The slogan of promoting Mencius and Confucius is

It is said that some emperors in history were afraid of Mencius' words and ordered the editors to delete Mencius' words full of gunpowder when he published Mencius.

Thirdly, Mencius' militancy comes from his lofty spirit. Mencius is good at cultivating honesty, which is where Confucius is not as good as Mencius. Mencius thought: "the ambition of a husband is also handsome;" Qi, the body is full. ""it's also anger, extreme, straight and harmless, so it's stuck between heaven and earth. It is also angry, righteous and righteous. " ("Mencius Gongsun Ugly" on page 396) means that people with inner ambitions are loyal ministers and good generals; Loyalty is full of strength. This kind of qi is the biggest and strongest, which can be cultivated into positive results without injury and can fill the space between heaven and earth. This kind of qi should be in harmony with righteousness and Tao. If not, there will be a lack of strength. It is the accumulation of justice that can produce great power, not accidental justice. It seems that Mencius' qi is healthy, the spirit and strength of justice in his chest. Confucius' "qi" is not as full as Mencius', so Confucius is not as strong as Mencius' fighting spirit. Mencius used this noble and upright spirit to publicize his political opinions and awaken the people to fight against evil rule. Mencius' lofty integrity runs through all his actions, words and deeds. "Wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent." How powerful these words are! Later, some intellectuals wrote "honesty" on a huge plaque and hung it in the hall to inspire and encourage themselves. There is no doubt that Mencius' spirit nourishes and cultivates a batch of elites of the Chinese nation.

Fourth, Mencius' theory of human nature. "Sex", a complex problem involving both human temperament and self-cultivation, was basically not mentioned by Confucius, but Mencius made a profound exposition on it. From the perspective of social practice, human nature is good, not evil, when people are young or not yet old enough for social practice. Later evils were caused by social environment, including social behavior education and social management. Mencius said: "human nature is good, even better than water." There is nothing wrong with people, and there is nothing wrong with water. Today, my husband's water, beating and jumping, can make it too long; If you are excited, you can be in the mountains. Is this the nature of water? Its potential is natural. People can be bad, but their nature is still good. " ("Mencius Gaozi" page 566) He thinks that human nature is good and flows downwards like water. People do nothing evil (nature), and water flows downwards. However, water is like this, it can splash very high, higher than the head; Pulling it with a bucket may go backwards and even lead to a high mountain. Where is the essence of water? It is the situation that makes it like this. People can be encouraged to do bad things, and so can changing nature. Mencius' understanding is that human nature is not bad but good. Later, social behavior deteriorated, which was forced by the environment and made. Therefore, human nature in social life "can be good or bad; Therefore, civil and military prosperity, people's hearts are good; If you are quiet and energetic, people will be violent. " ("Mencius Gaozi Shang" page 570) Mencius also delved into the source of human goodness. People believe that the nature of kindness comes from people's "sympathy, shame, respect and right and wrong". (Mencius gaozi)

In order to resist the evil invasion of social environment, Mencius put forward the theory of "benevolence and righteousness" and "cultivating the spirit of integrity" It advocates the combination of "benevolence" and "righteousness", resists evil with the power of righteousness, and builds a steel Great Wall to safeguard kindness with integrity. The combination of "benevolence" and "righteousness" and "heroism" is a problem that Confucius did not pay enough attention to.

Fifth, Mencius was eloquent. His language is full of vigor and vitality, and his arguments are also very imposing, powerful, logical, interlocking, impeccable and aggressive. See:

"The weather is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as people. The city of three miles, the country of seven miles, is invincible when attacked by the Lord of the Rings. If the husband attacks it, he will have the right time; However, if you don't win, you'd better be in the right place at the right time. The city is not too high, the pond is not too deep, the military is not very profitable, and there is not much rice, so it is not as good as people. Therefore, the people in the territory do not take the frontier, the country does not take the risk of mountains and rivers, and the world does not take advantage of the military revolution. If you get this word, you will get more help, but if you lose it, you will get less help. When there is little help, relatives will be there; If you help more, the world will become stable. Get the moon first by being close to the water. Therefore, if the gentleman fails, the war will win. " (On the Ugliness of Mencius Gong Sun, page 4 15) How rigorous this is! There are many discussions like this.

In addition, Mencius' debate is very literary, makes good use of metaphors and has the characteristics of prose. Careful examination, thorough explanation and profound insight forced the opponent to refuse. These characteristics run through the whole book of Mencius. Have a great influence on future generations.

There are many differences between Mencius and Confucius, which will be discussed in another place

In a word, although Mencius was not as broad as Confucius, he not only inherited Confucius' theory of cultivating personality with "benevolence" as the core and the science of national political management of "being close to the people", but also was more profound than Confucius in these two aspects. It can be considered that all the knowledge of Mencius is concentrated on these two points. Confucius began to dig two wells. Mencius thought there would be refreshing springs flowing there, so he took Confucius' hoe and continued to dig deep. People finally saw the spring gurgling out. To cultivate personality, we must combine "kindness" with "righteousness"; Political management must be people-oriented. Judging from the current cultural and spiritual state of the Chinese nation, it is more meaningful to praise Mencius' personality and political management than Confucius'. Regardless of China's past, present and future, it is very important to hold high the spiritual banner of "courage and perseverance" on the basis of emphasizing "benevolence", because there are extremely heavy "Yin Qi", "pedantic" and "putrid" in the traditional culture of China. In China, no matter in the past, present and future, advocating "the people are the foundation of the country" and implementing democratic politics are more important than anything else. Only political management science can bring about the strength of the country and the rejuvenation of the nation.

Precautions:

1, father and monarch-Confucius said: "The Book of Songs can be appreciated, impressive, collective and resentful. You are the father of all things, and you are the king of all things in the distance. " (The Analects of Confucius and Yang Huo XVII).

2. Qualitative literary theory-Confucius said: "Quality is better than literature, and literature is better than history. Gentle, then a gentleman. " ("The Analects of Confucius, the sixth night") means that it is a bit rude to be simple over literary talent; If literary talent exceeds simplicity, it is a bit vain. Only when the proportion of literature and quality is balanced is a gentleman.

3. Enjoy the people and worry about the people-Mencius said: "Those who enjoy the people also enjoy themselves; Those who worry about the people, the people are also worried about it. " (Mencius and Liang

Confucius was revered as a saint by later generations because he was a genius, great and knowledgeable. Many viewpoints and thoughts of Confucius have eternal value.

Confucius is a thinker. He put forward the concept of the golden mean when understanding, analyzing and dealing with things; Put forward the theory of personality cultivation with "benevolence" as the core.

Confucius is a philosopher. His interpretation of Zhouyi made the source of China culture flow far away. Many of his languages are dialectical.

Confucius is a historian, and the so-called "Zhong Ni wrote the Spring and Autumn Period" (Historical Records) has played a great role in the inheritance of history.

Confucius is an artist. He is proficient in music and likes poetry. He believes that poetry can be "the father is the king". He said, "Learn literature if you have spare time." . (The Analects of Confucius: Learning while Learning) He put forward the fundamental viewpoint of appreciating art-"qualitative literary theory".

Confucius is an educator. He summed up a lot of educational experience. There are more than twenty educational experiences in The Analects of Confucius (not counting quotations from other students), and few of them have no practical value and truth value in modern society.

Confucius was also a politician. Of course, Confucius failed politically. He is too pure, and his character does not conform to the evil trend at that time.

Sages also have shortcomings. Confucius also had his moments of pessimism and despair. This is not a fatal weakness. I think Confucius' achilles heel is his concession and escape in the face of dark society. Instead of calling on and encouraging the forces of justice to attack the evil ruling class with fearless spirit and courage, he nagged: "If there is a road in the world, you will see it, but if there is no road in the world, it will be hidden." See, in order to avoid the dark forces, Confucius chose the road of hiding and running away. Related to this, Confucius denied the democracy of politics, and then he said, "If you don't reach the designated position, you won't seek politics." (The Analects of Confucius Taber VIII) This is the mantra of doctors in feudal society in China, and people still hear this sentence occasionally today. It can be seen that the influence of Confucius' words is extremely far-reaching. From the bottom of culture, our Chinese nation is feminine, and the spirit of democracy and resistance under the dark political rule is not strong, which is partly due to Confucius' temperament and cultural outlook. Looking at the road the Chinese nation has traveled, people will fight and save themselves only when they are cornered, driven by dark politics and the rope of death is tightened. As a result, the decadent rule was overthrown and new rule and political relations were formed. However, the good times will not last long, because nepotism and family life make political life lifeless. The system itself lacks vitality and vitality, and it is a dying system. After a period of time, the decadent rule was overthrown by revolutionary forces and a new regime was established; After a period of time, the new regime decayed again, then was overthrown by revolutionary forces, and a new country was established, which was constantly multiplied and repeated. Thousands of civilizations in China are circulating in this strange circle. Today, the shadow of this system seems to be difficult to disappear on the land of China.

Without Confucius, the culture of the Chinese nation may be interrupted a lot; Without Confucius, the Chinese nation might not have the strong cohesion that gradually formed later.

Today, we should learn from Confucius. We can neither fully affirm him nor completely deny him. To truly understand Confucius, we must study hard the works related to him. It is extremely unscientific to draw conclusions about Confucius only by a few words in history or some conclusions and slogans with strong political color, and it is also extremely harmful to inherit and carry forward the excellent cultural spirit of our ancestors. Historically, the culture created by Confucius was used by political rule and became the ideological banner and spiritual symbol of feudal system. When people want to overthrow an old rule, they must overthrow its ideological banner and spiritual symbol. Therefore, when people attacked Confucius in the past, they only knocked him down politically, not the whole Confucius. However, casual people naturally understand that Confucius was defeated. Here it is. Confucius was injured by mistake. Because there is a difference between theory and practice, theory is "made" by others and used by politicians. It also requires politicians to use it flexibly, adapt to local conditions, adapt to the times and guide the situation. In today's words, it is to keep pace with the times. Confucius' theory has become the spiritual pillar of a nation. It is a political banner, a spiritual direction and a moral and personality strength, which is the same as holding high the banner of Marxism–Leninism today. Here, two things will happen. First, the political ability is low, and it is impossible to effectively govern and manage a country. On the other hand, political morality or political character is very poor (called "political civilization" in today's words), and political managers take the money and things of the masses, people, society and the country as their own. Just like some corrupt elements in the * * * production party today, under the banner of Marxism, they are "fighting corruption on the stage and engaging in corruption under the stage". Please see, these two situations have nothing to do with Confucius, which not only has nothing to do with Confucius, but also distorts Confucius' thought and personality spirit. However, once these two kinds of serious problems appear, people will rise up and revolutionize and overthrow the "dirty and noisy" politics. At this time, Confucius suffered a lot. Wow, it defiles the sanctity of saints! It seems that the culprit is not Confucius, but the backward political system and vulgar or selfish politicians.

Mencius was honored as an "Asian sage" by later generations. He inherited the cultural spirit of Confucius. From the book Mencius, we can see that Mencius is not as broad as Confucius, and his knowledge field is not as broad as Confucius. Mencius seems to have little attainments in history, art and education. However, Mencius has its own advantages over Confucius.

First of all, Mencius' political thought is more popular than Confucius'. Mencius stood in the position of working people and thought for the masses. Mencius' political management is based on "people". He said: "The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light." (page 640 of Mencius with all his heart) He put forward the political behavior view of "worrying about the people for folk music". This reflects the scientific and political thought of "saints are impermanent and people are at the heart". Mencius said to Qi Xuanwang: "I am like a brother, then I regard you as my heart. If you treat me like a dog or a horse, then I will treat you like a Chinese." If you regard your minister as dirt, then I regard you as a robber. " (Mencius and Li Lou, p. 508) Although Confucius' political management thought is also "people-oriented", it is not as specific and distinctive as Mencius. Can people think that Mencius' thought at that time should be said to be the beginning of democratic political thought?

Second, Mencius was very aggressive. In the face of dark politics, Confucius adopted the method of concession. On the other hand, Mencius encouraged the people to rise up against the dark politics. Killing a tyrant like Li is not "regicide". Yes, what are these "gentlemen"? He eats the blood and sweat of the people at will. It became a man-eating beast in a king's coat. If people don't hit him, he will eat people. Mencius said: killing tyrants comforted the people, just like timely rain falling from the sky, and the people were very happy! It is said that some emperors in history were afraid of Mencius' words and ordered the editors to delete Mencius' belligerent remarks when the book Mencius was newly published.

Thirdly, Mencius' militancy comes from his lofty spirit. Mencius is good at cultivating honesty, which is why Confucius is not as good as Mencius. Mencius thought: "the ambition of a husband is also handsome;" Qi, the body is full. ""it's also anger, extreme, straight and harmless, so it's stuck between heaven and earth. It is also angry, righteous and righteous. " ("Mencius Gongsun Ugly" on page 396) means that people with inner ambitions are loyal ministers and good generals; Loyalty is full of strength. This kind of qi is the biggest and strongest, which can be cultivated into positive results without injury and can fill the space between heaven and earth. This kind of qi should be in harmony with righteousness and Tao. If not, there will be a lack of strength. It is the accumulation of justice that can produce great power, not accidental justice. It seems that Mencius' qi is healthy, the spirit and strength of justice in his chest. Confucius' "qi" is not as full as Mencius', so Confucius is not as strong as Mencius' fighting spirit. Mencius used this noble and upright spirit to publicize his political opinions and awaken the people to fight against evil rule. Mencius' lofty integrity runs through all his actions, words and deeds. "Wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent." How powerful these words are! Later, some intellectuals wrote "honesty" on a huge plaque and hung it in the hall to inspire and encourage themselves. There is no doubt that Mencius' spirit nourishes and cultivates a batch of elites of the Chinese nation.

Fourth, Mencius' theory of human nature. "Sex", a complex problem involving both human temperament and self-cultivation, was basically not mentioned by Confucius, but Mencius made a profound exposition on it. From the perspective of social practice, human nature is good, not evil, when people are young or not yet old enough for social practice. Later evils were caused by social environment, including social behavior education and social management. Mencius said: "human nature is good, even better than water." There is nothing wrong with people, and there is nothing wrong with water. Today, my husband's water, beating and jumping, can make it too long; If you are excited, you can be in the mountains. Is this the nature of water? Its potential is natural. People can be bad, but their nature is still good. " ("Mencius Gaozi" page 566) He thinks that human nature is good and flows downwards like water. People do nothing evil (nature), and water flows downwards. However, water is like this, it can splash very high, higher than the head; Pulling it with a bucket may go backwards and even lead to a high mountain. Where is the essence of water? It is the situation that makes it like this. People can be encouraged to do bad things, and so can changing nature. Mencius' understanding is that human nature is not bad but good. Later, social behavior deteriorated, which was forced by the environment and made. Therefore, human nature in social life "can be good or bad; Therefore, civil and military prosperity, people's hearts are good; If you are quiet and energetic, people will be violent. " ("Mencius Gaozi Shang", p. 570) Mencius also delved into the source of human goodness. People believe that the nature of kindness comes from people's "sympathy, shame, respect and right and wrong". (Mencius gaozi)

In order to resist the evil invasion of social environment, Mencius put forward the theory of "benevolence and righteousness" and "cultivating the spirit of integrity" It advocates the combination of "benevolence" and "righteousness", resists evil with the power of righteousness, and builds a steel Great Wall to safeguard kindness with integrity. The combination of "benevolence" and "righteousness" and "heroism" is a problem that Confucius did not pay enough attention to.

Fifth, Mencius was eloquent. His language is full of vigor and vitality, and his arguments are also very imposing, powerful, logical, interlocking, impeccable and aggressive. See:

"The weather is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as people. The city of three miles, the country of seven miles, is invincible when attacked by the Lord of the Rings. If the husband attacks it, he will have the right time; However, if you don't win, you'd better be in the right place at the right time. The city is not too high, the pond is not too deep, the military is not very profitable, and there is not much rice, so it is not as good as people. Therefore, the people in the territory do not take the frontier, the country does not take the risk of mountains and rivers, and the world does not take advantage of the military revolution. If you get this word, you will get more help, but if you lose it, you will get less help. When there is little help, relatives will be there; If you help more, the world will become stable. Get the moon first by being close to the water. Therefore, if the gentleman fails, the war will win. " (On the Ugliness of Mencius Gong Sun, page 4 15) How rigorous this is! There are many discussions like this.

In addition, Mencius' debate is very literary, makes good use of metaphors and has the characteristics of prose. Careful examination, thorough explanation and profound insight forced the opponent to refuse. These characteristics run through the whole book of Mencius. Have a great influence on future generations.

There are many differences between Mencius and Confucius, which will be discussed in another place

In a word, although Mencius was not as broad as Confucius, he not only inherited Confucius' theory of cultivating personality with "benevolence" as the core and the science of national political management of "being close to the people", but also was more profound than Confucius in these two aspects. It can be considered that all the knowledge of Mencius is concentrated on these two points. Confucius began to dig two wells. Mencius thought there would be refreshing springs flowing there, so he took Confucius' hoe and continued to dig deep. People finally saw the spring gurgling out. To cultivate personality, we must combine "kindness" with "righteousness"; Political management must be people-oriented. Judging from the current cultural and spiritual state of the Chinese nation, it is more meaningful to praise Mencius' personality and political management than Confucius'. Regardless of China's past, present and future, it is very important to hold high the spiritual banner of "courage and perseverance" on the basis of emphasizing "benevolence", because there are extremely heavy "Yin Qi", "pedantic" and "putrid" in the traditional culture of China. In China, no matter in the past, present and future, advocating "the people are the foundation of the country" and implementing democratic politics are more important than anything else. Only political management science can bring about the strength of the country and the rejuvenation of the nation.

Precautions:

1, father and monarch-Confucius said: "The Book of Songs can be appreciated, impressive, collective and resentful. You are the father of all things, and you are the king of all things in the distance. " (The Analects of Confucius and Yang Huo XVII).

2. Qualitative literary theory-Confucius said: "Quality is better than literature, and literature is better than history. Gentle, then a gentleman. " ("The Analects of Confucius, the sixth night") means that it is a bit rude to be simple over literary talent; If literary talent exceeds simplicity, it is a bit vain. Only when the proportion of literature and quality is balanced is a gentleman.

3. Enjoy the people and worry about the people-Mencius said: "Those who enjoy the people also enjoy themselves; Those who worry about the people, the people are also worried about it. " (Mencius and Liang