Gao Zi I

Gao Zi I

1

Gao zi said: "Human nature is like the willow tree; righteousness is like cups and bowls. To make benevolence and righteousness out of human nature is like making cups and bowls out of the willow tree."

Meng zi said: "Can you make cups and bowls while following the nature of the willow tree? Or will you have to violate and damage the willow tree before you can make cups and bowls from it? If you must violate and damage the willow tree to make cups and bowls, then you must also violate and damage people to make benevolence and righteousness! Those who lead the people of the world to bring disaster upon benevolent and righteous conduct are surely those who speak as you do."

2

Gao zi said: "Human nature is like rushing water. Open it to the east and it flows east; open it to the west and it flows west. Human nature makes no distinction between good and not-good, just as water makes no distinction between east and west."

Meng zi said: "It is true that water makes no distinction between east and west—but does it make no distinction between up and down? The goodness of human nature is like water's tendency to flow downward. There is no person who is not good, just as there is no water that does not flow downward. Now, if you strike water and make it splash up, it can go above your forehead; if you dam it and force it onward, it can be made to flow over a mountain. But is this the nature of water? It is the force of circumstance that makes it so. That a person can be made to do what is not good—this is because his nature is likewise subject to force."

3

Gao zi said: "To be born is what is meant by nature."

Meng zi said: "'To be born is what is meant by nature'—is that like saying 'to be white is what is meant by white'?"

Gao zi said: "Yes."

Meng zi said: "Is the whiteness of white feathers like the whiteness of white snow? And is the whiteness of white snow like the whiteness of white jade?"

Gao zi said: "Yes."

Meng zi said: "Then is the nature of a dog like the nature of an ox, and is the nature of an ox like the nature of a human being?"

4

Gao zi said: "Appetite for food and desire for sex—these are nature. Benevolence is internal, not external. Righteousness is external, not internal."

Meng zi said: "Why do you say that benevolence is internal and righteousness is external?"

Gao zi said: "There is someone who is older, and I treat him as older. It is not as though his being older were something inside me. It is just as when something is white and I call it white—I am responding to its whiteness from the outside. Therefore I call it external."

Meng zi said: "The whiteness of a white horse is no different from the whiteness of a white person. But do you not recognize that our respect for an old horse is no different from our respect for an old person? Moreover, is it the one who is old who is righteous, or is it the one who treats the old with respect who is righteous?"

Gao zi said: "When it is my own younger brother, I love him; when it is the younger brother of a man from Qin, I do not love him. This depends on my own feeling of affection, therefore I call it internal. I treat an old man from Chu as old, and I also treat my own old as old. This depends on the oldness giving rise to the feeling, therefore I call it external."

Meng zi said: "To enjoy the roasted meat of a man from Qin is no different from enjoying my own roasted meat. There are things of which this is also the case. Then is enjoying roasted meat also external?"

5

Meng Ji zi asked Gong Du zi: "Why do you say that righteousness is internal?"

Gong Du zi said: "I carry out my respect, therefore I call it internal."

Meng Ji zi said: "A fellow villager is one year older than your elder brother—whom do you respect?"

Gong Du zi said: "I respect my brother."

Meng Ji zi said: "When pouring wine, whom do you serve first?"

Gong Du zi said: "I serve the villager first."

Meng Ji zi said: "The one you respect is here, the one who is older is there. It is indeed external, not derived from within."

Gong Du zi was unable to answer and reported this to Meng zi.

Meng zi said: "Ask him: 'Do you respect your uncle, or do you respect your younger brother?' He will say, 'I respect my uncle.' Then say: 'If your younger brother is serving as the personator of the dead, whom do you respect?' He will say, 'I respect my younger brother.' Then say: 'Wherein, then, is your respect for your uncle?' He will say, 'It is because of the position he occupies.' You also say: 'It is because of the position he occupies.' Ordinary respect belongs to your elder brother; momentary respect belongs to the villager."

When Ji zi heard this, he said: "When I respect my uncle, it is respect; when I respect my younger brother, it is also respect. It is indeed external, not derived from within."

Gong Du zi said: "In winter one drinks hot soup; in summer one drinks cold water. Then are eating and drinking also external?"

6

Gong Du zi said: "Gao zi says: 'Human nature is neither good nor not-good.' Some say: 'Human nature can be made good, and it can be made not-good. Thus, when Wen and Wu arose, the people loved goodness; when You and Li arose, the people loved violence.' Some say: 'There is such a thing as a nature that is good, and there is such a thing as a nature that is not-good. Thus, with Yao as ruler there was Xiang; with Gu Sou as father there was Shun; with Zhou as nephew and as ruler there was Wei Zi Qi and Prince Bi Gan.' Now you say 'human nature is good'—then are all these views wrong?"

Meng zi said: "As for its innate disposition, it can do good—and this is what I mean by good. As for its doing what is not good, this is not the fault of its native endowment. The heart of compassion is possessed by all people; the heart of shame and dislike is possessed by all people; the heart of reverence and respect is possessed by all people; the heart of right and wrong is possessed by all people. The heart of compassion is benevolence; the heart of shame and dislike is righteousness; the heart of reverence and respect is ritual propriety; the heart of right and wrong is wisdom. Benevolence, righteousness, ritual propriety, and wisdom are not fused into us from outside—we inherently possess them. We simply do not reflect upon them. Therefore it is said: 'Seek and you will find them; abandon and you will lose them.' Those who differ by twofold or fivefold or beyond all calculation are those who are unable to realize their native endowment fully. The Odes say: 'Heaven gave birth to the people; there are things and there are their laws. The people hold to their constant nature, and love this beautiful virtue.' Confucius said: 'He who composed this ode surely understood the Way! Therefore, where there are things, there must be their laws; and because the people hold to their constant nature, they love this beautiful virtue.'"

7

Mencius said: "In good years, the young people are mostly well-behaved; in bad years, the young people are mostly violent. It is not that Heaven endows them with such different natures—it is the conditions that drown and submerge their minds that make them so. Consider barley: you sow it and cover it with soil. The land is the same, the time of planting is the same, and it sprouts and grows. By the time of the summer solstice, it is all ripe. If there are differences, it is because the soil is more or less fertile, the rain and dew nourish unevenly, and human effort is not equal. Thus, all things of the same kind are alike in this way. Why should we single out human beings and doubt this? The sage and I are of the same kind. Therefore, Master Long said: 'If one does not know the foot but makes shoes, I know that he will not make them into baskets.' Shoes are alike because the feet of all under Heaven are alike. As for the mouth and flavors, there is a common taste. Yi Ya was the first to discover what our mouths delight in. If the nature of the mouth with regard to flavors were different from that of other people, as dogs and horses are of a different kind from us, then why would everyone in the world follow Yi Ya in matters of taste? As for flavors, the world looks to Yi Ya—this is because the mouths of all under Heaven are alike. The same is true of the ear: as for sounds, the world looks to Shi Kuang—this is because the ears of all under Heaven are alike. The same is true of the eye: as for Zidu, there is none in the world who does not know his beauty. Those who do not know Zidu's beauty are those without eyes. Therefore it is said: the mouth delights in the same flavors; the ear listens to the same sounds; the eye finds beauty in the same beauty. As for the mind, is it alone without what is the same in all? What is the same in all minds? It is principle and righteousness. The sage was the first to discover what is the same in our minds. Therefore, principle and righteousness delight our minds, just as coarse fatted meat delights our mouths."

8

Mencius said: "The trees on Niu Mountain were once beautiful. But because they were on the outskirts of a great state, they were hewed down by axes—could they remain beautiful? Still, with the growth of day and night and the nourishing of rain and dew, it was not that there were no sprouts and shoots growing. But then cattle and sheep came and grazed upon them, and so the mountain became bare and bald. People, seeing its bareness, thought it had never had timber. But was this the nature of the mountain? So too with human beings—is it that they lack a mind of benevolence and righteousness? But that which causes them to abandon their good mind is also like the axes upon the wood. If it is hewed down day after day, can it remain beautiful? With the growth of day and night, and the breath of the early dawn, their likes and dislikes are close to those of other people—but only by a little. Then what they do during the day fetters and destroys it. When this fettering is repeated, the night breath is not enough to survive. When the night breath is not enough to survive, they are not far from birds and beasts. People, seeing them as beasts, think they never had any capacity. But is this human nature? Therefore, if they receive nourishment, nothing fails to grow; if they lose nourishment, nothing fails to perish. Confucius said: 'Hold on to it and it survives; let it go and it perishes. Coming and going at no fixed time, no one knows where it goes.' Is this not said of the mind?"

9

Mencius said: "Do not wonder that the king is unwise. Even among the things of the world that are easy to grow, if you expose it to the sun for one day and let it freeze for ten, none will be able to grow. My access to the king is rare. When I withdraw, those who freeze him arrive. What can I do about the sprouts that have barely appeared? Now, chess is a small art. Yet without single-minded concentration, one cannot succeed. Yi Qiu is the best chess player in the whole state. Suppose Yi Qiu teaches two people to play chess: one gives his whole mind and concentrates, listening only to Yi Qiu; the other, though listening, has his mind on the idea that a swan is about to arrive, thinking of taking his bow and corded arrow to shoot it. Though he studies alongside the first, he is not his equal. Is it because his wisdom is not equal? I say: it is not so."

10

Mencius said: "Fish is what I desire; bear's paw is also what I desire. If I cannot have both, I will give up the fish and take the bear's paw. Life is what I desire; righteousness is also what I desire. If I cannot have both, I will give up life and take righteousness. Life is what I desire, but there is something I desire more than life, and so I will not act improperly to obtain it. Death is what I detest, but there is something I detest more than death, and so there are troubles I will not avoid. If there were nothing people desired more than life, then why not use every means by which life can be obtained? If there were nothing people detested more than death, then why not do everything by which trouble can be avoided? Yet there are things one will not do even to obtain life, and there are things one will not do even to avoid trouble. Therefore, there is something desired more than life, and something detested more than death. It is not only the worthy who have this mind—all people have it. The worthy are simply able not to lose it.

"A basket of rice and a plate of soup—if one gets them, one lives; if one does not, one dies. If offered with a shout, a traveler on the road will not accept them; if offered with a kick, even a beggar will disdain them. But when it comes to ten thousand bushels of grain, one accepts them without distinguishing whether they accord with ritual and righteousness. What do ten thousand bushels add to me? Is it for the beauty of my palaces, the service of my wives and concubines, or that the poor and needy people I know may have my help? Formerly, one would refuse even at the cost of one's life; now one does it for the beauty of palaces. Formerly, one would refuse even at the cost of one's life; now one does it for the service of wives and concubines. Formerly, one would refuse even at the cost of one's life; now one does it that the poor and needy may have my help. Should not these things be stopped? This is called losing one's original mind."

11

Mencius said: "Benevolence is the human mind. Righteousness is the human path. To abandon the path and not follow it, to lose the mind and not seek it—how lamentable! If one's chickens or dogs are lost, one knows to seek them; if one's mind is lost, one does not know to seek it. The way of learning and inquiry is nothing other than seeking the lost mind."

12

Mencius said: "Suppose there is a finger that cannot straighten, causing no pain or hindrance. If there were someone who could straighten it, one would not consider the road to Qin or Chu too far, because one's finger is not as good as another's. When one's finger is not as good as another's, one knows to detest it. But when one's mind is not as good as another's, one does not know to detest it. This is called not knowing what is important."

13

Mencius said: "A paulownia or catalpa tree of one or two handbreadths—if one wishes to keep it alive, one knows how to nourish it. But when it comes to oneself, one does not know how to nourish oneself. Is it that one loves oneself less than a paulownia or catalpa? It is a failure to think deeply enough."

14

Mencius said: "Every person loves all parts of their body; loving all parts of them, they will nourish all parts of them. If there is not a single inch of skin they do not love, then there is not a single inch of skin they do not nourish. To examine whether one is good or not, what other criterion is there? One simply looks to what one chooses for oneself. The body has what is noble and what is base, what is great and what is small. Do not let the small harm the great, nor the base harm the noble. To nourish the small makes one a petty person; to nourish the great makes one a great person. Suppose there were a gardener who abandoned his catalpas and jujubes and nourished only his brambles and thorns—he would be called a worthless gardener. Suppose a person nourishes a single finger but neglects his shoulders and back without even knowing it—he would be called a muddled person. A person who thinks only of food and drink is looked down upon by others, because he nourishes the small at the expense of the great. But if a person devoted to food and drink makes no mistakes, is his mouth and belly then merely an inch of skin?"

15

Gongduzi asked: "They are all equally human beings. Some become great people and some become petty people. Why is this?"

Mencius said: "Following the great part of oneself makes one a great person; following the small part of oneself makes one a petty person."

Gongduzi said: "They are all equally human beings. Why do some follow the great part of themselves and others follow the small part?"

Mencius said: "The organs of the ears and eyes do not think, and so they are obscured by things. When things interact with things, they simply lead one astray. The organ of the heart does think; by thinking, one finds the way, and by not thinking, one does not find it. This is what Heaven has given us. If one first establishes the great part, then the small part will not be able to usurp it. This is all there is to being a great person."

16

Mencius said: "There are heavenly ranks and there are human ranks. Benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and trustworthiness, taking joy in goodness without weariness—these are the heavenly ranks. Duke, minister, grand officer—these are the human ranks. The men of antiquity cultivated their heavenly ranks, and the human ranks followed. The men of today cultivate their heavenly ranks in order to seek the human ranks; and once they have obtained the human ranks, they abandon their heavenly ranks. This is the utmost confusion, and in the end they are certain to lose everything."

17

Mencius said: "The desire for what is noble is a common feeling in all people. Everyone has something noble within themselves—it is simply that they do not reflect upon it. What others consider noble is not truly noble. Whom Zhao Meng considers noble, Zhao Meng can also render base. The Odes say: 'He has filled them with wine, he has satisfied them with virtue.' This means: satiated with benevolence and righteousness, one therefore does not covet the rich flavors of others. When wide fame and great praise are bestowed upon oneself, one therefore does not covet the embroidered garments of others."

18

Mencius said: "Benevolence's overcoming of benevolence-lessness is like water's overcoming fire. Those who practice benevolence today are like trying to put out a fire of cartloads of kindling with a single cup of water. When it does not go out, they say water cannot overcome fire. This only further aids the cause of benevolence-lessness, and in the end they are certain to lose everything."

19

Mencius said: "The five grains are the finest of crops. But if they do not ripen, they are not as good as the weeds of the fields. With benevolence, too, the only question is that it ripen."

20

Mencius said: "When Yi taught archery, he always insisted on drawing the bow fully; the student too must insist on drawing the bow fully. When a great craftsman instructs a person, he always relies on compass and square; the student too must rely on compass and square."