The Influence of Mencius' Economic Thought on China

AbstractMengzi's economic thought of benefiting and enriching the people is very rich in content, which not only involves the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of social and economic activities, but also involves the various economic policies and decrees of the state in the feudal society. Its main contents include: making the people's production constant, realizing the well-off; light corvée, taking the people's system; encouraging the exchange, protecting the industry and commerce; advocating respect and inspection, opposing corruption.

Keywords Mencius; Benefiting the People; Enriching the People; Economic Thought

Meng Zi (ca. 372-289 BC) was a scholar of the Warring States period in China, whose name was Ke, a native of Zou, southeast of Zou County, Shandong Province. Mencius was a famous thinker during the Warring States period of China, and was the master of Confucianism after Confucius. Mencius lived in the middle and late Warring States period. During this period, the vassal states had successively completed the transition from slave society to feudal society through changes and reforms. With the establishment and consolidation of the feudal political system and production relations, the slave society, which represented the backward production relations, had already "lost its flowers"; and the transition from division to national unification had already formed an irresistible historical development trend. The trend of historical development has become irresistible. Living in such an era of great social upheaval, change and integration, Mencius, as an outstanding thinker of the emerging landlord class, started from the practical point of consolidating the power of the emerging landlord class, developing the feudal economy, and creating a prosperous, stable and harmonious social situation, and held high the two banners of "benevolent government" and "people-oriented government". The two banners of "benevolent government" and "people-oriented" were raised, and a series of "valuing the people", "loving the people", and "benefiting the people" were proposed along with the comprehensive creation of the system of political doctrine of the Way of the King, The first is the "Noble People", "Love the People", "Benefit the People", and "Enrich the People" economic ideas and propositions.

One, the system of constant production, the realization of well-being

Mengzi has always advocated the implementation of the "king's way" of politics, and opposed the "hegemony" of the rampant. Mencius defined "the way of the king" and "the way of the hegemony" as follows: "the king who practiced benevolence with virtue", that is, to convince people with virtue, practicing benevolence is the way of the king; "the hegemony who pretended to be benevolent with force". False benevolence is hegemony" [1] 52, that is, under the name of benevolence and righteousness as a call, by force of conquest is hegemony. "This is the land system of feudal society envisioned by Mencius, and it is also an important program of Mencius to advocate the implementation of the king's politics.

The so-called "system of constant production" means that a certain amount of property is granted to the people through the decree of the state. In feudal society, where agriculture was the mainstay of the natural economy, the most important property of the people was land. According to Mencius, "civil affairs cannot be slowed down", which means that the production and living problems of the people cannot be delayed and must be taken as the top priority of the government's work. The people have a basic situation: "Those who have constant production have constant mind, those who do not have constant production do not have constant mind. If there is no perseverance, there will be no failure." [1] 82 This passage is a good example of how the government should be able to take care of the people's problems. [1] 82 This passage is to the effect that only those who have a certain amount of industrial income have a certain moral concept and code of conduct, while those who do not have a certain amount of industrial income will not have a certain moral concept and code of conduct. If the people do not have a certain moral concept and code of conduct, they will do whatever they want, break the law, and do whatever they want. What is very precious is that Mencius, the sage of Asia, used the simple dialectical thinking of ancient China to talk about the relationship between the construction of material civilization and the construction of spiritual civilization in the society.

How to "make the people's production constant"? Mencius first puts forward the guiding ideology and basic principles of the "system of constant production": "Therefore, a wise ruler to make the production of the people, must be up enough to serve their parents, down enough to raise their wives, the happy years of life full, and the bad years of death; and then driven to the good, so the people of the people from the light." [1] 17 That is to say, the wise ruler stipulates the property of the people, must make them up enough to support their parents, down enough to raise their wives and children; good years, abundant clothing and food; bad years, not to starve to death. Then they should be led to the path of goodness, and the people would easily listen to them. Secondly, Mencius proposed a specific method of "controlling the people's property": each farmer was given "a house of five acres, with mulberry trees" and "chickens, pigs, dogs and swine"; "a field of a hundred acres"; "a field of a hundred acres"; and "a field of a hundred acres". Each peasant household was given "a house of five mu, trees of mulberry" and "chickens, dogs, and swine"; and "a field of a hundred mu, not to be taken away from the time", so that "a family of eight could be free from hunger." [1]17- 18 Finally, Mencius put forward the goal of building a moderately affluent society: "The old people will be clothed in silk and meat, and the people will be free from hunger and cold, and yet there will be no one who is not a king." [1]18 Even if the elderly people of the whole society reach the well-off level of "clothing, silk and meat", and the general people reach the subsistence level of "not hungry and not cold", then the king's way of politics will be realized.

Mengzi also noted that while actively building the material civilization of society, it is necessary to strengthen the spiritual civilization of society. The specific method is: "To be careful with the teaching of ziangwei, and to be filial and fraternal to the righteousness of filial piety and fraternal duty." [1]5 That is to say, schools at all levels should be well organized, and the young generation should be repeatedly enlightened with the principles of filial piety and obedience to parents and respect for older brothers and sisters. In daily life, "the strong man to spend their spare time to repair their filial piety, fraternal duty, loyalty and faith, in order to serve their father and brother, out to serve their elders" [1]7. Strengthening the construction of family virtues and social morality, to improve the level of spiritual civilization of the whole society.

Mengzi opposed the impoverishment of farmers, he pointed out very acutely: "now also the production of the system of the people, not enough to serve their parents up, not enough to raise their wives down, the happy years of lifelong suffering, the bad years are not immune to death. This is only to save the death and fear not support, Xi have time to rule the rites and righteousness?" [1]17 In this way, each person in order to save himself is afraid to be too late, how can have time to learn the rites and righteousness of it?

Second, light corvée, take the people system

The people-oriented thinking is the core content of Mencius's doctrine of benevolence of the king's system of government. According to Mencius, a vassal has three treasures: "land, people, and government."[1] 25 The idea of the people is the centerpiece of Mencius' doctrine of benevolent government. [1]256 In order to realize the world's "unification" [1]9, i.e., to realize the unity of the world, stability and harmony, the ruler must implement the basic state policy of "protecting the people and the king" [1]10. Only in this way can the ruler get the sincere support of the people, and "the people will return to him, and the water will go down to him." [1]9 The specific measures to protect the people are to impose light labor, and to take the people in a systematic way.

Meng Zi advocated that the ruler should "anoint the people" [1]136, i.e., to benefit the people of the country, and to implement good policies to each of the people. The most important content of "favoring the people" is: "make their fields easy, thin their taxes, the people can be rich." [1]234 In other words, the people should "favor the people" [1]136, i.e., benefit the people of the country, and implement the good policies to each of them. [1]234 That is to say, to mobilize the enthusiasm of the farmers to plant the land, we must implement the policy of agricultural benefit, reduce the agricultural tax, so that the people really rich. Mencius puts forward several agricultural tax policy, to provide the ruler with reference. One is "plow help but not tax" [1] 55 agricultural tax policy, that is, eight farmers for a grass-roots unit, *** with the planting of one hundred acres of public land, all to pay the grain; and private each household "five mu of the house," " The "five mu of house" and "one hundred mu of field" of each private household were no longer taxed. Secondly, the agricultural tax policy of "cultivator nine one" [1] 26, that is, the tax rate of agriculture is nine cents to draw one. Thirdly, "the countryside is helped by the nine-one, and the state makes its own tax by the tithe." [1] 85 That is, the countryside with nine cents to draw one "help", the city with ten cents to draw one "tribute". Only when the agricultural tax was reduced could the peasants become rich. The mental outlook of the rich peasants also changed profoundly. In the countryside, there is a new atmosphere of "the same wells in the countryside, the same friends in and out of the countryside, the same watchfulness, the same support in sickness and disease", and "the people are in harmony" [1] 85. It is only in the affluent countryside that "civilized villages and communities" emerge.

Meng Zi advocated that the state should reduce the burden of labor on the people. The local governments should make sure that the peasants are not drafted to work during the busy seasons of spring sowing, summer hoeing, and autumn harvesting, so that the peasants can concentrate on their farms during the busy seasons, and "do not lose their time", and work through hard and honest labor, and use their sweat and sweat to make their farms more productive. Through hard and honest labor, the peasants exchanged their sweat for the fruits of their labor, which were "too much grain to eat", "so that the people would have no regrets if they were to live and die. To make the people live and die without regrets is the beginning of the way of the king." [1]5 When the people are well fed and clothed and live in peace and contentment, and when they have no regrets about feeding their families and getting married, this is the beginning of a kingly political society.

Mengzi advocated that feudal rulers should "take from the people have a system" [1]82, that is, the government's taxes must be in accordance with the policies and decrees of the work, can not be indiscriminate, indiscriminate fees. Mencius pointed out sharply, many of the high taxes of the vassal states caused the serious consequences of the death of the people's families: "for the people's parents, so that the people, will be the end of the year diligently moving, not to raise their parents, and said that the loan and benefit, so that the old boy turned to the gully, the evil of its parents for the people?" [1] 83 that a country's taxes must be in accordance with the policies and decrees, not indiscriminate distribution, fees and charges. [1] 83 that a country's ruler claimed to be the parents of the people, but let the people work hard all year round, but the result is not even their parents can not feed, but also had to borrow usury to pay the full tax, finally a family of old and young body exposed in the ravine, this is what kind of "for the people's parents" it? This is really the most revealing and honest.

Mengzi was firmly against the serious polarization of society. Mencius pointed out: "Buttons have fat meat, stables have fat horses, the people have hunger, the wild have hungry culprits, this rate of beasts and eat people. Beasts eat each other, and people are evil; for the people's parents, administration, not free from the rate of beasts and cannibalism, evil in its parents for the people also? "[1]6 That is, the rich and powerful people have fat meat in the kitchen, there are strong horses in the stable, but the people are yellow, there are starving corpses in the wilderness, which is the same as the ruler in a high position to lead the beasts to eat people. Beasts kill each other, and human beings detest them; but as the parents of the people to preside over politics, but also inevitably lead the beasts to eat people, how can this be worthy of being the parents of the people's officials? These words to the size of the corrupt officials in society scolded the painfully sharp, to the point.

Three, to encourage exchange, protection of industry and commerce

Mengzi's "benefit the people", "rich people" economic thinking, in addition to "system people constant production,


Mengzi's economic ideas of "benefiting the people" and "enriching the people" include, in addition to the ideas of "making the people's production constant", "light corvée" and "systematic acquisition of the people", there are also ideas in favor of a rational division of labor in the society, encouraging the fair exchange of products, and vigorously protecting and actively developing industry and commerce. The idea of "benefiting the people" has also been advocated.

In the academic forum of the "Hundred Schools of Thought" during the Warring States period, Mencius clearly put forward the theory of social division of labor in his debate with the representative of the agricultural school. In the view of Mencius, members of society are divided into "laborers" who are engaged in the management of state affairs and the production of spiritual products, and "laborers" who are engaged in the production of material means of production and means of subsistence ([1]P89). The two are interrelated and interdependent. Without the laborer, there is no one to manage the laborer; without the laborer, there is no one to support the laborer. Mencius' theory of social division of labor mainly refers to the division of labor between the laborers and the laborers, but also includes the division of labor within the two. For example, within the laborers, there are people who manage water control, agriculture, education, justice, etc.; within the laborers, there are people who engage in agriculture, handicrafts, commerce, etc. According to Mencius, the social division of labor is "the common sense of the world." [1] 89 That is, the common sense of the world. [1] 89 That is to say, it is the rule that prevails in the world. If social division of labor is not practiced, and everything has to be made and used by oneself, then all people in the world will be exhausted. This shows that Mencius's idea of social division of labor is not only a need to promote economic development and benefit people's livelihood, but also a need to maintain the order of social and economic life. This idea of Mencius is unprecedented.

On the basis of the theory of social division of labor, Mencius put forward the idea of encouraging "the trading of all kinds of work" [1]88. In Mencius' view, the social division of labor necessitates the exchange of products between each other. For example, between the laborer and the laborer, between the "laborer" engaged in the production of spiritual products and the laborer such as the carpenter and the cart driver, there are both different social division of labor and a product exchange relationship. The former's teaching of rites and righteousness could satisfy the latter's spiritual needs, while the latter's production could satisfy the former's material needs, reflecting the trading relationship between spiritual and material products. As far as the exchange of products within the laborers is concerned, farmers "exchange chestnuts for weapons", "Tao Ye also exchanges chestnuts for his weapons"[1] 88, "exchanges what he has for what he does not have"[1] 74, "farmers have more chestnuts than they have"[1] 74, "farmers have more chestnuts than they have"[1] 75 "farmers have more than chestnuts, women have more than cloth", mutual exchange, "through the work of easy things, to envy to make up for the lack of" [1] 102, that is, all walks of life to circulate each other, with the excess to make up for the lack of, through the different sectors of the people exchanging each other's products, will be able to meet the different needs of people. By exchanging products between people in different industries, the different needs of people can be satisfied. In the history of Chinese thought, Mencius was the first to argue the necessity and importance of social division of labor from the level of the development of productive forces and the exchange of products, which is an important theoretical contribution made by Mencius in this field.

Mengzi advocated that the state should encourage the development of industry and commerce by reducing taxes. First, "If the market place is not taxed, and the law is not in the market place, then all the merchants in the world will be happy, and they will want to hide in their markets." That is to say, in the marketplace, set aside open space to store goods, but not levy taxes on goods; if the goods are not sold, according to the law to requisition, and do not let it accumulate for a long time, then all the merchants in the world will be happy, and are willing to store their goods in the marketplace. Secondly, "if the customs are mocked and not levied, then all the travelers in the world will be happy and willing to go out of their way." [1] 55 That is to say, at the passes, only to audit but not to levy taxes, not to set up barricades indiscriminately, not to charge fees indiscriminately, then all travelers in the world will be happy, and will be willing to pass through the road from there. Thirdly, for the handicraftsmen in the city, only a tithe is levied, that is, the so-called "tithe makes the self-financing". [1] 85 Mencius also advocated: "There are the levies of cloth, the levies of corn, and the levies of labor. A gentleman uses one of them to slow down the other." According to Mencius, "If you use the second, the people will be corrupted, and if you use the third, the father and the son will be separated." [1] 256 That is, according to the government's decree, the tax on cloth and silk, the tax on grain and rice, and the tax on human labor should be levied. But an enlightened person in power should adopt one of the three kinds of taxes, and the two kinds of taxes should not be used for the time being. If two of them are used at the same time, the people will starve to death; if all three taxes are levied at the same time, the people will be starving, their families will be broken, and their fathers and sons will not care for each other. Mengzi's idea of protecting industry and commerce has important theoretical significance and practical social value for promoting economic development and social progress.

Four, advocating frugality, against corruption

Mengzi stood on the historical height of the state of peace, in the feudal landlord class in power to advocate frugality, and the initiative of the vassal state king should be the first to do frugality: "The wise king will be frugal and polite."[1] 82 The feudal landlords were the first to do frugality. [1] 82 "恭" (恭) has the original meaning of "respect" (恭敬) and "敬业"(敬业). Here, it means "to be dedicated to one's work", i.e., "to be diligent in government". The original meaning of "thrift" is "frugality", and the meaning here is "honesty". In other words, a wise ruler must be dedicated, frugal, diligent, honest and courteous to his subjects. In terms of dedication and diligence, Mencius advocated that the ruler should go deep into the reality, understand the people's situation, and do more good and practical things for the people; do good things practically and do practical things well. The monarch should go down to inspect and ask the people about their hardships. "Spring save plow and make up for the shortfall, autumn save converge and help not to give." [1] 24 That is, in the spring to inspect the situation of cultivation, the poor farmers to subsidize; in the fall to inspect the harvest situation, the lack of food farmers to subsidize. In the thrift, honesty, Mencius on the popularity of the time to the lower part of the superior inspection, eat, take, squander the people's fat and wealth of the poor and extravagant, expressed abhorrence. According to Mencius, this kind of squandering and wastefulness without regard to the people's life and death, "eating and drinking as if flowing", squandering the people's blood and sweat as if flowing, can only result in "hungry people are not eating, laborers are not resting, Xuxu slandering, the people are thinking evil thoughts" [1] 24 of the serious social consequences. That is to say, due to the corruption of the government, so that the people of the hungry can not eat, laborers can not rest, years and years in the edge of the death of the line of pain struggle, the people are full of grievances, in the case of no way out, can only take the risk, rise up, make the rulers of the opposition.

In the view of Mencius, "respectful people do not insult people, thrifty people do not take people. Insulting the ruler of the robbers, fear of disobedience, evil to be respectful and thrifty? How can respect and thrift can not sound and smile for it? "[1] 128 That is, respectful people will not insult others, frugal people will not plunder others. The vassal who insults and pillages others is afraid that others will not obey him, so how can he be respectful and frugal? Can respect and frugality be feigned by sweet words and smiles? Mencius is firmly opposed to the ruler "to take away the time of their people, so that they can not plow and hoe to feed their parents. Parents freezing and starving, brothers and wives separated." "Drowning its people" [1] 7 in deep water. For this kind of tyrannical ruler, a wise ruler had the power and responsibility to "kill his ruler and hang his people" and "save them from the fire."[1] 105 [1]105

Meng Zi was firmly opposed to the idea that rulers should work and lose money in order to satisfy their own extravagant desires. Mencius pointed out that rulers destroyed people's houses and dug artificial lakes for their own amusement, so that "the people could not rest in peace"; rulers destroyed good land to create gardens, "so that the people could not be clothed." [1]109 Reducing the number of refugees to a level where they could not be fed and clothed was a major problem. [1] 109 Reduced to refugees. Mencius was firmly against the corrupt behavior of the rulers who spent their time drinking and "wandering in the wilderness" [1] 24. The so-called "flow", that is, the ruler to use public funds to swim in the mountains and play in the water, downstream, and forget to return; the so-called "even", that is, the ruler back upstream to travel and entertainment, and do not want to return; the so-called "barren ", that is, the ruler of the birds and animals as a professional hunting and enjoyment of tireless; the so-called "death", that is, the ruler of the day to day gathering of people to drink without restraint. If a country, with such a bunch of losers to long peace and how to talk about? During the Warring States period, there have been many small-scale peasant revolts and "national" riots, Mencius from the practice of sober realization, corruption is the cause of social unrest, the root cause of the political crisis, so he strongly advocate respect for thrift, against corruption.

Mengzi's economic thought of benefiting and enriching the people is a concrete embodiment of his doctrine of benevolence in economic life. Mengzi's economic thought is extremely rich, involving the production, exchange, distribution, consumption of economic activities in all aspects, but also involves the economic activities of government policies and decrees. Mencius's economic thought, there is the color of idealism, its essence is also for the feudal ruling class "king of the world", that is, "in the world and set up, set the people of the four seas" [1] 232 service, but we can not therefore deny the people's economic thought and Mencius. However, we cannot deny the people's and progressive nature of Mengzi's economic thought. Enlightened feudal rulers since the Western Han Dynasty, all attach great importance to the economic thinking of Mencius, they take Mencius as a teacher, to the death of Qin as a lesson, to formulate economic policies to protect the country and benefit the people. In the early Western Han Dynasty, seven emperors, namely Gao, Hui, Wen, Jing, Wu, Zhao and Xuan, accepted the lesson of Qin's tyrannical rule and died in the second century, and adopted the basic state policy of "light and easy (corvée) and thin taxes, and rest for the people"[2] 57, which led to the "rule of Wen and Jing", "Emperor Wu Di Sheng Shi". Tang Taizong Li Shimin to "Qin Shihuang camp palace and the people rebel", Sui "Emperor Yang rely on its wealth, heart without boredom, deceased world" [3] 513 as a reference, that "the heavy endowment is the people's sadness, the people's sadness is the country's peril, the country's peril is the loss of the king", and adopted the basic state policy of saving taxes and thinning the number of people. ", took the provincial labor thin tax, so that the people have more than enough food and clothing, "people rule the country" policy, the emergence of the later generations of the reputation of the "rule of Zhen Guan". The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty also took measures to reduce the corvée, rent and tax, and created the "Kang and Qian Sheng Shi", a period of prosperity. All these are the things that we need to summarize and learn from them for the construction and development of today's society, in order to build a harmonious socialist society.

References

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[3]( Song) Sima Guang: 资治通鉴:第三册[M]. Changsha: Yuelu Shusha, 2002.

[3]( Sima Guang: 资治通鉴:第三册 [M].