"Self-cultivation" And "Government"

The actual orientation of Mencius’ thought of "Why must you refer to ’profit’" is not a question of moral value choice,but a question of political ethics,and the research in this area is far from enough.To this end,the author intends to reveal the unique and rich political and ethical connotation of the thought of "Why must you refer to ’profit’" by sorting out the relevant thoughts of Mencius.During the Warring States Period,the Majesty was unkind and the common people suffered,but Yang and Mo’s thought,which was popular all over the world,could not provide a suitable solution to this practical problem.At that time,Mencius put forward the idea of "Why must you refer to‘profit’" in order to save the people from untold miseries.Since this thought itself was put forward by Mencius for the Majesty(King Hui of Liang)who seeks self-profit,the subject of "Why must you refer to ’profit’" is the Majesty,not the common people,and it is intended to oppose the Majesty seeking self-profit in the government,rather than denying the value of "interest" in a general sense.This not only includes the relationship between "justice"and "profit",but also includes the relationship between "humanity" and "profit",that is to say,in the face of the desire and temptation of "profit",Mencius proposed to the Majesty "selfcultivation with humanity" and "government with justice" two-dimensional requirements.As far as "self-cultivation with humanity" is concerned,Mencius proposed that only "selfcultivation" can become a Majesty "suitable for the high position".At the same time,to realize the political ambition of "governing the world",the "self-cultivation" must also be the starting point and foundation.This first requires the Majesty to face up to the "wrongs of the Majesty’s mind",correct his mistakes in governance,and continuously improve his political training and ability to govern;At the same time,it also requires the Majesty to take the "unity of humanity"as the fundamental goal,and constantly nourish his own "compassion for others",consciously"push oneself to others" and "benevolent people and love things".In terms of "government with justice",Mencius proposed that the Majesty must "exercise government by humanity",because "the people" are the foundation of the country,and the Majesty needs to "give people property" and "to the people’s profit",and in the formulation of systems such as taxation and servitude,Majesty must "don’t compete profit with the people".At the same time,the Majesty must also popularize the moral education of the people,improve the moral cultivation of the people,and give the people spiritual wealth.In a word,in the sense of political ethics,the core implication of the thought of "Why must you refer to ’profit’" is to ask the Majesty to seek profit for the people,but not for himself.It is true that the thought of "Why must you refer to ’profit’" has played a positive role in the political construction of imperial power society.To a certain extent,"self-cultivation" can improve the political personality of the Majesty and realize the discipline of the power of Majesty.The filling of "compassion for others" can remind the Majesty to maintain "humanity",so as to provide ideological guarantee for the implementation of "government by humanity";"Government by humanity" can guide the construction of a political system for the profit of the people,especially the political system for the purpose of "give people property" can effectively improve the living conditions of the people and protect the basic rights of the people,while"educate the people with ethical" can stabilize the social order and create a harmonious and civilized living environment for the people in a certain sense.To some extent,some of the specific contents can still be used as the basic requirements of modern politicians.However,"Why must you refer to ’profit’" is,after all,an ideological proposition put forward under the pre-modern lifestyle,which inevitably has certain limitations of the times,which also determines that it cannot directly serve the modern political ethics;Its important value is to provide the standard for the construction of the current political ethics,that is,to construct the political ethics that conforms to the value of modernity,we must be aware of and adhere to the principle of "government with justice".