Be born at hardship, die at peace and happiness

Mencius

Shun was born in mu, Fu Shuo was born in the middle of the building, and the glue was in fish and salt. Guan Yi I was a scholar, Sun Shuai was in the sea, and a hundred miles was in the city. Therefore, when the sky falls, people must first suffer their minds, their bones and muscles, starve their bodies, empty their bodies, and mess around. Therefore, patience has benefited them a lot. People are unchangeable, and then they can change; Trapped in the heart, balanced in consideration, and then made; Color label, sound hair, and then metaphor. A country, if there are no ministers and wise men who can assist the king, will often be in danger of the collapse of its neighboring countries and the misfortunes from abroad. In this way, you will know that sorrow is enough to make people live and pleasure is enough to make people die.

Mencius said, "Everyone has a heart that can't bear others. The late king had a heart that could not bear others, and Sri Lanka had a policy that could not bear others. Governing the world, if you can't bear the heart of others, you can do it in your hand. So everyone has a heart that can't bear others. Nowadays, at the first sight that obedient boys will go down the well, everyone has a pity. Therefore, we should pay tribute to the obedient boy's parents, and also get the praise of the friends of the township party. From the point of view, there is no compassion, and it is inhuman; A heart without right and wrong is inhuman. Compassion is the purpose of benevolence; The heart of shame and evil, the end 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. Man has four ends, but he still has four bodies. There are those who claim that they can't do it on all sides, and some who are thieves; He who says he can't be a king steals his king. Anyone who has four ends in me will expand his knowledge and fill it up. If the fire starts, spring will begin. If you can fill it in, it is enough to protect the four seas. If you can't fill it in, it is not enough for your parents. "

Translation:

Shun grew up in the field, was selected from the work of building walls, and was selected from selling fish and salt. Guan Zhong was promoted from the position of captive, Sun Shuai found it from the seaside, and Prissy was selected from the market. Therefore, God wants to land a great mission on someone, so he must first temper his will, make his bones and muscles tired, make his body hungry, and make himself suffer from poverty, and things are always not smooth. This will shake his mind, exercise his temperament and increase his talent. People always make mistakes before they correct them; If you are depressed, you will be extremely anxious, and then you can work hard; Expressed in the face, expressed in the voice, and then understood. A country, without law-abiding ministers and auxiliary saints, and without the worries of hostile countries outside, is often prone to national subjugation. Therefore, worry makes people live, but ease and enjoyment are enough to make people die.

Mencius said: "Everyone has compassion and sympathy for others. The politics of sympathy and compassion for the people comes from sympathy and compassion for the feelings of others. Governing the world can be as easy as controlling things by sympathizing with the feelings of others and practicing the politics of sympathizing with the people. The reason why people feel pity for others is that if someone suddenly sees a child fall into a well today, they will be surprised and sympathetic. Psychology-this is not because I want to please my children's parents, because I want to gain fame among my neighbors, or because I hate children's crying. From this point of view, without compassion, it is simply not human; Without shame, you are not human at all; Without humility, you are not human at all; There is no right or wrong, it is simply not human. Compassion is the origin of benevolence; Shame is the origin of justice; Modesty is the beginning of ceremony; Right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom. People have these four origins, just like having limbs. People who have these four origins but think they can't do it are people who give up on themselves; People who think that their monarch can't do it are those who violently abandon the monarch. Anyone who has these four sources should expand and enrich when he knows it, just as the fire has just started to burn and the spring has just started to flow. If we can expand them, it will be enough to stabilize the world. If they cannot be expanded, it will be a problem to support their parents.

reading comprehension

Politics is derived from the premise of human nature, specifically, from the benevolent heart that everyone has a heart that cannot bear others. Because this kind of "unbearable heart" is inherent in human beings, benevolent governance should also be taken for granted. This is Mencius' thinking.

Mencius' deduction is still to pursue his lifelong pursuit, that is, the idea of "benevolent government". However, his deduction itself does not seem to have a great influence, but the premise of his deduction-"everyone has a heart that can't bear others" has a great influence, especially the "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom" put forward on this basis all originated from this point of view and became the "theory of good nature" in China's ancient philosophy

Confucius once said, "Sex is similar, but learning is far away." (The Analects of Confucius Yang Huo means that human nature is similar, but they are far apart because of their different upbringing. But Confucius neither said what similar human nature is, whether it is good or evil, nor discussed it. Moreover, from our understanding, Confucius also mainly emphasized the acquired aspect.

Mencius is different. He not only expounded and pointed out that similar human nature stems from the "unbearable heart" of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom, but also cited vivid examples to prove that this "unbearable heart" is inherent in human beings. Without it, it is not a person at all. From this perspective, Mencius' theory of human nature is indeed "transcendental" and subjective. Because he described the social moral concepts of "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom" as inherent in human nature, innate and even physiological.

On the other hand, Mencius did not completely deny the role of acquired. Because he thinks that "the heart that can't bear others" includes four aspects, namely "compassion, shame, resignation and right and wrong", which is called "four hearts" for short. And this "four hearts" is only the beginning of these four moral categories, or "four ends". This "four ends" is like a fire that has just burned, or a spring that has just flowed out. It needs to be "expanded and full" in order to carry forward. Otherwise it will go out or dry up. "Expanding and filling it" is also the cultivation of the day after tomorrow, and it is also "learning from each other's strengths".

Therefore, on the theoretical basis, Mencius really deduced the theory of natural morality ("four ends") from the theory of good nature ("four hearts"), and then deduced the policy of forbearing others (benevolent politics). But in practice, he still attaches importance to the role of acquired efforts ("expansion"). Moreover, it is of positive significance to put aside the abstract discussion about transcendence or nurture, idealism or materialism, and look at the problem historically in connection with Mencius' social situation in the Warring States period, advocate human nature as good, emphasize natural morality and advocate benevolent government. In fact, it is not limited to the era of Mencius, but can be used in any era. Instead of advocating that human nature is evil, giving up morality and practicing tyranny, it is better to emphasize these!