Research On Mencius Cultivation Theory

The cultivation thought is an important part of the Confucian moral theory,and mencius’ cultivation thought based on the theory of good nature occupies a unique position in the related Confucian thoughts.Mencius’ cultivation thought is rich and profound,involving all aspects of moral cultivation,and has an important place in the history of Chinese ethics,philosophy and social history.This thesis will analyze mencius’ cultivation thought from the four aspects of ontology,epistemology,gongfu and personality.Firstly,from the ontological point of view,the thesis holds that "heart","nature" and "heaven" are the three core concepts which reveal the metaphysical basis of Mencius’ cultivation..Mencius elevated "heaven" as the ultimate source of people’s value belief,but did not directly identify "heaven" as good.Mencius believed that "nature" is good,its purpose for the country,is to hope that people live and work in peace and peace;For the individual,it is hoped that everyone can practice their own nature and practice virtue.In order to explain that "nature" is good,Mencius put forward the good words of the "heart".This train of thought,opened the way of self-cultivation through the heart,in order to make people introspection,to seek nature with their own hearts.Secondly,from the perspective of epistemology,the thesis argues that it mainly involves the origin,essence and requirements of cultivation.Cultivation is a kind of harmonious activity of body and mind out of love,which originates from the fact that "both loved and nurtured".However,mencius believed that the human body has the distinction of "big body" and "small body".The former refers to the "noble and large" which is mind,the latter refers to "low and small" which is stomach.Only by taking care of the mind is real cultivation.However,in real life,people have too much desire for stomachs and neglect their social responsibilities.Therefore,Mencius put forward the intrinsic requirement that man should be human,that is to " seek conscience",and that is also the intrinsic purpose of cultivation.Thirdly,from the perspective of time,based on the inherent purpose of "seeking reassurance",he proposed three cultivate heart efforts,aimed at expanding the intrinsic goodness of man.Mencius believed that the primary effort to cultivate one’s mind was determine ambition,which is to make up one’s mind to be "great".Determine ambition to start from the "differentiation of righteousness and profit".When righteousness is in conflict with benefit,it is only in practice that righteousness can be regarded as the benefit,and the importance of righteousness over profit is the true ambition.The way to "ask for yourself" in things is to apply the thinking function of mind to things and reflect on whether your goodness are reflected in your actions.The "little desire",to put it simply,is to reduce a person’s desire.Mencius’ lack of desire began with the firm pursuit of benevolence,righteousness,propriety and wisdom,and then elevated it into the inherent nature of human beings,and finally reached a kind of "everything is in me," the high degree of knowing the fate of heaven."Noble spirit" is the combination of cultivating the mind and nourishing the Gas.In order to show the relationship between "will" and "gas",Mencius presented it through the work of "nourishing courage".Finally,from the perspective of personality theory,mencius’ cultivated personality is actually embodied in the two aspects of imaginary and real.The imaginary side is the "sage" view of Mencius.Mencius’ view of "sage" combines Confucius’ view of "sage" and "gentleman".Different from Confucius,He thinks that everyone can be saints.But he puts forward high requirements for sainthood.On the real side,Mencius succeeded in portraying the personality image of "the great man" and "the great husband" through his experience as a minister and scholar.The so-called " the great man",regard virtue as the respect,emulate Yao and Shun,and influence things by correcting ourselves.The " the great husband " is a moral integrity that does not move to poverty or wealth,and does not yield to a mighty force.Mencius’ thought of moral cultivation has exerted a profound influence on the later Confucian and the ancient Chinese society.It is an important cultural sign of China and worth our continuous learning,research and practice.