Mencius (372 BC-289 BC). Born in the fourth year of Zhou Lie and died in the twenty-sixth year), Han nationality, from Zoucheng, Shandong Province. Name, word Yu Zi, word car, word viscount. Father's name is excited and mother's name is lost. China was a great thinker in ancient times. One of the representatives of Confucianism in the Warring States period. He is the author of Mencius, which belongs to a collection of recorded prose. Mencius is a compilation of Mencius' speeches. Mencius and his disciple * * * recorded Mencius' language, political views and political actions. Mencius studied under Zi Si (a student who studied under Zi Si), inherited and carried forward Confucius' thoughts, and became a master of Confucianism after Confucius, known as "the sage of Asia" and also called "Confucius and Mencius" with Confucius. Mencius once imitated Confucius and led his disciples to lobby countries. But it was not accepted by all countries at that time. He retired and wrote books with his disciples. Mencius has been handed down from generation to generation in seven chapters: Up and down Liang Huiwang; "Gongsun Ugly" up and down; "Teng Wengong" up and down; Li Lou; "Zhang Wan" up and down; "High posture" ups and downs; Up and down "dedication". 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 called Mencius, The Analects of Confucius, Daxue and The Doctrine of the Mean the Four Books.
China philosopher Mencius is the most important heir of Confucius. His theory, as expounded in Mencius, has been worshipped in China for many centuries. He is often called a "saint", that is, wisdom is second only to Confucius. He lived about 200 years after Confucius.
Mencius was born in 37 BC 1 year, Zou (1), a small country in Xinjiang, which is now Shandong Province of China. He was born at the end of the Zhou Dynasty. Because China was politically divided at that time, he was called "Warring States". Although Mencius grew up under the influence of Confucius tradition and has always been a staunch supporter of Confucius' theories and ideals, he finally won respect as an accomplished scholar and philosopher.
After being crowned, Mencius spent a lot of time traveling around the world and giving good advice to many rulers, many of whom were all ears. So for a while, he was a visiting minister of Qi, but on the whole, he never served as a political aide of any country. In 3 12 BC, at the age of 59, he returned to his hometown of Zou, where he spent his prime. The year of his death is unknown. Probably in 289 BC.
Mencius trained some disciples in his life, but his influence on China mainly came from the book Mencius, which expounded his main theories. Although his disciples made some revisions to this book, it basically represents Mencius' own thoughts, which seems to be beyond doubt.
Mencius' keynote is idealism and optimism, which embodies Mencius' firm belief in human nature. His political thought is very similar to Confucius in many aspects, especially Mencius' insistence that the monarch should rule mainly through moral norms rather than force. But compared with Confucius, Mencius is a "noble man". "Heaven sees through people's eyes and hears through people's ears" (2) This is one of his most famous assertions.
Mencius emphasized that the most important part of a country is the people, not the rulers. The duty of a ruler is to benefit the people, especially he should provide moral guidance and suitable living conditions for the people. The government policy he advocates is free trade; Low taxes and protection of natural resources; * * * Enjoy wealth instead of the law of the jungle. The government should provide welfare for the old, the weak and the sick. Mencius believed that the power of the monarch was given by heaven. If a monarch ignores the happiness of the people, he will lose the sovereignty given by heaven and should be ousted. Because the end of this sentence is an effective negation of the beginning, Mencius actually put forward that people have the right to resist unjust rulers as early as John Locke. This is an idea widely accepted by China people.
But on the whole, the ideas advocated by Mencius are more welcomed by the rulers than by the rulers. So Mencius' suggestion was not adopted by the rulers at that time. There seems to be nothing to make a fuss about. However, during this period, his views became more and more popular among Confucian scholars and the public in China. Mencius enjoyed a high reputation at that time, and 1 1 century and12nd century saw the rise of Neo-Confucianism. His popularity in China is even higher.
Of course, Mencius had little influence in the West. This is entirely because he writes in Chinese to some extent. Laozi's Tao Te Ching and Mencius were written in China almost at the same time, but the former has been translated into various European languages many times, just because many people find the ideas expressed in the book novel and interesting. However, relatively speaking, few westerners are particularly novel and profound about the ideas in Mencius.
The government's concern for the welfare of the elderly, the sick and the disabled sounds attractive, and supporting low taxes and low interest rates looks lovely. But an American politician revealed that he advocated these two policies, but did not make many specific decisions. He may also be distrusted by liberals and conservatives. On the one hand, Mencius showed that he supported the equal distribution of wealth, on the other hand, he was in favor of free trade and light taxes, but he never really considered the possible contradiction between the two policies. This statement is unfair to Mencius, because he is not running for the US Congress after all. A philosopher put forward a set of valuable principles (though inconsistent to some extent), even though he did not specify how to solve the contradictions in the principles, it is still commendable. But in the long run, philosophers like Machiavelli have a greater influence on human thought, because he expressed his unique principles more clearly than Mencius.
But Mencius' works certainly have an influence on China people. Although his influence on Confucianism is far less than that of Paul on Christianity (one of the reasons is that Mencius lacks Paul's extraordinary ability to change religious beliefs), he is undoubtedly a writer with great influence. For about 2 1 century, his thoughts have been studied everywhere in a country that accounts for more than 20% of the world population. Only a few philosophers in the world have such a great influence.
Confucius
Confucius (55 1-479) was born in Lu at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. Thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism in the Spring and Autumn Period. I have been a commissioner, a farmer, etc. Later, private schools were set up to recruit disciples, publicize Confucianism and teach many talented students. At the age of 50, Duke Lu was qualified as a shepherd. Later, he traveled around Song, Wei, Chen, Cai, Qi, Chu and other countries to lobby governors, but he was not appointed. In philosophy and politics, a set of ideological system with "benevolence" as the core has been established. Since the Han Dynasty, his theory has become the orthodoxy of feudal culture for more than 2,000 years, and Confucius has been honored as a saint by feudal rulers in past dynasties, which has far-reaching influence. His main thoughts and remarks are recorded in The Analects of Confucius.
The difference between Confucius and Mencius
Confucius and Mencius are masters of Confucian culture. They both advocate the idea of "benevolence" and emphasize that "benevolent people love others", but they are very different.
First of all, judging from their personalities. Confucius tends to be honest, while Mencius tends to be cynical. As the founder of Confucianism, Confucius naturally set an example. If he wants others to be atmospheric, he must be a sincere Confucian elder. This is related to Confucius' life experience. Confucius was poor in his early years, worked as a trumpeter and spared cattle and sheep. He is self-taught, naturally develops a modest character, and always respectfully asks his elders for advice. After he became a successful person, he also made this respectful habit consistent, so he had the idea of "teaching without distinction". He hopes that young people will take fewer detours and always take pains to teach them. He is a teacher and an elder, so children with bad temper will be influenced by him and worship him as a teacher. Forgiveness has always been his creed in life. For example, in Chen State, he was not angry when he was called a "lost dog". But in principle, it is strict and uncompromising. When he found that Lu Wang's officials enjoyed music that he shouldn't have enjoyed, he would also say, "I can't bear it." . Therefore, there is awe in Confucius' generosity.
On the other hand, Mencius was more cynical. Mencius lived in the Warring States Period. During that period, the governors attacked each other, and benevolence and righteousness have long been forgotten, and the tradition of "destroying it if it is promoted" has disappeared. However, when the gods fought, mortals suffered, people were displaced and starved everywhere. Mencius closely linked individuals and society. He is committed to solving the problem of people hanging upside down. Naturally, he doesn't like princes. The blood of the people was in his eyes, and the cry echoed in his heart, which aroused his cynicism. Confucius was also cynical, but his greatest anger was that "Tao can't be done, but it floats on the sea", while Mencius was different. He is "who am I in today's world?" Confucius' anger is innate, and Mencius' anger is about joining the WTO. This is a heroic feeling and a confident spirit. The angrier he is, the more he wants to join the WTO. As Mencius said, "wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent." Therefore, from the perspective of the influence on the personality of later literati, Mencius' influence surpassed that of Confucius.
Secondly, from their view of "benevolence", Confucius is the founder of this building, and Mencius is the founder and perfecter of this building. Confucius put forward the idea of "benevolence" in view of "unnecessary war in the Spring and Autumn Period". He didn't visualize and concretize the thought of "benevolence", which is just a general concept. On the basis of "benevolence", Mencius regarded it as "unbearable heart", established a theory of "goodness of human nature" to discuss it, and then put forward the concept of "benevolent politics". From "benevolence" to "benevolent politics" is a leap from social morality to social politics, which will better consolidate the concept of "benevolence" and better implement "benevolent politics". Third, from the perspective of specific administration, Confucius' policy agenda is relatively simple and primitive, while Mencius' policy agenda is much more detailed and specific. Confucius' rule of the world is nothing more than "rites and music". His manners are insurmountable, Jun Jun, minister, father, son; His joy is "bathing in deduction, dancing with the wind, and returning home after bathing". Simply put, it is simple administration and benevolent governance. Confucius also agreed to develop the economy. He agrees with Guan Zhong very much. He said, "If you don't know Guan Zhong, you will only have a long hair." . He is also in favor of punishing with appropriate punishment, but not in favor of indiscriminate punishment.
Mencius, on the other hand, believed that "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light", and "the husband alone can kill". Although there is a little more war, it shows its lang lang righteousness; He believes that music should also be used to govern the country, "the joy of the past is still the joy of today", because the king should "enjoy with the people" to educate the people. Mencius disapproved of punishment only because the punishment in various countries was too heavy during the Warring States period. He believes that the punishment is "netizens", but agrees that education "respects the teaching and uses it for the sake of filial piety". What he agrees with most is economic development. "Five acres of houses, trees can be mulberry, and fifty people can be clothed; Chicken, dolphin, dog and pig hamburgers are all timely, and 70 people can eat meat; A hundred acres of land, no time to seize, a family of ten can be hungry. " Mencius' economy is two aspects of "education". After all, "accumulate food and then know etiquette." Generally speaking, the differences between Confucius and Mencius are probably in these three aspects, and their differences are mainly due to the times.