A five-acre house is a tree, and 50 trees can provide food and clothing.

Five acres of houses, trees are mulberry, and fifty people can wear clothes and silks. From "I Go to Serve the Country" recorded by Mencius' disciples in the pre-Qin period.

A five-acre house is a tree, and 50 trees can provide food and clothing.

Liang said: "I finally did my best for my country. When there was a famine in Hanoi, people there were moved to Hedong, and food from Hedong was transported to Hanoi. The same is true in Hedong, in case of famine. No one knows the politics of neighboring countries like me. The number of people in neighboring countries has not decreased, and my number has not increased. Why? "

Mencius replied, "Your Majesty likes fighting. Let me use the metaphor of war. Drumming, the two armies go to war, and the defeated throw away their armor and drag their weapons to escape. Some people escape a hundred steps and then stop, while others escape fifty steps and then stop. What if you only run fifty steps and laugh at others for running a hundred steps? " Liang said, "No way. It's just that I didn't run a hundred steps. This is also an escape. Mencius said, "If you understand this truth, don't expect your own people to be more than your neighbors.

"Don't delay the season of agricultural production, food will continue. If the dense nets don't enter the pond, aquatic products such as fish and turtles will be inexhaustible. Logging in the mountains according to a certain season will produce inexhaustible wood. Food and aquatic products can't be eaten up, and wood can't be used up, so that the people are not dissatisfied with living, raising and burial. People die when they are not satisfied with their lives, which is the beginning of kingly way. " Five acres of residential land, mulberry trees, fifty-year-old people can wear silk. Don't delay the breeding opportunities of chickens, pigs and dogs. Only people aged 70 can eat meat. A hundred acres of land, without delaying its farming season, can save a family from hunger. Carefully set up school education, repeatedly tell the people the truth of respecting the old and loving the young, so that this gray-haired old man will no longer walk on the road with heavy objects on his head. 70-year-old people can wear silk and eat meat. None of the people are hungry and cold. No one has ever unified the world and won't be king. "Pigs and dogs eat their food and don't stop; There are people starving to death on the road, and I don't know how to open a warehouse for relief. When people die, they say,' It's not my fault, it's because I'm young.' What's the difference between this statement and killing someone with a knife and saying,' I didn't kill anyone, it was a murder weapon'? Your Majesty, don't blame Niancheng, then everyone in the world will come to submit. "

Writing background

During the Warring States period, countries competed for hegemony, and frequent wars 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 a country's stability and prosperity. Therefore, all suppliers hope that the population of their country will increase. Liang is no exception. My Motherland is also selected from Mencius Liang Wang Hui, which is the third chapter in the upper part of this paper. According to Records of the Historian Wei Shijia, in the thirty-fifth year of Liang, "people who are humble and generous in wealth recruit talents and talents", so several sages, including Mencius, traveled thousands of miles to the girder. As soon as they met, Liang wanted to get a good plan of "benefiting the country and the people", while Mencius pointed out that "there is no need to talk about profit, but also benevolence and righteousness", pointing out the serious harm of mercenary and the important significance of practicing benevolence and righteousness. Another meeting between them was at the edge of a pond where animals were swimming. King Hui of Liang proudly asked Mencius, "Is the sage also happy for this?" Mencius takes "the sage enjoys it, and the unpretentious person enjoys it" as the topic, and through the comparison of historical facts, proves the different results of "the sage enjoys it" and "the unpretentious person enjoys it": Wang Wen cares for the people, and the people love him, and Wang Wen can enjoy it; Xia Jie has no sympathy for the people, and the people hate him, so Xia Jie can't enjoy himself. It was in the process of contact and conversation that Mencius and Liang deepened their understanding, so there was a political question and answer that was told through the ages.

Make an appreciative comment

This article is about the conversation between Mencius and Liang. At that time, in order to increase grain production and expand the army, all countries were suffering from labor shortage. To this end, Liang Wang wanted to compete with neighboring countries for the hearts of the people and took self-righteous "special" measures, but the goal was not achieved. Mencius grasped this contradiction, pointed out that Liang's "dedication" could not make the people submit, and at the same time put forward his own opinion that only "Wang Dao ren Zheng" is the fundamental way to govern the country. The full text can be divided into three parts.

Part I (para. 106). 1) puts forward the problem of "not many people". During the Warring States period, the rulers of various vassal states attacked each other for cities and land. Fight for the city and kill the city "; Cruel exploitation at home, heavy labor, destruction of productivity. This has caused a shortage of soldiers and labor. Competing for manpower has become a top priority for the rulers of various vassal States. Before Liang raised the question that "there are not many people", he once boasted that "I am a country and I am dedicated to this country". Then, taking disaster relief as an example, he declared that he was better at governing the country than "neighboring politics". If Hanoi is fierce, it will emigrate to Hedong and move millet to Hanoi; Hedong is also fierce. "Describe the concrete measures of disaster relief from two aspects." Observing the politicians of neighboring countries, they have no intention of being like me ",which further highlights Liang's self-esteem and paves the way for the later" pot calling the kettle black ". There are not many people in neighboring countries, and there are not many people in my 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 (paragraphs 2-4) analyzes the reasons for "not many people". 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. "Wang is belligerent, please use the metaphor of war." By the way, I would like to cite two cases in which two deserters "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?" Being put forward further inspires and induces the other party to unconsciously say something that denies his argument: "No, you can't go straight, even if you leave." Finally, the child's spear attacked the child's shield. "If Wang knew this, there would be no hope for more people than neighboring countries." These two sentences hit the nail on the head at once, which not only answered the reason of "people living in poverty", but also revealed the moral of pot calling the kettle black: Liang's "immigrant millet" is not committed to governing the country with the rulers of neighboring countries, but is essentially the same, just different in form and quantity. This implies that Wang Huiliang's small act of kindness will not 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 5-7) expounds the concrete content of Mencius' "benevolent government"-the fundamental measures to increase the number of people.

The fifth paragraph expounds the truth of "the beginning of kingly way". Mencius believed that the rational development of production, so that people can "keep fit and die without regret", is the beginning of implementing benevolent policies and the initial measure to increase the number of people. "Don't go against the farming season, the valley can't win food. If you don't count, neither fish nor turtle can be eaten. Axes and pounds enter the mountains in time, and wood and firewood cannot 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 "five grains and fish and turtles can't eat, and wood and wood can't be used", and a new conclusion is put forward on the premise of this conclusion: "Wang also begins." 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 sixth part expounds the reasons for Wang Dao's success. In this passage, Mencius further put forward the benevolent policy of educating the people and making them submit, which is also the fundamental measure of "increasing the people". 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 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 them: "I am willing to teach them to make orders, use them in the sense of filial piety, and those who teach them white can't bear to wear them to the Tao." Here, the author uses four groups of sentences to describe his ideas layer by layer, rendering them vividly, showing 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, without the king, there is nothing", which echoes the previous "the beginning of the king"

In the seventh 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 keeps saying that he is "patriotic", but how can he be "patriotic" when "dogs eat people's food without knowing it, and dogs are clothed with hunger without knowing it"? The sharp contrast between "dogs eat people" and "wearing a coat of hunger" profoundly revealed the social inequality at that time. Then, in view of the prevarication that the ruler blames the year, the author refutes it with a metaphor: it is as absurd to blame the poor year for "painting with hunger" as it is to blame the weapon for "stabbing people to death", and it is not the famine year that harms the people, but the tyranny of the ruler. 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. "How many people are there in the world" answered the question of "not many people" put forward by Liang at the beginning.

original work

I am loyal to my country.

King Hui of Liang said, "I am a country, and I devote myself to it. If Hanoi is fierce, the people will move to Hedong and the millet will move to Hanoi; Hedong is also fierce. People who observe the politics of neighboring countries have no intention like myself. " If there are not too few people in our neighboring countries, what can we do if there are not too many people? "

Mencius said to him, "The king is belligerent. Please use the metaphor of war. Replenish drums, weapons company, abandon armor. Or stop after a hundred steps, or stop after fifty steps. " What if the pot is too black? "He said," No, it's not a hundred-step straight line, but it's also a walk. "He said," If Wang knows this, there is no hope that there will be more people than neighboring countries. "

"If you don't go against the farming season, the valley can't take 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. Valley and fish and turtles can't fight for food, and wood and wood can't fight for it, making people lose their lives without regret. " Keeping fit and dying without regret is also the beginning of kingliness. "Five acres of houses, trees for mulberry, fifty people can dress 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 few people in a family 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 and clothes, and Li people are not hungry or cold, but they are not kings and have nothing. " Dogs don't know when they eat human food, and they don't know when they are hungry. When people die, they say,' It's not me, it's age.' Why is it different from stabbing someone and then killing them and saying,' That's not me,

Word annotation

1. Liang: The monarch of Wei in the Warring States Period, surnamed Wei, was named Gou. Weidu is located in Daliang, northwest of Kaifeng City, Henan Province, so it is also called Liang.

2. A shameless person. It is the humble title of the ancient monarch to himself.

3. Words and meanings: Words, words and meanings are auxiliary words at the end of sentences, which are used repeatedly to emphasize tone.

4. Hanoi: the place north of the Yellow River in Henan today. The ancients took the Central Plains as the center, so the north of the Yellow River was called Hanoi, and the south of the Yellow River was called Waihe.

5. Fierce: The grain harvest is not good. Famine year.

6. Hedong: the place east of the Yellow River. In the southwest of Shanxi today. The Yellow River flows through Shanxi Province from north to south, so the area east of the Yellow River in Shanxi Province is called Hedong.

7. Millet: Millet, called millet after hulling, also refers to cereal.

8. The same is true.

9. No: No. ...

10. Add less: less. The following "add more", more. Add, adverb, more, in.

1 1. Militant: likes to fight. During the Warring States period, governors of various countries were keen to attack and annex each other.

12. Please use the metaphor of war: Let me use the metaphor of war. Please, it means "please allow me".

13. Fill in: onomatopoeic words, imitating drums.

Brief introduction of the author

Mencius (about 372- 289 BC) was born in Zou (now southeast of Zoucheng, Shandong Province) during the Warring States Period. A famous thinker, politician and educator. According to Records of Historical Records, Mencius and Biography of Xun Qing, he was a disciple of Zisi (the grandson of Confucius, whose real name was Ji) and lobbied Qi, Song, Teng and Wei. At that time, Mencius said that "the virtue of Tang Yu's three generations" was considered pedantic and divorced from reality by the rulers and was not adopted. Therefore, Mencius "retired, prefaced a poem book with Zhang Wan's disciples, described Zhong Ni's meaning, and wrote seven pieces of Mencius".