100 must-read books for college students

Chapter 10 Confucian classics written as saints

Chapter 9 The Confucian classic written as a sage: "Mencius"

The cornerstone of "Mencius" is Mencius's theory of goodness of human nature, which was put forward by Meng Ke's thinking on the problem of human nature.Meng Ke advocated that human nature is inherently good

, moral concepts such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are inherent in human beings; the theory of good nature is extended to political practice, and the monarch is admonished to use the principles of benevolence and love.
Treat the people with heart and practice benevolent government, and you will be able to protect the people and become king.Mencius's "wealth and honor cannot be promiscuous, poverty cannot be moved, and might cannot be subdued."
"The manly spirit" has played a very important role in shaping the independent personality of Chinese intellectuals. The thinking of "the people are more important than the emperor"

Thinking, it got echoes from the Enlightenment thinkers and modern Enlightenment thinkers during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Mencius's articles are majestic and grand,
With sincere and strong feelings, it is a representative work of pre-Qin prose and is highly praised by later generations.

Seven chapters of "Mencius" written by Zhongni

Mencius, named Ke, styled Ziyu, was born in the state of Zou (now Zou County, Shandong).There are different opinions on when Mencius was born.It is generally believed that he was born in
The statement made in the fourth year of King Zhou Lie (372 BC) is more reasonable.Mencius is a famous thinker, statesman and teacher in the mid-Warring States Period
educator.His thought advocated that it played a progressive role in developing and consolidating the emerging feudal system and realizing the unification of the whole country.
use.His benevolent government thought, "the people are the most important, the king is the least", advocated "saving punishment, thin tax collection", "not violating the farming season"

"And so on, in the history of later feudal society, in order to oppose tyranny and expropriation, we should pay attention to people's clothing and food.
Questions, have good effects.He advocated honoring the virtuous, emphasizing self-cultivation, advocated that ministers should persuade the monarch with benevolence and righteousness, and opposed flattery and flattery.
, which is conducive to cultivating the backbone of literati, bureaucrats and intellectuals, clarifying the governance of officials, and restricting the court's misconduct.he proposed

"Everyone can be Yao and Shun" has been developed into a claim that people do not believe in any authority.His "well field system" ideal, for later

Progressive thinkers serve as the basis for restricting land annexation and easing class conflicts.His idea of ​​war of benevolence inspired people to oppose injustice
war.His educational thoughts and methods also left a very precious legacy for future generations.

From the age of 30 to 44, Mencius' main activities were accepting apprentices to give lectures and promoting Confucianism. At the age of 44, Mencius led the
As a result, the students began to travel around the world, preaching his theory of "benevolent government" and "kingly way".He went to Qi, Song, Teng, Wei, Lu successively
other countries.The era in which Mencius lived was the Warring States era when the princes of various countries merged with each other. The rulers of various countries only talked about fighting for hegemony and profit.
Will you believe Mencius' theory of "good nature" and "benevolent government"?After Mencius kept hitting a wall in practice, he "retired with Wan Zhang

The preface to "Poems" and "Books" describes the meaning of Zhongni, and composes seven chapters of "Mencius". "("Historical Records Biography of Meng Xun")

The seven chapters of "Mencius" are the first and second chapters of "King Hui of Liang", the first and second chapters of "Gongsun Chou", the first and second chapters of "Teng Wengong", and the first and last chapters of "Li Lou".
The next chapter, the first and second chapters of "Wanzhang", the first and second chapters of "Gaozi", the first and second chapters of "Jinxin", and the first and second chapters of "Mencius". "Mencius" one
The title of the book is the same as "The Analects of Confucius", but it is named after a few important words at the beginning of each article, and has no other meaning.

Originally, the seven chapters of "Mencius" were not divided into upper and lower chapters. It was not until the "Mencius Zhangju" written by Zhao Qi in the Eastern Han Dynasty that the seven chapters were divided into upper and lower chapters.

Two volumes were later used.

The Thought of Benevolence and Righteousness, One of the "Four Books"

The book "Mencius" imitates the form of "The Analects", which is carried out in the form of question and answer and defense, with refutation as the main method of argumentation.
This is what is said to be complete.It records Mencius' thoughts, speeches and deeds in detail, and preserves rich historical materials.
It is an important work for the study of Mencius thought and pre-Qin literature, history, economy and philosophy.The whole book is 35000 words, with incisive reasoning and
With fluent characters and vivid language, it is not only a Confucian classic, but also an excellent collection of ancient prose.

The titles of the seven chapters of "Mencius" take the first two or three characters, each chapter has no unified center, and each chapter has no logical connection.
"Language" is similar.

Mencius is the proponent of the theory of good nature.He inherited the thought of Confucius, and further put forward the concept of "class" to demonstrate the nature of human beings.he thinks

Because all the things of the same kind in the world have their common characteristics, and people are of the same kind, and they also have their common characteristics.common of mankind

The same characteristics, including the same speech, the same hearing, the same beauty, and the same heart are the principles and righteousness, even if the saints and the people, both
Belonging to the same category should also have common characteristics.So, what are the essential attributes of human beings?Mencius believed that sense organs such as mouth, eyes and ears

Desire is not the essential attribute of human beings, but reason and righteousness are the essential attributes of human beings.

Mencius endowed human nature with the moral attribute of good nature, and believed that the germination of the four morals of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom, that is, "goodness" is born with
.If these "good qualities" can be maintained and expanded, they can develop into the four virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom.According to Mencius, benevolence
The four virtues of righteousness, propriety and wisdom are not the reflection of the objective outside world in people's minds, but the "goodness" rooted in people's hearts.

virtues possessed.Mencius also called this innate moral concept the "good ability" of "being able without learning", and the "good ability" of "knowing without thinking".

"Knowledge". ("Jin Xin Xia"), it can be seen that Mencius' theory of the goodness of nature regards moral consciousness as a subjective and self-generated product. Its purpose is to strengthen

Adjust the authority and universality of the principles of the feudal landlord class, so that people consciously abide by the social moral ethics.

On the basis of the theory of good nature, Mencius put forward his own view of righteousness and benefit.He developed Confucius's "a gentleman is a metaphor for righteousness, and a villain is a metaphor for justice."
"Yu Li" ("The Analects of Confucius Liren") thought that justice was valued over profit. "Liang Huiwang Shang" records: "Mencius saw Liang Huiwang.Wang said

:'old man!Coming thousands of miles away, will it benefit our country? ’ Mencius said to him: ‘Why should the king say profit!There is also benevolence and righteousness.

'" He said: "Life is what I want, and righteousness is also what I want; you can't have both, and those who give up life for righteousness.life is what i want

, what I want more than the living, so I don't do it for it; death is also what I hate, and what I hate more than the dead, so I don't get rid of it. "(
"Admonishment")

Mencius' theory of good nature is the theoretical basis of his social and political theory.Starting from the theory of good nature, he also put forward the theory of benevolent government.he thinks

Because, everyone has the germination of the four morals of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, that is, the "four ends". Anyone who can maintain the "four ends" and improve them
If it expands, it is like a fire that has just been ignited, or a spring that has just flowed out. If it can be gradually expanded, it will be enough to stabilize the world.
, can not gradually expand, even the parents can not support.This process of expansion, on the one hand, is to make goodness grow from small to large, and from shallow to large.
It is a process from idea to action; on the other hand, it is also a process from moral principle to political principle.

The core of Mencius' theory of benevolent government is "valuing the people".He said: "Jie and Zhou who lost the world also lost their people; those who lost their people lost their hearts."

also.If you have the Dao in the world, if you have the people, you will have the world;
If you want to get together with it, don't do the evil, you too. "("Li Loushang") He also said: "Protecting the people is the king, and nothing can resist it." "("

King Hui of Liang, Part [-]), that is, keeping the people can unify the world, and no one can stop it.Therefore, he further stated: "

The people are the most important, followed by the country, and the king is the least" ("Done with Heart"). In fact, Mencius never regarded the people as more noble than the king.

"贵" means valuable and important, and "light" means secondary.This is from the point of view of which factors are more important to do a good job in a country.

something went wrong.After weighing the importance of the people, the country (Tsuchiya Shrine), and the monarch, he believes that the people are the country

Of course, it clearly affirms the important role of the people. Even so, it is actually necessary for the monarch to understand this
Only one principle can govern well.

Mencius believed that in order to win the support and support of the people, the monarch must implement benevolent government to the people.

Mencius also emphasized that to implement benevolent government to the people, it is necessary to "save penalties and reduce taxes" ("Liang Hui Wang Shang"), "under respectful and thrifty etiquette, it must be obtained from the ownership of the people.

"("Teng Wen Gong Shang"). Although his idea of ​​"saving penalties and reducing taxes" was not accepted by the brutal rulers, but from a
The definition reflects the aspirations of the people.

Mencius opposed the hereditary system and asked the rulers to "respect virtue and respect scholars", so that "the virtuous are in power" and "the capable are in power" ("Gongsun Chou")
superior").He said: "If you don't believe in the benevolent and the virtuous, the country will be empty" ("Down with Heart"), and even proposed that "only the benevolent should be in a high position" ("Li
"Lou Shang"), the king should respect the virtuous, just like Yao did to Shun, and give up the throne to the virtuous.He also said: "Government is not difficult, no

Offended by the living room" ("Li Louxia"), a rich family is a great nobleman, and this point also shows his compromise and conservative side.

Mencius was very concerned about the sufferings of the people. With sympathy for the working people, he asked the king to care about the sufferings of the people.

We must "have fun with the people", "joy the people's happiness", and "care about the people's worries".

On the basis of emphasizing the importance of benevolence and righteousness, Mencius also recognized material interests.He saw to a certain extent that social morality
The dependent role of material interests, and thus in favor of the development of public interests in society, such as "controlling the people's property", "don't seize the time", "saving punishment

fines, thin tax collection", development of social production, etc. He also adopted a quite reasonable attitude in terms of personal interests, for example, he
I think that "good stuff", "lusty" and "good fun" are all what people want, and they can't be regarded as shortcomings. As long as they can extend themselves to others, they will be satisfied

It is Mingjun Shengwang who satisfies everyone's desire.However, he put forward that "nothing to cultivate the mind is good at few desires" ("Done with Heart") and value righteousness over profit.

The idea of ​​ignoring the important role of desire and profit in people's social life.

Mencius also inherited and developed Confucius' view of destiny, saying that destiny is the supreme ruler.He quoted the "Book of History" as saying: "Heaven
Bring down the people, be the king, be the teacher. "("Under King Hui of Liang")

Although Mencius did not get rid of the shackles of the traditional view of destiny, he restored the sight, hearing, and will of heaven to the sight, hearing, and will of the people.

, from obeying the destiny to obeying the people, this is a breakthrough and development of the traditional concept of destiny, which has certain progressive significance.

On the one hand, Mencius affirmed that the destiny of heaven determines everything;

The most fundamental attribute of heaven is morality, that is, the most perfect rationality in human nature.He also believes that knowledge is seeking from the heart, that is,

It is through "introspection" and "introspection" to find the lost goodness, that is, to awaken people's innate concepts.He said: "The knowledge
There is no other way, just ask him to rest assured. "("Gaozi [-]") what he talks about here is mainly the method of moral cultivation, but he also has a sense of morality.

epistemological meaning.

Mencius was the main representative of Confucianism after Confucius, and was honored as the sub-sage after Confucius by the later feudal rulers.

The book "Mencius" is "written in the imitation of a saint". It not only absorbs the essence of "The Analects of Confucius", but also accepts the essence of "University" and "The Doctrine of the Mean".

some of the features.In the book "Mencius", the most prominent reflection is the thought of benevolence and righteousness.Benevolence is the center of Confucianism, Confucius often
There is very little lecture on benevolence, but Mencius paid equal attention to benevolence and righteousness. He had a famous saying, that is, "give up one's life for righteousness".During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, "The Analects of Confucius", "

The Book of Filial Piety, Erya, and Mencius each have a doctorate official, called "Doctor of Biography";

biography.In the Han Dynasty, "Mencius" had been juxtaposed with "The Analects of Confucius".By the time of the Five Dynasties, Meng Chang, the ruler of Later Shu, ordered Wu Zhaoyi to write the regular script "Yi",

"Book", "Poetry", "Rituals", "Zhou Li", "Book of Rites", "Gong Yang", "Gu Liang", "Zuo Zhuan", "Rituals"
"Yu" and "Mencius" were engraved on stone; Song Taizong re-engraved them, which was the beginning of "Mencius" being included in the "Book of Classics".arrive
During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi, a Neo Confucianist, took out two articles, "University" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" in "Book of Rites", and believed that they were written by Zengzi and Zisi.
Works, together with "The Analects" and "Mencius", are called the Four Books.

Although the philosophical thought of "Mencius" is idealistic as a whole, it also contains some reasonable and progressive factors.

In the history of philosophy, it has a great influence.

(End of this chapter)