Chapter 39 Chapter Eight: Zhang Yi's Grand Plan

Meng Ke is a native of Zou, the disciple of Zisi, the grandson of Confucius, but in the Confucian society, his status is second only to Confucius, and he is called "sub-sage", just a little bit worse than a saint.The "Mencius", which records his words and deeds, is regarded as one of the four classics of Confucianism, and is as famous as "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean". There is a widely circulated story about Meng Ke's mother. Meng Ke lost his father since he was a child, and was raised by his mother alone.When they were young, their family lived next to the cemetery, and Meng Ke and the neighbor's children imitated how others knelt down and cried, and played funeral games.Seeing that something was wrong, his mother hurriedly moved and lived in the market.The market was full of businessmen, Meng Ke quickly learned to bargain, and played business games with the children.The status of businessmen was very low in that era.Meng Ke's mother didn't want him to become a businessman when he grew up, so he moved again and lived next to the slaughterhouse.As a result, Meng Ke tied up his turban, took a wooden knife, and gesticulated with the neighbor's children to kill pigs and sheep.His mother quit again, and moved for the third time, near the school.On the first day of every month, local officials come to the academy to pay respects and pay respects to each other.From then on, Meng Ke embarked on the right path, and learned that set of red tape etiquette perfectly.Only then did his mother say with satisfaction: "My son should live in such a place!" So she stopped moving.

This is the so-called "Meng's mother moved three times" story.When modern people talk about this story, on the one hand, they admit the rationality of choosing a neighbor to live in, and on the other hand, they also criticize the social prejudice that "everything is inferior, only reading is high".What I admire is that this old lady realized the value of housing in the school district more than 2,000 years ago, she really had the foresight! The most important academic thought of Meng Ke is "Theory of Good Nature".He believes that human nature is inherently good, just like water flowing downhill, it is an undisputed fact.Of course, facts that do not need to be disputed sometimes encounter rebutters.At this time, he gave an example: If you see a child about to fall into the well, you will definitely feel panic and sympathy, and you will hold him back without hesitation.This kind of psychology is not out of utilitarianism, but completely out of human nature, that is, "unbearable heart", or "compassion".

In addition to compassion, there are shame, humiliation, and the heart of right and wrong, collectively known as the "four ends", all of which are inherent virtues of human beings.If a person is shameless, it is not because of bad nature, but because he has abandoned his nature.Therefore, the cultivation of life is very simple, that is, to get back the original nature. In other words, don't lose yourself. According to "Historical Records", King Hui of Wei heard that Meng Ke was a great contemporary Confucian, and his attitude was very respectful. When they met, he asked modestly: "I have no talent or virtue, and I always fail in war. The prince was captured, the general died in battle, and the country's military affairs are very good." Emptiness, I am really ashamed of my ancestors; Sir, you have traveled a long distance and condescended to come to Wei State, what benefits will it bring to Wei State?

"Why do you have to talk about interests?" Meng Ke replied unceremoniously, "If you always think about interests, your officials will also think about interests, and your common people will also think about interests. This way up and down If the subordinates only care about interests, the country will be in danger. As a monarch, you only need to think about benevolence and righteousness, what interests are you talking about!" King Wei Hui blushed and was speechless. When they met for the second time, King Wei Hui asked Meng Ke again: "The widow is actually pretty good to the people. There is a famine in Hanoi, so I will move the people there to the east of the river, and use the grain from the east to help the victims. There are people in the east of the river. The famine also takes such measures. I am afraid that the monarchs of other countries are not as diligent as I am! But the people of other countries do not decrease, and the people of Wei do not increase. Why is this?"

Meng Ke said: "Your Majesty likes war. Let me use war as a metaphor. When the east wind blows and the drums beat, as soon as the weapons of the two sides come into contact, some soldiers take off their armor and turn around to flee. Some run a hundred paces. They just stopped, and some stopped after fifty steps. Those who ran fifty steps and those who ran a hundred are cowards, do you think it’s okay?" King Wei Hui said: "Fifty steps is also an escape, so why laugh at a hundred steps?" Meng Ke cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, you got the answer right. Since you understand this truth, you shouldn't expect Wei to have more people than other countries."

Meng Ke told King Wei Hui that in a country, if the military service is not too large to hinder agricultural production, there will be more than enough food; Cut down trees, and there will be no wood to use up.There is endless food, fish and turtles that can't be caught, and trees that can't be cut down, and the common people have nothing to dissatisfy. This is the beginning of the so-called "kingly way".This is actually the embodiment of Meng Ke's theory of good nature in politics - no special means or superb skills are needed, as long as the country is governed according to the laws of things themselves, the people can be satisfied.

Meng Ke went on to say that each family will be allocated five acres of homestead, and mulberry trees will be planted in front of and behind the house, so that people over 50 years old can wear silk.Everyone is encouraged to raise poultry and livestock, and people over the age of seventy can eat meat.Each family has 100 acres of arable land, and if the government doesn't have to go to trouble, no one will go hungry.If these things are done well, and then the schools are run well, and the common people are educated with the principles of filial piety to parents and elder brothers, then there will be no phenomenon of old people being displaced.In short, let the common people live and work in peace and contentment, without tossing about, it is the paradise of kingship.

Speaking of this, Meng Ke changed the subject: "But in the current state of Wei, the pigs and dogs of the rich and noble families eat the food of the people, but they don't restrain them; people starve to death on the road, but they don't open the warehouse to release the food. Those in power He also said that this is not my fault, but that the year is not good due to natural disasters! Listen, this kind of statement is the same as those who killed people with a knife, but said, "I didn't kill it, but the knife killed it", What is the difference? Let me tell you the truth, the famine in Hedong and the famine in Hanoi are not natural disasters, but man-made disasters. As the king of a country, when will you learn not to shirk your responsibilities, the people of the world will help the old and the young to defect to Wei State! "

Meng Ke's meaning is very clear, as the leader of the country, he must take responsibility.When something goes wrong, you must first find the cause in yourself, don't talk about it, talk about natural disasters for a while, and talk about bad neighbors demanding debts for a while.Don't take disasters as achievements, and keep putting gold on your face. King Wei Hui was not bad, and he was not angry when he was poked by Meng Ke. Instead, he said happily, "Please don't hesitate to teach me." Meng Ke then asked, "Is there any difference between killing with a stick and killing with a knife?"

King Wei Hui said, "No." Meng Ke asked again: "Then, is there any difference between killing people with a knife and killing people with political means?" King Hui Hui of Wei said, "No, it's all murder." "Then, with all due respect, you have fat in your kitchens, good horses in your stables, but poor faces in your people, and starving people everywhere in the fields. You are eating people with wild beasts! Wild beasts kill each other, People are disgusting, but you, as the parents of the people, hold the power of life and death, and you still do things that cannibalize people, don’t you feel guilty? People are the most precious thing in this world. Confucius said, "The one who caused the evil, It has no descendants?" Because the image of figurines resembles real people, it is considered a great crime to use them for burial. How can you let the people starve to death alive?"

Later generations believed that Meng Ke's words contained a strong humanistic thought.After hearing this, King Wei Hui was silent for a long time. He didn't dare to respond, so he could only change the subject and said: "I think back then, Wei State was the strongest country in the world. But now, the east was defeated by Qi State, the prince was captured; the west was lost. The land of more than 700 miles west of Hexi was ceded to Qin State; the south was invaded by Chu State and lost eight cities. I feel very ashamed for this, and hope to avenge the death of the soldiers. What do you think I should do? " But Meng Ke was not fooled by him, and continued to stick to the theme: "Even a country with a radius of a hundred miles can implement the kingly way. If you implement benevolent government for the people, reduce taxes, reduce penalties, strengthen agricultural production, and advocate respecting the old and loving the young , then, even with a wooden stick, you can compete with the heavily armed Qin and Chu armies. A benevolent government is invincible in the world, please don't hesitate." After many conversations, King Wei Hui respected Meng Ke more and more.Compared with Zou Yan's yin and yang theory, Meng Ke's theory is simple and easy to understand, and is very down-to-earth; compared with Chunyu Kun's witty humor, Meng Ke is better at using simple metaphors to explain big issues, and draws inferences from one instance to other cases, which is thought-provoking. One day, King Hui of Wei invited Meng Ke to play in Liangyu. Liangyu is located in the northwest suburb of Daliang.King Wei Hui looked at the elk in the forest and the swan geese flying across the sky, and suddenly asked, "Did the sages of ancient times like these too?" Meng Ke said: "I like it, but I don't think these entertainments are very important. Even if the faint king builds these gardens, he won't get any fun from them." "why would you say so?" "When King Wen of Zhou wanted to build a garden, the common people actively participated in it, and they called the built tower the Lingtai and the pond the Lingmao. I was very happy to see that there were elk, fish and turtles raised there. Why? Because King Wen of Zhou always had fun with the people. , everyone wants him to be happy. As for Xia Jie, although he compares himself to the sun, the common people want to die with him, even with these pavilions, can he enjoy it?" In Meng Ke's political philosophy, "sharing joy" is a very important concept (about this point, I will talk about it later).For this chaotic world, he always maintains a detached optimistic attitude, propping up a wing of pre-Qin Confucian idealism.He stayed in Wei State for less than a year before leaving, the specific reason is unknown.But according to my speculation, Meng Ke's departure may be related to the changes in Wei's political situation. Because in 322 BC, Zhang Yi came to the state of Wei.