Extended introduction:
"The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light" comes from the "dedication" in Mencius. "The people are wise to the monarch" has become a famous saying widely circulated in later generations and has been quoted by people all the time. Monarchs and countries can be replaced, but only ordinary people can't be replaced. Therefore, the people are the most important.
Mencius is a collection of Mencius' speeches by Mencius and his disciples, which records Mencius' language, political opinions (benevolent politics, Wang Ba's debate, people-oriented, respecting the right and wrong of the monarch, and valuing the people over the monarch) and political actions. Mencius once took Confucius as an example and led his disciples all over the world. But it was not accepted by all countries at that time. He retired and wrote books with his disciples. Seven pieces of Mencius handed down from ancient times: the first and second pieces of Liang Huiwang; "Gongsun Ugly" up and down; "Teng Wengong" up and down.
"Li Lou" up and down; "Zhang Wan" up and down; "Gao Zi" goes up and down; Heart and soul. His theoretical starting point is the theory of good nature, which puts forward "benevolent governance" and "kingly governance" and advocates rule by virtue. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu, Mencius, The Analects of Confucius, Daxue and The Doctrine of the Mean were called the Four Books. Mencius is the largest and heaviest of the four books, with more than 35 thousand words. From then until the end of Qing Dynasty, "Four Books" had been a compulsory part of the imperial examination.
About the author:
Mencius (372 BC-289 BC), whose real name is Ke, is Zi (to be tested, Zi or Zi Ju). During the Warring States Period, Lu was a descendant of Lu Guoqing's father. China was a famous thinker and educator in ancient times and a representative of Confucianism in the Warring States Period. He is the author of Mencius. Mencius inherited and carried forward Confucius' thoughts and became a generation of Confucian masters second only to Confucius. He is called "the sage of Asia" and is also called "Confucius and Mencius" with Confucius.