What is "people-oriented thought"?

First of all, in the economic aspect, Mencius advocated "controlling people's property", reducing taxes and providing material security for the people. Ensuring food, clothing, housing and transportation is the primary measure to stabilize people's hearts. He pointed out: "People are the way, those who have constant production have perseverance, and those who have no constant production have no perseverance." If you have no perseverance, don't be selfish. "Without a certain industry, people will not have certain moral beliefs. Without moral beliefs, they will do whatever it takes to survive. Therefore, if a wise monarch controls the people's property, he can support his parents and wife, satisfy his life in happy years and avoid death in fierce years. "(2) how to control people's property? Mencius believed that people should have five acres of houses and a hundred acres of land first, and should not go against the farming season. " Five acres of houses, trees with mulberry trees, fifty clothes. Chickens, dolphins and dogs are all domestic animals, so there is no time to waste. Seventy people can eat meat. In the face of heavy taxes at that time, Mencius advocated "saving punishment and paying less taxes". He believes that only by reducing the slavery and exploitation of the people and stabilizing their lives can the people obey the rule and the society be stable. From this point, we can see that Mencius' people-oriented thought accords with simple materialism, that is, social existence determines social consciousness, which is very scientific.

Secondly, politically, Mencius' people-oriented thought can be divided into several points:

1. In the relationship between the monarch and the people, he advocated that "the people are more expensive than the monarch" and pointed out that the people are the most fundamental. He said: "The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light." ⑤ And demonstrate this point: "It is because Qiu Min is the son of heaven, the son of heaven is a vassal, and the vassal is a doctor. If a vassal is in danger, he must change it. When the sacrifice is completed, the thief is clean and the sacrifice is timely. However, drought and water overflow will change the country. " This means that only with the support of the people can Tiandi ensure political stability. The establishment of Tugu God is meaningful only by protecting the people. If the monarch has no way to endanger the existence of the country, he should be replaced; If the sacrifice is thoughtful and there are droughts and floods, you should abandon the country. Only the people can't give up and lose at any time, so the people are the foundation of the country. Mencius also explained the following truth according to the well-known historical facts at that time: losing the world lies in winning the hearts of the people, and winning the hearts of the people lies in winning the hearts of the people. Xia Jie and Shang Zhou were extremely cruel to the people, lost their hearts, and eventually led to the country's demise, and finally ended up fleeing or being killed. He quoted a sentence from Tang Shi, "Does time kill people? Give up your life for righteousness! " All landowners show that the monarch who is cruel to the people is unpopular and the people are willing to die with him. On the contrary, Shang Tang and Zhou Wenwang are benevolent people who care about the people. "Tang De is an animal at the end", "King Wen treats the people like a wound" and "King Wu will not spare you and never forget the distance".

2. Public opinion is God's will. He quoted Tai Shigong as saying that "Heaven regards himself and others, and Heaven listens to himself and others", stressing that public opinion is an act of God. The monarch's power is "heaven and it", "heaven doesn't say anything, but shows it by deeds and things" Attending only conform to the people's will and implement benevolent policies can we unify the world. In this case, he advocated limiting the monarchy. Mencius believes that saints and people are the same kind, and everyone is equal before the "class". "Sages are like people", "Sages are like me" and "Yao and Shun have the same ears as people". He thinks everyone can think of Yao and Shun. This improves the status of ordinary people and shows that people are equal in essence. It is on this basis that Mencius strongly opposed the expansion and abuse of his power by the monarch and advocated appropriate restrictions on it from the perspective of class interests. He said, "If you make a big mistake, you will be admonished. If you don't listen repeatedly, you will be ectopic. " Mencius also advocated equality of personality between monarch and minister. "If you regard the people as brothers, then I regard you as a bosom friend; If you treat me like a dog and a horse, then I treat you like a Chinese; Your ministers are like dust; Then I regard you as an enemy. " This makes Mencius' people-oriented thought have the factor of personality liberation. At that time, in the society where absolute monarchy was supreme, this view was shocking and inspiring, and it still has great positive significance in the long history and even today.

3. In the aspect of managing internal affairs, Mencius believes that whether it is selecting talents or appointing people, it is killing people without blinking an eye. Every monarch should respect public opinion, not based on the intention of the monarch, but based on the intention of the people of China. The will of the people is the main basis for the duke's decision. "Everyone in China has virtue, and then judge it; See the sages and then use them. " "China people can kill, and then the trial; If you see it, you can kill it and then kill it. " In foreign policy, Mencius also adhered to the people-oriented thought. After Qi State won a great victory in attacking Yan State, he asked Mencius whether it should annex Yan State. Mencius replied, "If it pleases people, take it ... If it makes people unhappy, don't accept it ..." The annexation of other countries also depends on whether the people of that country welcome it. He fully realized that only by conforming to the will of the people can we achieve real reunification and raise the status of the people to a very high level.

4. Have fun with people. If you want to make the people love themselves and surrender, you must first love the people; Worry about the people and enjoy the people. When Qi Xuanwang asked Mencius why his hunting ground was only 40 Li, people thought it was very big, while Zhou Wenwang's 70 Li was very small. Mencius said the reason: because King Wen's hunting ground is "humble people go, pheasants go, and be with the people." Qi Xuanwang, on the other hand, could not. "Whoever kills his elk is guilty of murder." Being happy with the people is considered to be an essential quality of a wise monarch. Mencius believed that "people are happy when they are happy; People have their worries, and people have their worries. Enjoy the world, worry about the world, but not the dead, nothing. "This kind of thinking has cultivated generations of wise kings. At the same time, history has also proved that only those who truly "share happiness with the people" will be loved by the people, while monarchs who base their happiness on people's sufferings will inevitably be unpopular and the dynasty will inevitably perish.

(2)

The formation of Mencius' people-oriented thought is inseparable from his personal genius and originality, but it is also the inevitable result of his conforming to the historical trend and being good at ending historical experience. As early as the Xuanyuan period, Shennong also declined. The princes invaded the people and dominated them, but Shennong was able to levy them. Therefore, in order not to enjoy himself, Xuanyuan was used to fighting, and the vassals and salty guests followed. "Xuanyuan conquest of governors is to save the people from suffering, indicating that people-oriented consciousness has appeared in ancient times. As for Yao, Shun and Yu. After the Yellow Emperor, historical records also recorded a lot of things they did to benefit the people. Although the records in Historical Records are legends, there is no doubt that our ancestors set foot on the threshold of civilization in the legendary period. At that time, with the development of productivity, people's property and social status gradually showed obvious differences. Especially tribal leaders, have considerable privileges. In order to satisfy their own selfish desires, they often wage wars of plunder and aggression against others. Where there is a war, there is bound to be victory or defeat, and the opposition of the people is undoubtedly the main factor that determines the victory of the war. Therefore, in order to win the war and safeguard the overall interests of the tribe, tribal leaders tried their best to win the hearts of the people, so the people-oriented thought came into being. Legend has it that the deeds of the holy king in the Middle Ages attached importance to the people and loved the people, which coincides with this historical development law.

If the theories of saints and loving the people in prehistoric legends provide positive experience for the formation and development of people-oriented thought, then the demise of Xia and Shang Dynasties caused by the contempt of people and mobs in recent three generations provides negative teaching materials for the development and deepening of people-oriented thought. Negative textbooks are often more profound than positive textbooks, and the effect of education is more direct. It promotes the deepening and sublimation of people-oriented thought. By the Zhou Dynasty, the rulers had a better understanding of the people. They not only think that they should "predict the hardship of crops" to govern the people economically, but also pay close attention to the people's problems politically. This is reflected in ancient works such as The Book of Songs.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was great political turmoil in China's social history. Frequent wars and extortion by rulers of various countries have caused great damage to production. Mencius described the situation at that time as "fighting for land, killing for profit, fighting for the city for profit, killing for profit", and the people were displaced and sorrowful. When you can't live as usual, resistance naturally arises. In 6 14 BC, Liang's slaves rebelled, and in the first 550 years, Chen's people rebelled ... These wars made the ruling class aware of the importance of people's power to a certain extent. Under such historical conditions, some politicians and thinkers in the early Zhou Dynasty developed the idea of respecting morality and protecting the people and put forward the theory of "valuing the people". Confucius put forward the theory of "benevolence", believing that "benevolence" makes people love, so it is necessary to "benefit the people" when conducting benevolent policies. Mozi, who opposed Confucianism, also advocated "universal love", which attached importance to people and was the trend of thought at that time. In contrast, the concept of absolute supremacy of monarchy has been shaken. Obviously, the formation of Mencius' people-oriented thought is inseparable from the times.