Mencius 6A.3

Mencius (孟子), Book 6, Part I: Gaozi I 告子上

告子曰：「生之謂性。」孟子曰：「生之謂性也，猶白之謂白與？」曰：「然。」「白羽之白也，猶白雪之白；白雪之白，猶白玉之白與？」曰：「然。」「然則犬之性，猶牛之性；牛之性，猶人之性與？」

The philosopher Gao said, 'Life is what we call nature!'

Mencius asked him, 'Do you say that by nature you mean life, just as you say that white is white?' 'Yes, I do,' was the reply.

Mencius added, 'Is the whiteness of a white feather like that of white snow, and the whiteness of white snow like that of white jade?' Gao again said 'Yes.'

'Very well,' pursued Mencius. 'Is the nature of a dog like the nature of an ox, and the nature of an ox like the nature of a man?'

James Legge (1861), The Works of Mencius, The Chinese Classics vol. 2 (1861; 2nd ed. 1895); romanization modernized on Wikisource — public domain.

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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.