"Mencius" Detailed Explanation 1 Mencius (I) (text synchronized with watermelon video)

Mencius, Mencius, Mencius

First, about Mencius

(1) The life of Mencius

Regarding Mencius, the first sources on which scholars rely are Sima Qian's "Records of History" and the seven "Mencius". The "Biography of Mencius Xunqing" is a joint biography of Mencius and Xunqing, but the characters involved in the biography also include the representatives of Yin and Yang, Dao, Law, Ming, and Mo in the Warring States period, and even Mo Zhai is simply recorded in this biography, so the "Biography of Mengzi Xunqing" is very similar to a similar biography. This biography is named after Mencius and Xun Qing, which shows that Mencius's weight is much heavier than that of several other people. The biography affirms meng xun's ideological doctrine by recording the deeds of Meng Xun. There is not much written in the Records of Mencius, which is reproduced below:

Tai Shi Gong Yue: Yu read the book of Mencius, until King Hui of Liang asked", "Why is it to benefit my country", and he did not hesitate to abolish the book and sighed. A: Oh, the beginning of the chaos! The master rarely speaks of profit, and often guards against his originality, so it is said that "let it go of profit and act with many grievances." Since the Son of Heaven is concerned, how can the good and the bad be different!

Meng Ke Zou Ren is also a disciple of Ye Zi Si. The Tao is passable, and the King of Qi Xuan cannot be used. Suitable Liang, Liang Huiwang did not say what he said, then he thought that it was far away and broader than things. When it was, Qin used Shang Jun and Fu Guo to defeat weak enemies; Chu Wei used Wu Qi to defeat weak enemies; King Xuan of Qi wei used his grandson Tian Ji's disciples, while the princes faced Qi to the east. The world is subordinate to Lian Heng, and to attack is the sage, and Meng Ke is to describe the virtue of Tang Yu's three generations, and it is inconsistent with what is like it. Retreat to the Ten Thousand Chapters of disciples in the preface to the poems and books, describing the meaning of Zhongni, and composing seven pieces of Mencius.

For the records of Confucius, there are traces, there are inheritances, and there are clues to check; for the records of Mencius, there are vague words upwards, there are no clues to the inheritance downwards, and even Mencius's sons and daughters are not recorded, and the only text that records Mencius can not be accepted. It is only true that the saying of "MengKe Zou ren" can be affirmed, and even the order of "traveling to Qi Xuanwang" and lobbying Liang Huiwang is confused, and there is no more reference value.

Taken together, Mencius is famous, and Mencius itself has words to prove; as for "zi zi public opinion" and so on, it is pure speculation of posterity. So, did Mencius have a word? There should have been, just failed to pass it down. The words of the ancients were "obtained" after performing the crowning ceremony, and Mencius's crowning ceremony should have been given by the elders of his family in place of his father. In ancient times, the names or words of people with high moral standing and respect were all conditional, and Mencius itself could not find the opportunity to obtain their words, and Mencius failed to sort out and transmit ancient texts like Confucius, and there was no other evidence to support it, so its words were unknown.

There are too few records of Mencius in the "Records of History", which shows that Sima Qian's information about Mencius is very limited, only seven Mencius, and at that time, Zhu Jian was very troublesome to check, and I suspect that Sima Qian's reading of Mencius only read the beginning. The "Chronicle of History" has no way of explaining Mencius's words, and the only narrative text is also suspicious of him.

The Eastern Han Dynasty Zhao Qi's "Inscription of Mencius" says: "Mencius, Zou Renye, mingke, the word is not heard." Zou Ben's kingdom of the Spring and Autumn Period, when Mencius arrived, was renamed Zou Yi. The country was close to Lu, and later lu was merged. He also said that he was merged with Chu and was not Lu Ye. Present-day Zou County is also. Or Mencius, after Mengsun of the Lu gong clan. Therefore, Mencius shi Yu Qi, lost his mother and was buried in Lu Ye. The descendants of the Three Huans have declined and are suitable for other countries. Zhao Qi's "Zou Ben Chunqiu Kingdom of The Sons of The Sons" is really not credible, because the Kingdom of The Sons of Zhao Qi is on the verge of extinction at the end of the Zuo Zhuan; Zhao Qi's Mencius Chapters and Verses do not introduce mencius' life.

Until the Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Xu wrote a record for mengmu's tombstone, and first quoted the "MengShi Genealogy", believing that Mengzi was born on April 2, the 37th year of King Ding of Zhou, and died on the 15th day of the 26th month of the 26th year of King Zhou Zhao, at the age of 84. The author of the Meng Genealogy is unknown, and no one has mentioned it before the Song Dynasty, and its theories also contradict historical facts. Some people have also put forward some statements that are generally consistent with Mencius's activities based on the "Meng's Genealogy" with reference to historical compromises.

Regarding the year of Mencius's birth and death, Mr. Qian Mu summarized it as having three main theories:

The first is 372 BC hexa-289 BC Nongshen, Shou 84;

The second is 385 BC - 302 BC Jiwei, Shou 84;

The third is 390 BC Xin Di - 305 BC Bing Chen, Shou 86.

Most scholars and Mencius accepted the first statement, mainly because it was consistent with the lineage of Mencius.

Mr. Qian Mu said in the "Mencius Birth Year Examination": "Knowing people and discussing the world, you can seek the cause of their world, and do not care about the age of their birth and death." It is now said that Mencius was born in the fourth year of the Liewang, or in the seventeenth year of the An King, and it is only fifteen years before and after, but Mencius's longevity alone has nothing to do with the overall situation of the world. Having examined mencius's travels and the situation in the world, and the succession of the princes and secretaries of the nations to and from the masters, mencius's relationship at that time had already been completed, and it was possible to live in seventy or eighty years. If there is no sign of unbelief, he who will want to wear a chisel will fall into the temptation and ridicule in vain, and what is the reason! "It is meaningful to understand mencius's accurate life, and it is possible to more accurately explore the trajectory of Mencius's life and the formation of his thoughts, but when it is impossible to understand Mencius's accurate life, there is no need to dwell on it."

We know from the stories of "Mengmu's Three Migrations" and "Broken Machines" that Mencius had no father since he was a child. Confucius lost his father at an early age, and coincidentally Mencius also lost his father when he was not more troubled, but he did not "lose his heart", and his mother played an important role in his growth. Mencius was later than Confucius, but it is more difficult to examine mencius's life and deeds than to examine Confucius. Confucius's life deeds are indirectly corroborated by the Zuo Zhuan, with a roughly certain birth year, birth month birthday and basically clear death date, but the centralized rule of the Zhou Dynasty weakened at that time, and the calendar could not be determined in time. Therefore, the debate about the time of Confucius's birth and death is only in a specific day. Confucius has a name and a character, as evidenced by the Analects and the Zuo Zhuan; Mencius has a name without a word, and there is nowhere to find Mencius's word, and even the specific birth and death year of Mencius is not clearly stated.

(2) Mencius's shicheng

The Chronicle of History considers Mencius to be "a disciple of the Thoughts of the Sons of Karma". It can be clearly said that the rumor that Mencius was a disciple of Zi Si is not established, nor is it established that "the disciple of Zi Si is subject to karma", nor is Mencius even a disciple of Zi Si. Mencius said, "The five reasons why gentlemen teach are: those who are like the rain of the times, those who are virtuous, those who are rich, those who answer questions, and those who are selfish. The reason why these five gentlemen teach also", Mencius received the teachings of "gentlemen" through the form of "private Shuai". Mencius also said, "Give to those who have not yet been disciples of Confucius, but also to private people" (4). Judging from the information indirectly captured in Mencius, it is likely that Mencius had frequent contact with people of the zi si disciple's generation, and even with people who were a generation younger than the son si disciple, through whom confucius was learned, rather than these people. "Private Lady" will not involve the issue of generational division. The names of Zi Si's disciples ChangShi appear twice in Mencius Wanzhang Shang and Mencius Wanzhang Xia, and Mencius tells the story of Chang Xi like history, which can indirectly explain the problem. Of course, Mencius also spoke to Zeng Xi, the grandson of his great-grandson (Mencius Gongsun Ugly), as if telling a historical story.

Sage Impermanence: Confucius did not have a fixed and clear teacher, coincidentally, Mencius did not have a fixed and clear teacher, but Mencius was very young to accept the influence of Confucianism is certain. Mencius presented himself as the "private Shu Ai" Confucius, which means that he took Confucius as his teacher and was a descendant of Confucius. The statement of Confucius, the "private lady", has made it clear that Mencius did not teach anyone for several generations of Confucius. Mencius paid great attention to Confucius and studied Confucius's thought. From Mencius, we obtain information about Confucius that we have not seen in the Analects and in other ancient texts, which shows how attentive Mencius was to Confucius's "private shu". Mencius's "private Shu Ai" and "private Shu" are by no means casual words.

(3) Mencius' parents

Some people think that Mencius's father is a mystery, but in fact, there is no mystery to be examined. Confucius's father, Zuo Chuan, records that Confucius lost his father at an early age when his father was in his prime. There is no historical record of Mencius's father, who was not very old when he died, perhaps about twenty years old, and had the qualifications of a scholar. We can get information through the answer of Le Zhengzi in "16 Wu Did Not Meet Lu Hou Tianye under King Hui of Liang": Mencius buried his parents as a scholar and a doctor respectively. Liu mentioned to the "Biography of the Daughters of Lie" the stories of "Mengmu Sanqian", "killing dolphins without cheating", and "cutting off weaving and persuading learning", which can be roughly accepted: Mencius was raised by Mengmu's education. From this we know that Mencius did not have a father at a very young age. The qualification of "scholar" can only be obtained after adulthood, which means that Mencius performed the crowning ceremony as an adult before burying the father of the same scholar as a "scholar" in the "Three Dings" ceremony.

In fact, Mencius's mother is also a mystery. It is rumored that his mother, Zhǎng, is of unknown origin and the year of birth and death is unknown. MengMu accompanied Mencius in his growth. Meng Mu was also considered to have a high life expectancy, and Mengzi should have been in his sixties when he died. From the record of "Mencius was buried in Lu" ("7 Gentlemen Under the Gongsun Ugly Are Not Frugal in the World"), we can know that there is also a debate about the time of Meng Mu's death, with a difference of about more than ten years.

Mencius's father was a soldier, and the soldier enjoyed the treatment of a warrior, and the "corporals of the princely states regarded the peasants as farmers, and Lu was enough to cultivate on his behalf." Sergeant Bei Corporal, Sergeant Double Sergeant" ("Li Ji Wang System" about the treatment of soldiers, peasants, etc., can be read in detail in "Ten Thousand Chapters 2 Its Details Cannot Be Heard"),) from "Shi Shilu" ("Liang Hui Wang Xia 5 Fu Ming Tang Wang's Hall of Kings"), we can also get information that the deceased Shi Qi's minor concubines can inherit the treatment of their father, otherwise Meng Mu is incapable of raising Mencius. Of course, where did Mencius and his father and Mencius enjoy the treatment of scholars is also a question: is it from the state of Lu or the state of Zou? Mencius buried his mother in Lu for just a reference. Why did Mencius bury his mother in the State of Lu and live in the State of Zou himself? This indicates that Mencius's father was buried in the state of Lu, and that the state of Zou was formed after the separation of the state of Lu and was Mencius's new motherland; this state was founded by the descendants of the Meng clan (Zhongsun clan) of the "Three Huans", which originally belonged to the state of Lu, otherwise Mencius would not have settled here and enjoyed fenglu.

(iv) Mencius' experience

Mencius's life experiences as adults are difficult to describe specifically, but Mencius provides us with some useful information for studying Mencius' experiences, although there are not many chapters that can disclose information.

From chapters 1-5 of the Liang Hui Wang, we learn that Mencius communicated with Liang Hui Wang, from chapter 6 we learn that Mencius communicated with Liang Xiang Wang, and the approximate duration can be derived from the information on the succession of liang Hui Wang's father to the throne of the son. There was only one unsatisfactory exchange with King Xiang of Liang, telling us that Mencius had since left the state of Liang (Wei). From chapter 7 it is learned that Mencius had communicated with King Xuan of Qi.

From chapters 1-11 of The King of Liang Hui, we learn that Mencius communicated with King Xuan of Qi and can perceive that it lasted a long time, which can be supplemented by historical data to obtain the approximate time of the possibility. From chapter 12, it is learned that Mencius communicated with Zou Mugong, and possible time clues can be found through "Zou and LuDuo". From chapters 13-15, it is learned that Mencius communicated with teng Wengong, who had recently succeeded him. From chapter 16, it is learned that Mencius failed to meet with Lu Pinggong after returning to Lu to bury his mother.

From the exchanges between Mencius and his disciple Gongsun Ugly in chapters 1-2 of "Gongsun Ugly", it can be seen that king Qi at least has the intention of "reusing Mencius", and this king of Qi does not indicate whether it is King Xuan of Qi or King of Qi Wei; but in terms of disciple Gongsun Ugly, it should be only one of them, and it should be King Xuan of Qi.

From The refusal of Mencius to "dynasty" the King of Qi in Chapter 2 of "Gongsun Ugly", it can be seen that Mencius was not a "consultant" minister who was not "sitting on the shift" at this time, and this King of Qi did not mark whether he was King Xuan of Qi or King of Qi Wei. From the dialogue between Mencius and Chen Zhen in Chapter 3, it is learned that Mencius traveled around the three kingdoms of Qi, Song and Xue in a short period of time, and the time is unknown. From chapter 4, it can be learned that Mencius went to the State of Qi pinglu, and then communicated with the King of Qi, and was not labeled as the King of Qi. From chapter 6 we can know that Mencius served as a secretary of state in the state of Qi, and sent an envoy to the state of Teng to mourn the duke of Tengwen, which should be the time of King Xuan of Qi, at this time, the "auxiliary" Wang Biao was still a gaiyi doctor. From chapter 7 "Mencius buried himself in Lu, against Qi, and ended in Yin", we can know that Mencius's father was a Lu person; Mencius buried his mother did not mourn for his mother for three years, and returned to the State of Qi for a short time, there may be the factor that Mencius had the position of secretary at this time, or there may be the factor that Mencius was older and could no longer keep filial piety for three years; the coffin that Mencius bought for his mother was very luxurious. From chapters 8-9, it can be learned that Mencius was in the State of Qi during the Period of The State of Qi, believing that "Yan can be cut down", and also came up with the idea of withdrawing troops for King Xuan of Qi. From chapters 10-14, we learn that Mencius resigned with a contradictory mentality, and this time Mencius resigned from his position to Yaqing.

From chapter 1 of the Teng Wen Gong Shang, it can be known that Mencius received Teng Wen Gong who passed by in the Song Dynasty or Shizi. From the 2 chapters, it can be known that Mencius, who was staying in the State of Zou, received the envoy Ranyou sent by Teng Wengong, who was about to succeed him. From chapter 3, it can be judged that "Teng Wen's public question for the country" should be something that happened in Teng Guo after the expiration of Teng Wen's mourning period, and "making Bi Zhan ask the well" may have occurred outside the Teng state before and after this. From the information provided in Chapter 4, we judge that Mencius was in the Tengguo at this time, and the land policy implemented by the Tengguo was effective. From chapter 5, we can know that Mencius had exchanges with the Mo family.

From the dialogue between Mencius and Zhou Xiao in chapter 3 of "Teng Wen Gongxia", we can judge that this dialogue took place in Liang (Wei). The dialogue between Mencius and Wan Zhang in Chapter 5, the dialogue between Mencius and Dai Shengsheng in Chapter 6, and the dialogue between Mencius and Dai Yingzhi in Chapter 8 may occur in the Song Kingdom.

In chapters 24 and 25 of The Departure from Lou Shang, the information we get from "Le Zhengzi from Yu Zi'ao (Wang Qi)" is that at this time Mencius was in the State of Qi, and Le Zhengzi followed Wang Biao, who was visiting the State of Lu, to the State of Qi, and at this time Wang Zhengzi may be engaged in foreign affairs in the State of Qi.

Chapter 3 of "Leaving Lou Xia" Mencius's "Telling Qi Xuan Wang Yue" takes place in the State of Qi, and in Chapter 27 Mencius hangs "The Death of Gong Xingzi Has a Son" and meets Wang Biao, who has been appointed as the right master, at this time Wang Biao is above Mencius.

Chapter 4 of the Confession of the Sons of Song "Song Mengzi will be Chu, Mencius met the stone hill" This incident occurred on Mencius's way to the Song Kingdom. Chapter 5 provides information that Mencius Juzou sent money to Mencius at the time of the Shou Ji Ren, and when Mencius arrived in Pinglu, Qi Xiang Chuzi sent money to Mencius, which does not show what age Mencius was in at this time, probably after Mencius was forty years old. From the dialogue between Mencius and Chun Yuji in chapter 6, we perceive that Mencius resigned from the post of Yaqing appointed by King Xuan of Qi. Chapters 10-11 Mencius's dialogue with Bai Gui may have occurred when Mencius was in Liang (Wei).

Chapter 36 Mencius travels from Fandi to Qidu and sees that the son of King Qi may be the successor of King Xuan of Qi. Chapter 39 Mencius and Gongsun Ugly's discussion about King Xuan of Qi's desire for a short death takes place in the State of Qi. Judging from the same frame as The Gongsun Ugly in this chapter and the King of Qi Xuan, the "King of Qi" that appears in the "Gongsun Ugly" section is "King Qi Xuan".

From the 23rd chapter of "Under the Heart", it can be obtained that the State of Qi had a famine of two years, and Mencius had suggested that the King of Qi open a warehouse to provide relief. In chapter 29 we learn that Peng Chengkuo, who had been a disciple of Mencius, was executed by the State of Qi, and Mencius was not in the State of Qi at this time. Chapter 30 Teng Guo Guest House asked Mencius about the shoes he could not find, which may have happened during the teng Wen Gong.

To sum up the analysis, Mencius stayed in the State of Qi for the longest time, chapters 1-6 of "Liang Hui wang shang", "Liang Hui wang xia" chapter 13-15, "Gongsun ugly xia" chapter 3 and 4, "Teng Wen Gong Shang" 1-5 chapters, "Teng Wen Gong Xia" chapters 3, 5, 6, 8, "Under the Confession" 4, 5, 10-11 chapters of the things should be recorded first, other chapters recorded things should happen later. The King of Qi who frequently communicated with Mencius was supposed to be King Xuan of Qi. There is no record of Mencius communicating with King QiWei in Mencius, but mencius may have communicated with Qi Guoqing during the reign of King Qiwei. Mencius resigned because he was not authorized to carry out the ideas of the royal way. Mencius may have been in his seventies when he resigned. After returning to the Kingdom of Zou, Mencius, his disciple Wan Zhang, and others compiled mencius.

You can also capture more information from some of the other chapters that are of a conversational nature. We can learn about Mencius' life experience from all this information and through logical reasoning.