Mencius said, “In years of plenty, young people are mostly lazy and dependent; in years of famine, they are mostly violent and cruel. This is not because Heaven endowed them with different natural talents, but because adverse circumstances cause their minds to become submerged and corrupted.
Take barley, for example. When sown and covered with soil, if the land is the same and the time of planting is the same, they will sprout vigorously and all be ripe by the summer solstice. If there are differences, they are due to the varying fertility of the soil, the uneven distribution of rain and dew, and the differing levels of human care. Therefore, all things of the same category are generally similar. Why should we doubt this when it comes to humans? Sages are of the same category as us.
Thus, Longzi said, ‘Even if one does not know the exact size of a foot to weave sandals, one knows one will not weave a basket.’ The reason sandals are similar worldwide is that the feet of all people are the same. Mouths have a common preference for flavors; Yi Ya was simply the first to discover this common preference. If mouths differed in their nature as much as dogs and horses differ from us, why would the whole world follow Yi Ya’s seasoning? Regarding flavors, the world looks to Yi Ya as the standard, proving that all mouths are similar.
The same applies to ears. Regarding sounds, the world looks to Shi Kuang as the standard, proving that all ears are similar. The same applies to eyes. Regarding beauty, no one in the world does not know that Zi Du is handsome; those who do not know it are simply blind.
Therefore, it is said: Mouths have a common preference for flavors; ears have a common hearing for sounds; eyes have a common appreciation for beauty. As for the mind, does it alone have nothing in common? What is it that the mind has in common? It is principle (li) and righteousness (yi). The sages have simply been the first to realize what our minds have in common. Therefore, principle and righteousness delight our minds just as meat delights our mouths.”
Note
This passage from the Gaozi I chapter of the Mencius is one of the most classic chapters where Mencius argues for the “Theory of Innate Goodness” and the idea that “sages can be emulated.” Through rigorous analogical reasoning, Mencius elevates human physiological commonality to moral commonality. Drawing on historical context and traditional commentaries, we can understand its philosophy through the following dimensions:
- Refuting Environmental Determinism: Establishing the Internal Stability of Human Nature
Mencius begins by citing the behavioral differences of youth in abundant versus famine years, acknowledging that the postnatal environment has a massive shaping and even distorting effect on people (“submerged and corrupted minds”). However, he emphasizes that this is merely an external phenomenon and must not be used to deny the equality of innate human endowment (“natural talents”). This argument both explains the vast disparity between good and evil in reality and defends the bottom line of innate human goodness, providing theoretical possibility for ordinary people to become gentlemen through self-cultivation. - The Logical Deduction of “Similarity of the Same Category”: From Sensory Commonality to Moral Commonality
Mencius employs a highly persuasive inductive method. He first cites the growth patterns of barley, then uses four vivid examples – “weaving sandals,” “the flavors of Yi Ya,” “the music of Shi Kuang,” and “the beauty of Zi Du” – to prove that humans share universal consistency in physiological senses. Since humans share a common standard in the “smaller parts” (senses), they must inevitably share a common standard in the “greater part” (the mind). Mencius identifies this common standard as “principle” (li) and “righteousness” (yi). - “Principle and Righteousness Delight the Mind”: The Intrinsic Joy of Morality
Mencius reaches a shocking conclusion: “Principle and righteousness delight our minds just as meat delights our mouths.” Before Mencius, morality was often viewed as an external constraint or a heavy burden; Mencius, however, points out that practicing morality and identifying with principle and righteousness are essentially the natural satisfaction and joy of human innate nature, just like tasting delicious food. The reason sages are sages is simply because they were the “first to realize what our minds have in common.” This completely shatters the absolute chasm between sages and ordinary people, establishing the Confucian egalitarian view and theory of self-cultivation that “everyone can become a Yao or a Shun.”
孟子曰：“富岁，子弟多赖；凶岁，子弟多暴，非天之降才尔殊也，其所以陷溺其心者然也。今夫麰麦，播种而耰之，其地同，树之时又同，浡然而生，至于日至之时，皆熟矣。虽有不同，则地有肥硗，雨露之养，人事之不齐也。故凡同类者，举相似也，何独至于人而疑之？圣人与我同类者。故龙子曰：‘不知足而为屦，我知其不为蒉也。’屦之相似，天下之足同也。口之于味，有同耆也。易牙先得我口之所耆者也。如使口之于味也，其性与人殊，若犬马之与我不同类也，则天下何耆皆从易牙之于味也？至于味，天下期于易牙，是天下之口相似也。惟耳亦然。至于声，天下期于师旷，是天下之耳相似也。惟目亦然。至于子都，天下莫不知其姣也。不知子都之姣者，无目者也。故曰：口之于味也，有同耆焉；耳之于声也，有同听焉；目之于色也，有同美焉。至于心，独无所同然乎？心之所同然者何也？谓理也，义也。圣人先得我心之所同然耳。故理义之悦我心，犹刍豢之悦我口。”
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