Mencius said:
“When people in the world talk about ‘human nature’, they are really just talking about the ‘inherent patterns’ of things. And these patterns are fundamentally rooted in ‘natural course and inherent tendencies’. What we dislike about cleverness is that it often forces artificial interpretations. But if the wise acted like Yu the Great in controlling floods, there would be nothing to dislike about wisdom. Yu managed water by following its natural tendencies – doing what required no forced effort. If the wise also acted without forcing things, their wisdom would be truly great. Though Heaven is high and the stars distant, if we seek their underlying patterns, we could sit calmly and calculate the exact moment of the winter solstice a thousand years from now.”
孟子曰：「天下之言性也，則故而已矣。故者以利為本。所惡於智者，為其鑿也。如智者若禹之行水也，則無惡於智矣。禹之行水也，行其所無事也。如智者亦行其所無事，則智亦大矣。天之高也，星辰之遠也，苟求其故，千歲之日至，可坐而致也。」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Li Lou II offers a profound reflection on human nature, rational inquiry, and the ethical use of intelligence, blending natural philosophy with moral theory.
True wisdom isn’t cunning or contrivance, but perceiving and aligning with the inherent order of things. Likewise, human nature isn’t a mystical mystery – it’s knowable through its observable patterns, with “natural ease” as its foundation.
Nature and inherent patterns
During the Warring States period, debates over human nature raged (e.g., Gaozi’s neutrality, Xunzi’s pessimism). Mencius, while affirming innate goodness, insists that discussions of human nature must be grounded in observable, causal regularities – not speculative metaphysics.
Patterns are rooted in Natural Ease
Here, ‘ease’ doesn’t mean profit, but harmonious flow and contextual appropriateness, as in the Yi Jing (Yi Ching):
“The Creative brings benefit to all under heaven without claiming merit.”
Yu the Great exemplifies this: he didn’t dam rivers but channeled them – working with nature, not against it.
Forced cleverness
Mencius condemns intellectuals (e.g., School of Names, Diplomatists) who impose arbitrary logic or twist reality to fit theories. Unlike Daoist rejection of wisdom, Mencius opposes only false wisdom – cleverness detached from reality.
Yu the Great as the model of true wisdom
“Acting without forced effort” echoes Daoist ‘wu wei’, but Mencius gives it an active moral dimension: great action arises from deep respect for the object’s nature. In ethics, this means nurturing people’s innate moral sprouts – not imposing external rules.
Astronomy as proof of rational power
The claim that one can calculate solstices millennia ahead illustrates Mencius’s confidence in human reason. By discerning celestial course (e.g., cyclical patterns), we grasp cosmic order – a view aligned with advances in Warring States astronomy (e.g.,Gan Shi Star Canon).
Unity with the theory of innate goodness
Human nature has its own inherent patterns: the natural tendency toward benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. True governance and education, like flood control, follow this inner direction – as Mencius says elsewhere:
“The gentleman’s nature has benevolence and righteousness rooted in his heart” (Jinxin I).
In essence: True wisdom doesn’t force – it flows. Human nature isn’t obscure – it reveals itself to those who seek its patterns. Follow the inherent patterns, and a thousand years become clear; defy it, and even the nearest path leads to ruin.
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