Mencius
Thinker, one of the main representatives of Confucianism. According to legend, Mencius is a descendant of Lu nobles. He lost his father when he was a child, and his family was poor. He was a student of Zisi. After finishing his studies, he lobbied the governors as scholars in an attempt to promote his own political views, and successively went to Liang (Wei), Qi, Song, Teng and Lu. At that time, several great powers devoted themselves to strengthening this rich country and striving for reunification through violent means. Mencius' theory of benevolent governance is considered to be "circuitous and broader than things" and has no chance to be implemented. His works include Mencius. It is regarded as the successor of Confucius' theory and called "Shengya".
biography
Mencius' ancestors were aristocrats in the state of Lu, and later his family declined and moved from the state of Lu to Zou (now southeast of Zoucheng, Shandong). He lost his father when he was three years old, and Meng Mu brought him up. When Mencius was a child, his mother moved three times to give him a good learning environment. Later, people called it the Three Major Movements in Meng Mu. Meng Mu's godson is very strict, and his "moving godson" and "broken loom" have become a beautiful talk throughout the ages. There is a saying in Saint Amethyst that "Meng Mu used to choose a neighbor".
In the era when Mencius lived, a hundred schools of thought contended, "The words of Yang Zhu and Mo Zhai are the best in the world." Mencius criticized it fiercely from the standpoint of Confucianism. Mencius inherited and developed Confucius' thoughts and put forward a complete ideological system. Mencius traveled around Qi, Jin, Song, Xue, Lu, Teng and Liang countries to lobby his thoughts of "benevolent government" and "kingly way". However, because the vassal states were busy with war at that time, his theory of benevolent governance was considered as "circuitous and wider than things", and almost no one adopted his thought of governing the country. He returned to China to give lectures and write books with his disciples, and wrote seven "Mencius". Mencius maintained and developed Confucianism, put forward the theory of "benevolent governance" and "good nature" and adhered to "people-oriented".
Mencius and his hometown
His thoughts have a great influence on later generations. But his position was not very high before the Song Dynasty. Since Han Yu listed Mencius as the only person in pre-Qin Confucianism who inherited Confucius' "orthodoxy" in The Original Road, there has been a "promotion movement" of Mencius, and his status has gradually improved. His theory had a great influence on the Song Dynasty. In the fourth year of Xining in northern Song Shenzong (107 1), Mencius was first listed as one of the subjects in the imperial examination, and was later promoted to a Confucian classic. Zhu in the Southern Song Dynasty combined it with The Analects of Confucius, Daxue and The Doctrine of the Mean into four books. From the Yuan Dynasty to the first year of Shun Dynasty (1330), Mencius was named "Yashenggong" and later called "Yashenggong", ranking second only to Confucius. His thoughts and Confucius' thoughts are collectively called "The Way of Confucius and Mencius".
personal influence
Mencius visited qi at the time. It seems that while he was going to Wei, he met He successively. I was here when I was in Qi Xuanwang. He has also been to Teng, Xue, Song, Zou, Liang and other countries. When Mencius was mentioned in Historical Records, the State of Qin used Shang Yang, Tian Ji and others to enrich Qiang Bing and attack, but what Mencius said was "the virtue of three generations of Tang Yu", which could not be used by monarchs of various countries because it was "circuitous and wider than things", so Mencius and his disciples Zhang Wan and others wrote books and made statements. However, according to Mencius, when Mencius came to Wei, he was treated with courtesy and asked Mencius for advice on how to govern the country. Mencius was in Qi, and Wang Xuan appointed him as Shangqing. "There are dozens of cars and hundreds of followers behind, in order to distribute food to the princes." Qi can adopt some of his theories and ideas, so he can stand out for a while.
According to historical records, Mencius has seven masterpieces handed down from generation to generation, while according to Han Art and literature, there are eleven. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhao Qi said that Mencius had four foreign books on sex, literature, filial piety and politics, and eleven books were added to seven books. Zhao Qi thinks that the contents of the four foreign books are superficial and inconsistent with the internal books, which should be written by future generations. Mencius, which has been handed down to this day, was said by Zhao Qi. Although this book was not written by Mencius, it was recorded by Mencius' disciples, and all this is undoubtedly Mencius' words and deeds. As can be seen from the book, Mencius has the following remarks and thoughts: in terms of human nature, he advocates the theory of goodness. I think people are born with four virtues: benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom. People can maintain and expand it through internal ellipsis, otherwise they will lose these good qualities. So he asked people to pay attention to the role of introspection. In terms of social and political views, Mencius highlighted the king of benevolent governance. Benevolence means "saving punishment and collecting taxes" for the people. He summed up from historical experience that "violence against its people will lead to physical death", and said that all three generations won the world because of benevolence and lost the world because of benevolence. He also put forward that we should attach importance to the people, and you should mainly attach importance to the people's thoughts. "The wealth of princes is land, people and political affairs." If the monarch is serious, his deputies will admonish him. If he admonishes but doesn't listen, he can change his position. As for tyrants like Jie and Zhou, subjects can rise up and destroy them. He opposes hegemonism, that is, conquering other countries through merger wars; It is to be benevolent, win the obedience of the people's hearts, and defeat the soldiers without fighting, which is what he called "the benevolent is invincible", and the king can be invincible in the world.
Ideological position
political thought
Political Thought Mencius inherited and developed Confucius' thought of ruling by virtue, developed into the theory of benevolent governance, and became the core of his political thought. He applied the principles of "pro" and "long" to politics, eased class contradictions and safeguarded the long-term interests of the feudal ruling class. On the one hand, Mencius strictly distinguished the class status of the ruler and the ruled, and thought that "those who do things rule their people, and those who do things rule their people", and imitated the Zhou system to draw up a hierarchy from emperor to ruler; On the other hand, the relationship between the ruler and the ruled is compared to the relationship between parents and children, and it is advocated that the ruler should care about the sufferings of the people like parents, and the people should be close to and serve the ruler like parents.
Mencius believes that this is the most ideal politics, and the rulers can win the heartfelt support of the people if they implement benevolent policies; On the other hand, if people's lives are ignored, they will lose people's hearts, become solitary thieves and be overthrown by the people. The specific content of benevolent government is very extensive, including economy, politics, education and ways to unify the world, among which there is a clue of people-oriented thought. This thought developed from the idea of valuing the people over the gods in the Spring and Autumn Period. Based on the experience of the Warring States period, Mencius summed up the laws governing the rise and fall of chaos in various countries and put forward a famous proposition rich in the essence of democracy: "The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light." People think that how to treat people is extremely important to the rise and fall of a country. Mencius attached great importance to the opposition between people's hearts, and repeatedly expounded through a large number of historical examples that this is a key issue related to winning or losing in the world. Mencius said: "Benevolence must go through first". The so-called "well boundary" means dividing and sorting out the field boundary and implementing the well field system. The well-field system conceived by Mencius is a feudal natural economy, which is based on small farmers of one household and takes the form of exploiting labor force for rent. Every farmer has a five-acre house and a hundred-acre field and is self-sufficient.
Mencius believes that "people are the way, those who have constant production have perseverance, and those who have no constant production have no perseverance." Only when people have "permanent property" and settle down on the land can they not violate the criminal law and do evil. Mencius believes that when people's material life is guaranteed, rulers can re-establish schools, educate them on the principle of filial piety and guide them to be kind, which can create a good moral trend of "kissing" and "growing up", that is, "everyone kisses and grows up, and the world is peaceful." Mencius believed that the benevolent government of the ruler could win the heartfelt support of the people all over the world, thus being invincible. Mencius' benevolent policy should be based on the ruler's "unbearable heart". Mencius said: "The former king had an unbearable heart and Sri Lanka had an unbearable policy." "Unable to bear the heart of others" is a kind of pity and kindness. But this kind of sympathy and kindness is different from Mozi's "universal love", but comes from the feelings of blood. Mencius advocated that "Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss is the political embodiment of this unbearable heart.
Ethical thought
Mencius closely combined ethics with politics, emphasizing that moral cultivation is the basis of doing politics well. He said: "The foundation of the world is in the country, the foundation of the country is at home, and the foundation of the home is in the body." Later, the idea of "nourishing qi and calming the world" put forward by University was developed according to this idea of Mencius. Mencius summarized moral norms into four categories, namely, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom. At the same time, the human relations are summarized into five kinds, namely, "father and son are close, monarch and minister are righteous, husband and wife are different, old and young are orderly, and friends are trustworthy". 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 all kinds of interpersonal relationships, the stability of feudal order and the unity of the world will be reliably guaranteed. In order to explain the origin of these moral norms, Mencius put forward the view that human nature is good. He believes that although there are differences in division of labor and class among members of society, their human nature is the same. He said, "So, people of the same kind are all similar, so why doubt others?" A saint is like me. Here, Mencius put the ruler and the ruled in an equal position and discussed their universal humanity. This discussion adapted to the historical trend of slave liberation and social change at that time, marked the deepening of human understanding and greatly promoted the development of ethical thought. Mencius believes that the morality of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom is innate. It is inherent in human heart, is human's "conscience and good ability", and is the essential feature that distinguishes human from animals. He said: "Benevolence, courtesy and wisdom are rooted in the heart", "Benevolence, courtesy and wisdom are not from outside, but also from me", because everyone has "goodness", that is, compassion, shame, resignation and right and wrong, which is called "four ends"; Some people can expand and strengthen their moral cultivation, while others give up on themselves and are submerged by the environment, leading to personality differences. Therefore, Mencius attached great importance to the consciousness of moral cultivation.
Mencius was strict with the gentry. He believed that no matter how bad the environment was, he should constantly strive for self-improvement and take the bad environment as a means to hone himself. You should be a real gentleman with "wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent". In the face of severe tests, we must "sacrifice our lives for righteousness" and would rather sacrifice our lives than give up moral principles. He believes that through long-term moral practice, we can cultivate a firm and fearless psychological state, which is the so-called "noble spirit." This kind of qi is "extreme" and can actively expand and fill between heaven and earth. Mencius' theory of good nature is a kind of moral transcendentalism. After the Song Dynasty, it was generally accepted by Neo-Confucianism and became an orthodox theory of human nature with far-reaching influence.
Philosophical thinking
Mencius
The highest category of Mencius' philosophical thought is heaven. Mencius inherited Confucius' thought of destiny, removed the residual meaning of personality god, and imagined heaven as a spiritual entity with moral attributes. He said: "Honest people, heaven is also." Mencius defined the moral concept of honesty as the essential attribute of heaven, and believed that heaven was the origin 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 about personnel 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 subject's self-awareness and internal pursuit, and believed that if this state was achieved, great spiritual strength would be generated.
Mencius thought
People-oriented thought: the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light. This means that the people should be put first, the country second and the monarch last. Mencius believed that the monarch should take care of the people first, and politicians should protect the rights of the people.
Mencius' theory of benevolent governance inherited and carried forward Confucius' thought of ruling by virtue, developed into the theory of benevolent governance and became the theory of his political thought. He applied the principles of "pro" and "long" to politics to ease class contradictions and safeguard the long-term interests of the ruling class.
Educational ideological position
Self-satisfaction after further study
Based on Mencius' thought of "being single-minded, intellectual and knowing heaven", he believes that knowledge learning does not come from the outside, and can only be thoroughly understood through his own active and conscious efforts. Since the truth of everything is in the heart, only by seeking self-satisfaction can we understand it deeply, gain something from the heart and reach the point of using it freely. So he said, "A gentleman takes Tao as his teacher and wants to be complacent. If you are complacent, you will feel at ease; In times of peace, there is deep capital; The senior is left and right, and the gentleman wants to be complacent. " He believes that a gentleman's profound attainments should be achieved in the right way, which requires him to pursue them consciously. If you consciously pursue what you get, you can firmly grasp it, firmly grasp it unswervingly, save a lot, and save a lot, which will be inexhaustible. Therefore, a gentleman should consciously gain something. Mencius believes that we must pay attention to further research and self-satisfaction from Bo back to his appointment. He said, "If you are knowledgeable and elaborate, you will make an agreement in a sarcastic tone." Extensive study, detailed explanation, and then return to the point of briefly explaining the righteousness. Mencius inherited Confucius' thought and thought that to achieve the goal of "harmony", we should pay attention to the synthesis of knowledge. This is an important way of thinking and learning, and also a teaching method. As a teacher, we should make it clear. Without extensive knowledge of this truth, it is difficult to tell students clearly the key points, difficulties and emphases of this truth. It is an important teaching and learning method left by the ancients to break the contract and learn from the rich and control the complex with simplicity.
Develop the mind
Mencius, like Confucius, is good at enlightening thinking and using questions and answers to achieve his expected results. He is good at using metaphors to make students understand what he said easily. He asked students to be proactive and use their brains instead of jumping to conclusions. He has a famous saying: "It is better to believe in books than to have no books." It is better to have no books than to trust them completely. He asked the students to be skeptical. This is the development of Confucius' thoughts of "listening more and being suspicious" and "watching more and being suspicious". Only when you have doubts can you think, and questions and evidence are the starting point for inspiring thinking. He also said: "The master will not change the waste rope ink for clumsy works, and abandon the waste rope ink for clumsy shooting to change its winning rate. A gentleman leads without sending, and jumps. People who stand in the middle and can follow. " In other words, clever craftsmen will not change or abandon the rules because of poor workers, and clever archers will not change the standard of bow drawing because of poor archers. A gentleman teaches people like an archer with a full bow, but he doesn't shoot arrows, so as to inspire and induce students and stimulate their enthusiasm for learning. Teachers can't lower their requirements. They should stay on the right path, and capable students will follow. This is the result of teacher's guidance.
brick by brick
Mencius attached importance to learning knowledge step by step, and he inherited Confucius' thought that "following the Tao is the only way to be good and beautiful". The so-called "logical" means that Confucius is good at inducing in order and step by step. Mencius believes that learning is a natural development process, on the one hand, we should constantly strive for self-improvement and not relax or stop; On the one hand, we should not be impatient or hasty. He said, "Those who rush forward retreat quickly", and those who rush forward too hard retreat quickly. He also compared the second place in his studies to running water, saying, "If you don't compare with Yingke, you can't." When the running water meets bumps, you have to wait until the water is full before you can move on. "Yingke is behind" and keeps flowing into the sea day and night. "A gentleman's ambition lies in the Tao, but he can't reach the chapter." The so-called "chapter" actually means that when things develop to a certain stage or scale, they can become chapters every day. Mencius means the ambition of a gentleman in the Tao. Without certain achievements, it can't be achieved. We can't say that we can't wait for the move, we can't rush headlong into it, and we can't make great achievements without gradual progress. That's what the so-called "source gangsters are unwilling to give up day and night, and the Pacific Ocean is backward" means. Mencius believes that learning should not only continue to work hard, but also encourage others.
Concentration and perseverance
Mencius attached importance to single-minded study and opposed half-heartedness. He took Go as an example. He said that playing Go is just a small skill. If you don't concentrate on your studies, you won't learn. Qiu Yi is a national chess player. If someone asks him to teach two people to play chess, one of them will be very attentive and follow Qiu Yi's instructions. On the surface, the other person is listening, but in his heart, he thinks that if a swan is coming, you should pick up a bow and arrow and shoot it. The latter is certainly not as good as the former in horse learning. Is this because the latter is not as clever as the former? Of course not. This shows that the difference in learning is related to whether you concentrate on your study or not, not entirely determined by people's talent. This is the earliest discussion on attention, intentional attention, unintentional attention and attention distribution in the history of education in China. He said, "There is nothing but the king's ignorance. Although there are things that are easy to live in the world, one day is violent and ten days are cold, and no one can live. " It means, don't blame Wang for not being smart. Even if there is a plant that grows most easily, nothing can grow if you sun it for one day and cool it for ten days. This shows that he opposes one violence and ten cold, and advocates concentration and perseverance. He also taught people not to have a head and a tail, and they fell short. He said, "promising people dig wells, digging wells for nine days is not as good as digging springs, but they are still abandoning wells." People who do something, such as digging a well, can't see the spring water when they dig six or seven feet deep. At this time, they stopped digging, and the result was still an abandoned well, indicating that people who do things will have perseverance and will wave when they succeed in the end; Giving up halfway and giving up all previous efforts is a sign of no perseverance.
teach students in accordance with their aptitude
Mencius believes that there are various teaching methods, and the general spirit is to teach students in accordance with their aptitude, inspire and induce. He said, "A gentleman teaches five things, such as people who change with time, people who are virtuous, people who are talented, people who answer questions, and people who always care about others. These five things are the truth of gentleman's teaching. " This means that there are five ways to educate a gentleman, some are timely rain to nourish everything, some are to improve morality, some are to train talents, some are to answer questions, and some are to serve the country privately, leaving a lasting appeal to future generations. These five educational methods were put forward by Mencius. He also said: "There are many skills to teach, and those who disdain to teach are just teaching." Mencius said that among all kinds of educational methods, there is another one that disdains to teach him, which is also a kind of teaching! This is a way to arouse anger.
Mencius
The main annotations of Mencius are Notes on Mencius and Four Notes, with volume14; Mencius has four notes and seven volumes; Mencius justice, four notes, 30 volumes. In addition, Yang Bojun translated Mencius (Zhonghua Book Company) today. This is a book that records Monk's words and deeds, and it is also one of the important Confucian classics. These headings are:
(a) "beam" up and down;
(2) "GongSunChou" up and down;
3 Teng Wengong, up and down;
4 Li Lou, up and down;
(5) Zhang Wan, up and down;
(6) "high posture" up and down;
(7) "dedication" up and down.
Biography of Historical Records of Meng Xun: "Monk did not agree, so he retired Zhang Wan's disciple's preface poem book, stated Zhong Ni's meaning, and wrote seven pieces of Mencius." It is said that seven articles of Mencius were written by Monk.
Zhao Qi wrote an inscription for Mencius: "This book was also written by Mencius, so it is called Mencius." Then he said, "So I went back to collect it. It was difficult for me and my brothers, Gong Sunchou and Zhang Wan, to answer questions, so I wrote my own testimony and seven books." This is also written by Mencius.
In the Qing Dynasty, Yan Ruoqu also wrote the article "Examination of the Year of Mencius' Birth and Death", saying: "The Analects of Confucius was written by a master, so it is very well known to remember the appearance of a saint. Seven articles have been written in my own hands, remembering the words or the source. "
When inspecting Mencius, I found that the vassal states he saw, such as Liang, Liang, Zou Mugong, etc., were all called posthumous title, and it was probably not Mencius' own doing. I still remember that Mencius' disciples Le Zhengzi, Gong and Wu Luzi are all called Zi, which is definitely not Mencius' work, and its editor is probably Mencius' disciple. This book was written in the middle of the Warring States Period.
As can be seen from the book, Mencius has the following remarks and thoughts:
In the aspect of human nature, it advocates the theory of good nature. I think people are born with four virtues: benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom. People can maintain and expand it through internal ellipsis, otherwise they will lose these good qualities. So he asked people to pay attention to the role of introspection. In terms of social and political views, Mencius highlighted the king of benevolent governance. Benevolence means "saving punishment and collecting taxes" for the people. He summed up from historical experience that "violence against its people will lead to physical death", and said that three generations won the world because of benevolence, and lost the world because of benevolence. He also put forward the view that the people are more valuable than the monarch, and that the monarch must attach importance to the people. "The treasure of princes is the land, the people and the government." If the monarch is serious, his deputies will admonish him. If he admonishes but doesn't listen, he can change his position. As for tyrants like Jie and Zhou, subjects can rise up and destroy them. He opposes hegemonism, that is, conquering other countries through merger wars; It is to be benevolent, win the obedience of the people's hearts, and defeat the soldiers without fighting, which is what he called "the benevolent is invincible", and the king can be invincible in the world.
A famous motto
Mencius
Mencius
1, and then know the length.
2. If it is sharp, it will slow down.
3. If you don't follow the rules, there will be no Fiona Fang.
4. Born in sorrow and died in happiness.
5. If people don't do it, they can do it.
6, say that adults are arrogant, don't look at them.
7, the official of the heart thinks about it, thinks about it, and gets it. Not without thinking.
8, give up on yourself, can't talk to you; Give up on yourself, and do nothing.
9. Although there are things that are easy to live in the world, no one can live if they are exposed to the sun for one day and cold for ten days.
10, born, is what I want; Righteousness is what I want: you can't have both, and those who give up their lives for righteousness are also.
1 1, the son of heaven is ruthless and does not protect the four seas; The princes are heartless and do not protect the country; Doctor Qing is ruthless and does not protect the ancestral temple; Shu Ren is heartless. He didn't protect his four bodies.
12 Therefore, if heaven is going to be a great task to people, we must first suffer their minds, work their bones and muscles, starve their bodies and skins, and empty their minds. If we can do whatever we can, we must be patient and have achieved what we can't do.
The Story of Godson in Meng Mu
Kill dolphins without cheating children;
When the Meng family still lived next to the market in Miaohuying Village, Mencius saw his neighbor killing pigs and inexplicably asked his mother, "What is the neighbor killing pigs for?" Meng Mu was busy at that time, so he casually said, "I'll give you the meat when it's cooked!" Mencius was very happy, waiting for meat. Meng Mu knows that honesty is the so-called "keep your word", and she knows that example is more important than words. In order not to break his promise to his son, despite the difficulties at home, Meng Mu took money to buy a piece of pork from his neighbor in the east and let his son have a good time.
Three steps to choose a neighbor:
Mencius lives at the foot of Ma 'anshan in the north of Zoucheng. There is a cemetery nearby. There are graves at the foot of the mountain everywhere, and funerals can be seen from time to time. Mencius and the children in the village imitated the process of adults playing funeral together, and sometimes robbed others of their offerings. Finding that his son was affected by the harsh environment, he moved from Fucun to Xisi Huying. This is a "Japan-China market" fair, where merchants sit in the market and the auction is noisy. Besides, neighbors are butchers who kill pigs. Mencius made pigs out of mud, killed them with bamboo chips and peddled them along the street. Uneasy Meng Mu moved again and moved his family to Gong Xue in the south of the county seat. Literati and writers often come and go near Gong Xue, and their elegant charm, calm demeanor, elegant manners and well-behaved manners have exerted a subtle influence on Mencius. He and his friends practiced the etiquette of retreat and retreat in Gong Xue. The solemn scenes make Meng Mu, who is far away from home, feel very gratified: "This is the best living environment for children!" She sighed sincerely and sent Mencius to the school palace to study, leaving a beautiful talk of "moving three places to choose neighbors".
Offline teaching subgraph
Broken machine metaphor:
Mencius was interested in learning at first, but after a long time he got bored and often played truant. Meng Mu was very angry when he learned about it. He picked up a knife and cut the warp on the loom. He said, "You give up studying like I cut the thread on the loom. This cloth is woven bit by bit. Now, if the thread is cut, the cloth cannot be woven. A gentleman studies to achieve fame, and he can increase his wisdom by asking questions. How can it be useful to play truant often? Instead of studying hard today, you are lazy to cultivate yourself. You can't stay away from disaster in the future. Don't be a robber in the future, be a servant! " Meng Mu used "breaking the weave" as a warning to "drop out of school", pointing out that you should be persistent in doing things, and once you have a clear goal, you will not be disturbed by the outside world. Giving up halfway will have serious consequences. The scene of "breaking the metaphor" left a distinct impression of surprise and fear in Mencius' mind. Since then, Mencius has been studying hard and finally became a master of Confucianism in the history of China.
Xianshimiao
According to legend, Mencius' mission to various countries, from Qi to Wei, passed through Gancheng (now downtown) and was blocked by heavy rain. At that time, Mencius' reputation was quite high, and he rushed to tell stories and sensationalized the whole village. Mencius' residence is crowded, and people who ask for advice are in an endless stream. Mencius saw that this man was very good at giving lectures, so he decided to stay and give lectures for a few days. People in Gancheng are also proud of this, so they built the "Temple of the First Teacher" where Mencius gave lectures, and changed the name of the village to Monk to commemorate it. Shixian Temple, also known as Monk Temple, is located in Monk East Village. In the sixth year of Jiaqing (180 1), Zhangji in Kaizhou (now Puyang) rebuilt the Monk Temple, named it "the unknown village of Daxian", and changed it to Daxiandian. The temple was destroyed by 1958. 198 1 year, Monk Village was renamed.
Meng Temple, also known as Yasheng Temple, is a place where Mencius was sacrificed in past dynasties. The Asian Temple is the main building of the Meng Temple. There is a plaque hanging high between the double eaves on the front of the main hall, on which are written the four characters of "Asian Hall" in regular script, with golden characters. In the middle of the door, there is a horizontal plaque "Tao elucidates Nishan". There are eight huge red lacquered wooden pillars in the temple, and a giant column-holding couplet is hung on two pillars in front of the welcome door. "The words of respecting the king must be called Yao and Shun, and they are anxious about the world." Both couplets and door plaques were written by Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. On the east side of the shrine, Yong Zhengdi inscribed a gold plaque with the words "Keep before you leave".