There is an idiom: solo music (yuè lè) is not as good as yuè lè (yuè lè), many people read it wrong, pronounced as solo music is not as good as all music, in fact, this idiom comes from Mencius's "Liang Huiwang" this story, not to appreciate the music itself.
Hello everyone, here is a small broadcast reading, today we continue to share the "Mencius Liang Huiwang" this article, earlier we shared the first half of "Mencius Liang Huiwang", we talked about Mencius and Liang Huiwang, Qi Xuanwang a few paragraphs of dialogue. Through these dialogues, Mencius explained his own concept of governance, with "benevolent government" as the core, and put forward the view that "benevolent people are invincible". Specific practices include not fighting for the interests of the people, enjoying with the people, pushing oneself and others to be an example of king, and influencing others. The specific strategies include "raising the people" and letting the people work hard, eat and wear warm; "teach the people" and let the people learn the principle of filial piety and faithfulness; and they must be accompanied by incentive policies, encourage sowing, reduce taxes, reduce punishments, and so on. Today, we continue to share the second half of Mencius Liang Huiwang, the next part focuses on benevolent politics and understanding and employing people. I'll share it in three parts.
The first is that yuè lè is not as good as yuè lè. In the previous article, we said that Mencius came to the State of Qi from the State of Wei, and the monarch of the State of Qi at that time was King Qi Xuan, and Mencius asked King Qi Xuan: Do you love music? Qi Xuanwang said: I don't like classical music, I only love secular and popular music. Mencius went on to say: If the king really loves music, whether it is secular music or classical music, then the state of Qi can be peacefully ruled! King Qi Xuan was puzzled and asked why? Here Mencius speaks of the famous idiom allusion: "Yuè lè is not as good as yuè lè".
Mencius said: The joy of enjoying music alone is not as good as the joy of enjoying music with everyone; the joy of enjoying music with a few people is not as good as the happiness of enjoying music with most people.
If the king plays music here when the people are in distress and the people are not happy, and the people hear the sound of your bells, drums, flutes, and flutes, and they feel a headache, they will tell each other: Our king loves music so much, why do we fall to this point? Father and son cannot meet, brothers run from place to place, wives and children are scattered; on the contrary, when the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the kings play music here, the people will happily tell each other: You see, our king probably has no disease, otherwise, how can we play music?
Mencius said that although music has a distinction between elegance and customs, when listening to music, the mind that likes to resonate with people is the same, so Mencius said that "solo music is not as good as all music", this story is very vivid and vivid to tell King Qi Xuanwang, to play with the people, no matter what music you play or appreciate, the people are happy, they will naturally be happy, and enjoy it with you; the people are poor and miserable, they will complain, what you do is wrong.
Mencius also told a story, he said, King Wen of Zhou's garden heard that it is seventy miles large, but the people still think it is too small; and King Qi Xuan, your garden is only forty miles, the people still think it is too big, why? This is because, in King Wen's garden, the people can go to cut grass and cut firewood, hunt birds and rabbits, and his garden is enjoyed with the people; and your garden, strictly guarded, does not let the people enter, if the people kill an elk in it, they will be punished with the murderer, your garden is not enjoyed with the people, of course, the people think that your garden is too big.
In fact, through these two stories, Mencius told a truth, the king should be happy with the people. Of course, in addition to "enjoying the happiness of the people", it is also necessary to "worry about the people's worries" and observe the people's feelings. Mencius told King Xuan of Qi a story about Yan Zi and Qi Jinggong. Yan Zi told Qi Jinggong that every time the ancient sages traveled and inspected, they were all for work and to observe the sufferings of the people. In the spring, the situation of ploughing is inspected, and subsidies are given to those who do not have enough food to eat; in the autumn, the harvest is inspected and subsidies are given to those who have failed to harvest. And the proverb of the Xia Dynasty says, "If my king does not come out to travel, how can I get rest?" If my king does not come out to inspect, how can I be rewarded? A trip and a tour are enough to serve as the law of the princes. ”
But now it has changed completely, and as soon as the monarch travels, he mobilizes the masses and asks for food. The hungry receive food subsidies, and the toilers do not receive rest. Everyone looked sideways, complained, and the illegal and indiscriminate things were done. This kind of travel goes against the will of Heaven, abuses the people, and acts of extravagance and waste will be spurned by the people. Qi Jinggong was very happy to hear YanZi's words, so he first made full preparations in the capital, and then stationed himself in the suburbs and opened the warehouse to help the poor. He talked about the idea of governing the country to enjoy with the people, in fact, this is also the embodiment of Mencius's "people-oriented thought", and then Mencius explained his own ideas on knowing people and employing people through several stories.
How to recognize and employ people? : Dedicated. Mencius said to King Xuan: If the great king had an official who entrusted his wife and children to the care of his friends, traveled to the Chu kingdom on his own, and when he returned, found that his wife and children were starving, what would you do to such a friend? King Xuan of Qi said: Then break off friendship with him. Mencius said: What should the magistrate do if he does not manage his subordinates well? King Xuan of Qi said: Then remove him. Mencius went on to say: What should a country do if it is not well governed? King Xuan of Qi knew that he was talking about himself, felt embarrassed, and began to talk about him left and right, and went to talk about other topics.
Mencius admonished King Xuan of Qi to be very cautious about the appointment, removal, and execution of officials, and to treat his own people as if they were his own family. Therefore, officials are very important, appoint officials do not listen to the words of one party, but must adopt the opinions of all parties, especially the opinions of the people. In addition, in terms of knowing people and making good use of them, Mencius also proposed to let professional people be responsible for professional affairs.
Mencius said that to build a big house, we must send a big craftsman to find big wood, let him build the house, rather than according to the king's preferences to guide them, a person from childhood to learn a professional skill, grow up to want to learn to apply, but the king often said: You give up what you have learned, do as I want, this is definitely not OK. A piece of primitive jade, you have to find a professional jade smith to carve, the same is true for governing the country, you have to use professional people to govern.
Third: In handling international relations, benevolent government is still fundamental. King Xuan of Qi asked Mencius: The State of Qi attacked the State of Yan and succeeded, but the other princely states agreed to send troops to save the State of Yan and attack the State of Qi, what should the State of Qi do? Mencius said: In the Book of Shang, it is recorded that Shang Tang was able to unify the world with seventy miles of land in the beginning because the people of the world trusted him. He marched to the east, and the Yi people in the west complained; when he went south, the Di people in the north complained, and they complained, why did they put us in the back? The people look forward to them as long as they look forward to the dark clouds in a long drought.
Now the Yan kingdom is abusing their people, and the king has gone to conquest, and the people think you can go and rescue them, so they are very welcome. But if you do not practice benevolent government, kill their fathers and brothers, imprison their children, and demolish their temples, then the people will hate and other countries will hear the wind and come to fight. Therefore, the king should quickly issue an order to return the captured old people and children, stop carrying their treasures, consult with the people of the Yan kingdom to choose a good monarch, and then evacuate the Yan kingdom, then there is still time to prevent the other princely states from sending troops.
Well, today we shared the content of the second half of "Liang Huiwang", summed up, this one content, this content is mainly mencius and Liang Huiwang and Qi Xuanwang dialogue, and expounded their own concept of governance, "benevolence" is the core, whether it is benevolence to the people of their own country, or to the people of other countries, is a kind of "benevolence", this benevolence is embodied in the inside, that is, strict self-discipline, become an example for others; embodied in the outside, is to be benevolent to others and ordinary people. This simple "people-oriented" concept of governing was very difficult in the era of war and chaos.
Well, today's content is this, if you like my content, please pay attention to the small broadcast reading, we will see you in the next article.