Among the four aspects of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom as human goodness, Mencius paid special attention to benevolence, and even called it "benevolence, which is also popular with the people" (Gao Zishang), thus taking "benevolence" as the leading virtue in the other three aspects. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius had tried his best to expound the theory of "benevolence", and Mencius inherited his theory and further invented the theories of "benevolence" and "benevolent politics", taking "benevolent politics" as his fundamental plan for integrating society. In a sense, in Confucius' view, "benevolence" is more manifested in personal moral level, while in Mencius' view, Confucius' "benevolence" has expanded from personal moral life to the whole social and political life, so "benevolent politics" has become the most prominent performance of Mencius' kingly politics. It is in this sense that Mencius made wonderful preparations for the Confucian "benevolence".

First, the necessity of benevolent governance

Sima Qian described the background of Mencius' time and said: "At that time, Qin used to enrich the country; Chu Wei defeated the weak enemy with Wuqi; Wang Xuan used Sun and Tian Ji's disciples, and the governors were in the east. The world is in harmony, and attacking is wisdom. " (The Biography of Mencius and Xunqing) In short, the rulers at that time advocated the overbearing technique of enriching Qiang Bing and annexing the weak. The so-called "overbearing" means "pretending to be righteous with strength", that is, advocating the use of interests and force to maintain social order. In the early spring and autumn period, this policy did play a positive role, so Confucius also strongly praised Guan Zhong's hegemony and praised Guan Zhong's "benevolence" (The Analects of Confucius? Xianwen "). But in the Warring States period, it was impossible for the seven heroes to fight for a long time, let alone for the emperor to establish a vassal. "Even if the duke of Huan rises again, it will be difficult for a friendship. "Under such historical conditions, it is impossible to restore a unified social order by hegemony. On the contrary, it will only lead to constant wars, thus further aggravating social unrest. Therefore, Mencius believed that in order to fundamentally solve the social crisis at that time, we must abandon the hegemony of attaching importance to strength and profit, and replace it with the "king way" of benevolent government, that is, "taking virtue as benevolence" and governing the country through "benevolence"

2. Benevolence-the foundation of social relations and the guarantee of social order

In Mencius' view, "those who give up their relatives have no benevolence, and those who give up their husbands have no righteousness." In other words, if people's behavior can be regulated by benevolence and righteousness, there will naturally be no offence and insurrection, thus maintaining social harmony and stability. On the other hand, if social relations are based on interests, it will only lead to "exorbitant taxes and levies", which is the root of the social crisis: "Wang said' why is it good for our country', doctors said' why is it good for our family', scholars said' why is it good for our health', and exorbitant taxes and levies are harmful to our country! If the country of a thousand riders kills its monarch, it will be the home of a thousand riders; A thousand times the country kills its king, then a hundred times the home. It's not too much to walk a thousand roads and a hundred roads. After the righteousness is righteousness, the first benefit is benefit, and I am not tired of it. " (On King Hui Liang)

3. People expect benevolent government.

Mencius revealed a lot of darkness in society at that time. He once criticized Liang for "killing for politics", also known as "no one is not addicted to killing". (On King Hui Liang)

(1) On the one hand, successive years of annexation wars have made people miserable. Fight for the city, kill for the city. This so-called rate and cannibalism. "("On Li Lou ")

(2) On the other hand, the blackmail of the rulers makes the people unbearable. As the saying goes, "there is fat in the barn, fat horses in the stables, hungry people and hungry people in the wild, which leads to the cannibalism of animals and animals." ("Hui Liang Wang Shang") Therefore, Mencius sadly pointed out, "If you don't do it, you can't neglect it at this time; The people are embarrassed by political abuse, even more so at this time. " ("The Ugliness of Sun")

Therefore, Mencius believes that in this miserable era, it is most necessary and most suitable to implement benevolent policies. People look forward to a benevolent paradise, as long as the seedlings after a long drought are eager for rain. "If there are people who are not addicted to killers, all people in the world will be attracted and expected. If so, the people will return to it and the water will go down. Who can resist? " (Hui Liang Wang Shang) In other words, the people's return to the benevolent land, like water flowing downwards, can't be stopped by anyone.