Mencius 6A.12
Mencius (孟子), Book 6, Part I: Gaozi I 告子上
孟子曰：「今有無名之指，屈而不信，非疾痛害事也，如有能信之者，則不遠秦楚之路，為指之不若人也。指不若人，則知惡之；心不若人，則不知惡，此之謂不知類也。」
Mencius said, 'Here is a man whose fourth finger is bent and cannot be stretched out straight. It is not painful, nor does it incommode his business, and yet if there be any one who can make it straight, he will not think the way from Qin to Chu far to go to him; because his finger is not like the finger of other people. When a man's finger is not like those of other people, he knows to feel dissatisfied, but if his mind be not like that of other people, he does not know to feel dissatisfaction. This is called "Ignorance of the relative importance of things."'
Character glossary
- 孟mèngfirst in a series; great, eminent
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 今jīnmodern, current; today, now
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 名míngname; position, rank, title
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 指zhǐfinger, toe; to point, to indicate
- 屈qūto bend, to flex; bent, crooked, crouche
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 信xìnto trust, to believe; letter, sign
- 非fēinot, negative, non-; to oppose
- 疾jísickness, illness, disease; to envy, to
- 痛tòngache, pain; bitterness, sorrow; deeply,
- 害hàito injure, to harm; to destroy, to kill
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 也yěalso, too
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 能néngcan, may; capable, full of energy
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 遠yuǎndistant, remote, far; profound
- 秦qínthe Qin dynasty (eponymous for China)
- 楚chǔclear, distinct; pain, suffering; surnam
- 路lùroad, path, street; journey
- 為wèito do, to act; to handle, to govern; to
- 若ruòif, supposing, assuming; similar
- 人rénman, person; people
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 惡èbad, evil, wicked; to hate, to loathe; f
- 心xīnheart; mind; soul
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 類lèicategory, class, group, kind; similar to
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Mencius 2B.6
- Mencius 7B.21
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
- Analects 5.5
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.