This book consists primarily of brief aphorisms, reminiscent in style of the Analects. Among the most interesting and often-discussed passages in this book are 7A1, 7A4, 7A15, 7A17, 7A26, 7A35, and 7A45.
[1.1] Mengzi said, “To fully fathom one’s heart is to understand one’s nature. [1.2] To understand one’s nature is to understand Heaven. To preserve one’s [1.3] heart and nourish one’s nature is the way to serve Heaven. To not become conflicted over the length of one’s life but to cultivate oneself and await one’s fate is the way to take one’s stand on fate.” [This passage links Mengzi’s moral psychology to his cosmology. It suggests that the heart (the seat of our “feelings”) is a manifestation of our nature, which is implanted in us by Heaven (cf. 6A6). Heaven is also responsible for fate (2B13, 5A6.2, 7A2). This suggests a relationship between three distinct entities, but Cheng Yi said, “The heart, the nature, and Heaven are all the one Pattern. However, if one discusses it from the perspective of the Pattern, one calls it ‘Heaven.’ If one discusses it from the perspective of the endowment that we receive, one calls it our ‘nature.’ If one discusses it from the perspective of what is preserved in a person, one calls it the ‘heart.’” Similarly, Zhang Zai wrote, “Arising from the Great Vacuity, there comes the name ‘Heaven.’ Arising from the transformation of the qi, there comes the name ‘Way.’ From the harmony of the Vacuity and the qi comes the name ‘nature.’ From the harmony of the nature and awareness comes the name ‘heart.’” The School of the Way interpretation is thus a sort of moderate monism.]
[2.1] Mengzi said, “Everything is fate. But one only accepts one’s proper fate. [2.2] For this reason, someone who understands fate does not stand beneath [2.3] a crumbling wall. To die through fathoming the Way is one’s proper [2.4] fate. To die as a criminal is not one’s proper fate.” [As Zhu Xi explains, only what is beyond human control is one’s “proper fate.” Hence, acceptance of fate is not an excuse for giving up or wrongdoing. (See also {172} 2B13.) This passage may be a response to the Mohist accusation that Confucians promote a disabling fatalism.1]
[3.1] Mengzi said, “‘Seek it and you will get it. Abandon it and you will lose it.’ In this case, seeking helps in getting, because the seeking is in oneself. [Zhu Xi comments, “‘In oneself’ refers to benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. These are all things our nature has.” (The [3.2] expression quoted in 7A3.1 is also found in 6A6.7.) ‘There is a Way to seek it, but getting it depends on fate.’ In this case, seeking does not help in getting, because the seeking is external.” Zhu Xi comments, “‘External’ refers to wealth, prestige, profit, and success. These are all external things.”]
[4.1] Mengzi said, “The ten thousand things are all brought to completion by us. [Many interpreters follow Zhu Xi in translating this, “The ten thousand things are all complete within us.” However, this interpretation only makes sense if one accepts the metaphysics of the School of the Way. On Zhu Xi’s reading, this chapter “is referring to what the Pattern is fundamentally…. There is not a single aspect of the Pattern that [4.2] is not completely internal to our nature.”] There is no greater delight [4.3] than to turn toward oneself and discover Genuineness. Nothing will get one closer to benevolence than to force oneself to act out of sympathetic understanding.” [On “Genuineness,” see the commentary on 4A12. “Sympathetic understanding” is defined in the Analects as “not inflicting on others what you do not desire yourself” (15.24). Kongzi’s disciple Zengzi suggests that it is one of the two most important aspects of the Confucian Way (4.15).2 Zhu Xi thinks verses 7A4.2 and 3 describe two different states of ethical development: “If one turns toward oneself and is Genuine, one is already benevolent. But if one is not Genuine, there are still selfish thoughts interfering, and the Pattern is not pure. Hence, in all activities one should force oneself to extend (one’s sympathies) to others. When one is close to the general Pattern, benevolence is not far away.”]
{173} [5.1] Mengzi said, “Most people who put it into effect do not realize what it is that they are doing. They do practice it, but without examining it. To the ends of their lives they follow it without understanding the Way.”
[6.1] Mengzi said, “People may not be shameless. The shame of being shameless is shameless indeed!”
[7.1] Mengzi said, “Shame is indeed important for people! [Zhu Xi comments, “‘Shame’ is the feeling of disdain that we have inherently” (2A6, [7.2] 6A6).] Those who are crafty in their contrivances and schemes have no use for shame. If one is not ashamed of not being as good as others, [7.3] how will one ever be as good as others?”
[8.1] Mengzi said, “The worthy Kings of ancient times were fond of goodness and forgot about status. How could the worthy nobles of ancient times be any different? They delighted in the Way and forgot about the status of people. Hence, unless Kings and dukes extended reverence and the utmost ritual, they could not meet with nobles regularly. If they could not meet with them regularly, how much less could they make ministers of them?”
[9.1] Mengzi said to a certain Song Goujian, “Are you fond of traveling to [9.2] offer your advice to rulers? I shall tell you about such traveling. Whether people appreciate you or not, be self-assured.”
[9.3] Song Goujian asked, “How can one be self-assured?”
Mengzi replied, “You can be self-assured by respecting Virtue and [9.4] delighting in righteousness. Hence, a noble does not lose righteousness even when he is impoverished, and he does not leave the Way when he [9.5] is successful. A noble does not lose righteousness even when he is impoverished, hence he retains himself. He does not leave the Way when [9.6] he is successful, hence the people’s hope is not disappointed. When the ancients achieved their intentions, their kindness was bestowed upon the people. When they did not achieve their intentions, their self-cultivation was evident to all in their era. When impoverished, they made themselves good on their own. When successful, they made the whole world good.”
{174} [10.1] Mengzi said, “The people must await someone like King Wen to be inspired. However, an outstanding person is inspired even if there is no King Wen.”
[11.1] Mengzi said, “If someone had been given the wealth of the Han and Wei families but could still see his own inadequacies, he would be far beyond most people.” [Many contemporary celebrities could learn much from this adage!]
[12.1] Mengzi said, “Follow the Way leading to ease when you put the people to work, and they will not be bitter even though they labor. Follow the Way leading to life when you kill people, and they will not be bitter even if they die.” [In other words, only make the people do public works projects that will ultimately benefit them, and only kill people (via execution or war) when it is necessary to save other lives.]
[13.1] Mengzi said, “Under a Hegemon, the people are lively. But under a [13.2] King, the people are content. Though they die, they are not bitter. They produce benefit but are not ‘used.’ The people daily move toward goodness without realizing what they do.
[13.3] “Similarly, anywhere a gentleman passes through is transformed. He preserves the spiritual. He flows with Heaven above and Earth below. How could anyone call this a ‘petty benefit’?”
[14.1] Mengzi said, “Benevolent teachings do not enter people as deeply as [14.2] the report of benevolent actions. Good regulations do not win over the [14.3] people as well as good instruction. People are in awe of good regulations, but they love good instruction. Good regulations will get material resources from the people, but good instruction will win over the hearts of the people.”
[15.1] Mengzi said, “That which people are capable of without learning is their genuine capability. That which they know without pondering is their genuine knowledge. [Some have interpreted these phrases as “best capability” and “best knowledge.” But here, “genuine” marks the contrast between what is “ingenuous” or “original” as opposed to what is “artificial” or “acquired.” (The same term is used in 4A15, 6A8, and 6A17.) In other words, Mengzi is not suggesting that “learning” and “pondering” are bad or inferior methods of understanding. He is simply {175} claiming that we innately understand some things, and have some [15.2] abilities, without having been taught them.] Among babes in arms there are none that do not know to love their parents. When they grow older, [15.3] there are none that do not know to revere their elder brothers. Treating one’s parents as parents is benevolence. Revering one’s elders is righteousness. There is nothing else to do but extend these to the world.” [This is Mengzi’s philosophy of ethical cultivation in a nutshell. We are born with incipient tendencies toward benevolence and righteousness, which we must “extend” so that they reach all other relevantly similar cases. That is, we must feel compassion not only for our own parents but also for the parents of others. We must revere not only the elders of our family but also the elders of others. (Cf. 1A7.12, 7A17, and 7B31.) The later Confucian Wang Yangming emphasized the phrase “genuine knowledge.” However, for him as for other School of the Way philosophers, it does not refer to an incipient tendency but rather a fully developed faculty of simultaneous ethical insight and motivation.3]
[16.1] Mengzi said, “When he was young and lived deep in the mountain wilds, Shun lived among trees and rocks and traveled with deer and pigs. He differed only slightly from the wild people of the deep mountains. But as soon as he heard one good saying or saw one good deed, it was like a river overflowing its banks, torrential, so that nothing could stop it.” [The use of quickly flowing water as a metaphor of moral growth is common in Mengzi (e.g., 2A2.11–14, 2A6.7).]
[17.1] Mengzi said, “Do not do that which you would not do; do not desire that which you would not desire. Simply be like this.” [Li Yu said, “People all have a heart that will not do certain things and does not desire certain things. But as soon as a selfish thought sprouts, if one is unable to regulate it with propriety and righteousness, then one will frequently do what one ‘would not do’ and desire what one ‘would not desire.’ To examine that heart is what is meant by ‘expanding and filling out’ one’s ‘feeling of disdain’ (2A6). In this case one’s righteousness will be inexhaustible. Hence, he says, ‘Simply be like this.’” (This chapter should be read in light of 7A15 and 7B31.)4]
{176} [18.1] Mengzi said, “Those who have often dealt with difficulties and problems have the intelligence that comes with Virtue and the shrewdness [18.2] that comes with wisdom. Only the minister who must stand alone and the son who has been disinherited can hold onto their hearts in precarious situations and be steady when thinking through calamities. Hence, they succeed.”5
[19.1] Mengzi said, “There are those who are servants to a particular ruler, [19.2] aiming just to make him happy. There are ministers who are happy to [19.3] bring peace to a particular state. There are the people of Heaven who, [19.4] when they succeed, can put things into effect in the whole world. Finally, there are the great people, who make other things correct by making themselves correct.”
[20.1] Mengzi said, “A gentleman takes joy in three things, and being King of [20.2] the world is not one of them. His first joy is that his parents are both [20.3] alive and his siblings have no difficulties. His second joy is that looking up he is not disgraced before Heaven, and looking down he is not [20.4] ashamed before humans. His third joy is getting the assistance of and [20.5] cultivating the brave and talented people of the world. The gentleman takes joy in three things, and being King of the world is not one of them.”
[21.1] Mengzi said, “A gentleman desires a large territory and numerous [21.2] people. But that is not what he takes joy in. A gentleman takes joy in taking his place in the middle of the world and making all the people within the Four Seas settled. But that is not what he regards as his nature. [21.3] It does not add to a gentleman’s nature if he puts great things into effect, nor does it subtract from his nature if he lives in poverty. This is [21.4] because what belongs to him is already settled. A gentleman regards the benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom that are based in his heart as his nature. These are clearly manifest in his life and demeanor. They fill his torso and extend through his four limbs. Though he says nothing, his four limbs express them.”6
[22.1] 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 {177} don’t I go to [22.2] 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.’7 If one plants a mulberry tree beside the wall of every household with five acres, so that the wives can spin silk from the caterpillars, then the elderly will be able to wear silk clothes. If there are five hens and two sows that are allowed to breed, the elderly will be able to eat meat. If a man can plow a field of a hundred acres, a household of eight mouths can have enough food. The [22.3] ‘Western Count,’ as King Wen was then called, was good at caring for the elderly. He regulated the large and small farms, instructed people about planting trees and animal husbandry, and also led the wives and children to care for the elderly. If fifty-year-olds do not wear silk, they will not be comfortable. If seventy-year-olds do not eat meat, they will not feel full. To be neither comfortable nor full is to be ‘chilled and starving.’ It is said, ‘Among the people of King Wen were no elderly who were chilled or hungry.’ This expresses it.”
[23.1] Mengzi said, “If you make the management of their fields easy and their taxes light, the people can be made wealthy. If you keep them fed and only employ them in accordance with propriety, there will be more [23.2] than enough material resources. The people will not live without water and fire. But if you can knock on people’s doors in the evening, asking for some water or hot embers, and not be refused, then there is enough. Similarly, when sages rule the world, they make grain be as plentiful as water and fire. When the people have as much grain as they have water and fire, how can they fail to be benevolent?”8
[24.1] Mengzi said, “When Kongzi ascended its eastern hills, the state of Lu seemed small. When he ascended Mount Tai, the world seemed small. Hence, once one has observed the ocean, it’s hard to regard anything else as a body of water. Once one has traveled through the gates of the [24.2] sages, it is hard to take anything else as a teaching. There is a technique to observing water: one observes where the waves come from. Likewise, when the sun or moon is bright, at least a beam of light must shine through. [Zhu Xi comments, “These comments are discussing the root [24.3] of the Way.”] Flowing water does not advance without filling up {178} everything before it. Likewise, when a gentleman has his will set on the Way, he does not advance until he has achieved success.”9
[25.1] Mengzi said, “If you are earnestly devoted to goodness from the moment [25.2] you wake up in the morning, you are a disciple of Shun. If you are earnestly devoted to profit from the moment you wake up in the [25.3] morning, you are a disciple of Robber Zhi. If you wish to know what separates Shun from Robber Zhi, it is nothing other than the distance between profit and goodness.”10
[26.1] Mengzi said, “Yang Zhu favored being ‘for oneself.’ If plucking out one hair from his body would have benefited the whole world, he would [26.2] not do it. Mozi favored ‘impartial caring.’ If scraping himself bare from head to heels would benefit the whole world, he would do it. [On the philosophies of Mozi and Yang Zhu, see 3B9.9–10 and the [26.3] Introduction, “Mengzi’s Philosophy.”] Zimo held to the middle. Holding to the middle is close to it. But if one holds to the middle without discretion, that is the same as holding to one extreme. [There is no simple formula for determining to what extent we should prioritize the interests of ourselves, our loved ones, and the world at large. In one context, it might be appropriate to abandon one’s ruler to save one’s own life, as Boli Xi did (5A9); in another context, one should be willing to sacrifice one’s life over even a small matter of principle, like the gamekeeper who would not answer a ritually inappropriate summons (5B7.5–6). In one situation, one must take time away from one’s official duties because of familial responsibilities, as Mengzi did when he returned home for his mother’s funeral (2B7); in another situation, one must sacrifice the well-being of one’s family for the greater good, as when Yu ignored his family for years while trying to save the Central States from flooding (3A4.7). So we must use “discretion” (4A17) to [26.4] judge what is appropriate in each situation.] What I dislike about those who hold to one extreme is that they detract from the Way. They elevate one thing and leave aside a hundred others.”
{179} [27.1] Mengzi said, “Those who are starving find their food delicious; those who are parched find their drink delicious. They have no standard for food and drink, because their hunger and thirst injure it. Is it only the mouth and belly that hunger and thirst injure? Human hearts, too, are [27.2] subject to injury. If one can prevent the injury of hunger and thirst from being an injury to one’s heart, then there will be no concern about not being as good as other people.”
[28.1] Mengzi said, “Liuxia Hui would not change where he stood even for the greatest of rulers.”11
[29.1] Mengzi said, “Being effective is like digging a well. Even if you dig down ninety feet, if you stop without reaching the spring, you have given up on the well.”
[30.1] Mengzi said, “Yao and Shun always treated it as their nature. Tang and Wu made themselves into it.12 The Five Hegemons feigned it. [Zhao Qi explained,” ‘Treated it as their nature’ means that their natures were spontaneously fond of benevolence” (Mengzi zhu). Zhu Xi comments, “Tang and Wu cultivated themselves in order to embody the Way.” (Cf. [30.2] 7B33.)] But if one feigns it for a long time without turning back, how can anyone know that they do not have it?” [Zhu Xi suggests that the point of this verse is that those who feign it long enough may successfully deceive most people, or even themselves, about whether they are virtuous. However, another possible interpretation is that if one acts virtuously long enough, one will become virtuous (cf. 6B4).]
[31.1] Mengzi’s disciple Gongsun Chou asked, “Prime Minister Yi Yin banished his king, Tai Jia, saying, ‘I cannot stand by while he is so intractable.’ The people were greatly pleased by this. When Tai Jia became worthy, he returned him to the throne, and the people were again [31.2] greatly pleased. When a worthy is a minister to a ruler who is not worthy, can he definitely banish him?”
[31.3] Mengzi replied, “If one has the intention of Yi Yin, then one can; but if one lacks the intention of Yi Yin, then it is usurpation.”
{180} [32.1] Gongsun Chou asked, “The Odes say, ‘he does not eat for nothing.’ So why is it that a gentleman eats without plowing?”13
Mengzi replied, “If a gentleman lives in a state and is employed by it, its ruler will find peace, wealth, respect, and glory. If the children and young people of the state follow him, they will be filial, brotherly, devoted, and faithful. Of whom is it more the case that ‘he does not eat for nothing’?”
[33.1] Dian, son of the king of Qi, asked, “What is the task of a noble?”
[33.2] Mengzi replied, “He aims his will high.”
[33.3] Dian asked, “What does it mean to ‘aim one’s will high’?”
Mengzi replied, “Let him simply be benevolent and righteous. To kill one innocent person is to fail to be benevolent. To take something that one is not entitled to is to fail to be righteous. Where does he dwell? Benevolence. Where is his path? Righteousness. If he dwells in benevolence and follows righteousness, the task of a great person is complete.”
[34.1] Mengzi said, “If you offered Zhongzi the state of Qi but it was not righteous to accept it, he would not do so. Everyone has faith in him about this. But this is no more than the righteousness of refusing a basket of grain or a bowl of soup. Nothing is greater for a human than the relations between relatives, ruler, and minister, or superiors and inferiors. How can one have faith in someone’s great achievements on the basis of his petty achievements?” [See 3B10 on Zhongzi and why Mengzi regards him as petty. See 6A10 and 7B11 on refusing some grain or soup.]
[35.1] Mengzi’s disciple Tao Ying asked, “When Shun was Son of Heaven and Gao Yao was his Minister of Crime, if the Blind Man had murdered someone, what would they have done?” [The “Blind Man” was Shun’s father. According to some commentators, he was called this because of his lack of ethical understanding (as illustrated by 5A1–4).]
[35.2] Mengzi said, “Gao Yao would simply have arrested him.”
[35.3] Tao Ying asked, “So Shun would not have forbidden it?”
[35.4] Mengzi said, “How could Shun have forbidden it? Gao Yao had a sanction for his actions.”
{181} [35.5] Tao Ying asked, “So what would Shun have done?”
[35.6] Mengzi said, “Shun looked at casting aside the whole world like casting aside a worn sandal. He would have secretly carried him on his back and fled, to live in the coastland, happy to the end of his days, joyfully forgetting the world.” [Confucian “differentiated love” requires a special commitment to one’s family members (3A5; Analects 13.18). This has the potential to create ethical dilemmas like this hypothetical case. Mengzi’s solution attempts to preserve both Shun’s obligation as a ruler (since he does not interfere with the legitimate actions of his Minister of Crime) and also his obligation to his father (since he resigns and flees to protect him). (Cf. 4B24.)]
[36.1] When traveling from the city of Fan to the capital of Qi, Mengzi happened to see the king’s son at a distance. Sighing, he said, “One’s position alters one’s qi as food alters one’s body.14 How important is one’s [36.2] position! After all, are we not all just someone’s children? The mansion, carriage, and clothes of the king’s son are like those of many other people. What makes the king’s son like that is his position being what it is. How much more so if one dwells in the most grand position in [36.3] the world! When the ruler of Lu went to Song, he called at the gate, and the guard commented, ‘This is not our ruler. So how is it that his voice sounds like that of our ruler?’ This was due simply to the similarity in the position of the rulers.”
[37.1] Mengzi said, “To feed someone without caring for him is to treat him like a pig. To care for someone without respecting him is to treat him like a pet. Respect is something that precedes giving gifts. Empty ‘respect’ without actuality cannot ensnare a gentleman.”
[38.1] Mengzi said, “The body is part of our Heaven-given nature. But only a sage can fulfill this body.”15
[39.1] King Xuan of Qi wanted to shorten the period of mourning. Mengzi’s disciple Gongsun Chou asked, “Isn’t mourning for a year better than stopping completely?”
{182} [39.2] Mengzi replied, “This is as if someone were twisting his elder brother’s arm, and you said to him, ‘How about doing it more gently?’ Simply instruct him in filiality and brotherliness.”
[39.3] One of the imperial sons had a mother who died. His tutor asked on his behalf to let him mourn for a few months. Gongsun Chou asked, “How about this case?” [The son’s mother was a “secondary wife” of the king, and the king’s primary wife opposed letting him mourn for the full three-year period.]
[39.4] Mengzi replied, “In this case, he desires to mourn the full period, but he cannot. Even doing it one extra day would be better than stopping completely. What I had been talking about before was a case in which he did not do it, even though nothing prevented it.”
[40.1] Mengzi said, “There are five means by which a gentleman instructs [40.2] others. There is transforming them like timely rain. [Zhu Xi suggests that this is like what Kongzi did for Zengzi in Analects 4.15. (Zhu Xi interprets this as a case in which Zengzi’s long effort left him poised to achieve enlightenment, and Kongzi said precisely the right thing to make [40.3] him reach the final understanding.)16] There is bringing their Virtue to completion. There is developing their talent. [Zhu Xi suggests that these methods “each instruct someone based upon their strong points.”] [40.4] There is question and answer. [This is what Mengzi often does with his [40.5] disciples Wan Zhang and Gongsun Chou.] There is private cultivation. [This is when one cannot directly study with a gentleman but learns from his teachings and the example he sets. This is how Mengzi says he [40.6] learned from Kongzi (4B22).] These five are the means by which a gentleman instructs.”
[41.1] Mengzi’s disciple Gongsun Chou said, “The Way is certainly lofty and fine! But it seems as if it mounts Heaven itself, so that it cannot be reached. Why not make it so that it can be reached and pursued earnestly every day?”
[41.2] Mengzi replied, “A great carpenter does not warp the plumb-line for the sake of an inept worker. The great Yi did not change how he taught [41.3] to draw the bow for the sake of an inept archer.17 A gentleman draws {183} back the bow, but before he lets the arrow fly, he stands in the middle of the way: let those who are able follow him.”
[42.1] Mengzi said, “When the world has the Way, the Way stays with you to the grave. When the world lacks the Way, you stay with the Way to the grave. [“An intent noble does not forget he may end up in a ditch; a [42.2] courageous noble does not forget he may lose his head” (3B1.2).] But I have never heard of the Way staying with you while you follow others.”
[43.1] Mengzi’s disciple Gongduzi said, “When Prince Geng of Teng attended your school, he seemed to deserve propriety, but you would not even answer his questions. Why is this?”
[43.2] Mengzi replied, “I will not answer those who presume upon their status, those who presume upon their ‘worthiness,’ those who presume upon their age, those who presume upon their achievements, or those who presume upon former acquaintance. I will not answer any such people. Prince Geng was guilty of two of these.”
[44.1] Mengzi said, “One who gives up in one case where one may not give up will give up anything. One who is stingy to those who are deserving will be stingy in everything.
[44.2] “He will move forward too fast and he will move backward too quickly.”
[45.1] Mengzi said, “Gentlemen, in relation to animals, are sparing of them but are not benevolent toward them. In relation to the people, they are benevolent toward them but do not treat them as kin. They treat their kin as kin, and then are benevolent toward the people. They are benevolent toward the people, and then are sparing of animals.” [This is a succinct statement of the Confucian doctrine of “differentiated love” (see the Introduction, “The Confucian Way”). Virtuous people are very compassionate toward all humans, but without the special attachment they feel toward their own kin. They will not indiscriminately harm animals, but their concern for them is significantly less than that for humans. Hence, King Xuan of Qi fails to be a true gentleman, because he shows more compassion to animals than to his own subjects (1A7.4–12). And Mohists fail to be true gentleman, because they are committed to showing equal concern to everyone, regardless of familial relationships (3A5).] {184} [46.1] Mengzi said, “The wise understand everything, but they are most concerned about what is their responsibility. The benevolent love everyone, but they take as their responsibility being concerned about the worthy. The wisdom of Yao and Shun was not universal; they were concerned about what was their primary responsibility. The benevolence of Yao and Shun did not love everyone; they were most concerned [46.2] about the worthy. To be incapable of mourning for three years but to be exacting about insignificant details, to carelessly swill one’s broth but ask about the right style of chewing one’s food—this is what is meant by not understanding one’s responsibility.”
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1 Mozi 35 “A Condemnation of Fatalism”; see Burton Watson, trans., Mo Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963), 117–23.
2 For an argument against Zengzi’s view, see Van Norden, Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy, 72–82.
3 See Ivanhoe, Ethics in the Confucian Tradition, 48–50.
4 On this passage, see also David S. Nivison, “Problems in the Mengzi: 7A17,” in The Ways of Confucianism, 167–73.
5 Cf. 6B15.
6 On this last verse, compare 4A27.2.
7 These lines are a repetition of 4A13.1.
8 Cf. 1A7.20.
9 Cf. 4B18.
10 Cf. 3B10.3. See also the dialogue “Robber Zhi” in Readings, 369–75. Intriguingly, the “Robber Zhi” dialogue is a defense of egoism, and the following passage, 7A26, refers to Yang Zhu, the ethical egoist philosopher.
11 On Liuxia Hui, see 5B1.
12 Cf. 7B33.
13 Mao no. 112. Cf. 3A4.
14 On qi, see 2A2.8–16 and the Introduction, “Mengzi’s Philosophy.’
15 Cf. 7B24.
16 See Van Norden, “Unweaving the ‘One Thread’ of Analects 4.15,” in Confucius and the Analects, ed. Van Norden, 231–32.
17 Cf. 6A20.