The word "democracy", its meaning and examples in ancient Chinese. (The word "democracy" has a different meaning in ancient Chinese than it does today)
1. The ruler of the people. Mostly refers to emperors and monarchs.
"Shu Duofang": "Heaven seeks democracy at the right time, so he gave up his life in Chengtang."
"Zuo Zhuan·Wen Gong's Seventeenth Year": "Qi The king's words are to steal. Zang Wenzhong once said: "If you steal democracy, you will die." , the emperor."
"Zizhi Tongjian·The Second Year of Tai'an of Emperor Hui of Jin": "Chang Sui took control of Jiangxia and made a demon saying: 'There should be a sage to promote democracy.'"
2. Refers to officials.
"Three Kingdoms·Wu Zhi·Zhongli Mu Biography": "Servants of democracy must be governed by law."
In modern times (after the Opium War), democracy means that the people have The right to participate in state affairs or to express opinions freely on state affairs. Democracy is used in the form of a state, that is, it becomes a state system, which is the opposite of "autocracy". (Same as modern interpretation)
Zheng Guanying's "Warning Statements in the Prosperous Age·Yuan Yuan": "A monarch's power is biased towards the top; a democrat's power is biased towards the bottom."
[Zheng Guanying (1842── 1921) His real name was Guanying, his courtesy name was Zhengxiang, his name was Taozhai, his alias was Luofu, he was from Heshan, etc., and his ancestral home was Yongmo Village, Sanxiang Town, Xiangshan County, Guangdong (now Zhongshan City). He was the earliest theorist with a complete reform ideological system in modern China, an Enlightenment thinker who ushered in democracy and science, and an industrialist, educator, writer, philanthropist and enthusiastic patriot. "Warnings in the Prosperous Age" is an important work by Zheng Guanying, a modern Chinese thinker. It was officially published in the 19th year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1893). The publication of this book served as a link between the reformers and revolutionaries in the late Qing Dynasty and laid an important foundation for the Hundred Days Reform that began in 1898. ]
The modern interpretation of the word "democracy" refers to a social state characterized by the people's right to participate in state affairs or to freely express opinions on state affairs. The word democracy comes from the Greek word "demos", which means people. It is defined as: a national system that jointly manages state affairs within a certain class scope in accordance with the principles of equality and the majority.
People-oriented thinking and people-oriented culture in ancient China. "People-oriented" is the traditional Chinese thought and culture.
Putting people first has been recorded in some important ancient classics.
There is a famous saying in "The Book of Songs·Daya·Yu": "Be kind to the people, be careful with your marquis, and you will not be afraid of using warnings." Ministers are advised to be self-disciplined, to be good at governing your people, and to be cautious about you. regulations to prevent accidents.
The first person to clearly put forward "people-oriented" in ancient Chinese books was Guan Zhong, a famous prime minister of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period. "Guanzi·Baye" says: "The beginning of Fu Bawang is to put people first. The basic principles will strengthen the country, and the basic chaos will cause the country to be in danger." The "people-oriented" proposed by Guan Zhong is the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture.
Mencius said: The people are the most valuable, the king is the most important, and the country is the second most important. This is a concentrated expression of Chinese Confucian political philosophy.
Fan Zhongyan said: Worry first when the world is worried, then rejoice when the world is happy.
In the history of the development of the Chinese nation, the support of the people not only related to the security of the country, but also restricted the overall situation of society, which formed the Confucian people-oriented culture. Confucian people-oriented culture is a people-oriented culture. The central idea is that the governance of the country should be people-oriented.
The basic value concept of "people-oriented" is mainly reflected in the following aspects: (1) Valuing the people. Ancient sayings such as "respect heaven and protect the people", "the people are the foundation of the state", "the people are more important than the monarch", "establish the monarch for the people", etc. show the importance to the people. "Zuo Zhuan" expounds the importance of "people" from the perspective of the rise and fall of a country. It says: "When a country is going to prosper, listen to the people; when a country is going to fall, listen to the gods." (2) Love the people and be kind to the people. Mozi advocated the idea of ??loving the people of "loving each other and benefiting each other". (3) Safeguard the people. "Shangshu" says: "If it lasts for ten thousand years, only the princes and descendants will protect the people forever."
my country's traditional people-oriented concept is relative to the monarch (the country) and the official (actually The two are the unity of opposites), its original meaning refers to a view of governance put forward by wise kings and wise ministers in ancient China to maintain and consolidate their rule. Its basic ideas are mainly expressed as attaching importance to the people, valuing the people, comforting the people, caring for the people, Aimin et al. The fundamental purpose of rulers following people-oriented thinking is to maintain, consolidate and strengthen a specific ruling order and social order by integrating "public opinion", and then seek specific class interests and achieve specific political goals. For example, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty said: " To be loved is not to be the king, but to be feared is not to be the people. If the Son of Heaven is righteous, people will push him to rule. If he is unruly, people will reject him and not use him. He is sincere and should be feared." A socialist country under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants.
Putting people first is the core of the scientific outlook on development. It is the embodiment of the party's fundamental purpose that the Chinese Communists insist on serving the people wholeheartedly. "Adhere to people-oriented" is a new requirement put forward by the "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The scientific outlook on development expresses the people-centered approach as the starting point for everything. Its basic requirement is comprehensive coordination and sustainability, and the fundamental method is overall planning and consideration.
Since the reform and opening up, the Communist Party of China has always emphasized the development of productive forces as the fundamental task of socialist society.
The Scientific Outlook on Development does not deny economic development and GDP growth. What it emphasizes is that economic development and GDP growth are ultimately intended to meet the material and cultural needs of the broad masses of the people and ensure the all-round development of people. People are the fundamental purpose of development. The purpose of proposing a people-centered scientific concept of development is to use human development to guide economic and social development, so that the results of economic and social development are consistent with the nature and purpose of our party, and the results of development are consistent with the goals of development. Adhering to a people-oriented approach means aiming to realize the all-round development of people, pursuing and promoting development based on the fundamental interests of the people, constantly meeting the people's growing material and cultural needs, and effectively protecting the people's economic, political and cultural rights and interests. Let the fruits of development benefit all people.