Appreciate my country

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 can't count it, you can't eat it. 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. And "invincible? The sentence pattern of "Ye" 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 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 tyranny, 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.