This essay contains of two parts. The first is show that the hermeneutical model, referred to as "the ontology of man as subject", on which the most popular contemporary interpretations of 《Mencius》and《The Doctrine of the Mean》are based, is inappropriate. I further point out that this ontological assumption is incoherent with the main themes of the works under investigation. In the second part, I propose a new hermeneutical model, "the ontology of Heaven as subject," and I show that the main principles in《Mencius》and《The Doctrine of the Mean》can be well interpreted in this mode. Finally, the relationship of these two models is briefly analysed.