(2005-7-8 10:47: 15)

Author: Wang Qijun

Mencius was a famous master of Confucianism in the mid-Warring States period, and played an important role in the history of Confucianism in pre-Qin and ancient China. His thoughts have influenced and permeated all aspects of China's social life through various channels and ways, such as politics, economy, philosophy, ethics, psychology, aesthetics, folk customs and so on. , and has produced many functions and influences, such as cultivating sentiment, advocating individuality, respecting the old and caring for the young, stabilizing the family, coordinating the society, governing the country and keeping the country safe, conforming to nature, and integrating man with nature, which has made contributions to the formation of the profound ancient culture and fine traditions of the Chinese nation. In modern life, Mencius' thought still has certain modern value.

The author once pointed out that the core of Mencius' ideological system is to pursue the perfection of individual personality, the coordination of society and the harmony between man and nature. (See A New Theory of Sage Wisdom-Mencius, Shandong People's Publishing House,1997,65438+February). In a sense, Mencius insisted on the philosophy of harmony. This paper outlines my views from the above three aspects in order to teach my colleagues.

On individual issues, Mencius emphasized the pursuit of noble independent personality, the establishment of personal dignity that will not be taken away by others, and indomitable noble integrity and vigorous enterprising spirit. This has positive reference significance for us to establish a correct outlook on life.

Mencius inherited and developed Confucius' thoughts of caring for benevolence, caring for the masses and being close to benevolence, combining caring for benevolence with governing the country and leveling the world, advocating the policy of not caring for others, emphasizing "doing good in the world" and "letting the people do whatever they want" when they succeed. When frustrated, we should stick to the principle of benevolence and righteousness and "be immune to it." Here, Mencius' love is to respect people, admit their dignity and value, and show the humanitarianism of pushing others and the spirit of sacrificing for the public. Mencius' Lover emphasizes the unity of individuals and social groups, emphasizes the unity of individual self-value and social value, and puts the realization of individual value in social groups. This outlook on life, which combines individuals with groups, not only emphasizes the important role of individuals' moral cultivation in aligning the family, governing the country and calming the world, but also attaches importance to the important role of social groups in individuals, thus closely linking individuals' strong sense of responsibility to social groups with social groups' concern for individuals. Here, the process of sticking to benevolence and maintaining noble personality in poverty advocated by Mencius is the process of constantly improving individual self-worth; The process of showing goodwill to the people and benefiting the world when they succeed is the process of pursuing social values that are beneficial to others and society.

For another example, Mencius put forward many profound opinions on the issue of life and death. He inherited and developed Confucius' thought of giving his life for righteousness, and thought that "life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want;" You can't have both, and those who give up their lives are also righteous. " (Mencius on the high posture) "Wealth cannot be lewd, poverty cannot be moved, and power cannot be bent" (Mencius on Teng Wengong). Mencius' profound understanding of life and death tells us that life and righteousness, that is, the value of human life and the spiritual value of pursuing noble sentiments, are indispensable for human survival and development. However, when we can't get both at the same time, we should devote ourselves to upholding justice and integrity. This shows that people's moral and spiritual value is higher than life value. This brilliant thought of Mencius was inherited and carried forward by countless thinkers and people with lofty ideals in later generations. Wen Tianxiang's eternal swan song in the Southern Song Dynasty, "No one has died since ancient times, so I should learn from my history", is based on Mencius' thought. Mencius' thought of sacrificing one's life for righteousness has enhanced unyielding human dignity and accumulated into the spirit of perseverance, self-improvement and enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation. At the critical moment when the nation is in peril and life is at a critical juncture, it has become a moral and spiritual force for countless people with lofty ideals to stick to integrity, resist aggression and die bravely. In the process of the rise of the Chinese nation, it is undoubtedly necessary to absorb the essence of Mencius' thought.

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Pursuing social harmony is another important content of Mencius' thought. Mencius inherited and developed Confucius' thought that the world is just around the corner, and the world is benevolent, and vigorously pursued a beautiful and ideal society with clear politics, great harmony in the world, benevolence and shame, fun between the monarch and the people, respect for the virtuous, noble morality, simple folk customs and close relations. At the same time, he also put forward a set of benevolent policies to govern the country and level the world, such as making the government benevolent, appointing sages to make people capable, reducing punishment, controlling people's property, saving taxes, strengthening education, winning people's hearts and changing customs, etc. Among them, he emphasized the harmony among social members, such as the harmony between monarch and minister, the joy of monarch and people, the filial piety of father and son, the harmony between husband and wife, the respect of brothers and the trust of friends. He believes that only when people perform their duties according to different levels and try their best to fulfill their responsibilities and obligations to other members of society can they maintain the coordination and harmony of interpersonal relationships and be conducive to the existence and development of society. This thought of social harmony not only promoted the prosperity and development of feudal society in China, but also profoundly influenced the spirit, mental state, mode of thinking and value orientation of the Chinese nation, which is still of positive significance for us to maintain a harmonious social order and establish good interpersonal relationships. It is embodied in the following aspects:

First, it is conducive to achieving social stability. We know that social stability is one of the necessary conditions to realize social modernization. Only in a stable environment can society progress and develop. Mencius advocated the principle and method of harmonious coexistence and taking righteousness as the center, and revealed the relationship of unity of opposites, which has positive enlightenment significance for us to constantly coordinate the relationship between social members and keep the relationship between superiors and subordinates, industries and departments in a harmonious state. At the same time, it provides a certain psychological basis for social harmony. Mencius said: "The foundation of the world is in the country, the foundation of the country is at home, and the foundation of the family is in the body" ("Mencius Li Lou"), "The gentleman's defense, self-cultivation and family harmony, the world is peaceful" ("Mencius"). In this way, Mencius regarded individuals, families, countries and the world as a closely linked whole, showing a certain systematic concept. This harmonious thought emphasizes that self-harmony is the basis of family harmony and family harmony is the basis of social harmony. It exerts a subtle influence on all aspects of social life in later generations, thus forming a psychological accumulation.

Second, it is conducive to cultivating the thoughts and feelings of loving the people. People are the foundation of the country, which is one of Mencius' basic thoughts. He emphasized that governing the country means that politicians should love, protect, comfort and enrich the people, share their worries with the people, win the hearts of the people, and then stabilize society and unify the world. He advocated that the monarch should regard the people as one of the three treasures, and put forward the outstanding view that "the people are the most precious, the country is the second, and the monarch is the son of heaven" (Mencius), which profoundly expounded the people. The experience and lessons of later feudal society prove that if we correctly handle the relationship between the monarch and the people, Guan Xinmin will suffer, develop production and neglect taxation, the people will live and work in peace and contentment, and society will develop steadily; On the contrary, the rulers are cruel and heartless, maim the people, plunder their wealth and essence, and the people complain, which will lead to the intensification of social contradictions and arouse the people's resistance. In modern society, whether the relationship between politicians and people can be correctly handled is an important issue to maintain social harmony. We should draw lessons from history, absorb the essence of Mencius' people-oriented thought, constantly cultivate the thoughts and feelings of loving, trusting and relying on the people, and constantly promote social progress.

Third, it is conducive to economic development. In order to maintain social harmony and unity, Mencius put forward a set of thoughts on economic constraints on society. This mainly includes the social division of labor and product exchange system, the land system that controls people's permanent production, the fiscal and taxation system that "takes from the people and uses it for the people" and the tax-saving system, as well as the pension system that focuses on the poor. In recent years, Mencius' thought and enterprise management have become one of the hot spots in cultural research at home and abroad. Some management thoughts of Mencius have been applied to enterprise management by more and more countries and regions, and achieved good results. Here, absorbing the essence of Mencius' economic management thought is undoubtedly necessary for us to broaden our horizons, activate our thinking and improve the modern management level under the conditions of market economy. Modern Enlightenment of Mencius' Thought (Wang Qijun)

(2005-7-8 10:47:4 1)

Author: Wang Qijun

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Pursuing the harmony between man and nature is another important content of Mencius' ideological system. We know that the environment affects the survival and development of human beings, and human survival cannot be separated from countless friends in nature. According to the research and investigation of relevant experts, since the birth of mankind, 40,000 to 50,000 species of animals have become extinct. In the past two thousand years, more than one hundred kinds of mammals have become extinct. At present, many animals are on the verge of extinction, and one animal disappears from the earth every day. Some scientists believe that with the mass disappearance of living things, human beings will lose more and more natural partners and resources. According to Guangming Daily on February 25th 1997, the rich resources in the western part of the mainland are well known, but the extremely fragile ecological environment in the west has not attracted enough attention. Long-term predatory reclamation against science has seriously deteriorated the ecological environment here. 165438+1On the morning of October 27th, hundreds of crows died collectively in Juyuan Town, Dujiangyan City. According to experts who have been engaged in wildlife protection for a long time, "now a vicious circle of biological chain has basically taken shape. Due to the sharp decline of beneficial birds such as crows and owls, snakes have been killed in large numbers, and rats and pests in the field have lost their natural enemies, which is very rampant. Wheat seeds are being sown recently. Often eaten up by rats. Therefore, many farmers are forced to mix wheat seeds with rat poison. Although this solves the temporary problem, it also poisons the environment and reduces the number of beneficial organisms. " The report pointed out: "A large number of crows died obviously because of farmland pollution ... The death of crows also proved the disaster brought by farmland pollution to biodiversity. In the plight of global biological resources being seriously threatened and losing day by day, crows wail to warn mankind with their lives. This report is just an example of the current ecological crisis. At present, the ecological crisis has become a major global social problem, which has attracted the attention of all countries. In order to promote economic development, reveal the dialectical relationship between human beings and the environment, grasp the inherent law of environmental changes, adjust the process of material and energy exchange between human beings and the environment, protect the natural environment and natural resources, and establish an ecosystem with harmonious structure and high productivity, which has become an important topic. Here, the enlightenment of Mencius' thought of harmony between man and nature includes the following aspects:

First of all, it helps to maintain ecological balance and control pollution. In Mencius' view, the survival and changes of all natural things are natural, with certain regularity and inevitability. People follow the nature and regularity of heaven, do things on time, and engage in agricultural and sideline production reasonably, so that they can obtain rich material means of life. He said: "If you don't go against the farming season, you won't have food." If you don't count, neither fish nor turtle can be eaten. Axe gold gets into the mountain in time, and mywood can't be used. Valley and fish turtles can't fight for food, and wood and wood can't fight for it, which makes people lose their lives and have no regrets. Keeping in good health and dying without regret is the beginning of kingly way. Mencius' initial viewpoint that man and nature are a harmonious whole that is interrelated, interdependent and mutually restrictive has profound theoretical thinking and positive reference significance for us to maintain ecological balance and control environmental pollution. In modern economic construction, developed industries have promoted the development of the national economy. However, we should also see that the negative aspects of industrial development have also caused serious environmental pollution. We should learn from Mencius' thought of harmony between man and nature, not only to see what we have gained from nature, but also to see what human beings have added to nature. If one-sided pursuit of economic benefits and neglect of the deterioration of the ecological environment do harm to mankind, it will endanger the survival and development of mankind.

Second, it is conducive to our concern and love for nature. Mencius pointed out that a gentleman should "be kind to the people and love things" (Mencius devoted himself to it). In Mencius' view, love is poor love, that is to say, people love their parents first, and then push their parents and those who love others from near to far. Here, Mencius' love for natural objects has a pan-humanistic tendency, which is similar to the proposition of "rebirth" advocated by modern western ecological ethicists and opposes "anthropocentrism" and "human chauvinism". He emphasized that human beings should have a broad mind and generous morality and extend their love to all people and things in nature. Mencius once praised "Niu Shan's wood tastes beautiful", which showed his thoughts and feelings of love, appreciation and dependence on natural beauty. For a long time in our country, people unilaterally emphasized the conquest, transformation and victory of nature, moving mountains and filling seas, and reclaiming land around lakes. Some people kill wild animals indiscriminately, destroying the balance between primitive resources and natural ecology, and as a result, they are retaliated and punished by nature. In modern economic construction, it is necessary to take history as a mirror and review Mencius' thought of caring for natural objects.

Third, it is conducive to protecting the ecological environment. We know that the change of ecological environment has an objective law that is independent of human will. Man's demand for nature cannot violate the law of ecological environment change. Otherwise, human's rough intervention and transformation of nature will make the ecology out of balance, thus damaging human's survival and development. Here, Mencius' thought of rational development and rational use of things provides us with useful reference and enlightenment. Mencius once pointed out: "If you don't go against the farming season, you can't beat grain." If you don't count, neither fish nor turtle can be eaten. Axe gold gets into the mountain in time, and mywood can't be used. "("Mencius Hui Liang Wang Shang ") Mencius' proposition tells us that in production activities, people's fishing and logging should be conducive to the survival and reproduction of fish and vegetation, and everything from nature should be restrained. Otherwise, fishing with exhausted resources and logging against time will endanger the interest-bearing and ecological balance of all things. Here, many years ago, the ancient Liang Gan had such a profound understanding of the development and protection of natural resources, which is precious and still radiates brilliant brilliance.

To sum up, in modern society, Mencius' thought of pursuing personality perfection, social harmony and harmony between man and nature provides us with many useful lessons and inspirations. Inheriting this precious historical heritage is indispensable for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.