Mencius was a great figure in China's early Confucianism. He advocated that human nature is good, and insisted on paying equal attention to benevolence and righteousness, which enriched and developed Confucius' ideological theory, which was mainly reflected in Mencius. The book Mencius has a lot of education and inspiration for later generations and has far-reaching influence. In Mencius, "gentleman" is a high-frequency word, which has appeared more than 80 times. In the book, people with benevolence and morality are called gentlemen. Qian Mu, a master of Chinese studies, said that "China people talk about people, listing many differences such as gentlemen, villains, good and evil, virtue and so on, and the highest one is a saint", and that "talking about being a man is the essence of China culture". In Mencius' eyes, "gentleman" is different from ancient times: "The ancient gentleman, if he has passed, will be changed; Today's gentleman, if he has passed, let it go. The ancient gentlemen lived like the sun and the moon, and everyone saw them; What's more, people admire it. The gentleman of today is obedient. " That is to say, from the attitude and practice of treating mistakes, we can see the difference between ancient gentlemen and modern gentlemen. If you do it, you will change it, and if you say it, you will not leave. This is the correct attitude and practice of a gentleman. A gentleman is not only different from ancient times and modern times, but also different from ordinary people and villains. Mencius said: "The reason why people are different from birds and beasts is that Shu Ren went and the gentleman stayed." There are differences between man and beast, but the differences are few and limited. What is an existing gentleman? Mencius said, "A gentleman is different from others because of his intention. A gentleman is considerate with benevolence and considerate with courtesy. " Benevolence and propriety exist in the hearts of gentlemen. Mencius also said: "The benevolent loves others, and the courteous respects others. Those who love others will always love others, and those who respect others will always respect others. " Today's society also needs to promote mutual respect and care between people, which can be a good relationship between husband and wife, or a harmonious and cooperative relationship between superiors and subordinates, colleagues and friends. Mencius takes righteousness as the Tao and courtesy as the door: "Fu Yi, Tao also; Ceremony, door also. Only a gentleman can take the road, and access is the door. " Benevolence and righteousness are often put together, with benevolence as the home and righteousness as the way, such as "benevolence, human heart, righteousness and humanity." "Benevolence, people's homes are also safe; Righteousness, the right path of man is also. " Mencius can make a close analogy, comparing benevolence and righteousness with housing, Taoism and doors, and expounding such a way of being a gentleman and being a man, which has far-reaching influence. It would be a pity if you didn't live in the house of the benevolent and follow the right path of life! The contrast between "gentleman" and "villain" in Mencius is that "gentleman and villain are just the opposite". Remind people of the difference between a gentleman and a villain. There are also "adults" who oppose villains. Adults, people with noble virtues. For example, "the small ones are villains, and the big ones are adults." (Shang 14) There are differences in dignity and insignificance, so smallness is harmless and humbleness is harmless. Mencius put forward the famous saying that "the official of the heart is thinking", which clarified the requirements of adults to "make it big". Source: Youth.