Gao Zi I · Passage 01 / 20 · 孟子 6A.1
Mencius 6A.1: virtue is not carved from human nature
Against Gaozi's image of human nature as willow and righteousness as cups and bowls.
告子曰：「性，猶杞柳也；義，猶桮棬也。以人性為仁義，猶以杞柳為桮棬。」孟子曰：「子能順杞柳之性，而以為桮棬乎？將戕賊杞柳，而後以為桮棬也？如將戕賊杞柳，而以為桮棬；則亦將戕賊人，以為仁義與？率天下之人而禍仁義者，必子之言夫。」
The philosopher Gao said, 'Man's nature is like the qi-willow , and righteousness is like a cup or a bowl. The fashioning benevolence and righteousness out of man's nature is like the making cups and bowls from the qi-willow.' Mencius replied, 'Can you, leaving untouched the nature of the willow, make with it cups and bowls? You must do violence and injury to the willow, before you can make cups and bowls with it. If you must do violence and injury to the willow in order to make cups and bowls with it, on your principles you must in the same way do violence and injury to humanity in order to fashion from it benevolence and righteousness! Your words, alas! would certainly lead all men on to reckon benevolence and righteousness to be calamities.'
Priority note
A human-edited reading layer
Central question
Why does Mencius reject the analogy that righteousness is shaped out of human nature like bowls from willow wood?
Direct answer
Because the analogy implies that becoming virtuous requires twisting, cutting, and damaging what a person already is. Mencius wants to protect the idea that moral growth should unfold from human potential, not from injury to it.
First principle
Any ethics that treats persons as raw material will tend toward control. Mencius insists that a person is not mere material but a being already carrying moral beginnings.
Why it matters
This passage is a crucial negative entry into human goodness. It shows that Mencius is resisting not only one thesis about nature, but an entire engineering view of morality.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 1 of 20 in Gao Zi I. The cleanest entry point is "Man's nature is like the qi-willow, and righteousness…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about human goodness, desire, and the debates with Gaozi and can be read alongside Human nature, Humane government / kingly way, Flood-like qi.
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Gao Zi I is the central battleground for human goodness and the arguments with Gaozi.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not stop with the willow-and-bowls metaphor. Keep the line about 'doing violence to people in order to make benevolence and righteousness' because that is the real target of Mencius's reply.