China philosopher Mencius is the most important heir of Confucius. His theory, as expounded in Mencius, has been worshipped in China for many centuries. He is often called a "saint", that is, wisdom is second only to Confucius. He lived about 200 years after Confucius.
Mencius was born in 37 BC 1 year, Zou (1), a small country in Xinjiang, which is now Shandong Province of China. He was born at the end of the Zhou Dynasty. Because China was politically divided at that time, he was called "Warring States". Although Mencius grew up under the influence of Confucius tradition and has always been a staunch supporter of Confucius' theories and ideals, he finally won respect as an accomplished scholar and philosopher.
After being crowned, Mencius spent a lot of time traveling around the world and giving good advice to many rulers, many of whom were all ears. So for a while, he was a visiting minister of Qi, but on the whole, he never served as a political aide of any country. In 3 12 BC, at the age of 59, he returned to his hometown of Zou, where he spent his prime. The year of his death is unknown. Probably in 289 BC.
Mencius trained some disciples in his life, but his influence on China mainly came from the book Mencius, which expounded his main theories. Although his disciples made some revisions to this book, it basically represents Mencius' own thoughts, which seems to be beyond doubt.
Mencius' keynote is idealism and optimism, which embodies Mencius' firm belief in human nature. His political thought is very similar to Confucius in many aspects, especially Mencius' insistence that the monarch should rule mainly through moral norms rather than force. But compared with Confucius, Mencius is a "noble man". "Heaven sees through people's eyes and hears through people's ears" (2) This is one of his most famous assertions.
Mencius emphasized that the most important part of a country is the people, not the rulers. The duty of a ruler is to benefit the people, especially he should provide moral guidance and suitable living conditions for the people. The government policy he advocates is free trade; Low taxes and protection of natural resources; * * * Enjoy wealth instead of the law of the jungle. The government should provide welfare for the old, the weak and the sick. Mencius believed that the power of the monarch was given by heaven. If a monarch ignores the happiness of the people, he will lose the sovereignty given by heaven and should be ousted. Because the end of this sentence is an effective negation of the beginning, Mencius actually put forward that people have the right to resist unjust rulers as early as John Locke. This is an idea widely accepted by China people.
But on the whole, the ideas advocated by Mencius are more welcomed by the rulers than by the rulers. So Mencius' suggestion was not adopted by the rulers at that time. There seems to be nothing to make a fuss about. However, during this period, his views became more and more popular among Confucian scholars and the public in China. Mencius enjoyed a high reputation at that time, and 1 1 century and12nd century saw the rise of Neo-Confucianism. His popularity in China is even higher.
Of course, Mencius had little influence in the West. This is entirely because he writes in Chinese to some extent. Laozi's Tao Te Ching and Mencius were written in China almost at the same time, but the former has been translated into various European languages many times, just because many people find the ideas expressed in the book novel and interesting. However, relatively speaking, few westerners are particularly novel and profound about the ideas in Mencius.
The government's concern for the welfare of the elderly, the sick and the disabled sounds attractive, and supporting low taxes and low interest rates looks lovely. But an American politician revealed that he advocated these two policies, but did not make many specific decisions. He may also be distrusted by liberals and conservatives. On the one hand, Mencius showed that he supported the equal distribution of wealth, on the other hand, he was in favor of free trade and light taxes, but he never really considered the possible contradiction between the two policies. This statement is unfair to Mencius, because he is not running for the US Congress after all. A philosopher put forward a set of valuable principles (though inconsistent to some extent), even though he did not specify how to solve the contradictions in the principles, it is still commendable. But in the long run, philosophers like Machiavelli have a greater influence on human thought, because he expressed his unique principles more clearly than Mencius.
But Mencius' works certainly have an influence on China people. Although his influence on Confucianism is far less than that of Paul on Christianity (one of the reasons is that Mencius lacks Paul's extraordinary ability to change religious beliefs), he is undoubtedly a writer with great influence. For about 2 1 century, his thoughts have been studied everywhere in a country that accounts for more than 20% of the world population. Only a few philosophers in the world have such a great influence.
Laozi's views and propositions on health preservation can be summarized as letting nature take its course, being indifferent and doing nothing, and keeping health by swallowing body fluids.
Laozi was an outstanding thinker and founder of Taoism in the pre-Qin period. According to Records of the Historian, Lao Zi, surnamed Li, was a treasurer of the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty, and was responsible for collecting, keeping and sorting out the ancient books of the Zhou Dynasty and its governors. I once accepted Confucius as a student. 160, I was over 200. Whether it's true or not, there is no doubt that Lao Tzu lives a long life.
Laozi's views and opinions on health preservation can be summarized as letting nature take its course, being indifferent to inaction and swallowing body fluid for health preservation. Laozi believes that although the panacea is good, it is not as good for himself as his body fluid (saliva). Therefore, he first advocated the preservation of pharynx and body fluids. He usually licks his teeth and gargles, and then swallows these body fluids, which he has to do every day. Over time, it is good for his health. Sun Simiao, a medical scientist in the Tang Dynasty, summed up the method of swallowing body fluid as "taking Yuquan method", believing that tapping teeth to take Yuquan is beneficial to strengthening teeth and promoting hair growth and prolonging life. The second is to conform to nature. Laozi believes that "people are everywhere, the land follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao is natural." The relationship between man and nature is closely linked. If you follow the way of nature and adapt to natural changes, why can you get sick? Why not live longer? Laozi believes that nature is constantly developing, and the human body must adapt to the laws of nature in order to grow. Otherwise, against the laws of nature, you will get sick and die. This simple and dialectical concept of health preservation greatly promoted the formation and development of TCM health preservation thought, which was absorbed by Laozi into Huangdi Neijing. Finally, indifference. Laozi advocates indifference and purity, which has played a very good role in his spiritual cultivation and emotional adjustment. He strongly advocated "simplicity, selfishness, no desire and no desire", and warned people not to covet glory, but to covet the purity of the soul and always maintain an open-minded and healthy mental state. Naturally, I can get fitness and prolong my life, which is one of the main reasons why I live longer. He also believes that human life is hard to protect and easy to destroy, and qi is difficult to clear and turbid. Only abstinence can keep you alive. People who can keep fit must be indifferent to fame and fortune, abstain from drinking, be cheap in money, spoil interest, and guard against arrogance and jealousy.
Regarding qigong health preservation, he advocates "extremely empty but not static", maintaining a clean but not chaotic attitude, maintaining a clean but not chaotic attitude and maintaining vigorous vitality. He believes that the mouth spits turbid gas, the nose leads to clear gas, and the limbs and viscera are nourished by it. Like a mountain that receives clouds, the land benefits. After ten exercises of Qi, all diseases are not born. He said: "knowing the spirit can make you live forever, and stick to nothingness to nourish the spirit. God's actions will make you angry, while longing will make you angry." If you want to live forever, look at each other. " This idea of Laozi is embodied in his Qigong fitness action. Legend has it that when I was over 80 years old, I fell ill and took medicine for a while, which had no effect. One day, he dragged his sick body to a hillside and walked into a long forest. He felt that his body was becoming more and more relaxed, so he tried the qigong method to treat diseases according to Heaven. Later, people called Laozi's qigong method "practicing three Dan" (upper Dan day, lower Dan day and middle Dan day), that is, practicing Dan to get rid of diseases. Since I practiced Qigong, my illness has quickly recovered and I am getting stronger and stronger.