Mencius’ classic sayings
(1) Everyone can be like Yao and Shun.
Everyone can be a good person like Yao and Shun.
(2) A wife will insult herself, and then others will insult her; a family will destroy herself, and then others will destroy her; a country will destroy itself, and then others will destroy it.
Translation: A person must first cause self-inflicted insult before others can insult him; a family must first have a cause for self-destruction before others can destroy it; a country must first have a cause for self-destruction before others can destroy it. crusade against it.
(3) He who seeks all the blessings and misfortunes by himself.
Translation There is no misfortune or happiness that you did not bring about yourself.
(4) A gentleman does not complain about heaven or others.
Translation: A gentleman does not complain about heaven or blame others.
(5) Wealth and honor cannot lead to adultery, poverty and lowliness cannot move, and power cannot yield. This is called a true man.
Translation Wealth cannot disturb my heart, poverty and lowliness cannot change my aspirations, and power cannot bend my integrity. Only in this way can I be called a real man.
(6) If you say that you are an adult, you will despise it, but do not look down upon its majesty.
When you give advice to the princes, you must despise him and do not take his superior position into consideration.
(7) Therefore, when Heaven is about to entrust a person with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind and will, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, and deplete his heart. It has been beneficial to what it cannot do.
Translation: When God is going to assign an important task to someone, he must first trouble his mind, work his muscles and bones, starve his stomach, and impoverish his body. It is not what he wants, so that it can shake his mind, strengthen his temperament, and increase his abilities.
(8) The old and the old are like the old, the young and the young are like the young.
When supporting elders who are filial to oneself, one should not forget other elders who are not related to oneself. When raising and educating your own children, you should not forget other children who are not related to you by blood.
(9) Those who love others will always be loved by others; those who respect others will always be respected by others.
Translation: Those who love others will be loved by others; those who respect others will be respected by others.
(10) Do not rely on elders, do not rely on nobles, do not rely on brothers but be friends.
When making friends, don’t rely on your age, your high status, or the wealth of your brothers.
(11) The sage uses his enlightenment to make others enlighten, but now he uses his faintness to make others enlighten.
A wise person must first understand himself and then make others understand; today’s people are still confused but insist on making others understand.
(12) The organ of the heart is thinking. If you think, you can get it. If you don’t think, you can’t get it.
Translation: The organ of the heart is responsible for thinking. Only by thinking can we obtain, but without thinking we cannot obtain.
(13) Born in sorrow and died in happiness.
Translation: Sorrow and suffering are enough to make people survive, and comfort and happiness are enough to make people die.
Mencius (372 BC - 289 BC), named Ke and Ziyu, was a famous thinker and educator in ancient China and an important representative of the Confucian school. He was a native of Zou State during the Warring States Period, and was born in Fu Village at the foot of Ma'an Mountain in Zou State (today's Zoucheng City, Shandong Province) (Fu Village was placed under the jurisdiction of Qufu City in 1960).
Mencius is a descendant of the Meng Sun family, a nobleman of the Lu State, who moved to Zou around the time of his ancestors. When he was three years old, his father Meng Sunji passed away, and he relied entirely on his mother, Jin, for his upbringing. There is a story in the history books about how Mencius' mother moved three times to teach her children and cut off the metaphorical theory. Mencius determined to learn Confucianism and etiquette from an early age. Around the age of 15, he entered school and "became a disciple of Zisi (a grandson of Confucius)" and inherited the learning of Confucius and Zisi.
Mencius's theory of the goodness of nature is the basis of his theory of "benevolent government" and the basis of his educational theory. He believes that human nature is innate, and people are born with a "good nature", that is, a tendency to do good. These "good qualities" are innate and inherent in the heart. Therefore, it is also called "conscience". Mencius's famous sayings
Mencius' theory of mind
1. Good nature and the four ends - the origin of moral values
Mencius' "theory of good nature" mainly exerts the influence of Confucius The concept of "benevolence". The "benevolence" in Confucius lacks a theoretical foundation and the problem of "the origin of moral values" has not yet been explained. Therefore, Confucius wanted to establish "the consciousness of the origin of moral values" and believed that goodness is the basic consciousness of human beings. This consciousness is manifested in the four aspects of compassion, shame, resignation, and right and wrong. The "Four Ends" illustrate that the awareness of moral values ??is innate. This can supplement the shortcomings of Confucius' theory of "benevolence".
2. The distinction between righteousness and benefit - the argument of moral value
Mencius believed that the "four ends" are inherent in the conscious mind and belong to the "essence" of human beings, which is the so-called " sex". Human nature must be different from that of animals. This kind of nature that is "different from animals" is "good". He pointed out that the reason why people are not good is because they are blinded by selfish desires. Therefore, people should give up personal interests in order to achieve social justice. The purpose is to establish good personal ethics.
3. Nourishing Qi and becoming virtuous
Mencius proposed that we must rely on the cultivation and exertion of good nature to expand the "four ends" existing in the heart with all our strength. Mencius called it "exhaustion". sex".
The cultivation of "fulfilment of one's nature" cultivates awe-inspiring aura, making people become "real men" who "cannot be immoral in wealth, incapable of poverty, and unyielding in power." Then, by "unifying one's mind and spirit" to control one's emotions, one can become virtuous.
4. Moral Heaven
Mencius believed that the real world is a moral world, and the standard behind the source of morality is "Heaven", and "Heaven" is expressed in humans as "Heaven". sex". If a person has enough cultivation, he will be able to understand heaven and achieve "the unity of heaven and man." ?
? Mencius’ thoughts are reflected in the book "Mencius". "Exerting benevolent government and practicing kingly conduct" is the central content of his political thought. He advocated "conquering people with virtue" and opposed governing the country by violence. He believed that only by using "morality" can people "be sincerely convinced." "Giving importance to the people and despising the monarch" is an important part of his theory of "benevolent government". "The people are the most important, the country is second, and the monarch is despised", putting the people first. In philosophy, Mencius is a theory of good nature and an idealist. He inherits Confucius' theory of destiny, divides people into "foresight and hindsight" and "late awareness". He requires people to act in accordance with the "mandate of destiny" and proposes "five hundred years of destiny". This is the idealistic view of history that a king must rise." In terms of educational thought, Mencius attached great importance to cultivating talents. He believed that "it is easy for the world to make people easy, but it is difficult for the world to win people." "Empty," "getting the world's talents and educating them" is the happiest thing.
Mencius also paid great attention to personality cultivation. His famous saying "You cannot be licentious with wealth, you cannot move with poverty, and you cannot bend with force", which played an immeasurable role in shaping the spiritual character of the Chinese nation, especially the outstanding figures of the past dynasties in China. The character shaping of intellectuals also played a direct role.