民国初年,阎锡山为了巩固自己在山西的封建统治,竭力提倡“尊孔”,宣扬“忠君敬上”思想。他认定孔子的中庸之道,是待人接物的惟一准则,所以他常以“执其两端用其中”、“两者之间我生存”两句话为口头禅。阎锡山一辈子行事,总是首鼠两端,因利乘便,这与他的人生哲学是分不开的。当时国内的报纸讽刺他是 In the early years of the Republic of China, Yan Xishan tried his best to advocate “respect for Confucianism” in order to consolidate his feudal rule in Shanxi and preached the idea of ​​“loyalty and respect”. He decided that Confucius’ principle of “being the middle” was the only criterion for treating people in contact with others. Therefore, he often used the phrase “to hold both of its ends” and “to survive between the two” as his mantra. Yen Hsi-shan life-long act, always the first mouse both ends, because of Lee by the convenience, which is inseparable from his philosophy of life. The domestic newspapers at that time ironically he was