孟子民本思想渊源考辨

孟子的民本思想与孔子的民本思想有许多相同之处,因此常被视为对孔子民本思想的直接继承。但二者民本思想的特质明显不同,孔子更倾向于把民本思想工具化,在其“君君、臣臣”的政治模式中,其民本思想往往表现为一种家长式的自上而下的关爱和施予;而孟子的民本思想在其“民贵君轻”政治追求中更多的表现为自下而上的思维特性。通过对郭店竹简的研究,我们发现孟子的民本思想直接来源于子思,并基于孟子对现实的理解和判断。

Textual Research and Identifying the Origin of Master Mencius' Thought of People-Being- Foundation

There are many similar points between Master Mencius' and Master Confucius' thoughts with respect to taking people as the foundation,so it is often considered that the former directly carried on the latter.But the essence of the two is remarkably different.The thought of Master Confucius' still more preferred taking people-being-foundation as a kind of tool;in his political model of 'the prince is prince;the minister is minister' it often showed as a kind of care and dispensation given from above to below;while Master Mencius' still more expressed in an ideological feature from below to above,which was showed in his politic pursuit 'the people is more important than the lord'.Through the study of the record on the bamboo slips unearthed from Guodian village we find that Master Mencius' thought of people-being-foundation was directly originated from that of Master Zisi and from his own understanding and judgment on the present fact.