Mencius thought
1, the idea of benevolent government
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. Confucius' "benevolence" is an ethical concept with a wide meaning, and its most basic spirit is "love". Mencius started from Confucius' thought of "benevolence" and expanded it into a policy program including ideology, politics, economy and culture, which is "benevolence". The basic spirit of "benevolent government" is to have deep sympathy and love for the people. He applied the principles of "closeness" and "length" to politics, and thought that to implement "benevolent government", it was necessary to "control the people's permanent production" so that every farmer could have a hundred acres of land, five acres of houses and at least the means of production; "Don't seize the day" to ensure that farmers have time to work; "save punishment and light taxes" to give people the lowest material living conditions; Strengthen moral education to make people understand the truth of "filial piety and faith"; Advocate "people-oriented", the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light; Oppose the merger war, think that the war is too cruel, and advocate "benevolent politics" to unify the world.
The theoretical basis of Mencius' theory of "benevolent government" is "the theory of good nature", and Mencius believes that "everyone has compassion" He believes that goodness is the unique nature of human beings and the fundamental symbol that distinguishes human beings from animals.
2. People-oriented thought
(1) economy
Mencius advocated "controlling people's wealth" and reducing taxes, giving people material security, and clearly pointed out that "people are the way, those who have constant wealth have perseverance, and those who have no constant wealth have no perseverance." If you don't have perseverance, you can do whatever you want. "If you don't have an industry, you won't have a moral belief. Without moral beliefs, they will do whatever it takes to survive. " It is the wise monarch who holds the people's property. They will be able to adopt their parents and wives. A happy life is full, and death is avoided in a fierce year. "
Mencius believed that in order to "control people's property", we must first make people have five acres of houses and one hundred acres of land, and don't go against the farming season. "Five acres of house, the tree is mulberry, and fifty people can wear clothes; Chickens, dolphins, dogs and livestock are all in time, and seventy people can eat meat. " At the same time, in the face of heavy taxes at that time, Mencius advocated "saving punishment and reducing taxes", arguing that only by reducing the enslavement and exploitation of the rulers to the people and stabilizing their lives would the people obey the rule and the society be stable.
(2) Politics
① Relationship between the monarch and the people: advocate that "the people are more important than the monarch" and point out that the people are the most fundamental. He said: "The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light." And demonstrate this point: "Because Qiu Min is the son of heaven, the son of heaven is a vassal, and the vassal is a doctor. When a vassal is in trouble, he must change it. The sacrifice was completed, and it was a prosperous time, and the sacrifice was timely. However, if the drought and flood overflow, it will change the country. " This means that only with the support of the people can Tiandi ensure political stability. The establishment of Tugu God is meaningful only by protecting the people. If the monarch has no way to endanger the existence of the country, he should be replaced; If the sacrifices are thoughtful and there are droughts and floods, the country should be abandoned. Only the people can't give up and lose at any time, so the people are the foundation of the country.
(2) Public opinion is God's will: He quoted the phrase "Heaven regards himself and others, and God listens to himself and others" in Taishi, emphasizing that public opinion is God's will. The monarch's power is "heaven and it", "heaven doesn't say anything, but shows it by deeds and things" Only by conforming to public opinion and implementing benevolent policies can we unify the world. He advocated limiting monarchical power, and believed that saints and people were of the same kind, and everyone was equal before the "class". "Sages belong to the people, so it is", "Sages are like me" and "Yao and Shun have the same ears". He thinks everyone can think of Yao and Shun. This improves the status of ordinary people and highlights the view that people are equal in essence; Strongly opposed the monarch's wanton expansion and abuse of power, and advocated appropriate restrictions on it from the perspective of class interests. "If you are more serious, you must be remonstrated;" If you don't listen repeatedly, you will be translocated. "Advocate the equality of personality between monarch and minister". If a monarch regards a minister as a brother, then a minister regards him as a confidant. "If you treat me like a dog or a horse, then I will treat you like a Chinese; You treat me like dirt, and I treat you like hatred. "
(3) Managing internal affairs: Mencius believed that the monarch should respect public opinion, not based on the intention of the monarch, but based on the intention of the people of China, whether selecting talents or killing people. The will of the people is the main basis for the monarch to make decisions. "Everyone in China has virtue, and then judge it; See the sages and then use them. " "China people can kill, and then the trial; If you see it, you can kill it and then kill it. " In foreign policy, Mencius also adhered to the people-oriented thought. After Qi State won a great victory in attacking Yan State, he asked Mencius whether it should annex Yan State. Mencius replied, "If it pleases people, take it ... If it makes people unhappy, don't accept it ..." The annexation of other countries also depends on whether the people of that country welcome it. He fully realized that only by conforming to public opinion can real reunification be achieved.
4 Enjoy with the people: If you want the people to love themselves and enjoy with the people, you must love the people first; Worry about the people and enjoy the people. When Qi Xuanwang asked Mencius why his hunting ground was only 40 Li, people thought it was very big, while Zhou Wenwang's 70 Li was very small. Mencius explained the reason: because King Wen's hunting ground is "humble people go, pheasants go, and the people are the same". And Qi Xuanwang can't, "kill its elk, such as killing people". Being happy with the people is considered to be an essential quality of a wise monarch. Mencius believed that "people are happy when they are happy; People have their worries, and people have their worries. Happiness lies in the world, sorrow lies in the world, but if you are not king, you have nothing. "This kind of thinking has cultivated generations of wise kings. At the same time, history has also proved that only those who truly "share happiness with the people" will be loved by the people, while monarchs who base their happiness on people's sufferings will inevitably be unpopular and the dynasty will inevitably perish.
3. Ethical thought
Mencius inherited and developed Confucius' thoughts of valuing righteousness over profit, caring for the benevolent, governing the country by virtue and attaching importance to personal cultivation, and made Confucianism more systematic. People believe that human beings have natural, identical and kind natures. Human nature has four hearts, namely, compassion, shame, resignation and right and wrong. The combination of "four hearts" with benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom constitutes the "four ends" (four buds) of morality, which holds that people are born with four moral qualities. The reason why people are human lies in their innate goodness. But human nature can be changed. It is believed that "conscience", "virtue" or "conscience" is the root of human nature, the highest moral reason and instinct of human beings, and the master of all human moral behaviors, from which human moral will, moral emotion, moral evaluation, moral choice, moral judgment and moral responsibility are instinctively issued. The temptation and corrosion of sound, color, goods and interests may blind people's conscience and make people lose their sincerity. Therefore, people should "clear their hearts", "have no desire", "seek their reassurance", "Ming Dow", "gather righteousness" and "cultivate my noble spirit". To achieve "reflexive sincerity", "intentional", "nurturing", "understanding" and "knowing heaven" is to reach the highest moral realm. It is believed that as the principle of dealing with people and moral education, we can only preach, not talk about interests. Asserting that if "the upper and lower taxes are levied, the country will be in danger"; "Righteousness before righteousness, benefit first, and not embarrassed if you don't take it"; "Wylie is connected with Israel, but those who don't die have nothing." However, paying attention to the improvement of people's lives is not against the rulers. On the contrary, it advocates "controlling people's property" and puts forward the famous view that "those who have constant property have perseverance, and those who have no constant property have no perseverance" (Teng Wengong I). Opposing Mohism's "universal love" and Yang Zhu's "for me", he clearly put forward the "five ethics" relationship between people for the first time and established the criteria for dealing with the "five ethics" relationship, namely: father and son are related, monarch and minister are righteous, husband and wife are different, young and old have memories, and friends have faith. Mencius believed that benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom were the most important. Benevolence is based on filial piety and filial piety, and it is the basic moral standard to deal with the blood relationship between father and son. He believes that if every member of society uses benevolence and righteousness to deal with the relationship between people, the stability of feudal order and the unity of the world will be reliably guaranteed. Mencius' ethical thought is based on the theory of goodness of nature and centered on the theory of conscience, which constitutes a relatively systematic ethical thought system and occupies an important position in the development of China's ethical thought history, especially in the development of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties.
4. Philosophical thoughts
The highest category of Mencius' philosophical thought is heaven. Mencius inherited Confucius' thought of destiny and imagined heaven as a spiritual entity with moral attributes. He said: "Honest people, heaven is also." Mencius defined the moral concept of "sincerity" as the essential attribute of heaven, and believed that heaven was the source of the inherent moral concept of human nature. Mencius' ideological system, including his political thoughts and ethical thoughts, takes heaven as the category.
On the relationship between heaven and man, Mencius believed that heaven and man were interlinked. From the aspect of heaven, heaven is the master of all things, and everything is decided by heaven. From the human aspect, not only does human goodness come from talent, but also the thinking function of human heart is endowed by heaven. The human heart has the essential attribute of heaven, so we can know heaven as long as we try our best to play and expand our original heart.
Mencius tried his best to pursue the spiritual realm of dedication, intellectuality and knowledge of heaven. In order to achieve this state, he put forward a set of moral cultivation methods and epistemological thoughts, emphasizing the conscious and inward pursuit of the subject, and believed that if this state was reached, great spiritual strength would be generated.
5. Educational thoughts
(1) The role of education
Mencius believes that the social function of education is to win the hearts of the people, and good politics is not as good as good education. He said: "Good governance is not as good as good education. Good governance is feared by the people; Good teaching, people like it. Good governance gains people's wealth, and good education wins people's hearts. " Benevolence must be supplemented by a good education, because: "those who convince others with strength are unconvinced and lack strength;" Those who serve others with virtue are happy and convinced, just as Confucius was served by seventy sons. "
Based on the theory of "good nature", Mencius expounded that the role of education in human development is "seeking peace of mind". Mencius believes that human nature is good, and everyone has compassion, shame, right and wrong and resignation. These four are the four ends of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom. Therefore, people have "good skills" without learning, and "conscience" without worrying. Mencius Gao Zi Shang said: "Benevolence, courtesy and wisdom are nothing more than that. I am also inherent. I am thoughtful." It shows that human goodness is a gift, and benevolence, courtesy and wisdom are also innate. But this is only a kind of goodness, and the virtue and stupidity of human beings depend on whether this innate goodness can be preserved, cultivated, expanded and filled. If you give up on yourself, you lose this beauty. The function of education is to find the lost nature and preserve and develop the natural goodness, so he said, "There is no other way to learn, just ask him to rest assured." In this sense, anyone who is educated and willing to learn can become a saint, "anyone can think of Yao and Shun". Therefore, Mencius attached great importance to the role of education in human development.
(2) the purpose and content of education
(1) educational goal: to cultivate "gentlemen", "saints" and "brave men". Mencius, like Confucius, also requires "gentlemen", "sages" and "gentlemen" to attach importance to morality and have both ability and political integrity. Mencius, under Teng Wengong, said, "Richness and wealth can't be lewd, poverty and lowliness can't be moved, and powerful people can't be bent. This is called a gentleman. " Here, Mencius pointed out the main standard of training objectives-"gentleman": wealth can't disturb my heart, poverty can't change my mind, and powerful people can't bend my integrity. In other words, a person who can consciously safeguard the interests of the landlord class must stand the test of wealth, poverty and violence and turn feudal moral consciousness into his firm belief. Mencius clearly summarized the purpose of ancient school education in China-"human relations in the Ming Dynasty". Mencius said of Teng Wengong: "Set it as a study to teach it. If you are embarrassed, give it up. Learn and teach. Order, shoot also. The school has, Xu and Zhou; I studied the third generation of * * *, so the relationship is good. " Specifically, "human relations" means "father and son are close, monarch and minister are righteous, husband and wife are different, young and old are close, and friends believe". Later people called it "five ethics", which is a moral concept of maintaining social order and ranking.
(2) Central content: "Filial piety is the righteousness".
Taking ethics as the basic content of education and the significance of filial piety as the basis of ethics is an important feature of education in the whole feudal society of China.
Introduction of Mencius
Mencius (372 BC-289 BC), whose real name is Ke, is Zi (to be tested, Zi or Zi Ju). During the Warring States Period, Lu was a descendant of Lu Guoqing's father. China was a famous thinker and educator in ancient times and a representative of Confucianism in the Warring States Period. He is the author of Mencius. Mencius inherited and developed his thoughts and became a generation of Confucian masters second only to Confucius. He was called a saint, and together with Confucius, he was called Confucius and Mencius.
Mencius was born in Zouguo (now Zoucheng City, Shandong Province). Also known as sub-car, self-styled (to be determined). Mencius was born about one hundred years before the death of Confucius (479 BC). Stories about his life are rarely handed down. There is a story about his mother's broken brocade in Biography of Women in Han Dynasty, and a story about his mother's three moves to Qi in Biography of Women in Han Dynasty, which shows that he benefited from his mother's education. According to Zhao Qi's Biography of Lienv and Mencius' copybook, Mencius was taught by Confucius. But in terms of age, it seems incredible. The Biography of Mencius Xun Qing says that he is a disciple of his profession, which is possible. Mencius' theory is influenced by Zi Si, and whether it is influenced by Zi Si. Therefore, Xunzi listed Zisi and Mencius as one school, that is, the Meng Si School of Confucianism in later generations. Mencius and Confucius are collectively called Confucius and Mencius, and most people call them Confucius and Mencius. Confucius is the most holy, Mencius is the second saint. China was a famous thinker, educator, politician, political commentator and essayist in ancient times, a representative of Confucianism in the Warring States Period, and the fourth generation disciple of Confucius. Inherit and carry forward Confucius' thoughts and refute Yang Zhu and Mo Zhai.
Father's name is excited and mother's name is lost. There were no font sizes recorded in ancient books before the Han Dynasty, but many different font sizes appeared after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, such as Ziche, Viscount and Yu Zi, which may be attached by future generations, but they are not necessarily credible. There are different opinions about the year of birth and death because there is no record in historical biography. Among them, the statement that Meng's Genealogy was born on Thursday (372 BC) and died in 26 years (289 BC) was adopted by most scholars. I arrived in Shandong at the age of fifteen or sixteen. There is a saying that I am a disciple of Confucius' grandson Zisi. However, according to historical research, it is found that Zisi died decades before Mencius was born, so it is more credible to say that he was a disciple educated by Zisi as recorded in Historical Records. After Mencius was originally the third Huan of Lu, his distant ancestor was the noble family of Lu. Later, his family fortune declined and he moved from Lu to Zou. Mencius lost his father at the age of three, and Meng Mu raised him with great pains. Meng Mu has a tight grip on him. His stories, such as Meng Mu's Three Movements and Meng Mu's Broken Weave, have become eternal stories, and they are models of mother education in later generations.
Mencius is a collection of Mencius' speeches by Mencius and his disciples, which records Mencius' language, political opinions (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. Mencius once took Confucius as an example and led his disciples all over the world. But it was not accepted by all countries at that time. He retired and wrote books with his disciples. Seven pieces of Mencius handed down from ancient times: the first and second pieces of Liang Huiwang; "Gongsun Ugly" up and down; "Teng Wengong" up and down; "Li Lou" up and down; "Zhang Wan" up and down; "Gao Zi" goes up and down; Heart and soul. His theoretical starting point is the theory of good nature, which puts forward the principle of benevolent governance and advocates the rule of virtue. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Mencius, The Analects of Confucius, Daxue and The Doctrine of the Mean were combined into four books. Mencius is the largest and heaviest of the four books, with more than 35 thousand words. From then until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the four books were always the compulsory contents of the imperial examination. Mencius' article is eloquent, magnificent, good at argumentation, rigorous in logic and sharp in wit, which represents the peak of traditional prose writing. Mencius put forward the theory of goodness in human nature, that is, at the beginning of life, human nature is good.
Mencius' composition
Teacher Meng is our Chinese teacher, and my exercises are carefully cultivated by him. Because the teacher is knowledgeable and surnamed Meng, many people call him "Mencius".
At the beginning of school, Mencius assured the girls that if he didn't make a big mistake, he would never care about us. He said that we had strong self-control in the fifth grade, so trust us.
Mencius will give us exercises in every Chinese class. He is a writer. For the sake of his students, he gave up his writing plan, helped us to correct and publish our compositions every day, and taught us how to describe a person vividly.
We have learned about the strictness in learning, but it always gives students who make mistakes a chance to correct them. I remember that time, I was talking to Chen Xinyi in the dormitory, and I was caught by Zou prefect and informed by the whole school. The next morning, Mencius walked slowly into the classroom and said softly, "Chen Xinyi, Liao Siya, come with me to the office." Trembling with fear, the two of us slowly followed Mencius into the office, which was horribly quiet. My tears fell involuntarily. Those tears are like glittering and translucent gems, and I dare not go near Mencius like a mouse seeing a cat!
Do you know why I called you to the office? Mencius' eyes were gentle, not as murderous as I thought.
"Do you know ... do you know ... Tao ..." I sobbed and said, "We ... talked at noon ... and ... criticized!"
"Liao Siya, the first time you cried, I knew your class had a strong collective consciousness. From then on, I know that you will get rid of all the bad habits before and try to be an excellent self ... "Mencius' tone is very peaceful.
Mencius continued: "Chen Xinyi, I always thought you were a quiet and excellent child. This time, I won't talk about it in class. I hope you two can know my intention! "
We slowly returned to the classroom. From then on, I not only learned how to sleep quietly in the dormitory without disturbing others, but also learned how to tolerate others. ...