Ancient prose and translation of my own country (Mencius)

Author or source: Mencius ancient prose "I am a country" Original: Liang said: "I am a country, I am loyal to my country. If Hanoi is fierce, it will move its people to Hedong and its millet to Hanoi. Hedong is also fierce. People who observe the politics of neighboring countries have no intention like me. There are no more people in neighboring countries, and there are no more people in my country. Mencius said to him, "The king is belligerent. Please use the analogy of war. "Drum filling, weapon company, abandon armour, or stop, or stop fifty steps. What if the pot is too black? " Said, "No. Straight is not a hundred steps, but it is also a walk. " If Wang knows this, there is no hope of being more than his neighbors. If you don't go against the farming season, the valley can't beat the grain. If you don't count, neither fish nor turtle can be eaten. Axe gold gets into the mountain in time, and mywood can't be used. Valley and fish turtles can't fight for food, and wood and wood can't fight for it, which makes people lose their lives and have no regrets. Keeping in good health and dying without regret is the beginning of kingly way. Five acres of houses, trees are mulberry, and fifty people can wear clothes and silks. Chickens, dolphins and dogs are all domestic animals, so there is no time to waste. Seventy people can eat meat; A hundred acres of land, if you don't hurry, a family of several can be hungry; I sincerely hope that the godson of the cult will be filial, and the winners will not be on the road. Seventy people eat meat, clothes and silk, and the Lebanese are neither hungry nor cold, but they are not kings and have nothing. Dogs don't know what to do when they eat people, and they don't know what to do when they are hungry. When a man died, he said, "If it weren't for me, I would be old. Why is it different from stabbing and killing people? Said, "Not me, but a soldier. "The king is innocent, and everyone is very embarrassed. 」

I am alone in the country: Liang Wang Hui said, "I really work hard to manage Liang. When there was a famine in Hanoi, I moved people there to Hedong and transported food from Hedong to Hanoi. There is a famine in Hedong, so do it. I have visited the politics of neighboring countries, and no one can be as dedicated as me. But the number of people in neighboring countries has not decreased, and my number has not increased. What is the reason? Mencius replied: "Your Majesty likes war, so please let me use war as an analogy. When the drums in winter and winter rang and the heads of guns touched, some soldiers threw down their armor and dragged their weapons back. Some people stop running a hundred paces, while others stop running fifty paces. Can those soldiers who run fifty paces laugh at those who run a hundred paces? " King Hui said, "No, it's just that they didn't run a hundred paces away, but it was also an escape. Mencius said, "If your majesty knows this, you can't expect more people and fewer neighbors. If the military corvee does not interfere with the season of agricultural production, the grain will be inexhaustible; Fine nets don't go to deep ponds for fishing, and fish and turtles eat more; If you chop down trees in the mountains with an axe according to the season, there will be endless wood. Food, fish and turtles can't be eaten up, and wood can't be used up. The people are born without regrets, and they are raised and buried. It is the beginning of kingliness that people have no regrets about being born, raised and buried. Give people five acres of homestead and plant mulberry trees, and those over 50 can wear silk. Domestic animals, such as chickens, dogs and pigs, can be kept by the people at the right time, so people over 70 can eat meat. Each family has 100 mu of arable land, and the government does not interfere in their production season. Then, a few people in a family can stop being hungry. Do a good job in the school and teach the people repeatedly on the principle of filial piety. Then, the gray-haired old man will not walk on the road by himself or with heavy objects. People over 70 years old have silk to wear and meat to eat, while ordinary people can't be hungry or frozen. This has never happened before. Now in Liang, pigs and dogs from wealthy families have eaten the food of the people, but they are not constrained to stop it; There are people starving to death on the road, but they don't open the granary to help. When people died, they even said, "It's not my fault, it's because I was poor for several years. What's the difference between this statement and killing someone with a knife and saying,' I didn't kill him but used a weapon'? If the king doesn't blame by 2008, then all the people in the world will go to Liang Guolai. Note [1] Guo Yu: Governing the country. "Yu" is a verb prefix. Yan eryi: modal particles are used together to express affirmation and completion. [2] Hedong: East of the Yellow River. Hanoi: As opposed to outside the river, this refers to the north of the Yellow River. Wei occupied part of the land in Shanxi and Henan today. Shanxi is east of the Yellow River (west of Shaanxi) [3] Disaster: famine. [4] Add less: reduce. [5] Drum filling: filling, onomatopoeic words. Drum, verb, drum. [6] Soldier: Weapons. Go: Run. [7] Or: Yes. Virtual pronoun [8] straight: special, just, just. [9] number (cu): dense. I: net. Zhen: deep; Or very big. [10] Jin: an axe. Time: season. [1 1] shāng: handle the funeral for the deceased. [12] No regrets: no worries. Tun: Little pig. Z: A pig. Eating meat: Only ancient officials often ate meat. [14] Teach you in sequence: I am willing to strengthen; Xu Xiang: The Zhou Dynasty called the school a township, and the Shang Dynasty called the school a township, referring to local schools. [15] Shen: Repeatedly warned and stressed. [16] White: gray, gray hair. Award, "live". [17] Wang (Wang): used as a verb, it is Wang. [18] check: suppress and stop. [19] Tu: Same Tu. [20] Yi (Api): A corpse starved to death. [2 1] Question: Opening means opening the granary for relief. [22] years old: years old. [23] sin: blame. Appreciate the first part (paragraph 1) and ask the question of "few people add". During the Warring States period, the rulers of various vassal states attacked each other for cities and land. Fight for the city and kill for the city "; Cruel exploitation at home, heavy labor, destruction of productivity. This has caused a shortage of soldiers. Labor shortage is a very prominent problem. Competing for manpower has become a top priority for the rulers of various vassal States. Before raising the question of "small number of people", Liang Huiwang boasted that "I am too loyal to my country", and then took disaster relief to save the people as an example, claiming that he was better than "the politics of neighboring countries." If Hanoi is fierce, it will emigrate to Hedong and move millet to Hanoi; Hedong is also fierce. "

Describe the specific measures of disaster relief from two aspects. "Those who look at the politics of neighboring countries have no intention of being like me", which further highlights Liang's self-esteem and paves the way for "pot calling the kettle black" below. "There are not many people in neighboring countries, and neither are there many people in our country. Why? Liang hopes that more people will join him. Mencius used Liang's psychology to publicize the idea of "benevolent politics" and wanted to guide him to practice kingly politics. The second part (Mencius to Japan) analyzes the reasons why the population does not increase. Mencius did not directly answer the question of "people are not living well", but used Liang's familiar metaphor to inspire each other and make it easy to accept. " The king is belligerent, please use the metaphor of war. By the way, let's give two more examples of deserters who "abandoned their armour and left". According to the distance between defeat and escape, the rhetorical question "What if you hold a pot of pot calling the kettle black?" It is put forward to further inspire you and induce the other party to unconsciously say something that denies their argument: "No, you can't go straight, even if you leave." Finally, he attacked the shield with his son's spear. "If Wang knew this, the people would have no hope of surpassing neighboring countries." These two sentences hit the nail on the head, which not only answered the reason why the number of people did not increase much, but also revealed the moral of pot calling the kettle black: Liang's "moving to millet" was not devoted to governing the country with the rulers of neighboring countries, but there was no difference in essence, only in form and quantity. This means that Wang Huiliang's small favors cannot increase the number of people. To increase the number of people, he must be benevolent and have the demeanor of a king. So the article naturally transitions from the second part to the third part.

The third part (paragraphs 3 to 5) expounds the concrete content of Mencius' "benevolent government"-the fundamental measures to increase the number of people.

The third paragraph expounds the truth of "the beginning of kingly way". Mencius believed that the rational development of production and letting the people "live and die without regret" was the beginning of implementing benevolent policies and the initial measure to increase the number of people. "If you don't go against the farming season, the valley won't win food. If you don't count, neither fish nor turtle can be eaten. Axe gold gets into the mountain in time, and mywood can't be used. Three groups of sentences put forward three measures to develop production and the effects of taking these measures. The sentence pattern of "invincible" ... also "gives people an inexhaustible feeling, which greatly increases the persuasiveness and appeal of the article. Then the first three groups of sentences are summarized as "food, fish and soft-shelled turtle can't eat, wood and wood can't be used", and a new conclusion is put forward on the premise of this conclusion: "The king is also the beginning. Here, the author closely links three meanings and three aspects, and closely links the problem of "making the people more" with Wang's practice.

The fourth part expounds the reasons for Wang Dao's success. In this passage, Mencius further proposed to educate the people and make them obey the people's benevolent policies, which is also the fundamental measure to "increase the number of people". "Five acres of houses, trees should be mulberry, and fifty people can wear clothes and silk. Chickens, dolphins and dogs are all domestic animals, so there is no time to waste. Seventy people can eat meat. One hundred acres of land, if you don't hurry, how many people in a family can be hungry. These three sentences also put forward three measures to develop production and the effects of these measures. Compared with the above three measures, these three measures are obviously a step forward and have stronger subjective initiative. Mencius not only advocated nurturing the people, but also advocated teaching the people: "I would like to teach them to be obedient, to apply them with filial piety, and to reward those who are white, not to put them on the Tao." Here, the author uses four groups of sentences to describe his ideas layer by layer and render them vividly, which shows a bright future for Liang. Then, with the phrase "seventy people eat clothes, silk and meat, and the people are not hungry or cold", it is logical to draw the conclusion that "however, if you are not king, you have nothing", which echoes the above-mentioned "the beginning of the king"

In the fifth paragraph, the author expounds the attitude that should be adopted to make the people more. Mencius criticized the tyranny of the ruler and proved his correctness from the opposite side. The first two paragraphs have thoroughly explained the truth of being king, and this paragraph takes care of the beginning of the article. Liang kept saying that he was "loyal" to his country, but the sharp contrast between "dogs are greedy and hungry" and "dogs eat people" profoundly revealed the social inequality at that time. Then, the author refutes the governor's prevarication with metaphor, and thinks that "smearing with hunger" is as absurd as "stabbing people and killing people", and it is not the famine years that hurt people, but the tyranny of the rulers. The last two sentences, "the king is innocent, and everyone in the world is heavy", are concise. Instead of complaining about others, it is better to reflect on ourselves, get rid of abusive politics, be benevolent, be king, let the people live in houses, plant fields, have ample food and clothing, receive education, know the etiquette and justice, and make them submit. "There are so many people in the world" answered the question of "not many people" put forward by Liang at the beginning.

I am for the country is a dialogue between Mencius and Liang. The clue that runs through the whole paper is the problem of "not increasing the number of people" and how to "increase the number of people".

First of all, understand the relevant background: during the Warring States period, countries competed for hegemony and wars were frequent, which led to a large number of population migration and casualties. At that time, there was neither a nationality system nor immigration restrictions, and people were free to find their own paradise. Which country is more stable, more prosperous and happier, move to that country as the subject. The population of a country is also one of the signs of whether a country is stable and prosperous. Therefore, in order to seek hegemony, all the vassals hope that the population of their country will increase. Liang is no exception.

The full text is divided into three parts.

The first part: Liang put forward the problem of "the people are in dire straits". Liang thinks that he has "devoted himself to serving the country". His conscience says that he has helped the people in disaster relief, and the politics of neighboring countries is not as good as my own. As a result, "there are not many people in neighboring countries, and there are not many of us." So ask questions. Let's first analyze Liang's self-proclaimed national salvation and disaster relief. For a country, disaster relief is its most basic task, and almost no country does not help its people in the face of natural disasters. In fact, it is not enough to help people with disaster relief. What is more important is to take all possible measures to prevent or reduce the occurrence of natural disasters and fundamentally solve the problem. To solve the problem fundamentally is to mobilize the enthusiasm of the people to the maximum extent and let them enjoy it. This is of course the concrete embodiment of benevolent governance. Liang himself may indeed devote himself to disaster relief and saving people, but this is actually a stopgap measure. However, in the politics of neighboring countries, there is no such thing as my intention. Perhaps it is because the politics of neighboring countries really have no intention of Liang. Perhaps it is because neighboring countries have taken better measures or luck has not caused too many natural disasters, so there are not many actions to help people. In any case, the result is that "there are not many people in neighboring countries, and there are not many people in our country." Through analysis, we know that in the process of Liang's questioning, the reason of his "small population" has been revealed, so Mencius solved this problem with a small experiment.

The second part: Mencius adopted the demonstration mode of "leading the monarch into the countryside" and analyzed the reason why Liang "the people are in poverty".

The so-called "leading the monarch into the urn" is an argument method that often uses metaphors to reason, and then attacks the other side with rhetorical sentences to force the other side to answer. If the other party doesn't answer, it will be trapped and fall into a passive and embarrassing situation. Facing the first part of Liang's question, Mencius did not directly answer the reason, but set a trap. Generally speaking, it is compared with governing the country by war, with the defeated party abandoning armor and fleeing, with the country that has not been well governed, with the hundred steps to flee, with neighboring countries, with the fifty steps to flee, and with Liang. Then ask a question: how about laughing at others for running a hundred steps just because they only ran fifty steps? Forced Liang to answer, Liang said no, but he didn't run a hundred steps. This is also an escape. In this way, Liang unconsciously jumped into the trap set by Mencius and admitted that there was no essential difference between himself and his neighbors, and neither of them practiced benevolent government. Therefore, we cannot hope that the number will increase.

The third part discusses the way to increase the number of people-implementing benevolent government. This part is divided into three levels to discuss the basic ways, fundamental ways and correct attitudes that should be adopted to promote the king and implement benevolent policies to increase the number of people.

The basic way: don't go against the farming season, develop production and solve the problem of food and clothing for the people. At this level, Mencius used the form of "chain reasoning". It is to introduce a new conclusion based on the previous conclusion, and then introduce an updated conclusion based on this new conclusion, and so on. Mencius first came to the conclusion that grains can't be eaten, fish and turtles can't be eaten, and wood can't be used.

On the premise of the conclusions of "five grains don't eat", "fish and turtles don't eat" and "wood and wood don't use", this paper puts forward a new conclusion that "people don't regret preserving their health and losing their lives". On the premise of the new conclusion "it is to keep people healthy and die without regret", an updated conclusion "the beginning of kingly way" is introduced. This form of "chain reasoning" emphasizes that the implementation of kingly way should start with the development of production and solve the most basic problem of food and clothing for the people without violating the farming season. During the discussion, one link after another, interlocking and impeccable, strengthened the persuasiveness and showed Mencius' eloquent art, which may be one of the reasons why Mencius' articles were praised and imitated by later generations.

The fundamental way: gradually improve people's material living standards, and then solve the problem of spiritual civilization. After solving the problem of people's basic food and clothing, we should gradually improve people's material living standards. Develop the silk industry and let people aged 50 wear silk clothes; Develop animal husbandry so that 70-year-old people can eat meat. We should also fundamentally solve problems, develop education, and make filial piety deeply rooted in people's hearts. Everyone is filial to their parents and loves their brothers, thus popularizing them. Isn't such a safe, simple and happy society a pure land and a paradise? It is bound to "make all the officials in the world want to stand in the dynasty, all the cultivators want to plow in the king's field, all the merchants want to hide in the king's city, and all the travelers want to paint in the king", but why worry about the people?

Correct attitude: Liang, your wish is to "increase the population", but what is the situation in your country? Mencius painted a contrasting picture for us: pigs and dogs of wealthy families ate their meals, and they were all hungry on the road. It can really be said that "the wine in Zhumen stinks and the road freezes to death"! When this happens, you don't open the granary to help the people. People starved to death and said, "It's not me, I'm several years old." It's not the same thing as killing someone with a weapon and saying I didn't kill them! Here, Mencius criticized Liang for using metaphors to shirk responsibility. Finally, he earnestly pointed out the correct attitude of "making the people more": don't complain about others, but take concrete measures to implement benevolent government. In this way, people all over the world will come to you.

In a word, this paper uses the argument of "attracting the monarch into the country" to force Liang to admit that his "loyalty to the country" is only a temporary reaction, not a real love for the people, and there is no essential difference from neighboring politics; It is also emphasized in the form of "chain reasoning" that the implementation of kingly way should start with never violating the farming season, developing production and solving the most basic problem of food and clothing for the people; It is also pointed out that the people's material living standards should be gradually improved, and then they should be educated to understand the meaning of "filial piety" to solve the problem of spiritual civilization, so that the people can be connected and the country can prosper. Analysis of main viewpoints and ideas

There is also a chapter on My Country in Mencius Hui Liang Wang Shang, which is one of the articles that show Mencius' thought of "benevolent government". This paper discusses how to implement "benevolent government" and unify the world with "king" "There is no regret for losing one's life in health care, and it is also the beginning of kingliness", "Seventy people eat meat, wear clothes and silk, and the people are not hungry or cold, but they are not kings and have nothing" is the crowning touch of the article, which highlights the main idea of this article. Because only by implementing benevolent policies can we win the hearts of the people; Only by winning the hearts of the people can we win the world. This idea of "protecting the people is king" is actually the embodiment of Mencius' "people-oriented" thought.

The full text can be divided into three parts. In the first part (the first paragraph), it is written that Liang Huiwang questioned his "loyalty to the country" and "the people are in poverty".

In the second part ("Mencius' attitude towards Japan" to "not expecting more people than neighboring countries"), according to Liang's desire to make "more people" through political means, Mencius helped him realize that compared with neighboring countries, he only did some good things in disaster relief, and there was no difference in essence, which naturally made the article transition to the third part.

In the third part (the third to fifth paragraphs), according to Liang's psychology of exploring how to make people richer and the great desire of the monarch to unify the world during the Warring States period, Mencius put forward his own idea of "benevolent government", that is, reducing corvee, developing agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery production, and making people "not hungry or cold". On this basis, he formulated specific measures and requirements such as education and emphasized that.

Mencius' thoughts and opinions expressed in the article

First of all, Mencius opposed the endless war between princes, and the sentence "Wang is belligerent, please use the metaphor of war" fully revealed this idea.

Secondly, Mencius believed that people should benefit from it and have the opportunity to recuperate. He believes that Liang's "dedication" to the people is far from enough, and there is only a difference of "hundred steps" and "fifty steps" from other countries' unsatisfied collection of money from the people.

Thirdly, Mencius showed Liang his ideal of governing the people, specifically, to let the people have a house of five acres, a field of one hundred acres and a dolphin of chickens and dogs.

Moreover, Mencius attached great importance to enlightenment and put forward the idea of "keeping order". His highest ideal is that CoCo Lee "eats meat with clothes and silk" and "is neither hungry nor cold".

Finally, Mencius further pointed out on the basis of his own argument that Liang, as the supreme ruler, has an unshirkable responsibility in the face of the social reality that the upper class is extravagant and wasteful and the people are hungry and cold. On the characteristics of Mencius' prose from this article

1, clever metaphor, full of twists and turns.

When talking about a problem, first hide the main idea, and gradually lead to this topic from people on the side, the opposite side and the periphery. If the original intention is to talk about benevolent government, but first use war as a metaphor, from the opposite side, so that Liang unconsciously followed him. In this way, the article is like a winding path; The literary trend is ups and downs, not stagnant.

2. The logic is rigorous and in-depth.

On the surface, the article is rambling, but in fact, the logic is clear, the paragraphs are clear and the levels are orderly. If you ask questions first and then analyze the reasons, the following measures, starting from the king, implementing the king, and implementing benevolent government, are all in-depth and interlocking.

3, the words are rich, lively and rational.

Make good use of appropriate metaphors, powerful arrangements, exquisite words and sentences. Odd sentences and even sentences, monosyllabic sentences and compound sentence are used alternately, with flexible and confident brushwork and sharp and aggressive conversation. This article is full of eloquence.