What are the stories related to Mencius?

1. Three Moves of Meng’s Mother

During the Warring States Period, there was a great scholar named Mencius. Mencius was very naughty when he was young. His mother spent a lot of effort to give him a good education! Once, they lived next to a cemetery. Mencius and the neighbor's children imitated the way adults kneeled down and cried, and played the game of funeral arrangements.

When Mencius’ mother saw it, she frowned: No! I can't let my kids live here anymore! Mencius's mother took Mencius to live next to the market. When he arrived at the market, Mencius and the neighbor's children began to learn how merchants did business. Now he bows to welcome the guests, now entertains the guests, and now bargains with the guests, the performance is very realistic.

Mencius’ mother knew this and frowned again: This place is not suitable for my children to live either! So, they moved again. This time, they moved near the school. Mencius began to become orderly, polite, and like to read. At this time, Mencius's mother nodded with satisfaction and said: This is where my son should live! Later, people used "Meng Mu's three moves" to mean that people should be close to good people, things, and things in order to learn good habits!

2. Mencius was taught

Mencius's wife was alone in the house, squatting on the ground. Mencius entered the house and saw his wife like this, so he said to his mother: "This woman has no etiquette. Please allow me to divorce her." Meng's mother said, "What's the reason?" Mencius said, "She squatted on the ground." Mencius said. His mother asked: "How do you know?" Mencius said: "I saw it with my own eyes." Meng's mother said: "This is because you don't follow the etiquette, not because the woman doesn't follow the etiquette."

"The Book of Rites" Isn't it said like this? When you are about to enter the door, you must first ask who is in the room; when you are about to enter the hall, you must first raise your voice to let the people inside know; when you are about to enter the house, you must look down. The Book of Rites says this so that no one will be caught off guard and unprepared.

Now you go to the place where your wife is relaxing and there is no sound when you enter the house, so people don’t know that you have seen her. Squatting on the ground. This is because you are not polite, not because your wife is not polite[1]?" After Mencius listened to Mother Meng's teachings, he realized that he was wrong and never dared to divorce his wife again. Something happened.

3. The study of broken weaving metaphors

When Mencius was a child, he came home from school one time and his mother was weaving. (Seeing him coming back,) she asked: "Study How's it going?" Mencius (carelessly) replied: "It's the same as in the past." Meng's mother (very annoyed when she saw his nonchalant look) cut the knitted cloth with scissors. When Mencius saw this, he was so frightened that he asked his mother: "Why are you so angry?"

Mengzi's mother said: "You have neglected your studies, just like I cut this cloth. A virtuous person studies. It is to establish a reputation and increase knowledge. Therefore, if you can do things in peace, you can avoid disasters. If you neglect your studies now, you will not be able to avoid doing despicable labor, and it will be difficult to avoid disasters. ”

Mencius was shocked after hearing this. From then on, he studied diligently from morning to night, regarded Zisi as his teacher, and finally became a famous Confucian in the world. Virtuous people think that Meng's mother understands the rules of motherhood.

4. Killing pigs does not deceive others

When Mencius was a child, he saw his neighbor killing pigs. Mencius asked his mother, "Why is the neighbor killing a pig?" Mencius's mother said, "I want to give it to you." Immediately, the mother regretted what she said and said to herself, "When I was pregnant with this child, I was sitting at the table. I won't sit if it's not laid out properly, and I won't eat if it's not cut correctly. This is prenatal education. Now that the child happens to have knowledge, I will deceive him and teach him to be dishonest!" Mencius's mother bought the neighbor's pork. Eat to prove that she did not deceive Mencius.

5. The first builder of terracotta warriors

This idiom comes from "Mencius: King Hui of Liang": "Zhongni (Confucius) said: The first builder of terracotta warriors has no descendants! He is like a human being. And use it. "During the Warring States Period, Mencius once discussed how to govern the country with King Hui of Liang. Mencius asked King Hui of Liang: "Is there any difference between beating someone to death with a stick and killing someone with a knife?" King Hui of Liang replied: "There is no difference.

Mencius asked again: "What is the difference between killing people with a knife and killing people with politics?" King Hui of Liang said: "There is no difference." ”

Mencius continued: “Now there is plenty of fat meat in the king’s kitchen and strong horses in the stables, but the people’s faces look hungry, and there are people dying of starvation lying in the wild. This is someone in power leading the beasts to eat people! Your Majesty, think about it, it is disgusting for people to eat wild animals, so how can those in power be good parents and officials to the people when they bring wild animals to eat people? ”

According to the saying of Confucius, “The one who started the figurines has no successors.” Later generations used “the one who started the figurines” as an idiom to describe the first person to do something bad or the founder of a bad trend. .Extended information

Mencius (approximately 372 BC - 289 BC), surnamed Ji, Meng, given name Ke, name unknown (Ziyu, Ziju and other names are all from forged books, or made up by later generations) ), a great thinker, educator, and representative of the Confucian school of Zou State (now Zoucheng City, Shandong Province) during the Warring States Period. He was called "Confucius and Mencius" together with Confucius.

Han Yu's "Yuan Dao" refers to Mencius. Listed as a figure among the pre-Qin Confucians who inherited Confucius' "Taoism", the Yuan Dynasty named Mencius "Ya Shenggong Shuchen" and respectfully called "Ya Sheng". The book "Mencius" is a collection of quotation-style prose and is a collection of Mencius' remarks. , jointly compiled by Mencius and his disciple ***, advocating "benevolence-based"

The representative works include "Fish I Want", "If You Gain the Way, You Will Get Many Helps, If You Lose the Way, There Will Be Few Helps" and "Born in Worry," "Die in Peace" and "What I Do to the Country" are included in middle school Chinese textbooks

Reference: Mencius - Baidu Encyclopedia