Mencius (Romanization; 孟子, pinyin: Mèng Zǐ; Wade-Giles: Meng Tzu; most accepted dates: 372 – 289 BCE; other possible dates: 385 – 303/302 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself. Yin Yang symbol and Ba gua paved in a clearing outside of Nanning City, Guangxi province, China. ... This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, although for Western thinkers prior to Socrates, see Pre-Socratic philosophy. ... Image File history File links Mencius - Project Gutenberg eText 15250 From http://www. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC - 370s BC - 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 377 BC 376 BC 375 BC 374 BC 373 BC - 372 BC - 371 BC 370 BC 369... 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Wenmiao Temple, a Confucian Temple in Wuwei, Gansu, China Confucian temple in Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan). ... Confucius (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kung-fu-tzu, lit. ... This is a wide-ranging list of philosophers from the Eastern traditions of philosophy, with special interest in Indo-Chinese philosophy. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ji (姬 jÄ« in Chinese) is the family name of the family in control of the Zhou Dynasty (周朝 late 10th century BC to late 9th century - 256 BC) (Wade-Giles Chou Dynasty), which followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... A Chinese surname, family name (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or clan name (氏; pinyin: shì), is one of the hundreds or thousands of family names that have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, and among overseas Chinese communities. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Chinese given names (Chinese: 名字; pinyin: míngzì) are made up of one or two characters. ... Cha can also refer to a Latin American dance, also called the Cha-cha-cha. ... A posthumous name (Traditional Chinese: 諡號/謚號 Simplified Chinese: 谥号; Pinyin: shì hào; Romaji: shigō/tsuigō; Revised Romanization of Korean: siho) is a honorary name given to royalty in some cultures posthumously, that is, after the persons death. ... Languages can be romanized in a variety of ways, as shown here with Mandarin Chinese In linguistics, romanization (or Latinization, also spelled romanisation or Latinisation) is the representation of a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC - 370s BC - 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 377 BC 376 BC 375 BC 374 BC 373 BC - 372 BC - 371 BC 370 BC 369... 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Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 307 BC 306 BC 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC 300 BC 299 BC 298 BC Cassander becomes King of... Yin Yang symbol and Ba gua paved in a clearing outside of Nanning City, Guangxi province, China. ... Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ... Confucius (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kung-fu-tzu, lit. ...

Life

Mencius, also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zhou (周朝; pinyin: zhōu cháo; Wade-Giles: chou ch`ao; 1027 BCE to 221 BCE), now forming the territory of the county-level city of Zoucheng (邹城; originally Zouxian), Shandong province, only thirty kilometres (eighteen miles) south of Qufu, Confucius' birthplace. Boundaries of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1050 - 771 BC) in China The Zhou Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chou Ch`ao; 1122 BC to 256 BC (ref) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... A county-level city (县级市 Pinyin: xiànjí shì) is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ... Qufu (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chü1-fu4) is a city in Shandong Province, China. ... Confucius (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kung-fu-tzu, lit. ...

He was an itinerant Chinese philosopher and sage, and one of the principal interpreters of Confucianism. Supposedly, he was a pupil of Confucius' grandson, Zisi. Like Confucius, according to legend, he travelled China for forty years to offer advice to rulers for reform.^[5] He served as an official during the Warring States Period (403–221 BCE) in the State of Qi (齊; pinyin: qí; 1046 BC to 221 BC) from 319 to 312 BCE. He expressed his filial devotion when he took an absence of three years from his official duties for Qi to mourn his mother's death. Disappointed at his failure to effect changes in his contemporary world, he retired from public life. A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ... Wenmiao Temple, a Confucian Temple in Wuwei, Gansu, China Confucian temple in Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan). ... Zisi (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Tzu-ssu; ca. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC Years: 408 BC 407 BC 406 BC 405 BC 404 BC - 403 BC - 402 BC 401 BC... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC - 220s BC - 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 226 BC 225 BC 224 BC 223 BC 222 BC - 221 BC - 220 BC 219 BC... State of Qi (small seal script, 220 BC) See Qi (disambiguation) for other meanings of Qi. Qi (齊; pinyin: qi2) was a relatively powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 324 BC 323 BC 322 BC 321 BC 320 BC 319 BC 318 BC 317 BC 316... In the Third war of the Diadochi, Ptolemy I Soter meets a force under Antigonuss son Demetrius at Gaza, where they fight an inconclusive battle. ... Filial piety is extended into the afterlife. ...

A famous idiom about Mencius' early life

The traditional Chinese four-character idiom 孟母三遷 (Pinyin: mèng mǔ sān qiān; Zhuyin/Bopomofo: ㄇㄥ ㄇㄨ ㄙㄢ ㄑ一ㄢ; Kana: もうぼさんせん; Romaji: mou bo san sen; literal translation: Mencius' mother, three moves) refers to the legend that Mencius' mother moved their house three times—from beside a cemetery to beside a marketplace, to finally beside a school—before finding a location that she felt was suitable for his upbringing. As an expression, the idiom refers to the importance of a proper environment for the proper upbringing of children. 成语 chéngyÇ” Four-character idioms, or chéngyÇ” (成語/成语, literally to become (part of) the language) are widely used in 文言 Classical Chinese, a literary form used in the Chinese written language from antiquity to until 1919, and are still commonly used in Vernacular writing today. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Zhuyin fuhao (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chu-yin fu-hao), or Symbols for Annotating Sounds, often abbreviated as Zhuyin, or known as Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) after the first four letters of this Chinese phonemic alphabet (bo po mo fo), is the national phonetic system of the... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Manyogana 万葉仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 For other meanings of Kana, see Kana (disambiguation). ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji The Hepburn romanization system ) is named after James Curtis Hepburn, who used it to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet in the third edition of his Japanese–English dictionary, published...

Influence

Mencius' interpretation of Confucianism has generally been considered the orthodox version by subsequent Chinese philosophers, especially the Neo-Confucians of the Song dynasty. The Mencius (also spelled Mengzi or Meng-tzu), a book of his conversations with kings of the time, is one of the Four Books that Zhu Xi grouped as the core of orthodox Neo-Confucian thought. In contrast to the sayings of Confucius which are short and self-contained, the Mencius consists of long dialogues, including arguments, with extensive prose. Neo-Confucianism (理學 Pinyin: Lǐxué) is a term for a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang dynasty. ... Northern Song in 1111 AD Capital Kaifeng (960–1127) Linan (1127–1276) Language(s) Chinese Religion Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism Government Monarchy Emperor  - 960-976 Emperor Taizu  - 1126–1127 Emperor Qinzong  - 1127–1162 Emperor Gaozong  - 1278–1279 Emperor Bing History  - Zhao Kuangyin taking over the throne of the Later Zhou... The Four Books of Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (not to be confused with the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature), are Chinese classic texts that Zhu Xi selected, in the Song dynasty, as an introduction to Confucianism: the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects of Confucius... Zhu Xi or Chu Hsi (born October 18, 1130, Yuxi, Fujian province, China – died April 23, 1200, China) was a Song Dynasty (960-1279) Confucian scholar who became the leading figure of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist Neo-Confucian in China. ... Neo-Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang Dynasty. ...

View on human nature

While Confucius himself did not explicitly focus on the subject of human nature, Mencius asserted the innate goodness of the individual, believing that it was society's influence – its lack of a positive cultivating influence – that caused bad moral character. "He who exerts his mind to the utmost knows his nature"^[6] and "the way of learning is none other than finding the lost mind".^[7] Moral character or character is an evaluation of a persons moral and mental qualities. ...

His translator James Legge finds a close similarity between Mencius' views on human nature and those in Bishop Butler's Sermons on Human Nature. Ezra Pounds annotations on his copy of James Legges translation of the Book of Poetry (Shih Ching), in the Sacred Books of the East. ... Joseph Butler (May 18, 1692 O.S. – June 16, 1752) was an English bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher. ...

The Four Beginnings

To show innate goodness, Mencius used the example of a child falling down a well. Witnesses of this event immediately feel

View on politics

Mencius

Mencius spoke frequently and highly of the well-field system. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The orange border between the farms resembles the character for well (井) Well-field system (Chinese: 井田制度; pinyin: ) was a Chinese land distribution method since at least 9th century BC (late Western Zhou Dynasty). ...

Mencius emphasized the significance of the common citizens in the state. While Confucianism generally regards rulers highly, he argued that it is acceptable for the subjects to overthrow or even kill a ruler who ignores the people's needs and rules harshly. This is because a ruler who does not rule justly is no longer a true ruler. Mencius said, "I have heard of killing a mere fellow Chou, but I have not heard of murdering [him as] the ruler."^[9] This is in reference to the wicked King Jie of Xia. King Jie with halberd as symbol of oppression and sitting on two ladies as symbol for abuse of power. ...

View on wars

He said during the Spring and Autumn Period, there's no Just war. The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) was a period in Chinese history, which roughly corresponds to the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (from the second half of the 8th century BC to the first half of the 5th century). ... The doctrine of the just war has its foundations in ancient Greek society and was first developed in the Christian tradition by Augustine in Civitas Dei, The City of God, in reaction to the absolutist pacifist strain of Christian ethics based on the doctrine of Turn the other cheek espoused...

Comparisons to contemporaries

His alleged years make him contemporary with Xun Zi, Zhuangzi, Gaozi, and Plato. Xunzi Xún Zǐ (荀子, or Hsün Tzu c. ... Zhuāngzǐ (pinyin), Chuang Tzŭ (Wade-Giles), Chuang Tsu, Zhuang Tze, or Chuang Tse (Traditional Chinese characters: 莊子; Simplified Chinese characters: 庄子, literally meaning Master Zhuang) was a famous philosopher in ancient China who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, corresponding to the Hundred Schools of Thought... Gaozi (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kao-tzu; literally Master Gao; ca. ... PLATO was one of the first generalized Computer assisted instruction systems, originally built by the University of Illinois (U of I) and later taken over by Control Data Corporation (CDC), who provided the machines it ran on. ...

Xun Zi

Xun Zi was a Confucian who believed that human nature is originally evil, and the purpose of moral cultivation is to develop our nature into goodness. Obviously, Mencius was at odds with him. His views were declared as unorthodox by Chu Hsi, and Mencius as orthodox. Xunzi Xún Zǐ (荀子, or Hsün Tzu c. ... Zhu Xi (朱熹, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhū Xī, Wade-Giles: Chu Hsi) (1130 - 1200) was a Song Dynasty (960-1279) Confucian scholar who became one of most significant Neo-Confucians in China. ...

Plato

Mencius is often compared to Plato for their theories on human nature. Both were idealists in that they believed in the innate moral goodness of all human beings. For other uses, see Human nature (disambiguation). ... This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedias quality standards. ...

Mencius' argument that unjust rulers may be overthrown is reminiscent of Socrates' argument in Book I of Plato's Republic. This page is about the ancient Greek philosopher. ... The Republic (Greek: ) is an influential work of philosophy and political theory by the Greek philosopher Plato, written in approximately 360 BC. It is written in the format of a Socratic dialogue. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ The original clan name was Mengsun (孟孫), and was shortened into Meng (孟). It is unknown whether this occurred before or after Mencius's life.
2. ^ Traditionally, his courtesy name was assumed to be Ziche (子車), sometimes incorrectly written as Ziyu (子輿) or Ziju (子居), but recent scholarly works show that these courtesy names appeared in the 3rd century CE and apply to another historical figure named Meng Ke who also lived in Chinese antiquity and was mistaken for Mencius.
3. ^ That is, the second sage after Confucius. Name given in 1530 by Emperor Jiajing. In the two centuries before 1530, the posthumous name was "The Second Sage Duke of Zou" (鄒國亞聖公) which is still the name that can be seen carved in the Mencius ancestral temple in Zoucheng.
4. ^ Romanized as Mencius.
5. ^ Chan 1963: 49.
6. ^ The Mencius 7:A1 in Chan 1963: 78.
7. ^ The Mencius 6:A11 in Chan 1963: 58.
8. ^ The Mencius 2A:6 in Chan 1963: 65. Formatting has been applied to ease readability.
9. ^ The Mencius 1B:8 in Chan 1963: 62.

• Chan, Wing-tsit (translated and compiled). A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963.
• Graham, A.C., Disputers of the TAO: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (Open Court 1993). ISBN 0-8126-9087-7

Confucius (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kung-fu-tzu, lit. ... Jiajing Emperor Birth and death: Sept. ... Languages can be romanized in a variety of ways, as shown here with Mandarin Chinese In linguistics, romanization (or Latinization, also spelled romanisation or Latinisation) is the representation of a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language...

External links

Original works by Mencius in Chinese at Chinese Wikisource (維基文庫) :

孟子

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

• English translation of the Mencius by Charles Muller
• English Translation of the Mencius with comments by James Legge
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
• Works by Mencius at Project Gutenberg