1. Confucius expounded the problem from the perspective of "people", while Mencius expounded the issue from the perspective of "good nature".
On the biggest overlapping point of Confucius and Mencius, "benevolent government," the two have very different standpoints. Confucius never said that "nature is good" and "nature is evil". He believed that "nature is similar but habits are far apart", that is, human nature is similar, and the different influences of acquired environment lead to great differences in habits between individuals. His "Government in ancient times is to love people", "Benevolent people love others, and government is virtuous" are the conclusions drawn from his "love of the past", that is, from summarizing historical experience.
Although Mencius also experienced Lan learned from the experience of previous generations, but his "benevolent government" was derived from the so-called "unbearable heart" that everyone has. "The heart of compassion is the root of benevolence; the heart of shame is the root of benevolence." The principle of righteousness; the heart of resignation is the principle of etiquette; the heart of right and wrong is the principle of wisdom. " Mencius used "mind" in this way and originated from "xinxue". No wonder Xunzi criticized him for "simplifying the methods of the previous kings without knowing their traditions" and "being eccentric and unclassified".
However, Mencius was preaching "benevolent government" ” went further than Confucius, and his influence on history also surpassed Confucius.
2. Confucius had a deep aristocratic complex, while Mencius had an obvious elite complex.
Confucius is a descendant of the Duke of the Song Dynasty. Speaking of which, the king of the Song Dynasty should be the close ancestor of Confucius - if they did not give way to the virtuous, although Confucius himself was in decline and was "a lot of despicable people" when he was young, he never forgot that he was "a despicable person." "Yin people", agreed that "the courtesy should not be inferior to the common people, and the punishment should not be superior to the officials", advocated that "the noble and the inferior should be equal, and the clothes should be different", and was proud of "coming after the officials", and had a strong sense of hierarchy.
Mencius is not comparable to Confucius in this regard. No one has ever been able to prove how prominent his ancestors were. However, legends such as "Meng Meng's mother moved three times" reveal his poor family background when he was young. Therefore, Mencius's hierarchy concept. Far more indifferent than Confucius, he is more proud of his position as a "big man" who "nourishes my awe-inspiring spirit well" and "cannot be licentious in wealth, cannot be moved by poverty, and cannot be subdued by force"
If Confucius still has some attachment tendencies. , Mencius is the true origin of the independent personality of Chinese intellectuals. Confucius has the theory of "confucianism", but his attitude of "knowing what is impossible and doing it" determines that he cannot have a strong "independence from the world". "Tendency; Mencius did not. He took Confucius' "birds can choose trees, but trees can't choose birds" to the extreme.
3. Mencius actually abandoned the golden mean. Being sharp, honest, and eloquent is very different from Confucius's life of "loyalty, kindness, courtesy, thrift, and giving".
This is why Xunzi accused him of being "unconventional and unkind". For example, in his treatment of "jun". Regarding the issue, Confucius's basic attitude is "loyalty". No matter how bad the "king" is, he cannot be a "rebellious minister" and kill him.
Mencius believed that he did what he did with Shang Zhou. A single-husband civilian thief is completely in line with "benevolence and righteousness": "Those who are merciless are called thief, those who are righteous are called thief, and those who are thief are called tyrants. It is said that one man is punished by Zhou, but regicide is not known. He also said bluntly: "The people are the most important, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important." "This kind of statement is completely inconsistent with the principle of moderation. So Xunzi said that he was "guilty".
At the same time, this is also the reason why Mencius was not popular before the Five Dynasties. In general, Mencius was talking about "jun" , on the issue of "people", more acceptance of the views of "Books" and "Poems" rather than Confucius's own views
Extended information:
"Benevolence" is. The core concept of Confucianism is the ideal state of Confucian morality and the highest political principle. Confucius and Mencius, as the most important representatives of Confucianism, have made in-depth explanations of this core idea from different angles.
In "The Analects", the word "benevolence" appears 109 times, distributed in more than 50 chapters in 15 chapters. Confucius had lofty goals and described the nature, characteristics and uses of "benevolence" from many fields.
In "Mencius", the word "benevolence" appears 163 times, in every chapter, and is distributed in 71 sections. Mencius was full of passion, had a unique feeling for "benevolent government" and "benevolence and righteousness", and had a deep love for "benevolence" and "benevolence". The human nature that produces "benevolence" and the method of cultivating "benevolence" are discussed.
Although they have different emphases, they are of the same origin and both make the idea of ??"benevolence" more perfect. < /p>