Under the guidance of Mencius, Teng Wengong successfully buried his father Teng Dinggong in accordance with the Zhou rites, which was highly praised by the courtiers and the broad masses of the people. This made Teng Wengong more admired Mencius and had more confidence in governing the country.
Therefore, Teng Wengong sent people to welcome Mencius to the Teng kingdom with generous gifts and asked for specific governing strategies. Mencius said that practicing benevolent government is not complicated, and it is mainly necessary to do three things well, one is to divide the fields, the second is to make a lu, and the third is to educate.
This seemingly simple answer actually made the weak Teng Guo achieve a dazzling legend.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="55" > those who have permanent production have perseverance</h1>
Mencius said, "Civility cannot be postponed." The poem yun: "Day is in mao, and night is in the house; it is urgent to ride on the house, and its beginning is sown in a hundred grains." It's a very heartwarming sentence, and it's also a very tight one. The saints treated the people as if their parents were treated with their children, with a fervent and overflowing expression.
The so-called civil is the people's livelihood. The livelihood of the people is a top priority, and the most important thing is. Mencius quoted a verse from the Book of Poetry, The Wind, and July to the effect that it was: Cut the thatch during the day, twist it into a rope at night, and repair the house quickly, because it will soon be the time for sowing.
Chinese civilization is an agricultural civilization, and agricultural affairs are the basis for the survival of the people, and everything must make way for agricultural affairs. Therefore, the repair of the house can only be carried out during the agricultural leisure time, usually before the beginning of spring.
After several heavy snow pressures and erosions throughout the winter, the farmers' thatched roofs have been somewhat damaged. If not repaired in time, the roof is likely to collapse during the rainy season. At this time, it is close to spring sowing, so it is necessary to seize the time to repair and strengthen the roof.
Mencius quoted poems to illustrate the urgency of agricultural affairs and to attract the attention of Teng Wengong. If the monarch can really understand that "civility cannot be delayed", his benevolent government will be half successful.
Mencius also said, "The people are the way, those who have permanent production have perseverance, and those who do not have permanent production have no perseverance." There is no perseverance, let go of evil and extravagance, and do nothing. 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? ”
Human beings have a universal law, and only when there is industry as a guarantee for survival can there be a sense of security. Without the security of survival, there is a lack of security. If the people's hearts are insecure, they will be anxious, whimsical, and even violate the law. Isn't it tantamount to setting up a net to frame the people when they have committed a crime and then punish them?
This is the second time in Mencius that there is a discussion of "permanent production" and "perseverance". The first time was in the "Liang Hui Wang Zhang Sentence", Mencius said the same thing to King Xuan. Of course, judging from the time of the incident, teng Wengong's theory of "permanent production" should have preceded King Xuan of Qi. From this, we can appreciate the importance that Mencius's benevolent thought attaches to "permanent production".
The so-called permanent property is nothing more than three things, one is real estate, the second is field property, and the third is property, collectively referred to as private property. Hegel once said, "A man's freedom presupposes the possession of private property." This sentence is similar to Mencius's "theory of permanent production", which makes people feel safe. Without a sense of security, morality cannot be spoken of, and freedom cannot be spoken of.
Modern society also applies the "theory of permanent production". Although the manifestations of the so-called permanent production have changed, their essence is still to gain a sense of security. In other words, to guarantee the people's right to subsistence and development,
This was the first policy that Mencius formulated for Teng Wengong to govern the country, dividing up the land and making production, so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment and live with peace of mind.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="67" > the purpose of tax collection is to raise gentlemen</h1>
The second big problem of governing the country is taxation. Mencius demanded that Teng Wengong "take the system of the people" and not pursue national wealth. To this end, he specifically quoted Yang Hu's famous saying, "For the rich is not benevolent, for the benevolent is not rich."
Yang Hu was originally a vassal of the Ji clan of the State of Lu during the Confucius period, and through the manipulation of power, he ascended to the throne as the prime minister of the State of Lu, and for a time he was a villain despised by the first Confucians. He said that in order to make the country rich, he said that in order to make the country rich, it is necessary to abandon the benevolent government and not to be merciful to the people.
Mencius emphasized the other side of this statement, that the purpose of the state is to nurture the people, not to pursue wealth. The meaning is equivalent to what ZengZi said, "The kingdom does not benefit from profit, but also benefits from righteousness." "Therefore, the tax must be restrained.
Since the state does not pursue wealth, what is the purpose of collecting taxes? The main one is to raise gentlemen, that is, to govern the country. The gentleman here emphasizes status. The ancients believed that only those who have virtue can have a position, so theoretically speaking, the people who govern the country should be moral people.
All the non-commissioned officials, including the monarch, are involved in governing the country, and their total expenditure is limited to 10% of the total output of the people. Therefore, the tax rate cannot be higher than 10%. Specific implementation methods, Mencius tended to "assist the law". He quoted the ancient sage Longzi to illustrate: "It is better to govern the land than to help, and it is not good to pay tribute." ”
The so-called tribute is said to be a taxation method used by Dayu. Through perennial observation, the agricultural officials count the average yield per mu, and then determine a fixed tax amount according to 10%, which remains unchanged for a long time. This method may have been available in the Xia Dynasty, because the yield per acre at that time was very low, and there was not much difference between the harvest year and the fierce age.
By the Zhou Dynasty, the gongfa was no longer applicable. Because with the improvement of agricultural production tools and technologies, the yield per mu has also been greatly improved. Production fluctuates greatly in good and bad years, and there are great drawbacks to fixed taxation. Especially in the Warring States period, some countries had excessively high tax rates, and the fixed tax system was used in the fierce years, and the output of peasants was not enough to pay taxes.
The so-called help is the Ida system. While cultivating 100 mu of private land, peasants must also help the public to cultivate 10 mu of public land. If the monarch practises benevolent government, the peasants will enthusiastically give priority to public land and then cultivate private land. "Poetry" Yun: "The rain is my public land, and it is my private." This tax method is called help, which was first produced in the Shang Dynasty and was still used in the Zhou Dynasty.
In addition to assisting the Fa, the Zhou Dynasty also produced the Thorough Fa. There is no longer a distinction between public and private land, and the peasants only need to pay 10% of their output. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Dharma and the Thorough Fa coexisted. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Lu Guo invented the initial tax on mu, which was based on the help of the law, and private land was also charged 10% of the output according to mu, doubling the peasant tax rate to 20%.
In the Warring States period, wars continued to occur between the various princely states, consuming a large amount of money and grain, resulting in a continuous increase in taxes. Some state taxes are even as high as 50% or 60%, making the life of peasants very difficult, "the old and the naïve turn into ravines, and the strong scatter in all directions."
Comparatively speaking, the helper is the most reasonable, "so that the gentleman and the savage have their own fixed karma, and the upper and lower levels are at peace." In Mencius's heart, the ida system is a very beautiful and harmonious and warm picture: the countryside is the same well, in and out of each other's friends, watching out for each other, and supporting each other with diseases.
This was Mencius's second policy for Teng Wengong to govern the country, and reasonable taxation was made to ensure the gentleman's lulu.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="80" The purpose of education > is to attain spiritual life</h1>
Confucius once went to the people of Weiguo, and Ran had a car. When Confucius found that there were more people defending the country, he happily said "Shu Yi Ya", and the population became larger. Ran You took the opportunity to ask for advice on the way to govern the country, since the population is large, how should it be governed in the next step? Confucius said", "Rich", let them have enough food and clothing.
Ran You continued to ask, what about after enough food and clothing? Confucius said, "Teach it," and educate the people. It can be seen that the benevolent government advocated by Confucianism is nothing more than two aspects, one is to raise the people, and the other is to teach the people.
Mencius formulated the third strategy for Teng Wengong to govern the country, which was education. The previous division of land and the system of Land All belonged to the category of raising people.
Why do Confucians place education on an equally important footing with human survival? Zhu Zi has been discussed in the "University Chapter sentence order". "The people born of heaven cannot but be bound by the nature of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, but the temperament may not be aligned, but they cannot all have all the things that they know their nature."
Heaven and earth give birth to man, which gives everyone a human nature, that is, the nature of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, which means that everyone is born with the four virtues of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, and wisdom, which is human nature, also known as Matilda, or conscience. It can now also be called spiritual life.
However, because the qi of heaven and earth that each person receives is different, some deep and some thick and some pure and somewhat mixed, not all people can fully open up their own nature.
Once a person is born intelligent and wise and can fully explore and give full play to human nature, Heaven will appoint him to be the leader and teacher of the people of the world, let him guide and educate the people, and restore the inherent nature of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, and wisdom.
Therefore, there were ancient saints such as FuXi, Shennong, Huangdi, and Yao Shun, who undertook the responsibilities entrusted to him by heaven, became a model for all people to emulate, and set up officials such as Situ and musicians to educate the people, and spread the order and harmony of human nature to the people through liturgy.
According to Zhu Zi's point of view, the Confucian people are in order to let people gain humanity, and it can also be said that people can obtain spiritual life.
Human life consists of both material and spiritual aspects. If there is only material life, man is no different from an animal. On the basis of material life, it is also necessary to obtain spiritual life, which is the complete person. Therefore, it is not enough to raise the people, it is necessary to teach the people.
Mencius said to Teng Wengong:
"Set up as a school of order to teach: the one who is in order, the one who raises also; the one who is in the school, who teaches also; the one who is in order, who shoots also." Xia Yue School, Yin Yue Order, Zhou Yue, and Xue ze are three generations in common, all of which are so Ming Ren Ren Ye. People are clear from above, and small people are close to the bottom. ”
In the Xia and Shang Dynasties, the system and method of human nature (spiritual life) education were already very complete, from the palace of the Son of Heaven to the capitals of the princely states and the streets of the countryside. The school in the village is called Shu, the school in the township is called Shu, the school in the prefecture is called The Order, the school in the country is called Xue, and the school in Tianzi is called Peiyong.
Not only children have to go to school, but also adults. Whenever the peasants are idle, the township doctor will gather the people together, and the ming people will teach them, so that the people have relatives between father and son, husband and wife are different, the elders and children are orderly, and the friends have faith.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="94" > written at the end</h1>
In fact, Mencius pointed out Teng Wengong's governing strategy, which was the same as what he said to King Xuan of Qi and King Hui of Liang. In the Warring States period, such ideas were considered to be "far-fetched and broader than things", too idealistic, too unrealistic.
However, no one can deny that the people and the parishioners are the great scriptures for governing the country. Political, legal, economic, military, cultural, academic, and so on, all undertakings must be based on the foundation of "nurturing" and "teaching." If this is lost at all, even the most brilliant achievements can only be "dream bubbles".
Some people may suspect that the Teng Kingdom is so weak and small, in the era of the Tiger and Wolf Kingdom, even if it practices benevolent government, the people and the parishioners do a good job, can they finally have a way to live? What is the point of Mencius guiding Teng Wengong so enthusiastically?
Judging from the end of Teng Guo, it, like many countries at that time, could not escape the fate of destruction. Just over 20 years after Teng Wengong's death, the State of Teng was destroyed by the State of Song. However, in the history of Chinese civilization and even in the history of human civilization, Teng Wengong's practice of Mencius's doctrine has always been a very bright and warm moment.
In just a few years, the country of Teng has a new look, the people's lives are rich, the culture of liturgy is revived, the folk academic freedom, the people from all over the world come to visit, and the country's population has increased rapidly. In that era of frequent wars and chaos, teng guo became a paradise that the people of the world yearned for. Even many countries have specially sent people to the Tengguo to observe and study and understand their way of governing the country.
Of course, under the fame, the dazzling Teng Guo also aroused the suspicion of the surrounding powers, causing all kinds of suppression and exclusion. Coupled with the early death of Teng Wengong, the brilliance of Renzheng was like fireworks, and the brilliant light was fleeting.
The year Teng Guo was destroyed, Mencius was 75 years old. I don't know how this old man who is worried about the world will feel when he sees the sudden disillusionment of the achievements of benevolence that he has pinned high hopes on. Will he be sad? Maybe. Will he be depressed? Absolutely not.
He must remember what he said to Teng Wengong:
"Whoever has a king rises up, he will come to take the Dhamma, and he will be the master of the king." "Poetry" Yun: "Although the zhou is an old state, its destiny is only new." ’”
That's enough. Teng Guo's practice has allowed future generations to see the brilliance of human nature and the hope of benevolent government. It is like a beacon in the depths of history, guiding the direction for the later Ming Jun and Hao Jie.