Chapter 3 Chapter Two

It’s hard to believe, but Mencius’ status in traditional politics is higher than that of Confucius in terms of personal ability to argue and long-term effectiveness. "Yasheng", that is, the second saint.In his masterpiece "Three Thoughts in Ancient China", Arthur Waley used Mencius to represent Confucianism, as opposed to Taoism and Legalism. The dates of Mencius' birth and death are unknown, but we only know that he was active around 300 BC. The book "Mencius" is a record of Yasheng's words and deeds, the last chapter of which narrates the deeds of the Zhou Dynasty 700 years after the founding of the country.He was born in Zou, Shandong, about 700 miles east of Xi'an.

Mencius was born in an extremely turbulent era in Chinese history.The royal family of the Zhou Dynasty had declined, and the princes began to attack and annex each other, and in the end there was only one Qin State left.When Mencius was active in the political arena, there were still 12 countries.He visited one of them - Qi.The king of Qi just won a great military victory and defeated the enemy country in the north-Yan.He tried to swallow the country of Yan, but he was afraid that other countries would interfere.Mencius did not advise King Qi to annex or retreat strategically or diplomatically.However, he advocated respecting public opinion, so he gave readers the impression that he would let the people of Yan state self-determination when possible.Politically, he could not accept the reality and could not be welcomed by the Qi court, so he had to go to other countries, hoping to have the opportunity to serve and promote the "kingly way", but to no avail.

But those who admired Mencius most could not say that he was advocating modern democracy.He said: "Those who labor with their minds govern others, and those who labor with their strength govern others," referring to the political system in which millions of peasants were ruled by hereditary aristocrats.Even though Yuzi sometimes seems to mention that the people have a "general will", if this concept is slightly extended, it seems to be regarded as "public power", but what he calls self-determination is by no means unconditional self-determination.Strictly speaking, its scope is no more than the right to life.He has already outlined a minimum guarantee in the sentence "happy years are full for life, and unlucky years are free from death".When it comes to the standard of living, the standard is "fifty enough for clothing and seventy enough for meat".In other words, Mencius, as a political thinker, emphasized that the "gentleman" has compassion for the majority of "little people" instead of insisting on his own self-interest.His philosophy is based on compassion, and he even thinks that this kind of compassion comes from the nature of human beings.

It is worth noting that Mencius, like Confucius, believed that this policy began with King Wen of Zhou 700 years ago. "Mencius" and the Confucian children are both sacred classics in the monarchy era. Until the day when the civil service examination system was stopped in 1905, they were also the only way for the emperor to open subjects to obtain scholars, constituting an enduring "stem" in Chinese history. Dry". There is nothing particularly remarkable about the concept of maintaining the government with people's hearts, and this concept is not unique to the Chinese, but whether it is implemented or not, it has been used as a mantra by the Chinese rulers and has been chanted for 3,000 years. It has even become an indispensable part of the theory of public life, similar to the constitutional meaning of other countries.As such, it's notable.If it is said that this is a characteristic of the Chinese, it has not exhausted the mystery of it, because there are also factors of climate and geography.When we read "Mencius", we select some chapters and compare them with the deeds of the Zhou Dynasty 700 years after the founding of the country, and the relationship among them is more obvious.

Existing data do not allow us to determine the origin of the Zhou people.The short legend they left behind is as full of myths and fantasies as the traditions of other primitive peoples, but this legend keeps referring to agriculture.It is said that Qi, the ancestor of the Zhou people, was familiar with growing food and hemp since he was a child, and became an agricultural official in the Shang Dynasty when he became an adult.It was not until the end of the Shang Dynasty that the history of the Zhou people was quite reliable.At that time, the Zhou nationality was one of the tribal countries controlled by the Shang Dynasty. With Xi'an as the center, it had an agricultural base in the Weishui River Basin.By the time of the last king of the Shang Dynasty, the king of Zhou had begun to break the situation either because of his power or his power of arbitration.Many small countries nominally controlled by merchants have begun to surrender to Zhou.Zhou's power spread eastward, reaching Hanshui, especially threatening Shang's flank on the eastern plain.As soon as the Shang and Zhou armed conflicts broke out, Xibo, the king of Zhou, was once a prisoner of the Shang family in order to pay compensation and get out.

One of Xibo's sons was finally able to gather most of the tribal countries that rebelled against the merchants to conquer the east, so the Zhou Dynasty was replaced by the Shang Dynasty, which happened in 1027 or 1122 BC.The different dates are different due to the research of historical sites by different experts.Readers must know: the dates in ancient Chinese history can only be confirmed after 841 BC.Because ever since.Ancient books mention changes in weather and astrology, which can be compared with external records. Dates before 841 are speculative in nature and cannot be regarded as absolutely reliable.

The leader of the traitorous merchants has become a generation of heroes.The dynasty he founded lasted for about 800 years, but he never claimed to be the founder of the dynasty, but added this title to his father Xiber.Xibo was called "King Wen".It is "wen", which means gentle and modest, with the demeanor of a great statesman.His son's name was Fa, who was later called "Wu Wang" in recognition of his military exploits. With this precedent, descendants could not surpass their ancestors. Wen rule is better than martial arts, which has become a Chinese political tradition.It's just that the words are so praised, but the development of the facts is not always the case.

We can believe that Zhou's bronze technology is not as good as Shang's.Judging from the unearthed objects, since the Zhou Dynasty and the Shang Dynasty, the manufacturing design of bronze has deteriorated greatly.However, after the rulers of the Yellow Earth took over China, many literary works were produced, some of which are still eulogized today.From then on, the principle of father-to-son replaced Shang's brother and brother.The religious differences between the two ethnic groups or countries are also very obvious. Businessmen are still ghosts, and the success or failure of everything, from wars or disadvantages to toothaches and inflammations, are all caused by special ancestors.This belief in animism (animism) was discontinued in the Zhou Dynasty and replaced by ancestor worship in the Zhou Dynasty.The people of Zhou believed that the continuation of the lineage was the duty of future generations.Some scholars suspect that Shang and Zhou have racial differences, but the differences cannot be very deep, because there are no drastic differences in writing due to the change of dynasties.In addition, we can believe that the Loess Belt is likely to be the birthplace of Chinese agriculture.Folk songs circulated by the early Zhou people mentioned many different types of crops.

It seems that the people of Zhou were the founders of various systems in the early stage of China, among which the most creative figure was Duke Zhou, the son of King Wen and younger brother of King Wu.To this day, historians have no consensus on his plan.However, we may as well call it "schematic design" based on the narration in ancient books.This kind of design expresses in a very simple colloquial language, using a mathematical concept, carrying a geometric pattern, covering the past with real people and facts.Created an artificial political distinction mainly at a time when the techniques of demography and land surveying were not yet ready, that is, within a country with a large area.

If America were organized in the same design, all irregularities in the shore of Lake Michigan would be entirely negligible.We can assume that it is as tidy as the state line of Wyoming.In that ideal way, even though China is actually located to the east, we can still place it at the same geographical center as the District of Columbia, conveniently equidistant from the states of Maine, Florida, Oregon, Texas, and Arizona. 1500 miles each.The capital must be surrounded by adjacent states, so Maryland can also be directly bordered by Ohio.This is not counted, the counties, townships, and towns in each state are all square.In fact, it is impossible to implement such a brickwork design seriously, but the place was sparsely populated, and some contradictions can be ignored.The leaders at the top can organize the whole crowd with only one abstract idea.

The system of the Zhou Dynasty is always called "feudalism", and it is always translated as feudal in English. In fact, the feudalism system is only similar to European feudalism (feudalism) in some aspects, and the similarity is in spirit, not necessarily in substance.Roughly speaking, both parties controlled the local government with hereditary aristocrats.The princes of the Zhou Dynasty included the family members of the royal family, the descendants of the Shang Dynasty, and the heads of the existing tribal countries.According to the size of the country, they are theoretically divided into five grades based on five grades of area.These princes have different functions and obligations according to the distance from the fiefdom to the king's capital.In theory, the fiefdoms are all located in nine large squares, each of which is concentric with the country.In fact, this kind of grid cannot be drawn on the map, and Xi'an was not the center of the country at that time.But this framework concept is not difficult to understand. Although there are such drastic and unrealistic concepts, many creations of Duke Zhou can still be proved in fact, and they are down to the subtleties.The mystery is not difficult to explain: all his plans for organizing the country focus on the most beautiful and good, in line with natural law.Although there must be room for accommodation, the subordinates must first do their best to achieve the ideal state, and at the same time, the superiors exert pressure on the subordinates from time to time.In the end, I was really powerless and had to let it go.Influenced by bureaucracy, Chinese political thinkers often value form over substance.Over the years, the technical needs at the beginning will be considered as part of the laws of nature in the future. Another creation of the Duke of Zhou was to integrate feudalism and patriarchal clan relations into one.In the territory of each prince, there must be a ancestral temple. It has become a sacred temple in the region. name of the tribal nation on that day).In the domain, not only the title of Duke and Duke was hereditary, but also the ministers and doctors who presided over the state affairs were still controlled by designated lineages. When the Zhou Dynasty was established, they each owned real estate in the territory.They also have military leadership.In the early days of the Zhou Dynasty, hereditary warriors and ruling class were different from ordinary people. The cultivated land throughout the Zhou Dynasty is said to constitute a "well field system".A "well" includes about 40 acres of square land, divided into 9 equal squares on each side, each about 45 acres.Each of the eight peasant households cultivated the eight outer squares of land, and jointly cultivated one piece of "common land", that is, the land controlled by the prince.Such an arrangement does not have to be done in a rigid manner according to the regulations, but it seems to have been implemented in a large area.Apparently the peasants of the day considered free work in the central regions to be a kind of public duty.As far as it goes, the "public" in today's Chinese characters is no different from the "gong" in the prince. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Zhou Dynasty created the feudal system.In fact, Zhou people widely promoted agriculture through feudalism.Because feudalism is connected with the patriarchal clan, the overall stability is maintained.This principle of peaceful coexistence, which later became known as "Confucianism", was repeatedly praised by Confucius in the future, and he attributed it to King Wen and Duke Zhou.The above-mentioned characteristics of emphasizing form over reality and devoting themselves to ceremonies have also formed an indissoluble bond with China, which was founded on agriculture for thousands of years.This means that the Zhou Dynasty ruled China for 800 years, and it is impossible that it did not leave a permanent impact.Sometimes it is difficult even for historians to distinguish whether a certain characteristic is Zhou's character or Chinese character. However, the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty, as the suzerain of most small agricultural countries in a vast territory, actually maintained the power to issue orders, but for about 250 years.In the first century, new arable land continued to be developed, and the "barbarian Rongdi" gradually changed from fishing and hunting to farming. The Zhou Dynasty ordered them to pay tribute, and the court was also quite powerful in arbitrating various disputes.It was only in the 8th century BC or even earlier that all the above positive factors gradually became invalid.In 771 BC, the capital Xi'an was destroyed by the invading Rong people, and the king was killed.The prince moved to the east, and the later Zhou Dynasty was called the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in history. From then on, it declined politically for a long time, until Zhou's territory was annexed by Qin, and Qin was also a country that surrendered to Zhou at first. Traditionally, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was divided into two stages.But there is no connection between the two paragraphs.From 722 BC to 481 BC is the "Spring and Autumn Period".403 BC to 221 BC is the "Warring States Period".Such a name is purely based on two historical books. "Spring and Autumn" is the history book of Lu State, which records the important deeds of the previous stage in the way of spring and autumn. "Warring States Policy" is a work without the author's name. It describes in fragments the military affairs and diplomacy among countries about 182 years before the unification of Qin Dynasty. The two books have their own unique highlights. During these two stages, a revolutionary change occurred in Chinese society, which took several centuries to become a foregone conclusion.The organization of the Zhou Dynasty was to keep everything in a fixed way and maintain an unchanging relationship, but after the population surged and the environment changed, this arrangement could no longer be maintained.The original no-man's land among countries no longer exists at this time, and conflicts between countries began after face-to-face contact.Diplomatic issues also affect internal affairs.The king of Zhou maintained his military strength by relying on his own territory. After losing this territory, the arbitration of the princes was rarely effective. What made the royal family even more embarrassed was that the tribute from various countries also ceased. But the whole process is not just recession and worse than before.Obviously, the fluidity of society first made it difficult to maintain the hierarchy among nobles, and then even the boundaries between nobles and ordinary people were broken.Production increased, copper coins became popular, and education became popular.Until the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, scholars who were born as commoners also traveled around the world, arguing among the princes, and especially in the Warring States period, an era known as "a hundred schools of thought contending" in history, various political philosophies emerged, both rich in content and rich in content. Items, hereafter 2,000 years of Chinese history, there is no such fine point.The so-called hundred schools of thought contending are actually only about 20 schools of thought.Besides Confucianism, the most notable ones are Taoism and Legalism.Taoism has no favor with secular authority, and believes that "sages never die, but robbers never stop".They believe in the unitary organization of the universe, are willing to return to primitive simplicity, and resist all kinds of measures that violate freedom, whether it is coercion or temptation.So Taoism tends to support pantheism, lyricism and anarchism.These trends of thought cannot save the turmoil of the politics of the day, but can only make sensible people retreat into hermits.Later, Taoism encouraged artists and poets with a direction of "going to nature".The extremely limited government they advocated also endowed the masses with awareness in many peasant rebellions, which became the purpose of their liberation.Legalists are very similar to the positivist jurists of the eighteenth century in Europe.They believe that the law expresses the will of the ruler and is not bound by custom or secular morality.However, Chinese Legalism unfolded at a time when the whole society needed to be united and solidified, so it inevitably left a very bad impression.Usually they support the dictators, taking rewards and punishments as the most important thing, and the laws in the eyes of these dictators are nothing more than military law and martial law. How should we account for the great chaos at the end of the Zhou Dynasty?How are we to explain this contradiction; on the one hand, there are those who are exhorting all princes and statesmen to be compassionate, like Hans Christian Anderson, while on the other hand, there are those who advocate that, as long as the purpose is pure, Not afraid of impure means, so that Machiavelli-style political realism was implemented, and books were burned and scholars were burned, and these deeds all happened a hundred years before Christ came to the world. If there is a single most important divergence between Chinese history and other cultures, it is the unification of the whole country by Qin Shihuang in 221 BC.With the end of the Bronze Age, the country immediately launched political unification. This early political maturity created an astonishing record, and established a tradition of centralization for thousands of years. It is said that when King Wu of Zhou crossed the Yellow River to destroy the Shang, 800 vassals of the Shang participated in his conquest.Although we have no way of proving that each is a tribal country, the number of them means that there must be a large number of independent units on that day.In the Spring and Autumn Period, records left the names of 170 countries.When the princes annexed each other, one of them, Chu, alone annexed 40 of the more than one hundred countries.As of the day of Mencius, only 12 countries can be drawn on the map, and only 7 of them can be actually counted.This kind of merger continued continuously until all the territories divided by feudalism in Zhou Dynasty were abolished. In the end, all the land was under the jurisdiction of one person, and the rule extended to a large part of the East Asian continent. During the 550 years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the way of warfare also changed a lot.In the Spring and Autumn Period, the number of troops was small, and the battle did not last a day, and they kept riding with demeanor during the battle.The belligerents acted according to rituals to make the fighting artistic, in line with the moral standards of the feudal era.By the time of the Warring States period, such a civilized style had disappeared, and the powerful country had the territory of today's European countries.Its ferocity in combat is no less than that of modern characters.By the end of the Warring States Period, nearly 500,000 soldiers from each side were engaged in battle, which is not uncommon.After the field battle, the city was surrounded, which could last for several months.There are several countries that have achieved mass mobilization.On at least one occasion, a monarch ordered all males over the age of 15 in the country to assemble in a major front-line town.The numbers of those killed and the cruelty inflicted on the captives of that time, whether boasted or not, are enough to make modern readers shudder.In such a bloody record, it is inevitable to doubt whether the peaceful character mentioned by many writers of the Chinese people is worthy of the name. The unification of China due to the Qin Dynasty is also a major event in world history.Nowhere else in the world has there been such a massive spiral of development, deepening and accelerating.Many background factors cannot be fully listed.But with the knowledge of modern science, we are confident that the main reasons can be summarized in the following chapters.From this we can also see why Yuzi's mediocre theory of advocating national compassion is enough to receive such enthusiastic support for such a long period of time.Yasheng and Shihuang, I am afraid that before they realized it themselves, certain objective factors had already linked their lives and careers together.