Mencius.

Mencius believed that human beings are born with the four principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, namely sympathy for the suffering of others, shame for unjust things, a mood of resignation, and the ability to distinguish right from wrong. He developed Confucius' "benevolence" into "benevolent government", and particularly emphasized that "the people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is despised", that is, he advocated that the people are noble and the king is despised.

The analysis of this sentence:

"The people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least." This is an important idea put forward by Mencius, which means that the people are the most important thing. First place. The country comes second and the king comes last. This is because when there are people, it is necessary to establish a country; when there is a country, there is a need for a "king". The country was established for the people, and the position of "king" was established for the country.

"The people are more valuable than the king" has become a widely circulated saying in later generations and has been quoted by others. Both the monarch and the state can be replaced, but only the people cannot be replaced. Therefore, the people are the most important.