Gongsun Chou asked Mencius:
“If you should be the prime minister in Qi and be able to put your principles into practice, it would be no wonder that Qi achieve the hegemony or even true kingship. In such a momentous situation, would your mind be stirred?”
Mencius replied:
“No. I have been ‘unmoved in heart’ since the age of forty.”
Gongsun Chou:
“Such being the case, you far surpass the famed warrior Meng Ben.”
Mencius answered:
“That’s not difficult – even Gaozi achieved ‘an unmoved heart’ before I did.”
Gongsun Chou asked,
“Is there a way to cultivate imperturbation of the mind? (unmoved state in heart)”
Replied Mencius,
“Yes, there is. Beigong You trained his courage so that his skin wouldn’t flinch at pain, nor his eyes avert from threat. To suffer even a hair’s breadth of humiliation felt like public flogging. He bowed neither to commoners nor to lords of ten thousand chariots; stabbing a king was no different than stabbing a peasant. He feared no feudal lord and always retaliated against insults.
About the cultivation of courage Meng Shishe said, ‘I regard defeat as victory. To make an estimate of the enemy force before advancing and to figure out the chances of victory before accepting battle – this is to stand in awe of the superior force. How can I guarantee victory? All I can do is to assuage my fear.’
Meng Shishe resembled Zengzi, while Beigong You resembled Zixia.
It is hard to say which was the better of the two, but Meng Shishe grasped the essentials.
Zengzi once said to Zixiang, ‘Are you fond of courage? I heard about great courage from the Master (Confucius), who said, if, on introspection, I find myself in the wrong, I fear even a humble man. If, on introspection, I find myself in the right, I will press forward against even thousands of men.’ This is true greatness – greater than merely “guarding one’s vital energy.”
Gongsun Chou said,
“May I venture to ask you to tell me something about both your and Gaozi’s imperturbation of the mind?”
Mencius answered,
“Gaozi said, ‘If you faiI to win by words, do not resort to your thoughts; if you fail to win by your thoughts, do not resort to your vital energy.’ It is right not to resort to your vital energy when you fail to win by thoughts, but it is wrong not to resort to your thoughts when you fail to win by words. The will is commander over the vital energy and vital energy is what fills the body. The vital energy manifests itself wherever the will goes. So I say, ‘Hold firm your will; do not abuse your vital energy.”‘
Gongsun Chou said,
“You have said that the vital energy manifests itself wherever the will goes. Then why do you add ‘not abuse the vital energy?’”
Mencius explained,
“When the will becomes concentrated somewhere the vital energy will move there with it. When the vital energy is concentrated somewhere the will, influenced by it, will move, too. For instance, stumbling and running are only the vibration of the vital energy concentrated somewhere, thus causing the throbbing of the heart.”
Gongsun Chou said,
“May I ask, what are you, Master, strong in?”
Mencius declared:
“I am strong in analyzing others’ speech and in nurturing my vast vital energy.”
Gongsun Chou asked,
“What is the vast vital energy?”
Mencius answered,
“It is difficult to make it clear. Such vital energy is most great and indomitable. If it is nourished with integrity without our doing anything detrimental to it, it will be omnipresent, filling the whole universe. And it must be integrated with righteousness and morality, otherwise it becomes impotent. Such vital energy results from steady accumulation of righteousness and can not be acquired through occasional righteous acts. If one act leaves you uneasy, or if you have something on your conscience, it will become impotent. That’s why Gaozi never truly understood righteousness because he thought it something external.’
We must cultivate our righteousness and keep at it. While always keeping this in mind, we must not force it to grow unnaturally, like the man from Song. He was anxious for the growth of the cereal seedlings and tried to help them grow by pulling them upward. He came home exhausted and said to his family, ‘I am tired out today! I have been helping the seedlings grow.’ His son rushed to check only to find them all wilted. Actually there are very few in the world who do not help the seedlings grow. There are some who think tending the plants of no help and simply leave them alone. They will not even do any weeding in the fields. There are also some who are eager to help the plants grow. They pull the seedlings upward – it is not only useless, but also detrimental to the plants.”
Gongsun Chou asked,
“What do you mean by analyzing others’ speech?”
Mencius answered,
“From biased words, I see their blindness; from excessive words, their entrapment; from crooked words, their deviation; from evasive words, their desperation. Such speech stems from flawed minds, corrupts governance, and ruins affairs. A sage would no doubt agree with me.”
Gongsun Chou said,
“Zai Wo and Zigong were good at speech. Ran Niu, Minzi and Yan Yuan were good at expounding moral principles. Confucius was good at both, yet he said, ‘I am not strong in speech.’ Then you, Master, must be a sage already.”
Mencius said,
“Ah, what a thing to say! Once Zigong asked Confucius, ‘Are you, Master, already a sage?’
Confucius replied, ‘I am far from being a sage, I learn insatiably and teach untiringly. That is all.’
Zigong said, ‘It is wise to learn insatiably and benevolent to teach untiringly. You are already a sage since you are both wise and benevolent.’
Even Confucius did not claim to be a sage – What a thing for you to say of me!”
Gongsun Chou said,
“I heard that Zixia, Ziyou and Zizhang each had something of the sage while Ran Niu, Minzi and Yan Yuan were miniatures of the sage. Which category do you think you come into?”
Mencius responded,
“Let’s not talk about it for the present.”
Gongsun Chou asked,
“What about Bo Yi and Yi Yin?”
Mencius answered,
“They did not go the same way as Confucius. Bo Yi would only serve the right kind of king and reign over the right kind of people. He would accept office when the world was in order and go into retirement when it was in disorder. Yi Yin would serve any kind of king and reign over any kind of people and would accept office no matter whether the world was in order or in disorder. Confucius would accept office or retire, go on working or quit at once as he saw fit. They were all ancient sages. I have fallen short of what is required of a sage. All I wish to do is to model myself on Confucius.”
Gongsun Chou asked,
“Were Bo Yi and Yi Yin peers of Confucius?”
Mencius answered,
“No. Since man came into being, there has never been anyone comparable to Confucius.”
Gongsun Chou asked,
“Then had they anything in common?”
Mencius answered,
“Yes. If they had been rulers over a territory of a hundred li square, they could all have earned tribute from the feudal lords and unified the world. They would none of them have done an unjustifiable thing or kill an innocent man even to win possession of the world.”
Gongsun Chou asked,
“May I venture to ask where they were different?”
Mencius answered,
“Zai Wo, Zigong and You Ruo were wise enough to understand the sage and were above paying undeserved compliment to those they love.
Zai Wo said, ‘In my opinion, the Master far surpassed Yao and Shun.’
Zigong said, ‘From the rites of a state he could see its government and from its music he could see the private morality of the ruler. In retrospect he could properly evaluate all the kings over the past hundred generations without making a single inaccurate appraisal. Since man came into being, there has never been anyone comparable to Confucius.’
You Ruo said, ‘It is not only true of man. The unicorn is a kind of animal. The phoenix is a kind of bird. Mount Tai is a kind of elevated land, and rivers and seas are a kind of flowing water. They are the same in kind. The sage is also a kind of man. But he stands out of the common run and preeminently excels other men. Since man came into being, there has been no one greater than Confucius.’”
公孫丑問曰：「夫子加齊之卿相，得行道焉，雖由此霸王不異矣。如此，則動心否乎？」
孟子曰：「否。我四十不動心。」
曰：「若是，則夫子過孟賁遠矣。」
曰：「是不難，告子先我不動心。」
曰：「不動心有道乎？」
曰：「有。北宮黝之養勇也，不膚撓，不目逃，思以一豪挫於人，若撻之於市朝。不受於褐寬博，亦不受於萬乘之君。視刺萬乘之君，若刺褐夫。無嚴諸侯。惡聲至，必反之。孟施舍之所養勇也，曰：『視不勝猶勝也。量敵而後進，慮勝而後會，是畏三軍者也。舍豈能為必勝哉？能無懼而已矣。』孟施舍似曾子，北宮黝似子夏。夫二子之勇，未知其孰賢，然而孟施舍守約也。昔者曾子謂子襄曰：『子好勇乎？吾嘗聞大勇於夫子矣：自反而不縮，雖褐寬博，吾不惴焉；自反而縮，雖千萬人，吾往矣。』孟施舍之守氣，又不如曾子之守約也。」
曰：「敢問夫子之不動心，與告子之不動心，可得聞與？」
「告子曰：『不得於言，勿求於心；不得於心，勿求於氣。』不得於心，勿求於氣，可；不得於言，勿求於心，不可。夫志，氣之帥也；氣，體之充也。夫志至焉，氣次焉。故曰：『持其志，無暴其氣。』」
「既曰『志至焉，氣次焉』，又曰『持其志無暴其氣』者，何也？」
曰：「志壹則動氣，氣壹則動志也。今夫蹶者趨者，是氣也，而反動其心。」
「敢問夫子惡乎長？」
曰：「我知言，我善養吾浩然之氣。」
「敢問何謂浩然之氣？」
曰：「難言也。其為氣也，至大至剛，以直養而無害，則塞于天地之閒。其為氣也，配義與道；無是，餒也。是集義所生者，非義襲而取之也。行有不慊於心，則餒矣。我故曰，告子未嘗知義，以其外之也。必有事焉而勿正，心勿忘，勿助長也。無若宋人然：宋人有閔其苗之不長而揠之者，芒芒然歸。謂其人曰：『今日病矣，予助苗長矣。』其子趨而往視之，苗則槁矣。天下之不助苗長者寡矣。以為無益而舍之者，不耘苗者也；助之長者，揠苗者也。非徒無益，而又害之。」
「何謂知言？」
曰：「詖辭知其所蔽，淫辭知其所陷，邪辭知其所離，遁辭知其所窮。生於其心，害於其政；發於其政，害於其事。聖人復起，必從吾言矣。」
「宰我、子貢善為說辭，冉牛、閔子、顏淵善言德行。孔子兼之，曰：『我於辭命則不能也。』然則夫子既聖矣乎？」
曰：「惡！是何言也？昔者子貢、問於孔子曰：『夫子聖矣乎？』孔子曰：『聖則吾不能，我學不厭而教不倦也。』子貢曰：『學不厭，智也；教不倦，仁也。仁且智，夫子既聖矣！』夫聖，孔子不居，是何言也？」
「昔者竊聞之：子夏、子游、子張皆有聖人之一體，冉牛、閔子、顏淵則具體而微。敢問所安。」
曰：「姑舍是。」
曰：「伯夷、伊尹何如？」
曰：「不同道。非其君不事，非其民不使；治則進，亂則退，伯夷也。何事非君，何使非民；治亦進，亂亦進，伊尹也。可以仕則仕，可以止則止，可以久則久，可以速則速，孔子也。皆古聖人也，吾未能有行焉；乃所願，則學孔子也。」
「伯夷、伊尹於孔子，若是班乎？」
曰：「否。自有生民以來，未有孔子也。」
曰：「然則有同與？」
曰：「有。得百里之地而君之，皆能以朝諸侯有天下。行一不義、殺一不辜而得天下，皆不為也。是則同。」
曰：「敢問其所以異？」
曰：「宰我、子貢、有若智足以知聖人。汙，不至阿其所好。宰我曰：『以予觀於夫子，賢於堯舜遠矣。』子貢曰：『見其禮而知其政，聞其樂而知其德。由百世之後，等百世之王，莫之能違也。自生民以來，未有夫子也。』有若曰：『豈惟民哉？麒麟之於走獸，鳳凰之於飛鳥，太山之於丘垤，河海之於行潦，類也。聖人之於民，亦類也。出於其類，拔乎其萃，自生民以來，未有盛於孔子也。』」
Note
This passage comes from Mencius: Gong Sun Chou I and represents a core chapter in Mencius’s philosophical system, focusing on the following key ideas:
The state of an “Unmoved Heart”
This is not emotional coldness or indifference, but inner stability grounded in moral righteousness.
Unlike Gaozi’s mechanical view – suppressing emotions by force – Mencius emphasizes the organic unity of will (“aspiration”, a subjective force rooted in one’s nature, connected to the Dao, and embodied in action), vital energy (qi), and mind (heart).
The vast vital energy is a uniquely Confucian concept of spiritual energy – akin to “moral courage” or “moral charisma” – which can only be cultivated through long-term, consistent righteous action.
Critique of Gaozi’s Philosophy
Gaozi claimed that righteousness is “external” (a set of imposed norms); Mencius insisted it is “internal” (arising from the innate moral heart-mind).
If righteousness is external, nurturing qi becomes a technical exercise; if righteousness is internal, nurturing vital energy (qi) is the natural outcome of authentic moral practice.
The political significance of “Understanding Speech”
Speech reveals one’s inner disposition, and inner disposition shapes one’s moral orientation, values, and political conduct.
Mencius criticizes the sophistry of contemporary strategists – their biased, evasive, excessive, and deviant rhetoric – which misleads the people. This aligns with his broader mission in the Mencius: “to reject Yang Zhu and Mozi, and banish seductive speech.”
Veneration of Confucius and Consciousness of Dao Tradition
Mencius explicitly positions himself as Confucius’s true successor.
By comparing Bo Yi, Yi Yin, and Confucius, he establishes Confucius as the “great synthesizer” – the supreme sage who perfectly embodies timeliness and principle.
Quoting Confucius’s disciples (e.g., Zi Gong, You Ruo), he constructs a Confucian “lineage of sages,” laying the foundation for the later “doctrine of the orthodox transmission” (Dao Tradition or daotong), embraced by Han Yu, Zhu Xi, and Neo-Confucians.
The parable of “Pulling up seedlings to help them grow”
This metaphor became a classic Confucian warning against impatience and utilitarian haste in moral cultivation, advocating instead gradual, organic growth.
It profoundly influenced later thinkers: Zhu Xi emphasized cumulative effort in “investigating things and extending knowledge”, while Wang Yangming also rejected artificial “forcing” of moral development.
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