LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mencius: People
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Mencius held that a good person would not even take from one person to give to another, let alone seek territory at the cost of human lives. To enrich a ruler, who is neither attracted to the way nor good to the people, is like enriching a tyrant. When about to place a great responsibility on a person, heaven may test one with hardship and frustrated efforts in order to toughen one's nature and shore up deficiencies. People usually only mend their ways after making mistakes. Those whose minds are frustrated learn how to innovate.
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Mencius argued that human beings are born with an innate moral sense, but that society corrupted it through lack of a positive cultivating influence. Therefore, the goal of moral cultivation is to return to the people's innate morality. Consistent with his belief in the individual, Mencius contended that it was permissible for people to overthrow or kill a ruler who ignored the public's needs or ruled harshly.
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Mencius said: "There are loads of fat meat in your kitchen while the people in the countryside are dying of starvation. Animals are even eating people. Now, men despise animals who feed on each other. And you say you want to be 'the parent of the people.' But in the actual handling of your government, you cannot even prevent animals from feeding on men. How can you be regarded as a 'parent of the people?' "
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Mencius emphasized the significance of the common citizens in the state. While Confucianism generally regards rulers highly, he argued that it is acceptable for the subjects to overthrow or even kill a ruler who ignores the people's needs and rules harshly. This is because a ruler who does not rule justly is no longer a true ruler. Speaking of the assassination of the wicked King Jie of Xia, Mencius said, "I have heard of killing a mere fellow Chou, but I have not heard of murdering [him as] the ruler."[9].
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Mencius said: "All people have a heart which cannot stand to see the suffering of others. The ancient kings had this heart which could not stand to see the suffering of others, and, with this, operated a government which could not stand to see the suffering of the people. If, in this state of mind, you ran a government which could not endure people's suffering, you could govern the realm as if you were turning it in the palm of your hand."
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Mencius said, "Jen is the mind of human beings. Righteousness is their path. To abandon the path and not follow it, or to lose the mind and not know enough to seek it: this is a pity indeed!" "When people lose their chickens and dogs, they know enough to look for them, but when they lose their mind, they do not know enough to seek it. The way of study and inquiry is none other than the search for the lost mind."
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