Mencius said, "Shun was born in mu, Fu Shuo was raised in the building, glue was raised in fish and salt, Guan Yiwu was raised in scholar, Sun Shuai was raised in the sea, and Baili was raised in the city. Therefore, if the sky is going to fall on the Sri Lankan people, they must first suffer from ideological suffering, physical suffering, physical hunger, physical emptiness and chaos in action. Therefore, their persistence has benefited them a lot.

People are unchangeable, and then they can change; Color label, sound hair, and then metaphor. A country, if there are no ministers and wise men who can assist the king, will often be in danger of the collapse of its neighboring countries and the misfortunes from abroad. Then I know that I was born in sorrow and died in happiness. "

Vernacular translation:

Mencius said: "Shun benefited from the field work and was selected from the wall building work. Glue was recommended from selling fish and salt. Guan Zhong was promoted from the position of a soldier. Sun Shuai was promoted from the seaside. Prissy was selected from the market. Therefore, God will give such people a great mission.

We must first temper his will, make his bones and muscles tired, make his body hungry, make him suffer from poverty, and things are always not smooth.

Expressed in the face, expressed in the voice, and then understood. A country that has no law-abiding ministers and auxiliary saints at home and no worries of hostile countries abroad is often prone to national subjugation. Therefore, anxiety makes life, but ease and enjoyment are enough to make people die. "

Source: Mencius Gao Zi by Mencius during the Warring States Period.

Extended data:

Creative background:

Mencius lost his father when he was young, and his family was poor. He was a disciple 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 Qiang Bing, a rich country, and strived to achieve reunification by force. And he inherited Confucius' thought of "benevolence" and developed it into the thought 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. He applied the principles of "pro" and "long" to politics, eased class contradictions and safeguarded the long-term interests of the feudal ruling class.

Mencius believes that this is the most ideal politics, and the rulers can win the heartfelt support of the people by implementing benevolent policies. 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. Moreover, this thought was developed from the idea of valuing the people over the gods in the Spring and Autumn Period.