Mencius' distant ancestor was Meng Kongshi, an aristocrat of Lu, who moved from Lu to Zou after his family's fortunes declined. It is said that Mencius lost his father at the age of three, and Meng Mu worked hard to raise him. Meng Mu is very strict. His stories such as "moving a child to teach a child" and "breaking a loom" are not necessarily reliable, but they have become eternal stories, and they are a model of mother education for later generations. As for Mencius' learning from others, he once said, "If you don't take it, you can give it to others" (Mencius Li Lou), but Sima Qian called it a disciple of Zisi in Historical Records and Biography of Mencius Xunqing. Mencius admired and studied Confucius all his life, and thought that "the life of the people was not prosperous in Confucius"; "You can learn from Confucius if you like."
(Mencius Gongsun Chou). Mencius traveled around Qi, Jin, Song, Xue, Teng and Liang, lobbying for his thoughts of "kingly way" and "benevolent government" for about 20 years, and once became a guest of honor. But at that time, the vassal was busy with Lian Heng's annexation war, and no one was willing to take his advice. Therefore, Mencius retired to study and write books, which was greatly comforted in his teaching activities. He tasted that a gentleman has "three pleasures" and that "parents are both good and brothers are unhappy; Yang is worthy of the sky, regardless of people, but also happy; If you are educated by talents in the world, you will have three pleasures. "
("Mencius dedicated").
Mencius is one of the most important representatives of Confucianism, but his position before the Song Dynasty was not very high. Since Han Yu wrote The Original Road in the mid-Tang Dynasty and listed Mencius as the only figure in pre-Qin Confucianism who inherited Confucian orthodoxy, there has been an "upgrading movement" of Mencius, and the status of Mencius and his works has gradually risen. In the fourth year of Xining in northern Song Shenzong (107 1), Mencius was first included in the imperial examination. In the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083), Mencius was officially named "Zou Guogong" for the first time, and he was allowed to enjoy the Confucius Temple the following year. Later, Mencius was promoted to a Confucian classic. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu combined Mencius with The Analects of Confucius, Daxue and The Doctrine of the Mean into four books, and their actual status was even higher than that of the Five Classics. From the Yuan Dynasty to the first year of Shun Dynasty (1330), Mencius was named "Asian Saint" and later called "Asian Saint", ranking second only to Confucius.
Mencius' thoughts and theories had a great influence on later generations, especially on Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties. After the Song Dynasty, Mencius' thoughts and Mencius' thoughts were often called "the way of Confucius and Mencius".
1, theory of sex: this is the basis of all Mencius' thoughts. Mencius proved that man has a transcendental goodness. "The goodness of human nature is more than water; There is nothing wrong with people, and there is nothing wrong with water "(Mencius Gaozi). The reason why human nature is good is that people are born with a "good death", which is not only transcendental, but also utilitarian. "Everyone has a heart that can't bear others. Today, at the first sight, obedient boys will go down the well. They all have a fear of hiding. If they don't make friends with obedient boys, they should be praised by friends in hard-working towns and villages. " From the point of view, there is no compassion, and it is inhuman; Without shame and evil heart; Non-human; It is inhuman to have no resignation; A heart without right and wrong is inhuman. Compassion is the purpose of benevolence; The heart of shame and evil is also the carbonyl group of righteousness; The words of the heart are the end of the ceremony; The heart of right and wrong is also the end of wisdom. People have four ends, but they still have four bodies "(Mencius' theory of sun and ugliness), which is Mencius' famous" four-end theory "and Mencius'" theory of good nature ". Mencius thought: "benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom are not external to me, but also internal to me." "This is an innate goodness, a virtue of" learning without learning "and a conscience of" knowing without worrying ". Mencius discussed the universal goodness of Confucius through the example of "similarity of the same kind" He said: "The mouth is similar to the taste; The ear is to the sound, and there is the same hearing; There are similarities and differences in color of eyes. As for the heart, is it unique? What is the same as the heart? It is also reasonable and justified. The saint won my sympathy first. Therefore, be righteous and stern, please my heart and my mouth. "Mencius emphasized that there is transcendental goodness in human nature, and at the same time believed that there are two reasons why people are evil: one is external influence. He said: "Today's husband's water, jumping and jumping, can make it pass;" If you are excited, you can make it in the mountains. Is this the nature of water? Its potential is natural. People can be bad, but their nature is still good. "(Mencius Gao Zi Shang) The second question is whether people themselves have a subjective desire for goodness. He said: "People are different from animals, Shu Ren goes to them, and the gentleman stays" ("Mencius Li Lou"); If you ask for it, you will get it, but if you give up, you will lose it. Just seek what is good for you and what is good for me. Mencius believes that if a person is unwilling to be kind to others, it is "self-destruction", "self-abandonment" and "self-stealing". In order to preserve and carry forward human goodness, Mencius put forward a set of self-cultivation kung fu, which not only absorbed his epistemology, but also included his moral philosophy. These skills of self-cultivation are composed of a series of propositions, such as: 1. " Do your best "and" do your best, know your nature; " Know its nature, then know its heaven "("Mencius "); Second, "cultivate one's nature" and "cultivate one's mind and cultivate one's nature, so it is natural to do things; Don't die young, you want Xiu De, so you have to be lucky. "
("Dedicated Mencius"); Third, "few desires" and "nourishing the heart is not good at few desires"
("Dedicated Mencius"); Fourth, "seeking peace of mind" and "sincere people, heaven is also; If you think sincerely, you will learn from others. Those who are sincere and motionless are not there; If you are dishonest, you will be unmoved "("Mencius Li Lou "); Sixth, "reflexive", "everything is ready for me, reflexive and sincere, I am very happy; Strong anger, seeking benevolence is not close ("Mencius"); Seven, "nourishing qi", "I am good at cultivating my noble spirit" and "it is qi, and it is extremely strong. If it is straight and harmless, it will be stuck between heaven and earth. It is also qi, which is consistent with righteousness and Tao; It's okay. I'm sorry, too. It is born from the collection of righteousness, but also from the attack of righteousness; If you don't care about your own behavior, you will be embarrassed (Mencius Gongsun Chou). In addition, there are some propositions, such as "don't be tempted", "save the night spirit", "be big first" and "be brave after knowing shame"
2. Political thought: Mencius put forward the political theories of "benevolent government" and "kingly way" on the basis of the theory of good nature. He pointed out that "benevolent government" originated from the former king's "not jealous of flash" and "everyone has a heart that cannot bear others. The late king had a heart that could not bear others, and Sri Lanka had a policy that could not bear others. With an unbearable heart, you can't endure the politics of others and rule the palm of the world. " Mencius said: "If we are kind to the people, save punishment, save taxes and cultivate deep cultivation, then the strong will cultivate their loyalty in their leisure time, unite with their fathers and brothers, and learn from their strengths, which can be used to control Qin Chu." (Mencius Hui Liang Wang Shang) He also said: "Benevolence must start from the boundary" (Mencius Teng Wengong Shang), that is, five acres of houses, mulberry trees, and fifty people can wear clothes and silks. Animals such as chickens, dolphins and dogs can eat meat without wasting time. Hundreds of acres of land, do not seize the opportunity, a few people can be unarmed. I would like to teach you in order to show filial piety, and the winners are not contained in the Tao. Seventy people eat meat, clothes and silk, and the Lebanese are neither hungry nor cold, but they are not kings and have nothing. At the same time, Mencius put forward the idea of "controlling the wealth of the people", that is, he advocated "constant wealth" to gain the "perseverance" of the people, and "I will make my back enough to serve my parents and my wife, to be happy for life, to avoid death in hard years, and then to drive away good deeds"
(Mencius Hui Liang Wang Shang). In Mencius' thought of "benevolent government", the position of "people" is prominent. He put forward that "protecting the people is king" and "winning the people and winning the world" (Mencius Li Lou); Put forward that "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light" ("Mencius"). In addition, in Mencius' political theory, there are differences between "kingliness" and "overbearing", between righteousness and benefit, and so on.
3, ideal personality: Mencius said that there are many ideas about ideal personality, such as "everyone can think of Yao and Shun" ("Mencius Gaozi"); "Living in the world, standing in the position of the world, doing the world's way, achieving career, and being with the people; Go your own way when you are frustrated. Precious can't be lustful, poor can't be moved, and mighty can't be bent. This is called a gentleman "("Mencius Teng Wengong "); "There are martyrdom in the world; There is no way in the world, and I am martyred "("Mencius with all my heart "); "Life also, what I want, righteousness, what I want. You can't have both, and those who sacrifice their lives for righteousness are also "("Mencius Gao Zi Shang "); "Stay king wen and then xing, every people also. If you are a hero, you will thrive without the king of literature ("Mencius with all your heart"), etc., which are inspiring and legendary through the ages.
Mencius' ideological content is mainly concentrated in the book Mencius, which is generally believed to be written by Mencius, and his disciples Zhang Wan and Gong Sunchou participated in it.