Mencius
Mencius (/ˈmɛnʃiəs/ MEN-shee-əs); born Meng Ke (Chinese: 孟軻); or Mengzi (Chinese: 孟子; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage" (亞聖), that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confucius' fourth generation of disciples. Mencius inherited Confucius' ideology and developed it further. Living during the Warring States period, he is said to have spent much of his life travelling around the states offering counsel to different rulers. Conversations with these rulers form the basis of the Mencius, which would later be canonised as a Confucian classic.
Mencius | |
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| 孟子 | |
As depicted in the album Half Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old (至聖先賢半身像), housed in the National Palace Museum | |
| Born | Mèng Kē 孟軻 372 BC |
| Died | 289 BC (aged 82–83) |
| Resting place | Cemetery of Mencius, State of Zou, Zhou dynasty |
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| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Chinese philosophy |
| School | Confucianism |
Main interests | Ethics, social philosophy, political philosophy |
Notable ideas |
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| Mencius | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Mencius" in seal script (top) and regular (bottom) Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 孟子 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Mèngzǐ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Master Meng" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ancestral name: | Ji (Chinese: 姬; pinyin: Jī) |
| Clan name: | Meng (孟; Mèng) |
| Given name: | Ke (simplified Chinese: 轲; traditional Chinese: 軻; pinyin: Kē) |
| Courtesy name: | Unknown |
| Posthumous name: | Master Meng the Second Sage (simplified Chinese: 亚圣孟子; traditional Chinese: 亞聖孟子; pinyin: Yàshèng Mèngzǐ) |
| Styled: | Master Meng (孟子; Mèngzǐ) |
| Part of a series on |
| Confucianism |
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One primary principle of his work is that human nature is righteous and humane. The responses of citizens to the policies of rulers embodies this principle, and a state with righteous and humane policies will flourish by nature. The citizens, with freedom from good rule, will then allocate time to caring for their wives, brothers, elders, and children, and be educated with rites and naturally become better citizens. This placed him at odds with his near contemporary, Xunzi, who believed that human nature is evil by birth.