Han Wangxi
6. To fully possess goodness is ‘beautiful’
Mencius once discussed the meaning of beauty with a disciple. His conclusion was that one who fully possesses goodness is beautiful. The Confucian classic “Mencius” recorded a conversation between Haosheng Buhai and Mencius. The disciple asked, “What sort of a man is Yuezhengzi?” “A good man,” said Mencius. “A true man,” he added.
According to Mencius, “Seeking that which is worth pursuing is ‘good.’ A person who accepts himself honestly is ‘true.’ To possess goodness and truth in oneself is ‘beautiful.’ A person who shines forth with this full possession is ‘great.’ To be great and to be transformed by this greatness makes one a ‘sage.’ To be a sage and to transcend the understanding is ‘divine.’”
“Seeking that which is worth pursuing is ‘good.’” And the qualities of benevolence and righteousness are worth pursuing. Mencius regarded “benevolence” as the supreme principle and upmost standard for humankind. He also emphasized “righteousness.” Mencius said, “Benevolence is one’s mind and righteousness is his road. It is sad indeed when a man gives up the right road instead of following it and allows his heart to stray without enough sense to seek the right path.”
Benevolence and righteousness are one’s faith. If one has a benevolent heart, he will behave in righteousness. Mencius’ ideal on morality is embodied by his preaching “To dwell in benevolence and to follow righteousness constitute the sum total of the business of a great man.” Dominantly, he emphasized a moral character’s free choice when encountering ethical conflicts. He said, “The difference between humans and beasts are little,” and the distinguished differences come from the spiritual aspects.
Zengzi, one of Confucius’ disciples, said, “A scholar-official must be strong and resolute. His burden is heavy and his road is long. He takes the fulfilment of humaneness as his burden. Isn’t it a heavy burden? And his road only ends with death. Isn’t it a long way to go?” Therefore, fully possessing goodness in oneself is “beautiful.”
But how to possess goodness? People might grasp the good values starting from perceiving their “kind spouts,” which are their innate kindnesses.
Mencius firmly believed that all humans share innate goodness and expressed a theory on the “four spouts.” He said, “The heart of compassion is the sprout of benevolence, the heart of shame is the sprout of dutifulness, the heart that defers to others is the sprout of courtesy and modesty, and the heart that distinguishes right from wrong is the sprout of wisdom. A person has these four spouts just as he has four limbs.”
Even though humans are born with goodness, they may tend to lose that quality. Therefore, people have to learn to possess the good qualities and develop them. Mencius said, “If a man is able to develop all these four spouts that he possesses, it will be like a fire starting up or a spring emerging. When these are fully developed, he can tend the whole realm, but if he fails to possess them, he will not be able even to serve his parents.”
Humankind has four spouts. A person who fully possesses the spouts of kindness and develops them into moral identities, he or she can achieve the status explained by Confucius: “The wise are not perplexed; the benevolent do not worry; the brave do not fear.”
Chinese Confucianism highlights self-discipline based on moral standards and moral subjectivity. Under Confucianism, an individual concerns oneself with moral values that emphasize the consciousness as a moral character. Mencius set himself up as an example, as he said, “I know all the patterns in the world. There is no greater joy for me than to find, on self-examination, that I am true to myself.” Confucianism asks people to turn their external requirements into one’s consciousness and use the standards to practice self-examination, just as Confucius said, that achieving humaneness is determined by the person himself.
(The author is a cultural scholar.)
(Translated by Chen Siqi) | 