“以民为本”解析（上）

On the “People-Oriented Thought” (I)

林巍

Lin Wei

“民为贵”的思想最早由孟子提出来，胡适对此解释道：该“政治学说很带有民权的意味”，“不仅尊重个人、尊重百姓过于君王，还要使百姓享受乐利”。

The “people-oriented thought”, firstly put forward by Mencius (372-289 B.C.) in ancient times, was elaborated by Hu Shi (1891-1962) in this way: “This political concept has a lot to do with today’s civil rights, that is to put people as individuals above rulers to enjoy their maximum benefits.”

新文化运动的另一领袖陈独秀也指出：中国“自古以来，就有许行的‘并耕’，孔子的‘均无贫’……种种高远理想可以证明我们的国民性里面，确实有许多社会经济的民治主义成分。”

Another prominent figure during the New Cultural Movement, Chen Duxiu (1879-1942) also argued that “Since ancient times, there has been advocation of coordinated cultivation of the nobles and the populace by Xu Xing and Confucius’ ‘equalizing wealth’…all these lofty ideas have proven that in our national character there have been no lack of ingredients of ‘rule by the people’ in terms of social economy”.

我们知道，五四运动时反对旧礼教、旧道德和封建文化传统确实对中国社会的进步起了十分重要的作用。但是当时很少人对中国传统的“民本”思想做出认真的分析批判。相反地，当时反传统的领袖们把它视为或是有价值的“民权”思想，或是应发扬的“民治”思想。然而，如此看法是否正确？

As we all know, under the banner of anti-old feudal ethics and traditional morality, the May Fourth Movement had played an active role in criticizing the old ethical code, old moral and feudal traditional culture, but very rarely people have seriously analyzed the “people-oriented thought” in its own right of traditional Chinese culture. On the contrary, leaders of anti-traditionalism have either treated it as the thought of civil right or that of governing the state by the people. Are they correct?

据《尚书•五子之歌》载：“民可近，不可下，民为邦本，本固邦宁”。这是“民本”思想之所出。即是说，老百姓能否安居乐业对于统治者巩固其统治地位非常重要，因为“民可载舟，亦可覆舟”——“民”是载舟的工具或覆舟的力量。

The root of the “people-oriented thought” may be traced back to the “Song of Five Masters” in the Book of History. “Rulers should be intimate with the people without losing their status. The foundation of a country is its people; once the people are properly treated with respect, the country will be at peace”. It states actually a golden rule of governance: Once people are living and working in peace and contentment, sovereignty will be consolidated, since among the people there is a mighty force or tool determining the fate of governance.

可以说，在中国传统思想文化中没有什么真正的“民权”，只有绝对的“君权”，这一点甚至连中国的大思想家朱熹也看出来了。他说：“天下事，须是人主晓得通透了，自要去做，方得。如一事，八分是人主要做，只有一二分是为宰相了做，亦做不得。”宰相如此，老百姓就更不必说了。

The truth is that there is no such thing as civil rights in traditional Chinese culture, only rulers’ rights. As the great Chinese thinker Zhu Xi (1130-1200) pointed out, “Everything has to be scrutized by the emperor himself 100 percent and then can be carried out, not even if 80 percent and 20 percent left to the prime minister”, let alone to common people.