Original text:

Mencius said: "Everyone has a heart that can't bear others. The kings in the past had a heart that couldn't bear others, and now they have a government that can't bear others. With a heart that can't bear others, we should act The government of those who can't tolerate others can govern the world. That's why it is said that everyone has the heart of being intolerant of others: Nowadays, when people see a child about to fall into a well, they all have a heart of fear and compassion. This is not why they should be indifferent to the child's parents. It’s not that he wants to be praised by his fellow countrymen, it’s not that he hates his reputation.

Looking at it from this point of view, he is not a human being without a heart of compassion; he is not a human being without a heart of shame and humiliation; The heart of compassion is not human; the heart of right and wrong is not human. The heart of compassion is the root of benevolence; the heart of shame and disgust is the root of righteousness; the heart of resignation is the root of courtesy; the heart of right and wrong is the root of wisdom.

Human beings have four ends, just like they have four bodies. Those who claim they are incapable of doing so are committing treason; If there are four ends in me, I will expand them and fill them up. If the fire starts to rise, if it can be filled, it will be enough to protect the world; if it is not filled, it will not be enough to serve my parents."

Vernacular Translation:

Mencius said: "Everyone has the heart that cannot bear to hurt others. The ancient kings had the heart that could not bear to hurt others, so they had politics that could not bear to hurt others. Use the heart that cannot bear to hurt others, practice the heart that cannot bear to hurt others. The politics of others will be as easy as turning it in the palm of your hand.

If someone suddenly sees a child falling into a well. Every time I go there, I feel frightened and sympathetic - I don't do it because I want to make friends with the child's parents, I don't do it because I want to gain fame among my neighbors, and I don't do it because I hate the child's frightened cry.

From this point of view, those who have no sympathy are not human beings; those who have no sense of shame are not human beings; those who have no sense of humility are not human beings; those who have no sense of right and wrong are not human beings. Compassion is the beginning of benevolence and shame. It is the beginning of righteousness, the heart of humility is the beginning of etiquette, and the heart of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom. People have these four beginnings, just like they have limbs.

Having these four kinds of beginnings but saying that you are not good at it is like this. He is hurting himself; saying that his ruler is not good is hurting his ruler. Anyone who retains these four beginnings will know how to expand and enrich them, (they will) be like a fire that has just been ignited and a spring that has just gushes out. (Unstoppable.) If you can expand them, you can stabilize the world; if you don't expand them, you can't even serve your parents."

Source: From the famous philosopher and thinker Mencius during the Warring States Period. "Gongsun Chou, Part 1" in "Mencius: Chapter 6 of Gongsun Chou".

Extended information:

About the author:

Mencius (about 372 BC - 289 BC), surnamed Ji, Meng, given name Ke, surnamed Haozi Yu, a native of Zouguo (now Zoucheng, Jining, Shandong) during the Warring States Period.

A famous philosopher, thinker, politician, and educator during the Warring States Period, a pioneer of democratic thought, and one of the representatives of the Confucian school of thought. His status is second only to Confucius, and he is also known as Confucius. "Confucius and Mencius". Politically, he advocated the rule of law and benevolent government; theoretically, he admired Confucius and opposed Yang Zhu and Mo Zhai.

His disciples recorded Mencius' words and deeds in the book "Mencius", which is a collection of quotation prose and a collection of Mencius' remarks. It was compiled by Mencius and his disciple ***. He advocated benevolent government and put forward the people-oriented thought of "the people are more important than the emperor". He traveled to Qi, Song, Teng, Wei, Lu and other countries, hoping to follow Confucius to implement his own political ideas. This lasted for more than 20 years.

However, Mencius's theory of benevolent government was considered to be "far-fetched and broad-minded" and did not get the chance to be implemented. In the end, he retired to give lectures and, together with his students, "prefaced the Poetry and the Book, described the meaning of Zhongni, and wrote seven chapters of Mencius." Han Yu's "Yuan Dao" listed Mencius as a figure among the pre-Qin Confucians who inherited Confucius' "Taoism". The Yuan Dynasty named Mencius "Ya Sheng Gong·Shu Chen" and was honored as "Ya Sheng".

Representative works include "Fish I Want" and "The Right One Will Get Many Helps, The Undead Will Get Few Helps". "Born in sorrow, dying in happiness", "Wealth cannot be promiscuous" and "What a widow is to the country" were included in middle school Chinese textbooks.