People, everything is fair. Influenced by the Confucian tradition of attaching importance to the people, Zhu generally lacked the heart of loving the people and benefiting the people for the officials at that time. Most people are indifferent to the people and feel very dissatisfied. He clearly advocated: "In order to maintain order, the first thing is civil affairs." "People are the foundation of politics." Officials are required to put the interests of ordinary people first. "Love the people and follow the law, not for literacy." First of all, we should "be lenient with others", pay attention to caring for the people and reduce their exploitation. Of course, this does not mean "nothing" and "nothing". "If you can't obey an order, you can't stop it, but if you think it's tolerant, you won't." He clearly pointed out that at that time, some people were ignorant of politics under the banner of leniency, and even confused by the theory of "virtue", and dared not boldly punish those who hurt the people: "Today, the method of saving the disadvantages is extremely severe. If it is not strict, how can these good people benefit? " To truly benefit the people, it is necessary to strictly manage, strictly observe the law and discipline, severely punish the black sheep, and unify "treating others with leniency" and "governing politics with strictness".
In feudal officialdom, fraud, abuse of power for personal gain and abuse of power for personal gain are very common. Zhu said from his own personal experience, "Generally speaking, I don't want to do anything in recent years. This is a habit and a supreme right. Every region has private interests. " . In this regard, Zhu pointed out: "Officials are big and small, but everything is just public. It would be great if it could be made public. If you are a small official, people will be afraid. If it's unfair, it's the prime minister. If there is, you just need to go down. " Specifically, first, on the issue of employing people, we should "listen to the opinions of the public for everything we recommend" instead of "favoring one over the other"; Second, when dealing with government affairs, we should be "sincere" and not hide from each other, "serving only our own interests"; Third, when dealing with state property, we should distinguish between public and private property, rather than "regard it as self-esteem."
Self-discipline and purity, deacons are diligent. Zhu believes that honesty, diligence and independence are the "duties" of officials. Zhu's requirements for honesty are mainly reflected in two aspects: one is not greedy for money, and the other is paying attention to self-control. Zhu said: "An official who is diligent in self-discipline and has his own advance and retreat must never be nostalgic." This is certainly not "telling people to quit". Just be honest, don't show off, you know everything and say everything. The important thing is to do your own job well, and don't care about personal gains and losses.
Zhu particularly emphasized due diligence and advocated "seeing his position one day and seeing his official one day". And sharply criticized the style of several bad officials. One is "unofficial person". At that time, in order to save trouble, a considerable number of officials "couldn't see the official" and ignored the voice of the people, so that "the people have grievances and have nowhere to complain." I think officials like Zhu are "heartless people" and have no sympathy at all. The second is "refusing to do anything". Some officials are lazy and make a living. They don't ask for merit, but they ask for nothing. Zhu criticized: "People who do nothing in the world are only worse than laziness and selfishness! Scholar-officials are lazy and refuse to do anything. There's one thing to say. I only know that I have been an official for three years. Who can meddle and ask for trouble! I don't care. I have to be an official. " The third is procrastination. At that time, there was a continuous backlog of government documents, and many things were delayed for a long time. Zhu advocates finishing it every day. He said: "When it becomes an official document, it must be detained day by day and cannot be delayed." The fourth is enjoyment. Zhu said: "Today's officials can't perform their duties wholeheartedly, but they don't want to eat first." The first thing that officials think of is not how to do their best to handle official business, but how to eat, drink and be merry, which runs counter to the old saying of Confucius that "respect before eating".
Zhu also thinks: "Being an official is no better than living in the countryside. Every move is good, and every move must be afraid. " Politicians are asked to be cautious everywhere. "Everything should be carefully observed. People should consider that they are not thinking everywhere, and always beware of people's prevention, so that nothing will happen. " .
Self-cultivation and self-treatment. Zhu inherited and developed the traditional Confucian thought of "self-cultivation-oriented" and attached importance to the moral cultivation of the subject and its connection with external order education. He said, "The rule of law must be based on self-cultivation." That is, the self-moral cultivation of those in power is the foundation of governing the country and the people. Therefore, officials are required not only to be diligent in specific matters, but also to "do their best" and often check their bodies and minds, "to make knowledge a discipline of self-denial, so as to get rid of their arrogance and selfishness". By constantly exercising and perfecting your inner world, you can better handle the outside world, especially daily government affairs. He said to an official: "in your spare time, you must concentrate, or sit up straight, or consider the principle of swimming." When something happens, check it at will to ensure a sense of movement and restraint. If you don't let go, soak inside and outside, and the big ones stand up, the reasons for propaganda will be easy to understand. " Self-denial and introspection are closely related to what should be done, integrated inside and outside, and the background corresponds to the purpose, thus achieving the ideal political goal. This kind of political thought inherently contains the idea of justice first. Therefore, Zhu also said: "The most important thing for a politician is to do careful research, and the size of his book means that those who want to be righteous must be righteous first." He often advises officials to put self-cultivation before governing the people, or "strike hard and lose yourself", "convince others with reason" or "those who oppose me prosper, those who oppose me die, and treat others with sincerity". Only by "being calm in body and mind and single-minded in spirit" can we truly achieve the purpose of helping others.
Zhu was the most influential Confucian in the late feudal society. His thought of official morality was highly praised by many officials and even put into practice. Some official works have also been adopted. Shao Peng, a famous scholar, included his remarks in Zhu Wengong's "Political Admonitions", which played a certain role in the construction of official morality and the self-discipline of officials. Today, when we strengthen the construction of a clean government and correct the social atmosphere, these thoughts have important reference significance.