“Food is the first priority for the people.” When it comes to eating, when to eat, how to eat, what to eat, and how to feel after eating, our fellow countryman Mencius understood and sublimated this. Master of things.
Just like looking at water, he uses "To look at water, you must look at its waves" to make you feel that what you are looking at is not water, not feelings, but perception, a sublimation of life experience.
So on the matter of diet, he put forward the ideas of food integrity, food timing, food intention, food power, and food ethics, which had an important and far-reaching impact on later generations.
Mencius said: "The taste of the mouth is the same as that of the old man. The first thing I want to do is to change my teeth." ("Mencius Gaozi 1") "Fish, what I want Ye; bear's paw is what I want. You can't have both, and you'd rather give up the fish and take the bear's paw." ("Mencius Gaozi 1") "Qi" is a hobby, which means that the chef must control the taste of the diners. Taste, governance must also grasp the wishes of the people. When you cannot have your cake and eat it too, "giving up the fish for the bear's paw" means that when dealing with conflicting issues, you must focus on the key points and the main aspects of the conflict, know how to choose, and don't grab it with eyebrows and beards. It can be seen that Mencius was a humorous and interesting person. He could see the hidden truth in ordinary things and speak it in simple and profound ways, which shocked people's hearts and enlightened their wisdom.
The most prominent aspect of Mencius’ dietary thoughts is food integrity.
Mencius said: "The hungry are willing to eat, and the thirsty are willing to drink. This is because they have not obtained the right diet, and hunger and thirst are harmful. Isn't hunger and thirst only harmful to the mouth and stomach? The human heart is also harmful." Here. "Gan" means hobby. This means that food and drinks have their own original taste, and this original taste is the authentic taste. However, hungry people devour food greedily and greedily, and thirsty people drink fast and drink too much. They cannot taste the true taste, and therefore lose the opportunity to master the true taste. When Mencius talks about eating right, he does not mean food, but the essence of things, that is, "Is it not only the food that is harmful to hunger and thirst?" That is to say, things have essences and have regular movements. In the process of understanding things, people should not swallow dates in a hurry, taste them lightly, and stop eating. If you are hungry, you should not choose what you eat. You must proceed step by step, see through the phenomenon to see the essence, and grasp the original and authentic taste of things. Moreover, I tell people a principle for dealing with problems, which is not to be greedy or impatient, to be poor or humble, to be rich or honorable, not to be lascivious, not to lose the original mind of "righteousness", and to do things according to the original rules of "righteousness".
Mencius’s idea of ??“eating right” transcends the general meaning of diet and rises to the philosophical level of understanding things and the principles of life. It can be described as vivid, profound, easy to understand, and far-reaching, worthy of a saint!
Mencius once put forward the principle of "food ambition" that people should not obtain food because of lack of merit. Mencius said: "
A craftsman's ambition is to seek food; a gentleman's Tao is to seek food." Mencius said that those who "lost their food only to nourish their appetites" People who are "moral" are "people who eat and drink". Such people "make people despicable, and they will lose their greatness by raising children for them." The "people who eat and drink" in Mencius's above remarks are actually equivalent to the people who "seek food" rather than "seek the way" that Confucius despised. The principle of "being together", and Mencius's attitude towards these people is the qualitative distinction standard of "people are divided into groups", so it is more theoretical and practical. He advocated that "If it is not the way, a basket of food cannot be accepted by others; if it is the way, Shun will accept the world of Yao and not be content with it." In his view, people use their own labor that is beneficial to others to obtain the necessary things for survival. Eating is a matter of course. This is the idea of ??"eating intention" guided by Mencius.
Mencius’s idea of ??“food power” can be understood as the process in which people use equivalent or equal amounts of physical or mental work to obtain the necessary diet for survival. He believes that there is no "vegetarian meal" in the world, and "it is impossible for a scholar to eat without having anything to do." In order to survive and support his family, he must use labor in exchange for food. There is no diet that is not exchanged for labor. . Mencius greatly appreciated Zhongzi's dietary code of conduct in Qi. He praised Zhongdao:
Zhongzi was from a noble family in Qi. Brother Dai, Gai Lu Wan Hammer. Treating your brother's salary as an unjust salary and not eating it; treating your brother's house as an unjust room and not living in it. "This shows that Mencius attaches great importance to the idea of ??"food power".
Mencius’s thought of “food ethics” can be understood as the need to pay attention to etiquette and etiquette when eating. He believes that eating other people's food must be "proper", and giving others food should also be "proper". He also said: "Eating without loving others is like a pig; loving without respect is like a beast." This means that when people interact with each other, if they do not love others but use food and drink as gifts, it is like feeding pigs; if they love others but do not treat each other with courtesy, it is like raising animals, which violates the principle of "propriety". Mencius condensed this thought in one of his famous sayings: "I want fish, and I want bear's paws." He used "fish" and "bear's paws" as examples. It can be seen that in the matter of "eating" In fact, he could use metaphors to describe things, things, people, and reasons at his fingertips.
Mencius also believed that paying attention to "propriety" in eating is a major principle issue related to food ethics. He believed that even in the life and death decision of "eating with propriety, you will die of hunger; if you do not eat with propriety, you will get food". In front of others, one should also die in observance of etiquette without hesitation. For example, the concept of "eat what is not eaten". He said: "A basket of food, a bean soup, if you get it, you will live, if you don't get it, you will die. If you give it to you, those who practice the Tao will not accept it; if you give it to you, beggars will look down upon it."
Mencius put forward many opinions on diet, which are mostly regarded as classics by later generations. He said: "The taste of the mouth is the same as that of the mouth. Yi Ya is the first to get the taste of my mouth." ("Mencius Gaozi 1") He believes that the reason why Yi Ya is called the person of knowledge and ignorance People have roughly the same taste as the people in the world, and Yi Ya was the first to experience and concoct the taste that most people in the world like. From the perspective of benevolence, he said: "A gentleman is like an animal: when he sees it alive, he cannot bear to see it die; when he hears its sound, he cannot bear to eat its meat. This is why a gentleman cooks at a distance." ("King Hui of Liang Part 1") Many people in later generations interpreted the saying "a gentleman is far away from the kitchen" to mean not close to the kitchen. And as the theoretical basis for Mencius' disdain for cooking, this is not advisable. In addition, Mencius also has some witty sayings such as "Fish is what I want; bear's paw is also what I want. You can't have both, and one would give up fish and take bear's paw" ("Mencius Gaozi 1") and other witty sayings. "Mencius: Endeavor" once recorded Mencius's comparative evaluation of the two types of food: Zeng Zi's father Zeng Xi liked to eat goat dates during his lifetime. After his death, Zeng Zi missed his father and could not bear to eat the goat dates that his father was fond of. Only eat fish dumplings and roasted meat. Mencius's disciple Gongsun Chou was surprised by this and asked Mencius: "Which one is more beautiful, the spinach or the lamb dates?" Mencius replied: "It's great!" Gongsun Chou asked again, "But why did Zengzi eat spinach and not eat it?" Eat Yang Zao?" Mencius replied, "It's the same thing as Yang Zao. It's the same thing as Yang Zao. It's the same surname." Only then did Gongsun Chou understand the truth. Judging from Mencius's remarks, he liked to eat fried vegetables and fried vegetables, and believed that diet was the most basic thing in life. This is consistent with Confucian views on diet since Confucius.
Mencius followed Confucius’ dietary thoughts and regarded Confucius’ behavioral norms. Through his daily practice and understanding, he deepened his own dietary thoughts and Confucius' dietary thoughts into the dietary concept of "Food Will-Eating Power-Food Virtue" and the distinct and systematic "Confucius and Mencius Esophagus" theory.
About the author:
Feng Bin, the initiator of the cultural concept of "Zoulu Civilization", a native of the Zoulu Holy Land of Confucius and Mencius, graduated from the Chinese Department of Jining Teachers College in 1982, Shandong Province One of the first batch of lecturers at Nishan Academy and a lecturer on rural Confucianism in Jining City.