Jin Xin I · Passage 24 / 46 · 孟子 7A.24

Mencius 7A.24: why join the art of contemplating

Mencius uses mountains, the sea, and flowing water to explain vision and study: only larger seeing relativizes the small.

孟子曰：「孔子登東山而小魯，登泰山而小天下。故觀於海者難為水；游於聖人之門者難為言。觀水有術，必觀其瀾。日月有明，容光必照焉。流水之為物也，不盈科不行；君子之志於道也，不成章不達。」

mèng zǐ yuē：「kǒng zǐ dēng dōng shān ér xiǎo lǔ， dēng tài shān ér xiǎo tiān xià。 gù guān wū hǎi zhě nán wéi shuǐ； yóu wū shèng rén zhī mén zhě nán wéi yán。 guān shuǐ yǒu shù， bì guān qí lán。 rì yuè yǒu míng， róng guāng bì zhào yān。 liú shuǐ zhī wéi wù yě， bù yíng kē bù xíng； jūn zǐ zhī zhì wū dào yě， bù chéng zhāng bù dá。」

Mencius said, 'Confucius ascended the eastern hill, and Lu appeared to him small. He ascended the Tai mountain, and all beneath the heavens appeared to him small. So he who has contemplated the sea, finds it difficult to think anything of other waters, and he who has wandered in the gate of the sage, finds it difficult to think anything of the words of others. There is an art in the contemplation of water. It is necessary to look at it as foaming in waves. The sun and moon being possessed of brilliancy, their light admitted even through an orifice illuminates. Flowing water is a thing which does not proceed till it has filled the hollows in its course. The student who has set his mind on the doctrines of the sage, does not advance to them but by completing one lesson after another.'

Priority note

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Central question

Why does Mencius join the art of contemplating water with the idea that it does not proceed before filling the hollows?

Direct answer

Because both true perspective and true progress oppose impatience. One must see what is larger so as not to be trapped by the small, and one must fill what lies before advancing or the flow will not be stable.

First principle

The higher the aspiration, the less it can advance by skipping stages. Real breadth of view requires real sequence of formation.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around water imagery, gradual learning, and Mencius on stages of cultivation, while strengthening the site's methodological architecture.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 24 of 46 in Jin Xin I. The cleanest entry point is "Confucius ascended the eastern hill, and Lu appeared…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about exhausting the heart, sincerity, and preserving the original heart and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.

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