There are many records of people-oriented thoughts in the early literary, political, historical and philosophical documents of the Zhou Dynasty, such as the Book of Songs, Book of Songs, Spring and Autumn Annals, and Zhou Yi.

　　1

　　The ancient Chinese people-oriented thought sprouted in the three ancient dynasties and gradually took shape in the early years of Western Zhou , and Eastern Zhou became a grand view. There are many records of the people-oriented thought in the early literary, political, historical and philosophical documents of the Zhou Dynasty , Book of Songs, Shangshu , Spring and Autumn, and Zhouyi. Although the words and deeds of the sage kings of the Tang, Yu, Xia and Shang included in it may not be consistent with real history, it at least reflects the memory of ancient history in the Zhou Dynasty. The statement recorded in "Shangshu·Shushu·Song of the Five Sons" clearly expresses the concept of people-oriented. Similarly, in the records of Yao and Shun, Gao Yao , and Dayu in the Book of Documents, there are ideas of "the people who are advised and able to be able to be polite", "benefit the people, and be kind to the people," and "virtue is only good governance, and government is to support the people" and other ideas of "peace and wisdom are the ones who are good at governing the people, and the people are to support the people". This shows that in the Zhou people's view of history, the ancient sage kings ruled the world with virtue and were all based on the people. The ancient people-oriented idea was a religious theological color. "Heaven is smart, and the people are smart; heaven is wise and fearful, and the people are wise and powerful." This is the concept of unity between man and nature in ancient China, and is reflected in the people-oriented thought. It can be said that the concept that the hearts of the people are the way of heaven has been continuing for nearly three thousand years from the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Whether it was in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period when "rituals and music collapsed", or the Ming and Qing dynasties when "the sky collapsed and the earth collapsed", this core concept of the people-oriented thought was weakened in the era of ideological and cultural transformation, although it was affected and weakened, it was continuously passed on. It was not until modern Western learning spread to the east, and the enlightenment concepts such as freedom, equality, democracy, and human rights entered China's ideological and academic circles that the structure and foundation of China's traditional people-oriented thought were deconstructed and reconstructed.

　　In the late Spring and Autumn Period, official schools were out of style, and private schools rose, facing the chaotic world where school law disintegration and rituals and music collapsed. Various schools of thought made statements to express their thoughts on saving the world. Among them, the most influential schools of Confucianism, Taoism, Mo and Dharma have inherited and carried forward the traditional people-oriented thought. Because "the emperor has no relatives, only virtue is the auxiliary", "people do not have water supervision, but people should be supervised." Respect for heaven and love for the people are mutually complementary and united. Confucian advocates sages inside and outside kings, and requires the king to implement benevolent politics and moral governance, and pay attention to people's livelihood and education. The Analects of Confucius records: "Zi is in the Wei Dynasty, and Ran has . The master said, "How is it so common!" Ran You said, "Since you are in the ordinary, why should you add it?" He said, "It's rich." He said, "What is it so rich?" He said, "How is it so rich?" He said, "Teaching it." " Confucius both pay attention to the survival of the people and attaches importance to the moral education of the people. "Enough food, sufficient soldiers, and the people believe it." In his opinion, "Hong Kong, Guan Zhong, prefect Duke Huan, dominates the princes and reigns the world, and the people are now rewarded." Although Guan Zhong helped Duke Huan to dominate and command the princes to command the princes, it was not the kingly way. But after all, "the nine combinations of princes will not be used for military affairs", which maintains the patriarchal ritual system, prevents the barbarians from turning into Xia, makes people's lives relatively stable, and Chinese culture can be passed on. Confucius's proposition to enrich the people has a tendency to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor: "Don't worry about the few but the uneven, doesn't worry about the poor but the uneasy, . There is no poverty, no peace and no weakness, and no stability." Oppose strict punishment and harsh laws, and advocate moral governance and education: "Tao it with politics, general punishment, and people are exempted from shameless. Tao it with virtue, general courtesy, and shamefulness." In summary, it is to make people live a stable and prosperous life, and have a spirit of satisfaction and joy. It should be said that Confucius' ideal of governing the world was to be well-off, not to be harmonious. For him, self-restraint and re-rituals are already valuable. To make the world benevolent, even Yao and Shun "although they are sick of everything."

　　2

　　Mencius inherited Confucius' idea of ​​enriching the people and teaching the people. In terms of enriching the people, he proposed: "A wise ruler controls the property of the people, and must make it more frequent to serve parents, and be more likely to be full in a lifetime, and avoid death in a bad year; then drive it to good, so the people follow it lightly." Warring States Compared with the Spring and Autumn Period, wars were more frequent, and Mencius only asked the people to have a living of food and clothing. He believes that only by achieving "settled living" can the people "work happily". That is, "Those who have no constant property but are persistent will be capable of being a scholar." The common people are villains, and scholars are gentlemen. As Confucius said, "A gentleman is poor, but a villain is poor and overflows."Mencius's view is in line with Confucius. He truly believes that human nature is good, that is, " is similar to ", but because of "distance with each other", to cultivate a gentleman's personality and a husband's character, one needs to "be careful of the teachings of itchy preface and apply it to the righteousness of filial piety and brotherhood." And before education, one must be rich first. Therefore, he often persuades the king: "Happy years are painful for life, and he will not be able to die in bad years; this is only to save death but not to support it, so why do you have time to govern etiquette and righteousness! "And a specific plan is proposed: "If a house with five acres is treed with mulberry trees, fifty people can wear silk; if a livestock with chickens, pigs, dogs, pigs, pigs, and pigs, there will be no loss of time, and if a person with seventy people can eat meat; if a family of a hundred acres is not taken away at this time, the family of eight people can be hungry. "

　　Mencius placed the responsibility and hope of enriching the people and teaching the people on the ruling people. Only when those who are superiors set an example can they achieve the best and the lower ones. "The foundation of the world lies in the country, the foundation of the country lies in the home, and the foundation of the family lies in the body. "In a patriarchal society, the family and the country are integrated, and the officials are responsible for the family, the princes govern the country, and the emperor is pacifying the world. The king is like parents, and the people are like children. Raising and nurturing children is the responsibility of parents. Therefore, the responsibilities of kings and princes are heavy, and the power of role models is huge. "The king is kind, and the king is kind; the king is righteous, and the king is righteous. Once the king is correct, the country will be settled. "This kind of benevolent and moral governance idea that is superior to the top and inferior to the bottom is inherited from Confucius and Mencius. Confucius said: "Who is the best for the people, and who is not enough for the king? If the people are not enough, who is enough? "Mencius pushed it to a new height: " The people are the most important, the country is the next, and the king is the least important. "The reason why he made such a value judgment was based on the historical experience of the rise and fall of the princes in the Warring States Period. It provided a strong theoretical basis for the implementation of benevolent government: "The emperor is not kind, and he will not protect the world; the princes are not kind, and he will not protect the country; the officials are not kind, and he will not protect the ancestral temple; the scholars and common people are not kind, and he will not protect the four bodies. ”

　　Confucius once put forward specific policy requirements for the rulers: "Respect things and customs, behave in etiquette and use in peace and in love with others, so that the people can meet the times. "Only the ruling emperors, princes, doctors and other adults who follow the requirements and standards of gentlemen can achieve governance of the country and pacify the world." There are four ways for gentlemen: they are respectful to their own actions, respect their affairs, and benevolent to their people, and righteous to their people. "Cultivating oneself is the path of inner sages, and governing the country is the way to external kings. Therefore, Confucianism's proposal of moral governance and benevolent politics is a typical "man rule" model. However, what should I do if the officials and princes are unwilling to be sincere and upright, and do not practice the way of gentlemen to cultivate oneself? Mencius came from "this is the reason why he got the story of the emperor, and the emperor is the princes, and the princes are the officials. If the princes invade the country, they will be changed. After sacrifice, the prosperity and purity are achieved, and sacrifices are made at the right time. However, the drought and dry water overflows, the country will be transformed" is deduced, believing that the ruler and ministers have their own ways, do their own ways, and get their own places. "If you want to be a king, you will do your best; if you want to be a minister, you will do your best. "For a monarch without morality, the minister does not need to be loyal to him." The king regards his ministers as earth, and the minister regards his king as a enemy. "In history, the King Wu defeated Zhou is the most obvious example. Because King Zhou is unrighteous and the remnants abuse the people, so the ministers with righteousness can practice the way for heaven, save the people's water and fire, attack the tyrant kings, and kill the people's thieves. Mencius said: "The thieves are kind and are called thieves, the thieves are righteous and are called traitors, and the thieves are called traitors. The thieves are called traitors. The thieves are called traitors. The thieves are called traitors. I heard that I had killed a man Zhou, but I never heard of killing a monarch. "Mencius's people value the king and the people's hearts representing the will of heaven are placed above the monarch and royal power, providing the Taoist basis for later Confucians to criticize tyrants and transcend political traditions. It was the peak of the development of Confucian people-oriented thought in the pre-Qin era.

　　3

　　At the end of the Warring States Period, although Confucian and Mohism were called and , Taoist and The influence of Legalism cannot be ignored. Xunzi , as the last master of Confucianism in the pre-Qin period, inherited Confucius and Mencius from the top and Han Dong from the bottom. It not only promoted the Confucianism theory , but also opened up a path for the combination of Confucianism and Law. Xunzi inherited Confucius and Mencius' "theory of enriching the people and being equal" and "the theory of self-cultivation and governance of the country", and proposed that "the fields are deserted and the granaries are full, the people are empty and the treasury is full, which is called the country's downfall. "He" The punishment and the people will return it to the peace, and the etiquette and morality will be well prepared, and the gentleman will return it to the peace. Therefore, if you practice rituals and practice in the body, your righteousness and the country will be clear, and if you can use rituals and your reputation will be noble, the world will be willing to do the orders and prohibitions, and the king's affairs will be completed.

　　1

　　The ancient Chinese people-oriented thought sprouted in the three ancient dynasties and gradually took shape in the early years of Western Zhou , and Eastern Zhou became a grand view. There are many records of the people-oriented thought in the early literary, political, historical and philosophical documents of the Zhou Dynasty , Book of Songs, Shangshu , Spring and Autumn, and Zhouyi. Although the words and deeds of the sage kings of the Tang, Yu, Xia and Shang included in it may not be consistent with real history, it at least reflects the memory of ancient history in the Zhou Dynasty. The statement recorded in "Shangshu·Shushu·Song of the Five Sons" clearly expresses the concept of people-oriented. Similarly, in the records of Yao and Shun, Gao Yao , and Dayu in the Book of Documents, there are ideas of "the people who are advised and able to be able to be polite", "benefit the people, and be kind to the people," and "virtue is only good governance, and government is to support the people" and other ideas of "peace and wisdom are the ones who are good at governing the people, and the people are to support the people". This shows that in the Zhou people's view of history, the ancient sage kings ruled the world with virtue and were all based on the people. The ancient people-oriented idea was a religious theological color. "Heaven is smart, and the people are smart; heaven is wise and fearful, and the people are wise and powerful." This is the concept of unity between man and nature in ancient China, and is reflected in the people-oriented thought. It can be said that the concept that the hearts of the people are the way of heaven has been continuing for nearly three thousand years from the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Whether it was in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period when "rituals and music collapsed", or the Ming and Qing dynasties when "the sky collapsed and the earth collapsed", this core concept of the people-oriented thought was weakened in the era of ideological and cultural transformation, although it was affected and weakened, it was continuously passed on. It was not until modern Western learning spread to the east, and the enlightenment concepts such as freedom, equality, democracy, and human rights entered China's ideological and academic circles that the structure and foundation of China's traditional people-oriented thought were deconstructed and reconstructed.

　　In the late Spring and Autumn Period, official schools were out of style, and private schools rose, facing the chaotic world where school law disintegration and rituals and music collapsed. Various schools of thought made statements to express their thoughts on saving the world. Among them, the most influential schools of Confucianism, Taoism, Mo and Dharma have inherited and carried forward the traditional people-oriented thought. Because "the emperor has no relatives, only virtue is the auxiliary", "people do not have water supervision, but people should be supervised." Respect for heaven and love for the people are mutually complementary and united. Confucian advocates sages inside and outside kings, and requires the king to implement benevolent politics and moral governance, and pay attention to people's livelihood and education. The Analects of Confucius records: "Zi is in the Wei Dynasty, and Ran has . The master said, "How is it so common!" Ran You said, "Since you are in the ordinary, why should you add it?" He said, "It's rich." He said, "What is it so rich?" He said, "How is it so rich?" He said, "Teaching it." " Confucius both pay attention to the survival of the people and attaches importance to the moral education of the people. "Enough food, sufficient soldiers, and the people believe it." In his opinion, "Hong Kong, Guan Zhong, prefect Duke Huan, dominates the princes and reigns the world, and the people are now rewarded." Although Guan Zhong helped Duke Huan to dominate and command the princes to command the princes, it was not the kingly way. But after all, "the nine combinations of princes will not be used for military affairs", which maintains the patriarchal ritual system, prevents the barbarians from turning into Xia, makes people's lives relatively stable, and Chinese culture can be passed on. Confucius's proposition to enrich the people has a tendency to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor: "Don't worry about the few but the uneven, doesn't worry about the poor but the uneasy, . There is no poverty, no peace and no weakness, and no stability." Oppose strict punishment and harsh laws, and advocate moral governance and education: "Tao it with politics, general punishment, and people are exempted from shameless. Tao it with virtue, general courtesy, and shamefulness." In summary, it is to make people live a stable and prosperous life, and have a spirit of satisfaction and joy. It should be said that Confucius' ideal of governing the world was to be well-off, not to be harmonious. For him, self-restraint and re-rituals are already valuable. To make the world benevolent, even Yao and Shun "although they are sick of everything."

　　2

　　Mencius inherited Confucius' idea of ​​enriching the people and teaching the people. In terms of enriching the people, he proposed: "A wise ruler controls the property of the people, and must make it more frequent to serve parents, and be more likely to be full in a lifetime, and avoid death in a bad year; then drive it to good, so the people follow it lightly." Warring States Compared with the Spring and Autumn Period, wars were more frequent, and Mencius only asked the people to have a living of food and clothing. He believes that only by achieving "settled living" can the people "work happily". That is, "Those who have no constant property but are persistent will be capable of being a scholar." The common people are villains, and scholars are gentlemen. As Confucius said, "A gentleman is poor, but a villain is poor and overflows."Mencius's view is in line with Confucius. He truly believes that human nature is good, that is, " is similar to ", but because of "distance with each other", to cultivate a gentleman's personality and a husband's character, one needs to "be careful of the teachings of itchy preface and apply it to the righteousness of filial piety and brotherhood." And before education, one must be rich first. Therefore, he often persuades the king: "Happy years are painful for life, and he will not be able to die in bad years; this is only to save death but not to support it, so why do you have time to govern etiquette and righteousness! "And a specific plan is proposed: "If a house with five acres is treed with mulberry trees, fifty people can wear silk; if a livestock with chickens, pigs, dogs, pigs, pigs, and pigs, there will be no loss of time, and if a person with seventy people can eat meat; if a family of a hundred acres is not taken away at this time, the family of eight people can be hungry. "

　　Mencius placed the responsibility and hope of enriching the people and teaching the people on the ruling people. Only when those who are superiors set an example can they achieve the best and the lower ones. "The foundation of the world lies in the country, the foundation of the country lies in the home, and the foundation of the family lies in the body. "In a patriarchal society, the family and the country are integrated, and the officials are responsible for the family, the princes govern the country, and the emperor is pacifying the world. The king is like parents, and the people are like children. Raising and nurturing children is the responsibility of parents. Therefore, the responsibilities of kings and princes are heavy, and the power of role models is huge. "The king is kind, and the king is kind; the king is righteous, and the king is righteous. Once the king is correct, the country will be settled. "This kind of benevolent and moral governance idea that is superior to the top and inferior to the bottom is inherited from Confucius and Mencius. Confucius said: "Who is the best for the people, and who is not enough for the king? If the people are not enough, who is enough? "Mencius pushed it to a new height: " The people are the most important, the country is the next, and the king is the least important. "The reason why he made such a value judgment was based on the historical experience of the rise and fall of the princes in the Warring States Period. It provided a strong theoretical basis for the implementation of benevolent government: "The emperor is not kind, and he will not protect the world; the princes are not kind, and he will not protect the country; the officials are not kind, and he will not protect the ancestral temple; the scholars and common people are not kind, and he will not protect the four bodies. ”

　　Confucius once put forward specific policy requirements for the rulers: "Respect things and customs, behave in etiquette and use in peace and in love with others, so that the people can meet the times. "Only the ruling emperors, princes, doctors and other adults who follow the requirements and standards of gentlemen can achieve governance of the country and pacify the world." There are four ways for gentlemen: they are respectful to their own actions, respect their affairs, and benevolent to their people, and righteous to their people. "Cultivating oneself is the path of inner sages, and governing the country is the way to external kings. Therefore, Confucianism's proposal of moral governance and benevolent politics is a typical "man rule" model. However, what should I do if the officials and princes are unwilling to be sincere and upright, and do not practice the way of gentlemen to cultivate oneself? Mencius came from "this is the reason why he got the story of the emperor, and the emperor is the princes, and the princes are the officials. If the princes invade the country, they will be changed. After sacrifice, the prosperity and purity are achieved, and sacrifices are made at the right time. However, the drought and dry water overflows, the country will be transformed" is deduced, believing that the ruler and ministers have their own ways, do their own ways, and get their own places. "If you want to be a king, you will do your best; if you want to be a minister, you will do your best. "For a monarch without morality, the minister does not need to be loyal to him." The king regards his ministers as earth, and the minister regards his king as a enemy. "In history, the King Wu defeated Zhou is the most obvious example. Because King Zhou is unrighteous and the remnants abuse the people, so the ministers with righteousness can practice the way for heaven, save the people's water and fire, attack the tyrant kings, and kill the people's thieves. Mencius said: "The thieves are kind and are called thieves, the thieves are righteous and are called traitors, and the thieves are called traitors. The thieves are called traitors. The thieves are called traitors. The thieves are called traitors. I heard that I had killed a man Zhou, but I never heard of killing a monarch. "Mencius's people value the king and the people's hearts representing the will of heaven are placed above the monarch and royal power, providing the Taoist basis for later Confucians to criticize tyrants and transcend political traditions. It was the peak of the development of Confucian people-oriented thought in the pre-Qin era.

　　3

　　At the end of the Warring States Period, although Confucian and Mohism were called and , Taoist and The influence of Legalism cannot be ignored. Xunzi , as the last master of Confucianism in the pre-Qin period, inherited Confucius and Mencius from the top and Han Dong from the bottom. It not only promoted the Confucianism theory , but also opened up a path for the combination of Confucianism and Law. Xunzi inherited Confucius and Mencius' "theory of enriching the people and being equal" and "the theory of self-cultivation and governance of the country", and proposed that "the fields are deserted and the granaries are full, the people are empty and the treasury is full, which is called the country's downfall. "He" The punishment and the people will return it to the peace, and the etiquette and morality will be well prepared, and the gentleman will return it to the peace. Therefore, if you practice rituals and practice in the body, your righteousness and the country will be clear, and if you can use rituals and your reputation will be noble, the world will be willing to do the orders and prohibitions, and the king's affairs will be completed."From the theory of evil nature, Xunzi paid more attention to the normative and restraining effect of etiquette on people than Confucius and Mencius. That is, "In ancient times, the sage kings regarded human nature as evil, and thought it was dangerous but not right, and was unruly and unruly. Therefore, they formed etiquette and righteousness and ruled laws, and used them to pretend to behave and correct people's emotions and nature, and guided them to disturb people's emotions and nature. All the envoys come from governance and in accordance with the Tao. "

　　Similarly, Xunzi insisted on the distinction between a gentleman and a villain in Confucianism, and adopted different ways of treating people who govern people and those who govern people. He started from the concept of "a gentleman uses virtue, and a villain has his strength, and strength is the battle of virtue" and implemented the strategy of "from the above, the scholars must be polite and music, and the common people must be dictated by laws and regulations". This is a clear manifestation of the Confucian concept of "rituals cannot be given to common people, and punishment cannot be given to officials". However, Xunzi's division of gentlemen and villains was separated from the old norms of the noble and humble standards of the hierarchy and wealth of the clan and ritual system when the patriarchal ritual system was severely damaged, and had a new standard for division of high and low fortune. That is, "Although the descendants of kings, princes and officials cannot belong to etiquette and morality, they belong to common people. Even if the descendants of ordinary people accumulate literature and do the right thing, they can belong to etiquette and righteousness, then they will be the ministers, scholars and officials. "It advocates a competitive mechanism for the wise to be promoted: "No virtue is not noble, no authority is not official, no merit is not rewarded, no guilt is not punished. "It should be said that this is a denial of the old aristocracy that fell at that time, and an affirmation of the new aristocracy who was able to rise to power.

　 Xunzi's people-oriented thought is also concentrated in the metaphor of "the king's boat, the people's water". That is, "The king is the boat; the common people are water; water carries the boat, and water covers the boat. "On the one hand, he recognized the title of the king, and on the other hand, he emphasized that he established the king as the people. That is, "Heaven's birth to the people is not the king. The heaven establishes a king to serve the people. "However, in terms of the relationship between the monarch and the people, Xunzi still upholds the concept of the unity of the family and the country, the monarch and the people, father and son. "The monarch is the prosperity of the country. Father is the prosperity of the family. One is the only way to control it, and the other is the most difficult. "This provides a theoretical basis for the future idea of ​​respecting the king and unifying the king. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining the king's power to unity and stability: "The emperor is supreme in power and invincible in the world. To the south, listen to the world, and all the people's systems are vibrated and obeyed to follow it. At the end of the Warring States Period, unification became the general trend, and ending wars and achieving peace is just around the corner. Xunzi's idea of ​​respecting the king is a reflection of the times. "Now we should try to remove the power of the king, without the transformation of courtesy and righteousness, without the rule of justice, without the prohibition of punishment, and rely on the people of the world to observe the mutual agreement between the people of the world; if so, the strong will harm the weak and take it away, the many will be violent and few will be criticized, and the world will be disobeyed and destroyed, and the world will be disobeyed and unrest. "However, if the power of the monarch is expanded and there is no restraint, what should we do?" Those who practice etiquette will be kings, those who govern will be strong, those who seek the people will be at peace, and those who gather will perish. ( Xunzi·The King's System )"From the view of heavenly way of "heaven moves to be permanent" and the people-oriented theory of "the king's boat and the people's water", Xunzi believes that if a king cannot implement good governance of the king's way, then what awaits him will be a disaster. That is, "heaven moves to be permanent, and will not survive for Yao, nor will it perish for Jie." If you respond to it with governance, it will be auspicious; if you respond to it with chaos, it will be auspicious. ”

　　From Confucius, Mencius to Xunzi, Confucian people-oriented theory emphasizes "the people value the king and the king are light" and "the king is boated and the people are water", requiring the superior rulers to achieve the contribution of the foreign king to manage the family and govern the country with the inner sage work of sincerity. They enrich the people in society and people's livelihood, and teach and transform them in spiritual and cultural aspects. Because Confucianism focuses on the distinction between gentlemen and villains, regards the king as a father, and the people as sons, and requires the king and father to set an example and example for the people. As Xunzi said: "A sage is the one who has fulfilled his responsibilities; a king is the one who has completed his responsibilities; and a two-way person is enough to be the world's greatest. Therefore, scholars take the sage king as their teacher, and take the sage king as their law, and use the law to seek the generality of the law, so as to ensure that the image is effective. "Therefore, there is a clear distinction between the monarch's parents and the resentful thieves of the people. "The world returns to it is called king, and the world goes away is called death. Therefore, Jie and Zhou had no world and Tang and Wu did not kill the monarch, which was what they did. Tang and Wu are the parents of the people; Jie and Zhou are the enemies of the people. "

　　In the view of Confucianism, since heaven has established the king as the people, and the king is "slower and weaker", the people can support a wise new king to replace him. "The minister may kill his king, or kill his superiors, and porridge his city, and do not die. There is no other reason for this, and the ruler will take it upon himself. "After Qin unified the six kingdoms, he used Legalism as a guide to implement severe punishment and ruthless laws, and burned books and buryed scholars. Although he tried to be forever.But it passed down and died in the second lifetime. Later, the dynasties that inherited the Qin and Han dynasties were long or short, and their rise and fall, confirmed Xunzi's theory of "the king's boat, the people's water". However, in the face of the lessons of history, rulers of all generations did not agree with the idea of ​​"the people are more important than the king", but instead harmed the people and repeated the same mistakes. In order to consolidate and continue the rule, later dynasties continued to strengthen the monarchy, while Confucian scholars and officials continued to emphasize preservation and extermination of desires. The expansion of the monarchy's power and the demands of benevolent government seem to have grown in a positive proportion in history. But the reality is that the more respectful the king and the less humble the people. The Confucian theory of people-oriented is characterized by "cultivating oneself and governing the country" and "enriching the people and educating them". The ideal relationship between the monarch and the people is "the superior is like protecting a child; the inferior regards the superior as he likes his parents." But in fact, the monarch who holds absolute power does not agree with the theory and facts of "the people are more valuable than the king" at all, but only implements some measures to nourish and benefit the people in the face of the reality and power of "the king is more important than the people." Because the Confucianism's main body of cultivating and governing is the monarch, and the target is the people. For autocratic monarchs, only flexible means such as moral persuasion and celestial warning are adopted, and rigid measures are lacking in institutional constraints and rule of law norms. Therefore, after the loyalty of "virtual death advice", there is no more power to turn the world back.

　　4

　　 Emperor Wu of Han accepted the suggestion of Dong Zhongshu "destroying all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", absorbed theories such as Taoism, Legalism, Mohist , Yin-Yang during the Qin and Han dynasties. Confucian "art" with the color of Miscellaneous has become the dominant idea of ​​politics, religion and ethics in China in the past two thousand years, and Confucian people-oriented theory has also become the people-oriented idea that dominated the imperial era. Generally speaking, the Confucian theory of the Han and Tang dynasties and the Confucian people-oriented theory of the Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism era did not go beyond the scope of the pre-Qin era. It was only in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties that a new breakthrough was made. Of course, this has a lot to do with the development of commodity economy in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the prosperity of civil society, the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures, and the cultural reflection of the survivors in the early Qing and late Ming dynasties. It is mainly reflected in the remarks and works of early enlightenment thinkers such as Li Zhi , Huang Zongxi , Wang Fuzhi , Gu Yanwu . In terms of viewing the cart before the horse, viewing the righteousness and profit, viewing the monarch and the people, the difference between it and the classic Confucianism is shown. In " Mingyi Waiwenlu ", Huang Zongxi clearly put forward the view that both industry and commerce are the basis. "The Confucian scholars in the world do not observe it, and regard industry and commerce as the end, and recklessly discuss it. Those who work hard to come from the sage king, and those who make their wishes come from the way are probably the basis." Wang Fuzhi wrote in "Huang Shu·Da Zheng Pian": "Therefore, great businessmen and people are the responsibility of the country." In terms of righteousness and profit, Gu Yanwu believed that "people have selfishness, but their feelings cannot be avoided." Huang Zongxi also said: "At the beginning of life, people are selfish, and people are beneficial to each other." In terms of attitude towards the development of industry and commerce, these thinkers in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties fully affirmed the commercial trade behaviors that have been regarded as "the end" for thousands of years. This is the embodiment of the development of the commodity economy, which prompted the thinkers at the forefront of the times to correct their reputation.

　　Agricultural culture is the foundation of the patriarchal system, and emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce is the embodiment of its economic view. The regional dispersion and family dependence of the self-sufficiency small peasant economy have become the social basis for centralization and monarchy. Among the pre-Qin schools, the tendency to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce was common, especially the Legalists had the strongest demands on this. Because commodity exchange will inevitably break the closed barriers of self-sufficiency and clan dependence, and promote the emergence of concepts such as autonomy, independence, equality, and justice, which will have a serious impact on social hierarchical order and patriarchal ethics. As Marx pointed out in " Criticism of Political Economy ": "Equality and freedom are not only respected in exchange-based exchange, but also the exchange of exchange value is the real basis for the production of all equality and freedom." Focusing on righteousness and neglecting profit, preserving reason and eliminating desire are the orthodox mainstream ideology of the patriarchal hierarchical ethics society, while the Mohist concept of consistency between justice and profit was only a flash in the pan in the pre-Qin period and did not become a general consensus.

　　With Mencius and Zhu Xi , human nature is good and the principles of heaven are selfless. Li Zhi believes: "Privacy is the heart of a man. People must have selfishness, and then their hearts will be seen; if they are selfless, they will have no mind."This is a bold denial of Neo-Confucianism's theory of mind and nature. On this basis, he put forward the view of justice and profit. "If you want justice, you are profitable. If you don’t seek profit, you can’t be right. "It has similarities with the Mohist view of justice and profit, which can be said to be "justice is to seek profit." Gu Yanwu said: "In ancient times, people never dared to talk about money. Those who hate profit will definitely harm the people. "He inherited the traditional Confucian idea of ​​establishing a king for the people, but he also developed it: "A king who establishes a king for the people is the same as the monarch, the minister, the officials, the scholars and the common people, not food without any trouble. Therefore, if you know the righteousness of the emperor, you dare not take self-esteem with the people; if you know the meaning of wealth instead of farming, you dare not take full advantage of the people to serve yourself. "The king was demoted from a single-righteous position to an ordinary minister. He also regarded both the king and the ministers as those established by the people. His duty was to "cultivate on behalf of others". Therefore, the relationship between the king and the minister is only the difference between rank and position. The king is not very respectful and the ministers are not very humble, that is, "those who protect the country will be the king and the ministers, and those who eat meat will plan it." "Huang Zongxi also said: "The king and his minister are different in name but the reality is the same. "He believed that the ruler and his subjects only had different division of labor and responsibilities: "The world is so great that one person can govern, but it is divided and governed by a group of workers. "

　　In the view of Enlightenment thinkers in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the monarchs of the "public world" era, which had more than three generations, were essentially different from those of the "family world" kings after three generations. Wang Fuzhi believed that the dynasties after three generations were "all dynasties with one person and one surname", "and the monarchs who insulted others were often more than those below the three generations. "The so-called "family world" is the "private world" of one person and one surname. In Wang Fuzhi's view, the reason why a dynasty with one person and one surname does not rule for a long time is due to its personal nature. "If a country does not last long, it is not just that it is just. The reason why Qin was punished for all generations was just a private person. "Huang Zongxi also pointed out that his interests lie in: "Those who are in the world dare not be selfish or self-interested, and regard our great selfishness as the great master of the world. "The autocratic monarch resigns the world to private ownership," and regards the world as a great property, and passes it on to its descendants, enjoying endlessly. "He profoundly pointed out the harm of an autocratic monarch: "In ancient times, the world was the main force, and the king was the guest. Anyone who managed the world through the world was the world. Now, the king is the master, the world is the guest, and any one who has no land and can get peace in the world is the king. Therefore, it has not been obtained, poisoning the world's liver and brain, and separating the world's children to gain my own property. It has never been miserable! He said, "I am starting a business for my descendants." After he got it, he cut off the bone marrow of the world and separated the children of the world, and regarded it as a matter of course to serve me alone in lust and pleasure, saying, "This is the flower of my industry." However, the one who is the greatest harm to the world is just a king. "

　 Although Huang Zongxi realized the harm of monarchy, he did not deny the system itself. Instead, he proposed improved measures to allocate the monopoly power to the prime minister and . The political affairs of . This is to address the background of "there is no good governance when there is wisdom, starting from the high emperor's dismissal of the prime minister", . The monarch's centralization of power strengthens the autocracy. However, after the Qing Dynasty, the imperial power and autocracy were strengthened again, indicating that as long as the imperial system exists, monarchs of all dynasties could only continue to centralize power, rather than delegate power. In addition to realizing decentralization, Huang Zongxi also put forward the idea of ​​public opinion supervision and gave students at all levels to discuss the regime. "What the emperor is not necessarily right, what the emperor is not necessarily wrong, and the emperor did not dare to be self-righteous, and he made the right and wrong in the school. "In fact, Huang Zongxi wanted to use the authority of the Taoist dynasty to limit the power of the political system. In the hierarchical order of patriarchal ethics, the autocratic emperor, as the emperor, as the emperor, combined religious, political and ethical powers, and also served as priests , monarch, and patriarch, using monopoly to sacrifice the power of heaven to show that he is the legal representative of "responsible for heaven". The monarch is the main body of the minister and is the first of the three principles in traditional etiquette, indicating that Confucian scholars and officials, as ministers, must be loyal to the monarch. Huang Zongxi denied the supremacy of the monarch's power, and attempted to give the school the functions of discussing politics and supervising politics, separate the monarch's priesthood, and replaced it by the literati, forming a new type of "teacher-monarch" relationship with the Taoist dynasty overriding the political system, and the "teacher" guided the "monarch". This bold and creative idea has a modern democratic color, but under the historical conditions at that time, there was no possibility of implementation.

But it passed down and died in the second lifetime. Later, the dynasties that inherited the Qin and Han dynasties were long or short, and their rise and fall, confirmed Xunzi's theory of "the king's boat, the people's water". However, in the face of the lessons of history, rulers of all generations did not agree with the idea of ​​"the people are more important than the king", but instead harmed the people and repeated the same mistakes. In order to consolidate and continue the rule, later dynasties continued to strengthen the monarchy, while Confucian scholars and officials continued to emphasize preservation and extermination of desires. The expansion of the monarchy's power and the demands of benevolent government seem to have grown in a positive proportion in history. But the reality is that the more respectful the king and the less humble the people. The Confucian theory of people-oriented is characterized by "cultivating oneself and governing the country" and "enriching the people and educating them". The ideal relationship between the monarch and the people is "the superior is like protecting a child; the inferior regards the superior as he likes his parents." But in fact, the monarch who holds absolute power does not agree with the theory and facts of "the people are more valuable than the king" at all, but only implements some measures to nourish and benefit the people in the face of the reality and power of "the king is more important than the people." Because the Confucianism's main body of cultivating and governing is the monarch, and the target is the people. For autocratic monarchs, only flexible means such as moral persuasion and celestial warning are adopted, and rigid measures are lacking in institutional constraints and rule of law norms. Therefore, after the loyalty of "virtual death advice", there is no more power to turn the world back.

　　4

　　 Emperor Wu of Han accepted the suggestion of Dong Zhongshu "destroying all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", absorbed theories such as Taoism, Legalism, Mohist , Yin-Yang during the Qin and Han dynasties. Confucian "art" with the color of Miscellaneous has become the dominant idea of ​​politics, religion and ethics in China in the past two thousand years, and Confucian people-oriented theory has also become the people-oriented idea that dominated the imperial era. Generally speaking, the Confucian theory of the Han and Tang dynasties and the Confucian people-oriented theory of the Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism era did not go beyond the scope of the pre-Qin era. It was only in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties that a new breakthrough was made. Of course, this has a lot to do with the development of commodity economy in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the prosperity of civil society, the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures, and the cultural reflection of the survivors in the early Qing and late Ming dynasties. It is mainly reflected in the remarks and works of early enlightenment thinkers such as Li Zhi , Huang Zongxi , Wang Fuzhi , Gu Yanwu . In terms of viewing the cart before the horse, viewing the righteousness and profit, viewing the monarch and the people, the difference between it and the classic Confucianism is shown. In " Mingyi Waiwenlu ", Huang Zongxi clearly put forward the view that both industry and commerce are the basis. "The Confucian scholars in the world do not observe it, and regard industry and commerce as the end, and recklessly discuss it. Those who work hard to come from the sage king, and those who make their wishes come from the way are probably the basis." Wang Fuzhi wrote in "Huang Shu·Da Zheng Pian": "Therefore, great businessmen and people are the responsibility of the country." In terms of righteousness and profit, Gu Yanwu believed that "people have selfishness, but their feelings cannot be avoided." Huang Zongxi also said: "At the beginning of life, people are selfish, and people are beneficial to each other." In terms of attitude towards the development of industry and commerce, these thinkers in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties fully affirmed the commercial trade behaviors that have been regarded as "the end" for thousands of years. This is the embodiment of the development of the commodity economy, which prompted the thinkers at the forefront of the times to correct their reputation.

　　Agricultural culture is the foundation of the patriarchal system, and emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce is the embodiment of its economic view. The regional dispersion and family dependence of the self-sufficiency small peasant economy have become the social basis for centralization and monarchy. Among the pre-Qin schools, the tendency to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce was common, especially the Legalists had the strongest demands on this. Because commodity exchange will inevitably break the closed barriers of self-sufficiency and clan dependence, and promote the emergence of concepts such as autonomy, independence, equality, and justice, which will have a serious impact on social hierarchical order and patriarchal ethics. As Marx pointed out in " Criticism of Political Economy ": "Equality and freedom are not only respected in exchange-based exchange, but also the exchange of exchange value is the real basis for the production of all equality and freedom." Focusing on righteousness and neglecting profit, preserving reason and eliminating desire are the orthodox mainstream ideology of the patriarchal hierarchical ethics society, while the Mohist concept of consistency between justice and profit was only a flash in the pan in the pre-Qin period and did not become a general consensus.

　　With Mencius and Zhu Xi , human nature is good and the principles of heaven are selfless. Li Zhi believes: "Privacy is the heart of a man. People must have selfishness, and then their hearts will be seen; if they are selfless, they will have no mind."This is a bold denial of Neo-Confucianism's theory of mind and nature. On this basis, he put forward the view of justice and profit. "If you want justice, you are profitable. If you don’t seek profit, you can’t be right. "It has similarities with the Mohist view of justice and profit, which can be said to be "justice is to seek profit." Gu Yanwu said: "In ancient times, people never dared to talk about money. Those who hate profit will definitely harm the people. "He inherited the traditional Confucian idea of ​​establishing a king for the people, but he also developed it: "A king who establishes a king for the people is the same as the monarch, the minister, the officials, the scholars and the common people, not food without any trouble. Therefore, if you know the righteousness of the emperor, you dare not take self-esteem with the people; if you know the meaning of wealth instead of farming, you dare not take full advantage of the people to serve yourself. "The king was demoted from a single-righteous position to an ordinary minister. He also regarded both the king and the ministers as those established by the people. His duty was to "cultivate on behalf of others". Therefore, the relationship between the king and the minister is only the difference between rank and position. The king is not very respectful and the ministers are not very humble, that is, "those who protect the country will be the king and the ministers, and those who eat meat will plan it." "Huang Zongxi also said: "The king and his minister are different in name but the reality is the same. "He believed that the ruler and his subjects only had different division of labor and responsibilities: "The world is so great that one person can govern, but it is divided and governed by a group of workers. "

　　In the view of Enlightenment thinkers in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the monarchs of the "public world" era, which had more than three generations, were essentially different from those of the "family world" kings after three generations. Wang Fuzhi believed that the dynasties after three generations were "all dynasties with one person and one surname", "and the monarchs who insulted others were often more than those below the three generations. "The so-called "family world" is the "private world" of one person and one surname. In Wang Fuzhi's view, the reason why a dynasty with one person and one surname does not rule for a long time is due to its personal nature. "If a country does not last long, it is not just that it is just. The reason why Qin was punished for all generations was just a private person. "Huang Zongxi also pointed out that his interests lie in: "Those who are in the world dare not be selfish or self-interested, and regard our great selfishness as the great master of the world. "The autocratic monarch resigns the world to private ownership," and regards the world as a great property, and passes it on to its descendants, enjoying endlessly. "He profoundly pointed out the harm of an autocratic monarch: "In ancient times, the world was the main force, and the king was the guest. Anyone who managed the world through the world was the world. Now, the king is the master, the world is the guest, and any one who has no land and can get peace in the world is the king. Therefore, it has not been obtained, poisoning the world's liver and brain, and separating the world's children to gain my own property. It has never been miserable! He said, "I am starting a business for my descendants." After he got it, he cut off the bone marrow of the world and separated the children of the world, and regarded it as a matter of course to serve me alone in lust and pleasure, saying, "This is the flower of my industry." However, the one who is the greatest harm to the world is just a king. "

　 Although Huang Zongxi realized the harm of monarchy, he did not deny the system itself. Instead, he proposed improved measures to allocate the monopoly power to the prime minister and . The political affairs of . This is to address the background of "there is no good governance when there is wisdom, starting from the high emperor's dismissal of the prime minister", . The monarch's centralization of power strengthens the autocracy. However, after the Qing Dynasty, the imperial power and autocracy were strengthened again, indicating that as long as the imperial system exists, monarchs of all dynasties could only continue to centralize power, rather than delegate power. In addition to realizing decentralization, Huang Zongxi also put forward the idea of ​​public opinion supervision and gave students at all levels to discuss the regime. "What the emperor is not necessarily right, what the emperor is not necessarily wrong, and the emperor did not dare to be self-righteous, and he made the right and wrong in the school. "In fact, Huang Zongxi wanted to use the authority of the Taoist dynasty to limit the power of the political system. In the hierarchical order of patriarchal ethics, the autocratic emperor, as the emperor, as the emperor, combined religious, political and ethical powers, and also served as priests , monarch, and patriarch, using monopoly to sacrifice the power of heaven to show that he is the legal representative of "responsible for heaven". The monarch is the main body of the minister and is the first of the three principles in traditional etiquette, indicating that Confucian scholars and officials, as ministers, must be loyal to the monarch. Huang Zongxi denied the supremacy of the monarch's power, and attempted to give the school the functions of discussing politics and supervising politics, separate the monarch's priesthood, and replaced it by the literati, forming a new type of "teacher-monarch" relationship with the Taoist dynasty overriding the political system, and the "teacher" guided the "monarch". This bold and creative idea has a modern democratic color, but under the historical conditions at that time, there was no possibility of implementation.