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Comparison and evaluation of Confucius and Mencius' views on saints
Comparison and evaluation of Confucius and Mencius' views on saints

In the treatment of human nature, Confucius advocated "benevolence" as the basis, and Mencius advocated "righteousness" as the first. If we pay a little attention to their views, it is not difficult to find that Confucius asked people to respect the foolish and loyal thought that "the territory is the land of kings, and the people of the world are the ministers of kings" on many occasions, so he also asked people to accept the slavery of the rulers without regret and be "gentle, respectful and frugal" instead of "sharp-edged"; However, Mencius advocated that "I am good at nurturing my noble spirit", "wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent", and if "you are great, you will remonstrate, and if you don't listen repeatedly, you will be translocated", and Mencius also said that "I have never heard of it."

It can be seen that Confucius wants to limit people's thoughts and behaviors within the scope of "ceremony" to prevent people from rebelling against the ruling class; Mencius believed that "fish is what I want;" Bear's paw is what I want You can't have both, but you have to give up your life for justice. " In other words, Mencius advocated that a person should have personality, not be timid and do what he says. It is said that when Mencius first arrived in the State of Qi, he deliberately advised the King of Qi not to be belligerent or happy, but to be "for folk music". Instead, he refused the interview on the grounds of illness and sent his men to cope with Mencius' arrival. Mencius' "Deal with a man as he deals with you" also declared that the disease was not yet over. People around him were afraid of offending the King of Qi, and they all advised Mencius to "obey the king's orders" and asked Mencius to think twice before acting, but Mencius insisted on his own opinion. What's more, in order to show his contempt for the King of Qi, Mencius casually rushed out to attend his master's funeral the next morning. In Confucius' view, Mencius' behavior is "outrageous" and "unteachable", while Mencius thinks that "the reason for his deviance is also-this is also ridiculous. If so, then choose to be with the beast? Why is it difficult to be with animals? " . What a challenging rebellion this is! Secondly, in the aspect of personality cultivation, Confucius blindly emphasized "self-denial and courtesy" and had no regrets. He let his disciples sharpen their will in fact to serve the ruling class; Mencius thought, "Therefore, people must first suffer from their minds, work hard on their bones and muscles, starve their bodies and skin, and mess with their actions, so they can't bear it." People are unchangeable, and then they can change. Trapped in your heart, balance your troubles and then do it. Color label, sound hair, and then metaphor. A country, if there are no ministers and wise men who can assist the king, will often be in danger of the collapse of its neighboring countries and the misfortunes from abroad. Then I know that I was born in sorrow and died in happiness. "

In other words, Mencius advocated that only through tempering can a person truly have the ability and moral integrity to "rule the country and level the world" and make contributions to society and benefit others. He doesn't think that tempering the will is only for the ruling class, but also for personal integrity.