Source:

From Mencius's "Mencius, Dedicated Articles, Sentence Reading, Section 20"

Original text:

Mencius said, "A gentleman has three pleasures, but the king of the world does not exist. Parents exist, brothers have no chance, and they are happy. Be worthy of the sky, live up to people, and be happy. It is three pleasures to be educated by talents in the world. A gentleman has three pleasures, but the king of the world does not exist. "

Translation:

Mencius said: "A gentleman has three kinds of happiness, and being king is not one of them. Parents, brothers and sisters are safe, which is a kind of happiness; It is the second kind of happiness not to be ashamed of the world and the people in the world; Getting the best talents in the world and educating them is the third kind of happiness. Gentlemen have these three kinds of music, and the world is not among them. "

Mencius thought

Based on the experience of the Warring States period, Mencius summed up the laws governing the rise and fall of chaos in various countries and put forward a famous proposition rich in the essence of democracy: "The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light." People think that how to treat people is extremely important to the rise and fall of a country. Mencius attached great importance to the opposition between people's hearts, and repeatedly expounded through a large number of historical examples that this is a key issue related to winning or losing in the world.

"The people are precious, the country is second, and the monarch is light." It means the people first, the country second, and the monarch last. Mencius believed that the monarch should take care of the people first, and politicians should protect the rights of the people. Mencius agreed that the monarch has no way and the people have the right to overthrow the regime. For this reason, Hanshu and Yiwenzhi only regard Mencius as a sub-book, without giving it its due status.