Study On The Thought And Value Of Confucian Classics In Mengzi Wei

As a famous statesman and thinker in the late Qing Dynasty,Kang Youwei(1858-1927)plays an important role in the modern political activities and the development of classics.Not only is he one of the leaders of the modern bourgeois reformists,but also he has many academic attainments.Kang Youwei is well-informed and knowledgeable,and his life and writings are numerous.Among them,the most famous and controversial ones are A Study of the false traditional Chinese Classics,A Study of Confucius’ Reform and the Book of Great Harmony.Although there are many academic studies on Kang Youwei’s works,the main focus is still on these three books.Mengzi Wei was written during Kang Youwei’s overseas wandering,reflecting the changes in Kang Youwei’s thinking in the middle and late period,and has important research value.At present,the study of Mengzi Wei from the perspective of philosophy and history has been favored by many scholars,but there are not many results from the perspective of classics.This article intends to start from the investigation of the thought of classics,through a detailed analysis of the text,to expound the thought of classics and its value in Mengzi Wei.Mengzi Wei was born in the volatile twentieth century,and the opportunity for its creation is closely related to Kang Youwei’s personal life and deeds.As far as Kang Youwei’s purpose of writing Mengzi Wei is concerned,it is the second time to carry forward Confucius and Mencius’ thought,and the main thing is to publicize the idea of reform and restructuring.In Kang Youwei’s view,the book Mencius is rich in subtle words and great meanings,and Mencius(about 372 BC-289BC)has won the true inheritance of the thought of Confucius(551 BC-479 BC).Therefore,studying Mencius can give a glimpse of the essence of Confucius and Mencius’ thought.In the process of interpreting Mencius,Kang Youwei selected the "Gongyang San Shi" theory with the characteristics of attachment,politics,and variability,and transformed it by applying the Western evolution theory and the thought of “Xiaokang” and “Datong”.The ideological basis of the full text.He linked Mencius’ ideas of "people-oriented","controlling the people’s property",and "humanity towards goodness" with Western democratic thought,and believed that Western democracy had already existed in Mencius’ thought,and the purpose was to propose "the establishment of parliament","prospering industry and commerce","advocating civil rights" and other propositions to strengthen theoretical support and reduce resistance to reform.Mengzi Wei is Kang Youwei’s theoretical work that advocates reform and obtains support.For the interpretation of Mencius,Kang Youwei started from the practical application of the classics,mainly adopted the interpretation methods of Gongyang Xue,aided the West to enter Confucianism,and the six categories of Chinese characters annotation me,and interpreted his needs from many aspects,angles and levels.Mengzi Wei not only reflects the characteristics of Kang Youwei’s academic thought,but also reflects the position in Kang Youwei’s Four Books study and the study of Meng studies in Qing Dynasty.At the same time,Mengzi Wei also provides reference value and important enlightenment for the transformation of modern Confucianism,contemporary social construction and cultural exchange.