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File:Half_Portraits_of_the_Great_Sage_and_Virtuous_Men_of_Old_-_Meng_Ke_(孟軻).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Mencius

Also known as Meng Ke, Meng-tze, Mengzi, Meng K'e, Meng-tzu, Meng Tzu

Mencius (孟子, Mèngzǐ, ; ), born Meng Ke (), was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage () to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. He was part of Confucius's fourth generation of disciples, inheriting his ideology and developing 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.

AI overview

Mencius was a Chinese philosopher of the 4th century BCE who inherited and expanded upon the teachings of Confucius, spending much of his life traveling to different rulers to offer political and moral advice. The book "Mencius," compiled from his conversations with various rulers, became one of the most important texts in Confucianism and remains influential in East Asian thought.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: ca 372 BCE
Died: 389 BCE
Works: 146

Top works

Life and Works of Mencius
Works of Mencius
Mencius (Classics of Chinese Philosophy and Literature)
Collected Works of Confucius and Mencius : (Expanded Edition)
The four books

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person
Gender: Male
Origin: Seattle

Discography

Atelier Limbs2015

Discogs

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 14
Total plays: 87

via Last.fm · Mencius

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

An enzyme-based biosensor for monitoring and engineering protein stability in vivo
· 2021 · cited 37x
Selection and screening strategies in directed evolution to improve protein stability
· 2019 · cited 32x
Structural basis for product specificities of MLL family methyltransferases
· 2022 · cited 21x
Molecular Characterization of an Intrinsically Disordered Chaperone Reveals Net-Charge Regulation in Chaperone Action
· 2022 · cited 15x
Distinct kinetic mechanisms of H3K4 methylation catalyzed by MLL3 and MLL4 core complexes
· 2021 · cited 12x

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

“If the king loves music, there is little wrong in the land.”
“Mencius went to see King Huei of Liang. The king said, "Venerable sir, since you have not counted it far to come here, a distance of a thousand li, may I presume that you are provided with counsels to profit my kingdom?" Mencius replied, "Why must your Majesty use that word "profit"? What I am provided with, are counsels to benevolence and righteousness, and these are my only topics."”
“He who outrages benevolence is called a ruffian: he who outrages righteousness is called a villain. I have heard of the cutting off of the villain Chow, but I have not heard of the putting of a ruler to death.”
“Those who are humane achieve glory. Those who are inhumane suffer disgrace.”
“The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom. Men have these Four Beginnings just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them is to destroy themselves.”
“They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish.”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Philosopher.image: Half Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old - Meng Ke (孟軻).jpg
Philosopher.caption: As depicted in the album Half Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old ()held by the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Philosopher.birth_name: Meng Ke
Philosopher.birth_place: Zou, Zhou dynasty
Philosopher.death_place: Zou, Zhou dynasty
Philosopher.region: Chinese philosophy
Philosopher.era: Ancient philosophy
Philosopher.school_tradition: Confucianism
Philosopher.main_interests: Ethics, social philosophy, political philosophy
Chinese.child: yes
Chinese.l: "Master Meng"
Chinese.bpmf: ㄇㄥˋ ㄗˇ
Chinese.p: Mèngzǐ
Chinese.j: maang6 zi2
Chinese.y: Maahngjí
Chinese.tl: Bīng-tsú
Chinese.poj: Bēng-chú
Chinese.wuu: Man-tsy

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image: Half Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old - Meng Ke (孟軻).jpg

Show 6 more facts

Commons category: Mencius
date of birth: 0372-00-00
date of death: 0289-00-00
birth name: 孟轲
name in native language: 孟子
name in kana: もうし

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

2 objects attributed to Mencius, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

Meng Tseu vel mencium inter Sinenses philosophos, ingenio, doctrina, nominisque claritate Confucio proximum. 2 [, 1]

Untitled

~16 min read

Article

18 sections

Contents

Life
Mother
Mencius' mother moves three times
Mencius' mother cuts her weaving
Mencius intends to divorce his wife
Key ideas
Human nature
The four beginnings
Education
Destiny
Politics and economics
Influence
Mencius Institute
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
External links

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, if they enjoy freedom under good rulers, will willingly take the time to care for their families, learn to perform proper rites, and become better citizens. This placed him at odds with his near contemporary, Xunzi, who believed that human nature is evil.