Mencius
"Non-war"
Thought, deeply rooted in the traditional ideas of Confucianism and Taoism on the mainland, also constitutes the core principle of military philosophy, as if it were the supreme law in our culture.
He made it clear that
"Those who are good at fighting serve their sentences".
The "good fighters" here are those who are warm. The so-called "serving the sentence" means that in addition to the most severe death penalty in the world, you will also be punished by the heavens, and you will suffer invisible retribution and punishment. This is a stern warning to the reckless.
Further, Mencius mentions
"Even the princes are secondary".
This refers to those politicians who use political and diplomatic means to expand their power, and only talk about power and power, and do not care about benevolence and righteousness. In Mencius's view, such acts, although not as bloody as direct war, were still sinful and deserved a second-degree punishment.
again
"The one who cultivates the grass and allows the land"
Also condemned by Mencius. These people expand their territory by encroaching on land, such as secretly moving border stones. While they may claim to be hard work, this behavior is still morally unacceptable. It's like some
Thief,
Knowing that the land has an owner, he occupies it without going through legal procedures, and finally achieves the goal of occupying the land through lengthy lawsuits and various means.
During the Warring States period, in addition to direct military conflicts between countries, there were also complexities
Diplomatic struggles, political struggles, and psychological warfare.
All of these struggles were aimed at expanding power, and in the eyes of Kong and Meng, these were not the way of the monarch, nor were they done by the great husband.
From the standpoint of "non-war", these ideas in Mencius have been widely developed in later generations. It has not only had a profound impact in the fields of philosophy and morality, but also permeated literary works.
The poems of the Tang Dynasty "Poor and uncertain riverside bones, like people in the dream of spring", and "Zeguo rivers and mountains enter the war map, and the people are happy to be happy." Relying on the words of the prince to seal the affairs of the marquis, one will succeed and ten thousand bones will wither", all of which profoundly reflect the deep suffering brought by the war to the ordinary people, and embody the strong Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
Mencius judged a person by looking at it
Integrity of heart
Or not. Mencius believed that the eyes are the windows of the soul and cannot hide the evil of the heart. If a person is open-minded, his eyes will be bright and clear, and if he is not upright, his eyes will appear dull. Therefore, by looking at a person's eyes and words, it is possible to roughly judge what kind of person they are. It's not just that
Mencius knew people
A unique approach, it is also a manifestation of his "non-war" thinking, which is that he expects people to have integrity and peace of mind, rather than being eroded by war and scheming.