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 inherited and developed Confucius' thought of ruling by virtue, and developed it into the theory of benevolent governance, which became the core of his political thought.
Mencius' political theory is king with benevolent governance as its content, and its essence is to serve the feudal ruling class. He applied the principles of "pro" and "long" to politics, eased class contradictions and safeguarded the long-term interests of the feudal ruling class.
Extended information of Mencius' works:
Mencius is a compilation of Mencius' speeches, compiled by Mencius and his disciples. It records Mencius' language, political views (benevolent politics, Wang Ba's debate, people-oriented, respecting the right and wrong of the monarch, and valuing the people over the monarch) and political actions, which belong to Confucian classics.
Mencius is the longest and heaviest of the four books, with more than 35 thousand words. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, "Four Books" had been a compulsory part of the imperial examination.
Mencius is not only an important Confucian academic work, but also a special collection of essays in ancient China. His writing style is magnificent, full of emotion and strict logic; It is eloquent and carefree. Illustrate complex truths with visual things and language. It had a great influence on later essayists Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and Su Shi.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Mencius Thought