Mencius said, “There are the noble ranks bestowed by Heaven, and there are the noble ranks bestowed by men. Benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and faithfulness, along with an unwearied joy in doing good, constitute the ranks of Heaven. The positions of minister, grand master, and other officers constitute the ranks of men.
The ancients cultivated their heavenly ranks, and the human ranks followed as a natural consequence. People today cultivate their heavenly ranks merely to seek human ranks; but once they obtain the human ranks, they abandon their heavenly ranks. How utterly deluded they are! In the end, they will inevitably lose everything.”
Note
This passage from the Gaozi I chapter of the Mencius provides a profound analysis of the relationship between “intrinsic moral value” and “external worldly fame.” Drawing on historical context and traditional commentaries, we can understand its philosophy through the following dimensions:
- Defining “Heavenly Ranks” and “Human Ranks”: Establishing the Absolute Intrinsic Value of Morality
Here, Mencius introduces two highly significant concepts in the history of Chinese philosophy. “Heavenly ranks” refer to the moral endowment bestowed by Heaven (benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and faithfulness), representing a transcendent, absolute, and intrinsic value. “Human ranks” refer to power, status, and wealth in secular society. Mencius separates moral value from the secular political evaluation system, establishing the sacredness and self-sufficiency of morality itself. - The Contrast Between Ancient and Modern Times: A Severe Critique of the “Instrumentalization of Morality”
By comparing the ancients with the people of his time, Mencius reveals the tragedy of moral alienation. For the ancients, cultivating morality stemmed from their true nature, and official positions were merely a natural byproduct of moral cultivation (“the human ranks followed”). In contrast, people of Mencius’s time used morality merely as a stepping stone to seek official positions (“merely to seek human ranks”). Once their goal was achieved, they immediately abandoned morality. Mencius fiercely condemned this behavior of “instrumentalizing” and “utilitarianizing” morality as being profoundly deluded. - The Inevitability of “Losing Everything”: The Ultimate Cost of Losing One’s Original Mind
Mencius concludes with a highly resolute prediction: “In the end, they will inevitably lose everything.” In Mencius’s view, human ranks obtained through hypocrisy and utilitarian means are inherently unstable because they lack the support of “heavenly ranks” (the moral original mind). This is not merely a political prophecy, but a moral inevitability: once a person betrays their inner moral conscience for external fame and profit, they will ultimately lose not only their external status but also completely forfeit their fundamental value as a human being.
孟子曰：“有天爵者，有人爵者。仁义忠信，乐善不倦，此天爵也；公卿大夫，此人爵也。古之人修其天爵，而人爵从之。今之人修其天爵，以要人爵；既得人爵，而弃其天爵，则惑之甚者也，终亦必亡而已矣。”
Leave a Reply