The Unmoved Mind and Haoran Qi
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
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?」
English translation
Gong Sun Chou asked, “If you, Master, were appointed chief minister of Qi and could put your Way into practice, it would be no surprise if you thereby became a hegemon or a true king. In such a position, would your resolve be shaken?”
Original Chinese text
孟子曰:「否,我四十不動心。」
English translation
Mencius said, “No. By the age of forty, my resolve was no longer shaken.”
Original Chinese text
曰:「若是則夫子過孟賁遠矣。」
English translation
Gong Sun Chou said, 'If so, then you, Master, far surpass Meng Ben.'
Original Chinese text
曰:「是不難。告子先我不動心。」
English translation
He said, 'That is not difficult. Gaozi attained an unmoved heart before I did.'
Original Chinese text
曰:「不動心有道乎?」
English translation
He said, 'Is there a way to an unmoved heart?'
Original Chinese text
曰:「有。北宮黝之養勇也,不膚橈,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。」
English translation
Mencius said, “Yes. In Beigong You’s training in courage, his skin did not flinch and his gaze did not turn away. If he thought someone had inflicted even the slightest humiliation on him, it was as though he had been flogged in the marketplace or at court. He would accept neither an insult from a commoner in coarse clothes nor one from a ruler of ten thousand chariots; he regarded stabbing such a ruler as no different from stabbing an ordinary man. He held the feudal lords in no awe, and when abusive words reached him he returned them. Meng Shishe said of his own training in courage: ‘I treat not winning as though it were winning. To advance only after measuring the enemy and join battle only after calculating the odds—this is to fear the opposing forces. How could I guarantee victory? I can only remain unafraid.’ Meng Shishe resembled Zengzi, and Beigong You resembled Zixia. I do not know which of the two was braver, but Meng Shishe held to the essential point. Once Zengzi said to Zixiang: ‘Do you love courage? I once heard the Master speak of great courage: if, on examining myself, I find I am not upright, would I not be afraid even of a commoner in coarse clothes? If I find myself upright, I will go forward even against thousands and tens of thousands.’ Meng Shishe’s way of holding to his vital force was not as disciplined as Zengzi’s way of holding to the essential principle.”
Original Chinese text
曰:「敢問夫子之不動心與告子之不動心,可得聞與?」
English translation
Gongsun Chou said, “I venture to ask: may I hear about your not being moved in heart and Gaozi’s not being moved in heart?”
Original Chinese text
「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。」
English translation
Mencius said, “Gaozi said: ‘When you do not get it in words, do not seek it in the mind; when you do not get it in the mind, do not seek it in qi.’ If you do not get it in the mind, not seeking it in qi is acceptable; if you do not get it in words, not seeking it in the mind is not acceptable. The will is the commander of qi; qi is what fills the body. Where the will arrives, qi follows. Therefore it is said: ‘Hold fast to your will; do not do violence to your qi.’”
Original Chinese text
「既曰『志,至焉;氣,次焉』,又曰『持其志,無暴其氣』者,何也?」
English translation
Gongsun Chou said, “Since you say, ‘Where the will arrives, qi follows,’ and yet also say, ‘Hold fast to your will; do not do violence to your qi,’ why is that?”
Original Chinese text
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。」
English translation
He said, “When the will is concentrated, it moves the qi; when the qi is concentrated, it moves the will. Now, those who stumble or hurry—this is the qi, and yet it in turn stirs their hearts.”
Original Chinese text
「敢問夫子惡乎長?」
English translation
May I venture to ask, Master, in what you excel?
Original Chinese text
曰:「我知言,我善養吾浩然之氣。」
English translation
Mencius said, “I understand how to discern words, and I am good at nurturing my haoran qi—the vast, upright vital force within me.”
Original Chinese text
「敢問何謂浩然之氣?」
English translation
I venture to ask what is meant by the vast qi?
Original Chinese text
曰:「難言也。其為氣也至大至剛,以直養而無害,則塞于天地之間。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。」
English translation
Mencius said, “It is hard to explain. This qi is supremely great and strong: nourish it through upright conduct without harming it, and it will fill the space between Heaven and Earth. It must accord with righteousness and the Way; without them it becomes depleted. It arises from the steady accumulation of righteous actions; one cannot seize it through a sudden, isolated act of righteousness. If one’s conduct leaves the heart unsatisfied, the qi is depleted. That is why I said Gaozi never truly understood righteousness: he treated it as something external. One must keep working at it without fixing the result in advance; keep it in mind, but do not try to force its growth. Do not be like the man of Song who worried that his seedlings were not growing and pulled them upward. He went home exhausted and told his family, “I am worn out today! I helped the seedlings grow!” His son hurried out to look, but the seedlings had withered. There are few people in the world who do not try to help seedlings grow in this way. Those who abandon the work because they think it useless are like people who do not weed the seedlings. Those who try to force the seedlings to grow are like people who pull them up. That does no good and causes harm.”
Original Chinese text
「何謂知言?」
English translation
Gong Sun Chou asked, “What do you mean by knowing how to discern words?”
Original Chinese text
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。」
English translation
He said: “For biased words, I know what obscures them; for excessive words, I know where they sink; for depraved words, I know what they depart from; for evasive words, I know where they are exhausted. When these arise in the mind, they harm government; when they are expressed in government, they harm affairs. If a sage were to arise again, he would certainly follow my words.”
Original Chinese text
「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?」
English translation
Zai Wo and Zi Gong were good at crafting persuasive speeches; Ran Niu, Min Zi, and Yan Yuan were good at speaking about virtue and conduct. Confucius combined both, and said: ‘As for speeches and commands, I am not capable.’ That being so, are you, Master, already a sage?
Original Chinese text
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?」
English translation
He said: “Oh! What sort of talk is this? Formerly Zi Gong asked Confucius, saying: ‘Is the Master already a sage?’ Confucius said: ‘As for being a sage, I cannot; I learn without becoming weary and teach without becoming tired.’ Zi Gong said: ‘To learn without becoming weary is wisdom; to teach without becoming tired is benevolence. Benevolent and wise, the Master is already a sage.’ As for sagehood, Confucius did not claim it—what sort of talk is this?”
Original Chinese text
「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?」
English translation
In the past I privately heard that Zixia, Ziyou, and Zizhang each possessed one aspect of a sage; Ran Niu, Minzi, and Yan Yuan possessed the whole but on a small scale. May I venture to ask where you would place yourself?
Original Chinese text
曰:「姑舍是。」
English translation
Mencius said, 'For now, set this aside.'
Original Chinese text
曰:「伯夷、伊尹何如?」
English translation
Gongsun Chou said, 'What about Bo Yi and Yi Yin?'
Original Chinese text
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,乃所愿,則學孔子也。」
English translation
He said: 'Their paths were not the same. He would not serve a ruler who was not the right one, and would not command people who were not the right ones; when the state was ordered, he advanced; when it was disordered, he withdrew—this was Bo Yi. What ruler would he not serve? What people would he not command? When the state was ordered he advanced, and when it was disordered he also advanced—this was Yi Yin. When it was proper to take office, he took office; when it was proper to stop, he stopped; when it was proper to remain long, he remained long; when it was proper to leave quickly, he left quickly—this was Confucius. All were ancient sages. I have not been able to act thus; as for what I desire, it is to learn from Confucius.'
Original Chinese text
「伯夷、伊尹於孔子,若是班乎?」
English translation
Were Bo Yi and Yi Yin, in relation to Confucius, of the same rank in this way?
Original Chinese text
曰:「否,自有生民以來,未有孔子也。」
English translation
He said: 'No. Since there have been people, there has never been a Confucius.'
Original Chinese text
曰:「然則有同與?」
English translation
Gong Sun Chou said, 'Then do they have anything in common?'
Original Chinese text
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。」
English translation
Mencius said, 'Yes. If they obtained a territory of a hundred li and ruled it, they could all use it to bring the feudal lords to court and possess the world. If by performing one unjust act or killing one innocent person they could obtain the world, none of them would do it. In this they are the same.'
Original Chinese text
曰:「敢問其所以異?」
English translation
Gong Sun Chou said, 'May I venture to ask wherein they differ?'
Original Chinese text
曰:「宰我、子貢、有若,智足以知聖人;污,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,泰山之於丘垤,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。』」
English translation
Mencius said: 'Zai Wo, Zi Gong, and You Ruo had intelligence sufficient to know the sage. Even if their conduct was lowly, they would not go so far as to favor those they liked. Zai Wo said: 'In my view of the Master, he was far superior to Yao and Shun.' Zi Gong said: 'By seeing his rites one knows his government; by hearing his music one knows his virtue. Looking back from a hundred generations and weighing the kings of a hundred generations, none can contradict him. Since the birth of the people, there has never been anyone like the Master.' You Ruo said: 'How could it be only among the people? The qilin among walking beasts, the phoenix among flying birds, Mount Tai among mounds, the rivers and seas among roadside pools—these are of the same kind. The sage in relation to the people is also of the same kind. He emerges from his kind and stands out above his assembly. Since the birth of the people, there has never been anyone greater than Confucius.'