If the various lords are not benevolent, they do not care for the altars to the soil and grain. If the counselors are not benevolent, they do not care for the ancestral temples. If the nobles and commoners are not benevolent, they will not preserve their own four limbs. [The “altars to the soil and grain” stand for the well-being of the whole state, and the “ancestral temples” symbolize the well-being of one’s clan.]
[3.4] “To hate death and destruction yet to delight in not being benevolent is like hating drunkenness yet fortifying the ale.”
[4.1] Mengzi said, “If one loves others and they are not affectionate to oneself, one should examine one’s own benevolence. If one rules over others and they are unruly, one should examine one’s own wisdom. If one treats others with propriety and they do not respond, one should [4.2] examine one’s own reverence. If in one’s actions one does not succeed, one should always seek for it in oneself. If one is proper oneself, the [4.3] world will turn to him.6 The Odes say,
As long as one’s doctrines accord with the Mandate
One is seeking much good fortune for oneself.”7
[5.1] Mengzi said, “People have a common saying: ‘The world, the state, the family.’ The root of the world lies in the state; the root of the state lies in the family; the root of the family lies in oneself.” [This is similar to the view expressed in the Greater Learning, which says, “Those of antiquity who wished that all people throughout the empire would let their inborn luminous Virtue shine forth put governing their states well first; wishing to govern their states well, they first established harmony in their households; wishing to establish harmony in their households, they first cultivated themselves.”8]
[6.1] Mengzi said, “Governing is not difficult. Do not commit any offenses against the great houses of one’s state. He to whom the great houses defer, the whole state will defer. He to whom the whole state defers, the world will defer. Hence, like a wave, his Virtuous teachings will {92} spread out to the Four Seas.” [“The great houses” means the influential families that have produced generations of ministers. (Cf. 1B7.)]
[7.1] Mengzi said, “When the world has the Way, those with lesser Virtue are servants to those with greater Virtue, and the lesser worthies are servants to the greater worthies. When the world lacks the Way, the smaller are servants to the larger, and the weaker are servants to the stronger. Both courses of action are due to Heaven. Those who follow Heaven survive. Those who oppose Heaven perish. [It is a better situation when those with lesser Virtue serve those with greater Virtue, but in a disordered and chaotic world (one that “lacks the Way”), it is prudent for the less powerful to serve the more powerful. Hence, as Zhu Xi explains, “Heaven” here refers to “what should happen because of the Pattern of [7.2] the situation.”] Duke Jing of Qi said, ‘Someone who can neither command nor take orders is cut off.’ He then tearfully gave his daughter in marriage to a leader of the Wu people. [Zhu Xi explains, “Wu was a barbarian state. Duke Jing was ashamed to marry his family into them, but he was intimidated by their strength. Hence, he cried and gave his [7.3] daughter to them.”] Presently, small states take great states as their teachers and are ashamed to take orders from them. This is like [7.4] disciples being ashamed to take orders from their teachers. If they are ashamed of it, there is nothing better than taking King Wen as their teacher. If they took King Wen as their teacher, a great state in five years, or a small state in seven years, would govern the world. [King Wen was initially less powerful than Tyrant Zhou, but because of his Virtue, King Wen amassed a large group of followers. Throughout his reign, whether powerful or not, he served Tyrant Zhou. Zhu Xi notes that Mengzi is here appealing to the “heart of shame” (2A6, 6A6) of rulers in order to encourage [7.5] them to cultivate their Virtue.] The Odes say,
The descendants of the Shang
Were myriad in number.
But the Lord on High had already mandated
That they submit to the Zhou alone,
So they submitted to the Zhou alone.
The Mandate of Heaven is not constant.
So the discerning ministers of the Shang
Assisted the Zhou with the libations in the capital.9
{93} Kongzi commented on this ode, ‘Even multitudes of people are no match for benevolence. If the ruler of a state is fond of benevolence, he [7.6] has no match in the world.’ Presently, those who desire to have no match in the world do so without using benevolence. This is like holding something hot without dowsing one’s hands. But as the Odes say,
Who is able to hold something hot
Oh, without dowsing your hands?”10
[8.1] Mengzi said, “Can one have a discussion with those who are not benevolent? They regard the dangerous as safe and the disastrous as profitable. They delight in that by which they perish. If one conspires with those who are not benevolent, then what stands in the way of the state [8.2] perishing and the clan being overcome? There was a child who sang,
When the waters of Clearspring are clear, oh,
They can clean the strap of my hat.
When the waters of Clearspring are turbid, oh,
They can clean my feet.
[8.3] Kongzi said, ‘Listen to him, my disciples! If it’s clear then clean the strap of your hat. If it’s turbid then clean your feet. Either way, you bring it upon yourself.’ [In other words, take advantage of situations where you can work with other virtuous people, but avoid being drawn into [8.4] situations that will compromise your virtue or your life.] So a person must bring shame upon himself, and only then will others bring shame upon him. A family must give itself a bad reputation, and only then will others give it a bad reputation. A state must attack itself, and only then [8.5] will others attack it. The ‘Tai Jia’ says, ‘Disasters Heaven-sent can still be escaped; disasters self-made one cannot survive.’11 This expresses it.” [Zhu Xi comments, “This chapter means that if one’s heart is preserved, then one can see the line between success and loss. If it is not preserved, then one cannot distinguish between obvious survival and perishing. Misfortune and good fortune are both things that one brings upon oneself.”]
{94} [9.1] Mengzi said, “Tyrant Jie and Tyrant Zhou lost the world because they lost the people. Losing the people is due to losing their hearts. There is a Way for getting the world: if you get the people, you will then get the world. There is a Way for getting the people: if you get their hearts, you will then get the people. There is a Way for getting their hearts: that which you desire, share with them in accumulating, and that which you [9.2] dislike, do not inflict on them.12 People turn toward benevolence like [9.3] water flowing downward or animals running toward the wilds. On the other hand, otters drive fish into the depths. Hawks drive sparrows into the thick bushes. So Tyrant Jie and Tyrant Zhou drove the people toward [9.4] Tang and Wu. At the present time, if there were a ruler in the world who was fond of benevolence, then the various lords would all be driven toward him. Even if he did not wish to become King, he [9.5] would be unable to stop it. Those today who desire to become King are like people who have been ill for seven years and seek three-year moxa. If they don’t start preparing it, they won’t get it before the end of their lives. If one does not set one’s will upon benevolence, to the end of one’s life one will have worries and shame, until one sinks into death and destruction. [Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medical practice, still used today, in which herbal remedies are burned slowly while on the surface of the skin. Some kinds of moxa must be dried and aged to reach full potency. Just as this remedy takes a long time to prepare, [9.6] so does achieving benevolent government.] The Odes say,
How can people who act like that be good?
They just lead each other to drown.13
This expresses it.”
[10.1] Mengzi said, “One cannot have a discussion with those who are destroying themselves. One cannot work with those who throw themselves away. Those whose words slander propriety and righteousness are whom I mean by ‘those who are destroying themselves.’ Those who say, ‘I myself am unable to dwell in benevolence and follow righteousness’ are whom I mean by ‘those who throw themselves away.’ [Zhu Xi comments, “Those who are destroying themselves do not know that {95} propriety and righteousness are fine things, so they slander them. Even if one has a discussion with them, they will never have faith. Those who throw themselves away know that benevolence and righteousness are fine things, but they sink into sloth. They say of themselves that they are definitely unable to act. If one takes action with them, one will definitely [10.2] be unable to encourage them to strive.”] Benevolence is people’s peaceful abode. Righteousness is people’s proper path. How sad it is [10.3] when people vacate their peaceful abode and do not dwell in it, or set aside their proper path and do not follow it!” [This is an important passage, because it sketches Mengzi’s account of moral failure. (See also 6A15 and 7B37.)]
[11.1] Mengzi said, “The Way lies in what is near, but people seek it in what is distant; one’s task lies in what is easy, but people seek it in what is difficult. If everyone would treat their parents as parents and their elders as elders, the world would be at peace.” [A simple yet profound saying! (Cf. 6B2.5.)]
[12.1] Mengzi said, “If one occupies a subordinate position but does not have the confidence of one’s superiors, one cannot bring order to the people. There is a Way for gaining the confidence of one’s superiors. If one does not have the faith of one’s friends, one will not have the confidence of one’s superiors. There is a Way for getting the faith of one’s friends. If one serves one’s parents but they are not happy, one will not have the faith of one’s friends. There is a Way for making one’s parents happy. If one examines oneself and one is not Genuine, one’s parents will not be happy. There is a Way for making oneself Genuine. If one is not enlightened about goodness, one will not make oneself Genuine. [12.2] For this reason, Genuineness is Heaven’s Way. Reflecting upon [12.3] Genuineness is the human Way. There has never been a case of one reaching the ultimate of Genuineness yet not inspiring others. There has never been a case of one not being Genuine yet being able to inspire others.” [The Mean 25 states that “To be Genuine is to make oneself complete” ().14 In other words, to be Genuine is to realize fully one’s own good potential. Once one has done this, one will hate what is bad and love what is good “like hating a hateful smell or loving a lovely sight” (Greater Learning, Commentary 6).]
{96} [13.1] Mengzi said, “Bo Yi fled Tyrant Zhou and lived on the coast of the Northern Sea. When he heard that King Wen had arisen, he got up and said, ‘Why don’t I go to him? I have heard that Wen cares for the aged well.’ Taigong fled Tyrant Zhou and lived on the coast of the Eastern Sea. When he heard that King Wen had arisen, he got up and said, ‘Why don’t I go to him? I have heard that Wen cares for the aged well.’ [Taigong was a humble fisherman who became an important minister to [13.2] Kings Wen and Wu. On Bo Yi, see 5B1.] These two were among the great elders of the world, and they turned toward him. This was a case of the ‘fathers’ of the world turning to him. With the ‘fathers’ of the [13.3] world turning to him, where will their ‘sons’ go? If some among the various lords put into effect the government of King Wen, within seven years they would definitely govern the world.”
[14.1] Mengzi said, “Kongzi’s disciple Ran Qiu was Chief Steward of the Ji clan. He was unable to change their character, and appropriated double what taxes had been previously. Kongzi said, ‘Ran Qiu is no disciple of mine. If you disciples were to sound the drums and attack him, I would not disapprove.” [The Ji were one of the families that had usurped power in Kongzi’s state of Lu. (See 11.17 for the quotation from [14.2] Kongzi.)] From this we can see that Kongzi rejected those who enrich the rulers who do not put into effect benevolent government. How much more would he reject those who encourage war? To wage war to fight for land is to kill people till they fill the fields. To wage war to fight for cities is to kill people till they fill the cities. This is what is meant by ‘leading the land to eat the flesh of people.’ This is a crime even death [14.3] cannot atone for. Hence, those who are good at war deserve the greatest punishment. Those who make strategic alliances among the assorted lords come next. Those who clear the fields and order forced labor on the lands come after them.” [Zhu Xi suggests that Sunzi (author of The Art of War) is an example of “those good at war.” “Those who make strategic alliances” include advocates of realpolitik such as Su Qin and Zhang Yi, ministers on opposing sides of the pro-Qin and anti-Qin military alliances. (These were the primary strategic alliances of the Warring States period.) “Those who clear the fields” include Legalist thinkers like Shang Yang, who destroy the traditional farming communities.15]
{97} [15.1] Mengzi said, “Of what is present within a person, nothing is more genuine than the pupils of the eyes. The pupils cannot hide one’s evil. If, in one’s bosom, one is upright, the pupils will be bright. If, in one’s [15.2] bosom, one is not upright, the pupils will be shady. If one listens to people’s discussions and looks at their pupils, how can they hide?” [This reflects the belief, common to Confucianism and other traditions that emphasize the virtues, that a wise person can “read” a person’s true character from his demeanor. (See also 1A6 and 7B11.)]
[16.1] Mengzi said, “Those who are respectful do not humiliate others. Those who are frugal do not steal from others. A ruler who humiliates and steals is worried only that his subjects may not be agreeable with him. How could they become respectful or frugal? How can respectfulness and frugality come to be from fawning voices and servile expressions?”
[17.1] Mengzi debated Chunyu Kun, who asked, “Does ritual require that men and women not touch when handing something to one another?”
Mengzi replied, “That is the ritual.”
Chunyu Kun then asked, “If your sister-in-law were drowning, would you pull her out with your hand?”
Mengzi replied, “Only a beast would not pull out his sister-in-law if she were drowning. It is the ritual that men and women should not touch when handing something to one another, but if your sister-in-law is drowning, to pull her out with your hand is a matter of discretion.” [“Discretion” is literally “weighing,” as on a scale. This passage makes clear that there are certain standard ethical requirements that can be suspended in exigent circumstances. But only the wise person knows the difference between exercising discretion and compromising righteousness. A modern analogy to the situation Mengzi describes is this: a prudent professor will avoid even casual physical contact with students, but this would hardly inhibit him or her from performing CPR if it were needed. (See 4A26, 4B29, 4B31, and 6B1 for additional discussions. And see 6B6 on Chunyu Kun.)]
[17.2] Chunyu Kun continued, “Currently, the world is drowning! Why is it that you do not pull it out?” [Chunyu Kun is suggesting that, in the current era, one must abandon the prohibitions demanded by Confucian ritual and righteousness.]
[17.3] Mengzi replied, “When the world is drowning, one pulls it out with the Way; when one’s sister-in-law is drowning, one pulls her out with {98} one’s hand. How could I save the world with my hand?” [Zhu Xi paraphrases Mengzi’s point as, “You want me to save the world, but you want to make me bend the Way in order to get along with people. This is to lose at the start the tool that you use to save it” (cf. 3B1).]
[18.1] Mengzi’s disciple Gongsun Chou asked, “Why do gentlemen not instruct their sons themselves?”
[18.2] Mengzi replied, “It would not work because of the circumstances. In order to instruct, you must correct what someone does. If the correction does not work, one must follow it up with reprimands. If one follows it up with reprimands, then it will hurt the feelings of the son, who will say, ‘My father instructs me by correcting me. But my father is not always correct himself.’ Then father and son will hurt the feelings of each other. For fathers and sons to hurt each other is quite bad.
[18.3–18.4] “So the ancients instructed each other’s sons. Fathers and sons did not demand goodness of one another. If the one demands goodness of the other, then they will become estranged. There is nothing more inauspicious than for them to become estranged.” [To “demand goodness” is to be uncompromising in one’s expectations. As Mengzi states in 4B30.3–4, one demands goodness of friends, not one’s father or son. This does not mean that a father ignores his son’s faults, though. As Wang Mian said, “How should a father be toward his son? When he is not righteous, let him simply warn him.”]
[19.1] Mengzi said, “What is the greatest service? Serving one’s parents is the greatest. What is the greatest thing one preserves? Preserving one’s self is the greatest. I have heard of being able to serve one’s parents without losing one’s self. But I have never heard of losing one’s self yet still being able to serve one’s parents. [Zhu Xi explains that “To preserve one’s self is to not allow it to sink into unrighteousness. As soon as one loses one’s self, one has corrupted one’s substance and disgraced one’s parents. Even if one sacrifices three animals a day to care for them, it [19.2] won’t be sufficient to be filial.”] Who does not serve someone? Serving one’s parents is the root of all service. Who does not preserve something? Preserving one’s self is the root of all preservation. [Zhu Xi comments, “If one serves one’s parents with filiality, then one’s devotion can be transferred to one’s ruler, and one’s agreeableness can be transferred to one’s elders. If one’s self is correct, then one’s family will be {99} ordered, one’s state will be well-ruled, and the world will be at peace” (paraphrasing the Greater Learning, Classic).16]
[19.3] “Kongzi’s disciple Zengzi took care of his father, Zeng Xi. He would always give him meat and ale, and when he was about to clear the table, Zengzi would ask to whom the leftovers should be given. When Zeng Xi asked him whether there were any leftovers, he would always say, ‘There are.’ After Zeng Xi died, Zengzi was cared for by his son, Zeng Yuan. He would always give him meat and ale, but when he was about to clear the table, he did not ask to whom the leftovers should be given. If Zengzi asked him whether there were any leftovers, he would say, ‘They are completely gone,’ planning on serving the leftovers to his father later. This is what is meant by ‘caring merely for their mouth and limbs.’ Someone like Zengzi can be said to have [19.4] satisfied his father’s wishes. To serve one’s parents as Zengzi did—only that is really acceptable.”17
[20.1] Mengzi said, “The people in office are not even worth censuring; the government is not even worth condemning. Only a great person is able to get past what is wrong in the ruler’s heart. If a ruler is benevolent, no one will fail to be benevolent. If a ruler is righteous, no one will fail to be righteous. If a ruler is correct, no one will fail to be correct. As soon as one makes the ruler correct, the state will be settled.” [Cheng Yi said, “Formerly, Mengzi thrice had an audience with the king of Qi without discussing government affairs. His disciples were puzzled about this. Mengzi said, ‘I first must attack his evil heart.’ When his heart is correct, only then can the affairs of the world be made to follow the Pattern.”]
[21.1] Mengzi said, “There is unwarranted praise, and there is slander that comes from seeking to maintain integrity.” [Lu Dalin said, “Praise and slander are not necessarily grounded in what is actual. Because of this, those who cultivate themselves should not easily become offended or pleased.”]
[22.1] Mengzi said, “People easily switch their side in discussions only because they have never been held responsible.”
{100} [23.1] Mengzi said, “It is a calamity for someone to be fond of being a teacher to others.” [George Savile made a similar point: “The Vanity of teaching often tempteth a Man to forget he is a Blockhead.”18]
[24.1] Mengzi’s disciple Yuezhengzi joined the retinue of Wang Huan in going [24.2] to Qi.19 After he arrived, Yuezhengzi came to see Mengzi, who said, “So you are finally coming to see me?”
Yuezhengzi replied, “How can you say such a thing, Master?”
Mengzi asked, “How many days has it been since you arrived?”
Yuezhengzi replied, “It was yesterday.”
Mengzi said, “Yes, you arrived yesterday. That is why I spoke those words. Were they not appropriate?”
Yuezhengzi said, “But my lodgings were not yet set up.”
Mengzi said, “Have you ever heard that one should go to see one’s elders only after one’s lodgings are set up?”
[24.3] Yuezhengzi said, “I am in the wrong.” [Chen Yang said, “Yuezhengzi definitely is in the wrong. But if he were not fond of goodness and did not have firm faith in it, would he be able to be courageous in accepting responsibility like this?”]
[25.1] Mengzi said to Yuezhengzi, “You only joined the retinue of Wang Huan for the sake of getting food and drink. I did not think that you had learned the Way of the ancients for the sake of food and drink.”
[26.1] Mengzi said, “Among the three unfilial things, to have no posterity is the worst. [Zhao Qi said, “According to ritual there are three actions that are said to be unfilial. Flattering and tempting one’s parents to do what is not righteous is one. When one’s household is poor and one’s parents are old, to not take a job for a salary is a second one. To not take a wife and have no children, cutting off the sacrifices to one’s ancestors, [26.2] is a third. Among these three, to have no posterity is the worst.”] Shun’s taking a wife without informing his parents was in order to avoid having no posterity. Gentlemen regard it as if he had informed them.” [For Shun’s actions, see 5A2. Zhu Xi comments, “To inform them is ritual. Not informing them is discretion…. In general, to use discretion {101} and hit the mean is no different from the correct standard.” Fan Zuyu said, “In the universal Way, there is the standard and the discretionary (4A17). The standard is what is constant for myriad generations. The discretionary is what is applicable for one time. The constant Way everyone can maintain. The discretionary cannot be used unless it embodies the Way. In general, the discretionary emerges from exigency. If the father is not the Blind Man (Shun’s father), and if the son is not the great Shun, yet he desires to take a wife without informing his parents, then he is guilty anywhere in the world.”]
[27.1] Mengzi said, “The core of benevolence is serving one’s parents. The core of righteousness is obeying one’s elder brother. The [27.2] core of wisdom is knowing these two and not abandoning them. The core of ritual propriety is the adornment of these two. The core of music is to delight in these two.
“If one delights in them, then they grow. If they grow, then how can they be stopped? If they cannot be stopped, then one does not notice one’s feet dancing to them, one’s hands swaying to them.” [Mengzi holds that humans innately have incipient dispositions toward virtue. Benevolence is manifested in such things as spontaneous acts or feelings of compassion (1A7.4, 2A6), and love of one’s parents (here and 7A15). Righteousness is manifested in disdain to do shameful things (6A10), and respect or deference to elders (here and 7A15). But these incipient feelings have to be cultivated so that they “grow” or “extend” (1A7.12) to all relevantly similar situations. This passage suggests that part of what helps this growth is delighting in the manifestations of the sprouts, instead of denying that one has them or condemning them (4A10).
Wisdom is here presented as a “meta-virtue,” which consists in the proper understanding of and commitment to benevolence and righteousness (see also 5A9 and 5B1.7 on wisdom). It is not clear whether “ritual” here refers to ritual actions (i.e., the rites) or propriety as a disposition (i.e., the virtue). (The character is the same, and I hedged by translating it as “ritual propriety.”) However, the fact that “ritual” is paired with music and described as an “adornment” to benevolence and righteousness suggests that Mengzi is here thinking of ritual actions.]
[28.1] Mengzi said, “Only Shun could have the world delight in and turn toward him, yet look upon this as if it were straw. When he could not please his parents, he considered himself a failure as a human. When he {102} could not get along with his parents, he considered himself a failure as [28.2] a son. Shun fathomed the Way of serving one’s parents, and his father, the ‘Blind Man,’ became pleased. The Blind Man was pleased, and the world was transformed. The Blind Man was pleased, and in the world the roles of father and son were settled. This is what is called great filiality.” [On Shun’s problems with his family, see 5A1–4. Zhu Xi comments that, because of Shun, “All the sons in the world will know that there are no parents in the world whom one cannot serve. They will say to themselves, ‘The manner in which I serve them is simply not as good as Shun’s.’ Consequently, all will be encouraged to be filial until their parents are also pleased. Then the fathers of the world will also never fail to be kind.”
From the perspective of our culture, Mengzi’s emphasis on filial obedience seems extreme. But Liao Weng expressed what is at stake here: “Only if it is like this will the roles of fathers and sons be settled. When ministers assassinate their rulers, and sons assassinate their fathers, it often begins with their seeing what is not right in them.”]
_____________________________
1 Mao no. 249.
2 On “reflection,” see also 6A6.
3 Mao no. 254.
4 On the “human roles,” see 3A4.8.
5 Mao no. 255.
6 Compare this and the preceding chapter to 2A4.
7 Mao. no. 235. On the “Mandate,” see 5A5.4.
8 Translation by Gardner, The Four Books, 4–5, citing Daxue, Classic 4.
9 Mao no. 235. On the “Mandate,” see 5A5.4.
10 Mao no. 257.
11 “Tai Jia,” Part 2, from the Documents of Shang in the Documents (Legge, The Shoo King, vol. 3 of The Chinese Classics, 207).
12 Compare 1B5 and Analects 15.24.
13 Mao no. 257.
14 Cf. Gardner, The Four Books, 126.
15 On Legalism, see Graham, Disputes of the Tao, 267–92, and Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China, 321–49.
16 Cf. Gardner, The Four Books, 4–5.
17 On Zengzi’s filiality, see also 7B36.
18 George Savile, The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax. Walter Raleigh, ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1912), 240.
19 For more on Yuezhengzi, see 1B16 (see also 4A25, 6B13, and 7B25). Mengzi’s disapproval of Wang Huan is noted in 2B6 (see also 4A25 and 4B27).