Confucius, whose name was Qiu and whose courtesy name was Zhongni, was from the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was the greatest thinker and educator in ancient China. At the age of fifteen, he determined to study. He successively worked as a trumpeter, a warehouse and pasture manager, a small Sikong (in charge of engineering) and a Sikou (in charge of criminal law). He once worshiped Laozi as his teacher. After he was in his fifties, he traveled around the world to promote his political ideas. . In his later years, he accepted apprentices and gave lectures, wrote books, and edited and edited books such as "Poems", "Books", "Li", "Yue", "Book of Changes", and "Spring and Autumn" until his death at the age of seventy-three.
Mencius was a great thinker during the Warring States Period. His name was Ke and he was a native of Zou (now Zou County, Shandong Province). He lost his father when he was young and his family was poor. He studied diligently under the guidance of his mother. When he was young, he lobbied the princes as a scholar and promoted his political ideas. Later, he retired to give lectures. Mencius inherited and developed Confucius' thoughts and put forward a complete ideological system, which had a great influence on later generations and was revered as the "Left Sage".
Mencius was able to become a "lesser sage" largely due to his mother's teachings. Mencius's mother, Zhǎng, worked diligently and frugally throughout her life, enduring hardships and hardships to raise her son. Stories about Mencius' mother teaching her children are widely circulated, such as "Meng's mother moved three times", "Broken weaving to teach her children", "Killing pigs but not bullying children", "Training children for daughter-in-law", etc.
It is said that there are as many as 3,000 Confucius disciples, and the more famous ones are 72. These disciples and their descendants worked hard to spread Confucius' thoughts and doctrines, forming the most influential school in Chinese history, the Confucian school. Among the "Seventy-two Wise Men", there are Yan Hui and Min Sun who are famous for their virtues, Duanmu Ci and Zaiyu who are famous for their eloquence, Ran Qiu and Zhong Yu who are famous for their political affairs, Zeng Shen and others who are famous for their filial piety.
The Analects of Confucius is a book written by Confucius’s disciples or re-disciples to record the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples. It is the most precious material for studying Confucius’ thoughts and life. It was written around the early Warring States period (400 BC about). During the Eastern Han Dynasty, The Analects of Confucius entered the ranks of classics and became a must-read for scholars. Zhu Xi, a Neo-Confucian scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty, compiled "The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" into the "Four Books", among which "The Analects of Confucius" was listed first. During the six hundred years of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the "Four Books" had always been the main content of the imperial examination.
The Analects of Confucius has had a profound influence on Japan, North Korea and even some European countries. According to statistics, there are nearly 90 research works on the Analects of Confucius existing in Japan from the Tokugawa Shogunate period. Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), the "entrepreneur" of modern Japanese capitalism, has insisted on teaching "The Analects of Confucius" to corporate employees in person during his more than 40 years in business.
In the second half of the sixteenth century, European missionaries spread the Analects to the West for the first time. The German philosopher Leibniz, the French Enlightenment thinker Voltaire, and what Marx called "modern political economy" Famous European figures such as Quesnay, the "ancestor of learning", admired Confucius' thoughts and personality very much. Until now, there are still many Western thinkers trying to find inspiration for solving ethical and moral problems in Confucius' teachings. Therefore, the Analects of Confucius, as an important spiritual heritage of the Chinese nation, has had a huge impact in the history of ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad.
"Mencius" is a book that records the words and deeds of Mencius and his students. During the Later Shu period of the Five Dynasties, "Mencius" began to be included in the "Book of Classics", and when Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty compiled the "Four Books", "Mencius" was included. After the Yuan and Ming dynasties, it became a part of the imperial examination and became a must-read for scholars. "Mencius" contains many long, majestic, sharp, witty and eloquent discussions, which had a profound impact on later generations of prose writing.
Confucius Temple, Confucius Mansion and Confucius Forest are the largest architectural complex in Qufu City, Shandong Province to commemorate and worship Confucius and his descendants.
Confucius’ thoughts:
(1) Confucius’ ethical thought – “benevolence”. The core concept of Confucius' ideological system is "benevolence". The simplest expression of "benevolence" is "loving others", that is, respecting and sympathizing with others. It is the highest ideal that governs virtues such as "righteousness, propriety, loyalty, and forgiveness", and is also the highest standard of personal cultivation.
(2) Confucius’ political theory - "Government by virtue" and "rectification of names." Confucius put forward the idea of ??"ruling by virtue" in governing the country, believing that rulers should "rectify themselves and then rectify others" and govern the people with virtue. He expanded "benevolence" to the political field, requiring the monarch to love the people and implement benevolent government. He also put forward the idea of ??"correcting names", believing that everyone from the emperor to the common people should abide by their duties and match their names with their names. From this, he proposed the human ethics of "lord, minister, father, son, son".
(3) Confucius’ view of destiny - respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance. Confucius advocated "respecting ghosts and gods and keeping them at a distance". He advocated offering sacrifices to show sincerity to ghosts and gods. As for whether ghosts and gods existed, there was no need to ask. Compared with the destiny of ghosts and gods, Confucius paid more attention to human affairs, emphasized people's subjective efforts, and gave priority to exploring and solving practical problems in the world.
(4) Confucius’s view on education -
There is no distinction between education and distinction: He advocated that the objects of education should not be divided into high and low, virtuous and foolish, but should be treated equally, setting a precedent for civilian education.
Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude: In terms of teaching methods, he proposed "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude" and attached great importance to heuristic education, which is the source of modern democratic personalized education and heuristic education ideas.
Pay equal attention to learning and thinking: In terms of academic methods, Confucius advocated paying equal attention to learning and thinking, believing that "learning without thinking will lead to failure, and thinking without learning will lead to peril."
Balanced development: Regarding the teaching of academics, Confucius taught students the four aspects of "literacy, conduct, loyalty, and trustworthiness" and taught students "poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, and music". Therefore, Confucius’ teachings can be said to value the balanced development of morality, intelligence, body, and beauty.
The main thoughts of Mencius:
(1) The theory of good nature: This is the basis of all Mencius’ thoughts. Mencius believed that everyone has a heart of compassion, a heart of shame, a heart of respect, and a heart of right and wrong. These four hearts are the bud and foundation of human cultural norms—benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. He believes that if a person is unwilling to do good, he is "self-violating", "self-abandonment" and "self-thief".
(2) Thoughts of "benevolent government": Mencius inherited and developed Confucius's "benevolent" thoughts, and based on his theory of good nature, he proposed the political theory of "benevolent government" and "kingly way". "Benevolent government" means that the king can "enjoy himself with the people" and make the people's lives stable.
Mencius' theory of "benevolent government" includes the emphasis on the people, that is, people-centered thinking, which means that the people are regarded as the foundation of national politics. This is the most glorious part of Mencius' theory and a summary and improvement of ancient my country's humanitarian thought.
(3) Ideal personality: There are many ideas about ideal personality in Mencius' theory, such as "Everyone can be Yao and Shun"; "It's called a real man"; "Life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want; you can't have both, and one who sacrifices life for righteousness" and so on are all famous sayings that inspire people and have been passed down through the ages. .