Chapter 14 2. Without civil rights, there is revolution

Mencius is indeed like a revolutionary party. Once, King Xuan of Qi asked, "Is it true that King Wu defeated Zhou?" Mencius said: It is in the history books. King Xuan asked again: "Is it okay for a minister to kill his lord?" Mencius immediately replied bluntly: Those who destroy benevolence are called thieves, those who destroy righteousness are called cripples, and those who thwart benevolence and cripple righteousness are called independent husbands.I only heard that the only husband Yin Zhou was overthrown, but I have never heard of any regicide and not regicide!

Once again, Duke Mu of Zou encountered a problem. Duke Mu of Zou told Mencius that some time ago we had a conflict with the state of Lu, and thirty-three of the widowed officials died, while the people stood by and watched.This matter puts the widow in a dilemma.Kill these helpless people, you can't finish killing them; if you don't kill them, you really can't swallow this breath.Sir, what should I do? Unexpectedly, Mencius gloated at other people's misfortune. Mencius said: deserve it!Who made them treat ordinary people badly!Now the common people can seize the opportunity of revenge.

The revolutionary party in the late Qing Dynasty was nothing more than that, right? but why? Because in Mencius, civil rights are higher than monarchy.Mencius said—— The people are the most precious, the country is second, and the king is the lightest. In other words, civil rights come first, political power comes second, and monarchy comes third.You can be superior, you can be pampered, you can and should be unique, it is called "there are no two suns, and there are no two kings among the people".However, if he is not qualified, he will not be able to enjoy this respect, and the people will have the right to revolution.

This is also the course content of the king's training class. Once, Mencius asked King Xuan of Qi: Someone was going on a business trip and entrusted his wife and children to a friend. When he returned, he found that his wife and children were starving and freezing.What to do with such a friend? King Xuan said: Break up the relationship! Mencius asked again: What should the chief do if he can't control his subordinates? King Xuan said: Resign! Mencius asked again: What should a country do if its politics fail? How should King Qi Xuan answer? Wang Gu talked about him left and right, and looked at his followers and said something else.

But Mencius still had a chance. Once again, King Xuan of Qi asked: Are all the ministers the same? Mencius said: different.There are ministers of the same clan and ministers of different surnames.But their duty is to dissuade the king if he makes a big mistake.If repeated persuasion still persists, action must be taken. King Xuan asked: What will happen to the minister of the same clan? Mencius said: Abolish that king! When King Xuan heard this, his face turned pale. Mencius said: Your Majesty, don't be nervous.When the king asked his ministers, he dared not tell the truth.Logically speaking, it is.

King Xuan's face returned to normal. Ask again: What if it is a minister with a different surname? Mencius said: Whisper your sleeves and leave! Ha, don't want that unqualified monarch! There is no doubt that Mencius never opposed the monarchy, nor did he believe that the relationship between the monarch and his ministers was equal.But like Confucius, he does not talk about equality, but about equality.Reciprocity means that I have obligations, and you have obligations; you have rights, and so do I.Everyone reciprocates courtesy, and no one can be overbearing.In the words of Confucius, it is "the emperor envoys his ministers with courtesy, and the ministers serve the emperor with loyalty."

Loyalty and courtesy, not equal, but equal. Mencius was not so gentle, courteous and frugal.What he said was—— If the king treats his ministers like brothers and feet, then the ministers will treat him like his heart; In other words, I will treat you as whoever you think of me; if you don't take me seriously, I will treat you as an enemy. Hehe, you are unkind, don't blame me for being unrighteous. However, this is at most a reversal, why the revolution? More importantly, why do the people have the right to revolution? Because monarchy comes from civil rights. Once, a student Wan Zhang asked: Is it true that Yao gave up the world to Shun?

Mencius said: No!No one can give up the world to others. Wan Zhang said: Then who gave Shun the power? Mencius said: God gave it. Wan Zhang asked: When the heaven authorized it, did it repeatedly exhort and admonish it? Mencius said: No.The sky does not speak, but the sky will look at the reaction of the people.Heaven will authorize whoever the people are satisfied with.The power of the son of heaven is jointly granted by heaven and the people, which is called "heaven and man, man and man". Yes, dual licensing, or co-licensing. It's amazing. What's even more remarkable is that Mencius also quoted a sentence from "Shangshu·Thai Oath", which is called "the sky sees itself and the people see it, and the sky listens to the people themselves".In this way, the joint authorization of God and the people is actually granted by the people.

Speaking of this, it is already great. We know that the key to whether a country or a regime is democratic depends on the authorized subject.If the power is delegated by the people, it is democracy; if it is delegated by God, it is the monarch; However, since the Zhou people established the concept of "monarch power granted by heaven", the issue of authorization was no longer discussed.Raising this question again, clearly defining the authorized subjects as God and the people, and "the name is given by heaven, but it is actually given by the people", Mencius is the first and only.

However, the democratic tradition in ancient Chinese history is nothing more than that. Sovereign power comes from civil power, so civil power is higher than monarchy. This is Mencius's thought, and it is also the difference between him and other scholars: Laozi and Zhuangzi don't want monarchy, so there is no civil rights; Mozi and Han Fei advocate the centralization of power, so monarchy is higher than civil power. Let's look at Han Fei first.

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