An In-depth Interpretation of Mencius' 'The Trees of Ox Mountain' Chapter: The Core of Innate Goodness and Cultivation of Mind and Nature

Chapter 14: The Metaphysical Basis of Inherent Goodness — The Connection Between the Heavenly Way and Human Nature

Section 14.1 The Relationship Between Heaven's Decree and Human Nature

Mencius’s doctrine of inherent goodness is not an isolated moral proposition; it is built upon a profound metaphysical foundation. This foundation is the interconnectedness of the Heavenly Way (Tiandao) and human nature (Renxing).

The opening three lines of the Doctrine of the Mean established the basic framework for this metaphysics:

"What Heaven imparts is called Nature (xing). Following this Nature is called the Way (dao). Cultivating the Way is called education (jiao)."

"What Heaven imparts is called Nature" (Tianming zhi wei xing)—Human nature originates from Heaven's impartment. This proposition traces the source of human nature back to the Heavenly Way, implying that the goodness of human nature is not accidental or artificial, but a necessary, natural aspect of the Heavenly Way. Heaven bestows human nature with goodness, just as Heaven bestows dew and rain to nourish all things—both are the natural flow of the Heavenly Way’s grace.

Why must Heaven’s impartment (the nature bestowed on man) necessarily be good$8 Because the Heavenly Way itself is good.

The I Ching (Xici Zhuan) states:

"One Yin and one Yang constitute the Dao. That which follows it is Goodness (shan); that which completes it is Nature (xing)."

"That which follows it is Goodness" (Jizhi zhe shan ye)—What continues the Dao is Goodness. "That which completes it is Nature" (Cheng zhi zhe xing ye)—What completes the Dao is Nature. The Dao continues itself through Goodness, and Goodness realizes itself concretely through Nature, forming a continuous chain.

The I Ching (Qian Hexagram, Judgment):

"Great is the Originating Power (Qianyuan) of the creative! It brings forth the myriad things, unifying Heaven. Clouds move and rain falls, disseminating the forms of things."

The Originating Power (the creative force of the Dao) brings forth the myriad things and disseminates the forms of things through moving clouds and falling rain. The essence of the Dao is "creation"—the continuous origination and nurturing of all things. This "creation" nature is "Goodness" (Shan)—the Dao continuously creates and nurtures all things; is this not the ultimate Goodness$9

Since human nature originates from Heaven’s impartment, and the essence of Heaven’s impartment is the goodness of creation, human nature must naturally be good. This is the metaphysical basis of Mencius’s doctrine of inherent goodness.

In the "Wood of Ox Mountain" chapter, this metaphysical basis is embodied in the form of "rest between day and night, moistened by dew and rain." The alternation of day and night is the rhythm of the Heavenly Way; the descent of dew and rain is the grace of the Heavenly Way—they allow the felled wood to sprout new shoots. This is analogous to the Heavenly Way continuously nurturing human goodness through its constant operation—even when goodness seems completely eroded, as long as the rhythm of the Heavenly Way (rest between day and night) and its grace (dew and rain) remain, the root of goodness has the possibility of recovery.

Section 14.2 The "Life-Giving" Nature of Heaven and the "Goodness" of Human Nature

The "life-giving" (sheng sheng) nature of the Heavenly Way is one of the most central propositions in pre-Qin philosophy.

The I Ching (Xici Zhuan) states:

"The constant succession of living and dying is called Change (Yi)."

"Sheng sheng" means continuous creation and continuation of life. The essence of the Heavenly Way is "sheng sheng"—ceaseless creation and nurturing. This "life-giving" virtue, when embodied in the human heart, manifests as the "sprouts of goodness" (shanduan)—the heart of alarm/compassion, shame/aversion, yielding/deferring, and discerning right/wrong. All these are manifestations of the "life-giving" virtue in the human heart.

The heart of alarm/compassion—being unable to bear seeing others suffer—is the feeling of the "life-giving" virtue. Because the Heavenly Way takes "life" as its basis, the human heart, sensing this "life" virtue, naturally develops an aversion to anything that harms life.

The heart of shame and aversion—feeling shame and disgust toward unrighteous actions—is also a manifestation of the "life-giving" virtue. Unrighteous actions harm life (both physical life and spiritual life), contradicting the "life-giving" virtue, thus the heart naturally rejects them.

The heart of yielding and deferring—humility and respect—is an extension of the "life-giving" virtue, ensuring harmonious coexistence between people, which facilitates the collective development of life, whereas contention and mutual destruction harm life.

The heart of discerning right and wrong—the ability to judge good and evil—is the highest manifestation of the "life-giving" virtue. With this heart, man can consciously choose good and reject evil, thus actively participating in the Dao’s enterprise of "life-giving."

In the "Wood of Ox Mountain" chapter, the "life-giving" virtue is embodied in the "sprouting of new shoots" (meng ye zhi sheng). The continuous sprouting of new shoots is the concrete expression of the Heavenly Way’s "life-giving" virtue in the mountain wood—even when cut and grazed upon, the life force constantly attempts to recover. This parallels the human sprout of goodness—even when eroded by material desire, the conscience is constantly attempting to sprout. This unyielding vitality is the most precious gift bestowed upon all living things by the Heavenly Way’s "life-giving" virtue.

Section 14.3 The Philosophy of "Life": From the Book of Documents to Mencius

The concept of "Life" (Sheng) has a deep line of development in pre-Qin literature.

The Book of Documents (Pan Geng) states:

"O you multitude of people! You do not cherish life (bu sheng sheng). If you and I, the solitary ruler, share one mind, then calamity will not descend upon you."

"Bu sheng sheng" means "not taking life as life"—not cherishing life. Here, "sheng" is used as both a verb and a noun, expressing the meaning of "taking life as life"—cherishing and protecting life.

The Book of Documents (Taishi):

"Heaven blesses the common people, and establishes rulers and teachers for them, so that they may assist the Supreme Emperor and graciously protect the Four Quarters."

Heaven blesses the people and establishes rulers and teachers to nurture them—this is the manifestation of the Heavenly Way's "life-giving virtue" (sheng de) in the political realm. Heaven does not directly govern the people but nurtures them through rulers and teachers—just as Heaven does not directly cause mountain wood to grow but nurtures it through the dew and rain and the rhythm of day and night.

The Book of Songs (Daya, Zheng Min):

"Heaven gives birth to the common people; there are objects and there are standards. What the people possess in their constant nature (bing yi) is a liking for beautiful virtue (yi yi de)."

This passage is extremely important. "Heaven gives birth to the common people; there are objects and there are standards" (Tian sheng zheng min, you wu you ze)—Heaven gives birth to the masses, bestowing various things upon them, and also bestowing standards upon them. "What the people possess in their constant nature is a liking for beautiful virtue" (Min zhi bing yi ye, hao shi yi de)—the constant nature (yi) that the people possess is the liking for beautiful virtue. This is the most powerful evidence for the doctrine of inherent goodness.

Mencius records Confucius’s high praise for this poem:

Mencius said: "Confucius said: 'The author of this poem knew the Way! Therefore, whatever exists must have its standard; what people possess in their constant nature is a liking for beautiful virtue.'"

Confucius praises the author of this poem for "knowing the Way"—deeply understanding the Heavenly Way. Heaven creates all things, each with its own standard; Heaven creates the people, and their inherent nature is to like beautiful virtue—this is perfectly consistent with Mencius’s proposition that "What Heaven imparts is called Nature."

The Mencius further records Mencius’s elaboration on this poem:

Mencius said: "...Therefore it is said: The mouth has a common preference for flavors; the ear has a common hearing for sounds; the eye has a common appreciation for colors. Shall the heart alone have nothing in common$10 What the heart has in common is principle (li) and righteousness (yi). The sage was merely the first to attain what my heart has in common. Therefore, the delight of principle and righteousness in my heart is like the delight of choice meats in my mouth."

The mouth has a common preference for flavors, the ear for sounds, the eye for colors—shall the heart alone have no common preference$11 The heart’s common preference is "principle" (li) and "righteousness" (yi). Principle and righteousness delight the heart, just as fine food delights the mouth. This line of argument is ingenious: Since human senses have common natural inclinations (liking flavor, sound, color), the human heart should also have a common natural inclination (liking principle and righteousness). This natural inclination is the specific manifestation of "inherent goodness."

The Book of Songs' claim that "What the people possess in their constant nature is a liking for beautiful virtue" is the most powerful evidence for this—the "constant nature" (bing yi) is the innate disposition, and the "liking for beautiful virtue" (hao shi yi de) is the content of this disposition—is this not inherent goodness$12