More help from the right, less help from the wrong(dé dào duō zhù，shī dào guǎ zhù)

More help from the right, less help from the wrong

From Mencius Gongsun Chou Xia, it means that if we stand on justice and benevolence, we will get the support of the majority; if we go against morality and benevolence, we will be isolated. This paper compares the three concepts of "time", "geographical advantage" and "harmony of people" in order to advance step by step. This paper demonstrates the truth that "time is not as good as place, and place is not as good as harmony".

Original works

Opportunities vouchsafed by Heaven are less important than terrestrial advantages, which in turn are less important than the unity among people. The city of Three Li and the country of seven Li are encircled and defeated. If a man attacks with a ring, he will surely win the day and the time. However, if he is defeated, the day and the time are not as good as the place. The city is not high, the pool is not deep, the military revolution is not strong, and there are not many millet. It is because the land is not as good as the people. Therefore, it is said that the people of the region should not use the border of frontier, the country should not use the danger of mountains and rivers, and the world should not use the benefit of military revolution. Those who get the right way help more, while those who lose the right way help less. If there is little help, it will be with relatives; if there is more help, it will be with the world. If a gentleman does not fight, he will win.

translation

The weather and season that are conducive to combat are not as favorable as the geographical situation that is conducive to combat, nor as favorable as the people's aspiration and internal unity in combat. the inner city with a radius of Three Li and the outer city with a radius of seven Li are surrounded and attacked, but they can't win. To encircle a city, we must have the weather and season that are good for fighting, but we can't win because the weather and season that are good for fighting are not as good as the geographical situation that is good for fighting. The city wall is not too high, the moat is not too deep, the weapons and equipment are not poor, and the food supply is not insufficient. However, the garrison side abandoned the city and fled. This is because the geographical situation (no matter how good) is not as good as the people's heart and internal unity. Therefore, in order to make the people settle down (rather than move to other places), we can't rely on the boundaries of territory, consolidate national defense, rely on the dangers of mountains and rivers, and frighten the world, rely on the sharpness of weapons. The monarch who implements benevolent government will help and support him more, while the monarch who does not implement benevolent government will support and help him less. If the number of people who support and help him reaches the extreme, even the flesh and blood of brothers will betray him; if the number of people who support and help him reaches the extreme, all people in the world will submit to him. By virtue of the condition that all the people in the world submit to him, they attack (those) princes who even betray their brothers and flesh. Therefore, if the (benevolent) monarch does not fight, he will surely win.

notes

City of Three Li: inner city of three li. the country of seven Li: the outer city with a radius of seven Li. ring: Wai. pool: moat. Military Revolution: generally refers to weapons and equipment. Soldiers, weapons. Leather, leather made of armor, armor, shield and so on. He left the city and fled. I'll give up. Go, leave. The people of the territory do not use the boundary of the frontier: to make the people settle down (without moving to other places), they can not rely on the boundary of the territory. strengthening the country without the danger of mountains and rivers: consolidating national defense cannot rely on the danger of mountains and rivers. To consolidate. Awe the world not by the advantage of Military Revolution: awe the world can not rely on the sharpness of weapons. dao: it refers to the right way of governing the country, that is, benevolent government. to: extreme relatives: internal and external relatives, including paternal relatives and maternal relatives. Pan: the same "betrayal", betrayal. Therefore, if a gentleman does not fight, he will win the war. Therefore, if a monarch who can exercise benevolent government does not fight, he will win the war. Gentleman, here refers to the benevolent monarch, that is, the above-mentioned "virtuous".

Creative background

Selected from Mencius Gongsun Chou Xia, Mencius was born in the aristocracy of the state of Lu, and his ancestor was Mencius who was famous in the late period of the state of Lu. But when Mencius was born, his family was in decline. The chaos in the late spring and Autumn period made their family gradually decline and forced them to move from Lu to Zou. After that, Mencius had to "rent a house" when he was young. The status of Mencius' parents is beyond examination. The only thing handed down is that Mencius lost his father when he was young and lived with his mother. For the sake of Mencius' study, Mencius' mother chose to live next to her three times. From the age of 40, Mencius began to contact with political figures in various countries, and spread his ideas and political ideas among the vassal states. Mencius inherited Confucius' thought of "benevolence" and advocated "taking the people as the foundation", "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the least." Mencius opposed annexation war. He thought the war was too cruel and advocated "benevolent government" to unify the world. The theoretical basis of Mencius' theory of benevolent government is the theory of good nature. Mencius said, "everyone has the heart of seclusion." He believes that goodness is a unique human nature, and it is also a fundamental symbol of distinguishing others and animals.

Appreciation of works

Appreciation of literature

The central argument is the first two sentences. Mencius put forward three concepts: the right time, the right place, and the harmony of people, and compared these three concepts and promoted them layer by layer. In the first paragraph, the author puts forward the central argument, which is made up of the comparison of time, place, people and others. The middle two "not as good as" are connected, indicating a progressive relationship, one more important than the other. In this way, the point of view is more obvious. In the second paragraph, it is argued that "the time, the place and the people are in harmony". This paper compares the importance of "timing" to "geographical advantage" by taking "timing" as an example. "Three Li City, seven Li Guo" shows that the city is small and difficult to defend; "ring and attack" shows that the attacker has a strong offensive and takes the initiative in the battle; "but not enough" shows that the attacker has failed. The author thinks that the reason why the offensive and defensive forces dare to press down on the border is that they have an advantage in "timing", but the defenders can rely on "geographical advantage" to resist; the attackers can not attack for a long time, and their morale is lax, so they are bound to fail. This convincingly proves the correctness of the assertion that "the right time is not as good as the right place". In the third paragraph, it is argued that "land is not as good as people". Taking good geographical conditions but unable to keep them as an example, this paper compares the importance of "good location" and "harmony of people". "High city", "deep pool", "strong military reform" and "misudo" pointed out that the defenders had superior "geographical advantages" and could have won the final victory of the war. However, the result was "appointed to leave". The reason is that there is no "harmony" inside, and good conditions can not play a role. On the contrary, it was defeated by the attackers who have "harmony of people" though there is no "geographical advantage", which strongly illustrates the truth that "harmony of people is not as good as geographical advantage". in the fourth paragraph, the author uses the word "Gu Yue" to carry on the above-mentioned point of view. First, three negative definite sentences with the same form are used to explain that "governing the people", "consolidating the country" and "dominating the world" can not only rely on the conditions of "favorable time" and "favorable location", which further emphasizes the importance of "human harmony" from the opposite side. The author's positive meaning is contained in the following statement: "more help from the right, less help from the wrong". The "Tao" here means "benevolent government". This thesis points out the essence of "human harmony". Then it further infers that "the best way to help others is to betray their relatives, while" the best way to help others "is to make the world submissive. There is a sharp contrast between the two. Finally, it concludes with "if a gentleman doesn't fight, he will win in battle", which makes a thorough exposition of the significance of "human harmony" and deepens the center of the article. the article has clear context, rigorous structure and smooth momentum.

Writing features

This paper is good at using the method of metaphor. From the end of the article, although Mencius opposed war, he mentioned it many times. This is to cater to the psychology of the princes, for example, in order to have the opportunity to publicize their "benevolent government" proposition to the princes. the article is concise in analysis, grand in argumentation, bold and unrestrained in momentum, deep in elaboration and extension, and strong in logic; it also uses parallelism rhetoric, which makes the tone of the article strong and persuasive.

Works review

Modern writer Qian Niansun: "Mencius Gongsun Chou Xia" says, "the time is not as good as the land, the land is not as good as the people." "Human harmony" should be placed on the top of "favorable time" and "favorable location". Ancient sages recognized the diversity of things and the richness of the world, and advocated "harmony" without erasing the characteristics of things. JIAO Xun, a philosopher of the Qing Dynasty, commented: "harmony between the people is more important than heaven and earth, so it is said that the people of Qiu are the son of heaven." Li Tu, a scholar of the Song Dynasty: in the first chapter of Mencius Gongsun Chou Xia, it is said that "the time is not as good as the land, and the land is not as good as the harmony of people". The following is divided into three paragraphs. The first paragraph says that the time is not as good as the land, the second paragraph says that the land is not as good as the harmony of people, and the third paragraph says that the harmony of people, and the return is "those who get the way help more", one section is higher than the other, which is also a great rule in the composition. (the essence of the article)

About the author

Mencius (about 372 BC - about 289 BC), named Ke, the word Ziyu (to be studied, a word Ziche or Ziju). Han nationality, born in Zou state of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (today's Zoucheng City, Shandong Province, where Confucius and Mencius were born), is a great thinker, educator, politician, writer and essayist in the Warring States period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. One of the main representatives of Confucianism. Some people think that the state of Zou is a subsidiary of the state of Lu, while others say that Mencius is a native of Lu. It is a school of Confucianism. In politics, he advocated the rule of law and benevolent government; in theory, he praised Confucius and opposed Yang Zhu and Mo Zhai. Mencius is said to be the descendant of Qingfu, the son of Mencius Gongzhong (MEng Gongzhong), a noble surnamed Ji in the state of Lu. His father's name is Ji, and his mother's surname is Zhang. Mencius inherited and developed Confucius' thought, but compared with Confucius' thought, he added his own understanding of Confucianism, and some thoughts were more extreme. He was canonized as "Yasheng Gong" and was honored as "Yasheng" by later generations. His disciples recorded Mencius' words and deeds as Mencius, which belongs to the collection of quotation prose and is a collection of Mencius' comments, which was compiled by Mencius and his disciples. He advocated benevolent government and proposed“

Chinese PinYin : dé dào duō zhù，shī dào guǎ zhù