Mencius said, “When it comes to their own bodies, people love every part of them. Since they love every part, they naturally nurture every part. There is no inch of skin that they do not love, and thus no inch of skin that they do not nurture. So, how do we evaluate whether a person’s nurturing is good or bad? Is there any other standard than seeing which part they prioritize?
The parts of the body have noble and base distinctions, as well as major and minor ones. One must not allow the minor to harm the major, nor the base to harm the noble. He who nurtures the minor is a petty man; he who nurtures the major is a great man.
Suppose there is a gardener who neglects his precious parasol trees and catalpas, choosing instead to nurture sour jujubes and thorns; he would be considered a worthless gardener. If a person nurtures only one finger at the expense of his shoulders and back, without realizing it, he would be considered a muddled fool. People despise those who are merely gluttons and drinkers, because they nurture the minor parts and lose the major ones. Of course, if those who indulge in food and drink have not lost their moral mind, then are eating and drinking merely for the sake of nurturing an inch of skin?”
Note
This passage from the Gaozi I chapter of the Mencius further concretizes the Confucian methodology of self-cultivation after establishing the “Theory of Innate Goodness” and the distinction between the “greater” and “lesser” parts. Drawing on historical context and traditional commentaries, we can understand its philosophy through the following dimensions:
- “The Body Has Noble and Base, Major and Minor”: The Hierarchical Division of Physical and Spiritual Values
Mencius acknowledges that it is human nature to love every part of one’s body. However, he astutely points out that the value of different body parts is unequal. The “minor” and “base” refer to sensory desires (such as the appetite for food and drink), while the “major” and “noble” refer to the moral original mind (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom). Mencius established the basic principles of Confucian self-cultivation: one must never allow lower physiological desires to usurp and harm higher moral rationality. - Two Vivid Metaphors: A Sharp Satire on “Putting the Cart Before the Horse”
To make the abstract principles easy to understand, Mencius uses two brilliant metaphors. The first is the “gardener nurturing trees”: neglecting parasol trees and catalpas (fine wood) to cultivate sour jujubes and thorns (inferior wood), satirizing those who abandon moral cultivation to chase base desires. The second is the “muddled fool”: nurturing a single finger at the expense of the shoulders and back, satirizing how people often sacrifice the grand pattern of their entire lives and spiritual backbone for trivial immediate interests or sensory pleasures. - A Dialectical View of “Gluttons and Drinkers”: From “Material Desires” to “Unity of Body and Mind”
Mencius holds a critical attitude toward those who only know how to eat and drink, believing they “nurture the minor and lose the major.” However, Mencius is not an extreme ascetic; he makes an important qualification at the end: if a person eats and drinks to sustain life and nourish the spirit, then the desire for food and drink is no longer a mere physical indulgence, but a natural need for the unity of body and mind. This reflects the Confucian wisdom of the Golden Mean—neither suppressing normal physiological needs nor ceasing to emphasize the dominant position of the moral mind.
孟子曰：“人之于身也，兼所爱。兼所爱，则兼所养也。无尺寸之肤不爱焉，则无尺寸之肤不养也。所以考其善不善者，岂有他哉？于己取之而已矣。体有贵贱，有小大。无以小害大，无以贱害贵。养其小者为小人，养其大者为大人。今有场师，舍其梧槚，养其樲棘，则为贱场师焉。养其一指而失其肩背，而不知也，则为狼疾人也。饮食之人，则人贱之矣，为其养小以失大也。饮食之人无有失也，则口腹岂适为尺寸之肤哉？”
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