两千年前，太史公司马迁读《孟子》，至梁惠王问“何以利吾国”，遂废书而叹。老先生所叹者，是以为利乃乱之始也。两千年后，我读《孟子》，也不禁废书而叹。我所叹者，是前贤亚圣孟子身上的那股咄咄逼人的英武之气和沛然淋漓的阳刚之气。人说：大哉孔子！我则想说：英哉孟子！天地间一伟丈夫，真男人也。
Two thousand years ago, Ma Qian, the Taishi company, read Mencius and went to King Hui of Liang Dynasty to ask "how can we benefit our country", so he abandoned the book and sighed. What the old gentleman sighs is that profit is the beginning of chaos. Two thousand years later, when I read Mencius, I couldn"t help but sigh. What I bemoan is the aggressive, heroic spirit and full of masculinity of the former sage Mencius. People say: Great Confucius! I want to say: Yingzai Mencius! A great husband in the world, a real man.
读《论语》与读《孟子》，感受迥然有别。前者循循善诱，吉光片羽，如雨露之养，时风之化，是典型的温柔敦厚的儒雅风范；
而后者口若悬河，滔滔汩汩，其势不可当，“其锋不可犯”（苏洵），雄辩无碍，一泻千里。孔子更多的时候是教育自己的三千弟子，故心平气和，大言炎炎，诲人不倦，在人们眼里是一个“至圣先师”、蔼然仁者。孟子更多的是向不可一世的君王陈说自己的为政之道，故尔常常踔厉风发、意态亢昂，有时甚至带有火气，言辞犀利，显露出十足的刚直不阿、磊落恢弘的大思想家的个性，有一种睥睨王者的人格风范和精神气度。尽管在礼崩乐坏的春秋战国时代，诸侯为争霸天下，莫不纷纷采取功利主义的攻伐之术，以为孟子的“仁政”治国方略“迂远而阔于事情”，也即见效太慢而不肯采纳，但在孟子义正辞严的强大思想攻势下，不能不一时心悦诚服。而孟子并不为了让君王接受自己的政见而屈尊阿附，他无意于取媚讨欢，弄个一官半职干干。他不仅没有丝毫的奴颜媚骨，反而常常直刺君王的痛处，陷这些愚不可及的家伙们于尴尬难堪的境地，不得不“王顾左右而言他”。每读书至这样的段落，便情不自禁再三嗟叹：孟子孟子，何其智勇！孔老夫子曾批评他的学生子路过于勇，而他的嫡传弟子孟轲，其勇较之于子路则更胜一筹。儒家提倡温良恭俭让、仁义礼智信，不讲勇，但是，勇，实在该是男人的本色啊！
Reading the Analects of Confucius is quite different from reading Mencius. The former is gentle and gentle, like rain and dew, and the trend of the times. The latter is eloquent and surging, which is irresistible. Its front is inviolable (Su Xun), and its eloquence is unimpeded. Confucius is more likely to educate his three thousand disciples, so he is calm, passionate, and tireless in teaching. He is regarded as a "supreme teacher" and a kind person. Mencius is more to the king Chen said his way for the government, so you often fierce, high minded, sometimes even with anger, sharp words, showing a full upright, honest and magnificent thinker personality, there is a look down on the king"s style and spirit. Although in the spring and Autumn period and Warring States period, in order to dominate the world, the princes had to adopt utilitarian attack, thinking that Mencius"s "benevolent government" strategy of governing the country "is far and wide in the way of things", that is to say, the effect is too slow to be adopted, but under the strong ideological offensive of Mencius"s righteousness and rhetoric, they can"t help being convinced. Mencius didn"t condescend to a Fu in order to let the king accept his political opinions. He didn"t mean to make fun of him and get a job. Not only did he not have the slightest subservience, but he often stabbed at the pain of the king, trapped in the embarrassing situation of these stupid guys, and had to "look around the king and talk about him". Every time I read such a paragraph, I can"t help sighing again and again: Mencius and Mencius, how smart and brave! Kong Laofu Zi once criticized his student Zilu for being too brave, while Meng Ke, his direct disciple, was more brave than Zilu. Confucianism advocates gentleness, courtesy, frugality, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness, and does not speak of courage. However, courage is really the nature of men!
不知怎么回事，一提起文人书生，就是一副文弱、寒酸、迂阔的窝囊相，让人“不足观”，不大瞧得起。然而，在文人老祖宗孟子身上能寻出半点窝囊的影子吗？他若知道后世文人把自身形象糟蹋成那种样子，肯定会怒发冲冠，大骂子孙不肖的。孟子实在是为后辈文人树立了刚直英武的楷模。男人的形象不只让剑客游侠武装专美，文人亦男人也。《孟子》中记载，一次，孟子要去朝见齐王，齐王正好派人对孟子说：“寡人本应去拜访你，但不巧感冒了，怕风吹，如果你能来朝，我可以接见你。”孟子一听这话，反而不想去了，于是回答说：“刚好我也病了，不能上朝见王。”第二天，孟子却到东郭大夫家吊丧。公孙丑说：“你昨天托辞有病，今天却去吊丧，这样不太好吧？”孟子理直气壮地说：“昨天病了，可今天好了，为什么不能去吊丧？”以臣子的身份公然与君王较劲，没有一身的正气、骨气、胆气是不行的。孟子曾引一位勇士的话说道：“彼，丈夫也；
我，丈夫也；
吾何畏彼哉？”用今天的话说，就是：都是男人，谁怕谁呀！又有一次，孟子离开齐国，在昼邑歇宿。一个人想替齐王挽留孟子，便大模大样端坐着跟孟子说话，孟子不理他，趴在几上装睡，那人很不高兴，孟子就坦率地教训他：对一个年长的老头子应该懂得礼数！在孟子看来，一些峨冠博带的君王，只不过是贪财、好色的草包蠢货，或者是率兽食人的独夫民贼，哪里值得老百姓仰望尊敬？！故天将降大任于斯人，“当今之世，舍我其谁也？”英雄气概，溢于言表。孔子制定的君君臣臣父父子子的纲常礼数，孟子并未昏愚地全盘接受，他提出：民为贵，君为轻。他遗世独立，傲岸宏达，凛然不可侵犯，完全不把一些平庸的君王放在眼里。
Somehow, when it comes to literati scholars, they are weak, shabby and broad-minded, which makes people look down on them. However, can we find the shadow of a bit of cowardice in Mencius, the old ancestor of literati? If he knew that the later literati had ruined their own image in that way, he would be furious and scold their descendants. Mencius really set an example for the later literati. The image of man not only makes swordsmen and Rangers armed with special beauty, but also men of letters. "Mencius" records that once, Mencius was going to the court to see the king of Qi. The king of Qi just sent someone to say to Mencius, "I should have visited you, but unfortunately I caught a cold and was afraid of the wind. If you can come to the court, I can meet you." When Mencius heard this, he didn"t want to go, so he replied, "just now I"m sick, and I can"t go to the court to see the king." The ()next day, Mencius went to doctor Dongguo"s house to mourn. Gongsun Chou said, "it"s not good that you were sick yesterday and went to mourning today." Mencius said bluntly, "I was ill yesterday, but I am well today. Why can"t I go to mourning?" It"s no use fighting openly with the king as a minister without integrity, backbone and courage. Mencius once quoted a warrior as saying, "I, my husband, am I afraid of him?" In today"s words, it"s all men, who are afraid of whom! Once again, Mencius left the state of Qi and stayed in the daytime. A man wanted to keep Mencius for the king of Qi, so he sat up and talked to Mencius in a big way. Mencius ignored him and lay on his back. He was very unhappy. Mencius told him frankly that he should know etiquette to an old man! In Mencius" view, some of the kings of e"guanbo belt are just greedy, lecherous and stupid people with straw bags, or are the only people who lead the beasts and cannibals. How can they be respected by the common people?! Therefore, heaven will give a great deal of responsibility to the people, "in today"s world, who is willing to give up?" Heroic spirit, over expression. Confucius formulated the rules and regulations of the father and son of the monarch, the minister, the father and the son. Mencius did not blindly accept them. He proposed that the people are the most important and the monarch is the least important. He is independent, lofty and magnanimous, inviolable, and does not pay attention to some mediocre kings at all.
相对于孔子的“君子”学说，孟子给中国传统文化人格增添了一个意义深远的概念：大丈夫。“富贵不能淫，贫贱不能移，威武不能屈，此之谓大丈夫。”丈夫者，男子汉也；
大者，巍巍乎崇高也，“充实而有光辉之谓大”。一怒而天下惧并非真正的大丈夫，蛮勇斗狠、奸诈残忍、蝇营狗苟、见利忘义之徒更难望大丈夫项背。真正的大丈夫是光明磊落的人，是意志坚定的人，是富有仁德的人，是胸怀宽广的人。大丈夫人格的获得，孟子有一秘诀：善养浩然之气。何谓“浩然之气”？他说这种“气”“至大至刚，以直养而无害，则塞于天地之间”。这是一种崇高刚强的正气，一种不可势压利诱的骨气，一种超迈雄放的豪气，一种无所畏惧的勇气，一种宏毅坚定的志气。孟子这一特点，是他的精神导师孔子所不及的。宋代理学家朱熹说：“孟子有些英气。”近人林语堂说：“我们读孟子，可使顽夫廉，懦夫有立志。”
Compared with Confucius" theory of "gentleman", Mencius has added a far-reaching concept to Chinese traditional cultural personality: big husband. "A man is a man who is rich and noble, poor and humble, powerful and unyielding." A husband is a man, and a great man is a great man. A man who is fierce, treacherous and cruel is not a real man. It is more difficult for a man who is brave and ruthless, treacherous and ruthless, reckless and selfless. A real man is an open and aboveboard man, a man of firm will, a man of benevolence and virtue, and a man of broad mind. Mencius has a secret to acquire the personality of a great husband: to be good at cultivating noble spirit. What is "noble spirit"? He said that this kind of "Qi" is "the most important and rigid. If it is kept directly and harmless, it will be put between heaven and earth". This is a kind of noble and strong righteousness, a kind of bone spirit that can not be suppressed and lured by potential, a kind of heroic spirit that surpasses maixiong, a kind of fearless courage, a kind of great and resolute ambition. This characteristic of Mencius is beyond his spiritual mentor Confucius. Zhu Xi, an agent scholar of the Song Dynasty, said, "Mencius has some heroism." Lin Yutang, a modern man, said, "when we read Mencius, we can make stubborn men honest and cowards determined."
孟子尝云：穷则独善其身，达则兼济天下。这种苦心孤诣的教诲，一直使得后代文人们进退有据。不管身在魏阙，还是远处江湖，都不应失去了做人的立身根本，培养浩然正气。孟子身上那种有棱角、有个性的哲人风采、英俊气度、男人本色，成为一条汲之不尽的文化源泉，更行更远还生。
Mencius tasted the cloud: if you are poor, you will be good at yourself; if you reach, you will benefit the world. This kind of painstaking and lonely education has always made it possible for the literati of later generations to advance and retreat. No matter in Wei que or in the distant Jianghu, we should not lose the fundamental of life and cultivate noble and upright spirit. Mencius has a kind of angular, personality of philosopher style, handsome demeanor and man"s nature, which has become an inexhaustible source of culture, and goes further.
