轴心期中国与希腊思想家对被统治者苦难的态度比较

A Comparison between the Attitudes of the Chinese and Greek Thinkers to the Misery of the Ruled People during the Axial Period

在公元前800年至公元前200年之间的轴心期,中国社会的被统治者小人、野人、庶民、奴隶,希腊社会的被统治者奴隶,都遭受着深重的苦难。在中国,这一时代的孔子、孟子、墨子等一批对后世有重大影响的思想家,对被统治者的苦难有着深刻的同情,进而发展出以同情为内核的仁政思想。而在希腊,这一时代的苏格拉底、柏拉图、亚里士多德等一批对后世有重大影响的思想家,对被统治者的苦难却抱着欣赏与享受的态度。希腊人所捍卫与倡导的公民自由,正是建立在奴隶制这一残酷的社会制度之上的。这两种态度分别对后来中国与西方的历史发展产生了深远的影响。

During the Axial Period（B. C. 800-B. C. 200） the ruled people in both China and Greece were subjected to miserable life. At the time,China＇s Confucius,Mencius,Mocius who had very important influence on Chinese history up to now had deep sympathy to the ruled people＇s misery and started from such sympathy they developed a theoretical system of benevolent government. But in Greece,thinkers such as Socrates,Plato and Aristotle who had very important influence on Western history up to now did enjoy the ruled people＇s misery. The citizen＇s freedom in Greece was based on cruel system of slavery. To some degree,such different attitudes had decided the different orbits of history of civilization between China and the West.