According to the realm of personality, people are divided into three categories: villains, gentlemen and saints;
According to the category of psychology, people are divided into three categories: the wise, the brave and the benevolent;
Can be summarized as nine realms:
The wise man among villains (Xiao Zhi),
The brave in the villain (Xiao Yong),
The benevolent person of the villain (small virtue).
A gentleman's wise man (great wisdom),
A brave gentleman,
Gentleman's Benevolence (Virtue)
Sages and wise men (holy wisdom),
The courage of a saint (sacred courage),
A benevolent saint (sage).
Open textbooks, people can understand the essence of Confucius' thought, that is, taking "benevolence" as the core, taking "ceremony" as the form, and focusing on self-cultivation. Among them, the connotation of "benevolence" is very rich. From the Analects of Confucius, we can see that "benevolence" is a noble spiritual and moral realm and precious ideological sentiment, and it is also the value orientation of individuals to others and groups. The central meaning of "ceremony" not only includes "ceremony" and "ceremony", but also refers to a set of etiquette systems and concepts that maintain the normal order of the country and society.
There is no doubt that Confucius' thought with "benevolence" and "propriety" as the central content has far-reaching influence in China, the world Chinese community and even the whole world. However, during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s, the China government called on people to "break capitalism" and "overthrow Confucius" on the grounds that Confucius thought was too feudal, too loyal and too moderate. "It was a special era, because Confucius culture was misinterpreted for political reasons," said Chen Ding, deputy director of Qufu Cultural Relics Bureau. "How to understand the essence and dross needs a nation to think."
However, looking forward to China today, people's attention to Confucius' thought can be seen everywhere:
In the strategy of governing the country, the China government advocates justice, the so-called "politician justice"; At the same time, we attach importance to benevolence and righteousness, and advocate "ruling the country by virtue" on the premise of maintaining the spirit of the legal system. In the proposition of "Theory of Three Represents" put forward by China's * * * production party, the ultimate goal is "the interests of the masses". Under the guidance of this policy, at present, local governments at all levels regard honesty, diligence and love for the people as their policy programs. Its body is not right, although it is not obedient. "
"Confucius' thoughts are of guiding significance to governors all over the world." Zhang Zhuxiu, deputy director of the Office of the Personnel Department of Shandong Province, said, "No matter which regime is unfair and does not consider the interests of the masses, it will not last long. "
In the field of culture, Confucius' influence is still deeply rooted in people's hearts after more than 2,500 years: in thousands of primary and secondary schools in China, such as Qufu Normal University, Confucius Middle School and Qufu Experimental Primary School, the statues of Confucius are very eye-catching ―― as a world-renowned cultural saint and great educator, Confucius' position in students' hearts is still irreplaceable;
In addition to the campus, Confucius' influence in the whole cultural circle of China is unparalleled: The publications Confucius Research and Confucius and China founded by china confucius foundation and other units are all over the world; The National Tourism Administration has held the International Confucius Cultural Festival for more than a year, and many distinguished guests including many internationally renowned cultural masters, senior officials of the China government and foreign envoys attended it. There are more than 100 websites about Confucius with the main content of promoting Confucius culture. Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, is listed as one of the patriotic education bases in China 100. Numerous units and enterprises have mounted Confucius' thoughts and speeches on the walls as teaching materials for civic moral construction, ideological education for minors, civic quality and corporate culture for people to learn and experience. ...
In the economic field, many ideas of Confucius are widely advocated and used by people. Production enterprises pay attention to the market by product quality, as Confucius said: "If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools." ; Enterprises require employees to keep learning in order to make progress. As Confucius said, "kindness is not easy to learn, but it is also stupid." ; Enterprises pay attention to honest management. Confucius said, "Zi teaches four things: writing, action, loyalty and faith." ...
In fact, in addition to ideological reference and application, people worship Confucius everywhere in real economic life: "Confucius Family Liquor" has become the largest export volume of mid-range liquor in China; "Confucius Tofu" and "Shili Ginkgo biloba" are famous foods that all visitors to Qufu must taste quickly. Queli Hotel is the most popular four-star hotel in Qufu. There are 76 hotels related to Confucius' name in Qufu. An entrepreneur in Shanghai invested tens of millions of yuan to establish a Confucius Sino-English School in Qufu, with students from several provinces and cities in China. In addition, there are 100 kinds of sesame oil, pancakes and other products named after Confucius' name. Every year, more than 3 million tourists from home and abroad come to Qufu to pay homage to Confucius, bringing in150,000 yuan in ticket revenue on May 1st this year alone. ...
Kong Lingwen, the 76th generation grandson of Confucius, is in his thirties this year, and he is the owner of "Kong Handmade Cloth Shoes Workshop". At first, he didn't have a registered brand, but his business was average. Later, I was instructed by others to build my own website "Kong's Handmade Cloth Shoes Workshop", and the business soon grew bigger and bigger. He said that Confucius had a great influence in the world. As his descendants, we first want to make our products famous through the influence of our ancestors. Secondly, it is also an expansion and extension of the influence of our ancestors. He revealed that his cloth shoes sell better than other brands. "I can't accept it." "Confucius' thoughts contain very rich and profound connotations. Confucius, a professor of Chinese Department of Shandong University, said, "In today's society, people pay more and more attention to it from the government to the ordinary people, which only shows that there are reasons worthy of doing so in Confucius' thought, and the content of' benevolence, righteousness and shame' is in line with the value orientation of today's society. "
1988, 75 nobel prize winners in the world issued a declaration at the Paris conference, saying that if human beings want to survive in 2 1 century, they must learn wisdom from Confucius 2,500 years ago.
"It should be said that so far, people may only understand the true meaning of some of them." Kong Fanyin, a 79-year-old world-famous Confucius research expert and former deputy director of Qufu Cultural Relics Management Committee who has been engaged in cultural relics protection for more than 60 years, said, "Time flies, and people will have a deeper understanding of this in the future."
People-oriented thought is the essence of Mencius' thought. Mencius' people-oriented thought shows his familiarity with the occurrence and maintenance of monarchical power, the relationship between monarch and people, and the choice of whether to instigate war and win or lose war. It can be said that Mencius' talk is full of concern for the people, and he always ignores the will of the people. Mencius' people-oriented thought is a milestone in the history of ancient and modern thought.
Keywords:: the milestone of Mencius' people-oriented thought
Mencius was born in the mid-Warring States period, facing a society in which the soldiers are expensive and the people are in poverty, and a society in which a hundred schools of thought contend and Chu Shi contend. He put forward a series of ideas and policies based on his feelings of pleading for the people, wise and delicate philosophical thinking and indomitable masculinity, which clearly showed the people-oriented ideological characteristics. His people-oriented thought is embodied in the following aspects.
I. Understanding of the emergence and maintenance of monarchical power
It is precisely because Mencius has a very strong people-oriented thought in his heart that he has his own strange understanding of the causes and significance of monarchical power. First of all, he quoted the words in the book: "Heaven descended on the people, taking the monarch as a teacher, and only said that he would help God to be gracious to all directions. Guilty and innocent, and I am here, how can the whole country dare to be more ambitious? " ("Mencius Hui Liang Wang Xia") Mencius quoted this passage in the book, aiming to be famous as a tool created by Heaven to assist Heaven in governing and educating the people; In front of the sky, all people, including the monarch, are equal, and no one can do whatever he wants.
Mencius, while being famous for the divine right of monarchy, emphasized "where the people belong". He quoted the words in the book: "Heaven regards himself as nearsighted and listens to others" to warn the rulers: "Those who win the hearts of the people will win the world, and those who lose the hearts of the people will disappear from the whole country" (Mencius Li Lou I). If you want the public to support you first, you must pay attention to winning the hearts of the people. He took the story of Yao Shun as an example to make it famous. "Shun yao twenty-eight years, nonhuman person also, day also. Yao collapsed and died for three years. Shun avoided Yao Zi in the south of the South River. If the country is not beautiful, Shun has no Yao Zi. Shun, not Yao's son, went to court in prison. It is Shun who praises Song, not Yao's son, so there is a saying: Heaven also. The husband then went to China to practice the posture of the emperor. And living in Yao's palace and forcing Yao's son is a usurper, not a heavenly way. Taishi said,' Heaven sees its own myopia and Heaven listens to its own nature', which is also called it. " "People's return" chooses "Heaven and", which is generally called "Heaven and", but in reality "People's return" is the will of the people, which determines who will be the emperor. "Heaven and" seems to be a cover, and "national return" is the measure of legitimacy. Sometimes, Mencius doesn't even pretend to be "heaven", bluntly saying that the power of emperors and monarchs is endowed by the people: "If the monarch is too big, he will remonstrate, but if he refuses to listen, he will be transferred" (Mencius Zhang Wan). In other words, the status and power of the king is not absolute. If he is ugly, makes a big mistake and refuses to listen again and again, the people can replace him and set up a new king to do things for themselves.
Second, the understanding of the relationship between the monarch and the people.
(A) social division of labor
In the argument with farmer Xu Xing, Mencius denied that the sage cultivated by the people was not beautiful, but must have the significance of social division of labor. He said: "There are things about adults and things about villains. And a person's body, all the work is prepared, if it must be used for itself, it is to lead the country and the road. So, either work hard or work; Hard-working people govern others, hard-working people govern others; Those who treat others eat people, and those who treat others eat people. The meaning of the country is also. " (Mencius on Teng Wengong) Your name is Jun, and his name is Min. Rulers rule the country, and labor is easy to engage in production. This is nothing more than the difference in social division of labor and working methods. In fact, the two are equal.
(2) Respect each other
It is precisely because monarch, minister and people are just different concepts of social division of labor, so he advocates that monarch, minister and people should respect each other. He said to Qi Xuanwang: "Your minister is like a brother, so I will take you as my heart;" If you treat me like a dog or a horse, then I will treat you like a Chinese; If you treat me like dirt, then I treat you like an enemy. " ("Mencius Li Lou") The courtiers are not blindly loyal to the monarch, but change with the status of the monarch to the courtiers: the monarch respects the courtiers and regards them as the conscience of his cronies, so the courtiers will do their best to the monarch; The monarch treats his courtiers like dirt, so they will treat him like an enemy. In short, the monarch respects his officials, and the officials will respect the monarch. He quoted Qi Jinggong as saying, "My husband, my husband, what am I?" (Mencius on Teng Wengong) You are a gentleman, and I am also a gentleman. We are equal in personality. Why should I be afraid of him? You and I are equal in personality and should respect each other.
(3) due diligence.
Mencius emphasized that rulers must fulfill their due obligations. He said: "Those who want to be kings should do their best; If you want to be a minister, you must try your best to preach. " (Mencius on Li Lou) The position assigned to you is to be a monarch, so you should do a good job as a monarch and perform your duties, otherwise you will "have it" and "abandon it". Mencius said to Qi Xuanwang,' Wang Zhichen entrusted his wife to his friends, but if he was arrogant, he would feel cold and ashamed of his wife. So what, "said the king," give it up. " Say,' What if a judge can't rule a judge? The king said, "I did it." Said:' What if you don't cure it within four borders? Wang Gu was at his mercy. (Mencius Hui Liang Wang Xia) Obviously, Mencius instructed Qi Xuanwang by analogy that "it is the duty of a king to govern the country well", otherwise the whole people would "have it" and "abandon it".
(4) having fun with the people.
"People may not be there, it's not on it. Not above, not also; It's wrong to serve the people instead of having fun with them. Those who are happy and easy to approach, the people are also happy; Those who worry about the people are worried, and the people are also worried. " (Mencius Hui Liang Wang Xia) As the king of the old people, he should have fun with the people, otherwise he would be wrong. If the ugly gentleman takes pleasure in the joy of the old man, then the old man also takes pleasure in his joy; Your majesty regards the sadness of the old people as melancholy, and the old people also regard his sadness as melancholy. In short, the monarch should share joys and sorrows with the whole life.
(5) The people are more important than the monarch.
It should be said that people's status and influence have existed since ancient times. For example, "Song of the Five Sons in Shangshu" said: "The people are only the country, and this is solid peace." Xunzi in the Warring States period said: "Jun is also a boat; Shu Ren, water also. Water can carry a boat or overturn it. " Wang Fu of the Eastern Han Dynasty said: "The country is people-oriented." However, these statements all look at the status and influence of the people from the perspective of maintaining and consolidating the feudal regime, with the monarch as the main body and the people as the supplement. Mencius, on the other hand, put forward the view that "the people are more valuable than the monarch". He said: "The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light." This idea is a breakthrough innovation. It turned out the well-known idea of "valuing the people but neglecting the people" and kept things in mind, which made people reflect from the beginning: Who is the most important country? "People value the monarch" is the focus of Mencius' kingly way, and the cornerstone of the relationship between monarch and minister is the most concentrated manifestation of Mencius' people-oriented principle.
Third, the understanding of whether the war should be instigated and the choice of the outcome of the war.
If an ugly war is beneficial to the people and can save them from the mire, they can "punish their monarch and be clear about their people" (Mencius Hui Liang). He thinks that attacking Zhou is nothing more than "killing the husband and killing the king." (Mencius Hui Liang Wang Xia) It was this sentence that made Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Emperor, very angry. "If this old man lived to this day, I wouldn't kill him." He also disqualified Mencius from enjoying the Confucius Temple, expelled him from it, and wrote a letter to anyone who dared to remonstrate, saying it was disrespectful. It is unlucky for the king to be angry, but it just reflects the people's voice and represents the people's interests: if the ugly king is in power, it is not benevolent, not for the people's welfare, but just cruel and regards the people as dirt, then the people advocate war. This cruel king is nothing more than killing a "single husband".
Mencius also said: "The book says:' Tang Yizheng began in Ge.' The whole country believes in it, and it is complaining about the east and the west; When you ask, you complain in the north; Say,' I am the queen? People look forward to it, if drought looks forward to Yun Ni. Not only people who return to the city, but also land to the tiller. If it rains, people will be very happy. "The book says,' After me, I will cook rice with Sue.' Today, Yan abused his people, and Suo Luo Zheng did it. People think they will save themselves from the mire and eat the pulp in the kettle to welcome Julian Waghann. "("Mencius Hui Liang Wang Xia ") This means that if the war instigated by a king is not beautiful and beneficial to the people, but kills his cruel king for the whole people and saves the people from the quagmire, then the whole people will eagerly call for the glory led by the king like it rains in a drought year, and greet his glory with hot rice and kettle; If the king goes somewhere else first, people here will complain: Why didn't you come to us first?
As can be seen from the above explanation, Mencius did not exclude war in any way. If this war is not beautiful, it means killing a cruel king, killing the people and saving them from the quagmire, then it must be such a war. However, he vetoed Qiang Bing, a rich country that practiced hegemony for princes, and thought it was aiding the abuse: "You don't want to be a local road, you don't want to be a benevolent person, but you have to fight. This is aiding evil." If your king is not beautiful, he is no longer right and does not pursue benevolent government, but you still have to work hard for him, help him expand his territory and ruin his life. What's the difference between this and helping a tyrant like Jay? Mencius also angrily denounced the disaster brought by the war to the people, "striving to kill people for profit;" Fight for the city, fight for the city. "He thinks that those who instigate such wars are man-eating beasts, and they are full of evil:" Eating human flesh for the land is not a crime. " ("Mencius Li Lou")
Not only that, Mencius also saw the influence of the people in the war, and believed that the victory or defeat of the war depends on the people's hearts, and the people are the key to winning or losing the war. He said: "The weather is not as good as the geographical position, and the geographical position is not as good as human harmony." "Words help more, but the missing words help less. When there is little help, relatives will be there; Help more, and the whole country will follow. With the country's obedience, attack the relatives, so if you don't fight, you will win. " ("Mencius Gongsun Chou")
In a word, people-oriented thought is the essence of Mencius' thought. Mencius' people-oriented thought shows his familiarity with the occurrence and maintenance of monarchical power, the relationship between monarch and people, and the choice of whether to instigate war and win or lose war. It can be said that Mencius' talk is full of concern for ordinary people and always thinks about the will of the people. Facing up to the status and influence of the people, the common people are nobler than the monarch, and everything is decided by the people. This is the most concentrated manifestation of Mencius' people-oriented thought and a groundbreaking thought. Therefore, Mencius' people-oriented thought is a milestone in the history of ancient and modern thought!