In ancient and modern times, there were many people who got help from the Tao, but little help when they lost the Tao:
1. Shang Tang attacked Xia Jie. Tang of the Shang Dynasty attacked Jie of the Xia Dynasty. Jie of the Xia Dynasty had no moral principles and no one helped him. Tang of the Shang Dynasty had moral principles and many people helped him.
2. Ji Fa, the King of Wu of Zhou Dynasty, attacked the Shang Dynasty, but the King of Shang Dynasty lost his moral integrity and had few helpers
When King Wu of Zhou Dynasty, Ji Fa, attacked the Shang Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty had no moral principles, so No one helped him, but Ji Fa was just the opposite.
3. In 209 BC, the second emperor of Qin, Hu Hai, had no moral integrity and no one helped him. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang are moral and have many people helping them.
4. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang had no moral principles. Peasants in various places revolted, and the Wagang Army got a lot of help.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang had no moral principles. Peasants in various places revolted, but the Wagang Army had many aids. Morally, someone helps them.
5. Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty had no moral principles, but the Red Scarf Army led by Zhu Yuanzhang had a lot of help.
Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty had no moral principles, but the Red Scarf Army led by Zhu Yuanzhang had moral principles.
6. During World War II, Germany, Italy, and Japan had little help while the anti-war countries such as China, the United States, and Britain received more help.
7. In the War of Liberation, the People's Liberation Army received many aids, while the Kuomintang had few.
Extended information:
Many people will help you if you are righteous, and you will receive little help if you are unjust. It comes from "Mencius Gongsun Chouxia". It means that if you stand on the side of justice and benevolence, you will get the support and help of the majority of people; if you violate the law, you will get support and help from the majority of people. Morality and benevolence are bound to be isolated. The article progresses step by step by comparing "timing", "geographical convenience" and "human harmony" and comparing these three. It demonstrates the truth that "the weather is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as the people".
Original text of the work:
The weather is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as the people. A city of three miles and a country of seven miles can be surrounded and attacked without victory. If you attack Huanhuan, you will definitely get the right time; however, if you don't win, the right time is not as good as the right place. The city is not too high, the pond is not not deep, the army and revolution are not not strong, and the rice and millet are not not abundant, but if we leave them behind, the favorable terrain is not as good as the people.
Therefore, it is said: The people of the region do not rely on the boundaries of the border, the country is consolidated without the dangers of mountains and rivers, and the people of the world do not rely on the benefits of military revolution. Those who have attained the truth will receive much help, while those who have lost the truth will receive little help. When there is little help, relatives will be there; when there is much help, the world will follow. If the people of the world are in obedience, they will attack their relatives. Therefore, if a gentleman does not fight, he will definitely win in battle.
Translation:
The weather and season that are conducive to combat are not as good as the geographical situation that is conducive to combat, and the geographical situation that is conducive to combat is not as good as the will of the people during combat. , internal unity.
The inner city with a radius of three li and the outer city with a radius of seven li were surrounded and attacked, but they could not win. To attack a city by encircling it, you must get the weather and season that are conducive to combat, but you can't win because the weather and season that are conducive to combat are not as good as the geographical situation that is conducive to combat.
The city wall is not too high, the moat is not too deep, the weapons and equipment are not poor, and the food supply is not insufficient, but (the defenders still) abandoned the city and fled. This is because The geographical situation for the battle (no matter how good it is) is not as good as the people's aspiration and internal unity.
So it is said: To make people settle down (rather than move to other places), we cannot rely on territorial boundaries, to consolidate national defense cannot rely on the dangers of mountains and rivers, and to frighten the world cannot rely on the sharpness of weapons. A monarch who implements benevolent government will have more people who will help and support him. A monarch who does not implement benevolent government will have fewer people who will support and help him.
If the number of people who support and help him reaches the extreme, even his brothers and sisters will betray him; if the number of people who support and help him reaches the extreme, everyone in the world will submit to him. On the condition that everyone in the world submits to him, he attacks the helpless king who even betrays his brothers and sisters. Therefore, if a monarch who can implement benevolent government does not fight, he will definitely win in battle.
Literary Appreciation:
The central argument is the first two sentences of the article. Mencius proposed three concepts: favorable weather, favorable geographical conditions, and human harmony, and compared these three concepts and advanced them step by step.
In the first paragraph, the author proposes that the central argument is composed of three aspects: time, place, people and people, which are compared with each other. The two "not as good as" in the middle are connected, indicating a progressive relationship, with one being more important than the other. Putting the argument in this way makes the point of view more clear.
The second paragraph demonstrates that "the right time, the right place, the right people, and the right people". Taking the example of setting up a person who occupies the right time and cannot defeat the one who occupies the right position, compare the importance of "the right time" to "the right place". "A city of three miles, a country of seven miles" means that the city is small and difficult to defend; "encircle and attack" means that the attackers have a strong offensive and have the initiative in the battle; "but not win" means that the attacker failed.
The battle will end with the weak winning and the strong losing. The author believes that the reason why the offensive and defensive dare to attack the situation with large forces is because they have the advantage in "timing", but the defender can rely on the "geographical advantage" to resist; If Fang is unable to attack for a long time, his army will lose morale and will inevitably fail. This convincingly proves the correctness of the assertion that "the right time is not as good as the right place."
The third paragraph demonstrates that "the geographical advantage is not as good as the good people". Taking the example of having good geographical conditions but not being able to defend them, compare the importance of "geographical convenience" and "humanity". "The city is high", "the pool is deep", "the army is strong", and "there is a lot of rice and grain" indicate that the defender had superior "geographical" conditions and could have won the final victory of the war.
But in the end, it was "left behind". The reason was that there was no "harmony" internally, and it could not function despite good conditions. Instead, it was attacked by attackers who did not have "geographical advantages" but had "harmony". Victory, this effectively illustrates the principle that "the geographical advantage is not as good as the people".
In the fourth paragraph, the author uses the word "guyue" to carry on the points raised above and expand his discussion. First, three negative attributive sentences with the same form are used to explain that "regional people", "consolidation of the country" and "power over the world" cannot rely solely on the conditions of "timing" and "geographical convenience", which further emphasizes the importance of "harmony" from the negative side. .
The author's positive meaning is contained in the following conclusion: "The right person will get more help, and the unjust person will get less help." The "Tao" mentioned here is "benevolent government". This conclusion points out the essence of "humanity". Then he made further inferences, pointing out that "when there is little help," the congregation will rebel against their relatives, but when "when there is much help," the whole country will submit.
One opposite and one positive, the contrast is sharp. Finally, it concludes with "Therefore, if a gentleman does not fight, he will win the battle." He explains the importance of "humanity" very thoroughly and deepens the core of the article. , The article has a clear context, rigorous structure, and smooth momentum.