1, Mencius believes that people must be paid attention to in implementing benevolent policies. Land, people and politics are the three treasures of the country. On this basis, Mencius put forward the idea that "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light". This is a supplement to Confucius' thought of "benevolence" on the basis of Confucius' theory.
2. Xunzi believes that "heaven" is an objective nature and naturally has its own operating rules. People should respect the law and obey it. People can also use laws to transform nature, so that nature can better serve mankind.
3. Mencius and Xunzi both inherited and developed Confucianism, but there are differences. Mencius continued to carry forward Confucius' "benevolence", and then developed into "benevolent government", and put forward the thought of "people-oriented", and then put forward the thought of "people first, the country second, scratching calcium for water for clothing". Although Xunzi is also a representative of Confucianism, he put forward new ideas and formed his own school. Xunzi's "inherent vice" is quite different from Mencius' "good nature". He also used the philosophical viewpoint of simple materialist dialectics to put forward that the unity of man and nature should not violate the laws of nature and oppose the theory of destiny and ghosts, which represented the emerging landlord class at that time.
Second, the theory of Confucius
The core idea of Confucius' theory is "benevolence". Confucianism is the most influential school in China and the mainstream consciousness in ancient China. Confucianism has exerted a profound influence on China, East Asia and even the whole world.
Confucius advocated "ruling the country by virtue", which is the noblest way to govern the country. This strategy of governing the country is also called "rule by virtue" or "rule by courtesy". Rule by virtue is to advocate moral education. Confucianism believes that no matter whether human nature is good or evil, people can be influenced and educated by morality. The so-called "rule by courtesy" means observing a strict hierarchy, and there are strict differences between monarch and minister, father and son, and nobility and inferiority.