There are two diametrically opposite views on the relationship between Mencius' people-oriented thought and democratic thought. One view holds that Mencius' people-oriented thought is different from democratic thought, but belongs to the category of autocratic thought. For example, Chen Duxiu said, "People are more important than the people, and democratic politics is by no means a thing" ... For another example, Li Zhiding believes that, The famous saying that "the people value the monarch" must be understood on the premise of implementing and consolidating patriarchal absolutism, so as to obtain its original meaning and correctly understand it. Being "king" is fundamental, protecting the people is the means, and Wang Weimin is the master. Those who hold the opposite view believe that "the people value the monarch" belongs to democratic thought. For example, as the philosopher Zhang Dainian put forward, Mencius' "the people value, It can be said that it is a democratic thought ".The writer thinks that Mencius' people-oriented thought and democratic thought are both different and related, and they can neither be confused nor opposed. The correct attitude is to excavate the democratic essence of Mencius' people-oriented thought on the basis of clarifying the differences and connections between them, and give full play to its role in implementing people-oriented Scientific Outlook on Development and strengthening socialist democratic political construction. The Difference between Mencius' People-oriented Thought and Democratic Thought Democracy is a national form of "sovereignty lies with the people" to realize "majority rule". It is a national system that is opposite to feudal autocracy and "sovereignty lies with the monarch". As a national system, democracy is the unity of state and government, and its basic meanings are as follows: (1) sovereignty lies with the people, and the people are their own masters. Of course, under different democratic systems, people's concepts and Under the socialist democratic system, the people are the broadest masses of the people in China, including all laborers and all patriots who support socialism and the reunification of the motherland. Socialist democracy means that the people are the mainstay, the people govern the country, and the people are the masters of the state power. (2) State officials are born from the people. Elected by the people. (3) Major national issues are decided by democracy according to the principle that the minority is subordinate to the majority. (4) The people have the right to supervise and recall their elected officials. (5) The people are the ultimate users of the country's development goals and achievements. (6) The rule of law is practiced. As a democratic thought, it should at least include the above contents, but Mencius' people-oriented thought does not. (1) Mencius' people-oriented thought opposes feudal autocracy and abuse. Mencius only opposed feudal autocracy and political abuse, but did not oppose feudal monarchy. He advocated his people-oriented thinking on the premise of supporting feudal monarchy. This can be confirmed from the following aspects of Mencius. 1. Demonstrate the rationality of monarchy from the perspective of social division of labor. Mencius said: "There are things for adults, things for villains. And one person's body, and everything is prepared, if you must do it yourself, then use it." Those who work hard govern people, while those who work hard govern people. "If there is no gentleman, you can't cure savages, and if there is no savage, you can't raise a gentleman." (Mencius? In Mencius' view, it is only natural that the monarch rules hundreds of surnames, and the people are governed by the monarch and support the monarch, because that is the inevitable result of social division of labor. Mencius' theory of social division of labor is not wrong and progressive, but feudal autocracy is by no means a social division of labor, so the fund project] This paper is the tenth five-year plan fund project of Jiangsu Province's philosophy and social science research (project number: 4 zxbo13). Lv Wenshuo (1947-1), male, born in Hailun, Heilongjiang, is a professor at Jiangsu University of Science and Technology. His research interests are law and ideological and political theory teaching.27? Simplicity is not the inevitable result of social division of labor. This reflects the limitations of Mencius' history and class. 2. Praise the former kings (Yao, Shun, Yu, Shang Tang, Zhou Wenwang), and think that the administration of the former kings is the most perfect monarchy. Advocate the law of the former kings, and think that "those who follow the law of the former kings have nothing." (On Li Lou) 3. Oppose "no monarch." Mohism's universal love is without a father. Without a father and a monarch, it is also an animal. (Fujiwengong Xia) 4. Although he advocates that "the people are more important than the monarch", it does not mean that the people are the masters of the country. Mencius advocates that "the people are more important than the monarch" in the relationship between the monarch and the people. He said: "The people are more important, the country is second, and the monarch is lighter." ("With all my heart") What's more, "the people" is the meaning of the country's master. Some people say: "The greatest feature of Mencius' political thought lies in his idea of civil rights. Mencius extremely advocates valuing the people over the monarch ... Mencius' theory of" the people are more valuable than the monarch "has two major meanings: First, the emperor must obtain the consent of the people, which proves that the people have the highest power; Second, the country can be changed by the people, which proves that the people are the masters of a country, which is the most full expression of Mencius' thought of civil rights. "This evaluation is obviously too high." The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light. Therefore, it is the son of heaven because of the people ... "In any case, the conclusion that" the people have the highest power "and" the people are the masters of a country "cannot be reached." It is up to the people to do it. " It is not said that the rule of the Emperor is endowed by the people. The core of "winning the hearts of the people and winning the world" is the importance of "winning the hearts of the people" to "winning the world", and it does not involve the question of who endowed the power of the Emperor. Mr. Huang Zhongjing said: "Mencius advocated monarchical power rather than civil rights, and monarchical rule rather than democratic politics. This basic idea is very clear to Mencius. His other statements can only be established if they are not in contradiction with this. "I think it is very reasonable. 5. Mencius advocates that" the monarch and the minister are righteous "("Vine mustard ",then the minister regards the monarch as an enemy." ("Li Lou Xia") emphasizes that the monarch and the minister should fulfill their obligations to each other. Although they are bound by the monarch, they "do their best" and "treat the minister as brothers and sisters." Maintain the monarchy system. (2) Mencius' people-oriented thought advocates that the monarch should be established by "heaven" instead of being elected by the people. The theoretical basis of Mencius' people-oriented thought is the concept of destiny. In Mencius' view, "heaven is also for those who do not do it; Those who arrive at it are doomed ".(Zhang Wan I) Destiny has supreme authority and can't be disobeyed." Those who obey the heaven will survive, and those who go against it will die ".(Li Lou I) He quoted the words in the Book of Books:" Book Day:' Heaven descends on the people, and they will be kings, so what about "monarch" or "? "Jun" and "Teacher" help God to love and protect the common people. It can be seen that "Jun" is arranged by heaven, not chosen by "people". Although Mencius thinks that "the son of heaven can't dominate the world with people" and that a virtuous monarch (such as Shun) is "heaven with it" and "people with it" (Zhang Wan), because ". Zhou Shu? Thai oath "), but Mencius' view on how to understand and grasp the" people "from the" heaven "and listen to how the" people "express their wishes to the" heaven ".Mencius has no operable system design, so" man and it "has not been implemented. Mencius' reason for talking about" heaven and man and it "is to explain the importance of public opinion and people's hearts and advise the country. Don't lose the world because of losing people's hearts. This certainly reflects Mencius' attention to the people and has certain democratic factors, which are also beneficial to the people objectively, but it is not the same as democratic elections. Therefore, it cannot be said that Mencius has the idea of civil rights and democracy. (3) Although Mencius' people-oriented thought advocates that the opinions of "Chinese people" should be considered in employing people, killing people and killing people, it has certain democratic factors, but the people have no final decision. The final decision still belongs to Mencius, the monarch. When answering Qi Xuanwang's question, "Why should I give up his talent?" He said, "If you have to, the monarch will make you humble and humble, but you can't be careless." The left and right are all wise, and it is impossible; All doctors are wise every day, and they can't be; Chinese people are wise every day, and then observe them; See the sage, and then use it. Don't listen to it. Doctors can't do it every day, don't listen; Chinese people can't do it every day, and then observe it; See what you can't see, and then go. Kill both sides, and then examine it; Kill whatever you see, and then kill it. So, the Chinese will kill it. So, you can be the parents of the people. "(Under King Liang Hui) Some people think that Mencius already has the principle of governing by the people. Mr. Xu Fuguan thought that this passage" means that the right to choose people, go to people and kill people should not be decided by the monarch, but by the people. "In fact, this passage is about the principle of choosing people. It is still the monarch himself, not the people. Therefore, there is no rule by the people or civil rights here, but only the monarchy. (4) Mencius' people-oriented thought advocates that the rule of man and democracy cannot be separated from the legal system and the rule of law. After democracy is determined by the legal system, it must be guaranteed by the principle of the rule of law; If there is a legal system without adhering to the principle of rule of law, democracy will be destroyed. Therefore, both modern democracy and modern democracy are accompanied by the principle of rule of law. Adhering to the principle of rule of law is one of the important characteristics of democratic system. The rule of law is the opposite principle of rule by the same people. In order to safeguard the absolute authority of the monarch, the feudal monarchy adopts the principle of rule by man. Although there is also a saying that "the prince breaks the law and the people are guilty of the same crime", it is rarely really implemented. The absolute truth is that "the emperor has a golden mouth and a jade tooth". Therefore, adhering to the principle of rule of law or the principle of rule of man is a major symbol to judge whether it is a democracy or a monarchy. Although Mencius also advocated that the country should have a legal system, such as he said, "If you don't follow the rules, you can't form a square" and "If you don't follow the six laws, you can't be right". "Those who follow the laws of the first king have nothing." But he added ". It is not enough to follow the law by oneself. "Statutes must be implemented and observed by the" benevolent "self-awareness. Therefore, Mencius advocated that" only the benevolent should be in a high position, and the unkind should be in a high position, which is to spread their evil and the public. "(Li Lou I) Based on this understanding, Mencius further believed that the key to governing the country is to have a benevolent king, because" the benevolent is heartless and the righteous is righteous. " From the above, it can be seen that Mencius did not deny the role of law, but he mainly insisted on the rule of men by virtue. His theory of good nature and the cultivation method of "opposing oneself" were all arguments for his sage politics, that is, the rule of men. Because everyone has the possibility of being good, the monarch should only be a "person who does not do well" in practice. Mencius' thought of "rule by man" has a certain positive significance. For example, Shang Xian's proposition that "only the benevolent should be in a high position" and "respecting the virtuous and enabling the outstanding, and being in power" shows that Mencius fully realized the important influence of the moral quality of the monarch and officials on the governance of the country. However, it is unreliable for Mencius to pin the governance of the country entirely on the virtuous. Because, first, It is difficult to guarantee that all kings are "benevolent" and those who are "in high positions" are "benevolent"; Second, the role of example is great, but it may not work for anyone, so it is too idealistic to say that "the gentleman is merciless, the gentleman is righteous, and the gentleman is righteous." Thirdly, human nature is changeable, and "benevolent" may become "unkind" under certain conditions; Fourth, there is a lack of supervision mechanism. Who will supervise the monarch and other "high-ranking" people if they are "heartless"? Without supervision, power can easily lead to corruption. Only the rule of law can overcome the above drawbacks of "rule by man". It seems that Mencius' advocacy of "rule by man" is also in line with its maintenance of the feudal monarch-dominated system. (5) The fundamental purpose or purpose of Mencius' people-oriented thought is to serve the monarch rather than the people. Although Mencius' people-oriented thought has repeatedly emphasized that "the people are precious", The starting point and ultimate goal of calling on the monarch to "protect the people …' enrich the people", "teach the people", "control the people's property" and "take the people as the foundation" is not for the people, but for the monarch. As Mencius said, "protect the people and be king", the purpose of "protect the people" is for the monarch to "rule the world", and "protect the people" is not an end, but a monarch ". How can we talk about "people are precious" from the perspective of "winning the world"? Its "people-oriented" proposition is nothing more than a skill of "controlling the people", "governing the people" and "herdsman", and it is a hand to maintain the autocratic monarchy, which is essentially different from the democracy in which the people are the masters of the country. Second, the connection between Mencius' people-oriented thought and democratic thought is different from democratic thought, but they are not absolutely opposite. However, there is a connection. This connection is reflected in the following aspects. (1) There is a certain compatibility between the two. Mencius' people-oriented thought and democratic thought attach great importance to the role of the people in the country, although the degree of attention varies. (People-oriented thought only regards the people as tools, elements and value subjects of governing the country; People-oriented thought attaches importance not only to people as the subject of value, but also to people as the subject of power of the country, and the master of the country pays attention to it.) This determines that there is a certain consistency and compatibility between the two on the issue of "people". Mencius' people-oriented thought of loving the people, protecting the people, enriching the people, teaching the people and winning the people is related to our party's thoughts of building the party for the public, governing for the people, using power for the people, and benefiting the people. As long as it is endowed with new class and era content, it can still be used in the construction of socialist democracy. Mr. Xu Keqian said when talking about Mencius' "Heaven and Man, Man and Man": "The emphasis of Mencius is still' Man and Man'. The' Man' here obviously refers not to Yao, but to the people.' Man and Man' is actually authorized by the people. The so-called' Heaven and Man' is actually through' Man and Man'. In Mencius' view, only those who are recognized by the "public opinion" can master the world political power, because power belongs to the people. This concept is completely compatible with the idea that democratic political power belongs to the people. "Mr. Xu Keqian's view is not unreasonable. (2) Mencius' people-oriented thought is the basic democracy of democratic thought, and the people are the masters of the country, so it is bound to be based on the people. If we don't even know that governing the country should be people-oriented, how can we talk about real democracy? Democratic thought did not fall from the world, and its emergence and development can not be separated from the road of human civilization development. It came into being and developed on the basis of people-oriented thought. Yan Fu, an enlightenment thinker of the modern bourgeoisie, thought that Mencius' people-oriented thought was not only applicable to ancient times, but also to the present. He said, "Mencius' Day:' The people are more important, the country is less important, and the monarch is less important', which is of common significance in ancient and modern times." ()