Cultivate a gentleman's ideal personality. His description of a gentleman is: wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent. He believes that a gentleman should have noble character and cannot easily bow to power. A gentleman needs integrity, that is, a psychological state and spiritual realm that trusts emotion and will.
Mencius advocated the theory of good nature and believed that human nature was good. But what Mencius said about good nature does not mean that there is pure morality in human nature, but that there is a good ending in human nature, that is, the factor or bud of good. Mencius believes that as long as you are willing to receive education and study, you can give full play to your innate goodness and reach the most perfect state. Mencius advocated giving priority to morality and having both ability and political integrity.
The background of Mencius' education is as follows:
Early education: Mencius is a descendant of Lu Guizhi. After the decline of history, one family moved from Shandong to Zou, which is the ancestor of Mencius. Mencius, like Confucius, grew up under the education of his mother, and Meng Mu's words and deeds played a great role in making Mencius a "second saint".
Travel around the world: Mencius has traveled to Qi, Song, Teng, Wei, Lu and other countries for more than 20 years. The specific time when he traveled to other countries is not very accurate, and he can only explain the approximate time and situation according to the records in Mencius.
Back to Zou to Teng: When he died, he sent his friends to Zou twice to ask Mencius how to handle the funeral. After Teng Wengong ascended the throne, Mencius came to Tengguo. Teng Wengong personally asked Mencius for advice on how to govern the country.