Mencius and Teng Wengong

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the various strife and the flocks of heroes competed for deer. In such a historical background, the small Teng country is naturally in a weak position. It is precisely in the face of this reality that Teng Hong, who has great ambitions, has worried about the country and the people since he became a prince. In 326 BC, Teng Hong, as a crown prince, sent an envoy to the State of Chu, passing through the State of Song, and when he heard that Mencius was in the State of Song, he went to the State of Song to ask Mencius for advice on how to govern the country. Mencius said to him that "the Tao is good, and the words must be called Yao Shun", which means that telling him that "goodness" is the truth of human nature, and the topic is not far from Yao Shun.

When Teng Hong returned from the Chu Kingdom, he went to the Song Kingdom to visit Mencius, and Mencius further advocated the idea of benevolent government: "Now Teng, the strong points complement the weaknesses, and the fifty miles will be as good as the country." This means that although tengguo is a small country with an area of less than fifty miles, as long as it implements benevolent government, it can still be governed into a good country.

Let's look at the wonderful dialogue between Teng Wengong and Mencius: Teng Wengong asked for the country, Mencius said: "Civil cannot be postponed... The people are the Way, those who have permanent production have perseverance, and those who do not have permanent production have no perseverance... And to fall into sin and then to punish him is to be a blasphemous man. Is there a benevolent person in the throne, but can it be reckless of the people? The meaning of this passage is that Teng Wengong asked about the way to govern the country, and Mencius said: "The affairs of the people cannot be postponed." ...... The general law of the people's life is: Only those who have fixed industries have the heart to keep to themselves, and those who do not have fixed industries do not have the heart to keep to themselves. If you don't have the heart to keep to yourself, you will break the law and discipline and act recklessly. Wait until you fall into sin, and then come to punish, this is to frame the people! Where is there a reason why those who govern and do good deeds can frame the people? Therefore, the wise monarch must be serious, simple and frugal, humble and courteous, and have some restraint in the taxation of the people.

In 325 BC, Teng Hong's father Teng Dinggong died, and Teng Hong succeeded to the throne. At that time, it was already the middle and late stage of the Warring States, and the killing and fighting between the various princes was intensifying, and some small countries were successively annexed by the Seven Heroes. In danger, Teng Hong certainly understood the weight of the burden of this monarch on his shoulders. Therefore, he began to promote Mencius's way of governing the country centered on "benevolent government", and practiced good governance, good education, and good governance in the Tengguo, so that the people of the Tengguo could live in peace and the people's hearts and minds.

During Teng Wen's reign, he invited Mencius to Teng Guo many times to give lectures and asked Mencius about the government. In 324 BC, Teng Wengong let Mengzi live in the upper palace close to his palace, which is equivalent to today's state guesthouse, and teng Wengong's courtesy to Mencius can be seen in his determination to govern the country. During this period, Mencius also proposed that he pay attention to farming and implement the well field system and other governing ideas, which Teng Wengong adopted one by one.

Teng Wengong was a virtuous monarch, but he was born at an inopportune time, he was born in a chaotic world, and he was in power at the prelude to the imminent unification of Chinese history. Therefore, in that era, not only himself, but even Mencius of Asia could not realize his political ideal of "benevolent government".

In 318 BC, Teng Wengong, who reigned for only seven years, died of illness. Hearing this news, Mencius, who was already the secretary of state in the state of Qi, came to attend his funeral.

History often has amazing coincidences, and Teng Guo not only gave birth to Teng Wengong, a wise monarch, but also gave birth to mozi, the founder and great thinker of the Mojia school. Mozi lived from about 468 BC to 376 BC, and mozi's ideas of "simultaneous love" and "non-attack" are similar to the Confucian ideas of "benevolence" and "goodness".