Compassion is the purpose of benevolence; The heart of shame and evil, the end of righteousness; The words of the heart are the end of the ceremony; The heart of right and wrong is also the end of wisdom. -Mencius Mencius was a great figure in China's early Confucianism. He advocated that human nature is good, and insisted on paying equal attention to benevolence and righteousness, which enriched and developed Confucius' ideological theory, which was mainly reflected in Mencius. The book Mencius has a lot of education and inspiration for later generations and has far-reaching influence. In Mencius, "gentleman" is a high-frequency word, which has appeared more than 80 times. In the book, people with benevolence and morality are called gentlemen. Qian Mu, a master of Chinese studies, said that "China people talk about people, listing many differences such as gentlemen, villains, good and evil, virtue and so on, and the highest one is a saint", and that "talking about being a man is the essence of China culture". In Mencius' eyes, "gentleman" is different from ancient times: "The ancient gentleman, if he has passed, will be changed; Today's gentleman, if he has passed, let it go. The ancient gentlemen lived like the sun and the moon, and everyone saw them; What's more, people admire it. The gentleman of today is obedient. " (Gongsun Chou Xia 9, this article directly quotes the chapter name and section number of Mencius, the same below) That is to say, from the attitude and practice of treating mistakes, we can see the difference between ancient gentlemen and modern gentlemen. If you do it, you will change it, and if you say it, you will not leave. This is the correct attitude and practice of a gentleman. A gentleman is not only different from ancient times and modern times, but also different from ordinary people and villains. Mencius said: "The reason why people are different from birds and beasts is that Shu Ren went and the gentleman stayed." (Li Lou 19) There are differences between humans and animals, but the differences are few and limited. What is an existing gentleman? Mencius said, "A gentleman is different from others because of his intention. A gentleman is considerate with benevolence and considerate with courtesy. " (Li Lou 28) Benevolence and propriety exist in a gentleman's mind. Mencius also said: "The benevolent loves others, and the courteous respects others. Those who love others will always love others, and those who respect others will always respect others. " (Li Lou 28) Today's society also needs to promote mutual respect and care among people. It can be a good relationship between husband and wife, or a harmonious and cooperative relationship between superiors and subordinates, colleagues and friends. Mencius takes righteousness as the Tao and courtesy as the door: "Fu Yi, Tao also; Ceremony, door also. Only a gentleman can take the road, and access is the door. " (Zhang Wan 7) Benevolence and righteousness are often put together, with benevolence as the home and righteousness as the way, such as "benevolence, human heart, righteousness and humanity." (Gao Zishang 1 1) "Benevolence, people's homes are also safe; Righteousness, the right path of man is also. " (On Li Lou 10) Mencius was able to draw inferences from others, compare houses, roads and doors with benevolence, righteousness and Taoism, and expounded such a gentleman's way of being human, which had far-reaching influence. It would be a pity if you didn't live in the house of the benevolent and follow the right path of life! The contrast between "gentleman" and "villain" in Mencius is that "gentleman and villain are just the opposite". (Teng Wengong 3) Remind people of the difference between a gentleman and a villain. There are also "adults" who oppose villains. Adults, people with noble virtues. For example, "the small ones are villains, and the big ones are adults." (Shang 14) There are differences in dignity and insignificance, so smallness is harmless and humbleness is harmless. Mencius put forward the famous saying that "the official of the heart is thinking", which clarified the requirements of adults to "make it big". (quotient 15) An adult is a gentleman if he keeps his kindness and improves his ambition. It is comparable to "gentleman" and "adult", especially praised as "gentleman" by later generations. Mencius proposed that wealth should not be lewd, poverty should not be moved, and powerful people should not be bent. This is called a gentleman. Being rich and unyielding, being humble and unyielding, is a wonderful summary of a gentleman, which has become the unremitting pursuit and behavior self-discipline of people with lofty ideals since ancient times, and has become the life ideal and firm belief of generations of Chinese sons and daughters to become adults and achieve great things. Life will face many variables, and individuals will be in a state of success or failure. Mencius put forward that "success depends on people, not their own way". If you don't succeed, cultivate your morality and see the world. If you are poor, you will be immune to it, and if you are good, you will help the world. (Dedicated to 9) The idea that being poor is immune to poverty, benefiting the people and benefiting the people, and not cultivating oneself, has always been admired by future generations. Mencius' success has "three virtues". He knows and practices "nourishing the heart and not being good at lust". (Dedication 35). I don't want to go it alone, which shows the firmness of a gentleman. Mencius also put forward that "if you don't do the right thing, you must do something for yourself." "Mencius said:" If you love someone, it is against your benevolence; If he doesn't cure others, it goes against his wisdom; If he doesn't answer, he will respect them. ".People who have done something wrong are asking for more happiness and returning to the world. (Li Lou I 4) No wonder people don't kiss, don't die, don't answer, but reflect on whether they are kind enough, wise enough and respectful enough. Benevolence, wisdom and courage are considered as three great virtues by Confucianism. Benevolence comes first, and there is no wisdom and courage without compassion. Benevolent people are invincible, and they are brave after knowing shame. Mencius talks about the shame of a gentleman: "A gentleman is ashamed to smell it." (Li Lou 18) Fame exceeds truth, and a gentleman will be ashamed. People, like water, must have origins to form a magnificent trend, and we can't confuse the public by false packaging. "People can't be shameless. Shameless, shameless. " People can't live without shame. Shameless, really shameless and terrible. Later generations talked about being a man and "being ashamed of yourself". You have to be ashamed of yourself, otherwise there is no way to talk about it. Mencius also had a grand theory of the pleasure of a gentleman. Mencius said, "A gentleman has three pleasures, but the king of the world does not exist. Parents exist, brothers have no chance, and they are happy. Be worthy of the sky, live up to people, and be happy. If you are educated by talents in the world, you will have three pleasures. " (Dedicated to 20) Mencius said that a gentleman has three kinds of music, and the king of the world does not exist. The first and third kinds of music need to be met by external conditions, while the only two kinds of music "are worthy of the sky and don't care about others" are purely decided by him. Those who are happy with a gentleman are also happy with righteousness, and they are at a loss and dance. ("On Li Lou" 27) A gentleman has a clear conscience, and his words and deeds are better than his children and grandchildren, and his heart is clear. Mencius also talks about the worries of gentlemen, and the words "worry" and "suffering" are mostly separated. "A gentleman worries all his life and never suffers once." (Li Lou 28) "If you are worried, you will have it: I am also a person. Shun is the law of the world, but it can be passed on to future generations. I'm not a countryman, but I can worry. What is there to worry about? It's just awkward. "What are you worried about? Shun is human, so am I. How can I be such an indomitable person? See the sage Si Qi, if you don't see the sage, you will introspect and be an upright person. You can think that Yao Shun inspires everyone in China to cultivate self-cultivation and be a gentleman. There are also many ways to talk about a gentleman in Mencius. For example, in the section "Today, someone is busy with the neighbor's chicken" (Teng Wengong 8), it is unfair to steal the neighbor's chicken once a day or once a month, which is not a gentleman's way and must be corrected as soon as possible. A gentleman stresses benevolence and righteousness and takes the right path. "A gentleman should learn the Tao and be complacent." (Li Lou 14) Mencius emphasized that it is very important for a gentleman to study by Tao, that is, he should learn to think and understand when doing things, and what he realizes is his own. "The gentleman's words also, don't take and save. The defense of a gentleman is to repair his body and the world is flat. " (Dedicated to 32) Mencius emphasized that a gentleman's words do not deviate from the right path, and self-cultivation and family planning are the actions of a gentleman's life. This paper combs and interprets the "gentleman" in Mencius. A gentleman is different from ordinary people and villains, and a gentleman has benevolence. A gentleman has a gentleman's ambition, and there are points of success or failure. If you fail to realize your ambition, you will go your own way and do something, and you will not ask for more happiness. A gentleman has a gentleman's shame, a gentleman's joy and a gentleman's worry. In a word, Mencius taught people to be gentlemen, adults, self-reliant, cultivate one's morality and take the right path. In today's new era of building Socialism with Chinese characteristics, our college teachers should train college students to be qualified socialist builders and reliable successors with all-round development in morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetics and labor. The idea of "gentleman" in Mencius has important educational value for young people to become talents in the new era. We should grasp the fundamental problem of "training people for whom, what kind of people and how to train people", adhere to the principle of educating people, follow the laws of education, learn from traditional excellent culture, be meticulous and persevere, and make our own contribution to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Source: Youth.