Mencius' attitude towards "abdication" is ambiguous and his expression is clever. When Zhang Wan asked him, "What are the advantages of Yao and Shun?" He replied, "No, the son of heaven cannot rule the world with others." Zhang Wan asked again: "But, Shun won the world, which one?" Mencius said, "Heaven is the same with it." He went on to say: "the son of heaven can recommend people to heaven, but he can't recommend heaven to the world ... In the past, Yao recommended shun to people and heaven followed it; Violence is caused by the people, and the people are subject to violence ... Yao collapsed and lost for three years, avoiding Yao Zi in the south of the South River, and all the princes in the world went to incense without Yao Zi; Shun, not Yao's son, went to court in prison. Praise Song, not the son of Yao, but Shun, so it is called heaven, husband is China, and practice the position of the son of heaven. " He also has a similar view that Shunchan is located in Yu.
The "heaven" mentioned by Mencius can be understood as princes and people, but it can also be understood as the son of heaven, because since ancient times, the son of heaven has always been regarded as the representative of "heaven", so this statement seems to make up for the gap. The records of the Five Emperors and Xia Benji in Historical Records are written by combining the words of Shangshu, Analects of Confucius and Mencius.
As early as the Warring States period, some people questioned the theory of "abdication". Xunzi took the lead in asking: "The husband's words about Yao Shun's abdication are empty words, superficial words and humble words" (Xunzi Zheng Lun). At the end of the Warring States Period, Han Fei not only refused to admit that there was a theory of "abdication", but said that the reason why Shun and Yu succeeded to the throne was the result of "I killed the monarch", saying: "Shun forced Yao, Yu forced Shun, Jie, and attacked Zhou, and people and ministers killed their kings" () This is not an amazing work by Han Fei alone. In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Zhiji quoted Suoyu in Ji Zhong in Shi Tong, saying, "Shun released Yao in Pingyang" and said that Shun was driven to Cangwu by Yu and died. Later, Sima Zhen, the author of "Justice in Historical Records", quoted the bamboo calendar as saying: "Yaode declined and was imprisoned by Shun. Shun Yao was imprisoned and suppressed, and father and son could not meet each other. "Bamboo books and other books are dated during the Warring States Period. They came from Jizhong at the beginning of the Western Jin Dynasty and later dispersed. Today, this book was faked by people after the Song Dynasty, but Liu Zhiji and Sima Zhen have lost sight of it. Its record may not be made out of nothing, catching the wind and catching the shadows. At the same time, some people think that Yao Dian was written in the Warring States and Da was written by Jin people. If this is the case, then the record of Yao Shun's abdication in Shangshu is not reliable at all.
Some scholars in modern times believe that the theory of "Yao and Shun abdicated" was created by Mohism in the early Warring States period. If what Yao Dian and The Analects of Confucius say is not credible, then Mozi is the first book with a record of abdication. Two articles in Mozi, Shang Xian and Shang Tong, claim that sages are in power, not only the three public officials, but also the sons of heaven. You can also choose the sages of the world to stand. "The ancients cultivated Lishan, Taohebin, and fished in Leize, being the grandson of Zeze, holding it as the son of heaven, taking over the politics of the world and governing the people of the world." (Mozi Shang Xian) Shun Di, the grandson of Huangdi IX and a vassal of Yu family, described him as a farmer who could burn kilns and fish for the purpose of stating his "Shang Xian". Mozi was born in the lower class, and his political thoughts reflected the requirements of ordinary people to participate in politics. Mohism only said "Yao and Shun abdicated". Where did the theory of "Shun Yu abdicated" come from? Modern scholars believe that it was newly added by Confucianism. Confucianism is also in favor of "recommending virtuous people" to some extent. So Yu Zi used the Mohist theory of "Yao and Shun abdicated" for reference and added the story of "Shun and Yu abdicated". Similarly, Yu, originally a bailiff, was described as an ordinary born person. After the Warring States period, Mohism declined, and the theory of "abdication" was exclusive to Confucianism. This view once again fundamentally denies the existence of "death". The "extinction theory" that has been circulating for more than two thousand years is hard to believe once it is completely denied. Therefore, some scholars combined with the history of social development to conduct textual research, thinking that this is a way of tribal election. For example, several cadres of the Wuhuan nationality recorded in China in the Han Dynasty merged into one department and elected "invaders who are brave enough to handle duel lawsuits" as adults. When an adult calls, this department dare not disobey. In fact, this "adult" is what we call the emperor. The same is true of Xianbei, Qidan, Mongolia and other ethnic groups. It can be inferred that the ancient times of the Han nationality are no exception. However, this unusual election was whitewashed as a sacred and glorious "extinction" by later generations.