First of all, I think the greatness of Mencius lies in that the idea of "benevolence and righteousness" advocated by him can best grasp the essence of things. Mencius saw that "fate" and "profit" were short-sighted to the interest relationship of things, while benevolence and righteousness could have a long-term impact on the future, so he came up with the theories of "sacrificing life for justice" and "sacrificing profit for justice". In a narrow sense, "benevolence and righteousness" refers to the loyalty and filial piety of the feudal era. In fact, it is a misunderstanding of Mencius for thousands of years, because since the May Fourth New Culture Movement, the three cardinal guides and the five permanent members have changed life; "The Doctrine of the Mean" said: "Tao can't be separated for a moment, but can be separated from non-Tao." So, does this "benevolence" still have eternal significance? Therefore, to understand Mencius' "benevolence and righteousness" today, we should stand on high ground and proceed from a broad sense: just as Taoism's "Tao" and Buddhism's "Bodhi" are all understandings of objective universal laws, Mencius' "benevolence and righteousness" is also unique. And this understanding can make Mencius like a skilled fisherman's hand caught in the crab's key, so that the crab can't get rid of it even if it has thighs and big feet. No matter how complicated problems or difficulties appear on the surface of things, Meng Zi is not dizzy, and he can often save the day, making it easy and more than enough.
Today's world-famous "system theory" and "system thinking", although they keep saying that they are opposed to giving up the basics, should look at things dynamically and in the long run. To put it bluntly, everyone can find the embryonic form from Mencius' thought of benevolence and righteousness. It is most appropriate to use Mao Zedong's words to describe Mencius' way of benevolence and righteousness. People who can't grasp the essence of benevolence and righteousness are like walking on the vast desert or ocean, exhausted by the mirage that appears at any time.
One more thing, I think what Mencius deserves to be imitated by later generations is his spirit of independence and not colluding with others. This is doomed, if he has the opportunity to do something and give him a stage to display his talents, he will definitely become a big shot in Wang Ye! Maverick, stand firm and have a sense of independence; Those who don't go with the flow can't see the difference and can do it unexpectedly. With these two things, Mencius' great boldness of vision was created, and his writing style was magnificent and magnificent. When he was used to start a business, the whole world fell to him alone. Sun Tzu's art of war said that "people should not be influenced by others" was reflected in Mencius. Nowadays, the social situation is surging, and people often put themselves in it without fighting for direction. If you learn something from Mencius, why not make the gods cry?
Although the time spent studying Mencius is very short, Mencius' bright way of benevolence and righteousness is enough to benefit people for life. Finally, I will make a summary of Mencius' way of benevolence and righteousness: first, his idea of abandoning the end; second, his maverick spirit; and third, his courage to control the situation. The world with people is the world, and the king of the world makes the people of the world submit to it rather than dominate it. The fundamental difference between a king and a tyrant lies in whether or not to implement a benevolent policy. The essence of benevolent policy lies in loving the people, and the center of benevolent policy lies in loving the people.
Mencius' ambition is to let the vassal States practice benevolent government and then rule the world. Although many places say that seventy miles is king, in fact, he still thinks that it is more likely that a big country will implement benevolent policies and then rule the world. Therefore, although he has been to many vassal States, he feels that he has not invested enough in small countries such as Teng, Zou and Lu, and more in Wei and Qi, especially Qi. Based on the grasp of the situation at that time, Mencius believed that since the Spring and Autumn Period, people have been struggling for years, and people all want a kind king to save them, just as people who are hung upside down urgently need others to save them. Therefore, if any monarch can practice benevolent government, the people of the world will inevitably submit to it, thus realizing the ideal of being king and dominating the world. This expectation of Mencius was not realized in Liang. After a short trip to Wei, Liang died a year later, and Liang's successor doesn't seem to be a kind person. At that time, Qi was prosperous, with vast territory and abundant resources, a large population and a large number of wise men. Therefore, Mencius patiently stayed in Qi twice and spent a long time. The second time I went, I was 765,438+0 years old. He still tried to persuade Qi Xuanwang to implement benevolent policies in order to realize his ambition, but contrary to Qi Xuanwang's opinion, he left. Qi Xuanwang didn't even send someone to stay.
If ruling the world is Mencius' ultimate goal, then the starting point is to implement benevolent government in China. Mencius divided the implementation of benevolent policy into four levels: first, protect the existing resources and realize the sustainable utilization of resources to ensure that the people can live and die, so that the people will not die; Second, teach people to be self-sufficient and ensure basic living needs. At the same time, the state should pay attention to the production season and let the people work with peace of mind; Third, reduce taxes and reduce the burden on the people; Fourth, after the first three aspects are realized, moral education will be carried out to form a good social fashion of respecting the elderly and loving the young. These four levels are gradual. If the benevolent government can be implemented according to this, the benevolent virtue of the monarch of this country will be well known, so that people all over the world yearn to come to this country. By then, it will be easy to rule the world.
After the implementation of the benevolent policy, it can win the hearts of the people all over the world. The next thing to do is to save the people of other countries in from the mire, that is, the problem of conquest. This is the outward implementation process of the benevolent policy. Mencius said that there was no righteous war in the Spring and Autumn Period, but it was the same in the Warring States Period. Wars between vassal States are all about land and population. It was said that it was only in the late Warring States that other vassal States were devastated under the strong national situation of Qin, and it was not practical at that time to unify the world. Mencius said that "the king of the world" actually did not mean the world in the sense of land, but the world in the hearts of the people. If you can win the hearts of the world, you will get the world. As for conquering other countries, it must be out of benevolence and righteousness, which is also public opinion in Mencius' view. Mencius said that the weather is not as good as the geographical position, and the geographical position is not as good as people's harmony, which means attaching importance to the role of people's hearts. It is incomplete to say that Mencius must be called Yao Shun. It is more about Shang Tang and Zhou Wenwang, among which Shang Tang is more detailed. Shang Tang, for example, is actually the king's role model that Mencius often mentioned. Shang Tang's conquest was to save the people from fire and water, so he resented the east and the west, and this "resentment" was that he didn't come to save himself first. It can be seen that this conquest is out of the hearts of the people, so the people all hope that the kind monarch will come first to help them out of trouble. Therefore, when the "teacher of justice" comes, it will be easy to fight for Julian Waghann.
Mencius attached great importance to the people's heart and public opinion, and even said that "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the least" to show the importance of the people's heart, and even said that "I have heard of killing the husband, but I have never heard of killing the king" to warn the king. Although Mencius didn't realize his ideal in his life, his concern for people's hearts and his interpretation of benevolent government had a great influence on later generations from both positive and negative aspects.