Mencius’ thoughts, "Mencius: Chapter 2 of the Heart": Mencius said: "The people are the most noble, the country is second, and the king is the least. Therefore, the people are the emperor, and the emperor is the princes. , so that the princes become great officials. When the princes are in danger of the country, they change the country. After the sacrifice is completed, the rice is clean, and the ancestors are worshiped in time, but it dries out early and the water overflows, the country is changed."
Mencius said: "The people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important. Therefore, the one who wins the hearts of the people will be the emperor, the one who gets the emperor's approval will be the king, and the one who gets the emperor's approval will be the doctor. If the king harms the country, the god of earth and valley, he will be replaced by a king. Offer sacrifices to the king. If the food is plentiful, the sacrifices are clean, and the sacrifices are held on time, but there are still droughts and floods, then the god of earth and grain can be replaced."
Both the king and the state can be replaced, but only the common people cannot be replaced. Therefore, the people are the most important.
"Shangshu" also said: "The people are the foundation of a country, and if the foundation is strong, the country will be peaceful." The common people are the foundation of the country. When the foundation is stable, the country will be peaceful.
This paragraph is the most typical and clear embodiment of Mencius’ people-centered thought. “The people are valued and the monarch is valued over others” has become a widely circulated saying in later generations and has been quoted by people.
The people-oriented concept is the fundamental political value concept advocated by ancient China. Values ??are the soul of thought, and the people-oriented concept is the cornerstone of China’s ideas on clean government. Xia Qi abolished the abdication and established the family world, and promoted the concept of destiny that "Xia serves the destiny". However, after Xia Qi's son Taikang came to the throne, he indulged in entertainment and ignored government affairs, and was exiled. At that time, "Song of the Five Sons" sarcastically said: "The emperor's ancestors have taught that the people can approach but not leave. The people are the foundation of the country, and the foundation is solid and the country is peaceful." This is the first cry about people-centered thinking. Following the demise of Xia and Shang Dynasties, the Western Zhou Dynasty learned from the political lessons of the previous two dynasties and proposed "respecting virtues to protect the people" and "matching heaven with virtues". Among them, "virtue" includes three aspects: respecting heaven, respecting the ancestors, and protecting the people. In particular, we must "protect the small people". Without this, it is difficult to protect heaven. The turmoil of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period demonstrated the power of popular support. "The noble is based on the humble, and the high and the low are the foundation." "Only people are protected, and they are beneficial to the Lord, and they are the treasure of the country." Therefore, Confucius put forward the idea of ??benevolent government of common people, enriching the people, and educating the people. Mencius then put forward the theory of political order that "the people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important", requiring rulers to have the ideological realm of "caring about the people's worries" and "sharing happiness with the people", and to have the ability to "understand the people" The political action of "hanging upside down" requires the establishment of a "constant property" property rights system to protect people's livelihood. Xunzi further put forward the view of power of establishing a king for the people, "Heaven created the people not for the king; Heaven established the king for the people", and the pre-Qin people-centered thought was basically formed.
Pre-Qin people-centered thought has the political stance of consolidating monarchy through the control of the people. Confucius talked about benevolent government, which is to enrich and educate the people. In the final analysis, it is to benefit the people. Confucius said: "If the people are enough, which king is enough? If the people are not enough, which king is enough?" The people are the economic foundation of a country. Confucius also said: "If a good man teaches the people for seven years, he can become a soldier." The people are regarded as the military foundation of the country. Confucius also said: "A gentleman who learns the Tao will love others, and a villain who learns the Tao will be easy to do." He believed that the people are the political foundation of the country. Confucianism talks about education, but its extremely clear position is that "the people can follow it, but they cannot know it." "Those who work hard govern people, and those who work hard govern others; those who govern others eat people, and those who govern others eat others." "The king is a boat, and the common people are water. Water carries the boat, and water overturns the boat." Therefore, if the ruler wants to ensure peace, he must do nothing but maintain peace and care for the people. "This all means that the ruler is the subject of governance, the people are the objects of governance, and the object is the foundation. If the object is not done well, the subject will be subverted. From the First Emperor of Qin to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the feudal autocratic system was finally established throughout the country. It should be said that feudal monarchy was rooted in people-centered thinking, and the above-mentioned political stance regarded it as a strategic thought for governing the country. Dong Zhongshu discovered this mystery and pointed out that "the emperor is ordered by heaven, the world is ordered by the emperor, and a country is ordered by the king." "The king is the heart of the people; the people are the body of the king."
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appreciated the people-centered thinking based on the principle of heavenly right of kings, and implemented the idea of ??"deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone." This implies that both the emperor and the bureaucrats should "love the people as their own sons" and have a clean government.
People-oriented thinking also adapted to the transformation of political governance during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Its emergence coincided with the transformation from the Shiqing Shilu system to the feudal bureaucracy system. The end of the Shiqing Shilu system, the ruling body was replaced by a bureaucratic group. Regarding bureaucracy, "Theoretically speaking, this is often the case: first, the responsibilities performed are reduced to the minimum. Second, the benefits obtained are expanded to the maximum. ... Therefore, laziness and corruption are the main consequences of the bureaucratic class. nature". "The interests of the bureaucracy and the people are in opposite positions." "The position of the monarch certainly represents the private interests of one person and the family...on the other hand, it also represents the public welfare of the people, and supervises the ruling class on their behalf. "The monarch and the people are at opposite ends of the spectrum of interests, and people-centered thinking is aimed at preventing the formation of a wealthy class. Opposing the bullying of the superiors and subordinates by the well-saturated bureaucracy is an important task in the fight against corruption in an authoritarian system. The significance and limitations of clean government in ancient China's people-centered thinking lie in this. Just like this, people-centered thinking has become a yardstick to restrain the political behavior of bureaucratic groups. Jia Yi, a thinker of the Western Han Dynasty, regarded people-oriented as the basic criterion of the country's political life: "As far as politics is concerned, the people are the basis of everything. The country is based on the people, the king is based on it, and the officials are based on it. The country is based on the people, and the king is based on it. The people are intimidated and insulted, and the officials regard the people as noble and inferior.
This is called people-oriented. ”
In political practice, people-oriented thinking first requires officials to pay attention to people’s livelihood. “The people are the root of the country. We should value their food and love their lives.” ” All officials who regard the development of people’s livelihood as their top priority are supported by the people and appreciated by the court. For example, during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty, Gong Sui, the prefect of Bohai, rescued the victims, selected good officials, taught education, encouraged farmers and mulberry trees, and managed peace. "Han Shu" lists them as the first official.
The people-oriented thinking requires officials to comply with the people's will, punish evil and promote good. "The will of the people reflects the good and evil of society and is the main basis for administration.
As an official, Di Renjie, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, was not flattering or condescending. He always maintained his true nature of caring for the people and served as Dali Cheng until he took office. Within one year, many cases left by his predecessor were settled, and no one appealed for grievances. He was later called the "mainstay of the Tang Dynasty"
The people-oriented thinking was also reflected in the pursuit of officials' governance values ??in the Northern Song Dynasty. Fan Zhongyan "worried about the world's worries first, and rejoiced after the world's happiness"; Lu You in the Southern Song Dynasty "had a humble position but did not dare to forget about worrying about the country"; Huang Zongxi in the Qing Dynasty "I came out to be an official, for the world, not for the king; for all the people , not just one surname." In the late Qing Dynasty, Gong Zizhen said "Falling red is not a heartless thing, it turns into spring mud to protect flowers", which all demonstrate the people-oriented thinking.
After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, people-oriented thinking was injected through the imperial examination system The political system created the unique cultural temperament of ancient Chinese politics and formed a clean political stream with a history of more than a thousand years, which to a certain extent inhibited the corruption of feudal politics.