2.8
Mencius put forward the idea of "the people are noble and the king is light", and he clarified the relationship between the monarch and the subject from the perspective of the interests of the people, which is different from the Confucianism of later generations.
Mencius believed that the power of the king was given by the people, and he said in "Leaving Lou Xia": "He who loses the world also loses his people; he who loses his people loses his heart." There is a way to get the world: to get its people, to get the world; to get the people has the way: to get its heart, to get the people. ”
Therefore, when the king cannot fulfill his duty, cannot do his people, but instead harms the people, he can overthrow his rule, "if the king has a greater time, he will advise, and if he repeats it and does not listen, he will change his position" ("Ten Thousand Chapters"). Therefore, Mencius naturally had a positive attitude toward "Tang Fangjie, The King of Wu Cut Down", saying: "I have heard of a husband and wife, but I have not heard of Junye." ”
This kind of monarchy attitude is an important reason why Zhu Yuanzhang hated Mencius.
2.10
In the fifth year of King Xuan of Qi, the State of Qi took advantage of the "Rebellion of the Sons" in the State of Yan, sent troops to cut down Yan, and achieved a great victory, and on the question of whether to annex the State of Yan, King Xuan of Qi asked Mencius.
Mencius said, "If you take it and yan people are pleased, you take it." "As long as the people are happy, they can annex the Yan kingdom." Mencius's attitude toward war was entirely based on whether the people welcomed them or not, and what the common people welcomed could be carried out. He cited King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou as an example, as long as it is a war to save the people from water and fire, the people will naturally "eat pot pulp" to welcome.
Unfortunately, the initiators of wars in successive dynasties can often only make the people "like water deeper, like fire and hotter", and the phenomenon of "eating pot pulp" rarely occurs.
2.11
Mencius said that when Shang Tang conquered the world, the people were looking forward to his arrival, "if there is a great drought, the hope of yun ni also." But the weapons of soldiers, dynasties, and divisions of benevolence and righteousness have been rare since ancient times.
I can't help but think of Li Bai's "Battle City South": "Last year's Battle Sangganyuan, this year's Battle Onion River." Wash the arms of the sea waves, release the grass in the snow of the Matian Mountains. In the Long March, the three armies are aging. The Xiongnu used killing as farming, and in ancient times, only white bones and yellow sand fields were seen. The Qin family built the city to avoid Hu, and the Han family still had beacon fire. The flames are endless, and the conquest is no longer over. Field battles are fought to the death, and the defeated horse trumpets to the heavens. The black kites pecked at the intestines and flew up the hanging dead branches. The soldiers are reckless, and the generals are empty. He who knows the soldier is a weapon of murder, and the saint has no choice but to use it. ”
The saints had no choice but to use it, and thousands of beings were destroyed, rather than sad!
2.12
The chief officials regarded the people as grass and mustard, "the years of hunger, the old and weak of the king turned into a ravine, the strong scattered in all directions, thousands of people", but Zou Mugong rebuked the people for not sacrificing their lives for the sake of the officials, no wonder he was reprimanded by Mencius.
The idiom "rebellion" comes from this one, Mencius quoted Zengzi's words, the original meaning is to say, how you treat others, people will return you, this is not the same as its current meaning.
2.14
The State of Qi was going to strengthen Xue Di's city, and Teng Wengong was frightened and asked Mencius what to do. In the face of powerful neighbors, what good way can Mencius do, he can only say that no matter what others do, try to be good at yourself.
2.15
Teng Wengong asked Mencius: "Teng, a small country, if you try to do something to be a big country, you must not be spared, if so, why not?" "A small country like Teng Guo, who has devoted itself to serving a big country, is still not exempt from disasters, so what should we do?"
Mencius gave him two ideas, one was to stick to it and "do not go if you die"; the other was to emulate the zhou xianwang taiwang to avoid the Di people and leave far away.
However, for Teng Wengong, these two methods cannot be done: to keep is to be unable to hold, and where can you hide? The times are different, the warring states are different from the situation in the Zhou Taiwang period, and the fate of small countries in the cracks cannot be changed.
2.16
Lu Pinggong wanted to visit Mencius, which was a good opportunity for Mencius to realize his ideals, but a favorite of Lu Pinggong named Zang Cang said that the coffin clothes mencius used for his mother's funeral were more exquisite than those used for his father's funeral, which was not in line with the etiquette system, that is, "after the funeral exceeded the previous funeral", so Mencius was not a sage and should not go to see him. Therefore, Lu Pinggong did not go to see Mencius.
Mencius knew about this and sighed and said, "I have not met Lu Hou, Tianye." He attributed the reason why he could not meet Lupin gong to his destiny. Zhu Xi commented: "The provenance of the sages and the rise and fall of the fortunes of the times are the acts of the Mandate of Heaven, not the reach of manpower. (Notes on the Four Books, Chapters and Sentences)
But in my opinion, Mencius's words are not so much emphasizing the domination of "heaven" over man's "destiny" as expressing inner sighs and helplessness. Just as he also said in the "Ten Thousand Chapters and Sentences": "He who does not do what he does, heaven also does; he who does not come to him, also lives." ”