Abstract: Mencius was the most famous Confucian master in the mid-Warring States period. He put forward a famous argument: "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light." Mencius' thought of "attaching importance to the people" became his basic administrative thought. Mencius put forward the theory of benevolence according to the thought of attaching importance to the people and attaching importance to the management of civil servants, and at the same time put forward the theory of "good nature" as the cognitive basis of benevolence. This paper will start with the analysis of the background of Mencius' thought of "attaching importance to the people", expound the content of the thought of "attaching importance to the people", and finally get the political essence of Mencius' thought of "attaching importance to the people" Keywords: Mencius attached great importance to people's ideological and political essence. Mencius (372-289 BC), a famous jade son, was a native of Zou during the Warring States Period. He was a famous political thinker, activist and educator in ancient China. Someone who was employed by Zisi. When I learned that, I lobbied Qi Xuanwang, and Wang Xuan couldn't use it. Liang also failed to adopt his theory. Finally, he retired and wrote seven "Mencius" with Zhang Wan. Mencius inherited the Confucian thought of loving the people with morality and the spirit of actively using things, and advocated governing the country with benevolence and righteousness and unifying the world with kingly way. Mencius' political thought is rich in content. On the political point of view, Mencius put forward a famous argument that "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light". Being close to the people has become his basic administrative thought. First, the background of Mencius' thought of "attaching importance to the people" was long before Mencius, and the thought of attaching importance to the people had sprouted and developed. It is recorded in Shangshu that "the people only care about the country, and the country is better." 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 greatly damaged production, and people have been displaced and mourned everywhere. When you can't live as usual, resistance naturally arises. In 6 14 BC, the slaves of Liang rebelled, and in the first 550 years, the people of Chen rebelled. These wars have 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. Under the influence of predecessors' thought of valuing the people, Mencius summed up the laws and lessons of the rise and fall of chaos in previous dynasties, and combined with the reality at that time, realized the great power of the people and its important role in social and political life. Based on a profound understanding of the power and role of the people, Mencius affirmed that the people are the wealth of the country. He said: "Three treasures of princes: land, people and politics." And put forward the famous conclusion that "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light". Mencius further explained: "When a vassal dies, he will leave his hometown; When the sacrifice is completed, it is both prosperous and timely. However, drought and water overflow will change the country. "In Mencius' view, the monarch and the god of the land valley can be' transposed' and established, but they can't lose the people, so the people are the most important and the foundation of the country. Second, the main content of Mencius' thought of "attaching importance to the people" Mencius' Confucianism has profound connotations, and attaching importance to the people is one of its most lasting and profound thoughts. On the basis of adhering to Confucius' thought, Mencius developed Confucius' theory of "benevolence" into a political theory with a complete system-benevolent politics. The main contents of benevolent governance are as follows: 1. Economically, Mencius called for the restoration of the "well field system". Mencius once said: "In the past, Wang Zhiqi, the tiller was 91, the official was Shilu, and he closed the city without asking for it. Ze Liang was innocent." The "91 cultivator" mentioned here is the well-field system that Mencius often said. In addition, he once persuaded the emerging feudal landlord class that in order to stabilize society, farmers must be given "permanent production" and "take it from the people and use it for the people". What Mencius called "constant production" was the "100-acre field" and "five-acre house" that he gave to a family of five farmers to not only grow grain, but also raise silkworms, poultry and livestock. 2. Politically, Mencius called for "respecting the virtuous and appointing the competent, Jie Jun in power" and "protecting the people as kings". The so-called "protecting the people" means extending the heart of kindness to the people, that is, extending a set of principles of supporting the elderly and loving the young from near to far to all members of society. Mencius' kingly politics also emphasizes that rulers should care about the sufferings of the people and share joys and sorrows with them. 3. Protect agriculture. Mencius believed that to protect the people, we must first protect agriculture. He proposed that military service and corvee should not delay the farming season, and put forward specific measures. He also advocates giving subsidies to those in need when necessary, so that "spring ploughing is insufficient and autumn harvest is not enough." This proposition is based on the long-term interests of the ruling class. 4. Reduce taxes. Mencius advocated "thin its tax", that is, reducing rent tax. Specifically, he advocated "tithing tax". That is, a one-tenth tax system. Farmers pay land tax with labor rent, that is, the "September 1 gang", eight * * * farming 100 mu of "public land", and all other exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous fees are cancelled. He also believes that at that time, "cloth wisps", "millet" and "labor" should be collected separately according to seasons, and only one kind should be collected at a time. 5. Reduce the punishment. Mencius advocated "keeping punishment" and "sinners should not be buried". He pointed out that people broke the law at that time because they lacked food and clothing and had no job to protect. In this way, they can't save the dead, so how can they have time to be polite? Therefore, he thinks, if every family has food and water, how can people be heartless? At that time, people broke the law because of the rulers. In a word, to sum up, Mencius' thought of "attaching importance to the people" mainly has three points: first, attaching importance to the people _ caring for the people and implementing benevolent policies; The second is to protect the people _ support the people and manage the people's wealth; The third is to be close to the people _ Xinmin and have fun with the people. Third, the political essence of Mencius' thought of "attaching importance to the people" Mencius put forward the argument that "the people are important, the country is second, and the monarch is light", and attaching importance to the people became his basic administrative thought. Mencius put forward the theory of benevolence according to the thought of attaching importance to the people and attaching importance to the management of civil servants, and at the same time put forward the theory of "good nature" as the basis of understanding benevolence. The theoretical premise of the theory of benevolent governance is that human nature is good. "If there is a heart that cannot bear others, there must be a policy that cannot bear others." With the unbearable heart, you can't stand other people's politics and rule the palm of the world. "The main point of forbearance is that people can be born and' raise and die, not hungry and not cold'; It is enough to look up at your parents and look down at your wife. " Therefore, he said, "It's the beginning of kingly way to keep fit and die without regret. "In Mencius' view, politics at that time was contrary to kingly way. He rebuked the princes for collecting taxes like robbers, vying for land and harming the people. "Fighting to kill people; Fight for the city, kill for the city. This so-called rate of eating human flesh, sin is not allowed to die. " However, this is also the best time to be king, because "the people will languish in tyranny, not more than this time." Hungry people eat easily, and thirsty people drink easily. "In this case, as long as the benevolent government is implemented, it will win the hearts of the people;" Although wise, we should follow the trend. ""People who have half an ancient story will get twice the result with half the effort. Only this time. "Mencius' benevolent policy is inferred from the theory of good nature. He believes that everyone has a "heart that can't bear others", which is a good end of "benevolence", and extending this sympathy to politics is "benevolent politics". However, Mencius' theory of good nature has a distinct class nature. Although he said that everyone has a happy ending, only the "gentleman" can be kept, but "Shu Ren" has been lost. Under this theory, Mencius completely mythologized the feudal hierarchy. Starting from "benevolent government", Mencius put forward the viewpoint that "the people are more important than the monarch". He emphasized the importance of "people" and thought that "people" was the basis of politics. Mencius saw that the power of the people can not be ignored, and thought that only by winning the hearts of the people can the rulers consolidate their position and rule. All the national subjugation and monarch subjugation in history are due to the loss of popular support. So he put forward the slogan "people are more expensive than kings". Of course, this slogan can't really be implemented. It's just a political means to win the hearts of the people. Its purpose is to safeguard the interests of the ruling class and try to ease the people's resistance struggle. In Benevolence, Mencius once called the ruler "the people herding" and regarded the relationship between the monarch and the people as the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. The people are only the wealth of the monarch, the protected and the given, and there is no true love between them. The so-called "having fun with the people" is nothing more than persuading the rulers to be kind, giving the people a little favor, and making the ruled more tame and die a harder death. In a word, Mencius' thought of "attaching importance to the people" has a class nature, and his theory of "benevolent government" serves the emerging landlord class and proceeds from its long-term interests. This theory, in the rising period of feudal society, is of great significance for developing production and consolidating political power, and also plays a role in promoting social development. But Mencius, after all, was a thinker of the feudal exploiting class, and it was impossible to really put the people in their due historical position. Mencius advocated benevolent governance, the purpose of which was to enable the king to preserve the country and consolidate his rule. Source: Business Manager, last issue