〓Original text〓

Mencius said: "The weather is not as favorable as the favorable terrain, and the favorable geographical conditions are not as favorable as the people.

A city of three miles and a country of seven miles can be surrounded and attacked. If you attack the enemy, you will be able to win. However, if you don't win, the weather is not as good as the location. ; If you leave them by appointment, the geographical advantages are not as good as the harmony. Therefore, it is said: The people of the region do not rely on the boundaries of the territory, the country does not rely on the dangers of mountains and rivers, and the power of the world does not rely on the benefits of military revolution. Little help. When there is little help, there are relatives. When there is plenty of help, the world will obey. If you attack where there are relatives, the superior man will win if he does not fight."

① Timing, favorable geography, and harmony: "Gouzi·Wangba Pian" says: "If a farmer is simple but incompetent, then he will not lose the favorable weather when he is above, and he will not lose the favorable geography when he is below. "With harmony, nothing goes wrong." The "timing" that Gou Zi refers to refers to the farming season, "the favorable terrain" refers to the fertile soil, and "harmony" refers to the division of labor among people. The "timing" mentioned by Mencius here refers to the timing of the battle, climate, etc.; "geographical convenience" refers to the dangerous mountains and rivers, strong cities, etc.; "human harmony" refers to the people's will, internal unity, etc. ②A city of three li and a guo of seven li: the inner city is called "cheng" and the outer city is called "guo". The ratio between inner and outer city is generally three miles for the city and seven miles for the country. ③Pond: That is the moat. ④Bing: Weapons, referring to offensive weapons such as spears, swords, and arrows. Leather: leather, nail shield. Ancient armor and shields were made of leather, but also made of copper and iron. (5) Commission: abandon. (6) Territory citizens: restrict people. domain, boundary. (8) Pan: Same as "rebellion". (9) There is: or, either. (10) Harmony: harmony and harmony. (11) Ring: Surrounded. (12) Ring and attack: And, and. (13) And win: but, but. (14) Rice and millet: grain. (15) Shun: obey.

〓Translation〓

Mencius said: The climate suitable for fighting is not as good as the terrain that is conducive to fighting, and the terrain that is conducive to fighting is not as good as the unity of the people.

The inner city is three miles around, and the outer city is seven miles around. We surrounded and attacked it, but we couldn't win. Those who surround and attack must be those who encounter the climate suitable for fighting, but they will not win. This is because the climate suitable for fighting is not as good as the terrain conducive to fighting. The city wall is not too high, the moat is not too deep, the weapons and shields are not not sharp and strong, and the food supply is not insufficient. But they still abandoned the city and fled. This is because the terrain that is conducive to fighting is not as good as the unity of the people. Therefore, it is said: to restrict the people cannot rely on sealing borders, to consolidate national defense cannot rely on dangerous mountains and rivers, and to establish prestige in the world cannot rely on sharp weapons. The right people will get more help, and the unjust people will get less help. When the help is too little, relatives will rebel; when the help is too much, everyone in the world will obey. Taking advantage of the obedience of all the people in the world to attack those who will even betray their relatives, or the righteous gentleman will not fight, but if he fights, he will definitely win. ?

〓Information〓

Selected from "Mencius·Gongsun Chouxia", Mencius named Ke, a thinker in the Warring States Period. "Mencius" was written by Mencius and his disciples. A native of Zoucheng, Shandong Province, he was a thinker and educator during the Warring States Period. He was another representative of the Confucian school after Confucius. He was as famous as Confucius and was known as "Confucius and Mencius" in the world and was revered as "the Lesser Sage". Mencius was born into the aristocracy of the Lu State, and his ancestor was Meng Sun, who was very prominent in the late Lu State. But when Mencius was born, his family was already in decline. The great chaos in the late Spring and Autumn Period caused their family to gradually decline and they were forced to move from Lu to Zou. Things went very hard in the future, and when Mencius was young he had to "rent a house and live in it". The status of Mencius’ parents cannot be tested today. The only thing that has been handed down is that Mencius lost his husband when he was young and lived with his mother. For the sake of Mencius' study, Meng's mother chose to live next to her three times, but she broke off in anger. From the age of 40, Mencius, in addition to recruiting disciples and giving lectures, began to contact political figures from various countries and traveled among the princely states to promote his ideological doctrines and political opinions. Mencius inherited Confucius's "benevolence" thought and advocated "putting the people first" and "the people are the most important, followed by the country and the king." Mencius opposed annexation wars. He believed that wars were too cruel and advocated unification with "benevolent government" The world. ?The theoretical basis of Mencius’ theory of “benevolent government” is the “theory of good nature.” Mencius said, "Everyone has a hidden heart." He believed that goodness is a nature unique to human beings and is also a fundamental sign that distinguishes humans and animals.

〓Interpretation〓

The relationship between heaven, earth and man has been of concern to people throughout the ages. Which of the three is the most important has become a topic of discussion. As we quoted in the notes, Xunzi once discussed the issues of time, location, and people from the perspective of agricultural production. But he did not distinguish who is important and who is not important, but pays equal attention to all three and is indispensable. Here, Mencius mainly analyzes and discusses the relationship between the right time, the right place, and the right people from the military perspective, and he has a clear point of view: "The right time is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as the right person." Among the three, "he" is the most important. The most important factor that plays a decisive role is "geographical convenience", followed by "timing". This is separate from his consistent thought of attaching importance to people's subjective initiative. At the same time, it is also inseparable from his purpose of discussing the time, location, people, and relationships. inseparable from the purpose. It was precisely from emphasizing the importance of "harmony" that he came to the conclusion that "the right person will get more help, and the unjust person will get less help".

This led the issue from military to political, and in fact returned to his "cliché" topic of "benevolent government". According to Mencius, the common people cannot be restrained by sealing off borders, nor can a country be preserved by relying on mountains and rivers to overcome obstacles. Therefore, there is no way out by closing the country to the outside world. We need to reform, we need to open up, we need to improve our national strength, and let the people live and work in peace and contentment. As long as this is achieved, "those who have gained the Tao will be helped more". If the help is reached to the extreme, people all over the world will obey and submit. Then there will inevitably be a situation like what Confucius said - "The people from all over the world will come carrying their sons." ("The Analects of Confucius·Zilu") People from all over the world come to apply to study abroad, apply to do business, and even bring their wives and children. Why is there no need to "enclose borders" when applying for immigration and settlement? Even if we try to drive people away, it has become a famous saying that "the right people will get more help, but the unjust people will get less help", so that we are still worried about it now. It is often used to evaluate international relations and condemn hegemonists. Of course, "the right time is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as the people" is also a famous saying, and it is also more widely used in business competitions, sports competitions, especially football matches. Among them. This fully shows that the philosophy contained in it is rich, profound and broad. As the saying goes, "when people are united, mountains will move." Who said that "people and people" are not the most important wealth?

〓Author information〓

Mencius (about 372 BC - 289 BC), whose name was Ke and whose courtesy name was Ziyu, was from Zou (now Zoucheng City, Shandong Province). He was a disciple of Kong Yi, the grandson of Confucius. A thinker, educator, essayist, and politician during the Warring States Period in ancient China, he was one of the famous representatives of Confucianism. The distant ancestor of Mencius was the Meng Sun family, a nobleman of the Lu State. Later, his family declined and he moved from the Lu State to the State of Zou (today's Zou State, Shandong Province). Southeast of the city). After his father died when he was three years old, Mencius' mother moved him three times in order to provide him with a good learning environment. He was very strict, and his "relocation to teach his children" and "three ways to break the rules" have become famous stories throughout the ages. There is a saying in the "Three Character Classic" that "Meng Meng's mother chose a neighbor". In the era when Mencius lived, hundreds of schools of thought contended, "Yang Zhu, Mo." "Zhai's words prevailed all over the world". Mencius fiercely attacked from the standpoint of Confucianism. Mencius learned from Zisi (some say he was a student of Zisi), inherited and developed Confucius' thoughts, and put forward a complete system of thought. Mencius traveled around Qi, The kingdoms of Jin, Song, Xue, Lu, Teng, and Liang lobbied for his ideas of "benevolent government" and "kingly way". However, because the princes and countries were busy with wars at that time, his theory of benevolent government was considered to be "far-fetched and broad-minded" and was almost irrelevant. No one adopted his ideas on governing the country. He returned to lecture with his disciples and wrote 7 chapters of "Mencius". Mencius maintained and developed Confucianism, put forward the theory of "benevolent government" and the theory of "good nature", and insisted on "people". His thoughts had a great influence on later generations, but his status was not very high before the Song Dynasty. Since Han Yu's "Yuan Dao" listed Mencius as the only person who inherited Confucius' "Taoism", a new figure emerged. Mencius's status was gradually improved through Mencius' "upgrade movement". His theory had a great influence on the Song Dynasty. In the fourth year of Xining (1071), the reign of Emperor Shen of the Northern Song Dynasty, the book "Mencius" was listed as one of the subjects of the imperial examination for the first time. "Mencius" was upgraded to a Confucian classic. Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty combined it with "The Analects of Confucius", "Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" into the "Four Books". In the first year of Zhishun in the Yuan Dynasty (1330), Mencius was named "Ya Shenggong". From now on, he will be called the "Senior Sage", whose status is second only to Confucius. His thoughts and Confucius' thoughts are collectively called "The Way of Confucius and Mencius".