Mencius in 30 Pages
Four Kinds of Sage
Are you the type to hold your line, or to bend with the moment?
Original
孟子曰：「伯夷，聖之清者也；伊尹，聖之任者也；柳下惠，聖之和者也；孔子，聖之時者也。孔子之謂集大成。集大成也者，金聲而玉振之也。……始條理者，智之事也；終條理者，聖之事也。智，譬則巧也；聖，譬則力也。由射於百步之外也，其至，爾力也；其中，非爾力也。」In plain words
Mencius said, “Bo Yi was the pure one among the sages. Yi Yin was the one who took the world on his shoulders. Liuxia Hui was the easygoing one. Confucius was the sage of the right moment. Confucius is what we call the great ensemble. The great ensemble is like music that opens with the bronze bell and closes with the ring of the jade chime. … Opening the pattern is the work of wisdom; completing it is the work of sagehood. Wisdom is like skill; sagehood is like strength. It's like shooting at a target a hundred paces away: reaching it is your strength, but hitting the centre is not your strength alone.”
Key words
- 集大成jí dà chéngGathering every strength into one complete whole.
- 金聲玉振jīn shēng yù zhènBell to open, chime to close: complete from start to finish.
- 時shíTimeliness: fast or slow, forward or back, whatever the moment calls for.
Reading it step by step
Our fourth and final theme begins. We have read that human nature leans toward good, that a flood-like spirit can be grown, and what it means to stand tall. Now the question is: where does all this cultivation lead? Mencius answers not with a theory but with four people.
First: there is more than one kind of sage. Bo Yi was pure. He would not look at anything foul, and when Zhou overthrew Shang he starved rather than eat Zhou grain, as if even rice belonged to a dynasty. Yi Yin took the world on his shoulders. If a single person missed out on good government, he felt as if he had pushed that person into a ditch himself. Liuxia Hui was easygoing. He got along with anyone: “You are you and I am I. How could you stain me?” Their directions differ, but each followed his own character all the way to the end, and so each is called a sage. That is good news. You don't have to become someone else. Following your own temperament sincerely, to the very end, is already a road.
→ the greedy turn honest
→ one person left out is his fault
→ the narrow grow generous
→ the great ensemble
Second: Confucius is different. Take two departures. Leaving Lu, his home state, he walked slowly, slowly, hoping the duke would change his mind and call him back. Leaving Qi, he scooped his rice out of the soaking water and set off without waiting to cook it. Slow once, fast once, and a reason for each. Mencius calls him “the sage of the right moment.” Isn't that just being slippery? No.
It is not watching which way the wind blows. It is holding a constant principle, keeping the mind clear and asking, moment by moment, what fits now. Try it the other way round: what if Bo Yi met Liuxia Hui? One would find the other too lax, the other would find him too narrow. Two sages, and probably neither could stand the other. Confucius gathered the strengths into one: the great ensemble.
Third: the bell and the chime, and the archer. A piece of music opens with a bronze bell and closes with a jade chime; only then is it whole. Archery is the same. Getting the arrow a hundred paces is strength: the virtue that carries you to the end. Hitting the centre is skill: the wisdom to see what the moment needs. Strength alone lands near the target; skill alone never gets there. Confucius had both.
sagehood · strength
virtue that sees it through
wisdom · skill
seeing what the moment needs
Strength alone lands near; skill alone falls short.
Bring it home. The Greeks said that character is destiny, and most of us do live on the track our temperament lays down. The gentle person stays gentle even when a firm “no” is needed. The strong person stays strong even when stepping back would be wiser. Temperament isn't bad. But if it's all you have, you only know one way to walk. What changes the track is wisdom, and wisdom isn't inborn. It is worn in, one situation at a time, by asking each time: where is my principle, and where can I bend?
So today has two steps. First, notice which kind you are. Then ask whether the situation in front of you needs a little of another kind.
Hold your line, and read the moment.
Hold your line, and read the moment.
Today's question
By temperament, are you closer to Bo Yi (pure), Yi Yin (responsible) or Liuxia Hui (easygoing)? What recent situation actually needed one of the others?
Quick check
Why does Mencius call Confucius “the sage of the right moment”?
Timeliness is virtue plus wisdom: strength to reach the target, skill to hit it.
IV · Six Stages of Character — Good, true, beautiful, great, sage, divine
Notes from the Margin
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