Mencius 哲學一智 黃貞怡

Mencius

One sunny morning at the height of summer﹐Diane sat at the side of a clear lake waiting for fish. As time went by, she caught no fish. Diane began to lose patience and wanted to go home. When she was ready to go, she saw a beautiful bottle shining with blue rays drifting toward her. Diane was attracted to its appearance and picked it up.
Diane curiously opened the bottle. Suddenly a genie appeared out of a cloud of smoke. The genie began to speak to Diane.
“Are you the man who set me free？
“Yes, I am！”Diane answered, trembling.
“Well, then I will give you a wish in appreciation！Now, tell me what you want？No matter what you wish, I will make it come true for you！”
“Really, I would like to see Mencius！”Diane said.
And the genie made it come true. Mencius emerged from the lake.

Diane﹕Are you Mencius？ Nice to meet you. My name is Diane.
Mencius﹕Hi, Diane. Nice to meet you, too. Do you have questions to ask me？
Diane﹕Yes, I have many questions about your theories. First, Who are you﹖
Mencius ﹕A philosopher, I'm a disciple of the grandson of Confucius, and ranks next to the great master as an expounder of Confucian wisdom . My work, known as the “Book of Mencius”, or simply, “Mencius”, is one of the four Shuh, or books, given the place of honor in Chinese literature.
Diane﹕You are excel at expanding on jen ﹖And what do you mean in humanity（jen）﹖
Mencius ﹕I thought that jen is the mind of man and righteousness（i） is the road of man. From emphasizing the mind of man as good, he formed the hypothesis that human nature is good. Extending jen as mind to humaneness in behavior and government, I coupled it with righteousness, because I believed that righteousness was the way with which to practice jen. To me, the mind of jen was the mind of love or compassion. Thus, I developed his systems, I narrowed Confucius’ interpretation of jen.
Diane﹕What a deep theory！And what do you mean in righteousness（i）﹖
Mencius ﹕Union of i with humanity. I coined the term jen-i , which has become recognized as the essence of Confucianism. I did so to use i as a bridge between the inside and outside of mind, between humanity and propriety. “Humanity is the mind of man；i is the path of man.” ,“I is the path；propriety is the door.” Here, I saw i as the path which brings the humanity of mind to the door of propriety, through which it passes into action. To me, i was the way to practice humanity.
Diane﹕Wait！My brain does not work. And what do you mean in empathy（shu）﹖
Mencius ﹕Shu is one of those simple words that, in philosophy, becomes difficult to explain. I was a notable exponent of shu, thought he did not often use the term. “To respect the elders in your family and then to extend this respect to others’ elders, to love the young in your family and then extend this love to others’ youths－extending your kindness, you can protect all people within the four seas；otherwise, you cannot protect even your wife and children. The reason that the ancient sages were greater than ordinary people is that they were good at extending their actions.” Extending oneself to others turns the mind of humanity into the action of humanity. This extending is shu；so, shu is the function of humanity.
Diane﹕You are a perfectionist. And what do you mean in heart（hsin）﹖
Mencius ﹕Hsin as the origin of goodness. “The hsin of feeling commiseration is the beginning of humanity；the hsin of having shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness；the hsin of knowing modesty is the beginning of wisdom.” I thought e the goodness of human nature；but, in his thought , hsin is just as nature is good.
Diane﹕What do you mean in principle（li）﹖
Mencius ﹕Li is associated with righteousness. For example, “What is it of which our minds approve similarly﹖It is li and righteousness” Although I did not emphasize li, clearly I recognized it as equivalent to righteousness in importance. Then, li was accepted as following righteousness；they were combined into i-li, meaning principle, reason, or philosophy.
Diane﹕ What do you mean in law（fa）﹖
Mencius ﹕Most Confucians did not emphasize fa, although they did not consider it trivial. To them, virtue in government was much more important than fa. In my thioght there are ten references to fa, but only three concerns the practice of law. “Fa alone”, “cannot carry itself into practice”. “The superior man practices fa and waits for ming.” Although this fa means law, it is not the law of government to which I refers, but natural law or heavenly principle.
Diane﹕What do you mean in energy（chi）﹖
Mencius ﹕Chi is complex word. Sometimes it is a metaphysical term；sometimes it refers to phenomena. In my thought, the meaning of chi shifts from passion or energy to spirit. “The will is the leader of chi. Chi pervades and animates the entire body.”
Diane﹕ What do you mean in spirit（shen）﹖
Mencius ﹕ Originally, shen meant “gods” but acquired the meaning of “spirit” because Chinese philosophers taught that men can be in accord with heaven. In my thought, shen occurs three times. One refers to spirits；the other two are concerned with superlatives of virtue and nature. “Whenever the superior man passes through transformation follows；whenever he abides, it is shen . I flows with the current of heaven and earth” “When he is great and transformed, I called a sage；when a sage is beyond knowing, I called shen ”
Diane﹕How do you handle your failure﹖
Mencius ﹕Well, none of us was born perfect.
Diane﹕Thank you for your exposition. Now, I can read you like a book.
Mencius ﹕Really？ I hope that you can use these theories when you need to make any decision. Bye–bye.
Diane﹕Wait﹏wait﹏
Mencius was turned into a smoke and was vanished into the bottle﹏