Mencius said, “The trees on Mount Niu were once lush and beautiful. But because it was located near a large city, people chopped them down with axes. How could it remain beautiful? Although it grew day and night, nourished by rain and dew, and new shoots did sprout, cattle and sheep were then let loose to graze upon it, which is why it became completely bare. Seeing it bare, people assumed that it had never been capable of growing timber. But is this the true nature of the mountain?
As for human beings, do they lack a heart of benevolence and righteousness? The reason people lose their innate, good conscience is exactly like the axes chopping the trees. If they are chopped away day after day, how can the mind remain beautiful? In their moments of rest, especially in the early morning, the clear, vital energy that arises within them makes their likes and dislikes slightly similar to those of others. However, their daytime actions shackle and destroy this fragile clarity. Through repeated shackling and destruction, their nighttime clarity is no longer preserved. When this nighttime clarity is no longer preserved, they are not far from being mere beasts. Seeing them act like beasts, people assume they were never endowed with moral capacity. But is this the true disposition of humanity?
Therefore, if properly nourished, there is nothing that will not grow; if deprived of nourishment, there is nothing that will not wither. Confucius said, ‘Hold onto it, and it remains; let it go, and it perishes. Its coming and going have no fixed time, and no one knows where it departs to.’ Is this not said of the human mind?”
Note
This passage from the Gaozi I chapter of the Mencius is an immortal piece where Mencius uses highly vivid and poignant literary imagery to explain his “Theory of Innate Goodness” and the cultivation of the mind. Drawing on historical context and traditional commentaries, we can understand its philosophy through the following dimensions:
- The Metaphor of “Mount Niu’s Trees”: The Dialectics of Innate Goodness and Reality
Mencius uses Mount Niu being stripped “bare” to metaphorically describe the process of losing one’s good conscience. The mountain originally having “growth day and night, nourished by rain and dew” symbolizes the innate seeds of goodness (the heart of benevolence and righteousness) present in all humans. The “axes chopping” and “cattle and sheep grazing” symbolize the destructive forces of a harsh social environment, the temptations of material desires, and the repeated damage caused by bad behavior. Mencius uses this to point out that human degradation and evil in reality are not due to a lack of innate goodness, but because this original goodness has been obscured and stripped away by external destructive forces. This fundamentally refutes the “Theory of Innate Evilness” and establishes the bottom line of “Innate Goodness.” - “Morning Vitality” and “Shackled Destruction”: The Micro-Psychology of Moral Cultivation
Mencius exquisitely depicts the birth and death of moral thoughts within the human heart. “Morning vitality” refers to the purest state of the inner mind in the early morning before contacting the outside world, representing our most natural moral intuition. However, if a person’s daytime actions are bound by selfish desires and evil deeds, this fragile good energy will be exhausted. Mencius uses this to warn people that morality is not a once-and-for-all achievement; if one does not remain vigilant and restrain selfish desires at all times, one will imperceptibly slide into the abyss of “bestiality.” - “Hold On to Preserve, Let Go to Perish”: Establishing Moral Responsibility
At the end of the passage, Mencius quotes Confucius’ words, “Hold onto it, and it remains; let it go, and it perishes,” placing the focus of moral cultivation squarely on human subjective initiative. Although the human mind is easily distracted and lost due to external interference (“coming and going have no fixed time”), it is not entirely beyond control. As long as the individual can consciously “hold onto” (grasp, adhere to, and cultivate) it, the good mind will remain. This not only provides a practical methodology for Confucian moral cultivation but also endows every individual with the inescapable responsibility of self-improvement.
孟子曰：“牛山之木尝美矣，以其郊于大国也，斧斤伐之，可以为美乎？是其日夜之所息，雨露之所润，非无萌櫱之生焉，牛羊又从而牧之，是以若彼濯濯也。人见其濯濯也，以为未尝有材焉，此岂山之性也哉？虽存乎人者，岂无仁义之心哉？其所以放其良心者，亦犹斧斤之于木也，旦旦而伐之，可以为美乎？其日夜之所息，平旦之气，其好恶与人相近也者几希，则其旦昼之所为，有梏亡之矣。梏之反覆，则其夜气不足以存；夜气不足以存，则其违禽兽不远矣。人见其禽兽也，而以为未尝有才焉者，是岂人之情也哉？故苟得其养，无物不长；苟失其养，无物不消。孔子曰：‘操则存，舍则亡；出入无时，莫知其乡。’惟心之谓与？”
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